Going Down

[Rune]

47th, Ash 122

The Noble Gambit had arrived at it's initial destination and was set in a slow orbit of the first of the Riverland forts. First only because it was the fastest to reach and would, therefore, also be reached first by the slowing giant ships following after the faster Gambit. They had arrived in the last afternoon and signaled that they were both who they were representing and the desire a meeting with the commander. After a delay the fort signaled back a time (early afternoon) at which they could set down for the meeting.

So, for the moment, they circled high above. The hesitation on the part of the fort was not unexpected, the lines of communication to the capitol had been down for more than a full season by this point. Rumors and garbled intelligence reports were all that would have been received this far out. If ships could be sent, the commanders would wonder why they hadn't been sent before. One of the finest in the fleet appearing without warning so long after the communications black out was suspicious at best.


Captain Merovoch had called Reiner into his office to to a final briefing and (after the Lieutenant had a conversation with said Captain about his standing order to escort Private Dornkirk) had Kämpfer along to listen.

The Lieutenant stood at attention and saluted, dropping the salute, but not the stance, when it was returned. He wanted to show that he could be scenery; something so normal in the presence of military commanders that he would blend into the background and be forgotten. Merovoch had been leery of his assertion that he had been sent as a bodyguard and possibly more, but there was no reason not to send one higher ranking officer down with the private, and, if Kämpfer's belief about his orders was correct Merovoch did not want it to become an issue when they returned.

The captain explained the meeting time, when they would be landing and when both men would need to report for duty. There was a signal that air officers knew to give if they needed emergency extraction which, of course, Kämpfer knew and Dornkirk did not. He instructed the older man to instruct the younger before they touched down on the ground and then dismissed them for the night.

~~~

Once they had eaten their evening meal and were back in the cabin, dressed down for the night with their uniforms hung with special care Kuno pulled out the extra signal whistle which he'd requisitioned for Reiner and held it out to him as he sat down on 'his' bunk. The signal was not complicated, but it was specific. The private was a quick learner, in this and all other things Kuno had instructed him in, so it only took a few moments before he was playing the notes correctly through the muted end of the whistle. No point having half the ship rushing in to rescue them in their small clothes.

Leaning back on his elbows, stretching his long, slim torso he nodded.

"That's it. You've got it. Try not to use it to fuck with any of my fellow airmen if you end up back in the army, eh?"

After a beat he yawned, his body recalling that he, too, hadn't slept well the previous night, then,

"Are you nervous?"

[Reiner Dornkirk]

PFC Dornkirk was on his best behavior before Captain Merovoch. He was dutifully deferential to higher ranking officers in general, but there was something about being under the command of someone from a different branch of the military that seemed to call for more mindfulness. He wasn't only representing himself, but the ZDC itself and there was natural competition between the branches, some of it friendly, some of it... not.

He behaved as would have been appropriate to an officer of roughly equivalent rank in the army, hoping it would translate well enough to satisfy the airship captain. Obeisance aside, Reiner was attentive to all that was relayed. Stefan had successfully imparted the important of focus and attention to detail on his first day, and the private had taken it to heart. A mistake could, after all, get him killed quite literally. He was ready to die in the line of duty for a cause, but not over a stupid, avoidable error.

Upon being dismissed, he saluted, pivoted and marched out with Kuno.

~~~

Kuno would find that Reiner continued his trend of being a completionist with his meals- Making sure to get a bit of everything on offer and clearing his plate thoroughly. He was glad to get out of his crisp new uniform and have a shower before returning to their small cabin. He'd been glad of the hot water, but now that he was back in their little room he was a bit overheated. He was sitting on his bunk in naught but his briefs, one leg was draped over the edge of the bed while the other was tucked under him on the thin mattress. The private was fanning himself with the dossier when Kuno plopped down next to him, and offered him the whistle.

He smiled, accepting the guidance with his typical friendly agreeability and no dearth of encouraging or grateful smiles speckled throughout the exchange. When all was said and done, he tucked the whistle away safely with his dog tag, and shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that! My parents told me about The Boy Who Cried Wolf when I was a kid..." His shoulders slumped a bit at the more pertinent question.

"Yeah, kind of... A bit of it's excitement, but I'm definitely anxious too. I just want to make everyone proud, y'know? My cousin, the captain..." He glanced sidelong, a crooked, bashful smile painting his lips, "You." His eyes danced away quickly, and he stared at his hands.

"How about you? Do you ever get nervous?"

[Rune]

The younger man's desire to make him proud was warm inside the elder, like a cat, having been fed, settles itself to contentedly lick at its paws. The question got a nod, though the companionable smile did not waver.

"I do, and I am, just a little. I always say a few nerves before heading into battle keeps you alert and alive. This is a battle of sorts, I suppose. But, if you take to my other lessons as quick as you took to the whistle, we've no problem and the commanders stand not a chance."

His praise neatly side stepped any actual expression of his nerves, while Reiner's were out on display. Hopefully the words would bolster the private's confidence, and, if not, if he could at least keep his mouth shut while the commander they were to face that day shouted at him, all would likely be well.

The gruff old man who was in command of their first stop would bluster and growl but, in the end, he would follow whatever his most recent orders were along the command structure as he understood it. Which meant that a direct order from Minister Dornkirk would garner his obedience, however grudging it might be. If Reiner slipped up and snapped back at the man, or cowered, showing weakness, things would be harder. Feeling insulted or sensing weakness in the Dornkirk line, either one, would cause the man to dig in his heels, make delays and probably cherry-pick what supplies he was willing to provide. Inventory documents might end up conveniently 'lost', or similar manufactured issues might be found to crop up.

Kuno eyed the man beside him, trying to gauge if his words had been enough before deciding that, either way, a little release of tension couldn't hurt. Without changing the attentive expression on his face at all he reached to the side and took up the one pillow allowed per bed. Grasping it firmly he brought it around to thump against Reiner's and shoulders in a sneak attack that no one who'd fought in close quarters with the tall man would have found surprising in the least.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

WIth his eyes fixed on his fidgeting hands, the private didn't see the other man's response to his vulnerable little offering. He was a bit embarrassed to admit it, so it felt natural and necessary to avert his gaze from the response.

"I'm glad to hear it..." Reiner replied through a relieved sigh, "Not that you're anxious in itself, of course, but that I'm not alone." Now his eyes darted up and over toward his present bedmate. His grin broadened boyishly at Kuno's compliment of confidence in him. Perhaps he was already starting to make his best friend proud.

A moment of silence hung between them as hazel eyes peered at green, but it was suddenly broken by an egregious unprovoked assault. His eyes widened and he let out an incredulous scoff.

"Sneaky as a pidge, you are!" He leapt from his seat on the bed and padded the few steps it took to fetch a weapon of his own from Kuno's bed, though small as the cabin was he was still in range of further plush blows to his bare back.

Whipping around, he sent Kuno's pillow swinging toward the lieutenant's side.

"Have at thee, fiend!" He offered in an old-timey, overly theatricalized dialect of Common that he'd heard performed by comic actors in low cabarets and cheap music halls. He attempted to parry from one of Kuno's sweeps, and then tried to conk his friend over the head, before dancing away to slide along the wall of the room.

It was fun to see Kuno being playful in this way. The lieutenant was sort of straight-laced in his eyes, and a bit eccentric. He wasn't like the normal sort of soldiers he was used to bunking or drinking with. He wasn't sure it was a peculiarity of airmen in general or Kuno in particular, but this was more the sort of boyish bluster he was accustomed to in the infantry. It felt good to let loose... let off some steam. He completely forgot his nerves as he launched another downy salvo upon his friend.

[Rune]

Kuno's face immediately turned to a parody of outrages insult so convincing that it was, for a moment, frightening before he said,

"How. Very. Dare. You!" In a blustering dandy of a West Side accent. Holding his wide-eyed expression he began pummeling the private with the pillow now held in both hands while simultaneously trying, unsuccessfully, to block him from reaching the rooms only other cushy weapon.

As the first return volley fell he bellowed out, "Fiend am I? Fiend! I'll have you dragged before the magistrate! Strung up by your toes!"

He was beginning to laugh, but kept up the outraged expression as much as he could for it. As Reiner moved as far away from his as possible Kuno rose to his full height and began to slowly stalk his roommate. When Reiner had back up until his back was to the foot of one of the beds he charged, tripping them both back over the chest and onto the semi-soft mattress. There he straddled the other man and led a full on frontal assault, not even attempting to block the oncoming blows as he landed his own until he was out of breath and a bit covered in the tiny feather fluff that was escaping one weapon or the other.

Sputtering a bit first to get the fluff off of his mouth Kuno leaned down till their faces were less than an inch apart and said,

"Well? Do you surrender?" His tone was different, close and quiet, almost serious. He could feel his own panting breath washing out over the mouth below him, could feel Reiner's own licking up against his own lips. As near as they were the green eyes locked on hazel seemed impossibly large, as though they took up the whole of the world and spilled over into the next. The moment held between them, as though Kuno actually wanted the answer, was waiting to hear what it was. He wasn't, for he knew that in play nor reality would this younger Dornkirk ever give in to surrender.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner laughed- No, Reiner giggled at the bit of playacting Kuno reciprocated. With the private playing some old-timey music hall caricature and the lieutenant playing the part of the posh prig, both hurling harmless hits one against the other, the young Dornkirk was delighted. His face was flush, his heart was beating apace, and he felt like a kid again. Like the boy he'd been in that more innocent world that existed before the fall of Zaichaer, before the war drums sounded... Before Glade the 8th, and Venetia Childs. Before school time hazing and brutish bullies fond of poking fun at the feminine features he'd never fully outgrown. Before he'd been old enough to know that the world was unfair and that he hadn't been born as lucky as some. The world was nowhere beyond this cabin. His ambitions naught beyond becoming victor of this meaningless, but somehow all-important conflict.

All at once, he was tumbling backward and Kuno forward on top of him. Somehow the private kept ahold of his increasingly lumpy weapon, and used it now to block the flurry of strikes Kuno dealt from his advantageous position above the younger soldier. He retaliated a few times in the windows when Kuno was drawing back for his next attack.

Suddenly the lieutenant leaned down, and Reiner inspired a breath that might have been deemed a gasp, though he hadn't the presence of mind to make that distinction. It was just a reflex to what felt like a sudden shift in the tenor of their concourse. For a moment he stopped breathing, his eyes wide and suddenly nervous. The carefree attitude gave way to a cryptic sort of anxiety, but soon the exertion of their recent cardio set his lungs back to panting. His own breath was sweet enough to inform Kuno that Reiner had brushed his teeth since dinner. He'd been hot before any of this, so sweat glistened all over his pale body now that they'd been running around.

"Heh..." He ignored the question of surrender, "For a second there I thought you were gonna..." His body was tense, now. "...I dunno." He ran his tongue across his bottom lip subconsciously, "You play a mighty convincing fop when you try, y'know." Maybe Kuno had some acting chops after all.

[Rune]

As he sat up one pointed brow rose high on the lieutenant's face as he waited for the end of the sentence that did not come. What had Reiner thought he had been about to do? Considering their relative positions it could be anything from violence to sex, but Kuno had no such intentions. For the moment.

When the playfulness came back in a compliment that was actually an insult he rolled his eyes and made as high pitched a huffing sound as he was capable of with his blood up. Standing he tossed the pillow over his shoulder 'carelessly' hitting Reiner square in the face before stomping the two steps he was able to take away. When he turned back around the normal smile he wore for his roommate when they were teasing one another was back and he laughed a little, eyes sparkling.

"Well, call in a draw then, shall we?" The last words were accompanied by the brief return of the foppish voice, then, normal again, "I suppose I should get myself off into the shower before all the hot water has been stolen by the likes of lowly PFCs, eh?"

This said he took up his towel and made his own way to where his ablutions could take place.

It was only around twenty minutes later that, cleaned and cleaned out, he returned with the terrycloth slung low enough over his hips to tell the tale of nothing beneath. Kuno was not particularly shy with his body, more so when he was on a ship aboard which not one civilian lurked to judge him.

Once the door was shut he pulled the towel from his waist and slung it around his shoulders to catch any dripping of his hair while he crouched down and dug in his chest encased duffel for a pair of underwear he could sleep in.

"All good, soldier?" He inquired once he had pulled the pants up over his most private places and began to towel his hair dry. "We best get lights out and see if we can sleep before the meeting. If I have sufficiently exhausted you, that is." The last was a little cheeky, but only a little

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner chuckled at Kuno's response, and let his pillow cudgel fall to his lap as he ran both hands through his slightly sweat dampened hair. His chortle was cut short by a pillow to the face, but if his reflexes weren't quick enough to dodge it, at least they were sharp enough that he caught it before it joined the other on his lap.

"Ooh, thanks! I could use an extra pillow." He decided, fluffing both and placing them at the head of Kuno's bed before laying down on his side with one cheek pressed to the pair of plush pillows. His back was to the wall, so his gaze lazily followed his roommate as he offered armistice.

"A draw, then." The private offered with newfound langour lilting its way in to deepen his usual rasp toward the breathiness that tended to presage his slumber. He sounded as though he'd already set his mind to the cessation of combat.

"That's right, Kuno. I'm so lowly that one of the finest ships in the fleet was ordered to serve as my personal escort." The taunt seemed to stir him a tad. At least enough that he lifted his head from his two purloined pillows as he lay on a borrowed bed.

He rolled onto his back as Kuno left the room, and let out a relaxed sigh as he shut his eyes. A moment ago he'd though he was on the verge of falling asleep, but another natural impulse stirred to keep him awake.

"Scheiße..." He muttered, glancing to the door the lieutenant had just left through. "Whelp..." He sighed, and tugged his briefs down the curve of his rump to rest just above his knees.

By the time Kuno returned he was relieved and relaxed again. And this time he hadn't even sullied his roommate's bedding with aught more than sweat! He was, however, still in the bed Kuno had claimed for himself. One knee was bent toward the ceiling and the other was resting across it with his foot swinging back and forth as the ankle rested against that knee.

"Yeah, I could stand some shut-eye..." Reiner smiled mischievously, "Have a good night, lieutenant." And with that, he rolled onto his side with his back to Kuno in the other man's bed with his head resting on both of their allotted pillows. His cheek pressed more firmly to the pillow beneath it for the spread of his impish grin. He knew Kuno wasn't the sort to let such a thing stand, but he was also just kind of feeling too lazy to move without it being something akin to a direct order from a superior officer.

[Rune]

The lieutenant stood for a moment, noting the faintest tang in the air and wondering how many times, now that he knew he was allowed, the private and availed himself of his own hand over the course of the day. When it seemed that Reiner intended to sleep both in Kuno's bed and with both pillows the older man looked down on the lithe body, almost bare, curling up comfortably in a space that must, at least a little bit, already smell like him. Then he shrugged one shoulder just to himself and flicked the lights off before crawling in behind the man who he was used to sharing a bed with by now, if not usually, one so small.

"Best to keep the nightmares away." He murmured, but he was, in fact, very tired, and, in a moment, he'd wrapped his arms around Reiner and drifted.

~~~

The clangor of the bells announcing the switching of the second night shift for the first morning one woke Kuno more from instinct than from any decision on his part to wake up at this time. His shift had traditionally fallen as the second one of the day, which meant he needed to rise with when the first one came on duty if he wanted the leisure to prepare himself and get breakfast while it was still got and available.

It was a good thing too, considering they were expected down on the ground around noon. This way they would have time for a good meal, time to let that settle as they went over the plan, simple as it was, one more time, then prep time for their appearance before they boarded a ship to land at Eleven o'clock. On time was tardy, as his old ship's captain had used to say.

He pulled himself out of the bed and stood before he tried to wake Reiner. No use making the boy jumpy finding a prick between his cheeks first thing, even if Kuno wasn't especially hard that morning.

"Up and at 'em, soldier." He said, neither loudly nor harshly. "We've got lives to save today."

It was the truth; many would starve over the course of the harsh Northlands Frost without the built up supplies that Minister Dornkirk intended to use to feed the people and what remained of the military both. That it would also be an exceptional bargaining chip to use in contacting the generals who must be, by this time beginning to run low on supplies. It had been a full season since the destruction of the capitol would have confused the supply lines, and even if the troops had gotten all the shipments that had already been in the books on the 34th, they would probably be at half rations by then. Gambling that whatever had happened to the capitol would resolve itself as the last coup had was the logical choice, but in the case of the unimaginable, a poor one.

Throwing on one of his two old uniforms without bothering to make it perfect he waited for Reiner to dress, shaking his head when the private reached for the new uniform.

"Wear your old one for now, no point accidentally spilling porridge on it and having to try and clean it last minute. We'll eat, go over the information one last time, and then we'll make ourselves pretty enough for the Old Codger. Yes?"

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner twitched at Kuno's initial touch. He'd been expected to be touched, but in some sort of playful attack, not a gentle embrace. He lifted his head to look over his shoulder, wanting to make certain it wasn't a ruse to lull him into a false sense of security. It appeared not, as Kuno was already dozing.

"All right..." He whispered in response, trying to scoot himself closer to the wall for fear Kuno might be teetering too precariously closely to the edge and might tumble from the bed if the only child in his arms waxed twitchy. He took in a deep breath and sighed. It was a bit too hot for this and he wasn't the best at sleeping, so he just lost himself in thoughts until they wove indiscernibly into dreams.

* * *

He rolled onto his back and blinked his eyes open to regard Kuno standing over him.

"Good morning to you too, Fotze." He grumbled breathily, as he pushed himself up and propped himself by his elbows as he rolled his head, causing a series of cracks to sound in his slender neck. He swung his feet around and winced at the cold floor as his soles alighted against it. At least the room was cooler, he supposed.

Standing up, he padded to his chest and knelt down. He brushed an errant, rolled up sock from atop his duffel and opened it to sift out what he needed for the day.

"Hm? Oh. All right." He placed the new uniform back down and settled on one of the pieces he'd come with. It didn't look its best these days, but every stain and frayed edge was hard earned either trekking from the Northern front or fighting of mistspawn on the city's outskirts.

"I hope the new uniforms won't make it look like the Dornkirks are sitting pretty in some castle in the clouds, literally above the fray..." He noted, as he buttoned his last button. He sat to pull on a pair of boots.

"Anyway." He stood. "Ready when you are! So..." He thought back to their prep sessions for the first leg of the mission, "Brave, but not brazen. Confident, not cocky. When in doubt, keep my fuckin' trap shut. That the gist?"