Beneath the Surface
LPers involved: Darklett, Rahier
Logged 9/11/04
Location: Dormitory corridor


Strangely enough, Darklett's found his way into the dorm corridor, on his paws and knees with a rag and a bucket. Scrubbing in small circles, the fighter hare crawls his painstakingly slow way down the corridor, spreading dampness across the cold stone surfaces of the floor. He seems to be going at the job with some deal of vigor, but doesn't look too overenthusiastic, either.

Rahier rounds the corner leading from the Leader's section of things; where the offices and the dorms and the lounge reside. All those -wonderful- things. The major strolls down the corridor, becoming fully conscious of the much darker hare scrubbing the floor. "Ohh, good idea," he says, grinning, as he stops, just beyond the wet-zone. "It needed a good cleanin'."

Darklett hears the voice of the major, and looks up from his work, bringing his rag paw up in a moist salute, not bothering to stand up. "Yeah, I noticed. It's caked with dirt and dust, and... Food, I get small pieces of food occasionally." Placing the rag in the bucket of water, he sits back on his haunches, making sure his behind doesn't touch the wet floor. "This'll look much better by the time I'm done with it." One may not help but notice the ever so slight hint of sarcastic joy he's taking in the task.

Rahier's nose wrinkles at he observes the difference between Darklett's side of the floor, and his own. "I know. Bloody dreadful, s'what it is." He smiles, a bit, rubbing at his cheek. "I suppose I shall... have t'tell th'others t'be more mindful of th'food they bring up here." *shifty look* After the requisite eye-darting, he places his hands on his hips. "An' jus' how /are/ you?"

Darklett stretches out his arms, whipping them outwards from his body as an audible crack can be heard from the cartilage in his elbows pops. "How am I? Well, I guess I'm okay as I could be, sah, considering the situation. Frankly, I've been on light duty, and when I get on a roll, you see... I can't stop. So I'm running out of things to do. Hence the... floor-cleaning I've assigned myself to. Don't want to lounge around, you see, if I want to make good impressions." He nods up at the major, returning to paws and knees, taking the rag out of the bucket, and resuming the scrubbing.

"Doesn't look like ligh' duty t'me," jokes the major, with a grin. ;p He takes a half-step backward from Darklett's scrubbing, and leans his shoulder against the wall. "Oh yeh, good impressions.." He gains a far-off expression. Impressions, he remembers those. XD Coughity. "I expect nothin' less'n than a floor I can see myself in, y'unnerstand, private?" XD

Darklett looks up from his scrubbing back at the major, still moving his paw around in the same circle again and again as he speaks. "Yes, good impressions. I was thinking if I kept myself busy and out of trouble here, the officers would maybe forget about all the stupid things I did back at the abbey." He thinks for a second, his eyes moving off to the side, then back forward. "Of course, me telling you this is strange, isn't it? You being one of the officers I'm trying to impress..." He laughs at this, going back to his work. "I promise, major. Nothing less than that. Wouldn't have it any other way." Again with that sarcasm.

Rahier laughs. "I'll be worried if'n y'do, because some damnfool's gonna slip on your nice shiny floor an' break 'is neck, an' that becomes my business." Have we not invented 'Caution, wet floor' signs yet? Cuidado piso mojado. But, he waves his paw. "Ohh, I'm not y'major. Don't think t'much into it. I think y'did well 'nough at th'abbey." >.>

Darklett laughs along with the major. "Just hope the unlucky hare isn't carrying food when he does slip. Just makes more work for the both of us, then." He continues washing the floor spotless, until he hears Rahier's last statement, and he stops completely, placing the rag in the bucket of water, again, and straightening up onto his knees, head tilted and brow raised in curiosity. "...You do?" Pause. "...Are you -sure?- Maybe you just didn't hear about everything that happened... If that's it, then I'd rather keep it that way, last thing I want is to be humiliated again."

The buck smirks. "Yeh. Well," he begins, shuffling a bit, "I don't believe it was all y'fault, everythin'. T'was mostly th'other beasts who took things outta control." Rahier scratches a bit behind one ear, brow raising in reply. "I don't really think you're all that bad. Bad at things, y'know, like y'say."

Darklett's eyes wander thoughtfully, and a rare genuine smile crosses his visage. "Well... In that case, thank you major." He stands up, groaning slightly as he uses mostly his left leg, rubbing and massaging his sore knees. "I'm glad to see somebeast around here trusts me." Looking up and down the hallway, it seems he's pretty much got everything done except for where Rahier stands and each individual hallway. He scratches the back of his head, glancing over his work. "The place looks a lot more like the home of the Long Patrol hares when it's clean, doesn't it?"

Rahier ohs, as his eyes follow Darklett's down to his feet, and he takes another step backward, out of the dirty spot. "Sorry." He places his paws in his pockets, grinning. "I've always trusted you, y'blighter." Heehee. His eyes turn down to the floor, again, and he bobs his head in a thoughtful nod. "It's so great t'be back, aye. Th'67th was jus' so... dank."

"Always trusted me, eh?" Dark gets on his knees, reaches over for the bucket, takes out the rag, and scrubs where Rahier was just standing, making sure that spot is as clean as the rest before standing back up again, rolling his shoulders. "Heh. That means you're the only real friend I've ever had. Thanks for that." Heh. He does a quick sweep of the floor, inspecting it for anything he might have missed, and nods, satisfied.

"I admit I did findja a bit... odd, once upon a time, but nothin' so far as mistrust." We both remember the infirmary recovery, don't we? Yes. XD Darklett's second remark gets Rahier's head a-tilting, paw automatically going up to the back of his head. "Y'only friend? Really?" Blinkity. ;p

Darklett nods, quickly and matter-of-factly. "Yeah, only friend. All the others - Rurun, Teko, the shrewmaid Lassik, the fox Korit, the executed criminal Talek, even Snowflower - They were all creatures I once considered friends and allies, but as it turns out, they lacked trust. How can you have a friendship without trust, major?" He looks to the buck as if this is a serious, life-or-death philosophical question.

Rahier hehs, humorlessly. A few of those names make -him- a bit uneasy. XD "Well, some beasts jus' don't find it easy t'trust." He shrugs his shoulders, slowly. "I don't s'pose y'can. That's one o' th'differences between an acquaintance an' a friend.. trust?" The buck gives a quirky smile. "I'd rather trust someone who was watchin' m'back, personally."

Darklett chuckles, quite oddly in good nature. "Watching? Heh. All my 'friends' were too busy stabbing my back to watch it." He laughs again, thinking this dark statement slightly humorous. "Stood and watched on the outside instead of really trying to help." Dark's smiling, but his voice wavers. "I know this sounds like I'm weak, but... damn it major, sometimes it's hard to keep going when I know that, because of one simple choice that seemed... harmless at the time, someone who was loved more than I have ever been loved is now resting beneath the ground, a fox that deserved a second chance never got it, and almost everybody around me had just lost all faith in me. Rahier, you're the only beast who has ever shown that faith after all that's happened. I don't know if you understand that, but..." He shakes his head, speaking no more.

Rahier wears a small half-smile, shaking his head once. "Dark.. 'tis only natural," We would say 'human' but.. what's that? ;p "T'wonder why you're here when some beast else isn't. Y'go over it in y'head. What could I have done different?" Hehe. The major looks a tad bitter himself. ;p "'Tis hard, th'things y'speak of, but.. 'tis why we have our brothers." He means the LP, obviously. Pause. "I believe a beast's more'n th'sum o' his parts. .. I don't feel I've ever gone wrong by trustin' you."

Darklett listens as the major speaks, a faint semblance of a smile growing on his muzzle as he goes, finally becoming a wide, friendly smile. "...Thanks, major. Means a lot." He's got to talk in short sentences, because his voice could crack, or waver dangerously during a long one. He places a paw on the buck's shoulder. Finally gathering himself to piece together a coherent thought, he opens his mouth. "I'm glad there's at least one hare here in this mountain I can call a friend." He nods, letting his paw fall back to his side. "Guess I'm not crazy after all." Sighing, he looks at the hallway once more. "Think I'll leave the rest for some other time, if you don't mind, major? I think I'd better hit the dormitory, it's pretty late."

Rahier smiles back, looking a bit moved by the whole heart-pouring out thing. "Well. What're friends for?" he asks, using that old cliche. "Crazy? No. Tired? Yes." The half-smile returns, and he nods. "Sure, Dark. Get some sleep, an' later we can talk somemore. Over a drink, maybe, not in th'middle o' floor-cleanin'." He can't summon the consciousness to shuffle his feet, still smiling. "G'nigh'." And he steps aside.

"Good night, Rahier." Darklett nods, gives a smart, overdone salute followed by a chuckle and a friendly pat on the arm, and picks up the bucket, walking down the fighter's dorm hallway, and eventually into his dorm... Probably to get the best night's sleep he's had in a long time.

END