Masina raised a curious brow with the first scream. It was an anguished animal sound, nothing like what she would have expected to hear. Her features took on sharper edges, edges painted with concern. The scream was replaced with near silence, only hushed whispers could be heard from below. Within a few minutes Masina had resumed watching the banks and listening to what words drifted to her from Mohini or Quintus.<br/><br/>It was clear he was keeping his voice down, and she heard the girl still doing her best to drive wedges between her captors. Smart girl, Masina thought. She'd pay for it of course, hadn't she been warned twice? Still, hoping for division among them, was the best hope for the new slaves. For now at least - until they learned to accept. That was exactly why Masina would tolerate no attempt to play them against each other. If she was to be in charge of security, she would have to control what was going on within the outpost before she could effectively defend it from without. Right now the most dangerous creatures were the ones they would take in with them - the warriors they were to make into slaves.<br/><br/>She was mulling over the many ways she might drive the point home to the crafty little nursemaid when the second scream, worse than the first, shattered her peaceful musing. Her hand clenched tighter on the rudder.<em>What in the name of all the Gods was he doing down there? </em>He was in charge of the captives, it wasn't her place to tell him how to do his job but damn him, it was her job to keep them secure. He would be making her job harder if he thought he'd get the woman to break with torture. Pain only made a good woman stubborn. She'd harbor hatred and she'd vow vengeance and she'd be a constant security risk, from the inside out, the worst kind of risk.<br/><br/>When Quintus showed up right next to her she hadn't even noticed his approach. She gladly relinquished the rudder and nodded to him without argument. She didn't go down to check on the Pretty Man and the woman. She didn't trust her temper or the foulness of her mood to deal with him. As much as she disagreed with his tactics, it would be worse for the women to see division among them.<br/><br/>Instead Masina marched to the bench stomping the deck all the way as if it had delivered some personal insult to her ancestors. She took her place on the bench facing Mohini and starrd intently at the girl. Putting the Pretty Man and anguished screams from her mind, she said   in tones of warm honey,<strong>"How was your little chat with our sailor?"  </strong><br/><br/>She pulled the herb bags out and began crushing a fresh batch.<br/>