Scene: Falk POV test
Another close call. Another paycheck. That's the enticing prospect of the job, right? The money to live big, if you dare take the risk. Enough money to live, but not enough time to use it. Some of us find ways to run through them with expensive habits. Mine just lie there, unused, unnecessary, unimportant. So why am I doing this if not for the money? Maybe a good soldier just does what is needed of him without question. Maybe a tamed psycho just does it for the thrill. Which one am I?
"Falk, keep focus!" Markus calls out. "We gotta check for the convergence point."
"Yes, chief," I bark out the best I've learned.
"Reinhart, anything on your end?"
"Negative, chief."
"Chief, I've got something down south," Christoph calls in. I try to ignore the sting, whenever I hear his voice. Lucky fucking bastard.
"Alright, everybody to Christoph's position, stat!" Markus calls out and we move out.
We gather in a park south of the town square, where heavy footprints have stomped down deep on vegetation. This must be where the trolls entered our world.
"Florian, set up a perimeter. Christoph, check nearby fey groves. Reinhart, Falk, you're with me!"
Markus delegates clear and precise orders, and we follow him to the footsteps. Here we lock hands and scan the area for the right point. The tree, probably. Reinhart is the one to find it - he often is. My eyes flicker as two worlds collide and bombard my senses, before they settle on the new world. Otherworld. The tree crowns of a lush forest covers the sky, and by muscle memory we turn to cover all directions. Nothing. Something. A raven caws on a nearby branch. As we turn, it sets flight between the trees.
"Don't shoot," Markus orders, as Reinhart is raising her rifle. "We follow it. Falk, mark this spot."
"Already on it, chief," I answer, kneeling down to paint an X and leave a signal, before we start walking in the direction of the raven. A small clearing emerges between the trees - a fizzled out fire surrounded by a couple of heavy logs. And two unknowns - vettir by the look of it. Markus signs for us to halt. A caw calls out and I spot the raven in a tree by the two men. Possibly Asir then.
"Well met, humans!" one calls out. "We apologize for any inconvenience any stragglers may have caused on your side."
"Well met," Markus calls back. He loves using those Vettir speech patterns, because it makes him feel 'heroic'. "We're here to secure the area."
"Well, consider it temporarily secured then!" the same one calls out. "If that is of any comfort."
"It would be, if we knew who guaranteed it," Markus answers grandiosely. The two men share a look before the first states:
"You may know me as The Wayfarer, and my brother as The Wordless. We are travelling hunters of these lands," the first one states, bullshittingly. That is the most textbook Asir answer I have ever heard. "And who are our honored guests in this land?"
"We're Wildhunters. I'm The Chief and these are my men. We are here to secure the conv- the breach for the safety of our citizens." Markus answers back almost as bullshittingly, but open enough about our mission, that he must have reached the same conclusion as I have.
"And what are your intentions for this breach?" The Wayfarer asks with a more serious expression than the jovial smile he has held since we met him.
"Standard protocol is to close it, which we will return to do now. We thank you for your cooperation, Wayfarer - Wordless. Men, let's return."
"Yes, chief!" we answer in unison and turn.
"Send my regards to the absent red maiden!" The Wayfarer calls behind us, forcing me to look back for another glance. Could he mean Alea? No, it must have some other meaning. My mind is just not my own these days. Just an infatuation - it will pass. I won't see her again anyway. Not after what happened.
"Falk, get your head in the game!" Markus calls out. "If you're not focused on the mission, you're a liability."
"Yes, Chief, I'll be better," I state back, annoyed that he took my mind off her.
"Good, soldier. Now let's get home."
We step on the marked spot and smear it off, while we look at the tree before us, until my senses again start perceiving double, and the flashes increase in speed, before they cease, and we are back in our world. Florian and Christoph receive us, ducking as a raven flies above us. Did it come out with us? With the others stand a couple of local fey women in ritualistic markings. One of them reminds me of her - her golden skin. Her touch.
"I guess our job is done then. We wait here till it's closed," Markus orders. Standard procedure. Then he turns to the Fey with a polite smile: "Dísir - if you please."
"We will do what we can." One of them states and we leave the vicinity for them to do their part. Passing out cigarettes at the street.
"Alright, great job. At ease, men." Markus commands, and we loosen up.
"Who the fuck was that, Markus?" Reinhart asks, going informal as soon as the mission ends.
"Falk," he says, meaning I can take it from here.
"Vague aliases is classical Asir behaviour. A raven and a mute brother indicates that they were possibly Odin's brothers," I explain.
"Bingo!" Markus states
"No fucking way! Wouldn't they be fuck old then?" Reinhart blurts out!
"Yes, we suspect someone is still in charge of handing out Fruits of Youth from some undisclosed location. For now we believe we can trust the Asir to be friendly and possibly a strong ally, if needed. That's why I decided to tell them as much as I did, and trust their word that the place'll be safe for long enough to get this convergence fixed."
"We can't keep relying on bringing in local fey to close them for us," Christoph states. "We oughta learn to do it ourselves."
"No way I'm dancing around like some fucking fairy," Florian chimes in, in fluent macho speak.
"Easy, Florian. State's considering hiring sejdwives to our squad. It'd be easier not relying on outsiders, and we'd keep them in the chopper till needed."
"Our own little fairy bunny, huh? Yeah, I'm game," Florian drools. "Then we won't have to rely on Markus' hand-me-downs."
"Don't you ever shut the fuck up?" I snap. Fucking prick
"Only when I'm knee-deep in blue fey pussy, and you're out crying in the bathroom," he retorts. The rest of the crew is quick to step in, as I get up in his stupid fucking face.
"Falk - he's not worth it," Reinhart says.
"Yeah, listen to the femboy, Bird Man!"
"Markus, put a fucking muzzle on your bitch, or I will!" Reinhart yells back furiously.
"Fucking hell, guys, act like fucking soldiers! You're a unit and you're gonna work like one!" Markus tries mitigating. "If you can't do that, you're risking the mission!"
"Tell that to your fuck-brained dog!" Reinhart spits.
"You're just sad I wont fuck that boy pussy of yours!" Florian laughs back mockingly. Now I'm the one holding Reinhart back. I would love to see him strangle Florian. I'd even join in myself too - stop that mouth from ever spewing his shit again.
"Stop it - All of you!" Markus shouts, turning to look at us, and then back at Florian. "We ALL have to make this work! No fucking provocations, and no fucking any sejdwife we get transferred to our team. That is an order - is that understood?!"
"Sure, Chief!" Florian is quick to say with that easy, mocking smile of his. Markus eases up and turns to us.
"Yes, Chief!" Reinhart answers between his teeth.
"Yes, Chief!" I respond, clenching my fists. I get it - Wildhunters are hard to come by, but Markus protecting that asshole is starting to get just as frustrating as listening to Florian's moronic voice.
"Good!" Markus ends, seemingly content with putting a lit over the boiling water. "Christoph, how is the ritual coming along?"
"They're packing up now, Chief." Christoph replies over the radio. "I've tested the entry, and it's closed."
"Good job. We'll fly the Dísir back to their grove on the way home. Boys, you did good today, before you started bickering. Reflect about that on the way home!"
Our way home. I stay silent on the flight back to Garden City. Why am I doing this? It's not the money. It's no longer the camaraderie. Maybe it's because this is the only thing I know. Maybe it's the naïve belief that I can use those skills to make a difference - to protect people. 'Send my regards to the absent red maiden', he said. To me, there's only one 'red maiden of Garden City' and I don't think she'd ever see me again. That night broke all trust in this team, ruined Markus' relationship, and ruined my chances of anything with Alea. I can still see her perfect small body in front of me, when I close my eyes. The fire in her drunk eyes.
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