Terteroba Rising

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elizabeth took the spoon and edged the pot closer to her snout. She scooped a spoonful of stew, with a piece of strange meat and some type of root vegetable. She ate it, and chewed it all together. Content that it did not taste disgusting, she nodded. She then drank the stew that was left on the spoon before answering Sven's question.

"Being in the Black Guards was at first very difficult. The training nearly killed some people, and wore out most of the others. Then, you had the strictest of the strict COs, not to mention a rigorous code and discipline beyond anything you could imagine. But, we were all like one big family. We watched out for each other. We loved each other like brothers and sisters. Our glue was our world, and we would defend it to our last breath."

[Kurt]

"How long did training last for you?" Sven asked once Elizabeth finished talking. "For the ACI it ends up being a total of a year just to weed out the best men and women for the job. That doesent include the 7 months at infantry school." He paused once he finished making his spoon. "And once we graduated we still trained day and night." He said as he laid down on his back looking up.

[Shmibli7]

"You want  break or do you want me to?" Kimber asks, getting a pool stick. "You know, I haven't really played this before."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"2 years of fine tuning," said Elizabeth, resting her head on her hand, with her arm propped up by her elbow. "Plus an additional 18 months of psych training and indoctrination, and a final 16 months of language courses to learn all of the main dialects of our fine little world. It was just like University, except you could only major in killing someone."

 

Sandor's jaw fell open when Kimber said that he never billiards before. "You haven't played the hustler's game before?" he questioned. "Oh, okay, I will break the balls..." Sandor went into position, and struck the cue ball with the tip of his pool stick. The formation of balls shattered, and Sandor pocketed a striped ball. "Now, you must hit the solids. That is, if I miss..."

Edited September 4, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Kurt]

"You ever do one of the space combat exercises?" Sven asked as he propped his head up with his hands. "That was by far the one my squad enjoyed the most. Ranged and hand to hand combat in an environment with no gravity ." He smiled at the memory. "Man that course was fun..."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elizabeth chuckled, reminiscing on her own experiences in Space Combat Training.

"I remember one of my guys trying to 'swim'. Everyone, even our CO, started laughing. Oh, Korben was a bit silly back then. I took that opportunity to fire on all of the designated enemies. The whole enemy team went down in no time. Diversions are like gold on the battlefield."

[Shmibli7]

"Well, then. By all means, miss." Kimber says. Watching  him. 

"So, what's your life tale? I've already told you all about me."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor leaned on the billiards table, ready to pocket another striped ball, but was halted by Kimber's request for Sandor to tell his story. Sandor looked at Kimber for a brief moment before pocketing the ball. He then sat on the table's railing.

"I was a poor kid in a poor family with an abusive uncle. He beat me daily, slowly shattering my life. I was a quiet guy who got bullied by the other kids and his uncle. I tried to escape all that by joining a gang at 14, but I still had to go home at the end of the day. Then one day, I simply snapped. I grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed my uncle to death. He was my first kill." Sandor stared into Kimber's eyes as he told his tale. His beady eyes became softer and enlarged, and they started to shine in the dim light of the tavern.

"I still have that kitchen knife," continued Sandor. "It's in my bag. A memento to the day I lost myself."

Edited September 4, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Kurt]

Sven laughed as he told his story. "I remember on our fourth day of the course I dared our light machine gunner to hold down the trigger as he fired. I have never seen someone fly backwards like that, nor have I seen one since! I think he flipped at least twenty times!" He did the motion with his hands "He shot up the walls real good."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elizabeth laughed, slightly groaning from the pain of her wounds. She then remembered her brother Steven's attempts to enter the Guards.

"You know, my brother, Steven, tried to get into the Guards. He was hospitalized after Intense Melee Combat Training: the CO had me and him go toe-to-toe. He just wanted to prove himself not only to the Guards, but to me too. Now, he sees me as the biggest reason why he didn't make the cut." Elizabeth scooped another spoonful of the stew, full of liquid and a hearty chunk of meat, and ate it. She wiped her mouth with her hand. "But hey, at least he's at a higher rank than me. Even if he's not a Guard..."

[Shmibli7]

"I feel 'ya, buddy." Kimber said. "I have a similar tale, but that's for another time." 

Kimber looked at Sandor. They were almost one and the same, so different and yet so similar. He started to profile Sandor and read him. 

He was hurt, insecure, and abnormal. Just like him, just like Kosovo and Lerman.  

He decided he liked Sandor. Not romantically, family-like, or maybe even as a friend, but he respected the fact that he existed. Someone else who was like him.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor stepped off of the table, and positioned himself to strike at another striped ball. He thrust his stick forward, and struck the cue ball. The white wonder, however, lost its magic, and the hit was not dead-on. The cue ball did indeed strike a striped ball, but the ball bounced off the rail very close to a corner pocket. Sandor made a face, the face of a disgusted man.

"Your turn," said Sandor. He stepped back before quickly turning his head. "What was that?"

[Kurt]

"Well not everyone is cut out for a specific job they want. Originaly I wanted to be an engineer." Slowly Sven sat up. "So what exactly do those tats on your back mean?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elizabeth sat up as well, revealing her back by taking off her shirt. She explained each tattoo as Sven saw it.

"The big circular one on my right shoulder with all the crazy diagonal lines signifies my first kill: a Venomian NCO during the Battle for Corneria. The equally large one with the two swirls on my left shoulder was for my marriage. The rectangular one with the little swirls in it going down the length of my spine was put on me when I turned 16: that's my first tat. Then, there's the one below my first kill tat. It's a gigantic swirl with two rectangles intersecting in the center. That's when I first went off-world. Now, the empty space below my marriage tat is reserved for... my first kid." Elizabeth fell silent. After a few moments of increasingly awkward silence, Elizabeth offered Sven the stew.

"I'm done with eating that. You can have it." Elizabeth then grabbed the bag of caramel candies and took one out. She placed it in her mouth and chewed on it. "Can I lay down on my back?" asked Elizabeth, after swallowing her candy.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber took his shot and landed a ball into the  side pocket. His eyes widen in surprise.

"Great. Now what?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Do it again." Sandor said quickly. "Pocket another solid ball. Anywhere. However...!" Sandor skipped to Kimber's side, and made gestures with both his hands and his pool stick.

"If you hit any of my balls before you hit yours, your turn ends and I get to put the cue ball anywhere on the table. If you pocket the cue ball, your turn ends and I get to put the cue ball anywhere on the table. If you pocket the 8-ball, which is that black one there, you lose automatically. You win if you pocket the 8-ball AFTER you pocket all your other balls.

"It's not as gay as one might think."

[Shmibli7]

Kimber chuckles and lines up the shot, sending another ball flying into the pocket.

"Well, that makes two things I'm good at." He says, still looking the pool balls.

He looks at his watch. "Dang. When is Emil going to debrief all of us?"

[Kurt]

Sven sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Elizabeth broke it by offering him the rest of the stew and asking him a question. "Yea it should be ok." He began as he swallowed a bite of the stew. "But it might be a little sore." Quickly wolfing down the remaining stew, a habit he retained from basic, he grabbed a bottle of water and some painkillers. "Here take these," Sven offered them to her "They should help take the edge off."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"He's probably having sex with his wife," said Sandor, leaning toward's Kimber's left ear. "That can last for hours. Uh, don't ask me how I know that." Sandor stepped away from Kimber, but continued to speak. "Actually, do ask me. That way, I'll tell you and I get to see the look on your face." Sandor smiled.

 

Elizabeth took the bottle and pills Sven offered. She unscrewed first the pill bottle and took a painkiller. After capping the pill bottle, she unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and drank a swill of water, taking the pill down her throat. Elizabeth sighed contentedly as she laid on her back. "Ohh..." she moaned. "Those embers are so f--king awesome." More tattoos adorned the front side of her body, running from her upper chest area to her stomach. There were also others on her shoulders and arms.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber shakes his head. "How do you know?" He asks, sending another ball into the pocket.

[Kurt]

Sven took a painkiller as well. Swallowing it before he asked her another question. "So what do the ones on your arms stand for?" Standing up he went back over to the bag and grabbed the tarp. He walked back to where he was and sat down, placing the tarp off to the side. He avoided looking at her shirtless as he began to take off his boots.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor raised his eyebrow as he stepped back next to him. "He invited me to one of their nights. I was their cameraman. Emil payed good money too." Sandor then took some blue chalk to rub on the tip of his pool stick.

 

Elizabeth glanced at her tattoos on her arms as she laid comfortably on the ground. "The one on my left arm is the time I first went to the capital," Elizabeth explained. The tattoo was a picture of a blue-tinted city skyline of Corneria City atop a green hill, within a blue circle. "The one on my right is when I joined the military." That tattoo was a sword enveloped by swirls of green.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Kurt]

"I don't have any tattoos." Sven said, "these scars are the only tattoos that I've ever had." He lifted the back of his shirt to show where the two exit wounds from over 5 years ago had resided. Pulling his shirt back down he laid flat on his back and looked straight  up, gazing at the stars. "Its been so long since I looked up at night outside of a city. Here you can see many more stars."

[Shmibli7]

"Wow." Kimber said, shooting another ball. 

"Venomian did something similar during the Fortuna war." He says.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Elizabeth glanced in Sven's direction as he laid beside her. She then looked back up at the stars, which were seemingly blinking at her. She felt warm, despite having no shirt on. The embers did most of the job, while Sven's body heat aided. "I sometimes do space walks," said Elizabeth. "Back on board my team's ship, the Szabla. We'd all have maintenance duties, which included panels on the outside of the ship. So, I'd put on mag-boots and a tether just in case, and walk out onto the ship. While it was in space. It's a wondrous sight. I think you'd like it." Elizabeth patted Sven's leg.

 

"Small 'verse," commented Sandor, looking on as Kimber started to get used to billiards.

 

Bohdan found himself alone yet again in the village hall, holding onto his prayer beads. He sat almost silently in the front pew, where he has been for the past few hours, quietly muttering prayers. The hall itself was dimly lit, with only the lights by the windows illuminating the large room. Bohdan hoped that, in this endless sea of grass, that his God could hear his prayers for Elizabeth, and bring her back. She was more than an associate of his to him. To Bohdan, Elizabeth was like his sister: strong-willed, independent, and fearless. He admired those qualities, despite the bleak history between the two individuals. He was also getting quite lonely. Roy was off to drink at the tavern, while Korben sulked and walked aimlessly throughout the village.