Memory for MoM
Jan. 22nd, 2015 03:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
governorkangHuzzad keeps her long hair in a braid and in this scene is in comfortable leather breeches and a linen tunic.
Kang himself is in a kilt, tunic, and tabard.
Draconian senses are better than humans, so if the player chooses, everything vision and hearing-wise will be sharper and the viewer is consciously aware of a lot more going on smell-wise, being able to recognize others by scent alone. It might be a tad overwhelming for anyone not used to it.
---
“You have a point there.” Huzzad yawned, stretched. “I think I’ll be turning in. I have an early morning tomorrow. Which reminds me. I’d like permission to take the females out onto the parade ground. They’re progressing well in their sword drill, but they’re finding the quarters a little cramped—“
“They’re what?” Kang bellowed, leaping to his feet.
“Sword drill,” said Huzzad, staring at him. “What did you think I said?”
“I thought you said sword drill,” Kang repeated grimly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Huzzad? Giving them military training! I won’t have it! You’re to stop this nonsense at once. Do you hear me? At once!”
“I would stop it, only I didn’t start it, Kang,” Huzzad retorted. “They’ve been training themselves now for quite some time. They’re getting pretty good, too, and they’ll be better now that someone’s taking time to show them what they’ve been doing wrong. They’re born fighters, Kang. Born and bred to it, just like you males.”
“I don’t believe you!” Kang stated, glowering. “I think you put them up to this.”
“Oh yeah?” Huzzad said, her voice frost-rimmed. “The scuttlebutt around camp is that twenty swords went missing a few days ago. A sivak was attacked—one of the Queen’s Own. The attacker stole a requisition from him. Twenty swords, Commander. Now where in this fort might you find twenty draconians who were in need of twenty swords?”
“Are you saying—“ Kang felt a tightness constrict his chest. “These children—“
“They are not children,” Huzzad snapped. “They are adults. And if you don’t accept that and start treating them like adults, you’re going to lose them. You have a soul, Kang. Your own soul. You have rights, duties, responsibilities. You have the right to be wrong, to make mistakes. I have the same. And so do these females. Each one has her own soul. Each has her own destiny. Each has the right to achieve her own destiny. You can’t take away that right. They look to you for guidance, Kang, for leadership and counsel. But they won’t for long. Eventually, they’ll start to hate you.
“All except Fonrar, of course,” Huzzad continued. “She loves you too much to ever turn against you. But even she is struggling with her love for you and her need to be true to herself.”
Kang sat down very suddenly. Fortunately, his bed was beneath him. He stared blankly at Huzzad.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded, his voice strained. “We can’t…that word you said.”
“Love?” Huzzad was amused. “Tell me, Kang. Don’t you love Slith?”
“Of course not!” Kang practically roared.
“No? How would you feel if Slith died?”
Kang pondered. Slith dead. A world without Slith. He’d always known it was possible. They were soldiers. Death was part of the job. But the thought of Slith not being there filled Kang with a great sadness, a vast emptiness.
“I’d feel bad,” Kang admitted, adding defensively. “We’ve been together a long time. We’re…comrades.”
“Comrades.” Huzzad rested her hand lightly on Kang’s shoulder. “Well, my friend, Fonrar feels very ‘comradely’ towards you. How’s that? And sometime soon, you know, you ‘comrades’ are going to have to get together and make little ‘comrades.’ So it’s not such a bad thing to have happen.”
“I…I guess not.” Kang mumbled.
“The females know about the goblin threat, Kang. They know that this is going to be a tough battle. They want to do their part.”
“Out of the question,” Kang said shortly.
“Why? Because they might get hurt? They might die? What happens if you all die, Kang? What happens if every last male draconian is wiped out and these females are left trapped in their barracks, alone, weaponless, untrained?” Huzzad stood over him, stared down at him grimly. “What happens, Kang?”
He lowered his head, didn’t look at her.
“I’ll tell you what happens,” Huzzad went on relentlessly. “The lucky ones will be killed. The unlucky ones will be captured and taken prisoner. Maybe the goblins will torture then and then kill them. Maybe not. Maybe since they’re females they’ll be sent to some sort of wizard laboratory for experiments—“
“Enough!” Kang shouted.
“How would you want to go out, Kang?” Huzzad asked. “Would you want to die fighting alongside the comrades you care about? Or would you want to die alone, in torment—“
“All right, damn it!” Kang glared at her. “You’ve made your point.”
“Then Fonrar and I can take them out on the parade ground tomorrow?”
Kang looked back. He looked back to crawling on all fours around the campfire, pretending to be a bear, growling playfully as the little ones squealed and laughed. He looked back to the terror he’d felt when Thesik had wandered off and was discovered playing happily with a pack of wolf cubs. He looked back to holding Fonrar as she slept in his arms, her small fingers curled tightly around one of his large ones. He looked back…and he let go.
Kang cleared his throat. “Tell Subcommander…”—he gulped slightly—“Fonrar that she is to have her troop ready for inspection on the parade ground an hour past dawn tomorrow morning, in fighting order with weapons.”
“I will, Kang,” said Huzzad. “You’ll be proud of them,” she added as she left.
Kang lay down on his bed. He felt all wobbly and trembly, worse than when the goblins had hacked him open.
Destiny. There was that word again. Each has her own destiny, Huzzad had said. Each has the right to achieve her own destiny.
“Twenty swords!” he said to the darkness. “They snatched twenty swords right out from under the snout of the Queen’s Own. Hit him on the goddamn head with a goddamn rock! Proud of them?”
Kang smiled. “You’re damn right I’m proud of them!”
Kang himself is in a kilt, tunic, and tabard.
Draconian senses are better than humans, so if the player chooses, everything vision and hearing-wise will be sharper and the viewer is consciously aware of a lot more going on smell-wise, being able to recognize others by scent alone. It might be a tad overwhelming for anyone not used to it.
---
“You have a point there.” Huzzad yawned, stretched. “I think I’ll be turning in. I have an early morning tomorrow. Which reminds me. I’d like permission to take the females out onto the parade ground. They’re progressing well in their sword drill, but they’re finding the quarters a little cramped—“
“They’re what?” Kang bellowed, leaping to his feet.
“Sword drill,” said Huzzad, staring at him. “What did you think I said?”
“I thought you said sword drill,” Kang repeated grimly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Huzzad? Giving them military training! I won’t have it! You’re to stop this nonsense at once. Do you hear me? At once!”
“I would stop it, only I didn’t start it, Kang,” Huzzad retorted. “They’ve been training themselves now for quite some time. They’re getting pretty good, too, and they’ll be better now that someone’s taking time to show them what they’ve been doing wrong. They’re born fighters, Kang. Born and bred to it, just like you males.”
“I don’t believe you!” Kang stated, glowering. “I think you put them up to this.”
“Oh yeah?” Huzzad said, her voice frost-rimmed. “The scuttlebutt around camp is that twenty swords went missing a few days ago. A sivak was attacked—one of the Queen’s Own. The attacker stole a requisition from him. Twenty swords, Commander. Now where in this fort might you find twenty draconians who were in need of twenty swords?”
“Are you saying—“ Kang felt a tightness constrict his chest. “These children—“
“They are not children,” Huzzad snapped. “They are adults. And if you don’t accept that and start treating them like adults, you’re going to lose them. You have a soul, Kang. Your own soul. You have rights, duties, responsibilities. You have the right to be wrong, to make mistakes. I have the same. And so do these females. Each one has her own soul. Each has her own destiny. Each has the right to achieve her own destiny. You can’t take away that right. They look to you for guidance, Kang, for leadership and counsel. But they won’t for long. Eventually, they’ll start to hate you.
“All except Fonrar, of course,” Huzzad continued. “She loves you too much to ever turn against you. But even she is struggling with her love for you and her need to be true to herself.”
Kang sat down very suddenly. Fortunately, his bed was beneath him. He stared blankly at Huzzad.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded, his voice strained. “We can’t…that word you said.”
“Love?” Huzzad was amused. “Tell me, Kang. Don’t you love Slith?”
“Of course not!” Kang practically roared.
“No? How would you feel if Slith died?”
Kang pondered. Slith dead. A world without Slith. He’d always known it was possible. They were soldiers. Death was part of the job. But the thought of Slith not being there filled Kang with a great sadness, a vast emptiness.
“I’d feel bad,” Kang admitted, adding defensively. “We’ve been together a long time. We’re…comrades.”
“Comrades.” Huzzad rested her hand lightly on Kang’s shoulder. “Well, my friend, Fonrar feels very ‘comradely’ towards you. How’s that? And sometime soon, you know, you ‘comrades’ are going to have to get together and make little ‘comrades.’ So it’s not such a bad thing to have happen.”
“I…I guess not.” Kang mumbled.
“The females know about the goblin threat, Kang. They know that this is going to be a tough battle. They want to do their part.”
“Out of the question,” Kang said shortly.
“Why? Because they might get hurt? They might die? What happens if you all die, Kang? What happens if every last male draconian is wiped out and these females are left trapped in their barracks, alone, weaponless, untrained?” Huzzad stood over him, stared down at him grimly. “What happens, Kang?”
He lowered his head, didn’t look at her.
“I’ll tell you what happens,” Huzzad went on relentlessly. “The lucky ones will be killed. The unlucky ones will be captured and taken prisoner. Maybe the goblins will torture then and then kill them. Maybe not. Maybe since they’re females they’ll be sent to some sort of wizard laboratory for experiments—“
“Enough!” Kang shouted.
“How would you want to go out, Kang?” Huzzad asked. “Would you want to die fighting alongside the comrades you care about? Or would you want to die alone, in torment—“
“All right, damn it!” Kang glared at her. “You’ve made your point.”
“Then Fonrar and I can take them out on the parade ground tomorrow?”
Kang looked back. He looked back to crawling on all fours around the campfire, pretending to be a bear, growling playfully as the little ones squealed and laughed. He looked back to the terror he’d felt when Thesik had wandered off and was discovered playing happily with a pack of wolf cubs. He looked back to holding Fonrar as she slept in his arms, her small fingers curled tightly around one of his large ones. He looked back…and he let go.
Kang cleared his throat. “Tell Subcommander…”—he gulped slightly—“Fonrar that she is to have her troop ready for inspection on the parade ground an hour past dawn tomorrow morning, in fighting order with weapons.”
“I will, Kang,” said Huzzad. “You’ll be proud of them,” she added as she left.
Kang lay down on his bed. He felt all wobbly and trembly, worse than when the goblins had hacked him open.
Destiny. There was that word again. Each has her own destiny, Huzzad had said. Each has the right to achieve her own destiny.
“Twenty swords!” he said to the darkness. “They snatched twenty swords right out from under the snout of the Queen’s Own. Hit him on the goddamn head with a goddamn rock! Proud of them?”
Kang smiled. “You’re damn right I’m proud of them!”
