From her vantage point, Darina could hear the terse conversation between Magpie, the man who wanted to assault her, and the newcomer with the gun. After almost getting eaten by demons, well, this was a little less life-threatening, but it was interesting. Bandits often broke into disagreements, so this, oddly enough, felt nostalgic to her. As the guards approached them, however, Darina moved farther back to make herself more scarce. Still, she was able to follow the action, or the lack of it, as the woman on the floor had devised a great distraction to cover up the reason for the altercation. Was the woman with the gun perhaps an acquaintance? Darina wouldn’t put it past them, as she had seen similar tactics before from other bandits and scavengers. But it looked like the second woman had only happened upon trouble this time.<br/><br/>In any case, she could appreciate the deception, and the need to survive. If Darina focused hard enough, she could even taste the trace of iron from her open gash. Unaware that she had just licked her lips then, she made her way through the small circle of onlookers. Why not help? For the moment, the more allies she had, the better. She had always functioned with a unit, though her recent—development would make things more complicated. “I saw it happen,” she said, beaming at the guards, “wasn’t much of a commotion, just an overenthusiastic dog.” The iron-savor of the woman’s blood filled her nostrils and mouth, now that she was closer.