2025-08-12
remind me, why are we here again? ... it's been hours. nine hours, thirty-five minutes to be exact. ... ... I'm tired. my body aches from lying here for so long. this suit is too big. it chafes. ... ... ... right. that's right, thank you. we're here on watch. a dusty piece of road trail that leads to an old communication tower.
the tower's been abandoned for months now. some incident with the crew. but the princes are under pressure to bring this region back online, so here we are.
they say that after incidents like this, even pirates will steer clear. leave the place untouched. they say that such places, befallen by tragedy, are haunted.
nonetheless, we're here to watch for pirates. I think. the contract wasn't very clear. but I've been looking for pirates. there's not much else to look for.
if there are pirates, we shoot them, and tell the royal guard, so that they can come and clean the place up before the prince visits to see the reopening.
if there aren't pirates, then we tell the royal guard, so that they can come and clean the place up before the prince visits to see the reopening. that's why we took this gig, right? boring work for boring money. ... nine hours, thirty-six minutes. ... "you gotta stop checking that clock, man. it only makes it go by slower, yknow?" ... fuck, right, I almost forgot. I've been saying 'we' this whole time, but I forgot why! you were supposed to remind me!
that's my sniper. a spotter needs a sniper, because I don't know how to shoot an exponent gun. lucky he doesn't know how to spot, or I'd be out of a job.
I never learned his name. don't care much to, really. it's always been my philosophy that- "jesus, are you falling asleep on me?" the spotter's eyes turn away from the space inside their head, away from their internal monologues, and slowly come to focus back in on the real world. "sorry, what was that?" "I said you gotta stop checking that clock. it gets you counting the seconds, yknow? and when you're thinking about each and every one of em, it takes em longer to pass you by." "oh, uh... yeah. for sure. hey, aren't we supposed to be quiet? so the pirates don't hear us? it was in the post orders..." the sniper sets down his rifle and sits up criss-cross apple sauce, turned to face the spotter. the rustle of his uniform is deafening. even though the bottom half of his face is covered by a dust scarf, it's clear that he is smiling with his eyes. what is it with this guy? "hey fuck the post orders. we've got what, like ten more hours here? you're already falling asleep, and I'll be right there with you in not too long without something to talk about. you seen any pirates around here so far?" the spotter shakes their head no. the sniper's smile widens. "see? we're fine. if they were gonna turn up, they would have by now." and then they had a great time together and nothing bad happened yayyyy the end <3