FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It took all Warrick's will power to appear calm on the outside. While on the inside a storm of emotions raged. Denial, 'This must be a joke, they can't be doing this to me.' Sadness, 'They're doing it.' Anger, 'I was a loyal soldier how dare they do this to me.' Even the part of himself that was still loyal to Blood Legion was screaming, 'It's what I deserve. 'Seeing no other choice, Warrick pulled his tags from around his neck and held them out. His tags were once his pride and joy, but now they felt heavy in Warrick's orange and black striped hands. Imperator Smodur the Unflinching barely glanced at the tags before taking them out of Warrick's hands. "You have until the end of the day to leave the Black Citadel." The Leader of Iron Legion spoke with a tone of finality. Anger rose above the other emotions writhing within him. Gritting his teeth Warrick muttered his understanding before giving Somodur a forced salute before turning to leave.

The imperator called out to Warrick, stopping him in his tracks. For a few seconds, hope blossomed within him, but it was soon crushed. "Due to what happened to you, I see you as an uncontrollable threat." Each word felt like a knife straight into Warrick's heart. After all of his years of loyal service to the High Legions, this was his reward, to be seen as a threat. "I'll protect my citadel from any threat, by any means, so it would be best if you never return." Somdur said casually as if he was talking about the weather.

The storm of emotions within Warrick broke and in its wake rose a new emotion, hatred. This emotion was nothing new to the former Blood Legion soldier, but the intensity of it was. It took a considerable amount of effort for Warrick to force down his hatred before he did something stupid. "With all due respect Imperator, go fuck yourself." It was a cheap petty move, but one that brought a self-satisfied smirk to Warrick's feline face as he walked out of the Imperator's office. () In the back of the Black Citadel there lies the ruins of an ancient human city called Rin. These ruins, with their crumbling walls, have long been the go-to place for secret meetings to happen. So no one batted an eye when Warrick angrily stormed his way from the Imperator's core and into the ruins.in the back of the ruins, two charr were waiting. One gray with white stripes was chattering away to the other pure white charr. Based on outward appearances most would think that they were calm, bored even, but Warrick knew better. He could tell they were anxious by the way the talkative charr kept subtly glancing around, and the agitated twitching of the white charr's tail.

"Should've figured you'd both be here, Maverick and Dominick." the next thing Warrick knew he was being crushed between four pairs of arms. "Of course we'd be here little brother." Out of the four pairs of arms surrounding him, only one felt real. And so that's the one Warrick tried to hit. "Get off me, Maverick."

The arms surrounding Warrick jumped back to avoid his strike. Four identical gray and white striped charr shared a worried look with Dominick before three of them shattered into broken glass and butterflies The ex-blood legion soldier was never one for physical shows of affection, but he never reacted violently before.

Cautiously Dominick walked over to Warrick and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "What happened with Imperator Smodur?" Out of everything they expected from their brother, they didn't expect Warrick to start laughing. It wasn't a joyful laugh, it was a hollow-sounding laugh that filled Maverick and Dominick with dread. "I have until the end of the day to leave the Black Citadel." It was starting to make sense to Maverick now, the hollow laughter, Warrick trying to hit him. His little brother was reaching his breaking point.

"You're being forced out of the Legions? Why?" Another bout of laughter burst out of the tiger-like charr. "Because dear little brother, I've been declared a threat to the legions." Dominick's eyes narrowed in suspicion upon hearing his brother's words. Not because he didn't believe him, but because the usual outcome of being 'declared a threat to the legions' was death. A glance at his eldest brother told him that Maverick had the same thought. But without more information, it is a thought that would be best kept between themselves. No sense in upsetting Warrick more than he already is.

They returned their attention back to their brother, who was glaring up where Imperator Smodur's office was. "This could be a good opportunity for you." Maverick felt a little insulted when Warrick didn't respond to what he said. Being a Mesmer, the eldest of the brothers thrived on attention. So it was hard for him to ignore the urge to annoy Warrick in some way. A quick jab to the ribs from Dominick brought Maverick's attention back to the task at hand. "The Durmand Priory could help you."

That got a reaction out of Warrick, not the reaction his brothers were hoping for, but it was a reaction. Warrick shot his brothers a glare so fierce that his amber-colored eyes seemed like they were made of fire. "Magic is what got me into this mess in the first place, so why would I want to be a test subject for the priory?" Everything seemed to stand still at the tiger-like charr's words. Almost as if they were afraid the cold rage within his words would be directed at them.

Reacting as quickly as he could, Dominick stepped in front of Warrick with his hands held up in a placating manner. "It was just a suggestion, you don't have to go to the priory if you don't want to." It was a tense couple of seconds but eventually, the glare Warrick leveled at him lessened. It was a small step forward, but it was a step Dominick intended to run with. "There are arenas you can fight in, or you can open the whiskey brewery you wanted."

A small smile graced Warrick's face. "The Fifth Legion Whiskey." Relief washed over Dominick and Maverick upon hearing their brother's whisper. Warrick has had a secret passion for making whiskey for years. He even had a small brewery set up in a hidden location in the Hero's Canton. The location was a secret to everyone but Maverick and Dominick, as both would steal some of the fine whiskey for themselves, and protect it from being found. Not that either would tell Warrick this.

"Mercenary work might suit you as well." Maverick said after catching on to Dominick was planning. They may not know how bad Warrick's time in Blood Legion was, but they knew it wasn't easy. Most charr don't trust magic users, such as themselves, those in Blood Legion especially. And with Warrick being an Elementalist, most likely he was treated badly by his warband. "You can do anything you want to do now." A small smile graced Maverick's face when realization shone in Warrick's eyes. To Warrick, it felt as if a suffocating weight had been lifted off of him. It was a strange feeling, to say the least. After so many years of being told what to do and how to do it, he was finally free to do anything he wanted. "I can do anything I want now." As soon as those words left his lips, a sense of being lost washed over Warrick and he slumped against a ruined wall. "But I'll be alone, a gladium."

Both Maverick and Dominick grimaced and shared a look of pain and understanding with each other. From an early age, charr are assigned to a group known as a warband. They spend, in most cases, their entire lives with their warband, so it becomes akin to family. But if a charr loses their warband, they become a gladium, the lowest rank in the legions. "We lost our warbands as well." Dominick whispered in a pained filled voice.

Guilt gripped at Warrick's heart, but before he could say anything his nose was flicked. "Don't go feeling sorry for us." Maverick felt a sense of satisfaction at the look of indignation Warrick shot him for flicking his nose. "They chose to come with us to rescue you despite the risk." A small smile crossed Maverick's muzzle at the memory of his warband waiting for him when he tried to sneak out of the Black Citadel. A similar look crossed Dominick's face, as he remembered his own warband dragging him by his horns, knowing that he'll be late as usual, to meet up with his brother. "Just like it is my choice to go with you."

That was something neither brother expected Maverick to say. "Why?" Warrick Asked a little dumbfounded. Even Dominick was unsure as to why his eldest brother would leave the legions. Out of the three of them, Maverick was on track to being made centurion or even a tribune if he desired. It was times like these that Dominick wished he was a mesmer instead of a necromancer, just so he could understand what goes on in his eldest brother's mind.

"Because I choose to, and you need someone with you right now." Maverick will admit that he and Warrick don't exactly see eye to eye. Their personalities just seemed to clash over the smallest things. But Maverick does care about his little brother a great deal. Even if he has a weird way of showing his affection. And after hearing what was done to Warrick, Maverick lost a lot of respect he once had for the high legions.

Warrick was amazed at his older brother. He honestly thought Maverick couldn't stand him. Both of their personalities seemed to clash on every little thing. But that could be more attributed to Maverick being from the stealthy Ash Legion, and Warrick from the more direct combat orientated Blood Legion. "You would give up everything you've achieved for me?" Asked Warrick in a quiet voice, almost as if he was afraid that it was all just a joke.

It hurt Maverick to hear the doubt in Warrick's voice, but he wasn't surprised by it. He won't lie and say he was the best older brother in all of Tyria. Maverick enjoyed teasing his little brothers perhaps a little too much. Then there are all the arguments that he and Warrick get into. But this was a chance to make amends and start a new. "I can no longer serve the legions when they turn their back on a soldier that needs them."

A warmth Warrick has never felt before filled him. He was unsure of what he was feeling, but it made Warrick feel good knowing that someone truly cared about him. But like most good things, it had to come to an end. A quick glance up at the sky shown that there were only a few hours until sunset. Reality came crashing down around Warrick. The end of the life he once knew is reaching its end. "It's almost time for me to go." It was barely a whisper, but Warrick's words hung heavy in the air.

None of the brothers knew what to say to break the tense silence that fell over them. It was Warrick that broke the silence by doing something surprising. He pulled both of his brothers into a tight hug. The hug didn't last long, and it was very awkward, but it still shocked Maverick and Dominick. "Thanks for the support, but don't throw your career's away just to try and help me." Warick said before walking away, preventing his brothers from saying anything to the contrary.

"We should go through official channels so we're not hunted down." Maverick said after Warrick disappeared from his view. He knew it would take longer, but Maverick was determined to stand with his lost brother. He didn't want a repeat of last time he couldn't do his job as the eldest brother. A thought crossed Maverick's mind causing him to grimace. "What are we going to tell sire?" () Warrick never really liked the Black Citadel when it got dark, too many shadows for his taste. Past experiences made him leery of what's lurking in the darkness. Phantom pain caused Warrick's muscles to twitch as a reminder. But still, he soldiered on with all of his possessions on his back and an emotionless look on his face. Soon the swirling purple energy of the Asuran Gate was in sight. A strange feeling of intimidation washed over Warrick as he stared up at the circler gate. Once he steps through the portal there would be no coming back. "I know it's impressive but don't just stare at it Bookah." The condescending voice of the diminutive Asura operating the gate broke Warrick out of his thoughts.

A quick growl made the Asura squeak and return fearfully her attention to the panel in front of her. "Might as well get this over with." Turning around Warrick glanced up at the imposing Imperator's Core. In the center, he could see a figure staring down at the Asuran gate. It didn't take a genius to know that it was Smodur the Unflinching. In an act of pure pettiness, Warrick raised his hands and made a rude gesture with them, before walking backwards through the portal.