Leaving the nobleman to deal with his newfound existential crisis, Sonia returned to her favorite boulder and sat there, crossbow perched on her lap as if a symbol of authority, seized from those who dared to step forward and propose unworthy proposals--"

She sighed, shaking off the thoughts, and returned to reality. Being a leader had never been her strong suit. It was the fact, and yet she still try to bargain with herself. Was that a statement based on incompetency or cowardice? Probably both. But the problem with being partial with your answer was it showed your duality, making you undecided but can be arbitrary at the same time.  

But perhaps now was not the day, she would prefer to keep it balanced. 

[color=a187be]"The basic of survival is shelter, water, and food."[/color] She announced. [color=a187be]"All three are in that order. But since we have it easy on the first day, we can shift the priority but still adhere to that three basic rules. Now I understand some of you wanted to find the captain and possibly your kin. We shouldn't do that today." [/color] 


Sonia could hear murmurs coming from the sailors. The woman with a daughter was still trembling and confused, probably didn't hear what she said. Only then did she realize that another layer of politeness had to be discarded. 

[color=a187be]"Now hear me out. Ensuring our survival is more important than finding the missing. We don't know where they are, and sending yourself on a wild-goose chase unprepared is not only foolish but also suicidal. Until we have secured our basic needs and have the area of this island mapped, we can't do anything about it but hope they are as fortunate as we are. this will be as far as my advice goes. After that, you are free to decide how you will survive on this island. I have informed you of my general capability, and you may choose to whom you would listen to. I have no problem with everyone for himself, nor would raise an objection if the majority prefer to be under sir nobleman's rule, as ridiculous as it sounds."[/color]

[color=a187be]"If you choose to listen to me, I would expect you to be fully committed to that decision. I am not promising anything, not even a guarantee of your survival. But if we work together, our chance to stay alive until the rescue comes would be a lot higher."[/color]  

One would be forgiven if they think she would ask 'who's with me?' to the crowd, but thankfully she didn't. Speaking for this long had been a strenuous task for her, and the last thing she need was to give a closing statement like an unconvincing politician. 

Now, to address the exploration plan, and for those who decided to listen. 

[color=a187be]"We can start trekking into the forest as soon as possible. But it is inadvisable to have a party of more than four. The terrain can be dangerous, and most of us are not in our best condition. Additionally, we need to construct a shelter, preferably soon. Tonight the sky will be clear and we can combat the chill with a proper campfire, but we can't predict tomorrow and the days after that. Even the rain can be deadly if we keep exposed to the elements."

"So we also need people to be here and secure the base. And if there is no objection, I will be in charge of that exploration team. The objective is to search for the source of fresh water. How far the exploration will go? It's still undecided, but I would prefer for us to return before dark. Any question?"
[/color]