towerofanimus | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: Rider (Alexander the Great)

macedonian and Waver Velvet

nonacquiescent
Setting: First the cafeteria and then probably the forest
Summary: Waver's freezing, Rider's a bro.
Warnings: Probably hunting later on

[Waver sits, huddled up with his blanket from his bed wrapped around him, part of it even over his head, and two sweaters on, but it's still not enough. Who thought it was a good idea to turn off the heat in winter?! Normally it doesn't matter that he's so weak and prone to illness, and it's pretty amazing he hasn't caught whatever's going around, but when he doesn't have proper clothing to be in the cold, it's definitely a problem. He can hardly move, and he definitely can't make a fire - mostly because he can't chop the wood, the fire itself is easy - so he just huddles into himself, shivering and sniffling wherever he goes. This time it's in the cafeteria, eating his nutrition bars.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As with many things, the cold was greeted with a smile of challenge. For the man who had stood as a Greek upon Persian ground, looking ever east, there was little that was a true threat or challenge. This was a cold that nipped at his skin, but as soon as he remembered the feeling of a sandstorm in the desert night, this cold simply didn't compare. He could greet this cold with open arms and welcome it as an obstacle that he had to overcome.

Of course, he could understand that not everyone held such a view, and it was hardly a surprise to see the pile of blankets as he enters the cafeteria. It makes him chuckle to realize just who it belonged to after a moment's glance, however.

He walks to join Waver at the table, but before that, Waver will feel a heavy and warm weight on his shoulders. Rider sits next to Waver, crossing his now bare arms as if to defy the cold. He makes no comment on the gesture of giving his cloak to Waver for the time being, since it's something he feels needs no comment.]

Ha, the food has been quite lacking this month, has it not? I am amazed that these strange bars provide any sustenance at all, especially with the weather as of late!

[Waver looks up, surprised by the sudden weight. It's certainly a Rider-thing-to-do, so when he realises what exactly is going on, it's not too strange, but...it's touching. Not that he wants to get into that right now. He's filled his touchy-feely quota and thensome for a while. So instead, he just pulls it around himself.]

It's been terrible! Can these things really have everything you need? Even if they do, food is supposed to be good, it was fine last month!

It certainly was. I thought about complaining before, but now I have no reason to, hm?

[He laughs, starting to eat one himself] Still... I do wonder if some of the creatures I had seen on the floors that looks like the wilds were edible. It would not be much more flavorful, but it would at least be nice to eat some meat!

No, if anything this is definitely reason to complain!

[But he thinks about that last part. He doesn't go to the forest floors unless with someone like Rider for obvious reasons, so he doesn't really know what to expect there, but if it's really like a forest...]

There should be things like deer there, right? I don't see why it wouldn't be edible. As long as it doesn't make me want to puke like this stuff, I think that sounds good.

[He grins, giving Waver a hearty pat on the back]

Ha, you must be hungry to agree so easily! I thought I would have to argue to have you agree. [He laughs, as good-natured as always] Hou, and besides that, perhaps we could make you something a bit warmer to use as well. It would not be quite so grand as my own, since I am no artist, but it would at least be something functional.

[He rubs at his beard with an excited smile] The deer are not as gentle and skittish, but that could perhaps be to our advantage, since without a bow and arrow to hunt, we would have to take them head on.

--"We"?

[Oh no, does he actually want him to go too? Hunting? In the woods with the crazed animals? And what's that about head on?

Oh. What did he just accidentally agree to...]

Yes, "we"! It is your food as much as mine, so for a share, you should have to help!

[Another pat on the back] But do not worry, I do not expect you to do the hunting. But there are things to be carried, and I'll be otherwise occupied!

Well, that might be alright...

[On the other hand, it's annoying that Rider just assumed (and assumed correctly) that he didn't want to take part. He makes a face in thinking about that, grumbling a bit.]

[he knows you by now, waver...]

Then it's settled! [He claps his hands together (saving Waver's back from the impact) with a grin] Though, one thing we would need—Do you believe this kitchen would have a bigger knife somewhere that we could borrow? Or anywhere, in honesty, but this seems the most logical place to find one. My spatha is too big to do any skinning.

If they have knives for cooking, it's not too difficult to figure out, right? They probably have something for fish, anyway.

That should do! It'll likely be too dull to use afterwards, but that's not important.

[A dismissive wave of his hand—What happens to other people's stuff isn't his problem...] This is good! We should collect what we need and go immediately! We may as well!

[Rider, please. At least this time it's not something belonging to Waver that's on the line, so he...doesn't really care much either... The admins can get another, whatever.]

Right...I don't think you need to be without your cloak for long either.

[He looks up and offers a small smile - his way of giving thanks without hurting his own pride.]

[He chuckles, accepting Waver's ~~tsundere~~ thanks without further comment.]

Hou, that will not be too much of a problem! This is no more than the cold of the Persian desert at night, so I will not be troubled by this.

[A laugh as he stands] And besides, I will be warmed up plenty by a hunt! It has been quite a while since I have gone hunting myself... Perhaps not since I was a boy about your age, in fact.

[He frowns, biting down on his lip. He doesn't like the implications, that at about his own age, Rider was becoming important and successful, while he's sitting in a cafeteria, only having a break from his shivering because of charity.]

Don't kings go hunting all the time? Or were you too busy taking over all the other kingdoms?

[He chuckles, nodding]

They often do, yes! But kings often hunt for sport and leisure, neither of which did my campaign necessarily allow. Some of my soldiers certainly did hunt to pass time! But my leisure was spent elsewhere, for I found enough fight on the battlefield that I did not feel the need to seek more.

[Now that his muscles have loosened with the warmth, Waver stands as well, stretching a bit.]

Then did you do anything in that time other than read the same books repeatedly?

[Yes, that's right, ask about him while making it sound like an insult rather than interest...]

Hou, you think so little of me, boy?

[He sounds serious for a moment, one eye closed, but it quickly spreads into a smile again, and he laughs, starting towards the kitchen.]

My leisure was spent perhaps not as leisure—My reign is remembered for its far reaches, but of less glory than conquest is the work that came with such an empire. There were always matters to see to, both Greek and Persian, and it was my duty as king to see to both equally. And that is just politics! There was also the matter of tactical advances, of the welfare of my men, of Roxana, Stateira and Parysatis. There is much to a king that is not so glorious and what makes it difficult work.

[He glances back with a wide smile, but it's softer than his usual oafish grin] Homer's words were the shores upon which I took refuge from these realities of glory and of conquest. They were the only true leisure I chose, for the greatness of the task that I was given required that I should devote my life wholeheartedly to its pursuit.

[He follows, paying close attention, but still trying to look uninterested.]

Roxana, Stateira and Parysatis - your wives, right? I guess that sort of excess would cause a lot of work.

Quite so! One wife is enough work, but three with fiery spirits to each of them is a triumph! Perhaps that is my greatest feat...

[His boisterous grin returns with his merry laugh, even though there's the sense that he's not quite joking...]

...You're serious, aren't you?

Isn't the point of having a bunch of wives to have a bunch of kids? Especially for someone with a huge empire. It sounds like there was something you forgot about, anyway.

[It's not like he's been reading about Alexander or anything...]

[He rubs the back of his head]

Ahh, yes, that is the point.

[And now they're at the kitchen, so Rider starts rummaging around for a knife suitable for skinning animals] But I was never too interested in such things. I suppose in part I did forget about the fact that there should be a successor to my empire, but...

[He actually seems rather embarrassed, still rubbing at the back of his head] Well, Stateira and Parysatis were great women, and thought I married them for political reasons, they held my greatest respect, and a respect thought not befitting to women, and especially Persian women. Though I could have forced an heir from them, certainly, it would have been at the cost of their trust, which was something I held too valuable to throw away so callously.

And in honesty, I wish Roxana could have come to Persia with me, to be by my side to see all of its beauty, but she could not safely travel with us. [That embarrassment does seem to fall, though, as he chuckles, seemingly remembering something fond.] But it is not something too sad, I must say! She was a woman of great fire and independence, and she knew before we wed that I should head further east, and that she would be unlikely to find family by becoming my wife. That was our understanding, and our great love, so that she should be willing to sacrifice all that would give her status for the sake of my dream.

Shouldn't you be more concerned about that? It caused a lot of trouble, you know. Besides, who wouldn't want to be the mother to the heir to a huge empire. Other women were coming forward with lies later to try to say they were, that just proves it.

They never write much about the other two, mostly Roxana. They all must have been pretty impressive to put up with you.

[Especially at the end there, man.]

[He laughs happily, nodding along. Of course, this is while he's picking out various knives, testing them for some unseen quality just by studying each]

Impressive is quite the world for them, yes! I will not bore you with tales of married life, but for its politics... Roxana was the only one who could have born a suitable heir, for a son who was half Persian could have never ruled over the Greeks.

And she would have surely wanted to be given that honor, do not misunderstand! We often talked of our eventual son, but it was through letters and messengers, which is great talk, but of no action. My closest comrades often said that I should leave the battlefield to give my attention to this matter, but the battlefield always called me with greater urgency than the future, you see.

Well, it's pretty obvious you live in the moment without worrying about the future.

But you do know she ended up having a son, right? Or...

['were you too crazy at the end for her pregnancy to register in your tiny brain'- alright that might be in poor taste, so he'll just let the implication hang.]

[There's a long, thoughtful noise as he turns over a knife in his hands. His expression is serious, but whether it's at the knife or what Waver's said is hard to tell until he speaks again.]

I do know, but only as a result of some of the strange happenings that I don't quite understand of being a Heroic Spirit and a Servant. I did not know when I died.

[But the knife seems to be adequate, since he reaches to grab a towel to wrap the blade and tuck it into his belt.] But this should do! Shall we venture towards the forest? Ahh, though if there is some kind of sack here, that would be useful as well, on second thought.