Fable - Ask Shedding Skin

[Davi]

Her words wrung a rare, hesitant smile from the young Dreadlord. Thinking of Ralene as anything but the confident woman he knew was hard but he found himself hopeful that Sparrow might share some of those anecdotes during their time together. The smile vanished almost immediately at the mere mention of food.

Do you have my back?

His stomach churned in memory but he swallowed the taste of bile.

"I..." memories prodded him back towards his childhood. It was rare, he knew, for Initiates to remember their life before. Davi wasn't sure if the memories made him lucky or not, but he could remember his parents and a snippet of their life before Aniria had staked its flag into that towns soil. "I grew up with spice," he admitted, remembering the smells of cumin, nutmeg and chillies coming from his mothers pot. "But there wasn't much beyond gruel in the Academy until this last year," he offered up an attempt at another smile. "We were just lucky if they remembered salt and pepper."

 

[Samantha Black]

Sparrow watched him curiously, the enthusiasm of her new charge barely fading as he spoke. He seemed a sullen, quiet, withdrawn type and naturally that would have to change!

"Well I don't know anything about the Academy," she admitted with her brows knitting upward in mild alarm at his recounting of the Academy menu, "but that sounds terrible. Don't you worry, the Knights are well taken care of in Holstag's Company on meals but uh..." she leaned over with a wary glance around, "don't say anything to the other soldiers about that. It's not our fault they don't have a Cookie of their own."

She grinned and winked before standing straight, "Soon as the Captain's finished with Black we should be able to head over and get you lot situated for the night. Are there any supplies you're needing? We have about a week long trek back to Castere, don't want you going without."

 

[Davi]

Davi glanced over his shoulder to where the tent flaps were still shut. He could, theoretically, listen in to the conversation beyond but it felt wrong. He hadn't smelt anything like irritation or anger rolling off of the Captain, but that wasn't to say that what he had to tell Ralene might not upset her. He resisted the urge to shift from foot to foot. He had never hated waiting before and this restlessness was not something he knew what to do with.

"Is there somewhere I could put the horses whilst we wait?" he nodded to the two hitched nags. The gelding had tried to shift himself as far away from the feisty mare as possible with his reins.

 

[Samantha Black]

"Oh sure," Sparrow leaned and pointed back down the path they'd arrived on, "if you take them just down that path - when you get to the main camp crossing head left, the stablehands will be just a bit on."

~~~

"This is not the Initiate you wrote to me about last month," Holstag remarked to Ral as he began drawing up Davi's papers, "that one was a Sirl, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes Sir."

"He says he owes you his life..." the Captain's hand calmly scrawled black ink across the paper, "a life debt does not make a Knight."

Ralene's gaze hardened as she stared at the back of the ten just over the Captain's head. She said nothing in response having been given no question to respond to.

"He is malnourished, underweight," Holstag continued quietly, his voice accompanied by the crackle of the fire in the braziers and the scratch of his quill across parchment, "and lacks the years of military training required to be here."

The line along her jaw grew taught, but she held her tongue.

"And you are to step in as Lieutenant-" that drew her gaze, wide-eyed in surprised, but she quickly averted it back to some poor speck of dirt on the tent canvas, "you will not have time to train him yourself and that is not your responsibility in this role. But..." Holstag looked up at her as he dipped his quill into the inkwell, "you have earned the credibility of your word, so he will have six months to be molded by Sparrow. If he does not pass examination by the end of it, he cannot stay. Not when there are other young and eligible soldiers waiting to join our ranks with the proper training and proven record."

A slow, long breath slowly drew in through her nose and filled her chest, "Permission to speak freely, Captain."

"Granted."

"He can do it," she replied stoically, shifting her gaze directly to the Captain, "Dreadlord Wolf is capable, resourceful, intelligent, and stubborn. He was starved at the Academy as a form of punishment and struggles with that still, but he survived-" Ral nodded, "alongside me and every other eligible warrior in the Academy. It is true I saved his life at Graduation, but given the circumstances of what we were dealt that day it is a miracle any of us lived through it. He will not disappoint you, Sir, and he is in good hands with Sparrow as his mentor. I know he will prove himself worthy of the Knights."

Holstag watched her silently for a moment before giving her a grunt and shifting the papers over, "For your sake, I hope that he does. Now there is the matter of your new papers, Lieutenant Banick."

"Black," Ralene corrected him.

At this, it was Holstag's turn to blink up at her in surprise, "Am I to understand you wish to give up your namesake?"

"Yes Sir."

"This is no gentle matter, explain yourself."

"That name has granted me nothing in this life. I did not make it this far because of that name, I made it this far because of my own abilities, strength, and power. Being a Banick had nothing to do with it, and I want none of my hard earned honor tied to that name moving forward. I do not want its prestige, its notoriety, its clout, its money or lands, I cannot carry on the name as you well know. There is no reason for me to use it and every reason for me to leave it behind. Ralene Banick died at the Academy graduation so far as I am concerned, and the world will be better for it."

"Then what name is it you wish to go by?"

"Samantha R. Black, Sir."

 

[Davi]

He hesitated before walking off, pausing to give Sparrow a firm nod. "Thanks."

Davi ignored the curious glances he got as he wandered through the camp with the two horses in tow. The roan attempted to stay as far away from the mare as possible and Davi gave the beast a wary look whenever he felt her teeth draw near to his shoulder. The smell of horses more than the instructions helped guide him to the horse picket lines where he handed over the horses with firm instructions to be wary of the mare.

As he was walking back through the main camp a portly man called out to him from the cookfires.

"Lad, are you free? I could use a hand." Davi paused in the busy walkway, stepping off so soldiers, craftsmen and messengers could continue on. He glanced back towards the main tent. He'd wanted to be there when Ral had emerged, and if Sparrow was meant to be in charge of his training he shouldn't go off without her orders but...

Do you have our back?

Words ringing in his head he stepped over to the cook who wiped his balding head and flashed him a thankful smile.

"I could do with those logs splitting. My boy was meant to be here but, well he doesn't want to help his Pap, wants to be a squire," the man snorted. "I keep telling him cookin' is a far better career - everyone needs a cook. My father were a cook, and his father, and..." Davi merely nodded as the man prattled on and fetched him an axe.

"How many do you need doing?" he asked in one of the few pauses. The cook wiped his brow again.

"Just as many as ye have time for lad, I'm sure my boy will be back soon and he can..."

Davi nodded and carefully set his and Ralenes packs and his jacket to the side before rolling up his shirt sleeves and taking a hold of the first block of wood. He worked contented as the cook continued to talk.

 

[Samantha Black]

Davi was chopping wood for as long as it took Ralene to finish up her meeting with Holstag, find Rolan and get him settled, then inquire as to the whereabouts of the Wolf from Sparrow. All in a daze of faint disbelief.

She found him chopping wood for a cook. Not their Cookie, mind you, but that he was helping a fellow of the regiment was admirable if not mildly endearing. Ralene approached him plainly, gave him a short and wordless look, sought out another nearby axe, then set to work helping him finish splitting the entire pile. Many hands made light work, and Ralene was both quick and efficient in her work. Between the two of them they were done in what felt very little time. Logs split then neatly stacked, axed stored away safely, area cleared.

The Cook's son would have no need to bother.

"You're all set for the rest of the journey I think," Ralene told the Cook as they made their leave.

"You ... you split the whole pile? Gods above, ye didn't have to do all of it!"

"It's not problem at all, friend," Ral offered her hand to the Cook to shake, "let us know if you need any other help on the road back."

"Thank you both," said the Cook as she stepped on and offered his hand to Davi as well, "my son could do with some lessons on the matter of helping his Pap out."

Ralene waited until Davi joined her and met him with a faint, warm smile, "The Captain's got most of your paperwork started. He'll want to meet with you again in the morning before we set out to get your signatures and any missing information. For now let's get back to camp and get some grub."

 

[Davi]

Davi merely gave the cook his traditional nod of the head: what words were needed Ralene had already said. He slid his hands into the pockets of his breeches after slinging their saddle bags over his shoulders once more, and joined Ral in her walk through the camp. It must have been a typical set up of this regiment for she walked the roads like Davi would have walked those of Vel Anir. He watched her as she spoke, marking the way she seemed to relax with every passing moment they spent here amongst these soldiers. Her soldiers. Could he one day look that content?

"Signatures?" He couldn't imagine any of the Proctors back home refusing to pass him off to some other fool. They would probably laugh at the Captain for his choice, but Davi intended on proving each and every one of them wrong. He took a breath and settled his nerves. They couldn't deny him his wishes - he was a graduate now after all.

"I... Food sounds good," he said carefully. Working amongst the smell of food had awoken the hunger he had been ignoring studiously. He'd earned it with the wood chopping at the least. "What did he talk to you about?" he glanced back to her curiously.

 

[Samantha Black]

"He didn't like me stepping on his toes with you," Ral replied honestly. There was no need to butter up Davi's situation and Davi deserved to understand the truth of the matter, "he's giving you six months with Sparrow to train up and shape up. You'll be tested at the end. If you don't pass..." her gaze shifted to him, "you won't be able to stay."

Those were the terms.

"It's a good deal," she nodded, "most other Captains would have turned you away. He's giving you a chance to learn and prove you belong."

That same gaze then rolled away and upwards innocently, "He'd also been expecting Elias. So you were a bit of a... surprise."

 

[Davi]

Davi's jaw tightened with resolve. He hadn't expected anything less from the Captain and if he was being honest, being made to work for it made it feel more real. If he had simply been given it because of Ralene then he would have always questioned in the back of his mind if he truly deserved it. This way he would know he had earned his place and that he was an equal. Ral was right - others would have turned him away. He wouldn't make the Captain regret his decision to take a chance.

"Elias?" Davi's head snapped towards her. "Sirl?" His face scrunched up before he could stop himself.

 

[Samantha Black]

That got an eyebrow raise out of her and Ral couldn't hold back the snort of laughter upon seeing his expression, "Yeah. Tell me how you really feel, eh?"

 

[Davi]

Davi bit the inside of his cheek to stop them from flooding with colour then rolled his shoulders.

"I never really liked any of the Gilded classmates in our year - no offence."

 

[Samantha Black]

Ralene burst out laughing - an earnest, hearty laugh that stopped her in her tracks. Honestly, of all the petty grudges - but she supposed out of most of the Initiates in their year, Davi perhaps deserved his. He alongside a notable few others were pretty mercilessly picked on, though Ral didn't think he had it the worst. Where she was avoided by the majority, Davi had seemed to be a target for them.

And Elias certainly hadn't been kind, but it had never been personal for him. He just wasn't good at being kind.

When finally her laughter died down she continued on with deep amusement, "None taken, never considered myself among their numbers. Liliana's a cunt."

"Speaking of," a smirk wended its way over her teeth, "so far as the world is concerned Ralene Banick died at graduation. The names Samantha Black now. You can still call me Ral or Ralene in private, but in public call me Sam and with the crew call me Black. Lieutenant Black in any official matter or setting."

 

[Davi]

A wary smile tugged at the corners of his lips. That was definitely one of several choice names he had for Liliana and her Mean Girls clique.

"Would you prefer Sam?" He asked after a pause to digest what she told him. He didn't balk or try to talk her put of it simply took it in stride the same way he would have if she had told him they were going for a run in the morning. "Sammy?" His lips twitched again.

 

[Samantha Black]

"Sam's fine," she replied.

Sammy?

"Only when I'm drunk," she side-eyed him, "Elias will be joining us... at some point. Said he had some personal things to take care of before he headed out. I know he was pretty hard on you at the Academy but he's looking for a fresh start, too. Give him a chance?"

 

[Davi]

Davi managed to school his face this time but the cold edge to his look said enough about what kind of chance he would give the other Dreadlord.

"What else did he say to you? I take it he didn't keep you behind just to chew you out about bringing me home instead of Sirl."

 

[Samantha Black]

Ah, yes, she was beginning to see a pattern with him here. Avoidance. Davi seemed to favor it over directly facing his problems. The Dreadlord rolled her eyes and decided to leave it alone for now. Until Elias had actually arrived, it was a non-issue and Davi needed to focus more on getting settled anyway.

"I was promoted to Lieutenant," she replied to him after a moment to collect her thoughts and address his own question, "which means I get my own squadron to command within the Captain's regiment. Hadn't expected ..." she trailed off, the shock still quite evident in the tenseness of her jawline, "thought he'd bring me in as a Sergeant under Sparrow's command. She's been here ages longer than me."

It wasn't settling well with her and, frankly, Ralene wasn't sure what to make of it. There were plenty of others in the regiment that should have been give then rank before her.

 

[Davi]

"He must have thought you deserved it - or that you're ready for it," Davi didn't believe Ral - Sam - was the type of person to take a brought title. From what little she had said of her family he doubted they would even waste the money or effort on it either, "or maybe he just seems the potential in you."

Davi heard Sparrow before they rounded the corner and saw not only her but, he assumed, the rest of Sam's unit. In a low voice he continued.

"Don't let it make you second guess yourself, Sam. You're a good person, you'll make a good leader."

 

[Samantha Black]

Sparrow's laugh carried great distances. It was endearing, but at the same time had given away their position on more than one occasion. Ral caught herself smirking at the sound of it despite her current internal turmoil. A glance fell Davi's way at his words and for a moment she felt a twisting pang of guilt mixed with gratitude. It was terribly uncomfortable, so she swallowed it down quite forcefully.

There were words wanting to form, but much like in previous situations where speaking her true feelings had fell flat, they couldn't find a way to manifest. Not that she was given the opportunity, as soon as they rounded the bend through a row of tents to the main campfire of the regiment, a hoot of excitement went up into the air.

"Hoooooooooooo!" said a man toward the back, bucking up from his seat by the fire to point her way with a grin splitting across his face as wide as a sideways banana, "LIEUTENAAAANT"

The call went out in a chorus of the rest of the team bellowing Ral's new title like a war cry.

She stared at them, bug-eyed in disbelief, "You fuckers already knew?!"

Sparrow grabbed her by the arm and yanked her close with a cackle, shoving her into the arms of her comrades where they hooted and hollered and drummed fists on their armor and squeezed her and sloshed drink every which way in a ruckus of celebration. Somewhere toward the back the large figure of Captain Holstag sat near a man nearly thrice the size of himself smiling quietly while he sipped from a metal mug.

Another burst of laughter from Sparrow before she moved to collect Davi, "We've been waitin' all week for that. Come on Wolf, let's get you some food and drink."

 

[Davi]

Davi folded his arms across his chest and simply... watched. He had never seen a group of soldiers act in this way with one another before. As a Dreadlord they had been kept apart from the Guards and the frosty hostility among their own rank had never afforded them a situation to be like this with one another. He could barely imagine clapping Eric or Sable on the back in such a way or teasing Noel or Chas in the way of friends. A sadness settled in as he continued to watch them celebrate together. A sadness for what could have been. For what he lacked.

He was almost startled when Sparrow grasped him by the arm and all but yanked him in to that happy scene he had been outside of.

"Thanks," he murmured, and forced himself to give her a small smile. "I'm starving. A cook by the horse line asked for help chopping wood, I'm sorry if I kept you waiting."

 

[Samantha Black]

"Naaah- it's fine," Sparrow replied absently as she swiped a mug from someone's abandoned seat, sniffed it, poured it out, then headed back with Davi to a large mess tent where smells of dinner wafted through the air.

"Figured you got yourself lost or sumsuch," she pushed a clean mug and plate off a table of wares into his hands, "or made a friend. Black doesn't suffer runners. Good for you to help out, though. You Dreads have your work cut out for you."

There was a long table that cut the tent in half upon which sat various skillets and pots, buffet style, for food to grab. Lots of smoked meats, baked beans, bread, stew, a basket of apples picked from a local orchard they'd passed while on the march.

"Cookie," Sparrow called over the roar of his mobile oven and smoker parked beyond the open tent flap at the back, "come meet Wolf."

Cookie was not a tall man by any means and Davi quite stood over him, but he could have been likened to an overgrown dwarf. He was short, stout, and built like a friendly boulder. He turned a bright and flushed face toward the boy, sweat beading on his brow from the heat of his food-forge, as Sam liked to call it.

"A Wolf!" he said, friendly-like, as he gave Davi a quick look over, eyeing the build of him, "bit lean from the wilds. We'll fix that right up. I'd talk more but if I neglect my pies they'll get crispy..."

"Cookie's the best," Sparrow gushed over a bite of smoked pork, "just...the best. C'mon, fill your plate up before the rest of these vultures get in here." Her own was already nearly full from a selection of everything available, "Meat. Lotsa meat. You're gonna need your strength for the march."

 

[Davi]

The casual friendly manner in which these people interacted with one another was jarring. He tried to picture those in his class doing the same and the only scene he could come up with that was in anyway similar was a friendly spar where the aim wasn't to kill one another. He was completely unprepared for how to deal with it - with them. He glanced briefly to Sam who was still being swept up and along the various members of her squad who wanted their turn at offering their congratulations. She didn't seem to find it hard. Maybe it wasn't hard. Maybe he was just over thinking it.

He offered Cookie his best smile and was quite thankful to find the man could carry the whole conversation on his own without any input from Davi.

"It... smells great," great was a little of an understatement for how it smelt to Davi's overly sensitive senses. It made his stomach twist into a knot. He took a couple of deeper breaths through his mouth to try and settle himself. He had earnt his food today, he tried to reason as he piled his plate as instructed.

"Is this kind of spread normal?"

 

[Samantha Black]

"Well," Sparrow snatched an apple from the basket and then went to fill a mug with ale from a barrel spiggot, "not normal normal. We hardly ever move the entire company together like this except during war."

"When we're out on mission, we keep a short list of rations for the journey. You won't always have Cookie on mission with you either - the rest of us can make due and stir up some decent grub if we can hunt. Route's a pretty good cook, too, but we can all manage when we have to."

Hunting, cooking, foraging. Necessary survival skills to have when out in the field for extended periods of time.

"But we're not off to war or mission now. Just ... shifting headquarters. Draza sent us off with a good deal of supplies for the journey. Route downed that hog just this morning in the woods. Makes for some pretty good meals - but don't get used to it." She headed back out of the tent as others who had congratulated Sam were making their way in. Open seats were free pickin, and Sparrow had no issue with taking one that was still warm from someone else's bum.

"Daw," she pursed her lips into a smile as she looked over to see what appeared to be a GIANT of a man rising from his own seat on an iron chest to lean down and give Sam the world's most biggest bear hug. She could see Sam's eyes bulge over a broad grin from where she sat, "Big Man's hugs are just the best."

Everything was great.

 

[Davi]

Davi listened with his trademark quietness as Sparrow explained, the odd nod the only signs he had heard and understood what she had said. It was not that he didn't want to have a conversation, more that he lacked the skills to do so. Listening to information like this was far easier for him to associate with a mission briefing than it was friendship. Whilst the Guards and Dreadlords had been separate until the Revolution, it seemed that at their core they operated in the same manner when on a mission. Every person had to be able to pull their own weight and survive alone if necessary. It was strangely comforting.

His eyes flickered up as the behemoth of a man stood opposite them. His muscles tensed in preparation for... something. Every instinct screamed at him that he was a danger and Sam should be nowhere near him. He imagined the soldier had crushed skulls with his bare hands let alone what he could do with the nasty looking weapon resting against his chair. Of course, nothing but goodness came and Davi felt both stupid and guilty for making such a Dreadlord assumption. He busied himself with taking his first bite of food - which gave him momentary pause for it far exceeded anything he had been expecting - before quietly commenting.

"My father taught me a little of cooking, before the Dreadlords came to my village. I think it was one of the few reasons why initiates were happy to have me on their missions."

 

[Samantha Black]

"Oh yeah?" Sparrow looked his way with an easy smile, "Good, one less thing to teach ya." The woman gently nudged him with her elbow and took to her meal in earnest.

Sam spent a few moments longer conversing with the giant man, the Captain, and another soldier seated near them before slowly making her way through the campsite over to Davi. She grimaced as she stretched her back, "Think he popped a rib out of place," though she grinned through it and glanced down to Davi, brows lofting at the sight of his plate. Dinner looked and smelled good - and she was hungry.

Her eyes trailed to congregation of Knights outside the grub tent and a thoughtful hrm followed.

"Exercise the new rank," Sparrow piped over a mouth full of pulled pork.

"Nah," Sam shrugged, "I'll get in there when I get in there. You seen the new place yet?"

"Mmhm-" Sparrow thumbed juice from her chin with a nod, "real nice. Big stone flats. Everything's new. They've been building them for the last year I think. Route's requested to move his fiancee up from the Capital so he'll get his own place now, I expect. Wolf can take the room that was assigned to him. Got a spot for Sirl in our flat, too."

"Who else?"

"Eight to a flat. Us three, Cookie, Mess and Meizer, Fern, Sirl."

"Oh-" Sam's brows lofted, "how the fuck did we get Cookie? They always put him with Flint's group."

A shrug from Sparrow, "No idea, but I ain't gonna complain. Flint doesn't deserve him if you ask me."

Sam snorted and took the empty stump on the other side of Davi, "Didn't you say you used to live in Castere? Do you remember where you lived before?"

 

[Davi]

Davi didn't bother to hide the look of disgruntlement at the idea he would be sharing a home with Sirl though he didn't waste his breath whining about it. He'd suffered worse and there were enough of them from the sounds of it that he could make a point of avoiding the other Dreadlord entirely. He would certainly make an effort if Cookie was going to be there. Every morsel of food he had eaten so far had awakened his tastebuds and reminded him food could be so much more than just an inconvenient need. He was applying himself to the task when the question came about his home.

Images of warm eyes and a laugh that made him feel safe rose unbidden in his mind, followed by the screams and blood of that fateful day the Dreadlords had come.

He pushed a piece of meat around his plate.

"Coraliv," saying the name brought out some of the local accent he had spent years having beaten out of him. "It is a smaller town nearby, though I'm not sure it exists anymore. The last time I saw it it was on fire."