The Stray

2-22: Pride of the Waters

He could see gears grinding painfully in Valencia's head as she tried to puzzle out what to react to first. The little otterbeast winked at her as she did. She finally settled on, "You speak Kinnic?"

"Something we have in common, beautiful!" He swirled and swooshed like he was made of dark, gooey syrup, draping himself in a long thin ribbon along the bush like he was posing for a saucy painting. There was a beat. Timothy groaned behind his lips. I can't believe he found a new way to be annoying. Ugh!

"Uhh... duh, I guess you are part slime or something. So... I'm with the Fresa town watch. Look, Timothy here's new, normally we don't jump straight to violence. That said, you did attack him, so why don't you and your pals come out, slowly, and we can talk, huh?" Timothy guessed V heard what he smelled. They were actually surrounded, or pretty close, with more of those slimes. It was hard to tell how many there were (slimes, man) but there were definitely enough that it was time for fast talk or fast casting.

"V, be careful!" He warned. "This guys a huckster!"

"Oh, poor Squeaky." Pride rolled over and over, forming a twisty rope of its own body, but leaving its head and feet in place. "All that anger for a cutie like li'l ol' me?" It took a huge amount of effort to not light him on fire. The dragoness dropped a hand on his shoulder, and the look she gave him told him he wasn't getting any help.

"V, we're surrounded." Timothy hissed, low enough that hopefully only she could hear him.

"Just wait." She said. Then she stepped forward and leaned down. "So I guess Pride of the Waters is your name? Pretty li'l and cute for a criminal mastermind, if y'ask me." Oh, what the hell! Timothy stifled a groan. The otterbeast giggled at the direct attention, forming a heart from its body. "Talk to me, huh?"

"Criminal mastermind! One more title for the list— Pride of the Waters, treasured vizier of the Blackloch, catcher of the biggest fish, and criminal mastermind! Ooh, I like the sound of that! Don't you, Squeaky?" Timothy only managed to avoid doing something unwitchlike by the skin of his teeth.

"Vizier to the Blackloch?" V asked with a raised eyebrow. "So you're here on his orders, then."

"Sure am!" He lounged, looping over himself like honey drizzled on an oatcake. "I'm but a humble servant of a higher power, just trying to do the right thing! Believe it, toots!" He was actually doing this. V musta heard his teeth grinding, because glanced over her shoulder at him to make sure he was behaving, and annoyance started to boil over in him.

"You two have history, don't you." It wasn't a question, more of a resigned kinda statement. Did she think he was just being petty? Annoyance was quickly turning to anger.

Pride cackled. "He has history! I just have happy, happy memories." He stretched up gooey like to stage-whisper in V's ear. "He's not as smart as he thinks he is!" Timothy's composure was a mask, in a sense; he was listening to it slowly crack away with every word. "He's been after me forever. But I'm too fast and smart for him!"

Oh, that was the last frassing straw. Timothy drew up his height and glowered under his hood. "You burned down my first house!"

"Who, me?" The limuutri said innocently. "Like I'd do a thing like that!" He looked up at Valencia with dewy eyes. "He's an evil bully witch, you know. He's had it out for me for years!"

So that was his game. Hit him in the weakest part of him yet— his reputation. And damn it, that could work. It wasn't like V knew him that well! Timothy's fist clenched. "You almost made me blow up Witch's Pond by screwing with my rituals! You stole one of my friends' beehives! You ate my winter stores!"