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Legend of Lunaria Captain
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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:25 pm
Setting:
Cais has been rather reckless with his self-assigned missions, doing things of his own accord in the name of the Nobles, but not necessarily according to their plans. This has not escaped Tenjou's notice.
NPC:
Tenjou
Tenjou is a strong noble man and appears to be the head of the retainers. He shares many qualities in common with the emperor-- he's just and firm with his demands-- which gives him the upper hand with support from the villagers, especially with his open-minded ideas. He's ambitious and he won't seem to stop at any lengths.
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 8:22 pm
An invisible hand of fate had led to this moment and Cais attempted to contain the sense of excitement as he walked between two armored Lunarians, trekking through a vast area with vegetation and no other life to be seen.
It had started innocently enough earlier when Cais had left the house to begin his solo vigil once more. Bandages still covered much of his body under his clothing but despite the uncomfortable feeling he was determined to go out again. The fighter had left a lot earlier than normal in an attempt to avoid his families questions. He thought himself clever by doing such a thing but didn't make it very far before he'd been approached by two strangers.
Naturally he had assumed it a fight but had quickly grown attention as he was offered an invitation of sorts, something he'd waited for and hoped for. Cais was finally going to meet with other members of the Nobles. The two Lunarians dispatched to collect him were quick and to the point, leaving the all important question of who and why a mystery as they began a quick trek to some unknown location.
There had been no chance to decline the offer and Cais struggled to keep up with the two as they had weaved through the city and outward. No words had been spoken since they'd left and Cais had done his best to respect the silence of the others. Their skill and determination left the fighter at ease, though he had grown uneasy as to how long they had been walking and how far they had gone. Just where was this place?
The answer was simple as the two leading him moved under a large grove of brush. Cais nearly burst when he laid eyes before him and bit his lip to keep from saying anything. A Noble Camp! Abuzz with activity, the small camp lay shrouded in secrecy with dim lighting. He had so many questions and wasn't even sure where to begin. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it promptly as they seemed to be moving towards a large structure of sorts.
"Um." He let out the noise lightly but his leaders seemed unmoved as the darkened structure came into view. Cais couldn't tell if it was truly a building or a tent, but stopped as the other two did before the entrance. They stood in silence for a moment before they turned to face him. He blinked and looked at them questioningly.
"Go in, he'll be with you shortly." One of them said in a burly voice with a nod to the entrance. Cais wanted to ask who, opened his mouth to do so even before biting onto a lip to make sure he wouldn't. He doubted they'd appreciate a dumb question like that - after all he had been invited here.
Taking in a deep breath he entered, standing in what seemed to be a large open room with little in the way of furnishing. His eyes adjusted slowly and he blinked them several times in an attempt to rush them. Just where was he, who was he meeting? He was in a Noble camp, correct? There were so many questions in his head he had stopped moving completely, standing as straight as he could.
He only hoped he wouldn't be left waiting for too long as his curiosity might get the better of him.
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Legend of Lunaria Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:04 pm
Tenjou, for his part, was not even aware that he was taking appointments for the day. When he entered the tent to find a Lunarian already standing in front of his desk, he'd had to duck his head back out to ask his guards why they'd let someone in without his express permission. One of them had told him that, sir, this was the Trinh boy, and he was the cause of the recent trouble at the Legionnaire outpost a few weeks ago.
It hadn't been the first time, the man noted, as he strode past the boy and took his time with settling back into his seat. Many of those who professed allegiance to the Nobles were scrappers, barely graduated from the Academy. Some among them were able to get informal training from the Legion deserters, but the general reality was that his men were... less organized than he would have preferred. Easy to track. This was why the Legion knew so much about the Noble effort - they had eyes and ears everywhere, and the Nobles made it that much easier to be seen and heard.
He supposed that was why someone had taken the initiative of calling this boy here. The man shifted some papers around on his desk, not deigning to look up for a few minutes until everything seemed neat and organized.
"You are... the Trinh boy, am I correct?" he rumbled then, lifting his gaze toward the other Lunarian. "I have heard of your exploits in our name, most notably... what you did to the Legion lookout point just south of here. I am sorry for the loss of your companions."
It was nearly impossible to tell the man's intentions from the way he said these words. They could easily be interpreted as approval or disapproval - whether it was either of these or something else entirely remained to be seen. One thing was for sure, however: Tenjou would judge the aqua-haired Lunarian by the way he answered him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:27 pm
Cais stiffened when he heard the movement and could only stare blankly as Tenjou entered, shuffling around his desk. He was in a near shock before a voice in his head screamed Aren't you going to answer him?!. He was frozen, his mind ticking away.
"Yes, I'm Trinh Cais." He began, his mouth wishing attempting to seize up on his words. He's heard of me?
The young fighter rarely worked with other Nobles, let alone saw them or any of their known leaders. He could remember during the mess with the Emperor seeing a few but never had approached them. In passing he'd heard of them and seen a few groups here and there, though for the longest time had avoided them. If he knew of anyone, he knew of Tenjou.
Politics often came up at the dinner table and his father had spoken of him as a good leader and fierce fighter. Some stories had been exaggerated, of this he was certain, but if his father respected him then he had to be something. And here he was now, in his office talking to him in person.
Cais swallowed lightly, completely unable to read Tenjou's emotion. In his head he could remember the night of the outpost incident. Some Nobles he had seen had asked for his help and he had agreed, even suggesting on how to take out the target. Then it had all gone so wrong - granted he was proud it was still taken care of - nothing had gone right after the first moments working together.
"My companions..." Cais began, working it out slowly. He didn't even know their names, but knew some had perished where he had lived. The fighter clenched a hand. I shouldn't have lived. An image of Van flashed in front of his eyes and he took in a breath. There was no point in lying to Tenjou - they were on the same side after all - so he wouldn't.
"It didn't go as planned." He finally said, somewhat sheepish by his own answer. "Many of them died when they shouldn't had, regardless that we accomplished the goal we'd set out to do." He paused. "I didn't even know their names to give condolences to their families." Clearing his throat, he continued. "But we helped to weaken our enemies, as I said, that goal we did accomplish."
The words felt a little off to him, not as confident as he had always thought he would be in such a situation. "I did what I could." He finished with a glance down to his chest which underneath his clothes still remained under bandage wraps.
He watched Tenjou carefully for any sign of emotion, but got nothing from the stoic leader, so he remained silent.
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Legend of Lunaria Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 12:15 am
Tenjou inclined his head, the expression on his face neutral save for the slightest tightening behind his eyes, suggesting the beginnings of disapproval. "I see." It was just as he'd suspected - too many casualties over not enough forward progress. He had been led to believe that the boy in front of him had some potential, and that much was nearly palpable from the way the young fighter talked about what he'd done. He had guts - he had passion. He truly believed in what he was doing, which was more than could be said for many of those they were fighting against. "You have remarkable spirit, Cais."
Still, even passion had to be reined in every once in a while, and channeled into something better, something more productive.
"However, I would like to inform you that that outpost had already been marked for retirement, by the Legion. It was due to be torn down and moved this week," the man paused for a moment, searching the fighter's eyes for a reaction, "And we were supposed to track it to its new location. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible."
He didn’t need to put it into words. The implications were already obvious—in destroying the lookout point, Cais had only interfered with the Nobles’ plans, rather than helped them. Tenjou did not seem angry, though it was difficult to tell from the way he stared straight forward. At best his displeasure was evident in the way the line of his mouth seemed to deepen as he watched the fighter. What was he going to say for himself?
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:10 pm
He couldn't miss that tightening, even as miniscule as it was Cais had often seen his father have a similar way about him. Slowly the reason he was here was starting to sink into his thick skull and he remained still, looking at Tenjou with the best stoic face he could. Inside he could feel something crashing - some great sense of himself coming back down to reality.
His eyes never left Tenjou's, even as he was complimented. There seemed to be a happiness behind his eyes, though it was quickly snuffed with the next words. Sharp and cruel, they ripped through him with the truth he had not been prepared for. Silence passed between them before he could even answer, rather his eyes grew darker and he forced himself to blink.
A moment passed and he finally swallowed, opening his mouth. "Then it was truly for nothing." The words cut through him further, and though he didn't verbalize it his thoughts followed suit. Reckless, stupid... you should have died with them. There was another moment before his expression seemed to change, though with pain in his eyes the stance had come back to stiff.
"I must take responsibility for it." Cais said, keeping his ground. Everything he'd ever done was coming into question now, had he been aiding or hurting with each night? Was this the first time he'd interfered, or just one of many? He swallowed as his ego fell flat to the floor in shatters. "I misread the situation and that's my own fault."
Or didn't try to read it at all. Some Noble you are, you've only made it worse. The cruel thought followed. It was all wrong from where he'd imagined this in his head.
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Legend of Lunaria Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:35 pm
Tenjou said nothing, watching with keen interest instead as the boy in front of him reacted, opening and closing his mouth. What Cais said, the man didn't entirely disagree with, so he let his silence speak for him. It seemed enough, in any case, seeing as the boy was making a clear attempt not to show that he was beating himself up over it. That kind of self-punishment was sufficient.
The destruction of that particular outpost had been damaging to their plans, but not so much that the Noble leaders would single out one fighter and crucify him for it. There were too many like Cais to waste valuable manpower that way, and disunity among the faction was something Tenjou preferred to keep Legionside.
At the mention of responsibility, the corners of Tenjou's lips curved slightly upward in something between amusement and approval. The Trinh boy seemed to understand where he was going with this, even if he didn't know it yet. "That can be arranged," he agreed, nodding once. Until he spoke again, it was unclear whether taking responsibility meant punishment or an initiation of some sort.
"I have a letter of invitation for you," he said then, sliding one of the envelopes on his desk forward for the boy, "to join the Noble corps. You will receive formal training, and be assigned to a captain to carry out official missions. If you choose to accept, I will overlook what you have done." Tenjou's smile had disappeared again, but he no longer seemed angry, having been swept up in his grand plan. The assembly of such a corps was the beginning of something different, for them. Perhaps they were not as organized or militaristic as the Legion yet, but armed with men like Cais, he was confident they would easily make up the difference.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 11:16 pm
It was unnerving standing in his office as the silence came through again. Cais began to feel some sweat forming on his brow. What would happen to him now? He waited and watched, but the two seemed fine in the awkward weight of the quiet.
Tenjou's voice brought Cais back, though internally he had sunken into an almost-self loathing. Arranged? He couldn't help but let his mind wander for a moment. Cais believed in the Nobles cause, wanted to help in any way that he could. It must have been so awful then. Cais felt his heart begin to beat, but he was prepared at least if it came down that he needed the punishment. He'd lost his comrades and failed the Nobles, it was what he felt he deserved.
Which is why his heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he noticed the letter and stared back at him with a few blinks. "You mean to...?" Cais was confused and stared with wide eyes. "Even though what happened?" He eyed the letter and felt the pulsing happiness come back through, though he swallowed it down quickly enough.
Though not entirely certain of how Tenjou would react to being questioned, Cais took both hands, wrapping one over the other and holding them up with a small bow of the head. "It would be more than an honor." He put simply as his emotions still swirled through his body. This had been what he was waiting for, what he had always wanted.
Behind his eyes once looking back though there still remained the unspoken question of "why?".
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Legend of Lunaria Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:04 pm
"Because of what happened," Tenjou corrected, shaking his head once. The idea to assemble a corps and recruit guerilla fighters such as Cais had not been spawned because of any particular special strength any of them had individually. There wasn't much of that. No, they'd come together out of necessity. Their purpose was to bring all of the vigilantes together under one name so that they could stand against the military might that was the Legion, and not step all over each other in trying to do so. "Your work would be more valuable to us with a hand of guidance."
Tenjou and his lieutenants, and their motley crew of captains would be that guidance. The man shifted the papers (letters, it was apparent now) on his desk again, a seemingly absent motion. "I’m sure you understand, Cais. We Nobles are united under one belief—the time has come for us now to act as a single unit under that very cause."
He paused for a moment to let the words sink in, both for effect and for him to appreciate the magnitude of their plan. "Now," he continued, eyeing the fighter with a critical eye, "If there are any questions or concerns, you may voice them now. Otherwise, you will find everything you need to know in that envelope."
It wasn’t about honor, not really. There was much more to the war than that.
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 9:08 pm
Because of what happened. The words echoed in his head and Cais remained as he was, watching Tenjou with admiration. He was aware he'd messed up and yet here he was, accepting him regardless of the errors he had made. Internally he was still pissed at himself, but now there was hope shining through as he was finally getting to where he wanted with the people he wanted to be with.
Cais nodded to him. "I believe you're right." He couldn't agree more that it was the time to start to be more organized, to come together more completely than they had before. He smiled, taking a step and sliding the letter off of the desk, holding it at his side. "I don't have any questions at this time." He said, eying the letter then looking back at him.
"I will make a better name for myself and do everything I can for the Nobles." He said calmly, with a nod from his head. The conversation was clearly over and Cais moved back. "I'll take my leave now." He added, happily clutching the letter in his hand. There was little more than a nod back to him and Cais went on his way, feeling lighter than he had in a long time.
Despite his own words claiming himself to be a Noble, he always felt without a meeting like this it was never official. Now he could actually serve them as he had meant all along. Even if it had to be the result of his foolish and impulsive actions, Cais was finally going to make that good name for himself and serve the beliefs he would be willing to die for.
"Thank you." He muttered, taking the letter in both hands with a glance back to Tenjou's office before slipping into the night, more careful to mind that he wasn't followed than he ever had been before.
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