Between the Veil and Crown

Kylin 33

"Aaaaahhh!"

Kylin sat bolt upright, clutching his throbbing shoulder. Vicious whipped her head back, making offended noises.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded to know.

The only answer the mare gave him was turning on her heel and darting off as much as her line would let her, then to give another affronted snort.

Rubbing his shoulder as though it would ease the pain faster, he looked around, surprised to see the village in broad daylight. The extent of the previous night's damage was thrown into much sharper relief, making it all the more devastating to see. There were still a few ankheg carcasses to be seen, a couple of them being pulled apart for resources and to make it easier to drag them out of the village. Nearby where the Rangers he had asked to join him at the one of the village entrances. A few of them were doing as they were supposed to, but others, like Kylin, had found semi-comfortable spots and were fast asleep, not even disturbed by Kylin's cry only moments ago.

Kylin slowly got to his feet, feeling a little wobbly. "You should have woken me," he told the Rangers still awake.

"Well, your horse did it for us, so why would we need to?" one replied pointedly.

Kylin shook his head. "Never mind. Anything to report?"

The one who had answered him before opened his mouth to answer him again, but then stopped, straightening up respectfully as he spotted something behind Kylin. Kylin glanced behind him, then did a double take.

Taileia strode towards them, her expression serious.

Kylin immediately straightened himself, surprised to the second in command there. "Missus," he greeted politely when she drew level with them. He was all too aware of the fact that he was being more formal than any of the full Rangers on a regular basis, but he also felt a little guilty about the fact that she may have caught him sleeping during an assigned task.

He apparently was not the only to feel that way, as those awake also behaved a lot more politely.

She raised an eyebrow at the greetings. "At ease," she said, a hint of amusement threatening the composure of her serious expression. "I did not come to scold- I'm aware you had a long night. Though those who are rested up, I will need you to continue watching the road until someone switches tasks with you. We are not allowing civilians or travelers through- not until we can be reasonably certain that another ankheg isn't going to make its way here. For those who aren't rested, I want you to find a spot and sleep at least a little."

The ones who had been awake the longest went woke up the others. Taileia turned to Kylin.

"Except you. I want you to come with me." Without checking to see if he was following her order, she turned around and headed back to the middle of the village.

Kylin stepped off the porch and caught up to her in a few strides.

Taileia was well over a foot shorter than Kylin, and shorter still than most -if not all- of the Rangers. That being said, with her no-nonsense attitude and her skill in potion-less magic, she earned their respect in more than just her position.

"I thought Rei was sent for?" Kylin asking, taking care to match her pace.

"Rei was caught up in other business," she explained. "So I came instead." She walked past one of the carcasses being picked apart by Rangers and soldiers and turned down one of the streets. She wound her way around some more buildings, most of which were marred by the acid the creatures spewed, before coming to a stop next to an exhausted Shaelren and Vivienne.