[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=F2541F]Atkin Bowman[/color][/i][/b][/h1]
[/center][hr][center][color=F2541F][b]Location:[/b][/color] Palace: Lawn[/center][hr]
	Atkin was rather miffed that she chose him specifically to snap at despite not even being the last person to throw in any input on what she should do with the stinking warlock. And on any other day he would have told her as much, queen or no queen. But given the context of everything else that had happened so far, he simply bit his tongue and let it slide. It was just another annoying thing that happened today to add onto the pile of awfulness that had occurred so far. However the worst part about this whole situation were all the witches acting like they weren't all as bad as each other.

	[color=808080]"We're clearly the superior coven because we have total psychopaths who don't even try to have any semblance of human decency. You Wendron Witches are just cowards trying to butt in on our territory."[/color]

	"Nuh-uh, our coven is better, because we brainwash the children we kidnap to like us and become part of our little cult out in the woods. Sure we stole Valda purely for political reasons and are going to try manipulating her so that we can do God knows what, but at least we acted nice to our pawn!"

	Infuriating. Their bickering was enough to slightly change his outlook on the Young Army for the ever so slightly more positive. They didn't really try to hide what they were, and they were somewhat less insufferable than the Witches that he found himself surrounded by. Also that one huntress broad that dropped in agreed with what he said. Showed that there were at least some members of that awful organization that wouldn't necessarily just listen to only what Puck had to say.

	But when Asha suddenly turned to look up, Atkin's gaze followed hers to find what appeared to be a massive dragon. For the split second where his brain was registering what it was seeing, he thought to try grabbing Valda and get her to safety before the danger could get to them. People like Arya and Asha could protect themselves, and Puck, Jadis and the like could burn for all he cared. Well, he didn't want any of them to die, but if they had to, he wouldn't be too torn up about it. However, every awful thing that had happened today would be made even immeasurably worse if she died here. That could easily spell the end of the entire Castle if all the candidates for the crown just up and vanished or died in one day.

	But after that split second his brain detected something. He couldn't exactly say what it was, but he couldn't help but pick up the aura of inauthenticity about it. Asha's last comment only brought it into clarity. It was an illusion. Probably done by one of Malekith's friends to try giving him or them a way out. His next thought was to tackle the warlock into the ground before he could try anything, but he decided against it.If he really tried to make a break for it, Asha could simply [b]Call[/b] him back to the stage, and with the Magyk she gave off, he probably wouldn't be able to resist if he tried.

	[color=F2541F]"So uh, Arya,"[/color] Atkin asked his teacher awkwardly, both due to the fact that there was a fake flying dragon torching them all with illusory fire and that he'd probably be drawing her attention away from far more important tasks at hand. [color=F2541F]"What are we going to do?"[/color] Atkin wasn't asking the question as a request for a big picture, long term plan of action, but more as in "what the fuck are we going to do for the rest of the day with everything going to shit?" Whatever she had planned this morning almost certainly was going to get chucked out the window. 

	Whether Arya took the question the way her apprentice intended was yet to be seen. And who knows, perhaps she would go through with everything she had prepared beforehand. Maybe the thing that they both really needed right then was a bit of normalcy and things actually going right for once today, rather than just spiraling into an ever larger clusterfuck.