Hiro Kuat

With a grunt of exertion I load the last of our luggage into Sara's old car and slam the boot shut. Thanks to our stay with Sara and the priestess at the transmission station, our backpacks were as heavy as ever. The preserved rations we had brought along from the camp had been left uneaten, since Sara had kindly decided to cook our meals for us. The amount of luggage we were carrying had in fact increased since Mari insisted that we get clothes that allowed us to blend in in Rais Land rather than wear our uniforms everywhere. A short trip to the bazaar by Sara later and we had more clothes than we needed.

"Sorry." Sara looks on apologetically just behind me, her fluffy tail twitching nervously, "I had no idea how long you were going to be staying with us, so I erred on the side of caution."

"It's alright." I pat her head fondly, causing her to puff her cheeks in annoyance, "We can always use the clothes back at the Citadel."

"Ah! Stop doing that!" Sara pouts, "You're not that much older than me anyway!"

"Just the right age to be your big brother." I joke, "Its a nice change in role for me you know?"

"You have other siblings?" Sara asks her eyes staring with naked curiosity.

"Plenty. Too many to count even." I laugh, "And I'm the youngest of the lot."

"Stop bothering her, Hiro." Nomi says sourly as she emerges from the station, "Sara already told you that she doesn't like people messing with her."

"Well, I didn't mean any harm by it ..." I begin to explain but Nomi just shushes me.

"Whatever. Are you done with packing our things?" she asks, her eyes drifting off into the distance.

"Yep." I give a thumbs up, "We're ready to leave anytime. Madam will be joining us en route, right?"

"Mhm." Nomi grunts, "Should be. Why do you ask though? You were at that lunch meeting with the rest of us."

"Well, its getting late and I thought there might have been a change of plans?" I say while idly scratching the back of my head.

"Why would there be?" Nomi turns to look at me, honestly surprised by my statement.

"You stayed behind with Madam at Grand after the meeting." I explain with a shrug, "I thought maybe something had changed?"

Mari was annoyed that Nomi did not leave Grand with us that day and I thought a reprimand was incoming. But Nomi flashed at Mari a single gold coin with Regina's face stamped on it. That was all it took to get Mari to shut up and back off. Mari was really unhappy about the whole thing though, looking like she was going to explode from the suppressed irritation.

Mari then conscripted me into helping her refine the escape plan, running through the route we would be using using a map and discussing the timing of the Coalition patrols circling overhead like vultures. The discussion was not particularly productive, we had after all already decided on our course of action. But that was not the point. Mari was just taking the opportunity to get her temper under control by keeping busy. By the time Madam's limo dropped off Nomi at the station later that night, Mari had managed to regain her composure.

"Nothing's changed." Nomi scoffs, "I was just hanging out with Madam, that's all."

"You were gone for hours." Sara notes disapprovingly, "And you're a fugitive in Rais Land, no matter how relaxed things may appear on the surface."

"I just needed to blow off some steam, alright?" Nomi suddenly snaps, "Get off my back!"

A stunned silence descends upon the three of us. A stray dog barks in the distance.

"Sorry." Nomi waves her hand in consternation, "The stress has been getting to me. Being stuck here like this."

Sara just nods and goes back to watching the empty street beyond the station's rusty gate in silence. Leaving the station on such a sour note is not something I want, but it seems that's the way its going to be.

" ... she's the right age." Mari's voice drifts from the building, punctuated by a pair of approaching footsteps, "Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

"You already have my answer." the aged voice of the priestess replies, muffled by the hood, "Asking multiple times won't change it."

Mari and the priestess exit the station, walking side by side, but from the expression on Mari's face, clearly not seeing eye to eye. Mari has a scrunched up expression as she plays with the monocle clasped in her palm.

"Let me ask her directly." Mari finally says, "She should make this decision for herself. It concerns her future, not yours."

"How long have you been planning this, Eliminator?" the priestess asks affably, but her eyes are hard, almost flinty.

"I've not been planning anything." Mari denies, her voice level, "I just think its best opportunity available for Sara, that's all."

"Best opportunity?" Sara blinks in confusion at her unexpected inclusion into this conversation.

"Our friend here," the priestess snorts derisively, "Has been eyeing you Sara, like a piece of meat for the past few days. Someone doesn't want to return to base empty handed."

"I'm trying to amicably resolve this matter priestess." Mari's voice becomes low and unfriendly. Nomi and I tense, not liking where this conversation is going.

"And I'm not some peasant you can intimidate." the priestess jeers, "I've seen more combat than your entire squadron combined."

"Mo - no, priestess." Sara asks in befuddlement, "What is going on here?"

"I would like to extend an offer to you, Sara." Mari addresses the beast girl directly, "Come back with us to the camp. The Leader will make it worth your while."

"Why?" Sara blurts out her mind doing flips at this course of events.

"The Eliminator wants to get you involved in whatever nonsense she was sent here to accomplish." the priestess dismisses with a roll of her eyes.

"Sara's an adult." Mari clasps both hands behind her back, "Stop trying to influence her. Besides, you can't keep her here forever anyway."

"Is that a threat?" the priestess says almost conversationally, disregarding the electric tension in the air. Nomi and I slowly back away, the pressure from the two clashing wills nearly overwhelming us.

"Its a fact." Mari shrugs, "The Coalition will notice Sara sooner or later. And they won't be asking so nicely."

"The Coalition wouldn't dare barge into the station!" Sara protests, "It would be blasphemy!"

"They could just snatch you the next time you leave on an errand." Mari points out, "The station won't be able to provide protection all the time."

"I will protect Sara." the priestess announces grimly. Sara's face flushes at this declaration and she scurries to the priestess's side. A robed arm sweeps Sara up in a tight embrace.

"Both of you are just fooling yourselves." Mari observes but stony silence from the duo is all she receives.

"What a waste of time." Nomi suddenly drawls out, "We all know what this is about."

"We do?" I ask dumbly. Even Mari turns to regard Nomi, hoping that my friend has a way to break this impasse.

Nomi smirks and reaches into her jacket, withdrawing that gold coin she had shoved into Mari's face before. With a flick of her wrist, Nomi sends it flying towards the priestess. The coin clatters to the ground with a clear ringing sound, breaking the silence of the night and rolling against the feet of the priestess.

Not a single person moves.

"Not enough?" Nomi asks and sends another gold coin flying at the priestess who stands as still as a statue. But the priestess's glare becomes red hot, almost able to melt through steel.

A third coin finds its way into Nomi's hand and she is about to toss it when Mari's arm shoots out and grabs my friend's wrist.

"Just stop." a tired command is all Mari can manage.

"Please do." the priestess agrees, "We should get going anyway. You've stayed in Rais Land long enough."

Nomi frowns but doesn't make any more fuss. The priestess and Sara begin walking towards the car as the rest of us fall in behind them. The priestess gets into the car on the driver's side while Sara climbs into the rear.

"I thought Sara was going to be driving?" I ask while settling in beside Sara.

"I wanted to personally see our guests off." the priestess answers neutrally, her hands working the ignition, "No need to thank me."

"We won't." Nomi answers as she squeezes in, leaning against my body. Mari clicks her tongue as she takes her place beside the priestess.

"Let's just go, OK?" Sara mumbles uneasily, "We still need to pick someone up."

With a hacking wheeze, the old car fires its engine up and we begin cruising down the empty streets.

"You're not wrong though." the priestess says out of the blue, "It really is a matter of compensation."

"I knew it." Nomi answers smugly as Sara's body tightens, becoming as hard as a wooden board.

"But, you see," the priestess continues, chuckling to herself, "I've already taken my compensation."

"Sara's all the compensation I need."