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 Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:51 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:43 pm
Lorenna stood silently in the back of the Under Ground's headquarters amongst the bits and baubles they had collected over time. All of it had been earned dishonestly. It had been stolen or bet in rigged races and games. There had been a time when Lorenna said that such work was all there was in life. For a group of horses, birds and a buffalo they were quite wealthy. Lorenna kicked a thick, gilded bracelet lightly and watched it roll across the cave floor. It was her time spent with humans across the ocean that had established her views of what held value. Those views meant very little to her now.
Lorenna took a breath and held it as she twisted her neck to look at her chest and shoulder. There were two scars there, both longer than they were wide, both marring her appearance. She released her breath and looked away. All the wealth in the world wouldn't have spared her from those wounds. It was a harsh lesson that had been hard for Lorenna to fully accept. She had never been such a beauty as Carmine was and now she would never even be able to come close. It was a reality she had to accept and painful as it was it had been a more bearable price than the alternative: losing Carmine forever.
Lorenna looked silently around the cave at the other members. Getting attacked by the kalona that had once been their allies had been a traumatic for every single one of them. They all seemed to be handling the aftermath differently. Lorenna had taken to plotting while she was healing and what she had decided on she had already told Carmine. Lorenna was waiting for the right moment to tell the others but she knew they would accept it. It did, after all, benefit all of them and anyone else. Lorenna was going to make certain that no one was caught off guard by those low-life's again.
Slowly, Lorenna moved out from the back and over to Carmine. As subtle as ever she gave Carmine a nod. Now was as good of a time as any.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:02 pm
Life had almost gone back to normal after the attack. All things considered it was actual more normal than Carmine could handle. There had been no heists, no schemes, no gambling and very little more than going out for food, drink and exercise in the day only to return in the evening. It had been a rather maddening experience for Carmine as even her flirtations were getting more misses than hits. It made sense in a way, they had tried something new and had gotten burned from it.
Carmine shook her head reminding herself that that wasn't it at all. Yes they had gotten burned but activities had come to a screeching halt because of her. She was scared to take anything else on because she had no idea who else might get hurt. These were her friends. They were even closer to her than her own family. The last thing she wanted was for her poor judgement to land them in even hotter water. The solution had been simple enough for Carmine, she needed to stop leading them. It was a wonderful theory but in practice it seemed to be yielding rather unpleasant results.
Carmine glanced at Lorenna in the corner. They wouldn't be stuck in the doldrums for much longer. Lorenna was stepping up to the plate, as usual, with an idea for a new and improved Under Ground. It was a good plan and not just because it would help people but also because Carmine would no longer have to pretend that she was a leader. She wasn't and she never would be. If not for Lorenna's involvement Carmine imagined that the Under Ground would have failed entirely and she would surely have been dead by now.
When Lorenna moved out of the back Carmine's ears twitched and she perked up. She wasn't sure what was going on until Lorenna nodded. It was as clear a message as any. "Hey everyone, ya might wanna listen up for a bit. We've got something important to tell you."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 11:05 am
Though Beryl hadn't realized she had been doing it, she had been rolling around a small semi-precious gem ball on the floor of the cave for over half an hour now. It was the sort of mindless fidgeting that normally accompanied some sort of planning or thinking, but today her mind was blank.
Beryl hadn't felt quite herself since the catastrophic failure that was the kalona betrayal. She hated what had happened and didn't like what it had done to her any better. Every little frustration got under her skin now. Her temper flared at every aggravation and she couldn't quite figure out how to get it under control. Her nerves were frayed to ribbons and she doubted her friends' patience would hold much longer. Everyone was off balanced now, not just her.
It felt as if something had been stolen from her, something far more important than the strange artifacts that they had so laboriously gathered. No, Othelia and Xelloss ran off with something far closer to her. Now, bitterness was all that remained where that intangible thing used to rest within.
She glanced up upon hearing Carmine's announcement. It was probably some new heist for them to pull. That would be a nice diversion. Maybe if they could do something dangerous and lucrative enough it would drive away the darkness that hung over their heads.
"What's up?" she asked with cautious interest.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 11:15 am
Slipsand had taken about the opposite route from Beryl's reaction to the events of their last mission. Where Beryl was cranky and snappish, Slipsand was deliberately cheerful. She forced herself to smile and laugh twice as much as ever before, if only to prove that life went on. She still hurt deeply, but she didn't want to let that hurt take over. Though her forced cheer certainly annoyed some of the Underground members, she kept it up all the same. It was her coping mechanism, and she didn't want to think of how she would be if she lost it.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Perkily, she skittered over to Carmine and Lorenna's side of the cave. Ekahau flapped along with her and took up a perch on Slipsand's own rusted piece of metal nearby. She kept that souvenir from their ill fated journey even with the negative connotations. It was still her treasure, after all.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:27 pm
Wolf hadn't really changed much in personality in the time following the mazoku attack. However, that wasn't to say that nothing had changed about her. In the week following the incident she had returned to her father's side for the calmer atmosphere. They had spent their time in practice or in quiet observation of the world around them. She had only returned to the Under Ground once news reached her that Carmine and Lorenna had returned. While she lived in their head quarters once again she still ventured out frequently to spar with her father, after all, she had just lost her previous fighting partner.
She stood at her usual post by the cave's entrance and only moved when Carmine called. Raven, who had been seated in a nearby tree, flew down to perch on the rough patch on Wolf's shoulder.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:39 pm
Once everyone was gathered Lorenna inhaled and counted to ten before releasing the air in order to prepare herself. She had known them long enough to expect a plethora of questions to follow this announcement or at least some for of protest or confusion. Once she felt truly prepared she stepped forward to take full attention.
"In light of recent events I have found that I need to leave you all." She said calmly and clearly to make sure they all heard her. Before they had a chance to interject with their concerns she pressed on. "My skills are better employed elsewhere. It is my full intent to establish a chain, or a network, of information. To be more specific I intend to make sure that those kalona are monitored so that no one else is put into a position as we were."
She paused thinking over her words. Was there anything that she had forgotten. It only took a moment to think of it. "Oh yes, you are all welcome to join my mission if you chose. I'm sure I can find work for you though it is likely to be somewhat different than what you are used to."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:47 pm
Carmine winced as Lorenna began her little speech wondering why she always had to be both blunt and wordy with everything. Carmine had been under the impression that they were going to ease their friends into this. Maybe this was easing in Lorenna's book but it certainly wasn't in Carmine's. It was too late to take that all back now, unfortunately, but Carmine could always try to smooth things over.
"You guys can stay with me too if you want! It's not like it's gonna be totally different. Renna has to go off just for a bit but she's still planning to use this as home. We're even gonna help her and put all this stuff to use!" She kicked at a woven basket full of blankets. Somehow a collection this size meant nothing to Carmine. For her the thrill had always been in obtaining the items with skill. Most things in this room had been swindled from their owners with little to no skill involved.
"If ya stay with me we'll be after whatever Renna's...what did you call them? Contacts? Well whatever they're called we'll be after whatever they want as payment to keep the information coming in. Doesn't that sound good?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:09 pm
In the moment that it sounded like Lorenna was ditching them, Beryl barely held back from giving the flutter mare a solid kick. They had lost too many friends lately for that sort of talk. Once Beryl's clamoring thoughts died down enough to focus on what Renna was actually trying to communicate, her eyes widened with intrigue.
An information network? To work against the kalona? She liked this idea. A lot. It was a way to fight back at them and get back what they had lost. It was a way to restore their pride.
"I want to help," Beryl said immediately. "I don't know which bit yet... but I'm in."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:15 pm
Slipsand was less swift to voice her opinion one way or another. Lorenna made it sound like everything was changing in the Underground, but according to Carmine, it was going to be the same? Her brow furrowed as she tried to piece together an understanding of the situation. Renna was going to be doing her own personal mission, but they were invited to help and she would still be around a lot of the time. That wasn't bad. Their group wouldn't break up any further with that, just change a little.
"I want to stay here with Carmine and get the payments?" She phrased it as a question, still unsure about her interpretation. "I mean... it'd be the same as before? But we just use the treasure to pay off people?" Usually with them it was the other way around. People paid them off to avoid trouble.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:27 pm
They were splitting up? Wolf wasn't entirely sure what to think. Lorenna's logic was sound enough but it seemed like a rather sudden decision to be making. Wolf said nothing while Slipsand and Beryl made their decisions, she needed to think things over. After a while she finally decided that if they really wanted to stop this from happening again Lorenna was right to act so quickly. Xelloss, Othelia and whoever they were working for were up to something and it wouldn't be anything good. It was crucial to get the upper hand.
"I'll stay with Carmine." She said. "Raven stays with me." She had started out with Carmine and she would stay with her. It was likely that Wolf would not leave the wind mare until death stole her as it was bound to do one day.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:36 pm
Lorenna looked over Beryl, Slipsand and Wolf carefully. It seemed they weren't particularly inclined to leave Carmine. That was expected. Lorenna was not known to be friendly or fun. "Carmine, I will require the services of Khaa." She said nodding at her friend. "I will do what I can to send word back to all of you on a regular basis." For a moment she looked toward the exit of the cave. She hadn't expected this to all go so quickly. Silently she wondered if she should depart now when she hadn't been planning to leave until the following morning.
No. She would stick to the plan. She would leave in the morning. Beryl hadn't decided yet. It would be good to give her some time. Beryl was sneaky and had Sio to back her up, she would make a good agent. Lorenna could use the extra time to try and convince the other flutter to join up. "Beryl...I hope you'll be able to decide by morning, that's when I'll be leaving. I have a long way to go."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:43 pm
If Carmine had arms she would have hugged Slipsand and Wolf right then and there. While it wasn't like Beryl was abandoning her Wolf and Slipsand deciding to stay so quickly made her feel warm inside. "My friends." She said with her eyes beginning to water. Carmine didn't want to cry but this was a rather emotional moment. She was losing Lorenna. It might not be permanent but she liked Lorenna and would miss her. Just knowing that at least some members of her gang were staying meant the would to her.
"It'll be just like before...except without so many tricks...and...no more grand treasure hunts." She swallowed. Carmine doubted that any of them had any desire to go on another hunt after the last one but she felt the need to clarify all the same. She turned to Lorenna and her lip wobbled slightly. Did she always have to be so business like? Wasn't this killing her?
"Yeah...you can take Khaa I guess." Carmine said trying to keep a lid on herself.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:06 pm
Beryl squinted at Carmine. Was she seriously on the verge of crying? She looked away in secondhand embarrassment. It felt a little like emotional manipulation, though she didn't think that was what Carmine had in mind. It made trying to figure out a way to voice her decision awkward, and she wasn't in the mood for dancing around with words and trying to make things gentle. With that in mind, she decided to do it like ripping a burr out of your fur. Quicker was best.
"Sorry Carmine. If Lorenna's the one sticking it to the kalonas, that's where I'm going to be." She got the words out brusquely, focusing on Lorenna so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with Carmine. She gave her wings a small flick, as if it she was almost feeling casual. Seeing the difference between their two leaders was what helped solidify the decision for her. She needed a dose of Lorenna's cool intellect, not whatever emotional haze Carmine was in right now.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:11 pm
Slipsand instinctively took a step closer to Carmine. Beryl was talking like she didn't even care. It reminded her a little of how Othelia had been at the end, and that set dark clouds afloat in Slipsand's mind. She decided then that she wouldn't leave Carmine for anything. They were coworkers and friends. Friends didn't ditch friends to run off just because one mission seemed a little more cool than another.
"It's fine if we lose a few people." Stubbornly, Slipsand surveyed the other two soquili Underground members that would stay. Her, Carmine, and Wolf. That was a good enough group for anyone! "It'll just make us sneakier, and harder to catch." They didn't need a lot of people for most of the things they did. They were going to be just fine. Maybe a little lonely... but fine.
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