Those Who Hunt Monsters IC

Before the woman, still a while away, stood the lonely, dreary castle she called "home". The skies were turning grey, the winds beginning to pick up their pace. The telltale signs of a storm were showing, the trees dancing about with the wind whistling through their leaves eerily. The woman was tired and starving after her long journey, even though her clothing showed tears and dirt rather than showing wounds or injuries. So, from where was the valiant ranger coming home from?

Mission: Erlking Eradication

The mission seemed simple enough for this senior ranger: head up north to the darker forests of the land, look for the Erlking, a king of fairies that hunted wandering children, and destroy him, along with any other creatures that decided to fight alongside him. On the sheet of paper every unit received, a picture of a grotesque figure, dyed a dark grey, stared out into the souls of the people looking right back. Some averted their eyes, looking at anything besides their mission sheet. But Livia stared back, her eyes memorizing every little detail on the page. The shape of the crown, the facial features it had, the way it smiled crookedly as though it knew of the artist's location. Maybe, even, the artist was killed trying to capture its image.

The unit seemed awfully pessimistic, furtively glancing at their commander with suspicion. So far, the unit had lasted a good year and a half, a tad longer than the last that was put with the mighty Livia Leitner. She was known to be fearsome in combat, but whatever she did with her unit was up to her. Would they survive this mission? Or would it be their final one, leaving more open spots on Livia's legendary unit?

They set out for a week's journey on horseback, supplies in bundles on their backs. The journey seemed foreboding, dark clouds hanging over their heads, not letting any sun shine through. Some of the unit members even whispered about these clouds being an ill omen, showing the grave danger they were in. Livia's piercing glare shut them up within an instant, but she knew they were all thinking the same thing: some of them would surely perish on the battlefield. But Livia kept a stony face, showing through zero emotion. She commanded them as she usually would, treating the mission like any other. Sure, she thought about the meaning behind the clouds too, but she did not vocalize her thoughts. She knew she needed to be tough and strong for her unit. She needed to show them that they must face their duty with utmost strength and ability. To kill the creatures that harmed mankind was their duty and they needed to execute this with their heads up high.

The forests were quiet and a mist had begun to creep around the trunks of gnarled trees, their branches entwined and vines tangled together. A single path wound through this forest, but the rangers were hesitant about moving through. The horses even seemed reluctant, swaying a little as though ready to make a break for it. But they pushed through behind their leader, making sure to stay in a tightly knit group.

"Ah... Not children... But they will have to do." Echoed a voice amongst the trees, causing the horses to cry out in alarm, most bucking off their masters and running away immediately. Livia quickly jumped off her own horse, who had stood its ground, and patted it so that it would go back to the entrance of the woods quickly. After that was done, the word to draw their weapons was passed around. But once Livia did a quick head count, she realized one ranger was already missing. There were chuckles everywhere, causing the rangers to shake in their shoes. One was so extremely rattled that they screamed, shooting into the dark before throwing down the weapon and running in a random direction. A few began to run for the entrance, leaving four rangers left. The cackling grew louder and Livia realized those who had run would never survive. They began to run as a group, moving deeper into the heart of the forest. One by one, each ranger was picked off and the commander heard slicing and crunching noises behind her. She didn't dare to look back, but she tightened her grip on her longsword.

At the center of the forest sprouted a large, blackened tree. She stopped here and turned around, facing the rest of the forest. The chuckles were everywhere, whispering words she couldn't quite catch. Soon enough, the mists parted, relieving the horrific Erlking, his appearance matching exactly the illustration from the mission sheet. Livia drew a breath, muttering the exact places to kill a fairy being. She had an iron sword, thankfully, so she didn't need to pack anything extra.

She drew a breath; when she breathed out, the magic inside her began to flow out, making it seem like her skin was glowing faintly. Her eyes shone with a new brilliance. And she stepped forward, a slight grin playing on the corners of her mouth.


Livia shook her head, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the storm. She stood now at the front of the gates of the castle, tapping her foot impatiently. Was the guard sleeping on the job?

A face peeked out from the edge of the castle wall and she saw how it wore an expression of surprise. "I-I'm sorry!" A voice shrilled, the face disappearing before the gates began to open with a loud creak. She put two fingers to her forehead and snapped them outward toward the guard, her usual greeting to most of the Night's Watch employees. The castle was filled with activity, but it seemed to slow as Livia began to make the long walk to where the Archduke's office was. Whispers began and she knew that they were about her missing unit. It was an occurrence that everyone was anticipating; no one ever stuck around long enough in her unit. It was why most people were apprehensive and on edge during these times, hoping they wouldn't get chosen for the job of being a ranger in the fifth unit.

The castle was much prettier on the inside, in Livia’s opinion. Draperies and ancient armor hung on walls, torches lit ablaze to provide light in the stony halls. To make the place as comfortable as possible, carpets of unknown origin were scattered everywhere, some being the actual pelts of savage beasts and others clearly imported from distant lands. Openings in the walls were arches, some with faded letters painted at the top to help anyone with navigating through the castle. Places like “Dining Hall” and “Ballroom” (though the Ballroom was most commonly used for important meetings attended by the entire Night’s Watch) were just a few of the many rooms the woman passed by on her way towards the staircase that she would climb to reach her destination. For some odd reason, the Archduke lived in a darker, quieter part of the castle, making it quite the hassle to even reach him. But eventually, she reached the heavy wooden door, labelled “Archduke” at the top of the entrance.

She rapped gently on the office door before stepping inside, lifting the hood from her head and letting it fall back. "So, what's the new list look like?" She spoke in a flat tone, walking over to the desk. "I hope they'll last a little longer."

Lord Eisler looked up from the personnel files fanned across his desk. He stared at the girl he once considered his prodigy with contempt. Had he been that ignorant and arrogant in his youth… No, he couldn't have been. He immediately dismissed the though as absurd. Still, the monster he created stood before him now, and had to be dealt with. Perhaps it was not yet too late to save her and subsequently the rest of the Watch. "Sit," he ordered as if speaking to a dog. "Tell me what happened."

“Don’t snap like I’m some kind of animal.” Livia growled slightly, fearlessly showing some irritation at the Archduke. She had just arrived from her mission and she was drained, mentally and physically. She wasn’t quite in the best mood to recount her tale and, besides, was it not obvious what had happened? But she sat down anyway, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes. “They got themselves killed. Some tried to flee because someone went missing and others were running with me, but they were snatched like the children. But the Erlking has been silenced, along with the other fairies in that godforsaken forest. Happy?”

The Archduke let out a deep sigh. It was one thing to show his annoyance, but he could not let this child visibly upset him. A man of his position had a certain obligation to maintain a level of composure. Her description was short, but provided him with all he needed to know, and more than he had cared to. "Always the blameless are you? You got them killed. I appointed you to lead them. Instead you used fear to make them follow you. It turned them into cowards, and when you take cowards to fight something they fear more than you.....This happens."

“They were being spineless. They should’ve known that signing up for this meant they had to go up against things far worse! And they… They aren’t afraid of me.” She shook her head, making direct eye contact with Lord Eisler. She firmly pushed the thought of being hated or feared out of her mind, not wanting to even think about her image. All she needed was to prove the ability of a ranger with confidence; that would set a sure example. “They couldn’t be afraid of me… They’re afraid of their own selves, for they are not confident in their abilities. I tried to show them that they needed to stay firm and sure, but they are blinded by thoughts of incapability. Why do I make it out every time? Probably because I know that I can get rid of these creatures. What they lack is confidence!”

She stood now, moving closer to the table. “So, who are in this new unit? I need to know. They can’t be unconfident, lily-livered fools this time around.”

Frederick pushed the papers together and flipped the pile face down on his desk. “You will meet them soon enough and you would be wise to remember who is in charge here.” Eisler was in no hurry to send a new unit down the path of their own destruction, which was exactly what would happen if he did not at least attempt to break through to her. “I’ve seen the way you glare at others. Are you not now trying to intimidate me as well?” Eisler paused for a moment. He'd known Livia since she was a young child and recognized the fear she had tried to cover with bravado. He had to give her the hard truth, but he softened his voice to cushion the blow as much as one could. “A leader brings out the best in their team, and it takes more than power and courage to do so. Until you learn that, you shall never surpass me no matter how great your individual abilities may be. I established this group for the sole purpose of forcing you to develop as a leader. May we hope that when the time comes they will die for you rather than because of you. Let us head to the debriefing room now. I have sent for them, and they will be arriving shortly. ”

Realizing the rude attitude she was giving the Archduke, Livia’s eyes trained down at the floor, trying to show more interest in her feet than with the conversation. She was genuinely tired and she often found herself cranky after missions in which she suffered much exhaustion. Without a word, she followed behind Eisler as he led them both out of the office and into the debriefing chamber. There, Archduke Eisler took a seat at the head of the table while she moved to a shadowy corner of the room, her eyes staring off into the distance as she zoned out. She didn’t want the chosen rangers to see her immediately, in fear that they may immediately run away at her presence.

A hooded figure followed Livia Leitner and Archduke Fredrick from the office of the latter, having overheard parts of their conversation. When he had heard of her return, he -like many others- wanted to know what had happened and deciding that the best way to know that was to tail her to her debrief with the Archduke, eavesdropping on the conversation from outside.

The doors to the debriefing chamber creaked slight as he pushed open the doors, finally having followed both of them to a more communal debriefing room and which was the same one he had been summoned too that day. He approached the duke's seat, taking the seat to the left of the man as he let his hood fall down. Under it, a pair of different eyes could be seen with both pupils slitted and a scar going over the left one that were framed by black hair that was already starting to go gray "Arewnald reporting for duty Lord Eisler" Said the man as he beat his fist over his chest as a means of salute, he then started to scan the shadowy areas of the room and his eyes narrowed on a single spot "Ah, so there is our fearless leader" He said with a dark chuckle as he pointed to obscured form of Livia "You aren't very good at hiding in the shadows" Said Arenwald, resting his elbows on the table, while pointing at her with a finger.

In the current day, before the Vampire Blackheart had been ordered to be debriefed for his next mission, the chief tactician had been busy filing a report of his last assignment. It wasn’t as lengthy as he would usually make them, mainly because time was against him and there wasn’t much to report this time. Indeed, his last duty out in the field went so smooth that no real casualty has been done, and the fight with the creature was contained and dealt with swiftly. There had been so much preparation and planning before the face-off with the beast that it was bound to be a walk in the park, literally. Sitting behind his desk, Strauss had spent the last hour writing a report with his formal yet very detailed format. On the sheet it was written as such:

Quote :

OPERATION ECLIPSE
REPORT


TARGET: Literax – A creature feeding from the rays of the sun.
Said to originate from the Sun itself and migrated to Earth by spatial travel, or assumed to have been the magical remnants of a solar flare. Upon investigating its structure after death, it is determined that this creature lives like how plants do; they absorb sunlight and breathe by means of photosynthesis. How they have such metabolism and not be of the plant family is a mystery. After an extended period of study, it was determined that Literax was sustained only by feeding off sunrays, and nothing else. Because they are so dependant to the sun, they fall in a dormant-like state when the sun is absent. It however seeks other sources of light when night falls, else they become weakened and fall unconscious, or into a sleep-like state. It is assumed, from watching it, that this creature might not adapt in environments that have no lighting. Whether it falls inert until a source of light revitalize the creature or dies from lack of light like plant does is currently unknown, but theories suggest that, like plants, they would wither and die if not subjected to light for an extended period of time.

Literax seem defenseless at first sight, not bearing any kind of limbs that would make it dangerous. They however become extremely dangerous when accumulating enough sunlight, as they expel it into a focused beam of light from any direction of their body, in riposte to a predator’s attack. The light beam has been seen to pierce cleanly through flesh, bones, wood and even rocks. The beam is so intense and focused that it causes inflammable materials to catch on fire, such was the reports of homesteads catching on fire without any logical explanations. It is theorized that Literax can accumulate TOO much sunlight, forcing it to expel the light from its body in any direction, making it likely to burn down houses and forests on hot sunny summer days.


DATE OF EXECUTION: **/**/**** at ****


DANGER LEVEL: Low


PROCEDURE: It had been decided by the higher authorities to try and take a different approach for this mission, testing its effectiveness before making it mandatory into every mission. It was decided that this mission, before carrying on the execution of the creature, to be studied thoroughly to get a maximum of information before being hunted down and destroyed.
The first part of the operation was carried out successfully, as members of the Stealth Unit did an excellent job at observing the Literax without being detected and reporting their sightings to Intelligence. Although being a success, the conclusion to this newly applied procedure is far from being concluding, as the threat level of this creature was not high enough to determine the exact effectiveness of the first phase. As such, it is recommended from the team leader to conduct further tests into a broader range of missions, to be carried out only by experimented units.

The second phase of the operation was done without incident or casualty. Attesting to the effectiveness of the experimental phase of the operation, the studying of the Literax gave enough insights to the members of Unit XIII  to carry out their duties with maximum effectiveness. The unit was made aware of the creature’s fighting tactics, its means of defense, its movement capabilities and its weaknesses. As such, the operation was carried out within an enclosed area around the Literax at night, denying it any means of acquiring sunlight. The creature offered little resistance when assaulted by the members of Unit XIII, and was executed under 5 minutes with multiple musket projectiles to the body.

The corpse of the creature has been carried to the Research Unit as instructed, where it is waiting to be further studied from the inside.


REPORT WRITTEN BY KEAGHAN STRAUSS, LEADER OF UNIT XIII, OFFICER IN CHARGE FOR OPERATION ECLIPSE
SENT TO ARCHDUKE FREDERICK EISLER TO BE EXAMINED

Keaghan sighed as he finished writing the report, taking some time to relax as he reached for a cup of tea at the other end of his desk. The sweet taste of tea always had this calming effect on him, freeing his mind of stress whenever he was sitting behind his desk, in his office, door closed, and sipping tea. This atmosphere of quietness soon came to an end when the Vampire Blackheart end knocking at his door. With a calm yet loud voice, he invited whoever was standing at the opposite side of the door to enter and close the door. A Ranger of the Night’s Watch entered swiftly in the room, a young and inexperimented man Strauss had met a few weeks ago upon welcoming him to the Night’s Watch. The young Ranger offered his salutations to the officer and informed him that he was requested at the briefing room to be debriefed for his next assignment, as well as delivering a letter to the Vampire.

Keaghan nodded graciously, thanking the rookie and taking the letter slowly after setting his cup of tea aside. He dismissed the Ranger from his office as he began opening the letter, bearing the official seal of the Archduke. For Lord Eisler to send him a letter this formal, it must’ve been important. As he opened the letter and quickly scanned the content, he came to know that he was removed from his position of leadership from Unit XIII and was assigned in a newly formed unit, and that he was expected to be at this afternoon’s briefing. Keaghan wasn’t really surprised by this decision, it was even expected. The Blackheart, as senior tactician, never really had a proper unit to call his own, often sent in other units to assist them when some missions required the power of a Blackheart, or simply a head strategist to help in the capture and execution of a creature that proved to be too tough.

Knowing the meeting was to be held soon, Keaghan finished his remaining tea in one gulp, took the report he had just made and placed it in a big envelope. He knew that Lord Eisler would be at the briefing room, and would take this time to deliver him his report before or after the meeting. Leaving his office and locking it behind him, Strauss quickly paced towards the briefing room. As he made his way to his destination, the vampiric man was hearing what was being said all around him, taking news of the Night’s Watch from other perspectives at the same time. The was one thing he kept hearing from time to time, it were rumours about Unit V having been wiped out once more, with only its leader as the remaining sole survivor, who have just returned from its mission.

“Again? Seems like those poor souls couldn’t keep up with Livia’s pace…” Keaghan mentally said as he reached for the briefing room’s door, hearing out at the same time what was being said on the other side.

“I would strongly advise you to show more respect to your superiors, Mr. Dorian. That kind of attitude is quite frowned upon by the higher chain in command, especially from a Blackheart.” The regal Blackheart said as he opened the room’s door and closed it behind him. Upon entering the room, the Vampire offered a courteous bow with his free hand brought up to his heart. “Keaghan Strauss, reporting for duty.” He said as he straightened himself and walked next to Lord Eisler, the envelope of his last assignment in hand. He placed it on the table and slid it slowly to Eisler “Here’s my report from my last assignment. Or would you rather have it after this briefing?”

"No, no, no. Your stance is all wrong. You raise the rifle to your shoulder, not lower your shoulder to the rifle. Then you aim through the sight, and fire. There! Now you've got it!" said Edward Davynell to a junior Ranger he had been instructing on rifle marksmanship. Edward walked through the training yards, examining all the members of his unit, Unit VIII, that he ordered to train here. He was pleased with the results, and called out "Hold!" to his unit. He then told them that their session was over, and to head to the dining hall for a meal. Edward, however would not be headed for the dining hall, for he had a report to write. 

Edward walked back to his office, a small room with a desk and bed, and sat. He took up his quill pen, and began to write out the details of his previous mission. After about an hour of writing, Edward looked down at the report and breathed a sigh of relief. He then sealed the report in an envelope, and called for a messenger. When the boy arrived, he asked for him to deliver the letter to the Archduke's office. Edward stood as the boy left, and headed out to the training yards again.

When he arrived, Edward took his rifle from it's holster on his back, and began to target-fire. He spent about 20 minutes on this, before a man in his early 20's arrived. Edward stopped, sheathed the rifle, and looked at the man. "Well, what is it?" "I've brought a message from the Archduke. He wishes to meet with you." Edward thanked the man, and headed for the meeting room. 

As he arrived, he saw Strauss handing a letter to the Archduke. Edward waited for the archduke to respond before saying "Edward Davynell, reporting." and taking a seat.

After a long and tumultuous struggle, she had finally graduated. It had been one of the proudest moments in her life, standing among her peers with her chin held high as she was officially accepted into the Night Watch. She dreamt of glory and honor that night, singlehandedly taking down a brood of vampires. Her newly issued uniform was hugged close to her chest, symbolic of how much the Night Watch meant to her. She had plans for her future. She wanted to rise quickly in the ranks; she wanted to be a prodigy. She would, one day, return with the heart of a magical creature and become a Blackheart. She’d make even the great Archduke seem powerless with her strength.

That is, if she could avoid getting kicked out before then.

You see, Josephine was never one for taking orders without knowing exactly why she was doing it. If the instruction didn’t make sense, if she felt she had a better plan, she would vocalize that and cause dissension among the ranks. It was the main reason she was washed back time and time again; she just couldn’t obey if she felt there was a better way. Speaking of which, she also felt that having set times for breakfast was a very stupid rule. Breakfast was, in her unabashed opinion, the most delicious meal of the day and she felt that she should be able to eat eggs and bacon anytime she wanted.

It was on an especially breakfast-sounds-good day that we join the rule bender. She had recently won an argument against one of the cooks in the kitchen and was humming down the walkway with a fork in one hand, a plate in the other, and cheeks stuffed like a squirrel. Victory was sweet, in her mind, although she was a little suspicious about the sudden attitude change from the chef.  She paused for a moment before shrugging and swallowing down her bacon. She shoveled the first bite of the scrambled eggs into her mouth. Not soon after the eggs touched her tongue, her eyes narrowed and her lips puckered. She coughed them out with gusto.

“SALT!” She exclaimed, looking at the deceivingly harmless eggs on the castle floor, “That son of a…” She growled, turning about to give the cook a tongue lashing. She gave pause, however, when she spotted a well-known Blackheart.

Livia. Josephine’s sworn rival, although Livia had no idea of that or that Josephine even existed. Her botched eggs were forgotten as Jo’s eyes followed Livia’s path. She was heading towards the Archduke. Weren’t there supposed to be more people coming back? Livia had left with an entire unit. Where were the rest of them? Anger made Jo’s hands shake. This happened a lot. Following Livia was like a death sentence. Jo didn’t understand why the Archduke kept giving her squads. Obviously there was something going on. She didn’t deserve to be a leader; if Jo had went, everyone would have come back alive. Once she settled herself as an excellent soldier, she’d challenge Livia for her spot as a squad leader.

Morbid curiosity burned in her veins, she wondered how in the world this tremendous loss would be explained to the Archduke. However, even the rebel knew that eavesdropping would be a bad idea, so she took her plate of food and turned around. Distracted by Livia’s sudden reappearance, she had forgotten the plot against her breakfast-for-dinner and forked more eggs into her mouth.

“SALT!” She coughed again, spitting them out.It was when she returned to the kitchen that she received the summons. How, exactly, the courier knew to bring it there was of a great mystery to everyone involved. Josephine was in the middle of yelling at the red faced cook, who was either flush with anger or from holding his laughter in, when the letter arrived. She tore into the envelope eagerly and skimmed it quickly. A small smile of victory graced her face. With a triumphant grin towards the chef, she exited the kitchen.

She took about two steps before she turned around and swiped a loaf of bread off the counter. "I'm taking this," She announced indignantly, and then made her way to the debriefing room.

She had the bread stuffed in her mouth, the end sticking out protrusively, when she entered the room. The remaining bread fell out of her mouth when she saw the Archduke. She hadn't expected to actually SEE him and she definitely expected him to be very late, at least late enough for her to be able to finish her food. Sloppily, she regained her composure and offered a salute. This was one guy even the rule breaker wouldn't mess with.

"Josephine Warden in attendance, sir," She said stiffly.

Gage Neitz' feet stepped in such practiced rhythm that his movements, to those that didn't know him, seemed almost robotic. The man's jacket had a few sounds of the arms scraping against it as he moved, not carrying either of his satchels, a rarity in his mind.

Another rarity was the unusual immaculacy of his garb. They were normally dotted with signs of his usual careful tinkering with explosive chemicals, usually to produce a much simpler explosive to use, yet his clothes were clean as a whistle. The same could not be said for his mop of black hair. Which could best be described as 'bed hair'.

He was muttering to himself, emitting a low rumble of scientific jargon that even he had trouble understanding until he reached his target. 'Debreif. About time. Hopefully I don't have to wait too long.' He thought to himself as he entered the room, giving a salute before saying, "Gage Neitz, Reporting as requested archduke. I remembered to leave the bombs behind this time." He shot the Archduke a breif knowing look, remembring that his previous transfer had the CO scared stiff of him due to his willingness to carry explosives around s casually.

He stepped away from the door, taking breif stock of the others in the room. 'Two have the look of vets, and at least one here looks green.' He mentally sighed, They better not kibbitz when I'm working on the bombs'

Un, deux, trois.  The rookie marksman was silent, his square jaw set and his thin lips pursed as he fired his rifle as quickly as he could with the most accuracy he could muster, practicing rapid refire, something difficult to do with a bolt action weapon like his.  It being cartridge fed lessened the difficulty, but so far his best had been three shots in two seconds, all within three centimeters of each other.  A miraculous fluke he'd never been able to reproduce since.  Un, fire, Deux, fire, Trois, fire.  Four seconds.  Jogging the fifty yards to his practice target, he saw each had come within six centimeters of each other.  The man sighed, shrugging as he said aloud "Pas mal, mais bas bien.  Ce travaillais."  He took out the cartridge from his rifle and slung the weapon over his shoulder by the strap, picking bullets out of the appropriate box  and refilling the cartridge before stuffing it in the pouch at his hip with the other two.

This Night's Watch member, known mostly as "The Frenchman" and derivatives thereof, was typically left to his own devices and day-to-day went unmolested, in part because of his lack of memory of a past life, and part because many members of the Watch hadn't the foggiest what he was saying.  The amnesiac rifleman spoke very limited English, about enough to operate as a member of a squad but not at all well enough to socialize in the tongue.  He had simply woken up one day in a Night Watch infirmary, knowing only the French language and that he'd never eat an orange again.  It was a... harrowing thing.  He'd been pressed into service, apparently unable to convince them he didn't know anything, and forced through their training.  And while he could certainly complain, he saw it as better than nothing; and if they were telling the truth, he'd be able to hunt down and put a bullet into whatever monster had stolen his self from him.  And help keep others from meeting his fate.

It was because of his social isolation that The Frenchman knew a Ranger trying to get his attention was serious business.  Being told to "Follow me", something he had picked up as meaning "Suivez-moi", he accompanied the Ranger to a conference room, one of many in the fortress.  However, seeing the Archduke there was something of a surprise, and while The Frenchman had been on two missions prior, it had always been as a tagalong who'd been brought in tangentially; being summoned to the briefing proper must have meant he was finally being made part of a unit proper. "J'arrive, monseigneur, par commandes."  He nodded, saluting in the fashion his training instructor had drilled before following the others' example and taking a seat.

The Archduke gave a nod of approval as each guest entered and another as he took the envelope from Keaghan. When the last of the Rangers sat down Lord Eisler pushed his chair back and stood over them. He did not salute the others back when he stood. He had stopped doing so at the advice of his trusted councilors when he first became head of the Watch. It allowed him to separate from and establish himself as being above those he had served with despite being younger and less experienced than many at the time. Perhaps Livia’s attitude and treatment of her unit was a misguided attempt at imitating him.

Even as a youth, Fredrick had been frugal with his words. He never cared for justifying his decisions unless properly asked. Even then, his explanations were generally short and to the point. He felt that this occasion warranted more. The group sitting before him deserved an explanation, or maybe he was going just soft in his old age. “I trust many of you have gathered why you are sitting here. The fifth unit is dead.” He paused briefly adding the word again in his mind before continuing in the same prolonged monotone. “You are to be the next unit five, and hopefully the last for many years to come. I ensure you that this is not a punishment, but rather an opportunity to achieve true greatness.” Lord Eisler himself did not know exactly what he meant by true greatness, but experience had taught him the value of comforting half-truths. “Your first mission will be a test of your team’s abilities. Or rather, a surprise examination as the urgency of this order takes the luxury of preparation from you. Children have been disappearing from Weiden, a small town in Bulvaria. A lack of remains and tracks found in the surrounding area suggests an ogre is eating them whole. You’ll find the details for your mission in these envelopes.” With that Lord Eisler revelead the stack of envelopes inside his frockcoat and handed them to Keaghan to be passed around. “I have a few more notes you depart. As you should already know, ogres are nocturnal creatures. They turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. My point being that an ogre statue is far less useful for study than an actual corpse. Either kill it somewhere the sun won’t reach or cover it with a tarp.” He stopped to square his shoulders with Livia and established steady eye contact. The command was specific to her, but he intended for all to bear witness. “You are not to draw your sword unless someone’s life depends on it. I need to see that this team can do more than fall back on your strength. A team needs be something greater than the individual skills of those who comprise it. Should this mission be anything other than a complete success, you will be stripped from your position and a new leader will be appointed in your place.”

Josephine looked around at the rag tag group that had gathered. She saw a few familiar faces; people who had been in the Night Watch a long time and were deemed worthy of her research. She offered a friendly wave to Mr. Devynell. She was happy to see him on the team. She knew from experience that he was a great marksman and it would be nice to have a fellow gun expert to talk to. Then she peeled her eyes to go elsewhere, seeing the leader of unit eight sitting there. He was a formidable Blackheart; Josephine couldn't help but wonder how he'd feel about being demoted from a squad leader to a mere follower. Then there was some guy who introduced himself using only French. She didn't know anything about him and wondered why the heck he didn't speak English when he was introducing himself. Show off.

Then there was Arenwald. He had a reptilian feel about him and it made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. The man looked like he'd been through hell and back, his body riddled with scars, and those eyes! Those eyes were just... Jo shivered and turned her gaze elsewhere. She didn't recognize the guy who brought up bringing bombs along but she definitely didn't want to get in his way. Anyone who has fun with things that go boom couldn't be all that stable, if you know what I mean. Never you mind the irony in that, considering Jo loved guns and they go boom.

Jo felt indignant when the Archduke didn't salute anyone back. She found it to be very disrespectful. Her hands curled into fists on her lap, her jaw set sturdily. Yes, we all knew he was all high and mighty and above us all, but the least he could do was acknowledge his troops. He lost major points when he said they'd be assigned to unit five. She couldn't help sending Livia an accusatory glare, as if it were Livia's fault that Jo was assigned to her squad.

Jo accepted the envelope and started to tear into it before the Archduke had finished speaking. A couple things here and there and a sketch. She studied the sketch for a little while; it was such an ugly beast. She made a disgusted face and then slid the picture back into the envelope, again giving the Archduke her full attention. A little bit of joy bubbled within her as Livia was ordered around. She also was ecstatic that if the mission screwed up, Livia would be stripped of her position. It almost made Jo want something to go wrong. Actually, this would be her first mission ever and it was against an ogre... on the worst lead unit in the Night Watch. Jo recognized Livia's strength as an individual but she was ordered not to do anything. That meant if things went south, Livia couldn't help out.

Jo's usually pale face got a little whiter. Her own mortality gave her pride pause. Her eyes slowly drifted downwards to the table and she hunched down into her chair. As the most inexperienced of the group, Josephine had little to no chance of coming back alive 'if something went wrong'. That meant Livia had better get her shit together and that proud wench probably wouldn't; she didn't care about any of them.

Josephine stood up quickly, knocking her chair over. Without a word, she grabbed her envelope and stormed out of the room. Her impulsiveness overrode her common sense a lot of the time. She hated them all; the Archduke for ordering her to die, the squad members for letting this happen, and especially Livia for letting her team die and having to be replaced. Jo's face burned with fury, the redness causing her green eyes to brighten. She stormed down the hallway, her footsteps echoing in her ears.

"SHIT!" She screamed, punching the stone wall next to her. The skin broke and the pain was another reminder of her impossible to avoid fate. Death came to us all... but that didn't mean she wanted it right away. Her knuckles bled as she continued on her path to her room. She had to pack and get ready to go. It's not like she could get out of this mission. She was too proud to ask for a transfer and too scared to run away from the Night Watch.

She slammed her door behind her after she entered her room. She grabbed a bag and began to stuff it angrily, throwing whatever came to mind inside it. Clean water, a few dry foods, a couple changes of clothes, rope, tarp, and some hygienic things. The bag bulged uncomfortably and barely closed. She had completely forgot any mission packing tips she had received in training. She paused a few times between shirts and canteens to kick and shout at the wall.

With shaking hands, trembling from either fear or fury, she loaded her guns. She redressed into her newly issued ranger uniform. She carried the ammo, pistol, and dagger around her belt. Her rifle and misshapen bag were slung over her shoulder. She had the envelope in her hand, a few stray drops of blood staining its cover. Her hand didn't sting as much anymore and the bleeding had stopped. Before she knew it, she was ready to go.

"Fuck," She cussed, exiting her room to head to the unit's meeting place.

Gage waited until the archduke had finished before perusing the contents of the envelope, committing it to memory before simply stating, "No explosions. Chains or ropes would help... Perhaps a cage..." He murmured before standing up and, with a very breif salute, "I'll get my things... Might try and calm the girl too." He stated before heading out of the room and back to his own.

He looked over his workbench and sighed, "No time to continue that experiment... it'll have to keep." he muttered before shedding his jacket, and donning his armoured longcoat. He stowed the revolver and axe in their respective pockets before grabbing the smaller satchel and sighing. "What was up with that girl, to act so rashly?" He muttered before leaving his room and heading to the appointed meeting spot, a melancholy look of peace on his face.

He was actually late! What a stupid rookie thing to do! Thirty plus years Marshall had never been late once and now here he was walking up to a meeting in progress like it was his first day. Granted, it was not really his fault. He had been quite far away when he received the summon, and he certainly was not about to leave without finishing off those filthy ghouls. He had never once in his long career failed to complete a mission, and not even this seemingly important meeting was going to pull him away from his work without completing it first.

The summons had made him pressed for time however, and he had not spent much time planning or setting traps. He knew where the ghouls were and quite contrary to his usual method, he had basically rushed in head-first and attacked them all at once. Four ghouls at once was hardly a challenge, but one had gotten a lucky shot in and he had a large black and blue welt on his neck to show it.

Still, he was very irritated with his tardiness and hoped that the Archduke would not give him too much trouble about it. People tended to misinterpret his "no bullshit" personality as a bad attitude and that caused him trouble. In truth he was just tired, saddle-sore, and most of all old. Old people had piss-and-vinegar attitudes. Why was that so hard for people to accept?

He stepped into the meeting room, keeping his collar up and his hat pulled low. Immediately he stepped to the side of the door and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He looked around without lifting his hat. He noticed a few veterans and a few rookies.

Well at least I'm not getting thrown in with a bunch of kids again, last time that happened...

He shivered a little at the old bloody memory. He had too many old bloody memories to count and did not enjoy reminiscing. Instead he continued to scan the room. Several faces he recognized, but he did not know any personally. Then again he was not the easiest guy in the world to get along with. He did try though, it was not even unheard of for him to apologize for his typically boorish behavior.

His mind had wandered for a moment until he set eyes upon the woman standing in a dimly lit corner. Livia Leitner!

He stepped forward without thinking and shouted. "Hey what the hell is this? I'm not dying with that brat just because she killed off yet another unit!"

Livia stayed silent, her eyes watching all the rangers that entered the room. She knew a few of the older, more distinguished members, but she never actually socialized with them. The rest, she could hardly give a damn about who they were. She knew she should care more, but they hadn't proved anything to her so far. It wasn't her fault at all; in fact, the members she didn't know were giving her a reason to feel sour and distrust them!

For starters, a creepy man in a hood had followed her and the Archduke all the way to the debriefing room. She didn't know who it was, nor could she care, so she didn't wave him off when she realized he was there. But what really irked her was that he began to make snarky comments about her hiding in the shadows. Was it his place to start pointing out what flaws she had? Did she even give a single shit if she was bad at "hiding in the shadows"? And for that reason, Livia simply rolled her eyes and looked away from him, burying her fiery anger deep inside. Though she seemed cold a lot of the time, she knew when to contain her anger. But she still smiled when Keaghan gave him a good scolding.

The rookie-ish girl who came in, a loaf of bread in her mouth, really amused Livia. She was trying hard to act mature, but it definitely backfired. It was as obvious as the freckles on her face; but what really annoyed the woman about this one was what she did after the debriefing. She left in a storm of fury, upset over what seemed like nothing. Was she also a coward? Just like many others who were forced into the Night's Watch. Everyone could hear the loud curse and slamming against the wall of the castle. But it would have to be ignored; she was, of course, just a rookie. She was someone Livia would need to have a good talk with.

Another had stepped in earlier. Livia didn't know exactly who he was, but he was some sort of maniac. It was obvious right after the words "I remembered to leave the bombs behind this time". What kind of ranger brings bombs to a debriefing session?! And what exactly happened when he did it the last time?! The woman couldn't recall a time where there were any scorch marks on the walls or table. So was he just plain mad? The Archduke never really said anything about it. Maybe it really was nothing.

The infamous Frenchman had walked in as well. Livia had to stifle a groan when she spotted him, knowing exactly how challenging he would be to deal with. It wasn't that he was snarky or rude either. It was just the horrific language barrier was a huge problem, especially when she couldn't actively communicate already (at least according to the Archduke). He seemed to be fine in combat, however, so she felt a little iffy on whether she was fine with this addition to her team.

Just before she could reply to the Archduke, who was staring directly at her, another member crept in and stood just beside the door. His face was shadowed by his collar and hat, but he noticed her presence within the next minute. He shouted accusingly, the frustration surely sounding out like a bell in his voice. This irked her again too, but she decided to step forward as well, turning her sharp gaze to the head. "I understand the conditions, Sir Eisler. I will make sure nothing happens to the group and the ogre will be brought back for study. I will surely not fail you." With the bow of her head, she took the last envelope that sat on the table, sweeping a steady gaze over the new unit. "We shall depart in the next two hours. I want everyone to prepare themselves just like any other mission. Being a freshly-made unit does not make a valid excuse to forget your training. Please meet me at the gates in two hours or you will be left behind.

"Now, excuse me while I go find the girl." She closed, envelope in hand as she walked out of the room and followed the hallway to where the rooms were. She stopped at the stairwell, hearing more slamming and yelling. This was definitely that same girl, so Livia followed the sounds up to a single room. She took a deep breath. Don't get mad at her. Talk to her calmly but be friendlier...right? And with that, she knocked on Josephine's door and waited patiently.

For all of his years in the watch, Frederick Eisler had never before seen such madness in a debriefing. The unit had fallen apart before it could even properly form. First the new recruit he picked largely for her tenacity ran off like a frightened child. Then the tardy member had the nerve to defy him in front of the others. He would hold Livia accountable for this, turning his men against him and having them dispute his orders for the first time in decades, but he knew the blame laid elsewhere. Only a man blinded by pride would continue to bet on a losing horse for as long as he did. To his knowledge he was the first Lord of the Watch to attempt to hand pick and groom a replacement for himself. Perhaps others had tried in the past, but covered up their failure after facing the futility that stood before him now. He knew his ultimatum had come much too late.

The Archduke allowed Livia to leave before he slowly approached the man who spoke out against her. With each step the tip of his cane clacked against the hard stone floor. The sound echoed and thundered much louder than it should have. The noise was maddening and blocked out all other sounds in the room. When he stopped just before the man what felt like hours later the room fell completely silent. The challenge against him could not go unanswered, however the man who stood before Lord Eisler had served loyally long enough and proven enough of an asset in the field to warrant a warning this once. "The decision has already been made Mr. Granit. You will either be packed and ready for departure at the bottom of the appointed hour, or your head will be on a pike by the top of the next. That goes for all of you." His tone was cold and emotionless. It was clear he would not hesitate to execute the disobedient. Without waiting for a response he continued through the doors. This time the cane striking the stone was barely audible, quiet enough to go unheard if anyone dared to speak.

''So....what did I miss?'' leaning onto the door way, my steel vambraces making solid impact with the wood, looking into the almost empty meeting room or ballroom rather, with a few people scattered around the room, the disfigured lizard guy, and the grumpy old guy. My face started forming into a blank expression, my eyes looking down on the fine polished floor, I mean you can't really blame me for being curious, first of all that girl running out of the meeting room isn't an encouraging first sign, neither is seeing the infamous Livia Leitner run out the room, I also saw the poncy scrollsman, brooding as ever with his deep red eyes and darkly garments on his way out, quickly followed by the menacing brute,Big buy would be bit of an understatement, standing at atleast 6'2, probably over 200 pounds of muscle with a ragged leather coat and a fedora hat to finish it all off.

And then it all made sense. I mean Livia, super official meeting sealed by the 'Duke himself, connect the lines. She probably got her unit killed, as she always does, I thought to myself, and me and several of those poor sods are going to be the replacement, I started taking in my surrounding, my eyes started wondering all over the room, from the fine cut reinforced stone to the paintings that decorated the walls, ranging from simple portraits from across time to a visualizations of long bloody battles and the achievements of man kind's sole protectors, as I then picked up a certain will defined scent, probably a bunch of candles emitting the odor. Well, atleast they got the atmosphere right.

I walk further into the room, a sharp change in noise from my footsteps, from loud to silenced, using my hands I push my coat appropriately as I take an empty seat, feeling the wood against my gloved hand, my blue, ice cold eyes making contact with each person in the room. You have lizard guy, Arenwald Victor with his multiple burns and scars, a tall sight to behold, aswell, you'd expect such a person to have some odd attire? not..really. Black vest and linen shirt are his outfit of choice, bit of a far cry from the overall aesthetic really, and on the other hand you have our local pissy old guy, Edward Davynell. With his generic old human face with a fairly sturdy old build, with an all black leather set up, and our good ol' illiterate Frenchmen, with colorful blonde hair and an immense lack of fat characterizing him best, oh and that huge scar that practically cuts him in half, covered up with a blue overcoat with a matching vest, gloves and trousers, a standard, complete look.
A bunch of..interesting individuals and here I was trying to start small talk with the group of misfits.

''This is awkward, yes. I'm late, yes. I mean I just came back the day before from vampire hunting, annoying creatures with a big ego and a horrible complexion, most of you fine folks probably have some experience them''.
''And the problem thing they just don't die like any other creature. You have to do that whole wooden stake to the heart thing and the silver bullet shtick, best moments of your career though when they're giving you the evil speech and the sun comes up and their complexion going from pale to no skin.'' rolled off my tongue with both a tone of resentment and amusement,
''What do you think french men? do you have any English proverbs relating to vampires?'' I doubt he even understood the question here, but hey that's the fun right?
And then I let out bit of a long winded sigh, realizing i'v been rambling to myself for god knows how long...
''You know, in retrospect when you get a letter sealed by the duke, target practice with your trusty side arm, sleeping and practicing your best lines should take secondary priority...'' as I now sat in anticipation, waiting for things to clear up.

The more his next-to-be comrades were coming through the room’s door, the more Keaghan felt like his group will be difficult to handle, or work with. He recognized a few of them by name and reputation, others by having worked with in the past. The individuals called to group up in this room today were no ordinary Rangers. Most of them were veterans who managed to survive through incredible ordeals, while others were quite unique and standing out from the crowd, both in abilities and in personality. Before the briefing would have begun, the piercing eyes of the Vampire Blackheart scanned intently each and every one of his future comrades for a few minutes has they went through the door. The only person he hasn’t immediately recognized was the woman named “Josephine Warden”. He didn’t recall having met her yet, or actually seen her around for that matter. It was likely that she was a rookie, but why Lord Eisler would have given a newcomer such dangerous task? He was now curious about this addition to the team, taking mental note to stop by later on at the archives and read over Miss Warden’s file.

As the briefing began, Keaghan had distributed the envelope to the whole crew before taking a seat himself next to the Archduke, at his right. While Lord Eisler was speaking, the blackheart vampire had opened the envelope he was given and scanned it briefly; following along the duke’s words the content of the mission package. Taking into consideration all details spoken, the human vampire had placed the details of his task in an inside pocket of his jacket, fully focused on the remainder of the briefing, which mostly consisted of Eisler making it clear that the team had to work together without relying on Livia’s power. It came as a surprise to Keaghan, although he knew he should’ve expected that decision from the chief-commander. It truly meant that this unit was being tested, not by the incredible individual skills of each member, but rather their ability to adapt and coordinate their moves.

But while Strauss was a man of tactics and was proficient at using people’s skills to their fullest, he knew that his tactician’s skills were not the only part of the equation. On the contrary, he believed that the huge part of the group’s problematic was the dissention currently plaguing the team. That was something he was quick to realize after the briefing was done. Indeed, some had already manifested beforehand their disapproval of the unit’s leader, while the rookie Keaghan took interest in had stormed out of the room abruptly and the Werewolf Blackheart loudly voiced his discontent of the current situation. Even small things like Livia’s temper and the language barrier separating most of the group from one of its member, The Frenchman, would put the mission at peril. Those were details Keaghan took mental note of, and hoped he could manage to work with during their travel to the Ogre’s lair.

Just as he was about to step out of the room like some already did, Keaghan had stopped when the Archduke himself had stepped forward to meet the Werewolf Blackheart’s defiance. The few words of Lord Eisler echoed with utmost authority in the room, something Keaghan had witnessed but only a few times in his forty years of service in the Night’s Watch. Nodding slowly to acknowledge the chief’s orders, Keaghan turned to the Frenchman and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Ordre du chef: Rendez-vous aux portes du château dans deux heures.” Strauss calmly said, leaving the room shortly after.

Properly chastised, Marshall chose not to respond at all. He was not an angry man, despite his surly demeanor, but at the moment he was nearly boiling over with rage. The anger was not directed toward Livia Leitner, or the Archduke, but at himself. He had let a lousy ghoul bash his damn neck, then showed up late for a meeting, then started shouting like a spoiled kid! What the hell had gotten into him lately? He had shown more restraint as a bloody rookie! He had to set this straight. He had little interest in prestige or advancement in the Night watch, but he did care about his reputation.

Livia was known as one of the best hunters alive, and he was ashamed of himself for judging her so quickly. Especially since he had once been in her shoes. He thought back to the terrible result of his first attempt to lead a unit. He shook his head hard and walked out of the room, trying not to let the memory out of the deep dark hole he kept it in. That was different anyways, at least he had the decency not to try leading any more teams after that! Or was it cowardice? He shook his head again. Can't go down that road right now.

Whatever the case, he would apologize to the young lady and make an effort to help her be successful. He did not know much about her relationship with the Archduke, but she seemed to be on thin ice with him and his outburst probably did not help much. Properly motivated, Marshall could be a great asset to her team, and making up for his own failures was certainly what he considered proper motivation.

While everyone else ran off to prepare, Marshall went for a stroll. He had nothing to prepare really. His only weapon was his trusty knife and he had a change of cloths in the small hidden pack under his coat. He was never a man to stay in one place to long, he liked to be on the move and stayed prepared to roll out at all times. He made his way to a small garden he liked to sit at and took a seat on a stone bench. He pulled out a cigar and lit it.

Rain had started to fall lightly, but this did not bother him. He rather enjoyed it actually. It suited his dark mood.

Jo tossed the bag over her shoulder. Her body alignment was a little off, she was slightly tilted due to the weight of her backpack. She looked over her shoulder at her room. She would probably move to a different room once she got back... if... she got back. She shook her head, trying to clear out her negative thoughts. The few extra scuffs on her boot, the throb in her toes, and the pounding in her knuckles helped her calm down a little. She took in the scene she was leaving behind. She saw the targets that she collected throughout the years of training. Each year showed progress until she got a very tight grouping all within the center. She didn't want to hang up anything to do with her hand to hand combat. That would take away from the pride wall. Her gaze drifted from the targets to her bed and dresser. Actually... beds and dressers. Her roommate had them taken away and re-purposed. Initially, the roommate disagreed but Josephine had convinced her otherwise. Mainly, it was because her roommate was a caring person and Josephine was in need of it. And stronger... and sneakier... and more stubborn. On the plus side, Josephine had plenty of room to stretch out on her double bed set up. She also had plenty of room for her clothes and ammo.

With a nostalgic sigh, she turned around and got ready to exit the room. She opened the door and got ready to step out.

Knock knock. On Jo's forehead.

It took a little while that someone's knuckles rapped on her forehead to process in Jo's frazzled brain. Her orange hair had broken loose of its tie behind her head, one side poofing out farther than the other. She looked like a hot mess and her mind was just as discombobulated. It's not like someone knocks on one's skull every day.

Blinking, she looked up at the perpetrator. "Oh," She said, all luster lost from her voice, "You."

Livia blinked, realizing she had rapped on Josephine's forehead instead. She didn't even register it, as she was still half-lost in her mind, questioning whether she would do the right thing or not. She wasn't too well-trained on actually speaking to people.

But the way she said "Oh, you" really got on her nerves!

She swallowed her irritation and smiled slightly. "Are you okay? You sounded really upset back there. The others got worried so I decided to check up on you." Livia spotted her backpack and her uniform, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "You're already set to leave? Are you sure you wanna go ahead with that much stuff?" Typical. A rookie let their feelings get to their head and wasted time going against their training. Now they'd have to spend time and energy into unpacking and grabbing the essentials! But she didn't dare to say anything, in fear of unleashing outrage from both the girl and Lord Eisler.

Jo's eyebrow twitched. Was Livia patronizing her or was she just trying to help and didn't know how to? No, there was no way Livia was trying to help. That just wasn't Livia's style. Josephine's jaw clamped down and she returned the small smile, although it looked more like a grimace. A new recruit, one who hadn't graduated yet, passed by. Even he could feel the electricity in the air and he made himself as small as possible, scooching by against the wall.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jo said curtly, like a rebellious teenager, "I had to take a piss," She lied. When the backpack was mentioned, Jo turned her head to look at it. It did seem a little unorthodox, all unhappy and swollen. She rolled her shoulder and readjusted it. "It's got all that I need. Some food, water, clothes, rope, tarp, and ammo. Mainly ammo. Can't dump much else."

This doesn't seem to be working out already... Livia winced, watching Josephine defend herself verbally. It seems she was not okay with Livia trying to help her out. Was everyone out to get her or something?

Jo was oblivious to Livia's predicament. Upon the mention of ammo, Jo felt a surge of pride running through her veins. She was a great shot and she knew it, better than the majority of regular rangers. "Name's Josephine Warden. You've probably heard of me," She said, offering her hand for a shake.

"Josephine Warden..." Livia tapped her chin, looking at the ceiling as she tried to recall whether she'd heard the name. There was a time where she'd heard it, right? And then, she got it. "Ah! The trainee who repeated the training four times!"

Josephine stumbled even though she was standing still. Goddamnit, why did everyone keep bringing that up? She readjusted her backpack and harrumphed.

"Don't we have somewhere to be?" She asked rhetorically and curtly, moving around Livia and stomping off towards the meeting place.

Edward was annoyed that had been forced to transfer from leading a unit of his own, to serving in a unit led by Livia. He thought to himself Goddamn archduke, transferring me to the worst unit in history......... He heard a man ask what he had missed and said "Well we've all been transferred to Unit five. We're about to head out. I've got the details in this envelope if you'd like to see them." Edward then stood up and said "Name's Edward, by the way, former leader of unit eight." He stood up and handed his envelope to the man before heading out. He walked to his office in order to gather proper supplies. He ensured everything packed was necessary, and fit properly. Edward then went to the meeting area, and saw Jo approaching. He waved and said "Remember me?"

''Called it'' was my immediate reaction as the old timer explained to me what infact, just happened. Another unit bites the dust, and we're her next ''comrades'', and I use that term lightly.  He gave me an envelope, before introduction himself as Edward.
''Charles Ervin, at your service'' I grabbed the envelope from his hand, swiftly opening it up. It contained all the information needed, before he left the room. A sketch of the nocturnal beast and info on where exactly we'll be going, another thing that caught my eye is that we can't just walk in trigger happy.
''Child eating ogre and we can't just kill the thing right away. Archduke, why must you torture us so?'' I mumbled to myself, quickly rising from my chair, turning my back towards the table, kicking the chair back into place as I walked out, heading to my little stash to prepare for the upcoming mission.

And on the way out, I spotted that same girl who ran her way out of the room, as we passed each other. One thing that caught my attention was her fiery red hair, contrasted by a deep green set of eyes.
''Glad your little tantrum is over'' blurted out my mouth in a condescending fashion, bit of a low tone but nothing the ear can't catch, making sure to never establish eye contact.
''Alright Charles, where do you start preparation for a suicide mission...yeah, the armory.'' passing a few more halls, it was finally there. In the entire castle, no room quite had the same awe as the armory, constant sounds of blades being sharpened, boxes and containers being moved and sorted. Look to your right and you see the weapons of legendary hunters, wooden stakes that slew the most powerful of vampires and guns that killed too many werewolves to count, on the other side you see the history of the Watch's uniform, as it evolved and reiterated till its current incarnation.

And in the center you had Bob. As his name suggests, he doesn't exactly stand out. Caucasian, average height brown hair and brown eyes with bit of a stubble, but all in all he's a nice guy.
''Long time no see'', I call out, quickly stepping over till we're face to face at the counter.
''My condolences, Charles''
''Word spreads around quickly, it seems'' he was of course, referring to the assembly of a new Unit five.
''So, we're going on a troll hunt soon. I'll need the usual assortment ammo, and if you would kindly sharpen my dagger, If youalso  have some hooked ropes, would be much appreciated'' I pull out my trust little friend, the golden cover shining bright before I unsheathe it, twirling it about a bit before placing it on the counter.

It only took like an hour, but finally I was set, taking 4 ammo bags for a total of 24 revolver bullets, 5 hooked ropes and a sharpened blade.
''You never fail to impress, Bob'', it was a job well done, as I waved goodbye and wandered the secretive fortress some more, finally I reached my quarters, with a plain wooden box in the middle, opening it up before pulling it out, my beloved custom made colt. I proceeded to load 6 bullets into the chamber, the silver finish glistening under the light before pushing it into its holster and packing the ropes into a small bag, then departing to the gates, as the letter entailed that is where we'll meet up, after some backtracking, I finally made it infront of the massive gates of the fort, taking a spot by the wall awaiting the arrival of the rest of the team.

Marshall sat on the bench watching the raindrops hit the flowers for almost a full hour. Quietly puffing away at his cigar and thinking about not much at all. His coat and hat kept his reasonably dry and his thick hair kept him warm. He found times like this to be a blessing, and he relished the serenity of that single hour. Rain gathered lazily at the brim of his hat, and occasionally fell into the small puddle forming at his feet. He breathed deep, savoring the sweet aroma of the flower garden. Moments like these were so rare, he almost wanted to say screw the mission and stay here. But that would be a very bad idea considering the Archduke's threat. He was one man Marshall always took seriously.

So when the time finally came, he stood, stretched his stiff back, and slowly made his way to the meeting point.

As he arrived at the gate he noted the presence of the hot-head recruit and Edward Davynell, another long time vet like himself. They had worked together a few times in the past and Marshall gave him a quick nod, the rookie he ignored completely. He found a wall to lean against and puffed away at his cigar.

He thought back on the new team. He was not sure what the Archduke was thinking. A bunch of veteran Blackhearts mixed with a bunch of kids, and led by the biggest hot-head of all... seemed like he was begging for disaster. But Marshall had no intentions of making waves. He would do his part and hopefully make up for his childish reaction to his new assignment.

The sound of her footsteps was deafening. Thoroughly miffed, Jo stomped down the corridor mumbling and grumbling to herself.

"Glad your little tantrum is over," Is what she heard. She froze in her place, fists shaking with rage. Her hackles were raised and her fangs bared, symbolically speaking, and she was ready to tear into someone's throat.

"What'd you just say to me?!" She demanded as she whipped around. Her frustration only grew as the man who said that was nowhere to be seen. "Come back here and say that to my face, you fu.." She raged, kicking and stomping around like an angry ape, saying words I dare not repeat. Her hair was loose again, flowing all over the place like a redheaded Medusa. The water in her bag sloshed around as she shook her fist and kicked at the wall. How dare they talk to her as if she were a child? She was a full grown woman and she was a ranger. She wasn't as experienced as them, sure, but she still passed the grueling training and earned that right. She'd show him. She'd show them all that she was a force to be reckoned with.

She eventually calmed down enough to go back to the matter at hand, which was meeting up with everyone. Red faced and crazy eyed, she exited the dryness of the castle into the rain of the outdoors. Her hair automatically rebelled, frizzing up until the poof that occurred was hard to ignore. She didn't care enough to fix it as she wandered towards the gate.

She saw a familiar face wave at her and she waved back.

"Remember me?" He asked, and for the first time that day, she smiled. A teeny, tiny, no tooth smile, but it was something. It gave a softness to her as her cheekbones rose and her eyes turned to a blue shade. Of course, the magic of her smile was probably diluted by the bad hair day she was having.

"Of course I do," She replied, thinking back to what happened so many years ago, "I didn't get to see you much after that, though. It's funny that the first unit I get assigned to has you on it. Who knows, maybe I'll return the favor and save your ass," She joked, nudging Edward with her elbow.

Arenwald rubbed his forehead after the meeting had been finished "Unit cohesion is failing and that's before the first mission, this is bad" He muttered as he went to his room to retrieve his equipment "Let's hope we can put our differences aside for the sake of the mission" He said, voicing it a bit louder than he had intended but hopefully no one other than those near him would be able to hear it.

He opened the package once he had arrived to his room and examined it's content "Hmm, Ogre's have a thick hide so it would be best to pack bolts whose tip is more oriented towards piercing" He said out loud as he searched for them inside his cabinet "A few vials of poison would be most likely useful, maybe some sedatives as well to try to slow the creatures reaction time" He muttered once more before he heard laughter inside his room, he saw a shadow in the corner of his vision and took out his dagger in one swift movement "Who is there?" He asked, his tone cold and unfriendly.

Getting a bit nervous with the age aren't we? Said the shadow, Dorian lunged at where he thought the shadow was present but found himself stabbing his wardrobe instead with his dagger getting stuck on it And more irascible and irrational as well Said the mysterious voice, speaking for the third time. "Show yourself before I gut you" Growled Arenwald, hearing mocking laughter as his only response with the voice no longer speaking.

Dorian took a bottle of water and poured it over his head, logic returning to his head steadily as the water fell over it "Relax, it's no time for another fit" He said, breathing slowly so as to calm himself more. He knelt next to a rug on his room and moved it, revealing a small trapdoor. He opened it and quickly took a few flasks that were inside an old wooden box "I never thought I would need this again, but it will come in handy" He muttered, wrapping them with a piece of cloth and putting them on his bag. He finished packing and went to the meeting area of the unit, working on a plan to take on the ogre.

"That went swimmingly." Livia sighed, not moving from the spot in front of Josephine's room. She hadn't necessarily meant to insult her, but rather figure out why she had heard her name. It was her own fault she was known for how long she'd spent in training, anyway. All her own fault and she obviously needed to learn self control. Livia was definitely not going to be responsible for that girl's rule-breaking attitude, at any rate.

The young leader looked into the room, picking up a stray box of ammo that sat on the floor where the other girl once was. This is what happens when people overpack... They leave things behind. She shoved this into her pocket, closing the door shut before walking calmly to her own room. Her things were there, of course, since she had just come back from her previous journey. This was such a fast pace for her and she realized she didn't even get to rest beforehand. But it didn't matter; this mission was more of a test, where she didn't need to do anything besides observe. 

Her neatly packed bag sat at the foot of her bed, her sword and katars in their sheaths on the bed itself. Livia quickly took this chance to change into a fresh set of clothes (as her shirt and pants were torn from the last mission), placing her leather vest and pants in her bag for later. A clean, silk shirt and black riding breeches were thrown on, her green velvet vest hugging her torso nicely. She reached up to touch her brooch, narrowing her eyes at the memory of her mother. If she were alive, she wouldn't need to be going through such aggravating stresses. She'd just be a normal woman, nothing more or less. She wouldn't have to be dragging people on missions just to face beings that inflicted pain beyond human capability. Lacing up her boots, she shook the silly thoughts out of her mind. They were useless and would only drag her down.

She ran a brush through her hair quickly, the bag now hoisted onto her back. She scanned the area, picking up her frock coat and swiftly retreating and heading down the hall and descending the grand staircase to the main hall. Here, she turned to the dining hall and made sure to grab a bag filled with two days' worth of food for herself, hoping that the others would remember to get their own bag too. This she stuffed into her pack again, nodding in approval at how much space she had. Then again, she didn't need to repack much. She always traveled light, no matter the circumstances. 

She stood outside, just by the gates, her back erect and her eyes scanning the area. She was waiting patiently for the rest of the team to arrive and they slowly did, some coming before the appointed time. When she believed everyone had arrived, she scanned through the list of unfamiliar names on a piece of paper, looking up to match them with a face. She then cleared her throat. "Everyone is here, I hope. I will not go and chase anyone down who is not here. Now, let us set off." At this, she raised an arm to a guard who operated the gate, letting the new unit pass through into the open space. The gates closed behind them and they were in the outside world, a place that was filled with unknown beings, killers ready to feast on their flesh. They were to travel to the nearest station on foot, where they would wait until the train started moving before catching a ride on an empty rail-car toward their next stop. Then, they were to hop on another train toward the town in Bulvaria, all without being seen. It was helpful that they had records of the times the trains were expected to depart, seeing that the unit would be able to have time to spare when they arrived to make sure they were able to get on the train.

Having left the briefing room, Keaghan went to prepare himself for the upcoming mission. While he had been thinking of checking over the archives for information about the members of his team, the Vampire BlackHeart figured it would be best to first prepare his gear, then head to the library if he still had time. But if there was one thing he had learned from his manny years here, it was to travel lightly, with few but enough supplies.

Having reached his room, just beyond the door to his office, Strauss headed towards his bed and retrieved a bag from underneath. Bedroll, rope, rations, water, ammo packs, everything was in this bag. All that remained to be picked was his rifle, his handgun and his sabre, all of which were stashed in a chest by the corner of his room. As he was about to leave the room, Keaghan's hand wandered mindlessly to a satchel that was hanging near the door. How could he have forgotten his ritual reagents? Those were absolutely vital for the magic Strauss was using. The more he was thinking about it, the more Strauss believed that he would have need of rituals to prevent the Ogre from exiting its lair, should they happen to fight it in its home.

As soon as everything was prepared, the Blackheart officer headed out towards the library, calculating he still had more than a hour-and-a-half before meeting up with the rest of the group. He figured he might as well use this time to analyse the members of his team and perhaps what was known about Ogres from the few previous encounters with such beast. As such, the Night's Watch tactician headed out towards a place he knew all too well, the archives.

When he reached the library, he was greeted by the head librarian, a mature woman who had been overlooking this place for gods know how long. The old lady was used to see Keaghan at the library and its archives, knowing just how mch he loved to read and be instructed in all manners of knowledge.

"Hello Keaghan, what can I do for you today?" the old librarian asked to the vampire blackheart.

"Greetings, Helena. Could you give me access to the archives? I need reports and profiles on some members of the order, as well as information concerning Ogres. You know if anyone compiled any kind of data about them from previous encounters?" Keaghan told the lady.

"I will look over the records and bring you anything concerning these monsters. In the meantime, here's the key to the archives. As usual, make sure to put back anything you have taken to its place." Helena nodded, handing a key to Strauss.

While the librarian busied herself with finding information about Ogres, Keaghan went towards the archive room and took a seat next to a small secluded table by the far end of the room. Memorising the names of the fellows he had heard them speak when they entered the briefing room, the vampire officer looked over the files and retrieved documents with the name of each member. Then, he sat down, scattering all the files over the table and looked over them one by one. Details from previous missions, psychological profiles, history, he studied everything, except classified information that wasn't present in these archives.

Looking over all the information he had gathered took him a bit more than a hour. If it wasn't for Helena who had interrupted him during his study to warn him about his upcoming meeting, he would've been in the archives for a while longer. Duty called, however, and he answered it. He made his way quickly to his room, leaving the poor librarian to clean up his mess. After taking his backpack, strapping his weapons on himself and taking his satchel of magical ingredients, Keaghan headed towards the castle's front gates to meet up with the rest of the unit.

The vampire blackheart officer arrived right on time, leaving almost immediately to the field as soon as he met with the others.

“This sucks!” Cried a frustrated ginger. Jo wiped her shoe on a nearby rock, attempting to remove the heavy mud. At least, she hoped it was mud. It was hard to tell what she was stepping in when it was getting dark. Her stomach was empty, she was thirsty, she was tired, and even worse, she was still wet from the rain earlier. Everything was clinging to her body; it felt like she was being strangled by her own clothes. Her shoulders felt like they were going to fall off. The bag was heavy and annoying her. This was definitely the less glamorous part of being a Ranger. She hoped that the frustrating journey wouldn’t be an omen to how the mission would go.

“How the heck are we going to bring back an ogre like this?” She asked, partially genuinely curious and mostly whining, “Put it on a stretcher and hope it holds?” Then she froze to a halt. She tried to lift up her left leg and found it stuck. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” She growled, grabbing hold of her boot and tugging on it. Her bag slipped off her shoulder and dipped into the mud. Annoyed, she swung her bag around, flinging mud everywhere, and tugged again at her boot. Her foot came free (but not the boot) and her equilibrium was thrown off balance. Loudly, she announced her impending doom as she tried to balance on one foot. However, the heavy backpack was an added weight she didn’t account for, and her body began to tip backwards.

“W-W—WAH!” Jo exclaimed, her arms flailing out. The entire world seemed to slow down as the ground became less visible and she got a better look at the sky. She landed on her backpack. A shooting pain rose up her spine. Her boot was still stuck in the mud, her nearly sockless foot straight up in the air. Her arms were still outstretched as she blinked, looking up at the freshly woken stars.

Eventually, she came to her senses and her fists closed. Her face turned red out of embarrassment and anger. She eventually got up, trying to balance on one leg and hop towards her boot. She growled and grumbled as the boot came up easily. She shoved it on her foot and tried to brush off the mud as best as she could. It was in her hair, on her back, and sliding into places she really wished it wouldn’t. Josephine felt righteous fury swell up within her, she cursed the weather gods and stormed on, trying her best to catch up with the group.

Yup, this was going to go great.