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tamingthemuseTitle: Knowing Fear
Fandom: Original
Character(s): Colonel Lawrence & General U.H.
Genre(s): Friendship
Rating: G
Word Count: 705
Summary: Lawrence may look battle ready, but U.H. can see through that every time she grips her sword
Warnings: None
Knowing Fear
The air didn’t feel right when she woke up that morning, knowing what awaited her on the other side of that hill. The Invaders, as they had been dubbed due to the lack of an official name for their kind, were moaning dreadfully to beckon the day’s events. They cared not for their safety or salvation, since they were merely puppets tied to the strings of their master.
Lawrence stepped heavily out of her tent into the foggy air, the sun not quite over the ridge to the east. A light chill clung to her skin as she moved to take her gloves from her uniform pocket, slipping them on while her vision trained on that desecrated looking hill. Never in her life had she suddenly felt so afraid, but so alive.
Instinctively, she clasped her hand firmly to her saber’s hilt. It was her point of stability – her emblem of courage. An heirloom, she stood by it as though it were her remaining family whom she was seeking to make proud that day.
“You sure you know how to use that thing?”
Lawrence turned to the deep rumbling voice of her commanding officer, General U.H. in his typical dusty uniform. He looked like he was used to the early mornings and was even less interested in the coming fight.
“I’ve fought many times before, General,” she replied in an effort to sustain her rattled nerves. “I know what I’m doing.”
The cavalryman shrugged and lit his tobacco pipe in the same manner in which he addressed all things he did – relaxed and calm. It was as if war didn’t disturb him in the slightest. “You go on telling yourself that then, Colonel. But when you see the enemy face to face, you’ll forget every fencing lesson you may have learned, because fear is a funny thing.”
Feeling her pride shake suddenly caused Lawrence’s blood to simmer, bitter words on the tip of her tongue as she retorted, “And I suppose you know that from experience, General?”
U.H. wasn’t the most proper soldier in the army, since he disregarded a great many rules pertaining to speech and dress code, the latter of which he even didn’t follow, and now ignored the indignant way Lawrence spoke. She was his subordinate, yes, but instead he viewed her as a younger sister he needed to protect from the world. She had not yet seen their enemy in head-to-head combat and he knew it would terrify her beyond her years on the day she did.
“As a matter of fact, Colonel,” he replied, walking on ahead of her to most likely start in the direction of the horse corral nearby. “I am telling you this out of experience. War is a terrible thing, Colonel Lawrence, and it’s good that it is. We’d like it too much if it weren’t so awful and difficult to face day after day.”
His back turned and walking away slowly, Lawrence let her hand fall away from her weapon and pondered the general’s sound advice. “General U.H.?”
The ranking officer stopped in his tracks when called by his appropriate (and rather disliked) title, but didn’t pivot to face the young colonel, his eyes intent on the mountains beyond where he hoped his reinforcements would come from.
Lawrence’s tone dropped respectfully, humility taking root in her thought and trying to make itself a rare home in her manner of speech. “General… do you know fear?”
Then the elder general smiled and about-faced casually to meet the youthful eyes of his entourage. She was such a brave little girl trapped in a woman’s body who only wanted to do the right thing and make her family proud. Her younger brothers back home needed a role model since their father had run off, and so she took it upon herself to become that. U.H. admired her for her strength of heart and determination – an ideal combination to start making the perfect soldier out of.
His mustache curling up only slightly with his grin, U.H. replied, “I’ve known fear for a long time, but I wouldn’t say we’re on friendly terms. He just knows to turn tail the other way when he sees me and my horse comin’.”
Fandom: Original
Character(s): Colonel Lawrence & General U.H.
Genre(s): Friendship
Rating: G
Word Count: 705
Summary: Lawrence may look battle ready, but U.H. can see through that every time she grips her sword
Warnings: None
The air didn’t feel right when she woke up that morning, knowing what awaited her on the other side of that hill. The Invaders, as they had been dubbed due to the lack of an official name for their kind, were moaning dreadfully to beckon the day’s events. They cared not for their safety or salvation, since they were merely puppets tied to the strings of their master.
Lawrence stepped heavily out of her tent into the foggy air, the sun not quite over the ridge to the east. A light chill clung to her skin as she moved to take her gloves from her uniform pocket, slipping them on while her vision trained on that desecrated looking hill. Never in her life had she suddenly felt so afraid, but so alive.
Instinctively, she clasped her hand firmly to her saber’s hilt. It was her point of stability – her emblem of courage. An heirloom, she stood by it as though it were her remaining family whom she was seeking to make proud that day.
“You sure you know how to use that thing?”
Lawrence turned to the deep rumbling voice of her commanding officer, General U.H. in his typical dusty uniform. He looked like he was used to the early mornings and was even less interested in the coming fight.
“I’ve fought many times before, General,” she replied in an effort to sustain her rattled nerves. “I know what I’m doing.”
The cavalryman shrugged and lit his tobacco pipe in the same manner in which he addressed all things he did – relaxed and calm. It was as if war didn’t disturb him in the slightest. “You go on telling yourself that then, Colonel. But when you see the enemy face to face, you’ll forget every fencing lesson you may have learned, because fear is a funny thing.”
Feeling her pride shake suddenly caused Lawrence’s blood to simmer, bitter words on the tip of her tongue as she retorted, “And I suppose you know that from experience, General?”
U.H. wasn’t the most proper soldier in the army, since he disregarded a great many rules pertaining to speech and dress code, the latter of which he even didn’t follow, and now ignored the indignant way Lawrence spoke. She was his subordinate, yes, but instead he viewed her as a younger sister he needed to protect from the world. She had not yet seen their enemy in head-to-head combat and he knew it would terrify her beyond her years on the day she did.
“As a matter of fact, Colonel,” he replied, walking on ahead of her to most likely start in the direction of the horse corral nearby. “I am telling you this out of experience. War is a terrible thing, Colonel Lawrence, and it’s good that it is. We’d like it too much if it weren’t so awful and difficult to face day after day.”
His back turned and walking away slowly, Lawrence let her hand fall away from her weapon and pondered the general’s sound advice. “General U.H.?”
The ranking officer stopped in his tracks when called by his appropriate (and rather disliked) title, but didn’t pivot to face the young colonel, his eyes intent on the mountains beyond where he hoped his reinforcements would come from.
Lawrence’s tone dropped respectfully, humility taking root in her thought and trying to make itself a rare home in her manner of speech. “General… do you know fear?”
Then the elder general smiled and about-faced casually to meet the youthful eyes of his entourage. She was such a brave little girl trapped in a woman’s body who only wanted to do the right thing and make her family proud. Her younger brothers back home needed a role model since their father had run off, and so she took it upon herself to become that. U.H. admired her for her strength of heart and determination – an ideal combination to start making the perfect soldier out of.
His mustache curling up only slightly with his grin, U.H. replied, “I’ve known fear for a long time, but I wouldn’t say we’re on friendly terms. He just knows to turn tail the other way when he sees me and my horse comin’.”
