Karna smiled at the apprehension of the newest officer. “You’ve experienced High General Shin, right?”
Walickiah sighed. “Oh yes. And he was an experience. Twice my last year! He taught two courses in command. I wasn’t sure I’d survive his one-on-one final exams.”
Karna winced knowingly. “Well, I’ve seen Major Shin be as determined, regimented, and fierce as the general. For the first few weeks after the Guarder attack, he was a real bear. No one in the command tower dared smile until we got his plans for securing the village finalized.”
Walickiah pulled a pained face.
“But,” Karna added, “whereas the general can’t seem to quit, Major Shin will suddenly surprise you. He’s unpredictable. You never know what he’s going to do, or allow, or insist on next. Makes this quite an interesting assignment. You’ll never be bored. Now that we’ve got the village towers in place, he’s been a little less fierce, but still I recommend watching your step.”
“I heard he’s married, even has two children?” Walickiah shook his head in sympathy. “I couldn’t imagine having a Shin for a father.”
Karna laughed. “That’s part of his unpredictability. Just wait. You’ll see.”
Walickiah did see, the very next day. Early in the morning he reported for duty at the command tower and experienced the major. For the next fifteen minutes the major questioned, challenged, and intimidated him. Shin was most definitely a bear.
Then, abruptly, the major changed completely as he smiled, shook Walickiah’s hand warmly, and said, “Welcome to Edge! You’re going to enjoy your posting, I promise.”
It was going to take time to fully understand the major and his moods. The rest of the day Walickiah could see by their faces which of his new men had just descended from the tower. They wore looks that were a mixture of shock, worry, and outright confusion.
That evening after the major had gone home, Walickiah and Karna sat at the large desk in the forward command office going over the records of the new soldiers. Heavy footsteps coming up the stairs startled them both.
“Captain!” a familiar voice called before it reached the top.
Walickiah stiffened in anticipation, wondering which mood was about to appear—the bear or something else.
“I know you and the lieutenant are still here,” Shin’s voice carried. “Let’s take a look at the tower station map again. I was thinking we need to redraw the lines for the granary district, and it would be good for the lieutenant to see our plans . . . what?”
As he appeared at the top of the stairs both officers were staring at him. Or rather, staring at what he was carrying.
The major beamed. “Since Peto here is fifteen moons old now, I thought it was time to show him where I go every day.”
The brown haired boy with pale gray eyes wore a small dark blue jacket in the same style as his father’s uniform. He seemed smaller than a normal child, probably because his father was much larger than a normal man.
Walickiah memorized the child’s features instantly. While his hair and eye coloring were nothing like his father’s, the shape of his face—nose, eyes, mouth, ears—was all Major Shin, in miniature.
The baby waved cheerfully at the two officers.
They felt obligated to wave back, albeit hesitantly.
The proud major grinned. “Pretty good, huh? Jaytsy couldn’t wave properly until she was a year and a half. She kept doing more of a slap. Could get rather dangerous if you were holding her in the wrong way. Of course, now at nearly two and a half she can wave, and also talks up a storm. Can’t understand half of it, but my wife usually can. It’ll be easier once she learns to make an ‘s’ sound. Fortunately yesterday I decoded ‘Fodder, watch—I gream!’ and covered my ears just in time. She’s going to be as loud as her mother. But Peto’s my good little boy, usually. Only has a habit of climbing everything. He made it to the top shelf of a bookshelf earlier this evening, so I decided to get him out of the house so my wife could clean it up without his help. Because as the saying goes, ‘There’s no job too tedious that can’t turn terrifying when a toddler tries to help.’ So, the map? Since I’ll be in Moorland tomorrow inspecting their new fort, I wanted to make sure we get this done tonight.”
Walickiah blinked.
Then he blinked again, trying to figure out what the monologue was about and still puzzling out the meaning of “I gream!” It was if he was staring at a completely different man. The terrifying major from the morning was replaced with this proud papa that was . . .
Well, certainly no one would actually apply the term to Major Shin, but if he were any other man it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he was actually babbling. The bear had turned into a veritable puppy dog as he spoke about his children.