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The still, quiet air around the Bren farmstead was broken by the sound of wood violently clacking against wood. Two foxes, wearing wooden pads and wicker helmets, struck their weapons together, the pair locked in a fierce sparring round. The one on the left, male with black fur, appeared to be on the defensive, while his opponent on the right-- female, orange fur-- pushed forward. She swung her weapon with a trained finesse, fire in her deep green eyes, growling with each strike.

The black fox was quiet, deflecting each blow, all his focus on his opponent. Every couple of strikes or so, he would step back, giving her more ground each time. This wasn't some act of submission or defeat, however. The young fox was merely biding his time, waiting for an opening. He watched a strike come in from the left, a little lower than normal. He turned his sword clockwise and angled the blade up, deflecting the blow upward and over the vixen's shoulder. She followed through, striking high.

There was the opening. The male charged, one hand catching his opponent's wrist and moving it aside, the force of his charge and her unbalanced state knocking her off her feet. His sword stopped at her neck.

"Check mate."

"That's not cool, Taci!" the vixen complained, pushing his wooden weapon away and tugging her helmet off, "You only let me think I was winning!"

"That's the name of the game." Tacitus grinned and held out his hand to help her up. He wasn't surprised when she didn't take it.

The angry girl huffed and brushed herself off, "Yeah well... good match."

"Are you mad, Jenna?"

"No, I'm not mad. Just..." she blushed and puffed up her cheeks as she always did, "You're too good. I only ever beat you once."

"Well it's a good thing I'm the one who really needs the training, right?" the dark-furred fox set his helmet aside and stuck his sword in the loose dirt. He and Jenna had been sparring since they could hold a heavy stick, but never had they been this serious about it. Tacitus had committed to joining the military when he became a man, and Jenna wasn't about to let him get strong and fast while she worked all day in the fields and did "womanly things". Thus, the two became fierce sparring partners, getting better and better every day.

Jenna sat down on a patch of grass and began to untie her armor. They had cut and fashioned the wooden plates themselves, and while it would never stand up to an actual metal sword, it served its purpose well enough. The tired vixen pulled the tie out from her hair, letting it fall down along her back, "At this rate, you'll be ready by the time you hit eighteen... right?"

"Yeah, probably." Tacitus had put his armor aside and opened his shirt a bit to let the air hit his chest. He didn't notice Jenna's staring.

"I hope so." her cheeks were bright red. Her friend had gone from a scrawny little kid to a strong, buff teen in just a few short years. She was proud, but at the same time, terrified of the implications. She pulled her eyes away from him, not wanting to explain just why she was blushing at the sight of him being practically shirtless, "I hear they really break you down if you're not ready."

"They build you back up again." Tacitus fell onto his back, resting his arms behind his head, "That's what it's always been like with the military. They make you into a soldier. No getting around it."

Jenna's fingers tightened around the fabric of her shorts. She quietly asked, not exactly aiming the question at him, "But you'll still be you... won't you?"

This time he did look at her, noticing her red cheeks, "Of course I'll be me, Jenna. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just worry about these things, Taci." she sighed, "You've been my friend for as long as either of us can remember. I don't want you to lose who and what you are... and..."

Tacitus sat up, sliding closer and putting a hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything, even as Jenna turned to face him. They simply sat there, staring for several long moments. Jenna seemed to try and say something at one point, but her words never came. All she did was smile and lean into him, resting her head on his chest and sliding her arms around his waist. Tacitus reciprocated, holding his friend close, his fingers brushing gently through her hair. Neither needed to say anything. Their eyes had said what words simply could not.

Another long moment passed, and they sat in silence. As a child, Jenna had been fiery and particularly quick to fluster. Now, at fifteen years old, she had mellowed out a little. She'd come to enjoy these tender moments when they happened, and not just shy away or punch her friend's lights out, much to Taci's relief.

"Tacitus?" she finally spoke, sliding her head upward so that it could rest on his shoulder, "Do you remember that promise you made me?"

"Of course I do." Tacitus smiled, "What, do I have to wear it on my sleeve before you're satisfied that I won't forget?"

Jenna huffed, a bit of that fire creeping back into her voice, "You moron. Of course not. I just wanted to make sure."

"Well I'm still going to protect Duskden."

The vixen paused, moving to hide her cheeks as she quietly asked, "And..?"

Tacitus laughed, reaching up and rubbing behind her ears, "And you, of course."

He smiled when he heard her giggle. She always did, every time he said it. It was a magical sound, like the tiniest bells jingling in the wind. He really adored that giggle... and the girl behind it.

"Jenna!" her father called from across the field, "Put your knight at ease for a bit. We've got a cart full of corn to load up."

The vixen's giggles vanished quickly and she huffed again, "Coming, dad! 'Knight', my ass."

Their families had joked about him being her knight in shining armor when they caught word of his promise. Ever since, they would joke about her being his princess and how he would come and "rescue" her every time he went over to see if she was in the mood to spar. Jenna made a show of hating it, but moments like these proved otherwise.

"Of course, if the brave knight is willing to aid his princess, he can come and help out!"

Tacitus laughed as Jenna steamed over her father's tormenting, "Well, Princess, would you have your knight come and--"

Her fist hit his nose hard, knocking him flat on his back, "Don't you start, you... you..!"

He was still laughing even as he held his nose, slowly sitting up again and wiping away a tear, "I'll be right there, ok? Let me have a minute to convince my eyes there's only one of you."

"You'd better be happy there's only one, Tacitus Bren, because you'd be in deep shit if there were more!" Jenna stuck her tongue out and turned to go and help her father, leaving the dizzy Tacitus to watch with a fondness that he simply couldn't feel for any other. She might be rash, abrasive and unladylike at times, but the sight of her working the fields in the morning, the look of determination in her eyes when they sparred, and the tender embraces they shared... They all made up for it and then some. A little frown found its way to the fox's lips. He was destined for a life of killing and hardship, and would only complicate her life if he were to...

"Why so melancholy?" a voice roused Tacitus from his daydream. He looked to his left and jumped when he saw a reptilian visage right in front of his face.

Tacitus didn't answer, turning away from her and groaning softly.

Undeterred, the lizard woman crawled up onto her fellow assassin's bed and slumped against his back, making sure to push herself forward and tease him with her breasts, a sly giggle escaping her throat, "You know, if you keep staring off into space like that, people are going to start saying things."

"Will you get off of me?" Tacitus jabbed at her with his elbow, growling irately as she flipped over him and stuck to the wall with her hands and feet. Damn gecko was always annoying him. He pulled one of his knives from a pocket and threw it at her feet, forcing her to let go. He moved to the side as she lost her balance and fell onto the bed again, "What do I care what people say about me? Even better question: What do you care, Lore?"

The gecko named Lore picked herself up and pouted. She sat cross-legged on the bed next to the fox and curled her long, spotted tail around her waist, "I can't come in and talk to my fellow paid killer?"

"Don't you have someone better to talk to?"

"Who decides better or worse?" Lore smiled and pounced at him, only to run face-first into the headboard. Tacitus had jumped and landed on the other end of the bed.

"You could easily decide that I'm too much trouble to even bother trying." he stepped off the narrow wooden frame and sat once again.

"Ow..." Lore rubbed her nose and made a mock sniffling sound at him, "You're mean, Taci."

"Save it." the fox rolled his eyes, "Now, can I help you?"

Lore found him unresisting this time as she crawled up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and giggling into his ear, "I heard about Mardux. Pretty impressive, getting in and out of there without your presence being known. And what a way for a fat noble to die..."

"The details of that mission-- any mission-- are told only to the assassin that carries it out. How did you know of my presence in Mardux?" Tacitus showed a tiny bit of concern now. Not for her, necessarily, but for the security of the guild itself. If there was a leak somewhere...

"Relax, fuzzy butt. I just happened to be within earshot when they debriefed you." Lore giggled and nuzzled against his cheek, practically all over the clearly uncomfortable fox.

"You could be killed for this, regardless of how you happened to hear of it."

"Oh, I was already confronted." Lore deepened her voice to sound as masculine as possible-- it was pretty unconvincing, considering her high-pitched voice, "We'll excuse your transgression for now, as the slipping of these details after the mission's completion does not compromise our order's security. However, should your 'accidental' eavesdropping become habitual, the Hand will take appropriate action against your life."

Taci's lips curled into a sadistic grin, "Did you piss yourself?"

"Almost." Lore admitted, giggling nervously, "It's not every day that a Hand member walks up to you and tells you that if you happen to hear the wrong thing, you'll die."

The fox reached up and patted her on the head, fingers landing against smooth, deep violet scales, "Next time, when you hear someone murmuring, don't listen in. Or at least don't let anyone know you did."

"What about you? Can I listen to you murmur?"

"Why are you in here again?" Tacitus wasn't interested in giving any kind of answer to that question.

"Oh! Right." Lore giggled and slipped away from his back, curling around and slithering into his lap, lying across his legs, "Your next assignment."

"What, did you eavesdrop that, too? Maybe the Hand will give me the honor of killing you over it."

"You wound me!" the gecko feigned offense.

"I'm about to."

"Oh, don't be such a stiff." Lore huffed and ran her fingers over his chest, "The Hand told me to pass this onto you, since we're working together on our next mission."

The fox sighed. This wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. He grabbed her groping hand and pushed it downward into her lap, "Great. Because your intrusions into my bedroom weren't enough to irritate me. Now I have to tolerate you on the job."

"Hey, I'm a completely different person on the job!"

"Yeah? I wouldn't know, and you sure haven't given me much of a hint."

It was true that Lore was always jumping and bouncing around when she came to talk to him. Why she even bothered was beyond his imagining. In a past life, he might even say she was sweet for doing so, but...

Lore's smile was unrelenting, staying plastered on her reptilian face regardless of the fox's mood. She wrapped her arms around him again, nuzzling against his belly and mumbling, "You're so warm..."

"Oh, is that it? You come here for warmth?"

"I was out in the sun today."

"That right?" Tacitus feigned interest, picking up a book and turning to the page on which he'd left off.

"Yes, and it was woooonderful!" Lore peered at him, then crawled up between the fox and his book, big, wide eyes appraising his displeased expression, "I get hyper when I've basked. You know, cold blood and all."

The fox sighed and put the book back on his dresser. Clearly he wouldn't get to read while he was the focus of her attention. He leaned back against the wall behind the bed, running his fingers through his hair, "So what's our next assignment?"

"Oh, can't we talk about that later?"

"What? Why? We're here right now."

"Yeah, but I'm comfy and in a good mood. I don't wanna talk about work right now."

Tacitus shook his head. He couldn't figure this girl out. He sighed again and poked the side of her head, "What are you still doing here then?"

"Comfy!" she reminded him.

"I'm not a gods damned pillow! Now if you don't have business to discuss, go bother someone e-- else..." his raised voice quickly lowered when she looked up at him with sad eyes. Another heavy sigh escaped him, the fox rolling his eyes and shaking his head, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine..." Lore only held him tighter, "I should know by now. You only care about business."

"Hey, that's not... Ugh." Tacitus rubbed his temples. How had she turned this around on him so easily? Was he going soft?

Lore trembled a bit, and at first he thought she was crying... which both irritated and saddened him. Then he heard something, and it quickly became apparent that she wasn't even upset.

"Lore, are you laughing?" he growled.

The gecko's giggles turned into full on laughter, and she rolled to the side, pointing up at him, "Tall, dark and brooding Tacitus was so worried that he'd gone and upset an annoying little gecko!"

Taci's cheeks burned from anger and embarrassment. He grabbed his daggers from his dresser and lunged for her, only to have them blocked by her own, "You fucking bitch!"

Lore snickered, her expression quickly turning challenging, "Did I upset you? Come on, Taci. Let it all out. Is there something troubling you?"

"I was doing just fine until you mocked me!" Tacitus' eyes burned with anger. Had she not invited further attacks, he'd have stopped right then and there... but the floodgates were open now.

The two tumbled out through the door, nearly crashing into another group, whose swords were quickly drawn in defense. They were ignored by the fighting couple, whose daggers clashed and sparked in the dim light of the apartment block's hallways. Tacitus heard someone mention guards, but he ignored it. He needed to blow off some steam after... that.

Lore looked quite pleased that she could get such a reaction out of the normally stoic fox, laughing and bouncing around him as he struck, her sticky feet and hands letting her crawl over the walls and ceiling to evade him, "Come on fuzzy butt, let's see you really let loose!"

"Come down here and I'll eagerly oblige." Tacitus threw a dagger at her, but this time she was ready for it. She dodged to the side, making sure to hold on tight to the ceiling.

"Got anymore knives you want to waste on me?"

"Plenty!"

"Well that's boring, so here I come!" Lore launched herself from the ceiling, and Tacitus met her lunge. However, before their weapons could collide again, another blade passed between them, effectively blocking both attacks.

Both their gazes turned to meet that of a very displeased wolf. His cloak's hood was down, revealing one blind eye and a generation's worth of scars. The wolf spoke, his voice calm but firm, "Stop this nonsense now, you two, or take it to the ring."

"Number Four..." the two riled up assassins couldn't think of anything else to say. A member of the Hand had come to stop their fight personally. That alone spoke volumes about how stupid they were being.

"Put your weapons away." the wolf said, sheathing his own blade, trusting that the two would follow his instruction. They did, of course. No assassin in their order would ever question the authority of the Silent Hand.

"Um..." Lore started to apologize, but was met with a dismissive gesture.

"As I said. Take it to the ring, or cease and desist. I don't care who started it or why it happened."

They watched as Number Four left, then turned back to one another.

"You hurt?"

"No. You?"

"Nah."

The two wound up in Tacitus' room again, with Lore lying across the fox's lap and snickering, "Did you see those guys when we burst out of the room?"

"They probably thought someone had infiltrated or something." Tacitus was a little amused at their reactions, his anger having subsided significantly.

"They looked like new blood. Bet that gave them a real scare."

"It'll show them to be prepared, anyhow." Taci paused for a moment, looking down at the woman in his lap and letting out a little sigh, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Lore leaned up, getting uncomfortably close as always.

"You know damn well. Don't make me say it."

She grinned, "But I want to hear you say it!"

"Fine." he rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Aw, it's alright. I'm sorry for provoking you!"

Tacitus leaned back again, shaking his head. He started to relax a little as Lore's clawed fingers ran through the fur of his tail, "How the hell did someone like you become an assassin, Lore? You just seem far too... happy."

Her fingers kept up their gentle petting and scratching, eyes focused somewhere on the ceiling, "I can't be happy, despite being a murderer?"

"It just seems very uncharacteristic of the kind of work we do. Don't you ever..." he stopped. What was he even going to ask her?

"Feel guilty?" Lore finished. That was one of many things he'd have liked to ask, if he wouldn't have to go through the horror of asking himself the same questions. The gecko continued after a pause, "All the time. I mean, sure, most of the people we kill deserve it, right? Violent, cheating husbands... greedy nobles... dangerous politicians and warlords... Doesn't make it any better on the conscience, though."

Tacitus tried not to let on the idea that he agreed, simply sticking with his questions, "Then how? How do you go about smiling all the time?"

She shrugged a little, looking up at him and smiling softly, "You give a lot of things up when you take up a job like this. I had to fill that void with something. So, instead of wallowing in guilt, I filled it with... well, this. That's all."

Tacitus pursed his lips, and he suddenly couldn't bear to look at her.

"Not the answer you were looking for?"

"That's not it." he laughed humorlessly, "Just... now I sort of feel like a horrible person."

Her smile vanished. She leaned up and kissed both his cheeks, choosing not to poke fun when she saw the redness under his fur, "If you have to stop and think that you might be horrible, then chances are, you aren't."

Tacitus stared for a moment. He tried his hardest not to question the morals of his work each time he took a job, but it did creep up every so often, like today. Her kind words stirred something within him that he hadn't felt in a long time. Gratitude, perhaps... or maybe even a sense of peace. Whatever it was, he felt even worse for trying to push her away so much.

"Thank you Lore..."

The gecko smiled again, clinging to him in a tight hug, "We walk a big moral gray zone, so it's natural to start thinking things like that. If you're the least bit decent, anyway."

"So is that why you come and talk to me then? Because I question whether my actions are right?" his question was an honest one, not some harsh interrogation.

Now it was her turn to blush. She slipped away from him and off the bed, brushing herself off a little, "Partly... but that's... privileged information."

"Lore?"

"I'll stop by tomorrow and tell you about our next mission, ok?"

"I... alright." he watched her go, looking quite confused. What the hell had that been about?

This job was going to be a little different. Tacitus and Lore would be heading to the city of Ironhill not to end a life, but to protect one. Ironhill was an interesting example of an independent city in Veramir, for it had no governing body that the Veramir Council would recognize. As opposed to a monarchy or dictatorship, Ironhill was run by its largest arms dealing corporation. As a result, the city's main driving force was business, and any assassin worth their weight in cloaks and daggers knew that business at that level was often dirty.

Such was the case with this mission, Lore had explained. The proprietor of the Ironhill Arms Corporation, an old badger named Lanzo Benan, reported being harassed by one of his rivals in business. After sending out a few feelers, he learned of a plot against his life, and thus had gone to the Silent Hand to prevent any assassination attempts.

Tacitus understood his reasoning perfectly. Mercenaries and guards all suffered from the same fatal flaw: They were gods damned stupid, and practically cannon fodder in most cases. Most of these "soldiers" were either too dumb to be scholars, too lazy to be farmers, or in the case of the ones who actually knew how to fight, were more used to fighting in open battlefields, unaccustomed to the average assassin's tactics. Taci had killed plenty of stupid guards and mercs because of these simple facts, and he admired this Lanzo guy's intelligence.

"Hiring killers to stop another killer." he chuckled, looking over to Lore as she rode next to him, "Why two, though? You never explained that."

The pair was traveling on horseback to the city, just over a day away from the Hand's base of operations. Lore shrugged at his question, spurring her horse onward and picking up the pace a little, "Guess he just figured that if he could afford double the security, it was worth the cost."

"He must have misread our rates."

"He is an arms dealer, Taci. They're bound to be rich these days. Even with the rate of reusing weaponry increasing, there are always little uprisings going on here and there, and you know as well as I do that war is always just around the corner."

"Yeah I suppose so." Tacitus kept pace with her, sighing and rubbing his thigh, "I hate horses."

"What? They're lovely creatures."

"No, I mean I hate riding them. My armor chafes really badly against my fur..."

The gecko laughed at his misfortune, "Oh, it's only a few more hours' ride. Just grin and bear it, fuzzy butt!"

"Easy for you to say. You've got scales."

Lore grinned and tugged her cloak upward, showing off her legs up to her mid-thigh, laughing inwardly when Tacitus pretended not to notice, "And you don't think scales can feel?"

"I think you have an easier time, is all."

"Oh Taci, I'm a lady." she pantomimed a fanning motion, "You think I should be subject to the same hardships a man endures?"

Tacitus sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Lore was about as ladylike as he was, but he wasn't going to give her any further reason to tease him. He shook the reins of his horse, easing it into a steady gallop, "Come on, I want to get there early."

The streets of Ironhill were lined with shops-- weapon shops, to be more precise. Every manner of sword, axe, mace and shield was on display at every corner, ranging from standard issue military-grade to fully-customized specialty weaponry. It was a warrior's paradise.

"You know, if I ever wanted to kill someone... oh wait." Lore joked, nudging Tacitus, who could only groan at the bad choice of humor, "When do we need to meet with Lanzo?"

Tacitus checked his watch, an ornate timepiece he kept in his pocket, flipping the cover shut and tilting his head from side to side, "Two hours, give or take. Want to look around a bit?"

Lore's eager nod was all he needed to see. He was interested, too, though he remained quite subdued, like always.

The standard-issue weapons were nothing to bat an eye at for an assassin, but the custom armors and arms were quite the sight to see. There were blades taller than he was, armor fit only for serpent folk, exotic crossbows with clockwork mechanisms that fired multiple bolts without having to load each one individually. There was every kind of weapon oil, liquid fire that burned when struck with a spark, poisons of every variety.

Lore found something that stood out, though, slipping into a little shop after reading a peculiar sign, "Tacitus? What are these?"

The fox turned, following his companion and eyeing her discovery ponderingly. Long metal tube, a sort of lock mechanism at the back ending with a two-pronged fork... and a trigger, like on a crossbow?

"Oh!" he nodded more to himself than to her, "Could this be a rifle?"

"A rifle?"

"Yeah." Tacitus took one off a rack and looked around for the shopkeeper, spying him in a corner of the store, "Excuse me, sir... this isn't loaded, is it?"

"What are you nuts? Of course not." the shopkeeper, a middle-aged husky, gave Tacitus a wary look, "You don't plan on shooting anyone, do you?"

"No sir, we've just never seen something quite like this before. My companion's never even heard of a firearm."

"Never heard? Well I suppose it's not that surprising. They're not exactly common. Not yet." the old husky smiled proudly and picked up another one of the weapons, "See here, you two? These rifles, firearms, guns, whatever you call them... they're the future of warfare!"

"What makes you figure that, sir?" Lore looked unconvinced, and Tacitus could see her feeling her dagger's hilt almost appreciatively.

"Well see, these weapons fire faster than any bow or crossbow, and are many times more compact and accurate! Though I will say, they are kind of a pain to load. But there are ways to get around even that!" the husky placed the butt of the gun against his shoulder, taking aim at an imaginary target at the end of the shop, "You hold it like this, so your body takes the recoil of the shot. You prime the hammer, set your fuse, carried off-hand, pull the trigger..." he demonstrated, the lock, or "hammer" as he'd called it, snapping down as he did so, "The flame ignites gunpowder inside and sends out a small metal projectile called a 'bullet'. These things can't be extracted like an arrow or a bolt, little missy! One shot, one kill."

"A skilled bowman could make the same claims, sir, with all due respect."

"Ah, but even a bowman of the highest regard would be unmatched against the latest design of rifles. One moment, one moment."

Tacitus and Lore exchanged glances as the husky disappeared behind a curtain, the vulpine assassin turning the rifle in his hands over, examining the workmanship, "Impressive design, even if you don't really appreciate the weapon itself."

"So how do you think you load it?"

"I don't see any openings, so I'd say the front."

Lore scoffed, "So it's like a bow, except you've got a hole instead of a wooden base."

"Well let's just see what he's getting before we judge, hmm?"

The shopkeeper returned after a moment with a cloth-covered object cradled in his arms. He slowly uncovered it, revealing another rifle. This one looked a little different, though.

"The military gets along just fine with the current model of guns." he explained, motioning to the one in Tacitus' hands, "They just line up and shoot in rows. That way, the reload time is negligible, since there are multiple rows of riflemen. However, for the hunter or for the stealth fighter... I recommend this model. Brand new, not yet used on the battlefield."

The rifle was clearly a custom design, possessing a similar clockwork device as the crossbow Tacitus had seen. The top had an opening with a metal container filled with around six bullets. Another opening on the side served another purpose that Tacitus couldn't quite guess. There was no place for a fuse on this rifle, apparently replaced with a piece of steel on the hammer.

"This gun uses flint to create a spark." the old husky explained, "No more need for a fuse. The clockwork wheel loads a bullet and a capsule of gunpowder after each shot. In this way, the rifleman can fire six shots before having to reload, which is even easier than the previous models of firearm."

He demonstrated, loosening the bullet cartridge and replacing it again, "Fast, simple... One man could outshoot a squad with a weapon like this."

"Why don't you phase out the old ones then?" Tacitus asked, putting the seemingly outdated rifle back on its stand.

"Price, young fox! The price for even one of these weapons is currently far too steep for most nations to fully arm themselves with them. It takes many skilled craftsmen of different specialties to produce the necessary components. They all have to be paid, do they not?"

"I guess you've got a point. So you just make them to order then?"

"Right you are." the husky began to fold the cloth around his weapon again, "I've got a few orders here and there from some mercenary groups and small, private armies... but nothing from any established governments, so far."

"So did you come up with this design yourself?"

"Oh, no. Well, not on my own, anyway. I was one in a group of specialists, working directly with Mr. Benan to develop what would become this model of rifle."

"Hey, Taci?" Lore tugged on his sleeve, "Speaking of, don't you think we ought to..."

"Oh, right." Tacitus smiled and offered his hand to the shopkeeper, "Sorry to cut this short, but we've got an appointment to make shortly, and we'd like to keep looking around in the meanwhile. Thanks so much for showing us your work."

"It was my pleasure, you two. If you should ever feel that you could use one of these fine pieces of weaponry, I think you'll know who to come to!"

"So what do you think this Lanzo guy is like?" Lore asked, stretching her arms up as they walked through the busy streets.

"He's a businessman, so if I had to guess, I'd say he's very businesslike."

The gecko rolled her eyes, "That all, Mr. Perceptive?"

"You're the one who asked. I don't know, I've never met the guy. I just know what businessmen are like. I've killed quite a few of them, I'm sure you could guess." he kept that last bit more hushed than normal.

They stopped momentarily before a large structure with a sign marked, "Ironhill Arms Corporation Office Building". Figuring they were in the right place, the two stepped inside and were greeted by two guards.

"Tacitus Bren and Lore Alandra. Mr. Benan is expecting us." the fox smiled as best as he could, hoping this would be a hassle-free meeting.

One guard looked them over and left the room, instructing them to wait. He came back a minute later, nodding to them, "He's upstairs. No funny business."

"What does he take us for?" Lore whispered as they passed the guards and began climbing the stairs.

"I don't know. Assassins?"

"Oh ho ho." she playfully shoved him, "You really think this other assassin will even show up once they realize they're dealing with you-know-who?"

Tacitus shrugged, "There's probably a lot of money riding on this. If he manages to kill the guy, it won't matter if he deals with us or not. If he-- or she-- can get away, it'll be easy money."

The fox knocked on the door at the top of the stairs. There, they were greeted by the badger himself. He was tall and grizzled, like he'd fought a war for every gun he'd sold, two sharp eyes appraising the assassins for a brief moment.

"I suppose you're the ones I requested. That, or my life is about to end."

"The former, sir." Tacitus said, smiling dryly, "The report only stated one assassin out for your blood, did it not?"

"You can never be too careful." Lanzo walked between and past the two, walking down the stairs, "Come on. I need to make my rounds."

Tacitus and Lore exchanged glances-- looks that spoke clearly of their feelings on this mission already: Their target wanted to go outside. Out, where there was plenty of space for someone to attack. It was going to be a long day.

They quickly followed, with Lore trying to put herself in front of him, only to be outpaced by the big badger, "Wouldn't it be safer inside?"

"Safe? Isn't that what you two are for? I didn't spend all that money to sit in my office and not get any work done."

"At the very least, wait until the threat has been dealt with?"

Lanzo sighed gruffly, pausing at the front door, "You aren't used to this line of work, so I'll put it simply: When you're hired to protect someone, you follow them. Not the other way around."

Tacitus watched the badger pass through the door with Lore in tow. He rubbed an ear and breathed out slowly, "What a pain."

"So." Lore said, bouncing along beside Lanzo and keeping her keen eyes on the crowd around her, "What's your rival's problem, anyway? Got tired of playing fair?"

"Fair?" Lanzo laughed and waved a big hand through the air, "That rat has pulled every underhanded trick in the book to try and put me out of business and buy out my corporation. He's probably just mad that I've been able to counter each attempt." the badger began to count on his fingers, "Smear campaigns, sabotage, extortion, blatant thievery... the list goes on and on. Luckily, I know how to keep people loyal, be it through my policies, or hell, just money."

"Everyone except for him, I suppose?"

"Some people are just greedy, lizzy. Everyone wants a piece of the war cake, as I like to call it, and when you've got the biggest piece and don't feel like sharing unless people eat it the way you tell 'em... well, you know how business is, right?"

Lore shook her head, "Not really, sir. I've never been good with numbers... or letters, for that matter."

"What, can't read?"

"Never learned how." she watched a man slip past her, a little too close for comfort, relaxing again when he passed without incident, "And I don't have to in this business. I don't need to read to cut someone."

Lanzo regarded her almost pitifully, but the expression didn't linger for long, "Alright, I need to stop at each store and check the profit margins for this week. I guess one of you can come in and the other wait outside."

Tacitus leaned against the wall of the store, glancing up at the rooftops ahead, "I'll wait out here then."

"Eek!" Lore jumped at the fox's sudden appearance, "I thought you'd lagged behind!"

"If you didn't see me here, then you aren't doing your job."

The gecko huffed and pushed her hands into her pockets, "I was watching the crowd. You watched our backs, right? They did send two of us for a reason!"

"Relax." Tacitus smiled a little, "I'm playing with you. I'll watch the outside."

Lore gave him an odd look, deciding not to ask. She went inside with Lanzo, who seemed keener on commenting on their odd little exchange, "He doesn't seem that 'playing' type."

"He's not. Something's wrong... I think he's nervous."

"He ever fight another assassin?"

"I don't know. Well, there's me... but we weren't being serious. 'Least, I wasn't." she looked out the window at her friend and took a firm hold of her dagger, "Tacitus..."

'Nervous' might have been the right word. Tacitus was on edge, keeping his ears pointed high, eyes flicking back and forth, hands where he could have the quickest access to his weapons. He had indeed never truly fought another assassin except in the ring and his little spat with Lore. Aside from the day and time that the hit was supposed to take place, Tacitus had no idea who he was supposed to be looking for. This was a unique case, and it was tearing his nerves apart.

"Tch. Why am I so jittery? It's not like anyone could kill me." he laughed humorlessly, knowing how foolish it was to become cocky. He needed to calm himself, though. There would be no room for error in this mission. Everyone on the street was a target, every window a vantage point, and every corner a possible ambush.

"Fuck, if I've ever needed one of these..." the fox pulled a self-rolled joint from his robe and fumbled around for a match. It was then that he thought he'd seen something from the corner of his eye-- someone peeking around a corner. He stood perfectly still, watching that corner for one minute, then two, and then five. The sound of the shop door opening finally roused him from his concentration, and he finally found a match in his pocket, "All goes well?"

"Are you smoking? On the job? Taci, we need to be able to focus!"

"It helps me focus." the fox protested, taking a long drag and holding it, then letting it out slowly.

Lore reached for his arm, "You are nervous..." she flinched a bit when he jerked himself away, "Tacitus, what?"

"Lore, just... grant me this one thing, alright? Yes, I'm a little jittery." it hurt his pride hard, having to admit that, "This'll calm my nerves. I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap or be evasive."

Lanzo laughed and laid a heavy hand on each of their shoulders, "You two sound like lovers. Come on, I've got more shops to visit! Don't go getting distracted and letting me die now, hmm?"

The trip around the town square went by without incident. Tacitus calmed down considerably, and as he had said, his perception and overall awareness seemed to sharpen a little, much to Lore's relief. The three went from store to store, from street stalls to specialty shops, including the gun shop they'd visited earlier. Lanzo seemed satisfied with the profit they were making, and they were just about ready to head back to his office when Tacitus caught that shadow in his eye again.

It was on a rooftop now, and this time it hadn't disappeared. A black-cloaked figure hunched at the edge of the roof, crossbow in hand. Tacitus' eyes widened in realization. The world seemed to slow around him. The enemy assassin's finger curled around the trigger, the crossbow clicking as the release mechanism rose, letting go of the tension on the bowstring. The string released its potential energy in an instant, propelling an iron bolt forward.

Then there was the vulpine assassin, the only one aware of the killer's presence. He ran into Lanzo, pushing him with his shoulder, hand reaching into his cloak pocket and taking hold of a throwing dagger. He had one shot. He'd saved the businessman's life, but now his own was in jeopardy. Tacitus' arm cocked back, tensed for a moment. His mind calculated his throw before one could bat an eye. His arm pitched forward, tension released, letting go of the dagger and watching it fly. There was a loud 'clink', followed by the sound of shattering glass. The bolt had flown off course, intercepted by the dagger, and embedded itself harmlessly in an armor shop's display window. Tacitus' dagger fell, sticking into a patch of grass. The atmosphere in the crowd grew tense, a moment of silence preceding panicking shouts.

"Lore, let's go!" Tacitus took off in full sprint toward the building, with his companion trailing close behind. It took him roughly five seconds to reload a crossbow if he was being quick about it. Five seconds of risk-free sprinting, and that was it. Lanzo had taken cover in a nearby shop, and the assassin hadn't pursued, nor had he retreated.

It was an offensive game now. Another bolt let fly, zipping by Tacitus' cheek. The killer was aiming for him now. If they'd had any sort of cover, it was blown by now. Tacitus motioned for Lore to go in through the building, deciding that he'd take the more interesting route: climbing. He made a running jump at a windowsill, grabbing hold and using his momentum to pull himself upward. Another jump propelled him up again, and a third crossbow bolt flew past his ear. Tired of being shot at, Tacitus grabbed another knife from his cloak and held tight to the wall, taking aim and pitching the blade upward. It grazed his opponent's shoulder, barely enough to distract as he reloaded again. Tacitus continued to climb and dodge crossbow shots, taking cover beneath a balcony to regain some stamina. He began to think that climbing had been a very bad idea.

Lore reached the top floor and stopped before the stairwell to the roof. She heard the twang of the bowstring releasing, realizing that her friend was still under attack. She opened the door and crept toward her target, dagger raised and ready to strike. Whatever species he was, his ears were keen, and he turned around just in time to grab the other assassin's wrist before she could put it in his back. They struggled for a moment, the as of yet unidentified attacker taking aim with his bow again, only to have it kicked from his hand by the gecko. The weapon clattered to the floor, sliding over to the edge and falling down to ground.

Tacitus grinned in satisfaction when he saw the bow fall, doubling his pace and clambering up the side of the building. His gambit had paid off after all. He'd distracted the assassin long enough for Lore to get up behind him.

He pulled himself up over the edge to the roof, where Lore and the other assassin had broken their grapple and were now at a standoff. Tacitus came up from behind, standing a few paces away, daggers held at the ready... but neither attacked yet. Nothing was more dangerous than a cornered animal.

"You two are quite talented." the man in the middle admitted, pulling back his hood. He was a human, probably only in his thirties. "I'm not going to let you kill me, though. Even if you do, it won't stop what I've done."

"What do you mean?" Tacitus took a step forward, still extremely cautious of the man.

"The store the old badger ran into? I left a little present in there for him. Around twenty pounds of 'present', if my estimates are correct. It took a lot of planning to funnel the idiot in there, and it'll be nice to have a nice big fireball to mark my victorious departure."

"He's going to blow up the whole block." Lore looked back at the door leading downstairs. Now they were in a spot.

"Go." Tacitus nodded to her, "Get him out of there. If you have time, get everyone else out, too. Don't try and disarm the bomb if you can help it."

The gecko wanted to hesitate, but she knew he was right. They had to get Lanzo out of there before the explosives went off. She disengaged, moving back down the stairs as fast as she could, leaving Tacitus alone with the human assassin.

"Who do you associate with? Are you just some freelancer, or some mercenary who thinks he's branching out?" Tacitus circled the man, flipping his dagger in his hand threateningly.

"Oh, I'm on my own, foxy boy." the man replied, matching the vulpine's pace, unsheathing a pair of daggers of his own, "You, though... you don't look like a merc. You don't look like a guard. Dare I say, you look a lot like me. Am I fighting another assassin?"

"You are. Does that make you nervous?"

"Well it doesn't exactly put me at ease, but nervous? I still have the upper hand here." the man grinned and stopped circling, suddenly moving forward and striking low.

Tacitus blocked and countered high, but had his strike blocked as well, "What does it matter to you? If you die and that bomb goes off, what does it give you?"

"Satisfaction in death!" the human assassin grinned and retreated a few steps, then came in for another strike, which Tacitus dodged entirely. He blocked another strike from the fox, "My ghost won't rest easy if it doesn't get to see all that hard work go to waste!"

"Oh, so you're just here for the fun of it, are you? Idiots like you make our craft look worse than it is." he struck again, landing a grazing blow on his opponent's cheek.

"Do I really? Well what do you do it for then?"

"Money. Simple as that."

The man laughed and struck low, catching Tacitus' rib and just barely missing a vital point, "There's no difference in what we do!"

"There's enough worth mentioning." the fox tried his best to ignore the wound in his side, "I'm not on some moral trip or anything dumb like that, but I'm not out here to have fun."

"Then you're just not doing your job right, fox! Are you telling me there's never been a time when you've felt satisfied after a kill?" the human went on the offensive, striking over and over again, pushing the fox into a defensive stance, "You say you're not on a moral trip, yet you feel the need to justify yourself to me. Interesting! Why is that, fox? Why is it!"

"Because unlike you..." Tacitus swung out with a kick, forcing the human to retreat, then followed through with another strike with his daggers, turning the table and putting his opponent on the defensive, "I only execute people who deserve it! I follow a code-- an order. Am I still going to hell? Probably. But maybe my spot will be a little colder than yours!"

The man was laughing now, even as he blocked, dodged and occasionally took slashes from Tacitus' daggers. Clearly this guy wasn't quite right in the head. "So you only kill specific people. Big deal!" the two fighters' weapons clashed, forcing them into a deadlock, either side trying to push their opponent off guard and gain the advantage, "You said it yourself-- you're still a killer, and you're still bound for eternal torment and suffering. In fact, I might even say you're worse than me!" the human grinned sadistically, "That's pretty cold, sending your partner down into that impending hellstorm while you're safe up here. What will you do when the square becomes an inferno?"

Tacitus' eyes narrowed. For some reason, that was just enough to piss him off. He threw his body weight to the side, making the other assassin stumble forward. The fox brought his dagger down, sinking it deep it deep into the human's back and driving his body down into the floor. The other dagger followed through, landing inches away from the first, soaking the man's robe with his blood.

The human coughed blood and laughed, trying to pick himself back up, groaning out when Tacitus' foot made that idea impossible, "Good... Good hit, foxy boy... but you've already failed. My explosives will kill that old badger and your partner."

"I have faith enough in Lore that she won't balls this up." Tacitus pulled his daggers from the man's back, shielding his face from the blood splatter with his cloak, "You haven't won anything, and if I can venture a guess, I'd say Mr. Benan is going to become pretty intimate with my organization when he decides to take down the guy who hired you."

The man still laughed, even as his blood formed a puddle around him, "Well he won't be hiring you!"

Tacitus' eyes widened as he watched the man grab a vial from his cloak. He also became aware of several canisters strapped to the other assassin's chest.

Liquid fire... Alchemist powder.

"Oh, shit--"

The human burst into flames as he smashed the vial against his chest, laughing maniacally and writhing in pain as the fire overwhelmed his body. Tacitus had no time to run. The substance inside was a high-energy catalyst for all sorts of alchemical practices, but it also served as an explosive many times more powerful than normal gunpowder. The force of the explosion threw Tacitus through the air, over to the edge of the building. He reached for the edge, fingers almost reaching the stone floor... but falling short. Tacitus went to brace himself for what was going to be a painful fall...

Then, suddenly, he stopped. He came to a sudden halt, his arm apparently caught on something. He looked up, and for a brief moment he felt a surge of joy in his heart. Lore clung to the side of the building, her tail wrapped firmly around his wrist. The gecko groaned in exertion, slowly making her way up to the roof, "Gods, Tacitus... lose some weight!"

She pulled him over the ledge and released her tail's grip on his arm, falling onto her back and stopping to catch her breath, "You alright?"

Tacitus nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. Had she been another moment later... Well, he didn't want to think about that. He smiled, quite genuine this time, giving Lore's shoulder a squeeze, "You really came through for me... twice. Thank you, Lore."

Lore sat herself up slowly, taking his hand in hers and giving it a little squeeze in return, "You wanted to know... why I always come and talk to you, and no one else?"

Tacitus didn't answer, save for lacing his fingers with hers. Apparently that was all she needed, the scales on her cheeks turning red, "What I said was true. Part of it is because you aren't just some sadistic murderer who kills for fun. You're like me... which is another small part of it."

"Then... why else?"

Lore smiled to him, "You're the only one who ever talks back. You acknowledge me... even though you push and shove away my flirting and bouncing, you still talk to me. The others... just don't. They're like shadows. Shells of people, killing other people for coin they barely use." the gecko brought her friend's hand to her lips, "Not you, though."

Tacitus wasn't sure whether he should be honored or feel like a complete and total ass. All this time, Lore hadn't been bothering him just because it was entertaining. She was doing it because he was the only one she could relate to in the cold underground lair of the Silent Hand. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was the same for him.

"Hey." he said, standing and helping her up, then brushing himself off, "Let's finish up and go home... friend."

Lore's eyes seemed to sparkle when she heard him call her that. She nodded eagerly and bounced along beside him, leaving the burnt corpse of the crazed human assassin behind. Lanzo Benan lived to see another business day, and Tacitus and Lore would continue to kill in the name of the Silent Hand.