Dreams give way to shaking and groggy attempts at figuring out where one has woken up at. Slowly, it begins to resolve itself into a bunk in the slave quarters.

There's a gentle rapping at Leeta's door. strangely, the sound seems to be coming from the lower portion.

Leeta's first waking thoughts are confused. It is the fabric of her temple robes beneath her fingers that lets her remember her new station. Hearing the noise, she stands and approaches the door, moving carefully in the dim light.

The Savanite stares at the base of the door where the tapping emanates from, then she crouches, and taps back quietly.

Still curious, thinking {Perhaps a mouse?}, the fire-haired Savanite stands and moves to open the door. Remembering the grinding noise it made when Blasek shut it, she tries to silently inch it ajar by prying her fingers against the frame.

The door opens, revealing a cheetah cub who peeks into the chamber. He looks about, then focuses on Leeta and smiles weakly.

Leeta smiles down at the cub, looking out into the hallway to see if he is alone, while signing to him, "Hello?"

The cub nods, and peeks back out, then makes a "follow me" gesture with his hand as he pads down the hallway.

The cub stops and looks back at Leeta, nodding and making a "come on!" hand-wave.

The older Savanite scratches under her mane, {Well, Blasek said I would be sent for… } then shrugs, slipping out of the door and closing it quietly, following after the little cub.

The cub pads quietly along, leading Leeta through the corridors of the Temple, into a section that is lit alternately by wall-mounted torches or by flickering panels of light of a strange sort that couldn't be caused by flame. Magic, perhaps.

Leeta spares a few glances for these, since she's alone with only the cub, and touches one as she passes. Finding no secrets revealed about the panels, she just continues after her small guide.

At last, the cub leads Leeta to an office much like the one that the Aquilan was in, except that this one is larger, and much more nicely furnished. It still has those nasty implements, but they're over to the side, and offset by a table with a vase of flowers. There is a beautiful painting of what looks like a bouquet of flowers with hanging vines floating in the open air, with a smattering of clouds in the background.

The red-maned slave focuses her attention on the painting, and the vase of flowers, trying not to look beyond them. She looks down at the cub that had been leading her, and signs "Who am I going to meet here?"

The cub looks back to Leeta, and signs, "Your real master." He looks about nervously, waves and dashes out the door, into the hallway.

Leeta watches the cub dash off, not feeling very reassured by the answer. She looks around for someplace suitable to wait, but can't find any spot that seems any better than simply standing in view of the door.

Time passes. Nobody seems to be coming. There are a few places to sit. There's a desk, with a chair before it. There's also the big table with shackles on it. Also, there's a couch just around the corner, and a couple of chairs here and there.

Leeta starts to fidget, looking around the room, and out into the hallways, listening for anyone or anything. She takes a long look at the couch from where she stands, trying to see if someone is asleep on it. Finally she gives a very small bark for attention.

There's no indication that anyone else is present in the room.

{What did Blasek say… ?} Leeta thinks to herself, {Do as I'm told, don't be inquisitive, and don't wander around. Is anyone going to come for me? I don't think I should just be standing around}. She looks finally, for the colours on the door, or something else in the room. {At least I'll know if the little cub made a mistake.}

One of the candles on the table burns out its wick and dies, making the room faintly darker.

The walls are made of hard ceramic with a sheen that almost makes it pass for metal. The colors picked for the room are certainly garish – the same tones of magenta and yellow-green as seen on parts of Inquisitor Keeyah's uniform.

Leeta steps outside the room, and stands beside the doorway, watching and listening for any other traffic in the halls.

The hallway is dark and quiet. Must be another one of those blackouts that happen in parts of the Temple. Only a single flickering wall-mounted torch provides any light, and even it is sputtering.

Some footsteps echo down the corridor. A shadow around the corner heralds someone approaching.

Leeta bows her head, and waits respectfully, but tries to look through her mane, and see who might be approaching. She stands as much as possible underneath the torch.

A lupine guard in standard Temple garb walks by. He notices the Savanite standing under the torch. "You!" he barks. "What are you doing out here, standing about? Look busy!"

Leeta signs, with her head bowed, "I was told to wait here sir, but I seem to have been forgotten. Is there anything you wish me to do?" She also sighs quietly, grateful that someone came.

The wolf growls, "Bah. None of that finger waving. Get on to wherever you're supposed to be going. No standing about in the hall. They might think you're a spy or something… " He looks Leeta up and down, perhaps as if one can tell a spy by the way they dress.

The red-maned slave mentally starts trying to retrace her steps, {Could I make it back without asking? I don't think so. What was that little cub up to?}

The wolf hmphs and walks along, passing Leeta by, and disappearing down the other end of the hallway.

Most people would be easily lost, not having been this way very often, but the cheetah is blessed with observation and memory, and can be fairly sure of being able to retrace her steps the whole way.

Leeta is torn between heading back to the possible safety of her room, or staying and suffering a cruel trick on a new slave. {I can't just wander around, and I can't stay in the hall. Someone sent me, I've got to wait. Going back would be worse, I think} She finally decides, and goes back into the room then looks for a good spot someplace near the door to sit.

A chair next to the door looks like a good spot. In fact, the cheetah's mandolin is propped up right next to the chair.

Or, that is, the mandolin is presumably inside the /case/ that is propped next to the chair.

*clack clack clack* – footsteps in the hallway, approaching quickly.

Another candle in the room dies out, letting off a wisp of smoke that curls upward and through the air, disturbed as it is blown by a gust of air that comes from a grating in the upper portion of one wall.

The slave crouches down, sitting on her heels and lying back against the wall, a position that would let her stand quickly, and one that hopefully isn't comfortable enough to fall asleep in. She looks over at her mandolin, then hears the footsteps just waits.

A robed figure – one wearing robes of bright magenta and yellow-green, almost bright enough to seem to cast some light on the room with their own garishness – strides into the room, on through the doorway, without even noticing the Savanite cowering to one side. He growls and curses under his breath in a canine-sounding voice, as he storms toward the painting across the chamber and reaches toward it.

Leeta makes a very quiet, very respectful bark to indicate her presence, but otherwise doesn't move.

The poodle, cursing loudly, doesn't seem to notice the quiet bark, so deep is he within his rage. In the light of the one remaining candle, his face can be seen in profile, his eyes looking stained and dirty … and gleaming with intent as he slides the painting aside, revealing a panel and some sort of mechanism with several little switches on it behind. He flips at them, and opens the panel in another quick motion.

The poodle pulls out a thick stack of papers, and begins leafing through them. In the candlelight, the cheetah can see the first page, which seems to be covered with words aligned in columns … names, perhaps.

Leeta stays crouched against the wall, not moving at all, her head down. Her curiosity so strong that she keeps glancing up, but tries to hide her eyes behind her mane, so the candle light will not reflect back from them.

"Heh heh. Thwart ME, will you? Well well … secrets are bad things. And the truth will set you free. So, I'll just have to do you a favor and free you up a bit." The poodle cackles wickedly to himself, studying one of the pages, and then putting the whole stack back into the safe and closing the door. The little switches click and pop back to their original positions.

{So this is my new master, I think today if I help him with anything, it will be his rage.} She just waits, wishing there was someplace to dive into, or hide behind, instead of the relative open spot she chose.

The last candle dies out in a puff of smoke, prompting yet more curses from the poodle. "Blasted technohacks! They're late on maintenance in my office on PURPOSE!"

Leeta takes that as a sign from the star and looks for someplace better to be when the light comes back on, trying to place herself in the room as she last saw it, and pick a better spot.

The poodle storms out of the room … or … that is, he almost does. He knocks over a chair, cursing some more (including a few things that would probably be blasphemous for an Inquisitor to say, as if profanities weren't bad enough), and then he fumbles his way back out into the hall. "Guard! Sabotage! Sabotage, I say! Someone has turned out all the lights and let the candles die out! Give me some light, or I'll know you for participating in an attempted assassination or something equally dreadful!" His voice trails off down the hall.

Leeta's memory proves sufficient to navigate the room, and keep out of the poodle's way – and sight. Soon, footsteps return, along with a light coming down the hallway.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," comes a lupine voice. "It won't happen again. I don't know what is up with Maintenance nowadays."

The Savanite listens, hearing the footsteps fade, then return. Hesitating, then moving closer to the rack, wondering how well she could hide behind it.

The room is illuminated by a torch, brought in by the wolf, who looks about in vain for a good place to put it.

She thinks, {This is no good, if I hide and I'm found I will be carrying chamberpots till Rephidim falls.}

"Just STAND there," barks the poodle, as he passes the wolf. "Simple-minded hair-for-brains… "

Leeta takes the torch and holds it.

The wolf looks relieved, letting the cheetah hold the torch instead.

Leeta keeps her head bowed, and holds the torch directly in front of her hair. Glad the colour will help her blend in.

The poodle rifles through some papers on his desk. Behind him, the painting is back in place … almost. It's slightly off-center, but no one would really be able to tell that anyone's amiss unless they had any reason to pay attention to it before.

"Aha," says the poodle, noticing Leeta. "What have we here?" He drops his papers. "So, I wonder who you … " He looks at her collar. His leering look fades away. "Oh. You're MINE. Very well then. Good. Make yourself useful."

Leeta nods, holding the torch in one hand, signing with the other "Yes master, what would you like me to do?"

"Keep your hands still," the poodle barks. "I HATE it how you slaves fidget about like that. Yes, yes, I know, that's how you TALK. Well, you serve well as slaves because you CAN'T talk. And I prefer to keep it that way, thank you."

The Savanite keeps her gaze focused respectfully down, in this case, at the base of the flames on the torch she is holding.

Leeta puts both hands back on the torch, and moves over to the desk holding the torch so it sheds light across the papers scattered on the surface.

The poodle looks Leeta up and down, then goes back to his papers. "Yes, yes, Keeyah got me a very pretty one. Well, I'd very much like to get to know you better – MUCH better – but I have some important business to tend to. Do find … " he waves his hand about, fumbling for something, "SOMETHING to do while I'm gone. Oh … tidy up the place a bit. But don't touch anything. Bah. Nevermind."

The papers on the desk appear to be nothing more than forms, forms and more forms.

The poodle looks to the guard. "And, I notice, there are no guards posted outside my office. Whyever not? There could have been a killer lurking in here! Or a spy!"

The wolf straightens up more and says, "Well, sir, you wanted the guards to LEAVE when you had that … ah … lady visitor … and … "

{Or a really confused slave} Leeta thinks, as she focuses on the base of the torch, and pretends to be a lamp.

The poodle grumbles. "Simple-minded fool. Well, you can put the guards BACK now." He looks at the forms in his hands, and then shoves them into Leeta's free hand, a situation that seems to be risking a spill. "Here. Make yourself useful and take these to the Quartermaster Supreme."

The poodle Inquisitor storms out of the room, then realizes he's in darkness again. "Augh! Both of you – Follow me out until we get to some light, would you?"

Leeta nods, pressing the forms against her front, and quickly turning, handing the torch back to the guard. She gathers the forms in both hands, gripping them tightly

The wolf nods, taking the torch and walking along with the Inquisitor down the hallway.

The Savanite grabs up the mandolin case slinging the strap over her head then darts after the receding wolf.

The poodle, wolf and Savanite head through the corridor, out of the dismal area of the Inquisition, and into more heavily-travelled areas. Here, the poodle splits off, taking the wolf with him, and waving the Savanite over toward the halls that lead to the areas of the Audit. "And don't lose a single one of those forms, or I'll take it out of your hide."

Leeta follows the poodle and wolf as quietly as possible with her burden of papers and the case jostling against her back. She nods as they turn to their direction, and she heads towards the indicated hall.

The new slave starts to jog as soon as she is alone, and starts to look for someone who can tell her which office she has to deliver the forms to. Remembering the poodles warming, she holds them tightly.

Down the indicated hallway … the way becomes brighter, the walls cleaner, and everything better kept. In fact, a few potted plants and even some statues can be seen here and there, along with nicely engraved nameplates on office doors.

Auditors and Clerks and other members of the Office of Accounting walk by, many of them with ample middles, and dressed in robes of white and gold – adorned with fine jewelry to the point of excess.

Leeta heads along the line of office doors, looking for the one labeled Quartermaster Supreme. She keeps watching for any Savanites that might help, unwilling to disturb people obviously more important than her.

{It would seem that the auditors are the ones most in charge} She thinks, {… or at least know how to hide inventory}

A few Savanites hurry by, but one Savanite that walks by presents a bit of a problem for those intentions – She is a Savanite, most certainly, but she is dressed in business-like attire of such finery that she could pass for a member of the nobility, and seems to carry herself with similar bearing. Furthermore, she stands taller than any of the other Savanites – and a good number of the rest. Another difference is how she walks on plantigrade rather than digitigrade feet. She goes right up to the door of the Central Finance Office of the Quartermaster Supreme.

Leeta looks up from her confusion at the nameplates, and sees the tall Savanite walking away from her. The royal markings just barely visible under her clothes, her height, and the strange feet. Suddenly Leeta isn't in the temple anymore, she's sprinting, dodging around branches and trying to catch her sister, always losing sight of that striped back. {LONG LOPE!} She tears into a sprint, her suddenly tight fists the only thing stopping her forms scattering across the hall.

The tall cheetah pauses in front of the door to the office, turning to face the fast-moving slave with a look of surprise and disapproval.

But there's no mistaking that face. Long Lope it is, even though so many years have passed.

Leeta barks, her hands dropping the forms and signing: It's ME!

The red-maned slave's hands flash through a name-sign she hasn't used in years, Long-Lope Long-Lope Long-Lope

The other slave's eyes go wide, and she looks about at the stares she's getting. She reaches forward, as if to try to still the red-maned slave's hands, evidently agitated.

Leeta looks up into the taller slaves eyes, her hands held but still trying to sign. Her eyes trying to say, "It's me! Don't you recognize me? Fire Mane, Fire Mane.. She makes another small cough, as her forms scatter and settle around her.

The taller slave lets go of Leeta, then looks at another slave who stares at the scene. Long Lope signs to the gawker, "Pick up these forms and take them in." Then, she touches a panel beside the door … and waits as it smoothly slides open, revealing a waiting room beyond, filled with nervous-looking businessmen fretting and fidgeting as they sit on chairs, while a red-eyed Eeee sits behind a desk, filing at her long nails.

The red-maned slave pants, her excitement giving her a bounce in her legs and an unrepressable smile. {Star! This is the best day of my life. They'll beat me but I don't care. I got someone back!}. She tries to calm down, to watch and make sure the other slave gets all the forms, but she can't, she just keeps looking at Long Lope.

Long-Lope draws Leeta into the office, then through a side-door, leaving a surprised slave trying to pick up the dropped forms.

The side-door leads into a meeting room surrounded by what at first appear to be windows looking into a garden … but upon second glance, they are just panels of glass looking into recessed cubicles with plants in them, lit from some unseen source above.

A table is set in the center of the chamber, surrounded by many chairs. Long-Lope takes one of these, sitting down and looking momentarily exhausted, as she regards Leeta.

Leeta follows her sister, hands still desperate to sign years worth of stories and questions, but simply sum it up, You're alive!

Long-Lope pauses, then signs, "Well, of course I'm alive. And so are you, I see." She fidgets a bit. "You're really Fire-Mane?" she signs.

Leeta signs, "Yes yes!" She pauses, wondering how her sister could even ask that question, "Don't you remember? The jungle and Third-Eye and grandmother, and how we left the tribe and then the slavers came?"

Long-Lope frowns at the mention of Third-Eye. She then smiles and embraces her younger sister.

Leeta signs, "Downstairs, in my room, I have that necklace you made for me, remember? The one day I beat you. You said you were lame, but we carved a piece of wood to remember it?"

Fire-Mane hugs her older sister, and holds, and holds.

Long-Lope sighs. "You ARE Fire-Mane," she signs as she pulls back a bit. "But don't call me Long-Lope when others are around. Here, I am Zorah," she adds in the phonetic of the City-Sign.

Fire-Mane smiles, feeling the pull of the city and her station dragging her back to being just a slave but for the moment not strongly enough to quell her feelings. She signs, "I am Fire-Mane, My name here now is Leeta, but I am Fire-Mane."

Long-Lope signs, "I haven't heard of you from the others. Do you know of the others?" She adds this last part with a more sorrowful look.

Leeta signs, "Others? Others! Are our other sisters here? I haven't seen anyone, they're here too?"

The red-haired Savanite signs, "I haven't seen them since we were first sold. Creen-Song, Running-River, are they here too?" She can barely stop bouncing, her fingers flying through the long lost names.

Long-Lope frowns even more. "I am so sorry, Fire-Mane. Our mother, Creensong, and our youngest sister, Emerald-Eyes, were in the service of Lord Titus haut Mikide … but they were abducted … by our own sister, Third-Eye."

"Lord Mikide has a bounty hunter out looking for Third-Eye. They seem to think our mother and youngest sister, however, are dead. And our father, Running-River … He was sold off, to the Champion of Roses, where he is locked away in some dungeon."

Leeta feels everything come crashing down around her, and her legs suddenly won't support her anymore, and she sinks to the ground with a small hurt bark.

Leeta signs, "Again? she destroys us again?"

Long-Lope crouches down beside Leeta and nods. "Yes. But she has gone too far. This hunter is renowned – a master marksman and user of fire-arms. She … will trouble us no more."

Leeta leans against her sister, holding onto her, one hand fluttering, "I… why… I don't care. You're back, no one comes back when they leave, you're here. I love you Long-Lope, don't leave me, don't disappear." The she stops, and just clings.

Long-Lope looks taken aback, but holds Leeta close as if the latter were a cub needing consolation. She brushes her hair with one hand, then frees up a hand enough to slowly sing, "I am going nowhere. I serve the Quartermaster Supreme. I am well-privileged. And you… " Her jaw drops a bit as she looks at the collar around Leeta's neck. "Moffat!" she signs.

Leeta looks up at her sister, signing with one hand, "Yes, Arch Inquisitor Moffat, is that bad?"

The red-maned Savanite continues, "I was told he was harsh and secretive. I have only been his for today so far, I don't know how true that is, but I have only seen him angry."

Long-Lope frowns severely, signing, "Do not let him take any notice of you. He is a monster."

Leeta signs with a look of worry very similar to her sisters, "I think he already has, I think I am to be his personal slave. Oh No! He said if I lost a form he would take it out of my hide, the other slave got them all? Oh make sure the quartermaster gets them all or doesn't notice, please?"

Long-Lope calms Leeta's hands with her own, then signs, "Do not worry. Everything will be in order. In fact, I will make sure his forms are processed in record time. He will have no cause to think ill of you."

Leeta smiles, signing, "Oh thank you Long-Lope, you are still faster and out in front of me. Such nice robes they gave you, you don't even look like a slave at all. You look so like a noble I'm afraid to even gaze at you. It is so GOOD to see you again!"

Long-Lope smiles. "I'm glad to see you as well," she signs. "But, it is true, I AM a slave. And, I have duties I had best tend to. But I will send for you sometime. We have so many years to share."

Leeta signs, "Yes, yes! I am somewhere in the basement, a slave named Blasek can find me. I don't know what I am supposed to do yet, I just arrived today. They have not given me a schedule yet, they don't know what to do with me."

Long-Lope frowns. "That is not good." She stands up. "It is best to leave now. Thank you for coming."

Leeta swings the forgotten mandolin case around from her back, "I can play this, and I can dance, just dance, but I'm very good." She stands as well, "What should I do, just go back to my room now? The Arch Inquisitor didn't say what else for me to do."

Long-Lope nods. "If you have no instructions, then just be easy to find, and quick to act when instructed."

Leeta holds onto her feelings a second longer, knowing that in a moment theirduties will take them apart again, but may bring them together again sometimesoon. She reluctantly lets go, signing, "Okay, yes. I'll do that. I'm agood slave, I'll catch up with you and have robes like you soon, you'll see. OhLong-Lope, I still can't believe it, we're not free anymore, and you're Zorahnow and I'm Leeta, but it's like I am back in the jungle and a cub again, I havenot felt this happy in years!"