"There's a difference between us, you and I. You think the people of this province exist to provide you with gain, safety, and reputation. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom and a future. Dead or Alive. I'm go to make sure that they have it."<br/><br/>"My position?"<br/><br/>Til glanced to Eva with an eyebrow raised, then back to Adawolf. "What position? Servant?" she planted her hands on her hips. "Listen up buddy, I don't think anyone exists to provide anyone anything. If someone happens to do something for you along the way, great. Otherwise you know what you can expect out of people?" she made an open-palmed motion. "A great big fat lot of nothing. I don't expect anything out of anyone, and anyone what expects something outta me is flat stupid," her eyes narrowed as he said "dead or alive," her expression turning defensive. "You threatening me, Lord Self-Righteous?"<br/><br/>She was distracted from her retort as Quinn referred to her as a mutt. She spit on the ground near him, telling him in no uncertain terms what he and his hand could do on a lonely night as far as she was concerned. "If she can be of use and can keep pace, she may," the larger knight ordered, and Til grinned at Quinn triumphantly. The expression vanished as her radar-like ears picked up on Eva's whispers.<br/><br/>"Don't gotta go telling everyone," Til growled, but refrained from further comment at Eva's supplicating look. "Besides, you know damn well that I wouldn't be at home. I've been in the woods for four days looking for that stupid plant. Why can't you just use that root that smells funny? This thing was harder to catch than--" she trailed off, finally catching the flirty playfulness that Eva showed towards Quinn. Her face immediately went stony and she walked closer to Eva's side. The teenager was so sullen that she didn't even comment on the remark about them all being meatshields, and walked in silence. No one bothered to introduce themselves to her, and so Til did not bother introducing herself to anyone else. She was comfortable (as much as she could be) in the background, following like a shadow.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Damn,</span>she thought, her scrapes and bruises from her fresh battle still aching, her limbs sore from pushing herself for days, her skin itching with the need of a bath.<span style="font-style: italic">I'm tired.</span><br/><br/>She stuffed her hands in her pockets when Eva veered ahead, flirting overtly with Quinn as she guided their path. There hadn't even been so much as a thank you, Til noticed. No "Gosh, Tilasra, you're awfully brave for going out and fetching this for me," or even a "Oh my, child, what happened to your shirt? Why are you all beaten up?" Nevermind that Til brushed off Eva's concerns like it was no big deal, the teenager lived for the attention. Now the stupid... pretty boy was getting it all. What did he do that Til couldn't? She cast her eye up and down his back with mounting irritation. Was it the armor? Til could wear armor, she just chose not to because it made maneuvering in the forest too difficult, too noisy. Was it the hair? Til's fingers stroked her long braid self-consciously. She could wash her hair, cut it, make it look nice. Was it the sword? Til's free hand fell to her knife and she picked at the worn grip. Swords were stupid in the kind of close-quarters landscape that the forest provided. Was it because he was bigger than her, stronger? Almost certainly better-trained, with social graces and a sharp wit?<br/><br/>Was it because he wasn't a grimy, grouchy teenage thief? Where the hell did this guy come from, anyway?<br/><br/>Til's demeanor grew more and more unapproachable as she walked just behind Eva and Quinn, eyes boring holes into the back of the knight's head. For the moment the quest meant little to her, why there were strangers sauntering through her woods like they owned the place simply didn't matter. As usual, all Til cared about was her mistress and gaining her attentions.<br/><br/>So when Adawolf began to suddenly slice into the air, attacking anything that got near him, Til jumped in startled surprise. "What the--" she cursed, frustrated that she hadn't noticed the attackers before. The trees were crawling with archers and arrows shot from out of the foliage. Til's bow was drawn and nocked before she could blink, and in an instant she had put herself between Eva and the assailants. Til was fast--almost too fast--and it was easy to see why she had so few troubles in the woods on her own. An arrow flew, aimed at the heart of one of the archers, and before it had even struck it's target Til had another drawn, the homemade fletching tickling her cheek. She served as a living shield for her mistress as the second arrow flew, whizzing past Quinn's ear on it's way to it's target in the branches above. If Til had purposely come so close to the knight, it did not show in her face. She was focused solely on the attackers, eyes locked on them with deadly precision.