Exit, Stage Right

1

This was a horrible idea, to say the least, but it wasn't like there was a Plan-B. Especially considering this was supposed to be their Plan-B. And they hadn't even found a way inside the compound of the Piscatorians. Not off to a great start.

Unfortunately, with just about everyone except Lura and Harper bedridden after a certain performance that involved one-too-many special effects (namely, a smoke machine that ended up poisoning nearly everyone during a practice) they had bought from the Piscatorians, this definitely wasn't one of those, "Nope, can't do it, let's come back to it later," situations. Nor was it a, "Hopefully someone else takes care of this," situation because Harper already tried getting in and couldn't get past the security systems of the Piscatorians. They were still quite frustrated at that.

Lura was on her own here, and if she failed, their team would soon wither away, and that meant failure was absolutely not an option. The fact that it was so ridiculously annoying how difficult it was to even find a way into the main building of the compound was not helping. That made it just a bit more infuriating when she saw a familiar looking bear talking to one of the Piscatorians, before getting in a jeep and driving off. One that was wearing the unmistakable uniform of The Silver Paw. Filip. And wherever Filip goes, Felix was typically nearby. The infamous performer was definitely here too.

Here Lura was, trying to figure out how to get inside undetected, and somehow Felix managed to get the Piscatorians to let him in through their front doors. She frowned, feeling both annoyance and professional respect for somehow tricking the Piscatorians. She paused. Tricking the Piscatorians. And once again, she thought up another, most likely going-to-fail plan.

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It was a good thing Lura didn't have to run her plan through any of her superiors (although, maybe not so good, considering her superiors were all suffering from poison), because she was certain that they would've stared at her as if she'd grown a second head and question if her brain was working properly. She wouldn't have blamed them if that actually happened, she probably would've done the same in their positions.

She was content with dealing with people questioning her thought process later, after she found a way to cure everyone. With the help of Harper's quick outfit making skills (who, as expected, gave her a concerned look), Lura put on her new disguise. She now wore a slightly more formal outfit with the The Silver Paw's colors, with an added bonus of completely unnoticeable pockets in her new gloves where she kept a small knife.

Lura walked up to the large doors of the main building and knocked. If this worked, she was going to personally get Harper a new baseball bat.

The doors opened and Lura looked up, now face to face with one of the scumbags who'd been poisoning her team. She didn't let her resentment show and smiled, and said in Lophian (the Piscatorians' mother language), "Hello! May the currents of life bring you fortune. I am Felix's assistant." The typical salutation that the Piscatorians used to be polite was still a touch theatrical, even after the years she'd been interacting with their people. Regardless, she wasn't surprised that their standard greeting involved currents. The Piscatorians did have some aquatic looking features, some having teeth similar to sharks and anglerfish, others having scales, and all Piscatorians having bright glowing eyes, webbed claws, and spiky fin rays towards the back of their heads that reminded Lura of lionfish.

The Piscatorian stared at her. She hoped she didn't look suspicious. "The counselor never mentioned summoning an assistant," the Piscatorian said. Felix is a counselor, interesting. Lura came to the conclusion of two things: one, Felix was not acting as a camp counselor and he was instead representing The Silver Paw, and two, because of the fact he was supposed to represent The Silver Paw, that meant he was negotiating with the Piscatorians. Three minutes into Lura's plan and she already learned more information than she did scouting around the compound for three days.

She didn't miss a beat and shook her head, acting slightly ashamed. "My sincerest apologies. He must not have realized he needed to do so." The Piscatorian, who Lura assumed was supposed to be the concierge, relaxed just a bit. "Understood. We trust that you will help correct his mistakes during our sessions?" Lura nodded and followed the concierge through the building. She wasn't shocked to hear Felix had made some sort of minor mistake, whether it was cultural or professional. It was Felix after all.

She noticed how unlike other Piscatorian communities she'd seen in the past, this particular compound was relatively empty, as well as decorated in a way that seemed much less grandiose compared to other structures. The hallways had small niches for bright blue lights but lacked the usual statues carved into the walls every couple of feet.

They passed by two rooms that seemed very intriguing, both with engravings over the doors, one with a security camera, and the other with an icon of a file drawer. Security and archives, perhaps. Lura made a mental note to come back and see if she could find anything useful in either of those rooms.

The concierge led her to a conference room and opened the door. "The counselor's assistant has been summoned," he said in Lophian as he held open the door. Two people sat across from each other at the large, wooden table in the center of the room. Felix and another Piscatorian. Both turned towards the door and froze.

Lura smiled calmly as Felix stared back at her. "May the currents of life bring you fortune," she said in Lophian, and in English, just for Felix, "Fancy seeing you here. You realize these guys are plotting to double-cross you and your gang, right?"