She stood at the mouth of the cavern, the scent of exposed earth and clay clogging her nostrils. Glancing over her shoulder, she knew that it would be better in here then outside in the torrential downpour that had started this morning. It was nearly noon now, but still the clouds hadn't let up. Mercy was soaked, her white fur sticking to her well muscled body. Her elongated tail twitched slightly as she stepped further inside, her purple eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness within. It would be a lot more dry here, and she would only stay until the rain let up. Huffing, the pale woman carefully picked her way down a slope, her wet paws threatening to slide out from under her. Claws flexed as she took it moment by moment, her breath hitching in her throat as her back legs skid. Loose stones skid down the path, a soft plunking sound letting her know that there was a pool down below. Ear pinned against her skull, an irritated snort leaving her. Great, more water. Mercy groaned, knowing it was too late to turn back now.

She trotted down the last foot of the incline, landing a bit roughly on her paws. She was able to see a bit better in the dim light, dripping coming from her left where she guessed the pool was. Ignoring that, she headed off to her left as her hips swayed. The smell of dirt was hard to get passed, but the scent of her heat was lingering in the earthen cave. It met up with another coppery scent, making the tall wolf take pause as she looked around. Blood? No, it was too earthy smelling to be blood. Curious, she followed her nose until she found a deposit of the mineral, poking at the brown stones with her paw. Odd... why did it smell like blood? Bending down, she licked at it but her nose wrinkled immediately, debris sticking to her wet tongue. Gross, that was a mistake. Shaking her head, she took a seat and tried to look at everything around her. It was hard, it was so dark outside with the storm that the light that did filter in was dirty and tainted from the clouds. She noticed the sharp stick looking rocks coming out of both the ground and the roof above her, some of them even meeting up to form a solid column. Mm, curious. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Speech"

Vincenzo had taken to wandering again, uncertain what to do with himself. He'd never felt this lost. He was follower, he was muscle, others gave the orders and he followed them. While not an idiot by any means he needed an achievable goal to work towards and at the moment he had no idea what it was he was trying to accomplish. He hadn't seen any of the other mafiosi in what seemed like ages. Was he meant to be recruiting? If so how was he supposed to go about doing this when they had next to no organization or chain of command? He supposed he could try and gather a few members and just have them answer directly to him for awhile but he wasn't sure how sustainable that was.

Vincenzo's thoughts drifted back to Xephyris and his pack. He longed for the structure of a group again instead of his aimless solo wanderings. The golden-eyed man was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden downpour of rain and he growled angrily at the sky. What was this? Did heaven have it out for him to now? Pushing his way closer to the mountain in search of shelter he spied a small opening and quickly shoved his way through it.

Once inside Vincenzo promptly slipped and carrened his way down a sharp incline before landing with a thump on the cavern floor. Swearing violently in Italian he got to his paws and shook himself off.

"Speech"

Taking a few steps towards the rock column, the male mistress stretching out her left forepaw to brush her rough pads against it. It felt like normal rock, albeit a bit wet from the water that trickled slowly down. She glanced up, squinting to try and spot the hole that the rain was coming in from. It was pretty far up, making it hard for her to see the difference in the roof of the cave and the stormy clouds outside. The sunlight was so weak that it hardly made a difference at all. Letting out a snort, she backed up and ventured off to her left to see where that pool was. She was a bit thirsty now that she thought about it... Salmon tongue flicked out of her mouth to lap at her dry lips, following her nose more than her eyes. Just as she was about to cut passed the slope that had gotten her down here, a loud thud made her leap backwards and quickly top into a hunters crouch. Her legs bent slightly as her head snapped towards the male who uttered something under his breath, her lips flipping up to expose her yellowed teeth. A low growl vibrated in her throat, but she swallowed it part way. Mercy's ears perked as she caught a flash of the stranger, scars shining in the barren light of the cave. Staying her ground, her face relaxed as her elongated tail dropped back at her hocks. She didn't rise up from her slightly lowered position though, ready to fight if it came to it for whatever reason. "I almost bit your tail off," she said with a dark chuckle, her voice hardly above a whisper and yet sounding so loud in the wide room they were standing in. Purple eyes flicked over him, trying her best to see him in the darkness that nearly consumed them. From what she could tell from his position, he was stocky and obviously made for fighting. She couldn't quite tell how tall he was, but she would be surprised if he was smaller than her. Her interest was peaked, that was for sure.

"Speech"

Vincenzo was still grousing about his inelegant tumble down into the dark when he caught the sound of movement. His hackles immediately raised, ears down and fangs bared. He could only imagine what sort of monstrous beast was living down here but if it thought him easy prey it would soon learn the error of it's ways. However, as the creature stepped forward Vincenzo found himself face to face with a pale woman with startling violet eyes. Wow… in the pale light he noticed the scars lacing down her back. A warrior to? They didn't seem like the kind of scars one received through deliberate punishment. She chuckled as she spoke and he grinned and gave her a hearty chuckled himself. "That is if you got it." The english words mangled a bit in his mouth, his accent giving unexpected fluctuation to the words. "Perche'e'cosi difficile", he muttered. "I do not want to scare you. I fall and do not like… ehhhhh…." Vincenzo was trying to search for the word he wanted but was coming up blankly. He swore again. "My name is Vincenzo Bernini. What is your name?" He resisted the urge to hit himself upside the head as he fell back on old practiced phrases. Yup, she probably thought he was an idio

"Speech"

Her ears flickered at the sound of his voice, it was easy to tell that the more common tongue here was not his first. There was a thick accent wrapped around each word, but it wasn't one that she could place. Nevertheless he was able to speak, her tail swishing behind her as she grinned at him. Another laugh slipped passed her lips as she fully relaxed, taking a seat as she flashed him a toothy grin. She supposed that it was rude to find humor in his stuttered speech, but it was always funny when one couldn't find the right words. "My beauty often baffles others, it's alright," she said with a wink, a wicked gleam in her eyes. Yes, always the flirt. But hey, she saw the opportunity and took it! Mercy's longer-than-normal tail swung behind her as she settled in her seat, head tilting slightly to the side as she inspected him. He offered his name, and even that sounded foreign and new. "Vincenzo Bernini," she repeated, butchering the pronunciation. She shrugged her shoulders, her head shaking back and forth slowly. "Mercy Guerrero, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you had a good... trip!" Okay it was a lame ass joke but she thought that she was pretty freaking funny. This wasn't the first wolf that she had run into who had troubles speaking, except this one could answer back with more than just a growl at her stupid jokes. Chuckling to herself, she shook out her coat as she felt the dust settling around them. "I take it English isn't your first language, what is?" Mercy asked in a casual manner. She had no issues upholding the conversation, after all she did rather like the sound of her own voice.

"Speech"

Vincenzo chuckled at the woman's self-assurance. He would be lying if he didn't find her beautiful in a certain way. Her eyes were definitely alluring and Vincenzo had always had a thing for scars. He'd never been to interested in the delicate flowers and dainty ladies that primped and preened. What could he say? Battles interested him be then spars, sex, or otherwise. She tried to say his name and he grinned and shrugged himself. "You speak truth. Your eyes could kill me. You can call me Vinny." He wasn't to particular about his name. He knew who he was and who she was addressing. His head would tilt to the side as she mentioned her name was Mercy. Some how he had a feeling that her name was rather poorly gifted.

"Haha! Trip, I see. I get joke! You are clever lady Mercy." He stretched languidly, re-establishing his footing as he did so. Pondering her question for a moment he carefully worked out the pieces before answering. "Italiano." Vincenzo carefully picked his words. This Mercy seemed to be a lady of wit and he sought to match her but found that he could not find the words he wanted. "Lady Mercy has good mood. What makes the day bright in this darkness?"

"Speech"

She couldn't help but flash him a charming grin at his words, damn right her eyes could kill. His own shoulders moved up and down in a shrug, her eyes flicking towards them for a moment before finding their way back to his face. Her lips pulled back in an even bigger grin, her teeth gritting softly together. "My teeth do a much better job of killing, Vinny," Mercy commented with a wink. Okay she was having too much fun, but he found her clever and actually laughed at her lame jokes! Giggling along with him, she watched almost hungrily as he stretched, her eyes on the bulk and pull of his muscles. It was easy to see that he was well versed in fighting, but when he stood up she saw that she was actually taller than him. Huh. Since Imperium vanished it seemed to take all the super tall wolves with it, it was more rare that she found someone taller than her where before she was nearly the shortest. She was thankful though, she had been able to practice fighting both opponents smaller and larger than her.

It took her a little bit to process his words because of his English, but he wasn't the first that she had run into that spoke in such a broken manner. He had spoken this 'Italiano' too, Italian, right? Yeah, she was pretty sure that that was it. When Vinny asked what was up with her good mood, she couldn't help but shrug again. "I find myself in good company, I guess," She wasn't always so cheery, in fact she could switch rather suddenly. But Mercy liked what she saw here, and it was always fun to converse with someone who wasn't totally well versed in the common tongue here. "If you like, I could help you with your language shit. We can try to figure things out together." It sounded like fun, and she was pretty good at guessing. It would be a blast to see him try to act out things, and she found herself looking forward to it.

"Speech"

"My teeth do a much better job of killing, Vinny,"

Vincenzo chuckled, his memory drifting back through the nickname that had followed him since his first brush with the Fratelli Rossi. His golden eyes fixated on her teeth as he showed his own, his mind drifting down dark places that it had no right to go as he wondered what it would feel like to have her teeth buried in his scruff. "Mercy, your smile by self could kill me." Was he really flirting? What would Basileus say? Hadn't it been some hussies feminine charms that had ensnared Enrico and led him to betraying and destroying their brotherhood? Of course there was no brotherhood now, no one he could hurt but himself.

She offered to help him with the language and he nodded eagerly. "Yes, please. I want understand." He sat obediently, tail wrapping around his legs like a good pupil waiting for his first lesson before his head cocked to the side. "You want payment?" He rarely ever received anything for free and imagined she'd want something in return for her efforts or perhaps his charm was enough?

"Speech"

Mercy chuckled darkly when his teeth were exposed just as her own were, a thrill of excitement shooting down her spine. Licking at her charcoal lips, she tried to contain her enthusiasm that was on the verge of boiling over. Sure, she had been around the block a few times, but men like Vincenzo didn't come up very often. There was a bit of a language barrier, but it was nothing that they couldn't get passed. He knew enough to get his general idea out, which was good enough for her. Greedily her purple eyes roamed over his form again as his words vibrated in her ears, another toothy grin tossed his way. His scars were delightful, more so than she had on her own body. She longed to trace the outline of puckered skin with her nose, to sample the exposed flesh for herself. Her gaze took on a darker shade as these thoughts consumed her, but she forceably pulled herself out. She had just agreed to help him, not hump him. Two letter difference, but a whole new meaning. Gritting her teeth slightly, she cleared her throat and made herself chew over his words. There was a definite sweet note to his broken English, a flirting tone if even just slightly. In this secluded cavern, gentle words like that seemed to be even stronger. There was hardly any light to go off of, her other senses stronger. Granted, she was always looking out for a good romp, but still. It was mysterious and black, his accent adding a new spice to their conversation. "Calm yourself, Mercy. Just take it slow. Down girl, down."

Her head tilted to the side as he said that he wanted to understand, sitting down like a good little boy. Holy shit she needed to take a chill pill. Pushing down her never ending libido, she tried to contain it all when he asked for a payment. Mercy was silent for a moment, her gaze once again moving over the slope of his back. Payment? She knew exactly what she wanted, but if he would be up for it or not would be the next question. Carefully her eyes picked their way back to his features, a slow grin taking over her lips. "Payment? How about if you like your lesson, you can thank me in a... different manner." Perhaps she was being cruel and trying to lay this at his paws, would he understand what she meant? Mercy was sure that he saw her looks, the hunger in her eyes that could only be sated with one thing and one thing only. Letting out a soft, breathy giggle she puffed up her chest, taking in a deep breath before their little lesson began. She was all about games, this one was rather new to her. "I'm not one to hand over the lead very often but... this one is all on you."

"Speech"

Learning the language would prove invaluable. He may have been brought into the Fratelli Rossi as muscle but he knew the value of words, and well articulated threats. Besides he could not very well recruit anyone if he could not understand them… assuming that was even something he was going to try to do. It had been his last instructions from Basileus but with the other man seeming to have vanished the task had fallen to the wayside. He could not well recruit wolves to something that didn't exist and he was no kingpin. He was not a leader, he was a soldier. He took orders, he did not issue them.

Mercy licked her lips and Vincenzo felt a sudden stirring in his gut as his eyes fixed on the motion and the sheen of her saliva on her teeth. His ears flicked forward, alert to her eyes drifting over him. It was strange to feel her gaze roaming his body and it occurred to him just how long it had been since he'd been with someone. His last romance and fallen victim to his job, like so many before. He had true admiration for the brothers that could manage family life and their duties.

His eyes would travel down her back locking on her unusual scars and he felt some sort of kindred connection with this woman. They were similar creatures in a way. Battle born, blood-thristy. Despite the aires he put on he was a brawler. He preferred dirt and sweat to the elegance of the deadly fraternity. His tongue ran across his own teeth as he watched her, eager for the moment when her eyes would meet his again. Those electric violet eyes, intense and beautiful and unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

She would clear her throat, the sound bringing him back to the present for a moment but leaving a longing still roiling in his innards. Right, language. He was here to learn the language so he ought to start paying attention. Of course… what if the body language was different here to? Vincenzo grinned. There was a moment of silence as he asked her about what she would like in return and as her eyes traced down his back he resisted the urge to shudder with the rush of it. His tail was shifting on the ground, slowly twining its way back and forth and as her eyes met his she grinned and he thought for a moment he'd died.

"Payment? How about if you like your lesson, you can thank me in a... different manner."

Had he died? Well, he apparently had just done it again. Vincenzo felt the breath leave him and could of sworn his heart had stopped for a moment before it started hammering loudly in his ears. He felt the blood rushing through him. He didn't understand all the words but between her tone and the seductive shifting of her body he could pick out the meaning well enough.

He drew a deep, shuddering breath, jaws parted and his eyes closing for a moment as his nostrils flared, fixing on her scent, glittering with hunger when the opened again. "Yes, please." His voice low and smooth. Vincenzo couldn't help but grin at the thought of calling her name to the cave walls. How ironic, and what better way to call to the spirits for mercy?

"I'm not one to hand over the lead very often but... this one is all on you."

Oh? The lead was his? His shoulders rolled forward, in slow languid movements. His front legs flexed as he tried to calm the rising heat in his body. What did he want to learn first? The names of the prey? The weather? Or…. would anatomy be to forward? He wasn't sure he could focus on anything other than her body right now and surely those terms would be useful, no? His tongue was tracing his teeth again. "Uhhh…. you teach me the body, yes?" He gestured to his ears. "We name…. ehhh… orecchie What name you?"

"Speech"

She quickly picked up on the changes of the man, a twisted grin showing her teeth. His eyes took on a darker note, sending a thrill of excitement rush down her spine. The connection between them was growing passed their language barrier, a more intimate bond that wasn’t even spoken. It was a dance she knew so well that she could do this with her eyes closed. Her purple gaze looked at his mouth as his tongue ran over his own teeth, a sudden longing to feel those teeth in her skin. Smacking her lips, she met his stare with a heat and passion in her own look. Without so much of a word they were picking up on each others energy in this dark, wet cavern.

Mercy broke the passionate connection when she spoke, but it was only for a moment. A rush of air pushed out of his lungs as she spoke, a chuckle following her words. A physical payment for her time and energy, mm? It was a good deal in her mind, and it was obvious that both were lusting for it. His low voice made her eyelids flutter, a rising excitement making her quake delicately. She watched carefully as he rolled his shoulders forward, taking a few brash steps towards her. He asked her to teach him the body, her black marked brow rising for a moment. In what aspects of the body was she teaching? Did he not know much about sex? From the hungry look he was giving her, she very much doubted that. Oh, did he literally mean the body then? Yes, anatomy. Nodding her head up and down, she waited for him to ask the first question. His ears were the first, her own flickering towards him as the foreign word left his lips. Closing the gap between them, she reached up and dragged her teeth slowly across his left ear if he allowed it, a breathy sigh pushing its way from her lungs. "Ears," she whispered, quickly jumping backwards. Cold air rushed towards her chest where it had just been close to his, making her shiver ever so slightly. She was playing a dangerous game, she knew that. How many body parts would they be able to name before they completely lost themselves in each other? With her lids at half mast, she couldn’t take her gaze off the tantalizing black and white man. Her next victim. She would enjoy every last moment of this… lesson.

"Speech"

Vincenzo couldn't have imagined this would go as well as it was. His stomach tightened as she moved in closer, his heart hammering violently in his chest and his thoughts grew hazy. Sleeping around with strange women was probably not a good idea. However, it wasn't as if Vincenzo was with anyone and he hadn't been in ages, truth be told. He had also never subscribed to ideas of celibacy. There was one wound though that stung and burned painfully, that insisted he shrink away from her advances. Hadn't been a woman, a seductress, that had entranced Enrico with vile siren song and convinced him to turn on his brothers? A woman who dammed the whole of the Fratelli Rossi of which he and very few others were the only survivors? A woman had destroyed their entire legacy and he had no intention of falling in step with Enrico. And yet… well this wasn't home. There was no mafia here and he didn't really have anything to lose so why not take the chance? Sure a hitman of the Fratelli Rossi wouldn't have any troubble shaking her off and moving on when it was time to rekindle their ambititions… if they ever were. Honestly, with each passing day he doubted more and more that the Fratelli Rossi would actually be brought back into existence so why deny himself a little earthly pleasure? It wasn't as if he was hurting anyone… well, anyone that didn't want to be hurt.

He grinned at Mercy as she closed the distance between them, whispering that the appendages in question were called "ears" in the common tongue. Her teeth grazed his ear and a breathy groan slipped past his lips. He was shameless, letting things happen as they would. Vincenzo wondered how far she'd take this. "Ears," he repeated. She jumped back and Vincenzo's head tilted to the side, frustrated at the sudden distance between them but he kept his grin in place, quickly realizing that this was part of them game.

Vincenzo got languidly to his feet, purposely drawing out the motion before he started taking a few steps toward her. Ohhh….. what next, "Hmmmmm… I thinking…" He leaned forward for the left side of her neck, tongue snaking out from between his teeth as he sought to drag his tongue slowly from the space where her ear met her neck all the way down to her shoulder. "What you say this?" Whether she referenced his tongue, her neck or both didn't matter. There were plenty of 'lessons' to be taught in this little encounter.

"Speech"