She shrugged.
"It doesn't make a difference to us, of course, but if you're going to sacrifice lives for your ambition, you better achieve it in the end."
"It's nothing. An arrow nicked me," she replied, rolling up the side of her shirt again.
"Can you afford that? To care, I mean. They're all out there, dying for you, for your throne."
What remains of her armour clunks to the floor, leaving her briefly barechested. She takes the plain top and pulls it on, wincing from her wounds.
Once they were away in Amaru's tent she rummaged around for a new shirt for Casca.
"I care about all the soldiers under my employ..."
Stepping back over to her with a plain white shirt for her.
"We need to get that armour off..."
Casca cursed under her breath, tossing the offending sheet of parchment aside. A standing army, even the dregs that remained of the current band, needed funds, something *he* had known well. But where could she turn for coin, while they were Outlaws?
#OpenRP#LewdRP#FantasyRP
It was hard for Casca to hide her distaste. Anything to help them win should be welcome, the Band of the Hawk weren't saints. But there was still something that made her uncomfortable with the whole affair.
"That'll be the end of that, then. I'm returning to camp."
She couldn't+
[๐ช]
Lucian clicked his tongue and took count of the opposing forces. In particular, theyโre dead. He muttered something in an unpleasant tongue, a sharp as splitting bone mixed with the drawn shear of pulling flesh.
Cascaโs men would see nothing out of the ordinary. Howeverโ
"Hm. Never known an empress to be so concerned with any one soldier."
She followed, holding up what remained of her armour with her free arm. It would be costly to fix, but the payout for this job was to be big.
"All the time but the difference is I was born higher and better but it doesn't stop them glaring."
She took Casca by the hand and tugged her along back to her private tent
"Come, you need rest and some fresh clothes..."
+ but she still didn't totally trust magicians. A sword made sense to her, that was her world. Magic was some intrusion from beyond that broke her neat, orderly reality.
She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. She recognised him as the court wizard.
"We'll have them routed soon enough. He'll get what he paid for. But if you have some 'spell' or whatever you want to add, feel free."
She didn't buy the church's whining about heretics, +
[๐ช]
For some, corpses had uses.
A young man in dark robes embroidered with golden vines rode in atop a black destrier, the stallionโs breath so warm that even in the heat of battle it seemed to almost steam.
โYour men have been at it for quite some time, Casca,โ he mused.
โ
"They stare regardless," she replies bluntly, but accepts the cloak all the same, "no matter how well I fight, they think they know what I am better than me. I'd assume you'd have felt the same thing."
Amaru would escort Casca away from the battlefield, back safely behind their lines
Dismounting her steed, she would tear her white cape from her armour and use it to cover Casca
"Come on, last thing you need is everyone staring at you"
She glanced down, suddenly bashful at the state of her armor. She looked out at the battle again, catching a glimpse of silver and black amongst the fighting.
"Tch... Fine."
She accepted the help to her feet, but would walk on her own strength back to the camp.
"That doesn't mean I need you throwing your life away being stubborn, get on, your armour is compromised, a single arrow or spear thrust and your finished"
She kept her warhorse stable, sheathing her sabre and offering Casca a hand up.
"I'll be fine. I just need a minute."
She responded without turning to check who was speaking to her.
"Ah, uh, Empress. We'll have this done soon, there are just more than we expected. Trying to make up for poor swordsmanship with numbers."
Amaru rode through the field on horse back, sabre in one hand, reins in the other,
Thankfully bumping into Casca.
"You look like you've seen Hell Casca, I suggest you pull back"
The battle had raged for an age, with no sign of slowing. Casca had lost count of the number of soldiers and sellswords she'd cut down, and her gear was looking worse for wear because of it. She took a brief moment to survey the battle from above, catching her breath.
#OpenRp
@ShadyAlleyHound her affection. They wanted to 'tame' her or otherwise drape her on their arm as a trophy to prove their own strength.
"I'm sure there's some tavern wench eager to hear your empty boasts."
A new town, sitting just on the edge of the kingdom. Casca felt eyes on her as she walked the streets, but that was nothing new. A woman in armor and with a sword by her side was a strange, wonderous thing to these peasants. She tried not to hate them for it.
@ShadyAlleyHound "Yeah, I'm sure you're a real big hero, or whatever. I can look after myself though. So unless you've got the stomach for mercenary work, why don't you give me some space?"
Why did this always happen? Every where she went there was some hyperactive guy, desperate to peacock for+
A life on the road, she'd gotten used to sneaking off on her own to bathe. The water was ice cold, but the early morning sun kept her warm.
#FantasyRP#LewdRP#OpenRP
@ShadyAlleyHound "Uh-huh. If we need anyone to dig the latrine ditch, I know who to call."
She rolled ger eyes, going out of her way to shoulder past him. The last thing she needed was a pest like him bothering her while she was off duty.