Drabbles of a Screaming Eagle

Following orders is what a soldier does best. Soldiers should not question the orders of their superiors. At least, it was what the Soldier learned while growing up. If everyone said it was right, then it must be true. He was bent on following that rule: a soldier only follows orders and never questions said orders. It meant when he was out on the battlefield, he would follow whoever assumed a superior role. However, he had to admit there were times his superiors were wrong. It was a consequence of being human. But it wasn't only his teammates who were wrong. The superiors who told him he couldn't fight in Europe were wrong as well. It brought to mind one of his favourite quotes from Sun Tzu's Art of War: "If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it..." He fought ever since. Ever since he became a mercenary, he was even paid for it. While money wasn’t the main motivation, it was a nice bonus to the sheer adrenaline rush of a good fight. There weren’t many places where one could fight and kill with no consequences, after all. Even if he had no idea why he was hired, it didn’t matter. What mattered the most were the lively battles and the sweet taste of victory. If victory was within reach, then he must fight for it. He must never surrender. He followed this for the most part. Life was a battle. It was familiar, thus comforting. Peace did not comfort him. Who knew how long it lasted? At least conflict was constant, thus reliable. It came as a surprise whenever he realized he didn’t always have to fight. Moments like these felt vulnerable. Moments like these were rare. It made him think of Spy. Everybody on the battlefield had to be a good fighter, even if his own teammates were better. However, Spy stood out to him. Before his mercenary work, he never expected for a man in a pricey suit to be a fighter. Much less a man who always hid his face behind a mask. Besides, there was no trust to be had in spies, snakes that they were. As he knew more about him, Soldier learned that this Spy had his own agenda. Which didn’t matter. He didn’t hurt the team, even after all these years. Rather, he looked after them. Even if the crouton thought nobody could see him. Spy rarely gave him the time of the day. But lately, things were changing between them. Even if there were no words to describe it, as Soldier couldn’t remember much. His mind was always in the present and on the immediate future. What mattered was that Spy began to spend some time with him. Voluntarily. They may be casual smoking buddies, but there was nothing in a Spy’s contract that would warrant such an interaction. If anything, Spy should be avoiding him. Soldier was the opposite of everything the Spy stood for. Hell, his job was ‘shock and awe’! He might not be a smart man, but even he knew Spies were meant to be as quiet and subtle as possible. Soldier knew Spies shouldn’t appear to be vulnerable. Vulnerability was a death wish. Moments of vulnerability were rare. Which meant Spy understood. He understood when Soldier wanted to stay quiet, smoking the night away on the rooftops. He understood when even the resident screaming eagle needed to roost. Even if someone were to ask Soldier, there was no need for him to fight Spy during these moments. There would be no victory to be had. Thus, he wouldn’t fight. After all, Sun Tzu said something else as well: “… if fighting will not lead to victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler’s bidding.” Pursuing victory could wait, if it meant he didn’t have to be vulnerable alone.