[X] The enemy of my enemy is not my friend {For Jack} [INACTIVE]

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[Character of the Month]

Character of the Month
Prince Caspian

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Played by Cara

"Cara has managed to...create a character that is both mythical and life-like. Impulsive, moody, and yet kind and good-hearted, Caspian is just beginning to show the makings of a true leader."
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[We've moved!]

We've moved!

[Swiftshadow]

Swiftshadow didn’t like this situation, but she had to agree that it was necessary.  The very thought of some Telmarine strutting in and telling her squad what they were doing wrong irked her to her bones.  And why was this Telmarine – Jake or Jack or John or whatever his name was – even here?  He claimed he was on their side, but she’d trust a chattering squirrel to never talk again before she would trust him.

But Glenstorm had insisted on this practice, saying that Swiftshadow’s squad needed practice fighting in close combat against a mounted human.  Miraz’ army, after all, was made up solely of humans, and the centaurs would need to adjust their techniques to such opponents if they wanted to be effective.  Despite the fact that Swiftshadow’s men and women were archers, they could not depend on the fact that their enemy would always be at a distance where a bow and arrow would be useful. The centauress could not argue with this logic, and grudgingly forbore further protest. Still, she did not bother to hide her dislike of the scheme to her squad when she instructed them to meet on the Dancing Lawn, the place they typically trained when they needed room to move freely. 

Now, as she approached the grassy clearing, she saw with pride that all the other centaurs were already there. Her people were disciplined, even if the same could not be said of the rest of the Narnian Army.  She opened her mouth to say something to her lieutenant, but before she could, that centaur looked pointedly to the right.  Swiftshadow followed his glance, then muttered a curse.  Their “instructor” was approaching.  She gave a brief order, and her centaurs formed themselves into two perfect lines, seven abreast. She herself stood in front, ready to greet the newcomer.

[Jack Aries]

Swiftshadow. The centauress was somewhat well known throughout the Narnian forces, the leader of possibly the most disciplined force in the whole of the Narnian army. Well they were all centaurs, Jack had come to know the centaurs as the sort of wise prophets of Narnia, the people you could rely on to be loyal. An ancient people, but none the less a lot of them lacked a sense of humour. When he was picked up by the centaurs mere months ago he was shocked at first at the fact that half a man and half a horse had just cornered him against a tree but he had been even more shocked when he had tried to crack a joke only to be blanked completely and almost gutted. Although if they had listened to him as they had that at least showed that theywere as honourable as suspected. But Swiftshadow was also known for her veiws of the Telmarines. Admittedly most of the people of Narnia hated the invaders from so long ago but they had none the less accepted him, well, most of them had. The dwarves were still rather hesitant about hiom but the minotaurs were starting to trust him at last, he couldnt see Swiftshadow joining her fellow centaurs in giving him a warm welcome.

Jack galloped towards the meeting place where he was going to be teaching the archers what to do if, horror of horrors, what they were aiming for was a little too close for bows. He had to admit that he was looking forward to it, 'the loose force' of the Narnian army was keen to meet what was supposedly the most organised unti in the Narnian army let alone the archer division. He checked the tape round his wrists and fists, the cross on the back of the hands glaring at him from their place on the reigns. The lines of centaurs coming into veiw sharply as he looked back up again, he was in his usual attire, the taped fists and lack of shirt or armour. He smiled to himself slightly as he headed towards the centauress slightly apart from the others, eager to see if she would be as cold as he suspected.

He pulled up next to her and bowed slightly with his fist over his heart, aa smile on his face as he said. "Greetings, Swiftshadow, i beleive i'm working with you today."

[Swiftshadow]

“Yes,” said Swiftshadow shortly, returning his bow with only a nod of her head. “And you are?” 

She wasn’t about to go out of her way to be polite to this man.  She did not know what had possessed those centaurs who had initially discovered this man to let him live.  And even if they felt the need to show mercy for some arcane reason – when had the Telmarines shown mercy, after all? – she could not fathom why they had brought him into the camp afterwards.  But they had, and Swiftshadow’s superiors had decided to accept him into the army. The centauress might not hesitate to argue with even her commanding officers in private, but she was enough of a soldier to follow their decisions once made final. And besides, whatever her personal feelings about him, she couldn’t argue against the fact that they could use all the help they could get.  So she would put up with this practice and would try not to deliberately antagonize the man... at least, not without provocation. 

“How shall we begin?” Swiftshadow asked, somewhat reluctantly. She hated deferring to a Telmarine even that much. True, she now acknowledged Caspian as her king even though she had no delusions about his heritage. But Caspian had proved himself through his leadership and humility; this man thus far had not.

As she waited for an answer, Swiftshadow wondered how they would go about this practice, with only one human and fifteen centaurs.  He could have the centaurs practice with each other, but that wouldn’t make this practice different than any other.  They could all work with him one on one, but that would leave fourteen centaurs standing around for large amounts of time.  Well, she wasn’t the one who had to figure this out; she hadn’t even thought this was a good idea in the first place.

[Jack Aries]

Jack would have raised an eyebrow at her short greeting if he thought it would do anything, but he knew full well that it wouldnt she had evidentially made her mind up about him long before she had even heard of him, it was sad. Jack had come to expect better from centaurs, true they werent exactly the most neutral of races but they were at least considerate enough to listen to him when they found him and even more considerate as to always go for the vital spots as opposed to stringing out the inevitable doom as some races preferred to do. He liked the minotaurs on the basis that he was happy they were on his side but he had the distinct impression that if they had the time they wouldnt mind playing with their food before finally making up their mind that it would be more practical to simply smash the subject into the stratusphere.

"Jack Aries. The other human on your side, but your not having any of it." He replied casually with a his eyebrow rasing towards the sky very slightly as he turned to look at the rows of centaurs. He didnt know but he assumed that they werent all as grudge obsessed as their captain, to his knowledge she was the only one who hadnt moved on yet. Alothough it was doubtful if there should even be the word 'yet' in that sentance, with the warmness of the greeting she had just given him it was no surprise that she would forever have the veiw that humans should be treated with about the same amount of trust as the squeaky kitchen door when coming home drunk at 3 in the morning.

He heard her question, she evidentially wanted to get on, thos was something of a comfort that she seemed to want to simply grin and bear it instead of fighting with him every single step of the way. "We shall begin by messing things up a bit. If you can maintain your ranks under waves then you dont need me here to tell you anything." He said, more to the assembled centaurs than Swiftshadow. "We shall also choose something to carry other than your bows. You maight last for a short while but at the end of the day if there is a wave of enemies approaching you will definitely last if you have something with sharp edges." He twisted round in his saddle slightly and grabbed a hold of 2 very large bags, hoisting them round him with a grunt and hanging them on a tree before taking the last bag from behind him with an assorted sizes of sticks, accurately carved into the shapes of weapons, courtesy of the weaponsmiths dotted around the Narnian army. He threw it to one of the centaurs and said, "have a rummage and find something that feels right, nothing else, just whatever feels right, and make sure your suited up in whatver you usually wear in battle, you'll hurt by the end of the day." He smiled good naturedly as he said all this, he was incredibly down to earth when it came to teaching. "Remember that i am not here to teach you how to balance swords on your chins whilst fending off armies with your tongue wrapped around an axe. I am here to teach you how to survive in a battle when they come to you. You all should know by now that battles are not skillfull they are merely a case of liiving though them whilst making sure that as many of the other side dont. Do not expect fancy moves when a quick swing will do." He watched as the centaurs passed the bag between them and weighed the various replecers and decided on their choice.

[Swiftshadow]

“The other human on your side,” Aries had said.  As if there were only two of them.  The truth was, though, that there were far too many humans in the Narnian camp for Swiftshadow’s comfort. The centauress had nothing against humankind in general.  She knew that the Golden Age of Narnia had come about because two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sat on the throne.  But most humans in these parts were Telmarines, and Swiftshadow did take issue with Telmarines. Far too many Narnians had been killed by fearful or angry Telmarines in the last several hundred years, by both royal forces and common farmers.  “And why should I trust you?” she retorted, speaking some of these thoughts aloud, after he dared to chide her for “having none of it.”

Swiftshadows lips compressed even thinner as the Telmarine went on speaking.  He was entirely too full of himself, she decided.  As if her squad didn’t know how to stand under the pressures of battle! Granted, they had not yet been in full-blown battle, only skirmishes, but then, she bet the same could be said of Aries.  The Telmarines had not gone to all-out war in decades at least, and she didn’t know where else he could have gotten such experience. “Quit explaining what we already know, and get to teaching,” she muttered impatiently under her breath. She was not trying to be loud enough to be heard by Aries, but she didn’t care if he did manage to make out the words. He was wasting their time with his blather.

As the centaurs behind her selecting practice weapons, Swiftshadow turned to observe the process, mainly so that she didn’t have to look at the Telmarine any longer.  Her squad passed along the bags, breaking their disciplined lines and stances only when the sacks were handed to them.  Still, she could tell by the barest flick of a tail here, or set of a jaw there, what each was thinking.  Most of them had been together for long years, after all. About half, she knew, shared her views of Aries and of Telmarines in general. The others thought her a bit unreasonable to lump all Telmarines in one bunch, and a few of that group even looked interested to see what Aries might teach.  Swiftshadow thought this latter group naïve, but as they did what they were told and didn’t express their views aloud to her, she excused them. Perhaps they had simply never lost anyone they loved to the Telmarines yet.  They’ll learn differently soon enough, she thought rather bitterly, for her own mother had been murdered by a Telmarine arrow.

After the sacks made their way to the last of the Telmarines behind her, Stormfeather walked up and handed them to her, so she could make her choice.  She selected a wooden sword, gave it a few practice swings, then turned back to Aries, who was finally done talking. With a quick toss, she passed the almost empty bags back to the human, before raising her eyebrows at him, as if to say, “Now what?”

((SO sorry for the delay!))