[PRP] Searching for Salamire (Tevini + Cerpin + Zeffer)

[Doutei]

Two rebel kids try to return to the swamp with information and in need of help.

 

[Doutei]

"I hope we find it soon." Two figures trudged through the swamp, hearts beating fast. This forest had too many sounds and it just reminded her that she wasn't over the chase she'd endured to get here the first time. All hope of simply returning to her old life was gone with the recent incidents involving her hive. It was heartbreaking to leave and she didn't know how much she trusted Cerpin's belief that relocating to the outskirts of Chittentown was enough. They'd discussed the issue briefly before she'd demanded to go speak with the rebels and see about officially joining in order to get protection.

It'd been hard to stand up to him like that.

Hoping that the boy didn't mind, Tevini walked in relative silence while the two pondered their next moves. Cerpin had ambitions that she was supportive of and other ambitions that she didn't understand. She'd made progress in asserting herself about joining the rebels but didn't feel confident scolding him about his other projects when they still didn't know each other very well. As a high blood he was used to getting his way, right?

"... are we lost?" Frowning as she could swear they'd just circled the same tree formation, Tevini grew tense. They'd taken a different path to Chittentown earlier and were doing their best to go off a map but neither of them had ironed out the route perfectly. Her stomach curled from stress and she hoped Cerpin wouldn't get mad.


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Yamashii
I realized they have no idea how to get there, both times they took different routes lol


Kamileunaire
Lost chilluns!

 

[Yamashii]

"I'll find it, don't worry. Just let me handle it." A hand flippantly waved away Tevini's nervous concerns. It seemed like the more Cerpin got to know the girl, the more he saw just how much anxiety weighed down on her over every little thing. Maybe it was just dumb luck or highblood privilege (okay he was sure the latter played a big role in things) but he'd always found things to work out fine whether he fretted over them or not.

Okay, maybe she had had a point that this took priority over his alternate projects and it was very important to return to the village and talk with the Rebel leaders but... Stressing out over it was not going to do them much good. If there was one absolute truth he'd discovered at this point in his short life, it was that confidence was key. They were going to find this swamp, dammit, and they were going to make this Byakko troll love them and then- Tevini frowned and muttered something that snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Of course we're not lost. The path was kind of like a spiral I think." Yeah, maybe if he'd come out through the tunnels like he had the first time. Cerpin squinted at their map in frustration but tried to not let it show on his face in front of Tevini. Her eyes were sharp though, they caught every subtle detail somehow. How had such a timid shy girl grown to be so guarded and alert? What a mystery his partner was.

"Well you know, if we can't find it and we've been there before, at least we know the Royalists won't either." The young prince let out a laugh to ease the tension and seemed pleased with his own joke. Making light of the situation probably didn't do much to settle her nerves but he hadn't quite matured enough yet to be considerate. It was something he was working on, like the whole ordering her around thing.

It still bothered him that she'd stood up to him but at the same time, it had been impressive. Cerpin wasn't sure what to think about it yet as they passed another familiar looking tree for the third time.

Doutei

Yeah I think it will take a few tries for them to get good at the route lol

Kamileunaire

Feel free to do whatever you like to the kiddos, I figure they are wandering around the far outskirts of the village endlessly in a loop!

 

[kamileunaire]

A few weeks had gone by since the rebels had hidden themselves away in the swamp, but the Initiative certainly wasn't settled in completely, not by any means. The village was still largely in ruin, and there was much left to be rebuilt, but everyone was out of harm's way for the moment. That was all Zeffer was interested in maintaining, as he fell into the new routine of setting up Salamire's security systems. Working in a swamp was turning out to be very different from working in caves, and the blueblood had already decided that it was about a hundred times more annoying as well (when it came to setting up electronics, anyway). All of the equipment he had hauled in to get them started would need to be modified, and waterproofed. Akko and a few other volunteers had helped him set up a perimeter and a few hand-built traps, but he was still working nightly on getting a more high-tech system in place. Surveillance was an important part of making sure the village remained protected (from inside and out), and Zeffer was doing his best to learn how everything worked.

In the mean time, he had resolved to patrol on an almost nightly basis, alternating it with the construction work that was still taking place in the village. Some nights, patrolling seemed almost frivolous. No one had seen any evidence of the military or Royalist intruders for weeks, but it was better to be safe than attacked again, without warning. No matter how uneventful it was, Zeffer was still devoted to his job, and made it a game to camouflage himself before going out to do so. It was one of those nights, as he slunk through the maze of thick foliage, on the lookout for any sort of unwanted presence...

He'd been out for several hours already. As usual, it was a rather dull affair, and he was keeping an eye out for possible prey items as well, when the sound of voices reached his ears. Little voices...youngsters, by the sound of it. Holding his breath, he pressed through a curtain of vines, and smirked wickedly as the pair came into view. For a split second, he couldn't fathom what they would be doing so far in the swamp, but as Cerpin joked, he made the connection. They'd been there before, and Zeffer just hadn't met them yet. Time to give them a proper swamp greeting.

"There's a good reason no one ever finds it again." He hissed, as he all but melted out of the thick greenery behind the pair, looming up ominously. With the mud streaked across his face and front, and the leaves and twigs stuck to his horns and jacket, he blended in as well as ever, all the while looking like an absolute terror.

Yamashii

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"Well, that's not exactly-" Tevini pouted at Cerpin's joke before suddenly a mud creature appeared behind the two trolls. Screaming in fear, the girl jerked away and scrambled while trying to flee. Unfortunately she wasn't really watching her footing well and ultimately ended up crashing onto the ground.

"Run!" She'd fallen and thus was easy prey now. Hopefully her sacrifice would slow the attacker down while Cerpin got away! Wincing as she pushed against the ground to get up, Tevini counted on Scuttle to shield her. She didn't have any weapons to protect herself with but Scuttle had a mean bite when he was facing the right way! Steadying herself, the troll was surprised when their attacker did not immediately kill anything and blinked in confusion. Her pump biscuit beat like crazy and she could feel that she'd started crying.

"W-what are you waiting for? Just do it!"


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Yamashii
Sorry it's so short, Tevini is a baby.


Kamileunaire
Sorry it's so late! I think things have calmed down for me irl now so yay!

 

[Yamashii]

A tall mud-covered body emerged from thin air that seemed to resemble a troll bred with an antelope bred with a ******** snapjawbeast and Cerpin completely lost his s**t when it spoke.

One glance in his partner's direction and Tevini was helpfully neatly curled up and presented to her captor in crying sushi roll position. Well screw that, he wasn't going to go nearly as nicely. Zeffer loomed menacingly before them with an intimidating set of teeth and crown of twigs.

"NO SURVIVORS!" Cerpin let out a crazed war cry as he grabbed the nearest branch and tugged on it to snap it off as a weapon. It didn't quite break on the first try but Blossmom crowded Zeffer from behind in a frenzied wing attack until the young purpleblood just gave up on the branch thing and opted to leap onto Zeffer's feet and stomp the s**t out of them.

If he was going to die here, his opponent was going to feel it for a few days at least!

Doutei

Poor Tevini ; A; Cerpin will make it worse save you! I loved her laying there like 'oh just end it already!'

Kamileunaire

I imagine what he's doing is more annoying than seriously painful so feel free to laugh at him or push him off. Blossmom the flowerchicken is squawking and flapping wings at the moment.

 

[kamileunaire]

Almost immediately Zeffer regretted sneaking up on them, but his raucous laughter rang out regardless. Tevini's near-instantaneous surrender was both sad and hilarious, but his bloodpusher sank a little as soon as he saw the translucent red tears that were streaking down her face. Obviously the joke needed to come to a halt, but before he could get a word in, he found himself being buffeted by the wings of Cerpin's lusus, and was subsequently startled by his battle cry. He watched the purpleblood attempt to arm himself, and could only cackle once again as his steel-toed boots were soundly (but ineffectually) stomped. Zeffer was tickled. The kid would make a fine fighter, if he managed to survive long enough to be taught.

"Alright, you got me! Ease up!" He made no effort to halt Cerpin's attack, and only lifted an arm to protect himself from Blossmom, in case she decided to peck or claw. "I didn't mean to startle you both, but..." His s**t-eating grin spelled out that he was lying, as he tried to place their faces. He couldn't really remember ever seeing them before, but he'd been out of commission for some time, and he knew some trolls had left to retrieve their lusii or check their hives. The kids' previous conversation indicated they'd been to the village before.

"Who are you two, and what are you doing out here?" He stepped back from Cerpin, finally, raising both hands to show his disinterest in harming them. They must have ended up amongst the rebel ranks at the end of the fight, somehow, but it was still his duty to safeguard the village. They were too noisy to be spies, and hopefully smart enough not to be Royalists snooping around. "You guys were here before, right?"

Yamashii

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"We're looking for the..." Tevini fumbled to get ahold of herself and answer Zeffer's questions. Wiping her face, the girl felt embarrassed that she'd gotten so freaked out but also a little mad. That was mean! Why would someone do something like that?

"We want to talk with your leader. Chittentown is-" How to put it? She regretted not checking the rest of the cities before coming here. They had come to bring information to the rebels and hopefully work out some from of protection agreement but now that she thought about it... she and Cerpin were just two little kids. What would the rebels think they had of value to offer in exchange? She should've thought more about what to say before dragging her partner here out of fear.

"Chittentown is being watched. There are drones guarding our hives and..." She blinked back more tears that threatened to form.

"I'm scared."


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Yamashii


Kamileunaire

 

[Yamashii]

The beast broke out into laughter and backed away, putting his hands up in a non-threatening gesture. It had all been a joke...? Cerpin stared at the tall towering blueblood in surprise as he grinned and asked a few question. The purpleblood's own face broke out in an embarrassed but delighted grin. Oh gog, what a jackass! But it was the kind of humor he agreed with and he found himself letting out a loud laugh as well. He'd find a way to pay this guy back and then some. Let the prank wars begin!

"Well played. You're not bad." The young boy smirked and shook his head. Tevini went on to explain the current situation about their hives and he rested a hand on her back to remind her she was safe and not alone. Her body almost felt to be quivering from a mixture of fear and embarrassment but hopefully it would pass soon now that they'd learned this guy was from the Rebels. He gave her back a rub and made a note to get her something special once they returned to civilization. Maybe she just needed a magic charm. He was good at buying those.

"I'm Cerpin and this is Tevini. We were there the day the Royalists attacked and made our escape with you guys. We'd like to officially join the Rebels this time." The two youngsters wanted the protection of the Rebel army specifically since they'd defected from the Royalists but he didn't bring this up in explicit detail. The last Rebels he'd run into had not been very welcoming to him thanks to both his blood and his status as a defector.

"We can ferry supplies to and from the camp as well as keep an eye on the routes to and from. I'm planning on building a place to watch the tunnels for any activity too." He and Tevini had managed to relocate in the Chittentown underground. He had plans to turn the place into an anonymous dayclub in order to listen for gossip and look for others that wanted freedom from the hemospectrum. Plus the location put him in a great place to watch if the Royalists were sending troops down the tunnels to try and drill through the blockades.

"Vee and I are also planning to build a spaceship." The duo needed to make themselves valuable to the Rebels in order to ensure they got in without a hitch. The crafty purpleblood thought offering space travel might just do the job!

Doutei

Kamileunaire

 

[kamileunaire]

"Cerpin, Tevini." Zeffer grinned as Cerpin made introductions, and listened to what they had to say, relieved to see they weren't too upset by his prank. If they were going to be staying in the swamp, it would be the first of many, but he resolved to give the shenanigans a rest, for the moment. Setting his hands on his hips, he nodded as Cerpin delivered the bulk of the information, and continued to feel for Tevini. It had to be rough for some of the younger rebels, but they were working hard to tie up loose ends. She seemed to have a good friend in Cerpin, at least, and his gaze softened as he comforted her.

"Name's Zeffer. It's good to meet you both. Glad you could make it back safe - I've heard about the surveillance, lotta bad stuff happening, unfortunately." He sneered for a moment, sniffling and dragging the back of his hand across is mud-streaked face. He already knew the drones had claimed one of them, as Akko had revealed, and he hoped no one else would be so unlucky.

"A space ship! Very ambitious. I bet Byakko'll love to hear about that." He snickered good-naturedly, his natural smirk returning as Cerpin relayed their plans. A lot of it sounded somewhat risky to him, but sometimes risks were necessary to press ahead. In the back of his mind, he hoped they were telling the truth; if anything, Akko and the others would be able to verify their claims. At that point, Zeffer didn't feel the need to be rough with them, though his paranoia continued to linger in a very annoying way.

"Let's get going then! I know a few short cuts that'll get us there real quick." He turned to lead the way, and disappeared into the foliage he had emerged from, before pulling back a thick curtain of vines, gesturing for the two youngsters to follow him.

doutei

yamashii

 

[Doutei]

"Cerpin!" A secretive troll, Tevini gasped when he informed Zeffer of all of their plans. It made her uncomfortable to share things without learning more about the other trolls first! Pouting, she knew that it was too late now. The damage had been done.

Or had it?

Zeffer looked almost pleased to hear about the project and now he was offering to take them along to the base. Perhaps Cerpin's straightforwardness had been the right choice after all. Feeling a little ashamed at how useless she'd been in the encounter, Tevini glanced at her partner's back as they followed the blueblood through the swamp. After finding out her hive was being watched, she'd gotten scared and slinked away. What would she have done next if she hadn't had Cerpin to ask for help? He'd been the one to calm her down and immediately thought of the best way to relocate. He'd even found Etsali and gotten her help! The purpleblood had done all these selfless things for her. Meanwhile it'd been an orangeblood who'd hunted and captured her. Sure he'd released her twice now but still, it was unsettling.

The hemospectrum was a broken system already but she'd thought she could count on lowbloods being allies and highbloods her enemies. It was wrong of her to assume that- she could see that now. The adult before them right now was a blueblood, leading them to meet with his leader, a mutantblood. Tevini still didn't know what to think about a mutantblood yet, she had never thought she would meet one. The battle in the tunnels had been intense and she'd been frightened of Byakko initially. But now Byakko was her only chance. And if the rebels were truly being pushed out of society, perhaps she was her only chance as well. But was it possible to make a ship that large for all these people? She hadn't even made a proper one for two trolls!

And yet, something stirred.


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Yamashii
Enjoy some credit where credit is due.


Kamileunaire
Sorry there wasn't much actual action for you to work with! ; w; But once they get the ball rollingggg!

 

[Yamashii]

Zeffer pulled back a mess of vines for the kids to pass through and Cerpin did so without hesitation. The purpleblood was not naturally overly trusting. It was more the fact that Zeffer was gigantic compared to the two of them and it was simply easier to go along with what he wanted rather than fight about it. Cerpin liked him so far so it wasn't hard to follow orders but he still didn't know much about the others in the Rebellion. Wading through the murky waters, his mind wandered to the faces he had met.

"Byakko's the leader, right? I think Rasali mentioned that. Haven't gotten a chance to see her or Forera again. Are they still hanging around?" Cerpin thought out loud in order to fill the silence. He wanted to see the tealblood again for sure to thank her for helping him but the greenblood still intimidated him. His mental image of Rasali had softened while hunting for sopor together but the memory of the War Babes leashing him was still uncomfortable. And he didn't even want to think of Aerona right now.

"So are you a soldier? Orrr..." He certainly looked like a fighter with rips and tears in his cape as well as that strange scar streaking up and down his face. Cerpin had no idea what could've caused such a thing but it looked menacing (and kind of cool to be honest). He had no doubt that Tevini was probably tensing up and throwing mental daggers at his back for bringing this up but he was interested in the topic. If he could find a mentor to teach him some basic attacks, it might be useful in case of another Royalist raid. Hopefully he could keep his precious inventor far from the battlefield though.

"I'm just guessing since you were out here patrolling, I think. Which is pretty smart. I'd love to help if I can." Cerpin had no intentions of moving to the swamp but he did want to keep it safe. Since he was planning on visiting it anyways, he might as well volunteer to watch the roads leading to and from it. While in Chittentown, he'd look after the tunnels and while trekking here, he'd keep an eye on the Busthind climb.

"Vee could probably help get this place secured. She's good with gadgets and all. You could build a fence or something, right?" The purpleblood looked back at his partner as the trio pressed on through the swamp towards civilization. He didn't really think about how she might not want others to know her talents with tinkering or how rude it was to volunteer her services. In his mind, they were already a team and anything she needed him to do would be done if she asked for it. But Cerpin had not been smart enough to have this conversation with Tevini yet.

Doutei

Good luck Tevini you are mixed up with a troublesome lad.

Kamileunaire

Q&A with big bro Zeff yaaaay~ Feel free to move us to the village if you like!

 

[kamileunaire]

"That's right, Byakko's in charge." Zeffer smirked to himself as the little redblood protested Cerpin's attempt at conversation, wishing he could comfort her, but not wanting to put her on the spot, either. In time she would adjust, he was sure. The entire operation relied on the trust between each member of the Initiative, and so far things had gone well enough. The pair had big aspirations, and he was confident that Akko would want to hear what they had to say.

"Yep, they're both still here. They stuck around to help renovate the place...there weren't too many who were willing to leave the swamp until recently." He seemed content enough to answer their questions as he lead them through a maze-like sequence of passages and curtained foliage, not once needing to hack at the greenery or damage the surrounding plants. Nightly patrol had allowed him to gain a working knowledge of the pathways the rebels had used to escape, and he was quite pleased with the progress made in learning the ins and outs of the area.

"I guess you could say I am." Zeffer laughed, helping them up so they could all squeeze through a small passageway between two massive trees. "I'm also one of Byakko's officers, head of defense, specifically." He added on, grunting as his boot caught on a root, before tugging it free. His size gave him intimidation, but it sure didn't mean he was very graceful most of the time. He paused for a moment, eyes darting about, before he moved on again, snorting softly to himself. This was the right way, of course...

"I'd love the help. We can use all the help we can get, really." Cerpin was a little young, but Zeffer liked his enthusiasm, and held off any nay-saying. Lusii usually did well enough in instructing their young on the basics of fighting, but the blueblood was hellbent on supplementing that instruction; those who weren't inclined toward fighting already would need to be taught. Zeffer hoped that the other wrigglers would be as enthusiastic as the purpleblood.

"Ohh??" The next tidbit gave Zeffer pause, and he glanced back to grin at Tevini eagerly, fangs flashing. "How did you know that that's exactly what I needed? I've just begun to rig up a surveillance system for the outer perimeter." He laughed quietly, and squeezed past another large tree, passing under a set of towering root systems. "Probably not a fence...don't want anyone to know we're out here, but we certainly need a way to keep watch. It'll be tricky, to keep the electronics in good shape, since it's so damn wet out here." Or at least, that was Zeffer's impression, anyway. He was more eager than ever now to get them to Akko, possibly even settled into their own hive. The opportunity to learn from someone who knew gadgets was an excellent prospect, and Zeffer could hardly believe their luck. He'd only just begun to expand his own technological knowledge.

"We can talk more about that later, though. Finally here..." He stepped through the last curtain of vines to reveal a stretch of clear forest. In the distance, the shapes in the treetops above alluded to the hives that had been rebuilt. Here and there, a glimmer of light could be seen, the candles they used to light some of the walkways. Once they were through, he lead on, making a beeline for the hive he shared with the PI's leader.

Yamashii

cute

Doutei

babbies

 

[Doutei]

How could he think that was okay?

Tevini had accepted Cerpin's decision to talk about their spaceship because it was too late now to cover it up. But for him to go on further and volunteer her for more jobs on top of everything was too far! But now was not the time to yell at him for it. Biting her lip as Zeffer glanced at her excitedly, the redblood felt pressured and nodded in consent. Once again, it was too late now to cover it up. What if she said no and the rebels kicked them out? A knot tightened in her stomach as she followed the blueblood through the trees. They reached the village and she glanced up at the hives with uncertainty.

It wasn't that she didn't trust this place but that she wasn't used to it yet. Tevini was a nervous troll who took time adjusting to change.

"Do we need to do anything before we go in?" It seemed like they were close to meeting Byakko now and she wanted to follow protocol, whatever that might be. Tevini wanted this meeting to go smooth and perfect without any problems. She needed it to. If Zeffer needed to check them for weapons or tell them anything about their leader, it'd be best to hear about it now.

And she was kind of hoping Zeffer would reveal a secret ladder or something. She really didn't want to have to rope climb her way up or they'd be here all night.


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Yamashii
Tevini stop being so whiny. Well this'll set up for that PRP we need to do later.


Kamileunaire
I wasn't sure what the rebels are using to get up to their hives and if/how they are hiding the way up the trees! If I missed something, let me know and I can edit!

 

[Yamashii]

Lights twinkled above and it almost looked kind of homey in this quiet murky swamp. The place looked much better than it had been when the two wigglers had left last time and Cerpin's face visibly showed he was impressed. The purpleblood let out a whistle of admiration.

"Wow, you guys cleaned it up nice! I almost fell though the bridgeboards last time I was here." He was incredibly glad that they had worked hard on repairing the rundown hives and making them safe again since the aerial advantage would be their best strength should the Royalists ever find this place. Being able to fire from above and escape through the treetop would be crucial if another raid took them. He hadn't thought much about survival tactics in the past; his blood and Blossmom had been enough to protect him. But now he felt the need to keep an eye on the door whenever he entered a room. Was it paranoia? Or strategic? Cerpin wasn't sure yet.

"Which one's yours, Zeffer? Seems good to know where the defense base is." Cerpin figured it would be best to check in with the Head of Defense whenever he came and went to the village. Salamire would likely appreciate word from the outside and he liked giving reports. It made him feel smart and like the center of attention, both things Cerpin enjoyed greatly. Someday his vanity would screw him over, Blossmom kept telling him, but it hadn't happened yet so whatever.

"It's exciting, isn't it, Vee? We're going to meet history in the making." Flashing an excited smile at his partner, it was clear Cerpin was buzzing with energy at the chance to meet someone as important as Byakko. This was no ordinary troll and he didn't mean the pink running through her veins. This was someone with a vision and the stubborn determination to see it through. He was itching to meet her and learn all he could about her leadership!

Doutei

Totally oblivious to Tevini's irritation, smack some sense to him in the next PRP!

Kamileunaire

He is definitely going to visit/bother Zeff's hive later if he tells him where it is! XD