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 Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 5:24 pm
 Osteocyte had been a thorn in Retinadeath's side for as long as she could remember. No one had yet accused the lyra of sanity, or anything even remotely resembling logic or reasonability, but there was somewhat of a method to her madness. She asked for nothing more or less than the same loyalty, devotion, and obedience to her that she displayed for their mighty queen. She gave her troops direction, strategy, guidance, something to do, a respected rank within the herd, and all she asked in return was that they not question her orders. So far as she could tell, this wasn't too much to ask--Ruadh, unpredictable though he was, could manage it; Saltic was a bit dim, but he could manage it; even Anand, fearful, paranoid Anand, who assumed that every military maneuver was an attempt on his life, could manage it, and he'd been in the army just as long as Osteocyte.
But the bone-skinned stallion refused, point-blank, to be of any use. He was insubordeinate, he was lazy, he disobeyed orders, he bullied anand and called the other soldiers names, and he insisted on making off-color remarks about his queen and his general--and all for the simple reason that his commanders were mares. Retinadeath had dealt with some nonsense discrimination in the past--hello, color discrimination--but this was perhaps the silliest. Mares were stronger, hardier, more intelligent, and more pain-resistant than stallions. Wherever this stupid prejudice had come from, it was time to stop. Retinadeath was down to two equally satisfactory but equally inefficient solutions: give Osteocyte some sort of punishment to keep him in line, or kill him. The former had the delicious promise of potentially delivering to her a loyal, useful soldier, with the downside that it likely wouldn't work, at least not permanently. The latter, on the other hand, was quite permanent--too permanent, in fact.
Retinadeath sighed inwardly. Not outwardly, Signs, no! She was in the middle of a training exercise, and the stallion himself was standing in front of her. She refused to give him the satisfaction of her frustration. Instead, she rolled her eyes and thrust her head right in his face. "Osteocyte!" she barked. "It has come to my attention that a new type of star has arrived from Dreamspace. Bring me evidence."
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 5:41 pm
 Osteocyte didn't like Retinadeath. Something about her made his flesh crawl. Maybe it was the fact that she was a mare--something about mares made him edgy, like they couldn't be trusted. Maybe it was the color of her pelt--it made him angry to look at for some reason. He wished he knew why. He even wished, just a little bit, that he could discuss it with someone. But his flutterheaded commanding officer was so damned sensitive about it there was no way he could do it without retribution. Not that he wanted to think his way through it, not really--he hated Retinadeath, and, well, that was enough for him. He didn't mind hating. No--he loved hating. It just came so naturally to him. And he welcomed it. Let other stars lament a lack of love--he would rather harbor hate.
No, hating Retinadeath was not the problem. His problem was that she was his commanding officer. He was required to do what he was told. his options were limited. He could leave the Shadow--and be hunted down and killed. He could disobey Retinadeath's orders--and probably be killed when she tired of him. Or he could kill her, and possibly be killed in punishment. Well, leaving the Shadow wasn't a good option--he liked the Shadow. He felt at home with such a band of cut-throat murderers. And besides, being hunted down was no fun. As for killing Retinadeath, that opened a whole other barrel of problems, and besides, she would fight back, and she might just win. Those reasons, combined with the presence of that pleasing little "when" made the disobedience option the best one.
Of course, all these reasons melted away when Osteocyte remembered--doi! He was already dead! You'd think he'd remember a detail like that just a tiny bit better!
Well, option 1 was still unattractive, 'cause he still loved the Shadow (yes, loved, shaddap), and option 3...well, he might get banished, or worse, Saltic might get tapped as her replacement. The lyra was such a Retinadeath fanboy he'd surely be out for undead blood. Anand could be manipulated if he became leader, but he'd also be vindictive in a position of power over his former tormenter. Ruadh as a leader didn't bear thinking about. Worst of all, he could be picked to replace Retinadeath as the Death General. As nice as the new power would be, the responsibility would be more trouble than it was worth.
But now that once-blessed "when" was stale and smelly--for now it was, in fact, now. That look in Retinadeath's eyes was the hell to pay he'd been putting off. His head jerked back away from hers instinctively. New star breed?! Nonsense! "What in Ophiuchus's ruptured spleen are you going on about?" he snapped back. "There isn't any new breed. Quit wasting my time."
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:42 pm
Retinadeath tried to keep on top of things that could have an effect on the army. Like a new type of star starting to Fall. She'd overheard a rumor while lurking on the edge of the forest near Sunflare lands about there being a new type of star. If Osteocyte hadn't heard about it, then that was hardly any of her concern. Really, the new stars were just an excuse to get Osteocyte away from her. His obnoxiousness was more than enough reason to want him gone. Get a load of him, standing there in front of his superior officer, giving her lip, acting like he had the right to boss her around? Damnit, she was the general! He was being insubordinate, and it was time for him to pay! More than he already was about to, that is.
"There is a new type of star, and it is my time being wasted, not yours," she snarled. "These new stars, they are called algiedi, and they resemble goats in appearance--beards curlier than an arcturus on mare and stallion, cloven hooves, curved horns, and short tufts of a tail. You will find one. You will obtain a tuft of hair from its tail. And you will return to me with that tuft." She narrowed her eyes at him, pinning him with their intensity. "That should give me enough time to find a suitable punishment for daring to order me around."
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:48 pm
Osteocyte wasn't a soldier. Well, okay, he was, but that was only because he'd thought that being a soldier sounded like a good way to find victims to bully. Anand had been starting to get tiresome and aggressive to bullying. But at heart, Osteocyte wasn't a soldier. Following orders, being polite and deferential, that wasn't his style. No, he would much rather be snide and rude. He kept forgetting, conveniently or inconveniently, that some stars had power over him. Some big, feathery, overly-sensitive stars with inferiority complexes that they liked to unleash on people.
Fine, fine. So she was in authority. And she was going to flex it today by sending him on a snipe hunt. He would just yank something from a bit of mane or tail from an arcturus. She wouldn't know the difference, right? He rolled his eyes at her. "Algiedi, goat star, got it--"
"Don't even think about getting it from the mane or tail of another star," she snapped. "I know the smell of an arcuturus from a lyra. Don't think I won't know if you've cheated. Now get out of my sight."
Retinadeath smirked as she watched Osteocyte turn around and storm off, muttering and cursing under her breath. That ought to give her at least a week without him around.
By Scorpio, she loved this job!
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