The Journalist, The General, and The Pirate

1) Two Wolves and a Rabbit

Daeva Belov sighed and rested his cheek upon his fist. His ruby gaze drifting out the window beside their booth. The townsfolk wandering along the street and mingling amongst one another. Venders waving around their products; they weren't that high of quality. Well, most weren't. The fruit in the area was among some of the best but their trinkets and accessories? Not so much. But this wasn't the big city, and Daeva knew this. These little towns were so boring. Nothing to write about and nobody interesting to speak with. What was he expecting to see out here in the countryside? Civil unrest? Hah, that was solely for the bustling cities and soldiers roaming those streets.

"Dae, you alright?" asked the poodle across from him. Her eyes a cross between violet and ruby; her fur grey with black and white speckles. "You've been staring out the window for a while..."

Pushing himself upright, he gave his friend a wide smile. Was it forced? He wasn't even sure anymore. "Oh, sorry. Were you saying something? I must have lost myself in thought, haha."

"You and your thinking." She sighed and took a sip of her drink. "You still trying to figure out how to get that world class interview of yours?"

"I already know exactly what I am going to do," he said with utmost confidence despite, in fact, not having a clue. "He should be in town. Somewhere. It is simply a matter of finding him."

"I should have known there was a bigger reason for you coming out to visit. You never did like the countryside."

Waving a dismissive hand, Daeva shook his head at one he'd almost call family if not for their different parents. Her of obvious canine descent while he came from a lineage of wolpertingers. Although most townsfolk preferred to call him a vampiric rabbit with the antlers of a deer and the snowy wings of an owl. Every inch of fur a pristine white and his nose a wiggling pink above elongated fangs. Long, sharp ears flicking beside fluffed hair.

"That, my dear Anya, was merely a bonus. You will always be my favorite aspect of these barren landscapes full of cow manure."

"Barren? Really? Have you not looked at the forest or the river? You must be thinking of that desert you read in the pamphlet. The one you keep tucked in your pocket and that I know is all crumpled and stained from the time you spilled wine on it."

"Tsk, a plain is far more barren realistically speaking, silly Anya. Why would I keep such a thing?" he said and crossed his arms with a slight puff of his cheeks.

Anya grinned with fangs that glinted in the sunlight. "Because you like that portrait they included of that guy. What was his name again? Cashmir?"

He gasped and pressed a hand to his chest. The audacity of this blasphemous woman. "You know very well it is Casimir. Pronounced Kah-Cee-Mir. Probably. Not whatever you just said. Hmph."

"Hmm, I'm sure it is." She chuckled and leaned closer with a hand under her chin. "For a married man you sound real obsessed with a guy you know nothing about..."

"I am not obsessed. Merely curious about his occupation and the people he hunts."

"You mean that pirate you're also monitoring?"

"Yes, Hell Hound," he said with a thoughtful look. "It would be a dream interview..."

Anya rolled her eyes and finished her drink. "More like a death wish. Pretty sure either of those cutthroats would kill you for the fun of it. You do realize one of them is notorious for plundering and pillaging? Kidnapping people to sell on the market?"

"Certainly he cannot be that bad. I believe most of it is mere speculation and rumors." Or maybe the pirate was. Daeva wasn't sure but a part of him would love to find out. The other wanted to go home and have a hot bath. "If I am ever given the chance, I will take-"