[Action in Narshe]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Ceodore's nothing if not earnest, and he's taking the responsibility of assisting Narshe quite seriously. Anyone looking for him will find him in the snowfield outside of the town proper working with the local militia. It's still foreign to him to be working with such a small force of people, and even more foreign that somehow he's the one in charge. However, that doesn't absolve him from giving the task his utmost attention. The numbers are up following the earthquake and that's promising. Drills to practice evacuating civilians are on the docket for the day.]

Comments

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Once Ursula has finished with her meeting, she heads outside toward the snowfield. Ceodore's bound to be there, she's certain. Even if he's not yet ready to join her on the hunt, the princess can still observe and see how the local militia is coming along.]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Almost ready. They're finishing up drills for the day. Some of the more seasoned men have been made impromptu leaders to train the younger, new volunteers. Ceodore's so wrapped up in watching and issuing commands as part of the drill, he hasn't realized he's got company.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Ursula doesn't mind. She doesn't want to distract him, anyway. Hence, she seats herself on a boulder and refrains from calling attention to herself. The militia deserve to have their training time uninterrupted by her, so she's fine with being patient.]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[It takes the better part of half an hour to wrap up, and by then, every last one of them has worked up a healthy sweat, including Ceodore who was busy running between groups. Someone offers to buy a round for everyone at the pub and the prince turns to go with them, when he spots Ursula. So much better than drinking with a bunch of smelly men.]

Hey! I didn't know you were here.

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Ursula smiles and pushes off that boulder.]

That was the point; I didn't want to interrupt you. But now that you're done....

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Ceodore might not have noticed, but quite a few of the volunteers have, and there's a fair amount of cat calls and some teasing remarks about the prince abandoning them for a pretty face. He gets flustered enough to scratch the back of his head and turn away before they see how red he's turning.]

Sorry, um...

[Good grief people, stop watching and go away.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Ursula darts a brief glance at their audience, then chuckles softly as she turns her attention back to him.]

It's not your fault. Besides, they'll have had enough of the cold by now. I doubt we could keep their attention when the warmth of the indoors awaits.

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Um, you want to head in too? I know it's cold out here.

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

Well....

[Ursula pauses, looking him over.]

For a little while, sure. I know you must be in need of a break.

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

I'm okay. We have something to take care of too, right?

[Either way, he'll be claiming Ursula's hand for the time being.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Hey, Ursula doesn't mind that at all. She smiles, but nods.]

If that beast is still in the area, I want it found. We can't have it threatening the people here.

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

I agree. Let's do that first.

[Then some snuggling by the fire, yes? Naturally Ceodore doesn't seem to be too worried about whatever the monster is.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Neither does Ursula. She just wants it taken care of as soon as possible, so it's not one more thing hanging over their heads.]

It shouldn't be far from here, from what I heard. If it's growing bolder, we're bound to encounter it soon.

[action]

[bearitproudly.livejournal.com]

[The snowfield was always the best place to train the militia, so this is where Basch was heading. It was time for him to check up on everything, especially Ceodore. The Captain knew that the young prince had reservations about being in charge of things, but Basch knew that he more than had it in him to be able to.

The key was to observe today, to see how Ceodore was coming along. Off to the side, he was quiet, arms crossed over his chest.]

[action]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Ceodore's so intent on his task that he's got no inkling that Basch is lurking nearby. Probably for the best or his uncertainties would get the better of him. He's incredibly serious about the task at hand and is calling out last minute changes to the drill to test how the volunteers think on their feet.]

[action]

[bearitproudly.livejournal.com]

[Basch has no intention on interrupting anytime soon, either. What he is doing, however, is making mental notes on how Ceodore could improve himself just a bit. It's mainly little things so far, which is good.

He's content to stay where he is for now, at least until drills are done.]

[action]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Once the last drill's completed, Ceodore dismisses the group to go find a meal. His stomach growls loud enough to carry at the mention of food, which sets the collective laughing and teasing that the prince just wanted to grab a bite. When he moves to head back to town, then he spots Basch and waves to him.]

[action]

[bearitproudly.livejournal.com]

[His arms unfold as Ceodore makes his way towards him, one hand lifting to wave. He waits until Ceodore is closer before speaking.]

You grow more confident.

[action]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

Huh?

[Guess who's the world's worst at fair self-assessment?]

Um, thanks.

[Oh Crystals, was I doing something wrong before? Did I mess up? Confident... will take a while to attain in full.]

[action]

[bearitproudly.livejournal.com]

I speak truth. You've come farther than the young man who first arrived.

[Hm... someone who doesn't take compliments easily. Basch knows how that is.]

Do you feel more at ease commanding the men?

[action]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

I... think so?

At home, I had to by default, even though we had friends far more experienced than me.

[Default leader by virtue of who his father is.]

[action]

[bearitproudly.livejournal.com]

Yet you chose to help Lady Ursula. That shows confidence in your own abilities, even if you do not feel the same way.

[There is a pause.]

Speaking of such... how fares things with the young Governess?

[He knows how close the two of them are, and he's heard a few things...]

[action]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Ceodore blinks and starts to turn bright red at the mention of Ursula.]

Um, w-well... she's okay. She uh misses her parent and um... well, there's other stuff.

[action]

[bearitproudly.livejournal.com]

[Well, that confirmed his suspicions. If the stammering hadn't, the blush would.]

Other things? Such as?

[action]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[He sighs in frustration and kicks the snow some by shoving a boot toe into the snow roughly.]

We're heirs to our parents thrones and neither of us have brothers or sisters. We're going to get split up sooner or later, like it or not.