[h3][color=fdc68a]Galia Guardstrike[/color][/h3] Galia could hardly sleep. She had stayed silent, happy to let some of the others take charge for now. For the first time in a long time, she was nervous. Those woods, perhaps, were getting to her. They beckoned to her. Whatever happened in there, it was her destiny. After a bit of silent introspection, the brunette realised the cause of her newfound discomfort. When she was on her own as merc, she didn't care whether she lived or died. She could fight without fear and damn the consequences. Death by sword was all she deserved. When she found Elly, she would happily throw herself on a blade to save her lover's life. Death had never, in her life, mattered. But now, it did. Because for the first time, she had found a cause worth dying for, but one she couldn't. Death equaled failure. The only way to truly be victorious was to slay the beast, find the cure, and return home. Fail any one of those objectives and it would be a miserable disaster. Either way, Galia and Eleanor die. Without Galia, Elly has no hope of survival. Without Eleanor, Galia has no hope of a future. At least, that's what it felt like. Eleanor would probably say something different, but the last thing she needed was for Elly's last words to be about how Galia is strong enough to find love and be happy. The very thought brought a scowl to her features and she glared even harder at the forest. Were someone to spark a match at that moment, the entire wood would burn to the ground. Now there was this girl, a teenager, who was the black sheep of the group of black sheep. Eleanor had cursed Galia long ago with an instinct of protecting human life, and perhaps she reminded Galia of herself, when she was younger. Angry, stupid, and hungry for more. Now, what? It would be strategically beneficial to bond with this group of strangers. Already she had learned some of their names, but if they were going to be fighting together it would only make sense for them to be acquainted. Galia could hardly sleep, but she was good at it. Very good. If she closed her eyes, she could fall asleep upside down with an orchestra playing two feet away, and wake up with the sunrise. It was a skill she had picked up long ago, and one that could hardly be explained to people who hadn't lived the soldiers life for an extended period of time. So if she wanted too, she could stop staring up at the stars and go to sleep. It would be wise. The others wanted to camp, so she would, too. It would be foolish to charge in on the first night and hope for the best, even though that was her plan when she first arrived. Thankfully she wasn't as impulsive as she used to be. And once again...failure of any kind, was not an option. So she did just that. Galia, with her armor laying beside her, quickly found a light, restful sleep that could be broken at a moment's notice should the need arrive.