[quote=The King of Thieves and his scaredy-bird companion][color=red]"This is all very fun but Cassim, buddy, friend, don't you think it'd be just a wee bit smart to GET THE HECK OUTTA H-mrfgle."[/color] Cassim silenced Iago by holding the bird's beak shut, and shot him the sort of look a parent would give a small child to be stern.

[color=035096]"Apologies for my friend's rudeness. We wouldn't want to attract the attention of the locals now, would we Iago?"[/color][/quote]

"No--" Lock started.

"--We--" Shock continued.

"--Wouldn't," Barrel finished.

They listened as Cassim answered their questions and nodded. All three of them immediately took in Iago's fear and discomfort, and honed in on it.

"You could always eat him," Shock suggested, sweetly. She grinned widely to show her sharp teeth. "[i]Then[/i] he'd be good for something!"

Barrel licked his lips.

"Not much [i]to[/i] eat, though."

"You would know, greedy-guts!" Lock said.

"Hey!"

Barrel turned to smack him, but lost his balance and collapsed back into the tub. The event ignited the wicked laughter of his siblings. Lock calmed down after a moment and eyed Iago carefully.

"Maybe if we boiled him in a soup..."

"Blech," Shock said. "He'd still be too watered down."

Her brothers nodded in agreement. The trio settled down as the stranger introduced himself as a king. Lock, Shock, and Barrel watched him carefully as he shook Jack's hand. Their eyes lit up in wonder as he held up the cufflink, and finished his sentence.

A thief king? One who dared to steal from [i]Jack[/i], a line even [i]they[/i] rarely crossed?

Shock held up her mask to keep the King of Thieves and his bird companion from seeing her lips as she whispered something to Barrel, whose loud giggles spoke enough to whatever it was his sister told him. She then repeated it to Lock. All three of them gave a single nod in agreement, before they turned back to Cassim.

"How did--"

"--You--"

"--Do that?"