Aust managed not to frown as Annara played the incident off. Her smile seemed genuine enough and her words certainly went along with the expression, but they still didn't fall quite right on the elf's ears. Still, he wouldn't call her out on it. There was only so much he could do if she wasn't interested in opening up.

Mildly distracted by those thoughts, Annara's touch on his leg brought Aust back to the present with a slight jerk of his shoulders. Despite how often they shared far more intimate contact onstage, he still wasn't quite used to the casual touches out of character and it distracted him somewhat from the situation at hand. Her flirtatious comment caused warmth to rise in his neck and ears and he had a hell of a time trying to think of something to say before she made it too far for him to be heard. Unfortunately, Juna rode up before he managed to get his thoughts in order with news of what Lothren was dealing with.

[color=silver]"Aye, let's get this over with. No sense in being here any longer than we have to,"[/color] he replied, guiding his mare with his knees to turn and follow the others. Even though the village was nearly deserted, he still wanted to keep both hands on his bow. It wouldn't be the first time some human thought they were being smart, launching a sneak attack after most of the action was over. Aust remained a few horse-lengths behind Annara, silently watching her and trusting his hearing to alert him to any possible ambush. Even with the harsh crackling of burning and breaking timbers and the occasional war cry, he was confident in his ability to pick out an untrained human's attempt at stealth.

As the group neared the sandstone hut, Aust could clearly hear the string of profanity issuing from below. As they closed with the doorway, Annara dismounted quickly and darted into the building. Concerned for her safety, and the possibility that Lothren might also be in danger, Aust slid from his saddle as well and started for the building after taking a moment to hang his bow and quiver from the horn of his saddle. The longbow would only hinder him in close quarters, and any shot he got off would be as likely to hit an ally as an enemy. Drawing his dagger from the sheath at his hip, he rushed through the door of the building several moments after the human woman.