On the sandy beach by the ocean blue. (Deacon)

Deacon narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I find that it is quite helpful. For example, if one of your men, let's call him Dan, if Dan if particularly afraid of a certain thing, or has a flaw that might make him unfit to serve, it would be helpful to know that." He took in a deep breathe before continuing, "You can't make sound, logical decisions with out all of the information available." He explained, "That information even includes the personal quirks of your men, even the one's you might find irrelevant. You never know when you will need that information."

Angharad was not really sure she liked that Dan example.  What? One of her soldiers, deterred from being able to serve because of a silly flaw and afraid of something? That sounded preposterous to her, and if she ever came across a soldier like that she was bound to throttle him, whoever the unfortunate soul may be.  She was about to argue that all of those who were under her were capable.  They did well in their training and in their duties.  They obeyed her and anyone she needed them to obey.  She'd be damned if one of her soldiers turned out to be a weakling.

She opened her mouth, closed it.  Wait...but...then again, how could she know for sure? Sure, they obeyed her, they did what she expected of them, but she barely knew them.  She knew their stiff salutes, their firm, assured voices, their formal, frank, respectful, objective speech whenever they spoke to her...but she did not know who they were.  Not at all.  She only made them obey her, and that they did.  But what if they were secretly hiding any traits that would serve to bring the brigade down through any stupid or foolish act of theirs? She didn't know how likely they would make mistakes, because they masked all aspects of their personalities with her standard of behavior when she was around.  But if she wasn't, and they felt free to express who they were...may the gods help her if they were NOT competent or spot on with their expectations and duties. 

His words, especially the ones pertaining to needing all of the information available, even the smallest, unimportant ones, rang in her ears.  Of course.  He was wise, for his mother was the goddess of wisdom, and anything that left his mouth would be words of wisdom, words that she would have to heed.  Here she was, being taught how to go about her duty as a captain to her soldiers by another captain.  Angharad was prideful, but she loved her cause enough to want to do her duty correctly.  If she needed to take in the input of others, then so be it.  And she wasn't embarrassed.  Everyone had their different roles, and she played hers well as Deacon was playing his.

"That makes sense," she said simply and brusquely, because again, she took this more as strategy than heart to heart advice.  "So how would you suggest I go about understanding more about the traits of my men best? How do I collect the data; should I test and try their nature on certain aspects relevant to being competent in war through various obstacles? I believe that should show me how they react in situations that I need them to excel in."  Boy...did she feel like Lupa all of a sudden, training and testing Roman demigods to decide whether or not they were worthy of being sent to the legion. 

((Omg, major late!!! Sorry!))

He couldn’t help but shake his head, a small smile dancing on his face, “I suppose test intentionally designed to test for character weaknesses could be useful…” He started, leaning his head from side to side in thought, “But did you ever think that simply talking to them might suffice?” After a short time with the girl, he could tell that she was not necessarily the most social creature he had ever encountered. She definitely had potential, but he wasn’t sure how much necessity he saw in changing her. Something about her strict, upright attitude was intriguing. There was something about her that was drawing him in, like an experiment he hasn’t found the conclusion to yet. He took a step toward her, narrowing his eyes as he watched for her reaction, “Angharad…” He said, speaking slowly as if feeling the name in his mouth, “What’s your story, huh? I am having a hard time figuring you out. Something I am not used to, at all.” He explained, watching her carefully wishing that he had the ability to read minds or something.

I do talk to them, was Angharad's first thought.  But then, she figured that he meant that she ought to engage in a casual conversation with them instead of just barking orders in their faces.  Would she be able to do that? Angharad wasn't the type to really be chatting idly...it was a bit too loose for her taste to do that.  She'd never initiated regular conversation, even if it was just to pass the time.  People usually forced conversation upon her, but she never approached others for it.  But she did want to heed the wise son of Athena.  If she must do her duty, than she must, no matter how awkward it would be for her.  "I'll be sure to try that and see if I get any positive results," she said with a curt nod of her head.

It was then that he took a step toward her, narrowing his eyes in a way she actually found alluring, whether it was meant to be or not.  Angharad was a little surprised by this sudden move, and her instinct told her to step backward, but she still stayed her ground.  There was an expression of slight curiosity on her face, even if she tried to appear aloof.  He didn't call her Captain Gwyn, but the way he said her first name was rather...pleasant, so she let it pass.  She was more curious as to what he was going to do or say next.  What he said confused her.  What did he mean by what her story was? Was he talking about her history? And she wasn't sure what he meant by not being able to figure her out and not being used to her at all.  But...somehow she seemed to get the undertones of his words, and she was mystified by it, although she wasn't about to admit that.  "Perhaps if you clarify what 'my story' is supposed to be, specifically, I'd be able to provide an appropriate answer," she replied, even if she found that rather uncanny, and trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.  "And I suppose that most people don't relate to my sense of order and sternness.  I've been told a number of times that I'm different, and not exactly in a way that they find favorable."  She said this objectively, because she was only trying to make a guess at what he meant, not to confide in him about anything emotional.  And anyway, she didn't give a damn about whether people didn't like her personality or not, because she liked being herself.  She was an idealized person and believed that she lived up to those ideals; and really, no one really tried to break away from their general demeanor.  That was just how they were.

 

Deacon frowned when she said people didn’t find her ‘favorable’. He shook his head and responded carefully, choosing his word with the utmost care, “Relating to your rather strict nature is not the problem I am having, Captain.” He started taking a step back so he wasn’t standing so close to her and crossing his arms, “What I am having a problem with it getting beyond this wall you have built around yourself.” He grinned a little, “You’re very guarded, which is not any problem at all. In fact, you’re upright behavior is kind of cute.” Ah, Taze would be proud. Maybe…

Angharad wasn't exactly the most conventional of people, and so she was trying to interpret what he was saying in the typical modern dialogue spoken nowadays. He didn't mind her rocky and intimidating disposition...but he was trying to...get around it too? Did that mean he was trying to get at her more...intimate aspect of her personality? Did she even have that? To summarize it, he actually found her personality commendable but he wanted to gain her trust and acceptance, similar to how Owain was special to her.

She honestly had no idea how to respond to that. Normally if this was the typical goofy person she would've probably told him icily to stop talking foolishly. But the Greek before her had gained her respect, as she believed that he was wiser than she was after he gave her some good advice. She felt a tad bit more lenient to him with his...teasing, but she wasn't sure how to respond to it properly because she had no idea how to respond with wit and humor.

For the very first time in her life, it seemed, she actually looked uncertain.  She was usually overconfident with power and prowess, but now she was actually discomfited.  "I..." Before she could go any further, he remarked that he thought that her strait-laced behavior was...cute.  Her eyes widened slightly.  Cute? Obviously the captain was teasing her even more, because she knew that she was anything but cute.  Again, she'd usually find it annoying, but she couldn't bring herself to snap at him.  In fact she actually wanted to be able to respond in a way that was appropriate, but for the life of her she couldn't think of how to do that, so she just went with the blunt Angharad approach.  She blinked.  "Captain...are you merely jesting with me?" she asked.   

Deacon shook his head and laughed, "Figures you would think that." He said, propping his hand behind his head and turning to look again at the setting sun, "I was being honest. What would be the point of saying those things to you if I didn't mean them?" He asked, raising his eye brows, "There is no logic behind something like that." He wasn't wrong. And he really did like her.

As the last of the sun sunk below the horizon, Deacon dropped his arms to his side, "What do you think about dinner?" He asked suddenly, deciding it was worth taking a chance.