between the shadows and the soul - gallows, fennick, warship

[Warship]

come back with your shield, or on it

If his patience was visible, it would be paper thin at the moment. Deep down he knew it was necessary, but it didn’t stop the beast within his chest from rattling the cage bars. The beast raged and frothed, snarling his displeasure at his iron restraints. It longed for war; for the gnashing of blunt teeth against scarred skin, for the grisly feeling of bone beneath hoof. Fortunately there was also a logical part of the General, the part that tempered the beast and thus made him so effective at his job. It was easy, perhaps, to tear around the battle field wildly. There was but one thought; fight. It was more difficult to think clearly in the midst of it all, to see what was going to happen before it did. Years on the battlefield had given him an insight into it, and that perhaps was his greatest asset. Not his strength of body, or the horns atop his head, no…but the heart within his chest.

He listened quietly, his subtly moving ribs the only thing betraying him as a living creature. Long winded speeches were not his forte by any means, but he knew that someone had to do it. He was just thankful it wasn’t him. So far it seemed that Straia didn’t need much of him, and the longer he could linger on the edges of the conversation the more content he was. But beneath the stone-cold façade, and the carefully blank face, the beast sniffed the air hopefully. Like the way the clouds smelled when they were heavy with rain, so the scent of war lingered in the air. Finally, when it seemed the conversation was drawing to a close, he found an opportunity to step in. “In theory, we should be armed to the teeth. But theories are called just that for a reason; they are unproven. We must make sure everyone knows best how to use their gifts, otherwise they are useless.” he said, tilting his head slightly as he surveyed the rulers around him. “We need to mock, to learn one anothers strengths and weaknesses. We mock with our kingdom or birth traits. We learn to use them both effectively and efficiently. If you all would like to send your army to the Chamber,” he said, inclining his head to Gallows and Fennick, “then I will set up pairs and get started. Time is of the essence, or some other such bullshit.”

-warship