RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

"M-HmmhmmHMM!~~<3" a particularly cheery Kuroneko hummed. Head cupped in a hand and elbows resting on the back of the seat that Dimitri leaned against, the woman's warm breath tickled his ear as she spoke, "Picking up girls you've just met now? For shame, to do it without me!" she chided him. "Though, I think you'll need more than just a little play on words to catch her interest!~" As the others quickly picked up on Aya's Ranger play however, Sif merely gave an annoyed grunt as she sat their and pouted, over-sized reins in hand. Thinking about it, the sight was a comical one, but not as comical as what they thought they heard.

"I wanna be the red ranger..."

"Not too much I'm afraid. We've only just gotten friendly and familiar with the locals, and are setting out just now," she replied to Yuzuki, having made sure to let them all have their fun first however. Still, there was an important question that hadn't been answered. "Usually, Sif would be the one to ask, but I'll do so for her instead; just what do you all think our encounter implies?" They had met several goblins being used as cannon fodder by a small group of Hobgoblins, who were all well armed and armored. And not only that, were fairly well trained and disciplined. Something that was out of place when it came to brigands stalking the roads in search of easy prey.

As the open top carriage rolled along, their loot piled in the back, the scenery slowly began to change. To either side of them, a loose forest of trees and bushes lining the road were present, lush and minty with moss. However, as they traveled, the greenery to either side seemed to slowly peel away to eventually reveal vast planes of grass as the road itself chose to meander and tread around what soon became apparent; a dense, thick forest to their left. The path had curved through its thinner outskirts out of necessity, but now made to avoid it entirely as they ventured further into the planes. And, just barely visible over the tall, brooding forest, were cold and distant mountaintops.

Thankfully, they were heading away from both.

Rin glanced at Sif, making sure she heard the mini neko correctly.

"But Sif, I would obviously be the red one," she said with a smirk. She scanned the horizon carefully for threats; hopefully they would be able to see any attackers coming this time.

"Hm... I suppose you're right," said Aya, looking rather pensive. The mask soon shattered to be replaced with one of her cheery smiles. "I know I'd probably get annoyed with me sometimes..." Her brow then furrowed as she swore she heard Sif say something. Could it possibly be...? No, it must have been the wind. That totally didn't sound like something the Sif she knew would say. Apparently Rin heard it too, at least if what she said was any indicator. Dancing around the issue of what Sif might have said, she quipped, "Does that make me the blue ranger, then? Watch out, evildoers!"

There was a further pause as Aya puzzled out an answer to Kuroneko's query. It didn't take her long, however. "Well, highway robbery isn't something you usually resort to if you've got food in your belly and money in your pocket, right? So there was definitely something off about the stuff they were all carrying. And I don't think highwaymen are exactly known for their tactical acumen. Maybe I'm reaching a little here, but either they used to be part of an army of some sort - which someone probably would've mentioned to us by now - or they're being trained. But who would want to train a bunch of bandits...?"

Even as these thoughts rattled about her brain, Aya found herself soothed by the vistas stretching before them. Even if they would keep a respectful distance, Aya found the sight heartening. Even whilst on a mission, it seemed that there was great beauty around every corner.

Dimitri was glad to see that Yuzuki was fitting in rather easily and making jokes, he'd gotten this far without having to deal with any real inter-squad friction and he liked that. "Sif is just grumpy cause she hasn't had her sugar." He chuckled lightly and then gestured to take the reins from Sif so she no longer had to deal with them.

"What does our encounter mean? Hmm well if I had to put it to words, I don't think a group like that is just wandering around. I would say border guards or a strik3e team. But they didn't look like scouts..so it's safe to say we're already in enemy territory and not the DMZ anymore." He was seriously thinking about the question which was rare for him, the somber expression on his face as well.

"Boo," the Mini-Neko replied to all the Sentai-Team talk with annoyance. The deadpan, yet slightly lip-puckered expression she gave was adorable, but belied her thoughts on the matter. She wanted to be the Red Ranger! But with Rin and her heavy armaments, that was going to be hard. Perhaps there was only one way she could solidify her holding on her favorite color... As Sif thought over this however, Kuroneko knowingly tapped her head with a finger as though to chide her, and gave out a girlish giggle as a mini-glare fell on her. However, it didn't stay for long. "Sugar is expensive here," Sif muttered a reply to Dimitri. "Plus, sweets in these parts tend to be more...messy since they're not refined." The idea of having her hands stuck to a honey-nut treat or somesuch was not a pleasing thought.

"You're all on the right track I think," Kuroneko began, changing the subject to something a little more serious. "They're most likely either deserters or raiders looking for resources to feed their main party." As the open topped carriage bumped along the dirt road, the grassy planes seemed to get taller, bit by bit as she continued. "With either one, it's a pretty bad sign for us, and is most likely a very recent event given the fact that the village we were at earlier had no wind of it. The most they knew was that their activity was increasing, but with no idea why." As the grass swayed with the gentle breeze, a few clumps in the distance stopped doing so; it didn't take the two older Neko long to notice this.

"There's another possibility too," Sif interjected. Having the reins taken from her by the young man, she had gone and recovered her makeshift cushion and was now sitting on it again. "When an army is defeated, and their forces rout, some troops may regroup while others scatter. From there, their objective may be either to raid their way back home or rally." Now, the Mini-Neko was looking at the tall grass as well. As those four clumps steadily got closer to the group, their movements a little sloppy, Kuroneko languidly repositioned her halberd as though she were trying to make herself more comfortable with it. "Regardless of the specifics, we are no longer safe in this area of the kingdom."

They had company. But, did the others notice?

There they were; the formless clumps of grass that refused to follow the rest of the plain.

No chances this time. Rin drew a precautionary arrow from her quiver and nocked it onto her bow. She kept her bow resting on her lap; no need to alert their potential attackers just yet.

Given that her companions had demonstrated a greater knowledge of their present environment than Yuzuki could claim, she had lapsed into attentive silence hoping to gain a glimmer of enlightenment from it all. The discussion of possible groupings of forces ranging from scouts, raiders, or deserters was unsettling to say the least. It served only to reinforce her unease that not all of their foes had been slain. She didn't envy the possibility to encountering an angered, larger force that sought vengeance for their fallen hideous kin.

The thought was almost enough to distract from the beautiful scenery and fresh, pristine air. Delighting at the wind in her hair, Yuzuki had taken to gazing out across the steadily rising prairie grass enjoying the waves across the tops in the distance spurred on by the wind. So enraptured with the beauty, she failed to notice the oddity in the grass, instead picking up on the tension of those around her. Looking from Maki-hei to the one indicated as Sif, and their cheerful halberd carrier, Yuzuki found herself once again with spear and shield in hand, this time refraining from strapping the large round wooden defence to her arm, as she wasn't sure whether it would do her much good, or whether she would need more agility.

"So you think we might be about to get caught in the middle of a war?" asked Aya. She took a little bit longer than the two most senior Nekos to spot the conspicuous clumps. The young soldier almost blew everyone's cover by pointing the clumps out. But she quickly caught on and continued what she was saying. "That might make our mission a little more troublesome..."

Under the pretense of folding her arms, she let her right hand rest on her short sword.

Dimitri listened to the explanation and it was as expected, but he wanted to hear that he was wrong instead, that they had come across a random dance party and beat up some innocents. "If we're not safe here though it becomes a question of how far do we have to go before we are safe again." His attention was on the road, so he did not see the clumps in the tall grass, but what he did see were the horses growing more tense. He picked up on the heavy atmosphere around him as well and loosened his body as best he could getting ready to act, since he couldn't grab his weapons without alerting the ambushers.

It was the worst part. The waiting.

Waiting for the enemy to get closer and closer. Close enough to shoot at. Close enough to swing at. Close enough to hit. Waiting and waiting and waiting for the right moment to counter-attack this ambush. If they waited for too long, the enemy would get a clean first strike in, and possibly with a projectile weapon even. The worst possible outcome. And yet, if they attacked too soon, they'd be out of range and lose the element of surprise; worse, the Star Army soldiers would be vulnerable in the tall grass, out of range. It all boiled down to the timing. Just waiting for the painfully obvious enemies to -

"Your stealth is awful! Are you even trying to sneak up on us?" Sif suddenly yelled at them. Hearing her angry, frustrated voice, the four clumps of tall grass stopped, and visibly turned to look at each other as though they were confused.

"I thought we not?" a familiarly pitched voice asked one of the other grassy clumps in the plains.

"We not. We ask ride, remember?" a second replied.

"But, little person says we sneaking," the third voice pointed out.

"We forgot taking off grassy!" a forth suddenly realized. With that dawning on them, the four 'grass monsters' became undone as small, clawed, scaly hands groped about and removed their coverings. The mounted squad soon found themselves looking at four natives of this planet; reptilian kobolds, much like the one they had met earlier in the general store previously. However, the differences between them were fairly stark. Though these were clearly stronger, with more well defined bodies, the few visible patches of scales they had on their faces and necks were more dull and dirty looking. And then there was their arms and armor. A brownish grey, almost chitin-like material was shaped into plates which was fitted over cloth, while the weapons they held in their hands were plenty powerful; crossbows. And not the smaller variety either, but full sized ones that the three foot tall figures would have a little bit of difficulty handling if it weren't for the leather harness they were attached to.

"You going to village ahead? Want ride - feet tired, long trip!" the second one spoke up. Doing their best to keep pace with the open topped carriage, the four kobolds were at a jog, their weapons pointed away from the squad as they tried to bum a ride off of them.

If Sif wasn't A) her direct superior and B) still extremely intimidating, Aya might have frowned at her. As it was, she instead settled for a startled expression. This morphed into disbelief and then wary relief as the kobolds bickered amongst themselves and then let their intentions be known. Despite her training, she almost wanted to give the hapless creatures a ride on principle. But the key word was "almost".

"I'd really like to, but..." Aya paused, looking suitably apologetic. "Who are you? How do we know you're not trying to get our guard down?"

Dimitri was rather surprised by Sif's sudden shouting, some much that he barely managed to remember to keep the horses from running off at the sudden noise. Once he had stopped the horses he turned to the suspected assailants only to find kobolds instead of goblins, rather chatty ones in fact. After listening to what they had to say he blinked and looked at the others, this was not the situation he expected at all and he found himself at a lost for words to reply with. "Um..er..Sif?"

Prepared for a fight Yuzuki was ashamed to admit that she had flinched at Sif's outburst. Anticipating aggressors from the prairie grass she hadn't expected the loud cry from the miniature Neko, nor had she expected what had potentially been another violent encounter to result in strangely adorable, peppy creatures attempting to win a ride with their group. Given that Yuzuki was well aware of her own barely accepted presence aboard the wagon she thought it was best to keep her opinion of the situation to herself. If they wanted her to be productive and helpful, the would ask for it after all.

This complacency however did not translate into trust, the shaft of her spear, and the leather straps of her shield were still held comfortably ready to be used should the eager creatures decide to change face or enact some form of ambush while the group considered them friendly or amicable. Others could trust, she would remain skeptical until good will was demonstrated rather than assumed.

Rin was surprised by Sif's outburst, due to the fact that any surprise they could have gained had been lost. Still, the kolbolds revealed themselves and apparently just wanted a ride to the next village. Rin kept an arrow knocked and her bow at the ready, watching the creatures carefully should one of them try something foolish.

Right at the heels of what they said earlier was Aya's question, but, it only seemed to make them even more confused. Again, they turned to look at each other in complete and utter bewilderment. Their faces were incredibly difficult to read given that they were reptilian, but, given how they looked back and forward between each other, and the milky blue Neko along with how their 'eyebrows' moved, one thing was clear. The look they gave to her was the kind that was reserved for someone who said something crazy.

"Um, how say nicely?" the second - a brown scaled one - began. "We no need ask for fancy-wagon?" it asked. "We ask anyways though!" it quickly added, realizing what it said could have been taken the wrong way.

"Yeah! Could come close, slit throats fast instead!" the third, red scaled Kobold added. As though to make a point, it reached for its leather chest rig, the layout surprisingly modern despite the primitive materials and pulled out a thin, black painted stiletto.

"No, no! Look at pointy ears!" the first started to argue, scratching at a few of its blue scales in annoyance at its companion's suggestion. Instead of getting a chance to elaborate, the fourth - a green scaled one - quickly butted in, provoking the other two to quickly burst into a flurry of comments.

"So fuffy!"

"Pritty colours!

"Much cute!"

"Quiet, quiet! Pointy ears hear good, hard sneaky-sneaky!" the blue Kobold explained, trying to keep them on track. "Need to shoot close-not-too-close so can't dodge. And all once, with times all same." Hearing how the four little lizards discuss how they would have tried to kill them all if they simply wanted to take the open topped carriage was uncomfortable at best, but the moment Dimitri tried to express any of this, Sif threw a small rock at him that stung his neck like a grain of sand.

"And poison!" the red Kobold quickly added.

"Yes, poison!" the brown one agreed.

"Sh. This is interesting," she hissed at him without even looking at the young man. For once, she looked like an honestly curious little girl with how wide her eyes opened, the way she nodded her head to their observations and the way her ears stood up on end with rapt attention. It seemed that unless he had something to say or ask like Aya had, she wouldn't be happy. However, judging by the way Kuroneko gave out a giggle, she'd be happy even if he did the same again. Still, Sif didn't get to keep listening to their discussion; the four Kobolds had stopped their little derailed-rerailed debate and had turned their attention back to the Adventurers. At which Sif's expression simply sank back into her typical tired and bored default. And then they suddenly realized they didn't answer Aya's question.

"Oh! We Adventurers! Bestest of tribe - bring back fortune!" the brown one finally answered. Pausing to tilt its head at them, it asked, "Can ride now?"

Aya simply stared in bemusement at the spectacle. These Kobolds were either astounding actors, or they were the most incompetent highwaymen to ever live. The Kobolds' impromptu flurry of compliments aimed at the Nekovalkyrjas's ears only made the scene even stranger. If anything, by the time the kobolds restated their question, Aya was more uncertain. "Um... er..." She looked back to her companions and whispered, "Guys, what do you think?"

What had been cautious distrust within Yuzuki had shifted into something more passionate as the lizard people chattered about killing the Neko in the cart. Slowly a bubbling feeling was growing and Yuzuki was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to contain her feelings on the subject, it was only a matter of time, and the final words spoken in audacity set it loose,

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaawaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiii~"

Grinning brightly Yuzuki beamed at the group that was still patiently awaiting the verdict on whether they were to be allowed to hitch a ride with the cart. Bubbly and giggling to herself Yuzuki collected her belongings and moved toward the front of the cart. The action made the newcommer's opinion clear, if the rest of the group would allow them into the wagon, she wasn't going to hinder it. The positioning of her shield between her and the lizard people, as well as her casually holding the haft of her spear suggested that while she was open to the idea of them boarding the wagon, she didn't actively trust them.

A single word uttered, much said.

Dimitri jumped a little in surprise at the stone to the neck it didn't hurt but it made him wonder why Sif even had said stone int eh first place. He wasn't sure what to think about the kobolds either, it was good they were honest, and seemed kind of dumb, means they would be pretty easy to read, but it was unsettling to say the least to hear them so eagerly talk about ways to kill them.

However not only did Yuzuki seem eager to let the little guys in, they made Sif smile even if only for a short period, he wasn't about to refuse them and upset everyone. At the same time though he could see Sif hitting him on the forehead and calling him stupid for agreeing to let someone who just discussed killing them ride along. So he took the route any man would when out numbered by girls, say nothing and let them work it out.

"How far is it to the next village?" Rin asked of the kolbolds. She made no attempt to hide the fact that she had her bow resting in her lap with an arrow in one hand. While she was willing to give the creatures a chance, discretion was often the better part of valor.

Hilariously, the squad of soldiers were just as disorganized as the Kobolds themselves it seemed; their reactions only confused the Kobolds even more.

"What's a Kawaii?" the red one asked, scratching under its helmet with a claw. Before anyone could even answer it though, the ruddy brown scaled one answered first, but not with what any of them expected in the slightest.

"Kawaii? That not Mitte Sprechen!" the brown scaled one suddenly exclaimed, excitedly poking and prodding at the others as though it had made a great discovery. "Remember? Remember? Ostland travelers call us that too!" Turning to Yuzuki, it asked, "You Ostlandi?" its eyes then darting back and forward between the other Star Army Soldiers with surprise.

"Dango!"

"Shumai!"

"Boodog!" the others suddenly chorused, mouths starting to water as their memories were jogged by the mention. Judging by how the brown one grabbed a bunch of grass reeds and whacked at its cohorts however, it didn't seem it was very happy.

"Stahp, stahp, STAHP!" It yelled at them, the tension quickly rising as its voice rose. The four reptilians continued to jog alongside the carriage as the horses pulled it at a canter, the brown scaled Kobold taking a moment to catch its breath. "Making me hungryyyyyyyyy!" it suddenly wailed, its words utterly pathetic and laced with despair. Shaking its head, they all fell quiet for a moment before the brown scaled Kobold looked back at The Squad. "On claw, night's fall. And no campy - must keep moving, town safe. Plains starlit, but dark and scary," it answered Rin.

"And cold and dreary! Open spaces, bad!" the green scaled Kobold quickly spoke up, making sure they understood. Without the ride, they were going to be stuck on the plains and out in the open despite the tall grass.

"Ah, but it's just all so sudden! We've only just met!" Kuroneko's sing-song voice playfully replied. "Let us think about it maybe?" she smiled at them. The reply the Tiger-Neko got?

"Feet huuuuuurt!"

"Will you all make up your minds already?" Sif's voice rang in their heads. "And make it quick too. Their patience, or their stamina, may run out soon," she 'telepathically' reminded them all. As though to make a point, they all started to notice just how much the little Kobolds were panting as they tried to keep up with the carriage as the horses continued at a canter.