Oh, Haeftin! So charmingly entheusiastic about everything, especially when fire was involved. Seeing him in action was always a treat.<br/><br/>Still, business was business, and there were more pressing matters. Her personal safety, for starters, and recapturing this stupid elf.<br/><br/>Mezmoriia unclipped a small holster from her horse's saddle. It contained a certain dagger - gold-hilted and black-bladed, a coded warning to those familiar, and coated in a subtle poison. Death would be agonizing and drawn out over the course of days. It was easily reversed - if one knew what one was doing.<br/><br/>The blade was razor-sharp and easily slid into Nadya's arm, where it stood like some perverse tower. It was nice to have an insurance policy. Mezmoriia barely noticed the screams any more, though perhaps the conflagration in front of her helped.<br/><br/>Only then did she address the uncivilized brute forcing his way into her presence. The nerve of some people!<br/><br/>"Now, what have we here?", she said, with exaggerated disinterest. "A valiant knight, come to rescue an oh-so-innocent captive of the horrific and irredeemably evil empire?"<br/><br/>She rolled her eyes and drew her own sword, her every motion dripping scorn.<br/><br/>"Were that it so simple. I'm sure it all worked out swimmingly in your imagination, no?"<br/><br/>A sudden swift cut, aimed to disarm. It nearly even worked, to Mezmoriia's surprise - she'd been going for flashy, not effective. Must be getting irritable - that wouldn't do in a battle! But her inner conflict was easily masked.<br/><br/>"You're outnumbered, dear, and outmatched, and if you win here you'll just hurt more people." With her free hand, she made a sweeping gesture at Haeftin's fire, ending with a dramatic flourish that just so happened to point in Nadya's direction.<br/><br/>And throughout all this, she'd been carefully moving to position herself closer to the house, where it sounded like she would soon be needed.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: WHITE;background:WHITE;"/></div><br/>Now this was unexpected!<br/><br/>The mind-mage's charge took Captain Hallow quite by surprise. That didn't fit the profile at all! Telepaths were usually sneaky, cowardly folk, unaccustomed to fighting - this man invalidated that stereotype at the worst possible moment.<br/><br/>And that name! Danni... Well, the mutual ruse was over, certainly. Damn! An entire plan, ruined over the course of seconds!<br/><br/>The others took it poorly, too. Winston's sword almost fell from his hands from surprise - the hell was that about? Jenkins, for his part, gripped his blade in what looked like white-knuckled terror.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Ah, hell</span>, she thought.<span style="font-style: italic">He's messing with our minds again! What kind of power does - </span><br/><br/>She pulled out of that train of thought. Now that she'd realized what he was doing, its influence was so much easier to -<br/><br/>That train of thought was interrupted by his blade impacting her throat.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: WHITE;background:WHITE;"/></div><br/>Hallow's fall was enough to shake Lieutenant - soon to be Captain, or perhaps Private - Winston from the man's spell. A variety of tactical options flashed through his mind - ways to change the situation, destabilize the battle and realign it in their favor - but ultimately for naught.<br/><br/>Jenkins was not a lieutenant for his brains. He was the team's muscle, their heavy bruiser, their berserker. He was also a surprisingly personable sort once you got to know him, and his affection for his captain was an open secret.<br/><br/>And so he charged, a mountain of passion and force aimed at the man who dared attack his friend, his secret lover. His roar was guttural, the cry of one who had just lost everything.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">There goes tactics</span>, Winston reflected.<span style="font-style: italic">This is exactly why chain of command romances are against regs.</span><br/><br/>He spun around, intending to gain a hold on the half-elf before she could try anything dumb. Stupid things were far too nimble.