"Get dressed. It's time to go."

Chloe kicked one of Hev's boots which stuck out of the man's bed roll. The tall man startled up and shook his head slightly to get rid of the daze of having just being awoken. Dishevelled and quite obviously tired, he looked no worse for wear then he normally did. Chloe grimaced and looked away as he yawned. The thin curtain of skin on the left side of his jaw stretched and she could see the outline of his teeth showing a moment before he covered his mouth with his hand. The mangled flesh and healed scars looked pale and sickly in the morning light. Hev stretched his arms up for an instant before glancing her way. Sensing her discomfort and obvious effort at looking the other way, the orange eyed man smirked and took his time fastening the black piece of cloth he used to obscure the bottom part of his face.

Chloe looked him in the eyes and her fists tightened at her side without thought, she could feel her mood souring quickly. She had to force her hand open and try to ignore the anger bubbling at the surface of her mind. The hunter's mood had taken to darkening with little to no trigger as of late. It was now getting harder for her to mask her emotions around the group so as to not worry them and despite her best efforts, she was sure her unconscious frowns and scowls over the last seven days of slow traveling had been noticed at least by Kate. Neither had mentioned it but she had caught Kate looking her way in concern one too many times and what concerned Kate was surely shared between the woman in question and Victoria.

Chloe scowled at the thought. The expression on her face felt too natural and it made her even angrier. "I'm fine. It's just stress and worry affecting me. I am perfectly fine. I am…" She locked eyes with Hev and abruptly noticed she'd been mumbling "I am perfectly fine…" over and over under her breath. The man was looking at her through a far too impassive gaze. Hev swung himself to his feet in one smooth motion and gestured noncommittally towards Chloe.

"Ten."

"Five." Chloe forgot all about her worries as she gritted out the word. In the back of her mind, she didn't know why he got under her skin so easily. Nobody else seemed to have an issue with the man but for some reason the black scarred hunter couldn't help the distrust and dislike she felt when she looked at him.

"Ten. And let go of that bloody magic, I'll be ready when I say I'll be ready." Hev seemed to tense his shoulders as he met her stare for stare.

Chloe's black eyes blinked. She could feel the power swirl around her mind, enveloping her muscles and organs like a layer of oil over water. Her breath came out in wisps of dark mist, dissipating quickly under the sun's rays. Having only woken up five minutes ago herself, she hadn't realized she'd automatically taken a hold of it. The thought chilled her to the bone. "I am perfectly fine…" She repeated in her mind like a mantra for the hundredth time.

"Ten" she agreed. Hev's eyes blinked in surprise and a sense of caution overtook his exposed features. The man nodded but Chloe had already turned and walked away lost in thought.

It was spiraling out of control and way too fast for her liking. A week of traveling towards Lord Ingras' castle since the last village and her discipline over the power of the Umbra ring had begun to slip away more day by day. She couldn't deny it anymore however much she wanted. Her scowl deepened, she had stopped training with Max three days ago when it became apparent that the brunette's worried glances would not go away during the sessions. Somewhere deep in her mind, the thought of not being affected by the dark power had gone away. She now only thought about how long she could hold off its effects. "I am sane. I am in control." Chloe stopped walking. "Go away!" As she shouted the command in her head, she wrenched the power and stuffed it into the corner of her mind, letting only a trickle of it flow into her. She wouldn't dare fully block it out, it might be needed at any time.

The action of constraining it felt as if she was pushing against a bolder, trying to roll it despite being at an incline. Breathing more easily with the dark essence constrained, she felt at her side and touched the smooth edges of the black etheral crossbow which hung on her belt. She was in control, she had just let her mind wander while distracted. It was Hev's fault. That was it. She began walking once more towards her pack saddle hanging on Shadow. The mount was grazing away at a patch of grass next to its hooves. She couldn't remember the last time she'd taken him out for a stroll simply to pass the time.

"Hey! Slow down Chloe!" Chloe missed a step and stumbled slightly before turning to Max who had been clearly trying to get her attention as she jogged alongside the incredibly fast pace the hunter had set. One look at her face and Max frowned and reached for Chloe's hand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." It was a snappy retort uttered in a cold voice and Max flinched back as if struck. Chloe forced a smile on her face despite her thoughts, she wanted to put Max at ease not push her away. "Sorry. I'm just feeling nervous I supposed." The lie left a bitter taste in her mouth. Max's frown deepened if anything.

"You're never nervous about simple scouting missions." Chloe grit her teeth at the response and began pulling her hooded cloak out of the pack saddle. She faced away from the witch as she tied it around herself.

"Well. I'm feeling nervous about this one." Composing herself and taking a deep breath, Chloe turned and took the smaller brunette in an embrace. Feeling Max relax in her arms, Chloe's anger began to ebb away. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to worry you." She pulled away just far enough to look in Max's eyes, Chloe felt a genuine smile form on her lips. "I am fine Max. I am perfectly fine. Just nervous." The witch finally smiled back.

"I believe you. I'm sorry I asked. You know I don't mean to be overbearing but if this is worrying you this much, then maybe Vic could go with Hev." Chloe shook her head.

"I've got this Max. Vic was scouting the road ahead and she stayed up all night to make sure nothing took us by surprise. She needs to rest." Max opened her mouth but Chloe forestalled her. "I don't want Kate to go with Hev either. She's too green and still easy to turn to anger where the Lords are concerned. She won't forget being under Bokeh's knives anytime soon."

"Alright" the brunette let out a long sigh. "Be careful. Let Hev take the lead, he knows who to talk to in order to get information. Most guards know of him but I doubt news of his capture by our hands made it over here. The ones that escaped most definitely went straight to Bokeh or the capital to get the message relayed to those in power." Chloe frowned at the thought of letting Hev lead, she couldn't help it. Max reached up and kissed her cheek softly, obviously thinking her frown was directed at the situation and not the man himself. "Relax. He can contact them and they'll give the information willingly."

"I don't trust him." The witch seemed shocked at the words.

"He won't betray us." It was an adamant reply that left absolutely no room for discussion. Chloe lowered her voice.

"We don't know that."

"You told us he won't and I know he won't. I trust him. His heart is in the right place. Do you have any reason to think it otherwise?" Chloe shook her head slightly. She wouldn't convince the others of her suspicions. He got along with them all, she vaguely remembered being able to trust the man to some extent but the memory was hazy. She wanted to but ultimately, she couldn't make herself trust him.

"No. You're right. I'm being foolish. It's just the worry over what's to come that getting to me" She forced a smile again to placate Max. "I should go, Hev will be waiting for me." Chloe walked away quickly.

"Chloe, wait! Your weapons." The black scarred hunter turned to see Max pointing at the bundle containing her crossbows and daggers. It was tied to the left of the pack saddle. The hunter had put it there a week ago and not touched it since. Chloe defensively stroked the magical crossbow at her side.

"I told you. I don't need them anymore." Max's face turned to worry for a second before the witch could cover it up. Chloe clenched her teeth angrily, she hated that look.

"Chloe, I said it when you started conjuring those weapons and I'll say it again. You shouldn't be relying on the Umbra. I can't even remember the last time you were awake and weren't holding on to the power in order to keep those things at your side. Holding on to it all the time can't be healthy." Max seemed pained at the words and Chloe tensed angrily. She was fine.

"With it, I am much better off in a fight than with my old weapons. I can conjure bolts in my crossbow without needing to reload manually, I can make daggers appear in my hands without having to draw them from sheaths, I can heal from any wound. Nothing will defeat me by surprise, no arrow from yards away, no short sword in the shadows of an alley." Chloe's voice grew in strength as she spoke to Max.

"But Chloe…"

"No. Those weapons are the past, I won't go into battle weaker than I can be." With that, the hunter turned on her heels and left the witch behind. She walked up to Hev. The orange eyed man had been out of hearing range but he'd clearly been looking at the pair from where he leaned on a tree. "Come on" she snarled. "We have business to attend to." He fell in step with her.

The further away from the camp they got, the more Chloe's mood soured. This time however, she cursed herself for her behavior towards Max. She would have to apologize, the brunette was simply looking out for her and she'd snapped her head off at the simple mention of not overusing the power. She had spoken with haste and anger and more than likely hurt Max in the process.

In the end, Chloe simply didn't want to rely on her old weapons when the essence was at her fingertips. It was simply smarter in her eyes to hold on to it consistently. That's why the hunter had decided days ago that she needed to use it as often as possible. She was growing more powerful very quickly as a result and that would prove invaluable in the coming battles. She would need that strength when faced with the need to protect her friends from harm and to crush their enemy. She needed to be ready for the coming war, needed to be stronger. Max would understand. Chloe was sure that if any, the effect of holding onto the power constantly would prove minimal. She was in control. She just had to keep her head up and make sure not to lose her concentration.

"Over there." Hev turned sharply in the small town. It was crowded in streets and as such, Chloe had pulled her hood over her head to obscure her face. It wouldn't do to have someone see the scar and to recognize her. She had also made her ethereal weapons disappear from their place at her belt, back and hips. It made her uneasy and the feeling of being naked never seemed to go away despite the fact that she could conjure them back in seconds. She let the dark essence flow more easily into her, not too much, but enough to make the negative emotions be submerged by the feeling of immeasurable strength.

Chloe grinned under her hood as she followed Hev. The castle was no more than one day's ride away. They would get the information on how many men Lord Ingras had, his plans when faced with an attack and more importantly, the best way to ensure he would not get away when the attack on the castle began. It was imperative they take him down to weaken the High Lord Prescott. That was the most important information Hev could acquire today. He would inquire for the location of the Lord under the guise of needing to meet him and offer his services in the upcoming fight. A ruse that would work if the Lord knew of their imminent attack and was scared enough not to wonder why Hev was alone and not shadowed by the Raven's executioners.

Hev's head snapped to attention, eyes regarding a man wearing brass armor with a red sigil on the breast plate that Chloe couldn't make out. They, as one, turned and began to follow him. Another ten minutes took them to a secluded area and an unmarked door which the soldier knocked on once before entering after a quick word. The orange eyed man leaned his long quarterstaff on his left shoulder and motioned silently for Chloe to follow him past the door and towards an alley a few paces away. Her gaze flew to the door as another soldier dressed much the same entered and another came out. Despite the location, it seemed to be a busy tavern and at the very least, well known to the soldiers who came here on leave from the castle.

"The door." Chloe took her hood off, she could feel the thrill of being so close to their target rising up. "In there?" Hev nodded. "Let's go then." Chloe brushed past him but the man gripped her left arm firmly at the elbow.

"Not you."

"I'm going." Chloe felt the all too familiar anger rush up to surface.

"I thought Max spoke to you about this."

"You went to Max to get me to step down?" She sneered. "I can make them talk." Hev snorted derisively.

"I went to her because you won't listen to me whatever I say. I'm sure you could make them talk but I don't see it happening without you walking out of that tavern with dozens of bodies lying in your wake. My way won't attract attention."

"I don't care." Chloe squinted her eyes angrily at the man and he seemed to grimace under the cloth that obscured his face. His slurred voice took on a somewhat desperate tone.

"Chloe, I know how you feel about me, I can see it in your face. But this is the best way. We can't attract attention this close to the castle. Think about what could happen. This could ruin everything!"

The hunter took a deep breath and reluctantly nodded. The tension seemed to ease itself out of the man's shoulders. Chloe's anger rushed back to surface in an instant. "What? Does he think I can't be reasonable when faced with a logical plan?"

"Go back to the gate and wait for me. There's no sense risking you being noticed. I'll handle it from here."

Chloe seethed at his words. "He thinks I won't listen and I'll screw it up. He thinks I'm a loose cannon and he wants me out of his way." Not trusting herself to speak Chloe nodded and turned away.

The hunter walked around the next corner and embraced the power, letting as much of the darkness flood inside her body as she could manage. Her head began to thrum, the feeling of teetering on a sharp precipice. An ounce more of the power and she knew she would curl up to the floor screaming in agony. It was exhilarating. The memory of the day where she'd overexerted herself came to the forefront, when she'd made the illusions of Warren, Rachel and her father. In those weeks of time she was already ten times… Twenty times stronger than that day. She could hold so much more, do so much more. Chloe smiled slightly, the haze of the oily substance wrapping her comfortably in its embrace. All her worries and anger vanished and she began to think clearly.

Using the power, Chloe wove something around herself. She'd seen Max do it before, granted the witch had admitted to being weak in that area of expertise and so hadn't been able to maintain it for long. Chloe however, smiled broadly as she fastened it to her body, it barely required any of her strength to maintain and only a bit more to move around with it. Chloe walked back to the unmarked door of the tavern. It couldn't have been more than five minutes since she'd left Hev to his own devices. She waiting another two until an armored man exited the establishment. Chloe smiled as his eyes scanned over her body and continued past her as he began walking towards the road. She stuck a hand out, caught the door and stepped in.

The ambiance was nothing like she'd expected but that was largely because of the confrontation happening in the back of the tavern. Men in brass armor and breastplates stamped with Lord Ingras' sigil blocked the path ahead but Chloe could see what the commotion was. Nobody looked her way or spared a single glance to the door that had seemed to open on its own before it closed all the way. Hev stood tall, quarterstaff abandoned to the floor as he gripped a well-dressed man by the collar of his undershirt. The man was deathly pale as he squirmed under Hev's orange gaze. Whatever had happened between the two had clearly unfolded just seconds before she entered.

"Let go of me. What is wrong with you?!" The man yelled loudly and his frantic eyes bolted between the next closest soldiers. As the only man dressed differently in the entire room, Chloe guessed that he held rank of some sort. The soldiers around him looked away from him in a mix of shame and fear. Nobody would step close to lend a hand. Chloe tried to move closer but it proved unsuccessful because of the mass of bodies blocking the way forward. She was invisible to the naked eye but not intangible. Someone would notice if she pushed her way through. "I told you everything you wanted. You can go talk to the Lord yourself and tell him you offer your assistance. The way he's been lately, he'll jump for joy to have you hel…"

"I don't care about the bloody Lord!" Hev's slurred speech froze the man's words before they left his throat. His voice was hard iron and filled with rage. "The package that was addressed to me from Bokeh! The one you said he holds for me!" He shook the man hard enough that a sickening crunch could be heard as his head cracked against the wall behind him. The man cried out in pain and the soldiers eased back a step, not a single breath intruded on the soft sound of weeping. "When did he get it?! Where is it?!" Another slam into the wall and the man looked to be held up only by Hev, his legs having given up on him. "ANSWER ME!"

"P..Please! I don't know! I DON'T KNOW!" Hev seemed to grow more frantic, angrier. The crying man yelled out a flurry of words, each coming faster than the last. "A messenger from Bokeh came to the castle four days ago! He said Lord Ingras' wasn't to open the package! That it was meant for you and only you! That there were things you needed to do for him! Please! PLEASE! THAT'S ALL I KNOW!" The man began weeping uncontrollably in Hev's grasp and the orange eyed man turned to the assembled crowd.

There was a visible flinch as all the soldier stepped back unconsciously, bumping into one another in their haste to get away from his enraged eyes. Chloe stepped back as well and her heel knocked into a chair, the scraping sound going unnoticed by all the men around her. Hev's eyes snapped through her, at the door and black mist left her lips as she let out a startled breath. His hand opened and the man crumpled to the ground shaking and holding his bleeding head.

"Nobody speaks of this. This is business between the Lord Ingras, Bokeh and myself. Any found discussing what happened today will be personally found guilty of treason of the highest order." His voice was cold and unwavering. Barely supressed rage simmered under the surface. He looked at the dozens of men around him slowly. Nobody moved in fear of being singled out. "I will personally cut off that man's head and all of his blood will be stripped of land, belongings and freedom. I will send them across the border and give them to the savages in the north."

With that, Hev opened his hand. The crack of his quarterstaff as it flew from the ground into the palm of his hand was deafening in the silence. The soldiers in the way of the door slammed into one another hastily as they shoved themselves out of his way. The quarterstaff wielding man didn't pause to look back as he brushed by Chloe and slammed the door open. The hunter regained her wits and followed through before the door could swing shut once more. She followed him briskly, barely paying attention to where they were going until he turned into an alley.

Her steps stopped short as he turned in one smooth motion and slammed his quarterstaff into the wall one foot from her face. Chloe yelled out in surprise and the staff whirled in his hand downwards and up into her stomach. The hunter fell to the ground, the dark essence she held taking away the pain she felt in mere seconds. The illusion around her vanished as her concentration left. Before he could move, she lashed out and Hev grunted as he was thrown away from her and into a wall. No sooner had he hit it and his hand went out towards her. His staff flew from where it lay on the ground and struck Chloe in the nose butt first, effectively shattering it. Tears in her eyes obscured her vision long enough for him to grab her and slam her into the wall. The pain dissipated just as quickly and Chloe bared her teeth at him in a silent snarl as her nose rearranged itself in moments.

They sat there looking at each other panting and with rage in their eyes. Hev didn't strike again and he seemed to struggle to visibly compose himself. A voice that sounded much too familiar in the hunter's head rang out. "Kill him!" Only those words and Chloe was stunned enough that she forgot her anger. Their eyes met and Hev stepped back and took his hands off her.

"Why are you following me?! I told you this was my reconnaissance mission. You could have ruined everything! You never listen! Always impulsive and unwilling to see reason! How you've made it this long as a hunter is beyond my imagining!" He angrily shouted at her from a pace away, hands tightly bound into fists.

"I don't trust you!" Chloe's anger returned to her as fast as it had went.

"I don't care!" His rebuttal was spoken with just as much heat. "You are a means to an end Blue Hunter! I am using you the same as you are using me! We have different end goals but similar routes to reach them! So don't trust me! I don't trust you! But I will NOT have you endanger my goal in ANY way! That includes getting yourself or your travelling band of miscellaneous rebels killed!" The man's composure was completely gone, he towered over her and shook with rage.

"What did the man tell you Hev?! What package?!" Hev's eyes seemed to turn even harder if it were possible.

"That's none of your concern hunter."

"It's all my concern! I won't have you turn on us because you think you can achieve what you want without us. What package?!"

"I gave you my word! If it's not enough then nothing I say will be! As for the package… I don't know! I suspect! And if I'm right then I'm am done waiting on you. You will follow me where I go at a run or I will leave you behind in the dust. That. I swear!"

"I won't let you leave us alive." Chloe cold voice surprised herself momentarily but she felt the power supress the odd feeling as she began bursting at the seams with the dark essence. He was good, but she was invincible. She had seen a man use the Umbra ring before, seen what he'd done to his adversary. She could do the same to him.

"Then strike me down where I stand." Hev's voice held no fear. Chloe struggled with herself. Every fiber of her being yelled to lash out and be done with it but Max's words from earlier only barely stopped her.

"You have your uses yet." She wouldn't back down, this was as much as she was willing to say to the man.

"Then we are done here." Hev's quarterstaff flew into his hand and he turned away not bothering to wipe the dust which clung to his hat and dark clothes. "I will be back to camp before the moon hangs high. I have things to take care of." With those final words, the man turned out of sight.

Shaken to her core after the onslaught emotions she felt today, the hunter grabbed her head and tried to calm down. She began breathing fast and hard, black eyes squeezed shut. Max's words, the confrontation, the all too present anger always so quick to reach her… It all began to feel far too overwhelming. For the first time in almost seven days, Chloe consciously tried to push the power out of her head and back to the recesses of her mind in order to really think about what was going on. She only managed to sense momentary panic before the essence wrapped itself around her once more and she felt calmness inundate her. Brushing off her cloak, the black scarred hunter breathed out a dark misty exhale and began walking in the streets in the direction of the camp. Pulling her hood back up quickly, she obscured her face once more. It wouldn't do to be recognized. Thoughts of the upcoming battle occupied her mind all the way back.