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Ol'random

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From: Somewhere by the Mountains

Registered: 2018-05-25

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A Midnight/Afternoon Chat with the Lieutenant - LP 11/21/19–12/3/19

Another two-logs-combined-into-one, and this time I think it might be justified as I forgot to post the first part! So I squeezed it in here.

Lt. Gregorian & Sgt Terrence, hares.

A night or so before the hares returned to the swamp in the mountain crater of Salamandastron:

The night is clear with the sliver of the moon down by the horizon. The stars are out in full and so is Terrence, who is fighting off the chill by being wrapped in layers of coats and cloaks so he can lie staring up at the sky. He raises a paw up as if to grasp at the distant lights for a moment before letting the fist fall and hit the ground with a sigh.

Gregorian could not sleep. Sometimes the old aches and pains won't allow it, sometimes the mind won't stop dwelling, sometimes it's a bit of both. Whatever the case from his shaggy appearance he looks like he basically rolled out of bed, tossed on an old jacket and decided to talk a walk. He doesn't get far outside before he catches the movement though he can't see much more than the shape in the gloom. "Hrm? Who's that out at this sort of time? Yah lookin' tah catch yah death in this cold?"

"...No," Comes Terrence's answer after a moments pause, "Least, not right now." The hare sits upright peering over in the dark to just make out the lieutenant coming towards him and his particular way of walking. "It's Terrence, lieutenant." He falls on his back again, looking upwards once more. "And I'm out to do a bit of star gazing, I suppose."

Gregorian heads towards the other hare and recognises the voice pretty quickly even before the introduction. "Star gazin'?" he looks up across the sky as he gets closer, "They tellin' yah much tahnight then?"

Laughing, Terrence shakes his head. "Not at all! Besides which ways north, that is." He waves his paw towards a particular cluster of stars. "'Fraid I never did pay much attention to astronomy, in class or reports."

Gregorian doesn't need much light to know his way around the crater and he knows just which rock is a good place to sit on. "Heh, personally I was more interested in the mythical stories tah them than the more accurate stuff. Everywhere has a theory for stars, most of 'em are a darn sight more interestin' than classes too."

"Won't find any disagreements here..." Terrence mutters, still staring upwards. "Of course I've heard the bedtime stories, wot. Just never have spent the time to really look up till now. Its strange to me that they're the same as they were a hundred seasons ago and before that, even down to that green fuzzy bit looking a bit like a river..."

Gregorian stares up at the sky. "Hmm. In the life time of an ant would we appear tah move as little? We could look down and watch them runnin' about the floor. Maybe stars do then same, eh?" he chuckles, "Only really consistent thing we've got sometimes."

"Maybe so." Nodding slowly, Terrence rests his head on his paws. "Maybe... Of course, if that's true, I wonder why the moonlight often drowns them all out? They fade away so quickly." There's slight grin to his face as he adds, "Wonder if the stars are the real ants, wot. Just more stationary."

Gregorian settles comfortably on his rock as he thinks. "Well yah think of the moon like a big torch and them as little ones...I don't know, stars are stars. They'll do wot they do regardless of wot we think of them as...though I'd rathah not think of them as ants while they'll loomin' ovah my head every night."

With another laugh, and for the first time showing his fatigue with a yawn, Terrence says, "Well, either way doesn't change the fact they're quite wonderful to look at with or without the moon, wot?" Eyes dropping, the sergeant starts to trail off. "Even if they're... ants..." Another yawn comes from him, and he falls quiet except for the gentle, regular breathing that comes from creatures sleeping.

An afternoon several days into the expedition to retrieve Private Dominik, nearly two weeks later:

The Sun is high in the sky, about an hour or so after noon - not that any hare could tell with the cloud cover as it is. Drowning everything in a grey-light,  a dreary mood is left on the marshlands and the Long Patrol camp within even without the constant night-time harassment from the private named Dom. At one end on the camp, Terrence sat on guard duty, having volunteered to relieve some of the privates under him who had spent days staring out at nothing at this point. He fiddles briefly with his spectacles, still slightly bent in the middle, before giving up with a sigh and placing them back on his snout.

With the camp in a subdued state Greg seemed to adapt to match it. He did his duties but didn't hang around the chatter. While most of the camp was having lunch he'd taken his food and walked off to find a quiet spot. Seeing Terrence on guard duty alone though was apparently considered quiet enough as he heads for the hare "Let me see?" he says as he gets closer, nodding at the glasses.

"Hmm? Oh, hello sah." Terrence turns towards Greg, taking the spectacles off and handing them over. "Felicity suggested using wood sap to try and strengthen it I suppose, but we apparently didn't bring any along with us." The hare remains sitting on the log, his spear resting against it.

Gregorian offers his plate of food over in order to swap it for the glasses so he can free up his paws. "Hrm? Yes, hello." he sounds distracted as he inspects the glasses. "We do have trees around, we could likely collect some" he pats his pockets as he tries to recall what he considered useful enough to bring "I might have somethin' though. It only has tah hold until we get back. Yah might need a whole new frame then."

Terrence looks rather mournfully at were he believes the spectacles are held. "Yes, I'd assumed so - it's a shame, really, as those I've been using since before I was a recruit." Glancing down at the plate now in his paws, he adds, "But I suppose it's about time for the frame to be replaced, as this wasn't the first time they've been bent, wot. Daresay it was the worst damage they've gotten in seasons, though."

Gregorian doesn't have his usual tools but he keeps a few things for emergency leg repair. "New teeth, new glasses, yah one step away from a make ovah." he dryly jokes as he finds his pliers, straightens the glasses out a bit more and after a thoughtful moment gets his lockpicking looks out of a pocket. They've got some thin metal on them, they might be good for parts to strengthen them. He's unlikely to need a lock pick out here anyway, they just permanently live in his pocket. "Yah nevah know, yah might find yah like the new ones more."

"Ah, yes." Absentmindedly running his tongue through the gap that existed in his teeth, Terrence shrugs with a wry grin. "I expect I will soon, wot. To be quite frank, no matter what my personal attachment to them is, they are a bit uncomfortable at times!"

Gregorian pauses when he says they're uncomfortable as his mind runs off wild, trying to think of why and how to fix it. He looks back at Terrence after a minute. "Yah goin' tah have me doin' prototypes of glasses next..." he tries to resist the urge to tinker but ultimately asks, "Wot's wrong with them?" as he snaps a bit of metal off two of the lock picks. One but he uses just to lie flat along the bridge of the glasses for an extra bit of strength once he's broken it down to be short enough. The second bit he bends tightly around the bridge repeatedly to keep it all in place. A little extra fiddling to make sure it's straight enough and the sharp edges aren't going to be causing problems by sticking out and he finally offers the glasses back. "It's a shoddy job but it might hold a bit bettah."

Terrence takes the offered spectacles back. "Thank you - and they've been a bit tight around the nose for some time," He says as he puts them on, "I suppose it was for the best at it made it ever so slightly more difficult for them to fall off, but even so. I got used to it and since Zolomon smacked them," He gives a dry chuckle, "Well, lets just say it's been a bit odd that they're loose, wot! Not that that was a bad thing, sah." He adds, after moment, "Really, these are better than what I had before -they're still loose now, and don't feel like they might break anymore."

Gregorian just can't help trying to fix things even outside of the forge. "Bettah yah glasses break than yah nose. Trust me, yah don't want tah break a nose before wintah, first cold yah catch is hell." he says as he's returning things to his pockets and his slightly bent nose suggests he may speak from experience. "We'll see about makin' a new pair when we're back...dependin' on how much work has built up in the forge by then." a tired sigh and he takes his food back. "All quiet in the swamps tahday?"

"I see..." It seems Terrence will take the lieutenant's word for it. "Yes, not a sound of bird nor hint of toad today, sah."  The sergeant turns back to look out over the marsh now that he could see clearly again. "Or hare, for that mattah. Seems Dom is lying low for now..."

Gregorian squints out at the swamps, his ears perking and twisting slowly as he tries to pick up on any movement. "Mm. He'll be out there somewhere." he mutters before raising his voice, "Yah missin' lunch!" he doesn't expect that to work and doesn't even wait before he turns to wander off as he lowers his voice again, "It's rations but even that's a darn sight bettah than eatin' toad."

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I play Atticus, John, Lossow, Terrence, and Spruce
The Long Patrol Landing Page!
Usually on the MUCK Saturdays + Monday & Wednesday evenings if I have the time
Fastest way to reach me is via my Discord: Luke_SkyOtter#1438