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Yula Eldic crouched uncertainly near her usually meeting place, inside a small rest station for travelers so that she could see the small pocket of a valley, nearly a trench, that Ronyo would have to pass through on his way to her. The station was little more than a roof useful in windy, rough weather, or as protection against some of the strange wild animals that might brave the southwestern outskirts of Eldic Estates.

She had no idea that her mission her had saved her from being caught and expelled from Feretris as an exile, though she too was part of what was erroneously considered one entity, the underground rebellion. She was one of the more extreme members, who thought of themselves as the real rebellion, the real catalyst for social change, many of whom believed that violence was inevitable if Feretris were to become a nation where men were free. At the rate things were going, one would have trouble proving them wrong.

Women like Yula had what they called conversion stories, which explained why they were against the society that had tried to teach them that men were inferior. They called them conversion stories because the subordination was underpinned by religious rationalization. They saw the story of the god and goddess as one of unfair tyranny between beings of equal status. Right now, part of Yula was wishing that she had no conversion story, and that she lived a normal life, preferably in the north of Feretris from where very few troubling stories came, or even better, a life in a different country entirely, where this sort of conflict did not exist.

She had just witnessed, the night before, a terrible explosion of violence, and even though she supported such acts in theory, having them happen on her doorstep was another matter. She had half a mind to simply run away, whether or not her contact showed up. But she would at least wait, for they had arranged this over a week ago, and when the raid was only a rumor among the most knowledgeable. Now the slave that she strove to free needed it all the more in order to escape the back-lash that the the cruelest women in Eldic estates would be pushing for in order to force meaning unto to chaos, in order to find out what the hell had happened. Yet not even someone like Yula was quite certain of that. She hoped that the enemy of her enemy was her friend, and wondered if the Feretris government, or possibly the economy, could truly be crippled by raids like this out on the fringe.

She would ask Ronyo, though he probably did not know, about the events that had transpired. He had connections that she had not; people in the tribes, tribes she only vaguely understood. By the same token, she had connections that he did not, as a woman in Feretris, which was the initial drive for these meetings.

Yula and the young boy held back. There was something wrong with this boy, a thing which has probably prompted Yula to pick him as the next attempted escapee. He was a young preteen, about the age of initial training and assignment, a very critical time in any slave's life, where even the even-tempered boy could run foul of his mistresses if there was a mismatch between his abilities and the chosen assignment. It was at this age that boys stopped being viewed as kittens or dogs, and were seen instead as dangerous wolves, deserving no mercy. And sometimes, do to the standard warped upbringing of the earlier years, some of them really were like wolves. This wolf couldn't talk and hung back, clinging to Yula.

It was a handicap like this, Yula's pity, that could get Ronyo killed. This must have been why it had been insisted that a human show up to escort the boy. This escapee was reluctant, possible confused, possibly mentally deficient.

"Go!" Yula hissed at the boy, fully aware that any delay put her own life in more danger. "This man will help you. Go!" Panic was rising in her voice, which put fear into the boy's heart. He let go, but shrank away from them both. Most people feared the unknown, when it came down to it, although very few of the escapees that were brought here actually refused to leave. Those that did were usually slaughtered away from this place.

The boy crouched, staring suspiciously at Ronyo, but he did let go of the girl. Once freed, Yula shoved a small bag at Ronyo. "This might help him, if he'll eat it. The boy is too tense. Good luck." She turned, nearly out the door in one leap, but paused to shoot out over her shoulder, "His name is Kuk."

Kuk watched her lips as she spoke, then directed his attention back to Ronyo. His gaze was more than stubborn, hinting at anger and resentment. Certainly not an ideal candidate for crossing over.

Kuk sighed, as if defeated, and took the offered food. He would follow Ronyo for now, even if sluggishly and reluctantly. Making it out of the building was one hurdle, but not the biggest. The building provided some shelter from prying eyes, but after a few small hills and trenches, they were to cross a flat, open space without any protection. By the time they got to the first wide, flat space to cross, it was dusk, a time when fires were not lit yet and so visibility was quite low.

Here, again, the boy held back. He was proving to be quite difficult, perhaps even insane. It was hard to tell since he could not talk and did not attempt any other form of communication. He crouched down behind the crest of the hill they were on, and refused to move. This place was not exactly the most protected.

Ronyo would wake that night to an alert that one of his animals had been killed. Though he could exert some influence over animals, they were still wild, and least controlled as he slept. To be sure, they watched over him. However, one fox had attempted to satisfy its own hunger, and been eaten by a large dog in a chicken coop.

When Ronyo awoke, Kuk was gone, and the other animals were restless.

As Ronyo scouted, he began to run into patrols. Strange happenings in Feretris had in some places increased guards, and in others depleted them. Although the animals were able to tell him in what direction the boy had gone, and one even warned him of the upcoming guard, there was nothing he could do to save the boy before the guard found him.

Kuk crouched in the gaurd's lamp-light, unable to respond to his queries. As Ronyo came close enough to see, the boy bolted, and was felled by a throwing axe.

[[Awesome, this "scene" is ended, and I'll make a new thread for you]]