06-22-05 2

Characters involved: Darklett, Zoe_Lang, & Rahier

Salamandastron: Training Room

Thuk, thuk, thuk. Grunt. Darklett's not pleased with that one. The hare goes to retrieve his just-thrown knives out of the target he'd been aiming for while shaking his head. After retrieving the knives, he starts back for the table that marks the line from which he throws, and rolls his shoulders, tossing one knife around in his paw again. Setting the other two down, he hurls the knife on a trajectory slightly to the right of the target, and at the last second, the thing curves to the left, embedding itself rather close to the bullseye. This warrants... a frown from the lieutenant.

Well, well, well... Zoe's venturing into the training room. Not something she generally does anymore, though one will find her most afternoons down in the boxing chamber watching the younger and more spry give it a go - with the occasional demonstration from one much wiser and more experienced, of course. ;) But that's beside the point, because she's /here/, now, and as she pauses in the doorway the steady thuk, thuk, thuk draws her attention. Spying the lieutenant, she folds her paws together behind her back and takes a leisurely limp over to him. She pauses a few steps behind him, and clears her throat. "Evenin', Darklett."

Darklett sighs, staring down the target with his knife embedded in it with another shake of his head. He picks up a knife to try the same thing, and turns at the colonel's voice, and throws her a salute with the knife-wielding paw. "Evening, Colonel Zoe." He looks up to his paw to see he about cut his own face with the blade, and spins it around so the blade isn't endangering anything important.

Zoe_Lang's lips twitch in a smirk, her gaze flitting upward to eye Darklett's near-miss. She throws him an easy salute, and turns to peer at the result of his throwing. Oh, and - "At ease."

Darklett indeed goes at ease, and immediately turns back to the target. Looking at the throwing knife in his paw, he twists his mouth to the side, and tosses it around in his paw, just like before. And, just like before, he hurls the knife slightly to the right of the target, but the curve isn't the same at all-- Instead, it goes the other way, and misses the target completely, clanging against the wall. The buck winces, and turns to the Colonel, shrugging. "Don't see you here too often. Looking for some exercise, or...?"

Zoe_Lang watches the display, and grimances when it curves the wrong way at the last minute. Ungh. She glances to Darklett as he adresses her, and quirks a brow, "Hm?" Pause. "Oh. Just wanderin'. I was makin' the recruits nervous in the infirm." She gestures vaguely with a paw, and grins. "Ya know. Bein' old 'n' all. Depresses the deahs, I'm afraid."

Darklett grins back, his eyes moving to his knife still lying on the prep table, as if wondering if he should even give that one a shot. "Ah, I see. Good thing that'll never happen to me, heh," he jokes, as he finally picks up that knife, tests the weight, and throws it straight at the bullseye, watching the trajectory move to the left and embed the knife into a place about three pawlengths from the intended area. "This is impossible."

Zoe_Lang watches Darklett's whole wind-up and release, and the knife's trajectory before making a single comment - of sorts. "Hm." Her arms fold over her chest, and her shoulders jerk up in a shrug. "Mayhaps a new set o' knives? Could be the balance is off."

"Could be?" Darklett murmurs. "It's most definitely off. The things are going on ten seasons old, I bet." He shrugs. "Problem is, I can't find any in the armory that I can work with. You see..." He takes a knife out of his belt and shows it to Zoe. "These are made differently than any other knives I've ever seen. Vermin crafted, but very well-done nonetheless."

And unfortunately, there's no Badger Lord in residence to fashion a new pair. Hm. Zoe holds out her paw for one of the knives. "I would suggest speakin' with the blacksmith in Halyard about a custom ordah, but..." She shrugs, as if she needn't go on.

Darklett takes a big breath, and nods knowingly, slipping the knife back into his belt. "Well, I'll stop embarrassing myself with these, then. Although this is... rather bad news for me, as you can probably understand given the circumstances."

"Surely you could accommodate yerself with anothah set in the meantime...?" Since it would be rather inconvenient for Darklett to be "out of service", as it were. She then pauses, and gestures uncertainly with a paw. "Though I s'pose we... /could/ visit the forge room. I learned a thing're two from Bludstripe, in his day."

Darklett shrugs. "I can keep looking in the armory, I mean there are enough in there, but I've tried so many sets, and none of them work very well. I mean, they're better than this, but just the smallest bit of inaccuracy could mean I get a hare in the back instead of a vermin in the chest... Nah, I couldn't ask you to forge anything, it's a lot of work, isn't it?"

Zoe_Lang chuckles, and nods. "M'blades tend t' shattah just s'often as they're true, t' be honest, but the true ones do rathah well."

Darklett tilts his head upwards a little and raises his brows. "So you've actually made a lot of blades before?" His eyes go to the target at the end of the long stretch of empty space. Well, he -does- -really- need new weapons.

"Well, I don't know how well ya knew Blud... He was a solitary type o' beast, so if ya wanted t' see him, his forge was the place t' be... I watched him, a rathah lot. He'd let me do some work now 'n' again, if he just wanted t' sit 'n' think..." She sighs, and looks off towards the target quietly for a moment. "Aye, I've made a few blades. None s'true as the ones he made, though."

Darklett sticks his tongue into his bottom lip, slightly to the left, his brow furrowing. "I didn't know him, no. What even happened to him, anyway?" Darklett tries to get more casual, shoving his paws into his pockets and leaning against the table.

Zoe_Lang shifts her weight to her good leg, to avoid the sore joints in the other. "'Tis unfortunate, but... we don't know. He disappeared one day, 'n' when we launched a search, all we found was the remaindahs of a pitched battle, 'n' a good deal o' blood. We nevah found any othah trace." She rubs the back of her neck absently, "We assumed him dead."

Darklett listens to the story with his eyes mostly on the floor beneath his footpaws, his facial expression just like before. "Oh..." The hare takes out that same knife he'd shown to Zoe and looks over it. "Come to think of it, I never even -saw- Bludstripe. I'm assuming he was a good Badger Lord, right?"

Zoe_Lang dips her head in a respectful nod. Speaking of Blud turns her a bit more solemn than usual. "He was the best, was old Blud. I miss 'im, one o' the best friends I evah had. Saved m'life more than once." She smiles in fond remembrance, and then shakes her head. "But... 'tis all past. The world moves on, eh?" She reaches over, and gives the younger hare a pat on the shoulder. "If ya lend me one o' those blades, I'll see what I c'n see."

Darklett nods in respect along with Zoe, before looking up when he feels the paw on his shoulder. He flips the knife around in his paw so his thumb and forefinger pinch the blade, and offers the handle to the doe. "Thanks a lot, Colonel. I'll, uh... Try to make the favor up to ya."

Zoe_Lang shakes her head and takes the blade, slipping it into a loop in her own belt. "Think nothin' of it, Dark... 'n' ya may want t' wait on thankin' me 'til ya give 'em a try, eh? No guarantee they'll fly righ'."

Darklett laughs, looking off to the side before straight ahead at the colonel again with a half of a grin. "Heh, understood. Though I'm sure it'll at least be better than the originals. If not, well... I can re-learn, I guess." He shrugs, letting out another brief laugh. "It's about time I got rid of those things, anyway. Didn't quite make sense, using those vermin-crafted weapons, did it?"

Zoe_Lang chuckles at his question, and gives him another pat on the shoulder before turning to head for the door, though she glances back to make sure Darklett's taken the hint and is following. "Well... I don't know. If a weapon works, I s'pose that makes it the righ' one t' use. But what d'you think?"

Darklett indeed follows, rolling his shoulders in a shrug at the question he gets in return. "I don't quite know, either. Maybe it's just in my head, but I think it'd be easier to know my weapons weren't made with the intent of killing goodbeasts." He laughs at this, even though it's probably not something one would think to laugh at. "But I have to admit, the weapons worked well enough."

Zoe_Lang sends a sideways glance at Darklett, "Where'd ya come by the weapons?"

"I..." Darklett shrugs. No use lying about it. "I uh... stole them. A real long time ago."

Zoe_Lang doesn't look shocked or horrified. "S'pose it would have t' have been, fer them t' be as old as ya say they are." She studies him thoughtfully for a moment. "Long story?"

"Heh, not really, no." Dark shrugs yet again, letting out a little chuckle. "Not long at all. But complicated, yeah. Just ended up with me bashing in the skulls of a ferret and a weasel and stealing their weapons. I probably didn't even have to, but I thought I did."

"We all have things we regret doin', Dark..." Zoe pauses, consideringly. "But... if I know ya, I'd guess ya did the righ' thing."

Darklett realizes something, and points out, "Hey, if I hadn't done that, I'd probably have never come to join up with the patrol. That's odd, eh? Kill a couple beasts in their sleep, then go on to make sure beasts don't kill innocent beasts in their sleep. I'd like to think I did the right thing, but it's not like I got to know them, heh. Oh well, it's behind me, for the most part."

Zoe_Lang gives Darklett a comforting pat on the shoulder. "See? There ya go... and ya've done a lot o' good here in the time ya've been with us." She grins, and gives him a hearty pat on the back - which is far better than ruffling his headfur, a habit she's trying to get out of with Miette. ;p

Darklett grins back at Zoe as she pats on his back, his head dipping down as he walks at the compliment. "Thanks, Colonel. I'll try and keep it up. Glad to serve in the patrol, and all." He stops as they reach the one-beast-wide exit of the training room, opening the door and stepping backwards.

Nodding her thanks, Zoe heads through the doorway. "I trust you'll do jus' that, lieutenant." She uses his rank mostly for his sake, to reinforce the compliment, ish. And then, she's through the doorway.

Darklett lets Zoe walk on through the door, letting her disappear behind it before grinning like a goof for a brief moment. Then, the expression goes away, and he follows the colonel out.

Salamandastron: Leaders' Lounge

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Salamandastron *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The officer's social lounge, a completely different world from the rest of

Salamandastron. Whereas the mountain is mainly designed for the kind of

efficient practicality left for the most pedantic of military

organisations, the mess is a sophisticated, well furnished and luxurious

den. The furnishings are mostly polished walnut wood with large, padded

maroon leather armchairs creating small circles, each with a small table

next to the right arm. The walnut finish is also applied to the bar at the

back, shelves of expensive liquors and fine wines line the back wall, with

a small, private passage down to the cellars. There is a finely crafted

billiards table in one corner of the lounge, the well-polished balls adding

to the candle-lit shine of the room. The walls have various

expensive-looking hangings and ornamental weapons, the crossed swords

framing various different coats-of-arms from some of the famous BadgerLord

families or noted heroes of the Longpatrol over the ages. There is a more

business-like area of the lounge with a large notice board, complete with

detailed world map and various bits of parchment pinned across it.

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Visible Exits:

[Out] to Hallway

Leading into the leaders lounge, Zoe crickity-cricks over to her armchair of choice, and sinks into it, with a relieved sigh. She props her feet up on the ottoman opposite her. "So... I gathah you've been apprised o' the Halyard situation?"

Darklett follows the colonel in, taking a chair for himself and relaxing in it. "Yes, I was in the infirmary when it was being reported by the sole hare that returned from it. Is there anything new about it that I can know?"

Rahier has his back leaned against the bar, watching the two enter the room. Disturbing the quiet and all that, how rude. ;p He tips both ears in their direction, head following suit with a tilt as he sips at a drink.

Zoe_Lang nods. "Aye... Had a bit o' an incident the othah day - a recruit 'n' a dibbun ended up goin' ovah there unawares. Fortunately, some odd activity from a ferret or some such tipped 'em off that somethin' was up... They were lucky t' escape, ya ask me." She frowns, thoughtfully. "I'd like t' make an announcement, but we've got t' wait 'til we've got our information from the scouts. Can't have every hare goin' off on a "heroic rescue mission" in the meantime."

"Ah... A recruit and a dibbun?" Darklett tilts his head. "...It was Taye and Auree, wasn't it? I saw the two in the dining room just last night. Taye asked me about why Halyard was off-limits." The lieutenant sinks back into his chair. "I just told him I didn't know. I agree that it might be a little unsafe to just let every hare know at the same time, but... I don't know how long they're going to buy that the little parade they went on is -still- away."

Rahier folds his arms over his chest, and mrms. "I don't see the disadvantage in tellin' 'em... y'should be able t'count on th'good discipline o' th'troops t'keep 'em from doin' anythin'." Hehe, look, idealism. ;p "But.. well.. yeh." Grump.

Zoe_Lang nods, looking less-than-pleased about the situation. "Aye, 'twas them." She sighs, and tilts her head back 'til she's consulting the ceiling. "Three days. We'll tell 'em in three days." She then hears Rah, and turns her head to look at him. "Well... they'll know soon enough, anyway. I've known enough foolish youth's t' go off, discipline or not."

Darklett gives Rahier a glance, looking a lot like he'd missed his presence when he first entered. Buuuut he's got no comment there, and he turns back forward. "Three days. Are we going to build up sentry duty to make sure nobeast leaves the mountain intending to go to Halyard afterwards?"

"Aftahwards we won't have t' keep 'em from goin', because aftahwards, we'll be sendin' 'em there." The doe shrugs, as if this should be obvious. "We have t' assume that there are some captives... at least o' the village folk. They've got t' be rescued. Once our scouts come back with the necessary information, we c'n launch our next move." Heh. She pauses, and explains a bit further. "Mostly, we just don't want the element o' surprise robbed from us in the meantime."

Rahier huffs. "I shouldn't think they'd all be goin' peacemeal out there.. but.. they are patrollers." He grins and shakes his head. "Ah well." He listens to the others, quite obviously thinking. Deary me, what's become of poor Keita.

Darklett bites his lip. Hm. All of a sudden, three days seems a little too soon. "We're striking back in three days?" He doesn't have any logical objection to that, just a little surprise, and a hint of panic.

Zoe_Lang blinks. "Ah - no. But... soon. We'll start the plannin', 'n' there will be some... 'things' t' set up." She doesn't elaborate, but when she sees Darklett's look, she suddenly grins. "Don't worry, I'll see if I can't have yer knives ready in time." Rah's introspection isn't noticed right off.

Rah's introspection isn't noticed at all by Darklett. I mean, it's -intro-spection, after all. ;) Besides, he's not looking. However, he's relieved at Zoe's statements, settling back into the rather comfortable chair. "Ah, good. I wouldn't like to go with paw-to-paw combat if it's not what I'm best at." Whew.

Zoe_Lang nods, but nonetheless takes this opportunity to grin evilly. "Ya know, I could always give ya some boxin' lessons..."

Darklett breathes in through his teeth, and lets out a single snort of laughter. "I'm not so sure about that. I'm not exactly..." The lieutenant spreads out his arms and lets them dangle. "Boxer material, Colonel."

Zoe_Lang quirks a brow and promptly looks Darklett up and down, "Ahhh... y'look like ya'd do jus' fine with boxin', Dark. Mayhaps ya ought t' come watch m'class t'morrah aftahnoon." Griiiiin. Evil, yes, she is.

Rahier starts to snicker over his drink, hiding his grin. Hehehe. "Y'know," he comments, "I'm not sure who I'd make fun of more f'losin', Dark o' you. Either way... it's win-win f'me." Grin. XD

Darklett raises his left eyebrow, laughing nervously. "Uh... Okay, I guess. I mean, I've had a try at it, and I'm not very good. I'm probably the smallest-built fighter in the patrol, come to think of it." He's... probably exaggerating. But yes, he's not exactly substantial.

"Well, ya don't have t' be huge t' be good at boxin', ya know. 'Tis just s'much about speed and agility 's it is about strength." Spoken like a true boxer. "How d'ya think I manage t' hand Ox 'is arse so often?" Snicker.

( Rah is not given the consideration of a look. "Rah, why don't /you/ show up fer m'class t'morrah, s'well?" Cough, cough, cough. )

Rahier grins, leaning luxuriously back. "'M sorry, it's not m'thing. If y'two prefer t'beat th'stuffin' outta each other, thas' alrigh'. I'm plenny safe jeerin' from th'sides." The major beams, sipping at his drink.

"Oh... Well, I guess I'll show up. It can't hurt anything, right?" Dark grins at Rahier. "Ah, come on. It'll be -fun.-" The lieutenant drums his paws on the armrests a few times. "I'm sure it'll make it easier to jeer from the sides if you actually know what you're jeering at..."

Zoe_Lang smirks, the groundwork duly laid. Tomorrow will be amusing, one way or another. She rests her paws in her lap comfortably, and allows her eyes to drift shut as the two (presumably) go back and forth. "Yeah, Rah. Fun." Just to throw her two cents in.

( Rahier crosses his arms and snickers. "Y'won't goad me. Stoic as a rock, y'know." Grin. "I'll be there with some bandages, o' course. S'all about who's nose I'll be settin' first." With that, he sticks out his tongue at them. ;p )

( Darklett chuckles. "Suit yourself, you big sissy..." Enough of that, though. Heheh. The lieutenant goes quiet, looking around the lounge thoughtfully. Hmm. )

Well-now, it got quiet. Zoe allows the silence to lengthen for a bit, and then she turns her head, to regard Rah out of a high-lidded eye. "How d'ya s'pose Keita's gettin' along?" That is, after all, what's been on her mind just lately.

Oh yes, Keita's in Halyard. o.o Darklett casts his gaze to the side at Rahier again, waiting for a response to the Colonel's question.

Rahier falls silent at this, becoming a bit more sullen. "Arr, that's the question, ain't it?" He touches his chin with a thumb, his glass resting against his cheek. "I'd s'pose she's given 'em jus' enough lip t'make 'em mad, but she's alrigh'. She always manages."

Zoe_Lang nods, and tilts her head back 'til the ceiling is in her field of vision, again. "That's one thing she got from me, anyway." After a moment, she concludes with a nod. "I believe yer likely righ', though." And that seems to have satisfied her.

Darklett settles in his seat again, his eyes moving around, as he's got nothing to say at the moment. Rather, he drums his paws quietly on the arm rests and relaxes, letting his mind wander until something snaps his attention back to reality again. :P

Darklett decides to pull out a folded piece of parchment he's kept in one of the inside pockets of his uniform, and unfold it, to at least fill the empty time.

Zoe_Lang peeks over at Darklett at the sound of crinkling parchment. Yes. One can hear that. Shush. "What's tha'?"

Before reading over it, Darklett folds it over at the top as he speaks to Zoe. "A letter I got today, from my brother. He writes me on occasion, I write back. It's good to keep in touch." He looks over it. "And apparently, I -do- have a family name, heh. Fletchpaw."

Zoe_Lang quirks a brow. "Ya weren't... sure 'bout that, before?"

Darklett shakes his head. "Nope. The good old parentals never bothered to tell us. My brother just found this out himself; we always assumed we just didn't have a family name at all. Darklett Fletchpaw." He pulls a face, then looks from his letter to Zoe. "Sounds terrible."

Wincingly, Zoe sits forward in her chair, preparing to stand. "Sounds fine t' me." And then, stretching her arms over her head, she does stand. With a yawn. "Think it's high time this officah hit the sack.."

"Really? Huh." Darklett folds up the parchment and hides it back in his pocket. "Guess I'll have to get used to it. Aaaand I think I should probably get my rest, seeing as you're gonna punch me out tomorrow..." He smirks at the Colonel, and stands, offering a salute. "Goodnight, Colonel." And he throws another one the major's way. "Rahier."

Rahier sets his glass on the bartop, turning around to... well hey, they're both leaving. "Yeh, an' I'll be there t'watch, y'two." Grin. He raises his paw in a combination return salute-wave, bobbing his head and ears in a nod. "G'night, y'two."

Nodding her farewells to both, and smirking at the "punching out" comment, Zoe turns, and heads for the door. She says her farewells before disappearing out into the hall. "Night, the two o' ya." And she's off.