Day Four [Lorki/Open]

[Tirael]

"Right, good enough." Kutenai shrugged and motioned towards the plate of food, "y'can eat too, if yew like."

Tentatively, the otter reached out and took some. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry, or that he thought it was poisoned or anything; he just didn't like betraying just how hungry he was. Possibly because he'd already been insulted about it, he was somewhat ashamed to be a slave.

"Listen, Tirael, was it? Listen, I only need one thing from yew righ' now. Jus' one. I need yew t'be honest. Trust me when I say this won't 'urt yew if y'listen ta me. I need to know your weakness. Got a... a kit er somethin' like.. a neice? Or a girlfriend? Sibling? Favorite... stick er whateva?"

The question startled him visibly. Biting his lip, he thought about it; he was definitely not mentioning Fern, he didn't want to put her in any sort of danger. He did say sibling...Tam can take care of herself... "I, uh...I have a sister. Tampa." Shifting, he added, "But, w-why?..."

[lorki]

"I, uh...I have a sister. Tampa." Shifting, he added, "But, w-why?..."

"Hmm." Kute crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, "Y'know whats difficult, Tirael? No 'un eva' tells y'their weakness. Good luck eva' figurin' that 'un out with a polite question." He sighed glanced at the window again, "I'm not sure if yer much of an actor, bu' fer the sake of yer damn self, lets pretend yer tellin' me the truth. Look a bit more sincere."

Sleet had been right when she'd told him about how this would go- lots of questions. Kutenai's reasoning was not like other beasts, he preferred to just do and anybody else ought to just follow his lead. He knew what he was doing... well, generally. He inhaled deeply and looked back at the otter, "because... don't yew know anythin' 'bout torture? I mean beside bein' smacked around? It's a.... leverage. You really need t'be better at lookin' devastated, too."

[Tirael]

"Y'know whats difficult, Tirael? No 'un eva' tells y'their weakness. Good luck eva' figurin' that 'un out with a polite question."

...except he just had. Apparently, he operated on a different plane from everybody else in the world; whether that was a good or bad thing was yet to be seen, but then, how could it be good if he freely talked about his weaknesses?

"I'm not sure if yer much of an actor, bu' fer the sake of yer d**n self, lets pretend yer tellin' me the truth. Look a bit more sincere."

Now, Tirael was definitely at a loss. He'd already told the truth. How was he supposed to look more honest than completely honest? Unfortunately, he wasn't much of an actor. He'd never been good at lying, so effecting such a change of character was...difficult. But this is just supposed to be me...not a character...be me...

"Because... don't yew know anythin' 'bout torture? I mean beside bein' smacked around? It's a.... leverage. You really need t'be better at lookin' devastated, too."

Apart from the smacking around, no, Tirael knew very little about torture. It made him uncomfortable that Kutenai would, especially since he still had no real idea what the ferret was planning other than that it involved a weakness of his. But at least he could look devastated. Sure, it would involve dredging up unpleasant memories, and he'd probably feel as well as look unhappy, but it could be done.

He just wanted to know why.

"Sorry, but...what--I don't understand the plan...why do I need to look devastated?" It would be a lot easier to pull this off if he wasn't so distracted wondering what was going on. He just hoped Kutenai would fill him in.

[lorki]

"Sorry, but...what--I don't understand the plan...why do I need to look devastated?"

Kutenai exhaled heavily. He wasn't being fair to the poor otter and he knew it. Generally it was much easier to execute plans by ones self... but because his plan involved a rescue that wasn't going to be possible. Sleet was better at these sorts of things, he might be more personable but she was the one with the word choice, the strict sharp way of doing things. Bossiness, yes, he wasn't bossy. He was independent, and she lacked that, no matter how detached and antisocial she acted. Oh, he knew that much for sure.

But while she was swallowing her voice to stay within the confines of a camp full of beasts she feared or detested, just to be near them, he was here. Forced into the social on goings of the fort- which he liked- but also those with this otter. Not that they were unpleasant... but Kutenai was certainly no teacher nor leader. He was a passing fun conversation, a humorous friend or something like that.

The dark ferret wiped a paw across his face, "I apologize," he muttered before blinking a few times and focusing back on Tirael. His voice dropped so low even he could hardly hear it. His ever present slight paranoia made him hate to have to spell the plan out, but the otter wasn't catching his just-go-along-with-it drift. There wasn't much of another option.

"I, the skilled, vicious, soldier from afar, 'ave broken the slave tha' wouldn't talk. That would be yew. I found yer weakness, I scared yew. All yer fear is in 'ere," he tapped his head and grinned, "thats the best way, trus' me. In yer fear, yew decide t'give me what I want. The location of yer camp, and I mean the real 'un, not a fake 'un. Goes up t'the Cap'n. But behold, I think I can do betta. Me an yew, we meet again in a few days. You 'ave until then t'come up with a good lie, a good weakness yer camp beasts 'ave. A good line of attack that I ought t'suggest.

"An' then, then I throw a party. 'Cause yew and yer camp friends, yer 'bout to be crushed. An' I say I'd really like t'take that damn otta' out an gut 'im so all his little camp friends can see 'im." He smiled widely and pointed a claw at Tirael, "but yew, my little river friend, y'wont get gutted. And all yer 'appy little friends will know what is comin', and they can spread out, move 'round and plan fer yer 'appy war, and the taking back of this pile 'o junk Fort. Lovely, isn't it?" He nodded and leaned away from the otter and cleared his throat.

"Now, however," he said with his voice still low and quiet. he pushed his chair back and stood, motioning for Tirael to do the same, "I 'ave jus' threatened to do something very unpleasant to yer beloved sister. Yew are outraged, horrified. Yew are 'bout to stand up an' summon all the strength in yer little scrawny body and punch me in the face. An' please... be sincere."

[Tirael]

"I apologize."

Momentarily fearing that he had upset Kutenai, Tirael began to feel somewhat guilty that his inability to catch on was making things more difficult than necessary. Of all the creatures in Mossflower, they have to capture me...nobody should have to go through this for me. Certainly not him. What have I ever done for him? As Kute outlined the plan, he couldn't help but stew in that a bit, even as he tried to distract himself by focusing on what the ferret was saying. It was a good plan; it left him feeling a bit concerned about slave safety, but surely they would be fine...

"I 'ave jus' threatened to do something very unpleasant to yer beloved sister. Yew are outraged, horrified. Yew are 'bout to stand up an' summon all the strength in yer little scrawny body and punch me in the face. An' please... be sincere."

Tirael's eyes widened a bit as he blinked. Of all the unexpected things that had come up so far in this little meeting (except, of course, Kutenai being a rescuer), this had to be the most confusing. Looking around as if convinced this was some sort of trick, the young otter's face registered nothing but incredulity as he said, "I--i--what!?"After a moment of continued confusion, he said more quietly, "You're supposed to be some great torturer, how are they going to believe that if you let me punch you in the face!?"

[lorki]

Kutenai scowled. Again, with the not following directions. Did this otter like slinking around this hell hole, was he somehow put off by the idea of escape? Sleet had mentioned the creature being a bit moronic on the verge where morals and reality met, but he hadn't expected to be questioned in his own plan making. "Listen," he muttered under his breath, "if yew gotta know the damn point is t'get in yer head, scare yew. If y'lash out, it'll show I did it right."

"So," he continued, "please, jus' listen t'me. An' maybe, when I get my sorry tail enslaved an' some odd acquaintance o' mine kindly sends yew in t'save me from certain death then yew can decide what'll work an' what won't. Till than jus' clench yer little fist and throw wha'ever sorry excuse fer a punch you can muster. Trus' me, I can take it." The corner of his mouth twitched up in a chuckle and he held his arms out, as if welcoming the on coming fake assault.

[Tirael]

"Listen," he muttered under his breath, "If yew gotta know the d**n point is t'get in yer head, scare yew. If y'lash out, it'll show I did it right."

Though the idea still disconcerted him a little, Tirael had to admit that made sense. Not that he'd lashed out much in his life; he'd never had the guts to do anything like that, even though he'd gotten plenty upset before. He was just used to retreating, never actually fighting back, but then again, hadn't running around gotten him in here?

"So," he continued, "please, jus' listen t'me. An' maybe, when I get my sorry tail enslaved an' some odd acquaintance o' mine kindly sends yew in t'save me from certain death then yew can decide what'll work an' what won't. Till than jus' clench yer little fist and throw wha'ever sorry excuse fer a punch you can muster. Trus' me, I can take it."

Standing up nervously, he nodded and looked down at his paw. After a short breath, he curled it into a fist, looked up. Suppressing his desire not to do this, he followed Kutenai's instructions: fist, summon up your energy, and...

...

...thud.

[lorki]

Kutenai smiled wider as the otter finally stood up. He was somewhat worried that this might take a few tried, Tirael looked very nervous about the whole request. How Sleet had come to meet him, let alone like him enough to call in a favor for him, was beyond Kutenai. Usually she only kept around the useful ones or the particularly difficult adversaries.

Kutenai watched the otter pull his paw back, his form was wrong, but what was the difference... Kutenai's ear twitched and he purposefully held his mouth open an inch or so that the punch might cause his fangs to cut his mouth- that was the goal. he doubted the otter could make it ugly on his own.

The fist connected and it wasn't too disappointing... The ferrets head snapped away and he held himself there. He grinned widely and lifted a paw to place it gingerly on his cheek. He spat blood onto the floor, his ugly plan had worked at least. He looked back at Tirael, "not terrible," he offered, although the strikeing pain had already faded. He stepped forward, "sorry, mate, bu' iill tempered torturers don't let things go too quick like..." He pulled his fist back pulled the muscle hard and then pushed out with direct force back towards Tirael.

[Tirael]

Tirael winced as his fist slammed into Kutenai's cheek. He hated the feeling; the few times in his life that he had opted to hurt instead of heal, it had never been direct. The closest had been thwacking a rat with an unstrung bow, and he'd been able to justify it. But this? He felt absolutely wrong about punching his rescuer.

"Not terrible."

He'd feel more inclined to believe that if Kutenai wasn't dripping his own blood onto the floor, where it mingled with dust and formed a rather ugly sludge. Of course, he had no idea that the ferret had intentionally set himself up for that. All he saw was the blood, and his own paw, still somewhat clenched. It disgusted him, the knowledge that he'd made it flow, and he quickly uncurled his fingers. I hope I never have to do that a--

"Sorry, mate, bu' ill tempered torturers don't let things go too quick like..."

Tirael looked up just in time for Kutenai's fist to impact him just below his left eye. He'd gotten used to being punched repeatedly over the past four days, so it wasn't devastating, but it was unexpected. Besides, he was used to getting hit in the stomach; his face had remained relatively untarnished. Of course, he wasn't thinking of this; he was thinking more of how hard the punch was--enough to push him back against the wall. His right paw slapped against the stones to keep his balance. His left gingerly felt where he'd been hit. That's definitely gonna hurt in the morning... he thought ruefully. After a moment to collect himself, he looked back up at Kutenai and nodded. "Okay, so we've punched each other...now what?"

[lorki]

Kutenai watched the otter stumble back against the wall and hold his face much in the same fashion Kutenai had done just before. His held held at a slight tilt, his bloodied mouth still shaped in a smirk, he listened to the otter speak. "Okay, so we've punched each other...now what?"

He grinned widely and clapped a paw on Tirael's back, "Tha's the spirit, otta. Yer not so bad." With adrenaline pumping up his energy level the reckless young ferret almost felt like throwing another punch, just for the hell of it.... but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Tirael was not the play-fight type. He swallowed the urge and reminded himself that he would soon be joining like minded beasts in the horde and he could probably find himself a boxing match.

"Now..." He paused, thoughtfully glancing back at t he window. The gray clouds had given way to a light rain. Part of him wanted to drag this out, get in enough time with the horde to settle his nature for awhile... but that wouldn't happen. No where did his alliance lie greater than with his sister, and he wasn't keen on sticking around to get crushed along with the rest of the hordesbeasts. He cast a quick glance over Tirael's face, it was swelling up quite nicely. "Now, yew can go back ta... t'wha'eva that shack where yew live is called. I need to pay a visis t'the Lady of the House... well, unless yew'd like t'come with me?"

Of course he expected the answer to be no, Lorna was an interesting character, even Kutenai made a bit of an effort to be careful around her. The again, being social had never been a problem for him, nor clever, nor tricky. He doubted Tiraels swollen face would be of much more interest to her than his own... but then again, his plan did dwell significantly on the details.

[Tirael]

"Tha's the spirit, otta. Yer not so bad."

Tirael offered him a weak smile; anything more would make his face ache even more. He could already feel it puffing up a bit. Well, at least this would all be convincing, and as long as he was getting out of this place, Kutenai could do whatever he wanted. Fortunately, it seemed, he didn't want to do much more for the time being...

"Now, yew can go back ta... t'wha'eva that shack where yew live is called. I need to pay a visis t'the Lady of the House... well, unless yew'd like t'come with me?"

"Uhh...thanks, but definitely no thanks. Neither of us would be happy to see the other..." he said, ears laying back as he grimaced in distaste. Lorna had made it obvious, in no uncertain terms, that he was very low on her list, and he had no intention of parading himself in front of her just to get his meals cut (again). Besides, she might decide to stop caressing her whip and actually start hurting him. That sort of pain wasn't the type he could prepare himself for, no matter all the torture he'd been through. Fists were a little slower and a lot duller than a rope moving faster than the speed of sound.

Glancing from the door to Kutenai, the otter said ruefully, "Care to lead the way, guard, sir?"

[lorki]

"Uhh...thanks, but definitely no thanks. Neither of us would be happy to see the other..."

Kutenai smirked and nodded, this otter was entertaining... possibly not intentionally, but oh well. He touched the corner of his mouth gently, hoping to get to Lorna before the bleeding stopped. The uglier the better, he assumed. Not to mention, the fact that this otter was so complacent would make the injury even more surprising. It was perfect.

"Care to lead the way, guard, sir?"

Kutenai only grunted and nodded shortly in response, he stepped quickly across the dreary room, unlatched the door block and elbowed it open. He glanced backwards, not at Tirael but at the window. Rain. He made a face and tossed his long coat over himself and motioned for Tirael to follow him. He walked silently and quickly down the hall, turning sharply out the door and into the courtyard. He turned and looked at Tirael without much of an expression, safe for a slight raised brow.

He then swung around and walked back the way he came, up a flight or two of stairs and down a larger, well lit hall. He stopped before a large door and knocked twice, he cleared his throat and calmly said, "Captain Lorna, Kutiel Passa 'ere. I'd like t'talk to yew 'bout that otta slave."

[Tirael]

Once the door opened and Kutenai motioned for him to follow, Tirael dropped any signs of hope, doing his best to project the devastation they'd talked about earlier. He avoided eye contact with anyone, looking down and maintaining a rather shaken expression. A trained observer might see through it, but for the time being, it seemed to suffice. Nobeast did anything more than glance at him, and he had to suppress a sigh of relief.

Once they had reached the door, he chanced a quick glance at Kute, who merely raised an eyebrow before turning back into the building. The otter only had a few seconds to himself before another guard, a rather burly rat, grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the slave compound. Tirael allowed it, simply remaining distant and passive. Now wasn't the time for resistance.

For the second time that day, Tirael was shoved into the compound, picking himself up as the gate slammed behind him. Several of the other slaves glanced at him; with a heavy heart, he realized that leaving them behind would be the hardest part of this...

[Treble Tiderunner]

"Captain Lorna, Kutiel Passa 'ere. I'd like t'talk to yew 'bout that otta slave."

“Well, come in, then.” The voice was smooth and silky, but a thread of irritation underwrote it. Lorna Russetfur was seated at a small table situated under the single broad window. The desk was the most decorated thing in the room, covered with neat stacks of paper, an ink well, quills and the pen-knife necessary to turn those quills into pens. The rest of the room was painstakingly neat, with a dresser, a trunk, the one extra chair and the narrow bed. A being much more situated to ships, Lorna kept this small chamber much the same way as she would have kept her cabin on ship.

Her tail twitching slowly with concentration, she made a notation in the open book before her, wiped her pen and put it aside, and did the same with the book. Only then did she look up. “Well close the door and come in, then, Mr. Passa. No need to stand in the doorway.” She smiled warmly, motioning to the sole chair. The vixen noted the blood on his face and paw, but did little more than twitch an eyelid in interest.

“What is it?”

[lorki]

“Well close the door and come in, then, Mr. Passa. No need to stand in the doorway.”

Kutenai nodded and did as she said, closing the door gently behind him he stepped towards the chair while wiping a paw along his chin to clear it of any blood.

“What is it?”

Kutenai smiled, it was a grin of a cocky young beast, over-confident and proud. "Good news, Cap'n," he paused, "I've gathered tha' those woodlanders there are mighty.... illusive. An' deadly when they're not, eh? Well, yer shy otta opened up a bit jus' now, an' I think I got a pretty clear destination fer their new camp. I suppose it must be a bit difficult fer all yer scouts to see it, ma'm, what with all o' their gaurds hidin' out their...." He trailed off and leaned forward a bit, "y'know, otta mentioned they've grown, mentioned allies."

He fell silent and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. "What d'ya think, Cap'n, think they're gettin' ready fer somethin'? I'm sure I can get more outta that beast, if y'want."