Refuge Sector: "Redwood"

Of the many different creatures the Guild takes in, they establish sections of territory and shape them to fit the needs of the residents living it. Sector Redwood was no different in this element. With towering trees that shared the namesake, and the sky a piercing blue-gray thanks to the artificial atmospheric bubble of safety, the Followers had made a decent home of it, with stones and roots making dens for the mothers and kits while the Elite stood guard and patrolled. What was more interesting, though, was perhaps their own guidance. Before, Inari had been the one to establish regulation and order, but oddly enough, the creatures have adapted well, making a well-kept and close-knit community among each other, working together to make an ease of living. And unlike the Inari-bound realm, seemed to suddenly be less... uniform, as if each one was its own person, and not a collective whole, as if they were learning themselves on their own accord, and for once, distinct chatter permeated the air thicker and more friendly than previous encounters.

Tala had resolved to check on the follower situation, so she headed over to the portal to the new follower... home to see if it was secure and the followers were moving in. She wanted to make sure Vestia would be safe, because if Vestia wasn't safe, they were going to need to flee the Guild, and quickly before the Family killed Inari. She was a soldier. Her job was defense. She was defending.
She looked at the portal itself, hoping it could be destroyed quickly in an emergency.

The portal seemed to be guarded by two Peacekeepers, who were silent as the portal was investigated. It didn't seem to have any tangible way to destroy it by non-magical hands at first glance, though upon further inspection, she could notice she could touch the very outer edges and the portal would fizzle, destabilizing for a moment.

Tala glanced to the peacekeepers, swishing her tail in greeting, then headed through the portal curiously to look around. She swished her tail again at anyone she saw.
She hadn't expected the place to look this nice after a day of construction, but it looked very nice. Not at all like the ramshackle village she had expected.

The entire village, upon Tala entering, seemed to hesitate, before returning back to their original tasks, though the Elite seemed to eye her as she walked.

"Greetings," Tala told one of the elite. She sniffed the air, "This place smells most excellent!" It was a high compliment in her tribe, and also a harmless pleasantry. She realized she probably wasn't liked or welcome here if they knew what she'd said to the Inquisitors yesterday.

"Greetings." The elite replied. He sounded stiff and curt as his mask stared emotionless at Tala, and he fell silent for a moment. "What brings you here?"

"I was interested to see the how things are here," Tala said, "Being as I am most concerned about the situation with the followers and the fine lady Inari."

"Concerned for the Followers, or concerned about the Followers are two different intents." The elite said duly. "We are suited. Our only complaint is from our more adventurous kin."

Tala wiggled her ears slightly in muted amusement. "Can I not be concerned for booth the followers and the others of the Guild?"

"Are you concerned for the Followers?" The Elite sounded skeptical when he asked the question, looking at her. "If it is a yes, I shall have to ask why."

Tala shrugged. "Followers are also people, are they not? They have a much too strong connection to one person's life, will be hurt by her absence if she is killed. I am a soldier, my duty is to protect, but there is nought that can be done to protect them. That worries me."

"It is true, should Inari die..." he shook his head. "I heard you had a demon of our kin among your ship that lost contact with Inari? Is this true? How is he now?"

Tala nodded, and snorted a bit in distaste. "He is most displeasing. He has little understanding of personal boundaries, manners, or of anything else. I have doubts he is safe, and I know more of him would be less safe."

"I see." With the confirmation of that rumor, the Elite fell silent, and for once, sat on his haunches in the middle of his post, and dipped his head. This could only be described a sort of motion of sadness, as if he had already given up. "To think a separation of our surrogate mother would cause such uprooting of our culture.

"I fear for our people, Minotaur. I fear we too will not be able to handle it..."

Tala nodded. "If there was some way to prevent this, we would do so. We do not know such a way, however." She shook her head, earring swinging, "The situation is unsatisfactory. I can only hope that somehow Inari will be recovered and your kind will be safe."

"It is noble of you to think of your kin, Clairvoyant One, to concern yourself over future problems." Another voice chimed in. It was Inari's Guardian, a great horse sized multi tailed fox came up to them, blue tinged bandages wrapped around his midsection.

"I always have been, brother." The Elite bowed deeply as the Anamcara approached.

Tala tilted her ears forward in greeting at the newcomer. "Greetings. You are an anamcara?" she asked. The guy didn't quite smell like a Follower to her.

He nodded. "I am... was... Inari's Guardian, much like Vanessa is to Merith Sol and Corvus was to Heny. In the off chance neither Inari or Merith are able to lead the Followers, I am next in line as their leader."

"You have my condolences," Tala said, she had no clue who Corvus was, but she did know about Vanessa and Merith's relationship at least. She guessed this must be difficult for this guy, suddenly having to take command of a group of people like this.

The large fox folk bowed his head, looking appreciative of her sympathies. "I appreciate your concern, minotaur. We are well settled, though our kits seem upset that they cannot participate in the festival. We are currently trying to determine if it were safe for them to go. They are still very weak in power after all, and even if they were to go, we'd need to assign someone their mothers would trust as their chaperones for the night. They were very much excited before the relocation."

"A festival would be a fine time for the Family to set their plan in action," Tala said in thought, "The concentration of people would make it easy to hurt or kill many at once. Consider carefully before making any choice."

"Which is why we've already barred the mature ones, which is a shame, because I know many of them would want to go. But the kits shan't need to be deprived of a joyous occasion simply because of their race. They are still small; they should be fine."

Tala shrugged. "I have no jurisdiction here. You and whoever else is on this case can decide that. Are your kits strong enough to kill a Terran?"

"They're hardly strong enough to kill a mouse, even with their bone-bending." The fox kin laughed, "They have no control over their powers. They can't focus enough to draw up on it."