When Dietrich woke up, he took notice of the candlelight which bathed the cellar in an orange glow. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, ridding them of tiredness.
"Suns rising, Dietrich." Greeted a voice from next to him. Dietrich turned over slightly to see that it was Kasma. The felid was sitting next to him, legs crossed over one another.
Dietrich sat up slightly, letting some of his bedding fall off him. He felt the cool air come into contact with his skin and he gasped slightly, feeling a shiver work its way out of his body.
He looked down at Kasma to see that the felid was inspecting him as he did this. He felt his skin pebble up just as it did last night, and Kasma reached a hand out to touch his chest.
Dietrich felt the warmth of the hand sear into his chest, noting how soft the touch was despite the force Kasma was putting into it. The Thrask drug his hand over Dietrich's bare chest, moving across his pectoral muscles and then down his abdomen.
"It is so...strange. You cannot see this definition in a Thrask body." He said. Dietrich brought a hand up, and pat the top of Kasma's head in a sort of retaliation for the action.
"There is such strength in your body, Dietrich. I have never seen anything like it." Said Kasma. Dietrich felt a paw brush across his bicep, then they were gone from his body. Dietrich looked to Kasma, noting how his eyes were quickly darting all over.
"Have you been watching me sleep?" Asked Dietrich. He would not lie in saying that the idea was a weird one, even if Kasma was a scholar of sorts in his world. His job was to be naturally inquisitive to the sciences and natural characteristics of the world.
However, when it involved having someone watch him sleep, Dietrich felt that there was a line crossed.
"Perhaps, but did you not do the same to me last night? Maybe you need to check carefully when ensuring the slumber of someone." Said Kasma. Dietrich sat up fully, removing his hand from Kasma's head and grabbing his undershirt.
"You care so little for others but so much for me. Why?" Asked Kasma. Dietrich looked around to see that nobody else was in the main room. Literally, it was just the two of them and Dietrich assumed that everyone else had moved throughout the tunnels.
Dietrich looked back to Kasma. He had the knowledge about Kasma being sold into slavery by the kingdom. He extrapolated where his former "owner" was going. He was going to work on a plan to get her and possibly return himself and the others back to Earth.
Yet, he never once thought about having to tell Kasma about everything. Why would the duty to inform Kasma of his situation fall to him? Dietrich did not know the answer to the question, but he knew that he had to say something.
"I watch over you...because nobody else has. You deserve it, Kasma. You deserve to feel safe now. You have earned it." Sad Dietrich. Kasma adopted a confused look and Dietrich looped his suspenders over his shoulders.
Emotions were not his strong suit, and they had been hopelessly violated during the war. There were only spurts of emotion here and there. He did not know what he should be feeling. However, what he did know was that he could not bring himself to tell Kasma of the plight which surrounded him.
"You omit the truth. Katya told me everything, Dietrich. She woke me up with a plate of food for breakfast and told me about my sale into bonds." Said Kasma. Dietrich watched the felid narrow his eyes and cock his head, placing paws on the man's arm.
"She told me a little more about your home; About what your army did. She told me everything. She told me what a n...knot-see was and then she told me that is what you are." Said Kasma.
With little more than slight disappointment, Dietrich looked down upon Kasma and as they looked at each other, Dietrich knew that Kasma now understood the look in his eyes.
The hatred.
The evil.
The roaring fire of the Reich.
It was his homeland, and he had killed for it. He had bled for it.
"Then you understand my motives." Said Dietrich. He would not deny whatever Katya had told Kasma, no matter how horrible it was because he understood that the reality of the war would always be worse than what she could describe.
Dietrich knew of the atrocities his fellow soldiers had committed in the war. He knew that the ends did not justify the means and certainly, many of the enemy soldiers he had shot did not deserve it...no matter how much someone at a podium screamed.
But that line of thinking never took away from the fact that Dietrich enjoyed pulling the trigger. He knew that the emotion of happiness he felt meant that he was never to be the good guy.
Yet, at the very least, Dietrich was just happy that he had controlled his knack for killing and kept it on the battlefield because that meant that he could preach his case.
"No. I do not understand, Dietrich. Why do you protect me when you relish in the slaughter? Why go to such lengths to protect me when you have discarded others right to life so easily?" Asked the Thrask.
Dietrich softened his look. Katya had most certainly told her of the Reich's disregard for what they consider 'subhuman.' Kasma had to have put two and two together by now that Dietrich believed humans were superior to Thrask. Yet, even after being told exactly who and what his savior was, Kasma still sought to understand what would amount to the man in the uniform.
"Heart of gold." Thought Dietrich. He shuffled out from under the bedding entirely, grabbing his boots and gaiters to put them on once more.
"I cannot tell you the answer because I don't have it yet, Kasma. However, when I find it, I will tell you immediately." Spoke Dietrich. He looked over to Kasma, who didn't really seem satisfied with the answer.
It was the truth, however. Dietrich himself did not understand his own infatuation with Kasma, nor his seemingly need to protect the Thrask. It was something unknown to the man.
"Is it some sort of glimpse into my true psyche? Is my natural instinct to protect rather than to kill?" Pondered Dietrich. It could be an answer, and as Dietrich looked at Kasma he realized that while he had been killing for the Fatherland, in a weird and messed up fashion, he had also been protecting it from foreigners as best as he could. At the least, he was doing his best to keep communism out of the country.
"Is it a strange fraternal instinct I felt when I saw him getting beat that made me want to save him?" Dietrich had lost a brother at a very young age. Were natural instincts to protect someone that resembled family surfacing to be enacted on a subconscious level?
Dietrich just didn't know!
And at the very least, he would not tell Kasma until he had the correct answer.
"I saw last night that you had Hiroshi's gun with you. Did he teach you how to use it?" Asked Dietrich. He finished putting his shoes on and Kasma nodded. Dietrich smiled at the successful subject change.
He reached over next to him and grabbed his Kar-98k. Carefully, he unloaded the rifle and set the ammunition down on the carpet beneath him. He locked the bolt back to the rear and let the rifle rest in his lap.
"Do you want me to teach you about this one?" Asked the man. Kasma shuffled closer, nodding his head. Dietrich picked up his rifle and carefully handed it to Kasma, urging him to use caution because of the scope.
"By Chirae! This is heavier than I imagined." Said Kasma, rotating the rifle and adjusting his hold. He appeared to look at it with curiosity, studying the build and materials.
"How does this device work?" Asked the felid. Dietrich held a finger up and plucked one of the cartridges off of the floor.
"This 'device' is the Karabiner Ninety-Eight Kurz. It is called a 'rifle' in our world." Said Dietrich. He extended his arm and held up the round for Kasma to inspect.
"This...is called a cartridge. It can also be called ammunition or rounds or even bullets. They all mean the same thing." Said Dietrich. He flipped it around so that Kasma could see the back.
"The silver circle you see is called a primer and inside this piece of metal which is called the bolt..." Dietrich tapped the bolt with the round to emphasize the part correlating with the name.
"Is a long and pointy piece of metal called a firing pin. When I put my finger on the trigger and squeeze, it drops a sear inside of the rifle and allows the firing pin to hit the primer with force." Said Dietrich.
He set the round down and got on his knees, shuffling over to sit behind Kasma. He grabbed Kasma's hands in his own, supporting the weight of the rifle while guiding Kasma's other hand and using it to shut the bolt and then squeeze the trigger. The firing pin clinked as he fired the K98 dry, producing a click. Kasma looked up to Dietrich and the man looked down.
"When the rifle is loaded, the loud noise you hear is the primer igniting propellant inside the cartridge. The piece of metal at the end, which is called a bullet, flies down and out the barrel at high velocity." Said Dietrich.
Kasma leaned back until Dietrich felt him rest his entire back on him. The felid tapped the scope with a claw.
"That is called a scope. It allows us to see at ranges further and in more detail than what our eyes can see. Look through it from here." Dietrich grabbed the rifle calmly and held it up so that Kasma could look through the scope.
"I see...a weird post and lines. It's blurry." He said. Dietrich looked to the other side of the cellar, noting that it was no more than a few meters away.
"The wall is too close. Those things inside the scope make up what is called the crosshair. The little arrow in the middle lines up with my target at the tip." Explained Dietrich. Kasma nodded.
"This weapon is a spectacle. So strange. How many..." Before Kasma could finish his question, Dietrich had the answer out. He had been prepared to answer the question at any given time, almost wishing to boast.
"Two hundred and forty seven have fallen victim to the rifle you hold and to the man you sit so close to." He felt Kasma tense up and he was certain that the felid realized exactly where he sat: In the lap of a very dangerous person.
Kasma looked down and Dietrich felt him squirm. However, Kasma remained strong and kept his spot.
"So, it is a projectile weapon. It propels the bullet with such force that it can rip limbs and tear heads open like a sword." Noted Kasma. He picked up a cartridge and inspected it.
"It is a marvel of engineering. The woodcraft! The milling! These must be very expensive and rare to produce." Said Kasma. Dietrich shook his head and chuckled.
"Yes. Expensive enough for every soldier to have one. Our armies fight exclusively with weaponry of this type and quality." Boasted Dietrich. He looked down at Kasma fully expecting the look of horror upon the Thrask face.
"On our world, death is produced on an industrial scale with no regard for who is affected by it. No magic. No gods. No souls." Said Dietrich. Grabbed the rounds off the floor, locking the bolt back to the rear once more.
"And this death that we produce allows minds like mine to fester and grow with zero inhibition, Kasma. I am a byproduct of war because that is what war does." Dietrich loaded the rounds into the rifle, never taking his eyes away from Kasma.
"It steals the lives of everyone included. We become accessories to our own invention. Cooks become soldiers. Clothes-makers become sailors. Not a single human here was a soldier before our war." Explained Dietrich. He glanced off to the side, thinking about the katana wielding officer.
"Except Hiroshi, I think. But that is a different story. We know war, and it knows us. So that, is the history of this weapon." Dietrich moved the K98 over and rested it against the wall once more.
Kasma stood up and Dietrich felt the immediate absence of the warmth that the felid produced. Kasma walked off to one of the connecting tunnels and just before he entered it, he turned back to look at Dietrich.
"You have made that apparent. I do not know where the future will take us, but I do not think I will like it." Said Kasma. He then disappeared down the tunnel, leaving Dietrich alone.
Silently, the man sat alone, letting his mind put a plan together for the near future.
"We must get to Springs Bloom soon. Krisch'a must be apprehended before she can leave for the kingdom. Better yet, she must not be able to reach the kingdom at all. She will be killed." Thought Dietrich. He put his cap on and scooted along the floor until his back rested against the wall once more.
He heard the muffled noise of thunder crack outside, and then the sound of rain falling and hitting the ground graced his ears, however soft it was.
"The scouting party will move here even in this weather. I can only hope that Krisch'a will not. I will take what I want." Pondered Dietrich. He was brought from his thoughts by the sight of Katya sitting down in front of him.
"Hello, Dietrich. Good morning, is it not?" She asked. Dietrich took notice of her relaxed attire, lacking the combat webbing and gear she normally wore. She still had her hair tied up and her pilotka was on, giving him the impression that she was like him: Military service made him feel uncomfortable without something being worn on his head.
"It is a fine morning. How are you doing?" Replied Dietrich. He focused entirely on her, taking his mind away from the scheming for a moment.
"I am doing pretty good when one considers everything that has happened. Last night gave me a good scare!" Said Katya. She leaned in a bit and lowered her voice, not enough to whisper but low enough that nobody else would hear.
"And how are you doing so far?" She asked. Dietrich shrugged. He nodded towards his K98.
"I taught Kasma about my rifle and a little bit about our history." Said Dietrich. Katya nodded.
"I know." Replied Katya. "I was sitting in the entrance tunnel. I apologize, but I overheard your conversation with him. There is something I want to talk to you about, Dietrich." Said Katya. Dietrich raised a brow as he looked at her, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"You seem to be...very close with Kasma."
Katya's words graced the man's ears. He perked his head up, paying her more attention than he would to a target.
"I noticed it a few days ago. Would it have been any other person to sleep with you in the woods, you would have hurt them." She said. Dietrich did remember waking up those few days with Kasma virtually under him, but he did not blame the Thrask after everything he had gone through.
And now, he would think no differently if Kasma continued to find his way next to Dietrich in the night. If it calmed the nerves of a tortured soul, then so be it.
"You care for him. I know this to be fact. Last night, for instance. Three examples." She said. Katya held up a finger.
"You and him talked outside for quite a long time, just by yourselves. And you both came back in a good mood." Katya held up a second finger.
"When you showed us the map, you went over and made sure he was comfortable. I saw the way you were with him: Like a father checking in on his sleeping children." Katya held up a third finger.
"And when he woke up from a nightmare, you were the one to comfort him. I saw how close you held him when he was scared, too. I saw your hand pressed deeply into the cream colored fur on his chest. And not to discount how quick you are to touch him all the while." She said.
Dietrich truly did not know where she was going with her statements, and that is why he remained silent so that she would continue to talk.
"I saw the way that you talked to him and reviewed your rifle with him. You are very hands on with him, Dietrich. You seem to like being close to Kasma." She said. Throughout her speech, Dietrich did notice that there was no negative tone or inflection. Nothing was accusatorial in nature, and that is why Dietrich began to wonder.
Katya, in a normal day, was very motherly. She ensures that everyone was fed and comfortable, going out of her way to wash clothes or cook food for everyone. Even those who were her mortal enemies no more than a week ago or even strange creatures she would have never imagined were cared for.
"Like she is caring for her own children. Wait...Is...is she about to..." Dietrich's thoughts were cut off when she began to speak and subsequently confirmed his suspicions.
"Now, when I ask you this, I am not implying that it is wrong. Um...Dietrich? Are you..." As she spoke, Dietrich felt his heart rate elevate and her line of questioning all but confirmed his worries.
"Are you attracted to Kasma as more than just a friend?"