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One more breath, and Alja finally managed to stuff her inadequacy and trauma back underneath the rug where they'd hidden during her time in Pariah. [i][color=d1fffc]Don't unpack it. Don't even THINK about it.[/color][/i] She stretched herself up to her full height, pulling Glacier Chain off of her back. She hefted it, taking comfort in the weight in her hand and the clinking of the enchanted ice chain. Another deep breath. Then she turned and jogged after Graves. As she drew closer to him (best not to stand between him and any monsters that crossed their paths, she thought) she clenched her jaw and turned to the rest of the group. With her trademark wide grin (she hoped nobody could tell the force behind it), she cupped her left hand to her face and called back to them. "[color=d1fffc]See? Graves' got the spirit, ay? 'Mon then, that elevator isn't gettin' any closer.[/color]" 

A moment passed as she looked back at the rudimentary party. Then she hissed in a breath with a realization. Motioning to Rael, she jogged back over to her and pitched her voice down so as not to offend anybody. Her forced smile faded to something a bit more businesslike. "[color=d1fffc]I know it's prob'ly kinda hard to treat this like a real raid for you, Rael, given how much better you are at the game than pretty much anyone here. But now that we got some lower levels with us, we should prob'ly choose which one of us is gonna main and off.[/color]" Giving the flail an experimental twirl to make sure everything was in top shape, she gave a shrug and smiled faintly. "[color=d1fffc]You got more experience, you choose and I'll fit, 'kay?[/color]"

Realistically, she thought she was probably a better off-tank in this case, since she could throw Frost Armor on Rael and keep DPS'ing. But from what (little) she'd gathered about Rael from her time in Pariah, she needed to feel 1) needed, 2) superior, and 3) in control, in no particular order. Keeping their arguably most experienced player's morale up was probably a benefit. Not to mention, making people happy made Alja happy, and she sorely needed a win right now.

But it wasn't like Alja was lying at any point, and she'd meant it all sincerely. Rael [i]was[/i] a much better tank, and a much better player. Deferring to her was probably a good idea.