Rita doesn’t argue when told to step back. She walks to her own horse, taking its reins with one hand and stroking its head with the other, trying to calm it. This also serves as an excuse not to watch the moment the sword plunges through the other horse’s head. She winces at the sound.

It probably seems silly for her to be so concerned about an animal when they’re out on a hunt of all things, but these horses are helping them, and that just makes it feel different. Maybe 9S feels the same way...

But what’s done is done, and there’s no use dwelling on it any longer than necessary. “We should go,” she says, turning to face him. “Think we can both ride on this horse?”