CoR Title Pending: Draaven & Rhetta / Skye & Liam

[Tiko]

Liam was stretched out on the grass with his hands folded behind his head. He was watching the clouds overhead. They provided a good enough distraction while he waited for Skye. She had asked him to meet her here, though she hadn’t elaborated on why. It had to do with recent events no doubt, but what in particular?

Probably to berate him for the crazy stunt with Broch. Yeah, it was stupid and dangerous, but it was so fucking cool. The memory alone brought a grin to his face. No one else could say that they road into battle on a fucking werebadger. It was a story he intended to retell for many years to come, with suitable embellishments over time no doubt.

__

Daaven and Rhetta were walking the length of the train yard, assessing the damages. Their limited manpower right now might mean having to call in contractors. Always a tricky prospect. But the luxury of slow repairs and gradual construction was past.

Draaven walked easy, his posture relaxed. Rhetta would know that it was largely an illusion. Even when he was at ease, he might as well have been a coiled viper. His years of isolation in Arteghia hadn’t done much to dampen that. If anything it had only sharpened his senses. He also boasted an impressive reaction time that was rivaled only by Ziessel. The only thing keeping him from matching the most elite members of the pack was his physical strength which though impressive, fell short of being remarkable amongst his kin. He had adapted though, relying on speed and lethal precision that made him a formidable opponent.

He stopped next to the overturned dirt where a ghoul had clawed its way up from below ground.

“We’re going to need to find out how extensive the tunnelling goes,” he said. “If I had to guess, they used the catacombs to get beneath us undetected. We’ve been wanting to excavate out access to the catacombs. They may have actually saved us some work. Gaining access would increase our mobility, and help keep us from getting caught with our pants down again. We don’t have the numbers to post effective guards though. There’s just too much ground that needs to be covered. Above ground and below. What do you think about guard dogs?”

It was an honest inquiry. He had seen more than his share of the animals put to use with great success. In Arteghian militia compounds it was common practice to feed the strays so they would stick around and alert to possible intrusions. Military dogs were commonplace as well.

 

[illirica]

Rhetta kept pace a little ahead of Draaven, walking backwards and facing towards him in a way that seemed almost whimsical if one missed the fact that her gaze was always flickering, watching the area behind his back, relying on her memory to solidify her steps and avoid the holes and other hazards. She knew where they were: she'd put some of them there, and she'd made sure she was aware of the others, because knowing the terrain was important if they were going to defend it.

Not having holes in the terrain was also important, but that was why they were out here. Her hands were behind her, fingers not quite laced but lightly touching each other, brushing up against the hilts of the knives strapped at her back, ready to draw them in an instant. Draaven might have seemed to be walking easily, but there wasn't a single muscle in her that wasn't ready for action, whenever it came.

He stopped, beside one of the dirt piles, and Rhetta paused as well, moving a toe to tamp down the earth a little bit, testing the pressure and how likely it was to fall if she put her weight on it, or if she put someone else's weight on it. These were important things to know, as well.

"We should take some of the prospects down there to explore," she commented, idly, amused at the fact that Draaven had not only started the conversation, but had spoken multiple sentences, all together at the same time. "Call it a training mission. It would be good for them." It would be good for them to start working as a unit, to work on following directives in a situation that was potentially dangerous but not immediately so - and good for the rest of them to get a better idea of their capabilities outside of the realm of fighting things.

The question about guard dogs had been tacked on to the end, out of place, as if he'd used up too many words already and had to throw it in quickly before he ran out. It seemed incongruous; she shrugged. "Some are better trained than others. Go for the nose, not the eyes. Expect to lose some skin. Why?"

 

[Tiko]

"They could fill in our blind spots," Draaven explained. "More eyes and ears could be useful. We would need to train them in house though. We would be hard pressed to find a company willing to rent out animals to us."

He hadn't been surprised at her misunderstanding his question. Rhetta was like that. Quicker to assess how to kill something, rather than how to use it. He had always liked that about her. It made her quick to act without hesitation. The kind of person you want at your back.

 

[illirica]

Draaven wanted to keep dogs? That was a different idea. Rhetta didn't know what to make of it. She thought it over, then eventually gave a shrug that indicated that it wasn't really her decision. "You'd have to find someone to train them." Not her, certainly. Rhetta knew quite a lot about what dogs were like on the inside, in entirely the wrong way to be any use at all at training them. Animals weren't particularly something she was good at, or interested in.

Draaven had brought back Baron's cat. Rhetta contemplated this piece of information and how it might fit into the whole. Maybe this was not solely something to do with the Pack, but also in some amount, something to do with Draaven.

Well, Baron had an asshole cat. There wasn't really any reason why Draaven couldn't have an asshole puppy, if that was what he wanted. And... Baron was Sergeant-at-Arms, these days, and maybe he'd go for it even if Ragenard wouldn't, or at least wouldn't be making decisions on anything for a little while, until he was back up and around. A partial smile touched her features, quick and sharp and capricious.

"Run the idea through Baron... since it's an armament question."

 

[Sune]

The shrill chime of her phone alarm cut through the heavy silence, a cruel reminder that it was time to get up—for the fourth time. As if she had slept at all. She glared at the screen, her thumb hovering over the dismiss button before she let out a slow breath and silenced the damned thing.

Dark circles clung stubbornly beneath her eyes, evidence of yet another restless night. Concealer wasn’t doing much these days, and she was fairly certain she was running on what should be a lethal dose of caffeine. But none of it mattered. Not when the nightmare kept coming. Not when it was getting worse.

With a sigh, she swung her legs off the cot and forced herself to her feet.

A little while later, she was strolling up to Liam, hands stuffed into her pockets, exhaustion carefully masked behind an easy grin. She dropped down beside him, nudging his shoulder lightly.

“’Eya, Cuz. ’Ow’s it goin’?” she asked, her voice warm despite the weight pressing against her ribs.