Coyote Frost has a minion!

Animus the Fauxull

Despair and fury.

It was all I knew after I was betrayed. Stripped of titles, honours and thrown to the dogs.

I was a vice admiral, ranked and in charge of a small section of the fleet. I started out as a mere sailor, a commoner and one who held no sway over anybody. I toiled and slaved for the marines, built friendships and connections, strengthened my standing with my superiors, worked my way up the ranks until I held one of the highest honours in the force.

I constantly pitted myself against pirates who ransacked and pillaged, even chased down the illusive Suzaku a time or two, though she always managed to slip through my grasp. My name was tied to some of the most illustrious captures of the time; the most wicked and vicious bandits and cutthroats fell to my shotguns and revolvers.

My name is Coyote. I was given the nickname of Coyote Frost by my peers. Cold and calculating. No mercy, no surrender. I killed as many as I captured. Perhaps more died at my hands than lived.

But that is all in the past.

It was a year ago, nearly to the day. I had been stationed off a small port town. The governor was a reticent man. He rarely left his estate and barely spoke to any other governing bodies. He spent his time locked in his study, counting his coins carefully and adding his taxes together. If he deemed the day's draw insufficient, he would raise the taxes until the common folk quavered at the approaching taxmen.

We knew none of this. It was a simple harbour, a resting place while we traced the trail of Suzaku. She led us there on purpose, no doubt. I can see her grin as she plotted this path, her immense joy at the coming revelations.

We were running low on supplies and the cook warned us about the failing citrus supply. I offered to take the longboat ashore, to restock and scent out the red phoenix's course. We landed and my first step on land was greeted with the pleas of a waif.

He spoke of his mother and her failing business. He wailed about the rising taxes and how they were now struggling to survive, where before they had coin to spare for luxuries.

The men and I paid no heed. It was not rare for the poor to decry their misfortunes and prevail upon an outside force.

This slowly changed throughout our stay onshore. All we passed spoke of the crushing taxes, the failing shops and taverns. When a noble came to me, tears slipping unchecked down his cheek, I knew something was very wrong. His fears compounded my concern and his patched and worn clothing drew my men into anger and disgust.

We went to the governor then. We demanded entry and were admitted, finding him in the richest of robes, his potbelly jiggling as he laughed at our accusations.

He explained, as he sipped the finest of wines, that the taxes were a mere side project. His taxmen were on the strictest of orders to slay anyone who resisted and label the family traitors. Their money would then default to the governing body - him. It was his true task to ruin the city and start anew elsewhere.

His brother was king. He could do as he pleased.

The five men who stood at my side were slaughtered. One had a chance to draw his sword before he fell to the gunfire. I escaped through the window, taking three men down as I fled.

I made it back to the ship. I was weary, injured and heart-sick. The men lost were my kith and kin, brothers-in-arms. I was hoisted aboard and arrested on the spot. His men had moved ahead of me. I was labelled traitor. He had accused me of actions against the king, conspiring with the dreaded Captain Suzaku.

I snarled and raged, screaming my innocence at the men I trusted, but we had experienced treachery before. In fact, we knew it well and I knew that every word I spoke sounded no different than traitors past. My heart cried that day as my comrades condemned me to death.

I was to be hanged.

The ship was to sail to the capital, where the king could watch a traitor of power and influence die. Though I was no traitor, none believed me.

The tempest grew that evening, forever building in the west. It broke over us in with terrible force, a physical manifestation of my rage and hatred. It flung the ship to and fro like a toy. Visibility was exceedingly limited. The crow's nest called out too late; they were upon us in seconds.

It was a fluke of chance that had the other naval ship's guns roaring over the storm. Their cannons shredded our broadside in seconds. It was sheer luck that left me alive, though I was flung overboard and clung desperately to a plank for most of the night.

I found out later that it was her ship that the other marine vessel had been chasing. They had mistaken us for Suzaku's carrack. She had condemned me and freed me in the same night.

And it was she that plucked me from the roaring ocean, saving my life and indebting myself to her.

I refused all kindness from them, though the doctor simply knocked me out and cared for me while I was unconscious. I tried to stay aloof and distant.

But, I knew I was labelled traitor. I had no one else to turn to. No home to settle in, no safe harbour would allow me passage.

So I stand with her.

I hate and slay all those who betrayed me. Who refused to trust.

She will never betray me. This I know as fact. She hugged me as I held a pistol to her temple, comforted me as I swore her death would be by my hands. I trembled and caved to her compassion, hardening my heart after the misery passed.

She killed me and returned me to life.

I will kill her in the end, for I have sworn it, but much time will pass before she begs me for release. I will be the Captain's angel of death, as she was mine.

---

Associates

Meeca: The Captain
I have never ended a hunt unfinished, Captain. Do not forget my oath.

Xian Zhu: The First Mate
Your wariness with me is well-founded, but you have nothing to fear from me until I obtain my revenge.

Kai-Ryu: The Warrior
Agreed.

Ryoumei: The Bosun
And watching you blatantly flirt with the cook everyday is almost embarrassing. Keep your opinions to yourself, priest.

Dell Wright: The Shipwright
I have to say that I'm pleased that you recanted your earlier remark. Just keep your current attitude.

Aimee: The Cannoneer
If I supply you with coffee, will you leave me alone for more then ten minutes?

Blaze: The Berserker
No, I do not want to duel you. And yes, my rejection includes pistols at dawn. You would die if we played that game.

Skoli: The Informant
I walked through the hell labelled treachery and lies. And "sore subject" is putting it mildly.

Tara: The Navigator
The soft scent of plants wafting across the deck on a warm day is exceedingly relaxing. I have to say that you are probably my favorite crew member.

Marine: The Doctor
I will continue to do my best to please you, doctor.

Aria: The Cook
Dark and brooding comes pretty naturally at this point. And your food almost always warrants seconds.

Chloe: The Apprentice
I understand why you avoid me. I have no doubt that I will be the person who will destroy your new family.

---

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Profile, overlay, story: Seiryuu