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After the food had been eaten Arron decided toget to the meat of the mission. His sister should really be there for it but she was having one of her sulky moments. He did hope that she would eventually outgrow that or it would hinder her effectiveness greatly in the future.

"I have gathered everyone here because an important job has come up. One that I cannot refuse and lack the manpower to complete on my own. It is lucrative so I will be able to pay everyone well once the stock has been sold off. It also may be extended due to a possibility of repitition."

He paused a moment for questions but when none came he continued.

"I have multiple reports of snaptrotter abuse including beatings and heat exhaustion. I dont need to tell you how important snaptrotters are to the ecosystem as a whole becuase of their apex predator nature. These are powerful and intelligent beings that deserve great respect. A single well trained snaptrotter can provide food and protection for an entire family. This also makes them a hot commodity in Oba and other exotic locations. They can be transported properly thought the desert but it requires swift, smart travel, much planning before hand and no small amount of money to provide optimum care."

Arron cleared his throat and turned eyes as dark as his father's on everyone, noticing that his sister had slunk back down the stairs at some point and was now standing beside him. She still looked small. "My proposal is to rescue this new batch of 'trotters heading toward Oba, seek shelter at the large wildlife oasis, return to Matori and sell them at premium prices once Sezarra has retrained them properly. It will take time yes but the profits will be significant and if we can do it enough to seriously impact their bottom line we can stop that group from under cutting the more humane merchants."

She imediately felt better once on the road. the older two earthlings were mounted on Janarim. The one her brother was riding she recognized as Sezarra's blue female. She also knew that Seze had arrived only with the brown janarim called Valdor and the three radaku that her team now rode. She had a grey female with blue eyes. Tsallin had a black male with red eyes and Rydan had gotten the whtie male who Seze had informed them was the younger pair's father. It was a rather brilliant move in her opinion; breeding radaku. It was a great pity that kinfa took so long to mature otherwise they would be able to make a tidy profit off them too. Expanding their ranks perhaps at the same time. She was much more relaxed outside in the sun. It filtered through the coconuts and spilled its golden light on the path of their group. The sway of the radaku beneath her was more soothing then she had thought it would be. Sezarra must be a fine beast charmer to have so many animals under her care and very healthy to boot. The effort it would take to feed this many carnivores would be immense.

Rydan was greaty enjoying his inherited place at the front of the pack with the two much larger Janarim. From here he was privy to the plan of attack. hte pair even occasionaly asking him questions, this put him in a mild state of awe. This was going to be a fun trip, he could tell, maybe he might get a snaptrotter of his own. Arron seemed to have taken a liking to his calm personality., either that or Ruulu's older brother sensed how close Tsallin and Ruulu were. Rydan hoped he would find a bonded like that some day. he wondered idly what that person would look like. Travel was a great time for reflection. He liked the plan so far as well, it involved two teams coming from either side, unfortunately they had no sniper types so that was rule out; the ranged sneak attack being a go to for many strategists. He hoped it would be successful. Ruulu and Sezarra would take one side with the radaku and a janarim while the three boys would take the other janarim and come at the caravan from the other side. It was a decent plan, all that remained was to see how it played out.

This was going to be a handful but manageable, she thought. She assessed each of the target animals hoping that they had not bonded with any of the merchants yet. She scribbled notes in her book.

1. Dark blue, at the head of the line, likely well trained compared to the others for easier transport.

2. White, small but with adult proportions, a good show piece for a rich lady or family, could be a child's guardian.

3. Juvenile - light blue, half the size of the adults, will be faster but less powerful then the adults.

4. White and Black - Extra large and well trained, responds to hand cues already. May be loyal to the merchants.

5. Black and silver - show grade coat, likely destined for a rich Oban noble, will sell high.

6. Blue, no muzzle, one rope, likely a gentle temperament used to keep the last janarim calm.

7. Black and Red, muzzled beyond belief, at the back of the train, likely the most wild and difficult to work with.

It was a strong line up, many things could go wrong but their hearts were in the right place they couldn't let the abuse continue.

He was just about in position now and his heart beat a loud thunder in his ears. He had to focus, even though he was a little worried about Ruulu but she could handle herself with Seze he knew she would be okay. He had the other two boys with him and they crouched on the sand giving the others enough time to get into position. Once time had flowed a little further Arron gave them the signal and the group broke over the sand racing headlong to the snaptrotter caravan which tried to scramble in all directions their guides confused.

Tsa was fast so he hit the Xaraan rider like a pile driver, narrowly missing getting skewered by a spear, he did get a scratch and wildly hoped the blade was not poisoned. He screamed a battle cry and flipped onto the riders bird taking as good of control as he could, keeping the bird out of its master's hands by sheer will and judicious use of his own weight to keep the Xaraan off balance. If he could keep this valuable creature out of the wrong hands then he would be doing well by the group, he pointed the bird off into the desert and kicked it into motion. In the confusion the bird listened, he was sure it was confused..once it figured out who he was he would have another fight on his hands but for the moment, all was well and it was kinda cool up here!

Arron grabbed the rider's ankle and yanked him away from the boy. That was the last thing he wanted, for the youngest most innocent member of their group to be injured on his watch. He snarled and flipped the man over scrabbling for his hands and the knife he was brandishing. It was crazy but exhilarating at the same time, his strength pitted against the other male who's look of infuriated rage would be imprinted on his memory.

The other man gained his feet first and Arron brought his blade around when Rydan pounced the man from behind and knocked the knife from his hands with his longer arms. Bless the boy. Arron got closer and whacked his skull against the other males. There was something to be said for the sturdy part alkidike skulls of his type of hybrid. The enemies eyes rolled up and he crumpled under Rydan's weight.

Ruulu scrambled for the line of snaptrotters, quickly putting a loop around the leaders snout before rushing past to pick the next least ferocious creature. She cut the cord half way before the next nicest looking one. This way they were separated and not such a long cumbersome string.

The problem was that the Xaraan rider noticed her before she could pull a set of 'trotters away. She gasped and didn't know where to go, no where was safe! The man came though the gap she had put in the snaptrotter line. Not having anywhere else to go she vaulted onto a snaptrotters back and sliced the rope in front of it. Unfortunately this was not one of the tame 'trotters, the back of the line had swung around and this was the red and black hellbeast.

She glanced at the man chasing her, bit her lip.... and released the 'trotters muzzle.

The big jaws opened exposing many scary teeth, the eye glared at her but then the man made the mistake of coming too close trying to pull her off the beasts back, the trotter swung his massive head and bit down, shaking the man, making Ruulu wince and regret being on this particular beasts back.... well as long as she was behind the head she was safe right?

Rydan and Tsallin tied up the bad guy in ropes that he would be able to get out of once he came too but it would take time, time they would use to get the hell out of the area. They rushed to help Ruulu get off the red and black snaptrotter that seemed to be everyone's nightmare. They roped it from either side with Arron adding his weight to the ropes so they could keep those powerful jaws under control. They tossed Ruulu a rope and she noosed the toothy end up good before getting off.

Rydan helped to support her as her legs vibrated from all of the adrenaline coursing through her system and looking into those evil looking eyes of the snaptrotter he couldn't blame her and was happy that they had gone with kinfa as a mount for riding. No force on earth could get him on a snaptrotter now!