Going Down (Part III)

[Reiner Dornkirk]

"Heh!" Reiner chuckled, "You know me! Just a buoy from the mean streets of the East End." He bit his lip and glanced down at the hands that had just been on Kuno's skin, and now lay upturned and open in his own lap, smiling. He liked the response, even if it was a tease. It implied that Kuno felt like he needed Reiner. Connections like that were hard to come by at the best of times, let alone after a national disaster claimed large swaths of ones prior loved ones.

Reiner did have other friends, but times like these were strange. Overnight things could change so drastically in the world, and also just emotionally. It used to be that he was really good friends with a few of the men in his unit. Sure, they teased him. A lot. Mostly about the idolization of his lofty cousins, which they took for putting on airs. Those who'd known him long enough, knew he'd adopted his mother's maiden name, which made it worse. And those who'd known him longer still remembered when he was a kid and everybody thought he was a girl, and still taunted him for that, even though he'd grown into his look. Or so he thought. But he teased them all right back. Everybody had something to rib on, and he could dish it out as well as he could take it. That was just part of friendship. No... brotherhood.

But things had shifted between Reiner and those men the day some man in a fancy suit showed up with an air yacht to take him up to the ivory towers in the sky. It took the air out of a lot of the teasing he used to get from the other men. At first he just thought they were eating crow for being wrong all those years, now that Reiner could prove he was a legitimate, card-carrying Dornkirk. He peacocked around a bit about it, but softened when it wasn't received well. Eventually he realized what it was. They were scared of him now. He had the kind of connections that could get them crushed or coronated. That was what they thought. Some were afraid to talk to him, others kissed his ass. Nobody teased him anymore. Just Kuno.

Kuno had turned out to be the bridge between his worlds. Another metaphor, that, but it felt appropriate. He was salt-of-the-earth enough that they could banter like old chums, and entrenched enough in the new world of the Islands that he could help ease Reiner into unfamiliar situations. He was adviser, translator, educator and so much more. There were so, so many gaps in Reiner that Kuno was able to fill.

Reiner bit his lip and shook his head at the offer of another game.

"Not tonight, I don't think." He scooted to Kuno's left so he could slide both legs by him and get to his feet. "It'll be another early morning, and I'm still catching up from the last couple nights." He did stretch his back at the mention of massage, but made his way over to his bunk, pulling his undershirt off along the way and tossing it into his trunk.

"We got plenty of time for cards." He sat down on the edge of his bed, tugging his woolen socks off and rolling them into a ball, which he lobbed into the trunk to join his previously discarded shirt. He glanced across to Kuno's bed, realizing both of their pillows were still there from last night.

"Be a chum and toss me my pillow?" He extended his arms, waiting. He wasn't sure if Kuno was expecting him to commandeer his bunk again, but he wasn't feeling as playfully presumptuous tonight. Perhaps he really was that tired. His drooping eyelids seemed to suggest as much.

[Rune]

While Kuno wasn't particularly happy when Reiner retired to his own bunk he did hand over the requested pillow without complaint. They were on a ship and the chances of him having nightmares bad enough to wake him were much slimmer when he could feel the movement under him. No one had ever attacked him for his predilections aboard an airship, most likely because the only people who had ever discovered them were those who shared them. He had developed a bit of a compass for such interests in others. One of the reasons he was so intrigued by Reiner was likely that his compass just spun uselessly around the younger man without offering him direction. Might mean the man himself didn't know what he wanted, which seemed accurate the longer Kuno thought about it.

Pulling the covers up and settling for sleep felt odd without the warm of another body in the bed with him after so long with one present but his mind soon adjusted and he was slipping between the clouds of unconsciousness as quickly as ever.

~~~

The next few days were a pleasant combination of sharing his duty shifts, discussing plans, taking meals in the mess and even sharing a game of cards with the other officers. The younger command crew of the Gambit warmed to Reiner despite their confusion as to his exact status. Once they saw that their new lieutenant treated him like a younger brother he respected they took his cue and soon enough they were all joking and bantering as they threw cards down in wins and losses that, unknown to them, Kuno kept even enough that everyone stayed happy.

Twice more they were called to fly down to the ground in the little lifeboat, and the third time Kuno was even able to use the trip to explain the instruments and basics of how one steered. He did not let Reiner touch the controls himself, not with as jumpy as he could be, but the knowledge was just more that would prove him useful in the future to both his current companion and his cousin.

Both trips were straight forward and simple; both commanders responding as though they were traditional messengers and handing off missives (One a short note, the other an actual sealed letter) to be delivered back to the Minister. These were triumphs too, and while they did not cause near to the level of excitement that the first had they kept the attitude going between the two new comers and it slowly spread to the crew as people began to realize what their mission's goal must be.

With food and supplies there was hope, there was a future that involved something other than watching their nation die slowly after the killing blow of the 34th. So it was that, by the time the night before the final fort came, the whole crew was in high spirits that combined joviality and determination. They had a purpose, and, however peripherally, the whole ship was working toward that goal.

Kuno was sitting on his bunk making notes in his own personal log book, a little thing he kept in his inner breast pocket for information that was complex enough he might not remember, or little details he didn't want to forget. Reiner had ducked off to the head after their meal and, he imagined, been waylaid by one or more of the men who they'd spent time with since leaving the first Fort. Either that, or he'd gotten lost on the way back from having his piss. The thought made Kuno grin but even if he knew that wouldn't be the case. Imagining the younger man as sort of helpless was nice, but it would never be to that extend.

He glanced up when the door finally opened to admit his roommate and gave a brief nod of acknowledgement before returning to what he was writing.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

As the crew warmed to Reiner, Kuno would find the private was quick to comfort once he'd acclimated to a situation. As bashful as the boy could be in new scenarios or when he felt out of his element, he could easily transition into being the life of the party with jokes and anecdotes that definitely charmed at least a few of their crewmates and garnered the attention of quite a few more than that. He had an upbeat attitude that seemed balming to some in these somber times, and he was the sort of guy who could make brief interactions feel monumental. He had big open eyes and was willing to listen when someone needed to air a grievance or vent about a problem and, only if asked, he'd even offer advice if he thought he had any worth relaying.

Kuno knew this Reiner better than most, but it was nice for the private to be able to spread it around a bit. He often felt like a kid holding onto mummy Kuno's apron, and imagined that the lieutenant might tire of him at any moment. Having other potential friends was a relief but, for Reiner at least, it took nothing away from the one-on-one time he spent with his roommate, who he still considered to be his best friend.

This mindset was affirmed by Kuno's willingness to let him in on a bit more of the goings on in a cockpit. He might have tried to reach for the controls a few times and had his hands slapped away, but he didn't regret a whit. He'd get there. He just knew it. Kuno was just being over-cautious, but he'd soften. He always did, after a while...

On the matter of the mission, the second and third forts were encouraging. It was starting to feel like a rainbow tour as the momentum built, and the pieces fell into place for Reiner, Kuno and Greater Zaichaer. The whole ship was feeling it. He was glad they'd started with Lang, which was more a matter of geography than convenience, but ended up serving both. "Taming the bear' made it easier to manage the turtle and the vole who followed. He couldn't help but feel he was doing his family proud, and he intended to keep up in that vein.

Shouldering his way into their cabin, Reiner smiled a bit too brightly at Kuno. The flush to his cheeks would be enough, at this point, for the lieutenant to realize the boy had imbibed a couple of beers somewhere between the cabin and the latrine.

"Whatcha writin'?" He inquired, as he plopped down on the edge of his bed and leaned forward to tug off his boots. Since they'd just been on the ship a spell, he was just wearing the laces loose so they were easier to get on and off.

"Hope you didn't miss me too much. I ran into Lieutenant Starner in the corridor. He'd just gotten off duty and wanted to snag me for a couple of lagers, but I told him I couldn't stay long." He moved his boots over beside the trunk, and swung his legs up onto the mattress, laying down on his side so he could watch his roommate- Propping himself up on one elbow and letting his fair, smooth cheek rest against the heel of one palm.

[Rune]

Finishing the sentence he was working on he folded the book and sat up.

"Log book. You know, like on a ship." The last was teasing but softly so, he was feeling quiet, in his own head but not unwilling to engage with the private who had obviously been drinking. Not having to be so on his toes about how he acted because Reiner was mildly intoxicated was actually appealing.

"I hope you kept to just a drink or two. You being hung over tomorrow would be a weakness Vonnegut will pounce on. If Lang was a bear, she is a vixen. Clever, and vicious when she wants to be."

Rolling over till his feet touched the ground he rubbed at one eye with the palm of his hand then yawned wide and long. He shook his head a bit to clear it at the end of the yawn and then looked the private over more carefully.

"I sent our uniforms to be steamed again, so we're all set in the physical preparation department. How are you feeling about it? We can't really plan how to deal with her except to keep 'expect the unexpected' in the front of our brains."

Reiner had done better with Lang than Kuno had expected, and he had done it by saying what he thought was best in the moment. If that proved to be a repeatable skill it could... well, it could be a lot. Men like that were the ones that came out on top of situations just like the one Zaichaer now found itself in. Someone who could speak truth to power without offending it, someone who could rally their equals and inspire the lowly masses. That was the sort of leader the future of the State was calling for. If Reiner turned out to be a person like that, and Kuno remained his eyes and ears, the one who analyzed the problems before setting the younger man to face them, well, that sounded like an outcome he could live with.

Thank the gods he'd found him young, Kuno thought, and then sent an actual silent prayer to his patron deities. He'd found a moment before they left to spend on his knees in thanksgiving and requests since he'd known he wouldn't get a single moment of privacy on the ship. A prediction that had proven wholly true; even in the showers or the head there were always people milling about, waiting their turn or performing their own biologically imperative functions. Worship would have to wait till they were back on dirt for more than a few hours.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner rolled his eyes at the teasing condescension about the logbook. After a moment, he rolled onto his back, tucking his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling briefly, before shutting his eyes.

"Bears, foxes... We're assembling quite the menagerie on this tour." The private observed, blithely. "Just a couple of lagers. Light stuff. I feel more hydrated than buzzed." Perhaps he protested too much, but he was sure he'd be fine and sometimes Kuno's guidance felt like nagging. Particularly when alcohol put his headspace into a more irritable place. This tended to happen when he started drinking, but had to stop for an extended period, which was the case now.

As Kuno got back to business, Reiner tilted his head to the side and squinted at him a bit, as the light in the cabin seemed very bright at the moment.

"Thanks for that..." His brief bristling gave way to earnest gratitude. Kuno was very thoughtful, and more detail oriented than the private. He knew he wouldn't have thought to steam the uniforms and, moreover, he'd have had to do it himself, where Kuno could order someone else to do it for them. If Vonnegut was as mercurial as the lieutenant suggested, it seemed wise to look as sharp as possible lest they give her an inch of folly to stretch into a mile of incompetence.

"I'm feeling all right. Sort of like I did with Lang... nervously excited? I feel like we've done our due diligence, but I'm a little more anxious because it seems like even you don't know how to predict her, and you're... you."

Thinking on things again, and on the prior nudge that had felt like a nag, Reiner thought it might be wise to actually hydrate to decrease the possibility of a hangover. They really couldn't afford for him to be off his game, even if it had only been two lagers. He swung his legs around and padded to pour himself a few cups of water, which he downed in succession.

If Kuno didn't have more to broach, Reiner would call it an early night in his own bunk. Falling to sleep more easily than usual, though on his back when he usually slept on his side. He would wake on his side, though, with his back to Kuno's bunk, feeling more refreshed than usual, for having turned in early.

He yawned and stretched his arms out over his head as he rolled onto his other side to see whether the lieutenant had woken.

[Rune]

'The Menagerie', Kuno thought, would be a good name for the remaining members of the Zaichaer command structure for many reasons. He kept the thought to himself, however, as he wasn't sure how flattering it might be to the Minister as the rest of his council on the islands.

When it became apparent that, without nudging, the private preferred his own bunk, or, at least, was not comfortable bringing up the idea of him sleeping in Kuno's himself, the lieutenant allowed it. There was something to be said for reminding a person that it was nicer to do things the way Kuno wanted them to, but there was also something to be said for letting them remain in the belief that they were making their own choices, and, in this case, it was a small price to pay for the trade off. Kuno felt restless, mostly due to the irritation of feeling not as in control of his companion as he normally was, but it was just a feeling, not a chemical complaint. So, when he closed his eyes and tried to sleep he was able to fall quickly and sleep through the night.

He was not yet awake when Reiner awoke, having tossed from his position with his back to the room to one on his back, one arm tucked under his head, his slim, tall chest spread to it's full length with the blanket fallen down to his waist. It was several minutes before the bells rang, informing his unconscious mind that it was time to return to consciousness.

When it did his eyes popped open and he glanced around, waiting the second before he remembered where he was, then his eyes sought Reiner. Finding his friend already awake Kuno tried to say 'good morning' but was caught in a massive stretch and yawn combo that had to be completed before he could get the words out.

"Good morning." He wasn't awake enough yet to be excited, but at least he sounded relatively cheerful. "Think I might finally be caught up on that sleep debt from when he left. You look bushy tailed enough too."

The last sentence was said as he tossed back the rest of his bedding and swung his feet to the floor. It was freezing and he hissed and pulled them back up instantly before resigning himself to the fact that he had to stand up eventually and putting them back down.

"Vonnegut asked for an early meeting so if we want food we'd best hurry."

With that, he stood and began to dress, socks first.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

If this wasn't a first, it felt like one, Reiner thought as he braved the bracing chill of the floor with his own bare feet. Kuno always seemed to get up before him, but the lieutenant also seemed to fall easier into slumber than the private. With a little extra time to himself, he decided to start his day off with a shower. He grabbed his satchel of toiletries and crept out to make for the washroom, where he would go about his ablutions in the company of a few of the other early birds on the ship.

When Kuno got around to waking, Reiner was wearing one towel as a skirt and using a smaller one to dry his hair, trying to be as quiet as a mouse until the bells sounded and he could stop tiptoeing around. The sound still made him cringe a bit, and the look he was casting to Kuno as the other man woke was one of sympathy.

"Hey, sleepy head." He offered with a playful little grin. "Yeah, I haven't felt this refreshed in weeks." He acknowledged, shrugging one bare shoulder. When he was satisfied that his hair had been toweled down enough, he produced a comb to slick it from the usual part.

"I could stand to wait to eat until after the meeting. My belly's so full of butterflies, there might not be room for food anyhow..." Letting the towel that had served as his skirt tumble to the cool floor, he pulled on a pair of briefs and began to dress, as well. Within a few minutes he was in uniform and voluntarily submitted himself for the inspection he'd grown to expected from his roommate and superior officer. The detail-oriented lieutenant would fuss, as he was wont to do, while Reiner stood by and let him. It was routine for them now, or close to it.

"But did you want to run through anything one last time before we head down?"

[Rune]

The sight of Reiner's body was becoming something that registered as 'normal' in Kuno's head, and, at the same time, the more often he was exposed to the exposed private the more the voice in the back of his head that represented the urges he refused to name came to the fore. It wasn't unmanageable, but, sooner or later, something would have to be done about it. Technically, he'd been doing things at it's dictate since almost the moment he'd encountered the beautiful man, however much he refused to think of Reiner in those terms 'out loud' in his head. They were service men, and soldiers had to take care of each other. No one else was going to do it, and it that care took different forms with different people, it was all the same in the end. It was survival.

The lieutenant didn't like appearing on duty with wet hair and tended to shower accordingly; as he'd done the previous evening. If his roommate was at all effected by the sight of his taller, leaner body in only a towel it was being expressed in avoidance that pretended to be nonchalance. Which was fine, anything different wouldn't have been acceptable on the Noble Gambit any way. The last night they'd spent on the Islands would receive due exploration once they were back where privacy was afforded them.

The denial of hunger was, under the circumstances, understandable, but Kuno did wonder if the desire for an empty stomach was due to the meeting or the flight down to it. The wind had kicked up during the night and their descent was sure to be as rough as any they'd had so far, likely more so. The newest Dornkirk was beginning to grow more used to travel on the tiny lifeboat that they used to get to and from the ground but a lack of fear did not always mean a steady stomach for someone not used to sailing through a gale.

A nod, after a moment to consider, was his answer to the idea that they could wait to eat. Not starving himself yet, he would endure rather than trying to grab a bite alone first. There was no telling how long The Vixen might keep them, but they both knew how to handle a little hunger.

They both dressed quickly; Reiner submitted to his inspection but it was almost cursory now. The private learned quickly and, once learned, retained the habits expected of him. Kuno knew that there was a stubborn streak in the man somewhere, but, so far, he'd only seen brief glimpses. The question was good one but he didn't have a real answer.

" 'Expect the unexpected' is, I think, still the best we can really do. You know her officer's names. She might try to put you at ease, or might go in for the attack straight off. Stay loose, stay sharp. I'll try and throw up or something if you get muddled." The last was toned as a joke and he winked, but, in all seriousness, he wasn't above making a spectacle of himself if it was called for. Stepping to the cabin door he tilted his hat at a jaunty angled, pulled the door open and said,

"Alright, Soldier, once more into the breach!" Before leading the way.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

“If you want to distract ‘em with tummy troubles, maybe you should at least snag some of that porridge. Seems like it’d look the same coming up as going down…” Reiner joked.

With the tenor of Kuno’s last bit of instruction being more of the same vagueness he’d heard thus far, he would purse his lips and nod acknowledgement.

“Brace for impact.” He summarized, “Got it.” The young private arched an eyebrow and smiled at the lieutenant’s last utterance.

“Say!” His crooked grin broadened, “Captain Seeker Angevin said the same thing to me when we started our descent toward the Schiller! Is that some sorta quote from somewhere that I ought to know?” If the breach in question was their cabin door, then Reiner was successful in obliging his attending albeit ranking officer.

He’d learnt the layout of the airship enough by this point to have led the way to their dinky dirigible dinghy, but Kuno had longer legs and took the lead. He climbed in and took the passenger seat, quickly reaching to buckle himself in so Kuno wouldn’t try to do it for him. He wasn’t some helpless little kid, even if the lieutenant did sometimes seem to enjoy playing the doting Mutti.

Sometimes Reiner still wanted to squeeze his eyes shut for these descents, but he forced himself not to. Even if the turbulence was as bad as he’d felt it, that was all the more reason to face his fears. Blinding himself to his surroundings during peril was stupid anyway. It wasn’t like ignorance was any sort of shield from danger. It was just a placebo to make one feel safer in the face of doom. If he was going to die in a crash, why would he want to cut off one of his senses from the last few moments of his life?

Happily, these were not they, and Kuno successfully landed the vessel.

“Phew. Do you think the ‘Vixen’ is in charge of the weather? I’m already off balance and I haven’t even met her yet!” He noted with a weak chuckle as he unstrapped himself from his seat.

[Rune]

Kuno shrugged a shoulder as they left their cabin and didn't answer the question for the length of their walk to the little craft that almost felt like their own now, using the wind and sudden sound of being out in the open as an excuse. When they were buckling into their seats he said,

"It's something that started among the soldiers in the months after the the 34th, we had to go out into the unknown to shore up defenses, or on search parties for survivors and the like, it was non-stop. I don't really remember some of the days, they blend together and no one was sleeping very well..."

He trailed off again for a moment as he tried to force back the memories. When he succeeded he turned and offered something like his normal gamely grin, "We used it to encourage each other, sort of a joke to start, I think, making fun of a stuffy officer of some sort, but then it became like a rallying cry, hearing it perks up any man who survived that ordeal."

It was a part of the vocabulary of the whole population of the Islands now, and meant something like 'we survived that, whatever is ahead can't stop us!'. Kuno briefly wondered if, in a hundred years no one would remember where it had come from, just use it like any of the hundreds of local and regional phrases he'd grown up using. History was certainly happening around them now, and, if even in small ways, each person left was shaping it.

He laughed at the suggestion that the Commander might also command the weather as they unstrapped and exited their transport for the, relative' safety of the ground under their feet.

"If she is that would only make her a more valuable asset, come on, you've your feet under you soldier, what more do we need, eh?"

They vague indifference they'd received when entering the other forts was not what greeted them in this last one. 'Greeting' was more apt a term as a young officer came out to salute them and lead them inside. Once there they were led to the Commander's private sitting room, which looked and felt more like what a Lord Dornkirk might call his sitting room than anything like what one might expect from a militant fort. They were offered drinks of their choice, including alcohol, though Kuno refused that and the tea, accepting only a glass of water. When it arrived on a tray with what smelled like freshly baked spice cake it was a temptation he was hard pressed to resist but it felt like the right thing to do. If Reiner wanted to sample what a fort filled with food could offer he wouldn't blame him, particularly since he hadn't eaten. The tea smelled strong and tempting as well but Kuno hadn't grown up with such luxuries so it was easier to ignore.

They sat for only a few minutes before a young women in an officer's uniform who could only be described as 'stunning' stepped out of one of the doors and told them that the Commander would see them now. She did this with a smile so brilliant and welcoming as to be almost blinding and Kuno, though not unaffected, could see that blinding them was exactly the point.

The office beyond was, at least, more like what one might expect a military Commander's office to look like, with charts and such on the walls, maps, etc. It was tidy and somehow said something of the feminine and warm despite being austere. Kuno was impressed, though more with the woman who sat behind the desk then the room. She was beautiful too, but in a wholly different way from the fresh-faced girl who led them inside and gestured for them to approach. Vonnegut was blond, fair skinned and pale eyed, though he wasn't sure if they were grey or blue in the subdued lighting. When she looked up she gave them a small smile that immediately registered to the street boy inside Kuno as containing all the sweet allure of a very skilled predator. The sort of smile that asked you if you wanted a warm bed and a biscuit and then led you into a shaft of the mines so deep you'd die there without ever seeing the sun or feeling a breath of clean air again. He swallowed, but not visibly as he snapped into a tight salute and then stood to the side as he had at the other meetings.

Commander Vonnegut returned the salutes but then said,

"Please, gentlemen," and gestured to the two chairs pulled up close to the front of her desk. "I believe you have some things to tell me."