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knife effect Vice Captain
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 Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 6:39 pm
ＰＡＳＳＩＮＧ ＷＩＮＤ
In which Ainsley's life is a fart and Circo comes into being.
ＦＥＡＴＵＲＩＮＧ：Ainsley Redwynne, Evan Gabel, Circo.
ＳＥＴＴＩＮＧ：en-route to Foxbrook; night-time.
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Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:36 pm
indenting Evan sat by the fire, his jacket hanging around his shoulders rather than formally tied and buttoned. All around him, soldiers were milling in and out of tents. Be it drinking, sleeping, or even chatting up the higher officers, everyone in his squad was trying to make the most of their short break. His squad in particular had come recently from Nyelle, which was miles away from Foxbrook, but there were other soldiers that also convened at this one particular rest stop. He had learned first hand, how grueling and monotonous of a march the Imperial Guard offered, so he was relieved to see other companions in the same boat as him. After filling up on stew he had wanted nothing more than a warm foot bath, like his grandfather would use after a long day's work. Indeed, being in Auvinus made him think of his family and a part of him contemplated visiting, if only to show how far he had come from a man that followed the whim of a fairytale. True, his grandfather had given him his blessing to leave, but Evan sometimes longed to visit. He had been thinking about it since entering Foxbrook, but moreso now that he had time to rest. Was it worth it, even after all that he had went through?
indenting Evan stared at his weather vane, knowing not to expect an answer from the putrid object. His mates had grown used to the random creaks, but its smell was often the object of complaint. No one could pinpoint the cause, but no one wanted to touch the vane either, leading to Evan usually marching in the back. If only you could fix yourself huh? Evan thought with a chuckle. He spun the object in his hands, watching the arms of the weather vane move the opposite direction.
indenting It had a habit of doing that.
indenting "Are ye going to play with that thing all day?"
indenting Evan put down his plagued object and turned to the voice, realizing that it was Ralph, one of his marching buddies.
indenting "No, I just got reminded of something," Evan replied.
indenting "Well they're going ta' run ou' of food if you don't hurry."
indenting Right...food. Evan wasn't one to get hungry all that much in spite of how much physical exertion he under went on a daily basis. His grandfather had taught him how to live on the bare minimum so the bread and soup from lunch was still sitting in his stomach rather heavily.
indenting "Evan come on," Ralph urged, pulling Evan toward the food line.
indenting "I'm coming!" Evan exclaimed, heading into the food line.
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knife effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:45 pm
Ainsley Redwynne grimaced by the food line, stomach growling. She hadn't eaten since the company had announced plans for their Foxbrook excursion, but even so, she kept her complaints to herself and focused only on enjoying her would-be dinner. Part of her still hated being away from Helios; as much as she enjoyed her career as a guardsman, she missed eating in the comforts of her own home, and being able to select what she wanted for meals. Her father's confidence in her was morale-boosting, but having a full stomach was also encouring in many ways, and at the moment, Ainsley preferred the latter. Nowadays, eating anything edible was enough to please Ainsley, and the promise of a decent meal filled her nostrils as the line moved forwards. The other calvalry men stood in front of her, obscuring her view, as most of them were taller than her in height anyway. Behind her, infantrymen had neatly assembled themselves, their own bowls cupped between their hands. It made her feel better knowing that there were many soldiers behind her in line at all; she enjoyed being able to get her meal first like she enjoyed being first among other things.
When it was finally her turn, Ainsley held her bowl out towards Fredricka, a dirty-haired, sleepy-looking artillerywoman who was three years Ainsley's senior. While everyone agreed that Fredricka's aim was exemplary, her cooking skills were only more so. She could make even the plainest foods taste like magic, and she knew a plethora of recipes. Truthfully, the company was privileged to even have Fredricka in their listings (not that anyone would tell her so). Most assumed that she was difficult to approach, and her aloof mien made this hard to prove otherwise. Without lifting her earth-brown eyes, Fredricka wordlessly reached into the soup cauldron and dumped a large spoonful of carrot soup into Ainsley's gritty bowl; she sprinkled in a few chunks of potatoes for good measure. Ainsley nodded politely, cheeks tinting like they always did whenever she got anything from Fredricka at all, be it food or bandages.
"Th-thank you," Ainsley stammered, to which Fredricka responded with a small, fatigued smile.
"I overheard you telling your comrades that you'd much enjoy having vegetable soup the next time we made camp, so I took note of it," the artillerywoman remarked. "Though I'm sorry to say that it may not be much, I hope that the flavor's to your liking."
AInsley burned a deeper shade of crimson and felt childish in that instant; she repressed the urge to cry. It was small acts of kindness like these made her feel less homesick; it was difficult enough putting on a tough front in the presence of other guardsmen, especially with the events that had taken place weeks prior. She was glad that Fredericka was kind to her, whether she truly liked her or not.
"I'm f-flattered, Fredricka," Ainsley said, bewildered. Her bowl, though contents light, suddenly felt as if it held the Emperor's treasury.Truly, it was a priceless dish, because someone had thought of her. Preoccupied, Ainsley stared deeply into her bowl, unaware of the happenings around her, including the people moving forwards from behind.
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 1:58 pm
Evan ran toward the food line, bumping into a few disgruntled men along the way as he attempted to keep up with his ravenous friend.
"Hey!"
"Watch it!"
Evan gave a few looks of apology as he settled into his place at the back of the line. The aroma of the carrot soup had wafted toward him, making him rethink his previous state of satiation. The cook had a way with food that rivaled his grandmother's. He felt sort of guilty, not knowing her name but at the same time he had enough trouble learning those of his marching mates. There was Stone (of course), Ralph, James, and...James and Ralph. Okay, so he didn't really know anyone else, but he was fairly chummy with those three. Aside from Stone who had been sleeping off his tired arms, Evan had been talking with some of the older men of the squad and hearing about their life's tales. Ralph was an old bachelor that, rather than settling down, wanted to live serving Panyma. To Evan it was admirable, but James was ambivalent through and through.
"Panyma, is this line ever going to end?" Ralph asked, tip-toeing to look over Evan's shoulder.
They were near the front, but there was a woman at the front conversing with the cook and holding up the line. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the line was spilling out from behind her, looking for others to fill their bowls.
"Do you know who that is?" Evan asked, turning to James, who shrugged in response.
"Are ye' interested in the gal?"
"What?" Evan asked, "no, I've just never seen her around is all."
"Don't be so ashamed boy, I bet she's the one you've been writin' about in your little book eh?"
Evan blushed and shook his head. True, he had been writing but not about the blonde girl. Despite Linda's scathing words, he couldn't completely let go of fiction-writing. The only difference now were that the characters were his friends and not his siblings and the demons he faced weren't so fantastical.
"I am serious Ralph, I just want to know who she is," Evan protested.
"If ye want t' know so bad tell her to stop holding up the line!" Ralph exclaimed pushing Evan forward.
"Augh!"
Not expecting the sudden push, Evan stumbled forward, falling into the poor woman and her lovely dinner.
"Ralph you're kind of a d**k" James said, walking around the mess and holding his bowl out for soup
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knife effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:44 pm
Ainsley's smile morphed into a cry of alarm as she felt the wind being knocked out of her.
She lost balance before tumbling to the ground, sandwiched between the dirt floor and another body pressed over her own. She could care less that someone else was shifting their weight on top of her; what incensed her was the fact that Fredericka's sentimental meal was no more, and that Ainsley, following the spoken rule, was not allowed to request another filling. The dinner that she'd been pining for for weeks was gone, and whoever had forced this misfortune upon her would pay in blood--if Ainsley could deal it, that was.
Gritting her teeth, she rolled on her back, then kicked upwards with both legs bent. The body that had been pinning her down was thrown off her instantly, (painfully too, she hoped).
She loomed over her malefactor, hunger feeding her discontent.
It made her all the more furious when she saw that he wasn't even that hot as handsome as she'd have preferred him to be. A tanned, dark-haired infantryman that she'd never taken notice of before until now, that is, laid pathetically at her feet.
"What in Rhine's s**t is your issue, a*****e?!" Ainsley exclaimed, eyes wild and furious. She blew her bangs out of her face to emphasize her fury--her completely justifiable fury. After bowl, now deprived of its contents, was covered in dirt and soil. Anything the infantryman had to say for himself would be futile in convincing her that he wasn't an idiot.
She put her hands on her hips and waited impatiently.
Behind her, Fredricka continued to pour soup for those who had scooted forwards in line; most soldiers were adverting their eyes from the scene, but Ainsley knew that they were still listening, and that she'd hear more of it later.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:03 pm
The momentum that carried Evan forward was returned ten-fold when he was promptly kicked off and (in his mind) to the next world. His head was still reeling from the fall and the woman's yelling only made it worse.
"'m sorry!" Evan exclaimed, instinctively flinching away from the angry blonde.
Despite their difference in height, her ferocity intimidated him and the fact that she hadn't heard the earlier conversation only made his situation worse. He found himself unable to make eye contact for too long given the amount of anger that blazed through her. The strength in her voice (as well as her legs) was enough to prove that she was not a woman to be trifled with, much less by someone as inexperienced as Evan. He was sure that the others around him were listening, with perhaps, the exception of Ralph who had long left the situation (after causing it no less).
"I just...fell," Evan stammered, "I swear I didn't mean an'thing by it."
He picked up both his and her own bowl, meeting her eyes (hard as it was) with an apologetic look. He was never good at handling people who were angry at him since the people in question were usually his grandfather and his brother. In both cases, the situation would end with Evan either punished or storming off until he cooled down; however, he was pretty sure that this girl would not let him get away that easily.
"Take my portion," he offered, holding out his empty, clean bowl, "I was the one who knocked it over so..."
He wasn't sure if his words had gotten through to her but he retained a pleading look.
"Please, just take it."
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knife effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 5:13 pm
Ainsley noticed that the boy was at least two heads taller than her when he stood at full-height. She wasn't sorry when he flinched, and she hoped that he was sorry when he apologized to her. To her dismay, he wouldn't look her in the eye, and he couldn't (or wouldn't) speak straight either. His pathetic demeanor was disappointing to Ainsley; she'd much rather him have put up a fight. Yet, there was honesty in his voice, though timid as it came. The fact that he even had the gall to offer her his own bowl satisfied her enough to make her stop yelling, though it wasn't enough to make her stop glaring.
Blushing furiously, Ainsley hastily snatched the bowl out of the boy's hands. At this, those around the campfire had stopped mid-chew, and were now unabashedly staring at the Redwynne girl and her malefactor, Fredricka included. Blinking, Ainsley wondered what she'd done to earn their attention. They weren't staring before, listening maybe. Something was wrong, and it wasn't the boy's stupidity this time.
"What is this, Redwynne?" came squad leader Mercier's voice, petrifying her instantly. Mercier was standing a foot away from Ainsley and the boy; he'd returned from scouting the area for predators, and the scene he returned to was not one that pleased him. Ainsley could feel herself physically shrink in his presence; despite that Mercier was her father's junior, he still invoked the same type of fear in her as the latter.
"I've heard a lot about you," Mercier continued, eyes narrowing. He took a step towards the cavalrywoman. "Bearslayer who cannot kill man, coward, and now, thief."
Ainsley gulped. "But sir--" she tried.
Mercier blatantly ignored her, and cast his eyes on the boy opposite of her. "And you, Gabel, also a coward. Can't even stand up to a midget."
He said 'midget' as if it were an unholy thing, as if Ainsley was an unholy thing, though she could hardly blame him just from how many times she's already disappointed him from months before. He plucked the bowl from Ainsley's hands, and downed the soup before Ainsley could say "sir please". Wiping his mouth, he gave his two guardsmen a long, tired gaze before announcing, "The two of you will assume night patrol. That is all, dismissed."
With a sheepish nod, Ainsley wordlessly walked into the forest on an empty stomach and deprived spirit, and the guardsmen around her returned to their dinner, while Mercier watched the two retreating figures intently from behind.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:12 pm
Evan sighed lightly when the blonde accepted his apology soup, glad that she had at least calmed down. He realized early on, that he couldn't keep yelling off (especially not to your fellow soldiers and especially not when you were the cause of their anger). Rather than relaxing however, he felt himself tense up at the sound of a familiar man's voice.
"What is this Redwynne?"
Mercier, of course.
Evan turned over to the older man and suddenly wished that he had refused his friends' coaxing to eat dinner. Though he was not a tyrant, Mercier held authority unparalleled to anyone else Evan knew (making his sense of dread also unparalleled to anyone he knew). He was newly enlisted into this unit so he didn't want to cause anymore conflict over unnecessary things, especially not in front of the corporal. He immediately stiffened his posture, trying hard to keep his arm from automatically saluting. His superior was already giving them a look, the sort of look that signaled punishment.
"And you, Gabel, also a coward. Can't even stand up to a midget."
"B-but sir it was my fault, she-" Evan stuttered out, his eyes widening in surprise when the corporal snatched the bowl from Redwyne's hands and downed it.
"But that was hers..." he whispered, staring at the empty bowl.
He only half-heard the order to take on night patrol, feeling what was left of his dignity leave his body. Not only had his efforts to assuage Redwyne been rendered null, but the corporal had essentially humiliated the two of them in front of all their fellow soldiers. Granted, they soon went back to their own devices but still had their ear to the conversation. The outcome was obvious, the both of them being sent on night watch duty without supper rather than having the two other people assigned to do it, but he still felt a tad saddened by it.
Turning away from the rest of the crowd, he went back to his spot around the fire pit and grabbed both his jacket and the weather vane. If nothing else, the vane might keep him company for the night.
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knife effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:57 am
"Now look what you did," Ainsley huffed as she followed her malefactor towards the night patrol post. Trudging faster than her usual stride, she made sure that she arrived at the post before he did. The bearslayer tried with full effort to glare him down, but she found it increasingly harder to do so because he...looked...so...sorry about what he'd done. Few people besides Dorian and her father showed her little remorse when they offended her, and this number only decreased within the guard.
Still, Ainsley was hardly in the mood to be generous with her forgiveness, and instead, quietly reveled in the fact that she made someone else miserable. Yes, be sad, she thought flatly, but...it was immature to hold grudges, and so she relented after a long hour of absolute silence.
She crouched down by the post and breathed puffs of air into her palms to keep them warm. When she finally turned to him, it wasn't his expression that drew her attention, but the item he had clutched in his possession.
It was too dark to see what it was, but it was hardly matte, and its outline was strange in the moonlight.
"What's that?" she finally broke out, shivering.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:16 pm
At that point Evan decided not to comment on Ainsley's barbs, choosing to trail behind the blonde woman as she picked up her pace to outrun (walk?) him to the post. Through the short walk he made to catch up with her she stared him down with all the anger she could muster, but his only response was more regret and eyes that rivaled a kicked puppy. He understood that no matter what happened that it would be up to the two of them to shoulder the responsibility of causing the ruckus and that the best thing he could do was bear his punishment. That was always the case when he and his siblings got in trouble for something, even if Evan was usually the ringleader.
He allowed himself an hour of stillness and simply not thinking as he gazed at the pale, half-revealed moon that was in the sky. It calmed him and he presumed that the quiet had done the same for his partner in watch. She finally turned to him, not for a quick barb, but to ask about the weather vane that he was holding. Its smoke wasn't as obvious beneath the moonlight than the sun but still visible and most certainly odorous.
"Oh this? 's a weather vane!" Evan answered as he gestured toward it, "when the wind comes by it swings around and you can read the patterns. We used to use it all of the time to predict the weather, but it doesn't work so well now."
He let out a sheepish smile before noticing her shiver. "Are you cold...Redwynne?"
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knife effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:22 am
"I guess I'm cold," Ainsley decided, though his question hardly distracted her from what she truly wanted to ask.
"That's all fine" she cut in impatiently, "But why does your weather vane smell like Rhine's s**t?" Ainsley demanded, not that she'd know what Rhine's excrement actually reeked like. She glared at the putrid contraption as if it was something inherently offensive. The Redwynnes had never owned a weather vane themselves before, but even the redwood bearslayer knew that weather vanes most likely smelled much better. It was already unusual that a mobile guardsman would bring a large, unconventional item with him--but it was stranger that he had nothing but a simple explanation of the object to offer, and nothing more.
"Or is it your s**t?" she raised a brow, suddenly in a teasing mood again, now that she'd managed to drag someone into watch duty hell with her. "You seem to be the type to s**t on weather vanes. Surely there's some secret to this item."
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:27 pm
Evan shivered slightly, debating whether or not to put on the coat. The wind, for some reason, had started to pick up that night, but quickly forgot about it when Ainsley cut in.
"You know, it's a good question," he replied,
"'s been that way ever since it broke."
He hadn't really put much thought into it...at least until she started teasing him.
"What? No!" Evan huffed, feeling his cheeks flush a bit, "it's the black smoke. Look for yourself."
He held the weather vane up against the moonlight, showing off the few wisps of black smoke that emanated from its limbs. Both the scent and the smoke were more subdued during the night than the day but the pestilence was still quite visible amongst the nonplagued objects around them.
"Besides," Evan said as the vane started spinning idly, "even if it was s**t I wouldn't tell you whose it was."
From the big gathering in December he had found (vaguely) about the plagues and the fact he had a putesco on his hands, but also that letting people know about that could be dangerous.
Then again...
Redwynne didn't seem like the type of person to get him into trouble in life-threatening danger, well nothing to the degree of that incident anyway so it couldn't hurt too much.
"Well, there is something special to the vane though."
The vane started spinning faster.
"The truth is that-"
"-wait, what's going on?" Evan asked, dropping the vane.
The spinning suddenly became violent as the metal started to creak and groan with the sounds of rusted metal grinding against itself. A steady gale was created as the weather vane gathered more and more momentum from its spin, creating a tornado of dirt, leaves, dust...and then nothing. What felt like hours suddenly stopped as the wind stilled and the dust fell to the ground.
"Redwynne?" Evan managed to cough out as he rubbed the dust from his hair and eyes. What...happened? More importantly where was it?
"Where's the weather vane?"
Evan's mind went from groggy to panicked the second he realized that the floor was empty. Oh Panyma his brother was going to kill him. Lander was going to get mad because Evan forgot and he was going to-
"Never fear! I can lead the way!"
Evan turned over to the floor and then to Ainsley, wondering if he had heard correctly.
"Excuse me?"
There was a sudden movement from the ground as something (someone?) emerged from the ground, brushing themselves off with two hands and pointing with the others.
"Never fear! I can lead the way!"
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knife effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:08 am
Ainsley considered scoffing at Evan's retort, but became distracted when the boy held his vane up to the moonlight. Upon illuminated speculation, she saw that Evan was telling the truth. The guardswoman's lips parted into an open-mouthed half-frown, and she wondered why the thought hadn't occurred to her sooner. The weathervane's arms were seeping wispy, black smoke, and if Ainsley was as stupid as her superiors often piqued her to be, she wouldn't have seen the item for what it had become. Yet, she was too fatigued to comprehensibly convey her wariness to Evan, nor did she know much about Putesco other than their identifiers.
"Gabel--" she began, though he'd already beaten her to a confession, as he began attempting to expose to her the same truth that she'd discovered, only to be interrupted by something much more sudden and arcane. Evan's vane began swiveling at a intensive rate, and in a fit of flurry and dread, Ainsley cowered backwards, covering her face with the backs of her arms. Wind beat her from every direction, and while the gale was barely enough to cause her damage, leaves and gravel found their way under her garments and comfort. When she could hear the gust no more, she lowered her arms as if it was the most natural thing to do, and stood amidst a confused Evan, and something that was indefinitely not a weather vane, at least, not anymore.
"Plague," she breathed, more as a confirmation to herself than an answer to Evan's question. Her gaze was upon it the moment it spoke, and while it looked different than her father's stunteds, she knew precisely where it came from, though from its myriad of pointing fingers, she could only guess where the plague intended to even go. While she was bemused that it had already begun offering directional guidance, she wondered if it had any that it needed of its own.
"Burstin' chamber pots! Your vane has become a Plague, Gabel," she managed, turning incredulously to him. Then, turning to the newborn Plague, she said with a lopsided smile, "And who may you be, smallish one? I go by Ainsley Redwynne, but do call me Ainsley."
While most were easily fazed by plagues, Ainsley Redwynne was anything but unfamiliar with them. This one was colorful, and this one seemed eager. She decided instantly that she rather liked it.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 6:58 pm
Yes, Evan had heard the tiny man but he couldn't parse what he was hearing. Lander's weather vane had turned into...this...thing. He was a four-armed male who was dressed more like a high class poet than a weather vane, well not that he would know what weather vanes would wear if they could wear clothes. Certainly the red feather on his hat resembled the flag on the vane and his skin was similar to that of the vane's metal, but could weather vane's even turn into creatures like this? From the meeting in Helios many months ago he had seen tons of plagued objects, but none of them resembled this person...Circo was it? Evan scratched his head for a second before shaking his head. This was too much for his small mind!
He turned over at Ainsley's voice to see if she had any answers and it seemed that she did because she was acting more calmly than he was.
"You know about plagues Redwynne?" he asked, knitting his brow.
As if to answer his question she had turned to Circo and smiled to introduce herself.
"An honor to meet you Ainsley," he replied, taking off his hat with one hand and then quickly turning to point at Evan, "But you! We have work to do!"
"Work? Circo I don't think you understand what is going on," Evan said.
"But I do! You need help finding something do you not?" Circo asked.
Come to think of it, Circo was right in one aspect. Evan was looking for someone but his purpose for doing so was nearly defeated since weather vane had all, but disappeared. How would Lander turn this tiny guy back to a weather vane now?
"I am, but things have changed. You aren't you anymore. Now you have become not a weather vane."
Circo gave him a strange look, although it was hard to tell since Circo only had a mouth. "Don't be silly..what was it?"
"Evan."
"Evan, it is not the form that makes the hero but the spirit!"
Evan sighed. Circo was not wrong and even Ainsley had taken a liking to him, but Linda's verbal shredding of his hero complex left him wary of filling his head with heroic fantasies. Would it be good for him or would it lead him down the same path?
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