Kieran wasn't entirely sure why she had even been at the meeting that Captain General's had just had about who will now lead them after Mehrin had left, nor was she all to certain about who they had picked but then again...she had never been very ready to let someone other than herself lead. Plus Mehrin had spoiled her view of the post of Commander, if her hospital was run like that men and women would die left and right. So much relaxed authority..Kieran sniffed loud enough for the Cavalry General, Carnhain, to look at her askance..to which she replied with a stare and a light tightening of her eyes to make him look away. The only thing so far that she had found worthy of the man was that he didn't tower over her as much as everyone else. Unfair perhaps as she didn't know the man, but the doctors she commanded would never say she was fair.

 

"You do at least know where he will be so we can make quick work of this don't you?" She asked impatiently as she quickened her pace another step, this was rediculous why not just send one of the other fighting Captain General's to deal with all the celebratory commraderie that would come with it. She cared not, they only made her job harder and never listened to anything she had to say about anything. He nodded and she sighed impatiently, "Well then lead the way boy I don't really have all day to get this done."

 

 

Kieran

NSW Medic Captain General

OOC: Short but it get's the show on the road

Clenching his fists, Carnhain bit his tongue to keep from cursing out the woman.  “That’s a bit rich coming from someone only a few years older than me,” grumbled the irritated cavalryman “or are you calling yourself old?”  Medics just tended to annoy Carnhain with all their “do this, do that, we know best” attitude and the young man had spent enough time with them between his numerous near-fatal wounds.  “And how am I supposed to know where Jaem is?  He’s my Banner Captain, I’m not his bloody wet nurse.”

 

All the same, Carnhain had his suspicions and it would certainly look bad if the man was as far gone drunk as the blonde man was hoping he wasn’t.  If so, this was going to look really bad on both of them and the younger man would give his elder the tongue lashing of his longer life if this reflected bad on the corps as a whole, age and infamy or not.  Despite his hopes, he dragged the medic through the Citadel’s various taverns, looking for his second-in-command, quite possibly only for the next few hours.

Jaem finished the last of his one armed pushups. Twenty five. He was getting stronger already, but it was not enough. He was sweating already, quite profusely. But his workout wasn't over yet, not even close. He looked at the mold of his dead son's hand on the wall. It was the only thing that he had. Getting on his knees, and sitting his rear on his heels, Jaem closed his eyes and began getting into a meditative state. He had never gotten the Flame and Void the Warders had tried to teach him. They had another method, though, where emotions were acctually used to fuel the fight. He had taken this approach and made it his own. Anger, hate, fear... all of those emotions that he had so much of all fueled him. They gave him focus, they gave him strength. Revenge would be his. The Shadow would fall by his own hand, the one they had let him keep. Suddenly he wasn't so tired. His muscles didn't hurt so much.

 

With his jaw clenched, he opened his eyes. All of those emotions, past and present, he had called upon were now all in the same singular spot. He wasn't really sure how to describe it. It was like what the Warders said the Void was like, only instead of this point (or flame) consuming emotion, it radiated it. Without realizing it, Jaem felt his specialy made practice blade in his hand. He began going through the forms. With this new focus, he could feel every minute detail of his movements. He had done these forms countless times. Every time the angle of attack, the shifing of the feet, the positioning of his body was the exact same. Even after so many years, his muscles remembered the form. In a fight, everything had to come instinctively. There was no time for thought.

 

It didn't take long to realize someone was watching. It didn't matter though. He let himself finish a few more repetitions before he turned to greet his visitors. "Ready for another night out at the Officer's Tavern, Carnie?" He grinned as he replaced the blade with a towel, wiping off the sweat. As soon as he let go of all that emotion, he felt completely drained. He would have to find a way to counter that. Another time though. He noticed Carnhain wasn't in quite the mood for pleasantry, nor was the Medic Captain General, if his memory served him right. "What? Whats the matter?"

They finally located Jaem, luckily not in a tavern getting drinking himself into oblivion but in his office, obviously going through a strenuous work-out.  This was good.  Carnhain’s spirits rose.  Now if only he wouldn’t screw it up…

 

"Ready for another night out at the Officer's Tavern, Carnie?"

 

Wince.

 

Carnhain groaned audibly.  Blood and ashes, this wasn’t going to look good on either of them.  Apparently the young man’s absence of humour, though, was beginning to worry the veteran.  “Nothing’s the matter, per say, Jaem.”  The cavalryman wondered how to break the news to his second-in-command, unsure whether the older man would view the post as an honour or would hold the same attitude as his predecessor.

 

Pausing, he could see the suspense take its toll on the one-handed man.  In another situation, Carnhain would have found leaving the poor man in such an undeniable state of desperate anticipation quite amusing.  This wasn’t that situation though and now was not the time for his usual antics.  “Mehrin is gone.  Leaving the position of Commander empty.  The Captain Generals have met and a number of names were put forward for the position.  Yours was one of them and in the end, it was decided you were most fit to lead the Band of the Red Hand in our fight against the Shadow.”

All Jaem could do was look from one to the other. He almost felt as if he had just been punched. "Wait... you thought I was the most fit?" He couldn't help but laugh. They didn't seem to think it was very funny. "Wait. You're serious?" Blood and bloody ashes. "Well I... uhh..." It was a dream come true. Before, it was a young man's fancy... lately, just a means to an end... but the same dream nontheless. Now here it was in front of him. He had the opportunity to lead the premiere army in all the world. He looked at the hand mold on the wall once more, then into the eyes of the two Captain Generals. His jaw was set, he could feel a long forgotten emotion- excitement. "You want me to be your Commander? Yes." Now he couldn't not strive for perfection. "Now if you'll excuse me, I still have more excersizes to complete. We can discuss further preparations and plans later tonight in the Commander's office. I'll meet the Command Staff there in two hours."

The Captain Generals stood haphazardly around the empty room.  Carnhain teased Kedyn, the Infantry teased the Archers and everybody made fun of Kieran, the Medics’ Captain General.  A keg sat on the otherwise vacant desk, save for Carnhain’s rear end.  This was the Band after all, what was a meeting without a few mugs of ale to go along?

 

The door opened and closed to admit Jaem Caran, applicant for the position of Cammander.  If his presence was supposed to create an instant hush over the gathered assembly of men and women he was far wrong.  Instead the whole lot of them kept up their constant joking up until the one-handed veteran called out along the lines of “Oy, listen here!”

 

At which point the gathered assembly dutifully turned and listened to what he had to say.

Kedyn was all small smiles and laughter as he sat in the now vacant commander's office waiting for who the Captain General's had picked to replace Mehrin, he standing in as a temporary replacement for Drea until the Scout Captain General could be replaced. He shook his head and gave a roll of his eyes as Carnhain pointed a jest towards him, trying to think up a retort when the door opened to admit Jaem, the Commander to be it seemed. He stopped talking even though the others didn't, he didn't know this man too well and he wanted to take the moment to study him.

 

Folding his arms he cocked his head to the side a little as the room fell silent from the command, he gave Jaem a small glance over but couldn't seem to read what the man was thinking from his posture. He paused on the stump of his wrist wondering how it affected him, making some assumptions but not placing much concrete trust in them until he could see Jaem in action. And he had a small idea, to test a reaction he dearly wanted to see.

 

"Well if you're going to say something make it quick won't you."

 

 

Kedyn