[ P ] you're only disappointed in yourself

This thread was a few days after Leoric's funeral

H

ow many hours had past since Obsidian could not think of his cousin? How long had it been since he had anything to drink besides the alcohol that ran rampant through his system? He didn't remember the last time he had gotten a full night of sleep. He didn't remember the last time he had bathed. Not many could understand the things soldiers went through, what they saw. Not unless they were there or lived it for themselves. Seeing his cousin dead on the ground, seeing the other two bodies that he floored by his own merciless jaws - they haunted him while he was awake and in his dreams. He could not escape such horrid memories. Deciding to change things for the day, Obsidian walked to the lake and cleaned himself off. For a long time, he just laid there, letting the cool waters trap him in its icy grasp. He could let the water take him, to end his suffering. Why should he be the one to live when Leoric had so much going for him? There was a feel of guilt for living when Badari had entered the picture. She was to be married to Leoric, and the pair would finally find their peace within another. That reality was stripped from her too. Maybe if Obsidian would have died, then Leoric could have had his happily ever after with such a wonderful soul, unlike the witch behind bars.

So many thoughts rushed to the male's head and he could not shut any of them off. He no longer wept, no longer had the energy or the fluid to support such actions. The male opened his eyes and pulled his large form from the water. Even the weight of the added moisture to his coat could not compare to the weight of everything on his mind and heart. Badari.... She crossed his mind and he began to try and recount the last few days that had been lost in a drunken haze. He shook his head gently, but it did not break the thoughts that blocked where she was. He had not seen her, and at first, he thought maybe she was at her family's home. He thought to check there, but he didn't really know any of them. How could he just march up to their door and ask to see Badari? Would they think he was a suitor that had no tact? They too were grieving the loss of a loved one. He could not bring himself to go there. Instead, he spent most of the day training with the lower ranks - trying anything to get his mind off of everything. He hoped he would see a flash of her red coat and amber eyes in the audience. But she never showed.

He told himself he was not going to drink, not consume the poison that had helped to lull him into a state of nothingness. But as the day turned to night, and the bad thoughts did not run away, he walked to the bar. Inside the bar, he could hear the laughter and enjoyment of the patrons. How could they be so happy when they had lost so much? Surely they had won the war, but at what cost? He took a seat at a table, and shortly after a bar keep came towards him and took his order. "Whiskey on the rocks.. whatever you got, doesn't really matter..." His tone was somber. When she returned with his drink, he sat it in front of himself. He swirled it between his paws, eyes watching it as though it was going to give him some sort of magical powers. Perhaps the answers to all of his issues? One thought kept circling back to him, "where are you Badari... where are you?" His voice slipped from his lips at a regular tone. Any of the patrons who were away from him would not hear it, for their laughter filled their side of the room and spilled closely to his.

@Sylvain

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

The Tainted Victory

Under the canopy of Yorkshire's night sky, Sylvain's heavy footsteps echoed against the cobblestone streets as she made her way to the local Yorkshire bar. With each step, her mind wandered to her fallen brother in arms, Leoric, whose memory lingered like a shadow in her thoughts, a constant companion even in the bustling streets.

Yet, amidst the din of the night, another weight burdened her mind—the mysterious disappearance of two soldiers under her command, Beatrice and Badari Tiamat. Their absence gnawed at her, a haunting reminder of the uncertainties that plagued their profession. Sylvain couldn't shake the feeling of responsibility that weighed heavily on her shoulders, the nagging questions that remained unanswered. She'd noticed their bodies were not among the dead, nor had they been present in any reports. Like ghosts, they were gone, as if they hadn't existed in the first place.

As Sylvain stepped into the cozy confines of the Yorkshire bar, the ambient chatter and clinking glasses enveloped her like a familiar embrace. It was a crowded night—when was it ever empty in this place?—as citizens of Adamh's mighty empire drowned their sorrows at the bottom of a whiskey and laughed with other patrons. Yet, Sylvain could not bring herself to laugh alongside them. The Colonel sat at the countertop, catching a tender's glance. "I'll take a beer... and some Poitín - full bottle." In her peripheral sat a familiar gentleman, slouched and grief stricken just as he'd been when she'd first laid eyes on him.

Obsidian - he and Leoric were close, though the details of how alluded Sylvain. However, it was clear that wasn't the only loss he'd suffered with now as Badari's name left his lips in a low tremble. "... You knew her, didn't you?" she asked after a beat, "I was beginning to believe I'd gone mad... thinking that she was gone... both of them." The Tiamat girl was popular, but another woman had gone missing around the same time. The not knowing—whether they were dead or alive—had begun to set in a sickly feeling within the Imperial's gut.

Something was wrong.

Notes

"God doesn't hear deadmen." But, I do...

A

voice stirred the male from his thoughts. He pulled his eyes up from his drink to look at the female he had seen a few times before. He knew her rank more than her name, which was rather unfortunate for him. Obsidian was one who wished to know all he was working with for the King. "Yes, I know Badari Tiamat, and I have not seen her since..." He thought back to the moment he had seen her last. Obsidian had watched Leoric fall, and he went to his cousin quickly. But he was too late. Leoric was already dead, suffering too much from the wounds he received. Badari had been right there, and while she was still going into the battle to avenge him, Obsidian knew he would need to bring his cousin home. That was the last time he had seen her. She did not come to Leoric's funeral, and he had not seen her since. The more he thought about it, the more the upset sunk into his chest. No longer was he just grieving one soul, but now two.

"Have you seen her?"No longer taking an interest in the drink before him, he patted the table, asking her to have a seat with him. "I am Obsidian Corrus, cousin to Leoric Cain. Badari was to be wed to him after the war, but obviously that cannot happen now. I have not seen her since the last fight, when I was taking Leoric home and she was still giving all she got to those damned Jacobites." He took a drink to warm his throat, and still his eyes looked to her. "Are you looking for her too? I thought about going to the Tiamat estate, but I don't know enough of them to feel comfort in going there. She should have been around the barracks by now."

@Sylvain

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck