Damian sighed and paid for two of the fastest horses they had, mounting his when they were brought out of the stables and looking at Penny. "I won't be having anyone stay with me, Penny. I was going to get Lazarus and Sasha out as quick as I could, since they're both still pretty beat from the S Class trials." He didn't mention the large gash in Sasha's side, the one he'd given to her during their match. He still felt horribly guilty about it and had meant to check on it before leaving, but she and Lazarus had left in a hurry. [i]Meant to ask them both how they were doing, they were intense matches, but they left so fast...[/i] Shaking his head, he led the way out of the city at a brisk trot.

"I don't want to risk someone getting hurt by one of my spells, especially since this job will require I go all out to stand a chance." He looked ahead as he spook, refusing to meet Penny's eyes. "My spells use a lot of crowd control, blades falling from the sky, shooting from the ground, even traps that cause blades to rise up at seemingly random points for everyone but me. You could get caught in that, or Sasha, or Lazarus, and I couldn't live with myself if you did."