The Skeek herself sits on her bunk, one knee tucked under her chin as she regards her Lapine friend with curiosity, mixed with her usual lazy unconcern.

Anisa paces the room slowly, her nose twitching deep in thought. For several moments she says nothing, then she suddenly stops. "The only thing I can think of is to drop the Dagh-cursed thing over the side and pick it up later. Have you heard the rumors?"

"Oh, plenty of them, sugar," drawls Wanda, letting her other foot dangle over the edge of the bunk. "If they don't find us before we get to the Half Valley, they're going to keep everyone aboard. Only folks who get to debark are ones that have their belongings searched. Isn't that rude? I don't want some airman roughneck pawing through my frillies."

The Lapine resists giving a momentary shudder; she has more to lose than even Wanda if her stuff gets searched. "Neither do I… not in the least. So, what are we gonna do about it?" She crosses her arms, and looks directly at the Skeek. "We can't just pack it up with us, and if we try to sneak it over the side when we're docked they might catch us."

Wanda toys with the tip of her tail, looking thoughtful. "It could be done, but not without risk. I counted eight airmen patrolling the top deck, if we wanted to sneak it over the railing. I think the porthole in the room here is too narrow to fit it through. Then we have to try to remember what direction we're going in, so we know where to look for the book when we get off."

Anisa frowns, "That's all that I've been able to come up with so far; do you have any other ideas?" She sits down one of the mouse's luggage pieces. "I guess it'd be impossible to disguise the book."

Wanda reaches under her bunk to haul the book into her lap with a grunt. She shakes a piece of broken bone lockpick out of the keyhole before studying the cover thoughtfully. "You never want to talk in absolutes, sugar," replies the rodent, grinning a little at her own joke. "Still, I'm not sure what we'd disguise it as. I'd guess this thing is about a foot and a half tall by a foot wide… four inches thick or so? And pretty heavy."

The rabbit shrugs. "Then I guess it goes over the side." She walks to the portal window, looking out. "Are we over land now, or still over the ocean?"

The view outside answers Anisa's question. Far below, a vast forest canopy seems to crawl beneath the Sunset-Hoof as it travels along. Here and there can be seen clearings, and the groove cut into the trees where a strong-looking river flows.

Anisa looks back to Wanda. "Well, shall we go for it? If you have any other ideas, tell them to me now, otherwise mister book goes over the side and we get to look for it later."

The Skeek bites her lip. "I hate to mistreat such a thing. Still, that's as much plan as we have, so that's as much plan as we use. We ought to consider finding a box or something for it, to protect it from the elements. It could take us a while to find it, after all."

The Lapi nods, and looks around the room, "Do you have anything we could use?"

"My luggage," replies Wanda. "Though I'm sure you can understand why I'd hesitate to do that. I don't exactly have a lot of it."

Anisa scratches an ear absent mindedly. "I might have something extra to use for it. Let me go to my room real quick and check, I'll be right back." The Lapi starts to make for the door.

The Skeek smiles and nods. "I'm in no rush, sugar."

Back in Anisa's cabin, boxes indeed abound. Royce's feet are propped on one specimen, the rest of him seated on the bunk. His twitching nose is buried in a book entitled "Gaseous Properties of the Gooshurm: How They Relate to Flight, and Theories on Harnessing Potential".

Anisa shuts the door behind her, and immediately pushes Royce's feet off the box. "Quit reading that nonsense and help me look for a book-sized box. I need one quickly." She starts to root through the luggage, looking for a suitable container.

Royce grunts in surprise, waving an arm to keep his balance. He sits up straighter on the bunk. "Huh! Did you decide you hated books enough to try gathering them up and flinging them overboard or something?"

The older rabbit shoots a glare at her brother. "I don't hate books!" She pauses, then goes back to searching through the boxes. "Besides… we're tossing it over the side to save it… "

"Say WHAT?" Royce stares back, half-standing up from the bunk. "You're getting a box to throw a book overboard? Just what in the Star's name are you doing? Hey, now that I think of it, you never really explained all the weirdness you mumbled about the other night… "

A couple of boxes in hand, Anisa sighs, and turns back to Royce. "Well, you know that book that went missing? I sort of, er… found it." She starts to go back through the luggage. "And if I don't get it off this ship, a friend of mine could get into real trouble."

The patchy younger rabbit gapes for a few moments. "What… ?" He starts. "But you… ! How… ?"

"It's a long story," Anisa says, "but needless to say, we've had to find alternate ways of getting the Dagh-blasted thing off the ship, since they're probably going to be searching people's things." At that thought, the Lapi freezes, and her ears perk up. She slaps her forehead. "The searches! How are we gonna get you off the ship?" She turns back to Royce.

Royce puts his knuckles on his hips, his book quite forgotten by now. His face still looks incredulous, one ear dangling in front of it. "That's what I'd like to know! For crying out loud, Anisa, how do you get yourself into messes like this?! And why are you even keeping the book? If the owner gets it back, the searches are called off, right?"

Anisa grimaces, "Well… yeah." She fidgets with an ear in thought. "We're gonna give it back! We just want to… borrow it for a while." She smoothes her ears back behind her. "Besides, no one said you had to come with me, so you're just as much in this mess as I am!" She sorts through the boxes some more. "You can either help us, or just sit there with that dumb look on your face."

Royce, discovering his mouth hanging open, abruptly closes it with a click of his incisors. "Well… I won't argue that point… but only because Dad isn't around to keep you from Hekoye-burning my arms again. What's so special about this thing in the first place? Who did it belong to?"

The sister Lapi opens up a large chest, pulling out some smaller boxes found inside. "It's hard to explain… You'd just have to see it! It's big, and covered in metal, and well, nice looking. I have to see what's in it before I give it back, just a peek. It belonged to that snake guy, Baleforte."

"Hmm. So, to recap… " Royce begins counting off his fingers. "You stole a hugely expensive book, risking both our hides because it's: A: big, B: metal, and C: nice-looking." He stops counting to flop his ear out of face. "Okay, so maybe I stowed away and broke the law too… but… Gibson needs us, so I have a good reason."

Anisa sighs, and turns to look at her brother. "Even if I wanted to get rid of the book, my friend wouldn't do it. She's set on keeping it, so we're going to have to go through this anyways. Do you have any better ideas?"

The younger Lapi crosses his arms, trying to look as stern as his somewhat unimpressive, bookworm's physique and boyish face will allow. "And just who is this friend of yours? Did you happen to hit it off with a crime boss in Darkside? Or does he just traffic in antiques as a hobby?"

The white rabbit rolls her eyes, "No, just a very confused person. She just needs a little help to get set straight." The Lapi picks out a box she thinks is the right size, and sits on the bed to examine it. "If I were you, I'd start thinking of ways to get myself off the ship once we dock."

"Nngh… Well, you're obviously dead-set on doing this. You might as well let me meet her." Royce tosses his paws in the air. "Maybe we'll all share a cell! I'll try to think of a way, but I'm not exactly an escape artist."

Anisa nods her head, deciding that the selected box will have to do. "She doesn't know about you yet, but I guess I should tell her." She looks up at Royce, and scratches her ears. "Hmmm, do they ever search the stuff down in the cargo hold, you think? Maybe you can stow away in one of the crates down there, or in the garbage or something."

The patched rabbit's nose wrinkles at the word 'garbage'. "Well, I doubt they'll search that… but they usually just throw the stuff overboard. There'll probably be empty water barrels to fill. Cargo that the airmen packed before the trip probably wouldn't be searched, but we'd have to pry a crate open, and we don't know where the goods are going."

"At least, I sure don't," he amends.

"That's all I can think of; we may just have to take our chances, since sneaking you out in the luggage is probably out of the question," says Anisa. "Got any other ideas?"

Royce grimaces. "Do I look like Shikouju to you?"

Anisa shrugs, "The crates'll have to do then." She gets up off the bed, and heads for the door. "We'll be landing soon, so get ready to try and sneak out. You'll need to get down in the cargo hold like you did before, and look for something to stow away in." The Lapi cracks the door open, and as usual, gives a cautious peek out.

The white Lapi looks back to Royce, "Well? Are you coming?"

"Well… okay, but let's hurry."

Fortune smiles on the siblings, and no airmen are met in the scurry down the hall. As the rabbits rush into Wanda's room, the Skeek can be found seated in the same spot as before, a faintly bemused look on her face at the sight of Royce.

Anisa looks a bit uncomfortable as she enters the Skeek's room. "Um, Wanda? There's something I forgot to tell you about. This is my brother, Royce. We sorta… stowed him aboard… "

"Oh, and this is Wanda, Royce," she adds.

"I see that," replies Wanda, watching Royce, her usual odd smile still firmly in place. "Aw, he's cute."

For some reason, Royce's usual sharp reply to such a remark is bitten off, and he edges off to one side, rubbing his arm and looking even more uncomfortable than Anisa.

The female Lapi grins at her brother's reaction, and relaxes a bit. She turns back to the Skeek, "I suppose you were going to find out about him eventually, so better sooner than later. Oh, and here's a box I found for the book. I think it's big enough, but I'm not sure." She holds the container out to the mouse.

Wanda inspects the wooden box thoughtfully, then nods. "It's a little flimsy, but maybe it'll hold together when we lower our altitude as we get closer. The book itself is pretty tough."

"And where exactly is this book?" asks Royce, finally managing to find his voice. He does so admirably. His voice only cracks once.

Anisa continues to fight a grin at her brother's distress, and nods. "We should show him the book; I guess I owe that much to him." She walks over to the dresser, and hops up to sit on its counter. "And we also have to get him smuggled off the ship. I doubt they'd be happy to find him. I'm going to take him to the cargo hold in a bit, and stash him in a crate. Hopefully it'll work."

"Sure, sugar." Wanda flips one of her blankets aside, revealing the steel-bound tome beneath it.

Royce's eyes immediately threaten to bulge out of their sockets, and he walks over toward it, almost as if compelled. "Whoa… " he breathes, hesitantly reaching for it. "This… this thing must be worth tens of thousands! I can see why Baleforte' was ready to give birth over it!"

"See? I told you so!" Anisa gloats at her brother, "That's why we're going to all this trouble. Take a good look at it, because we don't have much time, and still have to get you hidden away." The Lapi stops for a bit, nose twitching in thought. "Hey, I just got an idea… Since we're gonna be hiding bunny-boy here away anyways, why don't we just stash the book with him? That way, we don't have to look all over half of Sinai to get it back."

Both the others reply, and at almost the same time. "Hey, good idea!" "Are you NUTS?!" Royce (the latter) keeps going, looking even more upset. "If they find me, it won't be just a matter of stowing away! I'll be branded a thief of the highest order too!"

Anisa twirls an ear around her finger, and frowns with a nod. "Well, true. I guess if you get caught for stowing away we can bail you out, but you'd be in deep pellets if they caught you with the book." She sighs. "Over the side it goes then."

"Well, we should be within a few hours of making Half Valley by now," muses Wanda, tapping her lip with a fingerpad. "If you want, you can stash Royce away, and I can try dumping the book… or I can hide Royce, and you can toss the goods." She grins. "Well, if you wanted to do both, I wouldn't object to that either."

"I'll help Royce down in the cargo hold; you dump the book," replies Anisa. "And make sure you remember where you ditch it; it's probably going to be a pain trying to get it back in any event." She walks over to the door, motioning Royce to follow. "After I get him stowed away, I'll head back here. Remember, be discreet, don't let the guards see you."

Wanda gets up, dropping the steel-bound tome in the box sitting on the dresser by Anisa. She makes an odd, possiblySavanite hand-sign with her thumb extended… a gesture of confidence if it at all matches the look on her face. "'Discreet' is my middle name, sugar. I hate my last name, so you might as well just use 'Wanda Discreet' if you have to sign any contracts for me." The Skeek ambles over to the door, peeking out of it. She ducks back in and nods, then grins and much to Royce's surprise, pinches one of his cheeks. "Try not to rattle around too much, cutie."

Again, the patched Lapi is unable to find a reply.

The white Lapi stifles a giggle, and grabs her embarrassed brother by the arm. "C'mon, 'cutie', we have to get you stashed." She follows the Skeek's lead, and after peeking out the door to make sure the coast is clear, sneaks outside it. "Now be quiet; we have to be quick."

Royce grits his teeth, but follows along as quietly as he can manage. The door to Wanda's berth closes, and now it's just Anisa and Royce.

Anisa grabs one of Royce's ears, and in a low voice audible to Lapines, but not many others, whispers, "Do you remember how you got down into the hold?"

"Uh… yeah, I think so," comes the whispered reply. Anisa's brother glances around nervously, his other ear standing straight up. "It should be one level below us. We have to get to the stairs, then go down."

The white rabbit's ears suddenly perk up. "Dagh, someone's coming!" She grabs Royce, and attempts to fling him back into Wanda's room, opening the door with her other paw. "Don't make a sound!"

"Hey, wh-… doop!" The smaller rabbit doesn't offer much resistance, and it's hard to tell whether he stumbled into the room, or was actually airborne for a moment.

There's a crashing noise in the room, perhaps of toiletries falling off a dresser, and a familiar voice saying, "Gee, you're as graceful as you are handsome, sweetie-pie."

Anisa, meanwhile, shuts the door, and remains outside in the hall. She quickly looks to the ceiling in oblivion, tapping her chin as if in thought.

A muscular and moody-looking Rhian with a belaying pin tucked into his belt makes his way down the hall, the clopping of his hooves muffled by the strip of carpet down the hallway. He gives Anisa brief glance, and a curt nod, not bothering to slow down. "Ma'am."

The Lapi just lazily turns to the Rhian, and gives a nod with a demure smile, feigning a blush. She then looks back to the ceiling.

The Rhian plods onward, looking none too happy about his assignment. His hoof-steps grow fainter as he continues making his rounds.

Anisa peeks downward to make sure the horse is out of sight, then takes a deep breath in relief. She opens the door again, and motions for Royce. "The coast is clear. C'mon, let's go."

Royce emerges from the room, and nods. He smells a lot more… flowery now.

The older rabbit grabs her brother by the collar, and yanks him after her, making straight for the stairs. "At least you smell better. Now keep your ears open; we don't want to have any more run-ins like that."

Unable to raise much protest, the put-upon sibling stumbles after his sister. It's a quick trip to the stairs, and the relative safety of the cargo-hold's stairwell.

Anisa's ears perk up once more, and she motions for Royce to stay still. As quietly as she can, the rabbit tip-toes down the stairs, peeking around the walls of the stairwell. Sounds of breathing come to her ears, and she tries to find their source.

A peek around the stairwell reveals a figure seated on a stool near an archway. A lantern hanging from a peg abovethe figure back-lights him or her… such that it's not easy to make out any detail on whomever it is. Beyond the archway, the outlines of crates can be seen, dimly lit from above by natural light. The breathing is deep, slow, and regular.

The rabbit watches the figure for a little bit, then decides to take a chance. Biting her lip, she quietly walks out from the stairwell, watching for any response from the darkened individual.

A few paces… then one of the hold's uncarpeted floorboards goes 'gryok!'.

Anisa cringes, and freezes to the spot like a stereotypical rabbit, still watching the figure.

The figure shifts a little bit, snuffling once. Upon closer inspection, he appears to be a Korv, his wings folded and hunched up near his head. Standard airman's dress rumples his plumage slightly, and a belaying pin lies on the floor next to him, along with an ironwood pry bar. Bags under his closed eyes belie long shifts and a lack of sleep.

Twitching her nose nervously, Anisa turns back to Royce. She puts her finger to her lips, in a gesture of quiet, then motions him forward. (Please, oh please Star, let his clumsiness go away for just a little while!)

The other rabbit seems very reluctant to leave the stairwell, staring wide-eyed at Anisa and the dozing Korv.

Anisa frowns angrily, and motions again for her brother to follow. Hopefully, the Korv is so beat that he won't notice them pass.

Royce hesitates a moment longer, then creeps from the stairwell, wincing as if struck each time a plank creaks. He looks torn between taking it slow and steady, and wanting to just race into the cargo hold.

Nodding in approval, the white Lapi starts to make her way towards the storage area of the hold. As she passes the Korv, she stops. If they're going to get him inside one of those things, they have to have a way to open it. Taking a deep breath, the rabbit bends down to get the belaying pin and the pry bar, trying to remain careful.

The Korv doesn't seem to miss either of them, remaining pretty much socked-out. Meanwhile, Royce manages to disappear through the archway, creaking all the while. Perhaps sensitive Lapine ears make the creaking seem a little louder than they should. Korvs aren't known for sharp hearing, certainly.

Anisa follows behind her patchwork sibling, making a bee-line for the arch. She keeps one ear pointed at the Korv, and the other at the stairwell, just to keep her alerted in case of a surprise.

Royce has already moved farther in. It's somewhat dark in here, lit only by the grated hatches from above, through which can be seen some of the bottom of the ship's envelope. Reddish-orange light paints it, from what can be seen. The sun must be setting.

Crates of all shapes and sizes are arranged in this large room, with aisles left between them for people to get around in. Shipping labels from all manner of locations adorn each crate, some with plain block print, some with fanciful script, with only a few words of Standard written on them. Many of them have the words 'Half Valley' stamped on the sides.

Scooting close to her brother, Anisa whispers in his ear, "Which one do you want to try for? Make sure it's one that'sheaded for Half-Valley; we don't want you to end up in Babel or something… "

"As roomy as we can manage, I guess. I don't want to suffocate," mumbles Royce, eyeing the boxes doubtfully. He walks among some likely specimens. One is fairly wide and flat, about waist-high, but long enough for Royce to lay down in, almost coffin-like. It's stamped, "Recipient: Joane Whitewhiskers". The next one is taller, but stout compared to its width – probably large enough to crouch in. It reads, "Recipient: Town Library, c/o Second Librarian Jarold". Another, about medium-sized, but somewhat narrow, says, "Recipient: Levitha's Blanket, c/o Piksil – Fragile, handle with care." These are just the ones in the immediate vicinity, of course.

Anisa twirls an ear around her finger, contrasting the boxes. "The first one's too small, and the third one is breakable. Maybe the one to the library?" she whispers, "It seems to have a lot of room, and since it's going to a public place, you'll be easy to find." She grins, "and it's probably full of books, perfect for you."

Royce seems to like the idea about as much as any of the others. "All right, let's get it open, I guess."

The white rabbit nods, and taking the pry bar, gently puts it in place between the cover and the box. Slowly, she pries the covering off, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Gnidge. Gnidge, grnk. Flakes of glue trickle from around the edges of the pry bar as the lid is gradually loosened. The occasional sharp crack comes from particularly large globs of dried adhesive. Evidently, this was not a crate anyone wanted to waste ironwood nails on.

Anisa winces at each noise, and pries the cover open just enough to let Royce slip in. "Let's hope the glue goes back together. Now get inside and stay quiet. Will be in port soon, and when everyone's off the ship, we'll come get you."

Royce peers over the edge of the crate. "I don't know if there's enough room. This thing is at least half full of books, ironically enough."

The older Lapi frowns. "We'll have to try another one then." She presses the cover back onto the box, then turns to the crate labeled for Joane Whitewhiskers. "Let's try this one." Pry bar in paw, she tries to open the coffin like crate.

More cracking and crunching later, that box is opened as well. Inside, colorful textiles struggle to appear vivid despite the fading light of the approaching dusk. They don't come quite flush with the lid, but it looks like a squeeze in there, even figuring in the give that raw cloth might have.

"Think you can fit in this one?" asks Anisa.

"If I didn't mind being the rabbit and blanket filling of a wood sandwich," grumbles Royce.

Anisa glares at Royce, and closes this crate as well. She goes over to the one marked 'fragile', and starts in on it. "We're taking too much time; you're going to have to choose."

Lots of glue chips are starting to litter the floor. With a few strong wrenches of the pry bar, and a number of painfully sharp squeaks from the crate, the third box reveals racks of porcelain dishware.

The sister rabbit flares her nostrils, and closes this one without even asking Royce's opinion. "It'll have to be the one with cloth," she whispers, "it's the only one that you can-" She cuts herself short as her eyes go wide and her ears shoot straight up, hearing noises in from the direction of the Korv guard. She ducks behind a crate, and motions Royce to do likewise.

"Anisa, if we make it through this, I'm gonna see Mom and Dad ground you in the restaurant until the First Ones return." The other Lapi scurries behind a box, muttering a fevered prayer as he does so.

Anisa peers out from around the crate just slightly, trying to see the source of the noise.

She manages to spy the groggy Korv airman. The guard seems to be slouching around, squinting. He doesn't look fully awake, but seems quite suspicious. Whether or not he's noticed his pry bar and belaying pin missing, or whether he will if he hasn't yet, is hard to determine.

The rabbit utters a silent curse, biting her lip nervously. She continues to watch the crow, hoping that he's tired enough just to fall back asleep.

The Korv's head disappears back around the archway for a moment, and the light beyond it flickers for a few moments, until the Korv reappears in the doorway, his lanterndangling from one wing-claw. He slowly makes his way into the hold, still acting somewhat sluggish, but remaining on edge.

Anisa's heart sinks, all the while beating insanely rapidly. Lapine instincts are not the best thing to have in a situation like this. Crouching down, and scooting into a more secluded spot, she readies the belaying pin and pry bar for a fight if necessary, also looking at the crates for a possible quick hiding spot inside one.

A steady patter of muttered curses comes from the airman… but as one of Anisa's odd spurts of luck would have it, instead of travelling down the aisle she and her brother are hidden in, he moves along one that'll take him around the other side of the main mass of boxes. He'll loop around eventually, but it's a precious extra minute or two.

Noticing this, Anisa quickly gets to her feet and goes over to the box containing the cloth. Looking at Royce, she wordlessly indicates for him to get in, a glare on her face showing that she's not kidding in the least.

All the events, and the glare itself, make for a relatively meek sibling, for once. He all but leaps into the box head-first, and lies down, setting into the cloth as best he can manage. In the barest of whispers, audible only to Lapine ears, he hisses, "Do something about the glue chips!"

Anisa nods, and shuts the lid over her brother, pressing down on it so hopefully the glue will reattach itself at least a little bit. She then hurries over to the glue chips, and bends down. Untucking her shirt, she folds a makeshift pouch, and then tries to sweep most of the chips into it with her free paw.

The larger bits sweep onto the cloth after a good deal of effort, while the gritty smaller bits obligingly adhere to Anisa's paw. Several wide sweeps gathers enough of the glue to make it look not quite so suspicious anymore. None too soon, either… the glow of the Korv's lantern can be seen approaching from around the corner of main mass of boxes.

The white rabbit, still holding the glue in her shirt, bolts for the stairs, trying to keep quiet as she does so. If she can make it back above decks and to Wanda's room, she's home free.

Thump, creak, thump, thump! Anisa's four long strides take her the considerable distance from her hiding place to the stairs. The sound isn't deafening, but is clearly audible. Just as Anisa is reaching the stairs and starting up them six at a time, out of the corner of her eye, she can see the glow of the lantern rising up.

A caw of alarm echoes from the hold!

"Dagh!" mutters Anisa under her breath. She makes a flat break up the stairs, pulling the earband off of her head as she runs so she can point her ears forward up the steps. Hopefully, the cabin deck guard hasn't made his full round yet.

The Rhian isn't there… but as Anisa comes barreling up the stairs, she can see the back of a Skreek airman who's just walked past the stairwell. With the adrenaline coursing through the rabbit, time seems to dilate. The Skreek, almost frozen in time to Anisa's perceptions, is slowly turning toward the source of the squawk he heard.

Stuck in 'rabbit mode', most of Anisa's rational reasoning is gone at this point, and it's hard for even a tough bunny like herself to fight instinct. Her current instinct tells her to run, so she does just that – up the stairwell to the deck.

Anisa's momentum carries her right past the Skreek with blinding speed… such that the Skreek's sudden turn remains unadjusted. Footsteps thump down the stairs toward the cargo hold, accompanied by a shout from the Skreek. "Koenig! Are you all right?!"

When she is about halfway up the stairs, the rabbit screeches to a halt, flattening herself against the wall, heart pounding wildly. She tries to stay in the shadows for better cover.

The footsteps and flapping stop for just a moment as the airmen apparently meet each other. Lantern light bobbles around down past the hold's stairwell. The Korv's voice can be heard to caw, "Someone was down here, I heard someone fleeing! Didn't you see anyone when you came down here?!"

Anisa keeps her ears pointed down the stairs at the airmen, listening in on the conversation. She tries to slow her breathing to normal levels, and slowly inches up the stairwell.

There's more rattling around downstairs. "No, Koenig, I was right next to the stairs." "But… I went into the hold to search, and while I was behind the crates, I could have sworn I heard someone running out of the hold and up the stairs!" "I'm telling you, I didn't see anyone. You probably fell asleep and had a nightmare." "Then where's my belaying pin and pry bar? I'm positive I had the pin, and the pry bar is supposed to be kept around the hold… I was sure I had it with me… "

Anisa blinks, and looks down at her shirt-pouch. She frowns as she realizes that she still has the pry bar and belaying pin with her, in the pouch with the glue. Heart pounding again, she continues up the stairs, flattened against the wall.

The rabbit freezes, feeling like she is enough out of view as to be securely hidden from onlookers below. Trusting to her ears, he points them down at the duo, waiting for them to leave.

"I've got my pin still," volunteers the Skreek. "Go up the stairs and look around if you have to, I'll watch to be sure no-one exits through the arch down here, and you can try to find Walter; he was patrolling the passenger halls with me."

"Right," comes the reply. Taloned footsteps begin approaching the lower set of stairs.

Taking another deep breath, Anisa decides to go for broke. Gathering up her courage, she bolts down the stairs towards the passenger deck, hoping to make a sprint to the safety of Wanda's room.

It feels not unlike rushing into the maw of some oncoming beast. As the final words of the conversation are spoken, the Lapine darts down the stairs and around the corner, her paw-pads muffled by the carpeting of the passenger deck. The footsteps can barely be heard in Anisa's rush, thumping methodically up each step. Passenger doors seem to fly by, almost as if Anisa were falling down a door-lined tube than fleeing through it.

Once in the hallway, the rabbit bolts straight for Wanda's door, doubling her pace as best she can and starting to pant. When she reaches the door, she attempts to fling it open.

Thankfully, Wanda seems to have left it unlocked. (Remarkably trusting, considering.) It opens inward, sending a small, empty soap bottle skittering across the floor to join some other toppled containers that used to occupy the dresser. The flowery scent of violets wafts out of the room, stronger than it would ever occur in nature.

Anisa slips inside, quickly shutting the door behind her and bolting it. Heart beating wildly, and panting insanely, the Lapi staggers over to the portal window, and opens it, trying to toss the glue, pin, and pry bar over the side of the ship.

Everything except some of the more persistent bits of glue disappear through the porthole, fading to specks as they fall and are engulfed by the darkening forest below.

Heaving deep breaths, the Lapi goes over and sits on the bed, trying to catch her breath. Looking down at her shirt, she realizes how dirty it now is thanks to the glue, and if she tries to go about the ship, it may give her away. Looking around the room's scattered contents, she searches for one of Wanda's shirts to wear. They're about the same size, so hopefully one will fit her.

A bright azure specimen, short-sleeved, buttoning up the front, and made for a loose fit might fit Anisa just about right. Though they're almost the same size, Wanda's frame seems slighter.

Anisa picks the shirt up, and after taking off her glue-stained one, slips into the baggy attire and buttons it up. Finally regaining her composure, she tosses the old shirt into one of the piles in the room, and flops down tiredly on the bed, her ears falling to her sides in fatigue as though she were a lop. "How do I get myself into these things?" she whispers aloud, "Hopefully Wanda did her part of the plan without trouble."