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[center][sub]Interacting with: [@Dark Light][@The Muse][/sub][/center]

[color=lightgray]The cold night air bit at her exposed face, but it was nothing compared to the chill of being dressed down like a foolish recruit. Aliseth’s words struck like a slap, brief but sharp, leaving Charlotte to mentally hold herself back from digging into a deeper hole. Her pulse pounded in her ears and adrenaline coursed through her veins, but she kept her face carefully blank, refusing to let the sting of humiliation show.

She wanted to argue, to defend herself from his accusation—but what good would it do? There was nothing she could say that would make the situation better. Especially not since Elio had come within inches of her superior’s face with a blow of his own. He’d caught her off-guard with his control over the very ground beneath their feet, and while moments ago she would’ve called him on it, it was probably the only reason that Aliseth wasn’t reprimanding her at a much closer distance.

Charlotte was also smart enough to know that the worst was likely yet to come. Punishments never seemed to be forgotten, especially in cases of insubordination. 

[color=A54343][i]Officers have such thin skin,[/i][/color] she briefly thought before new orders were given. In a final moment of rebellion--really, how much left did she have to lose--she sent Aliseth the most proper salute she could muster followed by a loud and proud [color=A54343]“Yes sir!”[/color].

Then, just like that, he departed without another word, leaving her standing beneath the pale glow of the moon next to Eris. Her cool blue eyes were fiery as she watched her superior walk away, squeezing her dominant hand tightly at her side. A moment passed, and with a deep breath, she steeled her face once more and turned towards the sage.

To Charlotte’s surprise, the response was not an order, but a quiet murmur of gratitude. The words were soft, unexpected, and for the first time that night, she felt the tension in her shoulders fall away . A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she stepped forward, her boots crunching against the frost-covered ground. Closing the remaining distance between them, she reached out and took Eris’ extended hand—gentle, yet firm.

Eris was not what Charlotte had come to expect of nobility, let alone [i]the lead sage[/i]. There was no feeling of judgement in her eyes, nor the air of thinly veiled impatience that the recruit had come to expect. Instead, a quiet and unassuming presence stood before her, a presence that completely contradicted the demonstration of sheer power just moments before.

[color=A54343]“Respectfully, my lady, I don’t think I would survive disobeying a direct order,”[/color] she grinned, [color=A54343]“Assuming I survive the punishment for that little stunt…”[/color] She let out a nervous laugh as she trailed off. Her eyes glanced around her surroundings habitually before returning to the sage. [color=A54343]“Worry not, my lady. I have no other duties to currently attend to, nor are you disturbing me. It would be my pleasure to accompany you, even if only a short distance.”[/color]

The recruit took a gentle bow, the metal of her half-plate armor gently shifting with her. [color=A54343]“Charlotte Hawthorne, recruit-with-a-deathwish of the Dawnhaven guard, at your service. Present for any and all requests you may have, per Kain’s orders,”[/color] she joked, before her face fell back into what was clearly her on-duty expression.

[color=A54343]“We should get moving again. From what Kain said, they still haven’t found the blightborn in question.”[/color] The recruit brought a hand down to check that the straps of her shield were still tight, before planting her dominant hand on the pommel of her blade. [color=A54343]“I’ll follow your lead, my lady.”[/color][/color]