"One...two...three," Hans said to the others as they carefully lifted the unconscious woman from the floor of the home and onto one of the beds to allow the medic to begin treating for any injury the woman was suffering from. Upon lifting her from the floor and onto the bed, the dim light from what little sun could peek through the storm clouds finally revealed the features of the young woman before their eyes. Arthur and Rex looked at one another in complete disbelief while Liam and Hans stared down at the women in awe.

The young woman currently laying unconscious in bed, with strands of silky golden hair draped over her face, was none other than a genuine elf woman! Her clothes, although drenched and slightly singed from fire, consisted of a green dress with white around the bottom of the skirt, green cloth coverings from the elbow to her hands, and a red scarf around her neck. Her figure was enough to drive a man robbed of most feminine presence for months into a bit of a tizzy. After each man had accidentally taking a moment to get an eyeful, Hans snapped out his trance and began to check the young woman over for wounds.

"Aside from a few cuts and a burn here and there, she seems in stable order. Her pulse is normal and the only major damage I can find is to the back of her head from a sort of impact. She should be stable enough to move for-"

"Wait there, doc, but we're in no position to take a young woman with us. We're in enemy territory and she could get killed if we run into trouble," Liam said over Hans's shoulder as he began to bandage up the young elf woman's head wound.

"We've got horses and we wouldn't be able to ride them with the way the roads are mud right now. She barely weighs anything, we can put her on a horse," Arthur suggested.

"I'm not saying we cannot transport her, I am merely suggesting that having her with us is a serious threat to her wellbeing," Liam continued.

"We leave her here and she dies. We take her with us and she has a fighting chance. What choice is there?" Rex said sternly to the British soldier as the two exchanged a hateful glare into each other's eyes.

"I hate to do this, but as commanding officer I am ordering that she be taken with us. Rex and Liam, continue your search of the village ruins for anything else. Arthur, stay here and help me," Hans ordered in a strikingly out of character way that even had Arthur raising an eyebrow in surprise. However, after the moment had passed, Liam and Rex exited the home and continued their search for supplies. Arthur shook his head with a smile as he watched Hans continue mending the young elf woman in bend.

"Put your foot down there, eh Hans?" Arthur asked with a laugh.

"I hated having to do that and I fear that I may have to do that more. Liam and Rex have been at each other's throats since we left the base," Hans said as he finished wrapping the field dressings around the elf woman's head.

"An Englishman and a Scot hating each other is nothing new. I knew some old Scotsman from a store at home that cursed the English till the day we put in him the ground. I figured as much when they both opened their mouths for the first time," Arthur said as he pulled up a wooden chair and sat down at the table.

"I thought Rex was from the US?" Hans inquired as he stood from the bedside and, too, sat at the table with Arthur.

"It's like some of the Chinese or Mexicans that used to live around my home. They're American, but surrounding yourself with your own folks can keep an accent. I'm guessing he lived with Scottish folks that were straight from the homeland," Arthur explained as he reached around one of the various pockets for his cigarettes. Of course, we he found them they had been soaked to the very tobacco leaves rolled up inside the paper. He flung the wet cigarette pack onto the table with an audible disappointed sigh before he stood and began searching the cupboards for something.

"I still cannot believe we found an actual elf. From her we can assume this was an elfish village. If they're anything like in the storybooks, maybe she can be of use," Hans said as he looked back at the young woman who had just stirred in her unconscious state in the bed.

"That's not what I'm concerned with at the moment. I'm sure I'm not the only one here that would like to know what the hell burned this whole village. I didn't see any signs of a fight, no hoof prints to suggest a raid of sorts, and not even a sword to suggest they put up any defense. What could have burned this whole place?" Arthur asked as he opened one of the cupboards to find what he had been hoping for: a pipe with along stem with a small clay pot of tobacco. Arthur took these two and sat back down with his legs propped onto the table and his chair leaning back on two legs. His matches were still good to go, surprisingly, and he was quick to pack the chamber and bowl with the dried tobacco leaves. Although, after a few long puffs from the pipe, Hans could not help but stifle a laugh when a face of pure disgust swept over Arthur.

"What is this shit? Worst tobacco I've ever had," Arthur said as he attempted another puff of the pipe, nearly gagging the second time around while Hans picked up the clay pot to smell. Hans could no longer contain himself as he erupted with laughter, slapping his hand first on the table and to his knee, while Arthur looked in confusion.

"WRONG KIND OF LEAVES, YOU DUMB AMERICAN!" Hans finally bellowed between his laughter as he poured a bit onto the table. Arthur looked at the pot, then to the pipe, back to the pot, and finally realized what he had attempted to smoke.

"Fucking tea leaves!" Arthur snapped as he emptied the still burning embers into a puddle forming on the floor. He then tossed the pipe onto the table in defeat before he picked up the pot to get a whiff for himself.

"They were my father's favorite," a feminine voice said to cause Hans to jump from his seat and Arthur to tumble backwards from his chair to the floor. Hans felt quite relived that it was just the elf girl, staring at the two men with crystal blue eyes filled with a sense of absolute wonder, while Arthur stumbled back onto his feet.

"Good to see that your noggin is still ticking," Arthur said as he gestured to his head when referring to her head wound. She was confused for a moment but soon realized what he meant when she placed a hand on the back of her head and winced in pain before withdrawing her hand. After noticing what was on her own head, she directed her attention to what Arthur was wearing on top of his own head.

"Before you ask: no, it's not a bowl," Arthur said as he removed his helmet and handed it to her for her to inspect with her own hands and eyes. Meanwhile, Hans was back at her side to begin performing more medical examinations. She had been looking at the helmet for a few seconds before Hans gently placed his hand on her right cheek to pull her attention to him. To the young elf, his hands were rough and calloced while still carrying a sense of gentle and caring.

"Can you tell us your name? Any blur in vision? Nausea? Hear any ringing in the...ears?" Hans asked, trailing off momentarily at the last question due to how he was still getting used to seeing elf ears.

"My name is Tuka Luna Marceau. I can see you both pretty well. Who are you two?" Tuka asked as she glanced at the two men before her.

"My name is Sergeant Hans Wolf, and this is my comrade-"

"Corporal Arthur Mannix."

The use of ranks seemed to frighten Tuka as she recoiled from Hans and backed into the corner wall of the bed.

"Y-you're soldiers from the Saderan Empire?" Tuka asked shakily as her eyes trembled in fear.

"No, no, we're not with them at all," Hans said softly to try and calm Tuka down from her fearful state.

"We're more likely to shoot them than to help them," Arthur attempted to further explain while gesturing to his rifle.

"I've never seen a staff like that. What magic does it wield?" Tuka asked, Arthur and Manuel exchanging a strange look before looking back to Tuka.

"It's not really magic, ma'am. It shoots these," Arthur explained as he handed Tuka one of his spare bullets. Just as Tuka held the piece of brass and metal in her hand both Liam and Rex busted into the house to nearly cause all three to have a heart attack.

"Hans, Arthur, you need to see this," Liam said.

"Quickly," Rex finished.