The lynx blinked as he was pushed aside, looking at the Empress with an unamused expression. "You sure know how to make friends, kalė," he grumbled at her for her snobby hostility before realizing the embers were still alight, no doubt more flames starting to rise; if something wasn't done, her careless fireball entrance was going to possibly get people killed.

Of course, he had little time to actually act on instinct before Sonic came blasting by, creating a whirlwind that began to deprive the flames of their oxygen, but he knew for a fact that there was no way it would quickly snuff out all the flames that were actually inside the building. Until they were smothered, everyone inside needed to be evacuated, in case the fire spread or the structural integrity was compromised. At this point, he had little time to ask questions now; he had to do what he could to evacuate the people he could from the complex before they were trapped. He quickly reached for his rifle and detached the stock to force new openings as needed, before taking as big a breath he could and running to assist. "Everybody, outside; there's a fire! Quickly, everyone out! Greitai, greitai!"

He smiled a bit as Hachi went to their side, showing concern for him. "It's not as urgent as you would think, the wound is superficial and didn't puncture any organs; a little higher amd maybe that'd be an issue. Wound is cauterized by gunpowder, which went in at least an inch, and antiseptic has been applied already; dagger would have needed to be poisoned to actually do anything." Thr lynx smirked and winked, to reassure Hachi that he would be just fine, the pain turning to a dull throb for the time being now that his mind had something else to focus on. "Just helps to have something to fight the pain, is all; willow bark and leaves can be used for tea to numb it, is why I asked. A-And please, don't call me sir; my name is Ajax, and I prefer not to be treated like a officer; haven't wanted to be 'sir' to anyone just for being a medic, heh. Gerai?" He extended a hand to shake, seeming to be in improving condition.

"They didn't send me out here alone without considering their options; I'm supposed to act as a scout, and if needed, a temporary emissary. A group would have been noticed more easily, and risked drawing attention from... Unwanted sources." Clearly he was referring to the bandit clans, but possibly also Robotnik, if he was still out there, watching the area and planning another attack.

The lynx's ears twitched as the second wolf tried to get close unnoticed; he certainly couldn't tell who or what it was, but it put him on edge again as he reached under his coat and pulled out a black knife, holding it by the tip of the blade in a throwing position. It wasn't until he saw and heard the partially robotizised wolf speak. "Vietinis? he murmured before another spike of pain from his wound made him grimace and reach for the pain, dropping the knife.

The lynx smirked a bit as his pace slowed, confident that they had made enough distance to avoid any serious trouble. "Would you believe me if I said part of the armory was made from designed based on improvements of his? The sonic-emitter shells are a newer one, rips through metal like wet cardboard; shame they can only be used by 100mm cannons." He glanced around for a moment as he narrowed his line of sight with his hands, wondering if there was any water nearby to help clean his wound more. "Can't say I know much about the designs myself, but I've certainly seen them at work..." At this point, he fastened his rifle to his back; no need to make travel harder than it needed to be.

Ajax simply shrugged a bit, trying to think of the right words to sum up his thoughts. "Tas plėšikas? Little beyond barbarians, some of the gangs; they'll raid and loot just about anything if they think it's worth the risk, but they're not stupid... Especially as of late, something or someone has been getting them particularly organized, and their stunts are getting bolder. He had seen many scars torn in the land by the groups, so even thinking about them made him a little sick to his stomach. "Occasionally one or two of them will come to their senses, or perhaps finally were pushed to what little moral threshold they have, and they'll rat out their gangs in return for amnesty; but where one disappears, two more will pop up in their place, fighting for territory. Makes it hard for any kind of settlement to form far from Miana..."

He nodded as he finished bandaging himself, standing up slowly as he took hold of his rifle. "We had been preparing forces to assist in the "resistance" here, but it seems our Harbinger's insistence in being prepared for the conflict made us miss out on most of the war; the raider gangs that formed when news of his tyranny reached us didn't help..." He looked around for a moment, even looking through his scope at a few spots to be sure they were alone for the time being. "We should move; this rifle can be heard from several klicks away, and where there's one there's more. No need to get caught and put in a real ker-fuckle..."

"I h-have my own methods for that; internal bleeding won't be severe, the knife isn't serrated or bent... Jie yra per daug kvaili... Laimei..." The lynx set the rifle down again and began searching through his shirt's inner pockets, pulling out various odds and ends that he had as medical supplies. "I just need to disinfect amd cauterize the wound..." He grabbed one of his items, a thick piece of leather, and put it between his teeth before grabbing the handle of the blade and pulling it out, looking ready to scream in pain. There wasn't much blood, but enough to show that there was a clear wound. "Y-You said... Mobotropolis, yes? Self-proclaimed capital of Mobius?"

In calm temperate forests and broken crags, far to the north the self-proclaimed capital of the world that was called Mobotropolis, there were others that lived beyond its influence. Some were peaceful, or unaware of the greater happenings that had occurred southward. Others knew well of them, and saw it as a reason to act; some sought safety, and some sought control.

The quiet of the forested crags was then suddenly cut by a sudden gunshot ringing through the air, akin to a small cannon being fired. At the source, two figures; one dead on the ground, bearing a primitive armor fashioned from scrap sheet metal with a large bullet hole through it at the heart, and the other sitting only feet away with a rifle in one hand, and the other clenched tightly around the end of a jagged blade thrust into his side, blood staining his clothes as he grit his teeth.

“D-Damn raiders...” the lynx mumbled to himself, taking the moment to breathe and assess his situation, as painful as it was. “I figured heading dead-south would be the safe option... S-So much for that...”