Ryanti’s ears lifted a tad when Sounsyy ended up turning around to face him instead of take a few shots on her own. It was obvious from the moment that she began to speak that Ryanti realized that she had something on her mind and had for a while now. As she spoke to him and explained her thoughts to him, Ryanti took a small breath and listened.
He hadn’t paid much attention to how he appeared from the outside. He had chosen to focus more on the tasks at hand, and training Sounsyy, and… busy work. He had neglected to realize the emotions from the inside were leaking out into his expression. He understood that he was new to acting under such an unorthodox and abnormal situation. His experience in open warfare was also new to him, and learning how to emotionally cope with it was more of a challenge than he had anticipated. Despite all of that, Sounsyy was right.
What was done was done. He repeated that phrase in his head when she fixed her eyes upon his. There was some fatigue in those eyes of Ryanti’s. A little bit of the white in his eyes had become a damp red in sleepiness. Perhaps the Captain could have seen the struggle to uphold some sort of standard on her ship; a kind of resolve to handle whatever her and her crew could on their turf, playing their game. Maybe she could have seen in his eyes the memories still of being face to face with Juhh, his feet dangling off of the ground as he was fed the words of the failures of others that came before them.
But, if she were to see one thing above all else in his eyes, it was the desire to do whatever was right. It was the hope that he was making the right decisions to the best his ability. It was that same care that Sounsyy had shown to her crew, and when Ryanti closed his eyes and slid down his index and middle finger along the inner sides of them, and reopened them, she could see a different kind of care that Ryanti had for her.
Sounsyy’s words reminded Ryanti of something. The young man knew he had a choice every day he woke up. The truth was, and he knew, that every day was a new day. A new sunrise. A new beginning. Within that early morning’s light, he had that choice to make. He could either decide to be the same man he was the day before, or he could make the decision to be a better man than he was the day before. He wasn’t sure how many mistakes he made today, and what he did right. He had to make a lot of decisions about everything, and he wasn’t sure which decisions were the right ones… and which were wrong. Now he was going to dive with her as a result of the decisions he made, and he knew he had the power to make the decision to make sure both Sounsyy and himself came back from this alive. The first step to making that decision had to start now.
Ryanti’s steps were not heavy, but the pervasive silence made them so. His eyes shifted towards the rifle that Sounsyy cradled in her arms as he approached within a few ilms of her. He trailed his eyes upward until they met her own again, his face illuminated by the shade of the evening moonlight, the thoughts behind his eyes becoming occupied with the notion of getting lost in hers. She could feel the rifle in her grip shift as his hands became upon it, and with a slow motion Ryanti lifted the heavier weapon out of the Captain’s hands.
His movement was as swift as the eastern winds, yet as solid as any well-trained operative. Within a moment, he had flipped and brought the rifle’s stock up to his shoulder, resting the metal component of the rifle right ahead of the trigger upon Sounsyy’s left shoulder while bringing his right hand up against the barrel just ahead of her. He was left handed. Ryanti squeezed his left hand upon the trigger, and lowered his head to the side to aim, the rifle’s stock the only thing that separated Ryanti's cheek from Sounsyy’s. Three swift shots rang out. The rounds fell in an arch right before Sounsyy’s eyes. Three rounds hit what was left of that floating target at both ends and the middle. She could only feel the rifle shift a tiny bit as he made those three shots, wasting as little energy as possible while finding a happy medium by ensuring maximum accuracy.
This all happened within a single moment. It was a method of communication from Ryanti to Sounsyy. A kind of symbolism. Tonight, there had been a broken barrel behind Sounsyy’s back that Ryanti had dispatched. Tomorrow, it could be anything, but no matter what it could be, Ryanti would dispatch them all the same.
With those three rounds, Ryanti had put today behind him. One round for the skirmish. A second round for the fight with his Commander. A final round for his self-doubt, which he melted off of his voice the next time he spoke. His voice was a whisper right next to Sounsyy’s ear, quiet and personal. “Understood, Captain…†He murmured to her, eyeing the back of her for a brief moment, witnessing once again the blemishes that beheld her skin. He didn’t mind how it looked. He saw the goosebumps too. He didn’t mind that either but… he wondered if that was his fault.
Ryanti slowly brought the rifle back down, placing it back into her grip with a little bit of ease as he glanced his eyes upon hers once more. A cold gust of wind blew upon his back, and his shoulders tightened up to bear it. He maneuvered further in front of her in a slight adjustment, to keep the cold wind from hitting her. “I will have your back, Sounsyy, and your front. You have my word, and my promise.†Her eyes that he had glanced at before, deadened by past memories and experiences. He wondered if Sounsyy was only talking to him when she mentioned that what was done was done. Ryanti had made his decision of who he wanted to be tomorrow.
There was no fear in Ryanti’s eyes anymore. His fingers have become cold in the late evening wind, but her eyes kept him warm on a layer below his skin. He was careful not to touch her skin with those cold fingers when he brushed a bit of the Captain’s hair that had blown into her eyes with the cold, cold wind that came. There were goosebumps on Ryanti’s neck. Probably from the wind.
“I need to know… will you have mine?â€
He hadn’t paid much attention to how he appeared from the outside. He had chosen to focus more on the tasks at hand, and training Sounsyy, and… busy work. He had neglected to realize the emotions from the inside were leaking out into his expression. He understood that he was new to acting under such an unorthodox and abnormal situation. His experience in open warfare was also new to him, and learning how to emotionally cope with it was more of a challenge than he had anticipated. Despite all of that, Sounsyy was right.
What was done was done. He repeated that phrase in his head when she fixed her eyes upon his. There was some fatigue in those eyes of Ryanti’s. A little bit of the white in his eyes had become a damp red in sleepiness. Perhaps the Captain could have seen the struggle to uphold some sort of standard on her ship; a kind of resolve to handle whatever her and her crew could on their turf, playing their game. Maybe she could have seen in his eyes the memories still of being face to face with Juhh, his feet dangling off of the ground as he was fed the words of the failures of others that came before them.
But, if she were to see one thing above all else in his eyes, it was the desire to do whatever was right. It was the hope that he was making the right decisions to the best his ability. It was that same care that Sounsyy had shown to her crew, and when Ryanti closed his eyes and slid down his index and middle finger along the inner sides of them, and reopened them, she could see a different kind of care that Ryanti had for her.
Sounsyy’s words reminded Ryanti of something. The young man knew he had a choice every day he woke up. The truth was, and he knew, that every day was a new day. A new sunrise. A new beginning. Within that early morning’s light, he had that choice to make. He could either decide to be the same man he was the day before, or he could make the decision to be a better man than he was the day before. He wasn’t sure how many mistakes he made today, and what he did right. He had to make a lot of decisions about everything, and he wasn’t sure which decisions were the right ones… and which were wrong. Now he was going to dive with her as a result of the decisions he made, and he knew he had the power to make the decision to make sure both Sounsyy and himself came back from this alive. The first step to making that decision had to start now.
Ryanti’s steps were not heavy, but the pervasive silence made them so. His eyes shifted towards the rifle that Sounsyy cradled in her arms as he approached within a few ilms of her. He trailed his eyes upward until they met her own again, his face illuminated by the shade of the evening moonlight, the thoughts behind his eyes becoming occupied with the notion of getting lost in hers. She could feel the rifle in her grip shift as his hands became upon it, and with a slow motion Ryanti lifted the heavier weapon out of the Captain’s hands.
His movement was as swift as the eastern winds, yet as solid as any well-trained operative. Within a moment, he had flipped and brought the rifle’s stock up to his shoulder, resting the metal component of the rifle right ahead of the trigger upon Sounsyy’s left shoulder while bringing his right hand up against the barrel just ahead of her. He was left handed. Ryanti squeezed his left hand upon the trigger, and lowered his head to the side to aim, the rifle’s stock the only thing that separated Ryanti's cheek from Sounsyy’s. Three swift shots rang out. The rounds fell in an arch right before Sounsyy’s eyes. Three rounds hit what was left of that floating target at both ends and the middle. She could only feel the rifle shift a tiny bit as he made those three shots, wasting as little energy as possible while finding a happy medium by ensuring maximum accuracy.
This all happened within a single moment. It was a method of communication from Ryanti to Sounsyy. A kind of symbolism. Tonight, there had been a broken barrel behind Sounsyy’s back that Ryanti had dispatched. Tomorrow, it could be anything, but no matter what it could be, Ryanti would dispatch them all the same.
With those three rounds, Ryanti had put today behind him. One round for the skirmish. A second round for the fight with his Commander. A final round for his self-doubt, which he melted off of his voice the next time he spoke. His voice was a whisper right next to Sounsyy’s ear, quiet and personal. “Understood, Captain…†He murmured to her, eyeing the back of her for a brief moment, witnessing once again the blemishes that beheld her skin. He didn’t mind how it looked. He saw the goosebumps too. He didn’t mind that either but… he wondered if that was his fault.
Ryanti slowly brought the rifle back down, placing it back into her grip with a little bit of ease as he glanced his eyes upon hers once more. A cold gust of wind blew upon his back, and his shoulders tightened up to bear it. He maneuvered further in front of her in a slight adjustment, to keep the cold wind from hitting her. “I will have your back, Sounsyy, and your front. You have my word, and my promise.†Her eyes that he had glanced at before, deadened by past memories and experiences. He wondered if Sounsyy was only talking to him when she mentioned that what was done was done. Ryanti had made his decision of who he wanted to be tomorrow.
There was no fear in Ryanti’s eyes anymore. His fingers have become cold in the late evening wind, but her eyes kept him warm on a layer below his skin. He was careful not to touch her skin with those cold fingers when he brushed a bit of the Captain’s hair that had blown into her eyes with the cold, cold wind that came. There were goosebumps on Ryanti’s neck. Probably from the wind.
“I need to know… will you have mine?â€