ghosts in the walls

This was not his area of expertise.

Victorian had been brought into the army to follow orders, not divy out his own or question the ones he had been given. And, for the most part, he had never considered the negative consequences of what he did because none had been readily apparent. Help the Highlanders rebuild? Guard small farms, chase off pests? This much he understood as a standard, universal good. Or, at least, he often felt relieved and comforted when he finished a day's work.

In this case, however, he was like a fish out of water. There was too much nuance for a young soldier to wade through. Did they let her go? Did they search through her belongings? Did they investigate the castle after sending her home? Or did they take taxes from her, a small fine for having been caught by the royal guard? Wouldn't that make them a more negative presence than a positive one? Dark ears twitched as the question cloud grew bigger and bigger and bigger.

Finally, the blue-eyed she-wolf made mention of a scream and Victorian's ear flicked back. Once more, he tried to catch Colonel Immortalis' gaze. Should we go investigate? Victorian's eyes seemed to ask. He would never speak such a thing out loud, however. At least, not in front of a woman that might have just tried to deceive them.


@Kvothe @Echo

for king and country

His words were met with oppositional dissemination, white teeth clenched on verbal niceties. It cost the woman dearly, but she reinforced the charade, biting off a cordial tone. The undercurrent of the conversation, flowing slow and sluggish beneath the polite veneer, was acknowledged in the quick flicker of eye and ear and the subtly rough edge of hard-won affability. As before, she mouthed pretty excuses, neatly sidestepping Kvothe's warning. 'Oh no officer, nothing to see here, please don't let me take up any more of your time. Was that a cry for help I just heard? Don't let me keep you, feel free to go!' The script was familiar, and the song was tiresome. He could not fault her for trying, but he had not been promoted to Colonel by being so easy to fool. He trained Echo with a flat, unimpressed look, his gaze shuttered as a single brow rose in sardonic inquiry. 'Really?'

He had a number of options at this point, most of which involved some variation of bringing the woman in for further questioning and/or confiscating her goods. It would not be his first choice, but she seemed unlikely to cooperate otherwise. Alternatively, they could simply let her continue on her way - she'd provided at least a token excuse to justify that particular avenue - but they would risk looking foolish if it turned out that she had some nefarious purpose in mind. He harbored no illusions that the crown would actually receive its due compensation if they allowed the female to go free. All of this flashed through the Colonel's mind in the space of a single breath, a cyclic repetition of previous suspicion.

His eyes flickered as Victorian made a small gesture of inquiry - and a heavy sigh fell from his maw. His tail flicked in assent, and his mind was made up all at once. "Of course, Miss," he allowed, angling his body away. "We would be remiss to neglect another citizen in need." He fixed the woman with oceanic eyes as he bowed his head in farewell. "As you say, the roads are not safe; take care when you go. We will try to return to check on you once we have investigated the source of the...scream." His expression maintained a neutral, cordial air, though the huff of breath that escaped his maw belied the humor inherent in his words. One last dip of his head, and he gave the signal for Victorian to move out.

He did not think that the woman meant any harm, not truly - and he had no desire to play the tyrant today. If there were any consequences to be had, then so be it; he would deal with them as they came.

[Exit Kvothe]

code by claerie