Aerdrie’s gaze flicked to Mogget first as she responded, “Ran or not, when Riq first fell she was on him and healing. When I first fell, she remained. And when she ran, I told her to leave me and run. I believe she would have stayed had I not. She shows great courage when necessary. A fool does not run when they have lost. As for my tact, we can debate my tact at a later date, around the same time we discuss where exactly you were when Riq and I fell in battle with no one besides Khana to help us. Finding your clothing again, kitty cat?”
Her gaze shifted to Nevermore and with no apparent shame, she dropped the blanket, reached up and began to untie her armor. A moment later, she was peeling off her outer shirt to reveal the healed scar from where the arrow had gone all the way through her shoulder. There was a lot of dried blood around it, covering the rest of her shoulders, soaking her undershirt, and the shirt she’d taken off was stiff from it. She sat there in several moments of uncomfortable silence before responding forcing Nevermore to stare at the blood loss and closed wound she’d sustained under her leadership.
“Riq, Khana, and I are not alive because of your leadership, we are alive because of Khana’s courage and healing and my strength. You are not alive because of you. You would be dying from torture were it not for this infernal stranger. We would all be dead because of you.” Her gaze didn’t move and she wasn’t blinking despite having a head ache.
At the mention she should not expect to remain, she began to put her shirt and armor back on although the movements were slow. She rolled up the deer skin and tied it to her pack. Each movement was slow, but performed with a sort of intensity not unusual for her kind. The two birds watched her worriedly.
“Still, it is clear to me you have everything under control. May the great Elk and fair Earth protect and bless you each with health and fortune.” With that, she stalked past Nevermore leaving only the smell of the blood from her shirt and several loose feathers behind to tell she’d ever been. The birds fluttered out after her taking off into the sky to scout for a good place to rest.
She set off to find a better place to hide out and sleep deciding that she would climb the mountain at night when it would be harder to find her and her vision would give her the edge. They were all idiots and were as likely to solve the problem as to turn into dragons and meet the holy mother earth. So she would do what she’d always done, solve the problem herself and then leave before the accolades.