Wolves on the Tundra

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The chase had been ongoing for more than two hours. The skaedean raiders had been in pursuit for so long, consistently firing on the opposing ship and its mast. The sea was far from calm. It was not a storm, but the waves spoke a different story, rising several meters tall and with strong winds to make the chase even more difficult for the reavers. At long last, they had alligned the perfect shot, splitting the mast in two, rendering it useless for travel. It was only a matter of time before they were intercepted afterward. Anchoring onto the foreign ship, the Skaedean reavers boarded the ship. Coming first were the base marauders, ordinary, untrained and unblooded humans. Back in tow came a troll of below average size, coming on board the ship as they stood ready to engage with whoever would attempt to resist. Even so, it was not even close to the full strength of the crew, with a substantially greater amount from all regions and nationalities across Ashvattha and some from the continent beyond the eastern seas. Something told them that today would be a good heist. At least they hoped. Otherwise they would not please the warchief.

Rhea looked out the port window as she realized the ship had stopped moving forward, now being carried only by the waves that threw the ship to and fro. She saw the opposing ship that had been attacking them throwing over their hooks with the intention to board. She all but growled at the sight, frustration nearly getting the better of her but a hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality. Looking back, she saw the face of her brother, only an inch or so shorter than herself, his golden eyes filled with calm. She was surprised when a smiled formed on what had been an expressionless face. "Been a few months since we've been in a scruff, don't let the bloodlust get to you," Lupin said, letting go of her and lowering his mask over his face. She drew her scimitar as he picked up his spear and the two moved toward the deck.

Waiting quietly in the doorway in the hall leading downward from the deck, they listened, fighting was loud on the deck. Several of their own crew members rushed past them into the fray but not them, they waited. It wasn't long before the fighting sounded a bit further away and the sounds of footsteps replaced them. Lupin could smell them, it wasn't their own coming down the steps. When the opportunity came, he spun out from the door and skewered the marauder through the side, quickly pulling apart the spear to reveal a smaller dagger that had been hidden in its shaft. Throwing it, he nailed another in the throat and pulled back the dagger with a rope that had been attached to its end. That wasn't all of them however, more seeming to appear at the steps. He reattached the spear to its full length and presented it to them in a threatening manner. He spoke his native tongue, unsure of the Skaedean scoundrels would understand him. "Even outnumbering me surely you understand that approaching a spearman in a narrow place such as this is begging for death."

"Magk'harrey!" The Marauder shouted as he ran straight into the spear, the weapon piercing him straight through the stomach, but even still, he did not relent, he stood himself strong as he swung his axe downward towards the connecting point between Lupin's neck and shoulder. While he was temporarily occupied with that, another marauder with a lance and some javelins came down the steps, throwing the javelin in a straight line towards Rhea. All while this occured, the sounds of fighting above became less and less hectic. One side was clearly winning and it certainly wasn't the two siblings'.

Rhea brought down her Scimitar, cutting off the arm of the ax-wielding man as Lupin detached his smaller blade and used it to deflect the javelin that had been thrown at his sister. He wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or impressed by the willingness of the men to throw their lives away. But it didn't matter, if fear would not keep them at bay then they were at a disadvantage in the narrow corridor. It had been a miscalculation of his part and it may cost them dearly. He pulled the spear from the body of the man and shoved it through his neck, choosing to advance forward in hopes they could reach the deck and have the chance to gain an advantage somewhere up there. He used the man as a meat shield, pushing forward, he felt the blades stabbing into the corpse and some coming dangerously close to stabbing him. When a larger man halted his progress, he too allowing the tip of the spear to bury itself in him, he didn't have the strength to keep advancing and found himself at a near stalemate.

In desperation, he lunged forward and, with his sharp teeth, bit into the throat of the larger man as easily as taking a bite out of a loaf of bread. He ripped out the chunk with a monstrous growl and ripped the spear from the both of them. Rhea moving forward with a powerful kick that toppled the corpse and soon to be corpse onto the stairs. "They'll lose twice as many before we go." She said as the blood running down her shirt told him she had been cut.

Lupin nodded, "Right." He didn't acknowledge it, ready to go out onto the deck and fight to their last breaths. Gripping his spear, they both moved up the stairs. Before they even reached the deck the smell of iron told them of the carnage that awaited them and carnage it was. Few of their own remained but they fought with all they had.

"Come and die!" Rhea shouted, beginning her transformation into her Lycan form.

The men in the stair were swiftly being disposed of as they neared the top deck. The marauders were all but dead at this point, but then again, the crew of the ship were far worse off, one of them currently being chewed on by the troll. As they came up, the marauders backed off as the troll went forward with his humongous mace of steel and rock, the chewed corpse in his maw still there as it charged forward, raising its mace to the right, going for a side swipe.

Meanwhile, from the deck of the intruding ship stood the captain of the crew, a goblin soldier, most likely a mercenary of some sort, standing over them all, finding himself intrigued by the sight of the two lycans coming up the stairs. "Interastin'." He said whilst rubbing his beard.

"From the right!" Lupin shouted as the troll telegraphed its attack, his transformed sister responding with a snarl before she dropped to all fours. The mace swinging just above her, tearing hair from her back with its near-miss. Once the mace had swung she darted forward with the use of all four of her powerful limbs. Running past the troll and dragging her claws along its left calf. She howled out to her brother.

Lupin responded to her howl, throwing his spear into the deck between the troll's feet. Holding onto the rope attached to the spear, he ran around the opposite side his sister had. Dropping to his knees to dodge another powerful swing of the mace which took his mask off as it flew by with a cracking sound as the bone mask shattered to pieces. Quickly getting back to his feet he continued running, eventually standing about ten feet across from his sister. Throwing her the rope, he jumped out of the way as the mace slammed onto the deck and splintered the wood. Rhea took the rope and began to move back around the side she'd come from. The rope becoming tight around the feet of the troll as she held the rope in her mouth.

As she reached the opposite side of the troll, a now fully transformed Lupin slammed his head into its chest in hopes of toppling it over. "Go to the Gods!" He said in a deep and bestial voice.

The troll roared and tumbled as it toppled over the edge and fell into the freezing sea. The ocean surface bubbling as it roared while it sunk towards the bottom floor. There were no longer any soldiers left on the boat. At least, none of note. From the great barge from which all had come from, a new entity jumped down. The Goblin chieftain, pacing the deck, its hunched back stretching up as he walked back and forth. "Impresseve. I tought you may prove bettah challange than da rest. We'll see how much bettah." He said as he braced for battle, his blackened spear in hand.

The two wolves snarled and snapped at the goblin creature, though it was clear that Rhea was doing far less than okay as her black fur was dripping a dark red liquid onto the wooden deck from her side. Her snarls were less ferocious and threatening than his own despite her clearly being the more animalistic of the two. "Your flesh will provide a most tasteless meal," Lupin threatened the goblin as he approached, carefully as he wasn't aware of what tricks the thing might have up its sleeve. Rhea stayed back, knowing that she didn't have the reflexes to keep up in a close up fight at the moment.

The Goblin passed his spear up to one of his attendants on the barge, leaving him in nothing but his blue skin and light armor of leather and wood. Cracking his two fingered knuckles he shrugged his shoulders as he got ready. "Me name be Gor'Krak. Remember da name befo' your defeat." He said before rushing in. As he came close, with a single blur of motion, unclear of what he had just done, he was now behind Lupin and was standing at the right side of Rhea. "Keep talkin' crap like dat, and ah may just feed ye to me hounds." He said back before going for a palm strike to Rhea's wounded side.

Rhea took the hit, knowing that if they were going to win she would have to fight with the same resolve as the people she was fighting. She bit down on her own teeth, gritting them as she felt his palm slam into her wound. Putting all of her weight into it, she threw herself into his attack with the intention of crushing him under her weight. In the meanwhile, Lupin moved toward them both, coming at the goblin with the intention to strike if Rhea's attack didn't pin him.

Gor'Krak held strong in spite of her massive strength, and by pressing her weight into him, it in the end only hurt her even more, her ribs bordering unto cracking if she kept it up. That was until he pressed his palm firmly against her, causing her to glide towards the other end of the boat. Meanwhile, Lupin charged forward, ready to strike at him. As the great werewolf came close to him, he swatted away the claw(s) which came his way before going for a square kick to his chest.

Rhea hit the railing on the boat, weakly trying her best to get back to her feet as her brother fought against the goblin. Lupin dug his claws into the wood, taking the kick to his chest and feeling the air getting pushed out of his lungs. He was pushed back several feet but caught himself before lunging back toward his opponent. Or at least, that's how Lupin made it seem. Instead, hitting the deck with a roll and grabbing hold of his spear. He turned and threw it at the goblin, the rope around his wrist to pull it back when the time came. He clutched at his chest, his lungs burning as he just now started to get his breath back. Still, he kept up the act as though he was unaffected. "Wolves live for the chase, Goblin. You're only making my victory sweeter!" Lupin all but completely coughed out.

"Lets hope ya are not ah diabetic then." Gor'Krak called back as he prepared for the coming spear. When it got close, he delivered a wrist strike under the edge of the spear, knocing it up and spinning it around, to which he proceeded to jump up and strike the spear to then fly back at equal speeds, right towards Lupin. Once he had done so, he reached up his hand in the air, and from the barge came a pair of black chains. Taking it in his three digited hand, he approached the male lycan, intending to chain him down.

Lupin pulled on the rope in his hands, forcing the point of the spear upward and letting the much less dangerous shaft hit him. Taking it into his hands again, he knew throwing it wouldn't do him much good at this point. He saw the chains in the goblin's hands though he wasn't sure if he intended to use them like a weapon or to chain him down. Lupin released a breath, visible in the cold air off the coast of Skaedi. Bending his powerful leg, he lunged forward with spear aimed at his opponent's chest. He'd need to end this soon and tend to Rhea in case the wound was as bad as he feared.

Gor'Krak shuffled to the side, but rather than take the full step to avoid the strike, he instead made it so that in the last moments before the pierce, he made it so that the tip was thrust through his left shoulder. Quickly grabbing the spear with his left hand he went for a slam of the chains against Lupin's temple, intending to knock him out of commision. He hoped to be able to catch them alive as a trophy for his Warchief.

The chain hit him in the side of his head, everything quickly going fuzzy. A ringing was loud in his left ear as nauseous dizziness came over him. Pulling his spear apart and leaving the long side in the goblin's shoulder, he backed away. He tried waiting for his sight to return to him but it wasn't and in fact, it was getting worse. He felt himself transforming back into his human form, seeing the blurry pink of his sister's hair to know she too had turned back. "Damn..." He said aloud, stumbling back and falling hard onto the deck. He was out for the count.

Gor'Krak smiled widely as he waved for the rest of his men to plunder the remaining contents of the boat. Money, steel, armor, food reserves and whatever else they could find of use. Wrapping chains around the feet, arms and bodies of the, fettering them well enough to move around but not enough to be harmful to the rest. After having the both of them chained and loaded up, the chieftain waved for a medic to look at Rhea, ensuring her survival if for no other reason than to have them be healthy and presentable.

Hours later the two of them would begin to come too once more, finding themselves locked against a wall in the barge, transporting them back to Skaedi with all their spoils. Before they would have the chance to recover their bearings, or even notice the spoils which littered their floor, there was a sudden cold surge over their bodies as one of the goblin underlings threw a pucket of sea water over them. "Ey, wake up. Da Chieftan be wantin' te see ye before the Warchief be gettin ya."

Both of them felt the biting chill of the cold water washing over them. Rhea noticed the pain in her side, but she was happy to feel it. After all, feeling pain meant she was still alive. The sound of a spit alerted her to Lupin's presence within the room, having wordlessly spit some of the seawater back at the goblin who'd poured it upon them. They were both alive, but neither of them understood why. Would they be sold into slavery? Have their heads removed as trophies as had happened with so many of their kind? Perhaps they'd be eaten by these freaks? "Rhea, I'm sorry. I tried my best..." Lupin said, ignoring the goblin and his goblin words.

"Shut up, we aren't dead yet. We'll figure something out, we always do." She responded, pulling at her bindings to no effect. Lupin nodded in response, already trying to rack his brain around how they might make their escape.

The goblin seemed overall unoffended by the gesture of being spat at. "Heh, ye got spirit. The Chief might like it." He said as she grabbed their chains and guiding them up the stairs. As they got closer to the stairs, they made sure to have an additional two goblins amd three marauders hold onto the shackles as to not allow them to cost them any more lives.

Back up on deck they would find themselves laid on shore of Skaedi's eastern coast. Leading them off the barge they came into view of the whole marauder camp. Hundreds of tents along the shoreline, all of them littered by men, women and even some who would be best described as children, yet their rugged attitude told of a story that they had seen more than their own share of horrors. As they were forced down the paths towards the center, the marauders, reavers and hunters made their sounds of mockery and scorn, all with wide, bright smiles on their faces. There was even one very rude man who described that he would grant unwanted intimacy to Rhea's corpse. The mockery followed them along as they continued to follow them in their tracks.

Reaching a particularly big tent of mammoth pelts, they were held still in the middle of the grounds, the freezing cold winds blowing against their wet bodies. After a few minutes of waiting, the leather flaps at the entrance revealing a short and petite woman. A young Calco woman with pink hair and milky white scales and horns. She stepped up to them, her eyes wandering over their bodies. Not a single detail went unnoticed by her. Hips, chests, waists, legs, arms, necks, muscle build and more. She then looked to the Goblin officer that had captured them. "What do you make of them? Good fighters?"

Gor'Krak shrugged playfully. "As good as can be expected. Put up a fight at least. The female isn't too bad to look at either." He said, to which the woman chuckled. "What say you? What would you make of yourselves?" She asked the two lycans who both were taller than herself.

Both were surprised that the leader of the group who captured them looked to be a child, "Perhaps the child of their true leader?" Both thought and shared this thought with one another with nothing more than a glance in the other's direction. Both remained silent in the face of their captor however, unwilling to even acknowledge her question with more than the hateful look in their eyes. They stayed like this for a moment, silent and thinking, until Lupin spoke up to Rhea's surprise. "Your men's blood was sour, they may have died like warriors but their corpses are cold all the same." His words did not carry the same hate his eyes did, nor were his words spit like venom. He spoke matter-of-factly, as though just stating a fact.

"We've met your kind before," Rhea jumped in, figuring it would be best to get her words out in case they were both to die anyway. "Raiders, nothing more. Wear all the pelts and furs you like, mount our heads upon your walls, but you'll never know what it means to have the heart of a beast beating in your chest." She spat at the Calco's feet, her spit red but if it were from her own blood or another's neither could possibly know.

Their vitriol held no bite for them. Everyone in the camp simply started laughing with scorn and not just a little amusement. With a wave the camp settled. The pink haired woman gave the two lycans a stern look as she stepped on the bloodied spit and took a stance before Rhea. "You are right, little wolf. I would never understand the feeling of a beasts heart beating anywhere else than in my hand." She said calmly before moving to the side so she stood before the considerably higher man. "We all turn cold one day. What matters is what you make of your life. They died gloriously besting a considerably stronger enemy. Quite the price they hauled... But in what shape remains to be seen." She said while pointing to and fro between them. "You didn't answer my question. I have my men's inclinations on you. What do you make of yourselves?"

"Not really, the goblin freak did most of the wor-"

Lupin was interrupted, "Now is not the time!" Rhea scolded him for continuing on despite their words having no noticeable effect.

"But it's true!" He responded, as though forgetting the situation they were in. He saw the look in his older sister's eyes and backed down. "We're warriors, hunters from the country of Aðalbjörg." He said, sarcasm now was gone from his tone as it once more became serious. Though, it lacked the anger and spite his earlier remark had.

"You're bullshitting, Lupin." She once again scolded him, turning her attention toward the pup in front of her. "We're Lycans, the children of Romulus, carriers of his blood. We're more than hunters or simple warriors, our tribe was great and powerful and even if I have to rip out the hearts of all of you it will be again someday! So long as this blood runs through my veins I'll fight until every last drop is returned to the earth. If you intend to kill me today then give me a weapon so we can settle this like animals we are instead of keeping me chained like a coward!" Rhea said, her teeth sharp and gnashing with almost every word.

The pink head walked over to Rhea once more, noticing the red spot on her side. "You won't achieve a goal like that if you lie dead." She said simply. "My men live for the kill. They breathe and live and die for a glorious kill or a good haul. It makes them memorable. But, where they live for the moment, you seem to live for the future. If you want to keep it that way, then I have a single piece of advice: Drop the god shit." She said simply, as if she was speaking facts. "You may have that mutt-god's blood in your veins, but I can feel the hearts of man pumping in your chests. I can feel the will of man inside you. Nothing is more precious... Tell you what: I'll cut you a deal. You will join in with my Tribe. At least for now. You will be put on trial. Succeed and you will have the choice of liberty or to remain as real men." She said as she approached with a key.

Unlocking both their chains so they fell to the ground, she then stood before them. "Lose your lives in the process and you will have failed. Beyond that, you can try and escape. But I think there is a reasonable mind behind that thick forehead of yours. You couldn't even handle my second in command in combat on that boat. There is now him and many others. And you are not in the best of shape." She stated simply. "Answer my question and I will know that you are on board... What lies beneath your feet?"

As the Calco unlocked his chains, Lupin gently rubbed the back of his hand against her own, a ghost of a touch but one nonetheless. His eyes widened a bit, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. One that seemed like a genuine attempt to seeming charming but most certainly didn't make sense given the current situation. Rhea, however, responded differently. Ignoring the pain in her side she rose over the woman in an attempt to tower despite their height not being too far off from one another. She held her claws at her side, as though debating whether to use them, as they twitched, clearly readying themselves to be used, Lupin grabbed hold of his sister's wrist. She immediately snarled at him, her face contorting in an inhuman way but stopped when she saw the dead serious look in his eyes. "We will not be greeted welcomingly at the endless hunt if we fail to live up to our promise, or have you forgotten that?" Lupin spoke to his sister of things he and she knew of.

She seemed reluctant but her claws seemed to disappear and she turned back to the other pink-haired woman, looking down upon her with clear disgust on her face.

"Blood, Sweat, tears, and our pathetic lives forged into something of worth," Lupin spoke in his sister's place out of fear that what she might say may ruin whatever chance they've been given.

She smiled. "Not quite the right wording, but the meaning is the same. But you forgot one crucial part: It is sacred ground. The world is our temple and the cries of the prey our psalms. I'll forgive it for now. You were closer than any applier in the past... Come." She said as she turned around and walked back into her tent. As they accompanied him into it, they found it quite humbly decorated. At the center stood a pot of water boiling. Grabbing it, she carried the boiled water to a table with three cups. She grabbed a pouch from a box by the side and placed it in her cup before pouring. "Peach tea. Personal favorite. Feel free to pick for yourself. Got just about everything." She said softly before sitting down on a chair of mammoth bone. Despite the special material, it was still a very humble seat, far from extravagant. On the table stood not only various pouches of teas, but also coffee powder, biscuits, vials of a thick red liquid along with many, many other beverages and snacks. "My name is Salyrin Rootsten, Warchief of the Ivory Warband. Feel at home, and tell me of your travels."

Rhea was still reluctant, she hated the feeling of being a caged animal. In her mind, no matter the pleasantries now offered, it was made clear from the start they were not welcome here nor were they welcome to leave just yet. It sickened her, as it did her brother though he handled it in a much different way than herself. Lupin took a biscuit into his hand, staring at it for a moment before taking a bite as though he'd been somehow enamored by it. "They're safe to eat, Rhea," he said as he chewed the bread. Unlike his sister, he'd come to the conclusion that their only possible way out of this was through cooperation. Just as the little woman had said, complete the task and they would be free. Though, it was as much a gamble as trying anything else. After all, there was no guarantee that she would keep her word but that was a bridge they'd have to cross when they came to it.

Rhea nodded to her brother, but she did not take anything from the table. Despite his words, she refused to take anything from these people. It was not that she did not believe him, she knew that it was impossible for him to have been wrong, but she knew all this dressing was a farce, one she did not intend to get used to.

Lupin acknowledged his sister's hesitance with a nod of understanding and turned toward their captor, "I am Lupin and my sister is Rhea. Our family name is Amulius, we fled the country of Aðalbjörg and we are the last of our tribe. We joined up with the group of pirates you saw fit to murder, and for the past few months we've been traveling the Ashvatthan waters." Lupin said, straight and to the point without all the details.

"We didn't flee! We just weren't strong enough yet!" Rhea snapped at her brother, grabbing him by his coat. "Bastards," Rhea started before turning to Salyrin, "Bastards like you, cowards, they picked us off one at a time. They wanted our furs, our heads mounted on their walls. They didn't care if it was a man, a woman, even a child was fair game so long as they were able to catch us in our wolven forms. They would take one or two at a time, before anyone could do anything about it and be gone. When I return to Aðalbjörg I'll rid the place of cowards like you, cowards like those bandits. I'll rip out their throats with my own jaws and hang THEIR heads on my mantle as they did my kin!" Venom seemed to spew from her mouth like a fountain with a nigh unhinged look in her bestial eyes. "Mark my words, they'll be my prey forever in the endless hunt."

"I knew there was something I liked about you." Was all Salyrin said before taking another sip of her tea. "'The eternal hunt'. An ideal we live after too. However, you shouldn't lump us together with them." She said softly as she sat herself down on the table edge. "You have suffered through too many oafs with no class and dares to call themselves hunters and raiders. We do not target children. We do not pick our prey piece by piece. Had we attacked you would have faced a fair hunting party in fair combat. We do not do 'easy' here. Or if you had been too weak we would have just moved on." She said before getting up and walking up towards Rhea, getting right in her face, sipping up the last of her tea. "Don't call us cowards again without anything to hold that statement up. I am offering you an opportunity here. I do well by my own. Pass and I will account you as such. Fail and you are less than worm food. So, calm yourself and please follow my lead... I beg of you." She said, her final words holding a most sinister tone to them as she passed over the cup to the lycan before turning back to the table. While softly spoken, it was clearly a threat to say the least.

Rhea crushed the cup in her hand, letting the splinters cut into her without any reaction to the pain. Anger blinded her to it and Lupin could see that rather clearly. He was about to grab hold of her arm when she relaxed her grip and the few shards that hadn't stuck into her palm fell to the ground followed by droplets of blood and what little remained of the tea that mixed into a dark red color on the floor. She released a breath, like a pillar of steam coming from her mouth in the cold air, "That's all fine and well but you haven't even told us what your stupid little test is yet, now have you?" She said, her tone still aggressive though her words conveyed a willingness to cooperate. Not as a result of being threatened, no, she didn't respond well to that. But she came to the decision to trust her brother and follow his lead for now.

"Just needed to know where I had you." Salyrin said simply without a care in the world. "The tests are simple. I already know that you can fight, if perhaps a bit sloppy. So I will have you jump right into it. First frisk is of your choice. You will have to either lead a hunt or a raid. Succeed and you may try the next phase. The second stage is for you to complete the blood games. Third mission is a surprise." She explained before taking a biscuit. "Fo, we have a deal?"

"It's a deal," Lupin responded for the both of them. "We'll lead a hunt, it is our specialty after all. If you're going to put on a show we might as well play to our strengths. But we're going to need our weapons back, and we don't trust your people. Is it really the best idea to send out a hunting party that doesn't trust one another?" He continued, approaching the small girl and coming between her and Rhea as the wolven girl used her teeth to pull the shards from her palm.

"What will we be hunting?" Rhea asked through her teeth before spitting a bloodied shard on the ground as she began to wrap her hand in a piece of cloth she'd torn from her clothes.

"My men don't trust half of the people wandering our camp." Salyrin said simply. "They listen and follow because they know I can get the job done. My approval is more than enough for them to at the very least obey you. Show them respect and they will do so in turn. Is it the best idea? No. But it is an efficient way. When everyone fights for their own survival they tend to get things done quicker." She said as she prepared a new cup to drink from. "I evaluated your potential based on the reports of Gor'Krak. So... This is your target." She said while passing Lupin a note. Upon it stood a picture of what best appeared like a four story tall minotaur looking beast. Four arms, one pair of which were almost entirely a single claw on each hand. This mighty entity had muscles to spare and a single eye on its forehead. "The cyclops is your target. Magic resistant, so don't rely too heavily on it. Muscles like steel and enough strength to crack a mountainside. I don't care how you go about it, just kill it. Don't worry too much about the details of death. I won't care about the death tally. Just try to not be the only survivors of it." She said, picking up a knife and some sort of fruit. She cut it in half and handed both halves to Lupin, intending for him to pass one of them to his sister. "Think you are still up to the challenge?"

Lupin looked down at the two halves before handing one over to Rhea who reluctantly took it as he had been the one to offer it to her. "Yeah, this should be fine. Though, it won't make for good food if looks are anything to go by." He said, a half smile forming on his face as he looked down at the picture. "Probably be easy to track too, if it smells half as rank as it looks. I imagine you'll point us in the right direction before we set off? It'd be embarrassing to head in the wrong direction with your men in tow." He spoke as though talking to an old friend, though there was a clear hesitance in his voice. The hesitance of someone who was carefully considering their words before speaking them.

Rhea took the photo from her brother's hands, "It looks gross. No wonder you want it dead. If we do end up the only survivors how're you planning to tell we didn't just kill'em all and come back? I'm guessing you want its head? Or maybe you'd prefer it's junk?" She asked with an offhanded remark at the end before taking a bite of the fruit.

Salyrin looked most displeased with the remark made by Rhea regarding her men's deaths. "You know, I am less inclined to help out when you say things like that." She replied before returning to the topic at hand. "Just because of that comment, I will provide you less men than planned. And I don't care what it is that you bring back. Just bring me something that clearly indicated that the thing is dead. Give me undeniable proof. Now... eat up." She said while gesturing to the fruits. "A sign of trust. Eat it and you will remain safe while under my care. I can't promise it if you don't."

Rhea shrugged in response despite the glare her brother gave her and downed what remained of the fruit. "What? I was just being practical. Besides, only an idiot would ask about such a plan and then go through with it. Maybe you should take it as a sign of my trust instead of getting your linen in a wad. But that's just my honest opinion." She smirked, unwilling to be as quiet and submissive as her brother even in the face of possible death.

"Salyrin, I understand the desire to punish my sister for talking out of turn but halving our forces will only lead to more casualties on your side. If I might make a recommendation, perhaps sending her into battle without returning her weapon would be a more fitting punishment for her actions?" Lupin offered his own opinion on how things should be dealt with before finishing his own half of the fruit.

Rhea was furious with this, "Whose side are you on? Don't tell me you meet one girl outside of our tribe and you're catching Skaedi' fever?! Typical of you tail-waggers to only think with your second tail!"

"Shut up, I'm on the side of not dying today and frankly I'm not sure we're both on that side!" He snapped at his sister before letting out a sigh, "Just be quiet and let's get this over with."

Salyrin rubbed get eyes over their bickering. "Until further notice, Lupin, you will refer to me as warchief and not by name. That goes for both of you. And I am not going back in my decision. Your group Will consist of 50 unblooded marauders, 20 javelin hunters, 10 trolls, one giant and one Goblin Raztari. And of course, last but not least, Gor'krak will follow to oversee your deeds. My men's lives are in your hands now. Try to keep some alive. Keep your weapons. They Will be waiting for you among With the men in the Eastern edge of the Camp. And question?"

Lupin was surprised by the number but didn't say anything about it, "Thank you, Warchief. We won't let you down." He said with a nod.

"Yeah, especially since our lives depend on it," Rhea said with crossed arms as though done with the whole ordeal before it even began.

Lupin cleared his throat, "Are we dismissed?"