░░ ★ ┅ ricken gives a nod of agreement, the expression on his face one of sheer determination. he doesn’t show any of the conflicting emotions that had been rioting inside of him ever since they got the news about their missing comrades. his hands aren’t shaking with fear like they had been earlier; his teeth aren’t gritted in anger directed towards those awful, terrible people that had taken his friends away; there are no tears of sadness and anxiety in his eyes, as he wonders what they must be going through.
the young mage just looks focused, mind set on one thing only– saving the missing Shepherds. “we need to come up with a plan.”
This was a side of Ricken that Miriel hadn’t often seen, but to be honest, it was instilling more than a little respect in her for the other mage. She’d often considered him a child, regardless of the years he’d spent fighting the same war as the rest of the Shepherds. It wasn’t as though he’d gotten any form of special treatment; perhaps it was time Miriel put a bit more faith in him.
“I would like to suggest a collaborative effort then,” she began. “We will need all the factual evidence we can acquire if we hope to accurately predict the movements of these vagabonds -- which, in turn, will require research to fully illuminate every useable facet of information they hold. To better ease the burdens placed on our exalt and remaining tactician, would you be willing to assist me in this venture?”
