Null's Game

[AlwaysAPrice]

"...Peachy. Whatever, I won't kick their asses if I don't have to, I just want to make them an offer on something they stole fair and square. I just need to know where to start looking, a tin Nekana can't be that hard to find."

[Idran1701]

Kyrie pauses for a moment, wondering if perhaps she just misheard. "What do you mean, a tin Nekana?"

[Shinigori V2]

Trask nods to Rasmus. "I'm needing to find one of the Null's myself." He said. "The higher ranking, the better. They won't be easy to find, so I need someone with the time and persistance to dog them until they run out of hiding spots."

Meanwhile, from the back room, there's another angry shout from Calamity: "We're not made out of tin, bird brain! I'm a Irridescium composite!"

[AlwaysAPrice]

Red jerks a thumb in the direction of Calamity's shout. "I mean one of the Tiger bandits was a scrapheap."

[Shinigori V2]

"I am going to break your ASS." Calamity shouts again, before there's a loud BANG and an even louder "OW."

[Visavis]

"Really? Sure!"

What fortune, to already be traveling with a group who was seeking Null.

A moment later, it occurs to Rasmus that Trask knew that. In fact, the knowledge of each other between Rasmus and his companions and those in the store had been suspiciously one-sided. He had sensed it near the beginning, but only just began really giving it attention.

Not that making accusations would help.

"Any high ranking Null?"

[Idran1701]

She lets out a small snarl at Red's comment, arms crossed. "I can't believe- it must be Toshi. I'd heard rumors about her, but I thought that's all they were."

She sighs, frowning. "You're lucky they didn't spot you. If they did, you'd just be another target for them. And the same will happen if they discover that you saw them, so don't go running to them to make a deal just yet. Now, can you tell me exactly what you saw happen?"

[AlwaysAPrice]

"Finish banging the dents out of yours first!" Red hollers to the back, then shakes her head as she looks back to Kyrie. "I didn't see it happen, word just got back here about it. Maybe the guy was trying to get his money back or something. ...or maybe it was just that messy that word got around. Three Nekana sporting the slashes, one of 'em Clockwork, robbed the carriage of an alchemist racking up a load of materials. Don't think anyone got hurt, just sounded like run-of-the-mill highway entrepreneurship to me. With ninjas." She waves a hand indifferently in whatever direction Greenskin's daughter went. "Anyway, this woulda been about a month ago. Who's Toshi?"

[Oleai]

Oleai scratches her cheek, "So Null is a whole group of people and not a shapeshifter?" She bit her lip, looking curiously into the middle air of the room. By all accounts she should keep her revelations to herself to save some embarrassment, but she was an open book.

She slipped around behind Kyrie again, having taken a tendency to hide behind the much shorter woman - despite apparent racial prejudices that someone told her about at one point. "Is this person talking about us? We're not hunting metal Nekana.. are we? What are we hunting, exactly? Or, looking for. Why say hunting?"

The Plainsrunner sighed herself. These other people and races always had to muddy things up. Make things so confusing and convoluted. Grass grows. Water runs downstream. Animals eat and breed and eat some more. It's a simple world - and a beautiful one - why does everything have to be so complicated?

She squat down, resting on her haunches and depositing her chin into her upturned palms to listen to more stories about conspiracies and greedy cat-people. Though she was probably thinking more about what Autumn ate. Meat or Vegetables both seem a moral conundrum for a walking plant.

Hmmm~

[Idran1701]

Kyrie looks first behind herself to Oleai, a slight frown at her apparent distress, wondering what might be the matter. She shakes her head as she replies, "No, it's not something with the group. She's talking about something else, a different issue that's come up. I..." She sighs a bit, the Plainsrunner's questions bringing her back to their current situation. "I suppose I might be getting off track with this. I'll try not to get too distracted from our goal. Thank you, Oleai...but what do you mean 'shapeshifter'?"

After that brief conversation, she turns back to Red. "Hm. Toshi's something of an urban legend back home. A Tiger's Eye ninja that's said to be mostly Clockwork anymore. No one reliable's ever seen her for certain, just the occasional drunk or fool spouting off. The only reason anyone still believes it is those drunks and fools don't tend to stay breathing very long."

[Shinigori V2]

"You'd probably know if someone's a clockwork!" Calamity calls again. "What with the big metal arms and legs and over-underwear and all!"

[Oleai]

"You know. Like in the stories. Did your folks not tell you scary stories?" She grinned an innocent grin, "Like, a lady who can turn into anything. Animals. Other people That's kinda what I was expecting~" She gave a little disappointed sigh, still down in her crouched state.

Her long ears waggling at Calamity's shouts, "Did we see someone with metal arms..?" She rocked her head left and right with her palms.

[Kelne]

Sana snorted at Calamity's comment, "There are such things as disguises, you know," she called back, "Nekana are supposed to be pretty good at those."

"Probably the kind of thing you could keep under wraps most of the time, but not easily during the confusion of a fight," Triya put in helpfully, "As to shapeshifters, I think it's a pretty rare ability, if it's seen at all. Easier for the Nulls just to recruit people for other skills and make sure they're trained to disguise themselves with more conventional methods."

[Shinigori V2]

"Any will do." Trask nods. "So long as they'll talk."

"Anyway," Autumn interrupts, "If you're looking for official information on the Null organization, your best ideas would be to speak to the Whelpguard or Talonguard."

[Idran1701]

She smirks back to Oleai with a slight, distracted laugh, part of her mind still on the matter of the "tin Nekana". "Nothing like those, Oleai; our scary stories tended to be more...visceral. And more about the other clans, all the awful things they do. I think I agree with Triya, though. It just makes more sense to me if they're simply a group skilled in ingratiating themselves with others."

After Autumn's comment, Kyrie nods absently back to her. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Autumn. And where would we go to talk to them?"

[Shinigori V2]

"They've got agents all around the city." Autumn says. "They're the ones wearing the scale mail...You'd think it'd be a little redundant for a dragon, but it's what they do."

[Idran1701]

She nods again. "Do they have any...headquarters or offices, though?" She smiles a bit, looking to Autumn as she tries to get her thoughts back on track. "It would feel a bit...strange to me, grabbing people at random off the street and asking them about something like this, apropos of nothing. Officers or not."

[Shinigori V2]

Autumn nods. "The primary tower in the center of the city serves as their headquarters, at least the Talonguard. The Whelpguard operate mostly out of the rookeries." She stands, hefting Stray and placing her back down where she had been sitting just a moment. She begins towards the door back to the main area of the shop. "Ms. Watanabe? A moment?" She asks, indicating the door.

[Visavis]

At this point, Rasmus' brow furrows.

"When I catch them, I'll need to bring them to you, am I right?"

[Idran1701]

"Ah, yes...of course, it will just be a second." She glances back to Oleai, and though she's smiling, her tail droops and sways behind her. "After this, Oleai, would you mind our talking a bit ourselves? It shouldn't be long, I'm sure."

She gives a short smile to Stray as well, checking how well she seems to be doing at the moment, waiting just enough to get Oleai's reply.

[AlwaysAPrice]

Red trailed after Autumn without a thought in the world for whether her huddle with Kyrie was intended to be private or not. Because it was freaking Autumn, man. To her credit she didn't actually follow right on her heels, just took up a slouch against the wall next to the door back to the main room. Given the City Elf's unspoken rapport with the forest-dwellers here, she could well just be filling the role of voluntary bodyguard for the Dryad.

She could, but she was totally just looking to eavesdrop.

[Oleai]

Oleai sprang up as Kyrie moved, along with Autumn. She didn't want to be stuck in a room full of stuffy elves by herself. She moved near the door, too! Not to eavesdrop, but with her ears she probably might anyway.

"Oh, okay Kyrie. It could be fun! We'll get food too or something." She pat her tummy.

[Shinigori V2]

Autumn steps into the hallway, standing opposite those that followed her. She stands straight and tall, though still only reaches just a little taller than Kyrie, though dryads likely continue to grow for a prolonged period after they begin a new cycle. She doesn't fidget or shift her weight, though she looks straight at Kyrie for a moment, before speaking quietly.

"It's clear that you care for the child," She begins evenly. "So I will do the courtesy of being direct with you. I believe she should come with me."

-----------

"That's the idea, yes." Trask says. "Y'think you're up to it, lad?"

[Idran1701]

With Autumn's comment, Kyrie immediately tenses, ears flattening against her head as she stares at her. After a long pause of biting back her first instinct, she replies in as measured a tone as she can. "And...why do you believe that, Autumn?"

[Shinigori V2]

Autumn continues standing firm, not even shifting her weight a little. "I mean no disrespect, but I think that my Arbitors and I are better equipped to protect her for the moment. There is also an issue of...Stature," she says, frowning as the term leaves a bad taste in her mouth. "The youngest daughter of a minor house doesn't quite carry the weight of word that a Dryad does. If she is under our protection, the armies of the Green itself will be at her defense."

She reaches out, attempting to place a hand on Kyrie's shoulder. "It's clear that you care for her, and I understand your anxiety. But for the moment, it's simply not safe for her. As soon as the danger of the Revenants has passed, I shall personally see to it that she's returned to you."

[Idran1701]

"A 'minor house'?" Kyrie pulls back at Autumn's gesture, just managing to restrain a hiss. "Who are you to say I don't have the ability to defend my own kin? You'd hide her away in the Green, away from her own kind, lost and clanless, and you say that's better? And when will the danger of the Revenants have passed? A month? A year? More? What if the danger never passes? Are you going to teach her our ways, Autumn? Raise her as a Nekana?"

[Shinigori V2]

"Yes." Autumn says evenly. "Dryads are schooled in the ways of the world and I am equipped to raise her appropriately. I would suspect that the Revenant threat won't last too long before they either give up or are discouraged from the hunt." She smirks almost darkly, looking at Red. "After all, I believe I've found my new Warbringer."

[Idran1701]

"Are you? Would you hunt with her, then?"

[AlwaysAPrice]

Red had been keeping her eyes elsewhere, projecting the practiced indifference of the serial eavesdropper, and as a result misunderstood Autumn severely enough that she had to reveal her listening to seek clarification. "Warbringer? She's like four years old!"

[Shinigori V2]

Autumn stares at Red for what seems to stretch on for hours before she says anything at all. "I meant you." She says flatly.

She turns back to Kyrie, folding her hands over her stomach. "Not in the same...Capacity you would. But what of the Nekana? Would they stand the dishonor of having a Revenant in their presence, let alone claiming to be of their House? She would simply be dead to them, as she appears. Would they give her the opportunity to prove herself more?"

[Idran1701]

"I didn't think you would, no. How could she be raised properly if she doesn't even hunt?" She glances back to Stray, hoping that she's far enough away not to hear any of this herself, worried what she might take from this conversation.

With a light sigh, she looks back to Autumn, still stern in her resolve. "She's a clanless kit, and I've already claimed her under the protection of the Lucky Paw. There's only one in my House that could speak against that, and my mother trusts my judgment. She would be treated as well as any, on my word."

She pauses, reigning in the anger still raging beneath her surface to allow at least the appearance of a return to civility, for appearances' sake. "I...appreciate your generous offer, Autumn. But we can protect our own. While I would...possibly accept some degree of aid, she stays with me. I've claimed protection, and so I can't abandon her to another. If you know our ways as you claim, you ought understand that."

[Shinigori V2]

Autumn nods. "I understand, Miss Watanabe. I truly do. But you must understand, the other Revenants will be searching for her. And there are many in the world who would gladly see you dead in order to be rid of her."

She sways slightly, as if effected by a breeze that only she can feel. "Nekana are fond of loopholes, are they not? Could she not continue to be under your protection, but my watch? Could I not serve as an extension of your eye?"

[Idran1701]

"This isn't something I'm seeking means to get out of, Autumn." She scowls at the implication. "She's spent gods know how long away from her kind, horribly treated, constantly abused by those that would be her peers. She barely even remembers what it is to be Nekana."

Another brief glance back to Stray, pausing as she crosses her own arms, forcing herself not to shake as she thinks back, imagining Stray's life before they came. "She...she ought to have her own kind to help show her, to help her get back everything she's lost. I...will admit that I hadn't thought they would seriously go to such effort for a single rescued kit, but she needs more than just protection, Autumn; she needs recovery. You mean well, I'm sure, but I...I simply don't know that you can provide what she needs beyond mere defense. She...might be safer, perhaps, but I don't know if it would be best for her."

[AlwaysAPrice]

"Oh, okay." Red goes back to unobtrusively listening, throwing a startled look towards Stray as the conversation touches on the bandaged kit's Revenant nature. A shudder tries to roll through when she realizes her passenger for the flight here has been dead this entire time, but she doesn't let her dismay show if Stray can see her. She might be rotten, but she was still just a runty kid like--

Red's head whipped back towards Autumn and Kyrie so fast the points of her ears wobbled once the ramifications of the Dryad's correction sank in. "Wait, what?"

[Shinigori V2]

"From the way Isol and Rhyme described Cannon, she's no ordinary Revnant." Autumn says, the passive look slowly fading from her face. "You've taken from her. Made her look foolish. You took something of hers and I'm sure she'll want it back."

She walks away for a moment, before turning back to Kyrie. "Do you accept death as a part of life, Miss Watanabe? Do you concede that Spring can't come without the Winter? To most of the world, Revenants are no better than mangy, savage animals who need to be put down, and they'll be more than happy to do it. The Talonguard will suffer no undead in their city--You'll be forcing her to hide, to be ashamed of what she is and drag her through a world that hates her simply for being. Others still may treat her worse; the Sskavi tribe of Plainsrunners, for example." She nods slightly to Oleai. "They won't see her as anything more than a talking meal. You talk of recovery, Miss Watanabe, but there is no recovery. She isn't a kitten with the sniffles and a temperature, she is dead.

She exhales through her nose, leaves slowly beginning to brighten from the darkened shade they had become to take. "Kyrie...I understand you feel for her. I understand that this is a matter of honor, and more for you. But you have to think about what you'll be exposing her to, as well."

She leaves Kyrie to think, attending once again to Red while her leaves return to their normal emerald green. "My previous Warbringer has taken leave to help his wife attend to their sprout. Typically one of my Arbitors would rise to fill the position, but something is nagging at my mind." She looks away a moment, then back, refocusing on Red. "Your mistress is currently..." She pauses, searching for the correct word. "...Unborn." She finally decides. "Normally, that would mean that you are free to do as you wish until her rebirth is complete. But Amber owes me a favor, and I'm in need of an agent to act as my hand. The decision is yours--I'll even allow you to continue your personal quest in the meantime."

Oleai:

Spoiler:

Sskavi: Tribe of short haired, doglike carrion eaters. Typically considered the rude, unwelcome cousin of the Plainsrunners, they are savage, violent, and absolutely disgusting. I mean, they eat BONES and MEAT. Ugh.

[Oleai]

"Skkavi. Humph!" Oleai folded her arms over her chest. She'd hardly realized she'd been listening up until that point. Funny how anyone is able to be unaware of something they were actively doing, but Oleai was in that kind of constant disconnect. A lot of instinct in her.

"Buncha mean gross wanna-be Plainsrunners if you ask me. Tried talking to one of 'em once and all he said were lewd things but my Dad smacked him right on the nose with a cane." She blew a bit of long fur out of her eyes, ears waggling up above.

Spoiler:

Other Plainsrunner tribes, Windspeakers included, would likely cremate their dead because of these scavenger tribes. No?

[Idran1701]

Kyrie spends a long moment in silence as she gathers her thoughts, taking in all that Autumn's said on the matter. Seething at her words, she can't help but acknowledge that there's at least a grain of truth to them. Torn, she thinks to her own family, trying to focus on her mother, how she would handle this situation; eventually, she speaks up again, once she's settled enough that she can refrain from snapping at the dryad.

"What of your own people? As devoted as they are to the natural order, would she not suffer the same hatreds in the Green, if not even worse? The same attacks on her nature? Your armies can protect her from outsiders, but can they protect her from your own kin?"

[Shinigori V2]

"Death is part of the natural order." Autumn says. "While you're right, she may be looked at unfavorably by some, she will ultimately be welcome. Those that have issue would be forced to bring it up with me, and I promise they won't find it necessary to have issue."

[Idran1701]

With a small, wordless grunt, Kyrie all but slumps against the wall, the last couple minutes having well drained her emotionally. Still, she keeps eyes on Autumn, not letting her gaze falter. "...how do you know so much of Stray? And why are you so intent on this, Autumn?"

[Shinigori V2]

"All I know is what I observe, and what I know of Nekana. We're not unfamiliar with your ways; part of the Great Cycle takes us to Nekana to become one with the land itself." Autumn says, indicating herself. "I was there just recently for my latest leg. I'm intent on it because I've seen the world and know what darkness it holds, and she's seen enough for several lifetimes as it is."