Forsaken Heroes (Kaisaan & Catalyst)

[Kaisaan]

-------

It seemed that the universe felt they'd been thoroughly warned about the fate of their mission as that first day was the last of anything truly eventful for the group. Patrols to avoid, ships to hide from, that was all in a day's work, natural and hardly anything to worry them. They traveled at a reasonable pace, but not quickly due to Ember for the first three days, but on the fourth, the woman rose before any of them - besides the sentry who happened to be Nug at the time - and was ready to leave when the rest of the group was, on her own two feet. She'd only allowed Tohq to carry her that one day, the two after that alternating between walking a bit on her own and having someone help her when she began to feel dizzy.

On the fourth day, however.....it was like she'd never been injured. No signs of it but for her shoulder itself and even that was...healing rather quickly. Not freakishly fast, almost reasonably enough not to seem odd......unless one knew how long such wounds were supposed to take to heal. Ember's shouldn't have been half-way done with the process after four days, but the bite wound was steadily closing and she was steadily stronger, able to do more with her arm as the days passed. By the time they had reached the edge of the Red Zone, nine days later - those three slower days had cost them time - the bite was all but healed, still tender, still slightly scabbed in some areas, a bit puffy in other, but nearly gone all the same but for the scars she'd bear.

It wasn't exactly natural by human standards, but no one spoke of it, least of all Ember. Besides, who was to say the Tih'ahl with them were even aware of how humans functioned? They might be utterly clueless as to what was normal for a human being or not. Asking would have confirmed, but everyone seemed on edge, not only with the mission, but with the distrust and uncertainty about each other. Nick and Thomas didn't get along because of Ember, and it was clear Nick and she hated each other. Nug and Candy always seemed nervous when the two were around each other and no one knew what to expect of the two aliens with them. There was tension from many fronts and the added stress of getting closer to their destination wasn't helpful.

It did keep everyone pretty quiet and subdued, even Ember, though.

--

They knew when they'd entered the Red Zone the moment their earpieces started to crackle and Nia was the first to leap back a step or two like a cat scalded by water. Thomas swore she almost hissed and he nearly grinned, but managed to keep it in as Nick gave the command for all of them to remove their earpieces. Just outside the Red Zone, they did so and placed them in a bag brought along. Thomas took the job of hiding it and everyone checked their person for more technology that might alert the Etz'os to their presence. Confirming that they had nothing, Nick looked to Luthran and Tohq with a slightly narrowed gaze.

"The weapons you have, will they alert the morphers?"

Ember rolled her eyes and started to walk once more, hesitating almost a moment at the threshold of the invisible line separating the outside world from the Red Zone before crossing almost deliberately. "They've been fighting the Etz'os far longer than we've been alive, Nickie. I'm sure they wouldn't make such a rookie mistake."

Glancing at the two aliens in question, the woman gave a slight smirk before looking away again and to the Torsir perched once more on her shoulder. "Only humans blunder about that blindly, right Asirin?" A growling warble answered her before the creature nuzzled her cheek and leaped away from her, disappearing into the forest around them, his task or purpose unknown. Ember didn't seem overly concerned about it and merely looked back at the others, ignoring the seething Nick. He was always doing that after all.

"Well? Ready?"

"To go into the Heart of Darkness, to face the Terror of Terrors, to venture into the Belly of the Beast, to-"

"Thomas."

The blond grinned and shrugged before moving to join her.

 

[catalyst]

What should have been just about a week as was informed beforehand took longer by two days. Depending on what they would find in the Red Zone would also alter their estimated time back, and truth be told Tohq wasn't sure if a rescue team would be sent in after them if anything should happen. After losing so many children already and then some of their best chances to gathering intel? It felt like a 40% chance of the humans sending in another team and a 60% probability that they would stay put and not risk losing any more soldiers.

Tohq had only carried Ember for that first day. After that, she was intent on walking with occasional help from the others. It was a sketchy idea at first, everybody watching her at times to make sure she wasn't pushing herself too hard, but it was soon to show that she was just fine. It was actually a little surprising by how quickly she was healing but no one was saying anything of it, not even mentioning it. And even though both aliens were curious if this was normal for humans, both figured that perhaps it was.

Just another question to add to their list.

One thing that Tohq noticed during the journey was that there wasn't much wildlife. Animals were scarce, and the few they did see were just on the verge of death. Any fauna and flora that looked promising were on the horizon, places that they weren't traveling to. Most plant life, though, was in a sad state due to the devastation of the entire planet. Everything was off, try as they might to keep flourishing. And it was mostly trees that took plant life form considering they were the sturdiest.

The flowers and other plants that he did see, though, he treasured silently. Only Luthran knew his interest and genuine care he held for the green breaths of life.

As they entered the Red Zone, the earpieces crackled and rang at a highly uncomfortable level and Tohq was quick to take it out, clicking his tongue in displeasure before tossing it to Thomas to put away. Luthran did the same before both him and Tohq were asked about their weapons. Luthran answered, as per usual, after Ember.

"They have been designed specifically not to alert the Etz'os. I'm sure we do not have a problem," he reassured. Unless the Etz'os somehow were able to upgrade all levels of their radar, they would be fine. With that, Thomas' words had Luthran grinning and he nudged Tohq in the arm and nodded his head towards the human. Tohq just smirked, and Luthran patted the human male on the back before continuing to walk, Tohq following. Before too much silence passed, Nug joined in.

"Risin' up, back on the street. Did my time, took my chances!" Nug sang, his voice not all too terrible, though low so as not to attract attention. Tohq and Luthran looked to each other. Considering he was singing, perhaps this was a famous song sang before battles? "Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet. Just a man and his will to survive!" He'd risk getting shot down by Nick in order to sing it.

 

[Kaisaan]

Thomas was the first to snort softly at Nug's singing - something rather traditional of the young man before the beginning of a mission - chuckling under his breath, but Ember was the first to join in, her voice not all that bad either and harmonizing with Nug's rather well, as if they'd done this a few times before.

"So many times it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive!"

Dreams of the past. Ember shook her head slightly with the smallest of sardonic smiles on her face. A gymnast. The Olympics. That had been her dream before all this began. It seemed stupid now, nothing more than a child's foolishness in the wake of everything she'd lived through. And yet...it had been a passion. Where was that spark, that flame now? There was nothing but survival now. Nothing but the new horrors that awaited day in and day out. Death stalked them wherever they went.

"It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger!"

Eye of the tiger. Tigers had gold eyes, didn't they? The thought brought amber ones flickering toward Tohq for just a moment before Ember looked away again and focused on climbing over a fallen log instead. Still, her thoughts circled around the idea of the alien behind her as something of a wild cat, dangerous and yet beautiful. It seemed fitting and she nodded to herself even as she continued to sing with the others, Thomas having joined in now, much to Nick's irritation - though, the man did nothing to stop them, knowing from experience that he couldn't. Nug would have his song and that was that.

"Face to face, out in the heat
Hanging tough, staying hungry
They stack the odds still we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive!"

Boy, didn't that last part of the song - that didn't include the rest of the chorus - just fit in this world!

It was the last thought Ember had on the matter before Nick finally did make them stop, raising a hand that instantly brought silence and a tenseness to the group. No matter what they felt for each other in that moment, the entire team moved as one as they started up an incline in the forest floor, nearly belly-crawling by the time they got to the top. Peering through the brush and the trees to the barren crater in the earth below them, their eyes beheld the center of the Red Zone. An Ezt'os base.

The place was crawling with the creatures. Mostly humanoid in build, they sported curved horns, a dark green skin with luminescent yellow lights patterned across their bodies and four arms. Their eyes were a marble black, voids within their faces, merciless and cold. Wicked claws adorned their fingers and vampire-like fangs filled their mouths, a paralytic venom secreted with their saliva. They towered at more than 6'6 most of them and rarely did one stride without purpose, always with a task in mind or some mission to complete. They were rather terrifying in their single-minded unity, like a swarm directed by one entity.

For all the humans knew; that was exactly what they were.

As the group watched, they could see ships coming and going from a towering structure that was anything but man-made. Built from a black and green substance that Earth didn't even possess, it was like a giant webbed, catacomb, a hive that pulsed with sickening light, a hum in the air due to a power source that could not readily be seen. There were patrols of guards stationed all about, but past their defenses, there could be seen pens filled with humans, many being gathered up and taken into the building.

None emerged again.

 

[catalyst]

At the same time, both aliens turned their heads and looked to Ember as she joined in with Nug's singing. Candice joined in soon after, though she didn't know all the words, and then Thomas. Luthran was unable to keep himself from smiling as he became quite fond of the tune and looked to Tohq. A small smile was on his face as well, and he probably would have joined in on the singing if he knew the words. For now, though, the aliens would have to settle on just listening.

A few minutes passed. Everyone was hoping for the song to be carried out to the end, but that didn't happen. Nick had raised his hand, and instantly all went silent. The somewhat cheery, motivating atmosphere was gone and replaced with a serious tone as they moved up the forest floor. Once at the top, they peered below them to see the base of the Etz'os. The monstrous bodies filled almost every foot around the Kaelyck, or the hive-like catacomb, and where there wasn't Etz'os there were... pens for the abducted humans.

Once the humans went inside, they didn't come out. Not even most of the Tih'ahl, not just Tohq and Luthran, knew what mostly went on inside of the Kaelyck. They were just that dangerous and disturbing.

Tohq looked to Nick. "What are our orders now?" he whispered quietly. They obviously couldn't just blast through there dead on. Maybe there was a secret passage?

 

[Kaisaan]

"We're here to gather information, not engage the enemy." The Hispanic glanced to Luthran then, his expression grim. "We'll split up into teams of two, one team with three, and gather what information we can." He looked back to the towering 'thing' and spoke far more quietly. "We have no method of getting close enough to rescue anyone. The best we can do is stay on the outskirts of the patrols and see what we might overhear or see." Now his eyes moved to Ember, hard. "No one is to jeopardize this mission by engaging the morphers - no matter what the reason such an idea might seem appealing."

A soft growl, barely contained, answered his orders from the woman as she glared venom back at the male, a wordless message, a bitter understanding passing between them. "Understood." The word could have cut steel and Nick looked away without further acknowledgement, quickly splitting up the teams. Thomas and Nug were paired, then Nick and Candice and finally the Hispanic looked to Luthran, Tohq and Ember. "You three will be the last team."

Thomas looked pissed, about ready to open his mouth, to accuse the other male of pairing Ember with the two because they were aliens and Nick thought the woman a freak, but the amber-eyed female spoke first, stilling her friend even as her sharp eyes never left Nick. "You plan on assigning us the job of getting the closest to the pens then, yes?"

A sharp nod was answer. "Yes. With all your combined...talents, logic dictates the most dangerous job go to you three."

An equally sharp grin, more a barring of teeth came over Ember's face and her eyes seemed to glitter in the fading light as the sun was swiftly going down. Darkness would give them better cover. "And if only two out of three come back, that would just be the universe handing out justice, right?" There was a brittle silence then, so much so that someone could have heard a pin drop before Nick spoke, looking away from Ember entirely as if he'd not heard her at all.

"Everyone move out, keep quiet and report back here in two hours, no later."

Thomas and Ember exchanged a last look before all respective teams started to meld into the landscape as they split ways, The woman took a breath and closed her eyes for just a moment, centering her thoughts, her goals before she opened them again and looked to the two aliens with her with a raised brow. "So....any clever ideas?"

 

[catalyst]

Might overhear or see... heaven's sake, Tohq hated small chances. If they ended up with absolutely nothing? No information, no detail, nothing significant whatsoever... they would be forced to engage a little bit more heavily on the next mission. Even so, though, Tohq and Luthran now knew where the Etz'os base was located. They knew an estimate of how many there actually were, and they knew how many more humans were left and where they were kept.

Once split up into teams, Tohq really had no opinion on the matter, even as he watched the bitter interaction between Ember and Nick. Luthran, though, found it particularly funny (kind of amusing, but more of the strange kind of funny) that Ember and Tohq were ending up on the same teams again. He usually read too much into those kinds of things anyway though.

All teams split and soon it was just the three of them.

"If it was just the three of us, it would probably be beneficial if we were to create a noise distraction away from the pens," Luthran replied with a hand on his chin resting thoughtfully.

"But it is not just the three of us. It's too risky," interjected Tohq, though he knew Luthran was smart enough not to do that and was probably on the verge of saying so. If the plan for the entire group was to do as so, Nick and the others serving as the distraction, it still might have worked. However, it would only create alert amongst the Etz'os and therefore higher patrol. Stealth was the key for this mission. The focus. The point was to gather information, not rescue anyone or anything they could. Not to engage with the nicknamed "morphers."

Tohq looked up to the sky and followed it down to the setting horizon. "We stick to coverage until night sets in. Once it does, we can move a little more freely, closer to the pens. We stop and wait to see how things work near them, then we go on from there." He looked back to Luthran and then to Ember. "I'm not sure what else we can do."

 

[Kaisaan]

Listening to the two males speak, Ember had to admit that they seemed little different from her own species - same thought patterns, same speech patterns, same build and looks. It was amazing, really. It was as if they were human, only a branch split off from the homo sapien tree.....or was it the other way around? Were humans related to Tih'ahl rather than Tih'ahl being related to humans? Did it matter? No, not really, not right now. Shaking her head slightly, Nia forced her thoughts back on track...or she tried to.

Tohq made good points, Luthran, too, but none that she hadn't already thought of and rather than speak, she found her eyes traveling back down to the place below. The Kaelyck. How she knew the name....she couldn't have said, but Ember heard it, whispered into her thoughts, information that curled around her mind like a shadow of something overheard or learned in some distant past. Looking at the Kaelyck brought a shiver to her frame, a slight dilation to her eyes that the woman wasn't aware of. What she did feel, though, was uneasy. Extremely so.

A brief rumble overhead finally drew her eyes to the darkening sky and Ember growled faintly at the threat of rain. Damn. She hated rain. Cold and wet. A sigh escaped her, irritated and resigned all the same as she finally forced herself to truly focus on the mission at hand. "The best direction to approach from would be the west slope. It's full of ravines and rock slides. It's not as stable as the other inclines and they can't guard it as well." She gave a slight twist of her lip, biting the metal ring in the bottom one before looking to the two males. "The downside comes in the form of guards more highly trained than the others. They put Eserk on the west side." The word - meaning 'Elite' slipped out without thought and without notice from the female as she'd already started to move in the gloom of evening, leading them slowly around the rim of the crater, toward the place she'd mentioned.

Ember didn't say how she knew all this, but it could be assumed she'd been here before, on other missions and the woman certainly moved as if she knew where all the hiding places were, as if she understood what places would be safe to walk and which shifting stones to avoid.

"It's our best bet for getting as close as we can to the pens, though." She glanced back at Tohq and Luthran with a bit of a grin. "I'd send Asirin to spy for us, but talented as I seem to be, I still can't, for the life of me, understand him." Not to say she hadn't tried, but still....better not to mention THAT embarrassing fact.

 

[catalyst]

"Ravines and rock slides..." Luthran repeated apprehensively as he rubbed the back of his head, fingers tangling a tad in his long hair. If he and Ember were to have one thing in common, it was that they hated the rain. Luthran hated any bad weather, really. Most of all rain, though, because of what usually followed. Thunder.

Thunder resonated old feelings and memories of war - the kind that traumatized. Extensive training allowed for him to shove those feelings away, but it always left him feeling uneasy nonetheless.

And rain plus rock slides? Didn't sound like the best idea they had, but then again Ember knew more about the area than they did. Obviously.

However, all attention on the plan was momentarily put aside as a familiar word, "Eserk," caught it and both aliens froze in place. It was true, yes, that Ember had probably been on several missions before and been around the Etz'os. However, they hardly heard any familiar terms from the humans regarding their language. They hadn't even known the blasted Torsir meaning! So it was only natural for them to be curious, even if Ember didn't even seem to realize that they held it as they followed her.

At the mention of Asirin, Luthran grinned. "Do not think that we know any more than you do," he chuckled. A moment of silence settled between them, but before he could speak again, Tohq spoke.

"I've heard that you are also called 'Nia,'" he comments. "I was wondering if it was just a nickname or what your real name is...?" He had been wondering this for the entire mission, and after nine days of coming to know each other a little more, he believed he could finally ask.

 

[Kaisaan]

The question seemed to take Ember by surprise and she paused in her stride, looking back at the golden-eyed male for a moment before amusement flitted across her face and she smiled just a little before turning her head around again and continuing on, being sure to stay out of sight of those below and constantly scanning the sky above for open spots in the trees where ships might spot them. These areas she skirted around with ease and little thought at all, second nature by this point.

"My name is Mesenia Ember. Most call me Ember, some call me Nia. A few claim my full name, Mesenia, but that's usually the higher-ups or when I'm in trouble for some reason or another. I answer to all and any of them equally, though." Glancing back up at the sky to check for ships, this time Ember stilled again as something flashed before her mind's eye, a whisper or an image, perhaps both. She wasn't sure, but the words she uttered were clear enough if faint.

"And Eseni. I've been called Eseni."

Just as swiftly as she stopped and spoken, Ember shook her head as if shaking herself free from some sort of trance or memory before she started to move again as if nothing had happened at all. She certainly spoke again as if nothing had. "What about you two? Are your names shortened for the benefit of humans or do you truly go by Luthran and Tohq?" They'd come to the west side of the crater now and getting closer to the lip of the edge, Ember crouched down and slowly, using hands and feet, crept up to the rim to look over, noting where they were before she ducked back down again and looked to the aliens once more and then to the sky, checking to see how dark it was. Not nearly enough. Not yet.

Amber eyes found the males again interest shining in their depths and now that she felt they had the time - and less listening ears - she finally gave voice to some of her own questions without hesitation. "What do those markings mean? You born with them or do they come off?"

 

[catalyst]

(( Ooh, I like Eseni :D And Tohq does, too :3 ))

Luthran and Tohq followed Ember through the ravine with almost enough ease. The terrain was similar enough, if not all the same, to ravines they had crossed at home before, but since they didn't know the exact nature of this area... they moved a little more carefully. And they stayed just as alert, Luthran checking behind them often since he was the last in line.

Ah, Mesenia Ember. That was... not a common name amongst human females, was it? It was pretty though... a nice ring to it, both men could admit that. And Eseni... that was unique. Tohq found the name rolling on his tongue silently, and after a few times of saying it in his mind, he stopped himself. It was kind of weird saying it over and over again, right?

"Just Luthran and Tohq," Luthran answered with a smile. "Though, Tohq's full name is much longer than my Luthran Meijyt Mih'an." He looked to said male, hinting for him to reveal it and Tohq sighed briefly before obliging.

"Tohq Esryah Djrirahn," he said as he glanced to Ember. As they sat there, carefully waiting for total darkness, the subtle glow his markings gave off was just about gone. "They're drawn on. Almost permanent," he smiled slightly. "If they had a meaning, what do you think it would be?"

 

[Kaisaan]

(( Me too, actually! LOL He can use it, if he wants. ;) ))

Ember rolled the names around inside her head, committing them to memory. She'd learned some time ago that even trivial information could become import in the right circumstance. Perhaps knowing their full names wouldn't be useful in the long run, but on the off-chance that they were, she'd know them. That done, she looked fully to Tohq at his question and the woman's head slowly tilted, her dark hair falling into her cheek and eye before she slowly caught it, brushing it slowly behind her ear, eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she let her amber gaze sweep slowly across both aliens, taking in the markings carefully, giving the question true thought.

Some humans would have just blurted out a guess, but Ember wasn't one of them. When she finally answered, the words were just as careful, just as slow and thoughtful as her eyes had been. "I suspect they might hold the same kinds of meanings that humans have used them for in our history. I admit I can't really look at them any other way. I only have the limited perspective of my own species, but if I had to assign meaning to them, purpose, I would say they suggest rank and perhaps a right of passage, perhaps they even tell a story of heritage or victories."

Her eyes rose to Tohq's gold ones, and in that moment she instantly felt the pulling sensation, that urge to fall. It came at the oddest times with the alien and this time Ember fought it by closing her eyes completely, covering up the motion by turning her head away before she opened them again. She couldn't afford this. Not now.

Not when it would take every ounce of concentration she could muster to keep from doing something stupid once they drew closer to that Kaelyck. Even from the distance she could feel it, like tingles crawling across her skin and the urge to rub at her arms had be restrained. Instead her hand found her shoulder, the bite there that was mostly healed. It was still tender in areas and she knew she'd be putting more strain on it this night. She couldn't only hope it was healed enough to get over the offense.

"Well, did I guess correctly or I am wide off the mark, O Silent One?"

 

[catalyst]

(( He just might ^^
Also, sorry for short reply. ))

Neither of them truly expected for Ember to give true thought into the question, but it wasn't unappreciated. And she was right about her guess, at least mostly. The Tih'ahl and humans had common ground in the form of markings and tattoos. The markings he had on his face were a product of a rite of passage. If anything, it was similar to henna. Almost permanent, but not quite. The paste he used, however, and the rest of his people, usually had a sort of glowing quality about it that made it either shine in the sun or in the moon, depending on its properties.

At his own nickname, Tohq smirked a little and Luthran couldn't help but chuckle. "A rite of passage. It isn't necessary to wear it all the time, but... I like to." He explained before peering over the hill, taking a quick scan over the area. They needed to wait just a little bit more. And maybe he would bring up another subject to talk about, but he didn't feel that it was the best idea to continue talking for a long time.

He looked up at the sky to try and see just how bad the storm was getting. It was still rolling up on them, but it was coming in fast. It was just another thing to add onto their plate.

 

[Kaisaan]

A grin broke across Ember's face for just a moment, a flash of white teeth in the growing darkness and a soft breath of a laugh before she went quiet again. She'd guessed right. Somehow, oddly, it pleased her and the woman glanced to alien once more, amber eyes almost seeming to gleam in the light cast off by the Kaelyck. Before such could be confirmed, though, she had looked away again, though the words she uttered would still reach Tohq's ears.

"It looks good on you."

So much in fact that her fingers almost tingled with the urge to trace the patterns. Such a thought was utterly stupid, illogical and unprofessional though, and Ember inwardly berated and beat it down into quiet submission. No. She was not going to be some infatuated puppy mooning over an, admittedly attractive, alien. What was wrong with her? She wasn't a bloody, hormonal sixteen year old anymore! She didn't have time for this crap and she didn't even know Tohq! Nine days did not make them fast friends, much less anything more - and without something more she wasn't going to do anything anyway. The world might have ended and relationships might be scarce, but that didn't mean she was going to be anyone's quick screw.

Gods above, why was she thinking about this now? How had one compliment on her part led to this train of thought? Ember shook her head in exasperation at herself just as much as to clear her mind before she cursed herself to focus and slowly looked back over the hill. It was just in time to see a green-hued spotlight come on and swivel in their direction. The woman ducked her head quickly as it swept over their location, her heart thudding in her ears with the adrenaline rush. The light passed on, but what it signified did not; it was time to start.

"I've been here before and I know this terrain. Stay close."

They were the only words she uttered before looking over the edge again, waiting for the spotlight to pass before she moved. Skilled feet found the footholds in the shale that made up incline near the top of the crater, For cover, though, there were large rocks that had tumbled loose from the earth, coming to rest in new places, providing cover to duck behind each time the spotlight passed over. It was only when some of the shale would come loose that the three had to hold their breathes.. Dislodging some loose now, Ember's lithe body stilled instantly, tension in every muscle until she felt it safe to move again.

By the time they reached the bottom of the crater's incline to duck behind the pile of rocks from a slide only a few days old, it had been nearly twenty minutes since they'd started. The woman was covered in a thin sheen of sweat brought on by the adrenaline, the workout of managing the shale deathtrap and the humidity in the air as the storm grew closer. Even now she could hear thunder starting to rumble faintly from above. Looking to the two males, this time her amber eyes truly did glow like that of an animal's reflecting light. It hadn't happened in the last nine days they'd all been together and there was no time to ask why it occurred now, but the truth of it remained.

"We need to split up. If we call draw closer together, we will be seen."

 

[catalyst]

Tohq had certainly heard the compliment. He wasn't sure if Luthran had, too, but he didn't check. He just looked to Ember out of the corner of his eyes, looking over her in the fading moonlight, before smiling to himself and looking ahead once more. Ember may be called average in looks, but that didn't make her mind average either. And it certainly didn't automatically make her unattractive. In fact, she quite certainly was attractive and through getting to know and understand her a little better - even though they still hardly knew each other at all - Tohq still felt that peculiar pull towards her. He wasn't positive if it was just lust talking, if it was just natural chemistry between him and her, but if it was... well, he wasn't against the idea. He just wasn't sure if she would be up for such a thing; after all, she didn't strike as the "one-night-stand" kind of person since she didn't seem to like being touched most of the time anyway.

But, what did that matter now??

All was still as the green light spotted their hill. Three long seconds passed by before it continued on and they were safe again. With Ember's direction, the two males followed obediently. It took them about twenty minutes total to climb down from the top of the hill and down to the crater's bottom with all the freezing in place, hiding behind rocks, and careful foot and hand work in order not to make a mistake. They didn't have a lot more time, to be honest. Especially with a storm coming, it only made time go by faster.

All three broke a little sweat, but it bothered none except perhaps Luthran who it only reminded of the rain that was to come.

Tohq nodded in agreement to the idea of splitting up a second time. Luthran took a brief look around before nodding as well. "There's only two directions to choose from. You and Tohq go together, I'll head this way," he said as he took a couple steps towards his chosen direction. He could take care of himself. And while Ember had proven her abilities long ago, it was still a better chance of all three of them getting out okay when she was paired with one of them.

Tohq looked to her to make sure this was okay.

 

[Kaisaan]

Despite her inward hesitancy about being alone with Tohq, Ember nodded in compliance to the setup. Her reasons for wanting to protest were not founded in logic, but in emotion and it was her own discomfort that would have driven her. That was not the way to think of a mission and she refused to base her decisions off of emotions. Besides, it was no fault of Tohq's that she was struggling around him. That was her fault, her strangeness to bear. He couldn't know how he made her body react, how her mind flew into a thousand direction when she so much as caught him looking at her and heaven forbid if he smiled! This was a crush, attraction, nothing more. Or at least she would have liked to convince herself of that. In a way, she might have been able to if not for the stranger symptoms; the desire to simply twine herself around him, around the warmth he radiated and the utter fascination with his markings, the way his eyes drew her in, golden pools she wished nothing more than to disappear into.

That wasn't natural. That wasn't just a crush, that wasn't even lust. That was something far stronger, something....something she couldn't even give name to. All Ember knew was that it was powerful and it was getting harder to fight....just as all the other symptoms that had nothing to do with Tohq were, too. His sudden appearance into her life had only complicated it all. But that was hardly his fault.

She could be professional about this. She had to be.

Tohq was a good partner. Despite her own misgivings and personal struggles, he'd proven himself smart, resourceful and a good teammate to have at her side. They, strangely enough, worked well together. Luthran had to have seen that. That was all. Taking a breath as she attempted to convince herself that everything would be fine, the woman once more moved out with a nod to Tohq.

They had just reached one of the patrols when the first drop of rain hit Ember's head and she instinctively looked up, another drop splashing against her cheek. A soft growl expressed her displeasure of the new development, but she kept moving forward, waiting until the guard had moved away before darting into the open before finding cover behind the bulk of a broken machinery piece. It obviously belonged to the Kaelyck due to the material and coloring, but Ember didn't care about that. Right now it was cover from the watchful eyes of the Ezt'os and a way to grow close to the pens without being seen.

Waiting until Tohq could cross the patrol's path without being seen and had joined her, she spoke in a hushed whisper, her eyes scanning the pens from here....and seeing things no human should have been able to in the dark. "There are no children. They're all adults."

 

[catalyst]

As soon as it was confirmed that this setup was okay, Luthran was quick to move to the pens on the side opposite of where Tohq and Ember were heading. He was about as quiet as a mouse when doing so, thin twigs and dead leaves hardly posing a threat to his stealthy cover.

The pair moved silently together. Not even when the sky finally started to shed its mass of rain did they speak, excluding the growl that erupted from the woman. That, Tohq didn't think counted. Even with the weather, Ember was still animal-like. It was rather amusing, honestly, if not only interesting. He wondered if the invasion had anything to do with those qualities or if she had been like this before the war on the human race began.

Ember crossed and arrived safely to the large bulk from the Kaelyck. Tohq peeked over the mild coverage he had and saw the patrol just about to stop. He hid once more, waited many seconds before peering over again, and then took his chance to cross as the patrol began walking further ahead.

Tohq looked at her. "You can see that?" he asked in a returned whisper with surprise in his tone, and slight suspicion. Humans weren't exactly known for their superior eyesight, Tohq knew that. He himself couldn't quite see that much in the dark. The glow from the hive provided some light, but it was very dim and just barely reached the pens where the captured humans were. Athrun's eye-sights were better than humans, but not by much. He more-so sense the bodies in the pens more than anything, but it wasn't like he could tell if they were all adults or children without getting closer and taking a better look.

 

[Kaisaan]

It was the suspicion that she caught above anything else and Ember nearly shrank away from the male, her mind frantically trying to find a way to backtrack. She'd spoken without thinking and now she had to try and make what she'd said right, had to figure out how to cover her mistake. She knew she hesitated for too long, that it was likely a dead give-away that she was lying, but it was the best she could do. Ember was not a liar by nature, not even in a world like this. She hated it and she wasn't good at it - hence the reason she could lead people in circles with her words at times without giving an answer at all. Confusing others was not the same as telling a lie.

"I..I could be wrong. It's just the...shapes. There are no small ones." It might have been convincing....if she'd sounded convincing at all. As it was, Ember know she wasn't wrong at all. There were no children in the pens and that begged the question of where they were. She chose to bring focus to that instead of what she'd claimed to see, hoping that maybe Tohq would simply accept her answer at best.....and at worst, bring it up later when it would be safer to do so.....and she could wiggle out of it more thoroughly.

"Do you think they've taken them inside the Kaelyck?" Another word she should not have known, had not overhead the two aliens talking about. Another mistake on her part, though, this time Ember didn't realize she'd made one as she continued. "What I don't understand is why they've taken them at all. The adults make sense to me, but not the children."

Piercing, glowing amber eyes caught gold in the moonlight, narrowed and questioning, a nervous agitation within Ember now that they were closer to the pens, to the Kaelyck. She could hear it humming, could feel the heartbeat that almost seemed to pulse through it....and she didn't like it. "When your people fought them, did the Ezt'os ever do anything like this with your people or others?"

 

[catalyst]

It wasn't quite as close a giveaway as Ember thought it to be, but it did turn the initial impression of surprise to one of suspicion. She was either backtracking what she said in her head - maybe her words got scrambled up, though Tohq highly doubted that - or coming up with a reasonable lie to tell him. He figured the latter; it seemed the most plausible in this situation.

And lie she did. Tohq wouldn't push her, but he knew what she was saying was complete rubbish. There was no way to tell if there were just adults there in the pens by the shapes and shadows they cast. In addition to that, Ember had sounded completely confident in what she was saying before, and Tohq had a feeling it wasn't like her to suddenly back out of what she said and go to another solution. She told the truth. She was blunt. Honest. That much he had seen with the way she conversed with Nick and the attitude she held around the Commanders.

She was a terrible liar.

But again, he wouldn't push. As much as she was feral, she was also very timid and just one little swing in the wrong direction could have her running off... very possibly without ever coming back, or at least taking forever to warm up to you again.

Except, when she knew another word in his language, he had to catch himself and force his mouth to close shut. Now she knew 'Kaelyck' too? Where had she gotten this information??

What was more important, though, was the matter at hand, and that was the children.

He shook his head, golden eyes narrowed and scanning over the entirety of the Etz'os base he could see. "No. We're practically cousins, even if we look much different. There is not a thing about us that they don't know already, just like we know what their bodies are compose of and capable of." He paused, eyes narrowing just a little more as one of his large hands rose to meddle through his ponytail. "You call them 'morphers.' That is exactly what they do. But I don't see how taking humans would be of any help to their accumulation process..."

 

[Kaisaan]

"I'm going to pretend that wasn't insulting...." Ember muttered, not truly taking offense, but needing to break some of the tension she knew she'd created of her own doing. Having given her teasing retort - perhaps almost in thanks for his silence on her lie - the woman brought her focus back to the important matter at hand. Tohq's answer hadn't given her any information she could use and it was frustrating, but she couldn't blame him for that either. No more than she'd want to be blamed for not having answers to a question she didn't know.

In the absence of information, the woman speculated and for some unfathomable reason she would look back on later and question....she did her reasoning out loud. "If they don't think humans are worth learning the shapes of, then it's not for the purpose of learning about us that they're taking us." She frowned, the rain starting to plaster her hair to her pale skin as it picked up in intensity. "Though, it is for some kind of experimentation. That's what a Kaelyck is; a bio lab. Even their ships are made of bio material, that's why they bring them here. If they're bringing humans here, that means there is something about our biology that they want to use or to eliminate." It was almost as if she'd forgotten Tohq was there and yet, Ember held his gaze completely, never looking away. So perhaps it was that she'd completely forgot that she was supposed to be careful with her words, careful with revealing what she knew - what she wasn't supposed to know. Things she couldn't explain knowing.

Once one thing had spilled out, though....it seemed everything wanted to leap forward, to be heard by the male before her. It was as if something within her recognized that he could help. Or it desperately wished that he could.

"Maybe that's why they need children. Their systems are less able to fight back, purer in a way. Maybe...maybe they-" The words were halted by a crash of thunder, close and personal now as it came right above them, then furthermore by a sharp increase in the humming from the tower that cast its imposing presence over them. Ember grimaced, her teeth bared as she pressed her hands to her ears, amber eyes snapping to the Kaelyck and then to the movement of the patrols. They were tightening their circles, drawing nearly to the Kaelyck due to the storm.

They were also getting dangerously close to Tohq and her hiding place. They were running out of time far sooner than they should have due to the storm and Ember shook his head, her thoughts stored away for later. "We need to get away from here. Find shelter. The water will cause more rock slides. We can't take the west side."

It frustrated her to have come this far and found no answers....and it broke her heart to have to leave her kinsman where they were. Nick had been right about one thing, though; this mission wasn't about rescues and they couldn't afford to attempt one.

 

[catalyst]

Tohq smiled just slightly at that mutter Ember gave, taking a look at her face just to make sure she was being playful, before looking ahead once more to the human-filled pens. The Etz'os had never been known for being exactly... thoughtful towards their captives. To them, the humans were nothing more than things they had to control. Things that could be easily controlled compared to, say, the Tih'ahl. And the Etz'os loved being able to control things, so why would they pass up this opportunity?

Wait. Control.

"...they want to use or to eliminate." They wanted to use, to control... stars, they were so close to the answer and yet so far away! Ember was on to something, Tohq knew it. He could feel it in his gut.

And then the loud crash of thunder came and, for the moment, everything completely washed away as they realized just how easily they could be caught if they didn't move from their position right away.

"As you've said, you know the area better than I do. Lead the way." They needed to get away first, back to the meeting spot if possible, and then they would be able to worry about the whereabouts of the rest of their team if they were not already there.