» Lᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ Wᴀʀ // [started]

[Λlpha]

Bella "Eric" Everwind

Female | 21yrs | Soldier-in-training | Weapons: Curved dagger & Bastard Sword | Mounts: Thowra (Preferred), Gauge | Tags: Open

Bella nodded her head thoughtfully as she listened to the the commander's speech. As his words entered her ears, she made a mental list as to what she needed to do. First, she would rub down, feed, and water Thowra and Gauge, then she would set up her tent. Afterward, she would maybe socialize a little, then eat. It was essential for her to lower her voice a little whilst talking to others in case they noticed her 'girly' voice. Bella turned her head in surprise as the commander singled out a man which he called 'Faulk'. After pondering over this for a moment, she came to the conclusion that 'Faulk' was not the man's name, so the commander must know him. She shuddered, wondering if she would come across anyone who may recognise her and betray her position.

Within the hour, Bella had completed caring for her beloved horse (along with his new companion) and was beginning to tackle the task of setting up her tent. So far, she had bent one tent peg so badly that it would have to be reforged and had made a small tear in the tent fabric which she had attempted (and failed) to discreetly sow up. She struggled with the metal poles that were refusing to cooperate with her as she attempted to insert the pole framing. She looked around for someone who could help her and then, seeing no one who seemed free to help, continued with her struggle. A whinny from the direction of Thowra and Gauge took her attention away from the bending metal pole for only a moment, but within those few seconds the pole had sprung up from its' position and slapped her hard in the face. Bella fell backward and landed on her backside, producing a loud thud. She rubbed the place where the pole had hit her, then huffed and got up again. Within a couple of seconds, she was wrestling with her tent again.

[Butter Dragon]

♕ Ｍａｔｔｈｉａｓ Ｒｅｅｓｅ Ｆａｕｌｋ ♕

ｔａｇｓ；；Vaxasｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ；；Vaxas' tent

Matthias' stomach tensed as he saw the fire rising in Vaxas' eyes. He'd seen that look before, and every time it boiled up it always ended in pain for whoever was on the receiving end. Panic surged through Matthias as Vaxas took hold of him. He grabbed Vaxas' hand as it reached for him and gripped his throat, his fingers digging into his commanders wrist as he struggled for breath. But breath was out of the question when his back hit the ground and his lungs released any last strand of oxygen they'd held onto. Vaxas' fist pounded into his side, every blow hurt more than the last. Matthias' instincts took over before he could stop himself, he pulled his knee up, hitting Vaxas with as much force as he could in the abdomen. He grabbed Vaxas' hands, wrapped his leg around his waste and forced him off of him.
Matthias felt sick, he didn't move, he wouldn't fight again if Vaxas came back with another blow. He'd just take it, he had to if he was going to survive here with Vaxas in charge. Though, to be fair, if Vaxas had his way Matthias had no doubt that he wouldn't survive the first week. He panted, every second felt like an hour as he waited to see how Vaxas was going to react. Sweat was pouring from his skin, his throat felt bruised, and his side hurt so much he thought it was numb. He closed his eyes, mentally bracing himself for more pain. The only thoughts he could sustain were about Mallius and he couldn't help the tears as they began to drip.

[CorvusSchnee]

As he had walked through the camp, one hand holding Raven's reins to keep her from running off as the surprisingly excitable and free-spirited mare was likely to do since her days as a filly, Bran looked over the soldiers he was to serve alongside with a calculating gaze. Many were new to this life, untrained and quite likely reckless, while others were faces he knew well after his years in the king's army. Of course, it was those familiar faces that would cast wary glances at him, or rather his bow, before looking way when he looked in their direction. Bran was used to such behavior by now and did not let it bother him, or rather he tried to convince himself it did not bother him. It was not always so easy to ignore those stares, those wary glances that spoke of distrust of a man dressed in the same black as his bow who rode a horse just as black, save for that white spot at the tip of her snout. That was why he had set his own tent a distance away from the rest, to give them a sense of security that made his presence a little more welcome.

It was this distance that allowed him to catch sight of a young man wrestling with his tent. Bran should not have found this odd, as he was likely of the newer recruits and thus probable to not understand how to do so, but it was a rather amusing sight to behold. Not one, however, that he was going to avoid correcting. The sooner the man got his tent up, the sooner he could begin focusing on the situation that lay before them all. Oh, Bran did not imagine that to be much fun, but it was necessary for one to never forget what they were fighting for. It was as his father had always said. If one did not fight for a cause, then they were merely holding a weapon in their hands and thus could not truly learn how to wield it. Fight for a reason, however, and that blade would become an extension of yourself. Every arrow fired would echo with the strength of your heart. So it was that Bran took it upon himself to approach the man. "You know, you're never going to have that tent standing tall if you continue to wrestle with it as a strongman would a bear."

[paria.]

E L I A S__T H O R N E
t h e __ s o l d i e r
{Gender} Male {Age} Twenty-three {Word count} 472 {Location} Camp {Tags} Matthias (Open for interaction)

Matthias's smile wasn't very convincing, but Elias didn't comment on it as Matthias stalked into the commander's tent. Elias continued back to his tent to cater to his stallion, Ryn, and to maybe even explore the area around camp a little once he was done. Ryn snorted and tossed his head once Elias approached him, clearly excited to be groomed. Elias chuckled as he pulled out a large brush and began brushing Ryn down. The grey dapple stallion showed his appreciation by pushing his head against Elias affectionately. Once he finished grooming Ryn, he began to stray away from camp.

Elias wanted to find a place near camp where he could go to find peace. He wanted to find a place where no one could find him while he just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. He ventured through the foresty region close to camp and hoped his safe haven would be close by. Elias leaped over a fallen log and stumbled forward through a wall of thick foliage. He emerged in a large clearing that lead to a sparkling pond. The clearing was half full of flowers of all types and colors, along with a large boulder off to the side, which was perfect for sitting. The pond was quite large and clean. There was a small wall of rocks in which a small waterfall flowed into the pond. It also looked deep enough for him to bathe in, which pleased him. Elias didn't like bathing with the other men because he preferred to give them privacy along with his own.

The soldier pulled off his armor along with his shirt and laid them on the boulder. Without his shirt covering his back, a large feathered wings tattoo was revealed. He had gotten it after his first term in the army and doesn't show it off unless training or bathing. A few feathers could be seen peeking out from his short sleeves too, but that's the only other exception. The tattoo was a joke among him and his old soldiers-in-arms, and meant that Elias was an "angel of death". His buddies also got significant tattoos on their body, but Elias's was the largest of them all.

There wasn't any sound in the clearing other than the distinct unsheathing of a sword. Elias might've been shirtless, but he kept his sheathe around his waist. He began to go through fighting motions, as if fighting imaginary foes. His sword defected and dealt blows against the foes. He dodged another and rolled forward, bringing his sword up and dealing the killing blow. He continued to fight the ghostly army with vigor. Beads of sweat began to collect upon his bare torso and face as he completed a combo of dodges and attacks. It was completely entrancing watching the large soldier train with such finesse and fierceness.

[200765]

Male Name » Charlie James Kinsey
Age » 22
Role » Scout
Relationship » Future crush on Elias
Location » Camp
Mentioned » Vaxas
Tagged » Macey, Alex

Charlotte Julianne Kinsey

With the pieces of the tent laid out in front of all of them, Charlotte looked to Macey to see if she knew how to set the tent up. When she said that she didn't know how to set up a tent either, Charlotte laughed sheepishly. "I haven't touched a tent in a while either. I'll just have to learn again from you, Alex."

She paid close attention to how the man was placing the stakes. After he nailed the first one down, Charlotte picked up a stake herself and nailed it down. It took a bit of effort before the earth gave way and the stake was pushed deep enough, but Charlotte eventually did it. She helped to set up the rest of the stakes and turned to watch Alex prop up the tent. A little puff of dirt rose form her pants as she sat down on the ground near Alex. "Yeah, I think so!" she replied. "If we do have any problems I'm sure someone near us could help us out."

As she looked at the tent, she realized that the sun had started sinking in the sky. "It's getting late," she commented quietly. Her stomach grumbled, the sound filling the air around the three. It had been a while since the small lunch she and Macey had on the way to the camp. She hoped they would be eating dinner soon. And at dinner, she would find out who would be assigned to teach her.

Loud, brassy notes suddenly sounded, making Charlotte jump a bit in surprise. People around them stopped what they were doing and started to head towards the center of the camp. It seemed that it was dinner time. Thank goodness. She got up off the ground and brushed her pants off, tilting her head in the direction everyone was heading in. "Shall we go?"

[Pandle]

tags> elias

It wasn't so much that she had stolen the horse, in truth.
It would have required a skill set beyond Kublai's to saddle and mount a steed without any sort of bedfellow to aid and abet. For anyone who asked, however, the horse was very much the property of someone else -and this, at least, was true.
If the horse had a name, it was unlikely to ever hear it again. It -or as Kublai would refer to it; Horse- had been fully tacked with the affectionate and doting hand of its original owner, who had gladly agreed to loaning him to Kublai on the condition she feed him flax not oats whenever possible, and walk him thoroughly after any long ride. He was prone to lameness, and was by all accounts a creature of pleasure. He was a ladies horse; meant for little else than gentle strolls through country parks. He was just as out of place as she.

Deciphering relief from a refreshed sense of trepidation, Kublai swallowed the nausea rising like bile in her throat, and thanked nobody in particular that it was already growing dark. The riders she had followed had long since slipped down into the hollow of the horizon, vanishing into the dense throng of activity that marked base camp. It had taken Kubali the rest of the day to follow in their wake, but she reasoned there was no hurry: death and war were plenty capable of occurring without her. Indeed, the whole affair showed every promise of continuing with or without her. But that she might slink away and avoid both the war and her father, did not strike in the mind of Kubali. This was due in part to the fact that Kublai was just too simple. Too simple, too naive, and in a twisted, confusing sort of way, too innocent. There was theft and there was rudeness, there was all the general crookedness that stems from a will to survive in the gutter. And so often was the gutter full of blood, that war seemed just another part of gutter life.

So it was that she rode into camp, slumped in the saddle with exhaustion but her face thrown proudly up. Like a rat, she would scurry about and infect fear amongst those capable of beating her. It was the way she had always been. Only this time, she was a rat in disguise. With a finger pointedly thrown out away from the tents and out toward the clearing, Kublai was directed away from the opportunity to camp - insofar as sneaking into a pre-established tent consisted of pitching up- and instead told to wait. So late in the day was it now, that trainers would soon be announced. She'd have to find a place to sleep later, in the dark. Perhaps that was not such the curse it seemed. What was obnoxious, was the need to wait. There may not have been time enough to erect a tent, but there was no hurry amongst the crowds to gather. Alone, Kublai kicked her feed free from the stirrups with a hiss of displeasure, and fell abruptly to the grass. Her feet, numb from hours in the saddle, crumpled up beneath her and, just as the night before, she ended in the dirt. As if rejoicing at the freedom from a novice rider, Horse picked his head with a snort of glee and hurried forward, only for the reigns to loop around Kublai's left foot. Unphased, Horse continued to hurry forward, dragging Kublai on her back like a hapless woodlouse. Through the clearing and into the first fold of the trees. Twigs and leaves in the mulch plastered her back, furrowing into the ring of her already filthy cotton pants. Yelping and worming, squiggling and wriggling, it was only as Horse drew to a halt that Kubali curled herself up close enough to free her bruised ankle from the reigns.

Grumpy and unamused, she nursed the purpling skin and tried woefully to stuff her toes back into her boot. Horse, who was not yet done in exacting his revenge on Kublai, backed away from the water suddenly only to clonk Kublai with his large flank.
"Horse!" She exulted angrily, only to freeze for the same reason Horse had hurried back into her. A man.
Or rather, a half-naked man with a sword.

[razzberry]

𝐌ａｃｅｙ 𝐌ａｄｄｏｘ
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
﴾ alias ━ mace maddox ) ( sex ━ female ) ( role ━ archer trainee ) ( age ━ twenty two ) ( location ━ camp ) ( tagged ━ charlotte, alex )

listening as the tall man suggested a spot to set up camp that fit with the description of what the two women in disguise were looking for, her eyebrows rose in amusement as alex began listing off the downfalls of their perfectly secluded, quiet camping site. first to be slaughtered, huh? mace couldn't help but think to herself wouldn't be as bad as having to go home because my identity was found out she shrugged her shoulders. it was true. macey would much rather be slaughtered in or out of battle than have to go home to her family, empty handed and stripped of any pride and dignity she had simply because her disguise had been unveiled. she would be going home a failure if that happened. a failure to herself and most importantly a failure to her family, even if they wouldn't see her that way. mace sat back while charlotte and their new acquaintance set up the tent, watching the pair work the poles into the tent until it was set up. "think you would be able to do this without me next time? alex's question arose to mace's attention as it was directed towards both her and charlotte. mace stared at him for a moment before a light smirk rose to her lips, blinking a couple times. "well i sure hope so. if not then i'd begin to believe we're unteachable" mace responded in her usual light and humorous tone.

shadows began to crawl across the ground and the setting sun cast an orange glow over the forest and camp. a loud snort from her right had her attention diverted to a rather hungry ebony stallion who pawed the ground, frustratedly demanding his dinner. "oh hush up basil. your foods coming, you greedy oaf" mace barked at her mount who only snorted loudly in response. she moved towards one of the bags that she had been carrying and produced a small sac of oats from it. the sandy haired female in disguise poured the oats into a small bucket and set the bucket on the ground in front of basil, who's head instantly dove for his meal. watching the percheron eat had her own stomach growling for it's meal and a hand instinctively rose to rest on her abdomen. a glance towards charlotte had macey guessing that they were in the similar situation. as if the heaven's were watching over them, the brassy notes that echoed throughout the camp signalled the beginning of dinner and mace all but jumped towards her friend to nudge her in the direction of the prospective food. "my stomach says we shall" she responded, her mind now focused solely on filling her stomach, although there was also the notion that she would be learning who her trainer was to be. but that was of little importance to her at that moment when she had food on her mind.

[passione]

( ✞ ) — ❝ ＶＡＸＡＳ ＴＡＶＲＩＮＴＨ ❞
══════════════════════════════════════════════════
║ age twenty-six ║ gender male ║ role commander ║ location tent ☛ dining hall ║ tags matthias ☛ open ║ form relations ║

Vaxas tore his hand away from Matthias' grip, standing up and looking to the ceiling of his tent. The support beams were like major arteries. They held up the skin and gave it structure. Blood was a part of life and it gave humans colour. "Weakling..." Vaxas sneered, knowing full well that he was being a hypocrite. He put his mask back on, showing Matthias that he was commander again. Hitting his old friend was painful, but not painful enough. Vaxas wished that he had split his knuckles again when his fist met Matthias' jaw in a muted crackle. He turned his head, glaring down at his soldier, his expression— stale. "...You are dismissed."

With his hands clutched together behind his back, Vaxas strode out his own tent towards the larger one where supper was held. Once he was inside, he abruptly took a seat, inspecting the backs of his hands. There was nothing to be seen other than the faded and rugged bumps, their textures, much different to that on his palms or his cheeks. Vaxas grabbed an empty plate from one of the tables, weaving his way through the lineup to get his hands on a serving as soon as possible. Anger made him hungry. So did sadness. One of the perks of being a commander was getting the chance to eat very often. No one could call him out for cutting in line— he had the highest position in the army.

Vaxas never really used his line privileges, though. Instead, he gave it to certain others, usually those at the back of the line because they hadn't done well enough in training, and as a result, were pushed up to meet standards that were impossible to meet. Today was different, though. Vaxas wanted to get his food first. He needed to satisfy his stomach... and announce the pairings later on in the evening.

[Butter Dragon]

♕ Ｍａｔｔｈｉａｓ Ｒｅｅｓｅ Ｆａｕｌｋ ♕

ｔａｇｓ；；none directly/openｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ；；dining area

Matthias was calm as he left, he turned his back on his commander without another word and kept his head down both literally and metaphorically for the rest of the day. Due to the minor fiasco with Vaxas he didn't have the time to set up his tent as well as he'd hoped. Though he was more comfortable sleeping under the stars anyways so he opted to find a spot to sleep rather than a spot to set up for that night. He was already tired from the day and short lived brawl so that, by the time dinner came around, all he could think about was food and rest. But, of course, he wasn't going to let on to anyone around him so for the sake of his reputation he acted energetic though he was a bit lacking in his performance to say the least.

After receiving his helping Matthias found a rock to sit on nearby where the others were gathered to eat but just far enough to avoid unwanted attention. He ate without hesitation, despite it hardly being a four star meal he'd had worse and sometimes been forced to have nothing so any food made him grateful and he wasn't going to complain. During the meal all he could do was watch the others, everyone seemed to have secrets, everyone had something to hide or some reason not to open up. Maybe he was just projecting though, he wasn't sure which was true but he didn't really care to be perfectly honest. He was daydreaming, imagining what their lives used to be like and who they may have been before the war, it didn't matter if his fabricated stories had an ounce of truth because it gave him something to do to pass the time and keep his mind off the one person he wasn't daydreaming about. Vaxas.

[crazy-in-wonderland]

(Age) 21(Role) Soldier(Relationship) Open(Location) Camp(Mentioned) Macey and Charlotte (Tagged) Macey and Charlotte

Alexander chuckled at Mace's comment, before hearing the dinner bell, he jumped up in eargernes. He too had been hungry for the most part and had hoped that his stomach grumbling was soft enough that only he could hear it. "Let's eat before we start a choir of hungry stomachs," he chuckled softly as he took his leave from Charlie and Mace to hurry on ahead, to the dining area.

When he arrived he quickly grabbed a plate and got his helpings before sitting down in a vacant chair. He scoffed his food eagerly, watching how everyone interacted with each other as he ate. He barely noticed the bland taste of the food he was so happy to just receive a hot meal. As he finshed he sat patiently, waiting to find out who his new recruit would be so that he found finally retire to his tent for a good nights rest.