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While Auberon would never insinuate that his fellow students were cowards, he was a bit surprised nearly everyone joined the attack so eagerly. Then again, that was what they were attending Garreg Mach for. Duty had called and they had answered, as expected of the ideal nobleman. Lienna apparently hadn't gotten the memo, though perhaps she was simply not confident in her abilities and chose safety instead. She wasn't a delicate flower; she had a Crest for fuck's sake. They really needed to have a chat about the obligations of the upper class. Lienna had an excuse this time, but lowborn behavior could only continue for so long before her actions became an embarrassment to both herself and her betrothed. Speaking of betrothed, Kayden's bride-to-be staying behind garnered little frustration from the blond. She was prickly, offputting, and unsurprisingly lazy. Probably only in attendance at the academy for show, and intended to live out the rest of her life pampered in the Imperial Palace. Besides, she wasn't his to manage anyway.

Of course, every Deer boarding the carriage was a bit irritating. How did [i]Jorah[/i] of all people manage to get his dysfunctional hooligans on board? No, that wasn't quite fair; Clarissa had done all the legwork from what he saw. Auberon would have to be more forceful in the future. Still, he had to have done something right; Derec and Kellen followed without any deliberation. Sure, Kellen looked a bit more fidgety than usual - or was he always like that? Kellen could've had a seizure outright on the ride here and Auberon probably still wouldn't have noticed over the jostling of the carriage - but Derec looked almost like he'd done this before. That was good, confidence and morale have won battles that tactics and skill deemed impossible.

At Imogen's prodding, Auberon returned her grin with one of his own, subdued eagerness barely hidden behind his usual stoic veneer, [color=ffd700]"Of course. The Goddess put us here for a reason, we'd be fools not to answer the call."[/color] The timing was a bit too good to be purely coincidental. With no small number of Crestbearers present, the eyes of the Goddess were no doubt upon this group whether they liked it or not. [color=ffd700]"So, I think we're all going to be fine,"[/color] He tacked on mostly for the benefit of the more nervous members of the party. Naturally, he knew that [i]he[/i] would be fine from the beginning, and Imogen herself had been gung ho from the moment they saw the riders.

Once they started moving and Michail explained their strategy, Auberon straightened up as best he could in his seat and listened intently. A pretty barebones formation, though with their numbers, they really didn't have much of a choice. There wasn't much room to argue over the rickety clattering of the carriage anyway, not that Auberon was particularly keen on preaching tactics to a Knight of Seiros or a commanding officer. His role suited him just fine - Michail didn't want them to merely hold the line, they were to punch through the bandits and cut them down for their crimes. With how Euphemia seemed to want them coddled and the Faerghusian emphasis on shock cavalry, he was worried they might be relegated to standing in place and waiting for Michail to cut the bandits down from behind.

When he exitted the carriage at last, Auberon certainly didn't expect their adversaries to already be waiting for them. Had they been set up? Those riders looked a little too beat up to be faking, but the brigands could've expected that they'd return with reinforcements and set up an ambush to be safe. His instincts were telling him to charge in, rout them with shock and awe before they had a chance to realize they weren't just fighting dumb kids. Unfortunately, overextending himself was probably suicide if the rest of them couldn't keep up and this uniform was hardly doing him any favors in the area of defense. Without even a shield to duck behind, he'd need to play it safe. He knew his range, he could win. All he needed was patience.

[color=ffd700]"Jorah, pick off their archers first if you spot them,"[/color] The blond muttered as he disembarked, [color=ffd700]"Climb on top of the carriage for a better vantage point if you need to, we'll make sure they don't get close."[/color] A shoddily-dressed peasant with a sword already dulled by pointlessly cutting down innocents was hardly a concern. The cowardly ones taking shots at them from behind a tree were more worrisome. Most of the students looked like they'd have no answer to a sustained volley, Auberon included.

[color=ffd700]"Derec, you've got the most reach, so try to buy as as much space as possible. Keep them scattered,"[/color] He continued with a more forceful edge in his tone, assuming Derec to be more receptive to orders than Jorah. They had the numbers advantage for now, so surrounding the poor bastards and cutting them down like they'd probably done to the townsfolk was only poetic.

With his suggestions delivered, Auberon stepped forward challengingly and raised his axe over his shoulder in a way that was almost inviting. His stance was rigid and formal, one that suggested the would-be squire would react to anything unorthodox with confusion. Everything about him telegraphed that every move he'd make would come word-for-word out of a fencing manual, not that the boy was planning to explode like a feral beast and start hacking off limbs in the Goddess' name.

So when one of the mooks stepped forward, Auberon did just that. As the bandit approached, Auberon shifted his grip on his weapon further up toward the head, as if he was expecting the man to venture well into his personal space. Before he had the chance, the blond shifted his weight forward suddenly to thrust with the butt of his axe's haft and batter the guy in the nose. From there, his hand slid back into position and he snapped his axe downward immediately in a follow-up chop while the bandit was staggering. Hesitation was a sign of incertitude, and Auberon was nothing if not devoted in sending these men to answer for their crimes before the Most High.

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