#enderthehunter

The Ahamkara watches the yarn bounce, and then roll a few feet away from her. Her tip of her tail taps against the ground, and she looks back to the Guardian, yellow eyes narrowed.

What is that for?

The cat continues to groom herself, her attention focused on her paws as she runs her rough tongue over the black fur that covers them. Her tail lazily thumps against the ground. She lets him stand in silence for a few moments.

The black cat blinks slowly at the Hunter from where she lies, the tip of her tail gently tapping the ground. She yawns widely, showing off her sharp teeth, before turning her attention to her paws, beginning to groom herself.

No, she says through a telepathic link. No wish is too small for me. A wish is a wish.

For now, the Mists are quiet, and Mara is able to give herself a break. She does not let her guard down, of course, but she would like to be off of her feet for a few minutes. Her helmet is off, and resting on the stone next to her, but she has a hand on it, just in case she needs to grab it if something appears. The other Corsairs are nearby, and she can feel their eyes on her, watching for some command, or a sign that danger is near that they will cover her from.

*Slices tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil and places in an overlapping row on a white.

Drizzles with olive oil.* Here ya go.

“What if we make him come crying to you?”

@ender-the-hunter

“How tall was she?”

The young, slightly roughed-up voice asked in a sort of casual whisper. The voice’s owner sat in dimly-cast flashes of light from the hawk’s various controls and status monitors. Her four eyes shimmering softly.

“Oh you know, average height. Five feet and change.” Replied a much more human voice, the Guardian it came from maintaining proper control over the sluggish craft as it approached the Reef.

“I thought she’d be bigger.”

The hunter chuckled at that.

“Why’s that?”

“A leader should be big! Like a statue for her followers to rally behind.”

“Well as I’m sure you’ll learn, Dimi, you don’t need to be twelve feet tall for followers to rally behind you.” The Guardian replied, his ghost clicking about his shoulder.

“I know that!” the Eliksni retorted. “It’s just.. ehh..”

“Weird?" The hunter offered, catering to his friend’s limited knowledge of English vocabulary.

"Yes! Weird.”

“Well don’t tell her that when you meet her.”

There was a scuffling sound behind the two seats where the two sat. A small Eliksni pup garbed in a small brightly-patterned cloak clambered onto the adult’s shoulder and looked at the Guardian with anticipation.

“Zu bas bo dan?” He chittered excitedly, his voice still quite loose and soft with youth.

The hunter smiled, rubbing his fingers into the pup’s mop of hair atop his head.

“Remember, we’re practicing your English, bud. Ask me again.”

The pup pondered a moment, the hands of his lower arms clutched together nervously before attempting his words.

“Will… soon.. be there?” The pup offered.

“Will we be there soon.” The hunter chuckled in response. “And yes. We will.”

The pup trilled excitedly at this. The adult Eliksni holding him grinned softly with a more mature show of anticipation.

The hunter’s Ghost clicked its shell before speaking. “We’re approaching the rendezvous.” it said.

“Hey Ziriks, how ‘bout you head back to the main cabin with the others and make sure everyone’s in their seats for landing, alright bud?” The hunter said to the pup.

Nodding eagerly in acceptance of his mission, the pup bounded off to the main cabin, his small cloak flailing out behind him.

Raising the communications panel on the ship’s controls, the Guardian hailed the frequency the Queen’s Regent had instructed him to use. He paused for a moment, his heart pounding. It was happening, actually happening. The hunter looked to his right to see his Eliksni comrade give him a reassuring nod. They were even more ready for this than he was.

“This is Guardian Ender Willits, requesting scheduled dock at Bay 17 per request of Regent Petra Venj. Please Respond.”

“Permission granted, Guardian. Dock at Bay Seventeen as instructed, and you will be met by escorts,” a reply comes over the comms, swift and ready. A pair of galliots fly in to help guide him through the expanse of the Reef, flying on either side of him at a distance to make sure he doesn’t veer off course, or end up in the wrong bay. Once he is close enough, their wings stretch out more to slow down, before drifting away to return to their posts.

The escorts waiting them are a mix of Awoken and Eliksni. Ronja is there in place of her mother and Petra, as both adults are busy, but she knows Mara will join them to welcome the new Eliksni to the Reef. With her are a couple of guards for security reasons, the Crow from before, and two Eliksni. One is obviously young, maybe a year or two older than Ronja and dressed in the colours of House Judgement. The other is older, much older, and dressed in the colours of the Reef. She’s shifting eagerly, anxiously as they wait for the ship to dock.

“Ryrlis, quit dancin’ like that. You look like a weirdo,” the younger Eliksni says to her elder. The older female gives the younger a bit of a look with the closest two eyes.

“I will dance all I like, Pyrin! Pups! Children! More Eliksni! Let me be excited to welcome new people to our home!” she says, reaching out to attempt to take a swipe at Pyrin, who simply side steps towards the Princess to avoid the elder’s claws.

“Both of you... please,” Ronja sighs, giving Pyrin a gentle shove away from her. “We’re trying to at least pretend we’re official and professional.” Easier said than done, considering half their party is under twenty-five years. Only Ryrlis and the guards are well and truly adults. The Crow, Mira, is technically an adult but... only by two years.