On the Streets of Dogs, Part 1 of 4


Ahoy! I've put together a whole new piece of fan-fiction. A short story that's sure to please, On the Streets of Dogs tells the thrilling tale of one of my favorite characters to write - Warwick Orleans, pirate turned Marleybonian detective - as he faces the case that will result in him turning away from his second chance at lawfulness. I think it's one of my most exciting pieces yet, and I've got a feeling you'll enjoy it, too. Read on!


Warwick decided that the sky was the color of fear; The color kicked up by worn leather soles on the chipped cobblestone streets; The color of Bones' writings when ink was watered down. Fear like the insistent dripping of the sewer murk into the part of Warwick's hair so fervently scratched at. Fear like the chest plates of the Armada and their galleons' smooth cannons.

He blinked hard, wincing. It was all too real. The sky was thick that evening, thick so that the fear piled on his shoulders, causing a slouch. His silhouette even looked more confident. He leaned on the wall, opening his palm. From the foul-smelling sewers, he had brought few items to the surface, most just dropped coins. Among them were chipped amulets and the occasional peeled-off wax seal. None of them were Mary Dillon's locket, unfortunately. Warwick glared to the grate in loathing; The next excursion to find it, he decided, would be at sunrise the following morning.

"Sortin' through yer wares, eh, chum?" Topped in a finely-stitched gray cap, Jackie Cohen bounded towards Warwick from his normal spot; a concrete step in the main gutter. He was barefoot, but with enough reason in his frogginess. Warwick stood his ground, as his last merchant encounter hadn't been a good one.

"Don't you worry, lad," Cohen chuckled, "Only here to bargain, unless you're really a coward." Warwick snapped back quickly, his face assuming his usual scowl. He held out his wares and put them into Cohen's flipper.

"Just keep them," he sighed, thrusting his hands into his pockets and walking briskly away. It took a few rounds through city streets before footsteps were heard. A smaller dog – only a pup, Warwick realized – covered in soot and holding a weak lamp approached him, waving a rolled scroll.

"Yes, what is it?" Warwick sighed, praying for a favor other than a stolen purse or scattered journal pages. Weeks of corner-based lurking hadn't done him very well, even when the tiny rewards grew with the sparkle of the found object. The pup turned his feet in, grinding the gray kicked-from-boot ashen fear into the cracks of the street.

"Bones, sir," he said, more to the ground than Warwick, "Bones, 'e wants to see ye, sir." Warwick turned his head up, blue-gray irises dilating in reaction to the cinderblock of shock dangling from his jaw.

"Bones?" Warwick whispered, "Mycroft Bones, the old bloke?" The pup nodded, handing Warwick the scroll. He quickly scanned through it, only paying attention to certain words, all of which were redundant of one another. Good old Bones, Warwick mused, Keeping everything too quiet. The pup – Andrew Renfrow – took a cautious step back, turning a tattered shoulder away and towards the tavern. A gold piece was placed in his gloved paw, and he made the mistake of looking back, for Warwick was smiling.

To be continued

Special thanks to my new friend Jared for (on-the-spot) agreeing to pose as Warwick
for this series of posts.

Comments

  1. Thank you so much Destiny

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  2. Fair Ashley HolystoneMay 10, 2014

    Neat ;) I noticed detective stories are really popular nowadays.

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  3. Raymon,

    I take you're who I think you are? If so, then you're very welcome! :)

    Ashley,

    I've been trying to edge into the genre, myself. A little Bleak House here, a little Cloud Atlas there...mystery is such a broad, beautiful subject that I'm growing to love even more. Problem-solvers make excellent characters.

    DSD

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  4. Fair Ashley HolystoneMay 12, 2014

    I know what you mean, there is as much adventure as in magic related books like Harry Potter. Even my fried ordered a fully English book about Sherlock Holmes ( which isn't very common in my country ), not to mention a Nancy Drew game. It's kinda where I got my interests in detective stories, so definitely looking forward to the next chapter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds delightful. I can totally picture everything so well. I cant wait to hear what else is going to pour from your pen. :D

    ReplyDelete

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