Shayde's Story Chapter 2
#2 of Shades of Grey
Shayde sighed as the hot, clean water washed the grime out of his coat. It felt good to be clean again, he though. The black portions of his fur now gleamed with a glossy sheen, and his previously muddy yellow body and legs were now restored to their former sandy colour. He switched off the water, and was reminded of his whereabouts, when the tap, instead of staying on the wall like it was supposed to do, fell off, bouncing off his foot and clunking to the tiles. Pain flared his is paw, and he grabbed the injured extremity, nursing it until the pain vanished, whining softly.
Pulling back the grimy shower curtain, he looked around for a towel. A cold draught wrapped around his wet body, making him shiver slightly. Heating obviously wasn't on the list of important things in this inn, he mused. A quick look around the tiny room revealed that there was no towel to be found. He growled in frustration, and remembered seeing one in the main room. He dragged the excess water from his well-built but lithe body, and then approached the door. As he was about to open it, he heard a noise on the other side. Peering through the tiny crack to the side, he saw something that sent a shiver of anger down his spine.
There was someone in his room. Not only that, they had grabbed his discarded pants in their hands, with the bandana flicked over their shoulder. The person, a dog with brown floppy ears, had his back to Shayde. A very dumb thing to do, he mused. Silently, he opened the door and entered the room. The intruder didn't notice, and was now doing through the pockets of his pants. Shayde glided over to the bed and grabbed his katana, drawing the blade silently, as his training had taught him. The intruder had finished going through his pockets, and had dropped them at his feet, now focusing on the bandana, fondling the silky folds. Shayde ghosted up behind him and quickly swung his blade up, settling it against the intruder's exposed neck, wrapping his other arm around the intruder's torso. The dog stiffened immediately, folding his ears back in fear.
'Who are you, and what the hell are you doing in my room?' he growled into the dog's ear, pressing the blade for emphasis.
'P...please. Don't kill me!' whined the dog. 'I'm just here to drop off some food, c...compliments of the manager.' He extended a shaking arm and pointed to a rickety table, where a bowl of steaming stew stood, filling the room with its delightful scent. A hunk of cheese stood by it. Shayde grimaced. He hated cheese.
'What were you doing with my things?' he demanded. A bead of blood oozed down the blade as he pressed the blade down harder, causing the dog to whine again. He pointed again, this time at a pile of dirty clothes by the door. 'I...I'm just collecting the laundry.'
Shayde could feel the dog's pulse through his neck. He wasn't lying. He lowered his blade and released the dog, sheathing his katana and tossing it back on the bed. The dog sagged in relief, and then turned to face him. He was, it transpired, a beagle, about Shayde's own age, but with an odd pattern of markings. He had a mop of black hair on his head, and his bright green eyes were looking Shayde up and down a few times, taking him in. Shayde turned around to face him, and a blush crept into the beagle's cheeks. Shayde wondered what caused this, until he realised he was still completely naked, the tip of his member peeping out of him sheath from the adrenaline. Quickly, he looked around the room, snatched up the towel from the chair by the bathroom door, and tied it firmly around his waist, hiding his plump sheath and sac from the beagle's gaze. The beagle, denied of more staring, returned his gaze to Shayde's face.
'What's your name?' he asked. The beagle swallowed. 'Ace,' he replied. 'Just 'Ace'.'
'Well, Ace, I'm sorry about all that. You wouldn't believe how many times I've found people in my rooms before.' He folded his arms over his chest ‘I don't know why, though.'
'I do,' murmured Ace, still eyeing Shayde and the slight bulge in the towel, so quietly Shayde didn't hear him. He pointed to the bandana still clutched in Ace's paw. 'I need that back, by the way,' he said.
Ace looked at the bandana. 'But it's filthy, and,' he brought the fabric to his nose and inhaled, drawing it away again quickly, wrinkling his nose, 'it stinks! As are your pants.' He nudged the pants with his foot.
Shayde smiled and took the bandana off him. He picked up the pants and rubbed them down with the bandana. As he did so, all the dirt and grime clung to the red material, leaving the pants as clean as if they were brand new. Then, he shook the bandana a few times. The dust dropped off instantly, leaving the material as clean as the pants. Ace's jaw dropped open. Shayde chuckled at the astonished beagle. The material was a special type that both attracted and repelled dirt, which allowed Shayde to travel with minimal clothing.
He put the clothes on the bed, and picked up the cheese.
'Do you want this?' he asked Ace. 'I don't like cheese.' The beagle's eyes lit up, and he took the cheese with a grin. Shayde turned around to take off the towel. Before he did, he noticed Ace was still there, staring at him.
'You can go now, you know.'
Ace blushed and backed out of the room, closing the door as he went. Shayde chuckled again, and got dressed, ready to explore the town to fulfil his job, the details of which were fresh in his mind.
It was late at night when he received the call. Someone wanted him to find a criminal who was causing more than the usual amount of trouble. This person was responsible for many thefts around the area. Shayde wasn't too keen on the idea of hunting a thief. He was a bounty-hunter after all. Small game like this was for the amateurs, not pros like him. However, this thief was different. They were progressing in value, stealing more and more valuable items are the days progressed. No sign of forced entry was ever found, nor could security find or see them, even when they were in the next room. Finally, the thief had extended to murder, slaughtering a group of twenty in a set-up designed to catch the thief. They were killed expertly, only a single stroke to each, the work of one who knew how to kill. Shayde was given the task of finding this person. The only thing that the thief had ever left behind was a smear of some black dust, which no-one could identify.
To make things worse, the most expensive gemstone every found in the land was being shown in a few night's time, regardless of what the atmosphere was like. No-one, the authorities boasted, would dare to try and steal this thing. Others didn't agree, and had combed the land for protection. Shayde's name was mentioned and he was called in to protect the gem, with the promise of a large reward.
So here he was, sitting quietly in a shadowy corner facing the tiny gem. It was about the size of his palm, but what made it valuable was that it contained chunks of many other gems, sending its value sky-rocketing.
Shayde was dressed in his 'assassin' outfit, the only addition to his regular attire was the skin-tight black top, which hid his yellow fur, leaving him look like a walking shadow. His bandana was tied around the pommel of his blade, which rested in his lap. He was completely still and silent, waiting. He didn't have to wait long.
A tiny noise sounded in the room, and a figure entered his line of sight. Like him, they were dressed in black, and had completed the outfit with a long cloak and hood, hiding their appearance from view. The material seemed to shift under his gaze, swimming in and out of focus. So that was why no-one saw this person, he realised. The cloak was made of a similar material to his bandana, tuned to stealth more than cleanliness.
The figure approached the display containing the gem. Reaching out a slim, arm-length glove, the thief touched the gem. A tiny sigh escaped them.
'Finally,' the figure murmured. The voice was oddly familiar to Shayde, but he couldn't place it. Besides, this person had made it undeniable they were after the gem. He stood up and ghosted up to them, light on his padded paws. What he hadn't noticed was the sheen on black dust on the floor. As he stepped into it, the sigh of fur slipping over concrete sounded. The figure whipped around. Shayde cursed himself mentally and swung his blade up and around. The figure dodged away and reached beneath their cloak.
Shayde swung again, and this time, his blade hit something. Not flesh, but metal. He looked down the length and saw that the figure was armed with a staff, tipped with a wicked-looking blade.
'Nice knife you've got,' the figure said. 'Can you use it?' Shayde narrowed his gaze, and broke out of the hold, before returning to the attack.
He swung again at his foe, but the thief was much too quick, blocking him again. Something about their movement gave the impression of being female, but Shayde couldn't tell because of the cloak. The thief struck again with her staff, jarring his arm with the force of her blow. Shayde tried to land a hit, but the shifting cloak was playing with his vision, making it impossible for him to strike. He needed to get rid of that cloak. Gripping his blade more tightly, he swung out again. The thief, anticipating an attack, moved in to block the attack. Quickly, Shayde redirected his swing, aiming low, and managed to cut a neat line through the fabric. The black cloak swirled with oil-like colours, and he found he could focus more. He swung out again and cut into the material more, one on each arm. The cloak's swirling patterns faded, leaving a plain black cloak behind. Now he could fight properly.
The thief knew this as well. She had switched to defence, blocking Shayde's lightning-fast strikes unflinchingly. However, Shayde could feel the thief's arms weakening under the constant barrage. Suddenly, she struck out with the bladed end of the staff. Shayde felt the weapon pierce his side and rip up to his chest. Pain ripped along the wound, making him gasp and fall to one leg. The thief struck out again, and Shayde rolled away, bringing the blade up as he straightened. He felt the staff jar against his blade again; the thief had anticipated his move, and had tried to land a fatal blow from behind. Shayde's anger flared. This person had no honour. She might fight like a pro, but she didn't follow any moral codes at all.
He stood up and swung again, landing a blow on the thief's arm, feeling his katana bite into flesh. The thief cried out it pain, and whacked Shayde across the face with her staff, making him stagger. He spun around to make a whirling strike, but the thief grabbed his tail and yanked hard, sending pain shooting up his spine. Pain and fury coursed through Shayde's mind. Pulling tails was a dirty trick, however effective it might be, and this female couldn't get away with that without punishment. He brought his blade up and sliced out, cutting into the thief's exposed arms, feeling bone hit blade. The thief screamed in pain again, and attacked with her staff, heedless of the pain most certainly flooding her arms. Shayde was impressed by her resilience, but he had had enough.
He swung his blade up, and quickly brought it back down when the thief blocked high, slicing her belly, cutting open the cloak, and revealing that the thief was indeed female, her body-shape visible through the tight black outfit she wore, similar to Shayde's own shirt. Shayde stared at her body, and the moment's hesitation was all the thief needed. She hit Shayde's face with the blade, cutting a shallow gash in his cheek. Stars exploded in his eyes, and he reeled back in pain. The thief pulled out a small drawstring bag and hurled a handful of the black dust in Shayde's eyes. The substance burned his eyes like hot ash, and Shayde yelled in pain. He grabbed the bandana from off his katana's handle and rubbed his eyes with it. The dust was pulled from his eyes, leaving his vision clear, just in time to see the tail-end of the thief's cloak whip around the corner.
Cursing aloud, Shayde pounded after her, making sure to swing the blade ahead of him, lest he get beheaded by the staff coming around the corner. However, the thief was clearly escaping. What was more, she was laughing as she ran, taunting him as he chased her down. She turned a corner outside the building, and Shayde lost sight for a second, owing to the need to dodge around a large bin. He saw, just ahead, the cloaked figure sprinting towards the centre square of the town. If she got there, he would lose her, Shayde realised. He came up with the only thing to do. He flipped his katana around and hurled it with all the force he could muster, sending the silvery blade spinning through the air. It landed with unfailing accuracy, sinking deep into the thief's back with a sickening thud. The thief buckled and fell to the ground with a gasp. Shayde ran up to his fallen foe and ran the blade through her all the way, impaling her on the blade. A last, gurgling gasp issued from the hidden mouth, and she lay still.
Shayde pulled his blade free from her back, breathing deeply from the fight and the run. He knelt down to pull the hood from the thief's face. As he did so, he realised something else. The figure's body was not as it appeared during the fight. Where was the staff? With a sickening feeling of dread, he pulled back the hood, revealing the dead, staring eyes of a male Golden Retriever. He felt sick. It was a decoy. As if to confirm this fact, he heard a giggle from the roof above him. He looked up and saw the cloaked female, sitting calmly on the roof, laughing at his torment.
'Oo, looks like you got it all wrong, doggy,' she taunted. 'Maybe next time.' She was tossing something up into the air. It was the gem, Shayde realised. She had stolen it during the fight, possibly while Shayde was cleaning the dust from his eyes. She stood up and stretched pointedly, totally at ease, and the quickly ran off.
Shayde stayed where he was, absolutely shocked. He had been beaten, by a female, no less. He'd had the object he was protecting stolen, been blinded, wounded, and, worst of all, killed an innocent, and there was no way for him to find the female again. Or was there...
He noticed something fluttering in the light breeze. He jumped up onto the wall using various objects, and approached the thing. It was a scrap of the thief's cloak, snagged on an exposed nail-head. Carefully, he pulled the scrap off the wall, holding it up to the moonlight, seeing a faint swirl of the shifting material. A predatory grin split his bloody and dirty face.
He had her. She couldn't hide from him now.