Otataral, 956th Year in the Time Dying

[shiivster]

'soon. two babes want out soon. hot water. cloths. quiet space for mare to relax. i need one with me. one that mare trusts. and bowl to make . . paste' *then points at a person watching from nearby* 'mare trust that one'

*Yumi sniffs and stands up on the hind feet and sniffs before issuing a challenge and scampering off among the herd. 'big snake . . that way comes' *that said, she moves the mare to a corner closer to he town for a visit with the young person that came to see her

[dakota]

Dryzh shrugged. " Guess fine place be comfortable. " He looked at Bellephoebe," Dryzh think Belle..., what is word when think all out to get? If Aki help, village not bother us."

[shiivster]

Yumi does what any proper mongoose does. any that watch the streamlined mammal will see the vicious hunter that she is, and that fierceness is directed only at 'prey', but she could be a threat if anyone tried to harm Aki.

*the girl in question is now focused on the mare that seems to be sweating slightly. she nods to herself and then checks the other mares. with twins most would have aborted by now. since this one hasn't shows great promise, but her time is much closer than first thought. the others seem to be alright, as long noses beg for attention.

*Aki's hands pat the various horses that mooch for attenton, then looks towards the battle taking place at the far side of the field. she looks at Allen 'can you watch Yumi? it is big big snake. fierce she is, but Yumi is alone. watch back? i am safe with herd'

[thorley]

Bellephoebe says " I wasn't aiming for respect, so much as a deterrant. Desperate people do desperate things, and if Aki is so valuable to them, whose to say they wouldn't want to abduct her for their own use, or assume she's as valuable to us and try and ransom her back? I come from an extremely hostile world myself, and it's what I'd expect from a community like the one we're looking at if they thought they could get away with it. The idea being to prevent them from coming to that conclusion so as to avoid a fight.

Still, I confess to a degree of paranoia, so I'll avoid doing a fly by of the village and head out to scout instead. Starlighter could use the exercise anyway. I just hope your right."

Bellephoebe will do some scouting as suggested and avoid the village so as not to make them nervous. Her actual motivation here is to preserve lives, since she has no doubt the group could wipe the village out entirely, having them scared is better than seeing desperate people do something desperate that leads to a battle.

Besides, she figures the idea is to keep moving and find a way out of the dimension, long term relationships don't strike her as being on the menu (so to speak).

[Renekin Skywalker]

Nodding, Allen reached for any newarby implement, like a shovel, a pitchfork, or a big stick. "I'm going to help with the snakes." He explains to whomever is watching. "If you can spare any useful tool - I don't need a specific weapon - it would be appreciated."

And heads off towards Yumi and the snake. If things go out of hand, Allen will try to disract or hit the snake, or pry Yumi off to safety.

[albatross]

There are wooden pitchforks and shovels with sharp stone spades attached to them. Metal must be reserved for more important tools.

Yumi has to travel a little to find snakes, as none are right up close to the horses enclosure.

*********************

A soldier shows up to escort the others to the outpost where they can stable the camels. It isn't far from where Aki is and they can go to see her if they leave their weapons and camels. They are told Aki is seeing to the delivery of some colts.

Food is brought and everyone is able to get a much needed rest.

Ora says to Dryzh and Sapphire, "Too bad they are flightly about weapons. I bet we could catch lots of snakes here and make a fine stew."

"So what will you do when you escape this world?"

[shiivster]

Aki forgets about Yumi now, as the mongoose does her thing. the fact that Allen is backing the mongoose up is enough to keep her mind focused on the mare in question. she looks for and finds some grasses and gathers some and twists it into a long rope, and this itself is wrapped up as well to make a 'wisp' to provide the mare with a gentle grooming tool as she waits and time speeds along for hte game little mare

[albatross]

Bellephobe is able to spot two small groups of horsemen and Starlighter finds the trail and camp of what must have been a far larger group of riders. One of the smaller groups of riders has bows, so it may not be wise to get too close. As fore the larger group, Bellephobe and Starlighter don't actually see therm, but the trail of so many riders is impossible to miss. There must be dozens of horses, maybe a hundred. The trail fades and disperses a few dozen miles north of the town where Aki is tending to the mares.

[albatross]

Back at the outpost, Allen is able is kill snakes easily in the daytime, as is Yuki. He is beginning to suspect some of them are nocturnal.

Eventually, the pregnant mares are brought to the stable of the outpost where Ora, Tesla, Dryzh, Sapphire and Romidus await the return of Bellephobe from her scouting mission. A soldier from the town brings a grain mix which can be combined with water to make a porridge and a keg of a thick, hoppy beer. The big sack of porridge mix should last everyone but Ora a week.

[shiivster]

Aki checks the mares as they arrive and puts them in 'order' of delivery times. she then motions for the guard to make two places for the mares to have their offspring near people. it's going against nature to have them in the wild.

she leads the first of the mares into one enclosure, then the other. standing head to head with each of them. the quiet murmers she makes are similar to a horse speaking to another. they then mingle with the herd in the field there. Aki sits there and braids grasses and bends and weaves these into small hand held items that she uses to groom the mares

[Dome]

Romidus sighs, "how much longer will we be stuck here? The longer we are here the more people will die back on earth. We have to figure out a way to get off this planet."

[dakota]

Dryzh tilted his head as he looked at Romidus," We more when Aki help horses. Thought was clear?"

[albatross]

Tesla mused, "I doubt we are needed here. We could leave our weapons and talk to people in town. Maybe someone there could tell us where we need to go?"

[Renekin Skywalker]

Allen, whacking snakes, didn't hear much about the discontent. He thought it was rather theraputic, rally. For once, a nuissance that a normal human, even a mongoose, can destroy with relative ease.

He started piling them up, so that Ora could sort out the food from the non-food. We could all dress like pimps, the way this is going, he thought, looking at the pile of snak skins.

[Dome]

Romidus nods his head, "I know Dryzh my friend. It just feels frustrating to be sitting idle here when so many are sick and dieing at home. I have seen much death in my lifetime, I do not wish to see any more. That is why I tracked you all down. After millenia of just observing, I decided I need to do more than just watch I needed to help to end the ceaseless death this plague has caused."

Romidus looks at Tesla, "As I stated before, my weapons do not come off, I cannot leave them. If you wish leave yours and I will keep them safe as you go and find out some more information."