Guard duty was tedious, but someone had to do it and Cordelia had taken the first shift. Being in a foreign land had put them all on edge, and the march towards Fort Steiger made everyone anxious. The Shepards took the liberty to take on extra food and alcohol rations as they approached one of their toughest fights to date to take the edge off. Cordelia had spent much of her time throwing herself into training to take her mind of the nerves, and even now her muscles ached as she patrolled around the tent town that the Shepards occupy on a regular basis. She patrolled with a lance on one hand and a lamp in the other, circling the camp over under the full moon. The midnight silence was beautiful; nature's orchestras played and the Pegasus knight was allowed the chance to listen to it for the first time in ages.
Meanwhile, in a tent towards the center of the camp, a tent was lit from the inside by a candle, as a lone man poured over maps and charts. Mark had been given schematics of Steiger that resistance spies had managed to mock up for them, and was attempting to decide from which entrance they'd plan their assault. He rubbed his temple, and put the quill in his hands down. He had been looking over logistics and the map for an hour now, and the silence inside the tent was starting to become deafening. He rose from his seat, licked his fingers and doused the candle.
Carefully, he stepped outside and let the cool air hit his face. He breathed in the new environment and looked around him. None of the tents around him had lights inside of them, and then in the distance a light caught his eye. Mark made his way down the makeshift road towards the light, and found the red haired knight with the lamp in her hands. As Cordelia noticed him, she smiled and raised her lance wielding hand in a wave. Mark lifted his hand back and began to walk in time with her. The pair walked a few laps around the camp, not speaking to each other as they went. They continued around for a half hour, before Mark nodded to his friend and took off back for his tent.
Mark finally got back his tent and sighed. The walk had cleared his head, and he wanted to set about his work once again. He lit the candle and sat over the map again. There were three entrances to the inside of the fortress, and why couldn't they simply go through all three entrances? If they stuck together as a group and struck quickly, they should be able to secure victory. Mark smiled as he began coordinating who would come through which doorway, and soon he was satisfied. Stretching, he snuffed the candle for the final time tonight, and fell into his cot to be taken off to sleep moments later.
An hour later, Virion came to change places with Cordelia. The archer was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes as the Pegasus knight handed her lantern over. She walked quickly to her tent and stepped inside. She put her lance down and stripped her ivory armor. Even in the tent, she could hear the insects outside still calling to each other. AS she lay down to sleep, she appreciated the silence still, knowing that when she woke tomorrow, the silence would break and may not come to her again for a long while.