[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xRyC3Nv.png[/img][/center]
[quote][b][color=6091e0]Location:[/color][/b] Urquhart Castle -> The Deacon Arms Tavern.
[b][color=6091e0]Interacting with:[/color][/b] Morgana Ironholdt [@1Charak2]; Olympia Whitehall [@Vocab]; the Masters of Red.
[b][color=6091e0]Magical energy:[/color][/b] 147 out of 180.[/quote]
[color=fff200][b]"Sorry Master, I'll be right there, but I first have to take care of something!"[/b][/color]

The words, for a reason she couldn't really explain to herself, sat heavy in her gut. Well, that wasn't fair to say: she knew why it make her so uncomfortable, but the reason itself made her uncomfortable again. 

[b]"Sonja, Olympia lead the way and help me get the god forsaken hell out of here! Please!"[/b]
While she did briefly hesitate, the cry for help helped her focus on the present. She was older than most if not all of the surviving students; while they didn't probably mind too much if she sank or swam, her own pride certainly did. 
[b][color=6091e0]"Quick, through here-"[/color][/b] Sonja called as she pressed on, grasping at a door handle while simultaneously driving her shoulder into the door to drive it open. In a split-second decision, she decided to take a more obscure route than one staying in the open; while close quarters worked well for a Saber class, she instinctively felt better odds with breaking line of sight, with the scattering students about. 

If memory served her correctly, Sonja recalled a small flight of stairs going down the ramparts leading through to the other side. In the back of her mind, she updated her greater familiars directives: protect the retreat, and once we're safe, attack the surviving enemy magi. While a pang of guilt did strike her for sentencing a familiar to their death, she did make a note of reminding herself that it was just that: a mindless familiar. 

After pressing down and about the stairs, Sonja found herself staring at another door. Just as before, she grasped the handle and forced it open, pressing out to the fresh air beyond. It turns out memory did serve her correctly: not too far beyond was the exit, where they could escape to the the Deacon Arms. 
[b][color=6091e0]"This way."[/color][/b] she called to the other two as she pressed her way forward. As she moved on, she snuck a glance over her shoulder, towards the site of the battle itself. Without Berserker at arms length after such a catastrophic loss, she felt vulnerable. [i]Trust[/i], she quietly reminded herself: she needed to trust him. 

[hr]
After making the journey to the tavern, constantly looking over her own shoulder for any unfamiliar or concerning faces, she quietly slipped in the back door. It appeared that it was still the lively time of night: patrons still sipped at their drinks and few enjoyed their cigar variety of choice. A brief conversation with the bartender got her a schooner of water, with which she sat down quietly to one side of the tavern's bar. While she didn't think much of alcohol, she did have vices of her own, although she did like to hide them from all but a select few. After a half-hearted effort to look for other faces in the tavern, she gave in. Her hand snuck off into her coat to return with a nondescript packet of Gold-strength cigarettes, from which she produced a single cigarette and a plain lighter stuffed into the vacant space. As she lifted the flame to the tip of the cigarette, habitually using her other hand to shield it from the non-existent wind, she had a moment of honesty with herself: she was worried. She was scared. She'd only just summoned Berserker, only just started to succeed in her last stand against Ayondale, before many of her friends were murdered and she lost Berserker just as quick as she got him.

After taking in a first breath of tobacco and nicotine, she lowered the cigarette towards the ash tray with her right hand and thwacked the butt with her thumb to ash off the tip. She glanced over towards her left arm, to the command seals concealed beneath her jacket. As far as she could tell, he was alive, but all she had to go to get him back was to use one. The thought sat in her mind, tempting her, until she eventually lifted her left arm to grab her glass of water. [i]Trust,[/i] she reminded herself yet again. After having a mouthful of water, she glanced over towards the rest of the tavern as she lifted her cigarette back to her mouth. As much as she wanted to try and sleep, she knew she wouldn't be able until she was more assured, so she decided to quietly enjoy the atmosphere of the tavern and wait.