Genevieve/Juliette/Quenten/Divina
Juliette nodded her assent - no need to speak - and fell in behind Divina, slightly off to her left, attempting to remember all that her mentors had taught her. Muscles loose, senses on alert, mind free of clutter. Would she have to fight? Forget that thought; she would fight or she wouldn't, and there was no use in worrying about it. Councilman Liu - before he was Councilman Liu - had taken her and a few others into the woods, once or twice. She had been bitten by a wolf, but she had survived. The wolf had not.
She would survive here, too.
She allowed the Countess and Quenten to enter the alley, then darted in behind them, bringing up the rear. Divina would cut a way for them; all she had to do was make sure no stragglers reached the others. Her role as second was simple.
Or so she thought; as they wound their way through the network of alleys, a crab skittered out of one of the connecting streets, heading straight for them. No choice, Divina would have had to make her way past the other two in the narrow space, so it was up to her. She kicked out, the impact reverberating all the way up her leg when the blow connected - this crab felt as if made of stone - but it was pushed back for the moment, if not defeated - and seemingly headed in the same direction as they were. She attempted to roll out of the way of its pincers as it reached for her, and partially succeeded, though a line of pain slashed down the edge of her left arm where it had grazed her. She clenched her jaw to keep from crying out as she regained her footing.