[pardon the crappy, crappy title...of anyone can think of anything better...rename it! XD]
Beatrid followed Fahmida as she lead the way to the village, all the while smirking to herself. Kuro would be late, and he'd be reprimanded, the show-off. And he'd deserve it, too, for not following orders. Because he was obviously too good to follow orders like the rest of the Mordecai.
...Which was, as of late, herself.
She had no idea where this Antaeus she'd heard of was, or where he fit into the scheme of things, and Tyne, as usual, was off doing his own thing. Probably hitting the sweet shop or flustering another tutor. Anything to avoid work. And then there was Kuro, of course, who also did his own thing, because he was better than the rest of them. He wouldn't even let her do her job! Everytime she was in some element of danger he had to go and play knight in shining armor and save the only female Mordecai, because she had apparently turned into a damsel in distress without even knowing about it. Oooh, but she couldn't think of another person that aggravated her more than him!
Newsflash! She was a Mordecai! A trained soldier! Of course she was going to be put in dangerous situations, and she had accepted that when she took on the job! She didn't need saving. And someone injuring themself to save her from injury was just...just...stupid.
She'd do it for someone else without a thought. But she didn't need someone else doing that for her. She didn't like being in anyone's debt.
And she didn't like being the only responsible Mordecai, either. It was crap.
However, all feelings of frustration and aggravation faded away when she saw what state the part of the village they had entered was in.
Holy hells.
It looked like a warzone.
On impulse, Beatrid tossed her long braid out of the way and reached back to take her crossbow, holding it out in front of her and loading a bolt into it. Couldn't be too cautious.
Glancing over at Fahmida, she finally spoke up for the first time since following the woman, working moisture back into her suddenly dry mouth. "What...what happened, here?" Whatever it was, it looked recent. Beatrid could still feel the heat from the attack, and the smoke was making her eyes sting.