[b]Crash site of the [i]Leafy Wind[/i], outside Kell

Beatrice Magin[/b]

Beatrice saw smoke above the trees, and allowed herself to slow as she neared the crash site. As she slowed the projection of her kage disappeared as to not distract her. She changed course from following the river and went through the trees.

She had to remind herself to keep checking the skies, but saw no signs of military shuttles. With the forest around them, she doubted the military would come by land. Was the mercenary's speech pure conjecture? That made sense, considering they had no electronics. Why offer her the parachute first? There were other mercenaries on that shuttle. He had barely asked B about her power.

She decided to push those questions out of her mind. She approached a small clearing and slowed by directing her momentum up a tree at the edge of the clearing. If she needed to run away, she could drop and gain that initial burst of speed that she needed. Covered in sweat, she observed what remained of the transport shuttle.

The military didn't need to follow the transport because it was too bulky to land anywhere in this forest. Scattered across the clearing were branches and leaves taken from the tops of the trees above her. They made a trail to the far end of the clearing, where the body of the aircraft, in several pieces, laid. One thing that surprised B was how little damage the trees had taken.

[i]There's no way anyone survived that[/i]. At least at the end, the pilot must have known his fate. B dropped to the ground, rolled to kill speed, then slowed from a jog to a walk towards the aircraft. She pushed some questions out of her mind before they even formed. If there was anything she learned to deal with in the past year, it was survivor's guilt. She would have time at some point later to reflect and maybe mourn, but right now she was focused on scavenging supplies from the wreck.

Climbing through the wreck, she focused on finding three things: food, a backpack, and valuables she could barter with in town, particularly cores. There was little left that was actually identifiable, and of that there seemed to be nothing in one piece. In the rear of the shuttle, easily accessible because of the open ramp, she could see a crate of military rations. The box was destroyed, and many of the rations were crushed and scattered about, but it was blocked by twisted metal. B reached through the metal and snagged a lone ration pack, Almost cutting herself. She munched on it while she walked outside.

The main cabin of the wreck was next, and she finished the bland food before she looked in. Beatrice wasn't going to enter unless she had to. The scene was awful. A few mangelled limbs and bodies were scattered about, but in all most people were still attached to their seats. She navigated the rows and stepped over bodies, checking pockets and compartments when it didn't mean touching gore. She found mostly junk. Any electronics she found would have been fried by the emp even if they survived the crash.

B was about to pass one woman who was particularly mangled when B noticed a bulge in her windbreaker pocket. She felt the outside of the jacket and felt two cores inside. She excitedly dug them out. [i]Wind and kinetic[/i].

Ballizein formed in B's mind next to her. [b][i]There may be others here soon[/b]. This soon after the wreck? This deep in the forest?[/i] Despite her arguments, she knew Z was right. She searched the rest of the plane quickly. She found a large leather handbag covered in blood. [i]What kind of idiot brings a handbag through a firefight?[/i] B dumped out the bag, finding mostly makeup which had broken inside the bag and tampons, and put the cores in. She then traveled back to where the ration crate was and grabbed as many as she could reach, about 15 in all.

The bag was cumbersome. B wore it like a satchel, and started off in the direction of Kell. She briefly considered going back for the merc first, but it would be dark soon. If she didn't find him, it would be a lot of wasted time. She would return and try to find him near the shuttle, though her hopes were not high.

B started off in a light run, but picked up the pace. When she reached the trees she began running like a rabbit with the aid of her power, launching herself with her feet and directing herself with her hands. She made her way back towards the riverbank and followed it in the direction of Kell. She didn't dwell on the recently deceased, but her kage also said nothing about how she wasn't enjoying the outdoors.