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Immediately, Akhil realizes the potential magnitude of the sighting. He does not see the bird himself, nor does he look or make any sort of suspicious gesture. He wants to yell at everyone to hide and curse at those who just have to be wearing swords taller than a man, but in keeping with his virtues, he remains calm. He simply says,

"The bird may be more than meets the eye. Haltans could be near."

Since Nightstriker has already taken off, he turns to Valis, who, he reasons, is now the groups greatest tell.

"That sword. Hide it quickly!"

"I agree with Valis here..." Anya said in Skytongue, still in a low voice. Subtly tilting her staff sideways and using her cloak to roll it down to her boot, gently lowering the staff on the ground, against the shadowy base of the wall. "And unless I am mistaken, only Exalts attract animals with uncommon intelligence or loyalty." she continued, smiling a bit as she briefly looks at Sasha's cat.

"An ordinary animal, even a well-trained one, cannot understand the difference between soldiers and civilians besides a few key elements learned with training. One is armor and weapons, or rather the shiny aspects of them, which was quickly taken cared of thanks to the quick thinking of Akhil. Secondly, if we act in a truly unnatural way, such as with tenseness, wary-ness or other "felt" emotion, animals sense it and can remember that, much like a dog feels violence in the air from an invader in his home."

As she speaks, Anya moves to face the others, patting Akhil on the shoulder and making the motions of drinking, even if empty-handed, with her other hand.

"If we go through normal motions, not done in fear, but in a relaxed, casual manner, unless it is an Exalted bird or related to one of your stature, then we have nothing to fear. Unless you know any animal that can tell his master what a glass is and what the difference is between a barn and a tavern, in which case affecting it in any way would be a sign to it's master which is likely an Exalt and has seen us already." Anya says is a lilting way, letting out a brief laugh as if merry and having a good time.

The hawk comes closer, its eyes unaccustomed to the dark, yet still incredibly keen. It sees the people clustered around the barn, notes their appearances and compares them to the known Resistance members. These aren't them. And from its vantage point, it seems they aren't armed.

Still, it flies lower, trying to catch snippets of conversation, but hears only the music playing in the barn. One of the women behind the barn laughs, perhaps at some joke.

Content that there is nothing amiss, the hawk soars off towards the north, hoping to find a careless nocturnal rodent on its way home.

A minute later, one of the Resistance members steps around the corner of the barn, oblivious to the danger that has now passed, and bows low.

"Ambassador Hidden Jasper requests that you all return below in a moment. The cell leaders are heading out, and we will be providing your nightly acommodations now."

Taking a bit of solace in the bird actually leaving Iron Soul slowly comes out of his hiding place, splitting his attention between the sky and his immediate surroundings. The essence flowing though his eyes eventually fade away it was never something that he could keep up indefinitely. Moving past a few houses he approaches the collection of exalts, walking out of a set of shadows he was using to hide himself in.

“I do not like that hawk.” He knew that most of the people here have seen it but was pretty sure that the mortal resistance member did not.

Looking to the man Iron Soul nods. "Yes there was a hawk in the sky, it was flying as if it was making a patrol of the area and then it flew off north. It did not possess any significant markings nor did it host any first age surveillance artifacts, but it was flying a patrol none the less."

The man glances up at the sky nervously, and motions for everyone to follow him back inside. As you begin to descend into the cave once more, you see him whisper to Hidden Jasper, who also becomes visibly unnerved.

The sense of unease hangs heavy in the air as the cell leaders leave, each one pausing to offer their gratitude to the assembled heroes, before shuffling out into the night.

Once the cave has emptied out, you are shown to your rooms, squarish cells cut into the earth. Like most of the accomodations so far, it is clear that the rooms were hastily refurbished for your arrival. Each one possesses one of the luminous crystals for light, with a thick curtain to muffle it when unwanted, and a large cot covered in down blankets. There is no door, but each cell has a curtain that can be pulled across its opening.

"Now, I have a few matters to discuss with the Colonel, so I will bid all of you a good night." Jasper bows deeply. "If you should need anything, we will have someone posted outside your rooms. Just wake them up and they will assist you."

And no sooner have the tunnel lights been muffled, than you hear the sound of a woman snoring.


For Everyone: >>> If anyone peeks outside of their curtains, they will find a sleeping woman in a chair next to the cells. She is the one who is meant to see to the characters' needs. If you are interested in sneaking around, check the OOC thread for information. <<<

Entering the small room that was given her, Anya closed the curtain fully behind her, going to sit on the hard bed afterwards. She was used to sleeping outdoors, in makeshift wooden palaces found while on the road, or cavernous homes of nature's make, so a spartan room in an underground cave wasn't anything to scoff at, luxury never having been high on her priorities. She reached out with an arm and slid the cloth over the crystal, muffling the light and making the room comfortably dark almost as an afterthought.

Anya finally took off her full-body cloak and tossed it on top of the light crystal as well, removing what little light still filtered through. She got up and stretched, up on her toes, her hands touching the low ceiling. She wasn't tired...and she was BORED. The little talk and bird event got her attention for a little while, but now that all the talking was done, she was supposed to sit here and sleep? In a place she didn't know, with people she didn't know? Right...maybe later. For now, it was time she went with her instincts, she was tempted to follow the officers and see what they had to say amongst themselves and now was the best time to do exactly that!

Peeking out of the corner of the curtain seperating her room from the others, Anya made sure all was quiet. She even went back to the bed and stuffed the covers to make as if she was under there. None of the residents here would intrude upon the sleep of an Exalt anyway, a woman Exalt on top of it all. Moving back towards the middle of the room, Anya crouched low and smiled, knowing already what she was going to be... A little essence trickled into her form, at work re-arranging her into the desired form she wished to take. It was small, very small compared to her normal form, and even if some of her things did not change to fit with her, they were sent Elsewhere for the duration.

The corner of the curtain lifted, less than a hand's width, and out peeked the face of a small dark gray mouse, unseen in the shadows and quite ready to scurry to where Anya desired to go. In what could pass as a mouse's giggle, Anya went straight for where the officers went, making certain to at least avoid stepping into the light and having that cat familiar see her, even though there were more than enough cracks and small spaces for her to escape into.

Anya passes by the guards with no trouble, as the sound of her tiny feet does not rise above the quiet chatter of the sentries trying to bluff each other at their game.

A minute later, the guards pause for a moment, and glance down the passage. But Sasha is already past them.

The room just beyond features hay-filled sacks, clustered around a low-table with a small map laid upon it. Short swords stand in a rack on the wall, and a few battered breastplates are piled in the corner. They gleam dully in the muffled light of the covered crystals. Another dark passage leads back out of the room, and faint voices can be heard.

A wooden door, the only such portal in the cavern, is stoutly locked. But Hidden Jasper and Colonel Tetsun can be heard on the other side.

"- nice touch when you tripped me. I think it really enhanced your speech." Hidden Jasper's tone is light and friendly. "Now that their on our side, we can probably push the Haltans and Icewalkers out in a week! Can you see it, Azurite?"

The Colonel sighs, but her reply is also friendly. "Jasper, you know why it won't be that easy. We had a close call tonight, and that was without a major operation to make them suspicious. If the Bull finds out what we're doing, he can have just as many Exalts here in a day. And speaking of which..."

"Azurite, please don't start-"

"I'm serious, Jasper. Security has been pathetic so far. That hawk could easily have brought the entire Haltan army down on us, and if you had let me handle the arrangements, our guests would never have been outside in the first place."

"And risk making them feel imprisoned, their movements restricted by armed men? You saw who showed up."

"Yes... the look Glorious Fall gave me was scary enough. It was like she could see right through me. I understand why we wouldn't want to antagonize any of them. Anyway, I'm just saying that you should let me handle the security from now on. We'll be briefing them tomorrow, so it can probably be classed as a military matter."

"That's true. You should rest, then; I'll pull out the maps and intelligence reports. Goodnight, Azurite."

"Thanks, Jasper."

Her footsteps can be heard as she approaches the door and begins to open it.