Aodh 804 - Rise Up From The Dead

Maverick can feel the nervous energy of the room before he's even down the stairs. He moves silently out of habit, hooves making muffled thuds on each wooden step until he reaches the level ground of the basement. He eyes the small party of smugglers waiting in the room and can't help but to give a small frown at the limited attendance. Ever since their den and tunnels had been discovered fewer smugglers seemed to be able to attend meetings as of late, the danger of being truly found was far too risky as they now lacked a safe space.
Maverick steps towards the group, dipping his head in silent greeting as he joins the circle. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust in the poor light–although made easier by the blue glow emitting from the cloak of the horse beside him–and he takes in the faces of those around him. He recognizes some from previous meetings but had never actually personally met or spoken to these individuals before. It's rather unfortunate to meet them during such a crisis and not on lighter terms. Things seemed grim these days.
He swivels his ears back and forth between the others while they speak, nodding at the suggestion the dark horse with the phoenix made straight away. "We do need a new base," Maverick agreed, surprised in himself for not remaining quiet as he usually might've, but this matter was too important not to speak up. They needed as many ideas as they could get. His voice is scratchy from hitting his pipe earlier and having a voice almost feels foreign in his throat. "We could move deeper into the sewers, we may be able to find another area large enough for a new den, it's worth a look I think." He looks around feeling his face a little heated as the attention is on him. "But we can't be sure that the chevaliers won't check the tunnels again, or even another sinkhole opens and drops someone in who could potentially blow our cover."
(Post #1| 344)

    Maverick bites his tongue anxiously and looks to each equine as they respond. He is swayed rather easily from his previous thought of a new base; the others are right, a base is not the most important thing, certainly not now with kirins at their doorstep. For once, Maverick is admittedly grateful for being apart of a team. His experience in teamwork is rather limited, and now he finds himself eating up the different ideas being raised like a starved child sat before a feast for kings. The more he listened to the others, the more he could feel the gears turn in his mind.
    When there is a moment of silence Maverick takes the opportunity to speak, finding his voice rather hoarse in his throat. "Fire will draw attention easily, no doubt, but we need to keep in mind that the element is unpredictable. If we set multiple fires there could be a chance that it can't be contained by the limited number of chevaliers that are here. We'd risk burning the resources in the city that we could use to fight the coming kirins. If it was one fire, a big one like you suggest–" his eyes flick to the elder beside him, "–we could work in another big distraction on the other side of town perhaps and really stretch the chevaliers thin."
    He swallows and looks to the brown and black marked horse. "You mentioned earlier the middle class and how displeased they are. I'm not too sure how this may work out but... if we could get them to protest or riot–do you people riot?–at or near the castle, could that work as another large enough distraction?"
He pauses and takes a breath before his final sentence. "I could definitely go undercover, though it would be helpful to have another one of us there to trust in and spread this news to the slaves."
(Post #2| 319)

    Maverick furrows his brow and bites his cheek hard, staring off blankly at a lone pebble on the ground while he mulls over the offered suggestions that follow. His ears are perked and flick from equine to equine as they speak, tasting their words over in his mouth. He ignores the heavy taste of copper on his tongue and the blood that dribbles out the side of his mouth and down his chin. In fact, this only makes Maverick bite down harder on his cheek, desperately willing the pain to further wake up his brain. He hadn't smoked yet today nor the night before for that matter. He knew he needed as much of his mind as he could get for this meeting, even if it meant being fully conscious of the dark corners of his mind. He could jones all he wanted for his vices, the enslaved population of Aodh was counting on them.
    What else could I possibly offer? he thinks. Florence had offered his boats for transporting the escapees and Reija had suggested setting her home alight as a distraction. He didn't have much, save for his street smarts and speed. Perhaps he could volunteer as a distraction and lead chevaliers on a chase? He's about to voice the idea when a flash in the corner of the room shines and bounds behind a few storage crates. In an instant, he's turned his body to the corner, orange teke already grasped around the dagger beneath his cloak and held poised to attack. He's sunk below the knees and hocks into his shadow, survival mode kicked into gear. There was nowhere to run down here.
    The others don't react as tensely as Maverick does but he holds his position. In his experiences, it was better to be overly cautious than not at all. He arches his neck and extends his nose to sniff at the air towards the corner, muscles tensed. At the soft voice of the elder dark mare beside him, he calms a touch, enough at least to stand out of his shadow and feel his hooves back on level ground though his dagger is still raised above his shoulder. He waits in anticipation at whatever that flash could be.
(Post #3| 374)
Note: Mav has lvl 2 shadow manip so he can meld into his shadow