"Welcome to the Pack!"

Cast: Zain (Mappy) and Namaka (Shade) and Millie (Cyber)

TLDR: 🍬

Support Points Earned: 1

[5:05 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: @Shade @cybershadowX Zain sits on a simple wooden bench the first evening the party was in Maufi, looking out towards the Inner Sea on one of the city's many docks - a specific location they were instructed at some point to go to. He's been sitting there for a little while, just contemplating and considering everything that just happened over the past day or so. Anyways, the two new recruits should be arriving soon.

[6:17 PM] Shade: Idly tossing the orb she'd received up and down in her hand, Namaka was walking along the docks with Millie looking for the person they were supposed to meet. A wolf laguz sitting on a bench stood out in Psari, so he was fairly easy to notice. 'Well, that fits what we were told, so I guess this is "Zain"?' Walking up to him - and assuming that Millie would follow - Namaka gave a small wave and a grin. "Hey, you're Zain, right?"

[6:19 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: The wolf Laguz turned around on the bench to see the new arrivals, resting his arm on the top of the bench, "Yeah, that's me. You two must be the reinforcements I was told we're getting, right?" Not quite the type of people he expected, but knowing Saarva, he'd just pick whoever he felt like. Extra manpower is extra manpower in the end.

[6:28 PM] cybershadowX: Millie peeked out from behind Namaka’s back with hesitation as she eyed the wolf Laguz that was supposedly Zain. Although not quite as intimidating as Saarva, she still didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her knew boss. Quickly folding clasping her hands behind her back she answered, “Yep! Saarva said to meet you in Psari and give you this scroll thing.” She took out the squashed scroll that she had shown Kiera earlier that day and handed it to Zain. “I’m sorry it’s a bit crumpled.”

[6:31 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain took the scroll and unraveled it, checking it briefly, then nodded, "Alright." He rerolled the scroll up and placed it on the bench next to him, then questioned the two, "So, how do I know Saarva sent you? He didn't sign the scroll."

[6:37 PM] cybershadowX: Millie’s face paled when Zain told her that Saarva didn’t sign the letter. She assumed that the seal was enough since Kiera accepted it but perhaps Zain being the team leader would be pickier. “I...Uh…” She quickly checked her pockets for any other form of proof but couldn’t find anything besides a few Leafs and her knife. After eating with Kiera she had left her pack at a hotel and only brought the bare necessities with her to meet Zain. “You got anything Namaka?”

[6:38 PM] Shade: "Uh, he said something about this orb being important?" Namaka stopped tossing the object up and down, and held it out towards Zain. Saarva had said a little more about the thing to Namaka, but beyond 'show it to Zain', she really hadn't paid it too much attention. She was fairly certain that was the important bit, though.

[6:42 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain looked somewhat displeased, and eventually took the orb from Namaka without asking for it, "I'm not falling for this again. I already made the mistake once and it won't work for you again." Of course, this is to be expected of the chief, after Saireen had created a fake version of the very same orb to gain the wolf's trust, and it ultimately turned out to be a huge sham. He looked down at the orb again, and it looked just like the other ones, but then again, so did the Heron woman's.

[6:44 PM] Shade: Namaka blinked in surprise. "Falling for what now?" She had no idea what Zain meant by his words. It sounded like he thought they were fakes or something? It made no sense to Namaka. Wasn't the whole point of the orb to prove that they weren't?

[6:49 PM] cybershadowX: Millie began to silently panic. If Saarva hadn't given either of them any real proof of their legibility things might become problematic. As far as she knew they had no way of contacting Saarva back in Niciri and if they traveled back themselves it could take weeks. By then Zain ad his crew could have already left Maufi. "Wait uh...hold on a sec...." She began fishing around in her pockets again and pulled out the Hard Candy that Saarva had offered her. It was still in the wrapper and a bit sticky but otherwise still edible. "I must look like and idiot for presenting a piece of candy as proof but it's all I have"

[7:24 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain looked at Millie for a moment, as if he was somewhat puzzled. He put the orb down next to the scroll on the bench, and then took the candy from the girl. (No way they'd be able to replicate Saarva's candy. Its one of a kind, and not blatantly obvious as a way to identify oneself as an ally...) "...As dumb as it may sound, that candy is good enough proof for me. No one makes candy like Saarva does... not even they would be able to replicate them. You're in - welcome to our pack." The orb rolled off the bench and into the water behind Zain.(edited)

[7:29 PM] Shade: "...Wait, what?" Namaka blinked again. "So the orb that Saarva gave us and we were supposed to show you as identification isn't good enough... but candy that he happened to be offering in his office is?" She scratched her head, and then shrugged. "Well, as long as we're all fine, I guess. So how does this work now?"

[7:35 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain shrugged, "If you knew what's happened recently, you wouldn't be so surprised. I'll fill you in later," he paused, looking back at the rippling water where the orb had just sunk. He stood up and turned to face them, "Right now, we're waiting for orders to come. You're free to do whatever you wish until curfew tonight, but I suggest you meet some of your comrades and learn how things work. There's a guy named Boreas over at our little camp, he's hard to miss with his huge wagon, who has your starting pay and some supplies." "You should introduce yourselves first."

[7:42 PM] cybershadowX: Millie looked between Zain and Namaka before deciding that she should go first. "My name is Millie. Nice to meet you." Although she tried to act confident on the outside she nervously wrapped a strand of hair around her index finger again. She hoped that there wouldn't be anymore issues.

[8:08 PM] Shade: "I'm Namaka. Looking forward to figuring out who's behind all this and getting everything back to normal!" She spoke with a grin, glad that the previous confusion was dealt with.

[8:16 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain nodded after their introductions, "Sounds like its going to be a long job, so prepare yourselves accordingly for it. Good to have some extra people on board," he added, though he didn't sound particularly excited or anything.

[8:20 PM] Shade: "Glad to be on board. Where should we head to now?" It wasn't so late that Namaka was ready to turn in for the night, but better to stay at the same place as the group. It would make her easier to find, which in turn meant that there would be less expectation of her to seek out Zain or whoever else to figure out what the group was doing.

March 1, 2018

[1:03 AM] cybershadowX: "Is that it? Give him a piece of candy and we're part of the team?" Millie looked around the dock. She felt an uneasy feeling but couldn't really put a finger on it. Although Zain had sort of formally accepted them as part of the team, he hadn't given any information beyond that. "I actually got a question." Now that the initial hurdle of introductions had passed Millie's confidence increased enough to begin questions. She found it odd that there seemed to be minimal information connected to this job, and this meeting only made it worse. If this job turned out to be as fishy as it felt then she was fully prepared to bail. Millie knew that she sounded a bit paranoid but being careful had kept her alive so far. The faint memory of her burying a dead Rettatese bounty hunter a year and a half ago resurfaced and she began to drum her fingers on the wooden railing. "Why is there so much secrecy revolving around this investigation. It's not like you're a super covert operation if a commander and his army had just attacked you. If you can't tell me what exactly you're doing right now at least tell me what is preventing you from doing it. Millie nodded to where the orb had just sunk into the ocean. "That story about the orb sounds interesting." Millie quickly hid her hands behind her back to stop the shaking.

[4:17 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: "We got tricked," a mix of light anger and embarrassment could be heard in the wolf's voice, "We know at this point the likely culprit of the attack on the Tree. They managed to fool us with a perfect copy of one of those orbs, giving us fake directions, which ultimately led us into a stupid trap and caused pointless fighting. They're no longer good as proof of who one is alone," he paused to again look back, where no signs of the orb could even be seen at this point. "Can't let that happen again."

[4:25 PM] Shade: Namaka tilted her head to the side, a light frown on her face. 'Well, that would explain why he didn't trust the orb, but...' "Shouldn't you let Saarva know? He still thinks the orbs work, since he gave us one. Wouldn't want other people to fall for the trick or start mistrusting each other, yeah?" It made sense to her. After all, Zain and Saarva were obviously in contact with each other through some means, and imposters going around tricking everyone was just going to make everything worse.

[5:27 PM] cybershadowX: Millie nodded and stepped back. The explanation made sense, and in his shoes Millie would have been just as cautious. "Namaka's right. If Saarva doesn't know about others who can replicate the orb then you gu- we may be compromised. She brushed her hair with her hand and looked around again. She didn't think anyone was monitoring their conversation, but it was smart to be safe anyway. Can't have people realizing Saarva's candy was another way in. "If that's all for today, how will we know to find you later?"

[8:52 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain first answered Namaka, "I specifically mark my orb I use for messages so it can't be replicated, then Saarva sends the same one back. It'd be impossible for a trickster to duplicate it. We're working out the situation right now." Afterwards he turned his head slightly to Millie, "I dunno. I'll either be in town or over at our little set up just outside of town, like I said before. You can camp out there or rent a room, but you're expected to check in before you head to bed with any of the officers there. We don't have orders yet, so I'm not too concerned with strict curfews."

[9:04 PM] Shade: With a shrug, Namaka replied, "Alright. Good to hear you're working things out. I'll probably just find a place off the docks to sleep myself. Hopefully we find something to investigate soon, yeah?"

[9:11 PM] cybershadowX: Millie leaned against the railing with her arms folded as she processed Zain's words. Camping out at outside of town sounded fun but she already had her stuff in a hotel so it didn't really make sense. "Alright I'll go check out your base after this."

March 2, 2018

[4:19 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain responded to Namaka first, "I'll let you know," he paused and adjusted to address the both of them, "You're free to go for the rest of the evening. Get some rest or whatever - don't know when we'll be getting orders."

[4:20 PM] Shade: "Aye aye, captain!" She gave a pitiful attempt at a salute, a grin on her face, before turning away and strolling down the street.

[4:54 PM] cybershadowX: Millie silently nodded before shoving her hands into her pockets. Zain seemed like a smart person. He didn't talk unless needed and was cautious. "Sounds good." She began to walk away but paused mid-step. "Oh yea, are you going to keep the candy or can I have it back?"

[5:11 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: Zain tossed the candy over to Millie, before sitting back down on the bench.

[9:26 PM] cybershadowX: Millie caught the candy in one hand before stuffing it in her pocket. "Thanks." Giving her new boss a smile she turned her back and exited the dock as well.

[9:31 PM] Mappy | Best Dog: ===Technically end but i might edit one post in the morning===