Moss-Smattered Cave

[Mellie]

This mossy cave is shallow, not much for anything but a brief shelter. The opening is well lit by the sun or the moon, but for the extra fifteen feet that it stretches on for, it is pure darkness. It is easy to tell that quite a few different creatures have made a home of the place based on the skeletons and the dung left behind. It does not seem like a very homey or safe place, and the quiet growl coming from deeper into the cave is kind of off-putting as well - or is that just your mind playing tricks on you?

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis had needed a break from the constant planning and battling. The wounds, the blood. He was getting sick of it. It never was something he truly cared about and the fact that he was completely disrespected by the other men (specifically the ones in charge) did not help in the slightest. Ellis wanted to figure out who his dear-ol-dad was and then go and do something actually worthwhile with his life... He attempted to calculate the chances at that. His arithmetic was horrible, but even he knew it was difficult to get out of the army once you were in it... And finding his dad amongst the billion people that cover Setsuwa? He was sure it was impossible. Even if you cut out all of the people without red hair (since his mother said the flaming mop was from the quick-to-run man) it was still near impossible. Many would tell him to just give up now. You have no chance of finding him.

Well, Ellis didn't want to believe that. Which was why he spent every waking minute that he was not working, wandering the world. And right now he was in Niseca. In a forest... Well, that was give in considering it was Niseca... He knew he was somewhere in the South of Niseca - where exactly he did not know. All he knew was that he highly doubted he would find any man that would miraculously be his father here. He still had to try of course.

But then Ellis wondered if it was at all worth even trying. Did it matter if he searched high and low in every country? He wondered if his father travelled a lot. That would make it difficult for sure. Especially if he continued on this random, unplanned trek in the middle of-

It was raining. Great. Drop my drop it slowly grew from a spit into a hard pour. That was at the top of his list of things he needed. And, not only was it raining, it was quite literally pouring. Buckets and buckets of water smashing down on his head and soaking his uniform. Soaking through the light colour to cause him to blush and hoped no one could see. He could have sworn that the Sumish Battalion was doing this purposefully to all of the members of the Aurcaeli forces. It would not surprise him. Like his leader Xista or any number of the Warlords, Emine Viviana was not someone who played fair.

Then he saw it. A bit further in the distance. A cave. Perfect. Wonderful. He could wait out the storm inside. Caves were always a reliable place for that unless... Well, unless they were already occupied. He crossed his fingers mentally in the hopes of that not being the case as he trudged across the quickly moistening ground. The ground that seemed to try and eat away at his feet as it grew slicker and the dirt became mud.

He stepped inside and shook his head, his red hair matted against his face with the rain water. Brushing it from his eyes he surveyed his surroundings, it did not look as though anything had been here for a while... Er, at least a short time. There was still some meat left on a bone or two - which was incredibly unnerving. It was warmer, and dryer inside the cave, however. It was not as if Ellis planned to stay for longer than the rain took, so a few meaty bones were something he could deal with.

Probably.

Maybe.

Hopefully the rain would let up soon.

[Skylar]

Skylar had recently decided to travel the world. That wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy every moment he had spent in Submiere, but he needed to get out of there. Out of his home, his school, his life. He needed to go to a place where he wouldn't be the laughingstock of the town just because he was different. His hometown was a small one without much to offer tourists to the country, and as such the vast majority of its inhabitants were also Aquens. But they had all been born there, and as such they were all the same. But Skylar stuck out like a sore thumb. A sore thumb with emerald green eyes and purple hair. And he was ridiculed for it, ridiculed to his face and behind his back; even his parents, when they thought he couldn't hear them, expressed concerns for their 'special' son. He was so sick of it, he needed to get out.

And so he'd left.

It wasn't very hard for him; he was over five hundred regular Setsuwan years old after all, and he was already much more mature than any of the other Aquen children at his school. He knew how to take care of himself. Well, assuming he didn't get lost in thought and walk off a cliff accidentally or something like that. As ridiculous as that sounded, it was a valid concern for him. But so far he was doing pretty well for himself, but maybe that was because of where he was. Niseca was where he was born, and as such he had decided it would be the first stop on his trip. And it was beautiful.

There was nothing in Submiere like it. Giant trees, forests full of them, and flowers. So many flowers! It was breathtaking. As much as he hated his parents for visiting this place when they knew they were so close to having their child, he couldn't really blame them, nor could he hate this place for making him the way he was. It was like a cute puppy; even if it bit you, you couldn't help but love it.

And then, as if Moaan herself was watching over him, it began to rain. It didn't start off as much, but soon enough it was torrential, practically a flood, and he was soon soaked. But he didn't care; he lived in Submiere after all. If he couldn't handle a bit of rain, then what kind of an Aquen was he? He grinned and took off his soaking hat to push his wet hair from his face as he continued wandering through the forest. Unfortunately for him, although he loved the rain and didn't mind being wet in the least, the rain was coming down so hard that his range of visibility was practically nonexistent. As such, he figured it would be much safer to find a place to hang out until it let up a bit.

Wandering around for a bit longer revealed what seemed to be some sort of cave and he headed toward it to take shelter, not realizing until he had entered it that there was someone else already there. He was practically two feet taller than Skylar and looked rather intimidating. He wondered if he was hostile. "Hey there," he greeted. "Do you mind if I hang out here for a bit, until the rain lets up?" He felt it was much safer to ask than to just assume it was okay and then get the snot beat out of him. He wasn't a big fan of violence, and had refused to fight back even when he had been bullied in school. And this man looked like all he had to do was sit on him and he'd get squashed like a bug.

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis found himself taking a seat on one of the sickeningly green (and moist) rocks within the cave, assuming he ought to take comfort while he waited the storm – for all he knew it would last hours; he could stand that long of course, but that didn’t mean he particularly wanted to. Then again, as the squelching sound of spongy green moss beneath his buttocks sounded off in the silent cave, he wondered if perhaps he had made yet another wrong decision. The sound was much like a bodily function many people were embarrassed by – Ellis not an exception. He would not have cared far too much under normal loner circumstances, but just a few moments after he had taken a seat a voice interrupted his embarrassed thinking, causing his cheeks to heat and pinken.

“Hey there. Do you mind if I hang out here for a bit, until the rain lets up?" Ellis looked at the speaker and saw naught but a small boy standing there – inside he gave a huge sigh of relief. Kids, he could talk to. Sort of. Women, too. If it had been a man at the mouth of the cave there may have been a problem as far as Ellis’ speech capabilities were concerned. “N-no. N-no no no. Not at all. M-m…Make yourself at home… Er, well. N-not that I m-mean you m-must live in a p-place like this. Ju-just a figure of speech a-and all that, y-you know?” Ellis felt his cheeks darken in colour and thanked Ayneia for the darkness within the cave he was sitting in. Shaking his head to rid himself of embarrassment (as if such a thing actually worked) he cleared his throat a bit and started from the top, standing up and extending a hand as he did so, “I-I’m Ellis. D-Danton, th-that is. You are?”

[Skylar]

Maybe it was just him, but he was very surprised when the giant of a man started speaking and revealed a stutter. Quite an intense one, at that. It just didn't fit in with his huge stature. Weren't little nerdy kids who got bullied a lot supposed to be the ones with stutters? At any rate, Skylar was definitely interested. And glad, as the man told him he had no problem at all with him staying around. He told Skylar to 'make himself at home', but then assured him that he didn't mean that he must live in a place like this, as though he was afraid to hurt Skylar's feelings or offend him or something. Wow, that was.. almost as unexpected as the stutter.

The man then stood up, a large, looming shadow, and stuck out his hand, introducing himself as Ellis Danton and asking for Skylar's name in return. Taking the man's outstretched hand, he shook it as was expected of him and replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Danton. I'm Skylar." He flashed a smile before glancing around the cave, the area where he and Ellis would spend the next... well, however long it took for the rain to stop. Or just let up a bit, so he could see. Not being from around here, he wasn't sure how long rain usually lasted. Hopefully it wasn't something ridiculous, like sixth months of every year, because that would really suck.

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis did not realize how nervous he was with his large outstretched hand until the much (much, much) smaller boy took it and shook, offering a name and a smile with it – that was when his tight shoulders released and he almost let a sigh of relief flood the soundless cave. He caught himself before the sound could be made, to keep from being completely awkward, and instead took his hand back and busied it with brushing cave-dust off his light coloured trousers.

A silent overcame them, the boy looking as if in thought and Ellis trying the same thing although he really had nothing to say or think about. After the silent felt to long he stopped trying to remove the dust that seemed almost glued onto the light fabric of his pants and instead cleared his throat again (a growing habit it seemed) and then opened his mouth to spout out the first coversation topic that came to his mind: “M-m-man oh man, this wh-weather’s pretty cr-crazy… d-d-don’t you think?” Well that was a cliché thing to say, he chided, his mind wishing that his mouth weren’t such a fool. “I mean to say.. W-well, what br-brought you here to N-Niseca? Do…do you l-live here? N-not here in the c-cave… B-but in the c-country, I m-mean.” How many times would he feel the need to clarify he didn’t think the boy lived in the cave? It’s not as if that was actually what he thought. Not that he knew of at least. With a small, nearly inaudible sigh, Ellis pulled his kerchief from his pocket and dabbed absently at his upper lip – there was no sweat or anything of the like present, it was just a familiar and comforting motion for the man.

[Skylar]

He was slightly unnerved as his gaze landed on groups of bones piled up here and there around the cave, and he noticed with concern that some of them didn't look nearly as old as he would be comfortable with. Ugh. Being a reticent person by nature, as he was often lost in thought, he didn't notice nor would he have minded the silence, but it seemed Ellis wasn't quite as comfortable with long silences, as he spoke and broke it, commenting on the weather. "Definitely. I've never really seen rain before," he responded, then was silent as the man continued speaking.

Ellis asked him what had brought him to the country and whether or not he lived here. Skylar shook his head at that. "No, I don't live here. I'm from Submiere. I wanted to check out land above water and I figured that this was a good place, since it was close and I heard it was a nice place to visit." The man appeared to be nervous for some reason, and he dabbed at his lip with a kerchief after he spoke. Odd, that such a large, intimidating man would feel nervous around a kid. Or maybe it was because he didn't like rain? Then again, it may also be this creepy cave that was causing his discomfort.

[Ellis Danton]

Perhaps, as a man that worked for an army that was dead-set against the Sumish, Ellis should not have just continued on as if Skylar had said nothing wrong when he told of being from Submiere. For Ellis, that didn’t make a difference. What kind of soldier would this little kid be, anyhow? He was too young to be very well versed in magic, to stringy in the limbs (or so Ellis could see) in order to be severely dextrous… And there certainly did not appear to be much in the way of muscle hanging off of his bones. To Ellis, that meant the boy was safe, and he gave no further thought. To a more experienced soldier – or one that actually cared about the army – he may have felt very strongly about the boy being a spy. He would begin feeding the boy false information about the army (which he was clearly apart of, as shown by the badge on the right breast of his jacket) to send back to Emine. All Ellis could think was: What if my dad is in Submiere?

Realizing that words would likely do better than silence to acknowledge Ellis’ comprehension of what the boy said, the red-head opening his mouth and attempted to string together another string of words that (he hoped) would not hold as much of his stutter as the past few had displayed, “Oh? D-do you l-live in Eersaeb? Or d-do you live… like… un-under the w-water? I…I’ve always w-wondered wh-what it would be like. How exactly d-d-do you breathe?” Ellis was genuinely curious about this. He had not realized it until he had spoken the words of course, but now that his verbal diarrhea had spouted such a thing, he was anxious to hear an answer that didn’t consist of ‘I just do’, like he had heard many times. He dabbed his lip again.

[Skylar]

There were a few moments of silence between Skylar's words and the man's reply, but it wasn't noticed by the boy. His thoughts had already wandered to questioning how long the rain would last, and why there might be bones in the cave, and what creature lived here that had eaten the things that had once housed the bones. He was glad for the distraction of Ellis' voice, to be honest. "I didn't live under the water, unfortunately," he replied to the first question, feeling reticent about continuing down the road of where he came from. Luckily for him, the man asked another question and he was free to go off on that tangent.

"Ah, that's an interesting story, actually. I read about it one time in school. Supposedly, a while back, thousands and thousands of people got together and all used their magic on the water around the country, so that people could breath it even if they didn't have gills or anything." That was about as much detail as his textbook had given on it, but what more could you say? Magic was magic, and that was that. "It's really cool," he added. "But it can also be dangerous, because it's only around Submiere. More than a few people have gotten too used to breathing underwater, and then gone and drowned themselves in a lake or something."

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis’ face fell when Skylar mentioned that he had in fact not lived under the water. Well, there went his hopes of finally learning exactly what the secret of Submiere was. Oh well. He was sure that there was a book somewhere with the information. He may not have typically been one to crack open a document for information – or for pleasure, for that matter – but if he really cared that much (which it seemed he did) then he may as well make a stop at some library and pull up some information.

Before he could actually make an official decision to do just that, however, he was interrupted by a pleasant little thought from who was turning out to be quite the pleasant little boy – the real explanation of the oddity that was the submerged country of Submiere. Ellis wondered if he was like this boy when he was young. He then wondered how any man could leave his son behind and he dabbed at his upper lip again. Ellis considered what Skylar had said – about the apparent explanation of why one could breathe in the water of the country just west of this one – and then took a seat on the squelching, spongy rock again.

“W-well that j-just seems… h-h-h-horrible now. They should… should make a p-p-public announcement about the d-d-differences if… if people are d-dying because of it.” The words that came from his mouth, spewing almost involuntarily, seemed very hypocritical for a man employed to kill enemies. A soldier. They ought to make a public announcement about those casualties; about those natives; about those who aren’t natives? He spoke again, “W-well enough ch-chit and ch-chat about d-death, hm? Not a g-good topic for a k-k-kid like you, I don’t thhh-think. Not that I-I don’t think you’re m-m-mature. You seem t-t-to have no t-troubles t-t-talking about it. Not that you’re insensitive! Wh-what I mean t-to say is…” What did he mean to say? His case of the verbal squirts did not allow him to think through much of what he said or what he meant. Half the time he wasn’t sure if his thoughts had merely crossed his mind, or if they spilt over into the world without notifying him of their appearance first. He dabbed at his lip again.

[Skylar]

Skylar agreed with Ellis on that point, but he was sure that it was mentioned somewhere that the whole breathing underwater thing was only Submiere. Or atleast, someone at some point in time should have thought that would be a useful thing to mention to the general public. However, as much as he tried to ignore it, a small part of his brain was telling him that maybe, if people weren't smart enough to realize the difference, they deserved to die. It was a horrible thing to think, because a lot of people who were born and raised in Submiere were never informed of the fact that regular water wasn't breathable, and therefor it wasn't their fault that they didn't know. But the evil little thought was still there, floating around the back of his mind, no matter how much he tried to reason with it. It concerned him; did that mean he was going to grow up and be some crazy, horrible person? He hoped not. That didn't sound like much fun.

Ellis continued to speak, mentioning that they shouldn't talk about death, and then going into his whole being afraid of offending him thing. He ended up trailing off, apparently not being able to think of anything to say, and Skylar took his chance to speak. "Don't worry about it, nothing you say could possibly offend me unless you specifically intend it to, and even then it still might not." Hopefully the man would feel a tad bit more comfortable speaking now?

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis chortled slightly at the attempt Skylar was making to ensure Ellis didn’t explode from nervousness. There was nothing he could do about it, of course. He was reticent. Not by choice, but by the fact that he could never say the right things. Instead he was the kind of person who would sit and listen. Hear every word. He didn’t run conversations. Perhaps that was what made him popular with women he had met. He listened to their every word. Sadly, Skylar didn’t seem to be the kind to run conversations either and as such, Ellis (being an adult and Skylar a child) decided it was his duty to keep the conversation running, no matter how many awkward silences they found themselves falling into.

Like the one that they seemed to stumble to now. Ellis repeated the clearing of his throat and nodded his head slightly as he tried to think up words to speak instead of just opening his mouth and letting things flow through. After a few seconds of thought however, he simply went on with any loose thread of conversation he could grasp. Dabbing his upper lip, he revealed himself, “So sorry… I’m just… Just not the t-t-type of person whom usually r-runs around and ch-chit-chats p-people up. I… I just st-stick to my-myself.”

He fell into a brief silence, feeling slightly more at ease now that he had let that tension flow into the soggy, thick air around them. It was a nice thing to get off his chest when meeting someone new. Most people could guess by looking, and he had no doubts that this kid was one of those people – he seemed smart. Still, it felt different to know someone has identified something about you than to say it yourself. Perhaps it was the fact that he was admitting it to himself. Smiling at the realization he continued on, “H-How about you? Y-You seem like a k-kid who could have a lot of friends, huh?”

[Skylar]

Ellis apologized, explaining that he was usually a pretty independent, quiet individual, and Skylar didn't doubt it. He had already assumed as such, seeing as how nervous he was acting. Skylar didn't generally go around talking to random people either, however since they were both stuck in the same cave for who knew how long, he figured he might as well speak up to pass the time. Well, he really did it for the man's benefit, as he was perfectly fine with sitting and getting lost in thought. Er... maybe not sitting, as the rock or whatever it was that Ellis had sat down on sounded rather disgusting.

Ellis continued speaking after a brief silence, asking about him and commenting that he seemed like the kind of kid who could have a lot of friends. Key word being "could". Skylar shrugged as though it didn't matter much. "I don't exactly fit in with the rest of the kids," he replied simply. It wasn't his favourite topic of conversation, to say the least. He hoped Ellis would pick up on that and change the topic or something.

[Ellis Danton]

Much to what would be Skylar’s dismay, Ellis was not the kind of person who was good at picking up on other emotions. When the young boy told Ellis that he didn’t fit in with the other kids, his brows furrowed together in confusion and he raised his head to actually look at Skylar – something he hadn’t really done since they had met. The boy was short. Well, that was a give-in – he was a kid. The kid had bright green eyes – there were nice although Ellis did not give much care to such things. The skin of Skylar was pale – another thing that was expected. Most races are naturally pale, his own not included. Skylar looked like he would fit in to Ellis. Then again, Ellis didn’t fit in and he looked perfectly normal.

Then Ellis noticed something he hadn’t seen before, something he felt he ought to have noticed seeing as the one thing different about the kid was the same thing that made himself so identifiable. Perhaps it was because of the hat Skylar was wearing, perhaps it was because Ellis was not the sharpest of knives. The boy’s hair was purple. Perhaps it was normal for his race, but for some reason Ellis did not think so. “Is it b-,” For the first time since he could remember, Ellis held in the words and instead switched to something else entirely, “Why is that, Skylar?”

[Skylar]

Skylar almost began to wish that he had simply replied that he did indeed have lots of friends, as it probably would have been better off for him anyhow. He didn't need another person to think he was a freak. Unfortunately, when he mentioned he didn't fit in, Ellis did exactly what Skylar was expecting him to. He wondered why. And that led to an examination as Ellis looked him over to try to see what was so different about him that he didn't fit in. Why was it that people always assumed it was something to do with his appearance? Sure, that was what it actually was, but he could easily be different because he liked things the other kids didn't or something. Actually, that was also true. He was also much more mature than the other kids and, quite frankly, he found them insufferable.

Ellis began speaking, but cut himself off and asked why he didn't fit in. That was kind of him, but Skylar already knew what he must be thinking. It was what everyone thought. Skylar noticed, though, that Ellis had not stuttered that time. Hmm. Interesting. Anyway, that was a thought for another time. "Yes, it's because my hair is purple," he replied, assuming that was what Ellis had started saying. "Not that they should be able to complain about strange hair colours; a normal Aquen's hair is blue. Compared to most other races, that's pretty strange in itself. But that's not enough. I get to have the strange hair colour out of a race that already has a strange hair colour. It's just fantastic." He didn't raise his voise or anything, but it got gradually more agitated until he finished and he had to force himself to stop talking. He sighed. "Sorry, that topic always hits a nerve."

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis listened to Skylar through politeness only – he already knew the answer. At least he was pretty sure he did. There were a few races that he could think of that would also have had purple hair… But it did seem the only thing off about his appearance, and as the boy talked it seemed to hit the same nerve that Ellis’ own hair colour was seen in a mirror, or commented on. Yes, his was normal. The problem with it was that it came from his dead-beat father, something he couldn’t stand. When Skylar apologized, Ellis shook his head while he dabbed his lip. “Don’t,” His own lack of stutter offered a surprise to himself, but he supposed that finding a connection with this boy could have offered that. He also supposed that if he did not talk for too long most of his words could go stutter free… maybe. “I understand. My d- my hair is the same thing that keeps me f-from fitting in. O-Obviously n-not for the same reasons… But it…it is that thing that keeps me from d-doing what I… what I want. Whatever I want.”

Ellis tore his eyes from the boy and instead focussed them to the mouth of the cave where he watched the rainwater plummet down and beat at the ground as if trying to shape a new lake for it to be housed it. It looked like it had lightened up a bit, but not enough that Ellis would feel comfortable going out and walking about in it. For some reason the harsh rain made him think of the scars and bruises on his body from fighting in a war that he had not joined for the love of it or his country. He had joined for many reasons – none of them typical. One of them was simply to fit in. Not to be subject to the scorn of so many. Ellis felt a wave of anger flood through him and he dabbed at his upper lip as he began to speak again, “P-People just d-d-d-don’t understand unless it’s th-them, you know? When it’s n-n-n-not them, th-they d-don’t c-c-c-care about y-y-your problems. When it is… it is them th-they just b-b-beg you for… for sympathy.” His cheeks grew red with anger and embarrassment that he had resorted back to his usual stutter. Then he caught sight of Skylar and tried to smile a bit, “Guess that hits a n-ne-nerve for me t-t-too.”

[Skylar]

Ellis began speaking, informing Skylar that his hair had the same effect with him, preventing him from doing what he wanted and making him stand out and the like. As much as Skylar appreciated the empathy, he couldn't help but feel a tad bit incredulous. After all, Ellis had red hair. Red hair was one of the common hair colours, after brown and blonde. Purple... well, it was purple. Simple as that. But he didn't want to think about that too much, because it was mean. Ellis seemed like he was trying to cheer Skylar up by doing the whole 'it's not just you' thing that people generally did, so he should appreciate that more than he was.

It wasn't hard, as soon Ellis went on to say that people never understood until it was them, and until that happened they couldn't care less about the problem. As soon as it affected them though, they begged for sympathy. All too true, in Skylar's opinion. Sometimes, people disgusted him.

Ellis stopped speaking for a moment and when he next opened his mouth it was to admit that the topic hit his nerve too, as it would seem. Skylar chuckled. "New topic of conversation?" he suggested. There was no use continuing on this one, since it was just going to get on their nerves and in an enclosed space, two riled up people was not a good idea. "Where are you from?" was his chosen path. After all, Ellis had already asked him that, so it was only fair Skylar did as well.

[Ellis Danton]

Ellis was slightly annoyed. Not just from the speaking of things that elicited images of his estranged father, but also because he felt his hand being forced in the conversation. He was not the kind of person who drew out conversations, not the kind of person who kept them going. He was the kind of person who sat and listened, adding his two cents when necessary. Now, however, he felt as though he had to drag the conversation along. He did not want to suffer in the awkwardness that came with a dying topic, he did not want to hear only the sounds of an echoing drip coming from the stalactite above and the groan of something that may or may not want to eat them. He also didn’t want to hear only his stuttering voice filling the empty space. It just wasn’t him. It made him uncomfortable. Both options. He typically had no problem with it, but this boy was more similar to him than any other number of people. He hardly did anything in the conversation – something Ellis was jealous of. But the boy was… well, just that. A boy. He knew how uneasy they were about speaking to adults – he had been one himself, after all. The topics of conversation changed drastically when one was young speaking to someone older. What was appropriate? What was inoffensive? What was something grown-ups expect from a kid?

It was probably all of these thoughts that led to Ellis’ hand jolting when Skylar actually changed the topic himself, instead of leaving it for Ellis to handle. The older man absently brushed his hair back and deeply exhaled at the question asked. Where was he from? There were several ways to interpret the question, and although he ought not to reach far into it, his mind went racing in all directions. After a moment of contemplation, however, he simply stated what the effortless truth was – “Aurcaele. Ju-Jusul, in f-fact. It… it is a very… very busy pl-place. Sometimes feels… feels t-too cr-crowded.” Sometimes feels too empty. "I d-don't sp-spend much t-time there now... I'm a... p-(A pianist? A lost soul? A...) soldier, so I've been in Atton for a l-long time. I'm st-still getting used to the lack of l-l-l-lightning hitting eh-every other moment."

[Skylar]

Aurcaele. Sounded like an interesting place, from what he had read about it. Then again, all of Setsuwa sounded 'interesting'. Not necessarily nice or fun or beautiful, but definitely interesting. But apparently Ellis didn't spend very much time there. Being a soldier, he had been in Atton for a long time. Still getting used to no lightning, apparently. Skylar was vaguely surprised when the man said he was a soldier, as although he had the build for it, in the darkness Skylar had come to know the man by his voice, which didn't sound like it could belong to a soldier. He was also trying to decide what this meant now.

Skylar himself was very anti-war, even before it became public knowledge that there were natives to Atton, and as such he wasn't very pleased to be told the man was apparently for it. However, the man seemed nice enough thus far. Actually, as much as he knew it wasn't true, Skylar had the image in his head that all soldiers were mean, horrible people with no souls and a complete disregard for the well-being of others. But Ellis wasn't like that. Well, for all Skylar knew, he could. He hardly knew Ellis.

"Ah, I see," was his slightly less-than-enthusiastic reply. "Why did you become a soldier?"

[Ellis Danton]

When Skylar asked his question, Ellis knew what the tone of his voice that matched with the query meant that Skylar was not particularly fond of the war. Well, that made two of them. Yes, the war offered him the opportunity to make money and travel. That was certain. That didn’t mean he was for it. Didn’t mean that he liked Pelagia Xista or the girl that was her second. He knew the general outline of plans for the warlord – dominate the world one country at a time. He was very much against that, especially if the black widow was going to be the one in charge. She was bad enough as the leader of the Aurcaeli Battalion.

With the question provided, Ellis had plenty of answers. None of them had to do with the war. Just about other people. Just about his mother. Just about him. “L-lots of reasons,” His face was slightly flushed, though in the dark of the cave it was difficult to tell. What one could tell, was that he dabbed at his upper lip again as he tried to pick the reason he would provide. A reason that he knew would be explained with a further stutter due to the constant images of the paternal possibilities running through his confused mind. “I su-suppose th-that the m-main one was th-that mama th…thought that if her b-boy w-was a so… a soldier th-that he would be r-r-respected. She th-thought it would be a g-good way to g-get me in-involved with the c-community. Whi-with other b-b-boys m-mu-mu-my age,” He let out a disdainful scoff, “Sss…suffice to say… She was wr-wrong.”