Buckling Down [open]

[aidanrosaline]

Aidan had finally decided that play time was over. If she wanted to offer her services to the military as an archer, commit herself happily to the ranks, she needed to be proactive and not wait for any other military personnel or archers come to her. She had mulled over Orin's words for long enough and now she was exploring on her own. The castle might be a good place to start, but as she milled around and smiled uncertainly at the guards that eyed her with no small amount of curiosity (and most likely thought her addled), she came to find that there were actual military grounds specifically designed for all that chose to defend Elsyium. How organized this was, so much more centralized than Eldyn where every division had their own housing (except for the archers, of course, though she wondered if that wasn't due to her own lack of initiative and willingness to accept the status quo). After asking one of the guards if this was true and how she might find this place, she ambled over that way at a slow pace, trying to phrase what she would say once she found the right person. Words so often betrayed her in these types of situations and she wanted to be sure not to sound like a complete imbecile.

How should she present her last ranking? A position of grand master that she had neither wanted or ever felt she deserved, but had instead been thrust into the title by default. Such a disservice that Eldyn had done to the division and while she'd tried her best, she couldn't help but feel that she'd failed them in so many ways. Should she even mention it? But she didn't want to be dishonest and she wrung her hands as she walked, not noticing the path she walked - would she remember how to get here later? The first swelling buds on the trees witnessed this strange trek in which she mumbled to herself...stopped in mid step and turned around...and forced herself back toward the compound. Finally she reached the main entrance and she paused briefly, nodding to herself before lifting a hand to the door and pulling it open. Would she find anyone inside?

[Naeva Northam]

It had been rather quiet in the military building as of lately. The war was over and all they really had left to do was pick up the mess of it and go back to the way things were beforehand. Training--though not so intense as before. And well, the guards has a bit more to do to keep themselves busy with watching the prisoners from Saelis that were down in the dungeons. That was what had been keeping Naevah busy mostly. Watching the horrid prisoners of war. If it were up to her, they'd all be burnt by now, or drowned in the ocean... Whichever method worked best. But whatever, it wasn't up to her and she instead she watched them, which only brought memories of living in Saelis to her.

Today, the charge had been given to one of her other guards of the infantry. Naevah had some work to get done and a training schedule needed to be redone and gotten in order. Not only that, most of her men were off working on the rebuilding, so yes, there was very little movement in the building as Naevah walked through the halls.

A box of weaponry needed to be sorted out. It was just sitting there in the middle of the hall as if someone had left it there for someone else to do. She sighed and went to doing the task, searching for any damanged weaponry that needed to be sent to the blacksmith or armory for repair.

When the door opened, it startled her a bit and she glanced up, gaze falling upon the timid looking blonde. A curious glance was given to her and she spoke with that deep sounding voice of hers as she stood up straighter from her crouching position. For a woman, she was very tall, nearly six feet, even. "Can I help you? You look...well, a bit lost?"

[aidanrosaline]

She had just stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind her, busy glancing around and not directly in front of her as she should have been, when a voice was heard and seemed to be addressing her. Grey green eyes flew to the very tall woman in front of her, leaving Aidan to wonder what it would be like to be bigger. Truly wonderful, she imagined, as it would leave her able to trash her brothers in a fair fight.

"Ah...I don't think I'm lost, the guards at the castle told me this was the military compound?" the uplilt of her voice at the end of her statement turning it into a question. She hoped she wasn't lost, anyway - how typical would that be? "My name is Aidan MacDubh and I'm here to join the archers," standing a bit straighter though it didn't do much toward her own height. Nervous gestures and fiddling hands were still as she clasped her hands in front of her, willing herself to meet the woman's gaze evenly, her expression polite. "If there are any open positions, that is," she added a bit hastily, not wanting to presume anything.

[Naeva Northam]

The box of weaponry had been abandoned for the moment as she regarded the young woman curiously. An archer, eh? She studied her, wondering how good she actually was with a bow and arrow. She looked like an innocent little thing, pretty and more like the lady type if anything. Was she judging her? Well, wasn’t that sort of what a commander had to do? Judge others and then push them to do better than what they were capable of before.
Her hands were placed on her hips and she let out a soft sigh. “The Archers. Yes, I imagine there are many open positions. Why would there not be? Should there be limits to how many are in the military?” She shrugged her shoulders as if answering her own rhetorical question.
“Anyway…The archers do not have a commander any longer.” Her thoughts went to Aithne just then. She hadn’t heard what happened to her; if she and Brahm had left after the war, or if they were killed. Either way, she hadn’t heard or seen her. But it left the archers without a commander. Unfortunately, most of the military commanders were gone. Save for her, and it only put that much more pressure on her. Even Thais was gone, their military commander in general. The military was badly hurting and she only hoped there would be no attack to the isle anytime soon. They needed reorganization.
She glanced over her shoulder and pointed in a direction down the hall. “The archers’ quarters are down that way. There are a lot of empty rooms. Take your pick, I guess.“ She then pointed to a door that was just by where they stood. “Archery and training grounds are just outside that door. I guess for now, find the others that are in the archers wing and train with them. I’ll be around if you need help.” And then it just occurred to her that she hadn’t introduced herself. “I’m Naevah, infantry commander…”

[aidanrosaline]

She followed the motion of Naevah's hand with a blink of surprise - was that truly it? No need to display her skills, no inquiry into any past experiences or if she eve had her own equipment? Well...alright then. With a glance back to Naevah, she nodded and gave a small smile, stepping forward and almost offering a hand to shake, until she realized that the woman before her was a commander. Instead, Aidan's hand formed a fist and was placed over her heart as Aidan bowed at the waist. This had been the standard military salute in Eldyn and while she didn't know what the standard was here, it was all she had to offer at the moment.

"I will move my things in immediately and start training, as you have suggested. Thank you for your time, commander," wondering how many other archers there were and about the leaderless position. She was glad her position as a former leader had not come to light as of yet because she didn't want the same thing happening this time around. Elysium deserved better. Maybe Connor would help her move her trunk over, seeing as she couldn't lift it herself? Either way, it was better than squatting in an abandoned building like some sort of criminal. Her thoughts were jumping around from one thing to another like a demented squirrel and she realized she was being rude. With a glance down to the weapons in the box, she took another step forward and cleared her throat softly. "Do you need any help with your current task?"