The Taste of Battle (Squad 5 Assignment)

[Preston Salabim]

"How did you deal with it afterward?"

[Rozalin Kendal]

"I was fortunate enough to have time to myself while the others were occupied. Time to think and sort my thoughts. Compose myself." She looked away, back out the window at the memory. How does one explain that the rapport of the man she spoke of was one tainted by fear, perhaps on both their sides? She closed her eye for a moment, grateful for Ari's cautious silence as, for once, the being sensed the mood in the room. Then she turned her attention back to Preston.

"I won't say it gets easier, but you learn to accept it. Battles are messy, and chaotic. Even if you plan well, something will go wrong. But there's no shame in feeling as you might, either. I honored the fallen with the others when we had the funeral. Even if you don't believe in a god, it is a chance for closure, to remember and understand how many lives the person touched."

[Preston Salabim]

He stayed silent for a few moments, digesting her words. But he didn't want to talk about this anymore. He'd adjust his glasses as a physical way to break him from his stupor as he moved to sit at the foot of her bed.

"Have they said when you are able to leave?"

He'd ask, changing the subject.

[Rozalin Kendal]

She let the subject change without pushing further. He would go through it at his own pace, the wound still fresh.

"Not soon enough." She barely restrained her scowl with the words. "A couple days, I believe. It's a matter of mending, but I'm able to get around a bit now." Bless the crutches. If she'd been bedridden, Preston probably would have found her brain leaking out her ears. It went without saying they'd need the bed for another as soon as possible.

"Unless you have any handy magic in that book of yours to speed that up."  Her hands went to her hair again, stroking one of the front sections before resting at her side again.  She could only wish.

[Preston Salabim]

"I do... but I've yet to master fire attunement."

Unfortunately.

[Rozalin Kendal]

"Worth asking, anyway." She sighed and rolled her good shoulder, resting her hand on it until the muscle stretched to the point of burning.

"So you mentioned aiming to be a leader for your people." The topic change was needed for both of them.

[Preston Salabim]

"Yes. I come from a well-respected family and it is expected that I will carry on their legacy. My Father is the owner and founder of the Salabim Magical Emporium, and my Mother holds a seat on the Academy of Magic. I am looking to one day be seated on the Council of Mages."

[Rozalin Kendal]

Sweet Siren's song, she hoped they hdn't taken anything from his father's stocks at one point. Not that there was regret, but it would be...awkward. But clearly Preston himself wasn't there if they did, so it was fine. Things happened in life.

"Ambitious. I like it." She gave him a sly smile.

[Preston Salabim]

"A lot is expected of me. Both from myself, and by those associated with my family."

He intended to surpass those expectations.

[Rozalin Kendal]

"I'm sure you'll be able to pass them." Roz would give a single nod before pushing herself up and out of bed, carefully bringing her legs about so that they were sitting side by side as she looked at him.

"Tell you what, Mr Future Ruler. Let me grab my crutches and we can both get out of here for a bit." Away from the cabin fever and the injured.

[Preston Salabim]

"Who am I to turn a lady down with such a reasonable offer."

He was down for not being cooped up in the infirmary.

[Rozalin Kendal]

"Such a charmer." Chuckling, she reached over for her crutches, looking at him with a wink as she sat upright once more. "I bet the girls back home were falling over you left and right." She would rise to her good foot, along with her temporary props, and be more than happy to leave this place for a bit..

[Preston Salabim]

"Actually. Yes."

He'd push his glasses up again. He knew what most people probably thought when they saw him. Or when they thought about guys like him. But back home, he was considered quite a catch.

"I belong to a prestigious family and I am a skilled mage already in my own right who by all accounts have a bright future. There was little shortage of women trying to catch my eye."

[Rozalin Kendal]

She actually laughed at that, a merry sound without mockery as she shook her head.

"Somehow, I can't say that surprises me." That much confidence could be considered arrogance to some, but for Rozalin, it was highly entertaining. Her laughter drifted to a chuckle as they went. "So long as I don't have to beat them off of you while we're here."

[Preston Salabim]

"I suppose that depends on if any of them transfer here and follow my plan to cut ahead of the pack."

Doubtful. Most people were comfortable with the lives they had. And given the recent attacks on 259, he doubted many would want to put themselves in harm's way like that for something to put on an entrance application.