Taking the Initiative [Dark]

[Bee]

The catfish nudged at their boat a couple more times, but otherwise did no harm. Mnem was very content with this, and was half-tempted to reach down and give them little pats on the head for not being homicidal. For the most part she just drifted in and out of her lazy nap, until finally Monty's low growl rooted her firmly into alert wakefulness.

The first thing she was fully cognizant of was the fact that the river had widened considerably. Three miles, to judge by distance, from one side to the other. The second thing was that there were more than fish in the river. Off to their right was a town. A partially submerged one, like a flood had forced the inhabitants to abandon it. Bits of houses stuck up out of the depths. Patches of roof and cart floated.

Mnem stared. "Minh," she said. "Look."

[Dark]

Minh really didn't understand how Mnem could find a sunken town more interesting and noteworthy than giant catfish--Minh found the idea of half-submerged buildings more creepy then anything--but she went ahead and made proper noises of acknowledgment.

"The Sorgaire Range looked like it had quite a bit of snow this last winter. I imagine the runoff when it all melts end up mostly in this river. I wonder if they had any warning..." A flash flood was most likely, and it would mean that the people who had lived here would have had no chance.

Minh dismissed the vague feelings of disquiet she was feeling and cast a more critical eye over the scene. "We should probably see if there's anything left to salvage; our supplies are getting down rather low." A problem they wouldn't have if they didn't keep loosing their packs, getting captured, or tipping themselves over in the middle of rivers. Life really wasn't fair.

[Bee]

They tied their boat to a particuarly sturdy piece of building and hopped on to a nearby roof. The remnants were too close together for the boat to navigate, but it was easy enough work to get from one place to another on foot. Just about everything they found was sodden and useless. There were a couple of non-perishables that would be somewhat edible and even a bit of fruit that hadn't begun to ferment--which meant that people had been here recently.

It was then, standing upon a thick straw roof, that she became aware of the slight sound of chatter. Men, by the depth of the voices, speaking seriously about something. In the trees beyond the half-submerged town were too very bright green shapes, marked with yellow and cream. Marshdwellers. Mnem narrowed her eyes.

Then the Marshies spotted them.

"Hail, ladies!" one of them called. "What are you going here?"

"We could ask the same of you," Mnem said, sourly.

"We are looking," said the speaking man, as the two came closer, "for an escaped Lowland prisoner. He is very dangerous. Have you seen one of those little vermin running around?"

[Kiki]

Dark and Bee receive 2 tokens 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, who had been entertaining herself by rummaging through the contents of someone’s partially collapsed attic, glanced up disinterestedly at the two newcomers. Her ears twitched; the gurgle of rushing water, the groan of the wood beneath their feet, the distant warble of birds. Unless someone was being very, very still they were alone.

Straightening from her crouch, Minh considered the two males. They didn’t look particularly bright, but that didn’t really surprise her considering they were Marshies: staunch prejudice required quite the supply of dumb, and an unwavering, intentional blindness. Even if they were smart, they were dumb—Shinrai was a good example.

Lowlanders were quite the interesting bunch, though. The rot the entire region suffered from was simply fascinating, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was environmental or genetic…

She shook her thoughts free of the tests she wanted so badly to run, and attempted to focus. It was best to keep your wits about when dealing with fanatics, and her wandering thoughts would garner them nothing but trouble.

Minh frowned, shifted her weight, “No, no Lowlanders. Dangerous, you say? I do hope you catch him, then.”

[Bee]

The smaller of the men--some kind of...beaver?--frowned at them in a very skeptical manner. Mnem could have murdered something, and was in fact about half a moment away from throwing them both on the ground and kicking them repeatedly in the abdomen until their internal organs squashed like grapes, if only to avoid the trouble that she knew was coming. She was developing quite a good intuitive sense for it now, this trouble business. The trick was to realize that everything was trouble.

But now was not the time to indulge her more violent impulses. "We'll find you and alert you if we see anything," she said, coolly. "But we're only passing through, and would really like to mind our own business."

The bigger man seemed at least somewhat satisfied by this, even if his companion still scowled at them.

"We'll be in touch," said the beaver.

Only to the extent that my fist will be touching your kidneys, Mnem thought.

[Dark]

Minh continued to watch the men until they had long disappeared into the brush, ears twitching to pick up the slightest indication that they might have decided to linger. When she was sure they had gone, she turned her attention to Mnem.

"I think they're gone, now. Creepy little buggers, don't you think?" Minh went pack to picking through her salvage, considering the situation as she continued to work. "We should probably clear out soon; they'll probably double back. I don't think they particularly trust us."

She hummed in delight at the canned goods she had unearthed; the rest of the food she had found was spoiled, but there were jars of fruit and vegetables that could be saved. She had also managed to find some essential travel gear, including a new satchel and a good-sized, non-moldy length of rope.

"Found anything of interest? I think I'm ready to go."

[Bee]

Mnem had added a bit of food and supplies to their highly delightful pile--with any luck, they would be able to hold on to these items, instead of meeting with some unfortunate accident, as was their wont--and called it done. They had enough to get them most of way down the river, she thought. And if they needed anything else, there was always robbery.

They continued back down river. It was a moderately pleasant journey, until they saw the Lowlander on the bank, trying to look inconspicuous, darting and sneaking about. But their boat was close enough to that side of the river to get a good look.

Self-interest immediately turned Mnem's gaze away. Lowlander? What Lowlander?

She certainly wasn't seeing any Lowlanders.

Then the thing waved at them, gesturing like it was trying to flag them down, like Mnem and Minh would help it. Mnem liked to think that, horribly unhygienic rot issues and bad attitudes aside, she didn't have any particular hatred of beings from that region, but her recent adventures in the Range were making her hate not only Lowlanders, but Sorgaires and Marshies as well.

[Dark]

Minh eyed the Lowlander—she couldn’t be sure from such a distance, but she thought it was a weasel of some sort—curiosity getting the better of her; anything resembling caution from their earlier encounter with the two Marshdwellers had faded as the hours passed, and Minh desperately wanted to test whether the Lowlanders’ disease was biological or environmental. Perhaps the Lowlander might even be able to answer some of her questions before she pulled out her dissection kit.

She waved at the Lowlander merrily, “Ahoy!” and turned to Mnem with a mischievous smile, “How about we have ourselves some company?”

Realistically, performing exploratory surgery out on open water wasn’t really an option, and they didn’t have the time to spare to set ashore for any length of time. They did, after all, have a schedule to keep. Minh was optimistic, though; at the very least, she could collect some skin and hair samples—she would have liked a vial of blood, but that wouldn’t last the trip home unless it was kept on ice. She wouldn’t be picky; Minh would settle for what she could get.

[Bee]

Mnem could quite cheerfully have bashed Minh's head in; inviting the Lowlander onto their boat was pretty much guaranteeing them a considerable amount of trouble that Mnem was in no mood to deal with. For some reason Minh appeared actively enthusiastic about adding more drama into their lives, which merely fueled Mnem's own vague opinion that Minh had suffered some kind of brain damage at some point that did not pair well with natural Corvie madness.

"Minh!" she hissed. "We don't want that thing!"

Too late. The Lowlander had spotted them as well, slowly emerging from his hiding space, looking at them desperately from the bank of the river, like they were some kind of glimmering beacon in the darkness. Mnem's lip curled in distaste. They weren't anybody's saviors; certainly not a Lowlander's.

"Minh, I am going to punch you in the larynx."