Arach was getting more and more impressed with everyone in the group as their escape went on. The one called Jericho was incredibly competent with the gun they found, Rolando managed to trek through the whole jail by himself to get his gear back, and Reason was making sure everyone was getting out together and that they were all taken care of. It was a good group. They worked well enough together and there was, so far, no internal conflict. Hopefully, when they all got out together, they would stick together. As much as he didn't want to stay in the prison anymore than he had to, Arach almost didn't want to leave. He enjoyed the company, the drive of the mission, and the cohesiveness as a whole. While there was no stopping them from getting out, Arach hoped that they'd all stick together after the escape. After all, the littler ones needed someone to take care of them, and the older ones just wanted their freedom, so hopefully they wouldn't mind sticking together. Either way, Arach snapped himself out of his little reverie, he was needed in the real world.
As they ambushed the guards, Arach felt a little uneeded. Jericho snapped into action far faster than Arach could react, and Arach didn't like the feeling of being protected. While it was good he didn't have to use a Draconic Aspect, Arach didn't want to not pull his own weight. Arach had to remind himself not to beat himself up. He was among individuals like himself for a change. He didn't need to always protect everyone, even though he wanted to. The others were just as capable as he, some even more so. He wasn't a lone superhuman anymore, he was one of a group, and he needed to let other step up when they knew they could shine brightest. Therefore, when Arach was offered the armor, he smiled a little, thinking back to the first time he used his third favorite draconic aspect, he didn't really... need that armor. So, Arach shrugged when he was offered the armor, finally able to speak again, he gave his reason for declining it: "If push comes to shove, I can take care of myself, armored or not. Give the armor to the others first, I'll take a set if there's any left over. I'd rather not have to rely on it. Plus, for now, I've got this vest. It's only taken a few shots, so I'll be good for a while."
They'd made it to the way point. So, Arach decided to do exactly what he'd already done. He ate some food, and began to search around for anything useful. He'd found some more food, and managed to fit a bit more of it in his bags, taking out the large, bulkier packages, and replacing them with airtight food supplies. He also took out his sleeping bag and jacket and compressed them down as tight as they would go before putting them back in at the bottom of his bag. He drank all of what was in his water skein and refilled it at the sink. He also managed to find two more bottles of water and filled them, putting them in his bag as well. He took out his pair of hunting knives and rummaged around in his bag, making still more space. He hooked them to a belt loop on the left side of his pants using the sheath straps. After he'd "condensed" his own supplies, he continued to fill his bag with as much airtight food supplies and water as he could. He was done after about 3 minutes. Looking in his bag, he figured he'd managed to add another two or three days worth of food supplies to his little cache, he hoped they'd be able to find transportation so he wouldn't have to ration it, but he was prepared to do exactly that. While he was preparing, he heard Hamlet express his wish to scout ahead and he saw him leave. He noticed that Rolando was back with them, and Reason was counting heads, making sure everyone was there and checking up on everyone. After a moment, she seemed to remember something and left in a hurry.
Looking around, he'd realized that, for a while at least, there was nothing else he needed to do, the others could take care of themselves if they needed to, and no one had asked for his help. So, Arach sat down, plunked his bag down next to him, and meditated. It was only for a moment or two, but he felt the sweet relief of that momentary reprieve sink deep into his bones. It was glorious.
Suddenly, Arach heard a noise, looking up, he tried to pinpoint the source of the noise. Then he heard it, Reason screamed. "Who's there?" She cried, and Arach was up and on it faster than he could remember moving in a long time. He wasn't losing anyone here, not now, not ever. He turned in the direction he heard her voice come from, and saw her in the hallway. She was crouched down, and... holding something. He rushed over to them and knelt next to her, "What's wrong?" he asked her.