i may not follow, i may not lead, just walk beside me

Avantika didn't even notice the Vanguard coming up before he spoke to her. Polite as he had been when they'd spoken last, he still managed to make her fur jump a bit. "Hmm? Yeah, good morning," she replied, mentally shaking herself back to reality. She stood a little straighter, trying to act as if he hadn't just stumbled upon her so lost in her own thoughts. Sometimes it seemed like she was always either full focus and vigilance or completely blind to the world, and today she'd landed on blind. But when she was patrolling, she really should pay more attention; what if there actually was something dangerous out there?

Before Mercury could leave, Avantika asked, "How are you doing, Mercury? How are your lessons going?" He intrigued her. He was pretty new to the Hallows, at least when compared with her, but clearly strong and had earned enough respect from Art to acquire a high rank in the pack. He cared about his rank, too -- Avantika wasn't sure if she would have challenged straight from knight to commander if she had only joined so recently. He had a past he didn't want to talk about, though that was nothing Avantika could judge. He seemed nice and had said that he thought the two of them would be able to work well together. Sure, they weren't friends, but she liked him well enough.

"Speech"