"Everyone comes back here at the agreed time. Look over each area thoroughly and don't get yourself into trouble. Again, Hrurim, stick to the road. Don't trouble yourself." Pops orders, patting my shoulder and the human's leg. He goes off, quickly vanishing into the crowd,crowd, and I look up at our friend.
"I need to stick with the road, anyway. So, shall we?" I offer, giving my paw briefly to Hrurim and I join him on the road, half-heartedly pulling on a random rope.
"You're construction sites, aren't you?" he asks and I nod, minding the red, yellow and green above and the denser than usual foot traffic. Nothing to concern ourselves with.
"I am. Though, here's to hoping we don't end up at one." I say and he chuckles, his head going back towards the wagon and its contents. Minding my hearing carefully, I pick up on the sound of a rustling bag and moving jaws. Noisy eater, Nin is. Any more so and maybe someone will dig him out of the wagon to a screaming crowd.
"A quick stop by one will do us good. We can sort out a cage for you know who." Hrurim is right to point out, but I can't help but light a facetious fire in my lungs. If only for one remark.
"Don't you mean you know *what?*" I ask him, giving him a rising lip and a bit of teeth slipping out.
"Don't be so cruel. Eyes of a man, Heiya. Eyes of a man." Hrurim teases, knocking me up the backside of my head. Ruffling my quills in the process.
"Says you!" I almost squeal, getting them back into order as he minds the pricks he's no doubt dotted across his palm. He gives the afflicted hand a quick squeeze, easing whatever stings he's now got to deal with.
"Anyway... First turn off is there, you best get going Heiya. More ground we cover, quicker we can get started." Hrurim tells me, his tone sealing itself up with much needed severity. I nod and do much the same.
"In a bit, then." I tell him, rushing back to grab my take out and then hopping up onto the pavement. I give the human a wave and he carries on at his leisure, obeying the traffic laws while putting his back out. The bag jumps in my paws and I secure the greasy weakness in the paper on the inside of my forearm.
Turning my gaze to the town's skyline, I find myself pondering a few things about some broken branches. Steel and welded at that, snapped in twain by falling rock. Somehow, the building didn't fall with it. A quiet place to have a good look around the town as a whole.
Taking the first crossing that comes up on me, I slip through a pair of businesshogs and hop the curb. An alley opens up for me and I swing on in, rushing around a few more corners until the town opens up again. I stop in front of the chain-link fence and all the tarp covering it. A click fills my mouth and I sniff about, my eyes catching all that they can.
No one's still working here and by the looks of it, the earth itself predicted my arrival. Minding my feet, I hop through the torn up fence and slide into the depths of the dig out. Foundation concrete taps underfoot and I find the skeleton of a still in-shape stairwell. Though there is no breeze underground like the surface has, climbing high still feels much the same.
The wind is practically howling compared to the streets below. Yet, compared to the surface above, it feels almost refreshing. A nice breeze, a good one. My head pops around and I skirt on over to a broken girder, looking over at the whole town in all of its wounded splendour.
Slipping down onto my bottom, I put my food and weapon down, leaning back onto one paw as I relax. To my right I can see many of the streets Hrurim is likely going to be giving a look over. And on my left, Pops is probably somewhere in the hustle and bustle of the town's main street and all its off-shoots.
My mouth pops open and I tear the bag open all four ways, laying it out like a cross-shaped mat. A thoughtful frown weighs upon my face and I focus on what gives the impression of being a hotel of any description. Much of them are packed out front. Guess the government is subsidising these places while the reconstruction is underway.
Wrenching a finger under my burger's bun, I flick it up and over, seed-side down. The delightfully sloppy mess of my burger filling makes my jaw tighten up with want. A want I am more than happy to allow the satisfaction of. My stomach grumbles in agreement and I smile. And while it's not another milkshake, a glass bottle of pop will certainly help wash it all down.
"Now... Oh, that's nice. Now, where are we going to sleep?" I ask myself, disturbing my speech with bits of food and peckish behaviour. Putting my digits to my lips, a round of slippery pops comes to them. Cleaning each wiggling appendage of grease, juice and sauce. The bottle bursts with a fizz and I chuck the disposable lid away into the distance. It smacks along the roof of some building and I laugh at the distant scare it causes.
No aftershocks, buddy!
I wipe my eye and calm down, taking a fat bite out of my burger and I follow some roads. I chew and gulp, spotting what appears to be a buildup of civil brigades. No wonder the part-time soldiers are being called up while the actual ones are being talked to. If the giant fell through the surface to the underground, whoever is in charge up top is likely poking around.
Now anyone with a brain knows that there's going to be no invasion or war. Nothing of the sort at all. People are on edge, though, and doing nothing while that is the case will only make it worse. Give the impression of a serious concern and they'll play along.
"Mmm, maybe if we snatch up some uniforms...?" I throw out to myself, giving myself some noise other than the warped mess of the town below. My head shakes right after. It's too late to be making new plans, especially without the other two. But that's the thing about plans. You can only think up so much, and what's a plan without a bit of breaking?
Don't think even Pops has ever had a plan that is so airtight we've had nothing to worry about. You can only really set some goals and work towards them. Too much pedanticism with all the details and you'll never get anywhere with it. Nowhere at all.
I push myself up and take my burger with me, leaving the rest of my stuff be for the moment. Idling over to the other end of the building, I do much more of the same. The view has changed and my thoughts have stayed the same. I have a view of the town's port now, though.
"Guess that ferry from before was quite unlucky." I note as I look the harbour over and the mess that fell onto it. Nearly every other ship docked only has some dents to the topside armour or its side. Easily patchable given some time and effort. That ferry we looted might never even get another glance at again, lest it slip back into the water.
Perhaps if we need to get out of town with a plan implemented in the run up to it... We can blow some of the ships? Take some rocks out and spook the town? No, that's a little extreme for the means we have on hand.
Besides, I'm meant to be looking for safe house locations, not escape plans. Though, that ain't a bad shout to concern myself with. We have no clue how our time here is going to play out. We can only predict and predict and thinking is tiresome...
Another bite comes to my mouth and I follow it up with another stuffer. I chew through it, thinking through some more details about what I can see. There's a car park that has had its top few floors demolished. Take away the layers and there might not even be a building left.
"Certainly a good option." I remark, noting how much depth the building actually has. If some cocky teens happen to be slipping into our business while Nin is up and about, no one will believe them. How could anyone take an osibindah threat seriously when there's this many police and soldiers about? Any infestation would be squashed as early as a budding flower stem.
Seed puree, even.
I put a paw up on an upward going girder and lean into the motion, focusing on the streets below. It's going to be a mess remembering the town's layout on the ground, so I need to find a landmark to work with. Or several. Come on, Heiya, if you can manage this out in the wilderness of the surface and the ancient tunnels down here, then you can manage a town. A place that actually has a map to work with!
My eyes dart about- Ah, perfect, I can work with a fancy building like that one. A tall, pristine thing that is otherwise blessed by the gods and goddesses. Seems like not a boulder has fallen from the sky onto it. Not one pebble smashing even a window at any point.
"It's quite gaudy, though." I comment, almost unsettled by how much money would have to go into a building like that. Better yet, who does it belong to? We've certainly hit a mighty vein of bad luck if the owners are anything but reputable. Hopefully, it's just some company with a flair for the dramatic and outstanding. Nothing mafia-flavoured or so much as sprinkled.
I snort and look away, returning to my stuff with a rush of attitude. I take the last few bites of my burger and dump the paper, smacking my paws clear of crumbs. They snatch up my gun and bottle right after, cooling one with condensation while making the other firm. I rush back. A swig washes out my mouth and I let my gun go against a cable spool.
The temptation to pull the trigger goes through me as some fancy dressed lot exit a limousine. Almost too circumstantial, really, gods and goddesses above, I know it's nothing important. Still, there's something unsettling about watching a well-tailored hwardgon approach a gaudy building with his trophy girl. An assortment of big men all around the pair.
"Gamtambo's not the only crime family... But that doesn't mean he's not involved with these lot." I growl, hoisting the gun up and stomping it down at my side. Fizzy pop fills my mouth up again and I wash the burning joy around. A pleasurable hiss escapes me, a burp breaking the consistency of my noises.
I should head back and find Pops as quick as I can, see if he's aware of who might be here. I might be overreacting, overly cautious or simply paranoid or any other descriptor. However, Pops will never forgive me if this turns out to be a correct hunch. The divine be willing, it's nothing to concern myself with once the warning is sent off.
Another sip clears my head for the moment and I return to finish my food. I quickly dig in, getting myself clean of its weight and troubles. Enjoying it for what it is, is not a task I need a long period with. Just a few bites and some last drops out the top of the bottle and...
"Of you go!" I let out, tossing the glass across the sky and getting out of view before it hits anywhere. The empty concrete stairwell echoes with my laughter, tunnelling it up and down. The look on whoever's face will certainly be something, if only I could actually have seen it! Oh, that would've been something, something indeed.