Lilian paused at the sudden question, looking at the little Death a bit warily, speaking up then. "I was fairly lucky. I lived at an area mostly untouched by the war, but it didn't mean everything was well. Food was running out, and constant predation by bandits and thugs was having its toll. There were walled areas but those were just asking for a fight and they were not prepared to a larger fight, not enough guns and not enough brave folks, but the walll telling the bandits in the neighborhood that there was something valuable there since people made an effort to protect it."<br/><br/>Drawing breath, she sighed. "I disguised myself as a young man, and left. On meeting with bandits, I told them I was sick and tired of the rules in the society and just being afraid and farming land hoping things would get better. So they were suspicious but took me under their wing, first as little more than a 'slave', running errands and such, but since they thought me a boy, they were at least not going to cause me too much trouble."<br/><br/>She drew a breath and looked aside. "Eventually it turned into more thuggish activity, but I distanced myself from it in part. I was glad the group was not after slavery at least, but it was little comfort when they attacked settlements. I searched for goods while I was there, but I didn't shoot at anyone unless ordered to and part of a group. Though it doesn't excuse it." Shrugging a bit, she looked at the little death. "In my defense, most of the folks in that area were bandits themselves, so it was mostly bandit groups competing with one another and waging small war between one another."