Dilandau Albatou (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
burnburnburn) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kore_logs2013-06-02 10:11 pm
burnburnburn) wrote in kore_logs2013-06-02 10:11 pm
Entry tags:
Consequences
Who: Dilandau Albatou and Open
What: The escape plan ended in failure. The humiliation is almost too much to bear
When: Day 77
Where: Various locations about town
Notes: Be warned, Dilandau is in a massively foul mood, though Castiel's beating means he won't be able to physically react like he would usually. Prose or actionspam are fine.
01: House 15 in the morning
Dilandau's sat at the kitchen table, glaring into the cup of water he'd come down to pour as if it were the cause of everything that had happened. The bruises and the broken lip he could see reflected back at him disgusted him.
Like a fool he'd fallen asleep after Castiel's beating and he'd woken up stiff and swollen. He'd barely managed to get into the acceptable minimum of clothing and he'd not bothered yet to put up his hair. The deep bruising on his ribs and back were clearly visible under his brief undershirt.
02: The bar
The pain and humiliation were too much to deal with sober. He forced his armour on despite how it made him hiss and, though he was unsure if he'd be able to swing it, he carried his sword unsheathed. He wanted it to be a warning in case anyone else wanted to add to his bruises.
He entered the bar with his head held high, moving stiffly and scowling as if to challenge anyone who dared get between him and the sour vino he'd hidden behind the bar.
03: The edge of the woods
He regretted walking out this far in his current state by the time he arrived at the edge of the woods, but he couldn't turn back until he'd seen how much damage he'd been allowed to inflict. He'd never been good at not poking at his own wounds.
He leaned against a tree for a long moment to catch his breath before heading into the forest.
What: The escape plan ended in failure. The humiliation is almost too much to bear
When: Day 77
Where: Various locations about town
Notes: Be warned, Dilandau is in a massively foul mood, though Castiel's beating means he won't be able to physically react like he would usually. Prose or actionspam are fine.
01: House 15 in the morning
Dilandau's sat at the kitchen table, glaring into the cup of water he'd come down to pour as if it were the cause of everything that had happened. The bruises and the broken lip he could see reflected back at him disgusted him.
Like a fool he'd fallen asleep after Castiel's beating and he'd woken up stiff and swollen. He'd barely managed to get into the acceptable minimum of clothing and he'd not bothered yet to put up his hair. The deep bruising on his ribs and back were clearly visible under his brief undershirt.
02: The bar
The pain and humiliation were too much to deal with sober. He forced his armour on despite how it made him hiss and, though he was unsure if he'd be able to swing it, he carried his sword unsheathed. He wanted it to be a warning in case anyone else wanted to add to his bruises.
He entered the bar with his head held high, moving stiffly and scowling as if to challenge anyone who dared get between him and the sour vino he'd hidden behind the bar.
03: The edge of the woods
He regretted walking out this far in his current state by the time he arrived at the edge of the woods, but he couldn't turn back until he'd seen how much damage he'd been allowed to inflict. He'd never been good at not poking at his own wounds.
He leaned against a tree for a long moment to catch his breath before heading into the forest.
no subject
"In a manner of speaking. Perhaps I should have been more vocal beforehand, but I've noticed a number of tactical flaws in the entire enterprise." His voice is dry and distant, but his eyes narrow as he focuses on Dilandau.
"Let me start with a couple questions: To begin with, did the fire go out of control by accident, or did you intend for it to go up like that? And second, was it your idea to place a middle-aged musician in the middle of the woods--in the path of fire and robots, mind you--armed with only a garden implement?"
no subject
"No, I meant to place him in the woods with nothing but those long legs of his. His job was to spot stray bears, call that friend of yours to go make them explode if they came and to run away. I couldn't take one of those bears myself and I didn't want him to think he had a chance if I put something in his hands."
But that's only a minor irritation and something that on a good day he'd have rebuked Rat with a sharp slap for and then forgotten. The fire is what's really making him grind his teeth.
"That wasn't out of control, it was the distraction! It might have had a chance at drawing away from that barrier if someone hadn't flown about and put it out for them!" He slaps the tree beside him. "The fire should have been here in half an hour of lighting. They'd have had no choice but to stop and put it out if they wanted to salvage anything."
no subject
The fire is a different matter. Balthazar rubs his chin, frown deepening. He's not liking what he hears, although he can see the logic here, too. It's just incredibly reckless, desperate logic. "You don't know our captors well enough to be certain of that. Depending on how fine-tuned their control of this location is, fire might have been an amusement rather than a concern for them."
"That's what bothers me about this whole disaster. The Doctor made assumptions about this place with no backing evidence. So did you. And both of you acted without consulting or listening to anyone else." Pushing off the tree, Balthazar stalks at an angle to Dilandau, not threatening violence, but slowly invading his space. "So, your plan was to destroy the entire town, and anyone caught in the woods was collateral damage, too bad for them?"
no subject
"Do you think I'd risk setting myself on fire too? I timed it with the Doctor's signal to gather at his machine. The barrier split in minutes after it began. The only people who would have burnt would been the idiots who'd rather stay imprisoned."
no subject
He's still again, standing within arm's reach of Dilandau, but his arms are folded, and his intent doesn't look aggressive.
no subject
"The usual age for joining up is fifteen. I gained my diadem when I was twelve. In Fanelia, slaying a dragon in single combat earns you a throne. In Zaibach, it just earned me a reputation grown men envied. I lived up to it. They gave me my own command when I beheaded an enemy general on the battlefield at fourteen. We were entrusted with capturing the greatest enemy of the Empire because I shown myself because I'd shown myself to be able to think in the field."
But that final question makes Dilandau's mouth twist.
"Soldiers don't have time to grieve. In war you succeed or you die. There's no other choice."
If Balthazar was just a man, he'd have left it at that and defended those words. But this is a god, who could pass judgement far worse than an offended man could. He looks away and admits what shames him.
"Yes. Even though they failed. They were mine." A sick fear creeps over his face, but not from Balthazar's presence; his gaze has turned inwards upon memories he'd been trying to suppress. "I led them after a man. We ended up fighting a god."
no subject
He's also watched war change angels themselves, making them colder and more calculating. There are few ministers of mercy left in the Host. It's one of many reasons he left. He thinks he won't mention his own status as a deserter to Dilandau. That would lose him any respect he's got.
He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. "There's no glory to be had here, Commander. History won't record your successes or your defeats, but the people whose lives you've risked won't forget they're collateral to you. You'd be wise to rethink your approach. You don't want to be friendless in this place."
He moves away a step or two, watching the shift in Dilandau's expression. "You come from a harsh caste in a harsh world. I don't envy you that, but you're not in that world, now. If you don't learn to adapt, you're going to end up destroying yourself, and no one will mourn the loss."
no subject
"Don't pity me for what I am."
Still, the god has given him sound advice to consider. Learn more. Lay low. Earn the trust of these people before showing his true capabilities again. Don't show his hand until he learns how to hunt demons like he did dragons.
"Would you have been the one to destroy me if I'd displeased you?"
no subject
Mercifully oblivious to the fact that the young man has drawn exactly the opposite conclusion of what Balthazar wanted him to understand, he settles against a tree again, considering his judgment pronounced. The question makes him frown.
Looking him over pointedly, he says, "Apparently someone else got to you first this time around. Really, it depends on who you'd hurt. I have my friends and my favorites, like anyone else. I've already said this to someone else, but I would very much prefer we all escape here alive and sane. We can't do much about our kidnappers choosing to damage us, but we can keep from turning on one another."
He shrugs. "The short version is I'm not very smite-happy, but I won't say it could never happen."
no subject
"Still, I thank you for not striking me down as well. Tell me who's under your protection and I'll avoid harming them."
no subject
"I'd rather you refrain from harming everyone, if possible," he says dryly. "But if you find you can't handle that, let me know and I'll give you the short list."