#valiantvalkyrie

Hallowed Nights will soon be upon us, and these boys are prepped >:3

The Don't Starve OCS included here are four best buds,

@aretmaw 's Whyatt,

@nightwonder7 's Wayne

@the-valiant-valkyrie 's Wenzel,

It's like he doesn't know who I am, she thought, grinning to herself as he shifted from one foot to the next, thumbs underneath his suspenders as he looked her over, hazel eyes full of doubt.

"Ya don't understand," she whined. "I gotta get in there. You'll let a good girl in, won't ya? I've gotta see the boss. I'm expected to be here, ya know."

"Listen, teacup, you have no idea what you're into here. You gotta skedaddle and let the big boys do their work, otherwise little kittens like you are gonna get hurt. Now I'd hate to be rough with a lady but under the circumstances no outsiders are being allowed in the Ware. Do you understand, miss, 'cause I sure do hate to repeat myself."

Is he really this dense? Can he seriously not tell it's me?

She pursed her scarlet lips, settling close, rested her hand on his cheek. "Your mouth is saying no but your body is saying yes," she cooed, enjoying the power she felt over him just by putting on a skimpy dress.

He swallowed hard, looking behind him at the heavy double doors that kept her from the information she wished to obtain. "Look babe, I'd like to be of assistance..."

"Good," she purred. It was then that she realized time and dropped the act. "Then help your partner in crime out and open the doors, will ya? A gal has gotta do what a gal has gotta do, and you're the one who invited me!"

She watched the slow recognition register in his brown-green eyes, a soft shade of pink slowly skimming over his cheeks. She winked at him and the pink took on a lovely shade of red, as dark and vibrant as her lips. She laughed, his fedora lowering over his eyes as he cleared his throat, put on his jacket, and turned away.

"You sure clean up nice, Doll," he mumbled. "Come on, then, if you're so insistent on finding out the truth. I did it. I located the thugs that killed ya brother."

She shuddered in anticipation, grinning as she took his arm. "You don't look half-bad yourself, hotshot. And I really can't thank you more for all you've done."

They entered the warehouse, Doll slowly letting her grin fall as they arrived inside, releasing her hold on him and walking ahead into the darkness. There was only one problem: the warehouse was empty.

She turned to face him, blue eyes full of confusion, when suddenly she felt the cold steel of a gun touch the back of her head."What are you doing, Quince?" she whispered. "What's going on?"

"Don't turn around," he warned, his voice low, hand grabbing her shoulder before she could turn. "I don't want you to see me. I want that last image of your friend Quince to stay with you forever. I want him to be with you...his smiling face...his adoration of you...I want you to remember him. I want you to never forget that face."

"Quince...?" she breathed. "What's happening? Why are you doing this?"

His fingers stroked her blonde ringlets like he had done so many times before. "It was me, Doll. I killed him. I killed your brother."

She could feel the hysteria building inside of her. "What? You? Ya couldn't have, Quince, you were with me way before my brother -- "

"I was hired to kill him," he said softly, interrupting her. "My name is not 'Quince', I am not some valiant justice-seeking on-the-edge police officer with a thrill of helping damsels in distress and going above and beyond the call of duty. I am an assassin, Doll. I am a murderer, a criminal, and everything you hate. I am not your partner in crime and I never was. I never was."

The hysteria turned to panic, the panic to tears and denial. "No," she breathed. "No you're not. You're Quince Stark, my partner in crime, my best friend, my...my..." she let her words drift off. 'True love' didn't seem ready to part her lips. She closed her eyes, pausing to compose himself, if only a little bit. "Then why? Why did you stay with me?"

"The men who hired me didn't want you to find them, didn't want to have to deal with an avenging brat," he said, pressing the gun harder against the back of her skull. "I was supposed to keep you away long enough for them to disappear. They have. They're off grid now, just men who had business with your gambling good-for-nothing brother who did nothing to take care of you. He was making you suffer."

The tears that stained her cheeks were silent, strong. "He was imperfect, but I loved him regardless. We as human beings are all cursed with imperfections. Even you, Quince. Now I see them. I see those imperfections that were there, hidden deep. You hid them so well," she whispered. "I thought you were perfect."

His hand shook on the gun. "I have to kill you, Doll."

"I know," she whispered.

She was glad that she looked beautiful, glad she knew the truth. Perhaps the demons of hell would take pity on her once she arrived, though if she had her way they'd rip her apart. She couldn't imagine a pain any more horrid than that she was feeling then; demons torturing her for eternity sounded like child's play.

"Go ahead then," she said as she stared into the darkness, having expected him to have already pulled the trigger. Assassins tended to finish quickly. "Kill me. You've already taken everything else from me: my only family, my best friend. What's my life?"

He removed the checkered tie that had been hanging loosely around his neck, tying it around her eyes silently. Not once had she seen him with an appropriate matching tie on -- it was always endearing, she felt, that he as a grown man couldn't do something as simply as wear a decent tie.

That was something that was all him. It was Quince, the man she'd trusted with her life, the man she was in love with, who knew her better than she knew herself.

"I'll miss you," Doll said as he turned her to face him. "I will, Quince. More than anyone else, I'll -- "

His hands took her face in his hands, his lips parting over hers, drawing her into a kiss that was too perfect to be real. His large calloused fingers ran through her hair, roughly, nothing like the gentle hands she knew. He drew her close, close enough she could feel his heart beating in his chest, close enough for her to foolishly tangle her fingers in his hair and preventing him from pulling back.

An angry growl, a few breathless curses parting his lips between kisses. "Damn," he breathed against the side of her neck. "Damn it all!" He yelled, arms wrapping around her, holding her close. "Damn you."