What are you hiding? [Open!]

"Watch your tongue, boy. Or one of these days, you're going to lose it." Rang through Haeton's head as the elf's face was prodded with a foot. The words were a life long lesson that often seemed to be uttered from the mouths of his family. Haeton rarely heeded the advise or the warning, and so far his tongue remained perfectly in tact. So naturally, like he had countless times before, he ignored the advise of the echoed voices in his head.

"I'm exactly four blocks, two roof tops, and a conveniently unlocked window away from home, thank you." When the foot came to prod him again, he lunged with his face as best he could and snapped his teeth. He doubted his bite would have caused any damage, but the foot recoiled instinctively away from Haeton's teeth, and Haeton considered it a small victory. "If you consider that far, then...well perhaps you should get out more." The weight of the man on his back was making it so that his words only came out in a wheeze. "Especially you, pal. You weigh as much as the whales I'm told you thieving sailor types like to screw around with-gah!"

The goon on Haeton's back growled and leaned harder down on the elf's back, making it even harder to breathe. "Why you-"

"How...does it work exactly? I mean....whales....are so huge. And you lot...well....I'm betting you're all rather....small..." Haeton continued as best he could between gasps of air. "So....maybe the shady business in warehouse...is just you lot compensating....for something." His mouth twisted upwards into a devilish grin.

"Shut up!" A thinner man, with a nasty scar running down his face who was holding Haeton's arm down, pounded the elf one good on the side of the head. If the goon was hoping that it would be enough to make Haeton quiet....he had another thing coming.

Groaning against the stars that were dancing across his eyes, Haeton blinked rapidly to try and clear them away. He probably should have been way more concerned about his predicament then he was. It was just way too much fun making people angry. Especially when they were making it so easy. And now that he had started, it just wouldn't be right to stop and be quiet. That would be letting the bad men win, and he couldn't allow for that.

"Ooooh I get it." He barked a wheezy laugh. "I get why you're so testy. You're hiding something." The men around him seemed to stiffen. "You don't sleep with whales, you're all sleeping with each other! Makes sense...dark warehouse...middle of the night, no one around. Good place a ruff and tumble."

A rough hand grabbed a handful of Haeton's hair and with a swift motion jerked his head back and slammed it into the ground until the elf groaned and his smile was replaced with a grimace. Once again stars and other bright lights danced across his vision. His head hurt, and he couldn't breathe, but at least a bunch of goons weren't focusing on his skin anymore. He would consider that another victory.

"I say we stab him in the gut and then make him dance as we pull out his intestines inch by inch." The man on his back growled into Haeton's ear. He didn't think the man could possibly put more weight on his back, but he was proven wrong!

The scarred man shifted, his ugly face split into an uglier smile. "Before that, we cut out his tongue and shove it down his throat!"

Well, what do you know! He really WAS going to lose his tongue. Huh, guess he maybe SHOULD have heeded all of those warnings. Well it was too late for that. This was apparently where the book of Haeton was going to come to an end. He was going to die terribly at the hands of five thugs. And then poor Gwen would most likely be forced into a terrible life as their...bad guy...play thing. Or whatever muscly goons did to their prisoners who they didn't gore and mute. Wait...He KNEW what they would probably do to Gwen...and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Haeton ground his teeth in agitation. Why was he caring so much? Weren't spies, or theives or...whatever job he was doing at any given time suppose to be selfish with no Morales? Morally bankrupt...yes, selfish? Not always. Apparently this was going to be one of those "not always" moments. And he hated it!

In order to properly get on the good side of a thug, one must speak to their better nature. In this case, the greedy side was much more preferred to the stabby stabby, killy killy side.

"I...think those are both terrible ideas." Haeton coughed out.

"Well of course YOU think they are." The scarred man laughed. "They both mean you die."

Haeton cracked a grin. "And that means YOU lose out on a lot of money."

The room went silent and for a blessed moment, the weight on his back eased up slightly.

"He's lying." The man who had been prodding Haeton's face earlier growled as he boot once again made contact with Haeton's cheek. "Just trying to save his skin."

"Not just my skin, but my friend's over there as well." Haeton added. "And in doing so, I can make you all very rich."

The large man barked a laugh and then reached over and grabbed Gwen by the hair and yanked her forward towards Haeton. "You think I'll believe a word out of your lying mouth? That some light elf wench and a dark elf demon can make me any money?" The man tossed Gwen back towards the man who had been holding her earlier and leaned down closer to Haeton. "Rubbish!"

Haeton didn't need to fake his anger. "Do you know what is four blocks away from here? Judging by the glazed look to your dull eyes, and the dangling drool hanging out of your clueless slack jaws, you probably don't, so I'll tell you. It's a brothel and it's where my friend and I live." He snapped. A part of him hoped that Gwen would forgive him for his ruse, but it was the only thing he could think of. "We're a set. Get it, light and dark? Aurea and Atros." He glared up at the man as best as he could. "Do you realize how much people PAY for that shtick? After all, you said it yourself, you don't see much of my kind around here. We're both worth more money then you've probably seen in your life. But only if we're together and only if we're both unharmed." He added, hoping that the goons would take the bait.

Haeton's mouth pulled up in a smirk of his own as the big man prodded his face again and commented on his looks. "Why thank you. That's what my mama keeps telling me." Which wasn't really a lie...though his adoptive mother was more concerned about him DAMAGING his pretty whore face then him actually having one.

Haeton tried his best to swivel his head around to look at the man who was tragically named Rod. What parent ever thought that would be a good name? Then again, it wasn't like Haeton's name was much better. "Rod, eh? Clearly both of our parents had the brothel life planned for us at an early age. Give 'em the old "rod" eh?" Haeton chuckled, or at least tried too. It was hard to laugh when you were being crushed. Thankfully, the men on top of the dark elf's back laughed enough for him. "heh, these guys know."

Haeton nodded in agreement to the big man, once again. He was right, people WERE into the weirdest shit. Haeton was well versed in many levels of debauchery that humanity seemed to harbour in it's dark depths. But the weird stuff, tended to be the most fun and if not fun, well it certainly paid well.

"I didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you, but then again, thugs aren't really known for their academic prowess." Haeton sighed and rolled his eyes as if dealing with the thugs was becoming tedious. "Alright, wipe the spittle dangling out of your mouth and pay attention to Teacher; As I'm sure even you're aware, Dark elves are rare. Do you have any idea how much people pay to dance in the sheets with someone like me? Don't strain yourself, I'll tell you: A lot." Sure insulting the brutes probably wasn't the best course of action, but Haeton wanted their attention on him. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that he saw Gwen's eyes open. If she was awake, then that risked her being questioned as to the realness of Haeton's story. Haeton was a pro at lying through his teeth, he wasn't going to risk Gwen ruining their only chance of getting out of here a live.

Haeton continued. "Now add in a light elf as well, and all of a sudden "a lot" turns into "a tonne." So if you want to make money, all you gotta do is find the person who's going to be willing to pay."

"So we just gotta bring them back to the brothel and they'll pay us handsomely to get these two back." One of the men on Haeton's back chimed in as the tiny, oh so dim light that was his brain flashed on for a moment.

"Well yes, but...If you really want to make some money, You gotta think bigger." Haeton added, knowing full well that his brothel didn't have the kind of money these thugs were most likely after. Not only that but, they wouldn't pay for Haeton's rescue. Especially not after he snuck out when he was ordered not too for fear of something like this happening. Nope, they would probably laugh and slam the door in his face. So Haeton needed to get that idea out of the thugs head. "I'm thinking that if you REALLY want a bang for your buck, we got to leave Amedra altogether and head somewhere where a tag team like me and her would be unheard of. Where there would be no competition for sale, but undoubtedly many MANY hungry people, just waiting for a chance to pay for some twisted fun. Someplace with a lot of money, but strict rules and an extremely righteous sense of morale high ground."

"Delverne?!"

"Exactly!"

"Are you dense? No one there would pay anything for you."

Haeton grinned again. "Are you kidding? A stuck up joint like that? Want to know what people are praying for all the time there? Miracles and a good fuck. Both of which probably go hand in hand. I know, most of my clients are from that city." A total lie. And Delverne was probably the worst city to recommend but Haeton was going to do his own praying and hope that the men around him were dumb enough to consider his words. At least if Gwen and him were found out on the way, Gwen would probably be rescued and Haeton would be...Arrested, jailed and probably executed. Lovely! But marginally better then having the crushing weight of two men pushing down on his back.

"It's not going to be worth anything if you keep bashing it up!" Haeton snapped at the large man as the leader of the thugs finally removed his foot from the side of Haeton's head. Haeton was about the struggle against the idea of restraints, but the weight of the man coming off his back shocked him as glorious air was suddenly allowed to more freely flow into his lungs. gasping hungrily, Haeton was much too preoccupied with breathing to resist as his arms were painfully twisted behind him and tied together at the forearms. Soon after his legs met the same fate.

Unceremoniously, Haeton found himself hoisted up off the ground and roughly deposited into the crate beside Gwen. His damaged pride for being so rudely man handed was quickly forgotten by the sharp stabbing pain of his knee slamming into his eye as his body thumped into the crate. "Aurea's saggy tits!" He cursed vehemently to the red stars that swirled around his vision.

Venting his anger (which more more directed to his throbbing eye then to his current situation), he squirmed and tried his best to kick his legs against the lid of the crate. The minuscule impact made a simple nondescript thud and then the momentum of the kick caused Haeton's body to tip sideways so that he was no longer laying on his arms which were tied to his back.

With a sigh, Haeton twisted his head up to study Gwen in the dim light. Despite everything, he grinned. The white of his teeth cut a fine white line against the darkness of his skin. "Well...that worked out pretty well. You hurt?" He kept his voice low and to a whisper as he squirmed against his bonds. Damn sailors and their tight knots!

The goon had been right, Haeton did like that he was tied up. Though perhaps not in the way the thugs had thought. The ties were rope, and rope could be cut. Rope could also be used for climbing, carrying, holding and strangling. The dark elf knew he was going to get at least one of those uses out of the rope. Once he managed to squirm out of it of course.

Haeton barked a quiet laugh at Gwen's cheerful response. If being beat up and thrown into a box didn't get the light elf's mood down, Haeton didn't think anything would. Which was good because panic and fear was the last thing Haeton wan't to deal with right now. If they didn't get free and away from the thugs, THEN there could be panic and fear. Delverne was the LAST place the Dark elf wanted to go. He'd probably not make it out of the crate before he was arrested. Then again, there was a small part of him that found the idea of sauntering around the holy city to be entertaining. Darkening up those bright streets with his un-pure darky self. He couldn't help but chuckle at the imagined expressions that would most likely appear on the faces of the citizens as he walked by.

Deciding that quietly laughing like a mad man while tied up in a box wasn't helping the situation none, Haeton gave his head a shake and focused back onto the task at hand. "I'm good too. Really, I think those guys are more bark then bite. Or, my head is just as hard as yours." And probably a lot thicker. The dark elf responded as he squirmed. The damn ropes were tight! Normally Haeton always carried knives on him. They were great for situations where he needed to cut something. Like ropes! But he usually kept those knives in his boots or his jacket or in his greaves. His boots were back in an alley way, most likely making a nice nest for a family of rats. A lot of good they were doing him there! His jacket was back at home, because it was much too flashy to be wearing sneaking around in the dark and his greaves broke up the darkness of his skin which made hiding in the shadows harder. Of course that didn't mean he didn't still have knives on him, but he couldn't exactly reach them with his arms tied up.

Haeton's eyes flashed over to Gwen as her words broke into his frustrated thoughts about knife placement on his body and his growing hatred for ropes,  and he studied her. Again, his face split in the grin. It was true, those idiots hadn't tied her up. More and more, he was beginning to believe it when his friend's constantly told him he had horse shoes up his ass. "They tied me up so I can't move. You know, normally I'm not against being tied up, but these are tight. Do you think you could help me get these off?" He asked, shifting so that Gwen could have better access to the restraints.

No sooner did Haeton speak, did the crate suddenly jerk and shift, pitching the two prisoners off to the side. They were being lifted, and carried. Haeton growled a curse out as he bumped his head on the ceiling of their prison and then thumped the sides with his feet as menacingly as he could. "Bruises drop prices!" He yelled at the brutes who were carrying the crate.

"Lets hurry and try and get these ropes off." Haeton whispered to Gwen. 

Haeton couldn't exactly twist around well enough to see what tool Gwen had produced from her clothing to help with getting the ropes off. If it was a knife, then that was awesome! More people needed to carry more knives around. Knives were cool. But knives could cut, and the dark elf felt mildly uneasy having a sharp object cutting away at something so close to his wrists. Especially with the crate jostling about as it was. One wrong move and.....Haeton didn't want to think about it.

"I'm not worried about pinching." Haeton responded, with a bit of a barked laugh. "Pinched skin is nothing compared to rope burns." Or slit wrists.

Deciding that fretting over Gwen's aptitude for knife handling wasn't accomplishing anything, Haeton turned his attention to outside the crate and attempted to put his mind towards something a little more productive. Through the cracks in the crate, he peered out into the darkness of the docks and observed what little surroundings he could make out. The ship they seemed to be carried towards didn't seem too big. Which was good. That meant it wouldn't have a very large crew, which would make escape easier. So long as the crate was stashed away in a nice quiet place, Haeton was certain escape would be easy.

The smirk on his face broadened as the sudden release of the ropes around his wrists marked the end of Step one to freedom. "That's fantastic! Thank you!" He beamed, as he rolled back onto his back and stretched out his arms. The joints in his shoulders cracked loudly as he rolled out of the stiffness that had settled in. "This feels much better." He rubbed his wrists for a moment, and then reached over his shoulder and down the back of his tunic. His fingers clasped around the hilt of a small knife he had sewed into his clothing. With a well practiced flourish that was more habit then him showing off, he flipped the blade out in the air, caught it in his other hand, and then went to work on quickly cutting the ropes off his ankles. In mere moments his feet were free and he was quickly winding up his new rope.

"Alright, you keep your rope, and I'll keep this one." He whispered to grin, shifting into a crouched position, which was rather difficult, considering the crate wasn't very big, and he was rather tall. "I'm not sure if we'll need to use them, but rope is always handy." He grinned and clapped his hands together. "Now we start step two to Freedom. Which will be getting out of this crate."

As if on cue, the crate jerked again as the men carrying it dropped it harshly onto the floor. Haeton hissed out a string of curses that were rather fitting of someone on a ship as his head and neck twisted painfully against the ceiling of the duo's small prison at the impact. "I am going to be black and blue all over by the end of this." The dark elf muttered.

Besides for constantly being told that he had horse shoes up his ass, Haeton was also told far more often that his luck would run out one day. Today seemed to be that day. Peering out of the cracks in the crate, it became painfully clear that the crate had just been dropped on the middle of the deck! "So much for a sneaky exit." Haeton muttered again. His eyes flicked over to Gwen. "Any ideas on how to get out? I'm sure rent in this thing will be pretty cheap, buuuuuut, not a whole lot of leg room."