A group of four Pristine Knights walked down the street silently.  The apparent leader, a short female in all white, appeared contemplative while the other three followed her lead, forming a staggered V shape.  One of the followers, an amber haired Knight, held a pad of paper in his hand, pen tip resting against the notebook as if ready to write.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “We’ve responded to all the messages.  There were no new requests from the Advocates on Palaugrim?”</span>She paused for a response and received a pained look and head shake in response.<br/><br/>“Nothing that we’re authorized to undertake.”  Her second in command said tactfully, knowing it would prompt a frown from his Commander.  (Indeed, a small frown did cross her face.)  Lethe didn’t quite understand why, but most of her (and her squad’s) actions were limited to Lindela and small parts of Palaugrim.  Guilford’s squad didn’t seem to be restrained like her group, but for all her arguments, the High Council seemed determined to keep her on a tight leash.  Sorrow flickered through her eyes at the reminder.  They probably knew how close she was to Sin and wanted to keep her close in case she fell.  She turned to face forward, resuming her walking, and continued as if nothing was wrong.  The group followed after her once more.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Alright, please make sure Deimos restocks our inventory before we group next.  I’m thinking we can take another foray into Palaugrim, maybe two to four weeks?”</span>This time her head turned to the Knight on her right.  Captain Kobayashi led one of the squads stationed near the transport site between Lindela and Palaugrim.  Of the four present, he would know Palaugrim’s schedule the best.  The older Knight nodded his head slowly, mentally going through the rotation of Knight squads on Palaugrim.  Some Knights lived on the island, but most rotated onto and off the land.<br/><br/>“There will be a gap in three weeks time.”  He looked at the white Knight and then hedged uncertainly, “But it’s only a week and a half and it’s the reinforcement squad we’ll be short on.  It’s not of high importance.”  He didn’t want to impose on the other squad, especially not Master Lethe’s.<br/><br/>The female Knight simply smiled back, apparently oblivious to his unease.<span style="color: silver"> “We will be there, Captain Kobayashi.  Sin's grasp on the people's heart is too strong on Palaugrim, despite everyone's efforts there. I don’t want any other Knights injured if I can prevent it.”</span><br/><br/>“Very well.”  The group lapped back into silence as they continued their trek back to their squads’ meeting point.  As they came closer, chatter could be heard among the Knights gathered there.<br/><br/>“I’m really impressed by your squad’s coordination!  We could never dream of taking down so many Sinners at once!”<br/>“Oh, we’ve taken down larger groups before.”  A familiar voice boasted with studied nonchalance.  It was the newest member of her squad. “That was actually one of our slower take down times.  We can usually beat such easy Sinners up faster.  One time--”<br/><br/>Lethe gnawed on the corner of her lip uncertainly.  While her squad had certainly worked better than usual and had reason to be happy with their accomplishments, pride was one of the first steps on the path towards Sin.  Gloating was also a way to inspire jealousy and jealousy could easily lead to envy and thus Sin.  She didn’t want to scold her squad for being skilled but she wasn’t certain she approved of them speaking so proudly about it.  And yet at the same time, they had reason to be proud at how their hard work at paid off.  But then—Her thoughts were cut off by the clearing of a throat behind her.<br/><br/>“I’ll speak with Leon about being more discreet.”  Her second in command offered helpfully, only to be cut off by a shake of his captain’s head.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Thank you Adair, but that’s not necessary.”</span>The smile accompanying her words seemed a touch forced and she once again turned forwards, shoulders pulled back as she straightened her spine in anticipation of the unpleasant task of reprimanding her Knight.  In doing so, she completely missed the other Knight’s wince.  His poor captain; she didn’t realize how much worse their newbie would take the chastisement if she were to give it rather than him.  After spending six years with her, he’d grown to learn most of her nuances and knew she was (still) rather oblivious to the effect her reputation had.<br/><br/>Catching sight of the group in front of her, Lethe raised her voice to carry across the distance,<span style="color: silver">“Leon, we shouldn’t boast about failing to save a Sinner.”</span>She rebuked mildly,<span style="color: silver">“Every Sinner we ‘beat’ is another soul that will wander without salvation. "</span>She paused and then added gracefully,<span style="color: silver">"However, I’m glad that no one was hurt during our last battle.”</span>Her gaze turned to catch the eyes of every Knight in the plaza as she continued,<span style="color: silver"> “Thank you all very much for your help.  Every day that you take up the armor, you make this world a better place.”</span><br/><br/>A silence fell upon the assembled Knights before her second in command stepped up beside her.  “Pack up!  We’re headed back to the Grand Cathedral.  Captain Kobayashi,” Adair turned to face the other Knight, “thank you and your squad for your help this past week.”  With a nod of acknowledgement, the amber haired knight left to gather the other members of Lethe's squad.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Yes, thank you.”</span>Lethe echoed with a dip of her head,<span style="color: silver"> “Please inform me if you are ever short staffed or are in need of assistance.  As I said earlier, if it’s in my power to help, I would be happy to do so.”</span>With another nod of her head, Lethe waited for her fellow Captain’s similar dismissal and then turned towards her squad who were assembled in two lines, ready to march out.  With a lift of her chin, the white haired ‘Seraph’ strode to take her spot at the front of the squad.