In spite of her growing desperation to simply sit down at the roadside and process everything, MacKensie was looking increasingly more resolute as she walked.  A zealous fire was burning in her eyes, although most wouldn't have noticed, for her walking pace had crept up slightly and she was now at the head of the group.  Her fingers tingled with a determined and excited energy as she started to...

...be herself again.

You see: MacKensie Trydant was a soul attracted to big causes.  Although far from a full-time activist, the young woman supported political and civil rights movements, unafraid of the discourse and challenges of the present day.  She approached this in the same way she approached her studies and sport - with righteous passion, fierce competitiveness and the conviction of an inquisitor.

And now here she was... her old life stolen from her.  Nothing on her schedule.  And the greatest cause of them all, right in front of her: [i]Saving the world.[/i]

"Oh for goodness sake," she remarked haughtily at Dexter and Jared's position on the matter.  She'd already mentally rolled her eyes at Robert bragging about 'rejecting the Emperor's rule,' and now the sentiment was 'fuck the aristocracy.'  She shook her head.  "The Human Empire sounds like a better bet than anything that's been mentioned so far.  Strength, resources, surely? And it was they who summoned us.  Perhaps they have a plan alr-"

"I am not weak..."

MacKensie stopped and looked behind her.  Those three words could not have better summed up this bullshit sausage festival of egos.  It almost felt like a sarcastic joke - she wished it was - but much to her disquiet, she realised Yakeru was very-much being serious and was already marching back towards the city.  "Yakeru, stop!" It was no use, the young man was gone.  "Yakeru! Oh fuck," the last two words a mutter as she started running after him.

He'd made some distance between himself and the rest of them, but MacKensie was close enough to see four pieces of goblin collapse as Yakeru disappeared past the corpse cart.  When she got back onto the city streets, she slowed a little to see the horrific massacre 60 feet down the way.  A goblin surveying from the roof sounded a horn, signalling hostility in the streets and a need for reinforcements.  A quick bolt tearing through the creature's throat was enough to put an end to that awful racket but it may have been too late.

MacKensie followed her enraged companion as best she could, but was waylaid by a big flying beast, piloted by a goblin.  She was forced to lose ground, diving into a roll to avoid a swooping attack, before diverting her route through a series of gazebo canopies at roadside.  A few arrows thudded into the canopy or pinged off it, a huge shadow and screeches ripping overhead.  When MacKensie saw the refugees fleeing toward her, just as the flying beast had made a pass, she knew she had to make a distraction.

She used a quick wall-kick to vault herself up to the roof of a single-floor public house, grabbing the edge before pulling herself up.  "The gate is that way!" she shouted, waving at the escapees and pointing back the way she'd come.  Then came a short screech.  "Oh dear."

She started runnning across the rooftops, hopping and skipping the gaps, getting away from the refugees far enough to maybe give them a chance.  A spinning flip to her right side-stepped another potentially fatal pass from the flying creature, and she almost fell of the roof...

...then she saw Yakeru teleport, a little distant but in plain sight...

...and she [i]did[/i] fall off the roof.  "Waaah!"

She landed in a market stall, tearing through the hide roof which broke her fall, but hurt nevertheless.  The flying beast lost sight of her, he patrolled around trying to re-establish visual contact.  MacKensie half-climbed half-jumped out of the mess she'd created and saw the lone Yakeru in the middle of the street.  At the same time she was so happy to see him okay, her anger ramped back up and, heedless of any potential danger, she ran out towards him.

He turned to meet her, sword drawn and ready to fight... [i]ready to collapse, more like,[/i] she thought to herself as she neared.

"You bloody maniac," she scolded, slamming on the brakes but still almost knocking right into him.  She grabbed two handfuls of his tunic.  "What are you thinking!? Are you trying to die!? You should be ashamed of yourself!  You choose your own foolish pride over an entire world that needs our help!?  What good are you dead!? What good are you to those you just saved, when the Witch moves on and destroys the next home they make!?  Do you even care, or is just about you, going out in a blaze of glory with your dick hard - to hell with everything else!?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she told herself that she might be being a bit harsh. Yakeru had just saved a bunch of people, and who knew what fate lay in store for them if he hadn't.  And he was only young, no more than 18 years old, surely. (It was not the first time she ignored that voice until it was too late.)  Fortunately for her, she didn't have time to feel guilty as that familiar but unwelcome screech filled the air.

The flying beast was back and closing fast..................