[sylvanSpider]

Ian was looking worse for the wear, Taka was packed and ready to go and Aren was close behind after making sure he was leaving Ian in the best possible condition for his brother. As she waited, she mulled over the map, recognizing a lot of the markers that they'd marked. She'd been there as well. It was comforting to know that at least when Ian went out, he had an idea of what he was doing.

Aren took the walky talky in his hands and nodded, “I will let you know the moment we reach a spot I can message you at.” He glanced back at his microscope thinking that he could just leave it there on their way, but time was of the essence and he didn't want to carry it around until they made it back to the safe house. He needed to be limber. “Alright. Alright. We're ready. Time to go show my new roommate around, yeah?”

The pair left, Aren leading the way to the door. They made sure to be talking so as not to draw suspicion. They ran into one person, Aren's neighbor, on their way out. He explained the made up story, leaving out the pieces that said that she was essentially of their own ilk. She was one to go out of the city, one to hate Mavrick, and one to become a friend. The person looked at Taka with an air of distrust – outsiders always received those looks, even if she was only from a different section of the city.

Looking down the hallway both ways and seeing the coast as clear, Aren lead the way into the storage closet. “It's right through here,” he whispered, “The night guard won't be in this area for another few hours. Thankfully, Ian got to us early. We have almost a day to make it back to the safe house, but if we can help it, I want to be back in as soon as possible. You said you know the schedules of the patrols, right?”

“Yeah, and Mav's men too,” Taka said, nodding, and changing to the front position. She glanced down at the map again, looking around at the buildings that were no longer kept as part of the city. Nature already began her advances, and the buildings looked almost green, covered in plant life. The place was alive, not as dreary despite the steady drizzle of rain that was coming down just then.

“We're in luck,” Aren said softly, “If they send dogs after us, their scent will be messed up.”

“Well, there's that at least,” Taka said with a dry laugh. “C'mon. Let's go.”