Written Wonderland

((OOC: This will take place after Raccoon leaves Evan & co in the mess tent.))

Captain Maddock sat in the mess tent with one of his lieutenants, two old geezers enjoying their food and the energy of the troops around them. Sometimes Caleb would carouse with the men directly, but other times he felt he would dampen their mood with his outdated jokes and aging sensibilities, and preferred to let the young'uns babble away excitedly nearby, rather than with him. Besides, his lieutenant was quite the cool and dignified companion, who occasionally let rip unyieldingly brilliant zingers that Caleb wouldn't miss for the world.

Once content in the playful buzz of nearby friendly jokes and gossip around around them, Caleb's jaw nearly dropped and he could swear everything went suddenly silent when he saw Captain Rutliff walk in. Embers of jealousy burned in Caleb's chest for Captain Dodd walking in alongside Evan, apparently already in conversation. Caleb didn't think that Evan liked him very much, and to be fair, he was generally entirely too chickenshit to approach the younger captain, which he gathered is something Evan would in fact not approve of; after all, Evan himself was certainly the very absolute opposite of chickenshit.

Gah, and then the chatting captains went at sat so horribly far away. No chance of eavesdropping then, he feared. Dare he make today the day he was brave enough to approach? No, no, not today. There was far too much muck in the air, and Caleb was rather terrified of what he'd swallow if he had to put his foot in his mouth.

"Aren't you curious?" his lieutenant asked nonchalantly, hardly even looking up from his food. Caleb shot him an expression that would have broadcast indignance through half the mess tent, if ever anyone paid him any mind.

"Of course I'm curious!" the older captain exclaimed with some exasperation. "But whatever Rutliff is doing, I'm sure he's hardly eager to chat with me about it."

His lieutenant simply shrugged, and only barely hid a smirk, knowing full well that his own outward indifference would only stoke Caleb's consternation. Caleb sighed, and tried to just get back to eating, consoling himself that surely he'd be able to talk with Idel sometime soon to catch up on whatever beans Evan spilled.

He might've successfully moved on, only he did overhear a familiar voice from a little closer by, saying something about killing! And then, oh gracious, Raccoon of all people was approaching Rutliff and Dodd. Well, if anyone had the guts, it was that whippersnapper. Sometimes Raccoon absolutely baffled Caleb, but he found himself quite fond of the soldier, and once again horribly jealous of conversation happening just out of his earshot.

What was the news? What details would Evan share here that he wouldn't in front of the likes of Joseph and Blake? Caleb wondered how much Evan counted him alongside Joseph and Blake about the current situation. He was certainly... nervous about the goddess, but that didn't mean he had his panties in a bunch in quite the same way. He just knew what temptation could do to a man, and he didn't want to see his men succumb to it, but... he wanted to believe there was a path through without a grim ending. And, well, for what he couldn't hear, at least the cocky grins Caleb was catching on Evan's face made that hope shine a little brighter.

... At least until Evan went and banged his fist on the table, and made even Raccoon flinch. Caleb frowned, and his lieutenant even looked up to investigate what had happened.

Surprise and awe rang wildly through the air shortly after, when Raccoon exclaimed something about a dragon. Caleb thought that he recalled the Demon Queen being associated with dragons in some way, but he didn't know the specifics. Did she have dragons? Had Evan seen one? Gosh, how grand and awe-inspiring that would be. He supposed, the goddess herself was probably grand and awe-inspiring enough, but even so, there was something... ungraspable about dragons, whereas it seemed the gods were, if only to some extent, aiming to be comprehensible to humans. At least, that's how things were in Caleb's imagination, at the moment he interrogated it.

Then, even more excitement buzzed around the tent when Evan rose to his feet and raised his arm, wild elation shining bright on his face. Something about it warmed Caleb's chest considerably, and brought his hope back to the forefront. Caleb just knew Evan was talking about the goddess, and that this was what she inspired in him. Caleb certainly hoped that was true. That's what he wanted to believe of gods, especially those he would pray to. And, how could he not pray to this one by the end, if she truly helped them with their victory? My, what a journey this would be.

Caleb watched the rest of the conversation unfold with calm curiosity. Xavier joined in, and Caleb made a note to check in with the young lieutenant at some point. The last few days must surely have been dizzying for him. Katrina, too, now that he thought on it. Caleb didn't know either of them well, but surely they deserved some support through this business. The captain nodded to himself resolutely. Maybe tomorrow morning while Evan rested would be the right time.

For now... Raccoon was leaving the conversation, and at last, Caleb's curiosity could no longer stand it. Surely the soldier would share what he was going to share with his table-mates regardless of whether his captain was there. Hopefully??? The captain pushed himself to his feet and rushed over to Raccoon's table, pulling his stool along with him to ensure he'd have a seat.

"What's all this commotion about dragons, then?" the captain asked with a chuckle, eyebrows raised and expression hopeful. It seemed he wasn't the only soldier who had pulled over a stool eager to try to get wind of Evan's tales second-hand, which Caleb had mixed feelings about. Hopefully it wouldn't be too overwhelming for Raccoon, but it at least made his own eagerness seem a bit less pathetic than he worried it'd seem. After all, those pulling up stools now had been too chickenshit to approach Evan's directly, and Caleb didn't really know how Raccoon would feel about that, when they'd had the guts to do so themself.

((OOC: no clue who Caleb's lieutenant is, lol. I think he's staying quite contentedly at his table acting disinterested, which is probably very normal for him, whoever he is.))

Deciding to return to their table (and more importantly, their food), Raccoon sat down with a grim, serious look on their face, and though there was significant curiosity in the faces around them not only at their own table but also other tables, Raccoon didn't feel like elaborating on anything they may or may not have heard while they were talking with Evan. And, with that kind of a face, most of their comrades didn't bother trying to coax Raccoon into a chatty mood.

But then Raccoon's captain sat down, and several of the soldiers at the table straightened up as though to look more proper about the whole situation. Raccoon idly realized that the nature of their questions would probably change with Caleb there, but Raccoon wasn't intimidated by the guy. Compared to Evan, Caleb was a big softie.

With a mouthful of food, Raccoon said, "Mmmph, yip, draaaaagums." After swallowing, Raccoon smiled sharply at Caleb and suddenly couldn't help themself. "Evan definitely rode that dragon." They hoped they would catch at least a few snickers from the crowd.

Eventually, though, Raccoon decided to take pity on Caleb. "The goddess is apparently a dragon sometimes. But only Evan gets to ride her. While she's a dragon. I guess." Finally, Raccoon went back to their plate of food. They wondered if they should help spread the word about needing volunteers, but just right then, they felt like keeping that information to themself. Caleb would need to drag it out of them or get them a little more secluded to go into detail. At least at present.

A jolt of something-or-other cut down Caleb's back at Raccoon's initial comment--nervousness or embarrassment, maybe--but Caleb nonetheless let out a good-natured chuckle about it before Raccoon continued on.

Caleb found it interesting that sometimes the goddess was a dragon, but he supposed that wasn't terribly far-fetched. Come to think of it, didn't some of the myths about her involve shape-shifting? Caleb looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to pull up some long-lost memory of a tale he'd heard some many years ago. Blush hit his face rather suddenly, though, when the thought occurred to him that Raccoon might not have been kidding about Evan 'riding' that dragon--or, had the soldier even meant it that way? Was Caleb the one being a pervert here? Oh, goodness. Oh, geez.

Like, of course Evan was, well, doing some lurid shit, as he said, but it was one thing to picture that with some tall dark-haired perfectly curvaceous woman like Caleb's imagination had always filled in; it was quite another to picture it with a dragon. H-how would that even...

Caleb shook his head, recognizing that he'd let stand a pause that was just a bit too long for comfort. He wanted to ask Raccoon more, but the soldier had gone back to eating, and the captain felt a grim certainty that Raccoon would have been much more forthcoming with information if they wanted to share. Perhaps a crowded mess table was indeed the wrong place to try to sate his curiosity.

The captain decided to retreat, but (hopefully) classily so. First step, stand and strike a confident pose. He did at least still have a beamingly charismatic stature, when he had enough wits about him to summon it, and luckily this was one of those moments, despite how terribly awkward he felt on the inside.

"Well, I'm glad that Captain Rutliff is starting to get out and about again. Seems like a good sign that the goddess isn't asking too much of him."

Caleb couldn't help tossing his glance back to Raccoon, just in case the soldier's expression changed in response to that comment. Still, he also couldn't help tossing in one more comment, too, his smile curling just a touch.

"I know he's been putting in some long nights."

He, too, hoped to get some snickers from the crowd.

Raccoon smirked down at their plate, satisfied that they had tongue-tied their captain for a few moments, but then Raccoon was surprised when they stood up, and it showed on their face as they looked at their captain grinning like some kind of celebrity. Raccoon snickered a little bit, which bled into their response to Caleb's comment about "long nights." Aw, the old man was trying to get in on the fun. And suddenly Raccoon wanted very much to keep Caleb's--and the rest of the crowd's--attention. And... so what if they embellished a little bit on the way there?

"Yeah, long nights. Apparently she burned Evan a couple nights ago. Charred flesh and everything. But also she can heal things, too. So you can imagine the possibilities..." Raccoon trailed off, hoping to catch someone blushing. But then Raccoon frowned, remembering how the goddess was trading people for other people. What was her game? What did she even really want them for?

"But she's always hungry for more," Raccoon continued, "Just 'cause the attacks have stopped doesn't mean she's not hungry for flesh!" Raccoon held up their fork with a stabbed piece of chicken on it and with their other hand playfully jabbed the soldier next to them, turning to grin up at Caleb.

Caleb really didn't intend to, but he simply couldn't help the surprised look that crossed his face at the news that Evan had been burned--charred, even. Caleb found himself recounting the captains' meeting from the other day; had Evan been burned then? Y'know, he had seemed injured in some sense, the way he was holding himself. Caleb felt guilty for not thinking much of it at the time, but he supposed there had been plenty else to pay attention to then.

Plus, Raccoon also said that the goddess could heal, so, maybe Caleb hadn't even seen Evan when he was burned?

Why did the goddess even burn him in the first place, though? Did he do something that had made her angry? He was kind of prone to pissing people off... But goodness, burning? Gah! Caleb looked momentarily bewildered when someone chuckled about it, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Raccoon and whoever had chuckled and maybe some others were in on something that was legitimately going over the captain's head. And then Raccoon went and brandished their chicken while proclaiming the goddess' hunger for flesh...

Waitaminute, was Raccoon pulling Caleb's leg?

The captain smiled and shook his head in an 'oh, you' sort of gesture.

"Well, they don't call her the Demon Queen for nothing, I suppose. I'm half surprised that Rutliff didn't parade goddess-burns around camp!"

Oh, gods, that was awful. Everything about it. Caleb did his darndest to keep up his chipper exterior, but his mind immediately started plotting his retreat again, lamenting that he hadn't just gone ahead and followed through on it while he was ahead.

Caleb gave some kind of mildly dismissive expression, and Raccoon's grin widened, though they looked away, still listening to what the captain followed up with. Wait, goddess-burns? Was that even a thing?

Before Raccoon could help themselves, they said, "Well, he is packing some heat. That's hard to miss." Raccoon thought for a moment about when Evan's fist slammed down on the table but decided that wasn't an interesting direction to take the conversation. In fact...

"Evan's been far too busy getting tackled by his own lieutenant to parade about." Raccoon paused for a moment to wait for reactions but soon continued, leaning in conspiratorially as they said, "Apparently the goddess doesn't just attack at night. Lieutenant Allegre got possessed and went after Evan! How much do you want to bet they didn't stop when she left?" Raccoon grinned, though they knew this was perhaps unfair to both Evan and Xavier to gossip and exaggerate. Raccoon leaned hard on the hope that everyone knew better than to take everything Raccoon said as truth, though. This was probably harmless.

Caleb let out a single, bold chuckle--rather, it burst forth from him--at Raccoon's remarks about Rutliff's heat. Caleb hadn't noticed that, but, well, it wasn't hard to believe. And, on some level, of course Rutliff had been aroused--he'd been talking about the goddess of desire, after all. The older captain imagined that Raccoon had probably observed Rutliff's heat around the same time that Caleb had been admiring the elation on the younger captain's face. He wasn't exactly judging Raccoon for noticing--after all, the soldier had been significantly closer to Evan than he'd been, and, whether accurate or not, Caleb had a notion that the older he got, the less aware he was of such things. After all, what was a boner next to that expression on the young man's face?

Caleb had a notion to give Raccoon another 'oh, you' smile and shake of head before finally taking his leave, but then the soldier went and started talking about Evan's lieutenant, and something snagged sharply in Caleb's chest. He almost cut Raccoon off in some kind of impulsive snap, but refrained, at least waiting to hear exactly what Raccoon was getting at. Caleb frowned when Raccoon went exactly where he was afraid they were going.

"I'm sure Lieutenant Allegre is going through enough already without lascivious rumors, Leonard. All the moreso if he's been attacked by the goddess as well. All joking aside, I understand it to be quite the dark night of the soul, gentlemen."

The sharpness in Caleb's words caught several of the soldiers around off-guard. It wasn't that the men had never heard him take that tone, but it was rare, and certainly noteworthy whenever it happened. A small bit of sheepishness did prick at the back of Caleb's mind about it: after all, it wasn't... terribly inconceivable, what Raccoon was saying, and Caleb couldn't confidently claim it to be false, but regardless... dragging the young lieutenant into this business was just... unbecoming, in the very least.

It did also occur to Caleb after a beat to feel a bit hypocritical... but lascivious rumors about Evan and lascivious rumors about Xavier felt like entirely different moral entities, somehow. Besides, if Raccoon wasn't completely making shit up, Evan had just paraded around tangible evidence of lasciviousness, but Xavier had, to Caleb's knowledge, done nothing but take up the slack of Evan's absence these past days--with gusto, at that. The captain thought fondly of the charm he now held against his skin as he slept, thanks to the lieutenant's efforts.

"I'll leave you men to your carousing... with Captain Rutliff up and about, we may have more news coming."

Caleb didn't particularly like leaving things this way, but he couldn't find a path back to lightheartedness. So, instead, he opted to follow this newfound path of resolve, and turned on his heel to leave. Maybe he could go find Idel, which is probably what he should have done in the first place.

Raccoon did not like the tone of Caleb's voice as soon as the captain started talking, and it sent a wild and unruly sensation of panic all through Raccoon's body, instantly changing their excited, brazen attitude into what could almost be called cowering. The back of Raccoon's neck sizzled with fear.

And, maybe Caleb was right. Raccoon hadn't even bothered to think about what Xavier's experience of the situation might have been like. And, yeah, Raccoon could imagine that having a goddess force you to do something would be pretty infuriating. Still, something about the way Xavier and Evan were tripping over themselves talking about it made it seem like there was more going on. Xavier was definitely blushing, and Evan had cut the conversation off rather abruptly, but maybe he was trying to help his lieutenant save some face? Wait, but Xavier was the one who brought it up!

Raccoon wanted to argue with Caleb somehow, but it seemed like the captain was no longer in any mood for Raccoon's antics. They were confused that Caleb had taken such an abrupt turn, but Raccoon supposed they really had been pushing it. Ugh, but did Caleb really need to bring Raccoon's last name into it?

But then Caleb was leaving, and Raccoon wasn't done. They realized they had left out what their captain really did need to know.

"Wait," Raccoon said, standing up from the table. They looked down to one side and then back up at Caleb with a pitifully apologetic look, their eyes growing wide and full of begging. "I didn't really mean it. Will you at least let me come with you? There's more." Raccoon continued looking up at Caleb, their eyes shining.

Caleb tried not to stop, not to turn and look at what he knew would be a piteous face. But the way Raccoon's words trembled with regret tugged strongly at Caleb's heart strings, and at last, the captain was moved to turn around. He kept his stern expression on until the very last moment, when his gaze clicked into place with Raccoon's, and the full weight of the cadet's remorse unraveled Caleb's resolve, melting his expression into sympathy.

Besides, the cadet did say there was more, and Caleb certainly did want to hear it.

Captain Maddock at least kept his posture proud and stiff, even if his expression was soft, and he gave Raccoon a nod--then, quickly shot glares to some of the other soldiers around, warning them against continuing the same lascivious path Racoon was repenting from. That done, Caleb turned to start leading Raccoon out of the mess tent, now rather eager to get them somewhere calmer, where they could confide in him rather than boast. Here was hoping, anyway.

The captain's face was stern and terrifying, and for a split second, Raccoon thought the captain really was going to leave without letting Raccoon say anything further. Yeah, they really had gone too far. They were always going too far. But then the captain did turn around and finally nodded, although his glance toward the table made several of the gawking soldiers turn immediately around and return to eating.

Raccoon followed their captain out of the mess tent sheepishly, their head slightly lowered, until they were back out into the sunshine. That immediately made Raccoon feel better, and besides, Caleb was never one to stay angry for long.

After they had been outside for a few moments, Raccoon blurted out another quick apology.

"You're right, you know. I went too far and deserved everything you said." Raccoon paused as long as they were able--not very long--before continuing. "But Rutliff told Dod that the goddess needs 10 of us to go to her to solidify the whole deal. And I... I'm pretty sure I want in."

Raccoon looked up at Caleb, then, hoping that this time, they were saying the right things.