Zarina could not sense Marceline's grumble. The younger of the two was always being left behind like this as the youngest, as a tethered, as a precious little thing to protect, but she was almost a woman grown, in truth. She sent back a slightly irritable 'okay'.
Then, they were ascending the stairs. The dread spire of the Omenaxan towered before them and the air was thick, all around, with energy. Zarina's cloak of shadows peeled away and she walked along behind Jascuan, clanking shining armour and all. There were blisters in the wall that they could now make out and, from them, a half-dozen guns pointed the way of the pair, humming with dark energy. The elder did not so much as react.
Finally, they were at the door, and there stood four guards. The first was a hulking mountain of a man, Zarina's height and heavily armoured on the chest. His eyes were covered in blacked-out goggles, his skin dyed green, and his hair fashioned into spikes. His teeth were filed into razor-sharp points and a series of serpentine tattoos snaked up and down his mighty arms, which were crossed over an ample gut. The second was a smallish woman with red-dyed skin and perky pigtails, their tips dyed white and fuchsia, the latter to match her eyes. She wore nothing on her upper body save a series of ostentatious jewelry and black and white belts, one of which preserved her modesty. Black parachute pants with white and fuchsia stitching completed the ensemble. The third was a solid, blocky man with his skin dyed yellow and his hair cropped short beneath a black officer's cap that gleamed beneath the morning sun. His head was squarish and his jaw was too. His shoulders were rigid and his uniform perfect, the brass buttons on it shined to perfection. A great tower shield was strapped across his back.
It was the fourth who addressed them, however, and she was tall, lean, and pitch black, save for a long green arrow that began with dye where her hair parted into white curtains and continued down the middle of her face and neck, stopping somewhere on her dark shirt, over her chest. She wore a skirt, no shoes, and had fingernails painted in the same poisonous green. She carried only a pair of small hammers.
"Who are you," she hissed,
"and what do you want?"A colourful bunch. Literally. Out and exposed, Zarina marched by Jascuan's side as they approached the row of security with everything down to their very style serving a singular purpose to intimidate and dissuade. The venom-themed one who spoke made sure to stay consistent with the abysmal welcome as she spoke. A good look was given to each before she settled her eyes onto the dark and 'tall' female.
“My name is Zarina.” the Severan began, keeping a good few meters between herself and the guards, gestures at a minimum.
“And I'm here to claim two wrongfully arrested individuals, as well as my Dormouse. The legless girl, Tennaxi, the centaur, Classa, and my aforementioned pet.” she spoke, collected and relaxed.
“Has there been a trial date set?”"Claim!" exclaimed the bright yellow guardsman. He wasn't tall but he was massive. As he spoke, the badge on his hat seemed to gleam or glow.
"By what authority!?" he challenged, marching up to her, expressionless but aggressively unintimidated.
Old Jascuan was very nearly brushed out of the way.
Golden hues looked right into the shorter being's eyes. Zarina made sure to exaggerate the motion of tilting her head downwards to look at him.
“No authority. I know they've been arrested without any solid proof. Why exactly is the centaur here anyway?”Little Red and Venomous Black began to circle to either side of her while Big Green remained at the door.
"Listen, lady, we don't make the rules here. We enforce them.""You wanna speak to your people, you petition.""If they're in here, there's a reason.""Only the worst of the worst end up here. It's secure."That was when Zarina noticed that Jascuan had disappeared.
Zarina arched a brow.
“Petition? From what? The authorities? Benny - Errr, Nyan-Acan?” she crossed her arms, perplexed as to where this could actually go. Though, the comments from the group of guards brought her to a squint.
“Do two kids, one without legs, and a big mouse spell worst of the worst? Really? I'm willing to bet they didn't even resist.” she shrugged.
“Like, don't you guys find that just a little weird?”Then, she noticed a conspicuous absence. She was down a man - her only 'man', actually. Zarina's helm twisted to regard where the elder once was, which telegraphed her remark to the others. At this point, she realized there was a good chance she would be the distraction.
“... I'd like to speak to someone with authority. Your supervisor? Manager? Someone who can decide.”The four glanced among themselves. They were all minions, but they were
strong minions.
"The manager?!" Little Red sputtered. She swallowed.
"Nobody ever wants to speak to the manager..." Big Green trailed off anxiously.
Yellow Square, who fell middling in size between the other two, executed a crisp step back and his hand darted into his bag. For a moment, Zarina tensed, but he was only retrieving a paper and quill.
"This is a PR-55-B, Avincian Variant." He held them out towards her. When she did not have a flat surface to write upon, he pulled a small clipboard out from behind his shield, again with that same startling quickness.
"This is to be filled out and submitted to the local coordinator." He blinked twice - precisely twice, for that was a godly and even number - and waited.
Meanwhile, Zarina had also taken notice that Jascuan was not the only one missing. Creepy Arrow was nowhere to be seen either.
More were missing, this time on the opposite side. Zarina could only imagine the what sort of things could going on in the background when an ex-Volti was involved. Her worries had her trail off momentarily, only to be pulled back by Yellow Square's swift and daring movements.
“Eh?” bureaucracy. She should've known. Only a dull stare could be mustered at the documentation.
“This- It's going to take a long time for this to do anything at all, IF it even does anything, right?” she asked in a down-to-earth manner with a tinge of sass.
“Look, is there any way I check up on them? They're kids, and probably frightened.” sympathy was another angle, even if there was likely to be a sore lack in such an environment.
“Anything at all?”Little Red softened for a moment and let out a sigh. She blew a few strands of hair from her face.
"You know he's the local coordinator, right?" She jerked a thumb in Yellow Square's direction.
Yellow Square nodded.
"I can confirm that piece of information." He nodded stiffly and dutifully.
"The job title makes him feel important." Big Green jerked a thumb in his direction. Yellow Square reached up with a precise pointer finger and pushed his glasses up one-point-one centimeters.
Zarina flinched at the revelation. If the situation wasn't so serious, she'd have a laugh too and see this as mere theatrics. But alas, this was merely a case of different cultures and the inevitability of administration in civilizations.
“Oh.” she visibly blinked behind her helm.
“Okay, then. I guess that makes things easier ...” the armoured girl held the clipboard and soon realized her weapon of choice made it difficult to hold or write anything. Telekinesis it was, then. Well, the board was held up while she wrote with her 'normal' right hand.
Then she read it.
“Seriously?” she looked to the local coordinator, and he nodded sternly.
“Dami give me strength ...” she mumbled. And of course, she muttered most of what she wrote.
“Zarina Al-Nader.
Some call me Zazzy or Zaz.
Female. Duh.
Ersand'Enise, 15th Godsroad. I'm the owner.
Father, Ibrahim Al-Nader. Mother, Saoussen Al-Nader, that's her maiden name. Father renounced his at a young age.
Mana type ...” this one took longer than a rest, and any keen observer would notice it.
“Wildblood. 8-something. Low 8's.
Ersand'Enise student. 2 years as an operations worker in the Al-Nader network.
I'm looking for ... Classa, demon-centaur, female, like 9? owned by 4S farm. Tennaxi-Luna - Uhhh - female, desert scrounger, 16? Nibbler, 1 year old Dormouse, male, from Djamant Dormice, I'm the parent and owner.
Wellness check and brief exchange as family friend.
Pat me down if you want to know everything I'm carrying.
I'd like sweetwater.
I've not idea how to sign in Cazenax, here's in Avincian.” Zarina finalized. She could only imagine what Marci was thinking at this moment.
“Is this good enough?”Yellow Square held out his hand for the document and closed it crisply as Zarina placed the papers there. He rotated them one-hundred-eighty degrees, exactly, for that was his nature, and began to read. Little Red and Big Green leaned in, the former on her tippy-toes, flipping her riding hood up momentarily as if it might grant her some extra height.
Yellow Square blinked precisely twice, for that was an even and godly number, and lowered the paper from beneath his considerable nose. The other two looked at him apprehensively.
"This is, without doubt," he began,
"The w-"Zarina rolled her eyes. She saw this coming.
“Yeah, that's right, mom's last name. Rare, ain't it?” she interrupted, shooting a knowing look at Yellow Square.
“These two matter a great deal to me, so I didn't hide any details. I learned it was better to be fully open to those with the ability to help. Those that know better.” she smiled behind her helm. So very close to the coordinator.
“Anything needs clarifications?”"The worthiest cause we've ever seen," Little Red cut in.
"Right, Bui-Nats?"Yellow Square scowled and adjusted his glasses, pushing them up precisely one-point-one centimeters. His eyes flicked between the form, Little Red, and Zarina. He cleared his throat.
"You are quite correct, Cozo-Ban." He nodded crisply, extracted a folder from his bag with those familiar lightning-quick reflexes, and tucked the form cleanly inside. He turned on the spot to face Zarina.
"Very good," he replied matter-of-factly.
"Now, I'll just need to submit this to the local adjudicator for evaluation." He slid the folder, form and all, inside his satchel.
The short Cazenax, little red - Cozo-Ban, seemed to have caught on. For what reason did she intervene? Zarina hardly knew. Nor did she have any certainty that her anxiety was valid. The confessed Wildblood peered down at her, and then pointed with her normal-sized gauntlet's thumb.
“And are you the local adjudicator, Lady Cozo-Ban?” Little Red flipped back her riding hood and winked.
"You know, I says tah myself 'this girl's a quick study' when I seen ya's." She rocked back and forth from the balls to the heels of her feet.
"You are correct. I'm the local adjudicator." She nodded at Yellow Square and held out her hand expectantly. He pulled out the folder he had placed into his satchel moments earlier and handed it over. She smiled.
"Why thank you, local coordinator.""My pleasure, local adjudicator." He stepped crisply back with more of that alarming speed and stood at attention.
Little Red pored over the document, magenta eyes zipping back and forth across the pages, before extracting a quill from one of her many belts. She pulled out a tiny vial of deep reddish ink from another and, biting her lower lip as she went, made a few hasty amendments. Creepy Arrow and Jascuan, meanwhile, were still nowhere to be seen.
Finally, the form was handed back to Zarina.
"So, I'm gonna need a couple o' lil' edits, ya know: for spelling, punctuation, clarity, and grammatical accuracy. We tend to be quite rigorous in that regard." She smiled sweetly.
"Then, you're provisionally approved and I'll be able to send your petition to the local registrar."Nearby, Big Green blinked and glanced her way, still on guard at the door.
A deep breath. At least they were a pleasant bunch.
“Okay. Lemme see.” Zarina grumbled, especially as she realized what she had to fill.
“Fine, let's do this.
Full set of platinum armour.
Dragon-head greatshield and cannon. Begemot enhanced.
Black silk garments. Three gold rings. One silver.
Fireblood Greaves.
2 Magi.
A silver coin with the same face on both sides.
A cure-all drink.
And I guess she's a Subsistence Extractor.” the form was then given to the peppy little red, and then she looked to the final of the three. The Local Registrar.
With that, Little Red handed the completed form to Big Green.
"Why thank you, local adjudicator," he rumbled.
"No, thank you, local postmaster." He folded the papers expertly and gently, sliding them into an envelope that he procured from his satchel. With a dip of his chin, the enormous cazenax doffed his hat and sealed the envelope. This, he slid into the satchel. He pivoted on the spot, extracted a key from the ring on his belt, and opened one of the locks on the front door. He produced a second key and opened a second lock. The third key opened - unsurprisingly - a third lock, and then a fourth, and then a fifth. Little Red hummed a tune meanwhile, and Yellow Square seemed to be counting something absently.
Finally, a clank issued from within the Omenaxan. Big Green stepped crisply back.
"Coze-Zast," inquired Cozo-Ban,
"Do you have an ETA for us?"He pulled out a pocket watch, checked it, and nodded.
"Approximately two and a half minutes, if I can locate the registrar as planned.""Very good," Little Red replied.
"Thank you, local postmaster."With that, he knocked in a particular sequence on the door, and not all in the exact same place. There was a second clank and it swung open. He promptly disappeared inside. It was now, apparently, a waiting game.
Zarina waited, metal body rocking forward and back. It was awkward, so she spoke up.
“Must be, uhhh, something to guard the doors of a big prison-thing every day.” she blurted out to get something going.
“Real tough.” meanwhile, she reached out to find Jascuan, or even that not-so-pleasant fourth member that had vanished soon after him.
But then something hit her. She looked to the local adjudicator.
“Okay, I need to know - Why'd you overlook the big, scary thing I wrote in there? Is it just more common here? Or do you have something in mind?”"Big scary thing?" Little Red asked innocently.
"Yeah, you know, that thing, Coze-Dar-Lupui"She pondered for a moment, tilting her head in thought.
"Nah. I ain't gettin' it," she admitted, shrugging helplessly.
Zarina canted her head. At this point she believed this was all a trick, but ... Maybe it was Jascuan, or something else entirely. Perhaps it was best to not push her luck.
Wait, did he just say Coze? Like Cozesteo, big rock. Big. Dar was new, and Lupui - Lupine? Luna meant moon, it isn't unusual for some words to be similar, I guess. Big something Wolf. It'd definitely fit the Wildblood theme.“Huh.” she tittered.
“I thought I'd get guns pointed at me for revealing this is begemot-made.” she waved her massive left hand. So slick and clean, it reflected unpleasant light to those who looked directly at it.
“And yeah, it definitely spews out fire, like a dragon.” she flexed, just a little.
Little Red blinked, on the verge of an epiphany, and Yellow Square sighed.
"Wildblood, Cozoban. Wildblood." She paused, and pursed her lips.
"Oh. Yeah," she replied, pensive.
"I guess it is kind of a big deal, huh?" She shrugged, turning to Zarina.
"Well, not to me." She smiled conspiratorially.
"I'm one of you. Have been for a long long time." she winked.
Yellow Square merely regarded her dimly. You could feel his palm meet his face, even if the gesture didn't actually take place.
Zarina blinked.
“Uhh ...” an exceptionally long major finger from her left hand went on to scratch her helmet. It made an annoying grindy sound.
“Cool?” then she chuckled.
“Cool!” she threw her hands in the air in brief celebration.
“So, uhm, have I been approved?” she regarded Yellow Square with her head canted slightly and hands to her hips, looking a little more confident now.
He inclined his head precisely twenty-two-point-five degrees: the optimal level to show respect but not subservience.
"That is for the registrar to decide, though I wish you luck."It was at about that moment that Jascuan appeared from above, floating down slowly. He was rather rough-looking, with his clothes torn and bloodstained. One of his arms hung limp and he clutched his side with the other.
Just as Zarina began to drop her guard, this happened. Staggered, she quickly stood before the old man, shield readied and attention to the three she could see while her senses tried to find the unseen fourth.
“What happened?”Jascuan chuckled weakly.
"Oh, don't worry so much." He began to heal himself.
"Just a little father-daughter sparring session." He pointed to a spot in the sky and, momentarily, there appeared Creepy Arrow. She had a black eye, one of her ears was hanging at a weird angle, and she walked with a pronounced limp when she landed. She smiled weakly and began healing herself as well.
"You missed a spot, pa." She shook her head and reached out to heal him, mostly ignoring Zarina.
“Oh.” Zarina realized.
“Ooooohhhhhhhhhh.” good thing she was wearing her helm, that blush was quite embarrassing, especially on such a big, shiny knight. The shield was lowered and, after showing her hands in 'surrender', stepped aside.
Big Green came huffing and puffing out of the doorway.
"Madam Registrar!" he called, waving the envelope about.
"Madam Registrar! I have a petition for you to review. It's a PR-55-B, Avincian Variant!"Nearly finished, she perked up, reaching a hand out. He placed it there with dutiful eagerness.
"Thank you, Local Postmaster.""My pleasure, Local Registrar." "I imagine this is yours?" Creepy Arrow asked Zarina, brandishing the form.
"Oh yes!" exclaimed Jascuan,
"Josca, this is Zarina: a new but excellent friend." He scowled thoughtfully.
"Do play nice with her, hmm?"She pursed her lips and nodded, releasing a sigh.
"But of course, pop-pop." She held out her hand.
"Coam-Zast-Ocan-Josca. People call me Joss, for short."Zarina was left to wonder: Why was everything so dramatic if he knew them all? It was strange. Or maybe this was just the cazenax way. So long as it wasn't another fight, she took it as a blessing.
The human looked at the offered hand.
“Zaz or Zazzy are fine.” she reached her large, left hand out to match Joss', making for an unconventional shake. She also nudged her chin to the document.
“Though I guess you know everything about me already. Glad to meet you all.” a slick smile formed inside her helm, though the blush wasn't going away just yet.
“I assume you know about Classa, then. How is she?”Joss' eyes darted about and, for a moment Zarina felt the presence of a sonic bubble lower around them.
"You're approved, of course. I trust my father's judgement, and Cozoban's." She shook her head in annoyance.
"Problem is, they're going above my head. We need approval from the Regional Registrar, which isn't usually the case." She shrugged in miffed helplessness.
"Whether they think they actually have a threat like Maxi or they know they have a witness they need to keep quiet, they'll wanna keep her sealed up tight. Not even I'm allowed in."Zarina looked up to the peak again. Up there Classa was alone. As well as Nibbler, and Tennaxi. Now that she was so close, this revelation that none could get to them without more convoluted approvals prompted a couple of silent swears.
“They're going to use her as proof to put the blame on whoever they want, huh?” commented Zarina, arms crossed before her silver chestplate.
“Look, they're not safe here. Whoever is pulling the strings, they did not hesitate to send forces to kill their more valuable men. I had to do so much just to keep that fucker alive.” she shook her head.
“I want to get them out before anything bad happens. I feel like you have similar sentiments, but they've got you by the figurative balls.”Joss nodded tightly.
"I had to put up a show of fighting my father. Unpleasant." She crossed her arms.
"If you've got any ideas, though, I'm all ears.""At least it's not Maxi for real," remarked Big Green.
Little Red shook her head ruefully.
"Yeah. If it was really her..." she trailed off.
Yellow Square swallowed nervously.
"That is significantly above our pay grade."“You had me fooled.” chuckled Zarina. Again, she looked up, this time at the dragons.
“I'm not one for convoluted plans. I have a dragon - Froabas - at the ready with my Tethered friend. If the dragons can be made all floppy and slow, a getaway can be assured.” she twisted to regard Jascuan.
“With that dark magic of yours, you could probably burst a wall open. Fast, messy but should work if we have these four with us.”Then she looked to the other three public service workers. She had a foxy smile under her metal mask.
“If Jascuan trusts you lot then I will too. Just ... No more papers.” and for Yellow Square's trouble, one of her magi were flipped into his hand. She winked and clicked her tongue.
Yellow Square looked horrified.
"I -" he sputtered.
"I do not take bribes!" He snook his head adamantly.
"You know..." began Little Red, trailing off until people's attention had turned her way,
"Might not be your people that they're all sealed up about." She sniffed in irritable pensiveness.
"Might be related to those stuzéts they brought in this morning." She furrowed her brow.
"Lotsa hush hush around that one."Zarina shrugged. His loss. The coin's trajectory changed toward little red instead, where everyone's attention had fallen upon.
“Stuzéts, like,” she recalled the way the cazenax at the farm spoke of a certain people.
“the Sirrahi? Snake folks?” she arched a brow, arms crossed once more.
“Any idea what happened at all? A crumb of info? Where they came from ...” weren't some of her colleagues supposed to meet them in a hideout? Concern grew, and everyone could feel it by the conspicuous increase in heart rate.
The local coordinator, adjudicator, postmaster, and registrar glanced among themselves, each of them looking uneasy.
"There are... hideouts, throughout the city," Josca admitted.
"Used by the stuzéts," continued Cozezast. He pursed his lips nervously and his eyes darted about.
"A sort of secret bolt hole for 'em," Cozoban clarified.
"Though it's kind of an open secret," concluded Buinats. He swallowed.
"But they've been getting more... revolutionary lately," Josca explained,
"and the people in power have been looking for an excuse to squash them...""They hauled a half-dozen of them in early this morning." It was Cozoban. She shook her head.
"They hit one of those places," Cozezast continued.
"One would have to imagine these phenomena are linked," concluded Buinats, adjusting his glasses one-point-
two centimeters upward. He looked... concerned.
“Shit.” Zarina realized, shifting until she looked to the direction opposite of the prison.
“I've some friends heading there to sneak in a witness. They might end up in the shitter.” she shook her head, now facing Josca again.
“Let's get this done quickly. I'm getting the two out regardless, as well as my mouse, but I wouldn't be against talking to the snakes in passing. Is this agreeable?”Buinats shook his head.
"Regardless of our personal feelings, we cannot let you break someone out of the Omenaxan." Cozoban shot him an uneasy look, but she nodded too.
"This is our job, even when we don't like it.""And there are a lot of really bad people in there too," added Cozezast.
Josca was unhappy. It was clear.
"In cases like this, we just need clearance from the Regional Manager, though," she proposed,
"Right?" Her eyes darted among the others.
"In theory, yes," Buinats admitted uneasily.
"Do we really wanna call the manager?" asked Cozoban. The little red cazenax swallowed and seemed to sink deeper into her riding cloak.
Cozezast looked to Zarina and Jascuan for guidance.
“You don't have to 'let' me.” retorted Zarina.
“Just put up a fight the same way Joss did with her father.”Then, it came into consideration that such an approach could endanger their livelihood, or even their lives. The ambitious teen sighed.
“If the regional manager can grant clearance, then are we on the same page? This fiasco won't last long anyway. Only until tomorrow night.”"Then we are very much on the same page," Joss agreed. The others shot her nervous looks.
"There's just one problem: they won't."Looks of consternation were exchanged. It looked as if they had reached an impasse, and unwated violence loomed as the only potential way past. Zarina's comment about a 'fiasco' and 'tomorrow night' was not lost either, but this was very much a 'one revelation at a time' sort of situation.
Then, Buinats spoke up.
"You know," he began,
"It occurs to me that - and I could be wrong, for this falls more under the purview of the Adjudictaor - that were something to happen to the Manager, were they to be... indisposed, emergency powers would pass to the Registrar." He shuffled about on the spot and his gaze turned to Josca.
The notion of more violence was one Zarina had grown far too accustomed to. The tension in the air had a particular smell to her at this point. A nauseating one. Three on three, at least the odds were fair this time. At least for the first obstacle.
But, she was too quick to jump into violent conclusions. These people, they did not want to kill one another. A solution was found - a bureaucratic one of all things, or better known as a loophole.
“That ... Sounds smart.” Zarina relaxed.
“Maybe you should call in the manager. And then ...” she peered to Jascuan.
“Knock 'em out before he realizes a thing. Is he strong?”Jascuan looked up at Zarina with his sightless eyes. He blinked and turned back to face his daughter.
"What do you think, my dear?"Joss merely nodded.
"Strong would be-""An understatement" Cozoban cut in.
"Accurate," Josca concluded, shooting her a look. They all regarded each other.
"None of us can be involved," clarified Cozezast grimly, and Buinats nodded.
"Technically, that would be a service misconduct, and would invalidate the Local Registrar's temporary authority." Cozoban's eyes darted about some more and she sighed.
"We're sorry, but we'll... find reasons to not stand in your way, at least."