× [ Danny-Lee Caton; Mariko Corvus + Markus “Hellfire” Hale;
and Maggie Fike // The Blackbird’s Crown, an...empty shack in Tall Trees. ] ×
Upon having the little wooden door come crashing inwards, allowing the rather bitter chill of winter to come rushing in; accompanied closely by men with many bad intentions for those who had been celebrating the progression of business, Mariko had felt her hand drop instinctively to her side—nimble fingers carefully wrapping around the butt of her sawed off shotgun; all too ready to coat the old wooden walls with a fresh coat of crimson. It had been a risk to invest gold bars into the business that Corvus had entrusted to her, meaning that the dark-haired girl was more than willing to add a few more heads to her body count, if it meant that their investment didn’t go to waste—washed down the drain by a few hicks.
Behind her, an unnerved Markus glanced between his companion; their recent acquaintance in the form of a terrifying older lady; and the commotion that stood before them. Had they been followed back to this little old shack, barely anything beyond this room that they stood in now, and the brewery sitting beneath them? Or...were rumours already starting to spread? It wasn’t exactly avoidable, though Markus would be surprised if those embers had already grown into a spark, as it had only been a handful of weeks—since he had first accompanied an incredibly excited Mariko to see the shack that would eventually be shared between them. Corvus’ orders, although the red-haired boy wasn’t exactly too upset about it all.
In an instant—the tension levels within the Blackbird’s Crown; snapped. Before the cowardly thug could fully process the movement within the corner of his eye; he found himself being levelled by the combination of Mariko’s shotgun, and the old revolver belonging to Markus—an answer to his bold move to point his own gun at their new acquaintance and companion, Maggie Fike. Despite the mixture of uncertainty that Mariko felt towards the older woman; a fellow member of their gang, Valentine Gallagher, vouched heavily for her. It would seem that the two of them had been fairly close with each other, once upon a time, before things had taken the disgusting turn that her nephew had reluctantly shared with the gang...
Mariko respected Ms. Fike, from the few things that she had learnt about the old woman, and she supported her decision to hit back—and reclaim what was hers. And that, unfortunately for the goons who were hurrying to click off their safeties, meant that Mariko was more than willing to spill a little blood for her new partner. Tension riddled the small frame of the young mercenary, and it wasn’t until there was nobody left in the shack; besides themselves and Maggie, that she carefully lowered her shotgun back into the holster—sharp grey eyes shooting upwards to look towards her red-haired arsonist, as he placed a gentle hand upon her back. Nodding his head to indicate his own well-being; Mariko allowed herself to relax, as Maggie smiled a shrewd smile, and carefully hobbled over towards the table.
“Don’t worry, girl...there’ll be plenty of time to kill each and every of those awful bastards—and I trust you to make ‘em suffer. Might wanna bring Mr. Delgado out from his beauty sleep to accompany you on that one.” Maggie murmured, as she leaned into her cane, eyes twinkling mischievously—as Markus snickered at the jab towards one of the grumpiest members of their little gang. Pouring up three glasses of moonshine; the older woman added, “For now...I’d consider ourselves lucky. We got their attention, they know their days are numbered.” Quickly, and without hesitation, Maggie downed one of the glasses; chuckling softly; with the smallest noise of appreciation beneath her breath. Gesturing towards the other two glasses—Maggie slowly made her way back towards the desk, allowing the outlaws a moment to carefully retrieve a glass each. “Go on, drink! It ain’t gonna hurt; and there’s no denyin’ you both deserve it.” Maggie smirked; before slowly lowering her attention back to her work; as Mariko and Markus shared a glance.
“To...us?” Markus murmured, in a tone that implied his uncertainty towards how exactly such words together would sound, although Mariko only beamed at him; nodding her head enthusiastically at his choice of words. “Aye! To us!” Markus cheered, raising his glass upwards; and prompting Mariko to do the same, softly clinking their glasses together—before downing their moonshine. Grimacing at the all too bitter taste, the dark-haired girl carefully placed her glass down, and reminded herself to stop allowing herself to be pressured into drinking the shine. It was vile; and honestly? Mariko couldn’t understand why anyone enjoyed it!
Tagging: @cheapymccheaps
