The forest was waiting for them.<br/><br/>That, or something along those lines, was what Adalwolf had said before he was taken away by the illusions of war shown to him by the forest and started swinging his sword madly. Sadly, having seen many others fall victim to such a thing before him she knew that there was no cure for this. The forestâ€™s enigmatic properties and illusions had teeth that penetrated even the toughest skin: the consequences for letting oneâ€™s guard down and not keeping vigilant. And it would also appear that their welcoming party has arrived. More than likely their voices must have drawn unwanted attention to themselves, and now the war has begun with a shower of arrows.<br/><br/>Mira swore under her breath as an arrow found its way towards her and struck her right in her shoulder, which was lightly armored with leather armor since she was no knight, which has been fitted to her build. This was more evidence that one should always remain vigilant in these parts. Pain shot through her as she attempted to pull the arrow out but to no avail. She decided to leave it for now and concentrate on the enemy; she would not focus all her energy on how much her shoulder hurt. She was a big girl, after all. Besides, better the shoulder than being shot in the knee, right?  She reached for the hilt of her sword and paused, eyes observing her surroundings with ease, before deciding her crossbow would be better for the current situation.<br/><br/>They were hidden in the trees, most of them. Mira was not as agile as the Sanctioned were and could not move along the treetops as they could. She would have to rely on her aim and old hunting abilities to catch her prey. And if needed, Mira would move to aid the others should they become overwhelmed by the numbers.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">â€œKill them before they kill you.â€</span>Sydney had said, looking mainly at her.<br/><br/>Mira just narrowed her eyes at him. She felt rather insulted by this to say the least, having someone state the obvious to her. But instead of dwelling on the thought that she had not been doing what was expected of her, she simply let it encourage her. Oh she certainly wanted to spit back so badly, donâ€™t get the wrong impression, but that would only show weakness at a time like this. â€œAs if I have the intentions of letting them,â€ was all she said. One must never show weakness to an enemy or ally alike. Even if it was somewhat difficult for Mira not to give in and prove that she was just as good as they were she had to stay focused and not allow herself get hit again.<br/><br/>These were not ordinary soldiers, most of them, craving battle. One would never forget those eyes â€“eyes that were filled with nothing but the will to fight, the craving of blood, the delight of war. Sometimes it was hard to believe some of them were still human, or if they were merely tortured souls who didnâ€™t know better. Mira wondered if some of them actually had families at one time, but sympathy was exactly what would get her killed. The warring side of her was quite different, more focused and serious, from her carefree childishness, though the look in her eyes was still there. That being said, at a closer look he only real difference was that Mira did not play around nor hesitate for she had a job to do and it was time to get it done and took it very seriously.<br/><br/>With almost exceptional aim, having been trained well and because of many years of practice, she continued to pick off as many of the hidden archers as she could. She had been too focused on that to notice that another enemy soldier had sneaked up on her, blade drawn, as she stopped to load a bolt, realizing her supply was shorter than he had thought originally so sheâ€™d have to be conservative. Mira cursed under her breath, quickly moving out of the way and shoving the bolt in the manâ€™s neck, hoping that she hit his jugular. Fighting dirty are they? With everyone else preoccupied with the chaos that has broken out in their own way it was a damn good thing she could handle herself.<br/><br/>For nowâ€¦