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 Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:09 pm
There was nothing Mina hated more than smugglers.
The preteen pulled herself up and peered over the edge of a feed crate. She hadn't been on the docks of Matori long, but the Hapuna had already seen her fair share of 'evil' doers. Most were petty thieves which perfectly suited her particular brand of justice, but this...this was just cruel.
She'd heard reports of Xaraan being taken from stables all across Oba only to later be found in racing pens in the Matori. From what Mina could see the creatures beaks were held shut by leather muzzles, their bodies littered in whip scars and left weak by starvation. While racing wasn't uncommon for the poor things Mina knew that most were treated with respect and care; definitely nothing like this.
Crouching out of eyesight, the teenager tried to think of her next move. It was one against...two...four...no, six? And that was just the few she could see. You still have to try. And she definitely would!
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:55 pm
Nin had been at the market picking up some more iron for her daughter in law to forge on the ranch, when she had heard the calls of distressed Xaraan muffled as they were she knew it. She had snuck over and it seemed like she was not the only investigator. She crept over to the little kahi and held her hand over her mouth. "Do not scream we are on the same side, do you have any ideas on how to help these beasts? If we can even get away unseen, my husband and children might be able to raid the place, unless you think we could do it ourselves?" She couldn't stand the creatures being maltreated like this.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:50 pm
Mina didn't like being snuck up on, especially not when she was already on edge, and she very likely would have lashed out if the other hadn't been so quick to shush her. As it was she still kept a firm hand on her whip while listening. She wasn't a stranger to working with others, but as a rule Mina tried to meet up with them in advance. This seemed...really suspicious, but she didn't have much time to debate things. "If we don't get them all today they'll just move." Pondering their situation, the young Hapuna gave the woman a good, long look. She was still getting used to the earthlings who looked like her kind, more so after seeing so many who didn't. "Is your husband used to things like this? If we could get some information then we might have a better chance of getting them all."As tempting as it was to take down a few baddies and run off with the xaraan she could find it wouldn't stop them. They would just pop up somewhere knew, with more resources, and double down.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:02 pm
Nin felt bad for startling her but one sound out of place and their tentative cover would have been blown. "He is quite adept with it, he used to protect janarim from poachers in the desert all by himself." It would be safer to do it that way, since they were two against who knew how many others. "My name is Nin, I help my husband run a beast taming operation, I am our beast healer." She thought a little more information would be warrented at this point. "I heard the muffled cries and knew they were Xaraan."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:16 pm
"What's his name?" Her tone was sharper than she'd realized and with a sigh Mina gave an awkward smile. "Sorry; just can't be too careful. He sounds great, but I just need to make sure." The last thing she wanted to do was expose herself to someone who would either arrest her (again) for being a vigilante or another smuggler. She didn't have a strong enough network built in Tendaji to get her out of it if something went wrong. "Nin." She mumbled under her breath when the woman said her name and logged it into her mind. Later she would ask around about them just to get a feel, but so far nothing seemed out of place and she hoped it stayed that way. "I'm Mina." Thinking on what she'd said, Mina asked, "Have you ever seen that symbol before on any of the buildings around here?"Mina carefully pointed at the side of a crate near the ship. A brand had been burned onto it's side; a sun with three spears inside.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:39 pm
"My husband's name is Kiyelt. It is good to be careful." Nin turned to look at the crate. "No it seems new, that could be a big lead." She felt exposed. "Is there a safer spot we could watch and plot? I feel like we are sitting out in the open a little too much if someone walks by."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:21 pm
Kiyelt and Nin. Nodding, Mina look around the area. Unfortunately there wasn't many places to get a good vantage point other than the ships themselves, but that would be more exposure than they already had. Her eyes eventually caught something and she made a motion toward it. "The dockmaster's building might work? The roof's slanted and if we could get to the top unseen then we could watch the entire area without being heard." It was the tallest building in the area so in theory it sounded like a good idea. Of course, that also meant they had to get up there and she didn't know if that part would be easy. Still, nothing worth doing was easy! "Come on." When the coast was clear Mina hopped out of her hiding spot and shuffled as quickly as she could. There was a moment when she thought they might be spotted so she hid again, but all in all getting to the back of the building was easy. Climbing would be harder. While the roof was lower in this part of the building and there were things to get ontop of she also had slippery palms. Climbing anything out of water was harder for Mina because of the slickness of her skin; a byproduct of being Kahikian, she was learning, and not one earthlings had to deal with. "Can you get up?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:56 pm
She followed after the Kahi, glad that she wasn't wearing the scale armor that she usually used on expeditions, it was effective but noisy. She had waited a bit before moving after the girl. Movement as a rule attracted unwanted attention. The added height of the building Mina chose would be an excellent, safer stakeout space. Their goal was to save the animals yes, get as much info as possible yes, but she had no interest in being captured. Her family had had enough on their plate with a granddaughter being abducted never mind their matriarch. "I think I can," Nin was still very fit for a woman who had born seven children and she took a cat like running leap at the roof while making as little noise as possible before painfully hoisting herself up. She was fit but her butt was comfortably a little larger than it used to be. Kiyelt would smirk at her and remind her that her butt was perfect. She smiled at the thought before turning around and offering her hands to help Mina come up after her. It was fun to have a spy friend.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 11:49 am
"Woah." Mina murmured under her breath. She took a step back not only to keep an eye out while Nin climbed, but also to get a better view of the older woman as she did so. She shouldn't have been so excited for the 'mission' as she was, but honestly, it was thrilling! Any chance she had to work with others was always a learning opportunity, and if she were honest, a chance to show how capable she was even for her age! When the hands were offered to her Mina gladly took them and gripped a little tighter just to make sure her slick palms didn't slip away. Getting up herself was less graceful than Nin, but Mina managed it without much sound thanks to her own training. Once she was safely up she flashed Nin a bright smile, gave her two thumbs up and hunkered down to get closer toward the edge. The closer she got the lower she moved her body until she was laying against the warm rooftop. "Okay, we've got a crest of some kind, but no set destination. We just need to find out where there going and some sense of how many are there." Thinking on it some more, she offered, "Or anything big, really. Something more to tell your husband."
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:51 pm
"Pay attention to their clothing colors if you can, their race and clothes might give a clue to where their base is, as those things would be easier to come by in large numbers if you spend a lot of time in a specific area." There was more than one way to catch a perzi after all. Sometimes deductive reasoning was most effective if one could not overhear conversations. "I can't believe how they are treating those poor animals. A loyal Xaraan is one of the most effective partners one can have and they are treating them like legged worms." She spent countless hours patching animals up and it was infuriating to see it happen in real time. "Good plan Mina, lets take notes as we go." She pulled a thin scribbler out of her bag, and ignored her grocery list.
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:00 pm
"Got it." So far she knew of the brand, but since it was on a few crates she hadn't been able to pick up on a specific clothing marker. "I've only ever seen them from far away," Mina murmured, never once taking her eyes off the transactions below. It was sad, really. Even if she'd only seen them in passing she already knew that their heads should have been erect, posture full of confidence and legs rearing for a good run. These creatures were just depressing. For the most part the earthlings leading the animals were varied, but a few things were sticking out to Mina. "Most of the ones I've seen leading them away were tanned, like Obans, but lighter? Rounded ears and green hair....like that one!" She reaching out to tap Nin before motioning vaguely towards a woman surveying the group. Judging by the massive sword on her back she was likely there for security.
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 2:35 pm
Nin scooted over for a better look. "They are Geians I think, there must be a big market over there for rare creatures, usually they come from Belrea on airships." This would be good information for her husband to start a report to the authorities or in some senstivie cases he just did it himself and tried to stay out of trouble for it. Kiyelt was a brave man and he put his people and the animals first. "Good scouting!" She wondered if there was a way they could simply free the beasts, but again her partner was so very young, Nin was in good standing with the community but she didn't want to risk her partner either. What to do what to do?? Why couldn't one of her sons be around they would have gone in and disturbed stuff already and then pelted off never to be caught.
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:24 pm
"Wouldn't it be harder to smuggle them on airships though? Seems like they'd have to go through a lot more checks, but there are plenty of shipping ports that they could slip into." If they were being brought to Belrea in this kind of condition then chances were high most wouldn't survive the journey which would explain the sheer amount of them. If one or two died it wouldn't matter so long as five or more survived. "We need hard evidence, something they can use to prove it was them." All of their observations wouldn't mean a thing if they didn't have real proof. "Do you think they brand them? The xaraan? If we could get one with that mark on it then that would be something."
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 6:09 pm
"Going by sea would take an awful long time. You are right even if we can get one with the original brand of the original owner, in their possession that might be enough." She was young but this girl was sharp as a tack. "If you are ever in need of work, come apply at the ranch! We could always use someone with your sharp mind." "We are going to have to get closer again if we have to find a brand." It involved risk but she was relatively good at sneaking.
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:30 pm
"Seriously?" Mina brightened up considerably. Her voice was a little louder than she wanted, and instantly she turned back to the street, just to make sure she hadn't been caught. When everything seemed good she sighed and looked back with an embarrassed smile. "I, uhm, I'd really appreciate that. Hard to tell, I know, but I'm new to the area and having something stable beyond the odd job would be nice."So far she hadn't really given much thought into what she would do here permanently, but Mina was pretty good with improvising. She was in a new land, all alone except for her best friend, and it was as exciting as it was daunting. "Lead the way and I'll be right by you."
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