Takes place 4
months after the events of "Donavonn's Past"
For
Cheshire and Donavonn, it was a rather unusual task they had been
given. A man who had specialized in locating various exotic animals,
weapons, and other items was to be eliminated swiftly, and with
prejudice. The woman who hired them only stated that her son has been
murdered by the man, and that the cops could not or would not help
her.
Now, it was time to pay him back for his crimes. But as
Cheshire and Donavonn walked into the abandoned house the man had
been operating from, they noticed something.
Someone far
angrier than them had gotten to him first. The blood splatters on the
wall, and the deep cuts in his chest and stomach, and the decapitated
corpses of his guards suggested someone with no insignificant amount
of skill with the blade had already dealt with them. As they explored
the house, they found something that had interested them greatly.
A
large blue bird was preening itself on top of a pair of swords. It
had blood on its beak and talons, telling the pair that the bird had
been in a fight recently. The various gems and shiny objects around
the bird told them what the bird had loved to collect.
"Careful,
Dona, I don't think that bird is going to give up its hoard for
anyone." Donavonn nodded, but David couldn't hear what Donavonn
did. Donavonn heard the two blades beckon to him, asking him to be
their new wielder. It was strange, but Donavonn could feel a kinship
to the blades.
But the figure watching them from the rafters
wasn't smiling.
(Earlier)
Sir Philip Mooncloak, Kensai
of the Void School, was on a mission. Two Alpinland Steel blades had
been stolen, and honor demanded he get them back. He had little
trouble taking out the guards and the thief, but he was now faced
with a whole different problem.
A large blue bird was sitting
on top of the blades, his objective in all of this. "Come now,
little birdie, I need those blades back."
The bird and
its sharp beak had other ideas. Mooncloak yelped and pulled his hand
back, cursing in anger. The bird itself hissed at him loudly as he
stepped back forward. Mooncloak looked over the bird. "You
aren't going to give me those blades, are you?" Mooncloak could
tell by the collection of shiny knickknacks that the bird valued
shiny objects.
But he wasn't about to give up those
blades-his prize- so easily. The bird hissed at him, straightening
out to reveal its length to be as long as the swords in its care.
Mooncloak went after the blades again, only for the bird to react
more violently, clawing at his arm while simultaneously biting at his
face. He staggered back as the bird landed back on the blades.
He
sighed when he heard more footsteps running in, and leapt up to the
rafters. You win this round, bird.
(back in the
present)
Donavonn walked towards the swords, and heard
Kookerloo hiss as he walked towards them. Donavonn, however, had an
idea. "David, you got some of that leftover apple bread?"
David
nodded. "Sure do, why?"
"Hand it over. It is
for the bird." David nodded as he handed over the bread.
Donavonn walked up to the bird, who, for all intents and purposes,
looked quite hungry.
"Now when was the last time someone
fed you, birdy?" Donavonn asked as he broke up the bread into
several pieces, and gently lent his hand to the bird. Kookerloo leapt
onto his wrist, and gratefully began to eat. Donavonn then took the
blades and carefully, with his free hand, stashed them away. "Now
what is your name?"
Donavonn looked at the collar on the
bird, and carefully read it. "Kook-er-loo…Kookerloo?" The
bird chirred up and sat on his shoulder, seemingly happy. David,
meanwhile, collected many of the shiny objects for Kookerloo. David
smiled. "It is a magnificent bird. I think we can take care of
it."
Donavonn smiled. "A dog, a cat, and a bird all
seeing Cumbria together. How odd is THAT?!"
Mooncloak,
meanwhile, cursed mentally. DAMNIT, they managed to get the blades
just with FOOD?! Why the hell didn't I think of that? Well, they win
this time. The blades have other plans, it would appear. I will not
forget you two anytime soon.
But when Mooncloak returned,
the other kensais were there. Kensai Tempest glared at him. "Where
are the swords, Mooncloak? And what happened to your
hand?"
Mooncloak sighed. "I was beaten by a bird!"
All the other kensais laughed at this. After all, Mooncloak wasn't
the easiest to beat. "A bird defeated you?! Of all things? Why
didn't you just offer it some food?"
Mooncloak sighed.
"Because someone else thought of it first. The blades chose one
of them to wield them. Once that happened, you and I both know that
we won't be able to retrieve the blades from them."
Windheart
laughed. "Well, Mooncloak, maybe we'll have to get you some
training on how to deal with wildlife, since it seems to give you so
much trouble!"
(Back at the apartment)
David
plopped down on the couch. "Well, Donavonn, we got the payment,
even if we didn't do a damned thing for it. You got new weapons, and
we have a new ally named Kookerloo." Kookerloo was eating an
apple given to him by Donavonn as Cheshire was scattering the shiny
objects that Kookerloo had collected. It helped both of them relax
when Kookerloo began to sing.
Little did they realize that
their lives would change deeply with the discovery of those two
blades…
END