EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That is good...there doesn't seem to be much choice." Ma'tanza answered as she looked around the room, which was now nearly pitch black. Even the night eye of both a lycan and Khajiit together could only do so much to brighten near complete darkness. Although, since Bheja was laying down in the other direction, her chains pulled her to lay down towards him, just as Tzirret's were being pulled towards Ma'tanza. "Ma'tanza admit, she did not think about this, well...earlier. She is almost looking forward to tomorrow."

Ahnasha carefully reached up and pulled her arms over both Rhazii and Newt, trying to make sure that only her fur was touching them, instead of the shackles and chains. Newt was in no better of a mood than Rhazii, and once Rhazii had started to cry, he was not far behind. "We...we won't have to do this anymore? We can play again?"

"Shh, shh, it's alright, children. Tomorrow will be much better, I promise. You won't have to do this again. All you have to do is stay close to me, alright? No matter what is happening, stay with me. Now maybe...would you like to hear a story? Something about a brave adventurer, or a cunning mage?" Ahnasha whispered, doing her best to sound upbeat.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and stared in silence for a few moments as he tried to think. "Well...honestly I should probably find Orub. I'm sure he'll be wanting to catch up with me over drinks, and I probably don't want to keep him waiting." He reasoned. Despite his general nervousness at the whole plan, he had kept up the cover story perfectly when they were speaking to the Orc before.

---

The rest of the day proceeded, thankfully, without incident. Most of both ships' crew tended to keep to themselves, just as the clan's members remained mostly together. Over a long journey, they might have expected some tension to grow between them, but their facade would not go on for nearly that long. By the next day, they would be well-into the Topal sea, and at the perfect place to take over.

The Khajiit in the hold had been given at least enough food and water that they could all have something. Over the course of a month or two, they would all practically be starving, but the most any of them would feel by the next morning would likely be normal hunger. However, the space issue became more apparent once they tried to get to sleep. Just sitting caused them to crowd together, but laying down meant they were quite literally having to lay on top of one another. Comfort seemed like an impossibility, and most of them were quite thankful that this would just be for one night. The stranger on the other side of Tzirret already had his torso laying across Tzirret's legs, and Ma'tanza felt like she wanted to get to sleep soon.

Eslewhere in the hold, Ahnasha did what she could to lay herself down on her back. She was not lucky enough to have a spot at the edge of the group, so her feet were under a Dagi, and much of her upper body was resting on a Cathay. However, it was the comfort of Newt and Rhazii she was most concerned with, not her own. They were obviously much smaller, but even they could not fit in the space between her and the person beside her. "It's okay, you two. I know it isn't comfortable, but just try to lay down, alright? We won't have to do this again tomorrow. I promise I'll find something soft for you to sleep on tomorrow night. You can lay on my stomach if the floor is too uncomfortable, just try to get to sleep."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Will do.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza kept her arms around Tzirret, this time tightening them to give him a hug in sympathy, and hopefully, give him some comfort. [i]"Ma'tanza wishes you did not have to go through this. But you are her friend, and she is here to help you. What do you need to focus on? Is there anything Ma'tanza can do to help?"

Bheja, who had quite literally been pulled into the conversation, looked at Tzirret with equal concern to Ma'tanza once he realized what was happening. An accidental transformation at this point would accelerate their plans far, far too quickly, so he certainly had an interest in helping as well. Though, he felt that there was little he could do at the moment.

---

"My other veneer? I will be fine, Gallus. This is not a comfortable experience, but it is a necessary one. I have had to do far more difficult things in the past than this. After tomorrow morning, we will be past this uncomfortable charade." Meesei answered.

Letting out a sigh, Meesei took a few steps away and spoke up, this time to both Gallus and Colors. "We should all get back to what we were doing. I have to go check on the...enchantments for the Senches' collars."

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

One advantage of CQC training? Little fear of approaching strangers.

We may wish to collab the conversation, @HHShetland. And maybe @frapet, since the Besalisk is present.

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

From where Tir was sitting, she could see and hear the scene unfold between this Tiss’shar male and those around them, provided she focused on them. Or at least, she heard most of it. The woman at the counter identified herself as “Teema” towards the Besalisk, which, given the name of the diner, almost certainly meant she was the proprietor of the restaurant. She seemed brusque, fast-talking, and even for Tir, a bit difficult to understand. The Besalisk appeared to simply be a customer: one who was at least friendly enough to strike up a conversation with strangers. Although, she supposed it was possible that he did actually know the Tiss’shar, and had simply never been to the diner. As for the Tiss’shar himself, she found that there were some details she noticed which made him seem more familiar than she would have expected.

While the general noise of the restaurant did make it somewhat difficult to hear clearly, Tir thought she heard the proprietor refer to the Tiss’shar as “Dyno,” or something similar. Tir could have easily misunderstood the woman’s accent, but his voice also had a familiar sound to it, which gave her an educated guess as to who he might be. However, she was pulled away from her eavesdropping when a waitress, a Falleen woman evidently named “Phabbs” stepped between them, asking for her order in a voice that was just barely rude enough to still have some plausible deniability. Tir had not actually intended to stay in the diner for long, being that she had only arrived in the first place for a matter of business. However, this Tiss’shar had her curious, and besides which, she supposed the smell from carrying around that severed head for the past few hours had given her a bit of an appetite.

Since Tir had not so much as seen a menu, she decided to order something common, and simple. ”Hmm, yes, thank you. I’ll have a gizka steak. Raw, if possible. And a glass of water. That will be all for me.” She answered, simply and directly.

Tir gave the waitress a chance to write her order and get on her way before she focused her attention back on the Tiss’shar. Seeing as her booth was rather close, she decided it couldn’t hurt to simply walk up and introduce herself. There were certainly many people in level 3030 who were rightfully afraid to so much as be around strangers. Generally, it was the new arrivals who would make an effort to be open and friendly, but Tir was something of an exception in that regard.

Standing up from her booth, Tir left behind the now-empty pouch the Devaronian had given with her payment to mark the booth as taken, then walked the short distance towards the counter. Stopping just in front of the Tiss’shar, she leaned herself against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. For a brief moment, she was silent as she curiously looked him over, apart from the rhythmic tapping of one of her metal claws against the wall.

”I will be entirely honest, I did not expect to meet one of my own kind today. Or any day, really. The name’s Tir-Nem-Saral. A pleasure.” Tir said politely and directly, which frankly could be seen as strange in this area.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma’tanza was confused at first by what Tzirret was saying, but that confusion ceased to matter when he mentioned that his beast spirit was staring to act up. At that point, the only thing that mattered was that they find a way to calm him down. ”Okay, okay, just…we need to get you calm. Okay.”

Pulling her shackled hands over to her left, she reached up and put her hands over his head so that she could get her arms around him. She ended up pulling Bheja over towards her in the process, but a mild inconvenience for him was not important at the moment. Ma’tanza pulled Tzirret closer while maintaining firm, unbroken eye contact. ”Alright, let’s just…breathe slowly then. Just focus on Ma’tanza; nothing else matters. One…two…three…” She began, giving one count for each of the slow breaths she exhaled.

---

Meesei leaned herself against the wall immediately beside Gallus. Most of the crew was busy above deck, but she still spoke at a whisper that was only just audible to him at that distance. “I will be fine. I can maintain the role of the confident enchanter as long as needed. Though, I believe I will avoid direct conversation with the crew if possible.”

Closing her eyes briefly, Meesei gave an uncomfortable sigh. “As for sneaking down to the clan…as much as I dislike saying it, it may not be worth the risk. They have eaten today, and they will be given food and water tonight, so they should not be particularly hungry until morning. We just need to keep an eye on the crew to make sure they do not suspect anything. We have put on as complete of a façade as possible, but there are some details they may notice. I expect that it would take them much longer than a single night to put together the pieces, but I will be ready to give the signal early regardless.”

Meanwhile, Colors was also in the room, though he was standing far enough away that he could not hear what they were saying clearly, and was quite obviously uncertain of what he should be doing. He had performed his role well in setting up the deal, but there was little left for him to do now other than to make sure their deception was not discovered.

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

I'll get to meet people soon. Just need the DJ raptor. Though for now, I'm heading to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza still continued to look around the hold nervously, though there was only a slim chance of actually identifying anyone beyond a short distance away from them. "M'ibasa was supposed to shackle himself close to us. He might have waited too long and ended up shackled somewhere else. Oh, if he's on that other ship, he's going to be so afraid. This one hopes he is somewhere near at least someone he knows."

Once Ma'tanza turned back towards Tzirret, being one of the few she could actually see clearly, she noticed he looked somewhat strange. When he said that he had an issue with confined spaces, she looked at him with concern, then moved her shackled hands over enough to place a hand on his leg. "Are you going to be alright, Tzirret?"

---

Meesei was sat on the edge of the bed, of which there was, unfortunately, only one in the room. Loading the clan onto the ship had been an altogether uncomfortable affair for everyone involved, and though she would not say it aloud, part of the reason she had gone to her room early was so she would not have to witness the remainder of it. She felt immense guilt for putting her fellow lycans through such an experience, but if it guaranteed their safety, she supposed it would be worth it. Regardless, she still put on something of a smile when Gallus entered the room.

"Yes, it is just a matter of waiting now." Meesei said quietly as she stood up and walked over closer to Gallus. "I shall give the signal tomorrow morning, once we are far enough into the Topal Sea. I just hope the clan can hold strong until then."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

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