.::Tender Sugar::.

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Lena Ryder

Lena didn't even bother trying to dissuade the girl. Hell, the female was probably more comfortable on a battlefield than Lena was. "Your target is the 50,000 strong Spinatologist army headed this way... Probably about five days east into the desert. We're sending in our winged citizens first to attack from the sky... Hopefully thin their numbers out a bit. After that, it's just those of us who can shoot." Lena sighed. It sounded hopeless, but it was their only shot that she could see.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Jennifer Owens

Once she got into Sekhmet, she started helping Honey organize everyone, including roll call. Several people were missing, and it was determined that within the next couple days someone would go back to Giza and check with Lena to make sure that the missing people were actually with her. Jennifer marked off the people she knew for sure were staying with the guard.

Once everyone was pretty much settled in, which took a couple hours, Jennifer watched as Azul left and turned to Honey. "Maybe now would be a good time to have an emergency election? Just so people can feel a bit safer... A little more in control? Might keep panic from spreading."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Jennifer Owens

Jennifer nodded and began distributing crude ballots (scraps of paper) to the citizens of Giza over sixteen. Once everybody had a piece of paper and something to write with, she climbed up on a sturdy-looking rock formation that put her above the crowd. The candidates had already lined up. Jennifer only recognized a couple. She knew that Lena had mentioned running, and made a mental note to tell people she was an option. One of the candidates surprised her; May Golding, a former dancer at Tender Sugar.

She shrugged it off and called for quiet, waiting until the enormous cave-like structure was silent before speaking. "Okay, this is the election of Giza's new mayor. These fine people to my left are your options, as well as Lena Ryder, who can't be here right now because she's up top building our defense. Write one name only on your paper, then fold it in half and wait." Jennifer then listed off the name of each candidate, twice, and nodded to a couple of Nephthys guards to gather the slips.

Counting the votes took awhile, since Giza had quite a few citizens and Jennifer counted all the votes three times with Honey to make sure they had it right. But the winner came up the same every time; May Golding had won.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

May Golding

May smirked mildly with satisfaction when Jennifer told her that she had won the election. Not that she was surprised; she had paid off quite a few of the citizens to vote for her, all in the hope that this would force Honey to acknowledge her. Even if it didn't work, she had a plan... But she would give him one last chance.

For the time being, she got up in front of the citizens of Giza- her people now- and spoke briefly to them, promising to do her best to lead them and stay fair. Of course, in her mind, she was plotting her own private agenda, all revolving around one person; Rhode Saunders, the sweet little Honeybee whom she intended to have all for herself.

May approached the male after her speech and smiled gently at him. "Rhode, do you mind if we have a little... chat? I've been meaning to tell you something for quite awhile now... I think now is a good time to talk. In private, if you would be so kind?"

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

May Golding

It was incredibly difficult to keep a smile from her face, just watching and listening to Honey. He was so gentle and sweet, and very easy on the eyes... A perfect catch, in May's point of view.

"Well... We've obviously known each other for a very long time. I was one of the first dancers Tender Sugar ever had, and I appreciate you giving me my start." She shifted a bit uncomfortably, wondering if this was how everyone felt when they were about to make themselves incredibly vulnerable. She didn't like the feeling in the least, but this had to be done.

"I've liked you for a long time, Rhode... Honey," she admitted, a blush briefly coloring her pale face before she forced her calm mask back into place. "I would like it very much if we could start seeing each other... romantically. And now that I'm the mayor, you don't even have to take care of me. I could even take care of you, if you wanted... We could make any arrangements you'd like..." May stopped her rant and held her breath, biting her lip anxiously.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

May Golding

May turned away from him and nodded shortly. "I see. Understandable. I'm sorry I wasted your time, Rhode." After forcing her expression into something that resembled humble acceptance, she faced him again and smiled sweetly. "No hard feelings." She hugged him and then left the area to go and formulate the rest of her plan.

'Ah, my dear, sweet Honey... I shall have you, mark my words... You will be mine yet...'

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Sonaki Atsah

It was truly amazing how a war could sober a person, even Sonaki. When Lena gave the order for her and the other winged ones to take off, there was no flirting, no banter, no jokes at all from the leader of the bird-people. Perhaps because she knew very well that she and her comrades might be dying very soon.

Whether or not they died was irrelevant right now, though. It was a bit late to be worrying about that. So Sonaki sounded the call, opened her wings, and launched herself into the air, heading east.

Her heart sank when she saw the army. Since she didn't have much of a head for numbers, she couldn't tell if the estimation of 50,000 was correct or not, but either way it was a lot more than Giza could fend off. She gave the order for all four hundred fliers to spread out over the army and start wreaking havoc with the bombs. 'Good thing you're smart and not just a pretty face, Jenni... We'd be ******** without this idea...'

The bombs did, in fact, thin their numbers, quite a bit. Nevertheless, once the explosives ran out, the numbers were still alarming. At least five thousand troops were still doggedly making their way to Giza, where they would outnumber the fighters twenty five to one. Sonaki didn't like those odds, so she ordered her birds to start attacking, and attacked soldiers herself.

It was a stupid and risky move, one that cost her several good birds and injured her right leg pretty badly when a soldier shot her in the thigh, but it wasn't a total loss. They'd thinned the numbers even more, to around a thousand. Still too many for Sonaki's liking, but any more attacks would be suicidal. She called the retreat, picking up a couple of her wounded fellows and booking it back to Giza, trying to ignore the growing bloodstain on her leg.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

May Golding

May had left one of her trusted friends in charge of the citizens, telling them that she was going out to scout how far out the enemy troops were. In reality, she was going to speak to the leader of said troops.

She got a falcon-woman to fly her out so that she was near enough to approach the group on foot. To May's alarm, it looked as if the army had been drastically reduced by that fool Jennifer's plan, but the thousand or so soldiers left might be enough for what she had in mind. She approached the leader cautiously, hands raised to show she meant no harm, and waited for the female to speak first.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

May Golding

May held her head high and nodded slightly. "I am May Golding, the mayor of Giza. I have come to make a deal with you." She waited with bated breath, hoping the woman wouldn't kill her before she could explain the rest. "I'd appreciate it if you lowered your sword; I'm not your enemy."