There is no shortage of ways that the Union has spread through the oceans. Leviathan hunts? Since forever ago! Leviathan egg snatching? Just as long! Merchantilism? How do you think they sustain themselves? Pleasure voyages? Certainly! Transit, fishing trips, cargo shipping, mercenary efforts, naval training and more. The only thing is that you can only trust an Otariid to say anything of importance. They're the only ones with the power to have their words listened to!
–from a warning pamphlet distributed in the Mielta port.
"How much space is this going to take?" I asked. "We have the space in the city's walls, but I'd like to know prior to its arrival what we'll be working with? And, just for future reference, we have more people that will need to be fed than we'd thought previously. I'm sure you witnessed their arrival."
"Yes I did! I wonder where they all come from."
"North, apparently." I flicked my tail.
"But there is no reason to worry about the amount of food we'll be providing. With the increase in your population, it is all the better that Cupun sent us with twice the promised quantity of rations in an attempt to better convey his and the Union's apologies for any deceits or miscommunications."
"So you did know about our prior relationship." I stated.
Mitelli shrugged. "Oops. I don't think that you would have believed that I didn't know anyways. So consider that a possibility for you to see through me."
The blase deceit put me back on my back foot and I was left, once again, unsure of what to think of the Union and the Beastkin. Even so, they were giving help, and I wouldn't turn it away. "And about how much space will it take up?"
"About…" she looked back and forth before settling on one of the nearby buildings. "Three of those? Maybe a bit more."
It was a middle sized building, and if they were looking to fill that up with food, that would be a heaven-sent blessing. Now that something good was happening, though, a part of me couldn't help but be suspicious.
"Can explain what's coming in my language? I struggle to pronounce and understand some of the words." It wasn't wrong, but remained an excuse.
"I'm sorry, I can't." Came her response.
"Then I'll try to be clear." I said. "Does it need to stay cold?"
"Yes. Frozen would be ideal."
"Then there's a failed growery that we can convert to a storage facility." I flared my frills, then forced myself to nod, the movement strange now that I was used to the way this body worked. Standing in front of someone who comported themselves as a human sand having a conversation was simply uncomfortable, more than anything else. Mannerisms of a life long lost didn't come naturally to me, and trying to get myself to follow them just made me more and more… not queasy, but just bad.
"Sounds good!" Mitelli almost chirped, unaware of the ineffable feeling of strangeness I couldn't avoid. "Would you show me where it is?"
"Of course. Will the cargo be coming from the north?"
"No, from the west northwest. Once the worst of the cloud of snow tossed up by the avalanche has settled back down, you should see the Ursine coming. They're bears. Have you seen any of them? Yeah, big furry things. Kinda scary if you get on their bad side, but altogether, they're good. Good for carrying stuff, and if you keep them fed? Wonderful worker. But that's not the point, is it? They're white, so the cargo should be the most visible part of them. A trail of bags and boxes loaded on sleds."
"We'll keep our watch out." Then, speaking in my people's tongue and drawing on my sonilphon to make my words audible from across the entire city, I called out, "No danger, not for now. Remain on alert, there should be a large amount of bears coming from the mountains. If they're carrying bags, boxes, or anything other than themselves, you can believe that they're friendly. Zaaktifi, we need you for negotiations and diplomacy!"
As my roaring commands' echoes faded, I gestured for Mitelli to follow me. She stepped along, hopping excitedly from one footprint to the next. Going off the size of each stride, these were a Hak'Tal Keel's steps, and the excited but small woman who walked beside me struggled to make it from one to the next. However, as I observed her steps with [Tremorsense], I quickly realized that she landed each jump steadily, that her feet never slipped, and that she seemed to be slipping her feet deliberately after she landed.
Instead of calling her directly on her deceit, I held my tongue, wondering if she somehow spoke our language. That would change things in either direction. As such, I called out again, "Sybil and Brutus, prepare plan number six for the visitor's arrival at the ruined storehouse previously located in the northern quadrant of the city. Report when ready."
There was no response, but I was expecting that. We didn't have a plan number six, but the words should be enough to make her paranoid if she could understand the words. As it was, I was giving commands to my people in my language, so while it would be a bit suspicious to her, there shouldn't be any cause for alarm. Hoping Id get the information I was looking for, I held my tongue and instead gestured to a building, the one that I'd been talking about all along.
"Come on in." I said, gesturing forward. "I don't know what you're working with, so let's see if this will be sufficient."
"Okay." She replied as she stepped into the building and I ducked in behind her. It'd been poorly constructed and the roof had caved in in the middle. We didn't have the materials directly on hand to fix it, and had, in the end, decided to leave it be until spring. A draft swept through and slammed the door closed. I noted the subtle shifts in Mitelli's body language. She was looking everywhere for her nearest escape. That could just be from being trapped in the building, though, so I pushed it further.
"This will be fine." Mitelli looked up at me.
"We're in position." Brutus called from outside the door, and before anything else happened, the human form beside me disappeared. The "marten" stood in her place and bolted for the far corner.
"Stop, Mitelli. It's a test." I said in the keelish tongue with several of my [Skills] working together as I spoke and Brutus and Sybil entered. "And I think we might need to have yet another discussion about what our nations expect to have happen moving forward."