Re: On the island of Kua'kua - Day 1 (Thread Closed)

[Ezra Stewart]

Gu Jiao stood silently as the commander spoke to him. Inside his mind, he reprimanded himself, wondering why he thought that the Overlord would need another strategist or tactician, she was certainly well staffed in this area, and he also must have surely offended the commander. Also realizing that Jiao didn't exactly have a lot recommending him to become head strategist or tactician. All the same, he understood why he couldn't exactly be put in such a high position quite yet. Simply put, Jiao had let his over eagerness get in the way of his better judgement, something he hadn't done in years, a very poor first impression indeed. Jiao then wiggled his long whiskers in thought as he contemplated what other service he may be able to perform here at the camp, or in the overlord's service. After briefly thinking about it, he replied. However first he bowed deeply once more, in the same fashion.

"First allow me to apologize, I was unaware that you held the position of strategist and tactician. I mean no offense commander." He lifted himself from the bow "As for the other skills that I have. I have spent the last thirty one years studying and learning many subjects including philosophy, psychology, sociology, small amounts of anthropology, and tactical and strategical warfare. As for my physical capabilities, I have long sense lost the ability to fight hand to hand, due to my growing arthritis pain, and growing weakness, and I have not practiced in years due to this. I can however, still use my expandable baton."

Pulling his baton out from under his robes, he held it in his hand. The baton being highly ornate, and seemingly custom made. The grip fit his right hand perfectly, and it was made out of steel. Jiao's reasoning behind using this, is that with hand to hand fighting, he simply cannot overpower or defeat his opponent like he used too. Using a long steel weapon however, he can at least defend himself if attacked.

"I use it as a nonlethal weapon only, mainly as a last resort."

Jiao said holding it out, in case the commander wished to confiscate it.

[Admin]

Darius calmed a fraction, he eyed the baton but saw no reason to take it from him. "I'll let you keep that, but where you're going, you shouldn't need protection, at least not this kind." He inahled again as he pulled the slip of paper from his file and wrote the assignment on it. "Given your skills I think you'd be best served in Research and development's medical wing. You'll report to Dr. Sylvian and tomorrow we'll acess better where you might find your stride."

Darius smiled again. He did feel a little twinge of guilt in being a bit heavy handed with the leopard but there were plenty of other respectable positions he could serve in. Goodness knows the Overlord felt very highly of the R&D department as it took up the bulk of her workforce. "Anyway.. I beleive Sylvian will help you narrow down your place here, I hope you find yourself very happy to be here. Heres your tent assignment and Commander Tigermark will direct you to the uniform tent. Dismissed! Be sure to tell the next recruit in line to come in."

[Ezra Stewart]

Gu Jiao put his baton back onto the sash in his robe, and he bowed deeply.

"Thank you commander, it was a pleasure."

Jiao took the assignment from the commander as well as his tent number, and turned and left the tent. He pinted at the next recruit in the line, motioning that he was next to enter, which at this point Gu Jiao had quite gotten lost with this line, since the line had become very jumbled. Turning to Tigermark, he bowed respectively. He already knew where the uniform tent was thankfully, since he had located during his time in line, so he was simply offering his thanks.

""Thank you for the assistance while in line, it is most appreciated. I am aware of where the uniform tent is, and I shall make my way there immediately, it was a pleasure."

With this Gu Jiao quickly walked back near the docks to where his things where, which had been thankfully untouched. Picking up the large sack full of books and other items, along with his small tea kettle, he dropped Sunny's tea pouch into this kettle, so as to not forge to drink it. Putting his items upon his back he quickly walked off to where his tent was. During his walk, he still regretted his poor judgement when it came to wanting to be a strategist, but that was in the past, and that is what happened, nothing to be changed about it. All the same, he hoped he would not be saddled with a job that would hamper him skill-wise. Otherwise, Jiao would have to leave, since he wouldn't be accomplishing anything of great importance. As he thought, he finally found his tent, dropped off his things and had a quick snack, before leaving again to get to the uniform tent. Finding it with relative ease, he perused around, found a uniform his size, and changed.

"Good god! It's so snug!"

Jiao exclaimed this rather loudly. he had never expected this outfit to fit him so well, it was incredible to him. He had expected the uniforms to constrict him more than his robes did, which where quite free and loose. This made him very happy, and he walked out carrying his robes, and his baton on his belt. Taking his robes back to his tent, he slowly meandered around the camp, as he tried to find the R&D tent. During this time, he slowly observed the people walking around, and everything he had already seen, this time from a different perspective. Eventually Jiao found the R&D tent, and entered, he looked around, and it seemed relatively normal, nothing of any dangerous or contagious sort here, so he looked for a desk or office of some sort, but couldn't find it upon first glance. Nor anyone who seemed to be really that official, but his lack of finding anything must have had to do with his apparent tiredness as well. So he decided to walk up to one of the people working here, and ask them.

"I am looking for officer Sylvian, could one perhaps direct me to his whereabouts?"

[Archeus]

Archeus approached Commander Tigermark. Commander, I do hate to bother you. But it looked as though the a elder leopard gave me a nod. I felt I should check in with you.

[Rotors91]

Razor couldn't help rolling his eyes at Lexi's words of wisdom, "Heh, you sound like my mom". He chuckled good naturedly as he listened to what she had to say concerning the laps she'd been running, then out right died laughing from her spots and stripes pun.

"Good gods, Lexi, that was terrible. Who would even think of something like that?". It'd been pretty clever, but still....bad. He'd thought the blue tigress would have found it rather hilarious as well, what with the duffle bag comment she had made. However, Arch had left,  and was already back at the recruitment tent talking to Tigermark. "Huh, guess she didn't like yo' joke much there, miss". He teased, "And prolly wouldn't be a bad idea to just hope back in line with ya' measly catch. Can't say you didn't at least try to catch somethin'"

The line wasn't nearly as long as it had been, and the influx of recruits seemed to have slowed. "Pretty sure the recruits in line are much more interesting than...well this". He gestured to the pole in Lexi's hand with a crooked grin.

[Akkarri]

Lex would shrug and grin, “Well, it’s not for everyone really,” she would say. “When one grows up with hunting and tracking, you learn to appreciate those skills,” she laughed. But upon seeing Razor’s reaction to the terrible stinker of a pun she gave, she couldn’t help but give a shake of her head. “I know, bad and almost too obvious… but when someone opens a door, I might just have to walk through it,” she said with a soft laugh and grin. “But I think she saw she might wish to move back and get in with Commander Steele, before the next recruit was a duffle not her,” she said rolling her shoulders. Obviously tired of the rod in her hands.

“Well, it might be a better way to show that it’s wasn’t the best use of time, and to make my case. I would like to serve in a different capacity than fishing or food prep,” she snorted a bit. “Besides, I think the commander only perused the file cover, and saw my bow-fishing. 2+2 = 4 I suppose,” she said. “But Let’s just say… we can see where it goes. Sometimes the mind games are just as fun,” she chuckled.

She took a moment to pull back the line, “Yup… bare hook again,” she would say, attacking it around the rod to prevent accidents, and pulled up a string with her few fish on it, three small silvery fish between 6 and 8 inches in length. Barely enough for one person, and probably less than a meal for someone like Razor. “Well, always can say I brought him dinner for his cooks, nice and fresh,” she chuckled, moving to stand, leaning back far to stretch her back. “Just a couple things to take care of and then, to the back of line,” she would say, looking at the nearby railing where she could lean the pole up against, as well as someplace to place her bait for the other fishermen.

[DeanFox]

"No problem Vince glad to do it."  sitting down on the foot locker to take mental note of everything that hadn't made it here with me.  including the insulated bottle I was purchasing right as the two nice uniforms arrived.  maybe it will be returned to me maybe, if not I'll hopefully get another chance to buy one.  there was two bags of maple candy to share, one bag of peppermint candy for myself, what else... still hot here but, "oh!?" stupid thermal undershirt, no wonder. pulling my arms into my shirt to avoid undressing myself any further wriggling the stupid thermal up to my shoulders so I can put my arms back out of my shirt properly. pulling the thermal out over my head, I toss it in the footlocker and stand back up to straighten out my clothes.  the last time I did this it was deemed a spectacle and when I poke my head through my shirt collar I hope today no one has noticed.

[Solitair]

Niko groaned as he and his brothers walked out of the mess hall. He couldn't help weighing down his plate when he saw just how good the food looked, and noticed that it smelled even better. Alec also followed Niko's lead, leaving Lukas as the only one who ate a modest meal. Since the three of them shared an overstuffed stomach, Lukas couldn't help looking a bit cross at his brothers' lack of restraint.

"Ngh. Where to now?" Alec asked.

Lukas looked down at their bags, which they still carried with them as they moved around camp. "First we unburden ourselves of our luggage." He glanced down at their assignment and looked over to find their new tent. "We might as well get acquainted with our tent for now, assuming that I can trust you two not to eat it."

Alec broke into giggles while Niko rolled his eyes. The three of them walked over to their tent and dropped their bags off. The tent itself didn't look too bad. It even felt roomy enough to fit all of them in without them being cramped. For a few minutes they tested it by crawling inside, then back out again. "Anything else?" Alec asked Lukas while they were in it.

"I don't believe so. Unless the Commander does ask us for our running times, we are free to socialize, at least for now. Perhaps someone else with R&D should take priority if we can find one. Or perhaps just visit the R&D tent to begin with."

Though Niko spotted Razor talking with a shapely rabbit girl near the shore, he shrugged and went along with Lukas's suggestion. Just as they found the R&D tent and pulled aside the flaps, they heard someone else asking for Doctor Greymyst. Their heads turned to see an elderly leopard, but one who looked to be in shockingly good shape for someone his age. He sure didn't sound old, either.

"Yes, where is Dr. Greymyst?" Lukas asked the staff member who the leopard spoke to.

[BanditRingtail]

Devon looked up at... whatever the big brown blur was, his eyes still pained and watery. His hearing was unaffected though, so the words of concern came through loud and clear. "Oh, uh..." He coughed, still sore from the tear gas, taking a moment to compose himself. "Thanks. I'll be okay. Just... heh." He leaned back against the tree and shut his eyes, which still didn't help the pain. "Thought I could run away... from my problems... General showed me different." He coughed again, and when he opened his eyes, he realized he was being offered water. He took a drink to cool his throat, which helped a bit, though he was likely going to be in pain for a while.

"Word of advice? Don't use force unless you're willing to go through it. He made that clear." He sighed and leaned back against the tree. "Anything I invent is required to be tested on me. Heh. Maybe it'll keep my sadism in check." He chuckled a little darkly and looked up into the face of his fellow recruit... a bear of some kind? "But I tell you this... if my brothers visit, it's going to be very hard to resist earning my punishment." Especially if they looked to continue bullying him, but he left that unsaid. No one needed to know about him, not yet. He'd make sure he could trust the listener first, and that was going to take some doing. For now, he was content to sit and drink water, happy to have someone look after him, even if only for a small while.

[Tigermark]

Tigermark returned Jiao's bow.

"Welcome to the Overlord's service, Elder."

And then back in command mode.

"Very good, Recruit."

The tiger then leaned into the tent.

"Darius, the recruit you sent to the docks to fish hasn't returned yet. Do you want me to send someone to check on her?"

He stood back up, knowing he could hear the human's answer from where he stood. That's when he noted the winged blue tigress approaching him. She stopped and spoke as he looked...up...at her. She was well over seven feet tall, and Tigermark, at 6'2", wasn't used to that height difference. Still he was who he was, and he did not let that intimidate him. The recruit inquired about checking in.

"Yes Recruit, the line for checking in is here. You're to check in with Commander Steele, the camp commander. He will give you your section and tent assignment, and then you'll go get your uniforms. Didn't I see you back in the line earlier?"

[DeanFox]

upon popping my face back into the sunlight however it appears I have managed this little feat unnoticed.  looking around the line is getting shorter about three more cadets and I will be able to touch the tent.  the Blue winged tigress is back from her exploration talking to, uh oh should I have, no I was motioned to get into line that's what I've done.  Okay what else is missing, or rather did I not bring along with me.  my music player top of the list, the insulated canteen I was trying to purchase, most of the maple candy that I gave to the guards as a gesture as I left. anything else, probably although the music player and the candy, at least from the movies will be considered contraband and confiscated, and if they are okay I can always send for the music player later. checking to make sure my clothes are in line belt buckle, shirt, and fly all need to be in perfect line. Okay there is something else something I left at home. nodding at people as they walk by spotting Mr. Gu Jiao leaving the uniform tent, Vince giving the Raccoon some water, and all sorts of things happening around conversations overlapping thankfully muddling any chance of overhearing. suddenly the theme from Gilligan's isle pops into my head and I quietly hum along.

[Charon Bond]

Charon looks down to Sunny and smirked. "Not unless you call being tossed around like a bath tub toy in hurricane like conditions nice," the feline remembering what just happened a few hours ago. "I think I was the only one which didn't bring up what he had for breakfast...but other than that, I did have a good trip over."
The cheetah saw where the leopard when into the officer's tent and he wondered what person or persons were inside.
"And you Sunny, how was your trip, hopefully a whole lot less eventful than my five hour tour," Charon smiling.

[Rotors91]

Razor stood as well, looking at Lexi's small catch of small fish. That'd make a mighty nice snack, but would hardly fill him to satisfaction, as the brown furred recruit probably knew. He'd had enough fish for the day. "I'm sure Commander Steele'll be thrilled to have such a bountiful meal on his table". His lip quirked at his small comment, and he eyed Lexi's left over bait.

Well...maybe a little more food wouldn't hurt...just to tide him over till dinner. There wasn't that much left and the fish weren't really biting anyway.

"Hey, uh, I could take that bait off yo' hands if you want? And I don't mind takin' the pole to...well, wherever it goes. So you can get back in line". He crouched down, picking up the left over bait and stood. Looking up at the taller recruit, he winced, "Geeze, the women on this island are either...oh what do humans call 'em?" He snapped his fingers a few times, trying to recall the name. "AMAZONS! They either Amazons, or I'm just short".

Sadly, he felt it was a combination of both, and there was really nothing he could do about as his family was made up of..shorties.

"Anyway, pretty sure you're sick of looking at this gear, Can't imagine how long ya' been out here".

[Akkarri]

Lexi chuckled a bit, “Well at least an appetizer, maybe sautéed with a little butter and herbs?” she gave a laugh, “Nahh, I often just spit roast over a fire, fast enough, and the charring adds some flavor and character,” she would comment.  In her case though, she usually had fish a little larger than that for her own meals whenever she used her bow.  A little more ‘pick and choose’ when she could look over the selection in a very fresh state.

As she stood she stretched herself back a bit, bending and loosening up the muscles a bit after sitting for that time.  She may have been a little tall at the height of 6 feet (not including her ears that rarely stood straight up), “Oh?  Dunno about all that, possibly traits of their species?” she would say shrugging a little.  She herself had read a little of the descriptions of amazons, but she might have had the height, but probably not the build.  She was tall, but was thin and athletic build, not heavily muscled.  She didn’t seem to rely on strength as much as agility or flexibility herself, and her body reflected that.  “But I’m sure we’ll see all types, shapes, and sizes here,” she chuckled.

“Well, if you’d like to try your luck, be my guest,” she said offering Razor the bait and rod.  “Though I thought you said you preferred a ‘hands-on’ approach,” she chuckled.  “But yeah, the sun is starting to get a bit bright and it does get a little boring to not be catching much worth mentioning.”  Having handed the items over, she clutched the string of fish in her left paw and shift her stance a little.  “But I suppose time to grab some water, and get back in line to check back in with the Commander.  Maybe he has cooled down a little,” she chuckled.  “Even though he does seem to have a handsome look about him when he’s stern.  But not my type,” she chuckled with a little bit of a joke that made it obvious that she wasn’t serious about that comment.

She offered Razor a smile, “But, thank you, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to talk again later?” she would say warmly before she’d make her way back up to the line outside the Commander’s tent.

[Archeus]

Archeus responding to Tigermark. Thank you Commander, just wanted to make sure I was where I needed to be. I'll continue to hold at the marshalling line.

[Rotors91]

Even though she’d meant it as a joke, the description of that appetizer sounded really, REALLY good in Razor’s mind. He could practically see the butter rolling down the sautéed fish, the tantalizing aroma of lemon pepper and other delicious herbs and spices filling his nostrils . And just like that, he was hungry again, the low grumbling in his stomach coming back with a vengeance. Even her not as fancy charred fish sounded tempting as well.

“I’ve already seen some pretty unique sorts come around, so I won’t be surprised if anything or anyone new pops up”, he agreed. He took the offered rod, grinning at her, “Who said I was goin' fish with it?”. Still grinning, he grabbed some of the bait, popping into his mouth, and swallowing it down, “And this as 'hands on' as it gets, miss”. Taking another hand full, he took the time to actually chew. The bait wasn’t bad…could use a bit of sugar though.

Razor about choked when Lexi made a comment about the Commander’s looks. Not that the guy was unattractive or anything, but he really hadn’t expected her to say that…like at all. Then again, he didn’t know what he’d expected from this recruit. “Well…” he managed to swallow the food down at this point, having avoided getting any small pieces of bait stuck in his gills, “If you don’t want him, I’ll sure take a crack at wooing him”. His face remained straight for barely a second; then he was all laughs. “You know what?  I think I went too far wit that. And I’mma be sure to talk with you later, Lexi. Real Nice meetin’ you”.

He watched her return to the line, then polished off the last of the bait. Picking up the pole, he made his way off the docks, and inquired just where the fishing pole was supposed to go. Once it had been returned, he went back towards the recruitment line, sitting out of the way and just observed the new recruits. Commander Tigermark had mentioned wanting him to stick around in case he needed something else, so he stayed within hearing range. It looked like the leopard had been moved on out of the way, so he guessed the line was picking up. Arch was there, talking to Tigermark, but he wasn’t sure she was next…then again, with her moving in and out of line, he didn't even know anymore.

The cheetah from earlier was there, talking to the marten, and that fox fellow was there too…looking to have a bit of a wardrobe malfunction, and the raccoon…was nowhere to be seen. Must be getting his uniform.

[Merrihop]

Sunny blinked her eyes rapidly, "Oh my... it sounds like you had a rough time. I'm glad it wasn't worse. Mr. Jiao had a rough ride over, too."

She shook her head a bit in a negative and smiled warmly, "My trip over was really nice. My parents brought me on my father's fishing boat."

She had to pause a moment, thinking of her arrival and bidding her parents farewell as she looked over at the docks where they had dropped her off. But she wasn't going to mope. They were proud and she'd see them as soon as they could visit her on Aukate. So she turned her gaze back to Charon and tilted her head, refreshing her smile again, "You're waiting to check in, right? What assignment are you hoping for?"

[Charon Bond]

"You seem really close to your parents, that's good," Charon surmised. "For assignment, maybe a guard or a diver. Personally I am hoping for diver, with all this water around the islands, such much bounty to be taken from it but not too much."
He too thought of his departure from his parents. His mother was overly protective of him even as he was a cub but his father was glad and proud his son was going to do something new and exciting rather to stay in one place.

[Merrihop]

Sunny nodded, still smiling to herself and thinking of her parents, "Yeah we are..."

She perked up when she heard Charon's plans, though, tipping her ears forward attentively, "Oh wow. Diving sounds really exciting! I never tried it myself, but I saw some videos. Have you been doing it long?"

She tilted her head again, and her tail flicked behind her legs with curious excitement.

[Charon Bond]

"Well, since I was 15 actually," he Charon admitted. "With all this water and free time I had when I was a cub, I did nothing but swim and dive. Became decent with a spear gun against the fish of the area."
His reflections of both his parents and his good times diving flashed before the eyes of the feline. His tail idly wagged back and forth in wide sweeping arcs behind him and a soft purr nearly escaped his throat upon thinking about his better times. He immediately coughed to suppress the noise.
"Well, if you are anyway decent in swimming, I'm sure you can learn the basics of diving; just be sure to keep yourself safe at all times," he said, his facial features became a bit stern to emphasize the point of being safe.

[Merrihop]

Sunny caught the purr for a moment before Charon tried to stop it, and couldn't help a small giggle, before clearing her throat gently, so as not to embarrass him. She regarded the serious face and raised both eyebrows, before smiling again, "That's what I hear. Aren't there a bunch of tests you have to pass first? Swimming tests and all?"

She folded her arms behind her back casually and smiled up at the tall cheetah, curious to hear about his diving.

[Charon Bond]

"Well, the swimming part isn't as important as the technical side of diving," Charon began. "The time I went out to learn diving, they had me swim a certain distance and tread water for a certain amount of time. I'm sure it's probably still the same."
The feline's eyes seemed distant as he thought of the more important things one should know before even attempting the pursuit of diving.
"Of course you need to learn dive tables and how long you can stay down at a certain depth. At least know about the different equipment you'll be using, safety techniques and of course always keep breathing from the breathing device."
Charon could tell she was genuinely interested in what he was talking about. A slight itching sensation was beginning to form at the back of his throat. It had been a long time since he had spoken this much. "It's all hammered into you as gently as possible and at the end of the written course and the test, you go out to some lake or ocean and do some dives to show your proficiency of the skills you learned in the classroom."

[Merrihop]

Sunny nodded as she processed what Charon was telling her, ears perked attentively to the new information, "Ah I knew there was a lot of training you had to do before you could go out on your own. It's kind of fascinating. What kinds of jobs are there for divers to do? I'm sure there are lots."

The truth was, she really wasn't sure what a diver would do serving the Overlord. It wasn't a slight, of course, it just wasn't in her realm of experience. She thought a moment, a little concerned that had come out the wrong way, then twitched her ears, "I'm sure Commander Steele knows better than I do of course. He seems like a nice man."

[Charon Bond]

"Oh, divers are pretty much the multi-tools of the underwater world; welding, food gathering...patrols and defense," a slight gloom hid Charon's eyes as they seemed to sparkle if not glow a hint of red. The feline shook his head thoughtfully. "I bet if you name me one job on the land a diver can do it underwater but since humanity is so concerned with space nowadays instead of the blue sphere they live on now, underwater exploration is sorta a niche job right now."

Charon glanced in the direction of the Officer's Tent. "I'm sure he is a nice man with the Overlord trusting him to have the patience to go through this many new recruits. I think I would have cracked under just ten but to have this big of an operation to go as smoothly as possible, she would have to have a lot of people working for her."

[Akkarri]

Lex would shrug a bit and shake her head as Razor started to eat out of the bait selection. “To each their own, usually keep to something a little more… prepared myself,” she commented.

She watched him for a few seconds as she gauged his reaction to her comments about the commander. She remained silent for a moment while he commented back, a little bit of an awkward silence before there was a mutual laugh. “Careful there, I was joking a bit, and that one… who knows what he would say to that,” she teased.

“It was nice to meet and talk, See you later,” Lex said with a smile, patting his shoulder. “Have fun!” And with that she went over to the line, surveying the remaining recruits a little as she passed by Commander Tigermark. Soon enough though, she was in the back of the line again, standing in her leathers and with a fistful of fish to show for her efforts.

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