As she danced around the crowds, he watched her.  She’d gyrate and swing her hips seductively, and each man wished he could pay the price for tonight. Fineas knew he could easily afford her for the night and made a mental note to talk to the madam, the matron of the establishment, before it got to be too late. Fineas, or the Swine as he was known by both his competition and enemies, was moving up in the world. Now that he had a connection to the pirate trade and a ship for trade out of the secret pirate towns on the island, he was becoming quite the man in the local underworld.

“Fineas, are you listening to me?” An annoying voice called to him once again, pulling his concentration away from the dancing fawn.

“Yes, I’m listening to you.” He turned back to face the weasel, “I just think your worrying about nothing. No one has the nuts to take me on now, Mackey, especially with you in charge of my security.” He smiled back at his large weasel companion, putting his arm around his head of security and then turned his attention back towards his new favorite dancer.

“Boss, listen will you! The word on the street is that the Toad is getting irate with you stealing his business.” Mackey tried to explain, but his employer was already a million miles away.

Once again the Swine watched his little fawn, for she would be his, even if she was a private courtesan. He knew that much about the Impala dancer, she wasn’t one of the house girls. It meant the price would be a bit higher, but he could afford it. Maybe even buy her contract.

She wore dozens of veils all crisscrossed around her body and tied in the back. For a few coins you could untie one of the veils and see what which piece of her body would become exposed.  So far her hips had been completely exposed all the way around yet her midriff and bosom were still covered. At her waist was the only piece of permanent attire, a colorful loin cloth which covered only the front her crotch, leaving her ass exposed; just enough to make it even more seductive. Besides that her face was also covered with a veil, one which if the house matron was correct was only taken off to the highest bidders, and then only in private.  Her eyes that shone above the veil had to be the most seductive the Swine had ever seen.  A belly chain glittered around her waist, and attached all around it were little bells of different sizes which jingled in the same rhythm as the music the musicians played as she continued to shake her hips to the beat.

In the time he’d been turned to face Mackey she had already lost another veil, this one exposing a hip and a little of her tummy. He loved when she turned around. Her natural coat formed a large ‘M’ with rich lines of black fur moving up the backs of her legs, over her ass and coming back down either side of her tail, where the M’s center came to a  point on the tip of her tail, pointing out her luscious ass as the prime target. An ass which he hoped to be riding later this evening.

She moved forward, and he knew she already caught him watching her. Good. Fineas thought. She’ll play right into my hands. First some more wine, and then her for dessert. The trader-turned- gangster rotated back around grabbing his goblet from the little table in front of him.

“To wine and women!” he toasted, clanking his cup into his bodyguards with a friendly strength.

“Whatever you say, boss.” Mackey returned the toast, not thrilled, but still smiling. He up turned his own goblet, as his employer had, draining the remaining wine in the cup.

Fineas had barely finished his last gulp when he felt small hands moving over one of his plump arms. “Do you need another drink my lord?” cooed a feminine voice from behind him.

Fineas turned back around. And there she was his little private dancer. She had snuck up on him while he’d been drinking. Her hand now softly rubbing over his meaty arm. He grinned lecherously at her. “A drink would be wonderful my deer…” he chuckled loudly, tickle by his own play on words, “But first, why don’t you climb up on ol’ Fineas’s lap, and we can talk about whatever topic pops up.”

She giggled, shifted her belled belly chain up on her hip, and climbed up in the large pig’s lap. Playfully, she wound her gentle hands through the coarse hairs on his chest. Fineas would have liked to enjoy the attention, but yet again was distracted by his companion.

“Boss, what do you want me to tell the boys?” Mackey asked, his question clearly concerning tonight’s plans.

“Do I have to spell everything out for you, ya idiot?” Fineas smacked the back side of the weasel’s head swiftly. It was all Mackey could do not to break into a low growl. His expression was apparent, but Fineas continued. “The pirate wants us to unload his ship tonight. I’ve already arranged a price for the goods, so that part is out of the way. I’ll leave that with you; just get the coins from Mikail when you get down to the docks.”

Fineas went to take a drink from his goblet only to realize it was empty when he brought it to his lips. “Damn.”

“Let me.” cooed the impala dancer on his lap, and waved over at the bar. When she was done she turned back towards her customer. He squinted his face trying to be cute and rubbed a thick finger under her chin.

“At least someone here knows how to be useful.”

“Thank you my lord.” She made the same squinty face back, the effect quite different.

Fineas turn back towards Mackey tapping his chest over his inside pocket, “I’ve got the keys to the warehouse, and I’ll leave them with you before you leave. Don’t Let Anybody Have ‘em But You.” He spoke in a sharp clipped tone while poking the weasel with every word of the last sentence.

“I know Boss. I know.” was the weasel’s only reply, as he kept his own anger in check.

“Unload all the freight into the warehouse tonight! And get the slaves over to the auction house tonight! He said there might be a few we can sell to the pit master, a couple of fighters or something. He mentioned something about a dog… I don’t know, the bosun’ will fill you in when you take possession.” Fineas stopped talking when he felt the dancer slip down off his lap. He turned to see her meet the serving girl as she arrived with another jug of wine. The impala took the jug and placed it on the table before him. Hoisting her belled chain up on her hip again, she asked, “Shall I serve you my lord?”

The lecherous grin returned to his face. “Oh, you can serve me, all right.” He watched as she moved delicately gathering up the two cups on the table and then poured the wine. She brought one goblet to him and the other to Mackey.

Handing Fineas the cup, she asked, “Does this please you my lord?”

“It would please me more if you removed those veils.” he replied through his grin.

“There is a price, my lord. One coin a veil.” she told him. “For one coin you can pull any string you want.”

“And what if I were to give you 20 coin, what then?” Fineas licked his lips in anticipation.

“Then I’d tell you to pull the string without ends, my lord.” She turned showing him the array of different ties on her back, each with different colored ends. All, that is, except one. Fineas began reaching for that string, when she turned back around swiftly, now with a small coin purse in her hands.

Fineas laughed and took out his own money, laboriously counting every coin as he dropped them in her money pouch. Where she had hidden the pouch he had no idea. Once filled, she simply slipped the coin purse behind her back and then brought her hands around empty again. She then turned, slow and seductive, presenting her back to him and all the tied bows waiting to be undone.

Fineas could actually feel himself sweating in anticipation as he greedily sifted through all the ties looking for both ends without adornment. Once found he pulled the small bow and let the string fall. Once the master knot was untied, all the other veils fell away with it. As the veils fell she turned around slowly, building his anticipation. She was divine. The curves of her body, the soft feel of her fur, the swell of her breasts. She was any man’s dream. Even the weasel had finally stopped yapping. He saw she had a small scar on the inside of her bosom, probably from an over eager patron he thought. Nor could he blame whoever had done it, Fineas wanted to eat her up himself.  She climbed up back on his lap slow and seductively, “Do you like my body?”

Fineas was sweating bullets. She was gorgeous and climbing all over him. He didn’t care about the price now, she would be his tonight. She stroked his chest again, dipping her hand into his open shirt, lightly brushing his nipple. He loved it. He took another large drink of wine and asked, “What’s your price?”

“You can talk to the matron about that.” She slid down from his lap. “Why don’t you arrange that while I go and relieve myself.”

“Can I watch?”

“You haven’t paid for me yet, my lord.” she smiled, emphasizing the word ‘yet’ as she walked away.

He watched her walk away naked, paying special attention to what her tail pointed out for him. When she was out of sight, he quickly turned toward Mackey. “Go find the damn madam of this place. I’m going to go piss, and when I get back I want her here.”

The weasel just nodded, and then got up to go find the bitch responsible for all the whores in this place.

* * *

She exited the ‘Den of Iniquity’ from the back. What a stupid name, she thought. Now she was fully clothed in a dark shirt and slacks, a heavy cloak pulled over her. She walked down the alley without fear. She felt dirty and only wanted to get clean, but before she could do that, she would meet with the raven. She turned to corners, keeping to the shadows as she went. She saw the man she meant to meet trying his damndest not to be seen, but she was a professional, and she knew these streets well.

“Curl.” she called out quietly into the alley ahead.

She heard him chuckle as he stepped out of the alley. “Guess there’s no getting the best of you, is there, Faline?”

“Don’t use my name in public.” She was not in the mood, but Curl just backed away hands in mock surrender.

“All right, what ya got?”

“Tell the Toad that the Swine is dead. He’ll probably be found dead in the pisser in the next couple of minutes, his bodyguard won’t be far behind him.”

“Holy shit!” the raven was stunned, “What did ya do?”

“Poisoned them.” She said it so cold and nonchalantly even Curl was taken aback. “A little iocane powder in their wine and they were done for.”

“Iocane Powder! Where the hell did you get iocane powder?” He whispered loudly in disbelief. She looked at him with a death cold chilling stare that read, Don’t ask.

“Tell the Toad I expect my money tomorrow.” She reached into her cloak swiftly, and Curl jumped back slightly, expecting perhaps a poisoned blade or small crossbow. Her hand return just as quickly with a heavy ring of keys “This is to his warehouse, hell, I think it’s his master keys, the Toad should be able to get into all of that fat pig’s holdings now. His men were going to meet the ship tonight, both slaves and cargo. Think you can handle it?”

Curl took the ring of keys, “Yeah, I got it. But…”

“What?” She asked impatiently, she hated communicating with lackeys and fools.

“How’d ya do it?”

“I told you Ioc…”

“Yeah, yeah, iocane powder, I got that bit. But how’d ya sneak it in? Ya didn’t exactly have a secret pocket down there.” The raven asked cautiously.

Faline’s hands dove back under her cloak, this time producing her belled belly chain. “I keep the pellets in here. Only a few, the rest are real bells. They never even know they are looking at their own death on my hips.”

This bitch is cold Curl thought.

“Anything else?” she asked, her tone obviously fed up.

“I jus’ don’t see how ya can do it, with all yer bits hangin’ out.”

“What these?” Faline hoisted her bosom up tightly. “These are just weapons of mass distraction. Hell, I once suffocated a man to death with ‘em once. Bastard nearly bit my tit off.” She let her breasts fall back into place and looked once again toward Curl. “Can I go now, or you got something else on your mind?”

“No, you’re good to go. What time should I tell the Toad ya gonna be there?”

“Late!” was her only response as she walked away. The only thing she wanted now was to scrub the dead pig’s stink off herself.

“Gods, wouldn’t want that bitch after me.” Curl said low, out into the ether. Faline stopped and turned on her heels.

She moved back slowly, getting right up into the Raven’s face and whispered coldly “Oh you’ve seen my face Curl. I’ve never be up front with you. Your death would come without you ever seeing it…” She turned again and started back into the shadowed streets, stopping only once more to add softly, “…that is, if I were after you.” And with that she disappeared into the night.