June 30th: A Meeting by Chance

"Stop it," Maggie scolded softly, wiping her hands on her apron. She looked up to see if McIntyre was about, but the dog seemed to have come with the young lad in a forage cap who was now departing. She called after him. "Hoy! Don't leave your dog here! Take him with you! No no no, you're not staying," she said, speaking now to the dog himself as she rubbed his ears. "Little beggar, go on. No more captain-scraps for you."

Officers? Cotton nearly offered his hand for the dog to sniff, but restrained himself. "Any idea what they'm after?" he asked Maggie, looking at the two approaching officers. One of them was in the uniform of the 60th Rifles and the other... "Looks like that artillery officer from t'other night," he said thoughtfully. "Wonder what they want?"

They were heading for the 60th's camp, so it would be only polite to go and ask them. Cotton straightened, slipped his rifle from where it was slung on his shoulder down to the 'shoulder arms' position so that he could offer a proper salute, and approached the two officers.

Fraser saw a riflemen approaching. Wasn't that...yes, it was, he remembered. It had been just 2 days ago, after all.

He stopped and mimed taking a dirt of Delacroix's expensive looking pelisse.
Still, he wasn't sure what to make of the youngman, other then that he would either become a perfect officer, or a really bad one.

"That's Vic...Captain Vickerys batman, if I'm not much mistaken. I'm sure you are a good chap, Lieutenant, but take this advice from me, someone who has been in your spot for many years.
Do not try to be too friendly with the soldiers, especially in the beginning. But you shouldn't be a dictator neither. Try to find the right balance,". He straightened up, thought for a second, and added: "Your captain, is a good example."

Jean watched the rifleman approach. Then turned as Fraser started talking to him.

"I'll remember that Captain." He replied. Fraser was certainly an interesting character Jean thought. He also guessed that there may have been more to the man then what he had seen so-far. But he also guessed that this wouldn't be his last meeting with the Captain. Jean grinned at the Captain's boast. "It's been a pleasure to meet you Captain Fraser." He nodded then turned back towards the Private.

Jean returned the salute. "I see you are with the 60th Rifles Private. I am looking for Captain Vickery, do you know where he is?"

He was being hailed by the woman the dog had gone to greet. Turning back, the lad lifted an eyebrow. He had no real control over the dog, any more than the woman did - or anyone else, for that matter.

"Aye, Missus," he replied, and shoved a hand into his trouser pocket. He'd learned, in the few days that the dog had been with his company, that the beast had a fondness for cooked meat. "Here, you daft beast, c'mon along this way. There's a lad!"

~



That the Noisy Human had Food in his hand caught the dog's attention immediately. Food was the one thing that could be guaranteed to distract him from everything else. Even strange and bad humans.

With his tail wagging eagerly, the dog bounded toward the Noisy Human, intent on receiving that bit of Food in return for his arriving. To his surprised dismay, however, the Noisy Human turned quickly about and ran, the scrap of meat in his hand. Two-legged devil! The dog yapped at him in reprimand and gave chase. That was his Food!

To here.

"Yes, sir," Cotton said. "He's this way, sir. And it's 'Rifleman', if you don't mind, please, sir."

He shook his head ruefully at the dog and his redcoat companion. Obviously the dog had got good at scrounging from pretty much anyone in the camp - which would mean that the Rifles weren't the only ones to have adopted the mutt.

"Captain Fraser! Sir! Captain Fraser!"

Freddie came cannoning down the space between two tentrows, nimbly jumping over everything (and in one case everyone) that happened to be on the ground there.

When he came near the officer and saw the new lieutenant in all his finery, he abruptly dug in his heels and nearly defied the laws of impulse in the attempt to come to attention before he had completely stopped.

"Uh, Herr Leutnant! Entschu ...excuse me!"

He nearly twisted himself in knots to divide attention and his excuse evenly. Fraser was of higher rank, but the lieutenant was an officer of his own regiment, so who was he supposed to talk to now? Without daring to turn his head or even his eyes to him, he tried to cast a pleading look to Cotton, hoping for pointers.

Fraser had not even turned around before a rifleman came rocketeering towards him. No wonder he's in the light infantry, if he can move so quickly trough this 'terrain'.
It was not without some amusement he saw the man almost fall over when he came to an abrubt stop.
That amusement quickly became terror as he realized that someone had been looking for him! God, he knew he should have stayed in the safety of his tent. But there was no escape out of this.

"Yes, Rifleman, that's me,' he said, trying to sound as friendly as possible and by that, hiding his fear. He knew he failed and that he must have sounded like a schoolboy having heard his name being said by the headmaster. Terrified by a friendly ranker whose face looked oddly familair to him.

"Uh, Sir, yes ... I shall give you this!"

The young rifleman pulled a letter, immaculately folded and sealed with a coat of arms and indeed addressed to Captain Fraser, Esq., RHA, in a neat and clean copperplate. The author had also added the full address below.

Rottlaender held out the letter with his fingertips, clearly afraid that he would leave mudprints on the white paper otherwise.

"Mylord said I should bring you this!"

Mylord...Offcourse! Torrington! Fraser recogized the German batman and relaxed. He used the back of his hand to wipe some sweath of his forehead, and his other hand to accept the letter.

He was about to open it, as he expected that the German would want a reply for the lord, but he suddenly noted Delacroix was still standing next to him.

"Lieutenant, you shouldn't let Captain Vickery wait." he said. Though he would like to see their meeting, this was something between the two rifle officers. "I hope we will meet again soon. You are offcourse always welcome."

"Yes, Riflem..." But he didn't finish. For just then, another rifleman came screeching to a halt in front of Fraser. Jean watched as he handed Fraser a letter.

He was somewhat what disappointed when Fraser hinted that he should be leaving. "Right. I shall be on my way now. It was good to meet you." With that, he turned and walked over to the other Rifleman. "Well then Rifleman, if you know where he is at, would you be so kind as to take me to him?"

Freddie nearly knocked himself out again at trying to salute perfectly when the lieutenant left. He defnitely would have to tell Pye that he had seen a new officer!

But he couldn't linger, because there was a Captain on his other side now, so even during the salut he turned sharply around again.

"Do you want to give me an answer, Captain Fraser, Sir?"

cotton couldn't help rolling his eyes at Rottlaender's enthusiasm. The lad would have to learn to calm down - hopefully before he totally wrecked something by running into it.

"Certainly, sir," he said in response to the officer's question. "He'm this way."

Fraser made a down waving gesture with his arm.

"A moment, please, Rifleman" he said, with just a small hint of reprimanding. What was it with these...rifles.
The letter was a very small square note, and the message which it contained quite surprised Fraser, and he had to read it two times before he was sure his eyes were not deceiving him.

He turned around to the German, thought for a few seconds about a good answer, as the man would surely pass on his exact words.
"Tell Captain Torrington I am honored by his request, and gladly accept."

"Honored by his ... your request, and gladly accept."

Freddie repeated the words dutifully, commiting them (and quite innocently, even Captain Fraser's diction and tone) to memory. Then his concentrated expression was replaced by his usual grin again.

"I will tell him, Sir! Can I do anything else?"

"Anything else?"

Fraser took it as a hint and tried to think of anything, but as he had no idea what it could be, he just shook his head.
"No, I think that's all." Fraser answered, after which he saluted and left, to the safety of his tent.

(OOC- Oh boy. It's been ages since I posted to this thread! Sorry!!!)

Vickery looked up from updating the Company books as Cotton approached him with an officer in tow. He hastily wiped the nib of his pen clean and closed the book before standing and holding out his hand.

"Good morning. I am Captain Vickery, and I take it you are my new Lieutenant?"