Thea had planned to just zone out until the topic of strategy came up, but then Lucas began to talk and she found herself unable to do so. Christ, it was nike he was a completely different person. Less stuck-up and tired-looking, more...what was the word? Young? Yes, that. She honestly didn’t know how to react to it. On one side, she had to admire him for being able to do that in front of so many people, but at the same time, she still wanted to hate him. Why did she want to hate him? Because it was either that, ignore him, or become absolute besties with him. And since ignoring him wouldn’t work very well, and she didn’t plan on making any friends this trip, that left her with one option. It also didn’t help that he was an annoying prick.<br/><br/>Besides, after yesterday’s little show, she kind of had to establish that she was perfectly fine on her own. She didn’t need him, after all, and she was still a little pissed at herself for being so dependent. And, seeing how she couldn’t let her anger out in her default method of hunting until she felt absolutely calm, she had to resort to more immature methods.<br/><br/>People began to clap, and Thea realized that the other members were beginning to stand up.<span style="font-style: italic">Oh, no. Please not this crap</span>she thought with a sudden wave of nerves, though she calmly followed behind the others as they stood beside Lucas. She didn’t know how she made it through those following moments, probably with a blank stare and useless fidgeting behind her back. She noticed a few curious expressions at her last name, though there weren’t very many. As she was dismissed, she was hurried back over towards the table where they had been before, listening with a quiet stare at the table to the rest of the presentation.<br/><br/>~*~<br/><br/>The sun was setting quickly as the four stood with their horses and their bags, preparing to leave and finally begin their long-awaited mission.<br/><br/>Thea's nerves had calmed into a small, dulled buzz, her mind almost blank as she checked her bags with a hunters precision. Her backpack, sitting on the dusty ground as she went through it, contained a sack of cilantro and iodine, a few packs of food (dried meat, nuts, and berries, mainly, along with a half loaf of bread), some compacted tees and towels, one or two rolled up pairs of pants, five knives (two had been given to everyone, both throwable, though they probably were made for more slashing and stabbing), a roll of wire and netting, a first aid kit (complete with healing and burn salve, bandages, and a handy little handbook of handy little natural remedies) and one of the two handheld radios they’d been given for communicating with the other members of the mission. She had no idea who had the other one. Lucas? Maybe, but she wasn’t sure. The horse, herself, a tall dun criollo, held a small sleeping bag and personal tent, as well as a saddle bag containing apples, carrots, a solar-powered flashlight, a full water canteen, and (surprise!) a .22 handgun with twenty or so bullets. For “hunting-and-whatever” as the nervous supplier, who obviously knew nothing of guns, had explained. Thea couldn’t really judge, though, as she typically avoided the things. Not out of fear, more lack-of-interest. She’d always been better with a knife.<br/><br/>The mare pawed the ground anxiously as Thea expertly climbed onto her back. Based on the constant stomping and snorting, as well as the occasional kick, the horse was a bit wild and would probably be a small hell to control. Oh, well. Thea had dealt with rambunctious things before.<br/><br/>She began to pet the horse’s neck, waiting for everyone to give the okay so she could finally leave. She found herself looking up at the small crowd the kept glancing out the doorway, looking for Crayton’s familiar face as she quietly began to braid the horse’s black mane. He never did show, and Thea honestly felt a bit disappointed, though she couldn’t exactly say why.<br/><br/>Before long, everyone was packed and mounted, and the glancing out the door had slowed to a small trickle of people.   She heard Gerhard speak, and she gave a small smirk, replying quickly and just as quietly. “A bit dramatic, don’t you think? But I guess you’re right,”<br/><br/>After someone came around to check that no supplies were loose and all weapons were safe for travel, she heard someone inside give an okay, and they began to depart.<br/><br/>~*~<br/><br/>They'd been travelling for at least fourteen hours. Thea had made the mistake of not checking her watch directly before they left, but the sun had been setting then, and when they'd stopped, it was at least two hours into rising. And it was already blazing.<br/><br/>They'd stopped in a small little area in a dry creekbed, surrounded by trees on three sides, all huddled under the shade of a red plateau. She could see an area of light grass and birch trees in the distance, probably a mile away, give or take.<br/><br/>Thea could act as tough as she wanted, and she could get through most any pain you threw at her, but<span style="font-style: italic">heat</span>was not something she was used to. When they'd stopped, they'd opted to take shifts, with one person sleeping at a time so that they could leave as quickly as possible if they had to. It was currently Thea's time to sleep, but the heat was pretty much making that impossible. She'd unrolled her sleeping bag, and was now laying sprawled out across it, searching for some piece of material that wasn't burning. So far, she'd been unsuccessful.<br/><br/>Defeated, she sat up with a groan and began to roll up the uncomfortable mat  and placed it back onto her horse, who was currently tied to a pretty dead looking tree. It would probably snap immediately if the mare tried anything, but she was so tired she'd hardly moved from the ground since they'd gotten there.<br/><br/>As Thea took a long drink of water, she looked at the area surrounding their little campout. She'd realized a bit ago that it would probably be smart to hold off the dried food for a while, since it could last longer, which meant alternate food sources would be required. And the easiest way to get food would be to set up some snares.<br/><br/>She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, already gathering her knives and the roll of wire, and beginning to unfasten the horse from the tree. Almost last minute, she stuffed the radio in the (surprisingly useful) holster.<br/><br/>"I'm going to see if I can catch anything," She explained simply, mounting the tan horse and giving a nod off to the forested area. "I'll use the radio if anything happens." She rode off before anyone could protest or offer to go with her. Not that they would, of course. But she didn't want to take the chance.