The dry heat of Ul'dah was too much for Yllaria. It was apparent in the way she stood, in her elongated silences. She didn't complain. Wewenoki would have been surprised if she had; she was not known to be faint of heart or resolve.
Their boss, Thuvbhrat "Tabart" Sthalzoengsyn, had ordered them after one of Grace's most recent conquests. Mink had capitulated without a word, as she was wont, but Wewenoki had arranged a private meeting with the slim roegadyn. "It is necessary," he had been told, "you must follow my orders on this one, Noki, without questioning me."
Noki was worried. Tabart was becoming more and more reclusive, more and more grim. He knew that Jaded had faced one of its longest downturns since the ring had left Ul'dah, and he also knew that beneath all the bluff and bluster about Heaven's Gate, Tabart considered it his fault. He shouldered it alone; was it any wonder he was beginning to falter under the pressure?
Not like Noki could do anything about it from Ul'dah, for all their target seemed prepared to move. It was pointless to agonize over it. He knew that. But he couldn't help himself.
He worried over Yllaria instead.
"Fear not, my dear girl, I believe it is time that we apprehend sir Sasatani. Once he leaves, we will catch him outside the city, and then we may leave the desert."
Her stare was long as she considered him in silence. She ended her survey of him with a sigh, but he could see the slight shift in her expression; he'd almost made her smile. Good. True, it was likely in exasperation with him (she was, after all, in her thirties and well out of girlhood), but he would take what he could get when it came to the morale of his longtime companions.
Yes, they would catch Rurutani Sasatani on the road out of Ul'dah, when there were fewer people.
Then they would make sure he never set foot near Heaven's Gate again.
Their boss, Thuvbhrat "Tabart" Sthalzoengsyn, had ordered them after one of Grace's most recent conquests. Mink had capitulated without a word, as she was wont, but Wewenoki had arranged a private meeting with the slim roegadyn. "It is necessary," he had been told, "you must follow my orders on this one, Noki, without questioning me."
Noki was worried. Tabart was becoming more and more reclusive, more and more grim. He knew that Jaded had faced one of its longest downturns since the ring had left Ul'dah, and he also knew that beneath all the bluff and bluster about Heaven's Gate, Tabart considered it his fault. He shouldered it alone; was it any wonder he was beginning to falter under the pressure?
Not like Noki could do anything about it from Ul'dah, for all their target seemed prepared to move. It was pointless to agonize over it. He knew that. But he couldn't help himself.
He worried over Yllaria instead.
"Fear not, my dear girl, I believe it is time that we apprehend sir Sasatani. Once he leaves, we will catch him outside the city, and then we may leave the desert."
Her stare was long as she considered him in silence. She ended her survey of him with a sigh, but he could see the slight shift in her expression; he'd almost made her smile. Good. True, it was likely in exasperation with him (she was, after all, in her thirties and well out of girlhood), but he would take what he could get when it came to the morale of his longtime companions.
Yes, they would catch Rurutani Sasatani on the road out of Ul'dah, when there were fewer people.
Then they would make sure he never set foot near Heaven's Gate again.
