Of Halyard Strife and the Search for a Wife
Characters: Darklett, Rahier, Taye, Tyree
Darklett grits his teeth, plunging his dagger directly into the chest of the rat mere inches from him. Immediately the vermin drops his saber and clutches at the dagger, choking on shocked gasps, eyes widened as blood drains out of the wound. The major gives a shove to the rat with his other paw, sliding him off the dagger and leaving him to fall to the ground and die. Behind him are two mice, what looks like a mother and son pair, huddling close to each other and looking just as shocked at the slain rat as the rat was at being slain. The scene is not incredibly tough to piece together. "...Are you okay?" he asks the mice without looking, kneeling down to wipe his dagger off on the fallen rat's pant leg.
Hm. Isn't this a tricky little situation. The sound of violence, a little scuffle, is pretty distinctive, and it's what both attracts Rah and distracts him from his little smoke-break. He pokes his head around the corner, raising his eyebrow at the double-pair of creatures.. well, the trio, now. "Leave it t'you t'find a little wetwork," comments Rah, stepping out toward Darklett. The colonel tilts his head slightly at the dead rat, then purses his lips. Hm.
"If someone's gonna find it, I'd rather it be me," Darklett comments, lifting up his eyes to the Colonel before standing up and sheathing his dagger back into his belt. The mice, looking frightened still but considerably less so, stand up carefully as the Major turns around. "You're safe now," he assures the mother and her son, the younger of which immediately begins running away with the elder soon to follow, shouting. Dark heaves a sigh. "Those kinds of things have been happening more frequently."
"Well," comments the officer, "It can't happen t' frequently when they're all dead." What with Dark killing them, and all? Rah nudges the rat with his boot, tilting the poor rat's head to the side. "People get desperate. S'part an' parcel with everythin' else.. no housing, no food, poor healthcare." Despite their efforts, and all.
"It is, though. And pretty soon it'll be anarchy." Darklett says this matter-of-factly, as if it's a foregone conclusion. "...Don't know what they're here to do, though. /Nobody/ has anything. I don't know what they think they're going to steal, but once they start taking swings at me..." He shakes his head. "We're going to need to do something about this, Rah."
Rahier snorts a little. "S'always been a controlled crash here, that mayor-fellow's a bit strange, y'know?" Rah crosses his arms and turns away to look out at the square, re-raising his pipe up to his lips. He chews on the stem for a bit. "S'pose."
"You s'pose what?" Taye pokes in, coming up to the scene with a rather unconcerned look for the dead vermin. S'kind of old hat when you spend any considerable amount of time around Darklett, ya know? And being his lieutenant, well! He nudges the toe of his boot at the corpse and then glances up, looking from one officer to the other.
"There'll be more dead rats... And dead hares, soon, if we don't start policing Halyard a little tighter. Vermin can... Smell chaos. They thrive off of it. Pretty soon the place'll be overrun with brigands and predators if we don't... Pre-empt them." Darklett doesn't /like/ to bust out his officer words, but it's necessary.
Rahier makes a faint mmm? as Taye arrives, turning his face to look toward the approaching son-thing. "Darklett s'poses we'll be run outta town if we don't put th' boot in, so t'speak." He wears a faint grin. "Doom an' gloom Darklett." That's him, eh? "I dunno 'bout all that. S'jus' hard times righ' now."
It really is a bit like the Eternal Optimist and the... well, not. Taye's muzzle twitches faintly. He has the choice of other siding with his father or his mentor. Haha. "Ah, well. You know. S'good t'considah all the options. T'be prepahed." Shruuuug. Middle ground. Yes!
"Believe it or not..." Darklett actually kind of smirks at this because it's his kind of humor, "I'd rather this town didn't turn into a blood bath. But pretty soon they'll start banding together. And when they do that, /I/ won't be able to stop them myself."
As always, the answer lies somewhere in The Middle. Rah chews the stem of his pipe for a moment. "Bandin' t'gether? Well, mm. Gangs have always existed around here." Dri will fix it. "People either come t'us f'help, or they go t' th' gang leaders." Protection money, ayy.
"I dunno what more we c'n do without takin' ovah the bloody village, though. We're already hear all the bloody time up 'n' down the streets helpin' on the rebuild..." Taye runs his fingers through his hair, narrowing his eyes slightly as his boot tip finds the rat's side in a short kick. Troublesome thing.
"...We can take over the bloody village," Darklett responds rather quickly. "Because lining the streets during the day isn't doing enough to kill the vermin's confidence."
Rahier's lips turn into a rare frown, and he reaches up to take the pipe into his fingers, lowering it from his mouth. "I dunno if martial law is goin' t' have th' sort of effect y' intend. Y'migh' be kickin' th' wrong people."
Taye's ears tilt back a fraction. His eyes shift between the pair. Uncoooomfortable. "... I don't know we're exactly within our rights t'take ovah like tha', Dark...."
"We could ask. I'm not saying we just march in and take the place, but if they need more help..." Darklett sighs. He's not gonna win this one. "I don't want to get caught by surprise if the worst happens. We need to be prepared, at the very least."
Rahier clears his throat, then shrugs. "They've already taken a beatin' from th' storm, don't think they need us beatin' 'em too. We can jus' offer what help we got."
Taye breathes a deep breath, turning partly away from the pair to consider the square. He's got nothing useful to add at this point, so he just shakes his head and mutters, "... Halyard's tough. It'll always make it through, no mattah what."
Darklett doesn't look entirely satisfied at all, no. "Fair enough," is his only comment on that matter. His view of the square is more calculating and inspecting than mere regard. "I guess so, Taye. No matter what shape it comes out in, it'll make it through."
"That's a given," Tyree says, coming back from the sounds of hacking and sawing of wood. "Villagers are workin' hard. Progress on rebuilding the fleet is coming along, but it's houses we need now. Most of the available timber in this area will be eaten up afore long..." He looks around at the dunes, saluting Rahier and kind of saluting Darklett. Is he still an acting major? "Foragin' parties are still rangin' wide. It's steady for now, but another disaster will start strectchin' things."
Rahier scratches at his neck. "People aren't happy livin' in tents, turns out." He makes a bit of a chuckle. "Th' woods will be set back pretty far, I expect." The colonel returns the salute to Tyree, and then reaches out to clap the acting-major on the arm. "Doin' good work."
Taye glances 'round at Tyree's arrival. He dips his head in a small nod and a grin. "'Ey, Tyree. How's it goin', man?" He notes the arm-clap from Rahier. Aww, Rahierly approval. Good for 'im.
Darklett's salute is returned with a glance and a half-nod. "Speaking of policing Halyard," he begins, turning his attention back to Rahier. "...I think Selene was taken away by vermin from Halyard, and I have a good idea where they took her if... If what I found is true. So I'm going to go."
At least it's not a head pat of approval. Or is that actually higher up on the list? "As well as you can expect in a job like this. Man," Tyree says. Look, he's trying to be hip! He raises both eyebrows at Darklett, surprised and rather alarmed. "What... what gave you such a good idea?" he asks quietly.
Taye gets all the headpats. Or hairscratches, whatever. The arm-pat is a friendly thingy, it is. Rah also looks somewhat surprised at this admission. "..Vermin stole y'wife?" His tone is one of disbelief. "Thas'.. well. I can see where whatcha said before came from."
Taye straightens up a bit, giving Darklett all of his attention, now. "What'd you find, sah?"
Rahier simply gets a brief nod before he explains. "Selene... Is really smart." Darklett chuckles under his breath, though his features don't reflect the laughter. "Not only did she get out of the building before it collapsed, but she told me where she was going. She was bleeding and ... She wrote it in blood, on the floor. But when I got to the place... Out on the beach. A cave that was guarded against the storm. When I got there she wasn't there, but there was a sign of struggle there, and I think vermin beat her there." He takes a deep breath. "They took her, and they left behind an insignia of their... Their tribe. Their gang. They're from the north."
Tyree shifts on his footpaws. It's beyond his authority to order an expedition, looking back at Rahier to see how he handles it.
"... Well. I s'pect I'll be goin' with you, then, Dark," is Taye's obvious answer. He glances briefly to Rahier, then back to his Major. "I'm ready whenevah you are, sah."
Those brows climb ever higher. This is unexpectedly dramatic, is it not? Well, with buildings dropping on people and kidnappings to boot, who can you blame. "Don't gotta say that if y'need anythin' y'can have it," Rah says. "Hope y'get her back."
Normally, this is where Darklett would put the kibosh on anything related to being accompanied. "Love to have you," is his response, however, giving a roguish smirk in his Lieutenant's direction. "We'll go back to the mountain to get some supplies, but we need to leave soon. Don't know what they'll do with her. Rah," he diverts his attention once again to the Colonel, then decides to step close and give Rah a great big hug. "I'm sure you'll manage without me." And then, beneath his breath, he murmurs something inaudible to all but he and Rahier.
Tyree rubs his chin quietly as the two get ready for their act of derring do. "Jus' you two against an entire tribe?" he wonders, sounding quite concerned. He might even tell them to be careful, he likes them so much. "Is that, um... tactically sound as far as these things go?" Doesn't sound that way to him.
Taye is satisfied with that reply, of course! So he settles back, folding his paws behind his back. At ease, 'e is. 'Course, at Tyree's words his muzzle twitches. That's funny. Ha. Haha! Haaaa. But he keeps his silence for the moment.
Rahier is... given a hug. Not just a hug, but a great big hug. He looks caught off-guard for a second, but then returns the hug, patting Dark on the back. As for the whisper, he just nods, after a moment's consideration. "Sure, Dark." He shares the same amusement as Taye at Ty's suggestion. "Maybe y'could take Ty along f'backup."
Darklett considers Tyree after he suggests a tactical disadvantage. He considers him like he's absolutely off his rocker. Which is to say he considers him in not the highest reverence. When Rahier suggests that Tyree comes along, though, he visibly tenses. "...I'm not sure. How well do you follow orders?" he asks of the acting Major, eyes narrowed.
Tyree doesn't know why *he's* getting the weird looks. He has a point as far as he's concerned. If you all come back with arrows in your face, don't come crying to him! Because your eyes will probably be shot out. "Very well, but... it is entirely your perogative." He can't order them to take him along. He glances at Rahier. He'll have to watch over the village's rebuilding if Tyree is drafted.
Darklett keeps his eyes narrowed. "I don't trust him, Taye."
Taye is just amused, generally. But he flashes a smile for Tyree at Darlett's vote of non-confidence, and reaches over to slap Tyree on the shoulder. "Aw, he's trustworthy, Dark. He's just a little green. And kinda odd, sometimes, righ' Ty?" He tilts his head at the other buck, appraisingly. "Personally... I think it'd be good for 'im."
"How well does Ty follow orders?" This is kind of like. Asking how well the moon follows its cycles. Rah grins a little bit at the trio.
The only evidence of Tyree's displeasure with Darklett's declaration is a twitch of his ears. Otherwise he remains quite still, paws behind his back. He flicks his gaze momentarily towards Taye and says nothing in response. Ha ha, oh the merriment. "If it will be cause for discontent in the ranks," he murmurs to Darklett, "then perhaps it is unadvisable."
Glancing back over his shoulder at Taye, Darklett chews thoughtfully on the inside of his lip, studying Tyree for a few moments further. "No discontent. Just as long as you follow my orders." Pause. "...And Taye's orders. Experience trumps rank on this mission, starting now." He straightens up. "To Salamandastron to pick up supplies, then to the breezy north. Let's go." About face, and he walks purposefully towards the beach and, eventually, the mountain.
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