Well, it was no argument that Varina wasn't the most reliable of assets. That had been reinforced by her embarrassing performance during training. What had made it even worse, of course, was her running off into the woods to do her own thing. Killing animals was something she'd become pretty damn good at. Hunger, after all, was a great motivator.

In a more positive note, perhaps she was just returning to her element. Varina stalked through the forest, rapier and pistol already drawn. In the prior months, she'd become acclimated to ignoring the annoyances of her helmet and keeping her senses intact.