11-30-05 2

Characters involved: Zoe_Lang & Darklett.

Salamandastron: Leaders' Lounge

Zoe_Lang is seated in an armchair in front of the fire. She holds a glass in paw, swirling its contents as she peers into the misty liquid. There's already a couple empty glasses on the table beside her, but rather than tipsy she looks subdued.

Darklett slowly peeks into the room, his head swinging back and forth. On the forth, he smiles to himself briefly, and finishes his entrance, walking towards the seated Zoe. He eyes the empty glasses, but only for a second, coming to attention and saluting smartly. "Colonel."

Zoe_Lang looks up from her examination of the glass, peering squintingly at Darklett. She makes an agreeable sound, nodding to the nearest chair. "Darklett. Why doncha take a sit? It's good to see ya back."

Darklett nods to the colonel, and has a seat in a chair facing the Colonel. "Thankya. And it's good to be back..." Though he still has some bandaging on his arms, the lieutenant seems fairly optimistic about the patrol, even throwing out a confident smirk to the superior across from him. "The patrol I took with me was... Exceptional." The pause indicates he took time to think of a good word to use. :P

Zoe_Lang raises a brow, mirroring his smirk with an amused grin of her own. "Aye? I assume yer ready to report on it." Sip. She's secretly scrutinizing him without, uh. Appearing to scrutinize.

"Yes, yes I am." Darklett sits up in his chair, clearing his throat. "It really didn't take us that long to find him. By the time we were getting close to Halyard, we spotted him... Well, it was hard not to. He was jumping up and down and waving his arms around to get our attention." He shakes his head at this, then shrugs. "Anyway. He led us on a chase, left fake tracks, all the stuff you'd expect. I sent Private Taye around to flank him with his bow to try and snipe him, but the badger caught on, and charged Taye. That's... about all that happened to start the fight. Taye couldn't stick an arrow in him, but while he was distracted, Private Niveus and myself advanced on him... I put a couple knives in him before Niveus got in range with his rapier, and kept him away from Taye for at least a bit to give him time to escape... However, the badger got Taye in the shoulder with the spiked end of his big chain at the last moment." He stops here.

Zoe_Lang listens without saying a word. She nods, certainly, but doesn't saying anything. When he stops, she takes a considering sip and then sets the glass on the arm of her chair. A welcoming nod, for him to continue. "Sounds good s'far. Go on."

Darklett nods to the Colonel, and continues as ask. "Apparently, the healer we had with us, Ronan, dealt with Taye pretty quickly. The badger then was finally able to turn full attention to myself and Niveus, the two fighters on the patrol, which is what I had planned. I have to say, the badger... He was able to do things I had never imagined anybeast would be able to do." Like fling him around like a ragdoll! "Just when I thought we had him, he went berserk. Completely and utterly -mad.- It was like he didn't even feel anything when we struck him. This is when we took most of our injuries... He was just unstoppable for a while. I wasn't -too- worried... After all, even the craziest of beasts run out of blood eventually..." He pauses, thinking. "...He actually headbutted me unconscious in his fit of rage, I think just before he died." His ears fold forward a bit at this, his eyes moving away for a moment. "As you've probably seen already, though, every hare came back safe."

Zoe_Lang shifts the glass to her lap, wrapping both paws around it. She looks to the floor ahead of her, digesting his words before hazarding a reply. It takes her a little while longer than it usually would. "... Well. You went up against a badgah and survived. What's more, yer patrol did. I'd say that's a success." She bobs her head in a few, thoughtful nods, then cuts a glance to the side at the buck. Her lips twitch in the precursors of a grin. "Good job, lad. I'm impressed."

Darklett takes a big breath after his report. Well. That went easily enough. When the Colonel begins speaking, he straightens up, ears perking again... But when he hears that it's a positive remark, he relaxes--only a little-- back into his chair, smiling, struggling to keep eye contact, nodding. "Thankya, Colonel. Look forward to my next opportunity."

"I'll keep that in mind, Darklett." And she grins, a thoughtful grin, and takes another long sip. Ahhh. "I assume you've been propahly looked at? Didn't jus' slap some bandages on 'n' leave it at that?"

Darklett nods quickly. "Yes, Colonel. Went to the infirmary, got a change of bandages, they made sure nothing was infected, or... too serious, or anything like that." He chuckles momentarily, continuing: "By now, I'm getting so used to having some kind of wound on me, it's like they're not even there."

Zoe_Lang snorts at this, glancing at him over the rim of her glass. "I know that feelin' well, lad. They're a bit more cumbersome when they don't heal up righ', though. Be careful of that." Then, blinking, she glances at the bottle also on the table. "Would ya like a drink? Celebrate yer victory?"

Darklett eyes the bottle as well, needing only a second or so of thought before he nods. "Yeah, why not?" He snags a glass the Colonel hasn't dirtied up yet (or the one that looks cleanest, anyway) and pours it about three-quarters full, setting the glass on the table and offering to give the Colonel a refill, raising the bottle in her direction.

Indecision. She tilts her head one way, then the other, and finally nods. "Sure." She holds her glass out to him, dipping her head. "Thanks," she offers. "Well, that's one badgah outta our hair. Anythin' to report on the othah remainin' Bloodthirstahs?"

Darklett tilts the bottle over Zoe's glass, letting it drip slowly at first, then pour steadily until -her- glass is also three quarters full, then tilts the bottle back up, twisting it around to make sure no drippage spilled on the table. "I didn't see any on the beaches," the lieutenant replies, shaking his head. "Hopefully," he puts the bottle down and sips at his own drink, "they see the badger dead, and get the point."

"Well. That's good t'..." The door opens, and a private pokes his head in - extremely nervously, given that it's the leaders' lounge. "Um - ah. Colonel? Yer, uh... Yer daughtah. Miette. She's lookin' for ya." Zoe looks around, sighs, and jumps up from the chair. She takes a few sips from her drink, sets it down, and heads for the door. She pauses, there, making shooing gestures at the private who promptly exits. "Night, Darklett." She rolls her eyes a bit, grins, and waves. Out she goes.