Quest Fifty Shades of Animal

[Valkyrie]

Fall 78th, 512

The morning was clear and crisp. A heavy snow had fallen the night before and now as Syna shone down and melted the top layer into crunchy ice the air was sharp and fresh. Several Icewatch guards milled about in front of the barracks. They had received orders the night before to meet at this location around this particular time and the guards had arrived promptly. A few chimes passed without a superior loud roar to keep them in order and so quickly the group devolved into jovial jokes and chatter. The Vantha guards were trading obscene stories with one eye lovingly fixed on their bondmates as those very same Kelvics wrestled and played in the snow.

Sliver was an oddball among them as neither Vantha nor polar bear but she had been accepted in just the same and treated as roughly as any other. A Vantha woman walked by shepherding a herd of young polar bears away from the barracks for a day of fun and play. The cubs growled and shrieked happily at the older Kelvics whom one day they would replace. The woman chided them gently and kept them going towards the heart of the city where they might find engage in some fun with other young children of Avanthal.

“Atten-shun!” shouted a rumbling voice from the doorway of the barracks. Without looking to see who it was the guards immediately formed two evenly spaced lines, their hands at their sides and their eyes staring straight forward. The Icewatch were as fun loving as any citizen of the snowy city but they knew when it was time to get to business. Jedara loomed into their view and tension ran through the group. If Jedara was here to brief them then whatever they were about to be asked to do was serious indeed and probably a little dangerous. Jedara stood in front of the guards and slowly looked them over before she began her debrief.

“As you all know, something strange is going on with the wildlife around Avanthal. Normally animal attacks are quite rare due to the general scarcity of animal life in general, now attacks happen constantly as if the animals were seeking us out. We locked the Icewall Gates but that can’t be our solution to this problem. The citizens are already growing restless with us, we do not want to make enemies of them. We have to find out what is happening, and we have to find out quickly.” Jedara projected her voice so that each guard would hear her words clearly.

“Today I am sending you out in small squads to collect some specimens. Your group leads will be briefed with orders of what you are to collect and any other special instructions. You will be supplied with three days of rations and travel goods in the event that you are stuck out in the Wastes due to weather or otherwise.” Jedara’s voice rang out again to reach each recruit’s ear.

“Jariah, Kaivana, Sliver, and Yilarra will serve as group leads. Please report to me immediately. The rest of you go prepare yourselves and be out here ready to go in thirty chimes.” Jedara finished speaking and waited for the group leads to approach her. The other guards quickly shuffled off to prepare themselves for a wilderness mission.

[Sliver]

The air was crisp and cold, but not colder than any other day. Sliver always took a little pride in the fact that though she had an extra layer or two on her comrades with their Snowflake mark, she rarely shivered or avoided the cold as strangers to the city did. Shylir shoved the Kelvic away from the group of Vantha bodily pushing her into Kennen’s bulk, which started a shoving contest between the bear and the wolverine that ended up with them in the snow. Shylir and Yilarra tittered about the female Kelvic and their male bondmates. They loved teasing her about her relationship with the two bears, but Sliver took it in stride, a Kelvic had to do what a Kelvic had to do and that was all there was to it, besides she knew neither Vantha minded. Even so as she wrestled with Kennen she noticed Simon's gaze on her and grinned wryly at him. The two loved their rivalries with each other, whether it was over Shylir and Yilarra and as of late...her. As soon as the command was thrown however, the wrestling was over. Sliver who was on top of the bear, leapt off, grabbed onto his forearm to give him a hand up. They gave each other a smile before filing in with the rest of their compatriots. The voice, she became distinctly aware of how she had heard it before, but not often enough to remember it implicitly, which meant a higher up. Of course she realized as Jedara turned the corner, that it was the higher up. Sliver had seen the woman plenty of times, but it had been at the most cursory of glances, or in passing. The wolverine could never get over how beautiful she was, however. She had seen her multiple times in more civilian garb, long dresses with simple and elegant jewelry, and she felt as if Morwen had sculpted the woman herself as the beauty she had radiated of something one wouldn’t expect to find in the leader of the Icewatch. These thoughts circled around her head in a slow pattern as the woman spoke, snapping back to the thoughts that constantly plagued her as of late. The animals. At the thought of finally doing something, getting out there and finding it, Sliver could barely contain the excitement that rose up in her chest. Group leads, good hopefully she would be assigned to someone she knew, they would brief her and then- Then she became starkly aware that her name had been called. Her mind froze for a minute, and as the lines dissipated so that everyone could get prepared for the journey ahead, a few hands slapped her back. She stood there a moment more before Yilarra grabbed her arm and rotated the frozen wolverine in the direction Jedara had walked in. “Look at that, my little weasel is all grown up, come on then, this isn’t a good time to turn into a block of Icestone.” Sliver nodded, still clearly dumbfounded, and then consciously closed her mouth, sliding her arm from Yilarra’s as she walked toward where the other group leads were forming a semi-circle around Jedara. The Kelvic felt as if every bone in her body were as rigid as a metal pole. Her excitement had turned into an anxiousness mixed with a bit of fear, and a bit of pride in equal measure at being chosen. After a moment, however, she let herself relax and exhaled a long breath. She was going to find out what was at the heart of this animal problem no matter what, there was no reason to seem like a nervous pup now, not when she was so close to her goal.

[Valkyrie]

Jedara gazed into the distance as the group leads approached her. Turning her calm blue eyes back to them she met the gaze of each one and nodded in greeting. Elegant and graceful as always, there was a certainly powerfulness that exuded from the woman. Jedara folded her arms in front of her chest and shifted her weight onto her right side as she emitted a light sigh.

“Alright. You all have been chosen to serve as the heads of your groups and you will lead a squad of three others to collect specific specimens. I have a list of animals for all of you that you need to track down and kill to be brought back to the city. The specimens will undergo an autopsy at the Whitevine Healing Center to hopefully determine the cause of the strange behavior. Since we need the bodies as intact as possible for the autopsy it is imperative that you take down your targets quickly and with as little damage to the body as possible. The doctors will need to examine as many of the vital organs as possible so you will have to be determined and think through your combat strategies. Alright, these are the specimens you will need to collect…” Jedara gave her commands in a brisk and quick manner, used to be taken seriously and listened to. She began to reel off a list of animals for each guard in front of her and also explaining whom they would be leading that day.

“Sliver, you will need to take down an adult caribou as well as find a newly born young. They give birth around this time so it shouldn’t be too hard. I sent out bird Kelvics to do some scouting and they reported that there is a small herd several bells south of the city. They shouldn’t move too far if you are fast. I will also need you to go to the White Elk Stables and speak to Lusina about an adult and young livestock specimens. We have instructed her to release the required animals to you but she may need some extra convincing.” Jedara shook her head in frustration when she explained the last part. Frostfawns never liked giving up their animals and doubtlessly Lusina Frostfawn would be unhappy about what Icewatch was requiring of her.

“As I said before, take the animals to Whitevine Healing Center when you’ve got what you need. They will be expecting you. You will be taking Orasha, Ingwen, and Lamiel. “ Jedara turned to Yilarra and gave her instructions. After that, she dismissed them to prepare themselves for the mission ahead. Sliver would have to rush to grab any necessities from her room that she may need. When she returned to the yard in front of the barracks she would find her assigned three Icewatch guards waiting for her. All three would be familiar but perhaps not the most well known to Sliver. All three were fresh recruits however. Lamiel had joined Icewatch at the beginning of the season and while he was still nervous in his duties he was beginning to settle into them and hone his skills. He was a short Vantha man with broad shoulders and a double headed spear strapped to his back.

Orasha and Ingwen were even greener recruits having begun their duties only fifteen days prior. Orasha was a young Vantha woman with thickly muscled arms from growing up building with her Iceglaze family. Despite her muscular frame she was still uncomfortable and clumsy with the iron-banded club that was gripped loosely in her hand. A large backpack filled with the groups supplies hung heavily from her shoulders. Ingwen was a young polar bear Kelvic whom had immediately loved Orasha upon sighting her during her third day of duty. Once they had bonded Ingwen had moved into the Icewatch barracks with her to share a room and begin to serve the city. The polar bear was well trained but full of youthful exuberance which did not always grant him a clear head in battle. The three young guards all seemed a little nervous about the mission they were about to embark on and looked expectantly at Sliver to be debriefed.

[Sliver]

Sliver listened carefully, knowing every detail mattered. Autopsies: Sounded messy but informative. Killing the creatures without serious injury would provide difficult, but certainly not impossible. Convincing the Frostfawn to part with some bovine sounded the more annoying part of the task, Sliver’s own expression mirroring Jedarah’s at the idea of it. If it was going to get to the bottom of this animal, crisis, however, Sliver would do whatever it took. She listened with a little less concentration to the other debriefs, while it would be good to keep appraised of what everyone else was doing, her mind was already concentrated on the possibilities of what she would be doing today. Then there was the even more worrisome part: The leadership. A nervousness that the wolverine rarely had for anything to do with death and violence gripped her chest in a most serious fashion, and as they went their separate ways Sliver dashed inside, grabbing her dried rations and her axe, placing it in its shoulder holster and racing outside with her hooded jacket. She slipped it on as she eyed the green recruits. Now she had an inkling of how Eyrwen must feel when getting the new people, barely able to hold a weapon. The two bondmates gave each other loving looks that made her sick to her stomach, but all three of their gazes were now focused on the wolverine Kelvic, and she folded her arms and tried to look as imposing as possible. “You all know of the animal attacks as well as anyone. Today Jedarah is sending us out in teams to collect animals and bring them back to Whitevine Healing Center where they will be taken apart by the doctors to see if the cause of the madness can be found. That means we need to keep the bodies as intact as possible for their study, understood?” All three nodded in relative synchronization. Sliver nodded. “Good. We’re going to be hunting down an adult caribou as well as an infant to bring back, and then visiting Frostfawn for some livestock. Any questions?” There was silence, then the one…petch Sliver couldn’t remember their names, the Vantha woman raised her beefy arm. Sliver nodded for her to proceed. “Does it matter if we bring back a male or female?” Sliver stared blankly at the recruit, eyes hard, watching until the hand was slowly lowered and her gaze went towards the ground. The wolverine blinked. “If it mattered, I’m sure I would have been told, Violet.” She decided that nicknames were the best way to approach this, she never understood the weird names Vantha gave people, too long and fancy, like they enjoyed everything. The woman had violet streaks in her dark hair, it would do. “Any other questions?” The newly dubbed Violet looked a bit confused, but no other questions were raised, and Sliver was content with this. “A herd of caribou has been sighted a few bells to the South, if we hurry we can catch them, so let’s move out.” The bear shifted immediately Violet getting up on his back, and Sliver indicated for the Vantha male, she’d call him Blue, to get on back of…Smiles, yes that was what she’d call the bear, for even though he was clearly nervous he kept this shite eating grin that if it continued Sliver was going to smack off of his face. Sliver indicated that they would go on ahead of her, since three riders would be a bit much for Smiles, but she wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace. She warned them to stay in sight and that Smiles was to stop if the scent of the caribou was getting strong enough that they would be close. With that the party of four set off at a solid jog. Smiles kept pace with Sliver for a while until she indicated for him to move on ahead. They were good and stayed in sight of her, and Sliver kept a steady pace, making sure the Polar Bear wouldn’t have to purposefully slow on his part. She could tell when Smiles caught the scent of the prey and observed from afar as he tracked it, occasionally stopping to check for prints and reassess the smell before going on. She saw him lose it a couple times, but every single time he found it again and Sliver was proud to see how good of a tracker the bear would be given a few seasons of time out in the wild. Finally he stopped. Sliver had been aware of how close they were getting, and keeping careful track of time knew two bells had passed. She jogged up to the stopped and panting bear, both Vantha giving the beast a chance to rest, sliding off of his massive bulk. Violet gestured ahead. “Ingwen thinks we’re pretty close now.” The bear snuffed in agreement, pawing the ground excitedly. Sliver slowly walked forward, then got down on her stomach and crawled over the peak of the crest of snow they were behind. Once at the top she scanned the relatively flat horizon, looking for signs of life. A haze of snow being constantly kicked up by the wind clouded the scene, but Sliver gazing farther into the distance could make out faint shadowed shapes collected on the tundra. She slid back down and nodded, Smiles looked pleased with himself. “They’re in an open expanse so we are going to need to use a little stealth and some ambushing to our advantage, we only need one, but we want a nice healthy adult, not some weakling. Smiles, your natural camouflage will be an asset here, you and Violet will go together and approach from the west. We are down wind so they won’t catch our sights, but be aware of any changes in the wind that might give us away. Blue and I will approach from the east side. Try to keep us in sight as you go. Smiles and Violet your priority is the young adult. Find a healthy looking one, regardless of gender and if you see an opportunity, you take it. Blue and I will keep an eye out for any newborns because the mothers are going to be the most jumpy and we’ll need to be quick to get one. Remember, we want the beasts as intact as possible. Just take it slow and you will all be fine. If anything happens meet back here in four bells.” Sliver tried to think if she had missed anything, but all three recruits looked as confident as possible given the tension of the situation and seemed ready to go. Smiles and Violet went off to the side, Sliver leading Blue down around. For a while the height of the snow crest kept them hidden, but once they reached the open tundra, they lay on their stomachs and crawled painstakingly forward, it was slow going, but it was literally the only way to approach the heard in such an exposed place. Several times Sliver lost sight of Smiles, but it was only because of his snow white coat, Violet crawling on the ground beside him, and she took solace in the fact that even if the caribou spotted her, they’d have a hard time finding the giant bear in the whipping wind and snow, everything matching his furry coat.

[Valkyrie]

The caribou herd the group approached consisted of ten full-grown adults, a handful of yearlings and roughly five newborns. Several of the adult females still looked swollen with pregnancy, it being so early into their birthing season. All the caribou were restless and shifting, only snuffling on the ground for mosses and lichens for a few moments before warily scanning the tundra around them. Predators that were more aggressive than usual affected the caribou just as much as it affected the people of Avanthal but at least the caribou had their own aggression and strong antlers to deal with the threats.

Smiles and Violet crawled forward slowly, taking their time to weave behind as many frozen waves of snow as possible. Inch by inch they moved forward, Smiles was unused to moving his massive bulk in this manner and was tiring himself out with the effort. Violet was forced to move at Smiles pace, using the white bear as a shield to hide herself from the herd.

Blue and Sliver were in a more disadvantaged position having no white fur to camouflage or hide behind. Inch by freezing inch they would move forward until several caribou of the herd were only twenty yards from their position. Moving in much closer before the other pair was ready would be risky and potentially give away their presence. It would take another five chimes before Smiles and Violet were able to reach a similar distance from the west. Finally moving into similar proximities to the herd, Smiles and Violet hesitated to move into action.

Green as the slender pines surrounding Frostfawn Hold, they were too nervous to make a move before Sliver did. They would wait for Sliver’s actions to determine their own course of action and a course of action would be needed soon. Several caribou near Smiles and Violet’s edge of the herd appeared to be growing more restless and agitated. Picking up tiny wisps of scent of the dire polar bear was beginning to upset them, it would not be long before they panicked and attempted to flee. Or even worse, tried to charge.

[Sliver]

oocLet me know if I'm doing too much in posts, I feel like it'll get easier from here on out, but I'm not sure how much I should be self moderating Sliver waited for a spell, wondering. She saw the herd twitching nervously anticipation and practically could feel their anxiety, perhaps because she felt the same way. She didn’t often identify closely to creatures she considered prey, yet their nervousness and her own at this situation mirrored each other perfectly. She eyed a newborn, still weak on its feet, mother licking the fur to clean after birth off as the creature fell over and struggled to regain footing. She became a bit mesmerized with this action for a moment before Blue poked her shoulder. Sliver glanced over to the new recruit, seeing the worry and fear in his eyes, her own lips turning up in what she only hoped was a comforting smile. She realized Violet and Smiles must be waiting for a queue from her, and she looked at Blue and nodded, she dare not speak, but she gestured to the closest newborn and poked him firmly in the chest. While the newborn was a key component of this equation, it would be more difficult to take down a healthy adult, and she wanted to be there to support the bear and his bondmate. Blue nodded, understanding her request, then she counted with fingers. One. Two… Three! The Kelvic leapt up and sprinted across the icy snow yelling and screaming. Her other pair of recruits was almost directly across from her at this point, if the herd bolted away, they would be running into the open paws of Smiles. It was like she had lit a match in a room filled with dried paper. The herd seemed to leap off of the ground as one, and she saw the whites of panicked mother’s eyes as their heads scrambled to move their young children. Blue was charging forward toward the young thing, still tripping over itself, then Sliver saw what she had hoped wasn’t going to happen. It seemed to be split about half and half. Some of the herd just panicked and began to flee, and Sliver glanced a white form rise up and bodily paw a caribou to the ground as it attempted to escape. But then there were the mother’s, driven into a panic, worried for their own lives as well as their children, and suddenly Blue was on the ground, viciously head butted by the mother of the young caribou calf he had been trying to obtain. The calf lowed in fear, torn between flight and staying with its mother. Sliver sprinted over: Despite the importance of this mission, the thought of having more fatalities undergoing this tasked pulled at some highly defensive part of her. If the other mother’s went feral, Smiles would be more than capable of taking care of Violet, she was all that Blue had at the moment. She aimed a full on body slam at the animals neck, who had begun kicking at her recruit. The female made a strange groaning noise, and Sliver grabbed its head, wrapping an arm around it and began punching her in the neck. She struggled and moaned and her cries were echoed in the high pitched calls of the infant. Blue panted and struggled to rise. “Get. The. Calf.” Sliver had a hard time with the words, the massive animal fighting her with every step, attempting to buck and throw her off her hold. She didn’t want to injure the herd any more than they had been instructed to, but if all the mother’s behaved as this one did, it might be difficult. Suddenly the infant’s wails ended abruptly and Sliver knew the infant was dead. She let go of the hold on the beast and leapt backward. She glanced at Blue who had a sorrowful look on his face, and gestured for him to back up from the calf. He obediently proceeded and Sliver watched cautiously as the mother loped over to the dead corpse, nudging the body and encouraging it to get up. Sliver’s mind was drawn to the woman’s face as she lifted her dead and broken son from the snow after the frost hawk had dropped him. She swallowed drily telling herself this was different, while knowing that it wasn’t, at least not in its conclusion. Sliver looked around. The rest of the herd had dispersed and Smiles had a dead and relatively intact young male caribou slung on his back. As soon as the dire polar bear approached the mother caribou gave one last mournful nudge to her infant than sprinted off in the same direction the rest had gone. Sliver sighed in relief: If an entire herd of caribou had turned on them the results could have been disastrous. She lifted the calf, its neck broken, and slung the limp body next tot eh adult, folding the smaller creature up into the legs of the adult so it would not slide off in the journey. As she turned to congratulate her team for the smooth retrieval, Blue coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the ground. Smiles growled anxiously and Sliver ran to his body. Whatever the caribou had done must have damaged something internally. She had Violet hoist his body onto Smile’s back and instructed him to run as fast as he could without losing the contents on his back, they would all need to go to the Whitevine Healing Center. Before he left Violet removed some rope from their ration pack and they turned him so he lay vertically on Smile’s back, body propped up by the caribou beneath him, and they fastened him in as tightly as they could to the bear’s back. Smile’s looked reluctant to leave Violet, but she shoved him off with a smile, promising to catch up as soon as they could. It didn’t take long for the bear to become lost in the haze of white, and as he loped at a quicker pace towards the city, Sliver and Violet set into a more paced jog, the trip silent, worry of different kinds plaguing both of the Icewatch guards.

[Valkyrie]

OOCYou’re doing fine! You can feel free to use the Icewatch guards I gave you but let me run Lusina.

The trip back to Avanthal would take a little longer, two and a half bells, as both Sliver and Violet were tired from the physical and emotional strain of the encounter with the herd. But at least half of their task was complete, all they had left now was convincing a Frostfawn to give up two of their animals. That couldn’t possibly be harder then facing a whole herd of caribou, or so the two Icewatch guards could hope. Eventually the city began to rise into view, the long Icewall wrapping around the city and the roofs of taller buildings rising above it. Morwen’s castle rose the highest of all and dominated the Avanthal skyline.

Approaching the gate with a shout to alert the guards of their presence, Sliver and Violet were let back into the safety of the city. The guards at the gate updated the two on Blue and Smiles who had made it back to the city and were being seen at the Healing Center. Violet and Sliver would then have to weave their way through the city until they came upon the copse of slender pines that surrounded the Frostfawn Hold. Dogs barked and ran happily through the snow with small Vantha children following along behind trying to catch them with grins and giggles on their faces. Older Vantha watched over the Talderan woolies and domesticated reindeer that grazed on bark and lichen, roaming freely.

The White Elk Stables was where they would want to go. It was a large building, almost as large as the Hold itself, though rather plain looking for a structure that the Frostfawn so highly valued. Inside it was very warm and humid, the body heat of the group of animals inside heated the building better then any stormgem or brazier could. While many workers roamed the stables the woman Sliver and Violet would need to look for was Lusina Frostfawn, a Vantha with waist-length hair known for her compassion and kindness. Sliver and Violet would find her in a stall brushing the mane of a Frostmarch mare.

[Sliver]

Sliver was realized when their determined pace of slow running slowed to a more relaxed walk upon entering the City. Violet desperately wanted to check in with Smiles, but Sliver put a hand on her shoulder. "We have to get the animals from Frostfawn, then we can go to the Healing Center." She looked seriously at the recruit. "Is he injured?" Violet shook her head. "Precisely. I understand your bond, especially because its new, but you'll see him in less than a bell if all goes well, so stop giving me wolf pup eyes and focus on your job." Violet nodded and fell in behind Sliver as they continued to Frostfawn Hold. Sliver told herself as she walked that her stern words and serious gaze were because of the ridiculousness of the guards request, and not because of any inherent jealousies on her part. Sliver enjoyed the relatively calm scenario unfolding before her within the Hold, reminding her that no matter what hardships befell the City, Vantha would always carry on. A simple question and she was guided to the stables. Within Sliver snorted, sensitive nose taking in the strong musk of equine scents and fecal matter. She gave herself a moment to accommodate to all the smells enclosed within the warm humid space before moving forwards. After another inquiry a tall Frostfawn stable hand pointed them down to the stall in the middle of the building. It took Sliver several moments to realize the stables were not just for horses. Cows, reindeer, large dogs, it seemed more like a housing establishment for larger animals than a stable, the stench of horses hit her first and remained ever present as the other smells invaded her senses. Animals snuffled and snorted and she replied in kind, ceasing the noise when she reached the stall where a woman with long dark hair was grooming a comely horse. Sliver leaned on the door of the stall. From Jedara's annoyance she imagined that this wouldn't be as simple as it seemed, she just hoped that by the end of her encounter with the woman she wasn't wishing she was back out in the tundra with her recruits. "Lusina Frostfawn? My name is Sliver, I'm with the Icewatch." The Kelvic was sure that would be all the woman would need to realize why she was here, and waited intently to see what would come next.

[Valkyrie]

Lusina ceased brushing mid-stroke down the horse’s mane. She stared at the mare’s neck for a few moments before turning to Sliver. The woman was generally known as a kind and motherly soul but now her eyes looked hard and accusatory. Sliver’s guess was certainly correct that Lusina knew why they were there and it was clear she was unhappy about it.

“Oh yes, you must be the one they sent to butcher my animals. I know they are sending several, so what are you here for? The dogs or the caribou? They said two groups would be coming to get them. Some experiment or other you are all trying to do.” Lusina glanced off to the side and shook her head. Tears started to form in her eyes and threatened to spill over before she swiped at them with her sleeve.

“I understand it when the Winterflame come for the animals. At least then I know they are dying for a good cause and will feed the city so it can continue thriving for another day. But this…. you are going to kill my animals and then just take them apart. I bet you all probably will just toss the bodies in the sea when you’re done with them.” Lusina eyes flicked back and forth from Sliver and Violet. It was clear she wasn’t going to give them up without laying a considerable guilt trip for the two Icewatch. Upset seemed to be an understatement to how she felt, her eyes were yellow with large flecks of red to denote her anger and sadness.

“Well, tell me what you need and let’s get this over with. At least I can make sure the poor animals suffer as little as possible while you kill them.” Lusina said flatly and walked out of the stall. She set the brush down on a barrel and turned to stare again at Sliver and Violet as she waited for their answer.

[Sliver]

Violet was opening her mouth to say something, worried yet calm eyes turning a roiling magenta when Sliver elbowed her sharply in the gut. Her recruit looked at her questioningly and Sliver gave the smallest shake of her head. Truth be told she wished to rip this woman apart. She might love these animals, but with the amount of death Sliver had seen, two caribou was a small price to pay to stop this madness the animals had under went. She wished she could lay her own guilt trip onto the woman, to try to make her see what these poor wild animals must have been going through with whatever this sickness was, and for a long and hard moment, Lusina staring at them, Sliver staring back at her, she was sorely tempted. In the end, however, she cleared her throat, a few things beginning to make sense when the woman mentioned the caribou. So they would compare the wild ones to domesticated ones to see the difference. The Kelvic couldn't imagine what they'd find, but it was a start anyway. "We are here for the caribou." While she wasn't going to be rude to this woman, who was in fact giving up her livestock, she saw no reason to apologize or try to explain herself either, which left just a very taciturn looking Kelvic who opened the stall door to let Lusina out and show them to the animals, making sure her expression conveyed the fact that she was not going to be showing any remorse for her actions if it ensured the protection of the city.