Keep in mind, this one is a bit longer, but on the bright side, it does have a bit of action in it near the end, so hopefully that's a consolation prize for bearing with this thing. As always Comments and Criticism are always appreciated (Yay for redundance)
Spoiler (Click to Show)
I reach the registration office in no time at all. The building is rather plain. It stands roughly twice my height, and is a masonry-style building. There are two windows, and a set of large glass double-doors on the front of the building, though the glass is stained so it’s impossible to see inside. I nudge the doors open slowly in an attempt to procrastinate. Minutes ago I had been as confident as could be, but now, as I stand in the doorway of the recruitment office, I feel sick to my stomach.
Come on, just get it done and over with, you’ll be fine. I tell myself as I walk towards the desk in the center of the room.
There is a woman sitting at the desk, her hair is red like fire with sapphire-blue streaks peeking out amongst the blaze-colored locks of hair, which fall down behind her back, further than I can see. She looks different than most of the people I had seen up until now, she stands out a lot more. She’s looking at something on the screen of the computer in front of her when I walk up, and she fails to notice me.
“Excuse me,” I say in an attempt to get her attention, and I succeed, but not in the way I intended. She almost jumps in her seat as she hears my voice and looks up at me. Her eyes take hold of my attention with ease. Each stands out as much as her hair; her left eye matching the blaze red in her hair while the right matches her hair’s blue streaks. I force myself to avoid staring at her as she looks around frantically.
“Umm, yes?” She asks, a bit of guilt tainting her voice, as though she’s done something wrong. I try to ignore it as I give my response.
“I’m here to sign up.”
“One moment,” she speaks quietly, almost to the point where it’s hard to hear her. She moves her attention from me to a large board with rows of buttons on it. She scans the buttons quickly before pressing one and speaking into the speaker at the bottom. “Brigadier General Schiron, there’s a recruit here to see you.”
It didn’t take long to get a response. “Bring him back Z.” The voice is coarse and rough as it comes out of the speaker.
“This way,” she says, looking back to me. She stands up and turns to the hallway behind her, allowing me to see how far her hair hangs, all the way to the small of her back. Her uniform is gray, much like the other soldiers I have seen in the compound. She looks uncomfortable the way she stands and walks.
Why am I paying so much attention to her? I ask myself as I realize the thoughts running through my head, I need to focus on the task at hand. I step around the desk and follow behind her through the gray hallway, I already don’t like it here, too formal and boring, but I need to figure out who I am, so I’ll have to bear through it.
“General Schiron is waiting through here.” She stops in front of a door in the side of the hall, and her voice pulls me back out of my mind and into reality.
I nod and mutter a simple, “Thank you,” before she walks back to her desk. I now make no hesitation to open the door, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for this.
In the room is another desk, a tall man sitting behind it, a lamp and computer on top of the desk, two chairs in front of the desk, and a bookshelf off to either side of the man. “Have a seat.” His voice is calm, but intimidating nonetheless. What I heard when he was speaking through whatever communication technology they had here, it had dulled the severity and depth of his voice. A simple statement from him felt like a command. I follow his directions and take a seat on one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Why do you want to join Eletohm Company kid? You’re obviously no older than seventeen at the most, and we usually recommend waiting until twenty to even consider trying to join our ranks. We also recommend combat experience, which I doubt you have. Eletohm Company is highly competitive and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you won’t make it here.” He started calm, but as he progressed through his sentences, I could feel him gradually getting angrier and angrier, something about me seemed to infuriate him. “I suggest you leave now and return to your family until you get some battle experience, you’re not cut out for this.”
His words strike home, I bow my head, I haven’t even been here for twenty minutes and I’m already being turned away. “You don’t know me.” His anger seems to transfer to me, but when it comes to me, it turns straight to sadness. A tear drops from my eye as I look up, rage and sadness mixing in my heart.
He raises an eyebrow at me, “and what makes you so sure?”
“You can’t know me. I don’t even know me!” There’s no doubt in my mind that the others in the building can hear me as I shout through the tears, but I don’t care. “No, I don’t have experience, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn. I can become strong if I’m not already. I don’t know who I am or where I came from, but I don’t plan to let that or you stop me!” I don’t even realize, in my blind rage, that I’ve stood from my chair and slammed my palms into his desk, getting right in his face.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I wipe the tears from my exposed eye. “Look at me, trying to claim that I’m strong while I’m crying,” I chuckle to myself, shaking my head as I turn to leave. “Maybe you’re right, maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“You’re lucky kid.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, looking back over my shoulder.
“A few things. One, this room, and every other room in this building is soundproofed, so no one heard you yelling at me,” Shiron almost laughed as he leaned forward, supporting himself on his arms on his desk. “Second, is the fact that I am good at keeping secrets and won’t tell anyone about this. Third, is that I believe that crying for the right reason is a sign of strength. Now, sit down and let’s get down to business, private.”
“Yes sir,” his words do calm me, and leave me relieved. My outburst was unheard, so my secret is safe, for now. I sit down, wiping one last tear from my eye.
“I am required to ask if you have any letters of recommendation before we begin this.” Shiron says, his voice more serious and less annoyed. I have no idea what this man is feeling, but I can’t bother to think about it right now. I nod and pull the letter from my pocket, handing it to him. He looks it over quickly then hands it back to me. “Keep track of this and other letters you acquire, especially this one. If this one is real, you’ll definitely want it later on.” I nod to show I understand.
He then takes me through a ton of paperwork, an extremely boring procedure. It takes a few hours to get it all done. I finally hand in the final few pages of work, grunting in annoyance and boredom. “Finally, it’s all done!” I say in relief.
“Runt, the paperwork is only half the battle here. You’re still not actually a part of Eletohm Company, not yet,” Schiron says, shaking his head. “The way things are organized here, everything works like a competition. I will only give you one word of advice; don’t have any more outbursts like you did earlier. The rest you’ll have to figure out on your own.”
“Understood sir.” I speak the way I think he expects me to, and he nods to me.
“You’re number 86 on the list, remember that number, as well as the numbers 120 and nine.”
“Why?” I ask, expecting an answer, but I do not get one, he simply shakes his head.
“You figure out everything on your own, remember.” He chuckles, pointing towards the door. I stand and leave this time, but as I exit the door, I hear him whisper, “Won’t last a week.”
“You’re one of us now?” the girl’s voice sounded delightful compared to Shiron’s, despite the shyness behind it. Her shift had ended only moments before I finished with Schiron, and I guess she was walking the same way I am, even though I don’t know where I’m going. I nod to her, affirming her question. “What’s your number, I’m number 83.”
“86.”
“Oh, that means that you should be in the same brigade as me.” She says a bit excitedly. She looks like an adult, but acts more like a child. She seems shy though in all of her actions; they’re all hesitant or slow. “Want me to show you where to go?”
I nod. If what Schiron said about having to find our own way here, I can’t afford to turn down an offer to help. Every little bit will help me get further in this. “Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Xera, by the way, most people call me Z though.” She says, a slight blush on her face, as though she hadn’t expected me to say yes.
“Trexly.”
“Come on, this way.” She seems excited all of a sudden, and bolts off faster than I can keep up with.
“Hey, slow down!” I call out as she pulls further and further away from me.
“Oh, sorry, I just can’t wait to get out of this uniform.” She says, slowing up a bit so I can keep up.
It didn't take too terribly long to get where she was leading me. It’s hard to distinguish the building from the others around it. It is part of a matched set, ten buildings all in a line at the back of the compound; this one being the fifth in the line from the left. Each building is a large half-cylinder shape with the front, back, and curved face are all formed from metal. The buildings are rather daunting. I look above the massive door, which seems to slide out from the center to open, as the door is cracked slightly, and there is one thing that makes it different from the others. Above the door on each building is a symbol, a different symbol from the others. This building’s symbol is a pair of wings, I can’t really tell what kind of wings they are, though.
I say nothing and ignore any and all of Xera’s chatter as I slip through the partially opened door. My heart is racing, but I can’t tell why. I’m not scared, maybe the vibe of this new place and everything that has happened to me recently is overwhelming me, but no matter, like before I can’t afford to mess up here.
“Private Xera!” A proud female voice pierces the air like a dagger. Xera freezes. I follow suit and halt my movement. “What have I told you about bringing outsiders into battalion quarters?”
“I’m not an outsider!” I say defensively. Well, there goes my plan to be a normal soldier and not mess things up, I chuckle to myself on the inside.
“Then who are you?” The voice pierces the air once more, and to my discovery, the woman wielding such a voice does not look like she belonged to it. Her figure is lean and tall. Her hands have more of a paw-like appearance than that of a hand, and her ears are furred and come from the top of her head instead of the sides. The final thing that catches my eye is the furry cat tail that falls behind her. She looks almost fragile, definitely not the type of person I’d expect from such a strong voice. She sits upon a stack of crates next to the entrance of the building, and I stand there staring at her, my face blank. “Well, are you going to answer me?”
“How do I know I can trust you?” I ask. I realize I’ve got to be a bit more rigid, I can’t allow myself to be afraid anymore. I have to establish who I am and what I believe. I will not stand for a lack of respect, nor will I give my trust so easily anymore.
“Hmm, you’re gutsy kid, I like that, and I respect that, but I will only ask one more time. Who are you? Give me an answer or leave.”
If this is where I need to be, I can’t afford to get kicked out before I even begin. I look over my shoulder, trying to see what Xera thinks about the situation, but she has backed away a few steps and crouched to the floor, looking as though she is about to cry.
“Coward,” I mutter under my breath, shaking my head. She won’t be able to help me here. I turn to the woman, “My name is Trexly Swipe, recruit.”
“Hmph, you’re strong willed, firm to hold your beliefs intact, but you seem to have some knowledge of when you must break your beliefs to get things done. You might have a chance here. Might. I guess I’ll return the favor of introduction if you’re a recruit. I’m Helena, the leader of the Sixth Eletohm Company Division. You’ll be seeing a lot of me, so any negativity and resentment you have towards me, I suggest you get it out of your head right now.”
“I’ll do what I have to.”
“Good enough, report to Aulus, he’ll show you where you’ll be resting your head.”
I nod and turn to leave, not thinking about what form of military formality I should use to address her as I leave, I feel as though she has disrespected me, and I will not show her any respect. Xera has run away, so now I’m walking alone through the rooms of the building, trying to find any indication of where this Aulus person is. Each room in the main hallway is labeled with a name, and I scan for Aulus’ name.
I find the door I’m looking for in about the center of the hallway on the right side. The gold plate above the door has the five letters of ‘Aulus’ carved into it. There is a small window in the door. I look through and see a man pacing around the room. I knock. He answers the door, running over to it and pulling it open for me, giving me a quick, “come on in,” before walking back into the room. His long hair sways to the side slightly, giving me a quick glimpse of his pointed ears. An Elf. I’m confused by this. Within a single day at Eletohm Company, I’ve seen five different races mixed through its ranks. I’ve stopped caring about how I know that he’s an Elf. In what little I remember, it seems as though the races have never really mixed well, yet here they seem to mix without issue. “So, what brings you here?” He asks frantically, seeming like he’s in a rush for some reason.
“I was told to come see you about figuring out where to go next.” I respond calmly, trying not to let my annoyance at Helena influence me right now.
“Aah, okay, would you settle for simple directions? I’m a bit busy right now and need to finish this project as soon as possible.” He responds, glancing over to something in the corner behind me. I turn to see a statue of a dragon, likely the mascot of the division, if it’s at all related to the symbol above the door to the building.
“That would be fine, anything is a help at this point.” I answer.
“Okay, then…umm, which battalion will you be in? Oh joy, you’re going to be the sixth member of the fifth battalion. Soooooo you’re going to want to go down the hall until the big circle, then you’re gonna want to go up the stairs to the fifth floor, then you’re going to want to look for the door that says Battalion Five Barracks on it.”
“Thank you, I’ll be going now and let you get back to work.”
“Anytime boy, I’ll be here, just try not to interrupt me again while I’m working please.” He responds, walking over to the statue and pulling something out of a drawer in the set of shelves next to it. That’s all I bother to watch before leaving though.
His directions are simple, and so is the layout of the building. This whole place is pretty straightforward. I follow what he says and find the room with little difficulty. Each floor seems to link every room together via onl