[Quest] Spy vs Spy - Children of Rot

A flinch shocked through Pallas's muscles as the inky beast loomed over him, retching like a cat with a hairball. Okay, the hairball-ness of it was fine, but did it have to do that above him? He had to swallow his ugly face just thinking about what was even happening.

As soon as it came, the sounds were gone, at least. A show of force displayed about him with hive members flexing on the rest of the gathering. A warning of Astraea- Pallas returned the nod the black horse had given him from before at that. He must admit that Reji was still fairly recognizable with all that dirt on her. Secrecy may be the way to go... The two of them would just bring attention to us if we go that route, the linsang thought grimly. They needed to choose one or the other- but, a den is a den, and they need to have a place to condense operations.

The faintest concern for Lamia ran through the connection. Pallas turned his head to her, considering her as Reji spoke of locations. "My den's in the trees- it's got water under it, if you don't mind the muck." The last part was added as a near afterthought, though he was concerned- he was near arboreal in his own lifestyle. What of Lamia? She was aquatic, couldn't survive long out of the water.

"I am concerned about space." Pallas put it simply as he turned his attention to Reji's assigned bodyguards. "If you two come with, my home wouldn't fit all of us. We can see but-" he motioned to Legion, looking in their faintly buzzing eyes, "We may need to split forces. Get a connection going between those living with Legion and others rooming with me." There was a lot of them- and he considered this, considered if it was the best idea to split up. If anyone tried anything on a small group, they could overtake them with surprise with a backup, but that risked leaving Reji out in the open. Uncertainty pulsed from him through their connection.

"I can dig out an area for you at the very least, Lamia. This water's probably not very good for your, uh... Breathing systems, I'm sure." Raising his head higher, he took in the rest of the others he hadn't addressed. "Food would be a help, but I'm sure we can fare for the most part on our own. My place isn't far from here, if we want to look there first."

Part of him wondered if the Children would move in with him too. Yeesh, he barely had room for himself up in the trunk- there was maybe room under the tree, and there was other root systems they could fashion, and the stump he'd kept storage in... Thoughts swirled in his mind as he considered all this, considered the possible failures to come if they didn't step carefully through this.

Reji listened first to Pallas, her confidence swelling that he knew what he was doing. Yes; she'd be safe with him. "It sounds fine. We'll use your place, then, and the big guys can watch out front. And yeah, Dragon, if you want to see where we are... I don't see harm in showing you. Just don't give us up."

Phlegethon's slime was... questionable, and she looked from it, to Phlegethon, to the slime again. Hesitantly, she dropped down and slicked some into the mud already coating her. "Ooo-kay. I'll take your word for it." Father-Aquarian's? Was this one one of his? She studied Phlegethon for a minute, bit back a shudder, and looked away. "Thanks."

The approaching kangaroo struck her as--odd, at the very least, but friendly. It burst in and, apparently, had a gift specifically for someone it'd never met, before. Reji stared. She wasn't quite sure how she was meant to carry the stone. "It's--very pretty, thanks? Think you can hold onto it for me, for now? Can't carry it," she explained. She listened then to Phlegethon as he translated for Lamia, and glanced to the fish-like creature. "Maybe get it ready in case we need it... but I'd rather not get trapped underwater. Or wash off all my new disguise," she added, doing a spin with a flourish to 'show off' her mud dress. "And a Master?! Are you insane? You can't trust them. They'll kill the shit out of us."

Reji shuddered.

Then she nodded to Pallas, again. "Lead on, then."

Azrael glanced over at the bear as he reared up to declare his will to protect. The demon narrowed his eyes and stood up a little taller, trying to get taller then the bear, but they were almost even at full height. He huffed, a little jealously, but then nodded firmly to the bear. This wasn't a time to be petty! They would protect Reji together! "We protect you, then," he affirmed to the fox.

He didn't care about what else was going on - he turned to Sergei and raised a fist. They were family and they would fight together to protect the others. "We work together," he grunted. "Anyone that gets close we fight! I hide us in darkness, surprise them if they threaten Reji. Keep her safe!" Whatever Sergei said in response, Azrael would turn and make to follow Reji away, taking up place at her left side. At his command, the shadows around them thickened, shrouding them in a blanket of thin darkness, hopefully enough to hide their figures as they made their way to Pallas's den.

*exit

Lamia's eyes bulged with surprise at Reji's reaction to her suggestion. She recoiled a little, tail snapping shut and she glanced helplessly at Phlegethon for a moment. "Sorry," she rasped. "Won't." But now she was disturbed. Did Reji mean the Masters in general or Tenzin specifically? Lamia had never had a reason not to trust Tenzin - he was a like a father to her. And, in fact, he was what she would call a father - he'd called her a child of Pisces and, to her, he was Pisces. She couldn't trust her own family?

...No, this was her family now. None of the Masters. Not Tenzin or anyone else. The hive. Reji was her sister and Mother was her, well, mother. That's all she needed, right?

She considered for a moment before deciding what she'd do. "I LISTEN," she called out after Reji. "In water. Seek others. Listen." I'm going to go and see what's going on in the caves, hopefully find where the Masters are right now and what they know of where we are. If anything happens, or if I find anything out, I'll come right back. She didn't mention that she couldn't really go to many of the caves, but hopefully the few she could visit would be enough.

With that, she dipped beneath the water and swam out, towards the tunnel that led back to Pisces.

*exit

Pallas didn't trust the kangaroo the moment they came on the scene. Something about being too friendly, yeah- but giving some random thing to Reji? What if that was some sort of magic? Just the thought put a bad taste on his tongue. But, why would they just have that on hand? It wouldn't be any... Bad magic, right? Or maybe it was just an awkward exchange.

But, well, Reji made the plan. The linsang nodded to her at the decision, holding his head higher in pride. He would be a valuable brother to his family.

If he could fit them all in his den.

But! That was a worry for later. For now, he held up his striped tail to perhaps help others to follow, looking to Lamia as Reji denied help from a master. Undefinable emotions ran through Pallas from the connection between them. He wished he could more for her, really- but they were entirely different creatures. All he had to go off of was the memories imbued by Mother's past strands that needed time to rebuild.

He turned his attention back to the parting group. "Darkness is good, yes. I'll help you-" He glanced about- "All of you, if you want, find some comfortable places around the tree." It's be crowded. That'd be for certain. However, Pallas moved in the mud tracing filled in footsteps he'd left behind to his den. "It's this way." He turned his body halfway back towards everyone to see who was following before directing everyone to their new home.