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Greyfang was suffice to say, not happy with his current situation at Grimshre. Sure he had managed to settle down with a village that somewhat tolerated him, and even had officially started dating Juniper. But the thing was….
He was bored, to put it plainly. Sure farming did use up a lot of time and muscle, but it didn't compare to any of the thrills on the high seas. It was just long, grueling work that made him feel empty inside. He felt himself degrading into something small, something pathetic. Even his former underlings sometimes forgot to call him Captain.
Worst of all, those villagers who had resisted him got off with hardly a punishment. He wanted to thrash the lot of them, to remind him of who he was, and who he still is. In particular Kai, who had start a fight with him and his pirates, really deserved a vicious beat down. His plan was simple: goad Kai into fighting him, beat him up, and spread the tale far and wide. It was a flawless plan. Except for one thing.
Juniper had forbade him from picking a fight with Kai. He had already tried that, and she chewed him out for it in front of his men, which was humiliating. He didn't want a repeat of that, so if he was to do this he would need to be subtle… or at least out of Juniper's earshot. So he waited, and bided his time
That opportunity finally came when Greyfang was in Grimshire one ordinary afternoon. He came over to Grimshire once a week to visit Juniper and do some trading with the village. Juniper went into the tavern to sell the Tavernkeeper some food, and he grabbed a pint of mead while he was there. He heads outside to drink it, and that's when he he spots Kai leaning against the outside wall of the tavern, looking frustrated about something. This is his opportunity. Greyfang takes a big drink of mead and then initiates his plan.
"Good day of huntin', eh?" He addresses Kai. He leans against the other side of the wall, mimicking his posture and crossing his arms in the same way, which he hoped would annoy him.
"The hunting was fine." Kai doesn't even look at him, which irritates Greyfang.
"Ha! You'd be lucky to catch a cricket, much less a critter!" Greyfang laughs, gesturing with his tankard, spilling a little drink onto the ground.
Kai continues to stare forward, only barely shifting his posture in response. A frustrated growl forms in the back of his throat. Greyfang does his best to suppress it, if he sounds too frustrated then Kai will get the upper hand in the exchange. He has another drink of mead before proceeding.
"Just' the other day I took down three adult Girtles, all by myself. Me and the lads roasted them up nice, a big plate of ribs and stew. A few of your friends were even there." He leans towards Kai's direction "They all said it was absolutely delicious."
Kai blinks "Good for you."
There's no further response. Infuriated he walks right up to Kai and shoves him in the shoulder. "What's the matter with you? Are you stupid? Messed up in the head? I'm havin' a conversation with you! Talk to me you wimperin', milk-drinking little scaredy cat!"
Kai bristles for a moment, but then turns his head so he's looking away from Greyfang "I don't care." He says flatly.
"Oooo, you think you're better than me, that's it!" Greyfang shoves his shoulder to the side, causing Kai to stumble, but he doesn't loose his footing. Kai looks at him with frustration, but doesn't give into Greyfang's provocations.
"I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not interested in it." Kai keeps his voice calm, almost sounding bored.
His anger boiling and power flowing into his limbs, Greyfang grabs the hem of Kai's tunic and pulls him close "Oh you're going to be interested in it in a moment you-"
Greyfang hears the tavern door open and immediately takes his paws off Kai and steps back. His head swivels around and he expects to see Juniper. Instead he sees a young rabbit woman with yellowish tan fur and orange eyes wearing a black skirt and a red shirt. She looks towards Kai with concern "Are you okay? I heard yelling."
"I'm fine, Autumn." Kai says, his shoulders noticeably relaxing.
He approaches Autumn. She embraces him, and gives him a kiss on the cheek. He leans into her for just a moment before they pull apart. Greyfang suddenly remembers her, she's Juniper's assistant and Kai's girlfriend. He doesn't know much about her, but he does know that Kai treasures her dearly. He thinks Juniper said something about Autumn almost dying once, so he's very protective of her.
Suddenly Greyfang is getting ideas. Lot of them.
He puts on a winning smile, takes a few step towards the two and holds his hand out to the young rabbit woman "Y'know, I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Captain Greyfang, I believe you're familiar with Juniper, my lovely lass."
She gives him a nervous smile, "Oh yes I am, I help her out on her farm sometimes."
Kai bares his teeth at him. Meant to be a warning, it fills Greyfang with excitement instead. He keeps holding his hand out and leans just a little closer.
"Hey Autumn, I got a little philosophical question for you, just for fun. Hypothetically, if you died today would anyone miss you."
Autumn shifts awkwardly, Kai leans closer to her, glaring at Greyfang. After a few seconds Autumn speaks.
"Kai would, and so would Logan and Tano. I think Theo would…"
"You think? You ain't sure lass?"
Autumn's ears tighten against her head, clearly unnerved. She opens her mouth to speak, but Kai grabs her arm and starts leading her away. He whispers to Autumn "Just leave him be."
Greyfang is running out of time. They're walking away and Juniper will surely be out of the tavern any minute now. As a last resort he chugs the last bit of mead at the bottom of his tankard and throws it at Autumn. He's too angry to aim properly, and it sails past past the side of her head. Despite it not actually hitting her, Autumn jumps in surprise.
"Why'd you-"
He doesn't even get to finish what he's saying before Kai's claws slice across his face. The wound hisses in pain, blood rushing to the surface to paint his fur red but he doesn't focus on those sensations. Greyfang ducks underneath Kai's next blow and lunges forward, tackling Kai to the ground. They both land on the ground hard, Kai letting out a cry of pain as he takes the heavier blow. Greyfang recovers a little bit quicker and manages to get one good punch in across Kai's face before Kai's able to defend himself. Greyfang rains many blows down on Kai, but Kai now has his fists up and is able to mostly keep his face intact. Then Kai knees him in the groin, sending a shockwave of intense pain throughout his body. Kai manages to grab his shoulder and throw him off, sending Greyfang rolling to the side, his fur getting a new coat of grass and dirt. Greyfang tries to stand up, but he doesn't move fast enough.
Kai snatches his face, and leans close to his ear "You want a fight so bad? Well I hope you're happy with what you got." He snarls, his eyes alight with fury. Then he slams his head into the ground with the force that can only come from someone filled with pure rage.
It's in that moment that Greyfang hears a familiar voice. Kai's ears perk up and he looks to the side for a moment, and then Greyfang's heart seizes in fear as he realizes who's shouting. Juniper runs up to the two of them, desperately trying to shove Kai off of him.
"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Juniper yells.
Kai lets go of Greyfang and steps back. Realizing that this may be his last opportunity, he leaps up and swings his claws across Kai's face. Juniper grabs his arm and gets in between the two.
"Greyfang stop!" She yells at him.
"Kai attacked me first!" He yells like a child on the schoolground.
"Do you expect me to believe that? I was only inside for a minute… dear Anima I can't take you anywhere!" She puts a paw to her face and stops yelling for a moment. "Kai are are alright."
Juniper then looks to Kai Greyfang follows her gaze. Kai has a few busies and cuts, but looks infuriatingly intact. Kai gives a brief nod to Juniper to indicate that he's fine. He sees an old goat watching him from the tavern window, and a fox lady to his right with a hand over her mouth in shock. But what stands out to him is Autumn. Her eyes are not on Greyfang, but Kai. Her eyes are wide, her hands half up as if she doesn't know what to do with them, and there's an aggressive blush across her cheeks. She walks up to Kai and reaches out as if to touch his face.
"Are you sure that you're alright?" She says in a soft voice
Kai grimaces "I'm fine, I just got a few scratches."
"You…you didn't have to do that for me." Her voice shakes a little.
"Autumn, it's fine. He was looking for a fight and…" He takes her paws in his own "I wasn't going to let him hurt you."
The blush grows more furious on her face. Greyfang is infuriated beyond words. Those two agitators, they don't deserve to have such a happy relationship. As they leave together, Juniper turns her attention back to him.
"Why do you feel the need to do this? Seriously, why do you need to pick fights with Kai? He's very nice." She puts her hands on her hips.
"I didn't do anythin', Kai just started attack'n me for no reason." He crosses his arms and furrows his brow.
"Do you seriously expect me to believe that? Especially when you've been trying to fight him for weeks- I can't, I just can't anymore."
Despite being unable to can't anymore, she grabs him by the arm and starts dragging him away while continuing "And now I have to explain this to Hazel…you got yourself banged up for no good reason. Come on let's go to the herbalist and get you patched up."
Is Greyfang hurt? Absolutely. He can feel blood dripping down his face and several sources of pain pulsing across his body. However he's used to getting hurt in fights so he hardly even . He probably could walk home and treat himself if he really wanted to. But he knows better to resist Juniper as she drags him to the herbalist, lecturing him the whole way.
Despite all the yapping and her dragging him away from a fight that he could've totally won, he still feels warm inside whenever he looks at her.