Outskirts of the Razer's Camp – Day 4 – Morning

The sun creeps up over the horizon… today, it meets some smudges of gray cloud on the horizon, and the breeze carries hints of water and ozone on the wind for those with more sensitive noses. Long-Shadow's face is unusually serious as he scans the skies from a hidden perch among the rocks. "Storm may be coming," his hands say. This morning is otherwise like the rest, albeit better hidden than usual.

Kin is awake but a bit lethargic this morning as she didn't get much sleep. Still, she goes and crouches near Long-Shadow and signs to him, "Are storms bad here?" The Kiriga has made it a point more as of late to speak to him via sign and not spoken words.

"What's he saying," Anisa asks Kin, herself coming up to the duo from behind with longbow slung over her shoulder. "Does he see them? Are they on our trail?"

Lilac was more drained than she let on, and has been sleeping ever since they returned to camp. Her wound left a nasty-looking scar, which while painful to touch (and look at) seems to be in good condition. She sleeps curled in a ball, much as she did while in her four legged form.

"A storm is coming," Kin tells Anisa from where she crouches, spread foot-talons gripping the rocks firmly.

"Oh, is that all?" The doe visibly relaxes. "Well, I could use a little rain, personally. It'll be the first shower I've had in as many weeks, and might cool it off a bit."

"Very heavy and windy," replies the Savanite. "The skies bring water and life, but they can also bring thunder, and lick the trees with fire. "It may not come, though. The winds are fickle."

"Except he says the storms here can be heavy," Kin relays, "But that may play into our favor if we wish to do some scouting of the encampment of soldiers. I doubt they will want to be out in it either." To Long-Shadow, she signs, "If it comes, can you tell us roughly when it may hit? That affects what we do next. I have been pondering several options."

A tall black Lapi emerges from his tent, wearing just his breeches, and scratching at his side while he yawns. He nods a friendly good morning, but stays quiet so as not to interrupt. A long ear is swiveled to listen in while he stoops by Lilac to check her condition. One of his hands holds a mug of water he's cooled in the shade, and a cloth.

"What did you have in mind?" asks Anisa. "Are you still thinking of slipping in to the camp? Maybe the rain will provide cover."

Long-Shadow casts another glance at the smudges on the skyline, then rolls his shoulders. "Can try. They move fast, though. One moment, may have blown back to the coast, next may be right on top of us."

"That is one thought. The other is traveling back and petitioning the Emperor to send his army. Given the size of the group before us, there is no way we could defeat them alone. Alternatively, I could surrender myself to them as a distraction while the rest of you sneak in and steal whatever it is they are searching for," Kin remarks with a shrug. "Each holds risk and reward and I do not know which would work the best."

Anisa sets her ears back. "I still don't like the idea of you just handing yourself over to them. That could take a very, very bad turn." She turns to Long-Shadow. "How long would it take us to get in touch with the Emperor? Would it even be feasible? Um," she turns back to Kin, "does he understand Rephidim Standard?"

Long-Shadow smiles at Anisa. He holds his fingers close together.

"He does a little, I just prefer to speak to him in sign out of respect and … well, the notion I am not so different from he when I do that," Kin admits and hides her head a bit out of embarrassment. "As for handing myself in, it holds the most risk to me. But I am willing to risk such if it means success for the overall mission."

Anisa's ears blush a bit, and she frowns at Kin. "Well, we're not willing to risk you. At least if you slip inside in disguise, you have a chance of learning what's going on without being at Hakuu's total mercy. I'd go with you, but I doubt they have any Lapi women mercenaries down there."

"For the disguise to work, I would need to be able to use the lens to see. Without it I would be blind and somewhat helpless," Kin admits with a sigh. "I am not sure how that lens is supposed to function, though I have not tried holding it while wearing the mask we took."

Gibson crouches by Lilac, and begins soaking his cloth in the cold water. "Yeah, I'm not so sure we could steal anything more valuable than your life, Kin. But we do have some information, at least… we have the location of their camp, we have a rough idea of their numbers, we can see they're using desert giants, and we know who's leading them. That's pretty valuable, all told."

"We do not know for certain that Hakuu leads them. Is he the razer, or is he merely assisting the razer?" Kin points out with a shrug.

"We could always try," Anisa says. "You still have the crystal in your tent, right? Heck, if all else fails, maybe we could poke some holes in the mask for you. As for Hakuu, well, that's what we need to find out."

Lilac suddenly snorts, then blinks her eyes open. "Wha- who?! Oh. Ow." She reaches up and runs at her eyes, and frowns. "The sand of sleep is in my eyes … and everywhere else, I think."

"If we want to try the lens, then we should do it indoors," Kin says with a small nod, "And I will make sure this time to strap down the mask. I draw the line as sewing my eyes shut, though." When Lilac stirs, her head cranes back so she can look to the human. "Ah, she is awake finally."

Gibson looks down as Lilac awakens. "Hey," he says softly. "Don't move too much. Here, I brought this, should cool you off some." He offers the soaked cloth.

Readjusting her bow, Anisa nods. She turns to go back to the camp, keeping her ears focused on Kin behind her. "Right. Well, let's go try it out! If we waste too much time, they may move on."

Lilac reaches over and takes the soaked cloth, looking at it a moment with sleep-blurred eyes. Then, she puts it on her head and closes her eyes again. "Mmm."

To Long-Shadow, Kin signs, "I trust my lord of the savan will keep watch for a bit? I need to try some things and see to Lilac." She bumps her snout against his shoulder affectionately, then gets up to go over to Lilac.

Long-Shadow's ears wiggle, and he nods, smiling.

Lilac's nose twitches, her head mostly covered in damp cloth. "Hi, Kinny," she greets the Kiriga as she approaches. "Did I do good?"

On her way to the Kiriga's tent, Anisa stops by Gibson and Lilac. "You did great! How are you feeling?"

We would have fared much worse if you were not there, Lilac," Kin says and kneels down beside the human, "Yes, you did good." She lightly touches a claw tip to the angry scar on the human's chest and says, "So, do not think of this as a mark of failure, but of devotion and bravery."

"I feel like dough after it's been kneaded, I think. Or maybe like clay. A clay pot. A clay pot full of sand." Lilac reaches up and draws the cloth back a bit, peering up at Kin and Anisa. "I think I broke my metaphors." She then laughs a little, before wincing. "I'm glad you're all okay. I don't remember it all well, it was like a dream after I saw them advance on you. I guess I still don't remember, even here. And, I've never had a scar before. I bet I can incorporate it in to a story."

Kin says, "A scar is often a symbol of overcoming much trial. So, it is not such a bad thing. As for what happened, you helped keep the odds separated such that I was able to lay them low. Even if you could not beat them directly, you did so indirectly. Now we must decide where we go from here."

Anisa smiles at Lilac, and nods to Kin. "Guys dig scars – unless they're pregnancy scars. Anyway, speaking of where to go from here, we'd better hurry. This waiting is making me antsy." The doe gives Lilac one final pat, then heads off for Kin's tent.

"We are going to experiment a bit with the lens to see if it can be useful. It matters to what we do next. If you have any ideas and have the strength to join us, then please do," Kin says. To Gibson, she adds, "Please, take care of her." With that, the Kiriga gets up and heads into her tent where the mask and lens are being kept wrapped up.

"Oh." Lilac smiles a little, then slowly tries to sit up. She leaves the cloth on her head, seeming to enjoy the coolness. She blinks at the pat, but smiles a little more anyway. Once the others leave, she reaches over and rubs Gibson's foot up. "Do they know we're here, then? Didn't one of them get away or … did she fall?"

The black Lapi shakes his head. "She didn't kill any of the ones at our mercy, and yes, we let one get away. They might be ready for us, but it might be a risk worth taking."

Kin slips into the tent and pulls out the lens from her bag. She leaves it left in the cloth wrappings it is currently in and sets it before her. The mirrored mask she draws out as well and peers over it, trying to get a good understanding of how it straps on. "I may need your help in strapping this on," she tells the doe with her.

Ducking into the tent, Anisa sets her bow aside, and walks behind the Kiriga. "It looks simple enough," she says, "like some fancy party mask or something."

"If you can call a mask of servitude and devotion a party mask, I suppose," Kin observes and offers the mask back to the doe. Once its taken, she lifts the bundled lens into her lap and closes her eyes.

The featureless mask stares back up with Kin's face in it. The backing is padded ceramic, with room for a Kiriga of fine features. The myriad straps beckon like some gruesome leather octopus.

Anisa examines the mask, fiddling with the straps to see how they work. "This thing looks very specific," she tells Kin, "like he actually molded it to that girl's face or something. We'll just have to hope it fits you right." The doe slips the mask over Kin's face, and gently pulls back to secure it. "How does it feel?"

"Will you help me up, Gibson? We should join Kinny and see what they're up to," Lilac asks as she begins to rise. "And it's so nice to have real legs again – and a mouth! Oh I could talk all day."

The tip of Kin's tail twitches in obvious agitation when the mask settles down on her face. "Well … it fits very well. As if it was made specifically for me," she says, sounding as if the thought is a bit revolting to her. Still, it needs to be tried, so she doesn't move as the Lapi adjusts it into place. "I am ready for you to strap it as tightly as you can manage. The women seemed to wear them fairly tight."

Anisa sets her ears back at the thought, but simply nods the affirmative. Pulling the mask back with a little more force, she starts to fasten the straps – although thanks to the seemingly needless complexity of their fasteners, this is no small task. "If it hurts, I can loosen it."

"Do not worry, if it hurts, I will let you know," the Kiriga says with a small chuckle.

Gibson laughs, looking a little relieved, and he reaches down to slip an arm around Lilac's waist so she can support herself on his side. "Good, that means you're not too badly hurt! Yeah, let's see how they're doing." He hefts the bardess up without much effort.

The doe tugs the mask tighter still, and works with the straps some more. Finally, the mask is securely in place. "There, that should do it. Can you see anything at all?"

Lilac looks about to protest at being carried, but she closes her mouth and settles in instead. "I should get wounded more often," she tells Gibson. "We never get any time together."

The clasps are annoyingly fiddly, especially trying to close them under Kin's great mane of white hair, but they do click into place neatly. So far, all Kin sees is blackness.

"No, I see nothing at all. At least it is a comfortable nothing; I had expected the mast to be a lot more unpleasant," Kin says as she reaches back to feel over the fasteners and how her mane covers them. "Do the straps actually blend in like it did on them?"

Anisa rearranges Kin's mane a bit, pulling strands out from under the straps to place them more strategically. "They're hard to see when they're under your hair, but if you look close enough you can tell they're there. Maybe I did it wrong."

"Well, the mask is not hot, nor does it make it difficult for me to breathe. I … really expected it to be worse," Kin has to admit with a small shrug. She feels down for the wrapped lens and once she finds it, lifts it onto her hands, ready to unwrap it. "Well, time to see if the lens works with the mask or requires something more," she says and draws in a breath. Slowly, and carefully, she undoes the wrapping on the crystal.

The cloth falls away from the crystal, but the shroud of black doesn't leave Kin's eyesight. She can still hear Gibson and Lilac enter the tent, the Lapi murmuring, "Heh… well, we'll see if we can't make for better circumstances."

"Ahh," Lilac wails, seeing the masked figure of Kin. She bares her teeth a moment, then sniffs. "Oh! Kinny! Don't do that, you scared me! And … " she reaches up and rubs her lip, " … when did I start growling at people? I'm turning in to a dog." Her ears wilt.

Kin sets the cloth aside and lets the crystal rest fully in her palm. "Well, nothing so far. Everything is still black," she notes, "And hello, Gibson, Lilac." Her head tilts a bit and she notes, "Wait, the crystal feels warm. It shouldn't feel warm."

Anisa swivels an ear to Lilac and Gibson, but frowns to Kin. "Nothing at all? Well, that was a big waste of- wait, warm?" The doe reaches her paw down to the crystal, lightly touching it along with the Kiriga.

"You're trying to make those odd masks and crystals work?" The bardess leans forward and peers at the crystal, frowning slightly. "I don't really know anything about magic."

The crystal does feel warm… about body temperature. There's a small, gradual bump in the middle of the lens. Despite being hard and dry, it very much gives the impression of holding an eyeball.

Kin shifts the lens around in her hand, trying to bring the bump forward as if to 'look' forward. "Lilac, you should at least know that while blind, the mask is very comfortable. So, Hakuu isn't completely cruel to them," she notes.

Anisa takes her paw off of the lens, shuddering a bit at it's creepiness. "Maybe we broke it."

"He cut out her tongue because her voice displeased him. He stuffs people," Lilac counters, ears laying back.

"If they please him, he is not completely cruel," Kin corrects with a small shrug. "I am merely noting that all our assumptions were not accurate. They were obviously very devoted to him."

Held upright, with the bump facing out, the crystal doesn't seem to do anything to clear up the dark inside the mask.

"Maybe there's a magic word, like in the legends? Did they say anything, Kinny? Do anything odd?" inquires the bardess.

Kin frowns a bit under the mask. Facing the bump out made no change … so Kin tries another tactic, she faces the crystal down, so that the bump rests in her palm. Maybe it has to touch the palm of the holder's hand. "Nothing yet," she says, "so I'm experimenting." To the crystal, she says, "Come now, how did Lord Hakuu have you made, hmm? How do you work?"

Anisa flattens her ears, clearly becoming frustrated. "Dagh blast it all, why does this magic stuff always have to be so complex?" She looks down a bit in thought. "Maybe someone else has to hold it? After all, the ones holding the eyes weren't doing much fighting."

Gibson sits cross-legged, ears perked forward and brow furrowed, though Kin still can't see any of that. "Xander would have to pick now to be unwakeable… though I guess he really needed some genuine sleep after all that meditating. Didn't he say something about 'attuning' the thing to Hakuu's maidens somehow?"

"Perhaps," Kin says to the suggestion that someone else may have to hold it. Trying yet another tactic, Kin faces the front of the 'eye' back towards herself, angled up to the mast strapped to her face. "One more thing to try. Perhaps it sees the reflections in the mask… "

"Can I hold it? Maybe there has to be some sort of connection between the holder, or a magic word or … I'll just keep trying ideas as I get them!" Lilac holds out both hands, still resting in Gibson's lap.

Gibson tugs his whiskers, nose twitching. "I dunno, sis," he continues. "They were pretty well mixing it up when they had to, and they were able to run with them and hand them off to each other."

As Kin faces the 'eye' inward to face her mask, she can feel the lens throb in her hands.

"Okay, this is different. It's throbbing in my hand now," Kin says, "Anisa or Lilac, touch it. Can you feel it?" The Kiriga then holds still and focuses on the pulsing lens, trying to sync her breathing to it.

At first, it may seem like her imagination… spending this much time without eyesight tends to sharpen images in the mind's eye. But after a certain amount of time, Kin can be sure that the blackness is giving way to faint tan and beige tones, like parchment.

Anisa's ears shoot up at Kin's words, and she places her paw on the lens. "So its actually doing something now?"

Lilac reaches out and rests a finger on it, then shudders. "Ew, it's like touching a big eyeball. Yuck!" She pulls her finger back quickly.

Sure enough, the warmed crystal feels like it pulses from time to time… not like a heartbeat, it's erratic, like putting one's hand on a person's eyelid and feeling the eye roll beneath.

"It's definitely doing something now," Kin says with a slow and quiet voice. "It is as if the blackness is slowly falling away." Her head tilts a bit as she looks into the 'parchment' for any shapes that are recognizable.

Anisa sticks out her tongue in disgust as the 'eyeball' rolls around, and quickly removes her paw from the object – wiping it off on her sash for good measure. "What can you see? Is it like a spyglass or a window or something?"

Color slowly seeps into Kin's field of vision, hazy splashes of silver and gold. Some of the blackness returns, but it's confined to slashes that pick out shapes. Gradually, what seems to be a watercolor painting of Kin's own face in a Jadaian art style develops, each stroke picking out an achingly beautiful Kiriga with absolute perfection. Next to her, a white Lapi bleeds into existence, eyes dark slashes of ink, a sakura blossom tucked behind one ear. On the opposite side sits a black pool of shadow in the shape of a wolf with burning violet eyes, next to another Lapi, this one large and brutish, with ogre like tusks.

"What d'ya see?" asks the ogre-bunny, in a voice curiously even and friendly for a big shaggy black thing.

"Yeah, what do you see Kinny?" The shadowy monster asks in an excited feminine voice.

"I should have expected this. When aimed at people, it shows them as if they were a painting," Kin explains to those present. She can't help but look at the picture of herself and comments, "Is this how he sees me? Is this how others see me? I look … beautiful beyond words. I see Anisa as a white Lapi with a flower behind her ear. Lilac … you look like a shadowy wolf creature and Gibson … forgive me, but you look like a brute with tusks."

The ograbbit actually laughs at this, stylized saliva dribbling from his mouth. "Ha! Well, I guess I shouldn't laugh. That's pretty weird, really."

"And now you're drooling," Kin notes to Gibson as she barely manages to not laugh, herself.

The monster's ears flatten, then it bares its teeth. "Stupid Hakuu, I should have known he'd see only physical beauty, but completely miss inner beauty and courage." Lifting a paw, the wolf pats the brutish Lapi.

Blinking at this, Anisa reaches up to her ears, feeling for any flowers. "How odd! What kind of advantage would that give his warriors? Or is it just his weird sense of humor at play."

"Identification of physical threats, perhaps. But … then why do I not appear threatening?" Kin muses.

The ogre touches his tusks. "No I'm… oh, right. Well, I guess it lets him control what they see. I can probably guess what he himself must look like."

The monster snorts, then lays its head against the ogre. "What's weird is that it can see my other side. No one can see that until I change. I didn't even know until someone told me. It's like it's seeing … some kind of inner person. Not kindness, or courage, but some sort of … symbolic representation of that person, like their heart, or … Their heart according to Hakuu's values," the beast suggests.

"It makes me appear as more serpent like, perhaps. Longer ear fins, different. I can tell it is me, but … I am not this beautiful in reality. I wish you could see what I am seeing," Kin says … then her ears perk. "Anisa. Close your eyes and touch the lens in my hand," she suggests.

The flower laden doe frowns at the eye crystal, and starts to say something, but is stopped short. Looking back to the 'ogre' with a shrug, she closes her inky eyes, and places a paw over the crystal.

The thing throbs under the doe's paw, but grants no visions.

Anisa's fur stands on end at the throbbing, but she shakes her head. "Nothing. I guess you need one of the masks to use it." Opening her eyes, she replaces her paw to her lap. "Can you see clear enough to move around? Try standing up and see what its like."

"And I wonder if Hakuu himself can see all of this?" Kin muses as she continues to look at the flowing pictures. "And with me looking like this I … I do not understand why the maidens attacked me. I would think this would have shown them that I was important to their master." At Anisa's suggestion, Kin gets up.

Kin says, "And … someone please ask Long-Shadow to come in. I would be curious to see how it shows him."

"Maybe they're jealous," the shadowy monster suggests, before yawning widely.

With a nod, the wintery doe gets to her feet, and sprints outside to fetch the Savanite tracker.

Lilac, to Kin's eyes a wolf composed of shadow and purple light, nuzzles its head in to the drooling ogre. Drool piles on her head. "It's so nice to know Hakuu doesn't even see me as a human being. I should bite him," the beast complains.

As Kin stands and holds the lens up, her peripheral vision lets out. Details of the interior of the tent are drawn in, flowing into existence at the hand of some invisible master artisan. Strangely, though she can't see anything else beyond the confines of the tent, Kin can see a figure perched on the edge of a sand dune, a shifty-looking feline with spatters of ink across his yellow hide. He has jagged teeth, and clusters of feathers add bursts of color behind his ears. It sits there motionless for a moment, then jabs at something with a long black paint mark. A stick-lizard appears on the end, wiggling frantically.

"It can … see the tent contents … but," Kin says with a sound of surprise, "And people outside the tent, but not the details of the land." She can't help but frown when she makes out Long-Shadow. "It is not flattering to Long-Shadow, like it is not flattering to Gibson. It shows him as a shifty, jagged toothed, monster. That is definitely not how I see him. This must be how Hakuu sees others."

Off to another side, Kin can see a stylized wagon composed of some circles with spokes, and a puff of beige for a tarp. Inside it is a Kiriga drawn almost exclusively from sticks, with great clouds of shaggy white around it. He slowly gets up from where he'd been laying, and then hangs himself out the wagon. A large pool of yellowish watercolor begins spreading across the parchment.

"Holy … Gods," Kin sputters out underneath her mask. "It cannot be. Master Longtooth … He's alive!"

"OH!" The shadow-monster's ears perk up, and then flatten against its head. "I didn't get a chance to tell you, Kinny! I tried at the wagon, but … Um, well, I wasn't sure and … Well, I think Master Tooth is alive. He never smelled dead, even when we came back. Sorry!"

Kin is torn between trying to wrestle the mask off or just going to Longtooth with it on. "Can one of you go check on him? I have to figure out how to get this off. I … I wonder how the ruins would look through this mask."

Also still in her view, Kin can see a stylized brushwork rabbit sprint up behind the snaggletoothed feline, and lightly tap it on the shoulder. Motioning for him to follow, the pair make their way back through the sepia landscape back towards the tent.

"I will! I should have tried harder to tell you, but I wasn't sure and I thought he might wake up and tell you himself and … Let'sgo, Gibson!" The wolf-monster points a paw towards the exit.

The sneaky-looking cheetah perks up, and quickly follows along, stick-lizard still flailing on the end of his stylized spear. The Lapi-ogre hops up to his feet, knuckles dragging. "Right, Lilac, lead the way."

"This also explains how they could easily fight us. Through this mask we are not 'real'," Kin realises and tells Lilac and Gibson. "If they saw the real us, I doubt they would have fought us so readily."

"I bet even you could smell where he is now," Lilac the Shadow says with a bit of a laugh. As they go, the monster asks Gibson, "Doesn't Kinny's description of me sound familiar? It's like what that odd Galllee man described, and like the tapestry the scholar talked about."

The long-eared ogrething bumbles along, nodding at the smudgy canid as he lopes. "Yeah, now that you mention it. Like a Jupani, right? Sort of."

The brushwork doe nearly smacks into the departing duo as she reenters the tent. "Long-Shadow's right behind me – where are you two off to?"

Kin cants her head at a thought towards the tent Anisa shares with Xander, curious as to what the Lapi may look like.

The shaggy black Lapine cretin points wagonward with an overlong arm. "Well, Kin claims she saw old Tooth alive… er, sort of."

"That's right! And, it was a tapestry – a work of art! Maybe there's a connection there. Did Anisa ever describe the monsters she met? The guardians? Does that sound similar too, Gibson," inquires the talking ink-wolf. "Oh, and yes, like a Jupani only on four legs."

"And yes, he's alive … Although from the smell I think he might wish he wasn't," Lilac confides to the ogre that carries her.

"Alive?" The sakura-laden doe wiggles her painted nose, "he sure didn't smell alive. How did she see him anyway?" She looks at Kin questioningly.

Directing the lens in that direction doesn't show the tent itself, but a bundle of brown begins to stir. It takes shape, sitting up… it's a skinny, feeble-looking caricature of a Lapi with beady eyes, huge buck teeth, and baggy orange robes. He wears a broad-brimmed hat in the same color, the crown of it triangular and pointy, if crooked. Wisps of stylized smoke drift off the end. The front of his robes are curiously tented, for no discernible reason.

Kin … starts giggling a bit. "Poor Xander," she muses, "Everyone is cruel to him. It is most curious how all males look horrible while the females look beautiful or at least decent."

Anisa smirks at Kin, entering the tent further and allowing the others to exit. "We do? That's weird – I have to wonder what else is behind it all though. Dagh, I wish I could see." At the giggling, she grins. "What's Xander look like?"

"Xander looks like a Lapi cross-bred with an Eeep and has something sticking up under his robe," Kin tries to explain without laughing too much. "I am sorry, it is funny and yet I feel bad for him. Xander is a good man when it comes down to it."

"Master Tooth! Master Tooth," Lilac calls out, leading Gibson to him by scent alone. "You're alive! I thought you smelled alive! I … " she blinks, then bites her lip. "Oh, I shouldn't yell, should I?"

"Its odd that I look like I do," Anisa says, taking a seat beside the Kiriga. "You'd think he wouldn't have much use for non-lizard women. Do you think you could navigate around the Cinders' camp with that thing on?"

When Long-Shadow enters, though, that ends Kin's laughing immediately. Her head shakes slowly and she says with conviction, "And you are beautiful; this mask and lens lies about you." She tilts her head towards Anisa and considers the question, "I could, yes. I would not wish to put it on until I was right there, though. As for why you look this way … Hakuu prefers women who are strong sot hat they may bear the strain of his 'work'. Perhaps that is why you appear as you do."

The Kirigai stick figure's squinty eyes get even squintier, and he coughs as he limps along with Lilac and Gibson, clutching his stomach. "Nnngh… Lapi… tryna… POISON me… kill him… "

"Poor, poor Master Tooth." To Kin's senses, the blot of a wolf monster pats the stick-figure Tooth with a nebulous paw. "Kinny will be so happy to see you. Let'sgo back to her tent – if you're empty, that is?"

Ya… cough… " replies the cloudy stick Kiriga. They reach the tent flap, where he falls to his knees. "Gnk… ""

"Did anyone make breakfast?" calls out the goofy-looking Lapi caricature, as it crawls out of its tent.

Giggling a bit, Anisa grins to Kin. "He must be awake."

Upon seeing Master Long Tooth near, Kin tells Anisa, "I would remove this so I may see my Sensei … but I want Xander to examine it while it is active on me." She calls out, "Xander, we are in my tent and the mask and lens are working. Please come examine!"

"Anisa?" The beast pokes its nose inside the tent. "Anisa, does Kinny's description of me sound familiar to you, at all?"

"Yes, yes… thought I felt something," Xander mumbles and then yawns. The tent flap peals aside and the goofy face, complete with the smoking pointy hat pokes inside. "Kin, that looks so disturbing on you," he remarks.

"If you wish to see disturbing, you should see how you look to my eyes right now. It is not flattering," Kin tells Xander when he pokes his head in. "I suppose that in the mask I look like one of them."

The Kiriga stick figure grasps weakly at the beady-eyed mage. "Nngh… poison me… gon… KILL you… "

Inky doe eyes turn to regard the wolf. "Familiar? Well, it sounds like you when you were in your beast form, that's all that's familiar about it. But honestly, if Hakuu is of the same mind as Vandringar, I'm not surprised it shows you that way."

"You look like… a golem or some-" Xander starts to say, then notices Tooth. "You! You drank my wood alcohol, you brainless old sack of bones! A little time dead serves you right for stealing from a Mage!"

"Enough. Are you going to examine what the mask and lens do when active or not?" Kin asks Xander tersely. "If you are not, then I am removing this so I can embrace my teacher."

"Hrrlzzbg… " grunts the rusty Kiriga.

Xander peers more closely at the lens, and even touches it for a bit. "Hmmm, mind if I hold it?" he asks.

"If I let go, it may break the link. Can you touch it while I am holding it?" Kin asks.

"It's very odd, though. Maybe to Hakuu's mind, he can't see the human me past the other me? All of you, you all look like Hakuu's caricature, as if Kinny could see how he symbolizes or summarizes you. But, with me, it's … " The beast shrugs its forelegs. "I mean, I wouldn't put it past him to see that as all that I am, but … "

"Well, that's what I want to find out," Xander notes. "This was seeing for three before, so I need to know if you'll be blind if I hold it, and how long it would take for the blindness to set in."

"But if you want, lift the lens from my hand," Kin agrees and relaxes her grip on the crystal. "Let us find out, then."

The Mage picks up the throbbing lens, and says, "Okay describe any changes in your perception, please."

"It didn't break the link when those girls shared it between one another," Anisa says, "maybe you should see what happens if someone else holds it." To Lilac, she shakes her head. "No, I mean the human part may have something to do with it. The Cinders hate humans, and he might view you more as a beast because of it."

On transferring the crystal to Xander, the link doesn't seem broken, but Kin's perspective moves… she's now looking out from the point in the Lapi's hand, though given the wide field of vision it grants, it doesn't obscure things much… rather, when Kin finds herself looking at her beautiful self, it does trip the mind up a bit when moving around.

"Really? They hate humans? I didn't know that," Lilac admits. She rubs the tip of her muzzle with a paw, then flops back against the ogre. "I mean, what did humans ever do to the Cinders?"

"It is like I'm seeing from your hand," Kin says and wobbles a bit. She can't help but stare at herself a bit, distracted. "It is odd but, maybe by aiming it at myself and the mask I synced it to me. I have a wide view of everything … but watching myself move is disturbing."

"Interesting," Xander comments. "Now, I'm going to snap my fingers in front of the lens. Tell me if you see it before you hear it." He then raises his other hand and snaps his fingers.

"They think humans are the cause for all the suffering in the world," the flower bunny says with a shrug. "They have some crackpot idea that the humans were the ones that made us smart, gave us hands and taught us to talk and things like that. To them, the way we supposedly were before – animals, like a Creen or a drokkar – is superior." She shrugs, "then again, I may be way off. He may just be seeing your beast side because he likes drama."

Maybe it's Kin's imagination, but the motion of the hand seems to happen a tiny smidgen earlier than the sound itself.

"Sounds about right, from what… uh… " Xander starts to say, then finishes with, "Never mind. Are you seeing things happen before your other senses tell you they've happened, Kin?"

"It … I could be wrong but it seems to happen slightly before the sound," Kin says, "And what sounds about right?"

The twin burning lights of Lilac's eyes momentarily wink out as the beast blinks. "Really? They think that? That is crazy. My village has a hard enough time surviving Winter some times. I've never met a human who ever claimed anything like that. The Cinders are nuts."

"That you're seeing things a little ahead of time," Xander tells Kin, even though he said it before she replied to his question.

Anisa looks curiously at Xander. "What sounds right? The way Lilac looks to the mask?" She turns back to the beast, and nods with a shrug. "Like I said, they're fanatics. No offense, but I'm surprised humans have even made it this long. They seem bookish to me."

"Xander, that is now what you meant. What sounds about right? Just what do you know?" Kin asks calmly.

"There's a group of humans on Abaddon that pretty much claim the same things, and use it to claim superiority over other races," Xander notes.

"And you know this how?" Kin asks.

"And… well, a friend of mind did some stuff on Ashtoreth and Abaddon and came back with a lot of information about the Expedition, but she had also had her brain scrambled by the Goddess Inala so I didn't really swallow everything she talked about," Xander explains.

"Well, … Really? Wow, um," the inky wolf lays its ears back and shrugs a little. "I don't claim to have made a race before, and most of the people from my village are just … villagers. I've never been to Abaddon, I've never had anything against people with fur or scales. I have fur now, even!"

"Is there anything else you wish to test? I am curious what will happen to my vision when I remove the mask," Kin says as she reaches back for the clasps.

"Nothing else right now," Xander notes. "I doubt any magic I can work could interfere with this enchantment."

"Relax, Lilac," Anisa says, placing a delicate, inky paw on the wolf's shoulder. "We know you didn't. I doubt the story's even true, to be honest. Some people just need things to be fanatical about."

Kin starts fiddling with the closures, then ends up asking Anisa, "Could you undo them. This is not simple to do. And one more thing I should say, when I see myself through the lens … I do not see the mask upon my face."

"I wonder what you'd see if you looked at Hakuu through the mask?" Xander muses.

"Oh, well, I'm glad. You're all my friends, you're … You're really all I have now. I don't think I'm better than any of you," Lilac insists, patting Anisa's hand back with a paw.

"He's not close enough for me to tell you. I would suspect he would appear as perfect," Kin notes.

The doe goes behind Kin, and starts to undo the straps, trying not to tangle the Kiriga's hair in the process. "We wondered just as much, Xander. He'd probably look like some body builder or something. Heck, his ego's so big, you'd probably just see him as he is."

The clasps are fussy as before, especially hidden under all that white hair, but one by one they do grudgingly give way.

"Peek under the mask as you take it off," Xander asks Anisa. "It's probably a contact enchantment, but maybe it's actually visual… "

Kin rests her hands back in her lap and waits patiently for the Lapi to undo and lift the mask off. "I am glad the mask does not require the wearers eyes to be sewn shut, at least. I am not quite sure why he also does that, unless he fears his women will remove the mask. Or he removes it now and then for some reason," she says.

"Oh, it's probably to make it pointless for them to try to remove the masks themselves," Xander suggests.

Eventually, Anisa frees the mask, and gently starts to pull it off of Kin's face, peering inside as she does so.

Kin keeps her eyes closed until the mask is well clear of her face. Then, slowly and carefully, her eyes open.

Taking the mask off doesn't seem to banish the watercolor visions, but once she opens her eyes, the colors run and wash away, and the parchment tones gradually fade. For a while, they overlay her own vision, making for a good deal of disorientation.

"So, am I back to my usual dashing profile now?" Xander asks.

The inside of the mask looks as plain as before, ceramic with grooves to breath through. It seems unremarkable, aside from fine craftsmanship.

Kin's expression is … confused. "It isn't the mask, it is me that it links to. I can see you as you as well as the overlay on you. The pictures stayed until I opened my eyes, so… " Kin says, then closes her eyes and holds out her hand. "Let me see if it works without the mask. Give me the lens."

"I don't see anything inside the mask," Anisa says as she pulls the object free of Kin's face. Flopping an ear, the puts the mask up to her own face. "Nope, not a thing."

As Kin's vision clears, Xander does indeed look much better than before, if a little tousled from sleep. Gibson's proportions are back to normal, tusk and drool-free, and Lilac is her smooth-skinned and fuzzy-tailed self.

"Am I human again?" Lilac looks down at her hands, then furrows her brow. "At least, until I change again. I don't even know why I changed like that. Oh, well!" She shrugs a little, "I think I'm actually getting used to it."

"How's your boo-boo?" Xander asks Lilac.

Long Tooth lies on his side on one side of the tent, breathing slowly and just watching and listening quietly.

Lilac smiles at Xander, touching her side gingerly. "It hurts, but I'll live! Thank you very much, Xander."

"Good, just let me know if it starts to… ooze… or anything," the Lapi replies, looking uncomfortable at his own choice of words.

Lilac pales a little. "Um, I will."

"You could have a real doctor look at it back in the city though," Xander notes. "So… are we gonna break camp, head back to Viper's Hold to sic the army on these guys, and then try to beat them to whatever they want in Sylvania?"

"Give her the lens, Xander," Anisa says, putting the mask in her lap. "She wants to see if it works without the mask."

Xander hands the lens back to Kin.

Kin reorients the lens back towards her face while keeping her eyes closed to see if the picture effect returns.

Nothing but blackness behind Kin's eyelids.

"Oh, can I try the mask on, Kinny? It actually sounds very artistic, as evil a man as Hakuu is. I am an artist, too, you know," Lilac insists.

"Actually, Kin might try to slip into the camp to see if she can get wind of their plans," Anisa says. "That way, we at least know what to go to the Emperor with. Honestly, what charge could we even level against him right now? We can't even prove that he's in with the Cinders."

Kin opens her eyes and wraps the lens back up. "It requires the mask to initiate it," she notes. "As for leaving for Sylvania, you may if you wish. I am not leaving these lands until I stop what they are doing here. We have several options for dealing with them here that I see: One, we petition the Emperor for his army. Two, we scout the edges and examine what we can, as Anisa says. Three, I surrender to Hakuu and distract them while all of you sneak into the camp and steal whatever it is they seek. And I should note a storm may be coming, according to my savan lord, and that may provide us even better cover for sneaking."

"Well, there's a huge armed force out in the wastelands," Xander says, tapping his chin. "And… hmmm… isn't there an armed revolt going on in Viper's Hold? Why, might these be revolutionaries? Go to them with that angle and the army will be here a lot faster."

Kin also takes the mask lightly out of Anisa's lap and offers it to Lilac. "I do not think it will fit you. No muzzle," Kin points out.

"Hold on," Xander says to Kin. "Hand the mask and lens over to Lilac anyway, Kin, I want to see if I can sense any residual traces of magic on you from the contact."

"Well, we'd know if it works for just anyone," Lilac suggests. She takes the mask gingerly and peers at her reflection, her ears suddenly laying back as he breath catches in her throat. Gibson can feel her breathing quicken, even as her eyes open wide.

"From what Kin says, it's notuncommon for nobility in these parts to have their own armies," Anisa says to Xander. "Aside from them attacking us, they haven't done anything explicitly against the Emperor. It'd be nice to have some kind of proof before we go."

Kin also gets the wrapped lens back out and offers that to Gibson so that Xander can then examine her.

Xander frowns at the risk involved, but doesn't argue. He then puts his hands to Kin's temples, and closes his eyes. "Hmm, a little lingering magic, but nothing that feels permanent, just residue."

"Did you expect something permanent?" Kin inquires. "Or did you do this so you could get close to me?" she asks next with a teasing smile.

Gibson pipes up. "Well, there was that whole thing with two of those airships sinking Soban's destroyer. And haven't they been attacking Viper's Hold?"

"But do we have anything to link them to Hakuu?" Anisa asks.

The black Lapi rubs the back of his neck. "Just the charts, I guess," he admits. "And they don't explicitely tie him."

"But the ledger mentions the Razer, doesn't it?"

"We don't have proof Hakuu's here, and stopping the operation is more important than stopping Hakuu specifically right now, isn't it?" Xander asks.

"That is true, Gibson. And we have the documents linking the ship to the Razer, and the Razer to here. That is fair evidence," Kin agrees. "But nothing specific to Hakuu, unless you consider the masked women that carried messages. But we cannot directly link the masked women to him, either. We only know it links to him because Lilac uncovered them long ago."

Closing her eyes a moment, Lilac just shakes her head a little. Her heart beat slows again, and she reaches back to pat Gibson as if to comfort herself through him. "Here goes," she says after a moment, pushing the mask to her face. She holds it there as she fiddles with the fasteners. "Gibson, could you get these things?"

"Hakuu's personal servants are here," Kin points out, "That implies he is as well."

The black Lapi picks at the straps and buckles. Even without the same mass of hair in the way, the mask fits very awkwardly on Lilac's face, hanging low and loose, and the straps seem too long.

"I bet this looks silly," the mirror-faced human says with a sigh. In a squeaky, high voice she says, "Oh Hakuu, you're the dreamiest weirdo in all the land, and we love you so! Show us your creepy art, Sultan of Screwy!" She clutches her hands to her chest, cocking her head to the side.

Anisa shrugs at the others. "I'm just saying that going back will take a long time. I feel like we aren't actually doing anything to stop any of this. Here at least we have an opportunity right in front of us."

Free of the mask and lens for the moment, Kin slips over to Master Longtooth. Without a word, the young woman curls down and hugs the old man tightly. Even if he does smell like a four month old unwashed sock.

Lilac's impression of a disturbed handmaiden continues as she waits for the mask to work – or not. "I don't think it's doing anything. All I see is darkness, and I can smell both Kinny and the handmaiden. Plus, my voice echoes in here," she admits after a while.

Releasing Master Longtooth, Kin notes, "You have to hold the lens and aim the eye part at your face, Lilac."

"Maybe it only works on Kiriga?" Xander guesses. "See if it fits on Tooth… "

"Oh!" Lilac gropes at the air vaguely. "Can I hold the crystal?"

"I would suggest we try to scope out the outskirts of the army and learn what we can with as much safety as we can manage. Or at least I do it in disguise so that if anything goes wrong all of you can go for help. Or perhaps I could steal some uniforms for all of you so you can sneak in as well," Kin offers. She then reaches over, unwraps the crystal, then sets it into Lilac's hand and aims it towards her face for her. "Try that."

The old man blinks squinted, gluey eyes. "Whuh… oh." He pats Kin's back with a gnarled hand, then lets her up. "Pah. Takah more dan drink to kill me. cough But… befoh jou tink I fool, remembah, I been alife foh lonk time. As warriah, jou will face death many time. Jou musta fight inside to notta let go life." He taps his temple, then thumps his bony chest with a fist. "On da edge off life anna death. Dat where jou fight dis battle. Jou win, jou may just wake up."

"Oh, it feels like an eye, I forgot about that!" Lilac's neck hair stands on end, even as she gingerly faces the crystal orb. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Or as another suggestion, we divide tactics. Some stay here to investigate, some go back for help," Kin suggests.

"Umeko-chan, serious… remembah dis," says Tooth, reaching for the other Kiriga to her a weak but urgent little shake. "Remembah. Jou tink jou die. Don't letta go. More important lesson dan Rhian stance or punching or dodging."

The lens still fails to do much for Lilac. It doesn't even feel especially warm.

"Don't let go of what? What is there to hold when you are … gone?" Kin asks Longtooth and switches to imperial to make it easier to understand. "Surely you cannot will yourself to not die?"

"I don't think it likes me," the human confesses after staring at the glass eye through the mask for a while. She offers the lens back to Kin (well, off to Kin's right), and begins trying to take the mask off.

Absently, Kin picks up the lens and wraps it back up quickly, then stuffs it in her bag. Her attention is mainly focused on Longtooth.

The old master changes languages as well, snaggly teeth bared, one big canine, the other missing. "Yes! Yes, you can! In that twilight, on the verge… that is the difference between living and dying, the difference between losing a battle and losing your life. Think how many battles you will fight in your life. It is what separates ordinary warriors from old warriors. Answer me now… do you think this is serious? Will you consider this with an open mind?"

"I figured the Great Serpent just didn't like jerky and kept spitting him out," Xander whispers to Anisa.

"Of course I will consider this with an open mind. I have seen the world itself as art now and I have a friend who shifts between human and beast. Anything would seem possible in the world," Kin says with a short bow of her head.

Shaking her hair out, Lilac puts the mask aside and takes a moment to rub her face. "When the storm comes," she begins, looking up, "I think I could try and sneak in to the camp, like I did with Hakuu's mansion. I think this mask might be a lot more useful than it seems, too. It lets Kinny see through walls and find people. Maybe it has other uses. We should keep it, just in case."

Anisa grins a bit to Xander, but keeps her mouth silent as she old serpent speaks.

The old master studies Kin for a moment, his eyes actually open enough where she can see them, hard little chips of black… then with a grunt he seems satisfied, letting his weak grip go. "Good… good. I will give you some exercises to practice. We will drink later."

Kin's brow goes up. "Drink?" she asks, then shakes it off and returns her focus back to the group at hand. "I should ask that we try to gather as much information as we can before we have to turn back. We know where the camp is, but not the ultimate goal there. Lilac and I could try to gather as much information as we can. Gibson, Anisa, Long-Shadow and Master Tooth could locate a better long-term hidden camp for us and prepare to retrieve us or go for help if things go bad. We may even be able to steal uniforms form the camp to better sneak in. One thing I may need, though, is a way to change my color a bit for awhile."

"Err, what do you want me to do?" Xander asks.

"Can you help me alter my scale color somehow?" Kin asks Xander. "And what spells can you prepare that can do extreme damage?"

"I'm a little worried about my, um, form right now, but I think I can do it. Well, I think I have to do it," Lilac insists.

Anisa nods to Kin. "Its dangerous, but I agree. We need to find out at least what they're doing here, and why those ruins down there are important to them. Even if we tell the Emperor about the camp, they could be long gone by the time we inform them."

"Change your color? I can't think of any for that," Xander notes. "But I can work up another Fireball. Even if it's raining, it'll still explode."

"In truth, your beast form may be of more help than your human one. They may just take you for a wandering creature of the wastes … if they even see you," Kin tells Lilac.

Kin rubs her snout, then signs to Long-Shadow, "Do you know of any dyes out here that could be applied to me to change my color?"

Gibson taps his buck teeth, musing. "Kin was worried about that too, sis. I'm sure we don't want to waste time, but we should remember they've got a whole army wrapped around those ruins. I think if whatever it was could be stolen or dealt with or whatever quickly, they would've just skulked in, nabbed it, and been gone. I think they're here for the long haul."

"Wait… when do you propose to do the scouting?" Xander asks Kin. "In the dark, will anyone be able to tell the difference between your color and those of the handmaidens?"

The cheetah, who's been taking the occasional wistful glance back at the lizard he caught, glances back at Kin. He shrugs, then signs, "We mix pigment to dye our fur at times, from ash, some plants, blood, that sort of thing. It is good for our dances and rituals, but I do not think it would have the effect you want."

"But at least we'd know why they're here," Anisa says to Gibson, her ears fanning outward. "I'm not saying we take on their army, just that we do a little spying."

Lilac nods a little, then looks down at her hands. "I wish I knew how it happened. Sometimes, sometimes that other me … is better than this one. I wouldn't have been any help to Kinny without my claws or teeth. But, I don't know! We can't just get in to danger for my sake, and I don't know how to make it happen. I don't even know … Well, I'll know some day." Lilac looks up, smiling at Kin. "Do you think I should try and change, or do you think that would be dangerous?"

The black Lapi holds his hands up. "Oh, I agree, 'Nisa. I'm just saying, I think we have some time to work with."

"A gold Kiriga is extremely rare. At the very least if I could change my mane color it would be something," Kin says, "But truth be told, unless it was Hakuu or someone close to him, I doubt any of them would take me for something other than a replacement handmaiden." To everyone, she asks, "In truth, do we Kiriga look alike? You have seen the other women."

"They moved oddly," Xander points out. "Very oddly, until they took those bindings off. Can you even move like them, Kin? That is more likely to give you away than appearance. After all, they were faceless, and the face is what people use to identify one another."

"I am trained in many forms of dance and noble etiquette. With the bindings in place I am certain I can simulate their movements, but I should practice in full garb, with the mask and unusual sight," Kin says to Xander with a small nod.

"If you think you can force the change, it may be worth trying. If for nothing else, it may help you can better control," Kin offers.

"Then I'll train too – we can train together!" Lilac wags her tail at the thought.

"Well, she's not gonna go into their harem or whatever, so it may not matter," Anisa says. "Mainly, she just needs to fool the mercenaries. I'll bet they don't have a clue about the intricacies of Kiriga life, so it may not matter."

"Good. I will also be training Long-Shadow if he will allow me. He is an excellent hunter, but he could use some practice in fighting my kind," Kin says and looks to the Savanite.

Gibson nods as well. "Hakuu or people close to Hakuu would probably recognize his handmaidens, but all those troops down there probably can't tell them apart."

Lilac nods to that. "Most of the mercenaries at Hakuu's mansion were a random assortment of rabble, including this ogre," the woman reaches over and tugs at Gibson's ear, "and other sorts besides. They didn't even look at me twice."

"And since that mask lets me see long and far … I should be able to spot Hakuu or Vandringar fairly easily, I would think," Kin points out, "And stay away from them."

"We don't know for certain if they have a Mage with them though," Xander points out. "Using the lens and mask close to the camp might alert one."

"All the maidens use them near the camp. How would I be any different? What is so different about me that it would be noticeable?" Kin asks.

"Well, knowing where the others were at the time for one," Xander points out.

"Fair enough. Then I expect our mage to come rescue me," Kin comments to Xander and arches her brow ridge.

"That might be true," Anisa says, nodding to Xander, "but if the way Kin saw herself in the lens was any indication of how Hakuu sees her, then he may not want to harm her anyway. I hate to speak on her behalf, but I think it's thebest course we have."

Kin nods to Anisa. "What other real options do we have? If we leave without much information, we could be having a pointless argument on getting the army to help. Remember, the Lieutenant didn't believe us about Vandringar," Kin says. "Then we have also granted our enemies four more days to find whatever it is they're looking for."

"Uh, sure," Xander says, smiling nervously.

"I wish we knew what they were looking for, then we could steal it and leave them here looking for it," Lilac suggests, grinning at the thought. She then adds quickly, "Not that I like stealing!"

"I agree with Kin," Anisa says, looking to the assembled group. "This is a zolken opportunity for us to get some info on what these jokers are up to. It seems a shame just to walk away from it." She nods to Lilac, "That's partly why we're doing this, to find out what they're looking for."

"That is why I want to sneak in," Kin says and points to Lilac. "To answer the questions we need answered. Why are they here? What do the really want here? What defenses do they have against an attacking army? If they do have mages, they could mangle the Imperial army before it got too close. We can debate endlessly on what is the safest, but the safest path may not be the one which stops them. And without information as some of you have even told me before, Xander, you can't try to plan for everything."

Gibson cracks his knuckles. "Just let us know what to do. Even if it's nursing this old souse back to health." He gives Tooth a glance, who just curls his lip a little.

"Command me, oh golden dragon," Xander says, giving a bow with the sort of flourish one might expect in Abu Dhabi.

"Oh whew, I thought you were going to say me," Lilac tells Gibson. She reaches down and rubs his foot, then grins at him. "So, do you like me as a dog?"

Kin taps her snout. "Then we shall do this: I will practice being a handmaiden. I can use my better robes and belts for the bindings. I will also practice seeing through the eye. I will need observers to critique how close I get to their movements, so perhaps Long-Shadow. Hunters have keen eyes. Lilac, you practice shifting and getting well, you will sneak in as well from another point. Xander, prepare some offensive spells that can do significant damage. Gibson, Anisa, can you locate a good camp near the valley where we can operate from? Something in the high ground and something you can secure. Longtooth can assist when he recovers."

"Does this seem reasonable?" Kin asks.

"You're asking me to blow stuff up," Xander says, rubbing his chin. "So, yes, I suppose that's reasonable… "

Following her big brother's lead, Anisa cracks her own knuckles. "Sounds like a plan. Should we get started?"

"After breakfast," Xander insists.

At the mention of breakfast, Long-Shadow holds up his spear, another lizard with too many limbs dangling from it.

"Okay, Kinny," Lilac agrees.

"Breakfast it is. And you get to make it, Hotfoot," Kin says with a small smirk on her scaled lips. She reaches over and pats the Lapi, adding, "After all, you have the most cooking experience."