Information

[Quinn deSauveterre]

Quinn should have been happy. She'd finally gotten out of the barracks, gotten out into the field where she might actually be able to do some good. She'd been about to go stir crazy from all the waiting and had been ecstatic to finally get some marching orders, but her excitement had faded somewhat at seeing what they were. She, along with several of the other scouts, their captain included, had been assigned to keep watch on the Asharian camp. Instead of going to help fight the Kalenians, they'd been given what amounted to a babysitting job.

Quinn was nothing if not a loyal soldier, though, and she put her all into any job she was given, regardless of how distasteful or even insulting she might find it. That was the reason she was currently perched in the branches of a large tree, watching for the Asharian night patrol to come by. Part of their mission was to be sure the army stayed in place, of course, but another part of it was to ascertain if said army had any weaknesses when it came to their encampment. Currently they were examining the night patrols, seeing if they followed a set pattern or if they varied at all, and if so how predictable that variation may be.

A sound in the dark made her shift her head, peering down through the branches to spot the man currently walking along the wooded path below. Her eyes shifted from him to Phèdre, who was currently perched on a branch close enough for their legs to be touching. Not surprisingly, the captain had already spotted the man below and that's where her attention was fixed. Satisfied that she wouldn't be making any movements or noises to betray their position, Quinn returned her attention to the patrolman, making a mental note of how long it had been since the last patrol and that they had switched men since then. Pleasant as the company was...this was certainly boring work, at least for now.

[Phèdre Rousseau]

Though Quinn was feeling a bit insulted at the posting, Phèdre was feeling no such thing. Sure, they were sitting up a tree doing nothing but watching the night patrols go by, but they were doing something. Sitting in that tree was far better than sitting back in the barracks twiddling your thumbs waiting for the war to start, that was for certain.

Of course, she wished she could be fighting the Kalenians. That would have been the preferred way to spend the war. However, that wasn't exactly in the plans right then, and so Phèdre was content to be where she was. As the night guard walked by her gaze immediately trained on him. She could have heard the man coming at twenty paces and been ready to ambush him, had she wanted to do some such thing. Idly she wondered why the Asharians were content to leave patrols to such sloppy patrolmen.

Then again, the patrolman probably thought there was nothing to fear out in the dark. Silly man.

The man was soon gone quite far away from them, and Phèdre returned her attention to watching the dark once more. A good half hour after the guard had passed she heard something. A twig had snapped under a careless foot not too far from their tree, but when she peered into the darkness Phèdre couldn't catch sight of what had made the noise. Frowning a bit, she moved her leg to the side and nudged Quinn with it to get the scout's attention, and then pointed in the direction the noise had come from, silently asking if Quinn could see anything.

[Quinn deSauveterre]

Quinn took the signal and shifted, spotting the man her captain had heard. He wasn't a regular guard, though, that much she could tell by the way he was walking, and the fact that he had a partner with him. He wasn't traveling the parameter but heading straight for it, pausing just long enough to check in with one of the sentries before he and his buddy continued on their way, carrying a torch to light their path. They passed by fairly close, though not directly under the tree where Quinn and Phèdre hid.

The moment they were out of sight, Quinn dropped silently out of the tree, moving through the darkness with only the slight luminescence of the moon to light her way. She trusted her captain to keep up with her as she trailed the two men, which wasn't easy considering the fact that they carried a torch. The only question was what they were doing out here at this time of night. Supply caravans generally came during the day so as not to endanger the horses pulling the carts, so more likely this was an information exchange of some sort.

Sure enough, before long the two men detoured off the path, meeting up with another figure in the darkness. They could be heard speaking in low voices, and Quinn began moving sideways, trying to circle around and get closer without putting themselves in the paths the men would take when they left. They needed to avoid being caught most of all, but they also needed to hear what was being said.

[Phèdre Rousseau]

Phèdre slid silently out of the tree and went with Quinn, easily keeping pace with the other woman. She had been at this for a few years more, after all. At first she didn't think anything was really up, considering it was just two men making their way back to the camp. Perhaps it was two soldiers who had gone to the nearest town for something. Then again, that in itself could be bad, and she felt the first stirrings of suspicion creep into her brain. Following them was entirely too easy, which told her one of two things: either they didn't think what they were doing was important enough that they would be followed for it, or they trusted the sentries entirely too much. One would be good, the other was simply folly.

Their stopping to talk to another man immediately confirmed to Phèdre that the latter option was probably true. Thanking Luna that the grass was rather tall, she grabbed hold of Quinn's arm and pulled the other woman down into a crouch. They were close enough that they SHOULD have been able to hear what was being said clearly, even if the men were whispering.

The gods, apparently, had other plans.

A rather fierce wind chose that moment to kick up. Sure, there had been a rather constant breeze the entire time they'd been keeping watch, but it hadn't been anything too serious. It had to be now, of all times, that it decided to turn from a breeze to a high wind, a high wind that effectively shredded the men's words. All Phèdre got out of it was "....camp.....Myridians.....patrols.....Kalenians...." four words out of the dozens that were said. To say Phèdre was frustrated was to make the biggest understatement of the year.

After that it didn't take the men too terribly long to disperse, and without a word Phèdre began to make her way back the way they had come. Once they'd gotten past the patrolmen she made a beeline for the spot where they'd kept the horses. Far enough away to avoid detection, close enough to be handy if they needed them. Mounting Imriel, she nudged his sides with her heels and went tearing back towards their camp, being as stealthy about it as was possible.

Once back at camp, Phèdre leaped off her horse, tossed her reins to someone, and ducked into the tent she effectively used as her field office, trusting Quinn would follow. It was obvious Phèdre was furious, but she would give being professional a shot. "Did you catch anything that was said?"

[Quinn deSauveterre]

Quinn swore under her breath as the wind picked up, easily concealing whatever the Asharians were plotting. Once the meeting was over she followed her captain back to their horses and kept close on her heels as she tore off, obviously upset over something. Fortunately both of their mounts were surefooted, and neither had any problem negotiating the path back to their encampment.

She generally preferred to take care of her own horse, but Phèdre would want to discuss what had happened. To that end, Quinn handed Adwen's reins off to someone else and followed her captain into the tent, grateful to see that someone had remembered to leave food out for them. Well, probably for Phèdre, but there was more than enough there for two, and she was too hungry to be shy. Stepping forward, she filled a plate with cheese and bread and a slice of cured meat and took a seat on the edge of the tent's single cot, noting objectively just how sexy Phèdre looked when she was in a temper.

"Camps...Kalenians...something about the city walls." Quinn sighed, her grip tightening around a rather hard chunk of bread as she resisted the urge to throw it at the tent wall. Considering the bread they usually got on patrol, it would probably put a hole through the coarse canvas. "Not a Luna bedamned thing. How many hours sitting up in that tree, and nothing to show for it but a sore arse." She rubbed the bit of her anatomy in question with another heartfelt sigh. "You should eat something, Captain, you'll not likely get another chance any time soon."

[Phèdre Rousseau]

What Phèdre wanted to do was throw the entire damn tray at the tent wall and be done with it. She didn't have the stomach for food right that second, though she knew the lieutenant was right. She would need to eat...just not right that second. "It would happen to us, the moment we actually get something worthwhile in our grasp, a damn wind kicks up and blows it all to pieces. I don't care about sore arses, I care about what they were saying."

Had she not had all her scout reports stacked nice neat and orderly on the travel desk, she would have swiped the whole mess to the floor in her anger. Phèdre had quite the temper, and the fact that they had something in their grasp and had to watch, or rather hear, it all being torn to pieces had riled her sufficiently. Still, normally she could hold her temper in better when someone who was under her command was present. Glancing over at Quinn, she allowed thoughts about how pretty (ok, beautiful) the lieutenant was to creep into her mind. At least they helped cool her down.

Sitting down in her chair, she took up a piece of cheese and bit into it. "You're welcome for the food, by the way," she said, injecting a bit of amusement into the statement. She didn't mind sharing her meal, especially with this particular soldier, but she figured a joke about it would help to lighten up the mood and help her keep control of her frustration for a moment. "Hope the stuff you grabbed is better than this." she had selected a piece of bread and, upon biting into it, thought she felt a tooth crack.

[Quinn deSauveterre]

"If it was, I might have thanked you." Quinn pointed out with a chuckle, thunking her knuckles against the piece of bread she held as if testing it for soundness. If it was a test, the bread failed miserably. "I don't know about you, but where I come from, bread isn't supposed to double as a weapon." She said with a shake of her head, setting the bread aside and opting for the cheese instead, following her captain's lead.

"So now what?" She asked finally, laying back on the bed and staring up at the top of the tent. "I mean...do we just keep doing the same thing, night after night, hoping to see something interesting?" Glancing over and hoping she read the captain's mood right, at least when it came to the casual nature of it, she sat up and tugged off her boots and socks, setting them carefully aside before flopping back down again and letting herself relax a bit.

"Not that I mind scouting, because you know I don't...or that I even mind being here when the action's all on the Kalenian side...but Luna above, I can't stand the boredom sometimes!" She pillowed her head on her hands, her eyes fixed on the canvas above. "I feel like we should be...doing something, you know?"

[Phèdre Rousseau]

"Maybe if we had been carrying a couple "loaves" of this bread with us, we could have knocked those men out and then made them speak where we could hear them properly." Phèdre muttered, shaking her head and placing her own piece of bread down on the tray. Her teeth hadn't even made a dent in the hard stuff. Shaking her head, she used her tongue to check her teeth and make sure none of them had cracked. Luckily none of them had, or that would have made her temper twice as bad as it was currently.

Phèdre watched Quinn kick her boots and socks off and, with a shake of her head, got up and perched herself on the edge of the bed. "We, as in you and I, aren't going to be the ones doing it every night. I'll be damned if I'm going to go hover in a tree every night waiting to come across some good tidbit, only to have it snatched away from me by an accursed wind." she shook her head vehemently. "Tomorrow night we'll assign a different pair, and then I'll send you out with someone else, then go out with someone else myself, so on and so forth. Hopefully, by pairing different people up and switching it around so none of us get too stale on it, we'll catch something worth reporting."

Turning so she could see Quinn a bit more, Phèdre nodded and smiled. "I would rather be on the battlefield, using my sword and putting my skills to use instead of moldering up here in this camp. The Asharians aren't doing anything, but I understand the need to watch them. In a way it's a bit of an honor, being put up here to "guard" the Asharians. Shows we're trusted enough that they believe we'll be able to get warning back should something happen." she shrugged. "Don't let the boredom get to you too much," she added with a grin and a poke to Quinn's arm. "Find something to keep you occupied."

[Quinn deSauveterre]

"You're right, it is an honor." Quinn admitted, though her sigh conveyed that she was none too happy about said honor. She shifted her eyes up as the bed moved, raising an eyebrow as her captain sat on the edge of hte bed. Well then, maybe she'd judged the woman's mood right after all? It would certainly be nice to work out some of this nervous energy...

"Oh..." She caught Phèdre's wrist as the woman poked her arm, sitting up so that they were scant inches apart. "I'm pretty sure I could find...lots of things to keep me occupied, right here in this very tent." Taking the initiative, she leaned forward for a kiss, testing to see if the other woman would avoid the kiss, be angered by it...or return the favor.

[Phèdre Rousseau]

"It just happens to be the most tiresome honor they could bestow on us." Phèdre said with a grin. Quinn's sigh was something Phèdre could definately agree with, though as Captain she wouldn't allow herself to show that sort of...dislike of their duty. Sure, being angry that something didn't go right was ok. Showing open distaste for one's post was something Phèdre couldn't stand in a leader. Leaders were supposed to set the example, after all, and going about your task without complaining was certainly one way to set an example.

The hand wrapping around her wrist caused her to arch her eyebrow slightly in surprise. However, that surprise soon gave way to a sort of happy anticipation. She had thought this was where Quinn was going when she'd so casually lain down on the cot, but it was nice to have confirmation of those thoughts. Before Phèdre could form a vocal response Quinn had leaned in and kissed her. Phèdre found herself quite occupied with kissing the lieutenant back, going so far as to wrap her arm around Quinn and scoot the other woman closer.

Memories pop up at the most inopportune moments, and Phèdre found the mischevious side of her personality popping up. Pulling away from the kiss, she looked at Quinn with a grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye. "Is my luck back with me? Is this an offer, my dear lieutenant?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as her grin grew wider.

[Quinn deSauveterre]

Quinn smiled at her captain, a definite sparkle in her eye. "Oh, I'd say it's probably your lucky day, Captain." She retorted, her eyebrow arching up in something of a mirror image of Phèdre's expression. "And yes, that is most definitely an offer." Truthfully it was an offer she'd have made a long time ago, if circumstances hadn't kept them from having any time alone.

"However..." She continued as her hands busied themselves with the buttons of the captain's jacket. "There is something I have to warn you about." Her eyes lifted to the other woman's again, and there was a hint of challenge in them. "Out there, you're in command, and I'll follow your orders without question, but in here..." Her smile widened. "In bed, I can be a pushy bitch."

[Phèdre Rousseau]

"On the contrary, Lieutenant, I do believe the luck is all with you." Phèdre contradicted with a slight grin. "After all, I could turn down the offer. However...." Reaching out, Phèdre traced the shape of Quinn's mouth lightly with a fingertip. "I do believe I will accept that offer, and quite happily at that." she grinned her the lieutenant and allowed the other woman to begin taking her jacket off. Once the garment was laying in a heap on the floor, Phèdre returned the favor, and quickly began unbuttoning Quinn's jacket.

Quinn's comment surprised Phèdre, but then a rather feral grin spread over the captain's face. "We'll see about that then, won't we?" she murured. Phèdre was most definately used to being the one in charge, both in bed and out, which was why she was so used to seeking out aggressive bed partners. She needed someone to balance her out, so that she wasn't doing all the taking. Good thing that Quinn claimed to be "pushy".

"I can be pushy in bed too, my dear Quinn, so this should be....interesting." Phèdre grinned. She pulled away from the other woman and marched over to the tent flap. Opening it, she told one of the men on guard duty that she was not to be disturbed unless the camp was on fire or someone came back seriously injured or was hauled back dead. With that she ducked back into the tent, secured the flap, and turned back to Quinn.

[Quinn deSauveterre]

"If I didn't think it would be interesting, I wouldn't be here." Quinn shot back, coming to her feet beside Phèdre's cot and watching her across the tent. This was definitely going to be interesting, and she felt she could use something of a diversion at the moment. With slow, deliberate movements she began divesting herself of the rest of the clothing, sitting back down on the edge of the cot when she was finished and leaning back on her elbows.

"You know, it's a little cold in here..." She couldn't help the tease, even if it was rather obvious. "Maybe you'd like to come over here and warm me up?"

[Phèdre Rousseau]

Phèdre grinned at Quinn and crossed her arms under her chest. "Sure you'd be here," she drawled, moving slowly away from the tent's opening and back over to Quinn. "Simple curiosity would have brought you here at some point or another, I think." and the one thing that made her confident in that statement was the incident in the mess hall, and their parting comments to one another. The tent was large in comparison to some of the other ones in the camp, but not really all that large, so it took her no time at all to find herself standing in front of Quinn, even though she had been moving quite slow.

Reaching out, Phèdre ran her fingertips very lightly along the curve of Quinn's cheek. "Warm you up," she murmured, her tone as smooth as warm honey. "Now that sounds like a rather fine idea. There are several ways, however, that I could do that." her grin turned impish and she reached out, took up the blanket that was folded neatly at the end of her bed, and wrapped it around the lieutenant. "I can always just bundle you up against the chill, kiss you," and here she placed a light kiss on the tip of Quinn's nose, "and send you to bed."

Knowing there was no chance at all of her doing that, she moved her mouth down so it hovered just above Quinn's. "Or I could pick one of the more...interesting ways. Which would you prefer, lieutenant?" she was waiting to see some of that pushiness the other woman had warned her of earlier.

[Quinn deSauveterre]

Quinn had to chuckle as Phèdre first bundled her up and then kissed her nose. The captain had to be the first person on the planet who'd put more clothes on the blonde woman rather than take them off. "You could do that." She allowed, leaving the blanket where it was for the moment. "But you won't...and I think you know exactly what I'd prefer."

Shrugging her arms up out of the blankets, she took the captain by the shoulders and turned her so that she was between Quinn and the bed before all but tackling her onto the cot, pinning her there and sitting astride her stomach, though she didn't let all of her weight rest there. Leaning down, she caught the brunette's mouth in a very, very heated kiss before breaking it off and sitting up.

"Now...if you want me to go, all you have to do is say so."