[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FjVCFoQ.png[/img][/center]
[center][color=cyan][h2]Etoile[/h2]
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Clara's words were welcome. But her shadowed face was not.

Etoile had seen suspicion before. She'd had [i]plenty[/i] of it directed at her, both in her line of work, and afterwards. Pythia's parting jab--that the only strategists she knew were Inquisitors--they had hurt. They were true, no doubt about it; the military [i]was[/i] the Church, and so the only real military strategists were those that the church had trained. But they still hurt.

Etoile was silent as the group moved into Pythia's formation, eyes burning into each of them in turn. If she was going to be the rear-guard, she needed someone she could count on if--[i]when[/i]--things got rough. [color=cyan][i]Pythia. She's paranoid, prideful, and has no understanding of strategy beyond "zap it with lightning from a sword." She's also crammed her way into the front, so she probably won't even notice if we get picked off one by one. [b]Garbage[/b]. A rock would be more use in a fight than her. Lazulin. I don't know enough about him to gauge much of his combat potential, but he sets off warning bells in my head. He may be skilled, but I trust him about as far as I can throw him. Zestasia. He's less proud than Pythia, but also less intelligent. His magic is more versatile than hers, but I get the feeling that he's less competent at using it. Still, at least he'll listen if I call for him. Better than Pythia, at least.[/i][/color] 

[color=cyan][i]Pagonia. A competent swordsman, and he seems smart enough. He's not too proud, either. But he's emotional, and Zestasia could be used against him. And he's in front. He's probably going to have his own things to worry about. And Clara. She seems to understand the concept of a command order, at least, which is more than the rest of them can say. Her particular brand of magic seems useful, though I've only seen it once. She'll be near me in the marching order. And she keeps a cool head under pressure. If I had to pick one of them to actually warn, it would be her. She'd by my choice to fight with--[/i][/color]

But she stopped her train of thought there. As it seemed, she wouldn't be picking people to fight with. They would be picking whether or not to fight with her. And she didn't much like that.

She heaved a sigh and threw one last tired glare at Pythia--too drained by frustration and worry to put much energy into her malice--then ratcheted her awareness [i]all the way up[/i]. She hadn't envisioned herself as the rear-guard here. But here she was. And Sol be [i]damned[/i] if she'd let something by her. Just because she didn't like her job didn't mean she didn't need to do it. If there was anything she wanted to be [i]less[/i] than ordered around, it was dead weight.

Especially after Pythia's words. These people didn't seem the type to wait for an explanation. And they still hurt.