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[b][u]POV:[/u] Viera Versul
[sub]Dhadan Forest, County of Dunric[/sub][/b]

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Viera pushed her aura into her feet; she wasn’t sure when her new enemy would catch up with her but she knew it [i]would[/i] happen— there was no question about that. It was inevitable that the only way to combat the groups of cultists was to either outmaneuver them or outfight them. The Order was a group of hungry direwolves; they were confident in their motives and they were relentless in their actions. It was just a spurn of luck that they had got a heading on Lathilos and Delios this quickly. The edge of the forest was up ahead, the creek they were running alongside teetering off into a small lake as the sun glimmered down upon the lowland hills of the open frontier. 

	[i]At least I will not have to fight in this damned forest.[/i]

She looked to her side— at the girl they were helping. A light smile. 

She was about to say something before the rush of footsteps behind them became louder and louder— her smile dropped. Marlowe was gaining in skills but he was still sloppy and slow even when he pushed himself; not to mention there was no cry out for her to let her know that they could slow down and rethink their approach like they had done so many times in the past. Viera slammed down on her feet and spun around, both her hands grasping her sword as she did so.

The woman from moments before halted as she did so as the girl that she had been running with took cover behind her.

“Damn it, Marlowe.” She muttered before speaking out clearly to the girl she was protecting. “Stay behind me.”

“I’m skilled in three forms of martial arts, several aura arts, and am competent with this sword. I suggest you turn back.”

The white-haired girl shook her head. “I hope that isn’t boasting. Because if not, this is going to be real quick. Just like your friend.”

Viera narrowed her eyes. Her opponent was definitely confident in her own form and if her appearance had anything to say about it she knew that she was at the very least competent in hand-to-hand combat. But she also knew that Marlowe would be here in only a few moments— either their fight would go quickly in their favor or the three orderlings would eventually overwhelm them. They didn’t have Rin or Mikael at their side this time around, they didn’t have numbers in their favor. She almost wished Marlowe convinced Rin to stick around or found Mikael before they set off on this patrol; if that was so then she would be confident that they would win for sure. She knew just going with the two of them was a bad idea.

But Marlowe was the king of bad ideas, and she was the one who had to make them work.

Viera was ready to charge her opponent, but she had to fight defensively. “So are we going to fight or not?”