Yasha's pained cry draws Arcea's attention away from the conversation, and once more, she felt a surge of energy course through her body. Oh, she was tired, her adrenaline-fueled swagger had run it's course, and despite the fight being a somewhat short one, she fully felt she'd EARNED a little bit of relaxation and recuperation. Yet, it was rest that would have to wait until the squirrel was no longer a squirming bulge in the marten's midsection and once more amongst the not-soon-to-be-fertilizer crowd. Hissing in annoyance at having been ignored not just once, but THREE times, Arcea tightened her grip on her sword, swiveling her head towards the Marten whom she was going to go personally introduce herself to rather soon. Fortunately (perhaps - it looked like she was in an equally 'bad spot'), the squirrels big, scaled companion finally stepped in to put a stop to the show, and in a matter of moments, the twitching, acid-drenched tip of Yasha's tail is squishing it's way up out of the Marten's throat and mouth.<br/><br/>Admittedly, the sight was a little bit comical - the shifting bulge in the Marten's stomach squirming..well, BACKWARDS was a sight to see in and of itself...but the once-proud, floofy tail, clearly a rather large point of pride to the squirrel, coming out not only dripping in acid and saliva, but far more resembling the tail of an especially nasty-looking rat as opposed to the luxuriant, flowing, floofy tail Yasha had been proud to grandly displace moments before. Still, little by little, the sodden squirrel extracted herself from what could have been her fate as a coughed-up hairball some day or two later, and within moment was safely standing in the snow once more, lightly steaming from the heat that had been prevalent inside the Marten's belly.<br/><br/>She looked...<br/><br/>Well...pretty bad.<br/><br/>Hilariously so.<br/><br/>With the threat of losing her newfound ally to the belly of some Marten gone, Arcea cannot help but feel a little wave of relief roll across her body, spurring a little, light-hearted chuckle at the squirrel's abysmal appearance. Catching herself before Yasha heard or SAW her laughing, Arcea nodded her head to Yasha, forcing the smile from her face with nearly herculean effort "Nice to see you're b-aha..er...back. Thought I was gonna have to come in after you. Or take the roundabout way." With this, she lightly tapped her stomach, quirking a smug little smirk on the squirrel's direction.<br/><br/>Yasha's situation dealt with, Arcea's attention turned back to the floating raccoon and her downed cousin, her blade still held firmly in her grip. She looked tired but tense, her body held rigid and straight, her legs lightly bent, her tail held straight and steady behind her...<br/><br/>...Until Delilah decides to take her offer, and - just like that - lowered herself to the ground, burying her hatchet in a nearby stump to disarm herself. For a few seconds, Arcea affixes that raccooness with a hard look, idly looking for any other weapons she might have hidden upon her person and ready to draw, but upon seeing her more concerned for Maribel's safety than launching a close-range sneak attack, the feline visibly relaxes. Eyeing the axe - clearly meant as an 'offering' of respect, or thanks - Arcea nodded her head. Fitting - the weapon of an enemy was kinda like tribute, right? Perhaps not monetary, but it had every bit as much meaning. In the span of a few seconds, the catgirl's tenseness seems to vanish, and her hard expression softened considerably, the faintest hints of a smile slipping across her face "Ah. Good. Glad you saw reason. Far as I'm concerned..." Stepping past Delilah, Arcea pulled the hatchet out of the stump, giving it a single glance before slipping it into her belt "...You're off the hook. You and Maribel."<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Delilah wrote:</cite> "So..." she says with a twitch of her nose, still trying to keep up a brave face but clearly quite intimidated by the feline warrior's resolve, "I can't honestly say I don't believe your account, ma'am." The lithe grey-furred female was adopting a polite, somewhat respectful tone now. "Which means I have to reckon that I how you an apology. Not for trying to take you and your friends, that was nothin' personal... but if what you say is true, most of them acted truly shameful out here. You're right - I'm lucky she's still got her head on her shoulders." </div></blockquote><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Sheennnk! </span><br/><br/>Dipping her blade into snow to remove it of gator-blood and various types of hydraulic fluids and oil, Arcea neatly sheaths her sword back in the scabbard at her side, clearly considering the fight to be well and truly over. Her shield, she casually slings up onto her back, fitting the thick metallic straps across her upper arm for ease of carry, and so it would not be getting in her way during travel "Yeah." She says simply, her emerald eyes alighting upon Delilah, still twinkling with mirth at Yasha's misfortune - and her ruined fur styling "Consider Maribel really lucky. She stepped around my shield to talk some sense into your people, and they hit her right between the eyes while firing at me." The mirth slowly diminishes, leaving behind only a slightly upturned corner of her muzzle, something bordering on a grin "...She's part of the reason I'm making the offer to let you leave. Takes some bravery to do what she did. I can respect that. Plus, she was nice to Celrie." Pointedly flattening her ears against the top of her head, Arcea's expression briefly hardens "...And I know you will be, too." There's just a very hint of dangerous aggression still evident in Arcea's voice, but just as quickly as it arose, it's gone, leaving her once more sort of half-grinning at the mental image of Yasha's fur, despite her best efforts to keep from gawking at the squirrel.<br/><br/>Falling silent as Delilah continues her explaination, Arcea 'hmms' quietly. They KNEW a whole cartload of Cal'Drua were coming through here, along with the nobles of the empire? It sounded like a suicide run, quite honestly...or, perhaps, they just didn't put as much thought into it as they should have. Blowing up the train car full of her warriors would have been a potent tactical first step, and then descending upon the rest of them en-masse...<br/><br/>The catgirl shuddered a little, shaking her head at the thought. It really could have went alot worse than it did. Still, their side was alive, if a little tired, haggard, and - in Yasha's case - acid eaten. That is what mattered. It was even more surprising, though, when Deliliah mentioned the 'lake dwelling' tribe who made their homes somewhat nearby. A reward? A considerable one, too...and she was not even the official leader of her people. To the contrary, she was still furthest in line from actually becoming chiefess of her tribe, and whatever advantage they'd gain from her capture had to be negligible...<br/><br/>...Or was it? It set her mind to spinning with possibilities. Using her as a bargaining chip was not too far fetched, or even making a public display of 'offing her', one of the intended leaders of the Cal'Drua, might make other tribes who'd thought of joining up with the empire hesitant, especially when one of the larger, stronger tribes couldn't stop one of their own from getting captured and summarily executed in any number of ways. Really, the thought made her skin crawl. Hunted? She'd never been...HUNTED.<br/><br/>Hrmph. Not that they'd ever get to her. Maybe she'd have to make a point of having words with the so-called 'princess'....but for now, it was not something that needed her full attention. Shaking her head to clear the negative thoughts from her mind, Arcea strolls over and settles in at Celrie's side, lightly resting the warm, soft fur of her exposed midsection against the slightly smaller elf's body, casually watching the exchange between her and Maribel. Oooh, seemed the coon DID make a rather....nice new friend, didn't she? "Mmm...remind me to ask for your special brand of healing one day, Celrie. Seems..." Glancing down at Maribel's shivering, pleasure-wracked form, Arcea offered up a light-hearted little laugh "...delightful."<br/><br/>Her dour expression once more turning into a surprisingly bright smile, especially considering she was speaking post-battle with her previous enemy, Arcea offers up a bright, toothy smile "Stand up folk? Hah - well, some of us, perhaps. Not all. Just remember - maybe we'll need a little help in the future, hrm? Or, if you ever swing by, maybe we can jus' make all attempts to drink each other under the table. I'd say that'd be a good way to let bygones be bygones. Might look in on us sometime, hrm? This time, without the cannons shooting at us and mechs trying to slice us to bit, thanks." The last is delivered just as Arcea strolls by, offering Delilah an almost playful hip bump "That's my type of one on one duel - a night of fun with stout drinks and good food. Consider that the 2nd condition of you walking away. Take me up on it. Celrie would love it, I bet."<br/><br/>Casting a sidelong glance at Maribel, Arcea finally breaks into a full-fledged smile, her sharp, white teeth glistening in the light "Noble? Hah - hardly! And like I said, coming to visit is as good a way to repay as any." Honestly, though she'd never admit it, being recognized as 'noble' sent a little sensation of warmth through her body, a little measure of pride that hadn't quite been there before. True, she might have gotten some respect from the various tribes, but never from someone OUTSIDE those tribes. It was...pleasant, to say the least.<br/><br/>Without so much as another word, Arcea trots off into the snow and begins to gather up the survivors of the little attack, dragging them back in pairs by their feet to uncerimoniously dump them in a line right before the train itself. Little by little, the weapons and various bits of armor begin to pile up - what is still attached to the mostly-unconcious foes is stripped down to nothingness, leaving them completely naked in the snow. Pretty soon, there is a small pile of weapons, discarded armor, and clothing - the last of which is ripped up into small strips used to tie the prisoner's hands behind their back.<br/><br/>"Lets see.." Arcea murmured, eyeing the group of groggy individuals "Three males, 4 females, and - wait...the badger!" Casting her eyes far into the distance, she just BARELY made out the black head of the badger-girl she'd frightened off. She'd nearly forgotten! Leaving the prisoners well-tied, Arcea trotted out to the badger girl, a coy little grin still playing across her muzzle "...You're off the hook. Didn't shoot at us, and gave up. Tasty as you'd be..." Making a big show of licking her lips, Arcea eased her blade from it's scabbard, giving the still-groveling girl a swat on the rump "...and as hungry as I am, I think there's plenty more deserving to sate my hunger. You ever find yourself against me again, though, you'll wish I'd skewered you right now. Understand? Now, get outta here!" Jerking her weapon from her hand, Arcea turned and simply walked off, leaving the no-doubt stunned badger girl to her own devices.<br/><br/>Tossing the weapon in the pile she'd made, Arcea nods her head in satisfaction - the survivors were gathered up, and now it was just a matter of figuring out what to do with them. First, though...it was time to wake them up.<br/><br/>Grabbing a handful of snow, the feline girl sets about the task of rubbing the freezing cold powder in each of the prisoner's faces to try and pull them out of their groggy states "Wakey wakey...can't sleep forever. Time to decide what to do with you all..." Casting a glance over her shoulder at Maribel and Delilah, Arcea cast a single wave in farewell to the duo, opening her mouth to say something just when --<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Soon to be exploded wolf wrote:</cite> Yess! I did it~! This illegal obstacle is rigged and ready to be blown away on your command, Celrie!!" </div></blockquote><br/><br/>--Alexis' interruption stops her farewell before she can ever really get it out. Grunting in annoyance, the catgirl simply swivels her head in Alexis' direction. It wasn't the wolfess that she noticed first, though - it was the far, FAR overdone pile of explosives she was using to clear the tracks. The destruction it would cause was far in excess of what was needed, and there was a good chance it'd end up taking Alexis with it--<br/><br/>--Ah. Well. Every cloud had a silver lining. Not bothering to correct the blunder that was poised to happen, Arcea just shook her head to herself, muttering<span style="font-style: italic">' Adcorsi Foolam vash gori' </span>under her breath. Ohhh, this silly wolfess. How was she ever going to survive outside the safety of her estate...<br/><br/>"...All yours on that one, Celrie. I'd not mind seeing her press the button, really."