[h1][center][i][b][color=6ecff6]A rough start to a long journey[/color][/b][/i][/center] [/h1]
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A low groan escaped Diego as he slowly began to come to his senses, a chilling wind biting at his exposed skin. Where was he? The stinging cold was familiar to him, yet the slightly dull throb in the back of his head was new and only clouded his already fogged up mind. As he struggled to gain his wits he began to hear a familiar muffled voice call out to him. Who was that? They sounded a bit worried for some reason. Hesitantly he began to attempt to open his eyes, weakly blinking only to see a blurry figure looking down at him while gently shaking him. After a few more blinks he quickly recognized the animal like ears and smirked slightly. It all soon began to come back to him, the ship, the Royal Navy, the storm. After that it got fuzzy. Another groan escaped Diego before he rested his palm against his forehead. With a few more blinks his vision returned to him and he looked up to his small companion, Rose. She looked down at him with worried red eyes, her furry fox like ears folded back from worry before perking up to see Diego finally regain his consciousness, Diego giving a small smile in amusement to see her tail flick back and forth behind her. With a grunt he pushed himself up, Rose quickly helping him until he was sitting up.

[color=f26522]“Diego! Finally you’re awake, I was starting to get worried,”[/color] she said with a sigh before letting a small smile rest on her face. Her ears folded back as a small gust of wind sent a chill up her spine, quietly regretting not having enough time to put something warmer on. With a shutter she winced before looking over her shoulder to see the last member of their little group, Enzio who was digging through the pockets of a deceased sailor. She frowned a bit, seeing Enzio’s nasty habit in action again before shaking her head. [color=f26522]“Enzio, he’s-”[/color] she was cut off with an unconcerned wave from Enzio while he continued to search for anything valuable. 

[color=9e0039]“I know, I know he’s awake. I told you he was fine, he always is. Old man just needed a nap,”[/color] he said before a small smirk came to his face as he pulled out a small jingling purse from the sailors pockets. With a small chuckle he looked to the two before rising to his full height with his hand resting atop his sheathed sword. [color=9e0039]“You feeling okay, or do you need a few more minutes?”[/color] Diego scoffed with an amused smirk before pushing himself up, Rose by his side silently asking him to rest for another moment. Diego gave her a small smile and patted her shoulder to let her know he was alright. He looked back to Enzio and glanced down to the deceased Sailor before looking back to him with a disapproving look. [color=9e0039]“What?”[/color] he asked in confusion before looking back to the corpse and rolling his eyes. [color=9e0039]“Oh don’t start now, this poor sap don’t need it any more,”[/color] his defense in the deed didn’t seem to work as Diego crossed his arms and nodded towards the body. After a moment Enzio looked to the purse before groaning and tossing it back onto the dead sailors chest.

Diego nodded in approval before looking down to Rose who was carrying his musket and the rest of his equipment. [color=007236]“Thank you Rose,”[/color] he said before taking his gear and patting her head, earning a small wag of her tail before looking to Enzio. [color=007236]“What’s the damage so far? Are there any other survivors?”[/color] he asked before checking his rifle. Enzio nodded and jabbed a thumb behind him. 

[color=9e0039]“Well ships been wrecked since whoever was at the wheel can’t steer worth a damn. As for the others there are some people still alive around the wreckage,”[/color] Diego leaned to look over him to see a decent chunk of the ship behind him. Diego scanned their surroundings with a small frown as the beach they crashed on didn’t look like a nice one, the rocky surface looking unpleasant to walk along and the large spires of obsidian peeking over from the crashed ship. A small sigh escaped him before he looked back to Rose, noticing her bare feet exposed to the snowy ground. 

[color=007236]“Where are your boots?”[/color] he questioned with a bit of concern. Rose looked down and her ears folded back again before looking to the sea. Diego followed her gaze and pieced it together before shaking his head. [color=007236]“Nevermind, lets just meet up with whoever is left,”[/color] he suggested before checking his gear one final time. The three began to make their way towards the other survivors, Rose taking the lead as she quickly hopped from rock to rock with ease. Diego and Enzio on the other hand gradually made their way after her, Enzio muttering in slight annoyance as he silently wished they crashed on a nice warm sandy beach. Soon the two caught up to Rose as she was crouched atop some debris and looked to see Charlotte addressing their remaining crew. Enzio scoffed as she tried to raise the moral before muttering something about how they should have picked a better route, but he was quickly silenced by a small tab on the side of the head from Diego’s back hand who kept his eyes on Charlotte.

The three of them silently stood together, scanning the are to see what they could do to help, but Rose paused before sniffing the air, her right ear twitching slightly. Meanwhile the other two looked around to see a few familiar faces, Diego spotting Everlid picking herself up and Enzio seeing Hourus going around giving people hugs before feeling a shiver travel up his spine as he hoped he didn’t come his way to offer him a hug. Before either of them could interact with the rest of their crew the familiar sound of gunfire filled the air and instantly the three ducked into cover, Rose barely dodging a bullet as it flew over her head. Diego slid down behind a rock before cocking the hammer on his musket, Enzio rolled behind a bit of debris with his sword drawn and finally Rose fell between the two, lowering herself close to the ground to keep her out of their attackers sights. [color=9e0039]“Hey Pup, why didn’t you call out these bastards!? That nose not working or something!?”[/color] Enzio shouted before another round crashed against his cover. 

Rose narrowed his eyes towards Enzio and growled in annoyance, her sharp canines showing. [color=f26522]“The air is filled with smoke and salt water, don’t start with me!”[/color] she barked back before ducking her head down as another shot went over her. 

[color=007236]“Enough! We have work to do!”[/color] he shouted before looking to Rose and giving her a nod. She nodded and pulled out a smoke bomb before looking between the two. [color=007236]“Remember you two, no stunts and keep moving,”[/color] he ordered, looking at both of them with a stern gaze before they answered with a firm nod. After a few more shots flying over Rose tossed the smoke bomb over their cover and the three sprang into action, the three of them leaping over their cover and spreading out. Diego quickly moved from cover to cover with his head down. Rose pounced from rock to rock on all fours, her moves quick and efficient as she gradually made her way towards their attackers. Finally Enzio charged forward with his sword and curved dagger drawn, not following his companions lead in keeping it safe and instead focusing on getting up close and personal with his opponents. 

Rose was the first to meet the enemy, two pirate hunters who both attempted to blast her away with their rifles, but to their surprise she rolled out of the way and lunged towards the two while drawing her dagger. She reached the first pirate hunter as he yelped in surprise and slashed her dagger along his chest and earning her a howl from her target before he fell back with a small spray of blood. Her ears twitched as she heard a blade leave it’s sheath and snapped her head back to the other pirate hunter as he drew his blade and lunged towards her with a roar. Quickly she sidestepped his attack, her blade scraping along his and sending a few sparks flying. She then jumped behind him, leaped onto his back and in quick work slit his throat before jumping off and landing atop a rock. The man fell dead to the ground and with heavy breathing Rose wiped a bit of blood from her cheek before hearing the click of a freshly loaded musket. Without looking to the source she dived forward and rolled behind another rock, barely managing to dodge the bullet. 

“Damn I missed! Get that thing!” a voice barked and earning a snarl of frustration from Rose. She heard the rapid set of footsteps head her way and readied herself to attack. Though as a young pirate hunter rounded the cover with his rifle at the ready to fire a shot filled the air and he fell back with a yelp. Rose looked to the fallen hunter before looking back to see Diego with his musket raised and smoking. He gave her a nod and fell back into cover to reload and avoid a few more rounds. Rose smiled in relief before hearing a familiar voice shouting out.

[color=9e0039]“Stop shooting at me and just let me cut you!”[/color] Enzio shouted from a distance. Rose rolled her eyes and peeked out of her cover to see him running away from the enemy as he tried his best to avoid their bullets. Enzio cursed and shouted slurs towards the enemy as he ran away, a few yelps as some rounds pinged and flew over him. Soon he finally dived over some cover and grunted in annoyance as he rolled onto his back. [color=9e0039]“Son of a bitch! I hate guns!”[/color] he declared with heavy breathing before looking up to see Hourus. [color=9e0039]“Hey there,”[/color] he greeted before letting out a small groan and crawled to a rock beside him. “Hey Pup! Can you be useful for once and throw another smoke bomb!?” he shouted out.

[color=f26522]“You're to far so bite me!”[/color] she shouted back and earned a groan from Enzio as he rested his sword and dagger on his lap before resting his head against the rock. He wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing for now so all he could do now was not get shot while he silently wished he had a drink for this long day.