Delivery Boy (Open)

Everything seemed to happen all at once, crammed into the next few seconds with reckless abandon. While Phakk continued to be her usual, somewhat goofy self and feed the wild Oozaru from her backpack, the small Saiba creature that had been trying to flee returned to the fold and explained what it had been doing here. The queen's eyes narrowed on the small bottle he procured from his pocket, and for just a moment or two, she thought over what he was saying. Well, if he'd just wanted-

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the sudden attack from Phakk. Surprised and taken aback, Rosemary froze for a second, her cheeks tinging a light pink underneath the glow from her eyes during the brief hug. It was a wonder how she managed to restrain herself from dispersing out of the woman's sudden grab in the first place, but given the context, she was the least concerned about Phakk when confronted with Ward destroying parts of her city and a Saiba creature attempting to steal back seeds of its own kind.

"Th-Thanks!" Though she remained in her heightened state of power, Rosemary smiled at the Shinjin with genuine joy at having her outfit appraised. She fidgeted for another moment, especially as Phakk circled around her to better get a look, and just about then, Ward began to complain even while going about repairing the damage he'd caused with his reckless use of magic. "Can we talk about that later? This is a serious matter, I think." She gave a brief nod towards the Saiba creature before... before...

Why did Phakk suddenly become so uneasy, she thought to herself with a tilt of her head. Had she actually failed to restrain her anger when she'd spoken to her telepathically? No, something else was happening... Just being angry wouldn't do this, not as far as she knew. Against her better judgement that the queen should be seen as strong and commanding, she placed a reassuring hand on Phakk's shoulder to steady her as she swayed, and raised a brow in silent question if she was alright.

However, the situation was not settled, yet. "Saiba-Ban, was it?" The hybrid turned her attention to the Saiba creature, though kept it split as best she could to make sure Ward didn't try anything stupid and that Phakk remained alright. "Listen, this warehouse is mostly spoils of war we hadn't gone through yet. I understand concern for your people, but as queen, I can't just let you walk away with those tonight. Give them to Nasu, along with anything else you've pilfered," she nodded towards her subordinate. "And, I'll have someone take a look to check they're what you say they are. If everything is deemed safe, I'll gladly let you take your people. It shouldn't be longer than a day or two, if that.

"Does that sound reasonable?" The more observant would notice that she had stopped using her telepathy. Now was no longer the time for intimidation, but rather, for negotiation; something she was still learning how to do properly.

As she felt the Oozaru begin to shift and shrink from underneath her grasp, Rosemary removed her great and monstrous hand from its throat and watched from the corner of her eye as the beast returned to its smaller form. The hand dispersed into so much smoke, but even that remained heavy in the air above and around them. "Don't go anywhere, soldier! You've got some explaining to do."

Finally, the situation was resolving itself and coming to a pretty satisfying close. Ward, despite his protests, had done a good job of repairing a lot of the damage he'd caused, the Saiba creature had relented and given up his bounty to Nasu to be further studied before it would later be turned back over, and even Phakk seemed to be improving a little over her previous self.

So much open affection was making her nervous, though. The queen needed to be strong, not lovey-dovey.

"Well then," Rosemary clasped her hands together with a smirking grin. "If that's everything settled, I believe we can wrap this up. Nasu, if you would take those to the research labs and tell them we need to verify the contents of the bottle. Saiba-Ban, you're free to find lodging somewhere in the city, if it's not too late. Otherwise, leave Nasu with a way to contact you." She really was pawning off a lot of the work onto Nasu, she realized. Without missing a beat, she continued, "you're welcome to stay, so long as you don't throw more buildings at my city."

She threw a fleeting smile and chuckle at Phakk, both at Ward's expense.

"And you," the hybrid finally came to the low ranking grunt who had mishandled this situation so poorly that she'd been forced to step in. "You're coming with me for debriefing. I want to hear everything from your own mouth." The look she gave to Tarro was stern, and her tail whipped silently behind her back for a moment as the seriousness returned to her voice.

With nearly everything resolved, and more importantly, everyone beginning to leave the scene, Rosemary finally allowed herself to relax some. A final wave of goodbye was thrown to Phakk before she and Ward disappeared through her portal, and she made sure to wait until the Saiba creature had left the area before her restless soul simmered, and her power plummeted back to resting levels.

"If it's not one thing, it's another, eh?" The queen chuckled in Nasu's direction, then turned her attention to the grunt who had started this mess with his reckless transformation. Heaving a brief sigh, the magical smoke that had gathered around them began to dissipate and blend into the night air until nothing was left but the faintest smell of something foul. Even that would soon be gone, as though she were never there in the first place.

"Come along, soldier. You've got some explaining to do before you're dismissed." Without concern for Tarro's well-being or even consent, Rosemary stepped over to the grunt and placed her hand upon his shoulder. A moment later, more smoke descended from the dissipating cloud and came from the very corners of the world themselves as it washed over them, and when it did disappear, the pair were simply gone.

Rosemary exits, taking Tarro with her.

No WC bonus for me.