R E N E G A D E

[Shani]

More talking. So many words, not enough action. They were wasting precious time they could be spending coming up with a plan.
But there was still input, both the Gourmand and Huela had offered non lethal weapons. That was good. Dhall also stepped up to defend Shani's words, telling people off for simply brushing off her words. She was thankful for that.

Shani's ears twitched as Flynn started to laugh. He was laughing? At a time like this?
She listened to his words, listened to what he was saying, and she found herself somewhat agreeing with his words. They did need a plan, that was the whole reason they had showed up. That was why they were here, to plan out how to break Jasper out.
She still frowned when he compared them to Blackbloods.
She couldn't make heads or tails of Flynn.
Was he in on this or not?

Regardless, she shrugged this off for now, and tried to think of what their plan would be. Taking a deep breath, she turned to address them as a group, carefully climbing onto a small stump so everyone could see her better. 

"We need to get into that cave. Mister Gourmand and Huela both have offered us non-lethal weapons we can use to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. We'll also need a distraction, and you're right,"
She nodded to The Gourmand and Dhall,
"They will be expecting us to do something. One of us,"
Here she turned to her family,
"Will need to go with a few others and give a distraction. Flynn, since you so graciously offered to... what was it? "march up the goddamn rock and prostrate yourself before the Council", you can help with that distraction if you're so willing."

Her tail twitched, and she took another breath before continuing,
"I'll lead a group around the back to where that weak spot is. We'll also need lookouts in case things go south. We need to get Jasper out, and then get out of the pridelands. We can figure out where we'll go from there. Anyone who isn't on board with this plan, feel free to stay behind if you must, but the rest of us are getting out of here, tonight."

[Deleted]

His ears fell flat against the sides of his skull while his paw clasped over his muzzle. His eyes were shut tightly as he listened to the young lioness words but he felt his patience wearing thin with everyone here. Even the people on his side, even if there was a compromise it felt like arguments just weren't being listened too and he was coming close to being over it. Especially after Flynn's 'outburst.' Teeth gritted together before he let out an ear-piercing roar to silence everyone once again. Paw slamming against the dusty surface of the ground. "ENOUGH!" He bellowed angrily.

"Don't you get it?!" He snarled angrily and suddenly. "The Freedom Fighters, us, we're no longer a thing! Freedom Fighters this, Freedom Fighters that, we say and fight for these ideals that no longer exist! We are falling apart at the seams! We can fight and bicker all we want, bitch and moan, but it's not going to change a thing! Our chain of command is in SHAMBLES, past transgressions or whatever the hell you humans call it be damned by the fang of my grandfather! The Freedom Fighters are dead." The words sliced like the sharp edge of a sword but that didn't stop Rafael. His breath heaving and huffing before he hung his head. Glaring at the ground. "I do not believe in this chain of command anymore, I do not believe in this place, this cause."

He raised his gaze to look at the others. "We want to fight for our future, for the good, or whatever causes brought us here. If you want to stay here, to cling to your faith or what brought you here then fine, but don't stop us from following or doing what we believe in. Jasper is our leader, he has gained our trust, kept shelter over our head, he has gained our respect while the rest of the council failed and faltered. I am not saying forgive him, he did something awful, we all know that, but something has happened here. Something huge and earth-shaking and I want to get the hell out of here with someone who believes in us, who believes in our will to change the future just as much as we do while we still have the chance."

He sighed roughly, his gaze turned to look back at the ground. "So I say again. Make your choices, or stay out of our way. You are our allies, but we are getting our leader out and we are leaving. Do not make this harder on us..." He seemed hesitant after a moment but continued. "Something is happening, and I don't know what it is, but these lands feel cursed and there feels like there is a great evil coming straight at us and I'm taking the warning to get the hell out." Once such a thing was out in the open he turned his attention back to 'important' matters. "Gourmand, go help Miss Huela would you? Dhall converse with the others and come up with a distraction. Shani, you're with me, and for those who do actually want to help gather on me. We'll be moving out in a few."

[Flynn Rider]

(This is literal insanity.)

Flynn's smirk re-emerged slightly after Shani suggested he pose as the distraction. It seemed he wasn't as clear as he thought he was being; he didn't want to be their distraction. Hell, he didn't even want there to be a distraction in the first place. There should be a trial for Jasper Vangas. But Rafael's strong stance and near hostile warning and advisement truly showed where he needed to be.

(There's always the factor of someone in the rescue party being a traitor.)

Eugene released the fist and shook it slightly. No. Not me. 

Eugene looked at little Shani. Rapunzel loved this little cub. That made what he felt he had to do even harder. "No, Shani, I won't. I feel for you, but I think you're too focused on your own loss and forget the world doesn't revolve around you. To be painfully blunt and tactless, you're so blinded by your rage you forget this whole war was started over someone feeling their family was unjustly dealt with."

He turned to look into the giant saber-tooth's eyes. Rafael could tell there was no fear, just resolution. "I appreciate the invitation here. I bet a lot of us do. But you got to understand, I come from a kingdom, and there's a woman I deeply cherish who's a princess. If I work with you to, to commit treason against another kingdom I have sworn loyalty to no matter how corrupt, how would that reflect on me? How could I face Corona?"

Eugene stepped back, and for all intent and purposes looked like he was ready to leave. "And while I understand your motives, I don't ally with those who consider treason to be their only option. Do what you must, and do it quickly. I want no part of this goddamn shitshow of a coup. I suggest anyone else who doesn't want to forsake sanity to follow me as well."

And the man, the one who had spoken up first, turned and left. Hopefully, he wouldn't be the only one to walk, but if he was, that's fine. He was used to walking the lonely road.

[John Silver]

Two toned eyes flick from the saber tooth cat then to the other soldiers then back again. He exhaled from his nostrils, red colored orb flickers with anger as Rafael yells about how the Freedom Fighters were dead. The gears in Silver’s arm click and hum as they get ready to switch before Flynn speaks up again and Silver watches with interest. “Lads, right” Silver growls, moving towards Flynn at that point. “You lot solve yer own shit but me and me crew are not part of it” the ursid growls sharply before he quickened his stride not caring what happened next.

The thin shape of the wolf can be seen in the distance he had heard enough of this and was quick to follow Flynn’s lead 

[The Gourmand]

The Gourmand lifted a hand in exasperation. It's like these land-walkers didn't listen to a single word he just said. The fact that they were very well within reason to be prepared for the worst wasn't addressed at all. It's almost like these “heroes” were just as tribal and biased as anyone else. Then again, he wasn't expecting them to admit they themselves might be wrong. That might make them look less glorious or something. Hmmm.

It takes two to tango. The Gourmand tuned out the particularly vocal pair of humans just a few sentences in. He knew his motives were logical. Rudeness wouldn't convince him otherwise.

The Gourmand had always questioned the royals, ever since his beginnings as a simple miner. Bloodlines? Divine right? Excuses. Excuses to keep those in power in power and keep the powerless powerless. The Gourmand firmly believed one had to work hard for status, not have it simply by virtue of being born. He'd been around long enough to hear of the hyenas and the outlanders: persecuted and banished to starve. Prejudice. A similar prejudice he himself experienced due to his similarities to the infamous sea witch. And last, the Gourmand lost his very mobility to the hands of a king when all this free thinking exploded into a confrontation.

The Freedom Fighter code meant nothing to him. Nothing. Triton left him for dead on the land. The Gourmand had no choice but to accept the army's help. Now all the Gourmand cared for was to ensure this army won the war. It would be a great badge of honor for him indeed. The Pridelands were a miserable excuse for a headquarters. Flimsy structures. No resources.. other than grass. They were fooling themselves if they thought they could win in their current condition. He would be enthralled to leave it and start anew. The opportunity to rightly scare the all self-importance out of a prejudiced royal family was all too tempting a bonus for one that was so harmed by royalty.

And a warlord that has been in charge of a horde for who knows how long taking what lowly thief says with anything but a grain of salt? Unlikely.

The weathered stony face of the evil monster began to lose its composure. He appeared to take notice of Huela leaving. All conversations dipped into white noise and he slowly slumped forward, holding his chin in thought. It would take a lot -- a lot -- for the Gourmand to accept any weakness in “his underlings”. The words he was presently calculating were not necessarily those of comfort but they were clearly something at least he believed would be out of character.

He whipped his head down, red eyes narrowed at the saber cat;

“I was about to. Not because you told me.”

A tendril slipped into his pod and quickly drew out, tossing a surprisingly weighty handgun-like weapon in the direction of the nearest resistance fighter that had hands.

“Here's one of mine. Don't hurt yourself.”

As he spoke he slammed his pod into a different gear and went off, rather quickly, after the Geck.

“So what is it?” he asked once he was hovering overhead.

[Huela]

Huela had heard the pod approaching, with the familiar hum of engines. She’d hoped he wouldn’t have noticed, or maybe only partially? The little creature was a tangle of emotions, and even she was still trying to figure out what to do with them.

“So what is it?”

The Geck slows from her hustled step, going from four-limb-drive to two. Eventually, she slows, orange eyes glancing up towards the hulking creature above her. There’s... something odd in her gaze. Where there’s so often pride and confidence, the eyes turned to him now are riddled in shame and fear.


“I’m... I’m sorry, Sir. I.. I-I don’t—“


The little creature sighs heavily, arms crossing to squeeze at her chest, “It.. it must be a lot easier to be on board with something so dangerous when you’re so much larger, so much more prepared.” Her gaze shifts, tilting to the side and back towards the ground, “They’ve got claws and teeth, blades and guns. I-I mean, I can print out more weapons, but nothing my size! I have.. my saliva? Sorta? We— I mean, Gecks. My species — we’re ultimately defenseless. We're small, we don't have much save for like, two claws, and a weird slew of things we can spit. We do our best to impress the biggest, scariest things around us just to survive, but—“


A hand runs down her face, and her tone weakens.


“I’m such an idiot. What would a habitation specialist have in her to impress a warlord...? I must look like some sort of starstruck toss-away to you...”

[Rapunzel]

Rapunzel shifted from bare foot to bare foot anxiously. She had both wanted and not wanted to go to thw meeting that Rafael had called. She needed to know what was happening. What was going to happen. But it was just so much. Too much. Eugene had offered to go and then tell her all about it. A part of her felt guilty for relying on him in this terrible time of need.

C'mon Rapunzel, you can't have Eugene help you with everything!

The princess sighed and shook her head in mild frustration, and looked back in time to see Eugene and also Silver leaving the cave. She practically scrabbled over to the two of them.

"What's going on!?" Rapunzel chewed her lip glancing between the two men, "What was the meeting for??"

Rapunzel had a guess. A terrible hunch. But she hoped against hope that she was wrong. Please be wrong...

[John Silver]

"What's going on!?" Rapunzel chewed her lip glancing between the two men, "What was the meeting for?”

“Freedom Fighters are disbanded it seems” Silver grunts roughly “the bleeders are gonna go in and save Jasper, all sneaky like, Shani knows the way around Pride-rock” he rolls his shoulders as of in some attempts to get the stress off. “Some of us want no part of this damn coupe or civil war whatever it is” he glances over at Flynn his brow still furrowed with anger and stress. “As a knight of the empire ,the queen will have me and me crews heads if we take part in this here treachery. They are supplying almost half of our supplies here as it is”

[Flynn Rider]

Eugene's narrowed eyes softened when Rapunzel ran up. He had told her she didn't need to come; he could speak for both of them and for Corona, figure out what's going on. Apparently, he didn't expect to speak so much for himself instead of his kingdom.

"What's going on!? What was the meeting for??" “Freedom Fighters are disbanded it seems. The bleeders are gonna go in and save Jasper, all sneaky like, Shani knows the way around Pride-rock. Some of us want no part of this damn coupe or civil war whatever it is... As a knight of the empire, the Queen will have me and me crews heads if we take part in this here treachery. They are supplying almost half of our supplies here as it is."

Flynn glanced away from Rapunzel, shame flooding up inside of him. Here he is, in front of the woman he loved, and he acted in a way where he may have forced their hand and their actions for good. He looked back up, struggling to look confident, but succeeding in looking pissed off. "Princess, I tried to speak for the best of the Freedom Fighters and for you and Corona. I... I don't think I did much good except piss off every single supporter of the coupe. I didn't recognize the people who were in there... Even Shani and the deer kid, Boso, were all for making guns and fighting their way to free Jasper..."

He looked into Rapunzel's eyes, and remembers how she convinced him to take her to see the lanterns, the way she won over the Snuggly Duckling with her dream, Maximus' slightly-reluctant joining of their adventure from Rapunzel's kindness, even here and how many people love and trust her for her genuine heart. He didn't need to remember how he felt when she finally got to realize her dream and the moment when he "saw the light", so to speak. 

He was going to tell her to run and get ready to flee. Now, almost all at once, everything was different now he actually saw her and her gift.

"Rapunzel, you need to convince them. You have an incredible capacity for softening hearts and getting people to listen and trust you. If there's anyone who can change their minds it's you. Please, it might be the only way."

Flynn glanced at Silver. He trusted the cook, and he knew the cook adored Rapunzel.  If there was anyone he could trust, it was him. "Silver, if things go bad... Do you have two extra places on board?"

[The Gourmand]

Slowly he brought his pod to a stop. He removed his hands from the controls and reclined in his seat. This relaxed state was an act: he truly was more invested than he was letting on.

“Oh. Is that it?” the Gourmand’s voice was curt.

He gave no indicator of what he meant, but it may not have been something obvious. Something had disappointed him -- and not in the way it had before: something more personal. He almost looked hurt.. for a moment or two.

“There is nothing to fear.”

That statement was said with an intense conviction. He believed it. Then his voice lowered and became more quiet.

“If you want my protection, you shall have it.”

He'd changed his tone as well. It wasn't immediately clear what he wasn't going for with his resonate baritone: was he trying to sound more powerful? Alluring?

“I shall rend your enemies.”

It was obvious by then, despite the intensity of his words, he was definitely meaning them in an almost romantic sense. The look in his eyes remained ever focused, ever calculating, and nearly didn't sync up with the flow of his voice. It was entirely possible he was merely playing it up as a means to an end: especially now that he was aware how Huela felt. How much he actually cared remained to be seen.

The Gourmand tilted his head, curious to continue his test.

“You helped me. You have my devotion,” he said and leaned forward in order to peer down, “I could craft something. But we haven't time for that right now. If you care to, you may ride with me until the danger’s passed.”