Voice: So, what do you think?
Huxian: Ah, so you were worried after all?
Voice: Shut up Fox and tell me. How is she coping?
Huxian: Aw, what, a worried Papa, you are?
Engetsu: *Growl*.....
*Dropping jokes for now, Huxian crossed his arms in his sleeves, frowning slightly*
Huxian: ...Rocky, at least for now. There’s a lot of things either missing from her education, I’d say. Either that or she’s struggling to translate what she learned into practice. Still, she’s starting to get the hang of it. My main criticism would be the way she’s pushing herself, even when ordered against it, not giving herself time to recover, and continues to push even beyond that. Exhaustion breeds mistakes and she’s made at least one. Here, see?
*Pulling out a copy of the notes he had retained during Rodessa’s planning sessions, he flipped to the page needed and let Engetsu read over them*
Engetsu: *Sigh* She’s left her base near defenceless.
Huxian: Exactly.
*There was nothing the could do, however, but watch events unfold.
Hours after Rodessa and her battalion had made their way towards the ‘enemy’ camp, the siege took place. While Team B had fought well, the girl’s plan overcame the odds and, proudly, Rodessa raised their flag in victory. However, triumph soon turn to ash in her mouth when a loud buzzing and screaming wail rang out across the grounds. Whipping around in the direction of the sound, Rodessa could only stare, horrified, at the flag of team B waving proudly from her own camp. True, they had cleared the territory, but she had lost the land.
Rodessa [Inner Thoughts]: Damn…
*Dropping from numb fingers, the flag clattered to the ground. Slowly, her shaking hands covered her face as shame washed over her*
Rodessa [Inner Thoughts]: We were so close...Where did I go…
*Around her, the soldiers muttered mutaniously, their complaints slowly growing louder as their frustrations boiled*
Soldier 1: Dammit! All that work for nothing!
Soldier 2: For Fucks sake...I wanted that beer, too...guess we’ll be kissing up to the girl’s to share...
Soldier 3: Forget the beer, I’m out 427 Yuan!
Soldier 1: Whatever, man. Let’s get back to base.
Soldier 2: Oi, you! Don’t forget that flag, or you’ll have to come back to get it.
*Teeth gritted, Rodessa dropped to her knees, grasping as the fabric of the flag, even as horror and disappointment whirling in her head until her ears were ringing, gritting her teeth against the urge to scream*
Rodessa [Inner Thoughts]: All that...All that effort for nothing...I failed them...And I’m expected to rule. No...I see why he doesn’t take me seriously now…
*With leadened footsteps, Rodessa slunk back towards the camp through the thick undergrowth after her men, barely able to even look at them, not even once they had returned to the base and all sat upon the benches, her shoulders slumped and head hung low*
Rodessa [Inner thought]: Tired.. So tired…
*From a little further away, Huxian quietly observed his lover. It wasn’t hard to note the drained defeat that seemed to seep from every pore of her body, something that the militarian woman at his side was also hyper aware of with a somewhat disdainful critical eye*
Woman: Is that her? Not much, is she?
Huxian: Perhaps not right now. However, I was hoping you might be able to change that. After all, no diamond is flawless when first mined, is it?
Woman: Me to change that? You mean waste my time...No, Huxian. You must be joking. I don’t care who’s daughter she is, she’s just not ready for me. There is a reason that toddlers can’t drive. What muppet leaves their base wide open, or barely acknowledges ‘new’ faces among her men? Oh, no no no no - these are more than stupid mistakes, it’s downright incompetence!
Huxian: *Sigh* ...Unfortunately...I can’t protest the truth of that….
Woman: Hmph....When the child learns how to walk on her own, call me then. Before that, however, don’t waste my time, fox!
*With those parting words, the woman left, the girl’s eyes barely lifting from the ground as the elder swept passed. With a sigh, Huxian could only shake his head at Rodessa’s pitiable state*
Huxian: Rest time is over, soldier. You need to be introduced to the rest of the troup.
Rodessa: *Quiet voice*...Yes Sir...
*Silently, Rodessa followed his command, making her way over to the rest of the troup, who appeared to have been those that made up team B and were now mingling with the other soldiers. Whatever goodwill, little as it had been, that she had garnered before the exertion appeared to have swiftly been slaughtered. Mistrustful and snarky as they had been before, they seemed downright hostile now and with the time the others had had to mingle and exchange stories, there seemed like little chance to even hope for reconciliation with her men now.
In hopes to avoid starting up a full muttany, she hurried through introductions before slipping back to the commander's tent the moment the opportunity arose. Ducking under the flap, the scent of tobacco stung her nose. However, blinking out the reactionary eye watering, she ignored the smell and reached for her notepad, staring down at the contents with empty eyes. However, she forced herself to focus, trying to push through the numbness that gripped her being. With a shaky breath, she looked around, mentally talking herself through the numbness when her eyes landed on a file on the desk, zeroing in on the words emblazoned upon it: ‘Assessment one. 43/100 Failed.’
What little resolve she had mustered crumbled away like wet sand under her fingers.*
SFX: Tear, rip, shred!
*The notepad scattered across the room like a snowstorm as she tore the paper into confetti*
Rodessa: *Mumble frantic speech* Stupid, idiot.. Stupid stupid stupid…. Basic fucking information. You couldn’t even do that right, and you want to change shit? Moron, you can’t even win a stupid game of ta-tag… idiot...you’re in over your head!
*Snatching the piles of paper, the remains of the notepad were flung into the fire, which jumped up to consume the destroyed notes, her eyes glittering feverishly in the firelight*
Rodessa: *Holding back tears* This-this won’t help you, waste of time.
*So engrossed in her fereish diatribe, Rodessa failed to notice that she was no longer alone in the tent. Someone had been watching her and was not particularly pleased by what he was seeing, too close to that look he had seen when she had last focused so inward.
Huxian [Inner Thoughts]: I sometimes forget how young you truly are, sometimes. While your body is almost fully grown, your mind is still like a child’s, or perhaps more like a cub’s. Right now, you’ve taken failure like a physical wound and with everything you’re seeing and hearing, be it reality or perception, it corners you further. If I’m not careful, she’ll either retreat into that Doll state, or she’ll lash out, and both have repercussions that will never be fixed. I need to calm her...but...Dammit. I had warned her I’d be acting as her superior, not her lover, even before we came here. However, even if I were to be the compassionate leader, it wouldn’t be enough. So...perhaps...
*Slowly, so not to startle her and cause one of the outcomes he hoped to avoid, Huxian slipped into the tent and approached her, making sure to make at least some sound so she wouldn’t think it some kind of attack, With a soothing sound in the back of his throat, a noise no human could make but was far more natural from a vulpine throat, he gently reached out, slipping his arm around her before carefully drawing her into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin so she could catch his scent. The touch, the sound, the scent, all seemed to jog her from whatever trace she had been in, her near hysterical mutterings cutting out entirely. Using the silence to his advantage, he gently nuzzled her head, his tone quiet, soothing, not the voice of commander, but the voice of her precious one**
Huxian: My love, you have a horrible habit of plunging into deep pessimistic overthinking. True, you made a mistake. However, one mistake doesn’t mean all is lost. This is why we decided for you to come here, remember? So you can find what you might be missing and catch up, where you have second chances.
Rodessa: I’m s-sorry, I-!
Huxian: Hush~ You don’t need to be sorry, Ro. All I ask is that you make note of your mistakes and learn from them. These tasks are purely so that we know what needs to be focused on. That’s all.
*As he spoke, he gently steered the girl to one of the seats, carefully undoing the uniform jacket and parting it to allow him access to her neck and shoulders. With skillful fingers and a tiny bit of power to reach that much deeper, he massaged the knots from her shoulders. The ministrations and his words seemed to sooth the frantic energy from the girl, thankfully. With one last kiss to the nape of her neck to finish, he straightened her uniform and closed the jacket once more.*
Huxian: For now, I think we’ve gathered enough information to start off with, so we’ll go home tomorrow, alright?
Rodessa: *Downcast eyes* ….Yes Sir…
*She didn’t seem any more lighthearted, unfortunately. There was still an air of exhaustion that seemed to cling to her. Encouragingly, Huxian bid the girl to follow him to bed, however, as she drew close, Rodessa angled towards her cot. However, he drew her back. Had he not been concerned for her he might have rolled his eyes at her denseness*
Huxian: I meant for you to join me, not alone, dear
Rodessa: Huh? W-what a-are y-you saying?
Huxian: [Inner Thought]: There’s the Rodessa I know
Huxian: Mind out the gutter, missy. I just wish to watch over you tonight, nothing more.
Rodessa: *Quiet Voice* OH... I wasn’t thinking any-
Huxian: Sure sure. Hush now~ You need your rest.
*With practiced hands, Huxian ran his fingers through her hair, undoing the far too tight ribbon that held her thick locks in place, even as he weaved a spell in their wake, lulling her towards gentle slumber. Her eyes watery eyes fluttered, her blinking, first to hold back tears threatening to fall, slowing as her eyes grew heavier, each blink taking more time to pry open than the last before finally, slowly shutting as her body relaxed into sleep.
Huxian: *Hum* It’s alright now. You don’t have to worry anymore, Roza.
[END]
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