Return of the Emblem Chapter Five: The Retrieval

[Acacia Sgt]

'Let her starve? As if stabbing her before hadn't been enough?' John thought. ''You guys aren't seriously considering it, don't you?'' He asked. 'No wonder she wouldn't be eager to talk, this is making her be less willing to.'

The subject of food, however, brought him to another worry. 'In any case, I guess it's as good as time as any to eat something. After all this, it is much needed.'

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Wolfy's right, this is less messy than lettin' her have as go at the Fallen at least. Don't go mistakin' the captive for one of your maidens there Amon," Nadya said to him half-jokingly. She decided not to respond to John in front of Siv. Of course we'll feed her before she keels over...but she doesn't need to know that just yet.

Connor

"Well Raquel runs the wagon all the mercenaries need to supply themselves, so I guess it makes some sense that she gives the orders as well? I haven't heard anyone complain much about her so far...well except for that Bert guy I guess. I like her well enough, she lets me have free access to all the arms and armor," he said to Rico, shrugging.

Veronika

Veronika paused, not having noticed the Kigenese swordswoman from before step in.

"15 years, from my father mostly. Are you trained in the sword as well?" Veronika asked Atsuko. I thought Kigenese women were prohibited from fighting, but she was the one holding the knife to the Fallen earlier...perhaps there are exceptions to such rules.

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked down at Naoki oddly as the bird refused the stone. She had seen the animals collect various shiny objects in the wild, so why was he refusing it? However her thought of how odd it was for the bird to refuse the stone was soon overcome by Shadrak's switching to Kieganese. Though she had suspected he knew it from the moment the message rested in her hand, to have it actually be confirmed was truly shocking.

"<Wow. I didn't expect you to actually know... I thought you... Never mind.>" she said before sighing and looking down again at the bird, carefully putting it on the ground again before looking up to Shadrak. Should she trust him, the dark magic user? Even if it wasn't as bad as the world preached, would he suddenly start dressing up in all black with black-painted fingernails and start moping about how the world is pain? "<Okay, let's assume that you are right and dark magic is misunderstood. I'll give you a chance because I can understand how it feels. I want you to prove to me that, not only is it misunderstood, but that it isn't some 'inner pain' type thing.>"

[Mercakete]

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Gytha replied to Raquel (and tossing in a quick, little salute) at hearing the instruction for her to teach Krystal catcare 101 later. Connor answered Rico well enough, so no sense in re-explaining that. "Aye, Raquel's th' land-ship's captain. She owns it and hired most o' us. She's also th' quartermaster and decides where we'll be land-sailin' next. Not that we don't handle important matters with a vote," the mariner ellaborated.

[Phoenix]

People Near Siv

Amon grunted a bit when Nadya brought up the maidens. Her and Gabbie ... well, he certainly never figured it would be women getting under his skin, but now he knew better. "Yeah I'll just ... go now." Amon said quietly.

People Near Wagon

"I see ..." Rico replied before sighing heavily. "It's still hard to believe Jethro's missing. The Raquel I knew would have probably shut down, but she's just toughening up. I'm betting she doesn't have a vent for all that stress either. I guess busting some enemy heads'll have to suffice, but still ..." ... and land-sailing? Hahah, that girl's never really away from the sea, is she?

Person Near Nika

"Fif-teen ... years ..." She's far and away my senior ... "That is ... quite a long time. I've only been fighting for five years, and I still can't challenge a demon." she explained hanging her head. "Kai and Katsu grew up fighting and if I hadn't met them I would be a helpless commoner tending to household chores." she added trying to cheer herself up. "Women ... who do what I do always become unwanted. That's fine with me, as long as I can support my family in some way. My village is a little too close to the regions the fallen attack. I would rather fight them than hope they don't kick in our door, so I took up swordplay and Katsu was teaching me ever since. It's the only thing I'm skillful at, and it gives me ..." It also let's me provide some money for my family ... that's why I came on this mission. That's why I can't kill that wretched fallen girl.

Edited August 5, 2011 by Phoenix

[Zsword]

Shadrak

Shadrak rolled his eyes. "<Yes, I'm fluid in all 3 of the central languages, Skotian is my weakest, don't mind the bird, he's only interested in magical items. It's how we've trained him to send messages, detecting the magical aura that everyone has, even you. Though, because you don't actively practice magic, he might not be able to detect your's unless he's in contact with you.>" He explained, still skimming the note, occasionally rubbing a his finger over it with a black glow. "<If you'd like, I can teach you a little bit about magic, maybe quell your fears and lack of knowing a little?>" He offerred politely. I really hope you accept... you seem awfully ignorant on the matters, and I'd really like to help that, atleast catch you up to what most normal people know...

Krystal

Krystal winced at Raquel's thoughts. "I didn't mean to offend... but uh sure, that doesn't sound to bad. I guess I could use some more manual labor... or something." She then turned to Gytha with a friendly bow. "So, your cat has some sort of problem with it's eye?" She asked, already scanning Gytha's mind... she was used to invading people's privacy like this, life as a teenager in a publicish school, scanning who ever you were talking with always gave you a nice upper-hand in the conversation, even if it was to the other's dismay.

Edited August 5, 2011 by Zsword

[Mercakete]

"Aye, her eye was taken out when I found'er," Gytha explained, the scene of the mangled, bloody pile of fur and bones lying in a wet and dreary allyway appearing in Gytha's mind: when she first met Maw, "So, every day I change'er bandages --" the scene changes to Maw sitting very still with her bandages off, her hollow eye socet clearly seen "-- and apply ointment to 'er socket." The image of a finger with some ointment on it appearing in Gytha's mind's eye, gently and carefully applying it to the inside of Maw's hollow eye socket before the cat's head is carefully wrapped with clean bandages. "I do that every morn so she doesn't get an infection," she finished.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Well it's not like Raquel is uh, taking people's heads off herself, but I guess seeing other people do it is relieving?" Connor said to Rico. "Must be tough, losing her father and not being able to fight for his rescue herself. Still, the gods gave us all different gifts, some of us are fighters, some of us are inventors, and some of us are merchants," he said, shrugging.

Veronika

"Demons are fearsome opponents and you held your own well enough," Veronika said to Atsuko. "Besides, you're doing more than most Kigenese women seem to be able to. I...don't really understand Kigen's viewpoint there. In Neviskotia, we treat men and women as equals for fighting purposes. Seems to me that Kigen would be better off fighting the Fallen if they allowed women to fight rather than keeping them at home," Veronika said to Atsuko.

Edited August 5, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Dark Sage]

Nearby on the decks, Domovoi noticed the Kigenese mage, Synthia, and the newcomer having some sort of commotion. Getting closer, he saw that Ranyin had thrown up on the pegasus knight and she was covered in vomit. Normally Domovoi would look away, but he was so happy he was alive and that everyone else was alive he didn't mind and in fact, chuckled at the stiuation.

Still, it wouldn't do to have the woman be covered in vomit and Ranyin to just lie there, so Domovoi approached the three.

"Hello there Synthia, and erm...I don't know your name lady knight. Anyway, allow me to escort Ranyin out of the rain. Wouldn't do much good for him to be out here if he's sick. If you're ok with it afterwards lady knight, I could help you get rid of the vomit on you," he said, slinging Ranyin over his shoulder.

OOC: Edited for context.

Edited August 5, 2011 by Sagekitty

[Phoenix]

Rico

"She's not? Huh. Sorry to hear that." Rico replied, sounding disappointed.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Raquel.

"... your hair."

"What about it?"

"It's pink. Friggin' pink. Do you know how rare that is?" he replied hoping to tease her curiosity away.

"... whatever. I'm not in the mood right now. In fact, I'm going to head inside. Connor, I don't want you to get sick so when you find time for a break, could you come in as well?"

Atsuko

"I am doing a lot, but unfortunately the only people who would recognize that are dead, missing, or back home in poorly protected villages ... poorly by my standards at least." she said looking down. She thought about it for a second, and then lifted her head right back up asking "How do Neviskotians defeat their hatred? I-I mean stress. That's the right word. I find myself so angry right now that I can barely resist the urge to slay that demon we worked so hard to smuggle into Ursium. I don't know what I can do to get rid of that feeling."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

Connor was a bit curious why Rico decided not to tell Raquel what they were talking about, but figured it was some sort of family thing and he'd rather not pry. "Sure, probably better to take a break anyway, let's head in," he said to Raquel.

Veronika

"That's...a somewhat difficult question to answer. Some might say that Neviskotians end up turning on each other in their anger, given how poorly the eastern and western portions don't get along. But that's not very good advice. When I feel frustrated or powerless, I train. So that someday I may be good enough to accomplish my goals," she explained to Atsuko.

[Snowy_One]

"<Teach me a bit about magic? Isn't that like trying to teach a fish how to walk on land?>" asked Robin in a confused tone. She might not be the sharpest arrowhead, but her capabilities as a magician were far from being anything to even consider. Still... he seemed fairly sincere about it and... well... Who was she to kid? Even though he likely would never be able to hunt if she had been given the chance, she would have loved to teach him about making arrowheads and archery. "<Alright. I'll let you try to teach me.>" she said after a moment.

[Zsword]

Shadrak

Shadrak chuckled and rest his head back in the hammock. "<that's good...>" He yawned a little, blinking at the sky. "<but maybe later... right now, I need rest... oh, and please let the bird go. He can fend for himself.>" He muttered out with a smile, closing his eyes to rest.

Krystal

Krystal was, disgruntled at what she saw in Gytha's head, she truly was a noble woman to take care of such a thing... but still, it was taken care of so well, she was pretty sure a day or two without treatment wouldn't kill the thing. "I see, um, I guess you'll have to show me tomorrow, as well as figure out how to make your cat like me enough to go through with the process." Hmm, I think I might have to watch who I scan... not everyone here thinks purely about gossip like all the ass-hats at school...

[Mercakete]

"Well, that's the first thing. Ye won't be able t' get near'er if she doesn't let ye and the only reason I can treat'er is that she stays still. She's a proud cat -- hates showin' weakness -- so this might take a while. The reason I asked Raquel was because I felt Maw was used t' her bein' around enough that if she recognized that I wasn't around t' treat'er (and she knows how important it is that I treat'er -- that's why she holds still) that she'd accept treatment from'er. Maw's never seen ye b'fore and I don't think she's ever seen a bird person b'fore. So ye can try t' gain'er trust, but it might take a few months since yer at such a disadvantage. Maw's a cat, so she hunts birds. Unless they're bigger than'er, then she runs away from'em. And she doesn't like people much. Not sure what she'll think of ye since yer a big bird and a human. So -- no offense -- I'm goin' t' see if I can find someone else she's likely t' trust enough t' treat'er. So far, I haven't gotten th' feelin' that anyone would 'sides Raquel, but she refuses t' try. That's why I had t' stay behind this last fight, after all, so this is important," Gytha explained to Krystal, "After all, cats only trust one -- sometimes two -- people in ther lifetimes. Th' jack I brought'er to told me that."

The image of an old man in a house filled with recovering street cats appeared in Gytha's mind for a moment, as well as in information detailing him as a sugeon specializing in cat care. According to the blip of information, Gytha had taken Maw to him after she'd recovered and began trusting Gytha just to be sure the silver tabby would be okay. Apparently, it was he who said that the eye socket was extremely sensitive and susceptable to infection since that particular part of the body was not meant to be exposed. In addition, the nerve which transmitted sight was still connected to the bain -- if obsiolete -- and if it got infected it could easily spread to the brain and give Maw a slow, excruciating death and the only thing they would be able to do about it would be to kill Maw swiftly. So, a preventative ointment had to be spread over the inside of the socket -- very carefully -- every day and her head had to be wrapped in bandages to help prevent the ointment from being disturbed. Like the ointment, the bandages had to be changed daily. And so Gytha and Maw's routine began.

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked down at the bird. "<I'll let him out on the deck. I don't think he likes being indoors as much as out.>" she said before turning to head up onto the deck. "<Don't let the demons bite.>" she said before heading up. In truth, she was very tired as well, getting knocked out is surprisingly not very restful, but she wasn't letting it bother her. She didn't want it to bother her. She was on a boat again! She was doing all she could to keep from thinking about the soft rolling of the craft and focusing on her sleepyness would have made her think of finding a stable place to sit down.

Once back on deck she carefully put the bird down, glancing about to try and find that pirate ladies cat first, to ensure its safety. Once it was down she gave a confused shake of her head. He was a dark mage! She knew the tales were likely exaggerated, but wouldn't there be at least a grain of truth to them? Why did she care anyways? He was a outsider! A outsider!

She quickly pulled out a iron arrow and shot it into the side of the boat accompanied by a groan of frustration before she went to pull it out. She shouldn't care for him at all, right? Wiping her brow with the arrowhead she looked over at Domo, harassing some poor girl. Quietly she started to come up behind him. "<Commander?>" she asked. "<What... ummm... pardon my unprofessional-ism, but what are you doing?>"

[Phoenix]

Raquel and Rico

"Three months? I've only known Maw for ... ah never mind. I'll leave that to you two." Raquel said before heading off for the lower decks with Connor.

"Hmm, captain's still below decks so I'd better coordinate the boys up here so we don't sail straight up onto shore or somethin'." Rico said, turning to face the majority of the crew working in the background. "Oh what the hell!" he yelled looking at their work. "You lazy sons a' bitches, what are you doin' over there?! One of you help Garrison get unstuck from the shrouds. Don't just stand there and laugh." He quickly went to the next group. "Mike, get that archer girl to stop shootin' up the railings. You two, double check the chains so we don't have an accident. Move it!"

Atsuko

"Train ... that's interesting. I would train when I have time, not to suppress my anger. Maybe it would work though ..." she considered. A couple of seconds of thought was enough, and she decided to do it, but first she had one more question. "Do ... you spar by any chance? I mean practice dueling." Maybe 'spar' is the right word but I can't really remember.

Amon

Amon found a place to sit down, and did just that. It wouldn't be too long before they were back in Ursium, he figured, so he didn't bother trying to get any sleep. Instead he inspected his knife for any residue he might have overlooked during the battle. Wet grass wasn't ideal for knife cleaning, and like he suspected, their were demonic remnants on his knife. He thought to clean them off until he realized that they were beginning to dissolve. They eventually evaporated into the air, and he couldn't help but watch. Just what were they fighting out there, he wondered.

Bird and Crew

Naoki waited to be put down so he could go seek out a heat source to help dry himself off. When he found himself getting hit with more rain again, he began shaking his body rapidly. This was no place to dry himself. He was put down anyway after a moment, and the first chance he got, he turned around, and leaped down the staircase, using what little lift his wings had left to give him a slow decent speed. Once back inside, he ran off in the direction of a very powerful source of fire magic he had picked up on some time ago.

Two crewmen were working on a loose line when they noticed that Robin had just shot an arrow into the woodwork. They both gave each other a confused look and then one of them called over. "Hey, ya mind not puttin' arrow holes in our ship?"

Meanwhile, Naoki found who he was looking for, Fira had been heading for the galley and happened upon him standing in her path like a stray animal. She knelt down over him and asked "Are you lost?"

He immediately spread out his wings and waited. She figured she would only get a real answer by listening for one, and she saw an image of herself drying him with her powers. "Oh, so that's what it is." What an odd little bird. she thought as she began creating a small circle of heat under the bird. Pulling the heat up passed Naoki while blowing on him quickly dried the raven. A few minutes later, she was finished. "Now you be careful, there's a cat around here somewhere, though given, what sort of oddity you are, I think you'll be just fine."

Siv

"So it's settled then. We'll have dinner and if you'd like some too, you'd better come up with something useful to trade for it. Alright, little miss Siv?" said Gio.

Siv kept her head down and said nothing. Instead another stomach growl sounded which made her flinch. The mercenaries had deliberately kept from feeding her, partly out of spite for those that had been killed, and partly to get information out of her. Her endurance got her here though, and she hadn't eaten in almost twelve days or so, though she couldn't be sure since the passage of time was getting strange to her. All she knew was that she was starving and getting farther and farther away from her clan.

Mike

"Ey! You, archer girl. No practicin' on the ship. Find a mobile target or somethin'. Rain ain't the best shootin' weather anyway."

[Zsword]

Krystal

Krystal nodded at Gytha, breaking the connection as she considered the conversation over. "I see, well, if you get any ideas on how to help with that let me know, I'll uh, I'll be around... right now, I just kinda want to rest and think." She said to Gytha politely, giving her another bow before finding her own way below decks, the ice umbrella dissipating into a fine mist as she entered. When she got down she glanced around... not really sure where to go. Oh dear...

Shadrak

Shadrak blinked and sat up in the hammock carefully. He hadn't fallen asleep yet, and a small burst of magic had made his passive barrier flare. He glanced around and saw that Fira wasn't... too far away. Her presence, she might just radiate enough magic for his barrier to flare. He continued to re-adjust to his surroundings when he heard his stomach grumble. Oh right... food. He took a deep breath and re-assessed his current physical being. Okay... I should be good to walk for a little while... at least, long enough to get some food and come back, it's amazing what a power nap can do... or a small set of them.

With a small groan he rolled out of the hammock, it wasn't the most graceful of standings, landing on all fours with a small thump, but it got him out safe enough. Shadrak stood and dusted himself off. He began to make his way to Fira when he noticed Naoki wasn't far from her, looking right at her. He strapped on what looked like a typical Falconer's Glove and gave Naoki a small whistle. "Sorry Miss Fire, was my raven bothering you?" He asked as he slowly walked up to the two, hand outstretched for Naoki to flutter to it.

[-Cynthia-]

"I used to spar fairly frequently, but I don't have any partners I'd consider reliable in this group. Gytha uses a sword but she's a bit...boisterous in her fighting style, sparring with her could lead to serious injury I fear. We could spar sometime if you wish, though we would have to be careful. I didn't have room in my pack to bring my practice sword," Veronika said to Atsuko.

[Mercakete]

And so the people Gytha had spoken do went their own ways below deck. Not a problem in the least. They would be on land again soon. That was something that Gytha was reluctant to accept. She'd only been aboard a ship for a day and a night so far. Well, the first mate was doing is job, issuing orders and the last time she was in the galley there hadn't even been the smell of food yet, let alone any company besides Ranyin and his friend who simply stumbled in. So, she walked after Rico. "Ey, Rico, there anythin' that could use an extra hand? I'll be on land again soon so I'd appreciate helpin' th' crew out while I can," she asked. I'm gonna miss bein' on th' water again... Wonder how long it'll be this time...

[the_whistler]

Not on a boat:

Nanahm watched his employer walk away and pulled another piece of wood out of his pockets. Where had he even picked them up? Only Raguni knows, he thought, stretching out his limbs. "Guess that means I can get to work, if Veronika wants to listen to whatever Raquel is sayin’," sitting down on a nearby log. Pulling out his trusty carving knife, Nahm got to work scraping off larger chunks of wood. But seriously, where did he find that piece? Did he pick it up sleepwalking? Did someone plant it there? Or was life just being nice for once? Suspiciously nice. Maybe Raguni had just sent a bit of luck his way, since there obviously wasn’t any tomato sauce falling from the sky. Yet.

Moving on, the fighter set the block on a dusty tree stump, angling it so the wings would fit, albeit at an angle. Vaguely the axe user could hear muttering in the background, something regarding Kigen and the Fallen they were supposed to retrieve. That could wait till later, Nanahm had a job to do!

Hearing a scream in the distance however, the fighter was jolted out of concentration. "Oh for Raguni's sake, what's...." he grumbled exasperatedly, turning around in time to see the door slam shut. It was late before the man headed inside to eat, his stomach rumbling loudly. The next few days continued on much the same pattern, Nanahm devoting much of his time to carving the wooden figurine, or simply watching the changing scenery from the wagon.

He had never been to Kigen before, but if it was comprised of forested terrain, well then the axeman ought to feel right at home there. Nanahm boarded the ship confidently, looking up at the fiery coloured sails.

On a boat:

Wobbling slightly, Nanahm leaned against the deck rail uneasily. This feels weird, looking back at the shoreline. He took a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled slowly. Dimly the fighter noticed the presence of Synthia nearby in a similar state, but he was in no condition to help, really. Nanahm didn’t even think he could walk around without his legs collapsing, or some nonsense like that.

“Throw the damned drunken, noisy sailor off the ship!” He meant to yell loudly over what sounded like the entire crew singing, but it came out a hoarse croak. No one heard. I’m not a sheep, he thought wearily to himself, herded below deck when the storm came and above deck again in the morning. Grimacing, Nanahm kept quiet as he wallowed through the mud. This was better than sleeping on the ship though. Squishy ground, but it's earth at least, allowing himself a moment of peace and reflection. Like Zen, except even better. All he needed now was for the weather to get warmer and it would be perfect. Okay, maybe a lot warmer, it wasn’t exactly hellfire temperature outside. What about a spoonful of tomato sauce? Well, that could, maybe just be it. Nirvana in a can. Most likely prepackaged and frozen because things were cheaper that way, but Nahm would’ve still eaten it. Yum.

But wait, where was his trusty axe when he needed it? With that the fighter rushed back on board towards the sleeping quarters, his belt feeling oddly light.

Stuck on a boat:

The Nan promptly smacked his head against a random loose board hanging from the ceiling. When had that got there? Must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. Stumbling forwards, Nanahm landed facefirst into a number of heavy sacks piled in the corner and hit his head on something metal. What type of idiot stores damn metal in a burlap sack? he thought angrily, before passing out. Disturbed by the shift in weight, a few more sacks came tumbling down on the hapless fighter.

Edited August 6, 2011 by the_whistler

[Dark Sage]

"Hmm? Oh Robin. Ranyin here was sick, so he made an unfortunate mess on this pegasus knight here," Domovoi explained to Robin, gesturing towards the pegasus knight. "I'm going to go find a suitable cabin for him to rest. Staying out here in the rain is not a good idea for him, or for any of us here for that matter."

[Phoenix]

Fira

"He's no trouble at all. I think he just wanted to be dried off." Fira replied. "I should probably go help our chef with tonight's dinner. We're cooking for a lot more people now, so if you have any handy cooks in your party, could you direct them to the galley?"

Naoki got on Shadrak's hand immediately and then began looking around to reaffirm where he was. Being grounded for awhile and on unsteady ground necessitated caution.

Atsuko

Gytha? That kind of fits the image I had of northern swordsmen in my head up until that battle. "I used to train with Katsu everyday until this mission began." Ayane would usually heal us if either of us thrust too hard, but she's dead now, and the little sword covers are with Katsu ... "That's a single edge sword you use ... hmmmm." she paused to think. ... no, I don't know how to make them with anything that might be on this ship, not even just two of them. "You may be right. Without a healer present or the little coverings Katsu came up with, this might be too dangerous." she said lowering her head a bit. So many factors to consider ... even my health is severe enough to affect my performance. "Maybe once we're on land and ... I've recovered fully." I couldn't possibly wake up this furious still, could I?

Rico

"Hm?" Rico paused from barking at the waterlogged crewmen and turned to face Gytha. "An extra hand's more than welcome. These guys think that just because the trip's so short, we can goof off a little. This really isn't the time. I don't care how short the trip is, we could have a serious accident in this kind of weather." Rico explained. He even recalled a time when the ship was nearly struck by lightning and how poorly that situation was handled before the captain showed up. "Ugh, without the captain around, they get all dumb in the head. I guess what you can help with right now are all the lines. Sooner or later somethin's gonna come loose and now's a real bad time for that, know what I mean?"

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Are you injured? If so, you should probably be resting...or maybe see a healer," Veronika said to Atsuko. Maybe she means recovering from the deaths of her fellow mercenaries...if that's the case she might not ever recover fully.

[Phoenix]

Le Tired

"Well ... I wasn't truly injured. Everyone protected me until the end ... ... I'm just ... tired. I haven't slept more than a few minutes in the last five days. I was hoping to at least eat something before lying down though." she explained. It may still be awhile before there's any food prepared though, so I was hoping I could deal with my stress in the meantime ... but like she said, in my condition that could be dangerous. "I have to get my strength back and quickly, so I should eat soon, and then sleep." She could say that all she wanted, but with the adrenaline wearing off, she was already giving the floor beneath her feet a longing gaze. It looked pretty comfortable right then ...

[Zsword]

Shadrak nodded, gently petting Naoki as the bird glanced around his surroundings. "I'll keep that in mind miss, uh, which way is it to the galley? So I know where to point 'em in case they don't." Shadrak had a vague idea how to find it if needed, thought getting straight directions on a ship this size would be ideal.

Krystal found her away around the ship easily, though the rocking motion was making her a little queasy, she was sure she'd be oh kay, for now. Currently she was watching for member's of Raquel's party that had pets, if she was gonna work with the animals, she might as well get familiar with the owners sooner, or later.