Thump! Kent crashed to the ground with a noise softer than would be expected from the dry earth that he trod a moment before. His vision became clearer after he shook his head. The immediate consequence of such was that Kent drew his body upward with a rapidity that would scarcely seem possible for a man who had just suffered a collision as he did. His eyes locked with the cause of his sudden withdrawal. He was uncomfortably close to the face of Lady Lyndis. Kent panicked to stand up, which only resulted in bridging the distance between his Lady and him that he had caused but moments ago.
"Thank you, Kent, but may I get up now?" the Lady Lyndis said in a tone that is much milder than expected of a woman in her position.
"I… I'm sorry," Kent muttered. His incapacity in speech seemingly substituted for his lack of motor coordination a moment before, he successfully removed the obstacle to his Lady—himself.
"That was close. Thank you for watching over me," Lyndis remarked to Kent after she managed to get into a standing position. Kent's flushed face turned in the direction of his Lady's gaze, noting the large bolt that had planted itself in the ground but half a meter away from where they had been lying moments before.
"It is my duty to protect you, milady," Kent replied, his head bowed, out of both respect and memories of the awkward arrangement moments before, while leading her and his horse away from the bolt, escaping the ballista's range.
Lyndis' laughter had not subsided sufficiently to reply to Kent's unusually stiff reply when both were ruffled by a strong gust of wind. Turning in the direction of its origin, they perceived a lavender haired Pegasus knight dismounting her steed. It was Florina, clutching a small sheet of paper rolled into a scroll. Her apparent enthusiasm at seeing Lyn checked by Kent's officious stance, she began to unfold the paper and read from it in such a voice that both had to draw nearer to hear her, the result of which was that her volume diminished further.
"Uh… this is an… from Piter, your humb... tactician," Kent caught these words from Florina's barely audible speech. He though that the penultimate word was "humble," which Florina invested with a degree of meekness expected of the user of the word that he would not expect from their tactician, had he been there to deliver this order. "You are to… draw from the north… edges of the isl…" Florina continued to stammer. "Oswin will take… position and draw fi… Ken… will stay… and wait for enemy fire to cease. Lyn… uh, I mean… Lady Lyndis will join the assault team at the southwest." At this, Lyndis made a face that could best be described as disgust mixed with anticipation, for Lord Hector was sent there when Piter gave them their initial briefing.
"Good luck, Kent," Lyndis shouted to the knight in red as she took off behind Florina; the Pegasus knight had been given the order of both messenger and conveyor. Seeing their departure, Kent faintly remembered her mention that another knight was to join him in the van. "Was it Sain, or was it Lowen?" Kent mused in his mind as he withdrew further to the south. He gave a brief nod to Sir Oswin as the two passed, which was made quite visible due to the tremor the armored knight caused when his feet trod the ground. Kent stopped about a hundred paces—those of his horse, of course—away from his original position and dismounted. He stood to the horse's right, observing Sir Oswin, ready to ride forth at a moment's notice.
Oswin had just begun what to Kent looked like a wild dance—but he knew better, the Ostian knight was doing his best to dodge the bolts—when Kent decided that he should distance himself further from the decoy. He gave a gentle tug to the horse's reins, motioning it to follow him. His head was still turned in the direction of Oswin. Kent had often wondered how the Ostian knights could turn with such agility in their heavy armor. Of course, Kent was not particularly eager to find out the extent of their abilities by having a contest of strength with one, especially an excellent knight like Sir Oswin. He had scarcely walked ten paces, all the while still staring at Oswin, when he felt a strong blow to his front. An object of considerable area had slammed into his chest, knocking him flat onto his back. With swiftness that does credit to the Caelin knights, Kent simultaneously reached for his sword with his right hand, and tried to prop himself with his left—failing in both endeavors, for "a true knight does not ever sprawl onto his back in combat," Lord Wallace often admonished in words, and repeated in his Manual of Knightly Prowess.
Kent was still engaged in his struggle when a boy's voice—something akin to what he had heard in a St. Elimine choir—reached his ears. "Oh! Forgive me! I didn't think anyone was there! Murphy, stop flapping your wings!" Judging the owner of the voice to be not immediately hostile, Kent stopped his attempt at grasping his sword, thus succeeding somewhat more easily his other effort, although a firm though not particularly strong hand might have been the cause of the newfound ease.
"I'm... I'm fine," Kent stammered, his hand still clasping the one that helped him. He followed the hand, up the arm, and stopped briefly at the deep blue armor of the shoulder. His gaze finally beheld the girl—for it was a girl, despite his initial judgment as a result of her voice—who had helped him, both in his fall and in his recovery. She had blue hair of the same color as her armor; for a moment, Kent imagined that the rain had washed some of the colors from her hair, dying the armor beneath. It was cropped to a short length, adding to the illusion that she was a boy. Kent knew that it was not possible, for Pegasi only allowed women to ride them.
"I am Farina, member of the third division of Ilian Pegasus knights. Hector paid a pretty penny for my services. 20,000 gold," the energetic Pegasus knight said to Kent, while shaking his hand, a convenient follow up of the help she was obligated to lend to the knight.
"20,000? My, that's quite a sum..." Kent was taken aback by the sum; it dwarfed his annual retainer of 1500, spent mostly on maintenance of his horse and weapons, though he had no need to worry about lodging and rations for the most partly. It took him an unusually long, though still briefly, period of time to realize that he had opened by dwelling on her wages. He spoke quickly to mend the mistake. "Farina, excuse me for my rudeness. I am Kent, a knight of Caelin. Let us combine our strength, and ride on to victory in the service of our lord!"
It was Farina's turn to be taken aback. With a "Whoa!" she drew away from Kent, though the still clasping hands prevented her from distancing herself too much from the knight.
"W-What's the matter?" Kent asked with haste, fearing that he had offended her.
"You're just so... You're so serious, Kent! You don't think about anything but your duty!"
"...People often say that," Kent's voice was both dejected and surprised. The former feeling came from the fact that a stranger had spoken of his earnestness as a flaw after speaking to him for a few seconds. The latter came from her frankness rather than perceptiveness.
"I'm not so good with serious types..." Farina's voice became somewhat sheepish as she said this, for Kent's dismay hung clearly on his face for the world to see, if they were within sighting distance and cared to look in his direction. "I feel all cramped and choked when I'm around them..."
"I... I am sorry for that," the surprise had worn off by this point. Only the dejection remained.
"You see, my sister, she's really serious, like you. She'll jump all over your back for any little thing!" Farina explained, hoping to remove the offense that she thought she had done to Kent, whatever it might have been. "I wish she could just be a little nicer about it, you know?"
The remark about her sister recalled to Kent his brief conversations with Fiora and his briefer ones with Florina. Both mentioned having a sister, and Kent was sure that they mentioned her name as Farina. So this was their sister. The recognition was followed by an urge to defend Fiora. "I'm sure she only does it for your own good… She is such a..." Kent paused here to choose the right word as well as meditate upon the thought of her, "generous...woman."
"I knew it!" Farina's voice had abandoned the low tone with which she spoke a moment before. It was now a high-pitched voice tinged with accusation. "You guys are like peas in a high-strung pod! I just don't get along with people like you guys at all."
"I must... apologize for that as well," Kent replied. He was not sure whether he was apologizing for himself or on Fiora's behalf. His thoughts were on her when he turned in Sir Oswin direction. His moment of contemplation was cut short as he saw the Ostian knight waving his spear above him. It was the signal Piter chose for when the enemy had exhausted their ammunition. Kent and Farina mounted their steeds and charged forward, the rustling of bushes behind them telling them that the main body of the assault force was close behind.