Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25924729-20161211031628/@comment-5999656-20170402013414

"A snake?"

Automne's eyes narrowed at the spontaneous mention of a wild animal roaming the grounds. Could that be... but she shook the thought off quickly at Zhu-Li's arrival, and she quickly stashed her switch in her belt, hoping the fellow Faunus hadn't seen her brutal takedown. Too late, she realized somberly, as she saw the expression on the girl's face.

"I'm not taking any chances," she said quietly. And then, after some hesitation:

"Zhu-Li, please don't tell Platinum about this. She's stressed enough about Fen as is, so to burden her with this, with my - well, uh, it's not the right time."

It was an insufficient explanation, Automne realized as she gritted her teeth with frustration. But she didn't have the time nor inclination to explain the circumstances which caused her to think this way. And maybe it was selfish, but she didn't want to lose Platinum's companionship.

Platinum was already fixated on the creature, unfortunately. She knew the properties of Fen's semblance all too well, and she scanned the scene until she caught the glint of white.

''Fen?! It has to be, how many albino snakes are there?''

Chasing after it, especially if it was a red herring, would only compromise the mission. And yet, if that truly was her best friend... how could she let it go? The easiest option would be to shoot it from afar, and if it dissipated then the answer would be revealed. But the boom of a gunshot would draw the nearby smugglers' attention.

Damn it. She'd have to settle knowing Fen might be close.

"Automne, proceed with the plan," she ordered. If they could eliminate the threat systematically, chances were they'd come across the true form of the snake soon enough. She watched it slide out of sight.

____________________________

Fen opened her eyes and stood upright. So her hunch was right. She'd spotted four unknown people drawing rapidly closer, and they'd been able to subdue one soldier and eliminate the other. She vaulted onto the earth and ran over to the captain.

"There are four Huntsmen at 9 o'clock," she said dryly. "Might wanna get on it, my boss isn't gonna be happy to find out that your operation went south."

The man glared down at the girl and her attitude, but turned and barked out orders to his men, who quickly mobilized, hefting their guns up and advancing in the direction of the Huntresses.

One of them climbed up onto a storage container and spotted the shapes of Automne and Zhu-Li through yellow owl eyes. He raised his rifle, and steadied his line of sight, before firing a single round straight at Automne.