[Day 10, Open]

[dendarii]

Who: MILES NAISMITH (dendarii)
When: Late on Day 10
Where: Near the Ruined Hull (and inside too)
What: Miles' canonmates are missing, so he's gone to search for them. Will involve ship exploration too.

[ The first day his fellow mercenaries had gone missing, Miles had been worried but not too alarmed. It's a big planet and they have a lot of ground to cover. Miles had just stuck to the outskirts of some of the ship-exploring groups instead, kept an eye out for his friends, and continued onwards.

The second day, Miles had been a bit more frantic. Splitting off to search when he could, carefully hoarding some extra supplies in case one of them came back exhausted or injured. They couldn't possibly stay away for long. Not both of them.

Today ... he's just short of panicked. There's been no sign whatsoever - and neither of his friends are exactly nondescript people. Surely their presence would be obvious. Surely ...

He approaches anyone in the area who will give him a moment, trying not to look as horribly panicked as he feels. ]

Have you seen an eight foot tall wolf woman or a hermaphrodite anywhere? [ His voice shakes, barely. ] I - they came in with me, but I can't find them ...

[ And his next step is to delve deep into the ship to search for them there. ]

Comments

[resnipstance]

... I know. It's not your fault. It's just-- tracking through sand is impossible, after three days.

[If she'd had some kind of connection with either of them, she could track them by presence, but...]

[dendarii]

[ Don't tell him that. The thought that he could have prevented this if he'd just spoken up earlier is sheer agony. ]

I know. I know, dammit. I should have ... [ He clenches his fists unhappily. ]

[resnipstance]

... Yes, you should have.

[She doesn't say it to be unkind. Rather-- Ahsoka isn't one to mince words or sugarcoat anything. She tells the truth, for better or worse. It's a hard lesson, but a necessary one. Maybe next time, Miles will speak up immediately, and they can take action before it's too late.]

But there's no helping it now. We can't go after them. We can only do the next best thing, and that's press on and survive.

[She sounds so much older than she looks when she says that.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles shakes his head quite sharply at that. ]

No. I'm not abandoning them. If they're out there, I'm going to find them.

[resnipstance]

[More than anything, Ahsoka understands that impulse. A younger version of herself would have said the same. If it were Anakin, she still would say the same. But the world in the wake of the Empire has taught her to be more practical.]

Of course you are.

Tell me, which way did they go?

[dendarii]

[ Ah. He falters a bit at that. ]

I ... I last saw Bel after the Queen fell. They helped me rest after my seizure over by the carcass. When I woke up, they were gone.

[resnipstance]

... I'll tell you what. Let's make a deal-- we can backtrack to there, and see if there are any signs. I'll help you look. If we can find any evidence of a direction they took, we can send out a search party.

If not, you stay here.

[dendarii]

[ It's the only deal he's going to get, isn't it. He desperately needs help to have a shot at finding them. ]

All right. Fine.

[resnipstance]

Deal.

... Well, you know best. Lead the way.

[dendarii]

Here. This is where we camped.

[ He leads the way back towards a corner of the Queen's exoskeleton. His own supplies are stored there, along with the ones he'd been hoarding for Bel and Taura. Miles' tracks are all over the place ... but there isn't the slightest sign of Bel or Taura. ]

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka does a couple of circles of the area, looking for something-- anything. But sand shifts too much-- if there were any footprints, they're long gone by now.]

... I'm going to do a sweep around the queen. See if there's anything around the other side.

[Taura's footprints should be distinctive, after all.]

[dendarii]

All right. I'll do that too.

[ He'll go in the opposite direction. Just in case there's a chance he might see something too. Any chance at all ... ]

[resnipstance]

Good idea.

[Eventually-- look, it's a long walk around the queen, okay-- they meet roughly in the middle.]

... Find anything?

[dendarii]

[ Miles' expression is grave. He'd seen nothing. Nothing whatsoever. ]

Let's take another loop. Just in case.

[resnipstance]

[A pause.]

... All right.

[She nods, and keeps walking.]

[dendarii]

[ He continues on himself. By the time they meet up again, he's exhausted and haggard. Still not the slightest trace of either Dendarii. ]

I ... one more time. I could have missed something.

[resnipstance]

... Miles. I'm an expert at tracking. And you know them better than anyone.

What do you think we're going to spot the third time that we didn't catch the first two times?

[dendarii]

Something. Anything. There has to be a lead somewhere. I'm just - too blind to see it.

[ He's breathing hard, his still undersized lungs rattling painfully in his chest. ]

[resnipstance]

... All right. One more round.

But you have to ride on my back.

[dendarii]

[ He makes a face at that, but he's not going to argue. ]

I'll be too heavy.

[resnipstance]

[She's on the short-ish side and skinny-looking, it's true-- discounting the extra height from her horns, she stands only at 5'6".]

... I'm stronger than I look.

[dendarii]

... If you insist.

[ It's true he'll probably collapse if he continues much longer like this anyway. ]

[resnipstance]

[She helps him get on so he's riding piggy-back, then continues on her circle around the perimeter, scanning the area closely.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles clings to her carefully, examining the terrain as they go. Even from his new vantage point he can't see anything. Not even a footprint. ]

[resnipstance]

[Eventually:]

... I'm sorry, Miles.