Chapter 5 Of THE KINGDOM
Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 12:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nannyn posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
mindcrackloveread more for stuff!
And the usual, go read previous things, I can't link all fancy and such, comment your favorite character and provide feedback! Woo!
1-The "disease" that Pause has is an actual thing. (I didn't know the amount of research that was required for this, I'm very surprised!) I just bumped it up a bit to make it chronic and to 'disease' level, which adds more more drama. *Jazz hands*
2-Nebris' hat. You guys really liked it. Me too, that's why I wrote it in! ;) I was thinking of Will Turner's awesome hat in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I don't remember which. Google it for a better visual!
3-When I was describing Etho, I had to search a picture of Kakashi, which made me want to start up watching Naruto again. So expect these to come out a little less frequently, as I'm only on episode 128 of millions.
End rant! Enjoy, and thanks for sticking along with me! Thank you for the loving feedback, It really does help :*
Chapter 5
-Pause-
“I’m glad both of you could make it here safely.” Guude said, shaking both of the royals’ hands.
“It’s a pleasure to be here and finally meet you all.” One, who Pause figured was Etho, said professionally. He was wearing a surprisingly plain outfit for an emperor, who Pause would expect to be wearing lavish robes of spidersilk and wooden sandals.
Etho did have sandals on, but they weren’t wooden. He sported Plain navy blue trousers and shirt with an olive green vest overtop. The shoulders of his shirt had the royal crest—Redstone—embroidered on them. He was wearing a mask that covered all of his lower face. His left eye was red, and there was a scar running vertical along that side.
Battle wound. Pause thought. He’s a warrior.
Zisteau was wearing significantly less than Etho, with only leather boots and trousers embroidered with precious stones. Pause saw lapis lazuli, emeralds, gold, and what looked like…. diamonds? His chest was partially covered in a red cape that hung from his left shoulder. It wrapped around in a complicated way and attached to his belt, which was all Pause could see from his angle.
He also seemed to have some sort of skin condition where it discolored it, because he had some spots on his body that ranged from a dark fleshy color to a sickly green. Pause reminded himself not to stare, and averted his eyes.
While Pause had been studying them, they had begun traveling around the room, introducing themselves and exchanging greetings.
The first person to reach Pause was Zisteau, who bowed slightly to him.
“Tsar Zisteau of the Zistonian islands.”
“PauseUnpause, second Brother of Mindcrackia.” Pause replied, returning the bow.
Zisteau nodded at his professional response, and moved on.
A couple seconds later, Etho was in front of him, who had extended his fingerless glove-covered hand to shake. It was his right one.
Oh, no…
He attempted to rotate his arm to shake, but his shoulder wouldn’t move. He gritted his teeth.
Etho was still there, watching him, with his right arm still extended.
Giving up, Pause said, “I’m sorry, I can’t move my—” but stopped when Etho let his arm drop to his side, raising his left one in its place.
Pause went to shake his hand, but Etho leaned in closer and grasped his forearm.
“Thank you for your service.” He said softly, his voice somewhat muted by his mask.
Pause stared wide-eyed at him. Etho leaned back, but Pause gripped his forearm back tightly.
“Thank you.” He tried to say, but his voice didn’t seem to work.
-Beef-
The greetings finally over, Beef settled down in his chair next to Vechs and Anders. He looked at all the people sitting at the table. It started with Vechs, then Beef, The Anders, who was apparently engaged in a deep conversation with Etho, on his left, about weapons. Next came Doc—his back facing the door—who was listening to the conversation between Zisteau and Pause, with Guude on Pause’s left throwing in tidbits every now and then. Nebris sat next to Guude, fiddling with his hat. The chair next to Vechs and Nebris, which was the grand chair that Guude was supposed to be sitting in, was empty.
Beef sighed, content with the chatter around him.
“Beef. Hey, Beef.” Vechs whispered to him, poking his arm several times.
“Yes?” Beef asked without turning his head.
“Do you think the Tsar is… looking at me?” Vechs asked quietly.
That got Beef’s attention. “What?” he asked, leaning closer to Vechs.
“I’ve been watching everyone talk, and several times, when I look over at Pause and the Tsar, I see him looking at me. When I focus on him, he looks away.”
Beef pursed his lips, thinking before he answered. “You should probably talk with him at the feast later today. Maybe you can find out then.”
Vechs nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. “Okay. Good idea.”
Recognizing that the short interaction was done, Beef leaned back into his comfortable vertical position.
Eyes flitting around the room, Beef began to look further than the surface of the incessant chatter. He noticed that Etho kept glancing at Nebris, who was still fiddling with his hat. From his angle, it looked to Beef like Etho was staring at Nebris’ uniquely-colored eyes. Nebris didn’t notice the attention, and every once and a while, when he stopped to glance at the others before focusing on his hat again, Etho would quickly turn away, a slight tint of red on the sliver of his face that was bare. Anders, in the zone he lodged himself in whenever someone mentioned weapons, didn’t notice. Beef wondered if he would even care if he did.
He would probably have less respect for Etho, thought Beef, chuckling to himself. His sudden noise attracted the attention of Vechs, who leaned over.
“What’re you laughing at?” Vechs asked, causing Beef to stop.
“Just thinking about something that happened earlier today.” He lied.
“Hm, okay.” Vechs said, obviously not convinced. He leaned back and continued to fiddle with his gloves and thick, green goggles.
Beef continued to use his ability to be astute—to be nosy. He noticed Guude kept glancing at the empty chair.
He looks worried. He thought, and rose out of his chair, meaning to pull Guude aside and ask him what was troubling him.
Before Beef could step around his chair to move over to Guude, he also rose up out of his chair. Beef quickly sat down again, earning a quizzical glance from Doc’s good eye.
The room fell respectfully silent quickly, and all heads pivoted to face Guude.
“I have postponed this meeting for long enough. Since BDoubleO has not arrived yet, we must continue without him.” Guude said, before sitting down again. The look of confusion and worry didn't pass from his face.
Beef looked over at the empty chair along with the rest in the room.
He knew everyone was thinking it. It was obvious from their expressions.
Where is he?
-Pause-
Pause sat quietly through the meeting, only speaking when asked for his opinion. It wasn't like it was an order to not speak. He just didn't have much to say.
It was mostly Guude, Zisteau, and Etho discussing the matters. The rest listened quietly, sometimes adding their opinions or ides to the conversation. Guude was obviously—at least to Pause—displeased at the sudden lack of input by his friends, who—save Doc, who preferred to listen—were always chatty when it was just the eight of them. But Guude stayed silent about it and continued to be the only one speaking for the group for most of the meeting.
Doc was busy writing all that was said down on a long roll of parchment that was already folding at his feet. At some times, the only thing heard was the scratch of Nebris’ purple feather—which was unwillingly taken out of his hat—on the parchment as the three gathered their thoughts.
And so the meeting went on.
Pause listened to business transactions be fabricated, and the plans from the past be put into motion. Trading was reorganized, and debts to countries were scheduled to be paid off. Overall, the meeting was very successful in the amount of progress made, the little amount of time it took, and the amount of parchment that was now creating a nest around Doc’s chair.
The meeting finally started to draw to a close, and people began to fidget, probably thinking about Aldington’s feast that awaited them when the meeting was over.
Guude finally stood up. Everyone leaned in closer, hoping for the official announcement of the end of the meeting. “I am happy to—”
“Wait!” Anders spoke suddenly, causing Guude to break off mid-sentence, and for everyone to turn their heads in his direction.
Anders cleared his throat, since he hadn't used it in some time. “Beef had asked me earlier how my round about the kingdom was.”
Some turned to look at Beef, who had a look of confusion on his face.
Anders continued. “I had told him nothing went wrong, because at the time I didn't remember anything out of the ordinary.”
Guude sat down again, leaning forward in his chair. “What, guy? What happened?”
Anders closed his eyes. Without opening them, he said, “I was in one of the border towns up north. I remember going to the tavern one night. People didn't recognize me, because I wasn't wearing any of my medals or my cape.” He said.
“And?” Beef asked, confused why Anders was telling them his story.
“I sat down at the bar, and there was a guy sitting next to me. I told him I was from the army, and he said he was a fisherman. He said that he was from up north, and he was coming down south to Mindcrackia to live with his sister. Said it was until things died down.”
“What was happening? Did he tell you?” Nebris asked, causing Etho to glance in his direction, then look away quickly.
I wonder what that was about. Pause thought, then discarded it as nothing.
“I asked him what had happened, and he said “You’re in the army, and you haven’t heard about what’s happening up north?”” Anders paused to remember, and everyone leaned in a bit more. At this point, Pause was almost completely off his chair.
Anders continued. “He didn't trust me as much after that, even as drunk as he was. I finally made him tell me, though; after I told him I was based in the southernmost part of Mindcrackia, and spent most of my time stationed at the Islands.”
Zisteau nodded, agreeing with the statement.
“Apparently, the guys from the badlands have a new leader that grouped them together to actually form a makeshift army.” Anders said.
The badlands was the place that most countries sent their worst prisoners and enemies. Personally, Pause thought it was a terrible idea to send all the bad people to the same place, but he was hopelessly overwhelmed by the millions that just wanted to get rid of the trash and forget about it. The badlands itself wasn't the most hospitable place in the world, but apparently it was hospitable enough.
If there was someone powerful enough to actually rally up the exiled people to form an army, then they had to be pretty powerful.
It was terrible news, and everyone knew it.
“How did the guy know about it?” Vechs asked.
“Apparently, the people from the badlands have been raiding outposts and towns from small countries near the border, gaining more and more land. The guy said that every day, the news got heavier and more apparent that it was time to leave.” Anders said. “He phrased his moving southward as ‘relocating until things die down up there.’”
“Is there any more? Did he say anything else about it?” Etho asked Anders.
Anders shook his head. “As soon as he told me, he walked out. I followed him a couple seconds later, but I lost him when I when outside.”
Guude leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes with his hand. “I hope to the gods that the guy was joking.” He said.
Everyone knew it wasn't so. It was real.
“What are we going to do?” Vechs asked Guude. “Are we going to send troops up to help the other countries, or are we going to make them stay here to protect our own ground?”
Guude sighed, removing his hand to look at everyone. “I don’t know.”
Zisteau spoke, moving his arm up so he could visually count with his fingers. “We have four choices. We can choose to stay separate, and either send troops up or keep them in our respectable countries.” He flipped up two fingers.
“Or, we could ally ourselves together and all send troops up to fight, or we can send our troops to key locations in our three countries to keep them at bay.” He flipped up two fingers on his other hand. “I personally prefer the latter two, with keeping our troops in our three countries so we don’t spread ourselves too thin.”
Etho was nodding the whole time Zisteau was talking. “I agree with the idea to ally ourselves. It will make us stronger.”
“I agree as well.” Guude said. “Who thinks we should do this? Say “Yea.”
The rest nodded in agreement, knowing that it was the best idea. “Yea.”
“Then it is settled.” Guude said. Pause started a bit when Guude turned to him and asked, “What should we do now?”
He thought long and hard. He raised his gaze to meet Anders', knowing that he was thinking the same thing.
“We wait.” They said together.
“We can’t do anything right now. The only thing we can do is send out scouts to travel north. When they come back with information, then we can take action.” Anders said.
“For now, we plan.” Pause said. “We get maps of the land and figure out what we’re going to do when they get here.” Because they will get here. “We send out word to the officers of the situation, so they can react accordingly.”
“We also tell the officers of the new alliance we've just made, and have them meet and discuss with one another.” Etho added. “That way, they can exchange battle strategies and learn tactics.”
Zisteau nodded. “I will send out a messenger to tell my officers at once.”
“I as well.” Etho agreed.
“Then it is settled.” Guude said once again, standing up. “We begin preparation tomorrow.”
The rest stood up, and Guude said, “This meeting is officially over.”
~`~
It hissed. It popped. It crackled.
The sounds it made were addictive, but it came nowhere near the colors.
Blue. Red. Yellow. Orange. Even the green ring around the blue, barely visible to his keen eye, and nonexistent to the ones who didn't have the gift.
The unworthy.
He crouched by it, mesmerized. It had been several days since he had left its comfort to find food. He didn’t notice. It would take care of him. It always had, even when others hadn't.
It didn't like them. It destroyed them. They were gone.
Dead.
He moved his hand closer to it, hoping that it would allow him to touch it like he always wanted to. His hand was so close, so close to touching it…
It hissed at him, popping and sparking. He drew his hand back slowly, knowing that it didn't like to be touched.
He wished it would let him.
He heard a noise from behind him. He didn’t move.
“Hey.”
He didn't look away from it. He didn't want it to run away. Like the last time it rained.
“You look hungry. I brought you some food.”
The person sat next to him on a rock in the ground.
“May I?”
He didn’t move.
A hand appeared, pushing a rag filled with dried meat and berries in front of him. He moved the food from the rag to his mouth, swallowing it without chewing. It was gone in seconds.
He didn't look away.
The hand appeared again, taking the rag out of view.
“You seem hungry. I’ll go and get more for you.”
There was a noise again, and then the only thing was the crackle of it.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t look away.
Like before, feedback! Favorite! Go!
Previous chapters:
Pompt: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/261194.html#cutid1
Chapter 1: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/263430.html#cutid1
Chapter 2: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/265331.html#cutid1
Chapter 3: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/268876.html#cutid1
Chapter 4: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/269844.html#cutid1
no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 07:17 am (UTC)Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreference! ;D
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Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 11:20 am (UTC)Really want t' see the scene in where Pause actually suffers the should wound that caused his disease. Maybe I just want to see him hurt? XD
Great job! Like Cass, love the Etho/Pause interaction! :D
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Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:19 pm (UTC)And NO, I WILL NOT. I would cry too much to actually type.
no subject
Date: Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013 04:08 pm (UTC)I just want some hurt... I am such a sadist... *Giggles*
no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 01:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 04:04 pm (UTC)And who are the people at the end? I have a feeling it includes Generik, but then again, I think a lot of things in this story are because of Generik.
no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 04:17 pm (UTC)Oh and one more thing... Your links worked ^_^
no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 06:17 pm (UTC)And the Pause and Etho interaction... I had to. It had to be done.