Lethe slowed as the echoes of an unwanted sound came to her ears.  Her hand subconsciously raised, her group's signal to halt.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">"Is that..?"</span>Her inquiry was interrupted when Seraphim suddenly spoke up.  "I hear fighting." By now, the squad was all looking to the right, except for Demos. As rear guard, it was his job to look left if everyone was looking right.  (As Seraphim had quipped, it fit him perfectly to have a contrary job!)  Leon spoke up from the back, his embarrassment outweighed by his duty in the squad: “I’m sensing three just-emerged Sinners about five blocks from here.”<br/><br/>His statement was enough to have the entire group pivoting in that direction, their previously leisurely pace picking up in speed.  YunQiao glanced over at their newest member, noting the ‘rookie’ Knight looked uncertain.  “Is something wrong?”  Indecision still warred on Leon’s face before he haltingly admitted, “There are five other presences with the Sinners; they all have holy power but… they’re… not as strong.”  He finally chose the least offensive phrasing possible.  After the Captain’s rebuke, he didn’t want to be too proud but the holy presences confronting the Sinners seemed<span style="font-style: italic">really</span>weak.<br/><br/>“Captain! Five already engaging!”  Valiar called forward, receiving a lifted hand from Seraphim in acknowledgement.  Unlike the Captain or Vice Captain, her hand signals had no special meanings attached to them.  One by one, the group took to the rooftops to avoid pedestrian traffic.  The group followed the sounds of fighting, cutting diagonally across the rooftops to shorten the distance between them and the Sinners.  Lethe abruptly changed directions, headed not to the fight but to a point behind it.  The tapping of ten feet hitting rooftops heralded their arrival.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue"> “"Now I really need that note from Lethe… Finish this group's prowess report. I'll go check on them."</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Silver">“Guilford.”</span>Lethe’s hand came up in both greeting and a signal for her squad to stop.  Blue eyes scanned her fellow Seraph and the Knight beside him but found no signs of combat.  He also seemed very collected given that a fight had just finished.<span style="color: Silver"> “Is all well?  We sensed three Sinners emerging.”</span>Her hand moved to the side, dismissing her squad to look around.  She walked up to the other Seraph and glanced at the scene before her.  Five cadets were panting by three Penance-bound men.  The glow of recently cast<span style="font-style: italic">Absolve</span>s still hung in the air.<span style="color: Silver"> “I didn’t know you took part in cadet training.”</span>She commented idly, before remembering the statement that had welcomed her squad onto the rooftop.<span style="color: silver"> “And is there a reason you need a note from me?  I don’t recall--”</span>The flutter of wings and cooing of a carrier pigeon put her words to an end.  The bird hovered in front of her, a message tied to its leg.<span style="color: Silver"> “receiving any messages…”</span>The white-haired Knight finished her statement drily, plucking both the bird and its message from the air.<span style="color: Silver"> “Pardon me,”</span>She excused herself to read the message, pausing when she saw Guilford’s crest on the wax stamp.  A glance at the pigeon in her hand confirmed that it was his.<span style="color: Silver"> “...Should I bother reading this?”</span>She wondered aloud, eyeing the piece of paper in bemusement.