oncertainty

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave Escus laughed then, erupting like water after a thrown stone. It tumbled from him like it would never end. All at once it ceased. His face fell back to a languid mask, disrupted only by mumbling movements of his lips. "True enough, that. What we do matters. On the way to where we're all going. Somehow it matters, to someone, somewhere. It matters. But where are we going? To whatever's going on in Ferrum. See what matters there, we will. See what matter's there. What's matter now, and wasn't before, I'm thinking." His own joke doesn't seem to strike him funny. If it does, he makes no move to show it. His water is now stilled. His speech is stilted. "I'm sorry. Gayle, was it? I hope you're right. I hope we make it count," Escus said. "But I think I've been not making it count longer than most. And this doesn't look like a different trajectory to me. Everyone else here is deluded, or defeatist. Nobody thinks anything good is waiting for us. Maybe you're right, maybe we make things matter. But I see the way the currrent is flowing. I'll pick defeat before delusion." He sighed one last time. He rose like from hibernation, loping past Gayle and out beyond the cave's edge. He stands there, silent, monumental, running down the time. All the rest is silence.

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua felt a certain kinship with the Agori, no small surprise for her. They were both trapped doing something they didn't care about, without the denarii to do what mattered. A cruelty of the wasteland: it brought them to this. "Blew away on the breeze... you do sound like an actor," she said. "Don't give up on it. And no, I think I'll be alright. I'd better collect my, uh, friend so we can hightail it out of here. Tajun awaits. Stay out of the sun, hm?" With a lazy wave goodbye, she stepped back out towards the field. "Lutenus, shall we? The caravans won't be waiting so much longer, I think." OOC: @Techn0geist @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero "That's sweet," Lorqua said. Her tone was unvarnished, the first time Mard had heard such from her. Maybe she stayed in that authenticity for another beat, flashing in return a smile that wasn't a grin. "I'll give you that I'm no dancer, so it could be that I don't know. I think I still see it your way; I wish people would take an interest in something that isn't happening on a tournament field. There's a lot knocking around in this world that I'd rather be spending my time on. But you're right—the arena's where the denarii are, and I know I'm not going to change that." She shrugged, taking a slow breath. "Of course, maybe I'm not enough of a theatre fan to totally get where you're coming from... Thinking back, I don't know that I've seen much theatre aside from Tajun street-farces, and those go a good deal lower than even my brows. But now I'm curious: where were you playing?" OOC: @Techn0geist, posts for other characters coming soon

IC: Aeragot - Ga-Koro, Tea House One thing that had long proved useful to Aeragot, in work and other pursuits, was a carefully cultivated memory. It was a skill, however much people didn't act like it. And a skill that every good prospector practiced. No matter how good your maps were, there would come a moment when you needed to know what you hadn't written down. But when utility had come and gone, his memory still offered up things uncalled-for. He would remember what it was like being a Matoran for the rest of his days. A Toa still remained something of a surprise, though Aeragot had been one himself for long enough now. When another Toa entered the dimly-lit tea house, it was Aeragot who couldn't help but stare. A Ga-Toa maybe, though something told him he couldn't be sure. Wiry, taller than him. She looked like she had seen some action. Still, maybe this was what he was looking for. A Toa always had a story. At least one. And that was something Aeragot could never resist. Holding his gaze, he raised up his own cup as if to toast. Forward, maybe. But that's how you found things out. OOC: @Geardirector

IC: Aeragot - Ga-Koro, Koro Outskirts A second day in his less than favourite of the Koro had driven Aeragot out of a typically-verdant rooming house and towards solid ground. Of course, without leaving the Koro gates he couldn't quite reach it. Ga-Koro remained the floating city, its pride and its strength. Forget about Aeragot's stomach. "Good morning!" a Ga-Matoran merchant called as Aeragot passed a stall. They had to be hawking wares, so Aeragot dismissed them with a wave on the way by. He said nothing. Misanthropic of him, he reflected once he had some distance. Even when he passed a few Dasaka, talking in low voices among themselves, Aeragot didn't respond in kind to their watchful gazes. His eyes were glazed. He felt like something had been lost. He had enough self-possession to know what was going on: Aeragot was bored. Yesterday had been exciting, and the point of comparison was making today even worse. He needed something to figure out, to pursue, to unravel. He wanted a mystery. The first solved mystery of the day came quickly, albeit with little satisfaction. Having wandered down an alley, he followed a flight of unmarked stairs up to the second story of one of the Koro's great grown huts. He skulked through the door at the summit without even an "Ah-hah!" He had, as it turned out, discovered the mystery of the oddly-laid-out-tea-house. He entered through the back door, passing a kitchen and a stare from another Ga-Matoran, to emerge into the hut's central room. Kneeling at a low bench, as if he had intended to all along, he signalled to the proprietor for a drink. This was something. Very little was hidden here, but it was something. There was time enough to decide on next steps.

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave Escus fixed Gayle with a languid gaze, his eyes a pair of deep pools. He stared for a long moment. She was still an Agori, but she had seen the desert's true face. More than most Glatorian had seen. "You come by those scars honestly, then, I take it. No deathwish, but you know more about death than most, hmm?" At that, Escus chuckles. "Dark remarks. We'll give the others nightmares if we're not careful. Hard to see any other way this could go, though. Hard to see anything at all." OOC: @Nato G

@That Matoran with a Vahi Sorry for the stall! I wanted to make sure we could actually meet with Nuparu before things got moving again, should have been clear about that.

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave On that, they agreed. Nothing good awaited them at the other end of the canyon. Escus nodded his assent, his face fixed in a placid mask. He sighed. "Bodies and bones... If we're lucky that's all we'll find. I'm not afraid of the dead." His voice was low, some ambiguous mix of sleep and caution in his tone. "You make it sound so... clinical. Have you ever even seen something like that before?" OOC: @Nato G

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave "Hmm. Our turn. See anything yet?" Escus rumbled, his eyes still closed. He rose in a single languid motion, albeit not without a certain grace, and drifted to the mouth of the cave to take his place beside Gayle. He stumbled down to one knee, and blinked in the light. He sighed, blinked again. He looked Gayle up and down. Then he spoke, almost as an afterthought, words burbling from his mouth. "I won't insult you by saying anything we both know. Not here to repeat myself. I’m not the one in charge, anyway. So we'll talk about something else. What do you think we're going to find, at the end of this? OOC: @Nato G IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua was content to let Lutenus follow his line of questioning. She could just keep listening, and find out what she wanted to know. Besides, these Agori were fun. It wasn't every day somebody treated her like a big shot. In fact, most of her time was spent with caravan masters who liked haggling too much to ever pay her the original fee. Maybe Lutenus was on to something with this tournament business. It came with some respect. "Something like that, yeah. I mostly do caravan work. The least illegal thing to do, if you're a Glatorian who doesn't care for the arena. Sorry, don't mean anything by that, it's just... not to my taste. How did you two end up doing this, anyway?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Escus - The Cave, the Valley of Death "Hrm," Escus grunted, and set down the axe in the sand. It was only a moment before he lowered himself to the ground as well. "I'll take the next watch, then. The second. The one where I get to sleep before and after." He chuckled, a hollow and humourless sound. He laid in repose, propped against the cave wall. With one hand he shifted his helmet forewards, covering his eyes. Even in the darkness of the cave, he needed more to have a chance at sleep. The heat troubled him. OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua couldn't help but smile. She turned away from the others, Lutenus and the Agori both, and looked towards the horizon. She shouldn't have doubted the Glatorian, nor that whirring sparking thing he had grafted into his head. Not for a second. Lutenus was sharp, at least. "Lutenus here knows a lot of people," she says, nodding, her back still turned. "Lot of friends, more acquaintances. In fact, that's the only reason I'm doing this tournament business at all. Not usually my scene. If you want to bet on me, well, thank him." OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Escus - Mouth of the Cave, the Valley of Death Escus knelt at the cave's mouth as Selamat called back to the others. He stared, unblinking, into its depths. On the one hand, he was letting his eyes adjust to the stark difference in light. On the other, there was a certain fervor in the gesture. It looked almost devotional. At once, he rose again. A thoughtful hrm emerged from the back of his throat. "Hasty, perhaps even dangerously hasty... But I concur," he said, gesturing with the head of his axe toward the mass of resting bats. He let the words hang in the air for a few seconds. "They wouldn't be sleeping in the same cave as something that would, well... eat them. Not much that wouldn't eat them that would trouble us. Unless it's something... strange. That is all to say, clear enough." He took another step forward, past the young Glatorian. One eye shut, his head inclined to one side, Escus continued to stare into the cave. OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero A skeptical look worn openly on her face, Lorqua followed Lutenus' lead in collecting up the Javelins—scattered around the arena as they were—and returning them to Mard and Ahmoa. As the adrenaline of the fight left her, Lorqua's other concerns came to the fore. If they wanted to know more about what was going on with that Ferrumite Glatorian who had stumbled into the bar, it seemed like these two were the ones to ask. Lutenus couldn't be planning to just walk right out of here, without taking such a beautiful opportunity, could he? Even if he was, Lorqua would dare anything. She couldn't resist some probing. "You two gentlemen must be going Grand-Tournament-way eventually, yeah? Hard to imagine a pair of trainers like yourselves wouldn't be tournament fans on top of that." OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Markets, the Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall's glance follows the others', the instincts of a unit—or a herd—easily taking over. The sight of the once-Skrall makes his teeth clench. He's never seen one from this close. To know that any one of them could be so reduced is troubling. His nostrils flare. The air of the marketplace at once seems sickly. A miasma. "If they see that more than they see us," he says, speaking quietly. "It would give anyone strange ideas. But out here... what do we do?" It seemed as important a question as any; being observed by what-was-once-Skrall, and observing in turn. Were Skrall simply to turn away? Skrall was asking for the purposes of unit cohesion, of course, but also because he had absolutely no idea. OOC: @a goose @Mel @Vezok's Friend @Burnmad @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua opened her mouth to answer Lutenus, then flicked her eyes over to Mard as he asked after their destination. "Tajun, of course," she says. The words came out quickly. Almost automatic, her thoughts already elsewhere. Followed quickly by her eyes, which give Lutenus a pointed look. She still remember why they were here. Lorqua wouldn't let standing on ceremony keep her from what she wanted to know. She didn't have any animus for the Agori, but she had to know. "Tajun is where every Glatorian as upstanding as Lutenus is going, I'm told. And rather a few not so upstanding, like yours truly. Lutenus, is that the plan?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Markets, the Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall had been listening idly to his fellows. He strayed, but not far. The Bone Hunters' stalls were not entirely different from the casemates of supplies in Roxtus, but the shopkeepers kept catching his gaze. Renegades, the most of them, although the occasional genuine southerner in their unbelievably garish armour passed under his moving eye. Other than their eyes, however, his surroundings were a blur. He kept meeting their eyes. They stared out towards him. Some curiously neutral and dead, like a beast of burden, meeting his own gaze but not following it. Others looked hungry, leering towards him, gesturing to their wares. He—briefly—flattered himself that only the former knew what he was. But, they all did. They could all see that, Skrall or not, he was very far from what he knew. With a shudder, Skrall rejoins his fellows. "The way this market operates, looks like all they see is value. Value that can be... exchanged. But, it seems they know us at least as well as we know them. Enough reason for us to move cautiously. For now." OOC: @a goose@BULiK@Nato G@Burnmad@Mel@Toru Nui@Vezok's Friend IC: Escus - The Valley of Death "Good eye..." Escus intones, his gaze following Selamat's point towards the mouth of the cave. One hand shadowed his eyeline, the Water Glatorian's eyes less well-used to the high sun than most. He felt a bead of sweat on the corner of his mouth, and pursed his lips to stop the moisture from escaping. He hefts the axe in both hands. "Ensure it's not already occupied, hmm? Well. If it helps, I volunteer. These eyes are used to the shade." It's bravado, of course. But Escus' tone is sober. He sounds resigned. OOC: @a goose @Nato G @Burnmad @Toru Nui @~Xemnas~

IC: Escus - Iron Canyon "Tch." Escus turned, perhaps too fast, at Selamat's words. It was a smart move, of course. Evidently the Fire Glatorian knew what he was doing. Escus wasn't going to contest that. Still, there was something about taking point, wasn't there? He could see it in the others' eyes. There had been a brief, spontaneous kind of struggle, and Escus had lost. But there was something that wasn't lost on him: the Vulcanites outnumbered the rest of them. Tueris was going to side with his compatriot, if it came down to it. Escus would not be self-deluded about that. So he smiled a grin that didn't spread beyond his mouth, and joined the others behind Selamat. "As you will, then." OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @Toru Nui @~Xemnas~ IC: Skrall - Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall didn't envy Skrall his task. Well, maybe that was a bit of a lie. Maybe there was a little bit of envy. But for the most part, he would take the freedom over the honoured place. And besides: this far outside of Roxtus, who wanted to do what Atakus told them? Not that Skrall held anything personally against the Agori. As far as Skrall could tell his reputation as a competent, if severe, administrator had some grounds. The Empire's tendency to a certain self-deception about the chain of command did not hold in all cases. Just this: he wanted to see the South. Here was their first taste. Here was life without structure, here was unfettered commerce. Skrall intended to see it for himself, and as quickly as possible. "This one is bound for the marketplace as well," he said, adopting the traditional tone of deference. Force of habit, perhaps. OOC: @BULiK @Vezok's Friend @Toru Nui @Burnmad @Nato G

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua's face fell back to a neutral expression. She eyed Lutenus warily, but said nothing at first, turning back to Mard and Ahmoa. She gave a half bow—without the energy a cheering crowd would expect, but there was only so much she could do—and spoke, "Thank you, gentlemen." She returned to Lutenus. "I don't mean anything by it, but I have a feeling you wouldn't normally call it after the first legal hit," her brow furrowed, eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling you're giving me this one to get me committed. Alright. I'll take it. Grand Tournament, here we come." She grins, offering Lutenus her hand. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Escus - Iron Canyon Escus, raised in the shade, felt a certain familiarity in the canyon's long shadows. He loped away from the platform, planted the haft of his axe in the ground, and settled to one knee. Raising a handful of sand, he clenched his fist and felt the grains flow through his fingers. Same as anywhere else. Taking up the the axe again, he turned back to the party, inclining his head to one side. "Shall we?" he asked, rhetorically of course, for their course was long past set now. Without waiting for a response, he set off into the canyon, hunched, hugging the wall. OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~ @a goose @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua is not cruel, as a rule. She likes to win. She likes the profits of victory. She just has no time for causing suffering, and rubbing it in. Even so, she can't help but smile when her strike hits home. If, after Lutenus' cry of pain, it makes her look like a barbarian. She begins to press the assault, before hesitating. There's supposed to be a procedure to these things, isn't there? Arena combat strikes again. Lorqua levels her javelin at Lutenus as he stumbles back. "Do you yield?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Square Gonrae opened his eyes from his premature wince to find himself safely hovering a hand's width above the ground. With a grin, he twisted in the air above the smooth stone ground, laughing as he found his feet. His evident joy went undampened by the skeptical stares of the Matoran nearby. "A thing like that!" he said. Gonrae dusted himself off as he stood, an entirely vain impulse given that he hadn't actually touched the ground. "You're quite a bit different than the only other Ba-Toa I've known," he said, nodding his head. "That's a compliment. Now, shall we?" OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero One more javelin. Just the one more. Lorqua, sensing somewhere deep in her psyche that she couldn't go on much longer—one way or another—did not retreat from Lutenus' assault. Instead, she stormed forward in turn, twisting her body to obscure the path of her thrust. Already once-chastised, the thrust wasn't as strong nor as well-aimed as it could have been. At least she gave them a show. Their audience of two bored Agori, at least one among whom obviously thought that she and Lutenus had some kind of angle in being there. So be it. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Escus - Precipere, Outside the Guard Post Escus, already standing, fell into step with Tueris. Outdoors, as the party make their way to the elevator, he watches the few Ash Agori who go about their business in Precipere. A furtive bunch, so far as he could tell. In his own way, Escus encouraged their mien. The Doctor had already made the majority view on Tajunites clear enough. Who was Escus to disprove the stereotype? He gave a small, wolfish smirk to any who met his eyes. Let them tell one another of his passage. Let them call him the organ-hungry Glatorian of Water. OOC: @a goose @Toru Nui @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero As soon as Lutenus started the javelin's spin, Lorqua could predict what came next. Not that she could do anything about it. The missile impacted her shield, sending a jolt of pain all the way up her arm. Her hand seized, and she dropped the shield to the floor of the arena. No sense trying to the scramble in the dust to get it back. No time for that. "Good throw," she barked, as she freed the last javelin from the sheathe on her back and brandished it underhanded like a spear. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lutenus was strong, that much was clear. She ought to only fight people who didn't speak her language. As it was, she had two options. If she held on to the javelin, he would pull her right over. With an expiration of air, Lorqua let go. "Alright," she murmured, with a tone that could entail either defiance or resignation. She stumbled backwards, scrambling to draw a third javelin. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist sorry for the delay y'all, I was waiting for another character to need a post and lost track of time

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lutenus' swing had the intended effect. Lorqua backpedaled into the centre of the grounds, holding a javelin outstretched before her, warding Lutenus off with its point. Then she stood for a moment, realization that she had probably done exactly what he wanted visible on her face. "Don't play with me here, let's finish this," she snarled. At once, she extended her arm to gain some leverage, and lobbed her javelin towards Lutenus' arm. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Escus - Precipere Escus smirked at the Agori medic's comment, mimed looking down at the colours of his own armour, then looked back at the Agori. "Should watch what you say, friend. Tajun has joined with Vulcanus in this endeavour. Might get to test that reputation for yourself," he said. Inclining his head towards Tueris, he remarked, "If we get a vote, I've made my view clear. Guile may already be lost to us, perhaps numbers will do the trick." OOC: @a goose @Toru Nui @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero A grunt of exertion was the only reply that escaped Lorqua's lips. Pulling that move had earned her a rebuke from the referee, but it had also earned her some space to move. Arena combat. Hard not to feel a certain tension in it, dulling your instincts on purpose. Even so, no use in doing it if she wasn't doing it properly. Pushing past Lutenus, she crouched and spun around to face him. In tandem with this motion, she drew another javelin, swiping it towards Lutenus' legs like a sword. She retreated from the full force of it early in the swing. The hit wouldn't be as hard as it could be. She wasn't so far gone as to throw strikes at the torso, though even then she knew that was what the desert would teach her to do. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Square Gonrae turned on his heels, now at the edge of the crowd. At Akie's invocation of the Turaga he grimaced and reflexively took a step back. "Turaga once," he said. "But no longer. One of the ghost stories that I'll refrain from telling you for now. Don't want to scare anyone around. But now the Akiri Nuparu, the Matoran who was just speaking, rules in Onu-Koro. The same in the other great Koros, the six big ones. There are other settlements that do things differently. But here, an Akiri. And if we hurry, we might be able to speak with him. Especially with a Toa!" With the last comment, he made to enter the crowd, but paused immediately as Akie offered the coins back. "Oh, thank you," he said, taking the sack and placing it back in a pouch on his belt. "I forget these things so easily, I can recognize my faults and—" Then, still moving into the crowd but distracted entirely by discoursing with Akie, Gonrae plunged backwards. A look of wide-eyed surprise instantly occupying the whole of his face, he tripped and fell into the crowd. OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua stepped back as Lutenus came towards her, desert-honed reflexes kicking in as they always did. She could almost see the flow of blood on sand, hear the cries of battle. Then taut cordage bit into her back, and she was reminded of the realities of her situation. Full awareness returned to her with the familiar throb of injury. A welcome sensation, because it meant she hadn't gone into shock. She was alive. Still, there was time enough for that to change yet. But in the critical moments before Lutenus arrived she noticed something. Evident only in contrast with his mechanical lack of hesitation thus far, Lorqua noticed a change. Not quite a moment of uncertainty. But, all the same, the swing lacked commitment. Given how he had been fighting thus far? It might as well have been a Skopio rising from the floor of the arena. Not certain that what she was doing was entirely legal, Lorqua threw up her shield to intercept Lutenus' swing. Rather than aiming for his axe, she aimed for his arm. She threw her weight behind it, trying to push through him and get back into the open field. If she had to take the blow from the axe all the same, she would take that trade. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Bone Hunter Stronghold Seizing the opportunity afforded by the moment of silence, Skrall leapt over the side of the cart. Cybernetic claws extended from the soles of his feet, and he did not sink into the sand as he landed. Giving the Spikit an ample berth, he jogged forward to come in line with the lead cart, keeping pace with ease as they slowed to enter the stronghold. He would not meet the Bone Hunters sitting down. If this was to be the gate to the new world, he would go through it on his feet. OOC: @skrall IC: Escus - Precipere Guardhouse As his companions rose and made to leave, Escus turned away from his contemplation of the wall. "If we are already doing as they wish," he offered the comment nearly under his breath, his appraisal of the recent revelations clear. "Then we shall need as many as we can get. If surprise is no longer an option, I mean." He wore a lopsided smile. It was harsh, he realized, but he preferred to make his views known now. They would be of no use to anyone later. OOC: @a goose @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~

IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Gonrae attempted to keep a brave face in response to Akie's enthusiasm, but his far-off gaze betrayed him. He glanced towards her, studying her expression for a moment, then looked back to the crowd without "Not very comprehensive explanation, I realize. I'm no expert. But I do know that things were a lot worse for everyone, back when—" he swallowed, "—back when he was still around." She really was a Toa, in the classical sense, that much was clear. All optimism and action. That hadn't always saved them, as far as Gonrae knew. Perhaps it had even led some of them to their destruction. In this case, however, she had good instincts. Doing something seemed better than doing nothing. And, it occurred to Gonrae with a certain small pleasure, she might be his ticket to getting into some interesting rooms. He had been rebuffed far down the ladder from Nuparu the last time he had tried, but coming in with a Toa might do the trick. Gonrae gave a quick nod. "I don't know about best, but we can certainly manage someone to talk to. The Akiri—I mean the leader of this Koro—might be one good option. If he can't help us directly, he would be more likely than anyone to know what Toa you could speak to. Certainly there will be Toa doing something about this." OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi It's all good!

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground Lutenus bearing down on her fast. She couldn't make a single mistake that he wouldn't capitalize on. Of course, she couldn't be too taken aback about this one: any mistake that ends with you lying flat on your side is a pretty big one. And this was the arena, or at least a reasonable facsimile. And yet, insofar as this was the arena, this wasn't the wasteland. Certain doors were open that otherwise would not be. She threw her hand back and grabbed on to a fence post. She breathed heavily, appearing more wounded than she was. The moment that Lutenus was almost upon her, she retracted her arm and kept her grip, hurtling out from beneath his grasp. In a moment, she knew she would be standing upright with her back to the fence. A good start. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Outside Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall nodded along with the comment, but his eyes were suddenly cast towards the Stronghold rising up from the dunes. "That might just work. We're certainly fast enough to get to our first destination somewhat... more quickly than I expected," he said. He raised his brows towards the other younger Skrall, as the elder had offered them his advice. Did he think to take them under his wing? Skrall was skeptical. They were all equally naive, where they were going. Age did not equate to experience, here. All the same, he did not offer any criticism openly. OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad