"Pathetic."

Soren looked up to see Lethe standing over him, glaring. He quickly looked back down to his scratched hands and continued to apply the vulnerary to them.

"This wouldn't be necessary if you had only warned me about that thornbush-"

"It isn't necessary at all! You pathetic Beorc. You are wasting our last vulnerary on nothing but a scratch!" Soren shrugged, making Lethe even more angry. "Fine. I will be laughing when you die and we have no medicine left to heal you."

This seemed to happen every battle. Lethe and Soren had, to their own dismay, become the two experts at providing flanking attacks and supply line harassment. They were mobile, independent, and were capable of causing tremendous damage in the blink of an eye, only to escape the scene just as fast. Unfortunately, this kind of job often ended up requiring long periods of time trekking through the wilderness in each others' company, and it took every bit of patience within them not to tear each others' heads off during the trip.

This battle, though, was lasting too long. Lethe and Soren had traveled far without finding enemies, and their patience was wearing thin.

Finally they found the edge of the battle and two perfect targets for their first strike. They were soldiers, standing at the edge of the forest discussing something casually with their backs to Soren and Lethe.

Quietly Lethe whispered "I will kill the one on the left. You take the one on the right. Wait for my signal."

"Wait!" Soren hissed. "My magic will alert the other soldiers." Lethe wordlessly tossed him a small object, which Soren clumsily caught. "What is this?"

"Stupid Beorc! It is a knife. You will stab your opponent so you will not attract too much attention."

Soren looked at the object. Indeed it was a knife, enclosed in its scabbard, small enough even for him to wield. He almost considered using it, but quickly erased that thought.

"Lethe, I can't use a knife."

"Fine. Use magic. When reinforcements come I can run fast enough to escape."

Soren knew that she did not mean it but he allowed himself to get angry anyways.

"Selfish Laguz!"

"Useless Beorc!" Lethe paused. "I will kill them both."

Before Soren could stop her she transformed into a great cat. It always amazed Soren how she could so smoothly and quickly become an animal, and in his surprise Lethe walked away before he could protest.

She crept towards the soldiers not like a hunter stalking its prey but like a bold assassin, expecting a fight. Soren followed slowly; he was careful not to make any noise. She was only a few meters from the soldiers...

And then she struck! Leaping on top of her opponent, Lethe brought him down quickly. As they fell to the ground Lethe remained on top, and before he could scream she had her fangs in the soldier's neck.

The second soldier began to call for help, but Soren was ready. He quickly cast a small fireball spell, directed at the soldier's legs. The shout for help became a sharp cry of pain. Lethe lunged at him and he was dead before he could make another noise.

Both Lethe and Soren quickly scanned the area before relaxing. Soren had become accustomed to this caution after working with Lethe because, as she explained (in not such a polite way), reverting back to a human too early would leave her defenseless.

Lethe let out a growl and Soren spun around to where she was looking. Two enemy swordsman had noticed them and were charging towards them, although, Soren thought, they had enough time to escape...

But why run? He and Lethe could take on the swordsman; they looked weak. Nobody else was around, so the mage and cat ran to meet their opponents.

As they engaged the enemies, Lethe was careful to stay between Soren and the nearest swordsman. Usually the two were able to frustrate opponents by keeping the mage behind the cat, but these opponents were calm and cautious. One would advance a bit and then withdraw, each one trying to lure Lethe away from the other. Soren occasionally cast a spell, but the swordsman were difficult to hit and seemed somewhat resistant to magic. He would have to wait for an opportunity.

Meanwhile, Lethe was trying to give him that opportunity. She also threatened and retreated, but never actually attacked. Her attempts to position them, however, seemed to be failing. In fact, she realized, the swordsman seemed to be moving Soren and her to their own desired location. But to what end?

Ambush! Lethe turned towards Soren but it was too late. A third sword-wielding mercenary stepped out from behind a tree right next to the spellcaster, weapon held high. Everything moved so slowly! Soren took too long to realize the danger. His head turned towards his new opponent, eyes wide with fear, and began casting a spell that he would never have time to finish.

Before she knew it Lethe was sprinting full force at the mage. The sword was falling...

With one final lunge Lethe put herself between Soren and the blade. She felt a searing pain and heard a sickening slicing noise as the blade struck. Without enough energy to sustain her animal form she immediately reverted back to a human. She knew that she would die without healing, and since no clerics were around, her fate was certain. Surprisingly, this did not bother her. She had no anger, grief, or despair. In fact, Lethe could only feel relieved that Soren was unharmed.