Walk Like A Man, Talk Like A Man

            Folken awaited for the Alena and the leopard man to show up. He was understandably tired; he had spent all day brainstorming on what to do about the impending attack on Fanelia.

"I'm sorry I'm late, General," Sgt. Fernsaarin said.

"Where is Miss Garodrou?"

"She's on her way."

"Good. The sooner we get done, the sooner I can have some dinner."

"General Fanel?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me what Naria was like before the War of Fate?"

"Of course," he said. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, It seems that the war must've changed her."

"It did. War changes everybody. War even changed me. It made me realize that life is short, and to spend as much time with your loved ones as you can."

"Well?"

"When I first saw Naria, she was running away from Dharmin slave-traders. Gold and silver twins probably would have gotten them a lot of money on the market, they said. Narunaru and Belubelu seemed so wise, even for little girls. They knew that they could not fight them, so they ran away. The traders chased them to a cliff. Instead of living in slavery, the twins decided to jump off the cliff and die a rocky death."

"Then who saved them?"

"I did. I jumped into action, threw my cape off and jumped in the chasm after them. No one saw me expand my wings, scoop them up, and bring them to my temporary home in Zaibach."

"But why?"

"I have my reasons. I renamed them Eriya and Naria. I began raising them, teaching them to read, write, and do calculations. I fed them, clothed them, and housed them, cared for them, even put them through military school. Soon they were old enough to fight a war. And they became my personal bodyguards, each with their own tremendously agile guymelef to match their tremendously agile bodies. They trained to use those as well. They were about seventeen years old now, and girls will be girls. They both began to become interested in me romantically, and constantly fought over me. At first, I stayed out of it and refused to feed the flames, but then I found out that I began to like Eriya a lot more than Naria. When Naria found this out, she became furious at her sister for being 'the favorite'. So I began spending time with Naria, just to ease the tension between them. Naria stopped her intense loathing of her sister, and things became normal. But one night Eriya kissed me, and I told her that she and her sister should stop pursuing me. But I secretly liked that kiss. Nevertheless, they continued to be at odds with each other. And my liking to Eriya grew and grew until I was admiring her. I began admiring her smile, her beautiful eyes, her thin, supple lips, and a few other things that shouldn't make their way into this conversation. I kept thinking to myself that it would be too bizarre to marry such a creature, and then I realized that she was no creature at all. She was the love that I never had, the only possible person that would ever love a cowardly man who couldn't even slay a shit-stirring dragon!"

Folken slammed his mechanical fist down on the table.

"Curse that dragon and his very existence!"

Sgt. Fernsaarin decided to intervene.

"Calm down, General Fanel. You need your wits about you in the next two days."

"You're right. Still, the twins were my only possible shot at happiness. I liked Eriya more, so I figured it was worth a shot. And now, I'm married."

"What then?"
"Naria got depressed. Not suicidal, but depressed. She kept saying how happy she was for the both of us, and even more so when Eriya's baby was born. But I often found her crying in her room. Everyone thought Naria was the best aunt around. But I know that secretly, she was dying inside because of our marriage."

"Did she hint of suicide?"
"No. But she spent an awful lot of time in bars. She never really went there to meet men, just to drink like a fish."

"Wow. I guess there's a lot I don't know about Naria."

"I know you are romantically interested in her, Sergeant. Don't do what I did. Don't leave her feeling alone, depressed, and miserable. She needs a man in her life, one that will support her all the way, no matter what. One of the greatest regrets in my life is making Naria feel unwanted."

"I won't let you down, General Fanel."

"I'm not the one you shouldn't let down, Sergeant. Naria is one sophisticated woman, because I raised her that way. If you let her down, then I fear that the situation may not look good for you or her. She might try to drink herself to death, or commit suicide in some other way."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."
"Is Naria normally this crazy?"

"Naria isn't crazy, Sergeant. She's extremely passionate about things, maybe even zealous. You're the best thing that's happened to her since I came into her life. Now you have the responsibility of taking care of her."

"But I'm just a sergeant!."
"There are other ways to control someone with other than with power. How do you think I got Eriya and Naria to protect my life?"

"You didn't!"

"Of course not. But a smile here, a stunning compliment there, and no one can tell the difference."

"You used them? Like objects? How could you do such a thing and call yourself a gentleman?!"

"Watch it, Fernsaarin. Look at who you're talking to here."

"I am. I see a manipulative bastard who is too spineless to do his own work himself!"

"You arrogant little shit! What gives you the right to say that about me?!"

"The fact that I'm trying to help you strengthen your personality weaknesses, Folken. Women are not like soldiers, even if they are soldiers. Soldiers are expendable, exploitable people who do what they're told and are supposed to have no emotion whatsoever. Women are different. Women have feelings, and their hearts are not something you can just throw away. Those women love you more than life itself. And they were women before they were soldiers. So I think you should at least humor their affections. And you were thinking about yourself? I suggest you think long and hard about why you really saved those two from their deaths."

"But—"
"Don't 'but' me, Folken. What did you marry Eriya for, so you could pretend she's a horse, ride her hard for a while and then have her pop a litter of children out like the cute kitty-cat you think she is in that perverted mind of yours? You need to learn what it is to love, Folken. You know, if you studied Schezar a lot more and what he does with Alena, maybe you could learn a thing or two about respecting women."

"I never thought of it that way," he said. "Maybe I have been using the twins. I'll think about it. Long and hard."

"That's all I'm asking."

Alena came in.

"I'm sorry, but I had a personal emergency. What did I miss?"

Folken rolled his eyes at Sgt. Fernsaarin.