Sooga stood in the shade outside the Gerudo City walls as the sun crested to its highest point in the clear sky. He contemplated the different recruiting options while watching the sands shift in the distance. They'd have time to slowly break her, a month at least. Unless she's stuck inside Gerudo city the whole time. Idri would be too distracted in there to even try chipping away at the target. He sighed and wiped the sweat off of his brow. How to lure her out? What's more, how to convince her?
Silently, he debated leaving to deliver a quick status report before applying pressure on Pire to join. Or perhaps he'd change his disguise and add extra eyes on the inside. He sighed, stepping away from the gates and rolling his neck. He walked around the city, eyeing the guards as he passed until he found a blind spot around the west wall. Pressing his fist to his chest and making swift symbols, smoke erupted at his feet and he vanished into thin air.
Now in his uniform and masked by the clan's inverted eye, the broad-shouldered vice-captain stood in the desert valley. Talismans were strung across the valley cliffs by rope. A visible warning to all intruders who might venture in. Sooga strode into the dilapidated temple they repurposed. The musty, stale air wasn't very enjoyable. But the coolness of being encapsulated by stone walls was much better than the boiling sun. Each Yiga member he passed bowed respectfully and got out of his way. Good. They know their place.
The room at the deepest reach of the ruins was Master Kohga's meditation den. Sooga pushed an obscuring curtain aside and peered into the den. Master Kohga was sleeping on the floor in front of a smoldering hearth. Sooga cleared his throat, startling the leader into flailing his limbs.
"Wha-! Whozat?" He yelped as he thrashed.
"It's me, Master Kohga. I came to offer an update."
"An update?" Master Kohga sat upright and stretched, "that usually means you've hit a snag. What is it this time?"
"We've located one of the targets. The weapons specialist. We have her convinced to partner with us. No sight of Link and we're working on getting her weapons. Or to recruit her." Sooga said, standing tall in the threshold as he delivered the news. Master Kohga scratched himself while listening. His extraordinary mask gave away none of his thoughts. But his lack of movement told Sooga he wasn't as ecstatic as he hoped he would be.
"I see. Alright. You know what to do then. Get her here or snatch her things. What's the hold-up?" Master Kohga stood and swiped a bunch of bananas off one of the many stands and took a couple of hardy bites without pause.
"She and Idri are in Gerudo City…"
"Oh, goddess." Master Kohga huffed, pushing his hands under his mask and dragging on his face. Sooga lowered his gaze. He understood the Master's exasperation entirely.
"The specialist will be in the desert for a month. We have time to urge her to join us." He nodded determinedly. Once he had finished his long, dragging sigh Master Kohga tossed the banana peels behind him and planted his hands on his hips.
"Forget about recruiting her then! We only need her weapon! We have smiths here who can recreate it. You have 2 weeks. Swipe it, ASAP." He decided, stamping his foot. Sooga stiffened and slowly bowed.
"Yes, I will, Master Kohga," Sooga stated in a flat tone. Master Kohga turned away, pleased with himself. He stepped off his platform and onto the discarded peel, flying off his feet and landing on his ass. Sooga flinched and rushed to help him. Quickly getting his master back onto his feet.
Evening fell on the desert. The sands changed color as the moon began lifting into the sky. Sooga pressed his back to the city's outer wall, face unmasked back in his traveler attire. His arms folded to his chest while the land darkened around him. He didn't know how long they'd be in the city. How long he'd have to sit and wait. At least he could scout for the Hero while he was out there. Someone knocked on the wall beside him, bringing him back from his idle thoughts. Pire leaned up against the wall beside him and looked up at him. Sooga blinked, his only sign of surprise.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked. Pire shrugged and folded her arms behind her head. Her lazy grin was the only answer he got to his question. Sooga shook his head and stepped away from the wall, standing across from her with his brow raised. She simply smiled.
"It's getting late, you know." He muttered.
"I know. That's why I'm here. Idri took the last bed and I didn't mind camping out." Pire explained, crossing her legs and putting her full weight on the stone behind her.
"It'd be safer to camp within the city walls." He said.
"Yeah, but they won't let me camp in there, so…" She slanted her mouth. She wasn't bothered by any of it. Her bouncing foot and little hums seemed more like excitement than anything. Sooga sighed and searched himself for his tent before remembering that Idri had their things. He never carried any of that stuff himself. His shoulders dropped as he realized it. Pire smirked and held up her tent, snickering as she showed it to him.
Pire set up the tent herself while Sooga debated freezing for the night. The draw of warmth and a night of relatively comfortable sleep is quite tempting, but the push of sleeping near an unknown and untrusted person made him extremely hesitant. Once finished, Pire slipped into the tent and lit a small lantern to see her things. Sooga watched her shadow on the tarp while he continued his solo debate. Using the time alone, she dressed in nightclothes while half-hidden away by the tent walls. A puff of white breath distracted Sooga from his decision and forced him to come to a conclusion. When she appeared to be finished, he cleared his throat at the entrance to the tent. Pire unzipped the flap and looked up at him.
"Changed your mind?" She asked. Sooga reluctantly nodded, swallowing his tired pride.
"May I… share your tent?" He asked officially. Pire nodded and made space for him. He crawls in after her. Just as with his own tent, there isn't much space for two people with how wide he is. He grumbled and took a place close to the wall to give the tent's owner as much room as he could. Pire blew the lantern out and nestled into her bedroll. In the dark and increasing cold, Sooga is just glad he has a chance to sleep.