Chapter Text
Within the first week of Corvus joining the Standing Battalion, he had quickly discovered Commander Gren’s secret spot: the top of the left turret facing the Katolis side.
“Welcome, care to join?” Corvus could hear the lieutenant commander before he could see him.
“Thanks,” Corvus flashed a smile as he finished climbing up the ladder.
Now 17 years old (well, 17 and one third), and with his dream job: working for the General Amaya as her tracker, Corvus stood tall and looked outwards. Everything about the Breach still felt new to him. The standard fort structure was the same - a bailey, towers, battlements, a keep, etc.- but the location! Wow.
Being so close to Xadia was thrilling; the constant warmth from the lava nearby wasn’t as oppressive as he thought it was going to be, either! In preparation for this assignment, thinking the heat would be overwhelming, he had recently cut the sides of his hair short and kept only a small mop of natural curls on the top, but now he was starting to think he could grow his hair longer. He wanted to look more mature, maybe braids? Or dreads like the king? Ha-ha, maybe he’d even grow a beard! There were no more Crown Guard Track grooming rules to follow, after all. He felt strangely free.
Corvus moved to the wall facing the fortress, which overlooked the bailey for the most part. He quickly turned and looked out the opposite direction; that side faced towards Katolis. Looking up to the sky there was still a glow from the lava nearby, but Corvus was pleasantly surprised that, past the smoke clouds, he could still see stars.
Still trying to get his bearing, he looked down both sides: a tower, another turret, and then the tower structuring the gatehouse. Flipping around to the other side, nothing but one last tower marking the corner turning point of the fort.
“I guess this is the place to be if you want some privacy,” he noted aloud. “Come up here often?” he asked while turning towards Lieutenant Commander Gren, a little surprised to see him standing without his armor and only in the standard teal Katolian under armor clothes. It was then that he first remembered that he should probably salute. Corvus stiffened up and brought his fist to his chest.
Commander Gren chuckled a little, and saluted back. The look of panic must’ve been clearly written on Corvus’s face – he’d have to work on not being a completely open book, although all effort to the contrary so far had been in vain, as his sister liked to point out.
“I come up maybe once a week, sometimes a little more,” Commander Gren answered, smile on his face, “It’s sometimes nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the fort.”
Corvus nodded, a big smile on his face; he felt like a kid going on a scavenger hunt for the first time. “I can see that.”
Gren gave a small nod and settled back into sitting on the ground, wall supporting him as he looked back up towards the sky - he looked completely relaxed.
Corvus was so full of adrenaline he was finding it hard to sit down, so instead he settled for looking back over the fort and to the lavafall past it.
“I guess you must get used to it,” Corvus said nonchalantly, not really sure if he was talking more to himself or to the commander.
“Yes and no. Sometimes you might find yourself missing the stars and trees.”
Corvus turned around, “That makes sense. Is that why you’re up here, commander?”
The lieutenant commander thought about it, tilting his head back and forth, “Yes. More or less.” He returned his gaze to Corvus, “Although the privacy is nice too. This was my secret spot up until ten minutes ago.” He winked good-naturedly.
Corvus could feel the heat rise to his face, “I – I – I’m sorry, sir. I will leave you to your peace immediately.”
Commander Gren laughed and waved his arms, “No, no. I wasn’t trying to kick you out. I would expect nothing less from a tracker who stopped the assassination of the king. I’m pretty sure this is small potatoes by comparison.”
Now Corvus could feel his embarrassment change from humiliation to pride, “Well, saving the king’s life is part of being a Crown Guard.” Even though Corvus was technically a Crown Guard in training at the time.
“True, but stopping it by trapping the assassins before the plans got underway is still very impressive. You weren’t part of those meetings; your commanding officer didn’t want to let you go. Can’t blame them either. General Amaya has high hopes for you.”
“Well, they were human assassins. I never trapped an elf before. I just hope I live up to her expectations of me, I will do everything in my power so that I can.”
The commander got up, placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled, “I have no doubt that you will. General Amaya chose you after all, and she has impeccable judgment of talent and character.” He patted his shoulder once more, “I’m heading in, but enjoy the view.”
“Thanks.” Corvus smiled then looked out again. He couldn’t wait to tell his family and Soren about the Breach.
Gren had a lot of work to do. It happened just about every year around this time so the repetition was comforting in a way, but still: a lot of tasks to do.
New recruits for the Standing Battalion sprawled all over the fort. They were all cute: bright eyed, mouths in awe. It always made his heart lighter to see this reaction. These were the people who would first lay down their lives in the event of a Xadian attack. The risk to their own lives was obvious by just looking at the lavafall, but here they were in awe and wonder and eagerness.
Many of them were soldiers from other battalions who were recommended by their commanding officers to join. Then, typically during winter, General Amaya would test and interview these candidates and recruit the soldiers from there. Some – like Corvus – were a happy accident to find because their commanding officer wasn’t going to voluntarily recommend them, because they wanted to keep the soldier for themselves.
Even though these soldiers arrived already in uniform, because the legal age to join the army was 16, this often meant that many soldiers hadn’t finished growing and would need adjustments in their clothes. Not big adjustments, as thankfully most large growth spurts were done, but adjustments in small increments, due to developing muscles, or due to being at the end of their growth spurts.
There was also the fact that working near a volcano typically meant their Battalion was sweating through their clothes often. Linen shifts could only do so much, and their clothes tended to wear down faster.
So while General Amaya personally oversaw the training of the troops, Gren typically oversaw, or delegated, the more day-to-day mundane tasks: ordering new uniforms and shifts, stocking up on weapons and food, meals for their livestock, and while not a professional tailor, Gren was skilled enough for the uniforms of the Standing Battalion, so making uniform adjustments for each soldier was another of his typical tasks.
Then there was Corvus.
General Amaya was thrilled to recruit Corvus. A skilled tracker was something she’d been searching for since Gren had first met her almost four years ago. He could already tell he was going to be a great addition to their team, but he also needed a different type of uniform than the other members of the Standing Battalion.
The three of them had met about this earlier – earth tones for clothing, some padding for his joints – likely leather.
Gren didn’t exactly know where to start for Corvus’s clothes. Thankfully, they were scheduled to meet again and Corvus was to hand him an itemized list. He had said his grandfather was a hunter and taught him how to track, so he already had an idea about what he needed but wanted a little more time to fully come up with the list. Gren was just grateful for the help.
With the excitement of spring and new recruits, Gren couldn’t forget his favorite part of the season: starting new sign language classes for the recruits.
Although…Corvus was probably going to need more signs in his vocabulary than an average recruit. Gren would have to compile a list of words and phrases Corvus was going to need to know as soon as possible.
Even after a few weeks of getting acclimated to the fort, life in the Standing Battalion was everything and more than Corvus imagined. He felt comfortable in his new uniform - more layers than the typical uniform, but necessary to adjust for different climates quickly. Earth-toned fabric, leather pads, and easy to move around in. He wondered if he should request a scarf or bandana to put around his neck just in case the air was bad, but figured that was a discussion for another time.
The other soldiers in the fort were friendly, especially the members that had been around for a while - they really seemed close, like family. He expected there to be some initiation pranks they would have to go through, but was surprised to find there were none.
“When you’re constantly facing death’s door, you find other ways to develop closeness among your fellow soldiers without the need to humiliate them,” Captain Krea told him one day during training.
“That, and General Amaya won’t allow it,” Lieutenant Robin added dryly.
General Amaya personally trained the unit as a whole. Higher officers would translate if needed, but there was a beauty in the language of combat without verbal words. She would meet with newer recruits and help them individually, Commander Gren usually translating in those cases since the verbal feedback was needed.
Anytime she would spar with any member of the battalion was always exciting. Being on track to become a Crown Guard, Corvus was used to strict schedules and routines, and it wasn’t that the Standing Battalion lacked those, but General Amaya breaking that routine because she felt a particular soldier would benefit more from an impromptu sparring session was refreshing. Whoever was around would stop and watch, as she would go over techniques and movement tactics, trying to teach her soldiers how to read their opponent’s body language and anticipate their moves.
Speaking of language, Lieutenant Commander Gren was impressive as well. In addition to being General Amaya’s voice, he seemed to take care of day-to-day things around the fort. There were a few times Corvus would see him tallying things up on paper or helping a new recruit that was frayed. He was very friendly, knew the names of everyone in the Standing Battalion, and tonight was starting his class on basic Katolis Sign Language for all the new recruits.
Corvus sat down on a bench in the mess hall, dinner long done; he enjoyed scoping a place out before things began.
“Good evening, Corvus.” Commander Gren walked in with some papers and a pencil. “You’re here a little early.”
“Commander Gren.” Corvus stood and saluted, the lieutenant commander smiled and saluted back. “I like to scope things out ahead of time,” he reported, hands at his side at attention.
“As you were.” Commander Gren chuckled, and Corvus sat back down relaxing a little, “That makes sense since you’re a tracker. I imagine you’re also good at reading the signs of the room and adapting as things come?” he continued.
Corvus smiled, “When it comes to tracking, yes. Social situations….Eh.” He waved his hand back and forth, “It depends.”
Commander Gren smiled, “I think that’s understandable. To be honest, I actually prefer smaller crowds to large groups or parties. I have a harder time navigating those situations. As long as I’m with General Amaya I’m fine, but otherwise I’m lost.”
Corvus laughed, “I never would’ve guessed that. You’re pretty friendly and outgoing, plus you know everyone and everyone knows you! I would think you’d be a great host at a party.”
The commander continued to set up his papers on the table and grinned to himself, “Maybe. It helps that at different parts of the day or week I end up having to work with everyone at least once. I think that one-on-one communication helps me and the recruit feel more comfortable around each other gradually.” He looked up, “Like all of our small interactions, Corvus.”
And that took Corvus a little by surprise, because he suddenly realized there were a lot of small moments when he interacted with the commander, and it only occurred to him now that maybe the commander made a point to have those small hallway conversations so that he would feel welcome.
“Well, commander, if we are ever invited to the same party, I will do my best to help you. I grew up with my sister and so many cousins around me that parties come naturally to me.”
He smiled back as more recruits started entering, “Thanks, Corvus.” A flash of realization crossed his face and he moved closer, “Before class gets started, I almost forgot to tell you, you actually need to know more words than our average recruit. If you don’t mind staying after class tonight, I can give you the first set of basics.”
Corvus nodded, “Of course. I’m eager to learn.”
That seemed to put a genuine smile on the commander’s face as he gave Corvus a big thumbs-up. “Great! That’s what I like to hear.”
More recruits came in and the commander resumed his position in the front of the mess hall. Other recruits sat next to Corvus, although he couldn’t remember their names. Class was starting.
“Good evening, everyone. Welcome to your class on the basics of Katolis Sign Language,” Commander Gren started, signing as he spoke. “I’m Commander Gren and I am really excited to see everyone once a week over the next few weeks.
“Communication is key to high-performance teamwork. In the coming weeks you will hear me say this phrase often. It is the mantra I live by. Clear communication is needed to be an effective communicator and being an effective communicator is key to supporting our country, each other, and surviving in our job. You all know the dangers in taking this position, and over the past few weeks or so, hopefully you’ve grown more comfortable with the people here.
“We are like family. We are the front line not only for Katolis but all the human kingdoms, and we don’t take that position lightly. Therefore, we support each other to the best of our abilities. Hence high-performance teamwork, and communication, is needed for that to happen.
“Learning Katolis Sign Language will not only help you understand General Amaya - I promise to teach common words and phrases that she will sign to you and appropriate responses - but it will also make you more aware of your own body language.
“It is important to understand that we express ourselves with more than just our spoken words. In fact, only about one in three words spoken in the Katolian language is visible on the lips. Context, your body language, your facial expression, if your chin is moved forward or back, how your lips pull to the side, these all impact how General Amaya will read your lips, but it also impacts how you’re expressing yourself. Clear communication is what we’re always aiming for and I want you to start being mindful of what your body is doing and what that is communicating.”
Suddenly Corvus was very aware of how he was sitting: leaning forward, both feet on the ground, arms resting on his knees and head also leaning forward. He guessed that conveyed that he was enthralled about what the commander had to say. He took a quick peek around; the other students were doing the same, the class completely captured by what he was saying.
Who would’ve guessed that a communication class would be so interesting? Then again, every person here wanted to better communicate with General Amaya – she was everyone’s hero.
“Before I tell you the framework of the class and what we’re going to learn, would anyone like to share any good news, questions, or comments?”
They all shook their heads.
“Alright, first day jitters,” he laughed to himself, “I have them too. Then let’s get started with introductions before proceeding to tonight’s lesson...”
Gren took in a deep breath as he laid on the flat roof of the turret. His secret spot. Well, his not-completely-secret secret spot. Only Corvus knew of it…and probably General Amaya if he was being completely honest with himself, and yet the past few times he came up for a breath of fresh air he had been contently by himself.
Class started this evening, and Gren thought it went well. After introductions, they went over the alphabet and spelling words for the most part, practicing in rotating pairs to help foster community. Next time would be about how the grammatical structure of Katolis Sign Language differed from the written and spoken Katolis language. Even with no notice, Corvus was kind enough to stay afterwards and Gren was able to teach him a few phrases to try to help with the missions he was likely to face.
Overall, he thought it went well, but his heart was still beating faster than normal and his mind still buzzed with first day jitters. Lying outside, looking for stars as the business of fort life went on without him for the night, was just what he needed.
However, the sounds of stomping coming up the ladder indicated that Gren’s peaceful night under the stars was going to slip away soon. He sighed as he sat up.
“What a jerk!” Corvus – angry, he noted. Hopefully Gren wasn’t the jerk, otherwise this was going to get uncomfortable very quickly.
Sure enough Corvus’s head popped up. “Oh, Commander Gren…” His temper cooled instantly – disappointed. “I didn’t realize you would be up here. I thought…I didn’t mean to disturb your peace. I’ll head back down.” – Sadness? Maybe Corvus needed some time to himself with no one around.
“No, no. That’s alright! Stay! It sounds like you can use the fresh air and a little privacy. I’ll go.”
Corvus climbed all the way up, although his feet were still dangling over the ladder like he was undecided. “No, no. I intruded on your space…”
And for a moment Gren thought they were going to do that awkward song-and-dance where one person keeps insisting the other person does something out of politeness. (“You can stay” – “No, I insist you should stay.”) He could practically hear it in his mind.
“...But the fresh air is nice, if you’re sure I’m not bothering you.” Gren looked up and could see Corvus give him a faint smile, now only one leg dangling. It was then that Gren noticed Corvus seemed to be holding a couple pieces of paper in his hand, and Gren was fairly certain that the “jerk” he previously heard was not in reference to him.
“I don’t mind at all.” Gren shook his head, “If you want to vent, I’m happy to listen.” He patted the ground next to him, “But, by all means, you’re not obligated to. I’m fine sitting in silence.”
Corvus sat next to him and just leaned against the wall. He fiddled with the papers and sighed a few times. Gren got the impression that Corvus didn’t want to talk about it, and decided to go back to looking up at the sky and trying to count the stars.
“Do you keep in touch with your friends back home?” The question came out of nowhere, and hit Gren harder than it should have.
The initial knee-jerk thought, a truth he would not voice in front of anyone besides Amaya: No, he doesn’t keep in touch with friends back home because he never really had any real friends of his own. He mostly stayed with his family, and he liked any friend of Askur, and happily translated for Askur, but those friends had never really gotten to know him.
But when Gren turned to look at Corvus, and saw him still fiddling with the paper, he remembered: that wasn’t meant to be an actual question, it was a conversation starter.
“So is your friend back home being a jerk?” Gren asked softly.
“Heh, I didn’t realize you heard that. Well, he’s not exactly from back home, but from my last Battalion, and yes - he’s being a complete jerk.”
Oh, someone from the Crown Guard track.
“We were the youngest two members in the track. He even got special permission to join at 14 because his dad works with the king. We were pretty close, y’know? So when I got my dream job working for General Amaya you would think he would be happy for me, but no, he was so upset he kept calling me traitor. I thought he would cool off once he started getting letters from me – show that I didn’t just forget him – but his letters are just – erg!” Corvus gripped the letters tighter, “Listen to this one: “If you weren’t a dumb traitor then you would know that a “cool lavafall” is actually hot not cool. So think about that while you’re looking at it, traitor.” Like, seriously?”
Gren cringed, yup, that was pretty bad on a few different levels. He tried to recover quickly, “Sounds like he’s still hurt that you left…”
“Yea…” His knees were curled up to his chest now – defensive, maybe he felt vulnerable?
A small silence; what would be helpful to say? “As you heard me say earlier…” Gren started, “Communication is key to high-performance teamwork, right? Well, friendship is teamwork. It’s two communication paths. It’s frustrating when only one side is doing all the communicating.”
“Exactly!” Corvus exasperated, his arms flailing out and legs dropping to the ground. Gren felt instantly better seeing Corvus’s body language open up. Maybe his words were effective?
“So maybe give your friend a little time. I’m sure if he cherishes your friendship as much as you do he’ll come around. And maybe, until then, give yourself a little space from him too. His responses to your letters are as much of an adjustment for you as you leaving was to him. That’s not to say to stop writing to him, but maybe don’t push yourself to do it as often.”
A small smile spread across Corvus’s face as he looked at the letters, “Yea…I think you’re right. Maybe just a little time and space is what we both need.” He turned to face Gren. “Thank you, Commander Gren.”
“Happy I could help.” Gren smiled back; he had helped many members of the Standing Battalion before, but never about something so personal. His heart felt lighter, this was nice. Was this how it felt to help a friend? Amaya was his best friend, but there was definitely a part of Gren that longed to give friendship with Corvus a try...
“And, please, as long as we’re not on official work business, just call me Gren - no ‘commander’ needed.” This was the first step towards friendship, or at least, Gren hoped it was.