Paperwork and Ice Cream, or a Typical Day for the Fennec Kage. [Sephora or Invite.

Oh, the lovely days of quiet and ease. It had been a good year overall, a year of good rains in the plains and mountains meant there was plenty of grain and flour coming into the village, and the rivers that kept many of the smaller settlements and trading posts supplied where fat and happy. Food was abundant, water even more so, and the trade routes where safer than they had ever been. Patrols numbers where high, taxes where low, the people's wallets where fat and happy without breaking the economy. He was doing his job well, the merchants loved him, the people loved him, and they where closing in on the dream of ending all the slaver markets in the desert. A few more years at this pace, and the sands would be safe. Effective was the word for this, and that was a word he rather liked.

Still, there was plenty to be done in relation to day to day paperwork; even a master of delegation still had to do things, there was plenty of paperwork that he had to at least read over, it needed his signature after all, and while it was well known that it was likely to be Sephora signing his name as he himself, no one really minded; that was pretty normal for any leader to have their trusted advisers and secretaries sign their name on things. In this case, she was all of that and more; his most trusted general, a secretary only in the loosest sense, and his partner, in all ways; so her signing for him was as good as him signing. Still, better to do the job when he could.

He preferred not to work in his 'office' at least the one in the administration building; it was a garish place, the results of the previous Kage's tastes, and he'd never seen a reason to bother spending the coin to 'fix it' to his tastes. He had a perfectly good desk down in the Jounin office, and am even better desk in his study at home. He'd rather be there. Appearances, however, and a request by the elders to at least use the room one day a week. At least Sephora had tried; he's covered the walls and floor and ceiling with bits of art they had both made, hanging tapestries from the market, and one of the few real splurges he ever made; an ice cream cart specially imported all the way from Hangakure; technologically advanced in ways he barely understood; but it was always perfectly chilled even without needing ice to be added, and it held an almost endless supply of ice cream so long as someone added some basic ingredients every few weeks. That was fine with him, really; and it made Sephora supremely happy as it meant she always had access to her favorite flavors.

Speaking of his wife... she wasn't in the room. That was... rare. Strange. Oh well, he had a good hour of paperwork left, and she'd appear pretty soon, she always did; and that made him happier to know. There was plenty to talk about when she appeared; plans for the next shadow den raid, stuff for this village, etc. Plenty to worry about then. For now... focus on paperwork.

Puppies. They just never were born in a convienent time. While Sephora wasn't exactly a vet, per say, she had been asked to cover a single hour at the animal clinic because they were short staffed during the between time of shifts: the main vet was out sick with a nasty case of the flu that she had been helping to treat before heading over for her hour long shift. Of course, that single hour had turned into three due to complications with the puppies mother who had gone into labor earlier than expected. Still, everything had worked out in the end and that was precisely how she liked it: both mother and her puppies were healthy and happy and doing fine.

Which, was precisely why she was now able to be making her way through the hallways and down towards Kin's preferred office. She didn't like the kage's office any more than he did: the place gave her the creeps and freaked her out, much like the demonic looking man himself had. She avoided the place as if it had the plague and any bad memories that came with it - even if those memories were twenty years old or not. She didn't bother to knock upon arrival and instead simply walked in as she ususally did: there were no secrets between them after all, work related or otherwise, so doors were simply ignored. Besides, her place was at his side as it always had been, and no one bothered to try and keep her out of things.

The first thing she saw, which caused her ears to swivel as her head tilted a bit, was that Kin seemed busy with paperwork. With light and soft footsteps she wandered over until she came to a stop next to Kin. She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder and glanced at the paper in front of him: paperwork was something she rather liked to do for two reasons. The first reason was course was that she liked to take as much of the stress of the job away from Kin as she could. The second reason was albeit childish, but she rather liked the idea that she could read and write and enjoyed putting it to use: she had been thirteen years old before she had gained those skills and even now it made her giddy that she had learned.

"Hello, dear. Do you want some help with that? I'm all finished for the day; I ended up not only treating Yen for his flu, but the pregnant female dog he'd been treating too: she had her puppies a bit early, but they're all doing fine now."

"It is not a problem, dear. Basic busy work, as you can well guess. You are welcome to grab half the pile, if you want. Where there any complications with the pups? I've seen plenty of early kits that come out seeming fine, until someone with a sharp eye takes a good look." He was focused in that way he only could be on paperwork; in that he was fixated entirely on the work in front of him, yet totally focused on her as well. It was a skill he'd quickly developed when she'd come into his life, and he was supremely good at it after all these years.

"On another note, I've had the cart restocked, so everything is fresh right now. There is a new flavor, too; some date-based concoction that is popular in the markets. It seemed interesting, so I thought we could try it."

Sephora nodded and took half of the stack of papers; with both of them working on them they'd be done twice as fast which meant a chance to actually leave a bit earlier than otherwise. Not that Sephora minded, of course: as long as she was with Kin she didn't care what they were doing or how long it took. With half the stack grabbed Sephora took her usual seat next to Kin and got to work: thankfully multi-tasking was a skill she had picked up on and so she was able to both hold a conversation and work at the same time.

"That's what took so long, unfortunately. I wanted to make sure everything was alright: I had this feeling in my gut that something wasn't okay... About five minutes after the pups were born one of them started having trouble breathing; the poor runt of the litter of course. It took some doing but I got her breathing on her own again. I monitored her for a while, and she's doing perfectly fine now. I waited until the replacement vet arrived before I left though, and ensured she knew what was going on." Sephora didn't like to leave things to chance; not when it came to life and death, which was why she was happy she had learned to rely on her gut. Had she left like almost anyone else would have the pup would have likely died and in Sephora's eyes every life mattered.

"So, was your day as eventful as mine?", she asked curiously, glancing up from the paperwork and to Kin: she didn't often miss much given how often she hung around him, but she always liked to be sure.

"Fairly common issue, I would assume. After a moment or two they lose that initial burst of super energy they get right before they come down the birthing canal and then the problems start up. It's good that the little one was able to be saved, far too many are lost to the odd incompetent or a lack of staff. Thankfully, with you around we have problems with neither."

He reached for another small stack once she'd taken hers, his outbox was actually fairly small for the amount of work he'd done already, but he made sure to have his attendants come in every hour or so to take off what was finished. Less chance of missing things that way; and it gave the younglings something to do when they weren't feel up to missions and such. Better to have a Genin running busy work and administrative errands; within reason of course; than to waste a perfectly good Tokuju to the same work. "My day? Quiet, as I prefer, really. There will be plenty of excitement next week when we start the next den raid. Speaking of which, the meetings for such. Did we ever set a time? I seem to have forgotten, somehow."

Sephora nodded to Kin's words as she began to go through the paperwork in front of her with her ususal thorough yet speedy method. "I don't like to lose anyone, not even a little puppy, so I'm very glad I stayed behind to make sure." She then fell silent, thinking about the new flavor of ice cream that he had mentioned while waiting to hear about how Kin's day had gone. When he mentioned quiet, just the way he liked it to be, she couldn't help but smile: they were very much the same in that regard - Sephora liked things to be quiet and uneventful, to go smoothly, or at least as smoothly as things could go from day to day.

She then thought about Kin's question; her head tilting to the left and her ears twitching as she did so. "I believe so; I think we chose three in the afternoon so we could ensure the majority of the day was done and over with." Less things going on of course meant less distractions and less interuptions. Better for everyone, really, too.

Sephora fell silent for a moment, then, as she simply allowed herself to get lost in thought. These den raids could become quite dangerous if done wrong, or if some sort of mishap occured, especially for her given she was more aimed towards supporting others instead of fighting herself. Yet, she also looked forward to them. The idea of finding more poor enslaved souls and being able to free them made the risk all worth it in the end. Her being there, first hand, was also a must: she had been in their position before and knew how best to handle them and what to expect. Plus, given her vast medical knowledge, she could help and save lives in ways a lesser medic could not. Yet, she knew the stress she was likely causing Kin each time by being so hands on with everything: even if she had a armed guard with her.

"That sounds right; late enough to have cleared the morning meetings, and so that whatever elder decides to grace our presence has had time to eat their lavish meals and take a high tea." Kin had... issues, with the self-proclaimed 'Elder Leaders' of the village; he was well accustomed to successful merchants and the rich living lifestyles of excess, but these people almost made him ill with their greed and narcissism. A necessary evil, for the moment anyway; they would die off soon enough, and once they had he would implement a new system; one that didn't cost the village more than the entire budget allotment for social services and civilian police combined just to keep a few old codgers happy and well fed. A rare instance where he was unable to bring himself to show any sort of respect, nor find the logic in the system; however the old bastards where just popular enough to cause a headache that wasn't worth it if he messed with them, so he was biding his time.

"I am slightly, not so much worried as just, well, concerned, about this next raid. The information we have is lacking, it would seem; and this is no small operation we're infiltrating. Something tells me that there is more going on here than we know, and that our maps and intel on the den are missing large amounts of relevant information. I can't help but think that there is an entire level to the den we haven't accounted for; something about the area screams hidden save system to me."

Sephora actually winced at the mention of the elders: she didn't like them at all, and they never seemed to have anything too kind to say about her. Oh, they never dared to say it to her face, especially given that she was married to Kin. But still, they were a group of people she rather detested because to them she was lower than dirt simply because she had once been a slave herself, just like so many they were helping to free. She was waiting, albeit secretly, for the day that old age just got the better of them and they were taken from the earth. So far, unforuntatly, that day hadn't come.

Instead of focusing on the idea of the elders, though, she instead focused on Kin and what he was saying. She nodded in agreement, frowning somewhat in thought. "I might be able to reach out to someone I know for help. Her name is Marquetta, or Mar as she goes by these days. She's... a thief, but not in the normal sense. She robs those who rob the hard working people. When the previous kage raised taxes she's the one who cleaned out his vault; the result being that everyone the next morning recieved a nice little envelope of ryo. She had to go into hiding after that because the previous kage was more than a little angry with her and put a very high price on her head, but she's resurfaced recently. She's blind, but she has this sensory ability that allows her to see, highly detailed, underground or through any sort of earth formation. She can see over vast distances too... so she might be willing to take a peak for us and no one would be even the wiser for it." It was a suggestion at least: one she wouldn't have made if she didn't have faith in Marquetta and a lot of reasons to trust her.

Snorting softly, he shook his head and actually gave allowed himself to show amusement he was feeling over this revelation; he'd gotten a good kick out of hearing about that whole situation when it happened, and was one of the few that was supportive of the gesture, even if he never outright said it. "Delightful. I see no issues using whatever resources we can tap. A thief is a thief, this is true; but not all are bad people, and I'm not so high and mighty that I would refuse useful skills just because of something so simple."

Hell, he had plenty of thieves in his network on contacts, although he made sure that the ones he worked with weren't the type he was fighting against; obviously. Something few outside of the underworlds realized; there where different types of everything, and lumping everyone together was a sure fire way to miss out on a lot of very important and helpful people. He never would have gotten half as far as he had without his underground contacts; and Sephora wouldn't be here with him if he'd written her off as just another thief.

"Bring her in, if she's willing. Full protections, obviously. Take one of the clan capes, better safe than sorry; you know how the civilian police get a little trigger happy right before these raids. They might give you trouble otherwise."

A thoughtful look came across Sephora's face then; the sort that said she was deeply contemplating something. "To be honest, Marquetta wasn't always a thief. In fact, it's the previous Kage's fault she became one in the first place. Marquetta was a Jounin before the previous Kage found out she was blind; it didn't matter her skill set afterwards, nor the fact that she more than made up for it with her sensory, he demoted her entirely. No one would touch her after that because they thought her tainted or a traitor; and it didn't help the rumors and such that went around. I'm sure there's more to it then just her being blind, but she was tight lipped about the rest though I feel it's safe to assume she ignored some of his other advances. Still.. it's a shame. She did nothing to deserve the position she's in now." Sephora sighed softly with a frown: clearly she didn't like the situation that Marquetta was in. She had had no other option really when everything was done and over with.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts her usual smile reappeared on her face. "I'll go get her. I'm sure she'll come willingly enough; Marquetta hates the slavers just as much as we do, so I'm sure she'll be willing to lend a hand." In fact, Sephora was pretty positive that Marquetta would be willing to help. So, she simply patted her shoulder bag. "Got a cloak on me already. I'm going to go see if I can catch her before she's out and about for the evening."

Sephora would wait long enough to see if Kin had anything else to add before she would get up, the papers she had been working on already completed and stacked neatly, and head out the door to locate Marquetta. Thankfully, Sephora wouldn't have to track her down because Marquetta was still at home, preparing for her evening of mischief and mayham.

"Plenty of time, dear. This is a few hours yet of work." He was settling back into his chair to take a moment to be lazy; he'd be up making tea and such while she was gone. Kouyakage or not, he was still Fennec, and Fennec had manners. Well, their own brand of manners. He might not travel as he used to, but he still observed the customs of the nomad; kindness in the desert was the salvation of many, you always made sure you had extra water, milk, or tea on hand for unexpected guests; some extra food never hurt either. No, he'd have a nice tray of tea and snacks waiting for them when Sephora returned, and not incidentally, a soothing cup for himself.

In the moments when the door was open as she left, he waved in one of the attendants that insisted on standing outside of the door; most of the time he just left them there, offering them ice cream and tea at intervals, most learned to accept the hospitality even on shift after a while; and had them hunt down and bring him files. He needed to study, but he also knew it would take a fair bit of time to get them. More than enough to be ready for guests, and get his own treat made.

Sephora was quick as she moved through the streets and towards what was Marquettas usual place she laid her head. She found her, thankfully, just as she was preparing to leave for the evening and after a very brief conversation she convinced the other female go put on the cloak she had had in her bag and to follow her back to Kins office. Sephora was rather shocked that Marquetta had been so willing to come: a 21 year old S rank Jounin who had fallen from grace not because of her own screw ups but because of unfair bias. Honestly, Sephora had kind of been expecting to be turned down, or at least to have to work a little harder to convince her to come in but that hadn't been the case and she wasn't going to knock it.

The pair moved quickly and in silence, using a variety of secret passages and hidden alleys to make it back without being stopped or disturbed. Sephora led the other female into Kins office and then shut the door behind them.

Marquetta gave a quick glance around before lowering the hood of the cloak she had on. She then glanced over at Sephora before turning her attention to Kin. As Sephora returned to the seat she had vacated Marquetta offered a respectful bow. "I was told my services could come in handy..." Clearly she wasn't a female who beat around the bush: Mar always was the type to like to get down to business, and straight to the point.

Sephora simply grinned a little: Mar had the type of boldness about her that Sephora would have been envious of if that were an emotion she actually felt. Instead she was simply in awe of how bold and unbending the other female was.

Ah, excellent. No time wasted, and no beating around the bush. He could respect that, and he was the type not not be instantly put off by people that don't play games. While he stuck to his manners, he was still able to roll with the situation, and not be that jackass that refuses to get to the point in order to take some arbitrary 'high road'.

"Welcome. Yes, I would like to discuss the possible exchange of information, as well as a possible... partnership, you could say. Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea? Milk? There is fruit and small pastries as well, you are welcome to anything you like." If she knew anything about his clan, or the nomads in general, she would understand that he was being entirely sincere in his offer; he literally could not comprehend the idea of falsely offering hospitality in order to fool parties involved.

"As you must know, I have been taking a rather hard-line stance against the human trafficking problem plaguing the region. As such, we routinely raid the known and newly discovered trafficking dens, in order to clear out the traffickers and release the poor souls that they have taken. As such, and as I have had many profitable exchanges with the local... ah, well; no reason to wax poetic here; I am not against working with thieves and others of the underworld that aren't committing atrocities against humanity. It has made it easier to give them ways out of that life, if they so choose; and we've come to an understanding that has worked for all, so far. Now, to the main point. Sephora has alerted me to you particular gifts for sensory. We are working up to the next excursion into a slaver den, and we are coming up woefully inadequate in the areas of intelligence over numbers, and size of the den itself. You have a type of chakra radar, I am told. This ability... it would be highly useful in this raid. If possible, I would like to come to some sort of mutually beneficial trade, of sorts. Anything you would be willing to offer, for an appropriate compensation."

Marquetta eyed the offered seat as if it could quite possibly sprout tentacles but ended up taking the seat anyway: bravery and all that rot. Plus, with the stories reaching her ears even while she was on the run she knew Kin to be a different kind of Kage than the previous one and so she was willing to give him a chance. She wasn't going to judge him simply by the actions and methods of the one who held the station previously. She shook her head no to the offered food and drink: perhaps in a little while when she was a tad bit more comfortable over this whole sitaution she would change her mind.

Sephora remained quietly where she sat, giving Kin a chance to explain in more detail what she had briefly done. Marquetta was quiet, too, as she listened intently. When Kin had finished speaking Marquetta took a minute to sit there and think about what he was proposing. "I'm willing to help in anyway I can. Slavery is something I've never had tolerence for; it was one of the issues the previous kage and I butted heads on on more than one occasion. His way of... helping them... was no better than the slavery they were leaving: and that was when he was willing to help at all. Anyway. So long as the location is made out of earth; or some sort of earth-bound substance such as metals and the like I can see it, or through it. Highly detailed, too. There's no way to tell I'm looking either; no signs at all that I'm even looking. Even if it's built underground I'm capable of spying. I can also help with going in if you'd like: my skills and my ability to move through the earth without disturbing it tends to make infiltration a specialty of mine." Marquetta added with a light shrug, giving Kin a chance as she fell silent to think about everything she had said she would be willing to do.

Sephora, meanwhile, was rather shocked. All of these skills, wasted, because of a biased against the fact that Marquetta was blind. Honestly, giving Marquetta the ability of sight would have been a hinderence, at least given everything she could do without eyes. No, Marquetta was definitely better off the way she was, and from the way she was making things sound the very earth was hers to manipulate and toy with as she wanted. The previous kage had definitely made a serious mistake.

Well, that was actually a fair bit easier than he expected. He didn't think she'd outright deny him, but to so easily agree, and even offer more than he'd outright asked? Not bad. He was impressed, and was having even more issues wrapping his head around why she was fired and disgraced. Nothing in her files had given any insight into it; there wasn't even an actual reprimand in the related areas. Plenty of records of her having issues with the former Kage, true; but nothing that would have warranted even a warning, really.

"Well, this works wonderfully, then. That would be a highly beneficial ability for someone to have in any of these raids; not much choice but to build into the earth if they don't want to be instantly spotted after all. My clan's hearing and natural earth abilities are useful; I send my cousins in as guides and trackers all the time; but to be able to clearly 'see' whats going on is extremely useful." He leaned back in his chair a bit; he was about as at ease as he ever was around strangers, which was to say perfectly, as a merchant couldn't be anxious or nervous if they wanted to be effective.

"Shall we discuss payment options now, or do you wish to think on it a bit? I see no reason to offend you and toss some pathetic compensation idea at you; I would rather we come to an agreement that is agreeable to us both."

Seeing how well things were going at the moment Sephora got up and went about the process of getting herself some ice cream; the new flavor that Kin had brought up when she had first arrived. She was a curious creature naturally so more than willing to try anything once, plus it sounded delicious. When she was done fixing her bowl she made two more; figuring she might as well in case Kin or Mar wanted some - she had a feeling that once Marquetta relaxed more the offered food would be accepted, or so previous situations like this had told her.

Marquetta tilted her head a bit, wondering what exactly Kin had to offer. Oh, she'd be more than willing to do the job for free, true enough, because slavery was something she just couldn't stand. She wouldn't back out of helping simply because she wasn't getting paid for it, she just wasn't that type of person. However, the curiosity was still there. She had no use for money anymore; she was far too used to just stealing whatever it was she needed to care about ryo. "To be perfectly honest with you I'd be willing to help for free; no one deserves to be owned by another individual and if I can do something to help stop it then I will. But, I'm still curious as to what it is you have to offer me. I don't exactly have use for ryo; and material possessions aren't exactly a wise thing to have when you call where ever you lay your head home."

Sephora placed a bowl of ice cream in front of Marquetta, giving her the option to eat it if she wanted, and then did the same for Kin before sitting back down with her own. She ate in silence, finding Marquetta to be more and more of a interesting individual. She would help even without compensation; and while you couldn't always take someone by their word Marquetta's voice held no tone of deception in it, and seemed more than truthful.

Kin sat quietly for a moment, his only reaction to anything going on was to offer a ghost of a smile to Sephora when she sat the bowl down for him; it was his usual smile when people where around, he wasn't the most animated person normally, even less so around strangers; even when he was using his merchant-based people skills. Being too animated put most people off, and he wasn't looking to dominate the room with personality or whatever bullshit a lot of leaders did. He was more concerned with getting things done; he'd rather be liked for being effective than for being larger than life.

"Honestly, I didn't expect you to ask for coin, or anything of that nature. As we are both aware of, you are perfectly capable of gathering what you require; and I can attest to being of the mind of 'less is more', believe it or not. I have never been one for having more than I need; a hold over from my youth spent in the caravans. Your personal pack was little more than a bed roll, your personal bowl, a canteen, and whatever small personal trinkets you enjoyed. I mean no disrespect in this; as I know it is commonly agreed upon that answering a question with another question tends to be considered 'rude'; however I am curious as to know what it is you would want, really. I am the leader of this place now, yes; I am still considered a 'Merchant King', as it where; so there is little I could not offer."

Sephora looked between Kin and Marquetta from her comfortable chair, taking her time while eating her delicious treat: back when she had first discovered the wonderful treat of ice cream she had made the mistake of eating it far too quickly and had learned her lesson well enough and it definitely wasn't one she planned on repeating anytime soon. No, slow as good when it came to ice cream. She still had nothing to add to this conversation: she too was curious as to what Marquetta wanted in exchange for her help. It was true that Kin could make almost anything she asked for possible, but what was it that Marquetta really wanted? Most would ask for money, for riches, but Marquetta had little need for money or personal possessions. So, what it is that someone like her wanted? It definitely had the little fox intrigued. She was sure that whatever it was would indeed surprise Sephora more than she already was.

Marquetta sat in silence for a moment, simply thinking over Kin's words and thinking over her own response. She could ask for anything and likely be given it, but there was nothing she personally wanted. However... this was an offer that she figured wouldn't present itself again, and she wasn't going to waste it: not if she could help someone else. "What I want... What I want is the little girl whose been staying with me - for a lack of a better word - to have a good home. Not some orphanage; even the best of ones are still horrible in their own ways. But, an actual home, with people who will care for her and provide her a good life so she doesn't have to do what I do to get by. That's what I want."

"...." Sephora was struck speechless. Of all of the things Marquetta could have, of all of the favors she could have asked for, she wanted to use this chance to help some little girl. Sephora knew that there were good people in the world, Kin was one of them after all, but they were often rare and hard to find. Yet, here was Marquetta who even though she had gone through so much, and could have asked for anything, was being completly selfless. Sephora simply didn't know how to handle that...

Really now? Kin actually leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk and folding his hands under his chin so that he could rest his head and think for a moment. That was... well, unexpected in the extreme; however even while he allowed the logical side of his mind to process he was making plans and working over the logistics of this request. It was exactly the type of thing he would do on his own; he'd been working on getting the orphanages cleared out properly; getting the children homes versus throwing them onto the street or into labor camps as many of his predecessors had.

"Did you have a particular home in mind? I could easily provide you with appropriate lodgings if that was what you had in mind. Otherwise, I can have profiles of available foster and adoption homes brought to you within the hour." Just, instant Kin the effective mode. This request; it was honorable in ways few others could have been; and it cemented in his mind that this was a person that didn't deserve the lot life; or rather, a 'man' that styled himself a leader; had given her. "Does this child need any medical attention in the mean time? Sephora can gather anything that would be needed, and provide excellent care; as you likely know. Whatever is needed is available to you."

... Her be a proper parent? She hadn't even considered that option. She had simply wanted someone reliable and loving to look after the girl, but she had never considered doing it herself, at least not given her particular situation. "Me? I.. didn't even think about that, honestly. I.. I would like that, actually. The girl, Mia's her name, has become rather attached these past few weeks so I'm sure she'd like that too." Marquetta then laughed softly; the sound the kind that could brighten up a dark room. "Actually, Sephora has already tended to her; about a week ago. She fell and got a nasty gash in her leg, and Sephora healed it for her."

Sephora, remembering the girl rather well at this point, nodded her head in agreement. "Ah yes, I remember now. She was dressed up like a panda bear; complete with ears and a fluffy tail." The mental image made Sephora smile easily enough: the girl had been all kinds of adorable, and the fact that this was the little girl they'd be helping? It made everything ten times better.

"Yeap. Today she chose to be a cat." Marquetta didn't mind at all; if the girl wanted to go around with random fake animal parts attached she could, it was incredibly adorable anyway.

"Of course. So long as you are agreeable to the situation, I am perfectly happy to provide you everything you will need. Personally, I would prefer it; it is hard enough for children left on the streets to trust anyone, so once they do it is good to maintain those bonds." He released an odd sounding chirping noise; very similar to the sounds that the desert foxes make when communicating with each other. It was a signal for one of the attendants outside to come in; the moment one had, "Get me the most recent listing of all available housing units that I own. I believe there should be five or six currently open."

Better to be one he owned personally versus some village owned apartment. He could give Marquetta a nice house with it's own lot, allowing for privacy and space for the child to enjoy. Really, a truly better situation all around, for all parties involved. "You won't need to worry about anything, I'll make sure everything is provided that you will need. Is there anything else, or shall we call the balance settled?"

Marquetta couldn't believe what she was hearing: Kin was willing to not only do the one thing she requested by providing a good home for the child, but he was going above and beyond by allowing Marquetta to continue to be the one to take care of the child by providing her with a legitimate place to live. It was... far more than she would have dreamed of asking for, that was for sure. It also was putting Kin into a whole different light: oh she knew he was far better than the previous kage, but this was even more than she had expected to see. "Thank you, I appreicate it. I'm sure Mia will appreciate it too. And no, that... definitely more than settles things." Yeah, that had settled things and then some, that was for sure, but she wasn't going to complain at all.

So, since she had no doubts he'd keep up his end of the bargain; especially considering he immediately called in what was likely an assistant of some kind and had asked for the most recent listing of available houses to be brought to him; she figured it was time she find out when her services were going to be needed. "So, when exactly do you want me to take a look at this place?"

Sephora, meanwhile, had finished her ice cream and got up to put her bowl away. She was smiling from ear to ear and quite happy; fluffy tails swaying from side to side as they often did when she was in an exceptionally good mood. And why wouldn't she be? Helping people, and bettering the situations of others, was something that she absolutely loved to see and here it was happening again. She was absolutely thrilled. Plus, Marquetta was a good person who had been handed a nasty situation, so that too added to the happiness now that Marquetta was being given a second chance.

"The advisers and captains of the teams are meeting soon to discuss plan and such. You are welcome to attend the meeting, if you wish. Otherwise, we'll be mobilizing to leave in three days, at sunset. While it would be less dangerous to move during the day, attempting to cover that much distance during the high heat would leave us dangerously weakened for the assault; it's altogether better to move at night, and fight into the day underground." Classic desert tactics; and being that they'd be underground for much of the assault he was right; it really wouldn't matter if the sun was up when they started, but they couldn't afford to camp out near the den, it was too much of a risk.

He reached into the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a simple folder with no markings on it; passing it across the table toward her. "This is all the information we have, including what's classified above the heads of the ANBU that is coming. There are plausible maps of what we believe is hidden within the den; compiled using long range sound sensory and geological information of the area. It's the best we can do with no one on the inside."

Marquetta nodded as she listened, totally focused, to what Kin was saying. It sounded like a smart plan; the heat of the day could be dangerous even at the best of times so moving around at night was better. It was, partly, why she herself always worked at night - minus the obvious fact that it was easier to hide in the dark. "Well, you won't have to worry about anyone hiding in the dark; so long as I'm along no one will be able to sneak up on anyone without me seeing it first.", she commented thoughtfully.

Marquetta then took the folder and opened it with raised brows. She looked over the information, biting her lip as she contemplated. This was definitely good work from what she saw: yet she could tell why Kin was worried. "Hm, let me see what I can add to this..."

With a thoughtful expression on her blindfolded face she reached into her little shoulder bag and pulled out a small book of plain paper and a pencil. She then got a look of concentration on her face as she focused on finding the location based on what information the folder had provided. It took her a moment or two but sure enough she located it. It was then she 'zoomed in' on the location so to speak; allowing her focus to remain completely on it so that she could see it in better detail. She took several more minutes to look the place over before her hand would begin to move on the paper. Very quickly, and effectively, she began to draw what was essentially a blue print of the location. It took several minutes for her speedy work but within that time she had completed adding to the information that had already been collected, including several hidden rooms. When she was finished she ripped the page out and handed it across the desk to Kin. Everything was labeled; including locations that the slaves were held, as well as hidden locations of where extra guards were hidden. "The place is pretty well guarded; those within the hidden areas are heavily armed, so I'm assuming they're meant to be extra protection. The area they hold the slaves is underground, lowest floor. It's not well guarded actually down there; in fact, most of the guards are upstairs at the top of the makeshift steps.."

He took the offered map without a word, glancing it over even as he listened to her. He wasn't about to interrupt her, her information was valuable; and anyone with any sort of knowledge of the local geology could tell her map was extremely accurate. It wasn't far off from what they'd guessed; but there where half a dozen spots they'd missed, along with the extra information of the troop locations and holding pens that they couldn't have known. Something about the rock in that location, when it was too thick it blocked all sound; making Fennec ears useless. It seemed to be that the areas that had been blank to them were where the worst of it was, delightful.

"Hmmm... Must be the living quarters for the leaders, or else high value targets. They've been getting bold recently; kidnapping political prisoners for a high ransom. They'd be in these areas, then. From what we can tell of the bedrock, it would be safe enough to have a small team tunnel into the pens and evacuate that way; we have specialists specifically for this tactic, and they're very good at what they do. Get enough of a distraction going before hand and they'll never hear it coming. Or see it, for that matter. There'll be too much vibration from the fighting for most earth sensory to work; at least the ones we know of."

He stared at the map for a moment, something still felt off. "Unless they're expecting another shipment soon... why would they have heavy guards at the entrance. It's counter-productive to put so many guards where they can be seen so easily; they'd draw too much attention. Thoughts?"