[ We once more find Our Heroes outside the Captain's tent. They're waiting to be shown to their tents, where they will meet their messmates, who hopefully won't be evil or something. ] [ Session start! ] [ Oh, and it's late evening on the day after the last session. So. ] * Ada stretches her arms behind her back, looking around. * Sei yawns slightly. * Nebrinel is standing there, flexing her fingers in her new black leather bracers. Although she's almost a foot taller than she was before. As if she had aged 10 human years. (Helloooo nurse!) * Ada notices Nebrinel and blinks. Then blinks again. (C'mon, Sei, hit on her! She's prettier now.) * Nebrinel is just a random person, then! A random person. Who looks like an adult elf. * Fyril stands off to the side of Nebrinel, looking off into the distance. He looks stressed, and somewhat tired. * Nebrinel looks down at everyone and grins slightly. She's 7'1", with her standard blonde hair and hazel eyes. She's filled out, becoming somewhat stunningly beautiful, for the elves in the crowd. She's wearing something that looks like her old outfit, if her old outfit had something like a binding ring below her chest and ribbons going over her shoulders. And the aforementioned elbow-length gauntlets. * Ethan looks at the group, notices Nebby missing, starts to ask Fyril, then blinks at the random person. After a few moments, he shuffles over and pokes her in the ribs a few times. "That you, Nebrinel?" ( As fate would have it, the disparity in the heights of Ethan and Nebrinel now puts her breasts right about at his eye-level. ) (*nearly dies*) ( Thankfully, Ethan has Level 6 Obliviousness! ) * Nebrinel looks down at Ethan, and frowns. "If it weren't, I doubt you'd be alive right now. I'll settle for--" she smacks him over the head. Her voice has dropped a half-octave, too. * Sei spends a moment blinking, and then smiles back at Nebrinel. "...oh, my. What happened, may I ask?" (And no, this wasn't a love tap.) ... ow! Yup, that's our Nebrinel. I'd recognize that frown of barely contained homicidal rage anywhere! *rubs head; grins* * Ada blinks one more time, then recognition crosses her face. "I see you got your curse lifted." ... you were cursed to be short? * Nebrinel starts smiling again. "Exactly. Thanks to Xivilai's... stunning resources." She flexes her hands again, and eyes Ethan. "Cursed to be a teenager." ... a-HA! So that gag where I fainted and you guys said I turned into a shorter version of myself... that's what it was based on! HAHA! My powers of deduction prevail again! *powerposes* * Sei grins charmingly. "Congratulations!" ... ... or I could be completely and utterly wrong. One of the two. ( Clearly, Ethan had a heaping bowlful of Duh for breakfast. ) (He DID get hit over the head hard.) * Ada contemplates strangling Ethan. Instead, she smacks him upside the head. Ow. *rubs head* * Nebrinel says dryly, "Two for one day. You must be out of luck." Eh, people have always said that my head's my least vulnerable spot. * Ethan smirks. * Sei looks to be contemplating which side of his sword to hit Ethan with. * Ethan takes a step back and eyes Nebrinel, stroking his goatee. "Congrats on getting the curse lifted... question, though. How long is it gonna take you to get aquainted to the new height and body proportions to the point where you can fight like you did before?" [ A lady - as tall as NeoNebby, but not as hawt and with cripser movements - approaches you all. She's dressed in black and grey, and wears a sword at either hip that is as long as her leg, and is therefore somewhat short by elven standards. She wears the sash and cap of your unit, although she somehow manages to make it look good. ] ( "Y'know the difference between you and me? I make this look GOOOOOOOOOD." ) (*facefault*) * Nebrinel grins faintly. "Not long at all." She looks over at the new lady. [ "Good evening," she says, despite the face that it's actually a rotten evening with clouds threatening rain. "I am Corporal Bedan. You are the new... recruits?" ] * Ada looks up at the new lady. She looks up at everybody around here. * Sei smiles pleasantly. "Yes, ma'am." * Fyril pulls himself together a bit, and looks over at the new person. He nods at her. * Ethan nods. "Reporting, Corporal." ( God, I hope I'm getting the ranks right. ) * Nebrinel nods at her as well. [ The Corporal notices Sei's pleasant smile and doesn't seem to mind at all. "In that case, I am to take you to your tents. This way, please." ] * Ada nods and follows. * Sei follows. * Nebrinel will follow too. * Ethan follows, working his way next to Ada. *whisper* "I either need another growth spurt or stilts..." * Fyril follows along behind the others, looking around as he goes to see if there's anything interesting around. * Ada smiles faintly and whispers back, "Most elves are that tall." [ There is, in fact, very little of interest around. The only things most of the soldiers seem to have of any value at all is their weapons - almost all swords, in this camp. One or two may have books they're reading, but mostly they're sitting around the campfires and talking. ] * Ethan hmms. *still whispering* "More to guard, more to hit o/" * Ada snerks. *whisper* ... more to trip, too. Heh heh heh... *strokes goatee* [ Eventually you all get near the edge of the company's camp area, and you see a trio of tents with only four people around the campfire - this means it has room for more. They look up as you approach, and one calls "Ey, Corporal. These the newbies?" ] * Nebrinel smirks. * Ethan grins, twirling his glaive. * Fyril isn't really paying attention. He's still looking around at stuff, whether it's interesting or promising or not. * Ada's eyes twinkle with mild amusement, but she doesn't react otherwise. [ There are, as mentioned, four people near the fire. Two are women - one slightly short, the other a bit tall and lanky. Of the two men, one is about average height, and you could make out his sneer from one hundered yards off. The other is huge, but seems easygoing enough. ] ( What? No tough-but-loveable sergeant? Where's Tom Sizemore when you need him! ) * Nebrinel looks at the people. People! * Sei is being quiet. * Fyril blinks, and focuses on them. He looks each of them over quickly in turn. [ "Yes, they are," says Bedan. "And of course, you get to catch them up on how things work here." She smirks as she says this. The soldier-types all salute each other, and Bedan walks off. ] * Ada watches her walk off, then turns to regard the elves. * Ethan munches on an apple as he regards the elves. * Fyril straightens a bit, draws himself together, and smiles cutely. "Hi!" [ The remaining soldiers look at each other for a while - except for the sneering one, who continues glaring into the fire as if willing it to die or something. Finally, the shorter of the women speaks up, saying. "Well, welcome to the company. I'm Virt. This is Aelbur," she indicated the big guy, who's prolly close to nine feet tall when he stands, "Napper," she indicates Mr. Sunshine, "And Rashca." She indicates the taller woman. ] [ Rasha and Aelbur wave cheerfully. Napper momentarily increases the intensity of his glare, which might be a greeting of some sort. ] * Ethan waves back. "Ethan Swordbreaker." * Sei waves. "I'm Sei. Pleased to meet you all." [ Rascha raises an eyebrow at Sei. "Likewise." ] * Nebrinel smiles faintly at Fyril's action, and says, "Nebrinel Amydien." (And with that, we cue the pimpmusic.) ( Yup. ) ( o/" Dun dun dun! You got it together baby... o/" ) * Ada studies Napper for a moment, then nods. "Ada." * Fyril blinks and points to his face. "I'm Fyril." [ The other soldiers toss some pleasantries your way, and then Virt says "Well, you may as well have a seat." You notice then that the four people around the fireplace all have collapsible stools they're sitting on. ] [ Rashca smirks. "Don't worry. The ground here's dry, and if you ask nice enough Aelbur here might be able to rig you some stools." Aelbur nods his head slowly. ] * Ethan shrugs, and goes down to one knee, resting his glaive on his shoulder and munching on a drumstick. * Sei sits on the ground, being used to working in uncomfortable positions. "Ah, thanks! I'd appreciate it." [ The soldiers all blink at the drumstick, except Napper, who glares at it like he wishes it'd explode. "Where'd you get that?" Asks Aelbur. ] * Ada mentally shrugs, then has a seat herself. * Ethan idly holds out two more in his free hand, then speaks once he's chewed/swallowed. "Secret magic from the human lands." * Nebrinel crouches, and smirks at Ethan's comment. * Ada manages to bite back her laugh. [ "....Riiiight," says Virt. Rascha and Aelbur each accept one leg, and they munch happily. ] * Ethan finishes his, tosses the reminants... somewhere, and produces two more, offering them to the two guys. * Fyril sits down on the ground somewhere near Nebrinel, and looks around at all the people curiously again. [ Virt politely declines; Napper glares unholy death at the drumsticks. And Ethan, for that matter. So instead, Aelbur takes them both, having finished his first already. ] * Ethan shrugs, and downs a donut. * Nebrinel shakes her head, and says, "It's not much of a secret, considering how much he eats." [ Virt chuckles. "Well, it looks like you've already ingratiated yourself, Ethan. Well, not counting Napper, but don't take it personally. He's always like that. And he fulfills a crucial need, too; Every company needs someone who's so unpleasant that we actually look forward to battle." Napper glares slow painful torture at Virt. ] Really. Does he ever say anything? * Ethan chuckles. "Ah, just like home. But taller." [ "Sometimes," says Rascha. Napper grunts. ] * Nebrinel says offhandely, "Well, I'm sure he and Sei will get along fine." [ "Anyway," says Virt. "We need to catch you up on the basics. We sleep three to a tent. One of the tents is empty, although we've pitched it for you just this once. Do you know how to strike a tent?" ] * Ethan nods. * Sei grins. Ah, yes. * Ada shakes her head. * Fyril tugs his satchel around, and pulls at the strings. He looks up and shakes his head. * Nebrinel says, "I can, yes." [ Virt nods. "Alright. You two can watch the first time, then. It's pretty easy, so you should get it right away after that." ] [ She hms. "I assume you've already been briefed on meals and all that?" ] * Fyril nods unhappily. "Rations. I asked if they would let me make something better, but they said no. Just rations. Unless I make something better out of those." * Ethan whistles. o/~ * Ada eyes Ethan. (...Iron Chef Ethan.) (My soul is screaming out in pain.) [ The three soldiers who aren't Napper nod lamentatively. "Yeah, that's true. Although Aelbur keeps some spices and stuff for making Soldier's Stew." ] ( Well, then tell it to be quiet for a bit. ) * Ethan takes a small knife out of his pack and uses it to hold a piece of beef over the fire. [ The soldiers stare. "...although it doesn't look like that'll be a problem." ] * Sei grins. * Nebrinel shakes her head. * Fyril rolls his eyes at Ethan, looks over to Aelbur, and smiles brightly. "Mind if I give the cooking a try some time?" [ Virt frowns. "Well, I can't think of anything else you need to know just yet. But if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask. We're used to new recruits." Napper abruptly snorts. ] A well fed soldier is a soldier who's not gonna get poked with sharp pieces of metal repeatedly. *downs the beef* [ Aelbur shrugs. "Sure, why not." ] [ Virt grins suddenly. "We're moving out tomorrow. I just know it." Rascha smirks. "Really. Heard any rumors?" Virt shakes her head. "No, it's just that we've already been here a week, and Xivilai Shardae hates keeping her army in bivouac any longer than that." ] [ Napper snorts. "Don't matter." ] * Fyril nods, and pulls open his satchel. He digs around for a moment, and pulls out Jordan. Sooner we move out, sooner we get down to business. Sooner we get down to business, sooner we finish, and get to stop sleeping in tents. * Ada nods at that, then looks at Fyril and grins. * Nebrinel says, "Sounds practical to me." She also looks over at Fyril. * Fyril blinks over at Ada, and nudges Jordan to look that way. Jordan says, "You missed me?" * Sei grins, and watches out of the corner of his eye to see how the soldiers are reacting. [ The soldiers stare at the dummy, dumbfounded. 'Scept Napper, who glares instead. ] * Ada shrugs and decides to play along. "Sure did. How've you been, Jordan?" Jordan shrugs back. "Not too bad. Be better if he let me out of the bag more often." I'm sure it would. That bag has to get terribly stuffy. * Fyril looks down at the dummy with a frown. "I take you out every night! And sometimes during the day." * Ethan stage-whispers to the four elves. "Don't let the doll and the innocent looks fool you. Just an act. He's stone-cold when it comes to the job. Saw him kill a man with a spoon once... damndest thing I ever saw." [ Virt continues staring in dumbfoundedity, Rascha begins giggling, and Aelbur cracks up. ] Jordan looks up at Fyril. "She's right, you know. It's dark, and the air's bad. Is that how you treat your friends?" Fyril blushes cutely. * Nebrinel smiles faintly as she lays down her pack, and starts withdrawing pieces of wood, string, and some small tools. "He's something else, to be sure." ( Says Nebby the cradle robber! ) (Shush!) * Ada snickers. Jordan looks across to the new people. "You take me out to meet the new people? They look nice." * Ethan facepalms. [ Napper glares at the dummy even harder. He must be the nicest. ] [ Aelbur grins. "Sure we do." ] ( Hey, Fyril's being silly and Ethan's facepalming... The world is upside down! ) * Nebrinel eyes her pieces of wood, and picks up a small knife, starting to shave small pieces off the wood. * Fyril looks over at Napper, blanches a bit, and turns to look over at Ethan. Jordan says, "You definitely look more interesting than he is. You have no idea how boring it is to hear all about the wonders of parsley." (All I need are the tools and an audience. =P) * Ethan raises an eyebrow. "A wise man once said 'Never criticize a man who has his hand in your pants.' " *grin* [ Aelbur cracks up at that. Virt and Rascha roll their eyes. ] You can spare the details on the context for that one, Ethan. *shave shave* Jordan turns to Ethan, raises his eyebrows, then looks up at Fyril. "Sorry, boss. Didn't mean anything by it. You know I love cooking." * Ethan chuckles at Nebby. "Old story about a snarky soldier, an irritable medic, and great great pain." * Ada eyes Ethan, then shakes her head. * Fyril waves with his off hand at Jordan, and smiles cutely. * Nebrinel shaves a bit more off one of the pieces of wood, and picks up the other, before getting to work on it with a slight frown. * Sei has pulled a book out of his bag, and is concentrating on it. * Ethan hrms. "I hope they don't do drills 'round here. Hate drills. Too much saluting." *muttermutter* * Nebrinel smirks and says, "I'll have to agree with you there." Shave shave. ( Oh no! Nebby's rapid age growth has resulted in unwanted body hair growth! ) (Eew.) ( ... ) * Fyril looks across the fire to Virt, and holds up Jordan a bit. "You want to give it a try?" (The wood, you mook.) ( ::kills Jesse to death:: ) ( ^_^_V ) (Well, if you count the 7 foot long hair she had... =P) (Hah!) [ Virt shakes her head. "Uhm, no, thanks." ] Jordan reaches out a hand towards Virt. "It's not so hard. And I don't bite." [ Virt waves the puppet off. "No, no thanks. Sorry. And it's nothing personnal, er, Jordan." ] [ Aelbur stands up, then, and yeah, he's frickin' huge. "I'm gonna go get started on those stools. I should have 'em ready in the morning." He lumbers off towards one of the tents. ] Thanks... *turns to the remaining elves* Hey, one question. How are the officers around here in terms of having sticks up their asses about protocol and procedure? * Fyril looks slightly hurt, but then takes Jordan back onto his lap, and looks down at him with a smile. [ Virt and Rascha both chuckle. "Generally," says Virt, "It depends on rank. The higher up, the bigger the stick. Our Captain's the exception, although she can be grim when she needs to be." Rascha nods emphatically. ] * Ada hmmms at that, listening. The healers seem to be very informal, as usual... * Ethan winces. "Just like back home... guess some things are universal. Officers do the talking, soldiers do the walking." [ Rascha chuckles. "The healers are, yes. Although they usually become rather... unpleasant by the end of a campaign. Almost as bad as Napper here." Napper glares at her. ] * Sei smiles slightly. "That's part of why I'm so quiet." * Nebrinel smiles faintly herself, and puts the staves together at one of the ends, then binds them together a little. "Who can blame them?" [ Virt shrugs. "Nobody can, really. That's why we don't give them any trouble over it." ] * Ethan nods. "Fixing up sucking chest wounds earns you a whole lotta slack." [ "Hear, hear." ] * Fyril blinks at that, frowns slightly, and tends to Jordan. [ It is now thoroughly night. ] (Yoru~n! Hiru~n! Yoru~n! Hiru~n!) * Nebrinel sighs, and puts the pieces of the wood away. "Making this bow is going to take forever." [ Virt looks up. "Bow? You're an archer?" ] * Ethan hisses. (Damn archers!) * Ada stretches, leaning back on her elbows and looking up at the sky. * Nebrinel shrugs, and grins faintly. "Archer, Swordswoman, Mage... you need it, I can do it." Bowyer too, at that. * Ethan mutters. "Damn archers..." Do you have to say that every time, Ethan? * Ethan eyes Ada, an oddly serious look on his face. "Yes." * Ada nods, a thoughtful look on her face, then grins. "Just checking." * Ethan nods, then starts munching on a carrot. * Nebrinel looks over at Ethan, and mms. "Archers are seriously nasty in the human lands. When you're not used to flying magic, and all." [ Virt rubs her chin thoughtfully and grins. "An archer. This could make things interesting." ] * Nebrinel adds, "If Fyril's up for learning, we might have two." (Two! Two archers! A-ha-ha-ha-ha!) * Ethan sighs. "If ya need, I could prolly give you a hand with the bow and arrows." * Fyril looks up from Jordan to the bow, and nods. "It'd be worth it for me." He looks up at Nebrinel, and then just a bit away from her. He smiles a bit embarassedly. "Add it to the list of things to teach me." * Nebrinel grins, and nods. "Will do. And if you can make a thirty-pounder that won't explode, Ethan, then we could get him started quickly." [ Napper grunts disgustedly, gets up, and walks into one of the tents.] * Ethan raises an eyebrow. "Give me time and materials, and I could prolly make you a catapault." [ Virt chuckles. "Alright. But you'd be the one hauling it around. ] * Nebrinel smirks. "Don't need a catapult. Just a bow." She turns at Virt. "So why's the archery so interesting? Just rare?" * Ethan grins. "It'd almost be worth it... guys to the north of us had this trick with catapaults and dead cows I always wanted to try..." * Ada shakes her head. "Dead cows, Ethan?" Oh, that...yup, it works. Yup. Even if it didn't hit anyone, the enemy was supposedly either too freaked out to fight or too busy laughing their asses off. [ Rascha chuckles. "Right. We'll just ask the quartermaster to send us some dead livestock. No problem." ] ("In the air, there is a cow.") ( Fetchez la vauche! ) * Ethan hrms. "Was also a commander somewhere who used dozens of two-pound metal balls... now *that* sounds effective." [ The two soldier girls make appreciative whistles. "Yes, that sounds nasty." ] * Nebrinel turns to Fyril and says softly, "Are you up for more training, now that you've had a day off?" (And at that very moment, XMMS begins playing Bad Touch.) (Hah!) [ Rascha yawns, bids you all goodnight, and heads to her tent. ] * Fyril blinks up again, and nods before speaking softly back. "Yeah, we should. Need to get better." He stifles a bit of a yawn. * Sei nods. * Ada yawns, too, before she can stop herself. She blinks at the sky, then the fire. * Nebrinel says, "Let's move closer to the fire, then." She does so. * Sei yawns and heads off to a tent where he's unlikely to be poorly received. ( It'll be Virt, since the full tent has the other three. ) ( *cues the Barry White Music* ) (Ha!) [ Session end. ]