Miss your face like hell

Bessy had already been crowded before being stuffed to the roof in some places with all sorts of containers and gear that Matt and Remmy deemed necessary to bring along. Adding four more souls inside the vehicle only made it even more crowded and over stuffed. The two children, and Matt had found out that they were actually children unlike the other tiefling girl who was just short as shit, giggled and laughed with every bump in the road that the rig took. Matt had to hand it to them, they had seen their homes in shambles and had more than likely seen the terrible atrocities that had become some of their fellow villagers, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. They laughed and giggled with every pothole in the road the truck hit, probably sending them flying in their seats for a brief moment before they landed back down. In a way, Matt envied how they seemed to retain their innocents even despite all they'd recently gone through.

It had been about a day or so since they'd left the remains of the village behind them. Akira had assured them that somehow she knew that the three tieflings they'd found were the last survivors. She'd also told them that before coming into the village, she had run into the other tieflings they'd met out in the woods. They had told her of what was going on back in the village and of the arrival of the two mysterious beings in an iron chariot. Akira had said that once she had learned about the situation, she used some sort of magic to transport the others to her own home far away. That's where they were apparently headed now.

"Mister… Winters? Is that correct? I was wondering, what sort of method moves this iron chariot? I have seen the great iron war chariots of the Pridehearts, but they weren't built quite like this. Also, it doesn't reek of coals and soot."

Akira was sitting in the shotgun seat next to Matt while Remmy sat behind him watching the children and conversing with the now awakened tiefling woman known as Roseis in the back seat. Matt glanced over at her and saw that Akira seemed to be just as fascinated in the vehicle as the children were at first.

"Yes, I do wonder the same. I've actually ridden in one of the war chariots but the ride wasn't as smooth as this one" came Roesis's voice from the back.

Out of all the others, Roseis seemed to be the most interested in the MATV. From almost the moment she'd woken up in the back seat, Roseis had become instantly fascinated with her surroundings. It took Remmy's intervenience to stop the tiefling from crawling around the entire vehicle and examining everything she could touch like a curious child. It was actually Akira who told them that Roseis was some sort of tinkerer or inventor. Though the spell Akira used in order for them to understand one another seemed to work quite well, there were a few words that got lost in translation. Matt had come to the conclusion himself that the best title possibility was probably closer to something like an artificer if he was using the class systems from TTRPG's.

"Clearly this machine doesn't run on any sort of magic as I saw you pouring some sort of liquid from a container into this machine. I can only assume then that that was the fuel source that helps run whatever sort of engine runs this machine? If that's the case, the fuel source you used seems to outlast most other sources I know of. It has been some time since we last stopped and we already have traveled quite some distance at a rather impressive speed. Hmmm I wonder. What if one of the Gasturne power cells were somehow rigged to the engine of this machine? I wonder how long it will be able to run for then." said Roesis.

Matt couldn't help but be honestly surprised and a bit impressed by her level of intelligence. Originally Matt had assumed that a world filled with fantasy fantasy beings would be at a complete loss of understanding for the wonders of his world's modern technological advancements. However, the tiefling had a pretty good grasp already on how some of their technology may have worked based on her observations. Matt didn't know what a Gasturne Power Cell was exactly but it did make him think a little about their long term fuel supplies. They had enough fuel for the MRAP to get them where they were going, or at least he hoped. They had a few extra cans Matt had placed aside as emergency reserves and he hoped it was enough to get back to the C-17 in order to refuel and rearm a bit. He highly doubted this world had anything close to the fuel the MRAP needed and if this world did have some vast amount of untapped fuel resources, Matt wouldn't even know where to begin with the process. He caught himself frowning a little as he crunched the numbers in his head once again.

"This machine is what we call a MATV. Musically it's like a giant armored wagon meant for war. It uses a liquid fuel system like you said to power the engine in the front of the vehicle which in turn rotates the tires and propels us either backwards or forwards." Remmy explained, answering the originally asked question and confirming the tieflings inclinations.

"This is a machine built for war huh? Yes, the two of you are definitely warriors of some type. I'll give you that. So I guess it only makes sense that something this complex would be used to assist your efforts in conquest?" Roseis asked.

"In a way, yes? Where we come from there are millions of machines just like this that can fall under the common description of a motorized vehicle. Not all of them however are particularly built for war such as this one. They come in all shapes and sizes and are built to suit most aspects of common life. People tend to use them more as a way to get from one point to another in their everyday lives much faster than any horse drawn carriage. This beast however was built for the purpose of war. Its main purpose being a more efficient way to transport troops over a long distance while also providing support to dismounted foot troops in combat." Remmy explained.

"Definitely sounds a lot like the Iron War Chariots then. They use a similar method of propulsion I believe that uses coal to instead power their machines. The coal doesn't last as long as your liquid fuel source as it has some obvious drawbacks compared to what this…MATV can do so far. Does the contraption on top house a weapon much like the ones you carry on your beings?" Roseis asked.

"Similar" Matt replied, cutting into the conversation "The weapon mounted in the turret above fires projectiles like our weapons but the rounds it fires are much bigger."

"Bigger?" Akira asked as she cocked her head a little to the side in a sign of confusion.

"Yeah, for example this round here," Remmy said as she pulled a round from one of her magazines "Is much smaller compared the the big ol round that comes out of the ma deuce up top. While these rounds are good for killing goblins and-"

Matt reached around his seat and tapped Remmy's side with his hand, causing her to pause. She looked to see that Matt had noticed the two children looking on wards with big eyes as they absorbed every word she said like a sponge.

"It ah, it's just a bigger more capable round" Remmy finished as Matt felt her lean back and bounce off the seat behind him a little.

Roseis must have noted the exchange as she spoke up.

"You don't need to worry about holding back details of your death dealing devices. The Aguecara Clan for which these young ones belong are of a proud and fierce warrior clan. They have already seen and part-taken in the dealing of death and are no strangers to using whatever means necessary to win in a fight." Roseis said, explaining.

Matt looked back through the makeshift mirror that was hung from the roof using some extra metal wire and caught Remmy's glance up at him. They exchanged a look for a moment that told the other that they understood things might be a bit too different here then from the world they were used to. Remmy gave a slight shrug as if to say it couldn't be helped. Matt sighed and refocused on the road as he slowed the truck down to take a rather sharp turn in the dirt road ahead.

"Well whatever this machine is and runs on, it's certainly much faster and smoother than any carriage I've ever ridden in" Akira announced with a certain light hearted air about her words.

"Well that's also in due part to the boss's driving here. He always makes sure to avoid the potholes"

Matt could almost hear the shit eating grin on the Sergeants face. There were layers of meaning to her words and rather than trying to decipher their meaning, Matt instead opted to purposely aim for the next pothole he saw in the road. He sped up a little just before he hit it, causing the M-ATV to jump and shake around a bit. Remmy cursed in a slew of words after he heard a good thunking sound of something hitting the roof of the truck behind him. The children in the back laughed and cheered though as they repeated over and over, "Again! Again!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Matt noticed the fox woman sitting beside him move a little in her seat, facing towards him a little as he glanced over. Part of her cloak had come undone and Matt could see parts of the outfit she wore underneath, and my oh my what an outfit it was. She looked to be wearing a black and red colored top that was open in the center and hugged her frame a little too nicely. The shirt revealed a lot of open and exposed skin and left very little to the imagination as what fabric she was wearing just barely contained her rather impressive, womanly features. Matt felt his face heat up a little and quickly looked up to meet Akira's gaze. It was clear, had been caught looking at her even for a brief moment. Her large eyes looked deeply into his and for a moment Matt couldn't exactly read what her emotions were. Her brow began to furrow a bit but turned into more of a raised eyebrow as Matt caught the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips.

Matt quickly turned his eyes back to the road and the large man shifted a bit uncomfortably in his seat. She was, for a lack of a better and more elegant term, fucking gorgeous. Matt didn't know whether she was trying to act seductive or give him some sort of warning with the look she gave him, but he was absolutely digging it. He caught himself smiling a bit, but it quickly faded away as memories of her entered his mind. He couldn't remember the exact details of it all anymore, and he couldn't remember whether the memories in his mind were of any one particular time or a combined accumulation of the memories he had of her. All he could remember was the way the sun looked on her face as he sat holding her hand on the edge of the bed, and the stabbing pain that shot through his aching heart.

"Jesus-fucking-christ! Eyes on the road!"

Remmy's sudden outburst brought him back to reality as Matt saw that the nose of the truck had drifted off the path and was barreling towards a large cluster of trees directly in front of it. Matt reacted quickly and instead of hitting the brakes he turned the wheel at the last possible moment and brought the truck roaring back onto the main path. He shuttered a little as he slowed down and took a deep breath before he felt a hand smack him over the top of the head.

"What the shit? You trying to kill us?"

Remmy had gotten out of her seat and was standing hunched over in the space between the two seats in the front of the MATV. She looked pissed as she stared daggers down at Matt. Behind her, Akira's face was nearly pale white but she at least offered a more sympathetic smile as if maybe she felt a little responsible for the distraction. Matt was about to apologize when he noticed the sudden change in Remmy's facial expression. Her face flashed with a brief moment of concern as she looked down at him before she let out a sigh.

"There," she said pointing down the road towards a small outcropping in the forest "It's getting late and I'm starving. We should set up there for the night"

The sun was still high enough in the sky for them to at least keep going for a few more hours, but before Matt could open his mouth to protest his 3IC shot him a glance that told him it wasn't up for debate. Normally, being Bravo One meant that he usually had final word in most matters. However he had come to the realization long ago that the look his 3IC had just given him meant that he'd better listen to her or else. Matt sighed begrudgingly as he pulled the truck over into the small clearing.

They had taken up to an hour to set up a small camp around the MATV. Dark clouds had begun to loom over the horizon so they took the tarp they normally used to cover up the truck to create a roof over the encampment. Despite her small size, Roseis seemed to have no problem moving heavier objects around the camp as she put a heavy crate filled with thicker winter gear down to be used as a seat under the tarp. Akira had helped with a few things as well but seemed more interested in keeping the two children entertained and out of everyone else's hair as they were setting things up. Remmy hadn't spoken a word to Matt since the incident on the road but he caught her nearly glaring at him a few times before she finally beckoned him over to the back of the MATV and away from the others to help her grab something.

"Talk to me Matty, where was your head back there on the road?" Remmy asked once she was sure they were out of ear range of the others.

Her tone was low now and though she spoke softly, Matt could hear hints of concern in her voice. She had dropped any sense of formality she had left with him now and spoke to him more like a close friend than in the chain of command.

"I saw that look in your eyes back in the truck so don't bullshit me. Where-was-your-head?" She asked a bit more sternly.

Matt sighed as he turned to look back at the others. The children, Roseis, and Akira all seemed occupied as they seemed equally marveled at some of the modern luxuries of camping Matt and Remmy had brought out as well as some equal joy to be finally out and able to stretch their legs a little. Matt leaned over the back of the truck to make it look as if he was doing something back there as he replied in a low voice to make sure only Remmy could hear.

"I don't know. One minute I was looking over at the fox woman over there and the next, I was back at Riverside. With her."

Remmy looked up and placed her hand gently on the big man's arm. She could sense the sudden change in his overall demeanor as he stared off into the back of the truck and was brought back to that same place once more in his mind. She had been there that day, sitting in the waiting room along with the rest of Bravo Team as they waited impatiently to hear the latest news. She remembered still wearing the same smelly clothes as they all had been from their last spin up, having come off the flight line and going directly to the emergency care center. She had been yelling at Coffee, Bravo Two, who had been pacing back and forth across the room when she saw the doctor walk through the doors of the emergency area. Remmy didn't listen to a word the doctor had to say as she saw her team leader curled up against the wall in the hallway. She didn't even listen to the doctor's words as he told her she wasn't allowed back there as she rushed through the door and collapsed herself over her team leader. The rest of Bravo must have ignored the doctor as well as they two came rushing in to the support of their team leader sitting motionless on the floor, covered in blood that wasn't his own.

"Matt, you know there's nothing you could have done. It wasn't your fault that-"

"I know!" he said, interrupting her, "I know. I know. But it still doesn't change the fact of what happened. We should have been, I should have been there for her. If only I had listened."

Holly could sense the turmoil within her team leader as she watched his large hands ball up into fists against the back of the truck. She gave his arm a gentle squeeze with her hand and almost immediately he saw some of his tension release a little but she still frowned.

"Matty, look at me. Beth would have hated to see you like this, you can't keep beating yourself up over something you had absolutely no control over. Fucked up shit happens sometimes in the worst of ways and there isn't a fucking thing we can do about it. But Beth wouldn't have wanted you to stay like this forever remember? You gotta pull back on that stick Matty. You gotta get out of this spiral you're in, alright? What was it, her red hair?" she asked

"Her smile" Matt replied, just barely audible enough.

"Yeah, she's got a fucking killer smile huh? So let me put it to you this way okay? If you don't pull your shit together and get on that shit, then I'm gonna take her for myself because woo-damn! I know I got a good look at what she's got under that cloak and I know for a fact you did too" Holly said with a smile

Matt was silent for a few moments and Holly was concerned that her attempt to humor him may have done more harm than good when she heard him start to chuckle a little.

"Fuck off Holl's, I thought she wasn't your type anyways"

Some color had come back to Matt's face as he had straightened himself out a little and looked down at Remmy standing beside him. She had managed to pull him out of his spiraling thoughts in her own weird little way that somehow only she could ever pull off. He didn't understand how or why, but he was grateful nonetheless to have her around this time.

"I'm more into the blondes myself but with a body like that, I could make an exception" Holly replied with a sly smirk

"You're fucking gross" Matt said managing a small laugh now

"Ah you love me," she laughed for a moment before looking up at Matt "Hey, we square?"

Matt looked down at the heavily tatted former air force sergeant by his side and nodded before he held his fist up and bumped it with hers.

"Yeah. We square" he replied

"Fuck yeah. So hey, have you given any thought to all this yet? I mean, we technically made first contact with other intelligent lifeforms. Not only that but we also defended them without even knowing who they were. I'm not saying we made the wrong call at all, boss. I just wanna make sure we are on the same page here. We sure we wanna continue down this road?" Holly asked with a more serious tone.

"The way I see it is that it boils down to this, we do not have unlimited supplies. We don't have supply trains here like we did back home. Sure we have more ammo and shit back at the crash but once we use it up, then that's it. These…people were under attack by what appeared to be a hostile force, so we did our job and intervened. They lost their homes and for all intensive purposes are now refugees. This Kitsune girl seems to have a place where she can take them in. The way I see it, if we continue to help these people then it could open up some good will and ultimately might help us in the long run" Matt said, getting down to brass tacks of the matter.

"Hearts and minds right? But what if we messed with something we weren't supposed to? What if they're actually the bad guys in this situation, what then?"

Matt knew Holly wasn't questioning his decisions, but was making sure that all the possibilities were thought out and on the table so that he as the team leader could make the best possible plan of action.

"If it turns out we are on the wrong side of this shit show, then we burn bridges." Matt replied looking down at Holly with a bit of coldness in his voice.

Holly nodded affirmatively as she reached into the back of the truck and dragged a metal container from one side to the other. The container made an awful screeching sound of metal on metal before Holly leaned in and tried to reach for another container hidden behind the one she had just moved. Matt saw her grab it with one of her hands as she pulled a small case of beer out from its hiding spot.

"Jesus fucking Christ, did you actually bring the beer along?" Matt asked as he shook his head.

"Thought it might come in handy maybe as something we could trade items for or broker some diplomatic relations over" the sergeant said, shrugging with a smug smile on her face.

"Mhmm suuuure. Just open the damn case and hand me one already" Matt replied.

Holly did just that before the two opened up their cans, tapped the rims together, and took a long swig of the drinks. The beer wasn't particularly cold, Holly had buried the case strategically enough that the heat from the day's sun as well as the heat from the flames in the village hadn't reached the case though. The two tipped the cans back and finished the beers in one go, Holly letting out a satisfied sigh after she crushed the empty can in her hand.

"Oh fuck yeah that hit the spot." she exclaimed.

"What is that you were just drinking?" came a small voice from behind them.

The two looked around behind them to see Roseis, still wearing Matt's oversized shirt like a dress standing at the back corner of the truck. She was looking at the cans in their hands with interest as she stepped forward. The shirt she wore hung low around her neck, being more revealing than it really should have been and a lot of the extra length of the shirt had been balled up and tied into a knot on her side. For the first time Matt actually took a moment to glance Roseis over as he noticed a few things different about her than from the two children. Her eyes were a piercing gold color unlike that of the kids who didn't really seem to have much color behind their eyes at all. Her face was sharp with a pointed chin and she had sort of cute small lips that were almost the same shade of red as her skin. At some point, Holly must have cleaned up the stomp on her head and Matt could see that the stomp looked an awful lot like a tree stump with layers of rings coming from the center. There was no more blood coming from it and for some reason Holly hadn't bandaged it up, leaving it exposed to the open air. Now that Matt actually looked at Roseis, he realized that the only thing that made him first think she was really much younger then she actually was, was her glaringly short height. Compared to the other tieflings they'd seen on the road before just outside the village were still seemingly shorter than Remmy but not by as much as Roseis was. The tiefling looked up at them both with a raised eyebrow now as she waited for a response.

"It's a can of beer. Wait, do you know what beer is? Is that a thing here? Or is it all just like, ales and that kind of shit?" Remmy asked, looking perplexed.

"Yes, we have beer. Though I've never seen it in such a colorful container before" Roseis replied.

"Then you probably have never tried anything like this before. Here, wanna try one?" Holly asked as she grabbed another can from the case and offered it.

Roseis seemed hesitant at first before holding up a hand for the offered drink. Holly popped the can open with a fizzling snap before she handed the can off to the tiefling. Roseis took a moment and sniffed the drink before putting the can up to her lips and taking a small sip. Her eyes immediately lit up before she tossed her head back with the drink and chugged down the rest of the can before letting out a very loud and satisfied sounding sigh.

"That was the best drink I think I've ever had! You said this was beer? It's so cold and refreshing! Is that a hint of fruitiness to it as well? Let me have another!"

Roseis seemed over the moon as Matt watched her face light up like the sun as she spoke loud enough to draw the attention of Akira and the children towards the back of the truck. Holly laughed and was already reaching into the case as Matt shook his head a little. He wasn't sure if giving someone who looked like they were on death's doorstep less than twenty four hours ago a beer was a good idea. However, Holly the super trooper doctor didn't seem to find anything wrong with it as she showed the small tiefling how to open the can by herself. Matt saw that Akira and the children were making their way over as well and the sudden thought of giving beer, which was more like an IPA really, to children made his stomach turn a little and he hoped the sergeant had enough foresight not to give them any.

"Hey! Uacatha! Come try this!" Roseis said as she called out to Akira as she approached.

"I wish you wouldn't call me such names" Akira replied and Matt couldn't help but notice that her fox-like ears were pinned back slightly.

"What's a Uaca-whatchya?" Holly asked as she popped open three more drinks.

"It's a term her people use to sometimes call me by. I believe the best translation for you would be something along the lines of foxy lady." Akira replied, answering Holly as she seemed more focused on the drink in the sergeant's hands.

"Ah, that tracks," Holly replied, handing over one of the semi cold cans to Akira.

"That…tracks?" Akira asked, sounding confused as the ears on top of her head rotated a little.

"Ahhh, that means that what you said makes sense" Holly replied

Matt smiled a little as the normal boisterous and a bit over the top Holly seemed stumped for a moment. They had assumed that not everything they said would translate over exactly as they had meant. However, until now both Akira and Roseis seemed to have a pretty good handle on most of the things Matt and Holly had said. Matt shrugged as he guessed it couldn't really be helped and that there was just going to be somethings that the others wouldn't be able to directly understand either right away or at all.

Akira took the can from Holly's offered hand into her own before she brought it up to her nose and sniffed the small opening at the top of it. Her cute little nose wrinkled a little as she nodded an acknowledgement to Holly's reply before she looked down a bit unsure at the can in her hands. Roseis was already starting on her second one, wasting no time downing the freshly opened can just like the first drink. Hesitantly, Akira brought the can up to her lips as she took a sip of the alcoholic beverage inside.

"Well?" Holly asked

"It's certainly an acquired taste I believe" Akira replied as she did the polite thing of not dumping the contents of the can out but holding it aside a little showing she no longer had interest in it.

"Here, let me take that" Matt said as he reached down and took the can away from her.

He had just been about to sip from the can when Akira suddenly reached out with a startling cry and tried to hit the can out of his hand. She hadn't been able to knock the can away from him but instead, pushed the can back as she tried to swat it away from him, causing its remaining contents to spill all over Matt's front side. That part had clearly been an accident, but Matt was confused on why Akira had tried to swipe the drink away from him in the first place. Beer dripped down from his soaked shirt and gear as he stood looking down at the mess before he looked up at Akira.

Her face was… red. Her big golden eyes were affixed on him with a sense of unwavering determination in them as she stared at him down. She then immediately turned away with her arms folded over her midsection and let out a sound that made Matt think she might have been upset? He didn't understand why she would be upset with him though as she was the one who had spilled the beer all over him. Unsure what to say or do, Matt turned to look at Holly who had been stifling a laugh as she mockingly covered her mouth and pointed in his direction.

"What?" Matt asked as he nearly mouthed the words as he spoke in a stern whispering voice.

Holly didn't reply, but she pointed to the rim of her own can in her hand before she made a kissing motion with her fingertips pointed in towards one another. Matt still didn't get it and when Holly saw that she just waved Matt away as she continued to stifle her laughter. Roseis, who had been standing nearby with the children, just shrugged, seeming almost equally as confused as he did.