11-15-06

Characters involved: Darklett & Taye.

Salamandastron: Sentry Room

Darklett steps into the sentry room as quietly as possible, trying not to be noticed... Of course, in a room the size of the sentry room, it's hard for your presence to not be seen, and the two recruits on sentry duty turn and salute smartly, with a sharp 'sah!' from each. Darklett refrains from sighing, casually returning the salute and heading off to the far end of the room, turning his back against the wall, facing the entry to the claustrophobic space and waiting for the relief to come.

Whether he's relief or not, Taye can be heard bounding up the stairs to the sentry room. Unlike Darklett, he has no need or desire to be quiet. So when he reaches the top of the stairs he grins and waves to the two familiar recruits and salutes to the familiar Darklett. "Evenin', sah," he greets with a slight rush to his breath after his race up the steps.

Glad that he doesn't have to wait long, Darklett steps away from the wall, returning the salute as the hare he's looking for arrives. "Evening, Private Taye. I was waiting for you to come." His paws fold behind his back as he looks over Taye's shoulder, for his fellow sentry hare.

Taye grins as a bit of rather loud huffing can suddenly be heard on the stairs. Ahem. "We raced." Silly fighter, racing a runner. The other hare finally arrives, grasping the door frame and saluting weakly. "S-sah!" Taye rolls his eyes at the other private and steps out of the way as the two recruits move towards the door to leave.

Darklett pulls a smirk, his shoulders bouncing as he lets out a noticeable laugh. "Haha, I see." The lieutenant returns the salute from the fighter, still smirking as he addresses the private that was second in coming. "Would you mind covering for Private Taye? I'd like to have a word with him." Darklett's attention turns back to the runner at the end of the sentence in a silent request of the same.

The fighter seems to have finally managed to remove his lungs from his throat, and so he nods. "'Course not, sah." And Taye is, of course, agreeable with a small nod. He takes a couple of steps towards the door, with raised eyebrows to be sure that's what Darklett wants.

Darklett nods, and follows Taye towards the exit of the Sentry Room. "Won't take long, don't worry," he assures the fighter that's on single duty for the moment. He lets Taye lead out of the Sentry Room, the lieutenant walking with his paws clasped behind his back, out of habit.

Taye trots down the stairs, stopping at the bottom and looking back. He leans against the opposite wall. "So what c'n I do ya for, sah?" He grins, not at all adverse to a couple more minutes free of sentry duty.

Darklett stops after reaching the bottom of the stairs, looking up and down the hallway before leaning up against the wall just next to the corner that leads to the stairs. "Taye, what would you say to me if I asked you if you thought you were due to get out of the mountain for a while?"

"What would I say?" He leans back against the wall and walks his feet a couple of steps out. His paws stay tucked behind his back, and he looks up at the ceiling. "Well - I'd say aye, sah. Been long 'nough cooped up in 'ere with just a coupla jogs here 'n' there." He inches his feet out a bit more, his back still to the wall. He's being a goof, in other words.

Darklett's brow slowly raises as Taye goofs around, the lieutenant's mouth curled just slightly as he watches. "Well... Colonel Zoe has given me permission to take a patrol..." He's distracted by the runner's idle actions, and pauses, clearing his throat. "Hey, you paying attention?"

Taye blinks at Darklett, then nods. He quickly straightens up. "Uh - sorry, sah. Yes, I'm payin' attention." Then, with perking ears. "A patrol?"

Darklett shakes his head quickly as Taye straightens himself, then he nods at the inquiry. "Yeah, a patrol. Colonel Zoe has given me permission to take a few hares out and look for a Bloodthirster that's been hanging around on the shores for a while now... a badger, to be more specific."

Taye's brow quirks, to match his ears. He stands up even straighter; got to counter-act the shortness. "Well, sah, if yer lookin' for volunteers, I'd like to put m'name into the hat."

Darklett grins at the runner hare's reaction to the explanation of the patrol, and nods. "Yeah, I'm looking for volunteers. I figure it'd be best if I asked all the privates I could trust to come with me, and after you've been through Halyard, a search out on the beach would be nothin'. But I guess I have to warn you, this badger is very dangerous. You may have to fight. Though, since you're a runner and not a fighter, I'll be bringing you along for the... small chance we need a hare to get back to the mountain with an urgent message. Up for it?"

Taye bobs his head in a quick nod, trying his best to keep any mad grins from surfacing; he does a fairly good job. "Yes sah, I'm mos' definitely up for it. When do we leave?"

Darklett grins wider. "Good, I was hoping for that. I don't know when we leave yet, but I'll keep you updated. As of now, you're the only hare besides me that's scheduled to go out on the patrol, so it may be a while. Do you have any recommendations for hares we should take?"

Taye frowns, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. "Dunno. Zeraph, maybe?" He squints, looking back down to Darklett. "I'd recommend a coupla recruits if this was a coupla seasons down the road, but..." He shrugs. "You'll want a healah, too. Any ideas for that?"

Darklett nods. "Thinkin' about taking Buckthorn, if I can get him to leave the infirmary for fifteen seconds." He chuckles at himself, shrugging. "If not, I'm sure I can find at least one that's willing to go... I'd planned on asking Zeraph, and Niveus, too... Maybe five hares will be enough, but I want to keep it safe and have at least four fighters with us."

Taye was thinking of Buckthorn as well, if for no other reason than that he knows Darklett knows him. "Yeah, bettah safe... I'll keep an eye out, see if anyone looks good fer it." He then glances up the opposite stairs, where footsteps can be heard. The other sentry getting restless. He looks back to Darklett.

Darklett's ears flick as he, too, picks up the sound of footsteps. "Well, guess I can't keep him waiting. Enjoy your sentry duty, and keep an eye out, Taye." The lieutenant steps to the side some; even though he wasn't blocking his entrance to the room, he was apparently just making sure.

Sure he is, and Taye pushes off the wall and moves across to the opposite stairs. He glances back once more before ascending, in order to salute. "Thanks, sah, for askin' me. Means a lot." With a nod and a wave, he turns on his heels and jogs up the steps.

Created by Oklina