Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2023 21:05:02 GMT -5
Hadrian Usher
Nadine took a deep breath of crisp salty air in, releasing it slowly as she moved her stance. The motions were fluid, slow and purposeful to stretch, then relax, each muscle group. The cool mist rolling in from the ocean was soothing to Nadine's skin, the whisper and splash of the waves almost letting her forget--
"Ow!!" a voice yelped, followed by a few swears. "Ow, ow, ow!"
Nadine sighed, turning around sharply to see her cadets in various pitiful poses. Velasquez shook with her arms out and leg propped like a sickly crane. Thompson seemed to be imitating a scale, unable to find balance between one side or the other. Summers was picking pebbles out of her feet. Romanoff...well, Romanoff was huddled in a feral position sucking his thumb, but that was to be expected.
"We haven't even made it halfway through the warm-up, privates!" the witch tsked, hands on her hips. "These exercises are essential to the health of a soldier. I'm assigning you to a set every sunrise and sunset. Straighten up, we're working on cores next."
"Officer Machenet," Summers huffed. "Why do we even need to know this stuff? Ain't no soldier doin ballet in the middle of a war!"
That got a few snickers from the girl's peers.
"Thank you for volunteering your squad for latrine duty," Nadine replied curtly, to the chorus of several groans. "And slop duty."
That got the brats to shut up. Nadine had never understood why she was assigned to train the mandatories: especially the thirteen year old, fresh from their mother's womb, children. Scratch that, she knew exactly why: it was Aldrich and Raff's plan to drive her up the wall.
You're too lenient on them, Raff says in the morning, and by afternoon she's in Aldrich's office for pushing the poor babes too hard. She was doing the best with what she had, but...it certainly had her stuck with no promotion in sight. Not with the two fragile ego men supervising her at least.
"On your feet, privates! We've still half an hour 'til daylight, and I don't want to see any slackers! A lazy soldier is a dead soldier! Am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Am I understood??"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good! Then back to-" Nadine paused as she noticed the approaching figure appear through the mist. "At attention, privates!" Nadine snapped a salute herself, hoping her squad would follow her lead. "Captain Commander Usher, sir, a pleasure to see you this morning sir!"
Nadine took a deep breath of crisp salty air in, releasing it slowly as she moved her stance. The motions were fluid, slow and purposeful to stretch, then relax, each muscle group. The cool mist rolling in from the ocean was soothing to Nadine's skin, the whisper and splash of the waves almost letting her forget--
"Ow!!" a voice yelped, followed by a few swears. "Ow, ow, ow!"
Nadine sighed, turning around sharply to see her cadets in various pitiful poses. Velasquez shook with her arms out and leg propped like a sickly crane. Thompson seemed to be imitating a scale, unable to find balance between one side or the other. Summers was picking pebbles out of her feet. Romanoff...well, Romanoff was huddled in a feral position sucking his thumb, but that was to be expected.
"We haven't even made it halfway through the warm-up, privates!" the witch tsked, hands on her hips. "These exercises are essential to the health of a soldier. I'm assigning you to a set every sunrise and sunset. Straighten up, we're working on cores next."
"Officer Machenet," Summers huffed. "Why do we even need to know this stuff? Ain't no soldier doin ballet in the middle of a war!"
That got a few snickers from the girl's peers.
"Thank you for volunteering your squad for latrine duty," Nadine replied curtly, to the chorus of several groans. "And slop duty."
That got the brats to shut up. Nadine had never understood why she was assigned to train the mandatories: especially the thirteen year old, fresh from their mother's womb, children. Scratch that, she knew exactly why: it was Aldrich and Raff's plan to drive her up the wall.
You're too lenient on them, Raff says in the morning, and by afternoon she's in Aldrich's office for pushing the poor babes too hard. She was doing the best with what she had, but...it certainly had her stuck with no promotion in sight. Not with the two fragile ego men supervising her at least.
"On your feet, privates! We've still half an hour 'til daylight, and I don't want to see any slackers! A lazy soldier is a dead soldier! Am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Am I understood??"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good! Then back to-" Nadine paused as she noticed the approaching figure appear through the mist. "At attention, privates!" Nadine snapped a salute herself, hoping her squad would follow her lead. "Captain Commander Usher, sir, a pleasure to see you this morning sir!"