Oorah

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander was usually one of the first people down at the training yard in the mornings. He liked getting in his workouts before starting work and it was a nice way to get his blood pumping. The sound of the gravel crunching under his shoes as he ran and the birds early morning chirping always put his mind at ease. It may have also been a habit formed from his father waking him up before dawn to run laps around their farm but that wasn't something he liked to think about.

Zander loved being a soldier. It was the only thing he really thought he was good at. Fighting and protecting others was all he knew how to do. It also helped give him a goal. Something to strive for instead of just going through the motions. It was a way to show his sister that he could become something better. Be someone better.

As he paused to take a drink of water he noticed a familiar blonde woman. "Morning, commander!" He called with his charming crooked grin.

[Naeva Northam]

Naeva typically woke early each morning and made her way to the training yard before the others typically got there. She had to spend a good part of her day training the men and watching over their forms, ensuring they were training correctly. But she also needed training herself, so she spent the mornings on her own doing just that and getting ready for her day filled with ordering men around and ensuring they worked hard to become better soldiers, regardless if they already were good or not.

It had taken a while to earn the respect and trust from the other soldiers. She was a woman soldier, shorter than most of the men, but taller than a lot of the women on the aisle. But Naeva had proven herself a worthy fighter. She was tough and fierce and strong, and although she was often overlooked, she had earned her spot as the commander of the infantry and fought better than most of the men who served under or with her.

She was practicing with just a shield in her hands. An important infantry tactic. If one could not hold a shield, strike back with a shield, even use the shield as a potential weapon, if needed, then they would be useless in battle. It could be a heavy thing, and Naeva trained with the heaviest shield she could find to build her strength and ensure that she would be able to fight regardless of how heavy the weapon or shield she held was.

Naeva almost didn't hear Zander as he called to her, greeting her. She stopped what she was doing, standing tall and turning to glance over her shoulder at the man as she caught her breath. A nod in greeting was given. "Morning." She called back, letting the shield lower down beside her legs. With her free hand, she lifted her arm to wipe the sweat from her brow.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander had been a frail sick kid when he joined the military. He'd barely been able to run half a mile before he was wheezing and couldn't move. Naeva had made him want to push harder though. Now he had the stamina to out run and out last most of the other men.

As she lowered her shield Zander made his way over to her and offered her some of his water. "Always a pleasure to see you out here." He said sweetly as he dragged one of his hands through his hair. Though his skin was flushed a soft red and sweat poured from his face and down his neck the boy didn't show any signs of fatigue.

"A shame more men don't show up to train early. Really gets the blood pumping." A playful laugh parted his lips as he stretched his arms over his head. The fact that Naeva was a woman commanding the infantry soldiers had been more than a bit odd to him at first. He'd worried about her safety, knowing how the men could be. While there was still a part of him that worried for his commander she'd proven well enough that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

[Naeva Northam]

Good ole Zander. The young Infantryman had made a lot of progress since he joined. Naeva had worked with him since the beginning and although she had initial doubts at first, he had proven her wrong on many occasions and she was always happy to see the man succeed and thrive.

She took the water from him as it was offered and took a sip from it before handing it back to him. "Thank you." She raised a brow and laughed lightly, "is it?" Most tried to avoid running into her when it was not time for training. She was sure the man was just being polite.

Naeva turned away from him briefly to return her shield in its place on the rack. "I like that no one shows up early." She quietly admitted. It gave her some time to herself to train without having to worry about watching over anyone else. It gave her uninterrupted time to train herself and gave her some time to think, to take out her own aggression.

"What are you doing here so early? Getting the blood pumping?" She lightly teased him. He worked harder than most, which she appreciated, of course. "How was your run?"

[Zander Brogthamon]

"I don't know about the other soldiers but it's always a pleasure for me to see a beautiful, strong woman in the morning." He teased with a charming smile. Always the relentless charmer even to his commander. At this point the boy didn't know how to turn it off.

He did understand the idea of preferring to train on your own. There was something relaxing about having the training yard to yourself. To work on your own flaws without being interrupted or worrying about others around you. Zander rolled his shoulders before stretching his arms over his head and chuckled at her teasing. "My run was good." Though he'd gone on one before leaving Pearces house.

"How has your training been going?"

[Naeva Northam]

Naeva was unlike most ladies. She didn't take well to compliments, nor was she really impressed or affected by them. Flattery, if that was what Zander was trying to do, did not typically work on her. She smiled at him, however, but said nothing in response. She mostly disagreed with him, as she did not consider herself a beautiful woman. Strong, maybe, but not beautiful. Her father had raised her as if she were a son, and so she lacked the ways of being a lady, really. And for that, Naeva felt more masculine than beautiful.

"Training has been fine." She was not really one for words or conversation either, apparently, but she at least never came across as rude about it. Most of her men knew that she wasn't the socializing type unless it came time to giving orders or discussing plans. Or if someone got close enough to her to knock down some of those walls she held up. She had lost a lot of those friends in the war, unfortunately.

She always felt awkward when someone came to her, expecting to have a conversation, or made small talk with her. Mostly because she wasn't good at either. So she allowed an awkward silence to linger for the briefest of a moment before she turned away from him, "help me with this?" She motioned to a table with various swords that one of the Privates had cleaned and sharped the previous night. He had left them out as proof that he had done the work, but now they needed to be returned to the racks. She lifted a couple of swords from the table and began to work on placing them back in their place. "What are your plans for the day?" She asked him quietly.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Luckily talking was one of Zanders strong points. He'd managed to talk himself out of trouble almost as much as he talked himself into it. And while he may not have been interested in women he could at least appreciate beauty in all forms. Even in those who didn't see it in themselves.

As she asked him to help with the swords he didn't mind. Without wanting to make her more uncomfortable with a lot of talk he began grabbing blades and placing them back in their correct spot. At the question on what plans he had for the rest of the day the redhead shrugged his shoulders. "Train, do my rounds, drag my boyfriend with me to the tavern." Boyfriend was still a word he was getting used to. Still, it wasn't going to be something he hid.

Carefully he eyed a few of the swords to make sure the work had been done properly. "What about you? Any plans for the rest of the day?"

[Naeva Northam]

She was silent as they moved through cleaning up the swords and getting them back on the racking. As Zander described his plans for the day, she listened attentively, even though her focus was on the task at hand. Her own plans were vaguely similar, minus the boyfriend and tavern part.

The corners of her lips twitched in the slightest of a smile. It was the first she had heard him mention having a boyfriend, and although it wasn't unheard of, it was still somewhat uncommon, or at least not spoken of. Naeva wasn't put off by it in the least. She had questioned her own sexuality on multiple occasions. She wasn't one to judge.

While most women would gush over the fact that he was admitting to being in a relationship, wanting more details, Naeva did not comment. She wasn't much for being personable with others. It just made things easier. Lonely, but easier. "Sounds like a good day," was all she responded with.

When he turned the same question on her, Naeva sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "Train. Do rounds. Check up on my father." It was pretty much the same every day, give or take here and there.

[Zander Brogthamon]

The commander always seemed so focused on work. While Zander admired her dedication and work ethic it couldn't be that fulfilling of a life. Still, he doubted if he asked her to join him at the tavern out right that she would agree. There a barrier she kept between herself and other people. "Any day that ends at the tavern is a good day...usually."

"How is your father?" He asked as he put away the last of the blades. Fathers weren't generally a topic he liked sticking to. Talks about parents in general really always wound up so emotional but he doubted there'd be much worry about that with Naeva.

His eyes wandered back over towards the training yard before turning back to the commander. "So what do you do when you aren't training or doing rounds?" He was genuinely curious. It seemed that work was all the woman thought about.

[Naeva Northam]

There wasn't a whole lot of time for leisurely activities for Naeva outside of her duties. She lived and breathed being Aralore's Infantry commander and would be damned if she made a mistake or jeopardized her opportunity to stay as such. Not after how hard she had worked to get where she was and how much she had to try to prove herself worthy.

But every so often, it would seem like one of her men would try to get to know her--to try and get through her walls to figure her out. It wasn't an easy task, as those walls around her remained strong and high, barely allowing anyone into them. Zander seemed to want to try his luck anyway.

"Is that so?" Naeva spoke, only half interested. She couldn't really relate to such a statement, as she did not often end her days at a tavern. It was often spent unwinding and getting some much-needed sleep so she could rise early and do everything all over again.

As the last blade was put away, Naeva stood with her hands on her hips, regarding Zander as he questioned her about her father. Most of the Infantry knew of her father because he used to be in it before he retired. He was a good man and put in his efforts, and although he had never become a commander as his daughter had, he pushed her as hard as he could and was proud of her accomplishments. "He is well, thank you." She could have been a bit more personable and told him how her father was going stir crazy without the usual tasks he had before retiring, and that he had taken up some new hobbies to keep himself busy, but it wasn't her life to talk about. Perhaps it was the way she was-- always keeping confidentiality with whatever others spoke to her about. Naeva was really good at keeping secrets and never let things uttered to her go past her. People trusted her with their lives and she would never go against that or make anyone feel they could not trust her.

It was almost as if Zander knew he wouldn't get much of an answer out of her about her father, he was quick to ask her a more personal question. What did she do when she wasn't training or doing her rounds? Naeva smirked slightly. Hadn't he sort of asked her that already? In a different sort of way, perhaps. "Also aside from having small-talk conversations with my men?" She grinned a bit more and shrugged her shoulders. "Not much, I am afraid. Sorry to disappoint... I am not that exciting..." She was already moving to the next task at hand with preparing for her training, "I keep busy..."

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander was certain she wasn't all too interested in his antics outside of work. Though he didn't assume it was out of any sort of malice. At least that's not how he took it. The simple comment on the state of her father made him chuckle softly to himself. "I bet he's going insane with boredom." The redhead only said that because he knew he would. In fact he did feel like he was going to go insane when he wasn't at work for even a day unless he had something to otherwise keep him busy. Taking care of a nine year old helped with that a lot.

Seeing the smirk on her face made him think she probably caught on to the fact he'd figured out another way to ask the same question. There'd been plenty of times he'd used the same tactic to trick people into giving him the real answer he'd wanted. "Ah I much prefer large talk myself." He teased with a chuckle.

"Awe commander you're plenty exciting. Any woman who could put real fear into a group of men like you do is exciting."

[Naeva Northam]

Naeva breathed a small laugh out her nose as Zander guessed her father was going insane with boredom. She nodded slightly, but then shrugged one of her shoulders up to her ear. "Ah, somewhat. He's been finding things to keep himself busy. Trying to, at least." She smirked, her expression giving away that her father probably wasn't very good with the new hobbies he had taken up.

At his comment of preferring large talk Naeva glanced back at him with a blank expression on her face as she regarded him. Did he really just say that? The corners of her lips pulled upward in another smirk and she shook her head at him. She wasn't even certain how to respond to that. Nor did she want to let on that she thought it was funny.

"But that falls into the training and doing rounds category, now does it? You asked me outside of that..." She let out a small laugh, "I'm rather dull outside of training and fighting. But it's nice to hear I put fear into you men." She grinned and let out another laugh. "The suitors just line right up to meet me, hmm?" Maybe if she wore less dirt and sweat.

[Zander Brogthamon]

The idea of trying to find new hobbies when you've dedicated your life to fighting even made him want to shudder. What else was there? When your children were adults and you weren't even allowed to do the one thing you're good at anymore. Zander dreaded that day. At least it wasn't something he needed to concern himself with for some time. Hopefully.

The look she gave him about his 'large talk' comment made him beam with playful mischief. Was it a stupid comment? Absolutely. But it got her to smile and that was all he cared about at the end of the day. Making people smile and laugh. If he could provide his commander with a bit of reprieve from stresses of work then he'd done his job. Dumb comments and all.

"Suitors should be lining up across Aralore for a chance to just spend an hour with you." He insisted with a small huff. As far as he was concerned if Zander was interested in women at all he was certain Naeva would be his type. She was strong, independent, with a air of confidence about her that most women didn't seem to have. Which was rather sad really. "They're just intimidated by a woman who can take care of herself."

[Naeva Northam]

This all felt rather awkward to her as she did not typically converse with others unless it had to do with training. She lived a rather private and isolated life, hardly letting anyone into it. She just didn’t’ have the time or energy for it.

Zander’s comment didn’t do much to ease the awkwardness she felt, but it got some sort of reaction out of her. She raised an eyebrow and stared at him for a moment as if to give him a warning. Was he mocking her, or genuinely complimenting her? His last comment seemed to sort of ease her tension that he was perhaps not mocking her. She breathed a small laugh out her nose and rolled her eyes as she laughed. “Right… Because women aren’t supposed to be able to take care of themselves?”

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander wasn't really one to mock people. Even people he didn't didn't like. He also wasn't stupid enough to insult or mock the cpatain, especially to her face. Though he could understand how she might take it that way. Still, as she seemed to tense the redhead shook his head. Her question made him laugh a bit.

"I think women are perfectly capable of caring for themselves." It was fairly obvious that she wasn't used to interacting with the other soldiers on a casual level. Perhaps she just wasn't used to interacting with others in general.

"Ya know captain, we don't have to talk if you don't want to." He stated a bit gentler. It wasn't that he was trying to force some awkward conversations, he just wanted to brighten her day. Zander picked up some of the training swords that were scattered on the ground with a mostly sarcastic huff. "You'd think some of these guys were raised in a barn." This coming from someone practically raised in a barn.