BZPRPG: Ga-Wahi

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

"In theory, I guess," she shrugged, "it doesn't have the best grasp of language, so I've mostly been sticking to simple commands." 

IC: Vaíl, Naho Bay

Vaíl shrugged. "Sure," she replied. She glanced at the water, through which a conspicuous fin was gliding in their general direction. She looked back up. "I mean, yeah, I'd appreciate that, thanks."

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

Kavala grinned. "You know, with a Rahkshi by our side, we could achieve much... our actions could actually mean something."

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates. 

She sighed, "If you're about to try to coerce me into helping you reclaim your sunken cesspit or whatever, the answer's no." 

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

"Not coerce," Kavala replied. "Just proposing an alternative to death. Besids, I'm not going back to the Kumu Islets just yet... after all, the source of the occupation is here, in Ga-Koro."

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

"An alternative to death would be me telling all of those marines who and what you are, then let them drag you off to another cell." 

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

Kavala chuckled. "I already did the time for my crimes. Since then I haven't done anything illegal. The Marines do not have a reason to detain me."

Kavala's eyes narrowed and his voice grew darker. "Yet."

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

"And if you try to kill me, they'll probably arrest you on the spot," Lash replied smugly, "Assuming the Rahkshi doesn't get you first. So how about you make the smart decision, and leave me the karz alone?" 

IC: Lihada

"Aight." She nodded. He seemed awful intent on hiding it. Perhaps he was really self-conscious. That seemed like a fair conclusion. She scratched the cheek of her mask.

"What's yer name? I'm Lihada." She asked.

IC: Elaadis

She nodded. That was fair.

"You're the one who came to see them, lead on." She gestured back towards the Koro gate.

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

Kavala looked from Lash to the village, then to the Rahkshi. The Vortixx had a good point, especially concerning the advantage she had due to her Rahkshi ally. Of course Kavala had the advantage of the environment, thanks to his Kaukau and great swimming skills, but he was not at all comfortable in his chances to win if he decided to attack.

"You're trying to deprive me of my revenge, as well as a potential ally," Kavala said. "Not at all a fair trade."

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

"Fair?" She scoffed, "Right, because tracking me all the way here and threatening to kill me was definitely fair."

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

"Yes!" Kavala snapped. "You may have had the luxury of owning a personal servant and spending weeks at a comfortable inn, but some of us haven't been so lucky. Some of us have lost everything, our home, our purpose, our freedom... and in your case you've lived comfortably on my expense. What would you do if you were me?"

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

"I've already done it - I moved on." Lash hissed back. "I came to this island, forged a new life for myself. Maybe, instead of obsessing over the past and wasting your life plotting revenge on every person who's ever done you wrong, you should do the same." 

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

"Easy for you to say, isn't it?" Kavala replied in a quiet tone. "Always the one to gain, never to lose. I'd like nothing more than to show you what losing something feels like..."

Kavala extended a hand for a handshake. "But I think I'll follow your advice and strive for a new beginning. Starting with this simple gesture."

IC: Erike & Samera

Lihada. Better remember that.

"I'm Erike." And I'm "Samera."

"Pleased to meet you." Let's kill her.

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

She kept her hands by her sides, one of them still gripping her dagger. "I think I'll just take your word for it." 

IC:

 

"That is the mask of Toa Gali," Tyrus said. "The Spirit of Water, the champion of Ga-Koro, she of the First Toa who descended into the dark lair of the Makuta over a century ago."

 

-Void

 

IC (Akimoto)

This wasn't the first time she'd heard the name Makuta. The Marines had said the Parakuka were his children, and they'd said it with a shudder, with reflexive glances over their shoulders, with a subtle checking of their weapons. The name was ominous.

"What happened to her?"

IC: Darien 

Darien stood silently, staring at the falls as the water flowed down from the mask. He stared at it for a long time, and it wasn't until Akimoto asked a simple question that he was stirred. 

"She died...died like countless others did by Makuta's hand." Darien knew Makuta's power better than most, he was one of the few of his family that had escaped Makuta's wraith. He had happened well over a year ago, but sometimes it still felt like yesterday when he heard the news about his father and the others, how they had all perished. 

"Be glad that Makuta is gone...you would not have liked this island while he still reigned. His power was dark and terrible...and it took many lives, too many to count." He fists clenched reflexively. 

IC:

I'm headed for the Ryuu but you're headed right for a different ship!--

Holding that joke in might have damaged my brain because I can't remember anything between it and getting back to the ship.

Long story short: we made it back to the Ryuu and Sinshi is the luckiest (and most clueless) girl in the world right now.

IC:

"The First Toa, who marched into Makuta's dark realm," Tyrus added, "never returned again. Only their successors, the Toa Maru, managed to finish what they started."

-Void

IC (Akimoto)

The two responses confirmed the few rumours that Aki had managed to collect on her short trip ashore. She had heard the names Makuta and Maru in passing, and it turned out they were connected. The Maru had killed Makuta, but not before he had killed many others.

And hearing the thinly veiled grief in Darien's voice, she guessed some of the dead had been people he knew. She wanted to lay a hand on his shoulder or something (was it appropriate to apologize?), but who knew if that was okay on Mata Nui. So she stood still, and watched the falls.

"The Maru," she finally said. "Who are they? Where did they come from?"

IC Kavala

(Ga-Koro, village gate):

Kavala shrugged and lowered his hand. "Well, for a backstabbing doom viper, you at least have smarts, I'll give you that," he said. "I wish I had been as smart back in Onu-Koro. Might've spared me a lot of pain, as it evidently did with you."

Kavala raised his sword, which appeared to be faintly glowing. "You told me to forget the past and move on. But I think I know how to take a new direction and settle old scores at the same time."

Suddenly, he struck the sword against the ground beneath his feet, and a violent tremor shook the ground beneath Lash and her Rahkshi.

IC: Lash - Ga-Koro City Gates.

As she stumbled backwards, knocked off balance by the sudden tremor, Lash's emotions were a mix of disappointment and pity. She thought she'd actually accomplished something, turned Kavala away from the path Lash herself had once walked, and inspired him to go do something more productive with his life.

But apparently some people were just wired for self-destruction.

Breathless recovered first, and while Lash was still picking herself up off the ground, the rahkshi was shifting into a battle stance, waiting for its master's command to engage - a command Lash did not give. She'd just been starting to build a new life here, a fresh start in a new city on a new island; she wasn't going to let Kavala provoke her into throwing it away so soon...

IC: Vilda Mako (Chisai Ryuu)

"...and that's how I survived a demanding client and two assassination attempts"

On the way back, Dakte and I had been sharing a bit of experience and gossip (yes, that's what it is) about life as a Menti. I'd like to think I didn't come off as too sagely but posterity may think differently.

"Either way, thank you for being such a great listener"

IC:

Having ensured that Daijuno knew where she was going, Umbraline Sinshi set out on her own journey. One with much less an idea of her destination. Tarkus’ directions had been quite helpful, but they relied on a knowledge of the area that she did not particularly have. So while she knew the general direction of her destination, she still had to take more than one road from the market before she had a decent idea of where she was going.

Though she had ascertained, before locating the correct road, that she would need to visit that market again. Their wares were fascinating. Unfortunately Whitehot’s home was proving much more difficult to locate.

Perhaps locating it in daylight was a better idea.

IC:

It was now a couple hours past midnight, and Whitehot Munequita had finally sworn off drinking forever for the ninth time in her life. The seventh time, she was celebrating her status as an Ussalry private. The eighth, she had been a fresh transplant to Ga-Koro, and had found herself debating the pros and cons of using Dantas Goldenpecks as a full body pillow.

She was a woman of principles like oak and iron; the older she got, the more she found herself kinda just bending for giggles. And she wasn't even 230.

This time, I mean it. I'm done drinking. "WHOOO!" I am a strong, independent woman. I've been put through the ringer of the toughest organizations in the world and come out diamonds. I don't need beer.

She was never gonna be awake in time for the breakfast date with Sinshi. If it was..a date date. She'd invited Tarkus, and Sinshi was bringing Dai. She would probably ask Dantas to come, too. She hadn't given him enough attention tonight, and her best friend, smooth and plausible as his demeanor was, tended to make the people around him a little needy. 

Caaaaaase in point.

She cracked her neck with the railing and sat up, stretching. Maybe it was time to go inside. Her sneezing had subsided about an hour ago, and though she didn't find herself drowsy, she knew she could will herself to sleep. Peel this swimsuit back off, bury herself in covers and pillows, and sleep until she was rational enough to confront Umbraline Sinshi with a--

"WALLAHI, BABE!"

How her mouth saw Sinshi before the rest of her face, she would never know. But there she was, pacing the street back and forth, nearly dipping back into the market at times. and Whitehot - in her buzzed state - found herself hoping against hope that she hadn't gotten lost. She looked around for Daijuno as she slipped off the railing, and noticed that her landing was smoother and her vision more woozy than she would've given either of them credit for. Of the Dashi, there was no sign. Tarkus had probably gone off to be with his sister for the night. Sinshi, though...Whitehot would already recognize the physique anywhere, and there was something about the stance that was military without being the casual elegance of a beachgoing Marine.

Absently, Whitehot wondered where on the deck she'd left her jacket.

Why isn't she at the Ryuu?

Somehow, her brain translated the jumble of ideas, memories, and Sinshi's personality traits into the aforementioned:

"WALLAHI BABE!"

Whitehot raised an arm and waved it with a boozy grin at the Menti.

-Tyler

IC:

"Ah, Whitehot, hello." 

The Menti had pivoted for a moment to locate the source of the call, but the Onu-Toa wasn't very difficult to locate. Especially when she was jumping off of a balcony and waving. She crossed the road to the other side in a few quick strides, and closed most of the distance to the Marine in only a few more slower ones. She switched the rapier and sheath to her left hand so she could give a small wave with the right. Finding where she lived had just become a million times easier, thanks to the fact that she was apparently awake at such hours of the night.

"Good to see you. I was just attempting to locate your home for tomorrow."

IC:

"Well, here it is - for all it's worth."

She looked really good with the rapier Tarkus had gotten her. It made her look as noble as the Commodore. Whitehot's grin softened, and she literally hung onto the railing with her waist. With the added stability, she felt safe enough to bend down and outstretch a hand to the Menti. She could almost feel the blood running from the upper half of her body to her head while she dangled.

"Wanna come up for a minute?"

-Tyler

IC:

"Sure. I don't need to be back at the Ryuu quite yet." Sinshi stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and braced herself. "I could just take the stairs, you know."

IC:

"Aw, that. You're coming up in style."

Even from the distance between them on the sundeck - which now required Whitehot to hang on by her ankles to the railing - the unmistakable void left by one emerald eye closing and opening in succession shone brightly. 

With a whoop of effort that was half a chuckle, Whitehot swung her Dasakan object of affection up into the air and dropped her feet onto the sundeck. Sinshi, by virtue of Whitehot's hand and a Kanohi Calix, landed even more gracefully behind her. When they let go (reluctantly, on the Toa of Earth's part), the Toa of Earth had turned to put her back to the street and was holding up horns with each hand at the Soulsword. The tip of her tongue poked out from her wide grin.

"Hai-ya."

-Tyler

IC:

"Hello." The Soulsword greeted with a faint half smile. "Your home was not easy to locate."

IC:

"...yeah, sorry. Coulda used some kind of ink. Woulda given you a little autograph, too, if I'd had it. Hey babe. For the girl who's seen everything Ga has to offer except my address. XOXO, White."

-Tyler

IC:

"We were on a beach, it is no surprise that we didn't have access to proper writing materials." Sinshi held up the napkin briefly. "Tarkus was able to turn this into useful directions, so all is well."

IC:

Whitehot broke into high-pitched, dry giggles.

"Wow, you needed a Rau to read my address? Great Spirit, that's terrible. My bad."

-Tyler

IC:

"Well, he didn't need to translate. However neither Daijuno nor I knew what any of the landmarks you referenced were."

IC:

"Well, you found the place alright." White raised her arms expansively and then crossed them behind her head, leaning back on open air to take in the Dasaka before her. "Does, uh...Aya know you're here? Thought you girls couldn't be out alone."

please be rebelling against the evil sexless matriarchy

"I mean, uh. I'm stoked you're here. I just don't want you in any more trouble 'cause of me."

-Tyler

IC:

"The Commodore..." The Menti was silent a moment, thinking about how to phrase her answer. "We conversed, briefly. She went back to the Ryuu, as did Daijuno. I was given permission to stay out a while longer, albeit in a manner that she can deny occurred if need be."

IC:

The young Marine's brow furrowed fretfully.

"Did everything go alright? Are you in an...?" Whitehot bit her lip and changed her question mid-word. "Am I a problem for you guys?"

-Tyler

IC:

"No, no, absolutely not. It wasn't a negative conversation."

IC:

"Oh. Sweet, okay. That's...good."

Clearly it had resonated with Sinshi, though, negative or not. There was only a short list of things it could be on, and given that Sinshi was allowed outside with plausible deniability...

"...Is she actually expecting you back tonight, Sinsh?"

-Tyler

IC:

"I do not actually know the answer to that. There was no time limit specified."