Caedrin's eyes slowly blinked back into life, his mind and body gradually regaining consciousness. He started noticing a dull pain in the back of his head as he sat up, which quickly intensified as the events of the previous night returned to his memory. He had been keeping watch, and evidently doing a poor job of it, given his current situation. He instinctively let out a pained grunt as his hand moved to the point the pain was emanating from, which was the back of his head. His fingers were treated to the feeling of matted hair, which he decided was likely from dried blood.<br/><br/>He stared blankly into space for a few moments, before remembering the entire reason he was here. His head shot up as he looked around, trying to find any sign of the prisoner he had taken last night; it was dark, and difficult to see, but as far as he could tell she was nowhere to be found. His mind finally clicked, the realization of his mistake setting in.<span style="font-style: italic">Of course.. She was a shapeshifter..</span>His hands balled into fists and he clenched his teeth, mentally berating himself for his extreme lack of diligence in his duty. He had been tired, yes, but there were no excuses in his line of work; the only thing that mattered was that he had failed, and it was something that could have easily been avoided had he not shirked his duties.<br/><br/>He sat for a few minutes in silence, before a sound jerked him back into reality, and made him realize something else. He jumped to his feet and looked around, trying to find any sign of the merchant girl who had been accompanying him yesterday. He couldn't see more than a foot in front of him, and decided to see if he could muster up the energy to form another orb; it sputtered in and out of life for a moment, but before long the familiar, soft glow returned, bathing the area in a warm light. It didn't take him long to notice her, standing near where she had slept last night. She seemed to be perfectly safe, and he let out a relieved sigh; the thief may have gotten away, but at least a civilian was not harmed under his watch.. though her status as a normal civilian seemed questionable, given her knowledge of magic. Still, he was glad she came to no harm, more for his own moral reasons than for the sake of his position as a knight. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but stopped short. Realizing he was unable to directly meet her gaze, he sat down on the same stump he had collapsed next to and stared at the ground in thought, awaiting the inevitable cascade of insults.