Old Power drains, New Power fills.

[Shayna]

Time Stamp: Winter 7th 513

The light of Syna shines today, with only a few clouds to mar the light blue of a winter sky. The streets of Kenash are a buzz with rumors, rumors that told of a Dynasty daughter dead, others spoke of kidnapping, and if you listened to the slaves there were rumors that she had ran off with a slave. The street that held the Magistrate's office had a few carriages lining the side of the streets, but most had done what her Mistress had, and sent slaves to listen to rumors. To try and gather information that was credible.

Shayna slipped through the crowds, knowing that her short stature made it easy to over look her which is something she usually counted on. Her entire being was of the plain variety, her face nothing spectacular, angular and dusted with freckles. Her hair was a deep midnight, a little too curly to tame properly, and her clothing the unbleached clothing of a slave. Her green eyes, a pigment of black ringing the iris were the only thing of note about her. She moved along the sidewalks, deferring to Dynasty and freeborn alike when she passed them, moving off into the street to give them wide berth. Her brand, three pillars with a diamond hovering over them, stood out upon her cheek though she was not the only branded face in the crowd.

She tried to find a group of Freeborn that was standing close enough to the street that she might be able to stand close enough to over hear what they were saying without it being clear she was eavesdropping. Other then outright asking, which would probably not be a good idea for a slave to do at this moment in time she couldn't think of another way to try and glean information.

She picked a group, freeborn not Dynasty but perhaps they knew something. One was a woman, and two were men and they were talking in a loud enough voice that Shayna did not have to strain to hear.

"Yasmine Radacke...." The woman said in a hushed tone to her companions. "Simply gone. Her body servant killed just like Loranna's."

"The Rujaro..has to be done about...not safe!" Her male companion spoke in a low enough voice that Shayna missed some of what he said, but heard enough for a shiver to run her spine.

ℬ

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru left the Magistrate's office after having a long talk with his new employer. The business about the kidnapped Dynasty daughter was not nearly finished. Some believed her dead, but whatever her fate, Mamoru planned on finding out for himself. He knew that he could do it, he was good at his job. In his time as a Zinrah guard the Dhani had stopped many Myrians from killing his kind as well as brought peace inside the nest..when he wasn't stirring things up himself. Thinking of the past, he could only smile at the time in between.

It had been his sister who had said he'd made a good guard for the nest, and Mamoru had only done as she asked because he didn't have much of a choice. The woman ruled the nest and with his elder sister well on her way to becoming a queen of their family, he had to follow her lead. Morgana had been right in fact, and her little brother proved to be just what she thought he'd be. Life was different in this new land that he found himself in, and the rules were different.

However, the job of a guard seemed to be one of the few things that hadn't changed. They protected others, hunted down leads and did the occasional bashing when needed. There were always enemies, and they existed everywhere he learned. In the jungle they were the Myrians, but here they were called the Rujaro. It didn't matter to him what they were called, they were all the same. Filthy, disgusting, dirty, savages. The swamp lands were very different from the jungles, but he would do what he did best. The trickster would find them and destroy them just as he had done with the monkeys.

Different field..but the game was the same...time to play.

It was a lot colder here than he was used to, and the Dhani was tempted to covered up completely. He left the office dressed in plain, dark linens and wearing a chest plate made of Bone Mail. For the time being, all of his belongings were stored in the guards quarters in the office, and would remain there until he found himself a personal home. For the purpose of hiding his true identity, Mamoru appeared in his morphed barbarian form. Long dark hair, only slightly curly, rolled down from his scalp.

His eyes where narrow, a deep green color, that was a tent darker than his real eye shade. His skin was tanned now and he had a thin beard connecting from his mouth and around his chin. This form was bulkier, thicker muscles than his own and a grouping of tribal tattoos on his right shoulder, with the stamp of the free born on his forearm. He wasn't the trusting type by nature and he wanted to learn more about the strange city before he revealed himself.

There was also the job that he had, and the rules of the houses. Each season there was a new ruler from a different family, and not all of those families got along. Mamoru could see how this could turn ugly in many ways. Still, the job of body guard for the Magistrate seemed to fit him perfectly and put him in the center of business. He had an idea, depending on how things turned out, and if so he had a plan that would keep him in office for each season to come. It was after all what he had been breed to do.

[Shayna]

Shayna stayed as long as she dared before she moved on, not wanting to draw the ire of the freeborn. Granted she was not the only slave doing this, but still when something -anything- having to do with the Rujaro came up it was best as a slave to lay low. She had the scars that aren't too old on her back and upper arms to remind her of that lesson. Her sleeveless blouse did little to help protect her from the bite in the air, but she was used to the winters and today was not too chilled. Eventually her Mistress would provide her with covering, or risk losing her investment to cold.

The Magistrates office opened and Shayna could almost feel the crowd lean just a little forward, seeking information. Shayna herself moved closer, and like always the taller freeborn paid her little mind once they saw the brand standing out on her face. Quietly she slipped behind a, oh dear a Dynasty woman, Shayna breathed a little sigh that she hadn't jostled or bothered her. Tempers would not be easy to handle today. She stood now, by the gate of the fence that encircled the Magistrate's office, the gate opening to a path that lead up the stairs where the Magistrate every season took his oaths.

It had been her intention to stand there quietly, unassuming, and listen for any announcements. Unfortunately the Dynasty woman that Shayna had slipped behind turned and almost tripped over the small slave. Without even a word the taller Dynasty woman took Shayna and pushed her away with a much-put upon sigh. She mumbled something about vermin but Shayna didn't catch it. Instinctively, as she had been taught from the time she could walk on the breeding farms, she went limp as soon as the woman's hands landed on her, so when she was pushed her body moved forward, right into the path of a barbarian with a chest plate. Back peddling trying to catch her balance in vain, the small slave girl found herself falling toward him rather then away, certainly if he did not move she was going to plow right into him.

ℬ

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru was a tall and well built Dhani, in fact it was normal for a constrictor to grow to his size and even larger. With the added height and thickness of his morphed form, the trickster was even bigger than he normally was. When the small girl fell into him, she made a thump right against his chest and abdomen. Luckily his armor blocked most of the force and it felt like a small push against him if anything. Green eyes darted downward, casting a somewhat surprised glance at the girl beneath him.

"Hey, watch it kid." he said in common, pitching a deep throaty voice.

The city people were a strange as the city itself. All of the people moving about and yet there was a large group of them stationed right in front of the office. None of them worked there that he knew of and the Magistrate hadn't said anything about making any announcements, which had him wondering what they were all waiting for. Surely the small commotion from the girl didn't have them all that interested. Unless there was more to it, something that he had missed, or stumbled upon as he exited the office.

Mamoru cast his gaze out first to the people standing around, then looked back at the girl. It was a very different world he found himself in now. The Dhani in the nest weren't normally this interested in another unless they were someone of note. But here it was different, and now they all stood around looking at him, as if they expected him to say or do something. He quickly reached out, grabbing the girl by both shoulders and holding her steady so that he could better look at her. The mark of a slave was freshly branded upon her cheek which meant that she belonged to someone. It was going to take time to get use to, Dynasty, freeborn, slaves, this was all out of the norm for him.

The Dhani in the nest didn't keep slaves, they kept sacrifices, and tortured monkeys for the fun of it. They didn't feed them, cloth them, and allow them to wander around the city as these people did. Mamoru had heard of slave punishment since he arrived, it was hard not too. Kenash was filled with slaves and even more with the want to punish them. Once couldn't hear three sentences without the word punishment listed at least twice. So it came to stand..what should he do now? "Shouldn't you be working girl, what are you doing here?"

[Shayna]

The solid thump against the strange man was felt through out Shayna's body, her hands had managed to raise enough that her arms caught herself against him. Though it really wasn't her fault, she couldn't very well blame it on the Dynasty that had causally pushed her out of the way, Shayna was quick to utter "I am very sorry sir!" her eyes first sweeping to his face, and then down toward his arm searching for evidence of his status. She knew he was not a slave, no slave bore the equipment he did or none that she had ever known, and his face was clear of any brands. The mark on his arm told her he was freeborn, a step up from slave but not quite as dangerous politically speaking. It didn't really matter to her for both could be dangerous to a slave.

His hands laid on her shoulder caused the immediate reaction of her body going pliant. Unlike the normal reaction that one might expect when a strange person lays hands on another, the stiffening or the drawing back defensively, hers was to accept rather then fight. However instead of dropping her chin, Shayna's remained steady, and her oddly colored green eyes raise boldly. "I am working sir, my Mistress sent me here..to see if there were any truth to the rumors about the .." She almost slipped and called the missing Radacke the rude term her Mistress had used, but she caught herself with only a slight stumble over words, "Radacke lady. She was worried and wanted to know what was happening."

Well, this wasn't how Shayna had devised on getting information, attracting unwanted attention was never something she sought to do. However, he had come from the Magistrates office, and he was focusing his attention on her anyway. She didn't try to squirm away from beneath his hands, though their presence on her shoulders caused her much consternation. "Do you know anything, was she really killed.. like the slave on Whitesnake?"

ℬ

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru folded his arms and looked down at the girl. A bold slave, maybe he was mistaken with how Kenash dealt with slaves, but if a monkey talked like that to a Dhani, or perhaps even if a male talked like that to a female, they'd be in trouble for it. But for his own reason, he wasn't that angry about it. The trickster himself was one to stir trouble and he enjoyed it a lot. The girl, or her mistress, wanted to know about the missing girl and if she was found dead or not. In fact, it seemed that they all wanted to know this and was the reason for the gathering in front of the office.

Looking down at the girl, there was something interesting about her eyes. They were a different color of green than his own, and had an odd glow to them. "And who is your mistress?" He realized then that this was a good opportunity to calm the rumors before anything got too out of hand. With the amount of people standing around, the wrong type of rumor could get out fast and cause more damage than it was worth. "All of you listen up. The Magistrate's office is working hard to find the lost girl and bring her back home. It is unclear now if she is dead, but we haven't found a body which means there is still a chance she's alive."

After speaking, he started to wonder if it was a good idea to say as much. The people wanted answers, and what he had just done was given them more questions and worries, and for some even hope. "Try not to worry, those swamp rats can't hide for long and we will find them." Mamoru glanced down again, a smirk drawn upon his face. "There, now tell your mistress not to worry so much."

[Shayna]

The moment his hands left her shoulders to cross in front of his chest, Shayna stepped back quickly. He was not Dynasty, so she did not drop her head or her gaze. He was, however freeborn so she was mindful of her tongue. When he asked who her Mistress was, she paused for a moment trying to decide just how much information to give him. Just because he wasn't Dynasty does not mean that he couldn't harm her, however information was a commodity for slaves who owned nothing. One Shayna had learned to broker well. She was spared having to answer right away when he turned his attention to the crowd and made his announcement.

No body, unclear if she was dead or not. That would do little to assuage Katherine's fears, but it would be something that she could take back to her mistress. The way the other had looked down at her caused her to be just a little wary of him, his eyes were remarkably unreadable. For someone who had to judge her actions dependent upon the moods of her betters, someone she couldn't gauge his mood so easily shook her.

"How are you working on finding the girl?" A woman from the crowd called, from the sound of her voice a Dynasty if one judged by the haughtiness of it. Another voice cried out "What is being done to find these miscreants?" Another voice, this one masculine, joined the first.

Amid the litany of questions, Shayna ignored them all. Her too-wide green eyes watched the other carefully, quietly assessing him. She had watched when he spoke, and when he didn't speak and both spoke to her. Told her that he was perhaps more then what he seemed, for a freeborn to speak so easily to Dynasty.. She stepped back again, one eye crinkling gently as she eyed him blatantly. "I am sure she thanks you, I will make sure she gets the message." She deliberately ignores his question, after she decided that he was too dangerous to be giving information to. She would have turned and headed back, but the press of the crowd that had started to slowly disband prevented her from going that way. And he was in front, so she did what she could. Moving forward, she tried to brush past him, hoping to move on and perhaps not have to cross his path again.

ℬ

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru arched a brow as he looked around at them all. A bunch of smug little food dishes ready to be served hot or cold. He was used to this kind of talk from the women inside the nest, but these people weren't Dhani, and they weren't inside a nest. The trickster had found a new form of freedom after leaving that rotten hole in the ground. In this new world one could shape their own destiny and he liked the sound of that.

For the time, he still had these people to deal with. If he had his way , as if he ever did, he would shift into Dhani form and see how many he could punt over the roof of the nearby buildings. But he didn't and he knew enough of the importance of these families to do something like that in public where everyone could see. Mamoru stood waiting for the girl to answer him when more people started to speak up.

The trickster rolled his eyes, this was getting ridiculous by the chime. He wasn't their Magistrate, he didn't have all of the answers, nor had they been given to him to spill at will. This was an important matter of sorts, and with the rumors of spies about, he couldn't speak of much either way. "Don't you trust your Magistrate? He will see that justice is brought to you, and the safe return of the girl who was taken."

During all of this, he had noticed that the girl hadn't taken her eyes off him, and that she had started to back peddle. She had also conveniently forgotten to answer his question which he had forgotten that he asked. "If you all have more questions." He called out to the crowd. "Speak with your Magistrate and ask him yourself, he will hear you." Suddenly the girl tried to push past him, and Mamoru reached one arm out, hooking it around her small body and swinging her back around towards his chest. "Where are you going slave? You didn't answer my question." It had dawned on him at the last moment that this could be the spy.

There were rumors about that one of the family may have possibly had something to do with the Rujuro and even the girl's capture. It was hard for him to say one way or the other, being in a strange land put him at a disadvantage, but in the least he would leave no stone unturned. "Speak girl, who do you belong to?"

[Shayna]

The crowd grumbled at his reply, dispersing slowly, some openly eying him with disdain. Of course if he was not so new to Kenash then he might have known that the Dynasties rarely trusted each other, Magistrate or not. It was the thing that would more then likely eat the city up from the inside, something that the outside couldn't really do as protected by the swamp. Shayna could have explained to him that there was never real trust in Kenash, only friendships of necessity had she any spit left when he hooked her so easily caused her mouth to dry.

Her arms flew up to land against him, not really to fight him but simply to try and put some distance - any distance- from him. It was only a tick that she squirmed before her training took over and she went passive in his grip, though her arms never dropped. Dark brows slashed upwards when he reiterated his question, her neck bending back so that she was able to look up at him. "My Mistresss is Katherine Morealis." She spoke, managing to keep the stammer from her tones. He was freeborn, the most he could do was beat her, it was nothing like when the Askara lady had taken her from the streets to 'ask' her questions on suspicions. Yet she still felt her blood run cold, which instead of paralyzing her infuriated her. Only because she knew that wasn't who she was. She had never been some ninny to blanch at freeborn or Dynasty. Respectful yes, just enough to keep their ire from raising, but fear? Not until now.

The fear just spurred her to stiffen her spine, still not fighting against his arm locking her small body against his larger one but she was no longer limp and placid either. Her jaw firmed, and she tilted her head so that her thick black curls fell to one side. "I answered you, can I please return to my Mistress?" Her annoyance with her own reaction colored her words with just a little hint of almost insolence, though she didn't seem to realize this.

ℬ

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru stared back just as hard at the people as they left. He wasn't part of the Dynasty, those people who apparently had more rights than he did, but he was the Magistrate's body guard, and that job was to protect him from any and all danger, that included the other Dynasties. With so much unrest in the town, he had to be extra careful and watchful. What he needed at this moment was information and as much as he could gather.

The people weren't likely to talk, no instead they liked to ask the questions, a sense of entitlement they had. However, this girl could probably tell him something. This slave from the house of Morealis. She seemed the type, running to the Magistrate's office for gossip for her mistress? The girl had to have info on things, slaves had to in order to work and move about the city. "Katherine Morealis? And does your mistress always send you to bother the Magistrate whenever she has a question?" his tone was serious, though there was no short of mocking on his part.

By this time she had stopped resisting, but her eyes were just as bold as they had been before. This girl had him interested and he was looking forward to getting to know this Katherine Morealis. The woman who allowed her slave to be so bold in public as if she had the right to behave that way. The continuous stare came as a challenge and the trickster rose to meet it. He grabbed her by her tiny waist and lifted her up into the air where she could meet his gaze at eye level. Mamoru drew her closer so that he could look deeper into those strange eyes she had and she could see into his.

"You have a lot to say for a slave. So go on, you have my attention. Tell me everything that you know about this place and the people here. Humors, secrets everything. Do it now...I won't ask again." Adding to his last words, he tighten his grip on her hips and applied a bit more pressure.