[ OPEN ]

[dendarii]

Who: Miles Naismith (dendarii), the Dendarii, and YOU!
When: Forward-dated to late Day 4
Where: The Boneyard
What: ICly prepping for adventures, Dendarii recruitment, and poking at trilobites for fun and/or food??

[ Somehow, despite everything, Miles has gotten quite bored very quickly. Being unable to do much with shelter or searching thus far - curse his fragile body - Miles finds himself wanting to do absolutely anything except sit still another day. He's already paced himself a visible trough in the sand next to his corner of that massive skull.

When the trilobites start showing up in greater numbers, Miles is pretty much ecstatic. Finally, he can do something that involves staying still while also getting to do something moderately dangerous. Low against the sand as he is, he finds it a worthy pastime to belly crawl after some of the solo critters. Trying to ply them with a bit of rations or coral meat - or a scrap of his suit ...

When not doing that, in the interests of making himself useful, Miles turns to planning. When anyone gets near his spot, he brightens and turns to them regardless of their interest level. (He also may or may not be continuing to try taming one of these little wiggly bastards.) He grins brightly and draws himself up to his full (if short) height. ]

For all that we've made a lovely home for ourselves here, I'm getting antsy. Wouldn't it be worthwhile to see where all these things are coming from? I personally intend taking my mercenaries to investigate, but ...

[ A coy pause.]

Well. The more the merrier. The Dendarii Mercenaries are always looking for new recruits.

Comments

[dendarii]

[ Miles abandons his trilobite tempting for a moment to pace. Their employer, eh ... Who in the world would that be? ]

The Cetagandans were invading, you said. And the Barrayaran Imperium is notoriously bloodthirsty.

[shipmaster]

Oh yes. As soon as the first Cetagandan ship nosed through, the Barrayarans came charging through Pol's wormhole with an amazing warship. Nothing should have moved that fast and been that big. [They sigh.] Now THAT would have been one to add to the Fleet.

[dendarii]

[ Miles can't help but grin with a touch of pride. He does remember seeing that ship, doesn't he? And going on board ... ]

Do you suppose it was Barrayar then? Just wanting us to hold long enough to come in and fight themselves?

[shipmaster]

Oh, very likely, considering all the players involved. They pay handsomely, at least. But so did Aslund and Vervain.

[dendarii]

Ah, a triple payment. The best kind there is.

[ He stops pacing again to sit. ]

[shipmaster]

Deadly necessary that time. We took about as much damage as one might think holding a wormhole against Cetaganda. But... that was the most interesting, not necessarily the best idea.

[dendarii]

Mmm, yes .... I think I was improvising much of the time myself. I recall being extremely surprised by the Emperor's presence.

[shipmaster]

Really? [That they clearly HADN'T known.] You put up a good face at the time.

[dendarii]

Oh, I'm sure. Having the Emperor of Barrayar would mean I was walking a terrible tightrope. Trying to secure our pay, trying to keep him from Oser, pulling everything off without a hitch ...

[shipmaster]

Without a hitch? [Bel laughs outright at that.] Miles, dear, you always HAVE had unrealistic expectations.

[dendarii]

Minimal hitches then! Overall success despite hitches!

[ He says, shoving Bel's shoulder lightly. ]

[shipmaster]

[The laughter only increases at that, delighted by the reaction.]

Closer.

[dendarii]

Hmm? Was that an invitation just now?

[ He throws another light punch, then leans his head against their shoulder. ]

[shipmaster]

[They don't freeze - never that. It's welcome enough at any point. In fact, if the action hadn't gone with an overture, they'd have never pulled back at all.

Damn this situation and damn all of their morals.]

You. [They put a hand directly on Miles forehead and pushes him gently away.] Are a menace. A smooth one. But still a menace.

[dendarii]

[ Miles just laughs as he's pushed. Reaches up to grab Bel's hand since it's there and all. ]

What's so wrong about being a little flirtatious? Come on, it would be a great distraction. You'd keep me out of trouble very efficiently.

[shipmaster]

[The corner of their lip quirks up. The fact that it IS a solid argument is clear in the fact that Bel hasn't pulled back.]

You've never been 'a little' about anything in your life.

[dendarii]

[ Success, then? He tugs on Bel's wrist, pulling their hand close enough to kiss the back of it. ]

That doesn't make me any less right. I'm going mad, my dear Captain. I need to do something.

[shipmaster]

[Their eyes close at that: The gesture, the "my dear Captain." For a moment, they just savor that.

It takes more will than they imagined they'd had to pull back.]

I do swear that if you shrug all of this off when your brain unscrambles itself, I'll wring your little neck with my own two hands. Lovingly.

[If it was ANY more of a hospitable environment, they'd sorely consider just dropping him whole onto Taura's lap. But then, she didn't quite deserve being his need for forward progress either.]

Put all of that crazy into getting us through this in one piece, Miles dear.

[dendarii]

[ Sigh. Foiled again. He doesn't understand why this isn't working. Some part of him feels like it really, really should be. ]

I'm not sure I'm into asphyxiation, but I'd be willing to give it a try.

[ But. Right. Planning. He wishes he had more to work with. ]

I'm doing that now. But I hardly need to recruit you right now.

[shipmaster]

[They pause, having to think about that.] No.. I don't think so either. [They answer, casually.]

And no, that is quite solidly history. Unless you've some orders in the mean time.

[dendarii]

[ He has to think about that for a moment... ]

Help me catch one of those funny little creatures. And potentially try cooking one, after.

[shipmaster]

Sir. [They straighten, a nod at that..]

... Maybe a good rock?

[dendarii]

You get the rock. I'll crawl after one to distract it.

[shipmaster]

[They nod and slip back off to forage something reasonably sized.

A few minutes of sifting around in the sand, Bel comes back with a hefty enough red rock to be of service... They stand a little back, waiting for an opportunity.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles, meanwhile, wriggles forward. Offering it a scrap of his suit ... ]

Over here. That's right. Just a little closer ...

[ It's firmly distracted, at least? ]