[Social] 0.1 - Mutual Respect

The sound of chopping knives and splashing liquids sung out like a chorus to the various solos of curse words flying across the kitchen floor. Several men and women scurried about like mice dancing to the tune, each tasked with their own part to play in the musical. At the head of them was a large dark skinned man covered in gold, his eyes honed in on a gleaming golden knife bouncing up and down as it cleaved its way through the raw vegetables and meats piece by piece. Rhythmically, he sliced and scooped, dumping whatever was chopped into a large pot on the stove; while the smell of fresh baked bread and smoked meats drifted through the air, filling all those who wandered by the restaurants closed doors with an intoxicating feeling of warmth and hunger. It was still the early morning hours and the tavern wouldn’t open until mid-day, however they had just hired a new head chef recently and he demanded that cooking staff report before dawn to prepare. He was strict and brash, expecting only perfection to be served to those they fed. Each day creating an entirely new menu to attract and serve to the patrons of the tavern and in the short time since he had started, business had increased tenfold.

"Ayo!" Dax Shouted out, commanding the attention of the entire room, "I need the brisket done by 4 for dinner, the jambalaya is on, it'll be good to go by 3 just stir and season it.." He paused glaring at a particularly pale skinned and meek looking assistant chef tucked away in the corner of the room, "Do not forget to fucking season it." and with that, Dax took his leave to the back room to nap the few hours away while the sous chef's prepared the rest.

Several hours passed before Dax reawoke from his nap, at this point the tavern was open and bustling with business. People from all over town had gathered inside, everyone from the local Lvneel knights too far away aristocrats had come just to try some of now seemingly legendary foods. The golden man wandered out of the back room and into the kitchen with a yawn, his employees hustling and bustling their way around, trying desperately to keep up with every order. Rubbing his eyes, Dax carefully knifed his large frame through the tight kitchen until he came to the jambalaya pot, he grabbed a ladle and scooped out a small portion and slurped it up before handing the ladle to one of the workers running by. He yawned once more and rubbed his eyes before wandering out onto the tavern floor, pushing passed those who didn’t already move out of his way before coming to the bar. He reached over the counter and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, uncorking it with his golden incisor and spitting it across the room and into the crowd. Dax threw his head back and put the bottle to his lips, sending half the bottle down his gullet in just a few seconds. With a refreshing sigh, he slammed the bottle onto the counter and spun around on the bar stool so he faced the crowd. Glances immediately darted away, as they had all been staring at the gold covered man since he had entered the room. Dax reached for the bottle once more only to find it wasn't where he had left it, with a quick spin he was facing the bar once more and was greeted by an angry old woman's face.

"Keep yer grubby mitts off me liquor boyo, I don’t care how good yer cooking is you pay just like everyone else!" She hollered before slugging down the last half of the whiskey, putting it away even quicker than Dax had done.

"C'mon ya hag, without me you'd be outta business." The Goldmonger huffed in retaliation, "Aint like anybody comes here to see you."

"Now lookie here boyo!" She yelled, smashing the bottle on the counter and pointing the jagged edges at the dark skinned man. Dax glanced at the bottle and then back at the women, smirking a devilish golden smile before grabbing the woman's wrist, he pulled the bottle towards himself until it cut into his chest, sending crimson droplets running down his glistening mocha skin. The old woman dropped the bottle and gave the young man a disgusted look before storming off.

"Bwhahahahahahaha!" Dax boomed loudly before grabbed another bottle of liquor from behind the counter and making his way to an empty table in the back of the bar.

Dax sat in the corner of the tavern, slugging down the second bottle of whiskey, this time keeping it all to himself. He listened to the young woman surrounded by servants enjoy his food, it brought a slight smile to his face, though it faded quite quickly as his disdain for royalty crept up inside of him. Dax kicked his feet up onto the table and titled his chair back. Though the young man drank quite heavily and often, he had very little tolerance for the poison, he was feeling the effects of the drink quite heavily at this point. The skin on his face was flushed and his eyes slightly squinted, the euphoria of a good job done flushed over him. Nothing could possibly ruin this feeling he thought to himself when the almost orgasmic moment was interrupted by a group of knights bursting into the bar. The golden man gave them a passing glance before attempting to resume his moment of bliss with another swig of liquor, when the taboo words were uttered.

Stumbling to his feet, Dax moved towards the table full of knights, servant and bodyguards. With the grace of a bull he pinballed his way across the room, bouncing off chairs, tables, and bystanders enroute to a man who had just made his last mistake. The rage was swelling inside of the mocha skinned young man, so much so that his face began to flush red and the veins along his muscular body began to bulge. His grip so tight that cracks bean to ripple across the glass bottle in his hand. Until finally, Dax upon the man who had just took his last breath, his hand shot out towards the knights shoulder with enough strength to rip the man's arm clean off, the bloodlust of a beast oozed off the man as he fell to the ground in drunken sleep. Hitting the wood floor like a ton of bricks. One of the waiters had seen the event unfold and hurried over, grabbing up the large man with the help of another, "We apologize sir, he was drunk and fell over!  It won't happen again!" He blurted out, as the two men absconded with the dreadhead a quickly as he seemed to have come to the knight, he was none the wiser his life was almost forfeit. Dax was taken to the back room where his naps were had, the staff had become accustomed to this sort of thing wit their new head chef, having set various contingency plans for these eat events.

Dax had awoken from his liquor induced coma a few hours later, the knights had been long gone by this time. Still reeling from what the blonde had said, the young man stormed out of the restaurant and down the road. He walked for around thirty minutes until he reached a a large purple coliseum like structure on the outskirts of town. The roar of the crowd and clanging of metal echoed through the halls as Dax walked barefoot down the winding corridors and down several flights of steps until he came to a dark and dreary underground venue. This what far from the main event, no this was the scum of the earth gathered in one place to watch two men beat each other two death in a dirt pit ring with seven foot wooden walls surrounding it. The crowds hung off the alls and over the fights, pushing and spitting at the one they bet against, waving their tickets in the air like stock brokers on wall street. Dax was a regular here, having gone undefeated since arriving in town, he was known as the "Goldmonger" down here and he was the fiercest of all the monsters that made their homes here. As he cut through the crowd, the bystanders whispered his name in fear, while some shouted their thanks for winning them some money from a past fight. None of it mattered to the young gold clad man at this point he was sober and angry, and needed a way to blow off some steam. He approached the bookies booth and tapped his knuckle on the wood, making a rhythmic knocking sound. "Ayo" He motioned towards the portly fellow behind the window.

"Oh..OH! Mr. Goldmonger..s-sir…how're you today, looking to make some bets Maybe enter a fight or two? Eh?" Fat Tony responded, his nervousness quickly giving way to his charismatic attitude after the prospect of a good show crossed his mind.

"I'll take all of them.." Dax snapped back.

"y-Yes Sir!" Fat Tony hastily responded, grabbing several papers to make the changes immediately. Dax took his leave and went to the fighters room, it was a disgusting little locker room that looked like it hadnt been cleaned since the place was built. Every match he chose the same locker, three own on the left from the back of the room, he placed the old man's coat and his bag o' gold inside of the locker and shut the door. He walked down a dark tunnel and around a corner until he came to a wooden dead end. Suddenly the wall lifted up, revealing entry to the dirt pit arena. Dax entered to a thunderous applause and like the natural showman he was, he bathed in it, "You scumbag motherfuckers ready for a fucking show?!" He shouted, walking the perimeter of the ring throwing his hands up and down to get the crowd going before retaking his place on the back side of the ring across from where he opponent now entered. In walked a middle aged man whos muscle bound body was riddled with scars, he wa slightly smaller than Dax and had long white hair pulled back into a pony tail.

"ATTENTION EVERYBODY!! ARE YOU READY TO TUMBLE??" The announcer interjected over the loud speaker, IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE GALLANT, THE GOLDEN, THE UNDEFEATED!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLDMONGER!!!" The crowd erupted once more, chants and cheers, whistles and screams the entire house echoed for the golden boy. "AND IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE VETERAN OF A 1,000 WARS, THE GREAT MERLIN!!" The old man practiced shadow martial arts as his name was announced, though there were cheers, they were nothing like Dax had received from the crowd. "ARE! YOU! READY!?!FFFFFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHT!!" And with the signal, Merlin swiftly charged at Dax, unleashing a barrage of punches to the man's abdomen. Without missing a beat the veteran swiftly transition to a high kik to side of Dax's head, sending him flying into the wall with such force it shook the stands above.

"You should give up now boy, your one hundred years too young to fight me." Merlin boasted, readying himself for another attack as Dax sat up from the dirt, wiping blood off his cheek. Goldmonger looked down at the smeared blood on his hand and grinned sinisterly, his golden incisors catching the light from above.

"You know, you hit like a bitch." Dax snickered back, "Its kinda sad really." he sighed, dusting his pants off as he stood up completely. The veteran dashed forward in anger, attempting to strike Dax's sides with heavy chops. Dax pinched down on Merlin's arms with his own, giving him a smirk before slamming his forehead into the bridge of the old man's nose, causing him to stumble back as Dax released him. In that moment, Dax clapped both hands onto the veterans ears with enough force to knock the man of his equilibrium, forcing the man to the ground. In seconds, the pirate was on top of the veteran like a beast on its prey, he grasped his hands onto the sides of the man's head and drove his thumbs into the older man's eyes. Screams filled the arena and dulled the crowd for a moment, for only did the screams stop and life leave the veterans body did the crowd erupt in Goldmonger chants one more. Dax stood up, bloodied hands to the sky and howled like an animal, before returning back to dark corridor from which he came.

As Dax walked down the dark corridor, an ant of man passed by him, remarking something particularly snarky that caught the man's attention. The words sat with him in an odd sort of way, not quite striking a nerve but doing enough to merit a response of sorts. He turned back over his shoulder, "Aint no fucking fun in an unfair fight my guy~" Dax whistled happily in response as he continued the tune down the hall an back to the locker room. As he entered the room and collected his things, something inside of him was urging him back to ring, he just couldn’t shake the image of the piss ant he walked by earlier. Instinctively, Dax was like a beast, one that could sense the danger that the small little squire presented, it burned a fire in his belly like few others had. Relishing at the thought, he grabbed his stuff and made his way to the main floor, deciding to bail on the remaining fights. He knifed his way through the crowd to get a good look at the fight. Once there, he had a front row seat to what he considered the most boring match ever, completely one sided with no hope of an upset, it was complete domination by the shrimp. Though, what intrigued him was the way he finished the match. Thanks to the gold dust throughout the room, Dax didn't miss a single move that the lightning boy made. He quickly followed the elemental ghost as it dashed out of the pits and into the forest. Though speed was far from the Goldmonger's forte, he managed to tale the knights close enough to avoid being seen.

Outstretching his hand to the side, gold began to melt off like water and drip onto the ground next to him. The puddle of molten yellow liquid began to bubble and grow, shaping itself into a large cat-like beast. Dax grinned viciously, salivating at the idea of fighting with the lad. And with a single motion, the beast dashed off into the darkness, moving identically to the stealth predator it resembled. The beast prowled closer and closer to the group, lurking in the shadows waiting for its chance to pounce. The sounds of voices could be heard from Dax's point, though they couldn't quite be made out.

The beast lurked closer, silent footsteps and a lack of bloodlust made it nearly impossible to detect, giving off less signs of life than a tree. In seconds it was upon and in the same amount of time, the beast was gone, erupting into a cloud of gold dust particles, bathing anything and everything in the metal alloy. "Ayo!" A voice could be heard coming from the shadows, "That's a pretty neat fucking trick you got there, bub." Dax barked, slowing emerging from the shadows, the remaining gold on his body glistening in the moon light as he dropped his duffle bag, spilling a large amount of golden sand onto the ground. "I got a few of my own." He smirked arrogantly, raising up his hands as if to challenge the shrimp. The group of knights stood frozen, the bloodlust from the man feeling like a beast having its teeth to their necks, with one wrong move spelling the end for their lives.

The blonde man mattered little to him now, the insult he had done his cooking had burned so deep he wouldn’t forget it, until he became fixated on the man known as Castor. His value far outweighed some backwoods knight with no taste in the goldmongers eyes. Dax snickered at the man's proposition before breaking out into a full on laugh, "Bwhahahaha" He boomed, the golden fangs glimmering in the light as he smiled, before gazing back towards the man known as Castor. Dax raised his hand up and snapped, causing the knights to reel in pain, clutching at their skulls. Their screams echoed through the woods, throwing themselves to the ground, tossing and turning, until liquid gold began to bubble out from their eyes and mouths, it dripped from their noses like a bleed that wouldn’t clot. Until they stopped moving all together and metal hardened. "I really don’t give two shits about your goals ya little fuck, but I am particularly interested in killing ya.."  He smiled viciously. "Though, I appreciate the compliment my guy.~" Using his powers, he began to slowly manipulate the gold dust that covered his opponents, having it slowly creep across the pirates flesh, hardening as it spread.

"Now let's see that power you seem to be so fucking proud of.'' The beast barked.

As the battle began to unfold, Dax grew more and more beast like in attitude. His smiles turned to snarls and his yelling turned to barking and the bloodlust inside of him boiled all the more fiercely. How such a small creature could pose such a large danger, it captivated the young man. Goldmonger had an eye for value, and right now in his eyes he felt that he found something of a unimaginable worth.

Dax recognized the uneasiness in which the swordsman charged, his opponent clearly feeling the slowing effects of the gold on his body. But the goldmonger soon felt the effects of the electrical current surging though his body. What in reality was only a few seconds, felt like a few minutes to the golden clad lad, until he was finally free from the charge. He jumped back and filled the newly created gap with a wall of gold dust, which promptly fire off several chunks of solid gold at Castor. "Woooooo~!" He shouted, "That was one hell of 'a wake up!" Dax snarked, gathering gold dust onto his hands, forming golden claws on his fingers. "Lets kick it up a notch now, ya little shit~!" He whistled sadistically. Hoping to see more of this power the man possessed.

For just a moment, a sense of power rushed over the young man, a calming, yet dangerous feeling completely submerging him. Dax felt his consciousness slip as his body hit the ground, the gold dust in the air falling with him. It would be a few minutes before the man would regain his wits and be restored to fully working faculties and when he came too, he saw Castor sitting on a tree stump surrounded by a hardened puddles of gold and a layer of dust on the forest floor. Dax snickered as he sat up and glared at Castor, "You cheeky little magician fuck." He said before bursting into laughter, rising to his feet, now towering over the little three eyed man. Dax sighed and extended out his hands, gathering all the gold in the area in a large solid orb before dispersing it back between his bag o' gold and his jewelry. Turning his attention back to Castor, "I don’t think killin is gonna be an issue, considering the only reason I'm taggin along with ya is to kill your little ass." Dax snarled back in response to the question posed by his new captain, if only temporarily to him. "So if you're cool with having a beast constantly at your throat, I think we can have a good time, even if only for alittle while~" Dax whistled maliciously, bearing his golden fangs at the smaller man. While Castor answered, he turned and moved towards where he had dropped his coat and duffel bag earlier. "Also, was that supposed to be a joke?" Dax paused and looked back over his shoulder, "Cause that was pretty fuckin terrible." He finished bluntly, before turning back to finish collecting his things.

Dax finished up and walked the ten or so feet back to the three eyed man and gave him a cold, stern look, "and if you really think just having a third eye makes you a freak, then you aint seen real ones.." After uttering the last word it was like a flipped switched and he was back to his normal self. "Now then cap'n what's the plan~?" He hummed sarcastically.

"Authority? Plans..?" Dax questioned, "I don’t give two fucks about all that my guy, I said I would tag along to get another chance at killin ya." Dax paused for an uninterested yawn before continuing, "Anything other than I'm doing out of the kindness of my big ole fuckin heart~." He mused whimsically. The pair then strutted back the way they had come, eventually coming back upon the pits.

Like a beast Dax could smell the bloodlust on Castor when they arrived, it was intoxicating. Grinning, he watched the little man rain down a god's wrath upon those in attendance, each one glowing a purple hue before spilling out trails of shiny crimson onto the dirt floors. In the ensuing chaos, Dax swaggered through the massacre, whistling an uplifting tune as he made his way to the bookies stand. He saw Fat Tony dead on the ground, his eyes were white with trails of blood running down his cheeks, Dax knelt over and reached for the man. He ran the dead man's pockets, pulling out a coin purse and several documents. Dax shoved the coin purse to his nose and huffed deeply before letting out a euphoric sigh. A snarled grin brandished itself across the mocha skinned beasts face before dumping out the coins into his hand. As the coins touched his skin, Dax developed an immediate connection to them, morphing them into liquid that ran up his arm like a small animal before fusing itself into his jewelry.  Standing back up, Dax moved a few feet and placed his hand on the vault door and slowly dragged it downwards. "Simple enough." He mumbled before kneeling down once more and sent gold dust into the tiny scratches and faults inside of the mechanical door. Once inside, Dax manipulated the gold to break open the door by rapidly expanding the golden alloy using golds innate malleablility. Once the doors structural integrity was compromised, the feral beast used his strength to rip it open the rest of the way. One look inside and Dax's eyes lit up, inside sat piles and piles of loose, unorganized pieces of gold and beli. Amongst the chorus of screaming victims, Dax took his clothes off piece by piece until uniting in a lovers embrace with the pile of gold. His nude body caressing each and every piece in a most sexual manner, his third leg dragging across its fair share of the metal.

Dax heard Castor finishing off the last of the pit goers, emerging from the vault in full modesty third leg swinging as he walked. He moved towards the little man and placing his right hand two inches from Castor's chest. Suddenly, liquid gold enveloped Castor's form, twisting and turning, like a snake writhing in agony before solidifying into suit of armor. The suit was not just a typical knights armor, Dax used his traveled knowledge of the world and its cultures, along with his own personal sense of style and flair to forge its unique look. Creating a magnificent suit that harkened back towards the culture of a far off land, known for its samurai and strange ways. The helm had a large a-symmetrical crescent moon shape on the forehead and a golden mask covering the lower half of Castor's face that took the shape of a wolf's snarling snout. In a further attempt to conceal the boys identity, Dax forged the boots special, adding 4 inches to the captains height. Dax then placed his left hand over his chest in the same manner he had done for Castor, once again in seconds, the gold had covered his entire person before reforming into a barbaric, almost savage like style armor that left much of his muscles exposed. The shoulders took the forms of eagle heads and the helm resembled that of a jaguar that shaded much of his upper face while the lower "jaw" was connected to the neck armor and curved up around his jawline. The gauntlets and boots were clawed, while the shin and arm guards had curved blades emitting from them. After he finished, Dax collected the gold and his clothes from the vault and smirked at his newfound captain, gesturing his hand towards the path they had come.

Dax pondered the words Castor had used to describe him, a greedy man, as it struck a certain cord with him. He was indeed an avaricious soul, having been drawn to gold since the minute he had laid eyes on the metal as a child. "You aint got no fucking idea~" He said, whistling ominously before beginng to swagger his way off as Castor continued talking. "As long as your buying, we can drink all fucking night." He snarked back quickly with a snarled smile.

The goldmonger cared little for this partnership and even less about the charade his newfound captain had drug him into. But the thought of tasting this mans blood before its all said and done would make ot all worth while to him. He smiled as he grew lost in his thoughts of hunting his prey that was Castor.

Exit