It had been a long night. Acacia was halfway into a yawn when she thought better of it, ducking her head abruptly as Elder MacReary’s gaze passed over her. She smiled sheepishly and offered a quiet apology. He said nothing. When he turned away from her, Acacia’s smile blossomed into a giddy grin, and she had to fight back a squeal of happiness: today was THE DAY. Thanks to the influx of patients who were injured in the brawl following Churchill Gunner’s fight, she had been up most of the night, but she could barely contain the energy that buzzed through her entire body. Even the Elder’s curt explanation of Sector V’s latest assignment (her first mission!), though briefly sobering, hadn’t kept her spirits down for long. This was it. She was [i]ready[/i].

Unfortunately, the rest of Sundown was apparently not so eager to get the day started.

It was already mid-morning when, peeking around Elder MacReary for what felt like the thousandth time, she spied two figures making their way across the courtyard. Even from a distance, she recognized one of the two as Churchill Gunner; though she had never met him personally, she was well aware of Sector V’s leader and his more.. [i]distinctive[/i] features. The identity of the other, smaller figure wasn’t so clear. From the way they moved, anyone could tell that they were injured, and as they drew closer, Acacia saw that the girl -- whose face she now recognized, even if her name still eluded her -- was placing much of her weight on Churchill. Her heart sank a little. From what MacReary had told her, their mission was going to be difficult enough with everyone operating at full capacity. If they were going into this with preexisting injuries, they would really have their work cut out for them.

Churchill and the Elder exchanged greetings, followed quickly by jabs, then suddenly the attention was on her. Acacia opened her mouth to introduce herself, but before she could make a sound, Churchill had started in on MacReary again. She would have to watch out for that temper.

Mercifully, Eva halted the hostilities with a well-placed elbow, and Acacia held back a chuckle. She shot her an appreciative smile before bringing her attention back to Churchill.

“Acacia Ridder, glad to be here. It’s an honor --” She paused as she reached out to accept the satchel from MacReary, realizing she might be gushing a little. “Um, it’s nice to meet you. Both of you,” she said, smiling at both the Sector V leaders as she slung her precious cargo over one shoulder.

When Churchill threw his head back and barked his order, Acacia felt a chill run the length of her spine, and she lifted her chin slightly, unconsciously mirroring his posture. As if they had already known their leader needed them, the members of Sector V began to assemble. She couldn’t help but admire how in sync they all seemed to be, and pride and anticipation swelled within her at the thought that she was now a part of it all.