[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

[adamance]

I think most people wouldn't be able to identify the latter by a glance, [she points out. Lexa's noticed their disappearances already. When Rhys had mentioned his own trouble, she had realized that he wasn't alone. Seeing Miles without those closest to him had drawn her eye.]

They aren't the only ones who've disappeared. [She chooses the word "disappeared" for a reason. While it may be that they've died or they've been lost to some other fate, her people know the act of being stolen.

Interestingly enough, it had been Bel who suggested that they might be here under someone else's care. It was a conversation that's influenced many of her thoughts and decisions since then.]

[resnipstance]

... Taura? ... Wait, you can't find her?

[dendarii]

[ He's not nearly as self-confident without his two bodyguards here to back him up. It's all the more apparent he's a small guy pretty damn far from home like this. He's concerned about them first and foremost, but Lexa's comment makes him frown too. ]

Who else, then? Are there no hints for their whereabouts either?

[dendarii]

[ Miles shakes his head. ]

Not at all. She's usually quite difficult to miss.

[resnipstance]

[That's true enough.]

... Is it possible that she and your other friend went looking for food and water further afield?

[dendarii]

Of course it's possible. But I haven't seen them in three days now.

[resnipstance]

... Oh.

I mean-- three days doesn't necessarily mean anything ... Taura is pretty durable. ... But it is concerning.

[dendarii]

[ Miles is silent for a moment at that, his worry nearly palpable. ]

They wouldn't leave me for three days. Not without telling me.

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka bites her bottom lip. The worst part is, inwardly, she agrees.]

... I wish you'd said something sooner.

[dendarii]

[ It's just a fact at this point. He's too small and delicate and vulnerable to be on his own for long. ]

It - it seemed natural enough the first day. The second, I thought they might have just gotten lost in the ship somewhere.

[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.]