Chiana had never seen a Hynerian bounce before, not like Rygel as he was drop kicked and hit the floor, then bounced against the wall to the floor again. Somehow it made her smile in spite of herself and the pain of her battered face and lips. Rygel closed his eyes, feigning the death she half expected was real after the beatings they were served. She remained unmoving from where she lay on the floor as the cell door slammed shut, expressionless and distant as she kept her gaze on him.
Rygel let out a whining moan as he rolled over to his hands and feet. She felt bad for him in spite of her own pain. He had been basking in his future prospects just before, a little king, now coming up off the floor as a battered and bleeding 'football' as Crichton might put it. Rygel sucked in his breath as his gaze met hers demurely.
"They'll get bored," she muttered as she drew up her knees, clutching them as she slowly blinked from every ache the motions elicited from every bruise and wound. "They'll let us go."
"Or kill us when they realize we didn't have anything to cheat with," Rygel responded thickly as he began to pad towards her with a bad limp in his stubby legs. "I'm not staying that long to find out." He raised his head, his earbrows raising as well as he adjusted his small robes at the inner collar as an attempt to regain a dignified composure. "They'll be coming back for you next."
"What's the matter Ryge," Chiana smiled bitterly as she swallowed the taste of blood in her mouth. "Couldn't sell me out?"
"No," his earbrows lowered as he dropped his eyes from her.
"Nice try."
"I'll have you know I'm worth more than you," Rygel quipped though the vigor that would have gone into the prideful statement was lost to him as he simply sat down before her. He continued to stare at the floor, beginning to feel like an old man. He sighed. "They don't even know about the wanted beacons, idiots."
"So ..." Chiana smiled again, roughly, as a wild tumble of emotions suddenly rushed through her. "So you wanna escape with me?"
"Mrph," Rygel gruffed haggardly as he looked up again. "Two enterprising escape artists ... surely we can think of something."
"Yeah," Chiana chuckled nearer to a moan as she curled up more against her knees and closed her eyes. "Yeah."
Meelak haltingly descended from the landing steps of the Dosser, pausing as the wind whisked around him, cool with but a trace of humidity in the dawning arns of early morning. It had been a while since he had been planetside, a welcome atmosphere despite the unwelcome circumstances for his arrival. He spotted Shian almost immediately, his gaze following her as she took notice of him and promptly ran off. Meelak calmly followed after her, anticipating she was off to bring Nerri to him.
After a skeptical glance around the ramshackle service port the Delvians had carved into the jungle, he knew all he needed to know as to the circumstances. Clearly not an area scrupulously supervised, the Delvians of the nearby monastery must either turn a blind eye to or sympathize with the less passive elements that doubtless frequent such a ramshackle, unregulated and obscure port. Such places usually welcomed people with similar difficulties, in some cases, even if they were of opposing parties.
Meelak slowly worked at removing his gloves, scantly glancing around and sensing the verdant jungle looming all around the tiny dirt footpath Shian had taken. It had turned sharply right, to run along and downward from the service port, leading across a bridge ahead to make a left. Where it went from there he didn't much care, the investigation offered him a chance to spend his duty on less trying matters.
"I trust you are well?" Meelak inquired as he came to a pause along the bridge. He looked to his right then, meeting his gaze with that of Silan's.
She didn't answer, studying him for a few moments without expression. "You bear grave news."
Meelak nodded slightly towards the palpably refined lady as he produced a beacon from his small black satchel at his belt. "Grave enough to keep Nerri from bothering with this, for the time being. I can entrust you will give this to Nerri at a more appropriate time?"
Silan didn't answer as she opened an elegantly embossed leathern pocket and extended her hand to take it without question.
"Not in the least bit curious are you?" Meelak narrowed his eyes with subtle amusement, assessing her with a very slight tilt to his head. "It should interest you as well none the least," Meelak held it up between them, gazing at it with his narrowed eyes, " when you see it. Chiana is wanted by the PeaceKeepers." Silan's gaze shifted beyond the beacon to Meelak. "Hardly unsurprising in itself but it's drawing attention to her ..."
