A Savanite runs down the corridors towards her master's chambers on the third level. Her master's 'brother' had just suffered some kind of attack, but was rescued by the slave's hands. Now that slave heads back to her room, under orders from the guard and out of fear that something like this might happen again.

Leeta moves at a quick lope, halfway between a sprint and a walk. She's too hungry to really run, and too nervous to walk. Her tail is pulled tight by the female cub she is almost dragging, but her thoughts are focused in front of her. Tahir should be okay… but she doesn't want to think of the other possibilities. The cheetah's ears twitch as she comes up on the door, listening for anything amiss.

There's a few muffled tapping noises inside, the sounds of someone tooling with something.

The fire-haired cheetah pulls open the door, and rushes in with a very worried expression on her face. Her eyes flick around the room's walls as she searches for emerging pipes or new holes.

The only pipes are the ones lying on the ground… the walls currently don't seem to have any new orifices at least. There is a strange smell in the air though… like ozone.

Leeta sniffs, her whiskers fanning forward at the smell, then quickly moves around the bed, looking for Tahir. She runs her hand down her tail, easing the girl cub's grip free, and signs, "wait," leaving her close to the door.

Tahir sits in his bed as usual. A strange wand is held in his hand, the tip glows with just a pinpoint of white hot light as he works over the final pieces of the life saving machine. Next to him lies the speaker glove… dismantled.

He seems oblivious of Leeta's entrance… a bad habit he has when he's deeply engrossed in something.

Holding up her right hand, Leeta blocks the light from her eyes as she reaches out to carefully tap the human with her left. She almost barks, but the sight of the speaker glove, and the possibility that Tahir might be startled while holding the wand, stop her. Instead, she brushes his shoulder with a light touch he should be used to by now.

The light at the tip of the wand suddenly blinks out as the human shifts his finger on its handle. He turns around to look at the Savanite. "Oh… hi there. I'm almost done, I think."

"Don't move, be quiet for a second." The Savanite signs to him, holding her hands still afterwards while she listens to the silence of the room. She is frozen, except for her ears which pan about in her red mane.

Tahir quirks an eyebrow but does as he's told. The room is silent, save for the dull humming that emanates from the tower all the time, and the shifting of the nervous cub pulling Leeta's tail.

Satisfied that there is no immediate danger, Leeta crouches down on her heels, to look across at something approximating the human's height. She pulls the little cub close, hugging her tightly. She breaks the embrace long enough to sign, "Someone just tried to kill Rhys, or hurt him badly. I had to make sure someone wasn't coming after you too. They drilled through the wall."

"What?" Tahir quickly puts his tools away. "Blast… and I thought it was safe here." He wipes grease from his hands. "Drilled through the wall you say?"

The Savanite nods, then brushes her mane back out of her eyes. "He was sleeping in the library, the little girl was playing nearby. A hole was drilled, and they stuck a nozzle through, and sprayed everywhere with compressed steam. I got them out just before it was turned on. Tahir… " Leeta winces, flexing her hands, her legs starting to shake. "… I don't want to think what might have happened… "

The candidate scoots over and offers Leeta a spot next to him on the bed. "I think it was a defense system in the tower… but someone had to turn it on. I was told that all the traps from the fifteenth floor and down had been shut off."

"But it was pointing right at him Tahir, how can it tell through a wall?" The Savanite sits on the bed, leaving her tail dangling over the side to entertain the cub with its random twitching. "Is this room trapped too?"

"I… I don't think it is." Tahir casts a few wary glances around the room just in case. "It could tell. There's things in the walls here that let the systems see you. A lot of them are broken, but some of them still work… or could be repaired." He scratches his chin, thinking.

"I don't know where the little cub got to Tahir. I was looking for him when I found Rhys… Could he have gotten into something and turned the traps back on? What's the buzzing in the basement?" Leeta's hands flash quickly through the signs, and she glances at the door afterwards.

The Inquisitor candidate twirls his 'wand' in his hand. "I saw him briefly today… he came in to fetch a spoon he had hidden under my mattress. As for the systems," he grimaces, "only the Technopriests can get to them."

"He's digging for bugs… " Leeta's thoughts show in her hands. She chews on her lip while her tailtip worms in the covers. She looks up, "He could have snuck in with one, or crawled into something… he might not be safe Tahir."

The female Savanite kitten idly toys with a wrench. Tahir watches her grimly. "Only one way to find out, I suppose." He sets his tools down and hops off the bed, wiping his hands off against his sides. "The machine can wait a few minutes, and I'd like to stretch my legs. How about we go and search for him, hmm?"

The fire-haired Savanite nods in agreement, "Can we lock the door, or lock up the machine someplace… just in case it isn't the tower behind this?" She stands, taking the wrapped piece of bread from her robe, breaking off a third, and offering to trade it to the cub for the wrench.

Tahir looks around the room. "I could carry it with me, it's not too terribly heavy." His voice softens. "You should really eat some of that for yourself, you know."

"Mew!" the kitten says and eagerly makes the swap. She chomps noisily on the bread.

Leeta makes a 'shhh' gesture to the kitten, and pockets the wrench. Looking at the bread, she can't hold back any longer. She breaks it in half, one piece for her pocket, the other for her mouth. She doesn't chew, she holds it clenched in her teeth and sucks at it, breaking it down slowly with her tongue to draw out the enjoyment of simply eating. "Oh Star, this is good. Thanks Tahir, and I really think we should bring the machine. Just in case."

Tahir nods and dumps out a pillowcase. He carefully slips the device inside and hefts it across his back, clinging to the corners. "Hey, I gotta take care of you. Who'll play my music for me if something happens to you?"

The Savanite grins, then closes her mouth realizing it is still full of bread. Her ears wiggle as she signs, "They'll make you a new me out of my tail or teach a Zelak to sing for you or something." She leads out of the door, waving for the cub. Her signs are more serious now, "Where do you think we should start, the ground floor?"

Still crunching loudly, the cub wanders up and grab's Leeta's tail. She has an ear-to-ear grin plastered across her face. Apparently she thought that the bread was as good as Leeta did.

Tahir follows behind the cub. "Bottom floor would probably be the best, if he's down there digging for bugs that'll be the best chance we have of finding him."

Leeta nods, heading for the elevator at a slow pace, feeling the tug of the kitten trailering on her tail. She glances around at the walls and ceiling, wondering about the mysterious devices that can see through them; her nerves are on edge trying to detect any sign of an impending attack, and she ignores any thoughts about relaxing and forgetting these feelings.

The elevator is currently on it's way down from above. Leeta can hear the sounds of several people inside… and they seem to be getting off on this floor.

"We'd better hide Tahir, some people are in the elevator. I was told to wait with you, and they'll probably stop us searching." She signs, looking around for a good door to duck into.

The human nods his head and runs up to the closest doorway, He cycles it open and motions for Leeta to follow.

Leeta follows, hushing the kitten and making sure she moves quickly with a hand placed gently on the back. They enter after the human.

Once inside, Fire-Mane gives the room a quick glancing over, still watchful for any defense mechanisms that might react to their presence.

As soon as Tahir has the door closed, the lights blink on. It looks like the three are in another bedroom… this one vacant luckily. Outside the sound of approaching footsteps can be heard, some of them sound like armored boots.

The human shifts the load on his back, trying to find a comfortable position for it while he stands quietly. The cub seems to have gotten the idea that everyone's supposed to be quiet, and stands quietly behind Leeta.

"They're probably just guards to help us, but I don't know what to trust anymore Tahir. It's like we were back at the Temple." Leeta's hands speak silently, her ears swiveling to follow the footsteps in the hall. It doesn't seem quite so important to be able to vocalize now. "If they find us… just say we were going to a safer level. That's better than saying you wanted to look for the cub."

Tahir nods, and then winces as the machine makes a soft clattering noise. Voices can be heard outside, "The Candidate's gone!" "Search the area, we'll find him." "Pah… his little pet probably dragged him off and killed him like she almost killed me." The last voice is unmistakably Rhys'.

Fire-Mane slumps, her shoulders and arms going slack. She looks around the room with a hopeless expression, searching for someplace to hide, or another way out. She listens to hear if the people outside move away, but she feels it's only a matter of time.

"I didn't Tahir… Oh I know you know, but why won't he see it? Did the Silent-Ones do something to him that he hates us still now?" Leeta signs, with a gesture at the door.

The Savanite shakes her hands, "You don't need to answer that. Let'sjust wait quietly and see if they go."

"He's always been a stubborn old thing." Tahir whispers quietly. "I'm sure he's quite aware that you saved him, he's just using this as another chance to make you, and presumably me as well, look bad." He cranes his neck to the door, trying to listen as well. There's the sound of more footfalls as the guards depart. A few moments later the hallway is silent again.

"I think that's all of them. We might as well chance it… " Leeta puts her hand on the doorcrank, and slowly turns it. She tries to be as quiet as possible as she opens up a enough of a crack to see out into the hallway, and then peers through it.

Nobody to be seen outside, from what Leeta can see through the small opening. The scent of the guards, and Rhys in particular still lingers in the air.

{He must be really scared… } She cranks the door open enough that they all can squeeze through, then scoots out into the hallway.

"Boo." Rhys says, leaning against the wall next to the doorway.

Leeta jumps! Her tail bristles out and her hands splay wide open.

Leeta pants, un-tensing, but still not feeling any more relaxed.

Tahir bumps into Leeta's back, the weight of the machine he carries throwing his momentum off just enough so that he can't stop very quickly. "Ooomph!" There's another smaller 'bump' as the cub crashes into Tahir's legs.

The Priesthood candidate doesn't move from his spot. He watches Leeta impassively, and rolls his eyes as the two crash into her.

The fire-haired Savanite moves out of Tahir's way, there isn't much point in trying to hide anymore. She watches both candidates, waiting for the inevitable. Defeated, she looks at the elevator button, wondering if it could be pushed and the elevator arrive, before the guards do.

Tahir re-adjusts the load on his back. "I never thought you would get this desperate for the Astromancership." he says, glancing at Leeta.

The callbutton for the elevator is about five feet away from the Savanite. Close enough that she could make a lunge for it… or try and quietly sidle towards it.

Leeta shrinks away from Tahir's gaze, as if chastised, and uses motion to get a little closer to the button. Hanging her head, she assumes a proper slave posture, and waits for the chance to sneak nearer to her goal.

"Why not? It's obvious that I'm the logical choice if someone was so frightened by me that they decided to do me in." Rhys says. "You don't even realize it, do you? This whole island is a deathtrap… they only want one of us to get out of here alive, maybe that's how they pick who gets the crown, eh?"

Tahir snorts and shoulders his load. "Don't be an idiot." he growls and starts to walk past his 'brother', heading in the direction of the stairway.

Fire-Mane waits for Rhys' gaze to follow Tahir, then reaches out for a quick poke at the button. After, she returns to her submissive stance.

There's a noisy *whine* of gears and machinery as the elevator begins to move, which causes Rhys to snap his attention back on Leeta again. But Tahir doesn't stop his pace, "I've just got a few more things to connect on the dispenser and we'll have the food shortage fixed. You can come along if you want… maybe it'll show you a thing or two about how engineers solve problems."

"Or traitors… " Rhys hisses and goes after Tahir. "Don't think I don't know about Cannan being in your head somewhere."

The cub, meanwhile, continues to cling to Leeta's tail. She just watches everything quietly.

The fire-maned Savanite isn't too sure what to do either. She watches Tahir and Rhys head away, and listens for the elevator's arrival. After a moment, she turns to the cub on her tail, "Do you know where your brother is?"

No response. The cub just smiles up at Leeta.

The doors behind the Savanites open up, the elevator awaits. Leeta's ears can pick out a few of the sounds of the still arguing candidates making their way upwards.

She smiles back, and rubs the kitten's head. {Rhys wouldn't actually stop Tahir fixing the machine… would he? Would it help at all if I was there? Oh Star, I don't want to starve, and I don't want something to happen to the boy while I'm watching someone fixing a machine… } Her teeth clench, and she looks at the elevator's open door.

Leeta steps into the elevator, bringing the kitten with her.

The cub purrs at the attention and follows after Leeta. As the two enter inside the doors close, narrowly missing the cub's tail by an inch or so.

Fire-Mane pushes the lowest button on the panel.

With another soft grating of gears, the elevator lurches downwards…

Leeta stares up at the numbers, one hand curling through the cub's mane; she watches as they blink on, then off, and listens to the Tower's hum.