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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 18, 2008 20:57:17 GMT -5
The merlons and crenels lining the wall around the keep clearly hadn't seen any battle, Carlist noted as he strolled along the ramparts. No sign of damage, no sign of repair work, not even any sign of extensive weathering; it was like this place had been constructed last week. Then again, its reputation implied a military presence that had lasted for decades without a scratch. Vermin forces had apparently never overrun the village.
Clearly out of uniform, the gray squirrel didn't mind his not wearing the standard camouflage drab taupe tunic and leggings. If anyone wanted to take it up with him, they'd have to take him to a commander and no beast in their right mind would chastise someone like him for wearing different clothing. It wasn't as if his all-black coat, jacket and loose-fitting pants were even flamboyant; if anything, they drew even less attention to him.
As usual, the black cloth hilt of his cutlass stood out in front of his hip and the end of the ebony scabbard made a slight protrusion on the back left of his coat. His dagger was concealed beneath his jacket in a small sheath over his far left ribs, where nobody would know it was there unless the blade was already out in the air. As it turned out, the only thing on the scarred squirrel that wasn't black besides his fur was an elaborate zinc medal which distinguished him for exemplary military conduct during the Mossflower Campaign. Nobody ever bothered to examine it beyond noting it as some sort of decoration, and he didn't mind.
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 18, 2008 21:27:07 GMT -5
*Another squirrel was upon the battlements, though this one did have black fur along with the standard black trousers and brown and black tunic. Sadly enough, he had a reason to be up there, he was on wall duty. For him, it was one heck of a change in pace for he'd been fighting and traveling just about his whole life. Being part of a warrior clan was indeed like that, if you were skilled enough in battle that is. He'd been in real battle since before he was ten and had been on the road traveling since he was twelve. Finally coming to a stop at this fort was indeed different. He was almost disgusted with the fact that they had taken him for many of the other raw recruites that didn't hardly know how to handle a blade. This was mainly because he, surprisingly enough, didn't have many scars to account for and he also didn't have the hard eyes of one that was used to killing. For some unknown reason, his eyes always seemed to hold an innocent quality to them.*
*All this being said, the first duty they had assigned him was to guard the wall. As if any vermin would even get that far into the village before being utterly wiped out. He didn't argue with his CO though, he'd decided that he would show them that he was no raw recruit. At the moment, though, he was far from getting the opportunity to show them his skills for, as has been said before, he was on wall duty. He had his longknives sheathed at his hips as usual and, though he'd lost his own bow along with the arrows a while ago, a fact he was not happy about, he had taken the most decent set that they had in the armory at the time and had a quiver full of arrows on his back along with an already strung bow, just in case it be needed quickly.*
*He noticed a squirrel walking along the ramparts in his direction but decided against questioning him. The beast was heavily scarred from combat and had the hardness in his eyes that said quite obviously that he was used to killing, and most likely quite good at it. He also decided against greeting him because he didn't know who this beast was or if he was one of his commanding officers or anything. Not to mention the fact that Onyx could be a bit shy at times... well, all the time untill he got to know a beast. He figured that if this squirrel coming towards him wanted to speak to him, then the squirrel would indeed say something.*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 18, 2008 21:40:02 GMT -5
There was another squirrel up on the wall with him. In Otter's Fort, Carlist's species wasn't exactly commonplace, and he was surprised to find that it was indeed a black squirrel that he was looking at. The beast looked young, uninjured and superficially innocent, but this appraisal had something that just wasn't right about it. Carlist had a very analytical side to him and a lot of it was on a very unconscious instinct; just looking at this beast, he knew that the first impression he was getting was very fundamentally wrong. This couldn't be just another youngster coerced into holding a blade.
He didn't alter his gait or even his course, though. Continuing at the exact same pace as before, Carlist observed the squirrel more closely as he approached, debating internally whether to make verbal contact or not. If it was just another teen who didn't know anything, he would never bother, but this didn't look that way. He just knew it, there was something worth stopping and talking for with this one. However, he wasn't going to rope himself into it prematurely.
Giving himself plenty of time to consider what to say, he moved past Onyx as if he were just going to pass by without doing anything. However, at the very last second, Carlist turned to him at a just barely comfortable distance away and spoke. His voice came out soft, gentle and with the hardened edge that every warrior gained after a decade or two of fighting. "You keep count of how many you've killed or is it too many?"
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 18, 2008 22:50:08 GMT -5
*It seemed that this other squirrel did indeed mean to talk to him, and what a way to introduce himself too. Onyx had indeed at one time kept count but overtime as they started racking up, it just became pointless because the numbers were so high. He turned to this mystery creature with a half smirk on his face.* "I gave that up long ago. It got pointless after awhile because nobeast would believe me anyways if I told them." *Indeed, just about nobeast would believe him due to his lack of scarring and innocent look. Not just that, though, but also because of how relatively young he was. He had seen way to much combat for the age of twenty.*
*Just based off of the fact that this older squirrel spoke to him gave Onyx the impression that perhaps he could see something about himself that just about no other beasts could not. Not just the fact that he spoke to him, though, but also what he had said. I mean, who would ask a younger creature like him that if he didn't obviously notice something that others did not. Onyx, of course, didn't know what it was about himself that could be noticed as any different than that a normal squirrel his age who hadn't seen any combat. As far as he knew, he didn't have any outward markings that would give him away. Perhaps it was the way he held himself... perhaps it was that Onyx had no idea. The later was, indeed, the case.*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 18, 2008 23:05:14 GMT -5
"Well, in a civilian context, we'd all seem like mad serial killers, wouldn't we? Forty in an afternoon if it's not that many opposition, maybe." Cracking an amused smile, Carlist found that he had been correct in his assumption and was now able to communicate directly on Onyx's level. He himself would often kill more like 400 in an afternoon but this wasn't by his paw but with his mouth; being a primarily tactically oriented beast, he counted the kills of those who he ordered to fight as his own not as combat deaths but tactic deaths. After a while, so many deaths ceased to become anything but numbers.
That was what made beasts like himself and Onyx who they were. Although the latter didn't know it yet, both of them had lifestyles and histories that made for beasts that took death with a grain of salt. Although Onyx was a lot more up close and personal about it than Carlist preferred to be, the squirrel himself had had his share of melee and could quite plainly declare that after the first few battles his opponents ceased to be anything but masses of fur, flesh and bone to be torn apart. The numbing effect that combat had on a beast as such made for the sort of soul that they both possessed on various levels. Even Carlist didn't know what he'd just gotten himself into. "When did you enlist here?"
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 18, 2008 23:20:53 GMT -5
*Onyx's face darkened for a split second as he thought of when he'd enlisted. It had come and gone so fast that it would barely be noticable.* "Just a few days ago. Huh, I didn't know what I was getting myself into... I still can't believe they put me on wall duty. I guess I don't look like much of a fighter, huh?" *He asked in more of a joking way than anything else though there was a bit of truth to it. Just because he could kill without a second thought didn't mean he one of those crusty types that didn't know how to act normal around normal beasts. Sure the talk of all the blood and fighting was fine and dandy but Onyx didn't like to scare off beasts unless he was fighting them. Of course, he doubted that this squirrel was gonna get scared off by talking about such matters. Heck, he'd been the one to bring it up in the first place. -At least this guy seems to think something of me...- Onyx thought to himself. He was always faced with the non-belief that he was a warrior by most beasts he met. It was amusing when ther was an ambush set up for him and all the vermin thought he was just some little teenager squirrel but when it was beasts that were becoming his friends and they laughed when he said he was a warrior; he just got tired of it.*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 18, 2008 23:28:31 GMT -5
"No, not mutilated enough. You could use some earrings, or an eyepatch, maybe, that'd go good on your fur," Carlist commented with his typical deadpan humor. He never smiled at his own jokes. It was like giving someone a piece of cake and taking a forkful for himself, not that he'd ever had a decent slice of cake. His next comment was back to his usual dark bluntness. "But you do look like a kid. You have that juvenile facial complexion, and your physique looks entirely young. What's your name?" Having just realized that he didn't even ask before now, the squirrel withheld his own name, deciding to see what Onyx's identity was first and if he actually knew the guy, regardless of how low the chances were.
If Onyx knew Carlist's name, he'd be surprised at his own fame. He was, as far as he knew, an unsung hero of the campaign, with only his numerous scars and molded zinc medal to prove that he'd actually gone through as much combat and strategic planning as he had. Moreover, any preceding knowledge would have an effect on Onyx's opinion of him and that would have to be taken into account. Hopefully, if the squirrel knew his name, it was in a good light.
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 18, 2008 23:44:10 GMT -5
*Onyx didn't entirely like just how blunt this squirrel had been. He let it slide, though, it was to be expected.* "My names Onyx. Real imaginative, huh?" *He said, throwing in his own two cents worth of humor. He, just as the squirrel, did not laugh at his own little joke. He really didn't feel the need because he'd said it so may times... he pretty much used that line whenever he first met any beast. Even so, it still seemed to get some sort of reception, usually a good one, so he kept on saying it regardless of how old it got to himself.*
*He didn't ask for the squirrels name, he figured that if he felt like sharing then he'd say it. Either way, Onyx had some idea of who this just might be. He did indeed regonise the medal which he wore around his neck mainly because the warrior clan he'd been apart of had kept up with the going on of the world, especially any squirrels that worked their way up to the top. Those they paid special attention to. Onyx had heard of a squirrel that had become somewhat of a hero in the Mossflower Campaign and seeing as how the squirrel in front of him was wearing a medal from the Mossflower Campaign, it didn't take much brainpower for Onyx to put two and two together and not get five.*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 18, 2008 23:52:55 GMT -5
"Yes..." Taking in Onyx's weak attempt at humor, Carlist noticed the squirrel's looking to the shining zinc that rested over his sternum. It had been awarded to him just over two years ago, a while before he'd ceased his previously active role in the Mossflower Campaign. The serifed text that ran along the bottom half of the rather small decoration read, 'AWARDED FOR EXCEPTIONAL EFFORT FROM THE TOP.' Although the insignia of the Mossflower Campaign, a tree split in two down the middle by a hatchet, remained the same on the center, the text was clearly indicative of his officer position. "As you may have guessed, I am Carlist Agua."
He wasn't sure how Onyx would take this. Chances were that the black squirrel already knew who he was and was just waiting for him to get the name out in the air. Carlist was one of six beasts who had one of the medals, as it was so custom that his name was paw-etched into the back of it. Moreover, he was the only squirrel to. That had to count for something.
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 19, 2008 8:03:31 GMT -5
"Yeah, I figured as much. I come from a squirrel warrior clan and they kept track of most things going on in the world, especially things that involved squirrels. A hero in the Mossflower Campaign, if I remember correctly. I would guess so based off your medal there." *He said, indicating the medal worn around Carlist's neck. Onyx had never really formed an opinion of Carlist though the talk around the clan had been all good and everything. He tried to make it a point to only judge beasts on what he'd seen first hand, not what he'd heard from other creatures though sometimes one had to make exceptions. This, however, was not one of those exceptions. Even so, everything seemed to be going well so far so that meant that at least some of the things that they'd said about him that didn't directly relate to battle were true. It'd been awhile since he'd heard the name but it hadn't been one he was liable to forgot, apparently. It really wasn't so surprising that he hadn't heard of him apart from clan talk, you didn't hear too much about the ones leading the Mossflower Campaign in normal conversations or about the campaign in general. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if a number of creatures here at the fort didn't even know what the Mossflower Campaign was. Sadly enough, this was probably true to some degree...*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 19, 2008 9:04:07 GMT -5
Carlist's battle experience was so extensive that even relatively unrelated things in his life were affected. This was a good example thereof; Onyx was referring to his medal like everyone did, and the older squirrel was left just standing there with mild bashfulness over his past. Everyone acted like his actions were somehow superb, but it was his belief that the ones who deserved all the credit were the ones who weren't alive to actually receive it. He himself was just one of the lucky few who had managed to evade death through the majority of his prime. Now his reputation was still following him around. "That's what I'm often referred to as, yes, a hero. Where was your clan from, Onyx?" The part that confused him was why Onyx was no longer with said clan, but he didn't press that one.
Carlist found himself rather comforted, almost spellbound, in fact, by the soft, youthful features that the black-furred beast before him displayed. It wasn't often that someone he conversed with even looked visually pleasing to start, he knew he didn't that much himself, and this was a rare incidence. What this thought meant Carlist wasn't sure, but it probably had something to do with how he'd never gotten married as of his thirty-eighth year around. The aesthetic eye in him was a flickering flame, but it was there and he was reminded of that right then.
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 19, 2008 10:58:14 GMT -5
*Onyx cocked his head to the side and scratched his chin thoughtfully. It had been eight years now since he had left and it wasn't like he'd been keeping track of where it was relative to his traveling.* "Well, uh... I think it'd be safe to say that it's somewhere further away to the northeast. It's been some eight years now since I left and it wasn't like I was trying to keep track of its position during my travels." *In fact, he rarely thought about his clan anymore. It had just fallen to the back of his mind as an old memory that was worth saving but not thought about often.*
*It may seem strange that Onyx would just up and leave his clan that he'd grown up in but that is in fact what he did. He simply got bored with it all. Sure killing endless amounts of vermin was fun and all but when you repeated that every single day without stop or brake, it got boring. At least it did for him because those vermin hadn't even been a challenge for him in battle. Heck, he'd gotten more of an adrenaline rush sparring with other squirrels at the clan than in actual battle against actual enemies.*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 19, 2008 20:13:17 GMT -5
That wasn't unlike Carlist's own upbringing in a number of aspects. The first was that, although for very different reasons, they had been away from their original homes for a significant portion of their lives. The second was that it was all focused around fighting for both of them. However, the third was the one that got the squirrel's attention, and that was that Onyx, like himself, didn't come across as a beast who ever truly looked back. That was, in his mind, a great way to walk into a wall.
He decided on a subject change. "How long are you going to be on wall duty?" Although he was a very militaristic beast, Carlist wouldn't consider himself an asocial type. The squirrel had yet to reach out to anyone at the fort on a non-professional level, and this seemed as good an opportunity as any. Despite the age gap, their similarities were nearly frightening for the older of the two. Besides, Onyx had an enviable body going for him and Carlist wasn't at all shameful about his thoughts about it.
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Post by Dantin 'n' Kade on Nov 19, 2008 20:31:59 GMT -5
*Onyx looked up at the suns position to figure a relative time.* "Well, I don't think it'll be too much longer. My replacement is supposed to be here around mid-day to relieve me and it looks like it's almost that time." *Onyx was a tad surprised by Carlist's question. One, he had no idea about how Carlist viewed him as having 'an enviable body'. Also, he didn't realise how much alike they were because he really didn't know much of anything about Carlist in general besides what he'd heard at the clan those eight years ago and it didn't seem as if Carlist like to talk about his past alot. He didn't seem like that much of a social type based on the conversation they'd had so far seeing as how most of it had been about fighting but apparently he was mistaken. Unless, of course, he was just wondering for the heck of it and wasn't planning on talking to him anymore.*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Nov 19, 2008 20:43:19 GMT -5
"Good, because I feel like buying you a drink," Carlist stated flat-out. He wasn't about to try and dance around the idea of doing something social with this squirrel. In fact, he wasn't about to try and dance around any of his thoughts about or towards Onyx at all, including the ones the younger beast was currently blissfully unaware of. Once they'd both gotten off the wall where the cold wind was biting at his ears, he would open up a bit more. Until then, though, he would have to remain at least somewhat reserved. "The tavern isn't that far a walk from here."
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