Redsand Canyon macto

this time of year affected men quite harshly. they proved themselves in control or they proved themselves weak.

the trails of his auxilia were familiar. 

the tendril of rosied perfume that ticked his adrenaline higher was quite another.

"@Glaukos," he called out sternly, stopping along the ridgeline, above the dens.

He had done a small patrol of the canyon's far reaches when he'd reappeared, but it was not enough to eliminate the potent spell which had been cast.

The general called; Glaukos tensed, not because he did not wish to be caught (he saw no issue with his encounter or his return) but because it was a man's voice that called, and for some reason that upended him.

The boy was a festival of quills as he approached; though his gaze was deferential the rest of him appeared agitated; it was not far from the norm for him, thankfully. The look upon Germanicus' face was difficult to read, as it was stern, but he was always stern.

the large boy drew closer and germanicus stepped forward to meet him. 

ignoring the bristle of the soldier's hackles, the imperator untangled the wisps of scent from glaukos' hackles.

the other smelled of deep mountains and the high places of the sunspire.

he also carried the aroma of a she-wolf's season.

upon finishing his inspection, germanicus stepped back. "the penalty for engaging women outside these borders has been explained to you, has it not?" the man's voice was blank. his eyes sought glaukos' own.

He was grimacing as he listened.

It was another lecture; this one rehashing what had already been told to Glaukos. Perhaps this time he would listen - but he scoffed too, answering with the slightest dip of his chin.

The darkness of his gaze met that of Germanicus. His jaw tightened. After a beat he answered of his own volition: Nothing happened.

Though at this point that could have been a lie.

germanicus saw at once that the boy had not yet learned to respect him.

but there was a time for force. and the imperator did not see it as this time.

he turned and walked away. the order to follow was in the holding of his shoulders.

germanicus led the auxilia to the longest portion of the canyon, several dozens of feet across an expanse of space studded with stones. a small boulder sat patiently at one end. 

"use your body to push this stone from this side to the other. it will take you several hours. break for water. break for breath. but you will not sleep until it is done."

The man turned and for a shocking instant, Glaukos considered how it might feel to crush the man's skull from behind.

He walked, and Glaukos dutifully followed, averting his eyes from the grizzled man. Feigning interest in the path, so as not to falter a step or to fall as they climbed.

When they stopped the general had an order. Before Glaukos sat the stone.

Why? His voice cracked. He paced by the stone and huffed, pluming white around his dark face.

"because it does not matter if you did not breed with this woman you met. you departed mereo. you ignored the orders set for you."

germanicus gestured to the rock. it would catch upon the stony earth.

"begin."

if words held no value for glaukos, then perhaps exhaustion might be a better lesson.

Of the lessons Glaukos had collected through his short life, like wounds festering, he had come to understand Germanicus as a man of words over action.

He was capable of more, yet each time Glaukos tested his resolve he was met with a lecture; this was not the case in Moonglow, nor was it within Ursus. The boy wondered each time, would this be the moment the man broke? Would this be the day young Glaukos would be made to bleed?

Instead, a stone. An order. The watching eyes, the expectations for more.

Saying nothing else, Glaukos moved to wedge himself against the boulder and begin the work. It would frustrate him and draw much of his aggression out, leaving him bruised and weary, and doubting of his place among Mereo.

germanicus meant for the boy to return to his den sore and tired.

when your body ached it allowed you to consider the actions which had brought you to this point.

glaukos was impulse and teeth with little logic. the imperator wished to hear more words from him, not only petulance.

he would follow along pace by pace, not standing over the soldier but close at hand. it would be his role to stop glaukos when he felt the boy had exerted himself too much, to ensure he drank water, to ensure he rested before resuming. 

sisyphus, was that not the tale?

The boulder moved. Little by little; sometimes in reverse, if he should miss a step or lose focus. His energy burned, his anger waned with it.

When finally the thing was high enough he could go no further, Glaukos was made to stop. It had been hours. He breathed raggedly and often, taking mouthfuls of snow so that he could cool himself through the mouth.

The boulder rested. He did not look at Germanicus with any attitude now, only weakness.

it had been a long while.

the task was finished.

germanicus looked into the eyes of the auxillary, which now seemed tamer somehow. "women in season wish to choose men for the purposes of breeding. if you are close, you may be chosen. and if you are chosen, mereo must give solace to her and whatever children are born. it will cost us hunting and bodies for the irresponsibility of one soldier."

he grunted. "go." the punishment was finished. they would move beyond today's events if glaukos was willing to now heed his word.

Rather than let him disembark for rest, Germanicus lectured.

This time Glaukos was too tired to ignore him. He was too tired to envision anything ill befalling the elder. He heard what was said and nodded, feeling great strain in his neck and shoulders by the slightest motion.

Once dismissed, the boy would go off to nurse his wounds.