[center][h2]Anne Mayer[/h2][h3]??? — Cave Entrance[/h3][/center]
"Focus on protecting the kids first. They're what's most important here." Anne kept her voice low and her steps light, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice as they cautiously crept through the woods. She didn't doubt that Joker's support would be useful if they had to engage, but she didn't want him putting himself in harm's way for her sake. [i]The adults protect the children... At least, that's the way it should be.[/i]

Fortunately, she didn't have to put that ideal to the test right away. The forest was crawling with Heralds, but Alvin clearly knew the terrain, and his quiet guidance helped them slip through in the end. When they reached the cave entrance Anne even allowed herself a small sigh of relief, which lasted all of half a second before she suddenly stepped out in front of the group.

Even out here on this unknown, far-flung planet, it seemed her luck was as bad as ever.

The enemy slipped out of the shadows with the calm stride of one wholly confident in her ability, a different breed entirely from the common soldiers who'd attacked the church. Anne glared back at her, and stood protectively before the others like a human shield. It was dark here, and her vision in her right eyes was still a little blurred, but even so she focused as best she could and zeroed in on the important details. Posture, footing, the way she laid her hand on one sword and seemingly let her guard down by glancing back for a moment. Every living creature had a pattern to how they moved, and reading that, predicting their intent, was a cornerstone of martial arts.

In the same vein, Anne deliberately played into the woman's assumptions and let herself appear more hurt than she really was. Heavy breaths, a small slouch, an uneven distribution of weight. Her hands didn't move towards her two swords, both sheathed at her left side.

"...From a tactical standpoint, it doesn't make any sense." She'd been wondering about this for a while, now. "Sending that many soldiers to search for a single child, even while your main force is under attack. If she was of high birth then maybe it'd be worth all that effort, but that clearly isn't the case here." Her eyes narrowed. "What's your angle? What are you even planning to do with her if we hand her over?"

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