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Captain Pele Alarion & Cadil
Command Office, Headquarters
Second Half of November
Pele drank half of the cold tea and poured the other half into the pot of a plant nearby though it had apparently been watered recently. Leaving the cup on the windowsill with an intention to refill it later with a steaming hot beverage, she walked over to the door casually and swung it open. Yet the door had barely travelled one third of the distance before hitting an obstacle.
"Now, what is this?" Pele muttered under her breath and stepped out and around the door to find Cadil rubbing his forehead with an expression of being more startled than in pain.
"What is the meaning of this, tell me! Cadil?" she demanded from the young man. "Standing here listening to secrets?"
"N-n-no, Serg... Captain," Cadil quickly corrected himself, taking note of her insignia of rank. "I heard nothing. Only wanted to bring news."
A frown mastered Pele's brow, even as a curious glint appeared in her eyes while she observed Cadil. It seemed to her that since the last time they had seen each other he had rather grown around his waist rather than build some manly muscle; and he still appeared to have the same playfulness in him, though she could also clearly see certain seriousness in his brown eyes. It had been quite some time, and she expected him to have grown in character and experience a bit, considering the information she had come by.
"News? Like, news of you wanting to join the King's Rangers?" she asked, and motioned for him to enter the office. "Or is it something else?" She quickly collected all the notes from the desk and stashed them away, yet leaving the maps out.
"I only wanted to say that Nal... Unalmis said that he and some others might be in danger of being killed or such..." seeing Pele immediately become tense and peer at him as if she wanted to burn holes in him, he hastened to say: "It was after Midsummer. I just haven't really seen him since."
The last words made the Captain slowly let out the breath she had been holding unawares. "Midsummer. And you come and tell me only now? Do you not think at all, Cadil? Still?," she could not help but roll her eyes. "What if he had been killed while you sat around comfortably? And you would tell me only now?"
"He said to wait, so I did," the young man said in a small voice, wanting the ground to open up and swallow him. He was not sure he wanted to explain the reasons he had waited as long as possible since he knew those would not be found reasonable.
"Unalmis is just fine, as far as I know," Pele said, taking pity on Cadil. "Now, is that all news? Or?"
"That is all," he replied, and then added tentatively: "Though perhaps you would give me one more chance, Captain?"
She stood, arms crossed and studied Cadil in silence until it seemed that the silence was almost becoming unbearable for him. "What chance? You want to enlist?" she asked and received a small nod in response.
"You don't have a head about you. And you are not fit, as far as I can tell..." she waved towards his belly, but seeing hope disappear from his eyes she continued: "Tell you what, Cadil. You meet me very early tomorrow morning, at the hour when night guards are replaced by the early morning shift. By the gate of the third circle. Bring all you think you would need for three days. Then I will decide once I see what you are capable of. Deal?" Receiving another nod, Pele said: "Now, off you go."
Cadil did not have to be told twice, and headed for the door with relief obvious on his face.
"Oh, and, Cadil," Pele called after him before he could disappear out the door. "Don't you worry about Unalmis, all right?" The young man returned the smile faintly and made to get out of the headquarters as fast as he could.