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Post by DEREK FROST on Sept 29, 2009 10:50:33 GMT -5
IS IT BRIGHT WHERE YOU ARE,
and have the people changed? Ruins, the whole city still lay in ruins. It wasn't even his original home land, and he still felt the bitter tinge of wrathful hate in his mouth. What the two super powers had done to this place wasn't anything short of complete and total devastation. The city was still so devastated they hadn't even been able to get back on their feet, well aside from the creation of a rebel militia. But it was just that, a rebel militia. They lacked the funds and the resources that the other two countries did not. But still, Derek was calm. He had a feeling they would get their revenge, one way or another. Whether it was the total annihilation of Lucynene and Eradius by their hands, or watching the other two obliterate themselves; either way Derek saw it as a win. And it would come down to those two choices, it wasn't as if the countries would actually stop waging war. That idea was completely absurd. Universe Two didn't know how to function properly without being at war.
Derek heaved a great sigh, the motion bringing no sense of relief from the stress that tightened in his chest. Instead, breathing only made it worse. He scowled at nothing in particular, aside from the fact that he was feeling much older than his twenty-three year old body should. But he felt older than twenty-three, much much older. Being a General in Byziatand was not a simple task, the task being training and organizing a bunch of broken and often rowdy men who were all outcasts. Whether they were originally from Byziatand or not. The whole troop was full of outcasts. They were the under-dogs. His brow furrowed as he realized his thoughts had trailed back to his work, did he ever think about anything else? He supposed he didn't really have time to. In these brief intervals considered breaks he spent them pondering his work and the war, rather than napping like most would be doing. He supposed that'd be another reason he felt older, the fact that he slept very little.
He moved his hands behind him, so he could lean back on the heels of his palms, and stared up at the sky. Clouds slowly drifted by, some of them white and fluffy while the others were grey betraying the chance of a storm later this afternoon. Good. Then the new recruits could go through their half-ass obstacle course with yet another obstacle. It was all good for training. Thankfully, he was done with ordering the newbie soldiers around for that day; he could hardly stand some of them. They were only a few years younger than him most of them, some of them were actually his age, and they were all little assholes who needed to be beat down and taught to show respect. Derek was so caught up in his pissed off thoughts that he didn't even notice someone approach him.
* * * TAGS! Open for anyone. WORDS! 491 COMMENTS! None for now. SOUNDTRACK! The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning - Smashing Pumpkins. |
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Post by ALARIC EDWARDS on Sept 29, 2009 16:52:31 GMT -5
Scritch. Scratch.
The sound was incessant, and it never seemed to end. Once you thought it had finally stopped, it came back and this time, louder and even more irritating. It was after a few moments, a fist came down onto a shabby, tavern table. "Oi! Al! Will you quit it?" That man was obviously bothered by the scratching sounds to the point he'd yell. And who was this Al he spoke of? Well, it was Alaric. He was just an eighteen year old boy that was sitting on his knees casually scratching something into the gray wall. He turned to look at the man - he was most likely a specialist, most likely - with a pout sort of look on his face. Why could he pull off a pout? Well, even though he was sort of tall with an eighteen year old body, he had a cute face. It gave him a boyish charm. "Why do you gotta be such a stiff?" He asked, his out turning into a disappointed frown. "Besides - it's a masterpiece."
He held the object of defiling - a switchblade - into the air, pointing it at a crudely scratched drawing that now appeared on the wall. It was hard to tell what it was. "Is that s'posed to be a worm or somethin'?" Alaric frowned, obviously not seeing what it was the older man had. "It's a subway train! How the hell did you get worm from that?!" The man looked at him as if he were smoking some sort of hallucinogen; oh that's right, subways didn't exist in this universe. It was something that belonged to the other universe. Oh how he hated it. Filled with terrible people, who did terrible things to others... But anyway! "Ah... it don't matter. I'll just be on my way..." He whipped out the camera he carried around his neck and snapped a quick photo of the crude drawing. He sprung up from his kneeling position and headed across the room towards the door.
Alaric pushed open the nearly destroyed tavern door and stepped out into the sunlight. He found it odd that the sun shone in a place of ruins such as this. Back in his own universe, he had played this video game where he had to visit a ruined castle. It was sunny, but when he approached it and the cut scene came, it was cloudy and dark. He had always assumed that was true, and not just a fake factor of the game play. A disappointment, but he'd live with it. He'd had so many disappointments in his life, but none as abnormal as his video game theory. Remembering his picture, he pulled it out of the old camera and looked hardly at it. It hadn't developed yet.
He shook it a few times before he spotted a certain white-haired man. Alaric really didn't know him that well, but he knew him enough to know that he was one of the generals. He was General Frost. He couldn't help but laugh. He found the general's name to be very ironic for two reasons. One, his hair was either white or gray, and it resembled snow. And two, he was a very stoic man, or so he had been told. He wouldn't be surprised if his name was Gray. Gray Frost. That's just funny right there. He held his laughter, and headed up to him in a half-jog, half-walk sort of thing. He really didn't care what he was doing at that moment, he just wanted to talk to someone besides that guy in the tavern-ish place.
Alaric stopped behind him, feeling a sudden burst of pride and smugness seeing as how he was taller than him. Well... the only reason for that was because the general was practically lying down. He was sure the general was taller than him. After all, their age difference... wait a second... he didn't even know how old he was! He had always just assumed that since he was of higher rank, he was older. Gripping the photo in his hand, he bent over so that he could see the general's face. "Mister Ferrohstuh?" He called out, purposely stretching out the pronunciation of the man's name. "How old are you?" Wow. Very subtle.
WORD COUNT,, 712
LISTENING TO,, can't get you - fallbrooke & losin' it - fallbrooke
SOME NOTES,, don't mind him. he's just too carefree for his own good. 
Mister Ferrohstuh - fur-aw-sht-uh,, he just stretched it out. 
WHO'S IN,, just derek and alaric so far.  |
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Post by DEREK FROST on Sept 30, 2009 12:18:38 GMT -5
WIND HIM UP, HE CAN'T STOP
he's wound up tight just like the clock. Derek was watching a smaller cloud overtake a larger one in the sky and was very inspired by the irony of it. They were a smaller militia and were planning on overtaking the two super powers. It was all very fitting for that afternoon, and strangely enough it soothed him. He felt an unusual peace loosen the knots in his chest, it was wonderful but he knew it was only temporary. He was too much of a workaholic to just be rid of all that stress so easily. However it would do for now, in fact he thought he might even be able to doze off sitting there. He didn't have any immediate issues at hand, it would be so easy to just shut his eyes and let himself slip into a dream-like state...but of course fate kicked him in the ass that way, and interrupted his sleepy mood with a curious private.
Derek's heavy-lidded eyes snapped open as the private leaned over him from behind, blinking down at him with a glint of interest in his blue eyes. When the private spoke his name, with his title incorrectly and his name obnoxiously exaggerated, Derek scowled up at the private and moved so he was leaning forward in his sit. When the intrusive question was the next thing to come from the young privates mouth, Derek glanced over his right shoulder to glare at him. Suddenly getting the feeling he wasn't being paid enough for this job. His eyes narrowed as he tried to place a name on the private, his photographic memory aiding him in this endeavor. Edwards had been the name that matched the face, and so Derk half turned to face the boy. "That's General Frost to you Private Edwards." He snapped in an impatient tone, not really in the mood to answer a question that made him feel about fifty.
Using his right palm, he pushed himself into a standing position and looked away from Edwards, thanking god personally in a sarcastic manner. However, he chose to indulge the younger man's question simply because the world sucked enough and having your general be an ass off-duty didn't help much. He sighed with poorly concealed stress, and turned to face the boy yet again. Now that Derek was standing, he was taller than Edwards by a scant few inches; so in really he wasn't that much taller than Edwards. "Not that it's any of your business, and perhaps you should be a little more polite when inquiring on something like that, but I'm twenty-three." His voice was completely indifferent, in all honesty he didn't care if people knew his age. It made little difference to him.
"Why?" Derek asked lazily, just trying to keep the conversation from getting awkward as they so often did when superiors and their charges spoke. His emerald gaze was fixed on Edwards in an aloof manner, watching the boy for his reaction; no matter how trivial a conversation was, there could always be hints in someones demeanor that they'd become failures on the field. Aside from the boys youth and respective lack of maturity, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him. He would grow up eventually, or at least that was what Derek kept telling himself.
* * * TAGS! Alaric, open. WORDS! 544 COMMENTS! Haha Al is so cute x3 SOUNDTRACK! Wind Him Up - Saga |
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Post by ALARIC EDWARDS on Oct 4, 2009 22:50:23 GMT -5
The general had seemed to notice his presence, which was a first. While he had never usually bothered to talk to any of his superiors, on the off chance that he did, they usually ignored him or just waved him away, seeing him as something annoying and insignificant. Apparently, he was something they couldn't bother with. He was usually ignored on a daily basis, with the occasional berating from a higher-up, but he preferred it that way. It was much, much better than his previous eighteen years in the first universe. He absolutely loathed being there.
It was just terrible. Even though he was stuck in the middle of the way, he would rather he was born and raised here, without having to go through the hardships that being him had brought. But still, at least he was here now. That was all he cared about. His own blue eyes followed the light-haired general as he sat up, his face out of view. After a moment or so of silence, he was met with a glare. Sheesh. Was asking someone their age really so bad? Well, of course there was the chance that he had pronounced his name wrong that was kind of irritating, but so what? He had to bring some fun into his day.
"That's General Frost to you, Private Edwards." It was at this point, the young blond made a visible grimace, his nose scrunching up slightly as it moved in motion with his mouth. Private. What a disgusting word. And no, he wasn't referring to some sexual innuendo that he usually did, he just really hated that word. It meant the lowest rank, the lowest of the low when it came to the renegades; it practically made him a maggot. Okay, so maybe he had been watching a bit too many military movies back in the first universe, but still. Being called a private made him feel like a disgusting little bug.
"Private?" Al incited the conversation with obvious disgust. "I'd rather you just call me chickenshit. After all, it's nothing new." He didn't mean to get cocky with the general, but it was true. He'd rather be called something foul, such as chickenshit, besides private. And with that last comment he added on, it was not self-pity. It was merely a fact. He didn't pity himself, he just merely told the truth in an apathetic, let's-get-this-over-with kind of attitude. It was at that moment, he wanted to laugh. Why? Because he had never practically dared a higher-up to call him anything like chickenshit. Kind of bold really, he never would have done that back when he was in school in the first universe. It was sort of fun.
Al's eyes ghosted over the older man as he pushed himself off of the ground into a standing position. Was he leaving? Perhaps he was thinking that Alaric was not worth his time, and was going to go somewhere else, possibly far away where he wouldn't have to deal with the likes of him anymore. Or, he was just standing up. Both answers were fairly plausible, he assumed. He stretched his arms out as General Frost gave a very exhausted sigh, and turned to face him. "Not that it's any of your business, and perhaps you should be a little more polite when inquiring on something like that, but I'm twenty-three." Twenty-three? Twenty-three!? How in God's name was he only twenty-three in a general's position, and to top it all off, how did he have gray hair at such a young age? "Why?"
Why. Well, wasn't it normal for a boy such as himself to inquire these sorts of things? It wasn't like he was trying to incite something, no, that was something far too bold for even him to do. Why would a - he practically got sick just by thinking the word - private be friends with a general? It just begged to destroy the foundation of all that kept the world balanced. Or maybe that was just an exaggeration. Yes, perhaps that was it. To be honest, he just wanted to know. No harm in that. And maybe to see how long it would take him to climb out of this devastating hole that marked him as a private.
Alaric raised his own eyebrows, possibly attempting to make the general believe that he was thinking about it, when in reality, he wasn't. He just wanted to give the impression that he was a very thoughtful person that needed to think over everything. After all, he read in a book once that a person who did that, seemed smarter to the person they were conversing with. Or was it dumber? Oh well, who knew? "Geez. Is it wrong for someone like me to ask the 'all high-and-mighty' you a simple question?" Here he was, pulling off a facade to attempt to mess with General Frost. He was simply referring to the way he said it lazily, and was pretending to take it harshly, as if it were offensive in some way or another.
He crossed his arm, turned his head away, and pretending to look as if he were pouting, as if he were hurt that he would be so harshly interrogated about what he just happened to inquire on. His clear, blue orbs wheeled around to look at the general, scrutinizing him, as if they were looking for something in his expression. After a moment or so of searching - and possibly not finding what he was looking for - he couldn't keep the facade up, and burst into laughter. A childish laughter that only a child would understand the meaning and origin of. "Nah, I'm messing with you. I just wanted to know. Honestly." He laughed out, before adding a quick, subtle, under-the-breath phrase. "There was still no reason to be all questioning about it."
W O R D C O U N T,,
--- [ 975 ]
L I S T E N I N G T O,,
--- [ break - three days grace ]
S O M E N O T E S,,
--- [ haha, now he's just messin' with derek. ]
W H O ' S I N,,
--- [ derek and alaric so far. ] |
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Post by DEREK FROST on Oct 7, 2009 12:18:21 GMT -5
WIND HIM UP, HE CAN'T STOP
he's wound up tight just like the clock. Derek merely raised a brow at the child's aversion to being called a private. Well if he didn't want to be considered a private at one point in his life, then why the heck had he joined the military. Seriously. Derek scowled but didn't snap at or reprimand the boy, like he was supposed to do; instead he simply replied in a calm tone, "I'm not going to call you chickenshit, Edwards." He purposefully dropped the private that should have been placed in front of his name, showing him the slightest bit of humility. It was his day off and he was feeling generous, that was about the only reason he did it. If they had been in training? Well Derek probably would have beat him something fierce. He didn't like that about the military, the stripping off individuality and forcing people to be obedient. It wasn't fair and it wasn't what he wanted to represent. But it was the way things were.
Derek blinked at the poorly concealed surprise at the mention of his name. Which all in all, made him feel even older than fifty. He slouched at that point, breaking his rule of good posture out of sheer depression. Age was not in numbers of years you'd lived, but in experiences and feeling. At least, that was the extremely old-feeling general's opinion. Derek tilted his head to the side when the kid had an outburst and called him 'high and mighty'. Well apparently he'd been being contemptuous without him knowing it. How unfortunate. It was either that or this boy was far more sensitive to words than he'd originally let on.
Derek didn't say anything when Edwards offered a childish pout and began to act as though he'd been a parent taking away a favored toy. Derek gave a half-hearted grimace, annoyed by the immaturity but slightly amused by it. When Edwards turned back to face him, his eyes searching his face, Derek's expression drained all emotion. He didn't like being studied, least of all by some kid he barely knew. He was tight-lipped with indifferent eyes, a common expression he used to cover up the mess underneath it all. Derek, however, could not repress his lips quirking into a confused smile as the kid burst into uncontrollable laughter. Laughter was an uncommon thing around these parts, and it was a delight to see that some people still had a good sense of humor; Derek was not one of those people.
After Edwards' explanation for his immaturity, Derek's smile became confused no more. Oh to be young, or rather younger, and full of mischief. "Ah, I see." He replied simply, then went to look at the ground, "Well now you know, I'm not that old." Years-wise, he reminded himself in his head. He wondered what Edwards would do now, with this new found information. Probably blab it to everyone else in his unit, just to give the boys a reason to give him more hell. Wonderful, just wonderful. Well if they thought they could break him, they were seriously wrong. He wasn't about to admit defeat to a bunch of kids who were too young to be in the military.
Curious only because he had no work to do at that time, he looked at Edwards with sincere interest and asked, "So, what are you up to today?" He politely kept his eyes on the kid, awaiting an answer so to not give off the impression he was not just making small-talk just because it was required of him. He spoke with sarcastic humor next, though he didn't laugh and his smile wasn't a happy one, "Aside from messing with me." Humorless, it was what an old fling had described him as. He lacked any semblance of happiness or good humor. Other people found his serious manner and cynicism funny, but she had been looking for actual happy humor. He'd told her to have a wonderful life with whomever she ended up with, with all seriousness. She hadn't laughed.
* * * TAGS! Alaric, open. WORDS! 669 COMMENTS! Sorry for late reply, works been killer. SOUNDTRACK! None. |
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