Familiar Vows

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

11/07/1999:

I sat on the floor, my legs folded under myself and my tail
draped over my paws as I watched Fox go through the slow and
controlled motions of a sword fight. Terminus was holding a
second sword, leading my husband in the exercise.

They were doing this in the gym, one of the larger rooms in
the house that Ravindar had converted for my training. With
soft mats, and abundant clearance it was the best place for
them to work on Fox's skill with a blade, and it was a
blade. Both of them were using real swords, with only some
minor padding to prevent wounds.

Terminus moved with a grace that seemed out of place on the
large mongrel canine. His firm body moved like water,
sweeping and bending with the blade as it sliced through the
air. The man had spent most of his life training and living
as a knight on a fairly medieval world, and had never let
his skill slip after Fox had brought him to Prid.

My husband, on the other paw, had to work hard to keep from
cutting his own fingers off. It had been over a year and a
half since he had any training with a sword, and it showed.
The gleam of sweat that covered his skin reveled just how
long it had been since he had done any real training at all.

At least he was trying to get back into shape; he had
started to develop a small gut since the founding of the
shipyard, and I wanted to see it slip away before it grew
any larger. I'm sure he felt the same way, even though he
protested that he liked his weight.

Our two shadows stood a few feet away, flanking the door to
the room. Ravindar looked a bit amused at the actions of his
charge, but hid it well. Santhara was less generous, and
seemed to be holding back the occasional laugh.

The two of them were starting to form up as a respectable
couple, even if Ravindar seemed a little clumsy when he
tried to be romantic, but at least he was trying. I thought
it was sweet, and I had offered to help him in any way that
I could.

Fox pulled his sword back, finishing the current set of
moves. It had been his sixth time through them today, and
the first without a major flaw.

Terminus smiled, his jowls pulling up slightly as he nodded
to Fox, "Much better."

My husband nodded, resting his sword on the ground and
wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Wish we started with
these, instead of the sparring," he said, panting softly.

The large dog shrugged, "I thought you were in better
shape."

"So did I," he replied.

Terminus chuckled and fished through his pockets, coming out
with a half smoked cigar. He clamped it in his muzzle, but
in keeping with the house rules didn't light it. "You will
be again soon enough, and I'll make sure to bring the
practice swords next time."

My husband nodded, running his hands through his black hair.
"That would be appreciated."

"I would also like to see what your skills are like in your
other forms. I suspect that the added agility they posses
would be a great asset to you in a fight."

Fox sat down on the mat, rubbing his left shoulder. "I'll
arrange it some time," he replied with a wince of pain.

I stood up, and walked across the mat. Dropping down to sit
behind my husband, I started to gently rub his shoulders
through his sweat soaked shirt.

He let out a soft purr, hunching his shoulders slightly as
he began to relax. After a moment he lifted his hand, and
placed it gently on my paw. "I love you, hon," he whispered.

"I love you, too," I replied as he turned his head to kiss
me. It was a change from a few days before. The coldness had
melted from him, leaving him his warm self again. The kiss
was strong, and his touch felt good.

Fox pulled back and started to tug at his shirt, tugging the
damp fabric from where it clung to his skin. "I better get
cleaned up before I get you all wet."

I giggled softly. "Is that an invitation?" I whispered in to
his ear.

He smirked and pulled us both to our feet. "Next time," he
promised. "I think I just want to sit in a warm bath for a
few hours."

I nodded, tweaking his left ear. "I have some bath oils, you
might want to give them a try."

"I will, love," he said with a purr, kissing me softly on
the lips before pulling away.

I watched him walk across the mats, his legs wobbling with
each step. Terminus was at his side a moment later, helping
him along. I started to follow after them, but came up short
after a few steps as Samantha stepped into the room. She
glanced at me for a second before turning her attention to
my husband as he walked past her, Ravindar following behind.

She shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave the room.

I jumped forward and said, "Samantha, could I talk with
you?"

The young woman came to a sudden stop, and slumped her
shoulders as she turned back to face me. She looked for all
the world like a child who had been caught doing something
that she shouldn't. "Yes Oriana?" she asked, pulling herself
back up as she spoke.

By now Santhara was the only other person in the room, and
was waiting next to the door, watching with a curious look.

"I have something I need to show you," I told her.

Her fabric tail twitched in annoyance, brushing against the
floor behind her. "All right," she said, a touch of worry in
her voice.

"Come with me," I said as I walked past her and into the
hallway. With only a glance over my shoulder to be sure that
she was following, I headed towards the disused wing of the
house. My heart was pounding in my throat as I moved, but I
kept my anxiety out of my tail. If I was right, by the end
of the day I would have fully returned to the Guild.

The wing was made up of nearly empty rooms, with a few
pieces of furniture that the previous occupants had left
behind. Kalle was the only person who had residence in this
wing, and she was talking about moving closer to everyone
else. The last room in the hall was used for the storage of
Becky's old things, but no one ever went in there.

I stopped in front of a door half way down the hallway. It
was closed, and unlike the rest of the doors, locked. I took
a moment to open it for the human. As she went inside
Santhara took up her position outside the door, where she
stood when I came to this room. This time I shook my head
and motioned for her to come in as well.

This was my private room, a place I could go that only I
knew about. Fox knew that I had it, but had never tried to
find it, as far as I could tell. It was a place to go when I
wanted to be alone, away from even my husband. It was also
the best place to keep information about the Guild.

"What's going on?" Samantha asked as I shut the door behind
us.

"You'll see," I told her as I walked across the mostly empty
room. Two small documents hung on one wall, one for each of
my entries into the Guild. This was the only place I felt
comfortable displaying them. The only furniture was a pair
of soft chairs and a table by the window, which was loaded
down with books. Books also filled one of the chairs...
along with a couple other items that I should have hidden
before I brought another person in, but I had forgotten
about them.

I did my best to hide my embarrassment about the toys as I
walked to the table and picked up a trio of data PADDS.

I turned on the top one, and unlocked the data on it with my
thumbprint. I turned back around and walked back to the
human, holding the PADD out for her. "Is this him?" I asked.

"What? she asked me before she cast her eyes down to the
PADD. They narrowed to tight slits as she focused on the
image it was displaying as her face started to contort. "Oh
yes, that's him," she said, her tail starting to flick with
anger.

"Who is it?" my bodyguard asked, her curiosity getting the
better of her as she looked over Samantha's shoulder.

"Dillen Serina," the young women said through clenched
teeth. "How did you find the son of a bitch?"

"It was easy enough--there was a contract on his head," I
replied. "It took a few days to track him down, but I know
where he is."

She nodded, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket and into
her mouth. Before I could say anything she summoned a small
ball of fire and lit it. "Shit, where is he?" she asked.

"I take it you want to come along?" I asked, knowing what
the answer would be.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, smoke trailing from her lips.
"I'm going to rip him to pieces!"

I shook my head. "It's my contract, I'm the one who has to
kill him."

Her eyes narrowed as she finally looked up from the PADD,
glaring hard at me. "What the hell do you mean, you're the
one who has to kill him? You know what he did to me!"

I nodded, "And that is why I recognized his name. But this
is my job; killing him is my job. I couldn't get access to
the full information unless I took the contract, and I am
now obligated to carry it out."

Her eyes flashed with anger as she glared at me, glowing
anger spreading over her face. "What the hell are you, an
assassin?

Santhara stepped forward and set her paw on my shoulder,
pressing gently against me. "Yes, she is. As am I," she said
the words with more pride than I would have.

The young woman gulped, and glanced at the burning cigarette
in her hand. "I see," she said, looking around for a place
to put it out.

"I would like your help with this. I can't let you kill him,
but I could use you help."

She snorted, finally settling for lifting her foot, and
grinding out the foul-smelling thing on the sole of the
shoe. "Why? Your guard here seems to be the better choice--
keep it in the company, as it were."

"She is an apprentice, I cannot aid her," Santhara
explained.

Samantha tilted her head, looking a bit relieved as she
said, "So you're new at this?"

"Something like that," I replied.

"So why did you take this contract... trying to get on my
good side?"

I shook my head, reaching out to the PADD and scrolling it
slightly. "Because of this," I told her as I tapped the
screen.

She looked down at the PADD, her lips narrowing as she read.
I could tell when she got to the pertinent section when the
blood drained from her face. It was the same reaction I had
to the detailed description of what the man had done to a
young girl he had found in a private home. The girl was
dead. He had killed her, but only after torturing and raping
her first.

Samantha turned the PADD and shook her head. "I'm going to
help, but I want to watch the son of a bitch die."

"Deal," I replied.

* * *

11/09/1999:

Very few things in this world take little to no planning,
and you just can't run off at the drop of a hat when the
moment takes you. This is even more true when one has
children, especially as I couldn't take them along with me.

Fox knew where I was going, but that was a given. I wouldn't
leave for anything without him knowing how to find me. If I
wasn't back in two days, he would send in the cavalry. Not
that it would matter; with Samantha and Santhara at my side,
if I didn't make it home, there probably wouldn't be any
need of a rescue.

But I had a plan. Samantha was going along with it, and Fox
had given me his blessing, even if not his permission. Our
departure was quite, neither one of us said much to each
other. He did accept the new location of my Guild badge,
under my left sleeve instead of over my heart.

We said our parting words, both of us hoping that it
wouldn't be the last time. Fox looked a little pained as he
watched me open the fold, but held himself back as the three
of us stepped through the fold.

As the light cleared we found ourselves in a small storage
room. Boxes of canned food and bottles of wine lined the
wall. I punched the buttons on the controller, closing the
fold behind us as I took the place in.

"Nice place," Samantha commented as she started to riffle
through the boxes of wine. "It wasn't what I was expecting,
but they have a nice selection."

"This is where we should be, but we aren't here to shop," I
said as I walked to the single door in the room. Cracking it
open, I peeked out into the hallway to find an undecorated
corridor, the kind you would find in the back of any hotel.
Which was good, because that is exactly where we were
supposed to be. "Looks clear," I told my friends as I pulled
the door open and stepped through.

"Where are we?" Santhara asked as she followed right behind
me.

"The Grand Psion Hotel," I replied, "They know about the
fold, so they won't question our arrival that much, but I
would rather you didn't steal their stock."

She nodded, "On the way back then," she said with half a
smile as we walked down the hallway. After a moment we found
our selves in the hotel kitchen. One of the workers, a
petite wolf who came up to the top of my chin smiled as she
saw us, and hurried over. "Hello there, what are you doing
here?"

"We just came through," I replied, motioning back the way we
came with my paw.

The wolf nodded, craning her head to look at my friends. "So
I see. This is the first time this has happened on my watch,
so I'm not quite sure what to do."

"I could use some help with the phone. I may be able to
speak the language, but I can't read it." I said with a
small shrug, feeling a bit sheepish at the admission.

The wolf smiled and vigorously nodded her head. "Of course,
if you and your friends would come with me, I'll take you to
the phone."

"Thank you," I said and followed her back down the way we
had come. Soon she and I were in a small room, and she
dialed the phone for me as I rattled off the phone number.

"Who is this?" a very male voice said on the other end of
the phone.

"Mr. Serina?" I asked.

There was a pause on the other end of the line before a
response came. "That is me."

I smiled and gave Samantha a thumbs up, "I've heard about
you, Mr. Serina, and I am interested in your services to
retrieve an item that has fallen into... the incorrect
hands."

He chuckled, "You may call me Dillen. My aid is not cheap,
but if you are willing to pay the price, I would be
interested in talking to you."

"I can afford your price, and say... ten percent of the cost
of my item. This needs to be done quickly and discreetly...
could we meet tonight?"

"Of course," he replied, sounding very pleased with himself.
"Meet me at Dingo's in two hours. I'll be the human in the
back of the bar, by the music machine."

I smiled and gave a nod to the look that Samantha gave me.
"I'll be the lioness," I told him before replacing the
receiver.

"We've got him," I said as I turned to face my friends.

Samantha smiled, leaning back against the wall as she pulled
out a cigarette. "Good!" she said, almost bouncing on her
toes.

I turned to face the wolf, smiling presently to her. "Now,
how do we get to Dingo's?"

* * *

Dingo's was not a place I would take anyone to. It was a
dingy little biker bar on the outskirts of a large
industrial area. There probably wasn't anyone else around
for miles, and the whole place had a smell like wet paper.
It was the perfect location for this meeting.

As the three of us approached the door of the bar, I could
feel the eyes of the dozen men that stood outside as they
followed our every step. This was not the place one normally
found a woman that wasn't dressed in leather. At the door I
turned to face my friends. "Well, this is where we have to
split up." I said.

Santhara nodded, she knew this was coming. She had to stay
outside, to insure she didn't help me. Samantha, on the
other paw, had a small side trip she needed to perform.

The young human adjusted herself and smiled at me. "I'll see
you in a few minutes," she said as she spun on her heel,
walking briskly away from the bar. I suspected she would
have no problem finding the clothing that we needed.

I took a deep breath, feeling myself begin to shake. I
balled my paws into fists and tried to control myself. I
could feel my bodyguard's paw on my shoulder, squeezing
gently. "You'll be fine," she told me.

"Thanks," I replied, wishing I felt as confident in my
abilities as she did. I let out a long breath and I flicked
my ears up, tucked my tail against my leg and pulled my
trench coat tight around myself as I stepped inside.

The inside was worse than the outside. Dark, damp, and
smelling of sweat. The floor crunched under my bare paws
from Thryn knows what, and the wood under it was sticky,
pulling at my pads. No place on my world would ever allow
its floor to be kept in such shape; it would have been a
health risk. For myself I wished there was enough light to
see by, so I could watch my step.

Even in that light I could still see my prey, a handsome
human who was relaxing in the back corner. His blond curly
hair framed his face and seemed to glow in the weak light.
He was dressed in sharp clothing that made him stand out
even more. He looked professional, like he had just stepped
out of an office.

He saw me and smiled, motioning for me to come to him. I
moved gladly, a small smile on my muzzle as I keep one paw
near my needler. He pushed out a chair with his foot as I
approached, and I gladly sat on it.

"Dillen?" I asked as I rested my paws on the table. I
regretted it instantly. The surface was sticky enough that I
wondered if I would be able to pull them free.

He nodded. "That is me, but I do not believe that I caught
your name," he said with a smile, showing off damn near
perfect teeth. Samantha was right, he was someone I would be
willing to follow into hell if he asked, I was glad I knew
better.

"Magenta," I replied, using an alias that I had used back
when I had run around the multi-verse with Fox. "I'm pleased
that you could meet with me on such short notice."

"My pleasure. Your offer intrigued me, but I need to know
how you have heard of me," he asked, leaning forward
slightly over the dirty tabletop.

I shrugged. "In my business you hear a lot, and you once
removed a few items from a vault that was under a former
lover's control. So when my husband took a few of my items
with him when he left, you were the logical choice of who to
call."

Dillen chuckled and folded his hands together. "I see, so
you are familiar with my skills and abilities. That is very
good, it saves us some time. So what exactly are the items
that I will be retrieving for you, Miss Magenta?"

I smiled back at him and leaned forward. "Item, just one
small thing, an artifact from the Nisqually home world," not
that I knew if such a place existed, Fox had given it to me
as a world that didn't exist, so I could use it with
impunity. "It's a fertility goddess. My ex doesn't need it,
and had no right to take it."

He smirked slightly, "And what have you hidden inside the
goddess that makes it so valuable."

"Nothing, the artifact is rare, and worth quite a bit,
otherwise it wouldn't be under lock and key." I replied.

Dillen nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "What kind of
vault are we looking at here? What kind of security does the
building have?"

"It's a private home, located about twenty miles away from
here. The house is part of a gated community, which will
slow down the cops if you trigger an alarm," I said, making
it up as I went along.

He chuckled and shook his head slightly, "I don't trigger
alarms," he said. "Is it in a vault?"

"It's a safe in the back room, comes up to right about here
on me," I said, hold my paw at chest level. "Two dials and
two handles."

His eyes locked for a moment on my breasts, and he started
to smirk, clearly liking what he was seeing. "Sounds simple
enough. I'm familiar with the model, but have never seen one
that measures up to such a beautiful woman as yourself."

I had to stop myself from laughing. Instead I raised a paw
and used it to cover my muzzle, acting like I was
embarrassed. I doubted he was interested in me as a person,
but if he liked my body it would make the rest of the night
go easier.

Dillen smiled at this and leaned forward, brushing his
fingers through my hair. "Don't be shy. You have a pretty
smile, you really shouldn't hide it like that," he said,
touching my paw with his fingers and pushing it down.

"Are you hitting on me?" I asked, pulling my ears back as I
glanced away, looking as shy as possible.

He nodded, leaning a bit closer to me, close enough that I
could feel his breath moving the fur of my face. "It's hard
not to with a lady like you," he whispered.

I giggled, turning away slightly and covering my face again.
This was to easy for me. I was just falling back on my
skills as a whore. The joys of working in the oldest
profession in the multi-verse. "Will you knock off some of
the price?" I said through my fingers, giving him a wanton
look.

He smirked, and nodded with relaxed the ease of a man who
had just gotten what he wanted, and had fully expected to
get.

"We have to do it tonight, both the job... and... the other
things," I blushed again, but smiled slightly.

The human nodded and folded his hands together. "Then we
should go," he said.

I stood up and offered him my paw, "Let's slip out back...
we can have some fun there."

He stood up, and using my paw pulled me in close, wrapping
his arm around my back, his hand groping my ass as we
started towards the back door of the bar.

I fell into the familiar role of the bimbo, brushing my tail
against his leg as we walked. He reached up with his other
hand and undid the first few buttons of my blouse, pulling
it open to reveal my fabric-covered breasts. His hand
slipped over my shoulder and deftly unhooked my bra; as we
neared the door his hand was back on my front, pulling the
undergarment free, exposing my chest to the air.

He was happily pawing my breasts as I opened the door, a
deep purr rumbling from inside of me. The funny thing was he
was crude about it, all power but with no style. Fox was a
hundred times better at this. Hell most of my John's were as
well. But given that, I had to admit that I was enjoying it.

We nearly fell out of the door and into the dirty back alley
behind the bar. As the door shut, Dillen spun me around and
pressed me up against the wall. In a moment his mouth was
against my muzzle as his free hand started to pull down the
front of my skirt, his other hand still manhandling my
breasts.

Playing my part to the fullest I pulled myself closer, close
enough that I could feel the tightness of his pants as I
fumbled with the buttons. It came as a great relief to me
when from behind us I heard Samantha say, "Am I interrupting
something?"

Dillen grunted and pulled his face away from me, "Go away,
we're busy," he snapped.

I smirked and placed my paws on his chest and with a hard
shove forced him a few feet away. He looked startled as I
took my own step forward, my needler slipping into my paw
and pointing at his chest.

He looked surprised at this turn of events; his ego--and
other parts of him--deflated as I watched. "What the hell?"
he snarled.

"Dillen, I have someone here who would like to meet you," I
said, taking a step to the side. My breasts were still
hanging free in the cold night air, but I didn't want to do
anything about them until I was sure that he wouldn't try to
attack me.

Samantha took my cue and walked around to stand next to me,
a smile on her face. "Hello, hon. Miss me?" she asked, her
gun in her hand. The clothing I had sent her for was tucked
under her arm.

He blinked in surprise as his eyes flicked from her to me,
then back to her. "Samantha? I thought you were dead!"

She snorted, "As always, you think too much of yourself and
your abilities," she said.

"You can say that again," I added, motioning for him to move
so his back was to the wall. He did so, but I could see his
hand drifting towards his belt. "Keep your hands up nice and
high, hon, no surprises."

He snorted and did as I ordered, glaring at me the whole
time. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I want you to strip," Samantha ordered with a smirk.

Dillen blinked in surprise as I took a step forward, shoving
my paw against his pants. I wasn't surprised to find a small
pistol hidden inside. I pulled the gun free and shoved it
into the waistband of my skirt as I stepped back.

"Now," Samantha said, "let's see some skin."

He looked between the two of us, shaking his head in
disbelief. "Are you kidding me? What the hell are you trying
to do?"

"Not trying, doing. Now get to it!" I snapped as I flicked
my needler towards him.

He nodded, and shrugged his jacket off, dropping it to the
ground as he fumbled with his shirt. He was having trouble
getting the buttons free of the fabric.

"Rip the shirt off if you have to," my partner ordered.

The man nodded, gulping as he pulled his shirt open, the
buttons popping free and flying all over the alley. He
dropped it on the ground and started to work at his pants.
While his hands were occupied I tucked my breasts back into
my blouse, not bothering to put them back in the bra, and
closed it back up.

"Happy?" he asked as he stepped out of the pants, leaving
himself in only his briefs.

"Yes," Samantha said, and threw the clothing she had
obtained at him. "Put these on."

He frowned, bending down to pick up the clothing with two
fingers, wrinkling his nose at the strong smell of piss and
vomit that radiated from them. "Where did you get these, off
a bum?"

My friend laughed and nodded her head. "Yep. A really nasty
one, too. Now put them on!"

He frowned, but did as he was told, stepping into the
stained pants, pulling them up his legs with a look of
distaste of his face. "What is the point of this?" he
demanded as he shrugged into the dirty shirt, it left
smudges on his face from where it touched his skin.

"Around here, no one would question finding a dead bum," I
explained.

Dillen snorted, "You killed someone for these things?
Samantha, that's not like you," he scolded as he adjusting
the clothing. Amazingly they looked better on him than I
imagined they would on anyone else.

"No, no, no," I replied as I looked around the alley and
noticed a can of something a few feet away. "Go pick that up
and take a bath," I said, pointing at it.

He looked pale, as he finally understood what was going on.
"No! You have got to be kidding! You are not going to kill
me!" his voice started to rise as he spoke, the reality of
the situation starting to set in.

"Yes, I am," I said, smiling at him feeling strangely
detached from the whole situation as I finally declared my
intent.

He froze up, looking at me with shock and anger on his face.
While he was distracted, Samantha walked over to the can.
She picked it up in one hand then spun around, throwing the
contents in his face. He gasped and took a step back,
sputtering the dirty liquid out of his mouth. A moment later
the butt of her gun smashed into his perfect teeth, breaking
three of them off.

Dillen groaned, and sputtered out blood as he stumbled back,
tripped over his own feet and fell hard on the ground,
looking dazed. Samantha took the opportunity to dump the
rest of the can on his head, letting the muck drip down his
face.

"Don't do this," he gasped, his speech slurred, lifting his
hand. "I can pay you."

Samantha laughed, "This is payment," she said, taking a few
steps back, leaving him laying there and me standing across
from him.

He looked up at me, wiping the blood from his face with the
sleeve of his shirt. It left more of a mess than it cleaned.
"Please don't kill me," he said, starting to beg.

I shook my head and leveled the needler at him. "Why? You
killed that kid last year. Why shouldn't I give you the same
amount of respect?" I let that sink in for a moment as I
watched him. I smiled slightly as his eyes went wide as he
put things together. "Goodbye," I said, and pressed the
firing stud, sending three needles into his chest. His eyes
bulged out as the poison flooded his system, then he slumped
sideways as all of his bodily functions ceased and his own
waste filled his pants.

Realty snapped back into focus as my breathing started to
come in short, quick gulps. "Go," I ordered Samantha, "Go
back home. I have something to do here," I said, fighting
back my gag reflex.

She paused for a moment, a large smile on her face as she
looked down at the body. "Can I just have a moment or two to
savor this?" she asked.

I shook my head as I put my weapon away. "I need to get
visual proof that I did this, so it would be best if you're
out of view when I take it."

She frowned, then let out a sigh. I had told her all of this
beforehand, but I could understand how she might forget.
"All right, but I want copies of the pictures, got it?"

"Fine, fine," I said, waving her off, I really wanted her to
leave before I lost the contents of my stomach.

Samantha looked down at the body once more and then turned
away, stalking off into the night, her cloth tail swishing
happily behind her as she vanished into the night.

I turned away as soon as she was gone and started to take a
series of long deep breaths. "I will not puke," I whispered
to myself, repeating it as a mantra as I regained some of my
composure.

Once I was reasonably stable I stood up and fished the Zip
camera out of my coat pocket. I tossed the small disk into
the air, and felt the flash as it took a three hundred sixty
degree picture in both visible light and infrared. It also
snagged the life signs of anyone in range. All this happened
in just under a second, and when it was finished it dropped
back into my paw. I tucked it away and pulled out a small
knife, rubber gloves and a small plastic bag. For this kill
I would need more than a picture.

Another three minutes of work and I had the requested pound
of flesh put away in the bag, and my paws were still clean,
at least of the real blood. Brushing them along my pants I
stood up and walked away from the body. As soon as I was
past the alley Santhara fell in at my side. "How you doing?"
she asked.

"Not that good," I replied, touching my stomach.

She nodded, and fished out a flask from her pants. "Here,
have a drink of this," she said, offering it to me.

I took it from her, unscrewing the cap and taking a long
drink. It wasn't alcohol, and had a slightly bitter taste,
but when it hit my stomach I could feel it start to settle.
"What is this?" I asked, closing the lid.

"It's something for my stomach after I do a job. Thirty-
three kills in my life and it still makes me ill," she said
as she took the flask back.

I nodded, "Four myself, two for the Guild," I said with a
long sigh. "I'm surprised that it still gets to you."

She laughed and shook her head. "You never get over it, at
least not and stay sane. If you forget that these are
people, you became cold about it, casual. We're murderers,
there is nothing nice about it." she said.

I let out a sigh and nodded my head. "I need to get cleaned
up, and not just physically," I said, anticipating the
Cleansing I would soon be taking at the Temple back home.

"If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here," she
offered.

"Thank you, I may need your help. You can come with me to
the Temple if you like. I would like to take Fox, but it
will be a few days and one of us needs to be home." I said
as we walked.

She nodded, "I remember from last time."

We lapsed into silence for a few moments as we padded along
the dark street, waiting for a taxi to come by.

Santhara broke the silence, "Oh, and Oriana?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"You did a good job," she said.

I smiled in spite of myself. "Thanks," I said, both pleased
at her praise, and a little worried that I was. I guess at
this point there wasn't much to worry about. This was my job
now. As an assassin, I had every right to be a little proud
of it, just as long as I didn't let it go to my head, and
kept the proper respect for those whom I had to kill and
what it did to my soul.

--------

This story is copyright 2004 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.