"The jig is up, dear Akana. You've let the news out. They're about to find you out. Now everyone will know your secret, Maintainer Apprentice Akana. TheTiranian rebellion leaders will start to ask questions. You're going to have to leave them before they find everything out." Red and Oak Village's head fisherman, Aleksandr Rybolov, were standing on the main deck of an old copper plated wooden boat, bobbing at anchor next to a fish farm. The snow topped mountains all but surrounding the fjord seemed to slowly advance upon the placid lake. "Why'd you go and do a thing like that, hmm? You'll be the talk of the entire rebellion within the Zehntag. By Kvikksolvtag everyone will know that you're a woman and that you're sleeping with a prisoner of war. Why did you do such a foolish act?" The Heuschreche steam engine below decks quieted down, having transported its load of cod into the holding bay, and Mishka Knute emerged from the shadows of the steam room ladderwell onto the weather deck. "Really blew the gaskets on this one, Aki. It's that damn Bâlonés, innit? He's gone and mucked yer mind right up, young apprentice. Ya were supposed to revenge us, Aki. Now yev thrown away yer best chance at revenge fer a fling or two wit a bloomin' magical girl. A magical girl! Not a lick of science inner 'ead! Betcha she don't even know 'bout enthalpy!" Closely following behind Mishka, the Bâlonés in recent question, Giovanni Dall Agocchie, swaggered up the stairwell. "Blame me not, friend Mishka. I am just a teacher and a retired warrior. Lejiadro Testacorvo is a wonderful woman and a brilliant student. She is much too good to be contained up in this town and its archaic prejudices. She has to travel the world, enjoy all the experiences that she desires and deserves. I know she can rise up to defeat any consequences that may arise from her adventures. I know she'll be able to overcome whatever difficulties may arise from this uh... predicament, worthy of the writings of Sapfo di Skala. If she cannot make her revenge manifest through this rebel group, I will give my wealth to the Directory and leave here forever." So many words had already been spoken over this particular matter with Loolayannie, and Akana feared that so many more were about to be spoken. Behind Giovanni, Akana spied the face of Karl Poltern emerging from the shadows of the stairwell, probably ready to scold her about the decisions he most likely disagreed with. Just how many people were down there in that tiny steam room, ready to lecture her on her life?
Her dream, or perhaps it was a nightmare, was thankfully interrupted by the most lovely feeling on her lips. As her gray eyes slowly opened, Akana spied Loolayannie's face above her own, their lips locked together in sensual bliss. As soon as Akana moved to return this morning kiss, Loolayannie moved away, to brush that one pesky clump of ochre hair from Akana's face, standing out in bright contrast to the black curls that adorned the rest of her head, a small memorial to all the slaughtered lives from Oak Village. "I have wellness. So, so much wellness," Akana replied to questions of, well, Akana supposed that she was her new lover, the Khitain magician Loolayannie. The glorious events of the night before were a wonderful blur of warm feelings and new discoveries, the beautiful results of such lovely experiments unreplicatable in any laboratory or workshop. This bed, and maybe the desk, perhaps the floor as well, were the only research labs that Akana needed for this new adventure of discovery. It was a shame that the sun was already angling through the few cracks and holes in the tent fabric. She'd love to spend all day making breakthroughs with the stunninginlgy beautiful woman sitting above her. Akana would be expected back at the strike team's campsite long before now. There would be questions about why Akana was so late to return to the campsite, of course, but they would be easy enough to deflect, as long as Akana kept her head about her. While this new... development... was absolutely wonderful, undoubtedly the best thing to have ever happened to Akana, it would have to be kept a secret from the rest of the camp. Should any questions arise, it could cause Akana's ostracization from the rebellion, losing her the best and possible last chance she had for her revenge.
"Wonderful Ani, please, keep this secret," Akana stated as she reluctantly rolled out of the bed. "This has wonder. However... This could complications with my revenge to cause. Please forgive me. This must a secret to be kept. The rebellion can knowledge of my gender not to have. You have wonder. This has fairness for you not. I have sorriness." By now, Akana had almost completley redonned her clothing, her head scarf the last task separating Akana's transformation into the mercenary Red. It was a regretful thing, having to leave this tent, and the wonderful woman who lived within it, but Daniel and Arnold should have returned from their scouting mission by now, hopefully with the knowledge of where the other Northern mercenaries had come from. "I will you for our lessons at five noon to see. Have a good morning. Please, join us for breakfast." Akana gave Loolayannie a kiss, before almost exiting the tent, changing her mind at the final moment before exiting to steal one, two, three more kisses from the bewitching woman before fully installing her head scarf, allowing nothing but her gray eyes and those few pesky strands of ochre hair that refused to obey orders. It was because of them that everyone believed that Red was a carrot top. Only Loolayannie knew that her true hair was black as holzkohle. It did help the disguise, though nobody had accurately guessed the real reason for those ochre strands. "Ani, I love you," Red spoke, before finally leaving the tent and returning to her strike team's campsite. The campfire was already burning brightly, the smoke carrying the lovely smells of cooking eggs, bacon, and griddlecakes. Edward was busy watching over the breakfast, ensuring everything was removed from the heat before it was overcooked and ruined for human consumption.
"Welcome back, Iceman," Daniel stated, liberating a piece of griddlecake from its unifying circumference, and speaking around it. "How'd the Tiranian magician treat you last night? Bet she showed you quite a few 'card tricks'. Hey, you think I've got a chance after you get bored of her?" Red gave a quick negative headshake with accompanying snort in disgust, then retrieved a share of the breakfast, for later, solitary consumption next to the lake. "Look, Red, we tried the best we could, but we lost the Northerners. Sorry..." Arnold stated, picking at his scrambled eggs, dusted in a red spice called paprika. The news was unfortunate, but at least they had confirmation of Maurangerian involvement with the federales. They had proof that the official (at least for now) Tiranian government had hired the fellow Northerners, pitting fellow countrymen against fellow countrymen, though Oak Village had been technically independant since the establishment of the Committee, so long ago that even Akana couldn't state the exact date, despite being the (probably) cursed sole survivor of Oak Village. "We will the Northerners to find. We will them to defeat. We have good information on them. Worry not." Daniel snickered around a mouthful of bacon. "I'm sure you got lots of good information too, last night. The exotic mating habits of the locals, perhaps?" Red flashed grey eyes of anger at the wayward warrior. "I know not that kind of knowledge. Speak not of unimportant subjects. We will this afternoon spoor and sign to look for. We will the Maurangerians to discover. We will them to eliminate." Daniel gave another laugh and responded. "And maybe we'll all get magical rewards for the accomplishment. Or at least you will. That would be nice, wouldn't it Iceman? Or maybe that magician girl's melted you. Maybe we should call you Puddle, hmm? Turning into a drooping mess of a man at the sight of any old sorcerer chick." Daniel would have to be talked to about this behavior. It could be distracting to the missions they would have to accomplish, and he was getting much to personal about it all. He would get a talking to in the evening, after they found the spoor that led to the elimination of the Northern mercenaries. But all that would deal with him later, after eating breakfast and teaching Loolayannie more fencing and science. Hopefully she would make it for breakfast. Red could smell the paprikaed eggs from here and they smelled better than anything she'd at this campsite.