[attr="class","sbox"] Kwai squinted at the parchment one more time. Seeing in low light was already hard enough; searching for words that weren't there was another matter entirely. "Where is Amakura...?" The warrior knelt down, as if bracing himself against the wooden flooring would reveal hidden names within the print. Today's roll call had come up with another name short, another warrior as well. He considered the possibility that Elizabeth had made an error in taking all of their fellow refugees' names, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Taking in large breath, Kwai stood back up and crumpled the parchment in his hand. "First was Torio and now Amakura, could it be that they just decided to return to the territory?" The possibility wasn't so outlandish-- being in Solarisclan land was tense, for the most part, even though it was a pleasant surprise that they hadn't turned away all of the refugees when they could have, without anyone blinking an eye at the decision. Some adjusted better than others; most complained of the height of the treehouses and the shakiness of the wooden suspension bridges. There were a few who felt that being in enemy territory was demeaning or dishonorable; cursed prophecy be damned, a proud few had committed to remaining in their homeland-- Kwai knew a couple of people who had, halfway in the trek to Solarisclan turf, decided to turn back and join the prideful defenders. Maybe Amakura and Torio were the most recent converts.
Something reeked of deceptiveness, however. Kwai's old warrior senses refused to let him ignore the suspicious circumstances. No one had heard any talk of returning; even the recent received complaints had become somewhat mild relative to when they'd all first arrived. Perhaps the Solarisclan deputy would listen to his concerns. Kwai straightened out his cape and dusted off his armor before stomping off towards the deputy's tent.
Brushing through the flap, and ducking to avoid hitting the top of the tent entrance with his head, he pointed at the shaggy-looking man reclining in the chair before declaring, "Deputy Hokewry, I need your assistance! Two of my fellow clan members hath gone missing, and I wish to find their whereabouts with your help, of course. Mister Deputy, I am not looking to cause trouble-- instead I seek to put an end to it before it can continue further!" He didn't intend to shout, such was how his voice projected; perhaps something to do with his height requiring a large diaphragm to go along with it. The tent ceased rumbling as Kwai closed his mouth. He cleared his throat, having realized that he only needed perhaps a fraction of the volume he had deployed.
[attr="class","textie"] Denji was sorting his thoughts about Lunarisclan's refugees as he reclined in the chair, his feet up on the deputy's table. It was concerning to him how little information the common people had received about the disease in Lunarisclan. [break][break]
As he sat deep in thought, on the floor laid a young ninja humming the tune of some song. In his mind, Denji counted the minutes before Vo's return. His stomach grumbled as he thought of the meat stew he would make Vo and Arisa for dinner. He hadn't really ventured to cook anything so audacious in a while, so the worry of failing the dish overtook his mind. [break][break]
Denji flinched at the sound of Kwai's entry, looking up at the tower of a man with concerned eyes, Denji avoided bringing his hands to his ears as to not be rude. After a brief pause he responded. "Well, I appreciate the proactivity, but deputy Vo ain't home at the moment. Some sorta appointment about the influx of Lunarisclan members. Sorry about that." Denji was sure to emphasize Vo's name properly in an attempt to correct the well-intentioned man. Arisa, still laying on the ground, gazing up at Kwai wordless. [break][break]
Denji continued, "I can take a message for her though. Here, do you want a drink or a bite to eat? I bet you're tired." [break][break]
[attr="class","sbox"] "Apologies. Ahem." The warrior adjusted his posture and nodded politely at the two individuals in the tent. "Well, if I may. This matter is rather urgent and I feel as though..." Kwai paused and looked up at the ceiling, "I feel as though it may be more to my and my clanmates' fortune that this matter is brought up to you and not the deputy proper. I wouldn't want to come across as accusatory or critical but my speaking of missing Lunarisclan refugees is almost certainly a heavy subject to bring up." Slowly, he approached the table with a couple of steps, taking care to avoid stepping on the woman on the floor.
"If you feel that it is best I wait for the deputy, then that is what I shall do. But know that my situation, and that of clanmates, now is tenuous enough to where finding a solution without involving the deputy may be best for all involved," Kwai explained quietly. Uncrumpling the parchment from today and that of yesterday, the warrior laid them on the desk for the man to see. "Two warriors have gone missing, one yesterday and then one the day before. I do not believe this to be a coincidence, and I cannot believe it to be an error. Now, I believe you might see where the deputy could take offence to my bringing up this matter." Kwai had asked Elizabeth to keep this quiet until he'd found a lead, or at least secured local assistance, but with how much Winters already had on her mind, he worried it could slip out or be found out by their clanmates-- potentially exacerbating panic and mistrust in the fertile grounds of both clans' hearts. "I know the two of them who have gone missing. They wouldn't just go quietly like this, without telling somebody. I do not wish to suspect the worst, so I am hoping that you, perhaps both of you, being locals may know places I would not know to search perhaps."
[attr="class","textie"] Although his initial thoughts were somewhat dismissive of Kwai's claims, Denji listened intently to the Lunarisclan warrior's appraisal of the situation. He nodded carefully as her crafted his response for Kwai, leaning forward in his chair and folding his hands together. [break][break]
"You were right to come here to report such an issue. I see why you might be hesitant to bring such an issue up with the deputy herself. Rest assured, I believe she'd take the issue on with every bit of seriousness as she'd afford her own clansmen." He cleared his throat. "That being said, I would be more than happy to look into this issue myself if you don't mind. I know Solarisclan and it's peripheries like the back of my hand. It's not uncommon for visitors to accidentally find themselves in the forests when looking around the clan." [break][break]
Denji interrupted his own thought as his brow slowly began to furrow. "Then again... you did say they were two warrior gone missing, right?" His eyes darted over to Arisa who now had bolted up from the floor with full attention on Denji and Kwai's conversation. Her uncle gave her a hard look as if saying 'no' to something implicitly before returning his full attention to Kwai. "We do know some places to look," his answer was vague, "you're welcome to accompany us if it will put you at ease." [break][break]
Arisa inched closer to Denji, something on the tip of her tongue. Annoyed, she stood silent. Once the cap was off with her, there would be no putting it back on.[break][break]
[attr="class","sbox"] As if a new wind had picked up his sails, Kwai stood resolute with a firm smile on his face. "I thank you for your understanding. You speak true, it is not difficult to become lost in the leaves here. But, as you correctly acknowledged, Torio and Amakura... The two missing warriors, they were both trained pathfinders. In Solarisclan warrior terminology, they were skilled in advance reconnaissance and light warfare. Often the eyes and ears for caravans or warrior formations, not that my clan has utilized such formations as of late. But the point is that neither of them struck any of us as the type to get lost." Kwai looked through his pockets for a handcrafted map for the man's inspection. "This was among Torio's belongings. I believe he'd started on this upon arriving here. Forgive the... colorful comments about the architectural choices. But note the odd, seemingly incomplete aspects to the territory. My gut wants to me think that these unfinished areas may be where he visited last, before turning in for the night. Unfortunately, I know not the significance of any of these locations, really. I cannot even say if he wrote the names correctly."
Kwai folded his arms in thought. If the man and girl thought anything of this map, then perhaps Kwai would feel his gut sense to still be of some use; he'd grown concerned that it had fallen into disrepair or obsolescence. After hearing the cursed prophecy, he'd immediately voted for a full evacuation. His instincts had not let him take any chances, and he'd received some ridicule for his hasty decision. "Should we start there? Please, lead the way, either of you. I am in your care. Of course, if there are other questions or items you wish to know about... I shall see to what I can do for you," he said confidently, his voice bringing the tent to a faint rumble.
[attr="class","textie"] And so the three began searching for the warriors of the Lunarisclan ardently. Barrack to barrack, house to house, Denji led the two and, between light-hearted attempts to break the ice with Kwai (a warrior Denji had indeed heard about as he had come to realize), they peaked into location after location for what felt like hours. Between the ceaseless chatter of Arisa, they searched as far as the forests of Solarisclan would take them, yet to no avail. The sun was far gone by this point and the optimism in Denji's heart was beginning to fade. Deep into the forest, they began to approach a hidden alcove of the Amane clan's, hidden in the mossy mountainside in Nxehtësi, and it was thereabouts where they would officially conclude their search. [break][break]
"I'm sorry, Kwai. I-i mean, we checked everywhere we could, including the places you searched previously. Not to mention it's starting to get cold..." Denji nervously scratched the back of his head. He was not the greatest of liars. [break][break]
"Bullshit," Arisa muttered under her breath, shaking her head. She quickly began to reach for a cigarette in Denji's pocket and was just as quickly swatted away with a stern look. As if only chiding to Arisa, he spoke, "No, there is nowhere else to look. Vo is probably worried sick right now. How about we go back, eat some food, and then see if Vo has any leads on the situation?" He nodded and waited for a response from Kwai. Arisa rolled her eyes. "Bullllllshittttttttt." She leaned in to whisper to Denji who had become quite adept at tuning her out at times like this. [break][break]
"We can investigate more when we have the luxury of privacy, Arisa," he spoke quietly, finally reaching for a cigarette himself. [break] "You mean you aren't gunna do anything about it just cuz Kwai is here?" Arisa spoke a bit louder as if to invite Kwai to listen. Denji inhaled a deep breath of smoke and closed his eyes. He said nothing. [break] "Huh? Cat got your tongue, pops? Or are you going to let your bro control your entire goddamn life like you-" [break] "That's enough," Denji spoke firmly realizing silence was no longer an option. "Excuse us, Kwai. Just some family troubles. Let's go." Denji began to walk back to Solarisclan proper, but Arisa caught his hand before he could leave. [break][break]
"This isn't just about family anymore, Denji. It's about all of Solarisclan and Lunarisclan too. And most importantly, Kwai has a right to know whatever happened, don't ya think so? We don't need to show him, just check if there are any...you know? That's all." [break] Denji's eyes shook back and forth between Kwai and Arisa as if looking for an answer to his impossible dilemma. [break][break]
[attr="class","sbox"] Sweat beaded off of Kwai's forehead-- not since the Lunarisclan exodus had he done so much trekking about in such a short span of time; in his knees, he could feel the strain of years past. "Well, ehm, far be it from me to keep you from your close ones... If it is not too much to impose, upon you and the young lady, then it does seem as though, from the map, this... This alcove is perhaps the last place for our search within the unmarked spaces. I fear that, should we turn back now, thoughts of whether or not the two of them could be imperiled somewhere inside would eat at me..."
Being a guest, if that, in their territory, the warrior was sensitive to making overmuch requests of the Solarisclan members kind enough to hear his concerns and aid him, even. In hearing of the Deputy's potential worries, Kwai wondered if she might take issue with Denji and Arisa's having assisted him. "I will not make us enter there now, as perhaps taking rest and nourishment is indeed beneficial. But I do hope that we might return here, should the deputy not have any novel information." Arisa's discontentment with the direction of the scouring was clear to Kwai, who made no direct mentions of it so as to help Denji save face; a slight nod rendered towards the young lady was made, in part to thank her for her support in continuing the search. He cast a short glance at the alcove and noted to himself how carefully constructed the entrance seemed to be. Good vantage points against anyone approaching and strong natural defences defined his brief evaluation of the space. "I am again indebted to you both. How shall we proceed?"
