[color=8eafdf][h3]Sonya[/h3][/color]

As the discussion around her continued, Sonya found her attention drawn back to the ring as Carthurg pulled himself back to his feet. While she had intended to keep her focus split, helping Silas and keeping track of the conversation, Sonya was forced to re-evaluate that idea once Cathurg had gone on the offense once more. Enraged the Orc seemed to be swelling with both power and speed, the force sweeping through the Wind barrier and clashing into Silas’s defense with enough strength to shatter the blocking weapon itself. The moment of shock lasted a briefly, Sonya quickly directed all of her attention towards the battle now. Though doing so left her feeling rather vulnerable, there was the comforting fact that she was surrounded by allies, including Odessa. It was a strange feeling to have such a strong sense of trust in Odessa, they had only truly talked once the night before and still knew so little of each other. But at the same time, Odessa had put her trust in Sonya and her magic to keep her protected, so it would be rude for Sonya not to place the same trust in her.

Placing her full attention back at the fight, she summoned up as much of her power as she could as the two combatants faced off once more. Stopping the Orc’s blows was an impossibility, not when she was only using the tempest winds to slow the strikes. [color=8eafdf][i] ‘It can’t be helped then, Silas will have to weather the storm until an opening arrives and he can strike back’[/i][/color] she concluded rather grimly, her efforts focused on turning the Orc’s brutal strikes just enough so that Silas defenses would hold, each time the axe crashing against the sword with such thunderous effort. Then in a horrifying moment, Cathurg slipped past the wind barrier. Though he may not have understood Sonya was causing the effect, he was still an experienced warrior and after having witnessed the effect for enough time he would have learnt how to counter it. Compensating for the effect of the wind, the Orc’s strike came through faster and on point, striking Sila’s blade at a point where there was too much pressure to maintain the grip and forcing the weapon from his hands.

A feeling of dread settled into Sonya stomach [color=8eafdf][i] ‘Come on Silas, move damn you. I can’t stop this Orc’s attacks!’ [/i][/color] She urged mentally, wondering why Silas was not returning to his feet. Time seemed to hang as Cathurg mocked the human, assured in his own victory, Silas still remaining on his knees as though accepting his defeat. Eye’s were drawn to the steel of the axe as it was raised high in the air, catching the rays of the sun as the winds rushed around it. In that hanging moment, Sonya caught that single word from Silas “[color=39b54a]Checkmate[/color]” and realised he had been playing possum to lure Cathurg into a vulnerable position.

Springing from his kneeling position, Sonya surged the tempest energies behind him, almost as though she was flinging his very body right against the Orc. Silas thankfully seemed to have expected the burst of speed, as he swiftly followed up the motions with a decapitating strike. Silas seized the moment and in dramatic fashion was able to cause a panic to spread throughout the orcs. Cheers spread throughout the Militia as they began to celebrate, though there had been plans to rout the Orcs after the battle, it seemed everyone had suffered enough battling for one day and was not keen to chase down the orcs.

Letting out a sigh, Sonya broke her concentration, her shoulders sagging as she allowed herself to relax, dismissing all of the energies she had gathered during the battle. As the adrenaline of the battle faded, the fatigue from exerting so much of her magic took its place. Returning her attention to her surroundings, she blinked a few times trying to recollect where she was. It seemed in the excitement of victory the group of militia had been overtaken with a flurry of energy. The dancer had turned her attention to helping Silas and even if there were ulterior motives for her actions Sonya reserved judgement for the moment. Stefano was living the moment, calling up for all of those who had gambled. The man was quite lively and his positive energy was almost infectious as it spread to the nearby Militia, creating a buzzing sector of motion and discussion near him.

Strangely though, there was no sign of Odessa in the direct vicinity. [color=8eafdf][i]’Perhaps she was called away to manage the wounded?[/i][/color] Sonya considered, recalling the last few words of the conversation that had reached her before her attention was fully focused on helping Silas. Her eyes searching further, she spied the area where the wounded were being gathered with Odessa standing at its centre, providing direction to the Militia as they cared for the wounded. Although the cheering and sounds of jubilance carried through the air, there was still much work that needed to be done to ensure the death toll rose no further than those it had already claimed

Making her way through the crowd to the makeshift triage area, she made her way over to Odessa, who seemed to be wearing a smile of pure warmth. It was an infectious smile, one that caused Sonya to smile just as wide beneath her mask as well, the feeling of fatigue subsiding in the brief sense of relief and accomplishment. Reaching Odessa she offered a short nod of her head, before taking a moment of consideration and giving Odessa a quick hug as she commented [color=8eafdf][b]”Thank you for keeping your promise, I would not have been able to do as much as I did if I did not know there was someone else concerned for my safety”[/b][/color]. As though realising the gesture may have been to forward or perhaps done in haste, she released Odessa from the hug and took a step back, taking a moment to recompose herself after such an impulsive decision [color=8eafdf][b]”S-still, though the battle may be over there are still some wounded to attend to, there will be time for celebrating when we have saved all we can”[/b][/color] Sonya stated, wanting to turn the topic of the conversation to that which needed attention and away from her perhaps rashful actions.