Multiple Settings Mass Clans: Beyond

[Filament]

Holly's resolve threatens to weaken as Mute points out something she'd assumed herself. She wasn't wrong about what she'd said and if she tried to go back on it, Trinity would see right through her. Anxiously she lets out a huff of air and eyes the wine bottle on the table wearily. Even in her often unstable mind, she knew that she was not responsible for Trin's actions, nor had she ever been but for some reason she still felt guilty. It occurred to her that if Trin tried and succeeded to end his life in the future, then it would likely probably have something to do with what she'd just said and done.

She let's out a shaky breath, not even wanting to imagine a scenario where Trin was dead. She didn't know exactly how she felt about him especially now when she was pissed at him but she didn't want him to die. He was her friend.

She listens on, ears folded back ever so sublty as PIM begins to talk about the lipstick and how she felt she should have seen this coming and subsequently stopped it. Wordlessly, she wipes blood from her maw again and keeps her eyes forward on PIM and Mute, her expression clouded with worry.

Initially the molly is thankful for the subject change until that change is about her. What is initially anxiety steadily morphs into something else as the AI lists off the ways that Trin had ensured her safety, even when they'd been in rocky standing with each other. Her jaw is opened slightly and her eyes became damp although she stands unblinking, refusing to let those tears fall.

"He planned for me to keep living after this, safe from Undertaker?" The words leave her deftly, and her breath hitches at the thought. Even though she was still furious, even though she was still grieving she was shocked that he'd taken so much care for her wellbeing.

"W-what about the..." Her voice trails

"So are we going to quit fighting and leave together?" An even stupider statement given how little fighting she had done herself but she can't help the words from leaving her muzzle.

"Is this it?"
___________________________________________________________________________

"It's okay." Lizeth mrrowed pleasantly, taking another bite of her burrito without seemingly a care in the world. She goes back to eating quietly, not paying much attention as the conversation goes on.
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Filament looks up at L'Anne and for a moment he doesn't say anything, his artficial eye clenched shut as blood continues to run down onto it from the wounds above and surrounding it. "Trin tried to kill himself. Holly brought him back." He answers simply, his pelt reeking of blood and wine. When she stops in front of him, his breath hitches in his throat and he chokes back a pained cry. "Everything's falling apart in there. Wine won't fix anything for anyone." The tom almost whispers, his eyes falling onto the floor again.

Wordlessly, he stands to his paws, letting out a grunt of pain as he does so. He holds the door for her and heads in after, spotting Pim and making his way over. Wordlessly, he stands aside of her, allowing his pelt to brush her own although he doesn't say anything. He's scared and his body trembles slightly. He doesn't look at anyone but her and especially avoids looking at Holly.
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Flame finally pipes up at Vasteye's revelation, his brow creased in frustration. "You had to have known what Trin was planning, that Mute was here and you didn't tell us?" The words are almost growled out. "You were also cohorting around the multiverse with Dev-Deceit. What's your angle? Why all the apathy?"
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Luther lets out a small, hmph noise and lets out a sigh as the last of the blood and viscera runs down or against the drain. "It's not exactly secret anymore, at least not to animals like us." He'd add, sounding a bit confused as to why she would ask, almost clearly intending to push the question if she doesn't answer. "Trust me, I already know more than I should. Enlighten me." His voice isn't rude or demanding and if anything it's pleasant, like he was asking her how she likes her coffee.
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Hal is vastly more uncomfortable as she begins to scream as the ship angles up towards the sky, his body tensed. "What? WHAT'S HAPPENING?" The tom would ask in a panic, his voice shrill as he yells. When the ship lurches upwards, he is unprepared and smacks unceremoniously into a wall, letting out a groan of pain. "Yeah, silly me too." The tom tries to play along, likely failing miserably as he dips into the forte known as acting, which he is notoriously awful at.

 

[Moonsound]

Mute leaned into Nyx’s hug and looked up at the demoness canid with a forced bittersweet smile. Their eyes misty and glossy. Dappled ears twitched as she explained what happened in their absence.

“Heh. That’s Trin for ya.” They meowed with a dry chuckle chuff, looking at the ground for a moment. They cocked their head and looked up at Nyx with one eye with a hum. Gathering their thoughts.

”When the demons couldn’t survive inside the temple they resorted to just bombing the place. After a bunch of it was rubble I just played dead. One of them saw me as special and took me aboard their ship. I killed him, took his place, and commandeered his ship. While I was figuring out how I could heroically cripple their navy from the inside and take down Undertaker, Deciet’s ship wanted to rendezvous. She figured me out on sight. Wait-no. More like she was expecting it to be me. First breath we took alone she made clear she knew it was me. Said she didn’t care, jus‘ wanted me to lay low and wait for something. So I made up some stories about myself being captured, tried my best to learn whatever I could about any plans, and before I could learn much Deciet told me about the Symphony.” Mute explained, ending with a shrug.


_________

“All of you. He most likely intended for all of you to live safely from Undertaker, I should make that clear.” PIM interjected during a gap in Holly’s speech, gesturing over the room and looking at the others.


”Why would I quit? Someone just blew up my daughter and Saraphina.” Hunter asked rhetorically. His tone wasn’t angry, just matter-of-fact.

”Yeah and I don’t think Hal would want me to quit. That and catching terrorists is sort of my job.” Lexi chimed in with a flatter tone and voice. She rubbed the back of her neck and scratched one of her saberteeth.

_________

Mirage carefully took the wine flutes off the plate and set them on to the coffee table, flicking her ear as she did so to show Thistle she was listening.

”Consider your entire stay here in Funworld on the house. We Haven agents wouldn’t imagine having you pay given the circumstances and my part in unwittingly assisting in Master Trin’s suicide.“ Mirage meowed as she adjusted the glasses so that they were just right. Turning and giving Thistle her full attention once she’d finished. Just in time too, as only a moment later the front door opened.

“Merci monsieur Filament.” L’Anne thanked the tom softly and dipped her head in gratitude for him holding the door. The lion bovid made a b-line to the glasses and began pouring out the special wine.

”This has been aged beyond perfection. So it should be quite sweet. I’d recommend not gulping it down. It should slid ov’heur your tongue while you tilt your head back and leave your maw open just slightly so that it may breath.” She added on after pouring the last glass.

________

Vasteye’s expression tightened for half a second before relaxing. The tom lazily moving his head so that his gaze was on Flame.

”Trin’s thoughts are the hardest to read. I didn’t know anything. He purposefully guards his thoughts around me and has practice in doing so because he‘s spent a lot of time with psychic species. All I knew was he wanted to leave. There was no hints of depression just pure rational thought. But since you bring up apathy, it’s a little hard to care too much about animals when I can hear their every thought. I know exactly how almost everyone thinks and it’s never good. I know how the major majority of animals are so close minded that their whole train of thought switches to denial every time someone is saying something they disagree with. Even better I know when animals are being purposely ignorant or just plain stupid, and it‘s the norm not the exception... I know for certain with no space for doubt, that nearly everyone only cares about themselves, views everyone around them with suspicion, and will justify the most heinous things in their heads because they always value their own lives over everyone else's. So why should I not be apathetic when everyone’s terrible?” Vasteye meowed, staring at Flame with a bored expression, his head resting on a paw.


________________________________________________________________________________

The older Purple hummed to herself as the ship rocketed skyward. Though, given the pace it was going, space-bound would be a better description.

”Did you know Speed was a smuggler? A really good one. I didn’t growing up. She taught me a few tricks though. Like how to piggy-back off the jump-drive of a bigger ship. ARE YOU NOT STRAPPED IN!?” Purple spoke casually at first as the sky outside the ship began to shift from dark navy to black. Her voice adopted a very angry almost rageful harshness to it when she looked back and saw Hal. With a flick of rear paw she accelerated even more until the ship left the atmosphere.

“Are you crazy!? You could have been hurt.” Purple warbled with a bit of worry in her voice. The belts connecting her to the steering bench retreated back into where they were store and the purple sheline floated. Seems the race ship didn’t have whatever kept animals on the ground in all the other ships Hal has been in. She flipped around to face him and took her helmet off. Instead of a caring, worried expression she wore an angry one yet again.

”You also could have HIT ME! Limestone kidney stones, what would you have done if your stupid flailing body knocked me out in atmosphere here huh!? Do you even think? JUST! JUST! —Well it doesn’t matter now anymore! Just next time press that button to bring the engineer seat down and it will strap into thr suit you’re wearing.” Purple snapped, stiffening her legs in frustration as she floated in the air. After a couple seconds she left out a puff of air and deflated. Her limbs relaxing and the vein on her face threatening to bulge through her fur went away.

”…Are you hurt? … More?” She asked after some silence.


______________________________________________________________________________

Deciet turned off her shower and padded out to look at Luther. Her fur still soaked.

”Nothing to enlighten you on really. I was given a few to use on my ship. Things nearly killed one of my crew. But last I saw, Turish is making them smaller. For infiltration units, about the size of a cat and genetically coded to be even better at stealth. Think about the ones on Frenziland except much smaller, even smarter, and with a capacity to seek out specific animal‘s based on their genetics.” Deciet meowed, scanning Luther with her eyes and taking note of each cut and bruise.

”Cute. Also, no judgment but you have some things in your fur. They’re like sticky scales, they belong to I forget the name but it’s species with pointy legs. You’ve got two right there at your waist. Been hugging one?“ The demoness commented then queired after her quick appraisal.


___________


Saraphina blinked at Lethe. She opened her mouth to speak, then realized she still hadn’t processed everything enough yet. Her mouth hung open while she looked around the room. As she did, one of the medics came over to Lethe and nodded their acknowledgment of what he told them.

”Fever Pitch, do we need to put anyone else in the pod?” The nurse asked one of the doctors.

”Ummmmm…wow.” She said. She really wasn’t sure WHAT to say. Some ideas were slowly coming to her, but for now wow would suffice.

”So did you wait here for me to wake-“

”Yes! Who should we put in MY pod next!? I wonder!” False Lamb growl yowled sarcastically from her place on her gurney, making Saraphina stop mid-sentence.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

Brown ears fall back to his skull and a hot flush of shame washes over the tom for forgetting. "Sorry, Miss False!" Lethe hurries over to the mobstress, "Please forgive me." He motions to one of the nurses to help and they gently grab False, placing her back in her healing pod. He rears up on his hind paws to reach the door and bring it down. Lethe pauses just before the pod is sealed again, mewing into the inch of space between the lid and the body of the pod: "Thank you again for letting us use this, ma'am. Rest well." And with that, False Lamb is left alone to heal.


"Beyond clever. Excellent use of your abilities. But what of Master?" Nyx asks, hesitantly adding, "Did she... make it?" From the short time she knew her, Nyx knew Master was one tough bitch. If anyone could survive the bombardment of the Temple, it would be her and only her most talented students. But if their Master is truly gone, would that mean an end for the Red Temple forever? If they're the only students alive, could they rebuild and take over teaching her lessons?


"Thank you." Thistle says to Mirage before joining the yellow-clad male she mentioned earlier. "Hello. I'm looking to procure a paws-free carrying bag, can you please take me to a store that would have something like that?" He is reluctant to leave out of fear of something happening and the lipstick being needed again, but this item needs to be secured. Hopefully he won't be gone for long.


Deciding there isn't really anything else to do at the moment, Thrush tries to follow the kittens' lead and lays down. She closes her eyes to at least try and rest, but her mind doesn't get quiet. It's not unusual for sleep to elude her so she just focuses on what conversations she can hear around her.

 

[Filament]

Holly gives Lexi a strange look but it doesn't last long as she eyes her wine glass again, finally taking a small and very restrained sip. "Isn't Hal dead?" She asks rhetorically, already having assumed he was one of many stains on the carpet back in Milky's penthouse. Carefully, she moves to look at Hunter, trying to figure out how best to explain herself. "But without Trin's help, there's not really anywhere we can get help from that hasn't already burned us." Amber eyes leave his as she looks over her own dusty pelt. "I'm not saying that's what we should do, giving up I mean, I'm just saying we should try and look at every choice more carefully."

Finally she looks back up at him. "God-Ring's help hasn't helped a whole lot, and who even knows what state the Mia'Moray are in right now. One of the False Twins are dead. Do you know anyone from your time with Deceit who may be able to help us?" She asks before looking over at the Haven Agent.

"Does your agency offer any kind of defensive provisions? Weapons, body guards, military kit? If it doesn't can you refer us to an organization that can?" Inwardly rolling her eyes as someone brings up the Red Temple. As traumatic as what took place there was, she still holds a strong resentment for the leader of that particular cult.
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Filament lets out a shakey breath and looks over at the animals in the room. "What do you think we should do Pim?" The tom asks, his attention focused entirely on her. It's probably obvious what he's thinking but it's also clear that he will follow with whatever she wants to do if she allows him. They've already lost so much and gained next to nothing besides information that they had no way to act on. It didn't seem to him that this was going anywhere good. His stomach curdles again but he steadies himself and steels his gut as he waits for a response, doing his best to ignore the wine glasses, which are quickly becoming more tempting.
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Flame seems to mull that over in his head for a moment. "I think I understand what you're saying but at least in my eyes, that attitude makes you as selfish as them but I suppose that me thinking that would only reinforce your beliefs." The tom responds in a slightly uncertain tone. He doesn't think Vasteye is right but he knows that any push-back he offers will only strengthen the other tom's beliefs which he finds to be dreary.

Wearily, he takes a sip of the drink he'd ordered and looks over to Lizeth, giving her an opportunity to offer her opinion if she would like to.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Flame catches her eye and she freezes for a moment before finishing the last of her burrito. "Not everyone is bad, maybe here I guess but all I see are families." The she-cat would mew, waving a paw at the table she'd received pets and belly rubs from. "I don't think the people here are bad, I mean like how can you know who's bad and 's not." The she-cat would mew, a small bit of melted cheese on the top of her nose.

"What do you make of my thoughts?" She would ask Vasteye plainly, losing the strange way of speaking that she normally possesses.
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Luther's eyes widen slightly at her information about the new infiltrators. "Lovely." The words leave him bitterly but it dissipates as he catches her looking him over. "Like what you see?" He'd ask, before she responds and his expression darkens a bit. "I didn't hug him, but I was with a reporter friend before the symphony." Luther explains, looking over her briefly. "Dream isn't much of a hugger so that's odd. Hope he's okay."
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"No I'm okay." Hal responds, floating around with her. The longer that they are alone the more his discomfort and uncomfortableness begins to turn to fear. "I won't forget next time, I'm sorry." The tom replies, keeping his voice even. "Where are we headed?" He's quite sure he's asked this already but it's getting to the point where he'd really like to know.

 

[Moonsound]

Saraphina stepped out of the way of the nurses and watched them put the mob she-cat into the pod. The white sheline in question acknowledging Lethe’s thank you with a half-heart nod.

The fire breather stretched her limbs and looked over herself with mild amazement. Other than a small bit of lethargy she looked and felt perfectly fine.

”Thank you for waiting for me to wake up.“ She meowed while she patted herself down as if she was looking for something in her non-existent pockets. Upon finding whatever she was looking for she held her paw against that spot for a few seconds.

”Blast it. My ice cube is in my intestines.“ Saraphina muttered with a grimace. She put her paw back on the ground and shook out her fur.

”I was gonna ask if there was any food but now I will not be able to even taste it.” She added on in slight frustration.


_______


Mute shrugged to Nyx and shook their head.

”I couldn’t tell you. They were putting up a good fight and then it all came down. Maybe they escaped into the wilderness, maybe they didn’t. Your guess would be as good as mine. All I know is that the temple was gone.” Mute explained, visibly searching their memories for any hints to Master’s fate but still coming up blank.

________

The yellow tom-cat dipped his head to Thistle and gestured for him to follow.

”Right this way sir. There is a purveyor not far from here.” The agent purred as they lead Thistle out the door.

_______

PIM shook her head ’no’ after Holly’s rhetorical question.

”Aside from Deciet herself, no.” Hunter added in when he was personally addressed. Whereas Mirage nodded her head with confidence.

”The Haven agency aims to go above and beyond the needs and requests of our clientele. And all agents assigned to Master Trinity are already trained bodyguards. Your security is not an issue Miss Holly. The unfortunate incident at the Symphony should serve as adequate evidence of our ability to maintain the safety of our clients. But I should note, this does not extend to everyone in your group. Just Master Trinity, Thrush, Purple, and you.” The bronze she-cat meowed cordially.

”I think we can still give Nastiel a chance. It’s only been a couple of days. He said we’d get access to god-ring’s resources and he hasn’t gone back on that. I’m sure we could get what we need from him.” Keesipip said as she sniffed the wine glass closest to her.

”You also have me, Speed, and Triss. I can really only contribute my ship, but Speed and Triss have a considerable amount of stuff we can use.” Mute chimed in.

”Triss was killed about an hour or two ago.” Lexi said bluntly. Said news made Mute pause and swallow hard.

”Oh… Hehe, no bedside manner huh? Just, bam, there’s the news.” The calico tom meowed, trying to being humorous but it was obvious they weren’t taking it very well at all.

”So just me and Speed’s stuff. Still a decent amount. There’s also The Bunker! Plenty of resources there as well. We’re not short on cash, we’ve got plenty of jumpers, god-ring is involved now too. This isn’t a bad position to be in.” Mute said, with a nod to themself.

_______

PIM looked at Filament, froze for a second, then looked up in thought. After a bit she finally spoke up.

”I believe the best course of action to take immediately would be to consolidate our forces either here on Funworld or in Mute’s ship. Both locations are secure and will allow us to plan in safety. It’s not that I think a god-ring ship isn’t safe for the others to stay on, just that having all of our group together would ensure everyone is on the same page. That’s what I think we should do. Funworld or Mute’s yacht, the choice is yours.” PIM said in a steady cadence.

________

Vasteye nodded his head at Flame with the same bored expression he‘d been wearing.

”I agree.” The tom meowed in response to Flame. His gaze hung on the tom for a little bit, showing that even though Flame no longer spoke Vasteye could still hear. It’s not like the silver tabby needed to be looking at someone to listen, or at least not anymore, but in this case he made it a point to visually show Flame that he was. It wasn’t a harsh gaze or one of challenge. If anything it was soft eye contact. And it was more than what Vasteye gave to everyone nowadays. Perfectly evidenced when Lizeth’s voice elicited an ear twitch from him, but he did not turn his head to look at her. Rather he just laid it against the table and stared at nothing.

”Your thoughts are like everyone else’s… Why’d the way you talk change?” The tom at first spoke in a disinterested way. Long past enjoying being asked the same thing every time animals found out he could read minds. His voice gained some inflection and interest however when something she said did arouse his curiosity. Or rather the way she said something did.


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Older Purple stared at Hal with a neutral expression. Not even a poker face or stern look, just a completely relaxed and unreadable face.

”Okay. Good…” The sheline meowed while she continued to look at him, scanning him, analyzing him.

”We’re going to a space station I like. Still in the Olympus ring, it used to be an asteroid drill rig. First we need to get some fuel though.” Purple said in a normal, calm manner. Behind her through the glass you could see the ship was drifting towards a depot of some kind. The windshield‘s A.R display highlighting the destination in green.

_____________


Deciet smirked slyly.

”Maybe give him a call. You’ve certainly got a story for him... Just leave me out of it. For the obligatory reasons.” Deciet merowed cheekily. Afterwards she nodded for him to follow and began making her way back to the med-bay.


_________________________________________________________________________________


The race yellow pelted Haven agent lead Thistle through the pathways of Funworld with ease. Encountering the same sights and groups that seemed to exist endlessly throughout the entire park. Kits, cubs, and younglings of all kinds running around. Vendors selling snacks. Riders screaming as they whizzed by, strapped into their coasters of choice. With a mascot character here and there.

After just five minutes of walking they came to an avenue lined with storefronts. Some of them were eateries while others were for apparel. The store that the agent took Thistle to was certainly of the latter category. Yellow letters in an alien language decorated the top of the doorway, while you could see a smartly dressed bunny sat behind a counter. The store’s layout seemed to be focused more around seating than their own product. Bags sat on back-lit shelves lining the two opposite walls but between them was nothing but small chairs and tables.

”Welcome to Komaine.“ The bunny greeted cordially.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

"It was the least I could do. I just want to make sure everyone who can heal, does. If we have time, I think Milky needs a turn in the pod..." Lethe mews, watching the firebreather fret over something. His brow furrows when she mentions her magic ice cube. "Can you still process nutrients without it? If you can, I say you eat anyway, because who knows when we'll have a break like this again. I'm sure they have something around here to snack on."


Nyx watches Mute, noting their reaction to Lexi's bluntness regarding Triss' fate. All this news has to be weighing on them. They might be putting on a brace face for now, but something will break eventually. The demoness makes a mental note to check up on Mute again, either as a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, or a mode of stress relief. Funworld certainly isn't living up to its name at the moment.


Thistle grabs the lipstick between his teeth and follows the Haven agent outside and through Funworld. He nods his thanks as he walks into the store. Thistle pads up to the counter, placing the case on the ground by his paws again. "Hi there, I'm looking for a paws-free carrying bag." He looks around at the elegant merchandise displays, "I see you have plenty available, but I have a few specific requirements in mind for what I'm looking for."

 

[Filament]

Holly shakes her head in disappointment at the news, although she's not upset with the others. She herself has no connections to offer either. When the agent continues, her attention remains on the she-cat and she turns her head slightly to the side as she listens. "I don't doubt the efficacy of your services, what I'm asking is do you offer offensive equipment?" The she-cat clarifies, waving around her artificial limb as she speaks, her cheeks warm with drink. "Let's say I wanted a pistol and an Aramid weave slimfit protective vest, are these things that you might have to offer?" The question isn't necessarily posed as something she herself wants, moreso a hypothetical question.

"Maybe some of us should visit this bunker?" Holly would suggest to Mute, sitting on her hindpaws and studying the androgynous cat with intent. "If we're not going to quit, it's high time we properly armed ourselves and I'm assuming that's not allowed here. I'm thinking, we go to the bunker, grab some gear and then make for your yacht, if that's okay." She'd mew, before looking back to the Haven Agent. "I'd also think it'd be smart if we were each alloted our own PCD's. I'm not quite comfortable not having one when someone -like- Filament does." Her words are harsh but her tone isn't, it's practical, maybe a bit slurred but to the point.
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Filament stares at Holly with a harsh look but does nod his head. His PCD was broken but he supposed she didn't know that and it was a good point. They would be able to avoid a lot of the situations they'd found themselves in if they were adequately able to communicate with each other. "I agree, but I think we should get everyone to the yacht before the bunker. We don't need anything happening to split us up again." His voice is hoarse from all of the crying he'd done in the last few hours but it is steady. "I'd also like to get cleaned up." The tom would mew, indicating his bloodied face. "Setting up a permanent base somewhere that the calico shit-bird can't find us is a good first step." He hopes this is what Pim wants.

Giving in at last, he takes a small sip of the wine flute in front of him, doing as the agent instructs and allowing it to breathe on his tongue. It tastes gross and the grimace on his face shows his disapproval. Not really the wine's fault though, he doesn't like wine.

"I also think, if God-Ring and Nastiel don't come through for us, and even if they do, it might be worthwhile to dip our paws back into Demon Space, maybe even Hell specifically. If I remember right, many citizens were murdered and it may not be hard to find animals who hate that calico prick as much as we do." He sniffs at the wine and his face scrunches up again. Conveniently leaving out his comfy bank account he'd had in Hell.

"If nothing else, vengeance is a powerful motivator, might be good to have for allies. Deceit may even be able to help, given we keep a close eye on her." The tom finishes, pointing a paw at his cyborg eye for emphasis.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Flame gives Vasteye a nod of understanding before turning to look at Lizeth, also noticing that in her last sentence there'd been no seemingly forced twang or verbiage in her words and he cocks a brow, looking at her harder than he had previous. "Yeah, that is odd, how come you're not "talkin' all country like?" " the tom would ask, wiggling his brows with curiosity before looking to Aceline to see if she'd noticed it too.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"How can-" The she-cat stops mid-sentence as she's interrupted by Vasteye and Flame one after another and her face scrunches up in genuine confusion. She moves a paw up to her mouth and stares at them in surprise. "I'm not talking any different." She mews, her voice lacking any shortenings or odd pronunciations. "I sound the same as I did before, no?" She'd say but it's more of a question and she looks at her plate in confusion.

"What do you mean?"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hal relaxes a bit as she seems to calm down and he keeps his head subtly low as her gaze remains on him for an uncomfortably long time. "Don't suppose this space station would have guns and ammo?" The tom asks deftly, feeling naked without a weapon and his broken prosthetic. "Maybe even a decent way to remove this busted leg?" The tom would suggest, waving the broken and dead artificial foreleg in the air.

"Thanks, for grabbing me... By the way." The tom would offer awkwardly.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luther mews an affirmative, making a note to give the male a call once he has a moment. "Of course not." He'd confirm, following behind her with a bit of a grimace on his face as he tries to remember a reason Dream's gross fur things would get stuck in his pelt. "Oh damn, got it. He rode behind me on my scooter when we were looking for the group." The tom realizes and simultaneously explains as he keeps pace beside her.

 

[Moonsound]

Saraphina nodded an affirmative to Lethe.

”I can indeed. It just tastes bad... but you’re right. I should eat something.” She meowed, lightly grimacing at the thought of eating food how she used to. As she raised her paw to get one of the nurses’ attention a burp came out of her muzzle. To which she lowered her paw and placed it over her muzzle.

”Is there anything we can eat?” The firebreather asked politely.

”We’ll go get you some food rations. You‘re all carbon based and can safely consume dextro-amino acids in conjunction with levo-amino acids?” One of the nurses asked in an up-beat tone. Saraphina was left with a anxious and confused look on her face.

”Uh…“ She took in a breath to speak but nothing more than audible befuddlement came out, leaving her standing there silently.

”What is the main bonding element in your biological make-up?” The nurse asked again cheerfully, leaning their head in slightly. Saraphina again stared at them like a deer in headlights. She wanted to be able to answer, but had absolutely zero clue what was being asked.

”I don’t know.” She answered somewhat dejectedly. The nurse cocked their head and tapped a claw on the floor for a second.

”How does, chi-khan, and bay-khan, sound?” The nurse asked, still cheerfully.

”Chicken and bacon? Yes. Poultry and pork would be perfect.” Saraphina answered, nodding her head. The nurse mimicked the action with a smile before leaving the med bay.

”I swear every other word now is beyond my vocabulary.” The fire-breather bemoaned, running a paw over her face.


_____________

Deciet hummed with a lazy bob her head at Luther’s explanation. As they re-entered the med-bay, she walked directly over to Speed. She’d fallen asleep in her position around Streak.

”Speed. Speeeed.” She cooed, trying to wake the snoozing speedster.

”Speed!” The demoness yelped. That did the trick and the gray sheline’s eyes opened. Her oculars first flicked to see that her son was still in the helmet before locking with Deciet’s orange ones.

”Yeees?” Was her drowsy response.

”I need you to open a portal for me.”

“I can only open one a day. And I don’t know where your ship is.” Speed replied succinctly, already closing her eyes to try and go back to sleep.

”And you’re in a room with lifeliners. I don’t need you to send me back to my ship, just somehwhere in the main rings.“ Deciet meowed, pointing to one of the orange suited animals in question.

”Then let me rephrase, I’m also the only jumper with this group. I’m not opening a portal for you.” Speed mumbled back.

”I thought Alec could jump.” Deciet said genuinely, cocking her head.

”Who’s Ale— Holly can jump, not Pest.” Speed said, peeking open one eye.

”I might have been thinking of Flame.” Deciet meowed.

”Well they‘re related and all look alike.” Speed mused drowsily.

”Can Mute jump?” The demoness cocked her head the other way.

“If they can they’ve never displayed it.“ Speed answered curtly.

”I’m not asking you to send me to another universe. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to my ship. She’s in orbit in this universe.” Deciet urged, adjusting her position so she could see what Streak was watching.

”You have a demon ship in orbit around here? Bulls**t.” Speed chuffed out, rolling her eyes.

“I do. All I need is a portal. Just send me to one of the high orbit pit-stops around here I don’t care. I just need to get back. For the safety of both of us.” Deciet meowed normally, but whispered the last part.

”…….Fine. Just give me a minute. I haven’t been around Starworld for a bit, unless you want me to drop in hard vacuum.” Speed finally relented groggily.

”Take your time.” The demoness purred with a smile.


_______________________

Older Purple shook her head.

”You can get anything you want in the Olympus ring. You just have to pay for it… And no problem. You opened the portal. If it wasn’t me it would have been someone else.” She answered him as the ship rattled. No longer just drifting through space, the ship was now under some force being pulled towards the fuel depot. A small little station, shaped like a star and about the size of a high school. Similar to the False sisters’ asteroid, there was some kind of bubble surround the structure, which was allowing the animals walking along its surface to survive without suits or helmets. The sides of the star shape had windows showing there was a hybrid convenience-general store within the structure itself. This place was basically just a space-age gas station. Complete with families walking their pets outside, tired travelers stretching their limbs, and a crowd of animals in what looked like a school uniform gathered in front of a vessel emblazoned with their school’s logo.

Slowly the race ship was pulled through the bubble before magnetizing to the depot.

“Go inside and tell them to fill the ship at pump 19 with metallic hydrogen. I’ll meet you in there in a second.” Purple said. Her and everything else in the ship slowly lowered to the ground as the station’s artificial gravity took effect. As soon as her paws were solidly on the floor, she padded over to the door and pressed the button for it to open. With a hiss the door and gangplank rotated down.

“Oh and make sure it‘s fine metallic hydrogen. Some places have medium or coarse but I prefer fine.” Purple added on before Hal left.

_______________________________________________________________


Aceline quietly nodded her head in the affirmative to Flame.

Vasteye cocked a brow, while looking at Lizeth.

”Excuse our paranoia, but it’s almost like your accent slipped. As if it stopped being as extreme. Care to explain?” The silver tabby meowed cautiously.

By now Stalker had risen her head and was watching Lizeth as well. She stole a glance at Flame but overall kept her focus on the newcomer.


__________________

PIM gave Holly a very suspicious stare but did not voice the impetus for such a look.

“Madame Holly. Anything you could want, the agency can provide you.” L’Anne assured, using her paw to make an “across the board” gesture.


Mute padded over to one of the wine glasses and sipped from it. Then leapt onto the couch.

”Demon space was already hard to get into before. It’s definitely locked down hard now. We’d need a smuggler to get back in, but it‘s possible. I’ve done it enough.” Mute said while laying on their back. Keesipip the raised her paw.

”I’m with Filament. Not on the demon space part. But on the yacht. A rush to the bunker with some of our group could be a risk and might waste time that we don’t have. We don’t know if the animal that tried to kill us will try again. We should be cautious and bring everyone back in. The safest option for my species has always been to hide first.” The ashlander threw in her thoughts. Hunter chewed one cheek and hummed in slight disagreement.

”Trin felt confident enough to leave the others with god-ring. I’m pretty sure we can take that as a guarantee of their safety.” The brown tabby meowed.

”But we don’t know if that’s because Trin truly has full faith in god-ring’s ability to be secure, or if the Mercy is just something he had to settle for since some of our group is hurt.” Lexi interjected calmly and critically. The tom looked in thought before responding.

“I just think we could go to the bunker, grab whatever stockpile it has, then go to the yacht.” Hunter meowed.

”Why is Funworld considered a non-starter? We transfer everyone from the GRV Mercy to here, then from here to this yacht. Maximizes safety for everyone. No one can do anything to us on Funworld, then we move everyone to the yacht. Letting us keep track of everyone and leaving no chance for any separation.” Lexi said her piece, looking at the others with confusion.

”There’s no guarantee that whoever is after us, wouldn’t take into consideration
that we grabbed all our members off a, what, the naming convention matches that of god-ring hospital ships. Right? So they’d know we’re Oscar-Mike. They could put two and two together and guess that we’re going to my ship. Bing, bang, boom, we all get killed in an ambush set at the ship.“ Mute interjected.

”Are you saying you think there’s a mole in god-ring?” Lexi asked.

”I’m saying we don’t know how someone caught you unawares in the first place. Anyone or anything could be the rat. And remember this is coming from someone who can be anyone they want. I say we grab my ship first, then use it to go where and grab who we need after.“ Mute responded quickly. They even mimicked Lexi‘s voice at the end for added effect.

”Would you be willing to fly your ship into demon space?“ PIM queried.

”Hell no. Pun intended. All their propaganda boasts about their stealth tech. Not that I don’t trust my ship buuuut, I’m not taking any unnecessary risks with it either. If it goes bust, even if we survive, there’s no replacing it. It’s a classic. The civilization that built it is dead and their knowledge lost. If there was any animals that might have even a small chance of detecting it, it would be the paranoid black-furred maniac demons.“ Mute answered with a dry laugh.

”You’re confident anywhere else?” Hunter prodded for clarity.

”Anywhere else is golden. Just not demon space. I’ve been around and usually hermit kingdoms don’t boast as much as the demons do about their stealth tech if it was all just a big bluff. And they snuck up on you guys enough, you should know by now! Everything else could be bluster, but when it comes to stealth they’re not lying. Demon space is a big. N. O. You want to go there, get a smuggler.” Mute reaffirmed their stance on where they were comfortable flying their vessel.

“I say, we go to Mute’s yacht first as a priority.” Keesipip restated her opinion.

”I stand by my stance that we should retrieve everyone from the GRV Mercy as a first priority.” PIM informed calmly.

”I say bring everyone here, some of us go to the bunker, meet back here, then we all go to Mute’s invisible ship.” Hunter tossed in his idea cordially.

”I’m with PIM. Bring everyone here to Funworld first. No point in worrying about a potential ambush we don’t know will happen from some animals we aren’t even sure the identify of. The safest option is to bring everyone here in the dimension we know can’t be penetrated. “ Lexi said, crossing her forelegs and stretching.

”And I still say broadcasting our plans by moving the others could tell the enemy where we’d go next. We get my ship first before anything.” Mute stated from their spot on the couch.



_________________________

The bunny Komàine attendant smiled and nodded.

”We can certainly help with that. What specific requirements do you need?” They asked Thistle, cocking their head just a degree or two.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

"Well, I would like a bag that is durable and difficult to cut or break open. I travel a lot, so being able to withstand constant movement and potential thieves is a necessity. And if it's doable, I would like it to be as discreet as possible. Something small (I don't carry much, anyway), matches my fur color, and doesn't hinder movement." Thistle lists off his requests, sprinkling in a quick explanation that is mostly true. "Thank you so much."


"I agree with Mute as well." Nyx states, "But we need to gather everyone currently at Funworld, first. We're not leaving anyone behind." Having heard just how they escaped the demon bombardment of the Red Temple, the shapeshifter seems to be the one to trust when evading danger.


"I understand completely," Lethe sighs, "During the security check getting into the Symphony, they asked all sorts of questions I couldn't answer. And after I got my new ears, I thought they were speaking a different language entirely with all the medical terminology they used. All I can say is, if you have a bad reaction to what they give you, you're in the best place to have one." The brown tom gives Saraphina a lopsided smile, weakly gesturing around to doctors, nurses and medical equipment around them.

 

[Moonsound]

The bunny attendant leaned over the counter to look Thistle up and down.

“Okaaay. I’ll be right back. I believe we have the perfect thing for you.” The attendant said through a smile. Turning and hopping through a curtained doorway. Less than a minute later they returned with a small square shaped bag. The corners of the bag were reinforced with rubber with a rubber square in the center, protecting the bag from impacts. The bag itself was constructed from some kind of synthetic tightly weaved material, making it somewhat flexible. With a thick, metal zipper keeping the bag sealed and two straps for attaching it to one’s person.

”This is apart of our nomadic espionage line of bags. It can be secured on either side of your thighs. For maximum comfort I suggest you place the bag on the outer portion of your thigh while for maximum security you can place the bag on the inner side of either thigh. If necessary you could also use the straps to wear it like a backpack you so desired. As you can see it is small and perfect for daily carriage of any personal Items. But the best part about this bag is this.” The bunny attendant placed the bag on the counter and gestured to it. After a couple seconds the bag changed it’s color and appearance texture to match the white counter.

”Our nomadic espionage line comes with our patented octo-camo built in. Making the bag as discrete as possible. The inspiration came from how some god-ring personnel purposefully camouflaged their bags when visiting cultures that see bags as uncouth. When you wear this bag, it will match your fur color perfectly. It is also fire-proof and water resistant up to 300 meters. It requires no batteries and should only need a few minutes in direct starlight every couple of months or so to remain operational. So in reality you should never need to think about it!” The bunny explained while displaying the camouflage feature using their own pelt as an example. Once they were done, they placed the bag back on the counter and pushed it over to Thistle with a toothy smile.


_________________________________________________

Saraphina turned her head to Lethe with a pitiful look. But it faded part-ways into his speech when the debenary cocked her head and squinted at him.

”New ears?” She parroted the tom, looking closely at his ears. Inspecting them.

”Oh. I’m so sorry Lethe. It would seem our group continues to garner new injuries with each planet we land on.” Saraphina commented, looking at Lethe with a grimace.

”Here you go.” A nurse said just above a whisper while placing two cardboard boxes by Saraphina and Lethe. On the boxes there were no words, just an image of two cartoon cat heads with a strip of bacon in between them. One of the heads was chewing something happily while the other was smiling at the viewer.

 

[Moonsound]

(Timeskip)

”Gruesome.” Mute commented after they stepped through the portal. Sapphire eyes looking around at the countless bodies littering the dry dock. Mute had purposely positioned themselves to be the last through the portal that would take them to their ship. Ivory evening gloves covered the forelegs of the blue sheline as they carefully stepped around a circular stain of dried blood on the concrete floor. Complete with a matching ivory dress that went halfway up her neck like a cheogsam, but left their back exposed. Only for the dress to return to the top of their body so that it could cover their rear and most of the back legs.

”Do you carry clothes around with you?” Lexi asked as she gazed over her shoulder at the blue she-cat.

”Don’t ask.” Trin answered laconically. Thus far, the only way that proved effective to get Trin to do anything was to have Mute metaphorically or physically pushing him to do it. And it only worked for a short period of time.

”A lady never reveals her secrets.” Mute replied, giggling to themselves as they strolled further beyond the portal. The black circle closed a few seconds later, leaving the whole group in a large concrete structure. The air itself seemed like it was tinted a sickly mustard color, which the sunlight shining in from the open section of the dry dock did little to change. Lexi rolled her eyes and adjusted the position of the designer bag she was carrying.

”So what’s she called?” Keesipip asked, pointing to the large vessel that lay dormant beside them. It wasn’t as big as the Nebuchadnezzar but it was still essentially a small skyscraper laid on its side. Unlike Red’s ostentatious paint scheme for his personal yacht, Mute’s was an inconspicuous blue-gray. The only eye catching color coming from the anatomically correct heart painted on the side in purple.

”While I am acutely aware of your rather…humble? Upbringing my dear, it would serve you greatly not to make such a fool of yourself by assuming. In my culture our vessels are referred to using the masculine ‘he.’ HE, is called the Ediacaran.“ Mute purred in a voice that practically dripped passive aggressiveness like an English bulldog drooled with a lemon.

”And this Ediacaran is undetectable?“ Lexi asked.

”Quite.” Mute reported with a upturned nod.

”Then how’d it end up in the mitts of some scavenger gang?” Lexi asked while she pointed to one of the leather vest clad bodies.

”I-I fell into a bit of a financial tumult you see and I may have sold it. But not to these ruffians. I haven’t the slightest how they got it. The animal I sold it to promised they would maintain it for posterity, as a part of their museum.” Mute stuttered a bit and grew an embarrassed blushing smile. Lexi and Speed both shared an exasperated sigh.

”How do we get in?” Speed asked, looking at the wall of metal with no obvious points of ingress to be seen.

”There’s a few entrances that can be unlocked. Give me but a moment to remember where one is.” Mute meowed, closely observing the hull as she walked along it. Looking for something that they themselves clearly weren’t sure was there. While Mute inspected their own ship for a way to get in, several animals stopped. No point in following her as she essentially winged it.

”So Jezebel didn’t come back with you all?” Callista asked, flexing and ruffling her wings.

”Nope. And what did False Lamb say to why she wasn’t coming?” Vasteye answered and then posed his own question.

”Something or other about needing to handle some business. She said she’d be back when she was done. Her words not mine.” Callista recalled the brief exchange the mob boss had with everyone before leaving the GRV Mercy.

“And I sent Deciet somewhere in the Olympus ring. That’s all she asked. You know, after getting some guarantees from god-ring heads that they’d cooperate with her and everyone would keep her secrets, blah blah blah.” Speed informed.

”And now instead of Nastiel, we’ve got Ms. hard ass over there.” Hunter said, nodding his head to the purple mia’moray wearing black shades. As was the trend with the species, she wore a smile. But hers was a smug, authoritative one and was probably only there because the thought of being in control of others was the only source of pleasure her brain could still enjoy. Their previous handler had been summarily replaced by her. Nastiel was out, she was in, and so was the stick up her butt.

“It’s Mrs. hard ass, and I can hear you.” The alien in question chimed in with an unamused tone.

“Yeah and I bet Mr. hard ass is enjoying every single second away from you.” Hunter snapped back.

”Mr. hard ass was on the capitol you blew up in Hunter. So shut your trap.” The mia’moray shot back without hesitation. Hunter’s ears drooped almost instantly, the vitriol in his throat evaporating.

”Aha! Found it!” Mute’s cheer came at the perfect time to distract the Mia’moray who’s stare alone seemed to be advancing on Hunter like a stalking tiger.

”Hunter darling, come here and help me please!” Mute called out. As Hunter started to jog down to the part of the dock that Mute had ambled to, Lexi and “Mrs. Hardass” picked up their bags and started to walk that way as well.

”Yes?” Hunter asked as he came to a stop by Mute. She’d stopped in front of a hole in the ship, no bigger than a golf ball. Some water stains ran down from it, but other than that it was fine.

“Take my glove off for me.” Mute purred, extending an ivory limb at Hunter. The tom looked down his muzzle at the appendage nonplussed, before looking Mute in the eyes with slight annoyance.

”What?” The brown tom nearly barked. This resulted in Mute waggling the limb in front of him.

”Come now. I can’t risk dirtying this.” The blue sheline said, waggling the limb one more time. After a couple seconds of Hunter staring at them silently saying “are you serious?” he opened his maw and grabbed the glove to pull it off. Immediately Mute yanked their paw back and bopped him on the head with it.

”Uff, I don’t want your disgusting saliva on my silk! You don’t use your mouth you use your teeth you barbarian! Now carefully bite the edge and gently pull it off.” Mute admonished haughtily before extending their paw again. Hunter’s head was cocked to the side a bit while he gave her a baffled look. You could practically see his mind battling internally over whether or not his confusion should be the dominant emotional response or his anger. After a bit of looking back and forth between the outstretched paw and Mute’s face, showing that the blue she-cat’s expectant expression did not falter, Hunter languidly leaned forward and bit the tip of the glove with his front teeth. Then pulled back while Mute pulled their paw free of the garment.

”Was that so hard?“ Mute asked rhetorically while they stepped a couple paces closer to the hole. Carefully they extended their paw into the cubby. For a few seconds nothing happened. But a loud metallic “chunk” sound from within the vessel came soon enough. With the mechanism trigger, Mute pulled their leg back and watched as a ramp that had been perfectly flush with the ship began to lower. The sounds of gears spinning echoing off the vast concrete walls. The large ramp, big enough to fit a car, rotated down at a controlled pace before touching ground and stopping.

”Welcome aboard.” Mute meowed smugly. While Hunter stretched his neck to peer inside, Mute took her glove back from his maw.

“I could have did that! Why’d I need to take you stupid glove off?” Hunter complained.

”As if someone like yourself would know what to grab? Please.“ Mute guffawed and rolled their eyes.

”Do that again and I’m ripping it off.” Hunter stated as the others grew near enough to hear.

”Hunter darling you needn’t rip my clothes off. A proper courting from some-tom such as yourself would probably convince me to disrobe on my own.” Mute purred.

”Haha, what?” Keesipip said as she padded up to the door.

”Nothing.” Hunter said shaking his head.

”Yes, if only you weren’t a commoner.” Mute added on with derision as she turned and took the first steps onto the ramp.

”Back on Earth I was a leader you know.” Hunter said, following after Keesipip.

”Oh? Are you saying that because you want to see me nude?“ Mute said over her shoulder as she climbed a steep flight of steps. The ramp opened up to a dark cargo area, whereas the metal stairs lead up to the habitation decks.

”No. I just meant I’m not a-“

”How forward you are darling!” Called back from the top of the stairs.

”MUTE! You know what I mean!” Hunter yowled back while he and Keesipip carefully made their way up the steep stairs as well. The ashlander snickering the whole way.


-*-*-*-*-*-*-


The interior of the ship, the Ediacaran, wasn’t as flagrantly luxurious as Red’s ship. The interior styling was clean but utilitarian. The walls and flooring lacked the visible pipes and wires that the demon submarine did, but maintained a steely blue-gray color scheme. The floor was not carpet but rather a kind of non-slip rubber. The halls were not cramped by any means, but neither were they massively wide or high. There was no attempt at forming an illusion for its occupants that this ship wasn’t a ship meant for nautical pursuits. Utilitarian luxury was a good description for it. And this further hammered home that Mute’s ship was smaller than Red’s. There was no space for massive hotel like hallways that stretched on forever. Every hallways they passed following Mute only went out for at most 30 meters before turning off. And you had to stick with Mute given the fact that the ship’s lights were off.

After climbing three more flights of steps along the journey, Mute came to two metal sliding doors. She reached into another hole, pulled on some unseen mechanism, and with the sound of gears and tumblers the two doors slid open.

”I designed my ship with the express purpose to be completely operable without any electrical power. So that if I ever needed to power the entire thing down or it lost power, it wouldn’t turn into an overpriced asteroid. Unlike my ruby resembling associate, my ship has no AI or VI systems. It is completely manual and can be switched between analog and digital functionality. Now let’s get the power on.” Mute explained as she lead them into what was clearly the bridge. Windows let in the mustard yellow light from outside, illuminating the dormant computer screens that lined the room. In the center there was a computerized island as well. With chairs at each station. From the new, higher vantage point you could now see that the dry dock they were in was situated quite high above a dark gray ocean below. With some islands off in the distance. Even more unsettling was that the tip of the ship, or the bow, was extended out over the drop off. Thankfully the ship didn’t rock or show any signs of tipping off. But it could still disquieting to some to be inside of a massive metal vessel that currently had no power and was perched precariously over a drop off. If this fact bother Mute the shapeshifter showed no signs of it.

The blue sheline walked to the further forward collection of panels and looked over them. She crouched down, opened one of the panels beneath the screens and pulled out a key. She placed one paw on a red button while the other slid the key into a slot and turned. Just like that, all the screens flicked on and the ship came to life. No engine sound or vibration could be detected but all the lights came on and the light draft showed the life support systems were now busy clearing out the stale, musty air that had taken residence while the ship sat dormant.

”He’s fully functional. All systems…nominal. No major alerts. Watertight readings all green. Everything appears to be in order. He’s in flying condition. Or rather falling condition if were to be pedantic.” Mute purred, quickly gesturing out the windows behind them.

”The residences are at the middle of the ship. Every room has a window and don’t worry. Their designs aren’t nearly as spartan as the rest of my ship. You should feel nice and at home in them. If you don’t like one, try another, each has a different theme. Um, the food printer will need just a little bit of time to properly spool up, but after that you can get whatever nibbles you’d like from the cafeteria. There’s a lounge, galley, theater, gym, kitchen, dining and recreation room. If i remember correctly I have labs at the stern, or rear of the ship with some experiments but other than thaaat, there’s nothing more. Oh, and the cargo hold! Should just be some antique cars and trinkets down there. Nothing of interest. Once the generators are all back up and running we’ll be ready for the drop.” Mute explained, clasping her forepaws together at the end.

”I’d say any questions but then I’d be busy all day answering whatever you uneducated peasants can’t rub your two digits of your IQ together to figure out. I’d rather avoid the headache.” She added on as she returned all her paws to the floor.

”…Can your printer make a burger?” Lexi asked.

”Dear huntress, might you tell if a burger is a food?” The ivory dress clothed sheline asked, with a saccharine Cheshire smile. If gritting your teeth was an art form then this Mute was a master at it. The sabertooth she-cat in question just sighed and looked at her with a deadpan.

”Exactly my point about whatever questions you twits could muster.” Mute said, waving a forepaw in a circle while sticking her nose up. The huntress was entirely done with the stuffy blue heiress or whatever and turned away to go find wherever this cafeteria was. Lizard green bag in tow. With that, Mute tapped a couple sections on the computerized island and a hologram of a planet appeared above it. Her eyes scanning over the floating readouts of information that the display was generating in some alien text.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

Nyx doesn't hide her amusement at Mute's newest persona and her little back-and-forth with Hunter. "Darling, males cannot figure out how to unlace a corset. Next time, call a lady to assist you, hmm?" The demoness comments coquettishly. She climbs the steps with the rest of the crew, admiring the inside of the ship.


Thrush is at the back of the herd when they make it to where Mute's ship is docked. She pulls on the bag Thistle had gotten her, the pouch itself settling comfortably on her chest between her forelegs. After a second, the accessory disappears, blending in marvelously with her russet fur. She paces a short circuit to make sure her legs won't rub against the material.

Zipping his own bag closed, Thistle looks to his sister and asks, "So, how do you like it?"

"It's wonderful, thaaank yoooouuu!" Thrush sing-songs, hugging her brother. Someone clears their throat behind her, and she quickly ends the hug and whips around to face whoever it is. Lethe has approached them. "Yes?" Her face scrunches slightly in concern.

"Uh..." Lethe starts, "I don't know if you know, but you still have..." He gestures to his face with one claw.

"What?" She wipes her muzzle with a paw, a great streak of blue smearing across the back of it. "Ugh! I thought I got it all off!" Thrush growls in frustration. Plopping down on her butt and licking her unstained paw, she draws it across her mouth, which only spreads the makeup more. While Mute finally pulls open the hidden hatch to her ship, the craterborn sheline looks up as everyone gets moving again. Amidst the throng of moving bodies she spies Purple and Crimson, the latter of which she can see bears an identically blue muzzle when she turns her head just right way.