Caval is too recent for Alexa to feel anything resembling confidence. She is caught out, lax in her one task, with no offering to Athena [i]or[/i] the other one. And here stands a glittering goddess, blessed with omens and favors wondrous and breathtaking to behold. She should be only a step behind Mynx in her flight!

And yet, her feet are firm, her arm steady. The spear--her spear, her gift--sits in her hand like it could belong nowhere else. The Aegis is a silver flame on her arm, eager to protect. Here and now, she is calm.

Because she has no other choice. If she falls here, the Assassin will kill Dolce, and then her, and then everyone else she cares for. She must fight, holding nothing back, and win.

It's been a long time since she's done that, hasn't it?  How long, since she truly had a good reason? How long, since she could truly say she believed in her own cause?

The assassin can't kill her. Always useful to have an opponent who doesn't want to kill you--it means that, however briefly, you want the same thing.

No boasts. No challenges. But, as she stands and blocks the path, she murmurs:

"Ares. Guide my spear."

[3,5,+3. 11 on Keep Them Busy.]