"Get up, ya lazy buggers! We've our orders!"

Elira yawned and stretched as luxeriously as the crowded common room would allow. Sleeping in such close quarters with a band of mercenaries wasn't always terribly pleasant, especially for the nose, but it was safe. To sleep with no one near was to invite death, and somehow that never seemed like a good idea. The men she bumped into snorted and rolled over, trying to ignore the light from the now-open doorway.

A sharp, abrasive noise rang out over the groaning room of men.

"Uhnnn..." Talis groaned and opened his eyes. He wasn't at his best on any morning, but the heavy drinking last night certainly hadn't helped. It was a wonder that humans survived this long, when they could hardly even pick up a sword as they woke. Elira shook her head, smiling at Talis as he covered his bloodshot eyes with a large hand, blocking out the bright morning light. Like all humans, he wouldn't survive a minute with a Myr'l pack, but, Elira admitted to herself, she wouldn't have fit in smoothly to this human land without his help.

Elira swatted him with the back of her hand, forcing him to sit up and acknowledge who had so abruptly interrupted the mercenaries' rest. Of course, had he paid any attention, he would already know. Elira was relaxed. The more sober mercenaries hadn't picked up their weapons, and most were nodding solemnly at the door and waking up their less fortunate companions.

Steele slammed his sword pommel against the large iron door again, jolting everyone. Elira's unusual ears twitched at the sound, and her hands clenched. The sound, besides being annoyingly loud, was also continuing to ring past human hearing. It was good they would be away from this tavern soon. She cursed at the door under her breath, drawing a somewhat pained look from Talis as his eyes tried to focus on her. With a another flick of her ears, she shrugged and turned back to watch Steele.

Dropping his sword rather uncerimoniously back into its sheath, Captain Steele regarded his band of mercenaries. Elira followed his gaze around the room.

From what she'd seen of this human city, Steele's men were considered to be of low status. It didn't make any sense, of course. These men could gut and eat any of the so-called nobles who commanded them, and they should have. With another glance at Talis, she bowed to the humans' conventions. Not allowed to kill the weak. Not allowed to lead by force. She shook her head. It was no wonder the humans were so useless, when they were stuck supporting such useless pack mates.

Her eyes flickered to Steele himself, the self appointed alpha. He was a good commander, as she'd seen, and he deserved the respect he was given. No one challenged him unless they sought a quick death. That, she approved of. Anyone stupid enough to challenge a man like that should be removed from the breeding pool as soon as possible. Of course, she could have challenged him, but the men respected her as a quick route to death already, and she certainly didn't need the responsibility for these humans. They would never be worth as much as Myr'l.

"Listen up." The captain's voice was a few tones lower than usual, a tribute to what he did the past evening. "His kingly-ness has finally decided to put us to use." A few murmers went out through the room, but Steele's icy looks quickly silenced them. "We'll be out of this hole by the morning's tide. Have your gear together by tonight. We board The Karanene before dawn tomorrow." Steele's voice betrayed his mood. Something wasn't quite right, it seemed, but he shook his head slightly at her questioning look, before addressing the men. "Last call, boys. We're for Tyball in the morning." With a wane smile, he stepped outside and closed the heavy door behind him.

Conversation broke out around the room as the men began to roll up their gear. The barman and his servers began to put the tables and chairs back in order as the men moved to one side, talking amongst themselves. Elira cocked her head to one side, blinking at Talis.

Rubbing his knuckles against his jaw, he spoke to one of the nearby men. "The Kara, eh? That's the little trader we saw at the docks." The mercenary nodded, and Talis turned back to Elira. "It's a Tyballan merchant ship."

Another mercenary squatted beside them, and tightened the straps on his gear. "The King's ordered a few of our crews on to that ship. The Kara always comes back without a scratch, but we get no news from the mercenaries sent with them." With a start, Elira finally recognized Jer Riven, a deep-voiced man from the north edge of Achryn. Mentally, she cursed all humans for looking similar. She should have known Jer immediatly - he was Steele's second in command.

Talis frowned, his eyes narrowed. "Where are they sent?" He put on his sword belt, and fished around in his sack to find something. With a slight smile, Elira reached over and pulled his bracers out from under his sleeping roll. Talis looked surprised, then mildly embarrassed as he stopped searching and took the bracers from her.

"Tyball." Jer paused, as if to let this sink in. "Through the enemy blockade. We're told it's safe." His expression was mirrored by Talis'. Elira looked between the two, mildly confused. If they were told it was safe, it was. If it wasn't, the ones who lied would be killed. That was how things were. Jer continued, working on his own armour as he spoke. "The Karanene's captain met with Steele yesterday." Unnecessarily, considering how Captain Steele had sounded this morning, Jer added, "Steele isn't happy."

With a grunt, Jer hefted up his gear, and moved on to the next cluster of men to fill them in. Talis looked lost in thought as he pulled on his boots. Shaking her head, Elira straightened her sword belt . Humans were so excitable. They would do as Steele ordered. They would kill anyone who stood in their way, be it one ship or an entire country. If they didn't survive, then that was how it should be. They would live, or they would die. Certainly there was no point in worrying about it.

She picked up her travel kit, frowning slightly at the weight of coins in it, and tapped Talis on the shoulder. "Come on. We've got a day to kill before we leave." She looked towards the shuttered windows, acknowledging that the light filtering through them was bright. "Well, half a day." Elira combed her fingers through her hair, making a vague attempt to get it into order. All this sleeping indoors was messing up her mind. How humans didn't completely lose track of time was beyond her. Unnatural lights at night, blocking out the light during the day... it was a wonder they didn't all go mad.

Then again, thinking back a couple nights, maybe they already had. Elira shook her head as Talis stood up, blanched, and sat back down. Those females had caused rather a stir in the tavern, though there was no good reason. With a slight smile, Elira wondered how the screamer was doing. Had she any way of finding out, she would have placed bets on how long that one would last with a Myr'l pack. The others, well... the serpent would last longer. At least she was strong. The insect had some confidence in her stance, which spoke that she might be more than she seemed. Still, speculation wasn't worth her time. She'd never have to see those high-pitched females again, with luck.

Talis finally got to his feet, swaying slightly as he adjusted to his new altitude. With a laugh, Elira let him lurch to the door with his gear, and swept past him as he pulled open the huge iron door. Talis squinted into the afternoon light, following Elira along the less-than-clean streets. A ragged begger looked up as Elira and Talis walked down the road. He looked malnourished and ill, but his eyes brightened slightly at the sight of them.

"I don't know why you do this." Talis rubbed his eyes again, some colour coming back to his face. "We could just keep the money." Elira waved him off, walking to the begger and dropping some dull gold pieces in his outstretched hands. Talis had told her time and time again that she was giving away a fortune every day, but it was too much work to carry these humans' heavy coins. She kept the gems she had, of course, since they were impressively cut, but the tarnished coins held no interest.

"You can keep as much as you like. I told you that." Talis always held on to Elira's nightly winnings, buying the mercenaries' ale. She had no objections, of course. Money was like water in these human cities. You just had to tap the right places. She grinned at him. "You never do, though."

With a resigned sigh, Talis shrugged and smiled. "I'm with Steele because I want to be. Fighting's what I'm made for." With a laugh, he tossed a coin to a female who was cleaning the cobblestones outside of an eating establishment. She yelped in surprise, and with a shy smile quickly pocketed the money. "Plus, it's worth it for their expressions."

Elira joined his laughter as they strolled down the street. Her ears and tail still drew stares from the humans, but that was really their problem, not hers. Walking by a large church, Elira uncerimoniously tossed a purse into a priest's hands. Turning back to Talis, she commented, "I'm just evening the odds, anyway." How humans ran their countries was disgusting. Weak and pampered nobles could command armies of strong fighters to die needlessly, simply because they had more of the chunks of metal. She shook her head. Had they been Myr'l, it would be the strong who ruled. The weak would be dead, no matter what metal bits they attempted to throw at the problem.

She shook off the dark mood that threatened to overtake her. Humans were strange, but luckily they were also not her problem. Flipping a few more coins toward a poorly dressed man, who returned a wave and smile, Elira and Talis turned off the street and to a small inn. As Talis ordered himself some breakfast, Elira curled up on a bench, and let the warm air from the kitchen lull her back to sleep.

--

"C'mon, we'd best get to the docks." Talis was unusually sober, considering the time of night, and Elira nodded to him. The sun had dropped below the horizon, and the small tavern they had eaten dinner at was beginning to get crowded. Picking up her travel kit, which was now much more pleasantly light, she unfolded her legs and stood up. Talis saluted the men he'd been playing cards with, and took his winnings. Of course, he hadn't done as well as Elira normally did, but he was only human. It seemed they couldn't read the signs other players made nearly as well as Myr'l born senses did.

As they headed out the door, Talis almost walked straight into a man who swore at him in a raspy voice. Ignoring him, Talis walked past and into the dark streets. With a smile at the man, Elira cheerfully commented, "If you'd said that to me, you'd be dead." and followed her friend.

They reached the pier quickly, having chosen a dockside tavern. A voice from the darkness called out, "Tal, Elira." It was Jer, standing by the loading ramp to the ship. Elira smiled to herself - humans were so much easier to recognize when they spoke than when they just stood there. "C'mon aboard. I'll show you our," He snorted derisively, "quarters." He motioned them to follow as he walked up the creaking planks to the ship. "They've dumped us in the hold." Jer pulled up a wooden grate and swung down a ladder. "And we don't even get the bloody place to ourselves." Dropping to the deck, Elira looked around the hold at the assembled mercenaries.

Following Jer's glare, Elira looked at the group huddled in one corner. A few small males stood around four females, keeping the mercenaries away from them. She closed her eyes and turned to Talis.

"If I hear one scream tonight, someone is going to die."