Sword & Shield Beta

First topic message reminder :




Chana sits on the chair underneath the Captain's Pavilion. She can't help but hope that this meeting will explain their new, shiny, running horses that are fantastically used to being around a war. They have been remarkably calm, and Chana is grateful, but suspicious. Her horse is beautiful and solid--very fast. She's tested him on several occasions.

Still..why did they have the entire Unit of Altair train for riding horses? And who were these two, new, tough battlemages that have shown up a few hours earlier with horses of their own, with reassignment papers? Horses this trained and groomed are not common, as well as expensive....so what the hell is going on?

It's a bright day, early morning as the sun is just rising over the tree tops of the forest, making the dark place look beautiful, despite its depressing purpose in this region. The grass is green and alive here, thankfully, on this side of the wall. The trees of the forest are starting to look pretty bad...

At least she's used to being outside, now. Several buildings around the wall's fortification are still being built, so they've had to camp here for the past month as they hold the Kurian's to the forest. Luckily, no Earth Kurian's have shown up, or she'd probably have hated sleeping on the ground. She can still hear the sounds of fighting on the other side of the wall...so much screaming and clashing metal upon metal. A Kurian's roar shakes the pavilon's tent, bringing her attention back to the current situation, where she is left wondering why she is up here, instead of out there, fighting with the other units.

Her head jerks to the side as the two new members that showed up in the night sit at the meeting table. The pavilion sways to the side as the wind swishes through, blowing her hair to the side just as she stares at the strangers with interest. They look noble, to say the least. Great. The Guys'll love having newbies. Though....they sure as hell don't look like newbs.

"Good luck telling Isa that," Mihael said sincerely because Regulus was going to need all the luck he could get. His brother was obsessed with his hair and with Mihael's hair as well, it seemed. He blinked when Regulus looked down at his feet. "I think you did great. They were pretty aggressive and um... verbose, but I think you got everything under control in the end. You didn't fight with them, but you didn't give in and let them take over either. You were very balanced," he said approvingly.

Takato just shook his head when Isadore immediately started picking at his teeth. "That was too easy. You've gotta start giving me more of a challenge."

Regulus looked back up at Mihael and gave him a small smile. "If you say so, then I guess I'll have to believe it."

He looked over at Takato and Isadore, who were up to their usual antics. "Let's go talk to them. I have a few things I want to make clear."

He headed over, expecting Mihael to follow along. "You two got a minute?"

Isadore sighed. He should have known Takato was just messing with him. "Can't you be serious for a change? That includes not putting your feet on the table, too." Isadore then noticed that Regulus was walking over to him, so he turned his attention to the captain. "Yes, sir."

Mihael smiled fondly at Regulus and nodded, following him to where his brother and Taka were.

"I'm very serious about putting my feet on the table," Takato said to Isadore. Just then, Regulus approached with Mihael. "Yeah, of course," he said, nodding at Regulus. "What's up?"

"We're going to talk to you two," Mihael explained.

"I just want to make sure a few things are clear with you two," Regulus said. "When the order comes in for us to move, we have to move immediately."

He first looked at Isadore. "We won't have time to get all fixed up. Maybe throw on some riding clothes, but not much else." He then looked at Takato. "We need to be as rested as possible, and we won't have time to deal with one night stands. So it would be best if we could refrain from having women over."

Regulus sighed. "I'm sorry about this, but orders are orders. We may not like it, but it is what it is."

Caspian sighs and rests his head in his hands and speaks to Eowyn, “Looks like I have done it again…I have sufficiently pissed the entire unit with in the first 30 minutes… Why do I keep doing this?” He then sighed and looked at Eowyn extremely exhausted showing just how worried and upset he was by their reactions to the mission.

Eowyn places her hand on her husband back, “Calm down it’s a lot of new information and it’s hard for them to adjust to it all give them time, and they will come around.”

Caspian looks at his mate half smiling, “I know….I know. It just so frustrating."

Eowyn replies, "Let them sleep on it and we can re-approach it all in then morning. Until then lets get some food and rest its been way to long since we have had the chance for a warm meal and something besides the ground to sleep on, so lets enjoy it while we can." She then kisses Caspian stands up taking his hand, "Lets go talk to Captain Theban and set up a private meeting to discuss things after we get some rest and food."

Caspian gets up and walks over to Captain Theban, “Captain we would like to discuss with you the riding formations we have in mind. But would you mind if Eowyn and I good get something to eat and some rest before we discuss the details, or if you would like we can discuss it as we eat." Caspian and Eowyn then start slowly walking out of the tent holding hands to go find some food.

Mihael blinked as the newbies--or veterans, he wasn't sure how to think of them--approached Regulus and talked about riding formations before wandering off to find food. "They're not shy, are they? That's mostly a good thing... I think." He then listened to Regulus lecture the other two.

Takato nodded. "Yeah, no worries. I'll stop bringing chicks around and it's not like this guy is getting laid to begin with." He pointed at Isadore.

"Aww, Isa..." Mihael said sympathetically.

Isadore listened to Regulus' lecture, trying not to show that he was becoming a little annoyed. It wasn't so much about what he had said, but more about what he wasn't saying to Mihael. The captain had never scolded him once, even though Isadore was much less likely than his brother to hold things up.

Isadore was about to respond to Regulus when Takato commented. He let out an exasperated sigh as he began to rub his temple; he could feel a headache coming on.

"Captain, I'm sure you know that I will do nothing to impede our progress on this mission. Our success is of the utmost importance to me," he said, choosing to ignore his partner and his brother altogether.

As Regulus was talking to Takato and Isadore, he noticed the two newcomers approach. He turned away from the two guys to face Caspian as he spoke about discussing the riding formations.

"You two should get your food and rest; we can always discuss those things later. Plus, I'm making sure everything's clear with the rest of my unit right now," Regulus said to Eowyn and Caspian.

He watched the Kurian experts leave, then turned back to the ones he had been talking to before. He rolled his eyes at Takato's comment, then nodded at Isadore.

"I'm glad to hear that, Isa," he said approvingly.

Demitri immediately got up and looked to the group after his partner left the Pavilion. "If you'll excuse us..." Demitri said coyly. He then hurriedly followed Chana off to the wall almost at a jogging pace. When he caught up with her, he didn't bother to say a word. Demitri found Krugis right where he last saw him, up at the wall covering the post that originally belonged to Chana and her bondmate.

As Krugis welcomes Chana, Demitri gave a subtle wave. He then found his leather bag where he left it and proceeded to look around inside it, passively listening to the conversation between Chana and Krugis.

"Thanks for the help, Krugis." He added. "Wait till you meet those two down there. I think they may surprise you." Still rummaging around in his bag, he found an encased cluster of chewable mint leaves. He then took out a few leaves and popped them in his mouth. Looking to Chana, he held the case in her direction. "Want some? It doesn't taste as bad as you think."

"Your mouth's gonna be so sore," Takato teased Isadore as his partner sucked up to the captain. He nodded at Regulus again. Suddenly, his stomach growled. "You know, those two were right about one thing; we probably could stand to eat something."

Mihael glanced at Regulus. "Can we go with them or do we have more people to talk to?"

Regulus' stomach growled as well, but he knew he should find Chana and Demitri first.

"You can do whatever you want, Mihael," he said to his partner. "You should probably get something to eat. I'm going to go talk with Chana and Demitri and then I'll catch up with you guys, okay?"

Isadore glanced at Takato unhappily when he was taunted yet again. Everyone then began discussing getting food, which Isadore didn't mind doing. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he needed to eat something in order to get some energy for the day. "All right, let's go get some food," he agreed. Isadore wasn't exactly looking forward to putting up with his brother's strange eating habits, but he was used to it so he wasn't totally opposed to Mihael coming along.

"Okay, I'll meet up with you all in a bit," Regulus said. Then with a playful smile he said, "Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone."

He turned and left the group. He remembered that Chana and Demitri had a post on the wall, so he headed in that direction. As he got closer, he hoped that Chana had had time to calm down.

When he got there, he spotted them almost immediately. He made his way to where they were and asked, "Chana, Demitri, you two got a minute?"

"Aw, okay, we won't! See you later," Mihael said to Regulus. "Good luck!"

"All right, I'm starving. Let's see... I think they said the mess area was over this way," he said, starting to lead the brothers toward it. Mihael linked arms with Isadore as they walked, looking all around.

Once they arrived, they were served a meat and vegetable stew with a thick brown sauce along with a piece of bread. The smell was enough to make Takato want to salivate, but apart from the bread, Mihael had no desire to eat any of it. The group found a table to sit at and left space for Regulus across from Mihael, who was sitting next to his brother. Takato dug in as soon as he sat down and Mihael took a couple of bites of bread before carefully placing a couple of pieces of meat into Isadore's bowl when his brother wasn't looking. He nibbled on the bread and tilted his head at Isadore. "Do you know what kind of meat that is?" he asked.

Isadore nodded at Regulus before following Takato out of the pavilion. As the three walked, Mihael suddenly linked arms with Isadore and would not let go, no matter how much he struggled.

Isadore sat down next to Mihael and looked at the stew. It didn't look or smell too bad. He stirred it around a bit before eating a carrot. Isadore then thought about the events of the morning, wondering how things would have gone differently if he were captain. First of all, he wouldn't have been so horribly late and he would have made a good impression on the newcomers. He couldn't stand to think about the horrible impression he had made, especially since he was associated with that irresponsible partner of his. Suddenly, Isadore noticed that some extra food had appeared in his bowl, and Mihael was speaking to him.

"I don't know," he replied with some irritation, eyeing the meat. "But I know you won't eat it, so it doesn't matter."

Mihael nodded in agreement with Isadore when his brother said he wouldn't eat the meat. "Yeah, it looks dark and it's covered in that sludgy stuff..." He nibbled at his bread as Takato rolled his eyes. He was rather enjoying the stew himself; he couldn't understand how Mihael was so vehemently opposed to flavour.

Mihael continued to scoop bits of his stew into Isadore's bowl; even though he didn't like most food, he didn't want it to go to waste. The sauce was all pooling at the bottom of his bowl, so he decided to pour it into Isa's, just a little bit at a time. Unfortunately, he overestimated the capacity of Isadore's bowl and the bowl overflowed with sauce. "Oops..."

Ewoyn and Caspian had just finished eating when the others had arrived. They got up and left the room after cleaning up not wanting to interrupt on the group that was coming in to the dining area. The stood up taking their leaving heading back to their room to catch up on some sleep. Ewoyn took Caspians hand squeezing lightly. "Lets go my love. We need to sleep. Its been to long since we have." Caspian nodded in agreement and squeezed his mates hand back. "Lets"

After responding to his brother, Isadore became lost in his thoughts again. He couldn't understand why he wasn't chosen as captain over Regulus. He would not have allowed the Kurian experts to try to take over at all; Isadore would have made them know their place and respect his authority. Regulus had not worked nearly as hard as Isadore for the position, or so he thought. Perhaps there was still something he needed to do better to draw the superiors' attention. Maybe he could wake up earlier and train even longer. Isadore began running his fingers through his hair, still unconvinced that it was as neat as he wanted.

The small "oops" caught Isadore's attention. After many years, he knew it meant trouble. He looked down and saw his stew overflowing onto the table. "Mihael! What are you doing?" Isadore snapped as his chair shot backwards. He inspected his clothes to make sure nothing had fallen on them. "I don't want all this food!"

"I'm sorry!" Mihael exclaimed as his brother snapped at him. "I'll clean it up, I just... didn't want it to go to waste and Reggie isn't here so--" He hurried off midsentence to find a rag.

Takato just chuckled as the scene unfolded. "Man, I wish that little fluffball was my brother," he said, helping himself to some of the excess meat in Isadore's bowl. He didn't see how extra food could be anything but a positive. "I think you got some sauce on your sleeve..."

"No thanks, man." Chana replies, declining the treat with a wave of her hand as she looks out at the forest's edge. It's really peaceful, at the moment, and quiet. It's not usually this quiet at this time in the morning. It's so odd to see such a serene part of the world look so beautiful in the sunrise when there will soon be so much bloodshed. Chana finds herself wondering if the war will ever end at all, but hears the Captain's voice and breaks from that train of thought.

She turns as she sees him moving up the stairs to the top of the wall, addressing the two and asking for a moment to speak with them. She smiles slightly, nodding her head and gesturing for him to take a seat.

"It's oddly quiet out there, Captain." Chana says suspiciously, "We usually have a fight by now. I don't know what's up, but all this peacefulness is creeping me out."

"Suit yourself." Demitri said with a glob of leaves in his cheek. He could understand why Chana didn't take the offer; the first time his mother gave him a mint leaf to eat, he strongly refused. He didn't eat the stuff until it was added to a soup made for him when he was younger. Demitri put the container away and looked out at the landscape with his bondmate.

Demitri didn't notice the Captain approaching until he heard the man call out to them. Demitri nodded with Chana, saying a little "Yep" as well. Demitri was already imagining that Regulus would talk to the two of them about the previous meeting. Although Demitri didn't like the two newcomers, he felt Chana would need more help getting used to them.

"Maybe the Kurians are dealing with new guys they hate too?" Demitri joked after Chana's comment.

Regulus took Chana's offer and sat down next to her. He looked out at the forest and he could immediately tell how quiet it was; it was almost unnatural. He couldn't help but snicker at Demitri's comment. Obviously the pair knew why he was there.

"I'm sorry you two don't like them," he began. "It would make the adjustment easier if they were, um, less like they are. But we don't have a choice, we have to follow orders. If it makes it easier, maybe you could think about it as if you're doing it for me, or for yourselves, instead of them."

He looked back out at the forest again. Chana was right, it did creep him out.

Chana laughs at Demitiri's joke. She cannot help it, and laughs loudly as her head leans back a little. She leans back a bit, as well, after she stops laughing, bring the force of the weight on her hands and arms from behind her in a more relaxed pose. She listens to what the Captain says and nods her head with understanding.

"You have no need to worry, Captain," Chana replies with a sweet smile, "I have every intention of doing what needs to be done. We're friends--all of us--and even if we have to put up with a couple of douchebags, I'm sure we can make it work.

Specialists or not, I'll have a hard time trusting them, but I trust our Unit, and that's enough to get us all by, right? Though, I'd have to say, I'd like to switch new guys with the Kurian...at least we could kill them."

She laughs a little at this one, as well, as she looks out over into the woods. However, as she laughs--no sound comes out. "Aahhh!" She calls out as her eyes widen in perplexity. Still no sound. What the....?

She pats their shoulders, encouraging them to speak or something, but then shakes her head and looks out over the wall, searching for something, anything that could be causing this. Is this a joke?

Still no sound. For a moment, she begins to feel very fearful, but within that instant, the sound returns as the wind rushes by and she can hear it. She sighs with relief, glad to hear this sound, as well.

"Captain?" She asks with curiosity.

Demitri smiles when he saw that both the Captain and Chana enjoyed his little joke. He then listened intently to Regulus with one hand holding onto the strap of his bag while the other rests on the bag itself. Demitri had the same sentiments as Chana while she spoke. He chuckled at his bondmate's joke until he couldn't hear a thing.

Demitri's eyes widened as he looked to Chana and Regulus. She was acting alerted as well, but Demitri couldn't make out what was happening. He opened his mouth and uttered a note with his voice, but nothing came out. He began wondering if he suddenly went deaf. Was it the leaves he chewed? Demitri remembered chewing the same leaves before and having no after effects.

Demitri thought hard about what could cause his hearing to go so suddenly. There were no loud noises at all, except for Chana's laughter, but as pleasant as it was for Demitri to hear, it wasn't nearly loud enough to cause deafness. Demitri snapped his fingers near his ears vigorously, desperate to hear something. He was on the verge of losing his cool when suddenly he heard his fingers snap followed by the breeze of the wind. Demitri lets his hands fall to his sides as he sighs deeply.

"Am I the only one who just went deaf?" He asked.