Vedette snarled when Onainat kicked her, the maneuver caught her off guard and it was the beast within which answered. Just as quickly that was smothered, Vedette picked up a glass that was half empty and finished it. She could have used a tankard of whiskey. Her limbs weren't even sore. She could have used a dozen sparring partners with their wooden swords and the bruises that they left behind. Blood was pumping through her and she wanted to help Ulbarich. At the same time, helping Ulbarich probably meant facing Ithacles again. Vedette didn't like that idea. Not when she still felt raw and unwanted.
Still.
She got up to follow the man. Onainat would surely follow along.
"You'll refuse our help." Vedette said quietly. "That won't stop me from trying, of course." She smiled behind his back. If she'd been attacked in public and her companions, maybe not friends. Was she so quick to dismiss the human term because it meant feeling something? She still didn't feel right feeling anything so soon after Koe's death, but maybe she was too quick with her ruling. She was no longer a captain. That meant it didn't matter what she was, or what she did, within the laws of the country at least. It didn't matter any more what her relationships were with other captains.
It meant she didn't have to worry about the next mission so much as worrying about the people she wanted to worry for.
Something had happened and she wanted to know what it was.