UUU: "The Chief and the Thief"

Cast: Zain (Mappy) and Sally (Nerf)

TLDR:

Support Points Earned: 1

[5:42 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "Yeah, just check in there for anything suspicious in there, I guess. Savier's off doing who knows what," Zain ordered to a few bystanders just a few minutes after they had cleared out the place. They'd be working on getting some information out of that Periculi guy shortly, but for now Savier had asked that they do some checking around in the stable. He turned around and looked out to the ranch, and it seemed everyone was already at work trying to help out the poor horses. Meh, they're fine. Probably. The Laguz sat down against the wall of the stable for quick breather, taking a sip of water from a container he had been carrying around to both quench his thirst and clean off his teeth.

[5:55 PM] Nerf: The horses were fine, for the most part, or at least they would be, as far as Sally was concerned. In any case, she had more pressing matters to worry about at the moment. Leaving the care of the Laguz to her comrades, the Branded woman walked towards the door of the stables until she found the person she was looking for: "Ah, there you are," she stated bluntly once she saw the wolf. "I was looking for you. Now, I hope you don't mind me asking so directly but...what the hell are we supposed to do with all the prisoners? We've got a lot of those."(edited)

[6:05 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "Oh, hey," Zain looked up, "I don't think we're going to hold on to any of them. Maybe question a few to see what they're up to. Definitely gotta talk to their leader for some information, but I think Savier will be calling in the officials or something. Just gotta make sure they don't die or get away before they get here."

[6:16 PM] Nerf: A slight frown was the initial response to Zain's statement, but it was quickly followed by a nod. Truth to be told, Sally wasn't exactly satisfied with that idea. With the group being now chased by the powerful Rettatese army, any enemy they left alive was a loose end that could give away their position and get them captured. However, she didn't voice her disagreement. After all, she had a very strong feeling the idea of "silencing the prisoners" would not be very well received by most of the Pack, and that any attempt to convince them to agree to do so was a lost cause. "I...see. We should leave this place soon if that's the case. Wouldn't want to call much attention to us right now. As for the questioning...well, I do have some experience when it comes to that, so let me know if you need some help with it."(edited)

[6:24 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "You seem disappointed," was all Zain had to say in response. He didn't make any expression or anything to show that he cared that she may have objected, however. The Laguz stood up, done resting for the moment.

[6:41 PM] Nerf: "I can't say I agree with this decision," she admitted. "We are taking too many risks. Helping Savier with all this, refusing to kill our enemies and now allowing the prisoners to give away our position...I might be the right thing to do, sure, but I don't think they are choices we can afford to make in our current situation." Taking a deep breath, the criminal made sure no one else was listening before continuing. "Look, all I'm saying is we should try to be careful. I know your heart is in the right place, but we have to think of our own safety too. I trust that you know what you are doing but...make sure you remember your duties are with us, not with our enemies. Our mission is too important to jeopardize it's success playing nice."

[6:51 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "Hey now, you know I don't really care about what happens here either. If it were me, I would have ripped that guy to shreds. Himaya made me make the detour..." Zain looked down for a second, then looked back up to Sally and shook his head. "I mean, yeah, I'll be careful. We'll be heading out shortly. I gotta talk to that guy myself first though."

[7:03 PM] Nerf: "Well between you and me but...we can't have Himaya making all the decisions for us, right?" The Branded winked at Zain. "I do not doubt he means well, but you have to admit he is not the most grounded person around. He needs someone to keep him in check, if that makes sense. And I can't think of a better candidate than you," she finished, now again in a more serious tone. "Right...Periculi was it? Do you think he may know something useful?" Sally inquired.

[7:07 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: Zain nodded: "There's the off chance this might be related to our searches regarding the Tree. If not, the extra technology would be a good advantage should this escalate, and any information we could squeeze out of him might give us a lead or two," he responded with a blunt and serious tone before leaning back against the old wood of the stable's exterior wall.

[7:15 PM] Nerf: "That would be quite convenient," she nodded. "But what do you mean by technology? Are you planning to use the drug for our own benefit? That is...well, sort of a strange idea, even for me. But I guess you never know. Maybe it has some other uses we are not yet aware of."

[7:17 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: He shook his head, "I'd prefer not to, but knowing how to use something is the same as knowing how to beat it. And if we can beat it, that's one less potential hassle for us to figure out. Worst case, we use it or find a new way to use it."

[7:29 PM] Nerf: A slightly wider smirk was the response. "Heh. Maybe I wasn't giving you enough credit before if that's the case. Given what these people have been doing, part of me was expecting you to simply destroy all the samples. Alright, I'll concede. You do know how to make unpopular decisions after all. Just don't let it get to your head, ok?" "Still...I wonder what will Savier think of this," she added with some concern in her voice. "Even if it's for a good reason, I can't see him being too happy with us keeping the drug. You know, given how invested he seems to be in stopping its usage."

[7:35 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "I'm only keeping a tiny bit. The Drakone surely can recreate it. He won't know - don't trust 'im," Zain shrugged, "Even if he does find out, I really don't care what he thinks. He knows those crooks 'ill just make more anyway."(edited)

[8:09 PM] Nerf: "Hmm? So if you are telling me, does that mean that you trust me then? My, my, I'm flattered," she jokingly stated. "Still...I can't help but wonder if this could be somehow related to the men we saw at the Money Tree. You know, the ones that acted as if they had no will of their own. I know it's not the same thing as this, but maybe it could be the effect of a similar drug?"

[8:24 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "It's possible. It's just hard to believe crooks as low as these ones would work with a group as organized as the ones at the Tree," Zain pondered, "Its worth a shot, at least." He shrugged.

[8:31 PM] Nerf: "You do have a point there," the criminal conceded. "Frankly, I was expecting a little more resistance from them. To think that a group as poorly organized as this one was able to get away with this for so long is at the very least, surprising. But maybe that's just because I'm used to dealing with Naxos's bands. Even the most pathetic group in there is armed to the teeth."(edited)

[8:55 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "I'd imagine. Its not too hard to take out a village here, but in Naxos its much harder, as the towns are guarded by the government... or so I've heard," the Laguz responded.

[9:18 PM] Nerf: "You are well informed then," Sally confirmed. "I can assure you, if we had caused this sort if ruckus in Naxos, we would be in a lot more trouble than we are now," she stated with some sort of pride written on her face. Placing both her hands over her hips, the Branded then looked up towards her leader. "That aside, I don't think this is the time for small talk. We have more than enough people taking care of the horses, but I'm sure there is still some other stuff we have to take care of before we can leave. Anything I can help with?"

[10:15 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "Maybe try and get some info from a few of the prisoners, or just rest up before we leave; we're just about wrapped up here," answered Zain.

[10:55 PM] Nerf: "...I think I'll just wait," she decided after pondering about it for a few seconds. "Doubt I'll learn much of use from asking some grunts, after all. Mind if I do it here?" She asked once she had already taken a seat and made herself comfortable, making it more of a courtesy than an actual question.

January 15, 2018

[1:53 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "Whatever you want," responded the Laguz, who proceeded to take a moment to look through the doorway enterance to the stable. People were still searching around in various chests, piles of hay, shelves, or whatever else they could find. "There's nothing here," called one of the investigators from the inside. In turn, Zain nodded his head, "Start wrapping it up. I expect you to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes." Afterwards, he sat back down next to Sally without a word and looked out to the ranch. Savier and Himaya seemed to have this just about wrapped up.

[4:39 PM] Nerf: "So, any idea where we are going now?" She interrogated him. "Have you got any word from Saarva, or are we going to have to wait for further instructions? It's clear any attempts to keep order in Rettati have already failed, and we don't seem to be any closer to catching our targets than we were before arriving here. I understand if there's some stuff you can't share with me, but I'd like to get an idea of what our plan is going forward."

[5:14 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "I don't really know. Saarva said head west a bit until he sends a messenger for us, though we're probably a bit behind where he expected us to be, cause of the detour, and all," Zain half-shrugged after answering Sally's question honestly, even if he hated to admit it.

[7:05 PM] Nerf: "Hmm, I see. So we'll have to wait." Sally spoke in a tone that suggested she was already expecting for an answer like that one. "I guess there is nothing that can be done about that. I just hope we'll all make it out of the country alive."(edited)

[7:36 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "No reason we wouldn't. Those other guys in the city were kind of a push over," said the Laguz confidently and sternly, "I wouldn't have asked for this group when Saarva was picking members if I thought you would all die." After a brief pause, he added, "Except Himaya. Kid has to be carefuller." Yeah, carefuller. Pallo doesn't have those pesky irregular adjectives and its easy to forget when you don't speak this other language often.

[8:01 PM] Nerf: "Pah. If they were such pushovers then why did we run away?" The criminal retorted, somewhat put off by Zain's excess of confidence. "Do I have to remind you one of us got gravely wounded during that fight? I still have some tricks under my sleeve, sure, but I'm not capable of fighting a country's whole army, and I doubt you are any different when it comes to that. If we got away that time it was only because we were lucky." Taking a brief moment to breath and collect her thoughts, she then continued her small rant. "Look, confidence is fine and all, but that fight at Nicousa was a defeat no matter how you look at it. I have every reason to be concerned about what will happen if we get into a similar situation again."

[8:11 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "We would have been fine if their general didn't run and hide behind the lines. Had we taken him out, they would have crumbled. I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again," responded Zain, unfazed by Sally's ranting and anger, "Nothing to be worried about. 'Sides, worst comes to worst, we call in some reinforcements. There's other investigation squads around who can come and help."

[8:39 PM] Nerf: "What could have happened doesn't matter, Zain. I'm talking about what actually ocurred back then. What if their general decides to hide again next time? We can't expect our enemies to make things easier for us." Even though she continued voicing her disagreement, her voice was now calm yet confident, any hint of anger in it having disappeared for the moment. "I'm not saying we should be in panic because of what happened, but overconfidence will not do us any good. How can you even say there is nothing for us to worry about?" She inquired. "That sort of naive thinking is exactly what got us in this mess in the first place. We won't always be able to fight our way out of our problems you know?"

January 18, 2018

[3:36 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: "..." the chief doesn't respond immediately to the thief, standing back up and looking out to the ranch. He kind of just stood there for a solid minute or two, thinking. It was certain that he was thinking about what Sally had said, but it was hard to tell if he accepted it or not. Clearly, he didn't have a response for Sally, as indicated when he stepped forward and added, "Its about time we head out." This followed by Zain barking some orders to prepare to move to both the people in the stable and out and about in the ranch.

[4:46 PM] Nerf: "...right," she replied as she stood up in one single, agile motion. "Lets not waste any more time then. We can leave this discussion for later." Without waiting for a response (or expecting one in the first place), the criminal started walking away from the stables, ready to depart as soon as the order was given.(edited)

[5:43 PM] Mappy | Best Dog | Vote Ephraim: ===End RP===