[@Zarkun][@Sanguine Rose]

Ria had quickly set up series of spells to deal damage to the Asterins in a wide swath, but then there was something else. A loud, hissing roar echoed through the forest and then the Asterins begrudgingly retreated from the fray. Normally, this would have been left with relief for normal people. For Nolan, he gritted his teeth and mumbled a series of curses underneath his breath. This was the worst possible situation. If the Asterins were not called back, they could have broken through and get away from the fight, but now they were vulnerable for another surprise attack at any point of the journey. 

Nolan heaved a sigh and let his body relax. There was no benefit to getting worked up. A clear head was needed, especially when dealing with the highly stressed-out soldiers. He glanced at the Corporal who went back to arguing to whoever was on the other side. Again, there was no point in trying to argue with him. Tensions were high enough as they were. Well, that and Tanson explained to him the pressure that the corporal was under. This was something that had not escaped Nolan, however. It would have been weird that he was not under any pressure given the circumstances. 

He looked at PFC Tanson with his typically bored, cold look and said, [color=00746b]"If you have time to worry about what I think, then you have time to rest. I'm gonna talk to the corporal."[/color] The young monk glanced towards Ria and motioned her with his hand to follow him. The man was either still futilely trying to get backup. or was dejected, or both.

[color=00746b]"You're wasting your time. If they had the resources for backup, then Ria and I wouldn't be here."[/color] He approached the corporal as delicately as a sledgehammer to a brick wall. [color=00746b]"Look, I get it. You've got a lot to worry about and me turning off the coms only made things complicated. However, I will not apologize for what I did. I needed your attention to convey a plan and if it meant getting you and your men to safety then I would gladly do it again. However, that doesn't matter anymore."[/color]

He crossed his arms and looked at him with absolutely no remorse because that was a situation that they needed to move away from to deal with what was ahead. [color=00746b]"You need artillery, and we can provide it, but we can't fire blindly. So, let's plan."[/color] Nolan was not going to insult the corporal's intelligence by recapping the many shades of shit they were in. They needed a plan or else they were going to get possibly jumped by an Alpha or whatever the hell was ordering those lizards around.