Completed Today, I Donned My Uniform

[Ricky Maze]

Today, I Donned My Uniform
Spring 57th 515 AV, 10th Bell
Location: The Maze Residence

The uniform had been something he'd wanted to wear for the longest time now, and given the fact it only managed to collect dust in his locker, now definitely felt like a great time to be able to wear it and call himself a guard once more. With a bit of sweat on his brow Ricky straightened out the cuffs of the trousers before he slipped them within the boots, a hearty grin plastered over his face as he knew Telion watched him dress back into the uniform once more. Good things happened in this damned thing, good things he wouldn't dare brag about, lest it bring a spell of bad luck to spoil it later on. But of course that didn't stop him from enjoying ever second he was able to wear it, even though he hadn't officially left the house yet to report for duty. "Oh how I missed seein' you in that." She finally sighed with her head propped on her hand, with her elbow pitted into their mattress to support the position. Ricky finally finished with the buttons of his uniform and turned to look past his shoulder, deep blue eyes warmly engaged with her as he chuckled just a little bit.

"Oi noticed." He mused with a wink as he rose to his feet next, he felt the need to stretch after he did so. "Now Oi really gotta go t'ough before Oi'm late."

"Oh. Did I distract you too long?" She crooked her head with an impish giggle, the tease rewarded with that of a short and quiet laugh before he finally answered.

"Maybe a bit. Don't worry t'ough, ye can make up fer it later."

"Sure thing," Telion giggled as she laid on her back for a bit, "really though I'm proud of you Ricky. I know you've missed bein' a guard, so I want you to get out there and enjoy the day." His grin lessened a little as he wondered about her, even so he still held a smile when he sat back down next to her, and placed a hand gently over her lower belly.

"And what 'bout yew? 're ya feelin' okay?" He asked dearly with concern growing in his eyes, it gave Telion a brighter smile once he'd done so.

"Great actually! I've been takin' things easier so far, and I've hardly experienced morning sickness except lately. Even then it hasn't been serious."

"Give it time." He teased with a cracked grin. "Won't be too long before Oi'll be puttin' on d'at weight again, like Oi did wit' Martin at de time." He mused as he rubbed over his belly where traces of fat once seemed to exist, here lately though it seemed as though both muscle and fat coexisted underneath the skin. He figured however that with whatever training he would resume upon his return, that would quickly change after the serious activities came to pass. "Seriously t'ough, don't push yer self. If ye need a hand ya can just ask, plenty o' people 're willin' t' do so." They held hands for a few chimes with dreamy stares at one another, until Ricky realized that he would really be late then if he allowed further distraction. "Time t' go! Oi'll be home in a lil' while love."

"Have a good day dear." She bade to him as he rose once more and headed towards the door, surely soon enough after he left the building he quickly found himself on his way.

[Ricky Maze]

His feet carried him down the streets in the Ancient Quarter of Zeltiva and they did not delay for a single tick, though his outfit felt a little loose compared to last time he wore it. He had to make sure his shirt had been properly tucked within once more while he continued his march, which by that time he'd already reached the Old Quarter of the city. He passed by the locals as some would look at him with a smile and nod, others would wave and he would in turn do the same. He had forgotten how friendly most people here were when they saw a Wave Guard, up until today in which he'd been given a reminder. Oh yes, today would remind him a lot of what was. What was and what now is, in terms of being part of the guard. He wouldn't back down from his own ideals though, as of late he finally found the spark he needed, the fire that burned passionately deep within.

He felt ready to work hard for his ambition and even more, he wanted to set an example for sure. Not just for his family or the people he called friends, but for all the people of Zeltiva in general. They needed someone who could watch them, be their guardian against all that stood against them. He wanted to be that guardian for sure, and he wouldn't allow his new found motivation go to waste for sure. Without any reason to mope around or brood on the past like he did, he found himself able to come to terms with what he'd been told. He learned well enough what it means to be different and to be normal, and that both were just general standards. What was normal in this world anyways? As far as he knew Zeltiva seemed to be the idea of normal, yet when he looked back on its past events, even they begged to differ on what such a thing really was. Overall the normal existed in different variations and for Ricky, that meant whatever he chose or faced had to be the normal thing.

“Ordinary isn’t for men who wear a uniform.” He remembered from that day when the Ivysess were attacked by the fearful mob, he couldn't believe that he allowed that one simple sentence bear so much power over him. Yet it did no longer now, the weight of the burden lifted sure enough. Guess ordinary ain't in me vocabulary t'en. He mused as he made it closer towards the Wave Guard Head Quarters. Once he'd entered he first had to look around at the room, a sense of nostalgia suddenly brought on after he walked inside. Damn! Not a lot has changed 'ere!

"I'll be damned! If it ain't the good ol' Sergeant Maze!" A fellow guard member announced from a group he stood with, the others followed his line of sight to all stare directly at him, almost as though he had been their long lost brother in a way.

"Yeah, Oi signed back on a couple o' days ago!" He enthused with a positive smirk, his fingers ran through the back of his hair as a modest reaction.

"Good deal Sergeant! Some of us actually missed havin' ya around y' know, it'll be good t' have another patrol buddy back." He encouraged as a few of the others seemed to agree. "Speakin' of which we should get started on our rounds, take good care o' yer self Sergeant. Oh and o' course welcome back!" As he led his group on towards the entrance the rest said the same, a warm feeling quickly roused within the pit of Rick's stomach, as he felt honored and humble to had been given such warm greetings.

"Yeah, ye do de same mates." He encouraged with a heartfelt grin, he gave them a short wave as they exited, and then proceeded to the front desk to be admitted as he always would before.

[Ricky Maze]

"Sergeant Ricky Maze, ready t' report fer duty." He greeted after he arrived at the desk where one of the other guards could check him in, the man more or less looked uninterested at this point seeing as how he'd mostly been stuck with paperwork instead.

"Sergeant Maze is it? Let see what notes were left for you today." He sighed as he took out a pile of papers and filed through them, Ricky stood with hands in his pocket while waited, his smile a little dimmed as he wondered how bored this individual must've been. Finally after about half a chime of flipping through some documents, he pulled out one which contained what appeared to be a list. "Here we are. Sergeant Maze is to resume training for the next few days, as well as train newer recruits for the time being. Once he's done this he may resume daily patrols, and will need to assemble a squad in due time. These are the orders you've been given sir, welcome back to serving the Wave Guard."

For a moment Ricky felt a little perplexed with what he'd been told, his own look to the document granted reassurance to what he heard however. Training to no doubt get back into shape, but of course he was always better at training recruits. Yet he needed to assemble a squad for his own command, but was it something that was required of him? It couldn't be helped at this point, either way he looked up to the challenge that had been set before him. "Well if d'ats what is on de agenda fer de next several days, t'en Oi'll be happy t' oblige sir. Much t'anks fer d'at."

"You're welcome Sergeant," He responded dully as he sorted the documents once more, "try to have a good day sir." He bade while Ricky moved further along towards the exit that would take him towards the training grounds, seeing as how that would be where he'd receive the second objective he looked forward to getting. It had been a long while since he'd gotten the chance to grip a sword, more or less he felt ready to grasp that shield he'd left behind once he resigned. Eager to get started with it he moved onward until he reached the grounds, one of the Lieutenants were already there with a large round shield in hand.

"And there he is!" He called out while Ricky approached to greet with a handshake, it took Ricky a moment to realize he knew who the Lieutenant actually was. Dark hair just a shy shade away from chocolate with a thick goatee to match it, forest green eyes filled with a warm confidence, and a slim body but well toned compared to the first season they'd met. Macki stood in front of him with a smirk of his own, the sound of an amused chuckle followed when he knew he caught Ricky by surprise. "Been a while Rick."

"Macki?! Ye've gotten a bit taller!"

"And you've gotten fatter sir." He teased as he presented the shield of the Wave Guard to Ricky. "A lot's changed since you've been gone, but I kept your shield polished while we waited for you."

"Knew Oi was comin' back eh?" Ricky mused with crossed arms, until he finally accepted the gift from his partner.

"Everybody else didn't think so, but I knew you couldn't stay away. They promoted me to Lieutenant while you took your break, so that means I've gotten better than you at least!" He challenged as he drew his weapon from its scabbard, Ricky looked down to the surface of the shield first, the crest of the guard a reminder of the times he carried the shield with him. "Remember what we we're always told Sergeant?"

"We carry de weight an' support o' our fellow brothers, de other guards 're in our shield." He quoted from a distant memory upon their first joining. "Yer gonna train wit' me fer a couple days t'en?"

"I was the one who wrote those things on the document Rick, you were always a hardworking man. Good to have around too. So I decided I'd be the one to help you out, get you fit for the role of Sergeant proper." It actually tickled Ricky just a little bit to hear that, and yet he felt strongly humbled by all of what he'd heard.

"T'anks mate." He finally stated with a loose smile, Macki got a good short laugh out of it all the same.

"Thank me later when you're back into shape! Now ready that shield so I can make a few dents in it!" At the command Ricky slid his left arm into the buckles on the shield, a firm grip settled on the handle as he stood vigilant of the man before him. Macki then took charge towards Ricky with his own longsword raised high, a blow from above shot down onto the shield to impact against the fisherman's arm. The force of the blow rattled the round steel object and stunned his left arm for a moment, and his stance failed him as he staggered back several feet. Quick to regain his ground however Ricky stood ready for more, determined to show his new superior he was ready. If Macki was one that believed in him, then that could only mean others did so as well.

He worried if Pulren might be close to reaching Lieutenant now, and if that were the case then it definitely meant one thing, and it was the fact Ricky had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to prove his worth once more. He felt ready to give it his all this time, nothing would stop him. Today he donned the uniform he left behind, and tomorrow he would begin guarding everyone in his home.

[Net]

Ricky – Please go through your Character Sheet and address the following issue:

Most people list it in their thread list like so:

Fall 515AV Threads
15th - Observing The Trees! - 5 xp Observation, Lores: Trees: How to Identify them, Tree Species: Oak, Elm, Hemlock traits.
30th - People Watching - 5 xp Observation, Lores: (list of lores here)
45th - Searching For A Cure - 2 xp Observation, +5 Medicine. Lores: (insert lores here)
60th - Socializing In The Park - 4 xp Socialization (list of lores here)

We've always required this to be TRACKED in your CS. If you aren't tracking this in your CS, then you need to go back through ALL YOUR THREAD AWARDS and backtrack and track it from the beginning.

You can find the full post in the Founder's PSA thread; page 7 labeled: Character Sheets!

Thank you to Sayana for this lovely template.