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As an ex-knight who had dedicated decades of his life serving the Church, Caius could have told her a different battle story every bedtime and still have more to spare. Of course, Imogen had only been able to prod a handful out of him. She remembers sitting as still as can be, holding her breath in anticipation while her hands restlessly wring the hem of her shirt. His words, though few and terse, paint the battlefield in a bold and vibrant palette: Caius stands out in all his shiny glory, naturally; his blade is glinting in the sun and he is surrounded by his defeated enemies. There’s a chorus of cheers coming from the villagers he just saved, she knows there is and Caius was just too humble to add that detail. Imogen remembers wishing she was there with him then—if not to help, then to simply watch him and bask in his awesomeness—and Caius grumbling at the thought. 

Caius was never happy when he told his stories and she was only now realizing why.

Imogen reached the limits of her patience the moment they all clambered back inside the carriage, and was beyond raring-to-go by the time they came to a rocky halt inside the village. She tried her best to pay attention to Professor Mik's orders, but already, dozens of scenarios of how this all goes down were playing in her head, distracting her. They're always triumphant in the end, but who gets to defeat who always changed. In any case, she'd gotten the gist of the plan, at least. Beat the bad guys, protect the villagers. Stay with Kel and Princey.

When it was finally her turn to exit the carriage, Imogen expected to brandish her sword and charge at the first person to threaten them. It's what Caius would have done! Instead, she found herself overwhelmed to the point of inaction, and not just because of the violent shiver that wracked her body—the Dogberry equivalent of [i]'holy crap! they're everywhere.'[/i] 

The chaos that greeted her was like a brick wall to her momentum. Imogen looked around, assessing her surroundings in near disbelief, wide-eyed and filled with confusion. This… this wasn't anything like she had imagined from Caius' stories. There was smoke and fire and people--wounded, hurt, bleeding--all screaming, the fear in their voices so palpable it felt like a sobering slap in the face. Right, you don't get surrounded by defeated enemies magically, do you? Is this what Caius saw every time? For once, Imogen was glad to be on backup instead of the front lines. It was taking her longer to compose herself than she would like to admit. Her overactive imagination was once again in full gear, except for the first time in her life, it was doubt that plagued her. What if they can't defeat everyone? What happens to the villagers? What if they get hurt?

The painful cracking sound of a nose breaking was what snapped her out of her reverie. Imogen looked to Aubie and took solace in his persistent resolve. No hesitation, no overthinking things. Just straight up beating the bad guys and protecting the villagers as planned. You know what? Everyone's always telling her she never uses her brain. No point in starting now.

With determination anew, Imogen tightened her grip on her sword and easily fell into the defensive stance Caius has drilled into her. She took a deep breath and forced the discordant sound of chaos to fade into the background. It helped to tune into Clary's speech; though the actual words escaped her comprehension, the cadence and passion with which she said them were stirring enough to rile her up. 

A nagging pull to her right alerted her then, just as Princey made his way to handle the left flank. Imogen scrambled as she realized what had happened while she was off being distracted. [i]Kel![/i] She thought she heard his voice earlier, but it had been unusually loud and un-Kel like that it didn't register in her mind. There he was now, defending against a bandit. He had successfully blocked his attacks, and had wounded him to boot, but the bandit still kept coming after him.

[color=ffb5c2]"Get away!"[/color] Imogen charged. She might not have been as strong as Aubie or as experienced as Princey, but she was fast. She has outrun trouble all her life and she can clear the short distance between them in a flash.

The bandit with the crazed look and blood-stained sword—[i]please don't be Kel's[/i]—hardly had time to keep Kel at bay long enough to also defend against her sudden onslaught. A ferocious yell escaped her lips as she drove her sword into the bandit's chest, deeper than might have been necessary. Her running start sent her toppling alongside the bandit's now lifeless corpse and she did her best not to think about the slick red that coated her blade and splattered her uniform as she slowly pulled her sword out of him. She was also not thinking about how the man's eyes rolled up and she could see only the whites, or how his head hit the ground with a sickening crack. Nope, no more thinking. Just beat the bad guys and protect the villagers.

[color=ffb5c2]"Kel, are you alright?"[/color] She meant to ask earlier. [color=ffb5c2]"He didn't hurt yo--"[/color]

Another nagging pull made her pause, this time directing her attention toward the building this bandit had come out of. Two more emerged from there, seconds before it burst into flames. One bore a resemblance to the slain foe at their feet, and the guttural cry that came out of him as he spotted the body confirmed it.