[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena shrugs.  "Yelena not have problem with spell.  Is different from try change Yelena thoughts.  And Yelena talk better in spell."  She takes a seat near Arc and waits for the link to expand to include her.

[gilga]

Marco replaces the mind-link with Jed, 8 mind links are needed to link all of them and enable them to talk freely, that is too clumsy and near impossible for a single mage to sustain. No - there was a better solution the mind net, at the time Marco has surveyed multiple formulas and did not fancy either. Once he encountered the mind net however it simply made sense. Create a network so a group talks together - perhaps like that they could understand each other.

The power focus has made the casting task easier - Marco was not sure that such a difficult 4 person mind-net was easily established without the mind link.  "It is going to be unlike anything we did before, you will not just hear my voice in your mind. This time you are going to hear each other as well. I think you'd like the freedom to speak that way - but I can understand that it can be intrusive or overwhelming" 

Should the rest agree to the suggested flavor of the spell, Marco would successfully cast the mind net spell. Linking the four of them in the most secure communication network Marco could imagine.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena nods.  "Spell is good.  Yelena not afraid.  Can let talk more.  Is impossible that others hear?"

[Qwikfix]

Arc gives a nod as well, affirming her consent to the spell.  Better get adjusted to this mojo while I can.  If we working togethet, I'll need to extend that trust.  Closing her eyes, she held her breath as the mind net was cast over them.

At first she wondered if the spell worked, since she heard nothing in her head right away.  So she decided to test it.

"so a duck walked into a duck bar and looked to the duck bar keeper and said "hey barkeep, got any grapes?"

[gilga]

Marco casts the spell and remains silent, he thinks at Yelena " Impossible I would not say... anything is possible - but I have yet to encounter a spell that allows one to listen on a mind link. Technological methods also do not work... so I think it is as secure as it gets. "

Then he hears Arc's joke and grows silent, is she nervous? could she be this comfortable after all the grief he had with the mind-link? He listens carefully waiting for the joke to end before commenting.

 

[ismilealot]

Around them the sounds of the other bratva members were dimly heard through the walls. But, no one was knocking on the door. They were apparently being left alone for the moment.

[Mercy Merchant]

"So what did the bartender say?"

[SmilinIrish]

Well, if Arc and Yelena were telling jokes, that had to be a good sign.   Jed directed an amused and expectant smile at Arc, glancing at Marco Blackbird to see if it was easing the tension.

[Qwikfix]

A glance over Arc would tell that the human girl was trying to be calm and focused, something weighing on the back of her mind but kept from the surface.  The smile from Jez was a bit encouraging as she cracked a tusked grin, going on with her joke.

"So the duck bartender said "do I look like a grocery to you? We don't have any ducking grapes!" And proceeded to throw a glass st the duck, who had no choice...but to duck."  she let that linger for a bit, letting them react before moving on.

"tch, yeah that was bad.  Anyhow, we know this spell worked.  Let's get down and get a plan together.  Get in, do this thing, then head on home.  We all have a good idea what we can do...Yelena, how ya wanting us with you on this?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena gives a mental shrug.  "I confess that I do not know.  This is mostly Nikolai's show.  He has invited me......us.....to help so that I can participate in seeing justice done.  I want us to stick together as much as possible so we can support each other.  We can make a strong team.  Do not let your minds be confused by the apparent strength of the Bratva here; we are a strong force when we work together.  Nico is not a foolish man and will want to make good use of us.  I am sure that he will summon us soon to do some sort of planning."

[gilga]

Blackbird remained silent, he had nothing more to add - nothing good to say or think of Nikolai. Whatever he had to say, Yelena should not hear from his own thoughts - it would just create antagonism. Therefore, he chose to remain silent and let Jed lead the conversation.

[ismilealot]

Jed realizes that no one is talking and sighs thinking to himself. Young people, so wrapped up in themselves and their own hurts and needs they can't see past them to reach out. They think unconditional love means they'll be understood without explanations. He sakes his head. Well, it's not like I didn't make my own mistakes in that department. But, there's no sense in a mind link if nobodies talking. And if Marco's not giving any explanation as to why he needed to hurt Yelena that badly, maybe it's because the truth of why he did it is so much worse than having her believe he doesn't love her or trust her that it would break the team permanently. And if that's going to happen, it's going to happen. But I'd rather it happened after this job.Jed continues to think to himself. His abilities and power are impressive. And they might make the difference between dying here and getting out safely. Jed sighs and decides to end the conversation. Yelena and Arc had made a step in the direction of trust. And he didn't want Marco doing something again that would break that fragile thread. Truth to tell, if Marco had successfully cast that manipulation spell on them he could easily have had them all dancing to his tune. He deliberately shifts his thinking so that he can be heard inside the mind link. "Well, I'm glad you girls are willing to give Ma, . Blackbird a chance. He's got such unusual magical talents that there's no way the enemy can anticipate and prepare for them. I think he's going o be our ace in the hole. And just in case we're being watched by that impressive surveillance bank." "It's been a long night and I've got a feeling we need to get as much rest as we can while we can.", he says out loud. Jed doesn't trust NIkolai any further than a halfer could throw him and wouldn't put it past him to have them bugged and monitored ten ways to Sunday.

[Qwikfix]

Arc leaned forward a bit, crossing her arms under her chest as she bit her lip, working through her mental curiosities as she tried to form the words.  But as she was about to speak up, Jed beat her to it, then responded with a verbal response..likely a cover.  "Aye...I'll try...regulator makesh too much shleeping hard, but I'll try..."  Going along with it, she coupled her response with some thoughts of her own.

"Aye, any help we can get to finish this and get home'll be good.  With the drop of our additional help, looks like i may need to hang back to cover the tech.  Jed, if memory serves, you like that spot too, so maybe that'd be best.  I'll be able to help Yelena on the front with my aerial drones as well as keep eyes on.  I think that'll work.  But yeah.

[SmilinIrish]

All right, how are we going to do sleeping arrangements?  Are we piling up in one room, splitting up, what's the plan?

Yep, if Nicolai was listening, there needed to be some conversation.

I would like to fade into the background.  If the group is made, I'd rather them miss one of us.  I also need to make contact with my coyote here to put him on notice if we need him, but I'd rather use a comm Nicolai doesn't know about.  You haven't seen me in action much, but I can make someone invisible, float them in midair, heal wounds, shoot lightning, and nudge someones thoughts in a certain direction.  But as you saw before, scouting is where I'm best.

[gilga]

Blackbird kept his thoughts to himself until he finally thought "No Vodka? "
He was worried, everyone seemed to be sober. Yelena and Nikolai have just reunited - why isn't he finding them at the end of the bottle thinking about old times. Or at bed together... no - stop that thought. Why not? She thought I was dead. 

What about the rest - does Yelena even know any of them? So many years have passed.  Arc also seemed to like hard Liquor - why is she sober? Sure they needed to be alert, but were Bratva's always this stoic? There should certainly be more Vodka around, he thought.

In his lips he said "I am already sleep talking."