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 Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 12:14 pm
Overall they had been travelling silently except the howl of the wind between them and to be quite frank, he wanted to keep it that way. It let him keep his attention on navigating them out, his eyes glancing skyward every now and again to check their positioning. Though, somewhere in the back of his mind he was still worried about Mikree. Had the glass cut anything important? It didn't look like it would have, but the kid hadn't dropped dead yet so that was a good sign. Still needed to get him checked out when they got back.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 12:20 pm
 Mikree had kept close to Reyes as they departed, the two lions using the cover of nightfall to make their escape. The roars and sounds of the pride were left behind as they walked and eventually enough sand was blown into his wounds to help them stop leaving a trail that could be easily followed. The younger male was silent as they walked, keeping his head low against the wind and the pain. Thoughts were still flying through his head and it was clear that Reyes wasn't going to talk about it. Why had the wild dog been murdered? Why hadn't he done anything to save their companion? Why had he saved Mikree? Pain lanced through him and he grimaced, his paws from the wrist down completely numb and soaked with sandy blood. He was woozy but he knew better than to ask to stop. To do so would mean sure death. "Why did you kill him?" he finally asked. That was the one that was most pressing on his mind. It went without saying who he was talking about - that wild dog was so small it would have been easy to toss him on his back to run away. The unspoken 'why didn't you let me die?' hung between them as well, but for now it wasn't addressed.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 12:41 pm
"Because it had to be done and you're too much of a bleeding heart to do it." Reyes responded, his tone dangerous all while being sure to keep his back facing his wounded agent as he kept them walking.
He knew full well that that kind of answer wouldn't satisfy Mikree though. "He would have slowed us down even further than you are now. Hell, we'd be dead if we had taken him with us. That mission went to s**t in a heartbeat. At the time I put him down, you were fine. You faltered, lost focus, and nearly died as a result of your mistake." There was an air of disappointment in his voice as he continued to refuse to look at him. He, however, would never do anything that he wouldn't be willing to explain for later.
"He knew it was a risk when he came out here. You knew it was too. We don't play hero. We aren't in the limelight. We're here to clean up, to get s**t done when Overwatch can't." Or won't. "He's dead and you need to deal with it, kid, 'cause he won't be the last." There was no sympathy to be found in any of the words Reyes had said, nor did he care to coddle the boy.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 8:49 pm
"I'm not slowin' us down!" Mikree barked, his teeth bared through the pain and annoyance as he quickened his pace. Like hell Reyes was going to make him feel more shitty than he already did.
"Yeah, because killin' the one we were supposed to save wasn't in the plan, Reyes," he growled. "What did you expect me to do? Ignore it? Hell, I was ready to beat the snot outta that Warlord and then scoop up that wild dog and get the hell outta dodge! And you go and ******** his neck..." As he spoke his voice faltered, a few tears stinging his eyes. He hung his head and sniffled. He hadn't even know that wild dog, nor the other Blackwatch member that well, but they were dead and he hadn't been able to help.
"I thought we were gonna save people," he said very quietly. "I thought I was gonna put the whole...gang lifestyle behind." So far he didn't quite see the difference apart from Reyes being a murder machine instead of a whole gang needed to get the job done.
Reyes was right, though, about not being the heroes. He knew they were a special branch of Overwatch that did the dangerous missions, the things that weren't going to be praised on the savanna. They were the ones that no one knew about. But still, he didn't think their missions would turn into something like this!
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 9:00 pm
Reyes wheeled around, his eyes glowing in the light of the moon as his lips raised to Mikree. "Listen soldier, because I won't repeat myself. Don't you go comparing what we do to those disorganized mongrels you ran with." There was a ferocity in his voice, words dripping with acid as each one fell from his mouth like a landslide. "Our mission was to retrieve him if possible or get our information and dispose of him if we were unable to guarantee his delivery. He was a liability left alive. So I killed him after getting what we needed."
With a huff he turned away, putting his back between the two of them once more. "Do you really think we could have outrun the Warlord and his mutts with that bag of bones weighing one of us down? No. His information will save lives."
The kid had every right to be shaken up, but he couldn't go second-guessing himself or what Blackwatch did. Reyes couldn't trust his someone like that to watch his back.
"He had to die so others could live. That's what we do. Oh and kid?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 9:28 pm
Clearly Mikree hadn't been in on the last bit of the mission. Either that or he had been daydreaming or just had completely missed that part. All the younger lion knew was this was a lot harder than he thought it would be, and Reyes had trained him pretty well.
He plodded along in silence as Reyes berated him, his ears drooped and his tail dragging low in the sand. He wore his heart on his sleeve and now - especially now after Reyes had killed that wild dog and let the other soldier fall to his death without flinching and yet saved him - he felt especially low because it was Reyes doing the scolding.
It was then that he realized he was mostly upset because he had wanted to impress the other lion. Make him proud. Prove that he hadn't been a waste of time or energy like Reyes could constantly ask him when he struggled to get his laps in or slept late. He cared about what Reyes thought of him, and that was the first time in a long time, possibly ever, that that had ever happened.
"Yeah?" he asked quietly, his head still low.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 9:48 pm
"Don't ever speak to me like that or I'll tan your hide. You hear me?" This was the one warning he was going to give. Reyes gave him a passing glance over his shoulder. The expression on his face was grim, eyes narrowed and a deep frown accenting his overall intimidating features. "Don't you forget that you're still breathing because of me. You have food to eat, a place to come back to, all because of me. As far as Overwatch is concerned, you're mine. They would have been glad to have your bones laying in that gulley with the rest of your ragtag gang."
His words were dark, ominous even depending on how they were being interpreted. In truth, all of Blackwatch was his, not just Mikree. Loyalty was the one thing that bonded them through the horrors they faced, the friends who went on missions and never returned. Attachments were few in Blackwatch, but Reyes had grown attached to his shadow and the last thing he needed was Morrison trying to poach him later.
He pushed the kid because he didn't want him to break like that other agent had, or be too weak to defend himself. Hell, Reyes had been sure that when he looked over the edge that he would have seen Mikree falling, all of that time, all of that effort to turn him into something great, falling. The kid would never know the relief he had felt seeing him clinging to the rockface.
After Reyes finished his little spiel, he sat abruptly, having just stepped out from the partial cover the dunes' shadows had offered. "Take a break," the commander's words were hardly affectionate, but his next statement at least offered some sort of praise. "You earned at least five minutes."
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 9:56 pm
Mikree flinched at the tone of voice Reyes used. It was dark and dangerous and for a moment his mind flashed back to that pit, full of dead lions and one smug Reaper, as they had called him. He now know what his commander was fully capable of and it still baffled him to no end that he had decided to make him his pet project.
He was quiet as they walked, focusing on putting one paw in front of the other. His side was burning and his legs were aching, and when Reyes finally sat down and told him to rest, he fell into the sand without a second thought. He closed his eyes as if that would help his aching limbs feel better faster, his breathing shallow. He knew he would push on when the order came, but for now he could try to relax.
"...thanks," he said very quietly, partly muffled by the sand. "For pullin' me up. I wasn't important to the mission anymore then, either, and you...came back for me." Between the exhaustion and the pain his thoughts were finally forming into words. "Deadlock wouldn'ta done that. So. That's at least one thing Blackwatch has goin' in its favor." He tried hard to bring his voice back to its normal joking tone for that last bit, but all he managed was a shadow of how his normally sounded.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:06 pm
"Of course I came back for you. I look out for my own," Reyes continued quickly before the younger lion had a chance to ask why he didn't save their third member. "That guy who fell? He betrayed us. He wasn't worth my time because I would have just killed himself."
Both of his shoulders sagged, letting his muscles relax for the first time that day. They burned, everything did, even with his pain tolerance. They would need to find a place to rest for longer than a few minutes eventually, but this was an open desert. Passing a glance back, Reyes inwardly worried about his pupil. Bruised, bleeding (though they looked to be scabbing over) and exhausted both physically and mentally. The commander couldn't say that he wasn't at least a few of those things as well, but he was much more concerned about Mikree's state.
"Check yourself," a check being a physical and mental check-up, a way of assessing how things were going and also a way to focus. "What's your status Mikree? You going to last until we get out of this desert?" The last question came almost as a challenge, a teasing one, but still a challenge.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:22 pm
The call for a check had Mikree's mind working, his toes wiggling, everything that qualified a check while still trying to soak up five minutes of relaxation.
"Status report is ********," he said, spitting out a bit of sand as he spoke. "Like hell I'm dyin' in some desert. That was the option you gave me - die in some other desert or join Blackwatch, remember? If I die in Blackwatch it sure as hell ain't gonna be in no gods damned desert."
He flicked his gaze over to his commander, a tiny hint of a smile tugging at his lips. It was hard to be his usual cheerful and cocky self in times like these, but sometimes forcing his normal personality helped in chasing away the dark thoughts that clouded his mind.
"What about you, boss? You gonna make it out? Or will I have to drag you along behind me while I'm limpin' back to Morrison?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:36 pm
"I remember, I ain't that old yet. I also remember how much a shithead you were back then, acting all tough like you could take on the world."
Reyes' laughter was something that was heard regularly by those in Blackwatch, though it was normally accompanied by someone making themselves look like an utter fool, but was still something that he typically reserved for special moments.
"Don't sass me, punk," he grinned devilish to his pupil, "I'm in a hell of a lot better shape than you." Truthfully, Reyes was exhausted, both mentally and physically so. It had been a long time since he had fought like that. And then Mikree had to bring up Morrison. That goddamn Golden Boy would definitely be at his throat over the scene he had managed to stir up. "Let's go, back on your feet soldier." There was no pause, no moment for Mikree to ready himself before his commander was back up and walking away.
Had it even been five minutes?
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:42 pm
"Were? I still am a shithead," Mikree drawled before putting on his best Reyes voice. "Mikree! You're late for training! Twenty laps!"
He dragged himself to his feet with a little groan as his commander started off again. "That was like, three minutes, Reyes, c'mon. You can't get all pissy just hearin' his name."
Reyes had a right to be pissed off where Morrison was concerned, of course. Mikree knew all about the history between them. But cutting into his precious resting time just because he said his name? It wasn't like he was kneeling to kiss his paws or something like that.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:47 pm
"Maybe I would have considered your request if you hadn't tried to imitate me, boy." Reyes tossed another look over his shoulder, a grin having replaced whatever solemn look had previously been there. "Twenty laps when you're all patched up, since you've got time to run your mouth."
In fact, the commander picked up speed, breaking into a light jog. They needed to make it out of this damned desert before the sun rose in the morning. If they were lucky they'd be out just as the sun rose, but if they needed to stop regularly, he wasn't sure. Dehydration was a real threat, even for trained soldiers like the two of them. Pushing him was just Reyes' form of showing he cared.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:55 pm
"You gotta be kiddin' me," Mikree bemoaned as Reyes started to jog. He grit his teeth through the pain as he picked up his pace. "You know, we're not all masochists like you, Reyes!" he called out as he struggled to keep pace. Eventually his wounds cracked open and began to bleed again, but at least that tight painful sensation was gone. He trailed Reyes through the dunes, knowing he'd get to rest when they made it back safe and sound.
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