01-30-06

Characters involved: Darklett, Newel, Zoe_Lang, & Terrance.

Salamandastron: Dining Chamber

Darklett is just stepping into the dining chamber. It's not quite dinner time yet, and, as he has been for a few days now, off and on, the lieutenant hare is showing up just a little early for the meal in hopes of scoring the freshest and best of the selection the Long Patrol cooks have to offer this evening. Seeing a mostly empty room, but hearing hares behind him, he silently praises his timing, and struts towards the kitchen with a grin.

A few moments later, a young buck wanders into the room, not in uniform. Newel has been staring at his surroundings with utter fascination. He looks like he's brimming with excitement, clutching his new uniform (and staring at it as well) like a Dibbun with a new toy. So preoccupied with that was he, that he did not see the lieutenant in front of him until just now. Unaware of Darklett's rank, he is startled a little at seeing him and gives a nervous nod. "Aft'noon, sah."

Mostly empty, yes, but the Colonel's beaten him to it. She's sitting at the main table, but she doesn't have any food. She's leaning back in her chair and her arms are crossed, one paw claw-tapping on the opposite forearm. She occasionally looks up, and on one particular look she spots Darklett. Her eyebrows go up and she even moves to stand, but as Newel enters and speaks to the lieutenant, she holds her ground.

Darklett rocks back and forth, waiting for food to begin its journey into the dining room. He perks his ears, and turns around. "...Aft... Afternoon." The lieutenant gives a brief appraisal of the other hare. "...New to the mountain? Welcome! Just in time for dinner." He tilts his head to the door, where cooks' panicked yells can be heard echoing.

Newel nods back at Darklett, still a bit nervous. He looks happy at the news of dinner, and promptly sniffs the air for the aromas of dinner. "Really? Spiffy, 'cuz I'm famished, sah!" The use of 'sah' probably stems from the sight of Darklett's uniform, though he still does not notice the indication of higher rank.

Darklett nods. "Yeah, you're gonna like the mountain food. Good stuff, and lots of it... What's your name, then?" He gives the recruit another look-over. "Aaand what're you recruiting to be?"

Zoe_Lang turns in her chair, dangling an arm over it and resting her chin on shoulder. To watch.

Newel doesn't answer at first. He sees the one stripe on the uniform in his paws, and his gaze goes to the two stripes on Darklett's uniform. Once, and even twice he looks back and forth between them before it registers. "Oh! F'give me!" He smartly attempts a salute. "'M 'oping ta be a fightah. Newel Cutler Barton at y'service, sah!"

Darklett's brow quirks, and he returns the quick salute with a grin. "Oh, good. Can't have enough fighters, I say. Lieutenant Darklett Fletchpaw's my name. Used to be just a fighter, and it's the best way to go, believe me..." His eyes catch Zoe watching himself and the recruit, and he straightens a little, tossing up a salute. "Colonel! Evenin'."

Newel looks at the seated Colonel as Darklett salutes, and again throws a salute that actually looks like it might've hurt a little, though he doesn't show it.

Zoe_Lang smirks, finally swinging up from the chair to stand. She grabs a box from the table and tucks it under her arm and takes a leisurely walk over. She salutes and then nods to both. "Evenin'."

Newel stays at what he believes to be 'attention', but he does make sure to get a good look at the mark of rank on Zoe's uniform for future reference. In all honesty, the buck is afraid to speak in reply.

Darklett returns the smirk with a confident one of his own. "Guess I'm caught. What's the punishment for going in too early for dinner, Colonel?"

"A full stomach, I'd wagah." Her eyes shift from Darklett to the younger buck, trying to fight a smile. "And who'd you be, then?" Lucky him, two officers in the space of five minutes.

Newel repeats himself, saluting one more time. "Newel Cutler Barton, ma--mmm." He clears his throat, correcting himself. "..C'nel."

Darklett grins, not bothering to fight it back. He turns to the side, and folds his paws behind his back, letting the Colonel and the new guy talk it up a li'l. Heh.

Ha. She laughs, shaking her head and whistling low. "My my, you catch on fastah than most, lad. Usually I've got t' smack the new recruits upside the head 't keep 'em from callin' me ma'am."

Newel nods, saying "Thank ye---" He almost lets the tongue slip again, adding "C'nel" after a short pause.

Darklett bites his lip on the inside, giving a little glance down to the recruit. "Just showed up to the mountain, Colonel. Followed his nose right to supper. Gonna fit in real well, I think..."

Zoe_Lang nods. "So it'd seem..." Pause. "Darklett! Need t' talk to you. Mind excusin' us, lad? We'll just go have us a sit ovah at the table, won't take long. Mm?" She takes a couple of steps towards said table, though she waits for Darklett to follow before going further.

Newel is still at what he believes to be attention, and musters the courage to ask, "D'I need t'keep like this for ye, C'nel?" This time he got it right without hesitation.

Darklett's ears swivel, and his grin fades. "Wha?" Blinkblink. "Er, okay." He shifts his glance to the side... Wrong side... to the other side, and down to the recruit. "Nice meetin' ya. See you in training," he murmurs, taking a big breath, swallowing, and slowly exhaling, stepping towards the table.

Terrance makes his way into the dining chamber, nodding to some of his other recruit buddies as he passes by to get in line for chow.

Newel awaits Zoe's answer, still at 'attention' while he watches with a hint of envy as Terrance gets in line.

Somewhere on the muck, Wimble has connected.

Zoe_Lang blinks and glances back around. She eyes Newel, takes notice of his stance, and laughs. She shakes her head. "At ease, lad. We're in a dinin' hall, not a battle." And with that, she limps to the table and sits. She sets the box back down, pushing it so that it's halfway between her and where Darklett will undoubtedly sit.

The new recruit sighs in relief and nods in thanks to the Colonel as he relaxes, promptly moving with haste to get in line behind Terrance.

Terrance nods to the unfamiliar hare before he starts to load up his plate with a piece of fish, a couple of scones, and a plate of summer salad. He then goes and grabs himself some cordial and then takes a seat at a table with a few other recruits.

Darklett has a seat next to the Colonel, his right paw twitching a little under the table... It's only noticeable because of his upper arm slightly twitching as well, but he's overall looking on edge. You know, the whole badger still being alive thing still haunts him. Did she find out? He eyes the box.

Newel passes a glance at the lieutenant while he waits in line, noticing the edgy look about him. Still, the recruit's hungry, and so his concern is quickly drowned out by the sight and smell of food and drink as it fills his plate when he arrives at the proper spot in line. He gives an excited grin at it and moves to where the other recruits are, already beginning to do the meal justice before he even sits down.

Terrance looks up from his own food as the new hare arrives at his table. "G'Evenin' chap."

Newel has a full mouth when Terrance greets him, and so he quickly swallows it all and washes it down with drink before returning the greeting. "Eve-nin', lad. 'M new 'ere, 'ow about ye?"

Zoe_Lang nudges the box over the rest of the way, and nods her head to it. "Go on, then. Open it." She's doing her very best serious face, AKA the You're In Trouble face. Isn't she scary?

Terrance washes down a bite of fish and shakes his head, "Na. I've been 'ere fer a little ovah six months now, eh wot." He offers a paw to the new hare, "I'm fightah recruit second class Terrance Chamberlain."

Newel ahs in delight. "Well met, lad" says the buck as he extends his paw across the table. "Newel Barton's th' name, wot."

Terrance shakes the paw firmly and then goes back to eating. "Good ta meet ya chap" he says around another mouthful. "So what are ya goin' ta be then?"

"A fightah," comes the reply from Newel before getting another mouthful of food.

Darklett's teeth clench down on his lip once again, the hare eyeing the box, then the Colonel. "...Yes, Colonel." He looks at the box again, wondering what could be inside... And opens it slowly, his eyes squinting almost closed, before he sees the shininess on the inside. Opening it all the way, his eyes wide open at the contents, he lets out a deep, held breath, very slowly. Gulping at the end of it, he lifts the box closer to him, and turns his glance towards the Colonel. "...This... is the right box?"

Zoe_Lang's eyebrow go up, as if it's /just/ possible that they're not. And so, she ducks her head, pulling a pair of spectacles from a pocket. She sets them atop her nose, leans over, and peeks inside the box. Thoughtful blink. "Well. What do /you/ think?" The left corner of her mouth twitches, but it could've just been a spasm. Old age and all.

Terrance smiles, "Really? That's good ta hear." He then goes back to eating aaway at his dinner

Newel passes another quick glance at the pair of superior officers before asking Terrance. "An' ye?"

Darklett just blinks at the box after the question he gets in response. "...Well, I'm hoping it is, anyway!" The hare picks the officer's medal in the middle of the box, dangling it between his finger and thumb and gazing over it. "...Wow. This is... something, heheh..." He smiles wide, pinning the medal to his chest, right on the fold of his pocket. "...Thank you!" He takes the two badges out of the box, inspecting the arrow pointing upwards, signifying a Major of the Long Patrol.

Newel blinks, taking a moment for that to register. "Ah. My mistake, wot." He taps his head while explaining, "Me stomach's faster than the ol' noodle t'day." With that said, he resumes with his dinner again.

Terrance chuckles and nods, "Not a problem chap" he says. He then glances over towards Darklett as he holds up the metal and arches a brow, whispering to a few of the other recruits who pass it on to their buddies. Pretty soon a good portion of the recruits at least are looking Darklett's way

Seeing this, Newel too turns and looks again in Darklett's direction.

Finally, the Colonel's smile breaks loose. She sits back, her arms crossing over her chest with self-satisfied pleasure. "Don't thank me - thank yerself. You've more than earned it, lad."

Darklett further looks at the badges, his smile spreading into a grin. "Yeah, alright... But then I don't know what to say, heh." Big moment for Darky, here. The newly appointed major looks to the Colonel and nods. "Won't let you down."

Newel notices the badges, and whispers relatively audibly to Terrance, "I say, what's that all about over there?"

Some of the recruits grin and start banging their spoons on the table after they've confirmed what the badge is. This catches attention of others and they go ahead and join in. Terrance grins and bangs his own spoon, looking to Newel. "Lt. Darklett just got promoted ta Majah."

Newel blinks. "Well...I must say, that's bally wond'ful!" he says with a smile forming. He then watches with a hint of perplexity at the banging of spoons before shrugging and joining in on it.

Zoe_Lang laughs as the recruits start up, shaking her head. She makes a shooing gesture at the major. "Go on, then, yer fans're waitin' for ya." She drops a wink. "And if'n ya feel the need t', oh, I dunno, get up on the table, I'll make sure t'be temporarily stricken blind so's I won't notice."

Darklett's ears flick at the first signs of spoons banging, and he starts to laugh. "Ah... Jeeze." He looks around at the recruits, and rolls his eyes, brushing himself off and getting ready to stand up, hoisting himself, pausing at the Colonel's words, and shaking his head with another laugh, standing up on his chair, then at an empty spot on the table, looking down at the younger hares... He shakes a little at first, but gains confidence, and gives a few waves of his paws, awkward chuckles giving way to a hearty laugh. Got to put on a good show for the new ones.

Terrance grins as the spoon banging dies down. A few of the older patrol members then start shouting out "Speech" probably mostly to put him on the spot.

There are a good few catcalls, and Zoe sees fit to add her own shrill whistle as the shouts for speech start up. "Aye, give us a speech!" She stands, backing away from Darklett to give him all the glory.

As the banging dies down, Newel leans over to Terrance again and asks softly, "I say..is this what they do in th' Long Patrol when ya get a meddle?"

Terrance glances towards Newel and shrugs, "I suppose its normal when a chap gets promoted. This is tha first time it's happened since I've been 'ere though." He then looks back towards Darklet, grinning and adding in a whistle himself. Safety in numbers after all.

Newel shivers just briefly. "An' 'e has ta give a speech? A bit rackin' on the nerves, wot?" He looks nervous at the thought alone of ever having to give a speech like Darklett seems pressed to. He forgets it as he shakes a fist in approval, joining with the others. "Good show I say, good show!" he shouts, cupping his paws.

Looking quite alarmed at the request for a speech, he starts sputtering, holding up his paws. "No, nono... Heh... I can't... Er..." Peer pressure! "Ah... Alright, listen up!" He clears his throat, grinning widely. "I... uh, I've been in the patrol for a good amount of seasons now. I haven't counted, but... I think it's nearing eight. If that's right, then that means since I've first joined, My age has -doubled.- I've spent half my life in this miserable, damp hole, surrounded by a buncha chaps that look like me, every hour of every day of each of these eight seasons. And I've taken hits, I've been in fights that looked pretty bad, and been wounded more times than I care to remember. I've had laughs, grins, smiles, and a good amount of drink and merriment here... And I've lost friends, fates know that comes with the territory, and I'll be the first to admit that I've been driven to tears more times than I care to remember as well. But! If that's -all- that's asked of me so that I can be a member of the greatest group of beasts ever to walk, swim, sail, or fly... Then that's -nothin'.- Here's to a hundred more drinks, a hundred more laughs, a hundred more tears, a hundred more wounds... And eight more -bloody- seasons of rotting on the inside of an oversized pebble with an oversized name!" Leaning down to scoop a random mug off the table, he raises it to the ceiling. "To the Long Patrol! Eulaliaaaa!!"

Terrance grins as he listens and laughs at parts. At the end he lifts up his mug and joins the others shouting out "Eulaliaaaaa!" in response to the new major

Newel looks around observing first before joining in the same motion and shout as the others. "Eulaliaa! Bravo sah, bravo!!"

Somewhere on the muck, Niveus has disconnected.

Zoe_Lang's ears double over, to try and block out the rather raucous shout of "Eulalia!" which twists through the dining hall like a wave. Still, she adds her own shout and lets loose another whistle. "Hopefully light on the wounds 'n' heavy on the drinkin', eh majah!" she shouts up.

Darklett grins, eyes glinting at the patrol hares cheering and following in the Long Patrol battle cry... Looking down at the Colonel, he laughs, and nods. "Here's hopin', Colonel!" he has to shout, above the cheers and hollers coming from the other hares.

Terrance laughs out a bit before taking a swig, "Nice one sah!" He shouts after swallowing. He looks towards newel, "That's been a long time commin' if I've 'eard right."

Newel looks back to Terrance. He has to shout too. "Y'don't say? Good f' him eh, wot. 'Ope I nevah 'afta give one o' them speeches. I think I'd faint, and wouldn' that be jolly."

Terrance smirks, "Well chap, if ya get ta that point, chances are ya've gone through a lot worse then havin' ta give a speech in front of fellow patrollers, eh wot."

Darklett finally tilts his mug back and has a loooong celebratory swig, gulping it down and lowering the mug with a wide grin, hopping down off the table and sitting down. "Speech. Ha. Betcha didn't think I could do it," he comments, to... pretty much anyone. :P

Newel shrugs admittedly. "S'pose ye're right lad, s'pose ye're right."

Zoe_Lang smiles and, yes, she does look proud, thank you. When Darklett sits back down, Zoe gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Darklett. I've got to be goin', but you enjoy the celebrations, a'right?"

Terrance nods and then goes back to finishing off his salad, grinning at all of the celebrating still going on.

Darklett grins, quite proudly, at the Colonel as she speaks, nodding to her. "Thanks a lot, Colonel. Means everything to me." He can speak in his regular voice, now that the shouts have died down. Standing up, he gives her a sharp salute, smirking and standing at attention for her leave... Looking a lot more casual than he would have just yesterday.

Zoe_Lang smiles at the change in his behavior, which is actually a lot different from when he greeted her today, let alone yesterday. "'Night." She turns, making her way through the crowd for the door. She does turn back at the last minute though, looking his way again. She knocks her heels together and brings her hand sharply to her forehead, in perhaps the most formal salute she's ever given him. It's a big change from the casual salute she would've given him just yesterday, certainly. She turns and heads out.