Skyline

[Mookums]

Spoiler

SKYLINE

The air was crisp in the blowout of winter, as spring loomed and the rain clouds sat heavy, bloated and pregnant with rain on the horizon. It was air untouched by smoke, not yet ravaged by bloated carcasses and the heavy stench of blood turned sour on the ground. It belied a peace he had never found, a stillness that only ever came before the deluge.

In the times before all this, they'd never told them about the mud. How it clung to the boots and like a wall vine through mortar, it would end up in your shoes. How your feet would wrinkle and begin to rot, every step becoming unbearable. Matthew had seen one of his trainees come back, with his feet rotten to the bone and he'd pinned him as the surgeon took them both off with a rusty hacksaw and a splash of bourbon. Matthew feared war. He fought for the love of his country, for the green hills of his da's farm and the soft smiles of his sisters back home. He couldn't let those ever part from him, so here he was. A career soldier, officered and uniformed by 27. And his sacred, appointed duty- training mindless ducks into killers who wouldn't flee from battle.

When the sun had barely risen above the horizon, and the gears of war began their incessant turning towards the end of all things, Matthew was already up and moving. With a mug of watered ale, often less dangerous than water by itself, he moseyed on down to the food tent to check in on his bleary-eyed, foul mouthed trainees. Well, no longer his trainees. They shipped off today, and he'd meet a new set in.. under an hour.

The hour passed quickly, the sun rising to a little above the 7th hour and already it was too warm to be in full uniform. It itched and scratched at his skin below the collar, and from the look of his new meat- new trainees, they could obviously see his frustration with it.
"Welcome to camp. You're here because you got drafted, you got pulled in- or, if you're a daft sod- you volunteered. I don't care how you got here. Your training is in my hands: don't piss me off or you'll be digging latrines till the day you die."'
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@Canidae :)

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[Canidae]

Jacqueline reminded herself to breathe. The back of the cart was crowded, the bench she sat on and the one across from her filled with young men pressed together shoulder to shoulder. It was early morning, but it was already hot enough for her to sweat through the bindings over her chest. Well, heat and the smell of dirt wasn't the only thing making her sweat.

They know. They all know.
No. They don't know. Stop shitting yourself.

But what if they know?

Jacqueline glanced over at the man who sat next to her, a young, scruffy kid around her age. He looked too terrified to notice how soft her skin was. Poor fellow.

The car came to a sudden halt, forcing the female to be pressed against the man next to her. She quickly stood up when the man who had been driving came around the back and told them to get out. The sun was cruel, despite the early hour.
In only a few moments, the young men from her car and the other one were lined up, backs straight. But no matter how tall Jacqueline had been in the Catholic School of St. Maria Angelica for Young Girls, she was, and felt, tiny around these men.

Her worries shot out of her mind when the general started talking, and she unconsiously held her breath.
She couldn't go back now.

 

[Mookums]

Matthew eyed the nervous men arrayed before him, mind running far beyond the speed of a fleeing horse as he catalogued and assigned each trainee into a specific category. Some were practically fit for service already, while he could see some scrawnier specimens in the pack, with arms like noodles and as strong as mashed potato.

"You'll be assigned a tent, you'll share with up to 5 others. No, you may not change tents. No, I don't care if your daddy is the the gov'nor of Tulley- you all are equals here, fighting for freedom and for justice and for honour to your families. Don't whine like girls and spoil the day, alright?" With his small spiel over, he begins to direct his orderlies into the group, with specific instructions on which trainee was assigned where, and to keep them all in line.

He raised his voice over the din of harried orderlies shouting instructions, as the new recruits were placed into groups and order was finally, finally, achieved amongst the men. "You've the rest of the day until the noon bell to situate yourselves into your tents, to make allies and friends among your comrades- and to rest for training this afternoon. You'll need it. I hear word of fighting, I might just come and start bashing skulls together, so don't get any ideas."

He dismissed the group with a lazy wave of dismissal, wandering back to a shaded crate and shucked off the jacket that chafed in the sweltering heat, taking a few moments to breathe- and to allow his recruits to approach him, if they dared.​

 

[Canidae]

The heat started working on Jacqueline as the general started his speech, and she could hear her breath turn heavy. This was already proving to be nerve-wracking. She obediently let herself be sorted into a group with four other men. Thinking of a way to keep herself away when changing clothes was a problem for a later time. While three of the guys that she would be sharing a tent with were well built, and one scrawny, she still stood out as especially skinny. She suddenly became aware of the small size of her arms and hoped that she would just be dismissed as especially weak.

Then they were left to their own devices. The other four introduced themselves to the group, some more willing than others. "Jack," she reluctantly said, and turned away. Making friends wasn't her goal here. Her gaze wandered to the general who had retreated to the shade. He looked strong, and serious. She blatantly ignored her tent-mates as they told her that they were going to settle into the tent. Instead, before she knew it, her legs had carried her towards him.

Suddenly, Jacqueline was standing in front of the general, but she found that she had nothing to say. Instead, she stood there, looking at the general with sharp eyes, not a word leaving her lips.​

 

[Mookums]

A shadow crossed in front of him, and Matthew blinked up at the sun-shrouded figure with bleary eyes. A new recruit it seemed, fresh faced and without the stubble of manhood. So young, this man seemed and sometimes Matthew hated this war with a burning passion when it took such young boys from their families and almost promised that they would not return, let alone returned with enough to bury in the end.

With a yawn, he cracked his knuckles and stared up at the recruit, though the kid was hardly taller than he was when sitting. Weak physique, bad posture and no strength. Hardly fit for a war, but it's all he had. "What can I do for you, lad? Did'ya not get sorted into a tent group properly? Ya don't bother me about it, go after one of the attendants or the officers below me. They'll tell'ya where to go. If not, rack off and get some food into you. You've not got much time until the sun crosses the afternoon, then you'll wish you'd eaten enough for 10 men. Or," he grinned and eyed the young man. "Perhaps just five men, with the size of you."​

@Canidae

 

[Canidae]

Jacqueline's heart started beating faster with nervousness. She had no idea why she had let her feet bring her to this man. She was just going to make a fool of herself. And she was right. Before she could even utter a word, the general had shut her down. The comment on her size made her cheeks flush and she lowered her head so that he wouldn't notice. Not for the first time, Jacqueline felt like she was in over her head. What was she really doing here?

"Yes sir, sorry sir," was all she could mutter. The words felt like they caught in her throat. She looked at him once more, and then turned on her heel and rushed to get her bag of very few things that she had brought with her; extra bindings for her chest, a few underpants and -shirts. She could feel the gazes of some on her as she hoisted it up into her back and walked the same way the rest of her group was. She found the tent after peeking into a few wrong ones, and nodded to the men she would be sharing a sleeping space with for the next months.

She didn't speak much but went along with them to eat. And boy did she eat. Even though she had caught the insult from the general, she expected him to know what to do. She had barely any appetite, but she ate as much as her small frame could fathom. If her sister Martha could see her now she would give her at least an hour in the closet- Jacqueline quickly pushed the thought out of her head. She didn't have to think about school now.​