Theoric seeing the shock on everyone's faces and the paling of Herlu's was somewhat surprised, he knew his reputation is well known around his circle of influence, but seeing the looks of recognition from even the most basic soldier here made him realize it spread farther than he thought, guess with a nickname like the butcher word gets around, he thought to himself.
Vott was taken through a whirl of emotions too, he never thought that the Theoric he was with was the Theoric, the butcher. He had a bad reputation for lashing out at the smallest things and ripping the limbs off of all his foes no matter how big or small the slight against him.
Herlu with a pale face went very quiet not knowing what to do now, the last thing he wanted was to get his head ripped off.
Laughing awkwardly he said- "Well, umm, if Mr. butcher... (seeing the frown forming on Theorics face after being called butcher, he quickly changed his form of address)... I mean if Mr. Theoric vouches for Vott, I'm sure I was mistaken." His back now drenched with sweat.
Bowing to Theoric, he turned nervously to his men,- "Let's go." he said scurrying away with them right on his heels.
A small cheer broke out amongst Vott and his men with the former laughing loudly at seeing Herlu flee.
Vott happily smacking the back of Theoric laughed- "Haha, why didn't you tell me you were that Theoric, the butcher, nice to have you on my side, seeing the look on his face when he found out who you were was priceless."
Theoric- "Thought it would be easy to figure out after I told you my name and how I could speak to the king."
Vott grinning- "Didn't really think about it back then, just thought you were another big mouth spouting nonsense, gotta say though you have an awful reputation, though after fighting with you I can kind of see how you got it." he said thinking back to how Theoric sliced through his enemies whenever he got the chance making a bloody mess.
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When Herlu was far enough away he slowed back down grumbling about his bad luck, wondering how Vott ever got to know Theoric.
He ended up going back to the ships which were stationed a good distance away from where the battle took place, trying to create as much distance as he could to forget about the humiliation he just went through.
From the shadows of the underbelly stepped out a regular blue caped soldier,- "I heard about how Theoric embarrassed you in front of the men undermining your authority, I have a way you could get rid of him and Vott if you would like."
Herlu not even realizing how strange it was for someone all the way out here to know about it was intrigued,- "Go on, I'm listening."
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Theoric sitting by the campfire with a few men as night fell, eating rations provided, had a rare occurrence when one of the men actually decided to speak of his own accord.- "So why do you think they retreated? From what I saw it seemed like we would get overwhelmed eventually if King Odin keeps our stronger forces from fighting."
Theoric broke into a wide grin as he teased him a bit- "What's this, someone actually knows how to start a conversation in this group, consider me amazed." he laughed.
Vott grinning- "It seems they are growing used to your presence, your one of us now." raised his cup in celebration before taking a hearty drink.
Theoric happily nodding in approval while rubbing his chin- "About time, I mean after all that healing I did and you all still barely spoke, now that I step in front of your precious captain you all feel indebted, they must really love you, Cap."
Vott stiffly chuckled answering the slightly embarrassed Serk- "Yes and I appreciate it, to answer your question Serk, it's because of Thor causing havoc in their back lines, just like with Asgard if the higher ranks are in danger they'll turn and flee regardless." he ended with a sad expression, like the rest of the men no longer having that strong feeling of belonging to Asgard anymore after being betrayed by their system.
Theoric added- "And they're probably using this as training for the ones who have yet to experience many battles as well as letting some of the more important warriors let loose, like Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three, I'm sure even Loki is lurking around." His revulsion showing when mentioning Loki's name.
Serk slammed his fist down in frustration- "Battle experience you say? As if we need more of that!"
Vott looked bitterly at the campfire- "Yeah, we were obviously sent for other reasons." he said letting the melancholy hang over them.
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Early Morning they were awoken by the sentries alerting them of the incoming enemy forces.
They were stopped from participating however when a messenger arrived ordering them on a different mission.
Theoric hearing what Vott said spoke his mind- "This doesn't make sense, this war is more of a joke the more I think about it, even the enemy is keeping to his area and fighting head-on, Rock Trolls are dumber than most, but even they are not that dumb.
I hate to say it but this is clearly a war to release tensions rather than an actual fight that anyone is trying to win." he said not liking the fact that Asgardians were dying for no reason.
Vott could only helplessly nod in agreement- "Ai, but orders are orders."
Theoric looking at the incoming army noticed more of the less geared cannon fodder. This along with the new orders made him feel something was off, his mind naturally wandered to the thought of Loki having something to do with it, the only one he knows who could be plotting with the enemy.
Theoric unsure just gave a fair warning- "I don't like this, you should keep your guard up."
Vott scoffed- "You don't have to tell me that, it's just another attempt by Herlu to get rid of us."
Theoric wanted to tell him his thoughts about Loki and the enemy's army but kept it to himself knowing it wouldn't change much.