Upon hearing Wanderer’s objections to Red’s methods, she climbed to her feet and walked briskly towards the group. She clutched the book to her soaked chest again, and pulled down the wet scarf from over her mouth. “How is what I want to do to the red mage ANY different from what you want to do to the leveler?!” She yelled angrily.
Suddenly, she held up one gloved hand, open palm facing the Wanderer, and tilted her chin down. Her visible lips parted and drew and released a long breath.
“I am a hunter.” She thought. “Control... Control. Yourself. Anger will only get in the way. Arrogance will destroy the footholds of your own victory.”
After a few seconds of silence, she simultaneously lowered her hand and raised her head. When she spoke again, her voice was low and calm. Almost as if she were bored.
“One, I’m not a coward. And I have no desire to involve myself in your war. You can deal with the leveler however you like for your own reasons. I have my own concerns. I won’t get in your way if you don’t get in mine.” She hesitated noticeably, but eventually peeled the book away from her chest and held it out with one hand to the wanderer. She looked to Solar.
“And two-“ when she held up her free hand to indicate with two gloved fingers, a trickle of water streamed from her curled pinky down onto the sand. Red sighed exasperatedly, then carelessly dropped the book on the sand in front of Wanderer, clearly done with the troublesome thing. She ripped off her gloves and started wringing the water out. “Two. Solar. Wanderer. Ambie. And so on. I’ll call you all by your PREFERRED names if you call me by mine. Never mind this true-name bullshit. I’ll forget everything I just heard, with the expectation you do the same for me.” She pulled her damped gloves back onto her hands and unwound her scarf from her neck to wring it out next.
“And three. You.” She looked back to Solar. “The red mage. What is his mage name? Most importantly, why does he wear red? What does the color mean to him? Why the color red?”
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