Drea walked next to Mehrin, on the other side of him than Renalie, just because she was cute didn't mean she wanted to look at her. Besides, who was she to take away time with her father? She was the Undercommander of the Band of the Red Hand, current Banner Captain for the scouts, and Advisor for the Commander, that's who.

When the girl started crying, Drea stood behind Mehrin with her arms crossed and hip stuck out. An expression of irritation across her face. This girl was going to be more of a hassel than an amusement if she continues to act like this. She observed Mehrin as he handled the situation. Not the way she would have, but then again, it was not her duaghter standing infront of her throwing a fit in the middle of the Citadel.

Drea looked around at the people passing by, watching with wonder and confusion of their Commander talking to a little girl. Drea shrugged at them, rolling her eyes. What was this girl thinking? Her father has a reputation and she was going to throw it all away by acting like a child. If she was going to survive in this place, she'd have to grow up, and quick.

Drea watched in half horror half amusement as Mehrin was introduced to his daughter. The girl really was cute and had a certain charm to her and twinkle in her eye that gave away the fact that she was somehow related to Mehrin. It had been a long time since she's seen that twinkle in his eye, but she knew it was there. Perhaps this child would bring that out again. Perhaps. A part of Drea's heart smiled seeing Mehrin crouched in front of the girl, and taking her hand as he invited her to eat with them.

"I'd be honored to." Drea smiled at Mehrin and then to Renalie, a true, genuine smile. She fell behind as she watched the two walk hand in hand. Drea's eyes watered at the thought of walking with a child of her own.

"Are you coming?" She heard from a rough voice, obviously Mehrin's and hurried on, quickly blinking her eyes dry. Chores could wait.

Drea opened her eyes at the sound of nearby foot steps. She stayed in her position -hands behind her head, legs crossed. She was up in a tree -one of her favorite and only retreates now days- with her back and head on one limb and her knees and feet over another. She was a good 20 feet up, covered well by other branches and leaves, but had a decent view of the ground below her.

She found her paperwork caught up for the time being, and Mehrin was the last person she wanted to talk to today, after the tension with the new recruit -Caeran- she wanted nothing more than a day off. If not a day, then at least an hour. The hike to the tree had tired her out and the hour had gone by quickly in an unexpected but welcomed nap. But what had woken her?

Drea kept her body still but turned her head to glance down below. She groaned quietly and rolled her eyes. Of course, the last man she wanted to see was standing just below her tree. She willed him to move on, praying he wouldn't look up. What was he doing out this way, anyway? When he kept walking, she sighed with relief and sat up on the lower branch, watching the man stalk on. Once he was out of hearing or seeing distance, even for a scout, she climbed down a few branches and jumped the rest of the way. She brushed the loose bark off the back of her dark green pants and walked after Mehrin. One could say she was spying on him, but she merely saw it as stalking.

Drea scratched off one more thing from her list. She was almost done with her own tasks, and completely done with those Mehrin asked her to do. Luckily, none of them consisted of seeing him, he's been so moody lately. The man could at least try to lighten up one of these days. Just because he didn't have his tonic, he had been the biggest monster she'd ever seen, as if it were her fault!

Setting off for the stables, her next event was to check on Blazing Glory. AD was doing an excellent job with the horses, and she trusted the young girl with BG. However, Drea had been separated from her mare for over a year, and treasured the tedious tasks that came with owning a horse. Drea eyed a merchant train that stopped near the stables and scanned the crowd for Mehrin. No doubt he'd be around soon to search the merchants for any sort of wine or brandy, and knowing this type, there was pleanty.

Drea opened the door to the stable, a slow creak as not to startle AD if she were taking a nap. Drea stopped and watched in the distance. Outside, she saw the figure of a young girl petting BG. She hadn't noticed any other children around the merchant train, and this child was smaller than AD. "Who's there?" She asked, trying not to snap and scare the girl away.

The girl turned and smiled. “Hello. My name is Renalie. I’m looking for my father. Have you seen him? His name is Mehrin.â€

Drea nearly choked on her own breath. She cocked her head slightly to the side and raised her eyebrows. Her mouth went dry, making her voice rough. "Did you say your father?" The girl nodded. Drea spoke quickly before the girl could muster another word. "Mehrin?" She nodded again and opened her mouth this time, but Drea interrupted her. "Yes, I can take you to him." She softened her voice. The girl was kinda cute, and she must have been mistaken. There's no way Mehrin could be a father. She wasn't even sure Mehrin had ever loved a woman like that. Drea shivered at the thought and focused on the girl instead. "My name is Xandrea, but you can call me Drea. I'm a friend of your... father's."

Drea started walking in the direction of Mehrin's office. Both girls in silence at the awkwardness of the situation, at least awkward for Drea. She turned to Renalie again. "Are you sure it's Mehrin you're looking for?" Out of the corner of her eye she saw him, but it was too late. Drea walked right into Mehrin who was looking at a piece of parchment and not where he was going. Drea caught him in time to keep him from falling, holding the man who is much taller than her by the elbows. Mehrin looked up at her, none too happy. She smiled with half her mouth and nodded her head toward the young girl next to her. "Mehrin this is Renalie. Renalie, Mehrin." Then leaning up to whisper in his ear -well, as close to his ear as she could get- so no one could hear, Drea added, "Your daughter."

Drea smiled at Caeran's comment. He was learning already. She resisted the urge to pat him on the head and treat him like the puppy she had when she was younger. Without letting Mehrin jump at the chance to have a drink -even if it were with an ex noble.

"On second thought, Caeran. Lets show you to where you'll be staying. I'll introduce you to other scouts and we'll get you set up and perhaps even start training." She smiled at Mehrin and winked as she turned to leave his office. "Remember one thing for now, before I add on, Caeran. You can always find training here, despite the weapon or skill. All you have to do is ask someone."

Wow, this was going to be more challenging than she thought. Not only did the man know as much as a youngster, he behaved as one too. She wondered what division he was in and made a point to talk to any commanding officers he might be under. Discipline was key to learning, but it wasn't her job to enforce it. There was only so much she could do here and now. Taking the parchment, she looked over it. She smiled, at least he got the letters in order, and they were ledgiable.

"Not too bad, Carnhain." Positive reinforcement was always good. She could sense his frustration, and that would get him nowhere. "Now lets try something else. I'm going to write a few words, and I want you to trace over them, then write them again just below mine." Drea took her time scripting each letter neatly. She didn't have perfect handwritting either, but she didn't want to teach him her misguidings. "We'll do this exsecise and then move on. I want to work on your penmanship before we get you writting full reports. Your officers wont be too happy if they can't read your writting."

Drea watched the two men before her and wondered when her expression became one of evil. Taking excitement in watching this young man -though he was not much younger than herself- squirm and Merhin jump as every possible yet unlikely threat was not normally her. No, that was not true, it was the old her. Drea shrugged to herself, no problem letting a little bit of her old persona slip through the cracks. Besides, she hasn't yet perfected her new self, and was therefore more probable to- ahh bloody hell, Drea, stop analyzing everything and just pay attention.

Mehrin reached across the desk and opened the book to the first page with a blank line available. "Sign your life away,"

She opened her mouth to object at his comment, but closed it soon after, deciding not to contradict Mehrin. Afterall, he was correct. Caeran's life now belonged to her instead. Again with the evil smile. What is up with you lately? She watched as the young man bent over and signed the book.

Now it's time. "Shall I show him to his barracks, Mehrin, or will the two of you be sharing a celebratory drink?"

ahh hahaha the Band DJ! I forgot about that!! *commands Quib to play music* now that I know you better, you really are the perfect minion- man for this job.

and I remember the straight jacket thing too... though who it was? not sure...

and umm... it's okay if you don't want to join the scouts.. I'm taking a class on how to share. Sharing 101. It's hard, but I've finally realized how selfish I can be. Besides, not everyone is cool enough to be a scout. ;) That's why we made Quibby Commander... he had to feel special SOMEHOW

Drea sat motionless on her horse, taking in her surroundings and watching as many people as she could. She kept one eye on her scouts and another watched the Asha'man as they watched her just as closely. Just because she'd met one, didn't mean she trusted them all. She heard one make a comment to Mehrin, and kept her chuckle to herself but let him see her smirk as she turned and led her horse toward the scouts.

She was about to bark orders when a tall man stepped in front of BG. "Where is Ramzael?" All she could do was stare at him. That was the last question she expected to hear. Her mind raced for an answer, and a vague conversation where Cab mentioned connections with the Black Tower came to mind. Drea had already known of his brother, a Warder, but he had only briefly refered to any such relationship with this sort. Not that she blamed him. His name, however, slipped her mind. She bowed her head, looking more at his feet than at the man himself. "He's dead." came her harsh reply, and she was off to see to her scouts.

*cricket*

*cricket*

Drea took a step back at the appearance of the knives. Show weapons to the Commander? Light, was this man trying to get himself killed? Drea recalled a time when she threatened Cabroci and stiffled a giggle.

She leaned over to Cearan, speaking quietly, but trying not to show her amusement. "Um, you might want to put those away before he makes you swallow them."

Cearan looked at Drea, shocked? Perhaps. But she winked and showed a small scar on the corner of her lips, nodding slightly toward her Commander.

Drea gave a sympathetic smile. Part of her could not believe that a man of his age could not read and write, but another part knew that she was lucky to have two parents who worked enough and could afford to send her to school. Afterall, she had just finished giving Mehrin her lecture on how diverse the band was, Carnhain was just the emphasis in her own mind.

"Well then, let's start small. No worries, you have pleanty of time. Why don't you show my your alphabet and we'll go from there?"

Light, this was harder than she thought. She wasn't a classroom teacher, she was a scout! What did Mehrin have her doing now days? Biting her lip to stop a frown from confusing Carnhain, making him think she were frowning at him, she watched as he scratched the letters along the parchment.

Drea opened her mouth to speak but shut it before she made a fool of herself and Mehrin infront of the new recruit. She needed to remain calm, and in control. Mehrin had obviously made a change and was struggling with the repercussions. She wasn't about to complain, or drive him away from her goal. Everything was going exactly how it should, she just needed to keep her mouth shut, and let the human body take its course.

She looked at Cearan when he stepped forward and spoke up. Who did he think he was, interrupting his Banner Captian like that? Bloody recruits, she took a mental note to remind him of rank later. She gave him a sarcastic smile and bit her tongue. If Mehrin weren't in the room she'd set him straight then and there, regardless of her size compared to his.

Putting her insignificant- and regretably immature- irritations aside, Drea spoke up with complete coolness. After all, he was new to this. No need getting worked up over something so small.

"I over heard him talking to a Private on the training grounds and offered to take him here. Afterall, you're in chage and know what to do with them all." Okay, so the last part was a bit cocky. It slipped.

"My name is Caeran Jelaarin, and i have come to join the scouts. I'm not sure waht formalities are involved in joining the band, but if you could help me with them, i would be very thankful, Drea."

Drea nodded. She liked this part of being an officer: seeing new faces, fresh blood, worried travelors who can finally rest for a while, provide them with a place they too can someday call 'home'. There was satisfaction in that which made all other troubles seem insignificant.

"I was actually on my way to check on Mehrin myself. He's our Commander -but just a forwarning, he is a bit grumpy lately, so watch your manners. If you want to follow me, we should be there shortly."

ooc: welcome. I think we had a bit of a meeting earlier, but I had no idea who you were! I'm sorry!

IC:

Drea spent most of the morning by the training grounds. She had a meeting in the late morning to train a few scout recruits but wanted to warm up first, so she had arrived shortly after sun up. Since her confrontation with the commander, Drea had made a point to get extra work done, hers, his and anything else she happened to find laying around. As much as she hated admitting it, Mehrin was right. However much work he gave her, she was first and formost a scout Banner Captain, and her scouts needed her attention.

So, with a pile of paperwork on her desk to be signed and delivered by nightfall, Drea sat on the top beam of the fence and watched two recruits spar. They were young -then again so was she compared to others in the band- and definately were not ready for battle, but they had decent forms and force. One of the recruits -Caton, a tall, blonde haired lad with percing green eyes that have made Drea blush and look away to focus- attention was diverted with a sudden whistle spreading across the Citadel. Probably just something with the Ogier, definately not a sound she recognized or sounded threatening. Vance, the other recruit, a blacksmith's son from Caemlyn, struck Caton across the arm harshly with the wooden practice sword.

Drea jumped off the fence and stormed over to the two boys, both so tall she only came up to their chests. "No! Caton! You must pay attention at all times! Do you know how many different battle calls there are and they're a lot more frightening than that bloody whistle." She hit Caton on the chest, knowing it didn't hurt him, but the shock was there none the less. "Next time you look away like that you're head will be in a trolloc's soup pot! Then you'll really hear a whistle. Go back, get cleaned up, lunch and finish whatever work you have." She dismissed. The two ran off, but she called after them. "Don't forget the meeting after supper!" She shook her head and ran out of the muddy area.

"The Scouts. I am not that good of a fighter, but i can sneak and track. Not good compared with the people in the band, probably, but not a total beginner." She heard from inside the building. Her interest was caught. A new recruit wanting to join the scouts? Her division was growing as well as it had before. Maybe nothing had changed. She aproached the pair of men with a smile, at least she hoped it was a smile.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but over hear. Scouts? I'm scout Banner Captain Xandrea Raylin. Is there anything I can help you with?" She didn't know the name of the man with him, but she did recognize him. Unsure as to what division he was in, she just smiled and nodded in his direction. Even if he were a scout, she was in no mood for formalities. "You may call me Drea for now. Welcome to the band."

Making her way through the crowd wasn't near as hard as she thought it would be. Perhaps the scowl on her face parted the sea of people for her.

"Drea, you won!" Mehrin shouted from his office building. It definately took him longer to come out than she expected.

Drea smiled from ear to ear and put an extra little hop to her step. She won. Of course I won, Mehrin, dear. I'll always win. She made a quick mental note to check up on that guard in the morning, and set off on her way to finish the reports sitting on her desk.

Drea ran her hands over her face and let out an exacerbated groan. She plopped into a chair in front of Mehrin and let out a long deep sigh. The wheels turning in her head as she just looked at him. Was there any way to convince him he was better off without the drink? He was the Commander and therefore had a responsibility toward every single one of those soldiers. What sort of example is he setting? If he could be drunk while on duty- which was all the time- then what was stopping everyone else? They could be the Band of the Bloody Drunk Hand!

"There is one thing you've been right about, Mehrin, and that's the position I've held. Thus, I no longer have authority over most people, especially yourself. And for that I apologize." She starred at him, unsure of what to say next. Her smirk returned

"You want this?" Drea stood and walked to the book shelf he pointed to earlier. The bottle was on the very top, too far for Drea to reach, but she tried anyway, knowing full well of the stretch of her body. Finally reaching it, she took the bottle down and held it at the neck. Drea turned slowly, swinging the bottle back and forth from her wrist. "Or do you want relief?" She started walking slowly toward him, never taking her eyes off him. She saw the lust in his eyes, the lust for the drink, and the smirk on her lips grew. She reached the desk and set the bottle down firmly, watching Mehrin jump at the bang. Ignoring any nervousness he showed- she swallowed hers hard- Drea aproached his chair, standing closer than she would otherwise, her hands at her side and her head tilted down to look at him. She lifted a knee and set it between Mehrin's leg and the arm of the chair. Pushing the chair to lean against the wall so the front legs were in the air, she lifted her other knee and placed it between Mehrin's other leg and the chair's padded arm.

With her hands on either side of Mehrin's head, she leaned down closely to whisper in his left ear "You know there are things besides drinking that will give you relief." She leaned back, pulling the chair legs back to the floor and stood. Her arm reached back then quickly swung forward, palm making contact with Mehrin's cheek. Perhaps that would wake him up. "You just need to find it." She turned around, knocking the bottle off the desk and hearing it shatter as she opened the door to leave.

The guard outside the door jumped at the sound of the bottle breaking. Drea chuckled at the perplexed face of the recruit as she fastened the last button of her shirt, the button that had been left open since she put it on that morning. She barked her order just loud enough so Mehrin could hear. "Make sure he gets only water from now on. Here and in his room. If I so much as find any alcohol in his posession I will hold you personally responsible for attempted murder of your Commander." She stormed out of the office building. She had more important things to worry about than a man who didn't want to listen to her anyway. However, if he didn't change his attitude, she wouldn't be with this band much longer anyway.

there's nothing special with our thread. Just go on as if I never said anything to you at all. :D

umm... okay... that helps, a little. lol I'll just make sure to install a secret button that if he gets homicidal, Drea'll push it and be saved by some knight in shining armor... *looks around at available men*

nm. I'll use my daggers

Drea stared at him again letting every word he said humor her enough to let her eyebrows raise and a smirk to spread across her lips. She tried to hide the smirk, but Mehrin was so amusing, she knew it would be impossible. Light, why did he have to be so wool headed?

“Wow,†She stared at him again then started pacing back and forth from the door to the wall, passing him on the way, refusing to make eye contact. She was silent; merely ground her teeth together, jaw jutted out and hands behind her back. She felt like he was the one getting punished. Drea suddenly stopped walking and stood right in front of Mehrin. She leaned over and put her hands on the desk, her head down by Mehrin’s. You’re right.†He looked at her and she straightened. “You’re absolutely right. I don’t know what it’s like to run 14,000 people. I don’t know what it’s like to hear everyone and their brother complain about things from the uniforms, food, job placement and even the material the tents are made out of. I’ve never had men complain about the weather- which we both know that I am perfectly capable of changing. I’ve never been responsible for lives that I’ve ordered to do things that shouldn’t have been done. I’ve never made a mistake.†Sarcasm dripped from her mouth like the alcohol on Mehrin’s breath. She watched his reaction, giving as much emotion as she was getting: none.

More sarcasm. “You know, Mehrin, you must be a really really bad Commander. I’ve never had these problems, and yet you’ve only been on the job how long?†She put a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. “Maybe something should be done about that. If I’m such a perfect leader, and you’ve made all these mistakes-.â€

“You want the job? Take it.†He spat.

Drea’s fist came down and slammed onto the desk. “That’s not the point, Mehrin! The point is, there are 14,000 people out there that you are in charge of. 13,000 are all either runaways or were abandoned as children. 4,000 of those have probably killed someone before they arrived, if not more than one person. And don’t you dare sit there and tell me that you’re the only one in this band to love someone and then lose them. I’ve lost more than I think you’re aware, Commander, and I suggest you drag yourself out of this drunken state and realize it. You are not alone and you are not the only one who is suffering. So don’t sit there and pout, telling me that I don't understand."

veterans unit... I like that...

hmm.. dm chat... those were the days...

*gulps and thinks twice about teaching*

just that mr. commando and I were rping, and that is taking place directly after leaving mags... but we can carry on if you'd like.

Drea kept her teeth clenched for a few moments after Mehrin stopped blabbering. New life, new choices. New life, new choices. Could the man actually believe it was her fault he was a drunken lout? She let the pressure off her jaw and put it onto her lip. She knew what she wanted to say, she just needed to control her anger and figure out how to say it.

"That's what this is about? Some bloody report? Listen, Commander, I don't care what paper work you have on your desk, what troublesome recruits you have coming here, or who steps on your bloody toe. You have a responcibility to this Band. A responcibility to each and every life out there, and getting drunk because of some bloody report is unacceptable!" She breathed. "As for that report, the only reason I had Kaplan do it is because you have me running around with erands you could send a stable hand to do and teaching officers who aren't even scouts! When I'm not running an errand, I'm sitting in this dump for hours waiting for you to give me one. I've been back over a week and have done nothing related to the scouts except move in their barracks the first night!"

Breathe, Drea. Breathe. That a girl. It'll sink in how he wants it to.

Drea could only hope she was getting somewhere with Maglin. He was a wreck, and she wondered if her presence meant anything to him. They were sitting on the trunk of a fallen over tree that cleared over a small stream. They dragged their feet in the cool water, letting the current carry them backwards from time to time. It was all quite calming until Mags opened his mouth. Oh he was still drunk, alright. Drea could count on both hands the number of passes he’d made on her -telling he how beautiful she was, and twice as many times he’d stop mid sentence and ask where they were. Seeing a man like this- let alone her best friend- made Drea’s stomach churn. To think that she was the cause of this, that without her, he was swallowed into the darkness of alcohol. How could any man put himself through that sort of embarrassment and torture over a woman? She’d lost loved ones too, but never drank herself to the grave over it. Is this what her home has become, instead of facing problems like real men, like real soldiers?

Maglin’s drunken rambling was interrupted by the sound of someone running up behind them. They were not far from the Citadel, just inside the wood actually, so anyone could know they were there. Anyone with trained eyes.

Drea turne dto see the man before he was completely in view. It was Lachlan. She smiled at the sight of her old advisor and guard. Their reunion had been a surprise for both parties, and he accepted his job back with many joyful tears. But there was no joy in his wrinkly, scarred face now.

“Drea†he panted. “It’s Commander Mehrin. He’s been asking for you all morning.â€

The documents! In the midst of distracting her drunken friend, she had completely forgotten about her assignment. She jumped to her feet, letting Maglin topple over into the knee deep water. Maglin sputtered a few shocked curses as Drea looked from one man to another, contemplating their importance.

“Take him for me?†She begged Lachlan.

“You don’t even have to ask.â€

She glanced at the parchment in her hands. “And bring this to Amon? I need to explain and I don’t have time.â€

“Just go. Quickly.†He urged, lifting Maglin out of the water and over his shoulder. Considering Lachlan’s older age and slender size, Drea was surprised he could hold Maglin without falling over. But there was no time for questions. She needed to fix things first.

***

Drea burst through the door of Mehrin’s office in a panic, a fit of excuses running through her mind. She was just about to start apologizing and telling him that the paperwork had been delivered when she noticed something strange. Mehrin lay hunched over on his desk, papers scattered everywhere. He must have fallen asleep. Drea approached him cautiously. She kicked the desk leg to see if he’d wake up. Nothing. Doing what she did best, Drea jumped to conclusions. Could someone have murdered the Commander? Considering what happened to her, she wouldn’t put it past possible. She peeked out of his office for anything suspicious. Everything seemed as normal as when she arrived. Going back in, Drea walked around the desk to observe his rather large body. There were no signs of blood or marks of struggle anywhere.

Drea looked around the room to see if anything seemed out of place, but shook her head. She didn’t know what it was supposed to look like, and it was so messy with paper, clothes and old food that she probably wouldn’t be able to tell anyway. On the desk was a near empty glass of a yellow-brown liquid and the crust of an old sandwich. Poison? Drea lifted the glass to her nose and took a whiff, immediately regretting doing so, and jerking the bottle away. Her cough echoed in the silent room. The now too familiar stench of alcohol choked down her throat. Out of the corner of her eye, the glimmer of candle light danced across an empty bottle of brandy laying on the floor underneath Mehrin’s open palm. Fury surged. Not another one! Light, was everyone getting drunk these days?

Drea picked up the bottle, her hand flew around and smashed the bottle on the desk. Glass shards and drops of brandy sprayed all over the room.