stuff us in boxes that's where you want us

cardboard is boring, we brought our matches - look how it burns

This was not Harley's idea of an ideal night. Not in the slightest. Dragging out bloody, sweaty, naked unconscious men from the ring was not nearly as appealing or amusing as one would think. Alexis seemed nice enough but Harley said very few words to the other woman. It was no secret that the raven-haired spitfire would rather be just about anywhere else than here. Harley leant casually against one of the four posts of the ring, arms crossed with that fuck off stare as she watched Tobias take the final attack which unsurprisingly sealed the Okapi's fate. The crowd erupted in a thunderous applause as though they were entirely surprised and excited for that very outcome, the woman rolling her eyes who predicted it from the start. Is this how they made their money through poorly matched fights? Regardless that battle had been won.

The fallen Okapi was nearly twice her size, the man all but dwarfing her petite form. Of course, she was deceptively strong thanks to being a were and yet she still had to work twice as hard in comparison to someone like Jackal who could have simply tossed the fallen fighter over his shoulder with ease. The awkwardness of the dead weight and slippery sweat only added to the struggle that was now her life. Harley grumbled unhappily underneath her breath, the woman nothing short of loathing her own existence with every moment that dragged on within that ship. Surely she had done something unforgivable in a past life to be dealt the absolute shittiest hand fate could dole out. She wanted nothing to do with any single creature on this damn ship. Which was probably why Tetrafuckingdore put her right where he could see her, in plain sight of each and every one of them. Which made it impossible to give the pack the slip. Mind you, the fights themselves were interesting enough, and she could understand their appeal. The crowd went nuts for it too, eating it up with their alcohol and their rambunctious attitudes. However, stacking a leopard against a weird prey animal seems like a no brainer, even to her. Do people actually bet on this shit? Ridiculous odds and all?

With absolutely no enthusiasm the raven-haired woman sliced across the ring, as she crossed paths with Tobias. Tetradore's second and victor of that very battle. The man, she had to admit was a little odd from what she had seen of the leopard. She was caught mid-stare with a narrowed gaze even though he was stark naked. She was careful not to look too closely below the belt. But no matter how damn hard you tried there was no way you could miss it. Fucking weres. She was quite certain the Ark could second as a nudist resort. It was then that the lanky leopard met her stare before he called out her name and stuck his tongue at her like a goddamn 5-year-old. It probably shouldn't have bugged her but damn, it seemed to provoke her inner feline all the same! Before Harley could even stop herself. Her lips had parted, that bore her very human teeth before that snaking cat-like hiss slipped past.

This in itself seemed to startle the were-panther. Her eyes growing wide in abject horror at what she had done before her face contorted into a frown. She shook her head as if to rid herself of those feline tendencies before approaching the heap of a man on the floor. The leopard really did a number on this one, the now human male was basically shredded. Even if they healed fast, the wounds made her wince in discomfort. He looked.... dead. "Come on.." She nudged him with her foot, partially hoping he would have come to and walked his own stinky sweaty ass out of the ring.

She drew a breath as she contemplated all her life's choices in a singular moment, hooking her fingers underneath his arms, his body face up. Harley put her back into the purpose of hauling the man out, she inched him a little bit by little bit until she brought the wounded warrior to the edge of the ring where Alexis was. Harley gave one last hefty shove, he slipped from her grasp that sent the unconscious Okapi man tumbling right before the feet of the healer. Dammit, the man was heavy.

"He is all yours." She uttered with all the sarcasm she could muster as the last of her pride went up in vapour. Tobias was met with a woman who had already had him dressed at least from the waist down. Her dagger-like gaze sliced upward to meet the damn bane of her existence as if just to silently curse him once more. Not even Henry received such a glare, and he certainly got his fair share that evening, a small price to pay considering the pain he caused her friend.

She took an idle step, from the fight ring easily the spitfire landed with that feline grace into a low crouch to cushion the impact. It was rather impeccable timing as that thunderous sound resonated from deep within the belly of the ship at the same time, as it gave forth a violent shudder the moment her feet touched the ground. What the fuck?

Did she do that? Harley straightened quickly looking around as though she waited on someone to begin the blame game that never came. Of course, the spitfire of a woman was not responsible for Ark's impending demise but it was damn well convincing. But at that moment she thought...... this was somehow her fault. Uhh.. It wouldn't be that farfetched, where ever she roamed trouble soon nipped at her heels.

The Okapi came to with an abrupt fright, Alexis had already done her voodoo magical hand shit effectively enough. He met Harley's eyes as if he considered the same thing she had moments before. She shook her head before she offered the man a simple shrug. The crowd broke into wild milling chaos as that boat started to groan and tilt, glasses and plates soon slid from the surrounding tables with a shattering clamour which accentuated that destruction within the room. If this was the apocalypse she hardly was prepared for it.

Regardless, it was the perfect time to lose herself in the crowd and make her departure. There was no one to stop her, she was sure of it. It was likely her presence would hardly be missed amidst the heat of the commotion. She could make like a ghost and drift out of there. She might have been considered Tetradore's but she did everything in her power to fight that connection that begrudgingly bound them together. She took that opportunity and began to move swiftly along the side of the crowd, careful not to get her petite self stampeded in the process. Apparently the Okapi felt content enough to follow the woman as if she would somehow bring him to safety's grip.

Harley kept a watchful eye out for those people she associated with the pack, Carolina, the closest being to her. She saw her nobly attempt to usher people out with a man known as Jackal attempting to keep calm in the chaos. Both beings were entirely preoccupied to notice one woman slinking away. Good. She slipped past the sweet taste of victory practically tangible as the she-cat made it at least a few meters away when Tetradore's bossy baritone voice appeared, an invasive booming force echoed abrasively in her own mind. An audible sigh had left her halting in tracks like a bandit making away with the goods. It was like she knew he was behind her, that alpha presence nothing short of consuming when he wished it. She glanced briefly over her shoulder to confirm just that. Sure enough, there he was with the blonde. Fuck.

Apparently, he was not done with the wayward Harley just yet. She considered weighing out her options and momentarily thought of continuing her way. The Okapi man noticed her hesitation and gave her a near apologetic look before he took off with the rest of the crowd. Prey animals. Honestly, she couldn't blame him, getting off the boat with issues was clearly a sound idea that none of the pack seemed to be heeding.

Harley turned with purpose, nothing more but a storm with skin. She took those last few steps toward Tetradore and Carolina, her arms crossed, sarcasm all but radiated from her in waves. "I thought the whole thing with sinking ships is getting off it before it sinks." She muttered tightly as she raised her vibrant violet gaze unabashedly to face king Tetradore with no shortage of the resentment she harboured for the alpha, her maker, tormentor and now apparent slave driver. Apparently she was working for nothing now too. Vampires and Weres apparently needed to be brought into the 21st century, too bad that night wasn't tonight.

Harley Westward