#arbiteur anynde

Oranos yelped in sudden awareness, and shoved the blankets away, leaping up and back toward the wall of the small cave. Xer horns dug into the earth above them, and xe winced as the dirt xe’d knocked loose showered down on xem. 

The rain was acid.

Xe had to stop the leak, or go. Oranos whimpered briefly, before reaching out to wake up xer lusus, who was curled up toward the lower portion of the burrow. Lusus grunted, not exactly happy about being jarred from its sleep, but when it saw the worry on the small troll’s face and heard what was happening, it too was startled into alertness.

Oranos looked up at Lusus helplessly. Lusus blinked, before picking up the blanket that had been burned through with its surprisingly gentle claws. It looked from Oranos - to the ceiling - to the blanket, and then nodded.

It scooped up handfuls of dirt from the floor, pressing them into the weak spot in the ceiling, packing it solid so that it wouldn’t fall, while Oranos tried to stay out of the way, watching Lusus work.

Xe looked over to xer pile of things - various items xe’d picked up during xer journeys, from an assortment of clothing to a small chunk of mindhoneycomb  - and had an idea.

“Lussus,” xe spoke up, in that voice that sounded so much like a younger Lusus, speaking its very own language, “cans ‘ry a sing?”

Lusus blinked down at xem, curiously. What did this little thing want to try now? But it stopped repairing the ceiling, one clawed paw braced against it, to listen. Oranos just grinned, that toothy grin xe got when xe was about to Get a New Thing, grabbed the burned blanket, and scrambled over to xer pile. Xe shoved as many things as xe could fit into the blanket, before wrapping the bundle up and picking it up, holding it close to xemself with both hands. “Oussite,” xe chirped, still smiling mischievously.

Lusus was skeptical, and for good reason, but it went to the mouth of the burrow with xem, and watched as xe unwrapped xer bundle of things, and one by one placed them carefully outside, under the acidic rain. The troll then squatted down to watch the rain’s effects intently, grinning toothily all the while.

She hurried down to the landing and swung around the corner, hand on the railing for stability. Her eyes searched the rows of desks, but she couldn't see the troll she was looking for. She didn't recognize anyone there. 

"Anynde? Oranos Anynde?" Her voice seemed weak, worried, unlike herself. A desk-troll turned to her, eyed her with the usual strained, dead eyes. "Not here."

She'd heard it from the higher-ups, that Oranos was missing, but she didn't believe it, she couldn't. Xe never missed a night of work without good reason and she knew it. Something must have happened. But what?

The next stop was xer hivestem, xer hive really nothing more than a room and a half tacked on at the very top. She'd half believed Oranos when xe'd said xe always took the stairs. But she didn't have time to do that, nor the patience. And she barely had patience for the slimy, old elevator.

Oranos was dead when she found xem, xer bright red mutant blood spilled on the floor, burning into her eyes. Xer husktop smashed in - xe must have tried to alert her. Or at least the workplace. But most likely, her.

The elevator's buzzing brought her back, and she tried to still her shaking form, taking slow breaths just like Oranos said. That wasn't real. That wasn't real. Just another fear turned nightmare, like the rest. The ones she'd had ever since she was young. They'd been getting worse recently, since she'd known Oranos, but xe seemed to know how to calm her, so it was worth it. 

Right now, though, she doubted it was. Xe was a mutant, after all, and she was an idiot for getting attached to xem. Xe was probably dead in a ditch somewhere between here and work, and then what would she do? The answer seemed obvious to her. She'd almost done it in the elevator already.

She knocked on the door, in the special pattern the two of them used with each other. She'd made up her mind. She couldn't let this go on any longer. If Oranos wasn't dead, she had to end it now. She couldn't maintain an attachment to a mutant. It was killing her.

"Come in?" came the familiar voice, and she could feel her tension melting away already. "Anynde!" she nearly shouted, throwing the door open. "What the hell are you doing here? Why aren't you at work?" 

The other troll sat up in bed, clearly surprised to see her, and she felt a stab of guilt as she noticed xer raspy breathing. "Sorry... thought I notified. I don't want to contaminate..." and xe broke off to cough into xer hand.

The Eastborn Conqueror, Mikade Calept, could not be stopped. She appeared small and harmless, taking on the appearance of a man to further the deception, but in reality she was deadly. Eventually, after proving herself in what had seemed to be a suicide mission, she achieved the position of commander of her own ship, and from there, a small fleet. Her fleet was unlike any other under the Empire. Aliens, mutants, everyone had a use, and everyone was kept alive as far as the Conqueror could sensibly do so. As far as she could use them. Kuroko Sidigo hated this, and was only kept from acting on that hate by the simple fact that her own moirail was a mutant. Until, of course, that moirail died.

The Vengeful Enforcer, (aka the Vengefowl, the Enforcer, or just the Vengeful) Kuroko Sidigo had a troubled history... she was only kept from a singleminded focus on destruction by Oranos Anynde, with whom she had an unexpected moirallegiance. Oranos’s death, however, was the final straw, leading her to first demand that xe have a successor and make plans for the survival of such, then embark on a quest to finally cull all those who she saw as wrong, including the Eastborn Conqueror. This was too great a task for her to accomplish on her own without rest, and eventually one of her targets managed to kill her.

Suroce Koshnt, the Sanguine Overméne, is the probable ancestor of Alneme Koshnt. Formerly a devout believer, she began having doubts as she grew older... doubts that a follower was what she wanted to become. So she became a leader in her religion instead, and made herself too indispensable, too deeply involved in the workings, to uproot (possibly by becoming close to the former leaders, learning how to do their jobs, and then assassinating them). After a failed attempt at upward movement that resulted in her losing her arm, she changed tactics and started the Sanguine Society. This change was not well received by certain higher-ups, notably Vadius Vadion, but they still could not get close enough to get rid of her... until Ischia Verent, a young member of the Sanguine Society, was kept back from ascension and took out their anger by corrupting Suroce’s memories. She was sent away to a different planet for exile, but instead took over the transport ship and converted it into the vehicle for her plans of revenge against the Empire.

The Arbiteur Anynde, Oranos Anynde was, despite xer mutation, strongly devoted to the Empire; one of their bio-researchers. This was possibly the only thing that kept xem alive, especially once Kuroko Sidigo learned of xer mutation... the two actually got along in a sort of moirallegiance, Oranos calming Kuroko in her moments of rage, and Kuroko giving xem her protection in return. Unfortunately, Oranos was eventually culled for xer mutation, leading Kuroko to lose herself in grief and anger. 

Havenn Perbus never gained a title, and no wonder: before they even reached adulthood, they were discovered to be a mutant and sold to the Sanguine Society. Their resilience, and the fact that they were a rarity - a lowblood day-howler - were the only things that kept them alive through literal sweeps of experimentation and torture. They finally managed to escape through a combination of luck and sheer animal force, and ran as far away as they could. They haven’t stopped running since, only pausing to do a few errands when they can, or use any of their varied artistic talents, to gain a bit of money here and there. They’ve repressed most of their memories of the Sanguine Society, as well as their transformations.