Seth was surprised to see the elf woman work her way up the hill on her own, the way she did. Most people were unaccustomed to the sound of gunfire, with the possibility of dying at any moment, tending to freeze in place; stricken with fear. Obviously fear of gunfire or maybe death(?) was not an issue with this one.

“Hey! Grab my ruck while you’re down there!” Seth yelled down the hill. He had dropped his backpack before making his mad dash, complete with combat rolls up the hill. It was an exhausting effort, but he was able to silence the sniper. It would have been nice to not kill the old man, but with the [i]Others’[/i] techniques, it was a necessary end; otherwise we let them win. For them to win, it meant death for everyone else. Seth was not prepared to face that reality. He was a fighter and would not go down until he was put down or left free from these dangers and oppression.

When the elf woman reached him, she did not appear out of breath. Obviously, she was in decent shape. That makes her useful. But then, out of shape and over weight earthlings fell victim to the [i]Others[/i] rather quickly. There were no overweight survivors.

[i]"Who are you and why are you here?"[/i] the woman asked the stocky 70-inch orc. 

“Well, I guess I could ask the same question of you, m’lady,” Seth Vutaro smiled, stating with a hint of sarcasm. The m’lady comment referenced the now irrelevant social strata an elf would occupy in the old world. 

[i]Old world.[/i] 

The sound of the term was difficult to get accustomed to. It had only been a few months since they arrived and things were very different now. “Pardon me. My name is Seth Vutaro, but most people call me Vick. I assume you are not one of [i]them[/i]? My associates and I are survivors, looking to improve our way in this world.” Vick or Seth, depending on how you would refer to him thrust a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the now deceased sniper. “…and hopefully root out some of the [i]Others[/i] as we encounter them. I doubt this man ever intended to shoot at you or me, but he doesn’t have a choice anymore and the thing inhabiting him gave us no choice but to kill him. It is a sad lot in life. But those are the conditions of this new world we must all adapt to.”

“How about you tell me who you are and what you are doing here,” Seth spoke to the woman, not in a question, just that it was her turn.

Before the elf could answer, he heard the comment from below, [i]"Vick? I know you said bring the elf woman up, but we can't seem to find her."[/i]

“Forget about it, Joe!” Seth called down. “She’s up here with me. Get my pack and beat feet!”

“All right, all right! Don’t get your knickers in a twist.” The three spoke to one another as though killing this [i]Other[/i]-possessed human was a common event. Unfortunately, it had become a way of life since leaving Central City. Seth wanted to teach the dwarf and human how to advance together without leaving someone at the starting point. In time, he would share that small unit tactical information with them as well as have them practice it. For now, he would continue using what techniques they knew as a group and continue to improve as they went along. If their party grew in size, he might find himself with people who either knew how to soldier or not, like the pair he had been saddled with. They were consuming ammunition too rapidly. They would need to find more and soon.

As Seth waited for Joe and Thalis to make their way up the hill, he turned back to the elf woman. “So, what is your name and how did get out in these woods alone with no gear? Are you lost?” His carbine was slung over his shoulder and around his neck. It dangled under his right arm. He waved his arms around when he mentioned the phrase, ‘out in these woods’.