Taking the Initiative [Dark]

[Bee]

The schmaltzy drivel that dripped from Penny's ever-gaping maw was beginning to grate rather severely on Mnem's nerves. Nearly as much as Barnabas attempting to haul the limp, tattered shreds of his pathetic manhood up the mountain. He was nearly purple in the face, but now he was insisting on moving forward.

"I shall persist through my agony, for the sake of my love. Do you wish to learn how we met, my benevolent angels?"

That was also irritating. Convinced now that Minh and Mnem meant to take them to their freedom, his attitude toward them had shifted from hostile to syrupy sweetness, covered with a particularly offensive brand of chivalry.

"No," Mnem said, flatly.

Barnabas continued as though she had not spoken. "It was a gala affair, a grand masquerade to celebrate some big to-do in the Marsh. A few of my friends thought it was be a great diversion to arrive there and make mischief, and so we did. Hidden was we were by costumes, no one knew we were Lowlanders. Then I saw her, my fair Peninnah! Our eyes met o'ver the vapid partygoers, and we both knew that this--this was love!"

Penny murmured happily. Mnem tried very hard not to kill herself. Or them. Or all of them.

[Dark]

They were edging around a rather steep drop-off when Minh started to entertain the idea of shoving Barnabas--and Penny, couldn't forget dear little Penny--off, over the edge. Monty would be more than happy to trip them up, and all Minh had to do to finish the job was to give them that one, last gentle tap that would send them careening into the sweet, silent oblivion of death.

At the beginning of the entire debacle, Minh had been very firmly set in her believes--she supported true love, regardless of region or rank or suit, and she'd been determined to help the two young lovers the freedom they deserved. After meeting them, however, Minh was of the opinion there couldn't be a worse pair to try and bridge social and cultural barriers.

They stopped to let Barnabas catch his breath--he was looking a little blue under the collar again--and Minh sat a little ways off where she hoped the couple wouldn't hear, to whisper to Mnem:

"What are we doing?"

[Bee]

Mnem very quietly muttered something that almost sounded like "We're waiting for the opportune moment to grab the fucking runts and rip out their bleeding fucking hearts with our bare hands," but that must have been a trick of the wind.

More clearly, but equally quietly, she said to Minh, "We're going to continue leading them to believe that we're smuggling them to safety. We are actually going to deliver them into the hands of the Rangers. They can figure out how to get the idiots back to their home regions. We can collect whatever pittance we are being offered for the expenditure of our energy and the exhaustion of our patience, and then we can laugh the laugh of sweet freedom as we skip off to the Marsh."

"Oh, what lovely flowers!" said Penny suddenly, leaping into a small carpet of purple verbenas.

"Not nearly so lovely as you," wheezed Barnabas.

"Oh, Barnabas, make for me a garland of these charming treasures! I shall wear them as a crown upon my head, and so be your queen!"

With the ominous, dangerous tones of one who is currently repressing a good deal of rage, Mnem said, "Let us hope we find them soon."

[Dark]

Queen Penny, as she'd taken to referring to herself as--in the third person, as was befitting royalty (or so Barnabas claimed)--skipped ahead, farther afield than even Monty, singing an off-key ballad about star-crossed lovers. She kindly gave pause to reassure them of the story's happily-ever-after. Minh tried to find it in herself to care.

Their bubbling princess and wheezing prince didn't notice the first signs of dwelling--a clearer cut path, fresh tracks, cleared meadows--and they walked on in oblivious bliss for quite some time before unease drew them up short.

"Queen Penny does believe Our party strays too near the mountain dwellers," she mewled softly, curling up against Barnabas' side. Her crown of flowers had gone limp and askew around her ears.

Minh glanced at Mnem before shaking her head, "Nah. We're fine for another couple miles; then we turn west, straight to freedom."

[Bee]

"Queen Penny does not doubt the noble intentions of Her rescuers, but She must nevertheless impress upon you that We are indeed quite close to those who would do Us harm."

I'm going to do you quite a bit of harm myself if you do not cease your blather, Mnem thought viciously, but said, "Rest assured, we are not leading you to danger. Minh and I are quite familiar with the terrain."

Bravely, Barnabas said, "My lovely royal maiden and I put ourselves in your hands, but hear this: if we indeed come to harm, and my sweet queen is damaged in any way, I sever your traitorous heads and parade them through the streets on pikes."

Penny nearly swooned. "How gallant is my Barnabas!"

They were getting closer and closer. They only had to endure these wretched annoyances for a couple more miles, and then they would be rid of them. Forever.

[Kiki]

Bee and Dark receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[Dark]

Minh briefly considered mentioning that, in order for Barnabas to see through his threat and parade their severed heads through the streets, he would actually have to be able to enter a town without immediately being set upon by Rangers. The exclamation would probably be met with blank stares and an utter lack of appreciation; so in the end she kept her silence.

A brief flicker of movement in the corner of Minh's vision had her slowing her step, casting a surreptitious eye around their immediate surroundings. She really didn't think the Rangers would make a move, one way or another, considering their continued insistence of neutrality.

Still, she spotted at least half-a-dozen peering from the shadows and watching their progress. She glanced at Mnem, and wondered how this was all going to play out.

What did you do with two idiotic kid, besides maybe truss them up--and Minh was not hauling Queen Penny anywhere. Unless maybe there was a gag involved.

[Bee]

Mnem too noticed the peering eyes, and wondered what would be the best way to get the brats out of their hands and into those of the Rangers. Perhaps if one of them accidentally tripped violently into the bushes and forced the Rangers to defend themselves. Perhaps if Mnem and Minh simply began beating Her Royal Vapid Idiocy and her consort to within an inch of their lives, the Rangers would come out to defend them. Actually, dead idiots sounded like a very good idea. Well, maybe not "good" in the traditional sense, but a lovely plan for Mnem, anyway.

Mnem bent down, somewhat awkwardly, and grabbed a thin branch with her good hand.

"Let's play fetch, Monty!" she said, with as much oblivious, joyful innocence as she could fake (which was indeed not much; Mnem had once been joyfully innocent in much the same way frogs had once been mountain lions), tossed the branch in the direction of their stalkers, and waited for hell to break loose.

[Dark]

If Mnem was expecting her genius, if misled, ploy to cumulate in some kind of advanced response from the Rangers, then she was about to be sorely disappointed. Besides a muttered explicit from the unfortunate fellow that got the branch square between the eyes, and several agitated, barely perceptible twitching bushes from the other Ranger inhabitants. With those few exceptions, no one moved.

Monty came bounding back, eyes gleaming with unnatural glee and the branch clamped between her teeth. She spit it out at Mnem's feet, and looked up expectantly.

For once in the short time she'd know Monty, Minh was ashamed to be labeled at her creator, "Er..."

Barnabas' eyebrows had drawn together dramatically, and his aura seemed to burn with righteous rage, "Betrayed! Our love, betrayed!"

He flung an arm towards the surrounding hills, "We flee, my dearest Penny, lest our love be slain by nonbelievers."

[Bee]

She hadn't so much expected the Rangers to do something as much as she expected Monty to attack them and force them out, but neither gambit had seemed to work, and now the little brats were intent on fleeing. Why could nothing just work out well for them?

Penny echoed her love's sentiments: "Shun the nonbelievers!" she cried, grabbing his arm and beginning to pull him away, and Mnem wondered exactly how far she thought she was getting, with the fact that her boyfriend was a terrible ashmatic. But apparently they thought their love was going to be able overcome a fundmental fact of physiology. "Shuuuuuuuuun!"

Mnem sighed heavily, and cast an annoyed glance at the ummoving bushes before looking at her feline friend. "Minh, let's catch these brats before they hurt themselves." Though really she would not be averse to the two of them running straight off a cliff. "Monty, sic them."