#emmet would try to calm him down if he were to have an episode and it might even work since emmet is pretty good at reorienting him and

[nartothelar]

I was seeing the comic of Emmets self destructing behavior even after he and Ingo reunited and wow… that implication it’s not the first time…

How many times must have this happened? How many times until Ingo knew snapping him out by a gentle hand on his shoulder? What bad habits did Emmet develop while being on his own? With "Ingo" encouraging him to be more healthy? Just so deliciously dark! I love it?

On the other hand how much strain Ingo's body going through when he has his moments he sees "the man in white" his body switches to "life-or-death-mode" receiving a little bruise could cause him to fall into full panic mode and try to treat it like a lethal wound if not for Emmet snapping him out of it and calming him down again.

While both have their moments of seeing their subconscious guardian angel both react differently.

Emmet is apathetic towards "Ingo" dismissing him since he’s not even there. He reacts mentally.

Ingo’s whole body could react to small bruises and injuries like they could kill him and depending on his support to get through it. He reacts with his whole body.

Also when Ingo’s aware he’s probably insecure about all the scars he’s got on him now. How many times he almost died… he doesn’t want the real Emmet to know. It’s bad enough that "the man in white knows"…

YES YES!!! This analysis is so perfect!!! If you'd allow me to ramble a bit...

Emmet's self destructive tendencies have been going on for a while since Ingo's disappearance. He has his Elesa and his depot agents to support him/remind him to not truly forget about himself (Elesa trying to take more time off from her job to check on Emmet/invite him out to lunch to make sure he eats, the veteran depot agents frequently checking up on him during the day/encouraging him take more breaks/interrupting his smoke breaks "accidentally", ect) but it's been hard to say the least. It will take some time for these habits to truly go away even with Ingo back, especially on his bad days.

BUT ALSO YEAH! Ingo! If Emmet appears at the corner of his eye suddenly or he sees him from a distance (any sort of blurred visage - as the man in white always appeared as) he might have a knee jerk response - a sudden urge to run or seek safety - but ultimately it won't be too serious.

His body reacts the most drastically when he is already in a state of injury and Emmet is within eyesight. Elevated heart rate, shortness of breathe, blurred vision, body tremors: his adrenaline levels will spike to an unnatural level causing a ton of stress on the body, since his mind is basically telling his body that he's on the brink of death. The quickest way to calm him down if it were to get this bad would be to have Emmet out of his sight until he can calm down...Not very ideal when the source of one's panic works the same job as you, in a work environment where slight injuries aren't too uncommon

[malisonquill]

Half-Raptor Rex (and Emmet)'s Biology

So to start things off, Rex is roughly half raptor. For the purposes of making things simpler, I'm gonna refer to him as being half and half, but that's probably not the case. He didn't set out to be a hybrid when he altered himself to be stronger, that was an accident, so he had no say over just how raptor-y he ended up. I would say when you take into account his looks and all his behaviour and stuff it does work out to being half human and raptor. But physically? He's definitely more human. After all, his body structure looks pretty human. He's still got a very human looking torso, head, and arms. It's just his extremities (his legs, hands, and addition of a tail) that are far more raptor looking. That's why when I draw him, those raptor-y parts fade to a darker shade of blue. So like, raptor parts = darker blue like how the raptors have, human parts = lighter blue similar in tone to what his normal human skin colour would be. (That's excluding his markings of course. They don't count in that and they're all over him.)

And whilst we're on the subject, let's first take a look at his outward appearance!

So the stripes. They start on his neck near the base of his skull, run all the way down his back/ spine, and down his tail. Then there's more stripes on his shoulders, that run down his bicep and the top of his forearm and hands, stopping at his knuckles. He's also got stripes that start at his hips and go down the sides of his thighs, all the way down to stop near his ankle/ where his trousers end. (Hmm… I should probably draw a ref for all that at some point 😏)

Then like I said before, all his extremities go to a darker blue at the ends. You can see this on most pics of him I've done.

Then of course there's his strength. He's very strong, very buff, and also very tall (I’d say he’s about 7’6” and you can see his height in comparison to Lucy in this pic). I don't constantly jokingly refer to him as "beefman" for nothing! xD Cuddlesome summed it up best in her fic: 

“Dumbbells and barbells had long since stopped being a challenge for his mutated body to handle, so he’d taken to power lifting with the Rex-wing fighters. It’s the only thing that poses even a bit of a challenge to his massive arms.”

Strength was the aspect he was going for and most hoping to improve when he changed himself, so of course he’s physically very strong. To workout, he either has to lift very heavy objects or maybe use some kind of sci-fi dumbbells that can have their gravity increased (like in that one episode of Futurama). People pose no challenge for him to lift. He could easily carry both Emmet and Lucy over his shoulders, or under his arms if he wanted to and be able to keep that up for a long time. (Here’s a doodle/ wip of him doing that. Rex is a tad too big in it tho.)

He mostly uses his physical Dino strength when it comes to him master breaking. He only uses the more mystical "destroy a temple in one punch" kind of thing in rare circumstances when he's incredibly mad. Because his dino strength is enough most of the time. 

But before I can talk more about physical stuff and behavioural traits, I first gotta talk about my headcanons for Rex’s/ the Lego Movie-verse raptors. 

Now real velociraptors were covered in feathers and about the size of a turkey, only coming up to about the average adult human’s knee. Obviously the Lego Movie raptors are a LOT BIGGER and much more based off the Jurassic Park interpretation. 

So I came up with the idea that the movie raptors are a subspecies that are a lot larger. It’s a fictional world after all, you can take liberties. Though despite me doing that, I have tried to include as much real science as I can. So for example, real raptors apparently went from hatched to fully grown in about a year. And as the movie raptors are 3/ 3 ½ times bigger than a normal raptor, I think they’d take 3-4 years to fully grow. They eat a lot in that time to grow big real quick.

As for noises they make, I think they make many different sounds. They can roar, screech, growl, chirp, hiss, all that stuff. 

And for their behaviour, they obviously act like dinosaurs. So they’d do a lot of lizardy/ snakey/ crocodile-like things. But the movie has them act like dogs too, what with how they go after tennis balls and all. And personally I’ve given them some cat like aspects too xD Like with their slitted eyes going wide in fear or at something they like. So their behaviour to me is kind of a melting pot of all that.

And so of course, how does that apply to half-raptor Rex?

Well let’s start with behaviour. He has a lot of raptor instincts, and they can overpower his rational thinking when his emotions get too intense. Which is why he has a fairly good handle on controlling his feelings. Using things like meditation techniques to calm himself down is very important when you can do a lot of damage when their left unchecked. Or conversely, if the situation calls for it, he can let himself go entirely to unleash maximum destruction. 

The most obvious example with his heightened emotions is anger. He gets angry, he’s gonna growl and snarl. He starts off with quiet growls when he’s only a little angry, and would react like a human would mostly. If he was fighting someone at this point, he’d be using normal things like punches and martial arts techniques. But the angrier he gets, the more he loses control and the more raptor-like he acts. So when he’s furious and out of control, he does a lot of roaring, growling, snarling and goes into raptor fighting mode. Claws and fangs and kicks with his feet are used. (Also apparently scientists think that raised claw raptors have was so it’d be constantly sharp. So… he could use that in a fight >:3).

But raptor behaviour taking over his rational human behaviour doesn’t just apply to anger. It applies to all of his emotions. Fear can make him go wide eyed and whine, or super happy makes him go into raptor puppy/kitty mode. Some days he’ll get in a sad mood and follow Lucy and/or Emmet around like a sad puppy. He mopes and whines if they leave him (for too long). He'll just want to sit near them if they want to do their own thing, or cuddle until he feels less mopey. 

Raptor instincts taking over like that could help as a kind of defensive thing. Tho probably annoys Rex more than anything xD Like you know, if he's just trying to be chill and normal, but then someone throws a tennis ball and he has to REALLY restrain himself xD

Now obviously being around pretty much just the raptors for years, he picks up a lot of their behaviours and is more prone to doing them unconsciously. He’s generally more aggressive, but that’s probably more his normal Rex anger being heightened by the raptor-ness. He’s defensive of his food, he’ll hiss or growl involuntarily a lot, swish his tail at things, his pupils will change, etc. 

The raptors probably taught him how to ‘properly hunt’ as well. Which thinking about it, the image of him running alongside a group of them as they teach him and chase something down is almost cute? But he himself is probably gonna only take down small things. Taking down a big animal with a group of raptors might be a bit too raptory for him to want to do. Tho he probably did it at least once to see what it was like. (Also on the note of hunting, because he’s so equipped to do it, eventually during his redemption, he becomes a bounty hunter, but more on that in another post…)

All these raptor like things that he does, he only becomes really aware of post movie, when he’s hanging around Emmet and Lucy. He realises just how much humanity he’s lost after spending time with them. It hurts. It makes him loathe what he’s done to himself even more. 

But those two will help him act more human again. They can pull him up on behaviours and help him, and he’s grateful for that. Any little thing to make him feel ‘normal’ makes him feel better.

Now about some more physical stuff. 

When he’s standing still, he’ll let the end of his tail rest on the floor. Unless the floor is super dirty, then he might lift it up or curl it around a leg to keep it elevated. When he’s walking he’ll lean his torso forward slightly and lift his tail up. When he’s running at full tilt, his tail is out straight behind him and he leans forward a lot. (Almost like Naruto running xD but his arms are forward.)

Diet wise, he needs more meat than a human. He’s still an omnivore, but with a lean towards the carnivorous side. So he does need a balance of foods. And he can’t last on a meat free diet. If he tried to be totally vegetarian (not that he would xD) he would get sick or malnourished in only a few weeks. He can’t live on just veggies. And conversely, he can eat raw meat, more so than a human could, but if he tried to eat nothing but raw meat in his meals, he’d make himself ill with food poisoning after a week or two. Also to keep up his muscle mass, and also just because he’s a very big guy, he needs to eat big meals. Lots of protein, that kind of thing. 

So on that note of food, he’s got a lot of fangs to deal with eating meat, and if he was hunting prey, and that’s mostly at the front, but he does still have some flatter molars at the back of his mouth. Also he can open his mouth quite wide and has very strong jaw muscles for clamping down on things. 

His eyes are obviously raptor/ cat-like, so he can see in the dark quite well. 

His skin is rougher and feels a bit like soft scales. It’s gotta be tough you see. Means he isn’t as injured by light scratches. And the more raptor parts of him have tougher/ more scale like texture. 

He isn’t cold blooded, but in some ways he is a bit? He is a lot more sluggish in cold weather. He hates being out in it, and avoids it at all costs. He’s more susceptible to the cold too and can have trouble keeping up his body temperature in cold environments. He needs to wrap up warm and can’t stay out in the snow or something for as long as a human could. 

He can make all those sounds the raptors can, and speak and understand raptor fluently. Sometimes he talks like this instead of using words by mistake. He’s just so used to the raptors for company. 

“How many T-Rex jokes does he have to deal with?”

Mostly the raptors joke about that to annoy him if he wants them to do something they don’t want to do. But if they piss him off too much by doing that, they quickly do as they're told. He’s like their Alpha. He’s the boss, and you don’t mess with the boss 0-0

Lucy would joke about that too. He begrudgingly lets her get away with it more than he otherwise would.

Now for some Emmet stuff!

Emmet as a half raptor is still pretty sweet, but if he gets aggravated he can snap a lot more easily and violently than he would as a human. He doesn’t have any control over his feelings/ instincts like Rex does. Rex could hold himself back if someone threw a tennis ball for him. Emmet would case after it, catch it, and not realise he’s done that till it’s in his mouth and he’s chewing on it. He does a lot of things like that involuntarily. 

But for the most part, Emmet is like a giant puppy. Playful, clumsy, likes to chew on things he shouldn’t. It’s cute.  

And that’s pretty much all I can think of for now!

[mellicose]

Theo Howard, "discharge", fluff (but heavy)

DT’s small but powerful part in an episode of Foyle’s War in 2002 is seldom spoken of, but it’s a treat. Even if you haven’t watched it, you can still enjoy this bit of angsty fluff.

“Howard! How the hell are ye!” Emmett yelled as they walked into the clearing. He rose to hug him, and he let him wrap his beefy arms around him andleaned into it. Emmett was nearly 7 feet and 250 lbs of muscle, so itwasn’t only affection, but a healthy dose of respect. In any case,there was no room for timidity during war. A man never knew when he’dget his last hug, so he took what he could get.

Emmett walked them to the picnic table, which was strewn with delicacies. He uncovered some cold roast and wiggled his brows at him.

“Fancy a wee taste?” he said, ready to serve him. One of the young women sitting at the table conversing amongst themselves turned to Emmett.

“Aren’t you gonnae introduce us, then, ye great big lummox?” she said,snatching the plate away to serve. Emmett blushed underneath hisbeard.

“It’s Captain Howard, remember? I told ye he was coming,” he said, gripping the smaller man’s shoulders. The woman, beautiful but hardfaced, lookedhim over.

“It explains all the tin on his chest,” she said, spooning mashed potato onto hisplate. He didn’t blame her – how many men did she meet, and thennever met again since the beginning of the war?

“You’ll have to excuse her for being so familiar-” Emmett started, but she rolledher eyes.

“You’ll nae excuse nothin’. I’m not fighting. I’ve no need to salute to‘im,” she said as she stood to fetch a cool bottle from thestream nearby.

Emmett shook his head, still blushing. Theo patted him affectionately.

“Calm down, man. She’s right,” he said, and sat down to his plate. He hadn’teaten anything since the night before, and his flat belly growled atthe generous spread.

She sighed and shook her head. Although it pained them both to admit it, the war had been kind to their family – their father was one of the largestsuppliers of dried beef and mutton for the British army. Theirparents were horrified when he ran away to join the effort. Theyfelt there was no need to risk his hide. But he insisted, and upuntil that day, survived.

But she detested every reminder of it, and the snippets of news from the front of seemingly interminable degradation and cruelty. It made her chesttight, and her belly gurgle. Her parents didn’t quite feel thesame. Every minute the war continued, their pockets got fatter. Itmade her skin crawl to know that their new home, and their life ofcomfort and ease were financed by the suffering of others. She toldthem in a moment of passion, but they didn’t see it that way –they were butchers and ranchers, and they would always be butchersand ranchers – although it was horrid, they were proud to do theirbit for Britain.

She planted a bottle of fresh milk in front of him.

“Hmmphanks,” he said, his mouth still full. He ripped the metal cap off and drank deep. The milk was rich and creamy and cold – a delicious luxury.He closed his eyes, trying to think the last time he tasted somethingso good.

“Shall we leave alone with it, or what?” she said teasingly. He opened one eye,then the other. Emmett smiled wide at him. Her eyes danced withamusement.

“Isn’t that the best drop o’ milk you’ve ever had?” he said. “My ma insistson keeping milk cows. She doesn’t trust the stuff ol’ McKenneysells down the road.”

“It’s chalky water,” she said, nodding. “Awful stuff.”

“But most of us have to endure it, and imagine it’s good,” Theo said, licking hislips.

Now she blushed. “Quite true. We know we’re blessed,” she said, and started to tidy up the table. The servant standing off to the side steppedforward, shaking her head.

“Nae, madame. Let me-”

“Don’t ye bother yerself, Mrs. Kerlin. I can handle it,” she said, gently slappingat the older lady’s plump hands. “Enjoy the day. It’s glorious,isn’t it?”

He observed her. Although Emmett was in luxurious mufti befitting his station outside of the Army, she was in a simple white cotton frock. There was only abit of lace around the neck, as well as a worn silver locket. Otherthan that, she wore no other decoration, or cosmetic. Was she … inmourning?

She. She. He realized Emmet had not formally introduced them.

He stood up and wiped his hands.

“I’m afraid McGillis didn’t properly introduce us,” he said, bowingshallowly. “I’m Captain Theo Howard, at your service.”

She nodded. “I’m called Elizabeth,” she said. He raised his brows, waiting for her to finish. “McGillis. Not married,” she finished, and fingeredthe locket around her neck absently.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, nodded, and sat again. The other two women were off near the stream, flirting with Emmett. She sat at the table,but he ate in silence. He wondered whether he had offended her. Itwasn’t his business whether she was married.

He cleared his throat. “I apologize if I was rude earlier,” he said. “Yourpersonal life isn’t my concern.”

She stared at the two women, who were now playfully hanging off Emmett’s large arms, her face serious. He was always the playful one. The charming one.The one who could talk his way out of a scrape. That had kept himsafe before. But war was no scrape.

“Emmett’s doing his bit?” she said, poking at a plate of biscuits.

It took a second to catch up. “Yes. He might play around now, but he’s 245 lbs of fury on the field,” he said. “It’s quite extraordinary towatch, really. I feel privileged to have him fighting at my side.”

“Och aye?” she said, flicking the dried fruit from a cake. He stared at her. She had Emmett’s strawberry blonde hair and wide, inviting mouth, but herface was longer, and finer. He felt a flash of heat underneath hisuniform, despite the cool breeze coming in from the stream. Her eyesdrifted to meet his gaze. Now, she raised her eyebrow, waiting.

“Ever have hand-to-hand combat with any diabolical Germans out in the field ofbattle?” she said.

He was thrown by the question.

“I reckon. Once,” he said, then they both jumped as Emmett shot his revolver into the woods. The two girls squealed with glee and ran around him.

“What fun!” the taller of the two said, clapping.

“This is nothing,” Emmett said, blowing on the muzzle of the gun. “You can’t imagine what we get into in the front,” he said, smiling devilishly atthem.

“Nothing, eh?” Elizabeth said, popping up. Her face was splotched red. “Silly git! Put that thing away before you blow someone’s heed off!” shesaid, slamming her hand on the table.

Emmett shrugged and took the bullets out of the revolver. It was thin-muzzled Luger, a German gun. Theo frowned. He didn’t know Emmett had it.

“I didn’t mean tae give ye a start, Lizzie,” he said. “I was just showing theselovely young women a little something about war.”

“And shooting a gun off into empty woods is teaching ‘em about war, then?” she said, but she settled back down to sitting. She smoothed her skirtdown over her legs. “Nonsense,” she mumbled.

“He’s just trying to impress the ladies,” Theo volunteered.

“And war is impressive?” she said tersely, giving him a sidelong glance.

His eyes remained on his empty plate. After a few moments, she softened.

“Would ye like some more? We’ve got loads, and you look like you can use it,”she said, giving him a brief smile.

“Yes, please,” he said, and nodded. She served him again, even as the maidsat on a checkered blanket nearby and smiled up at the sun peekingthrough the leaves, eyes closed with pleasure.

She piled his plate high again and placed it in front of him. “More milk?” she said. He noticed her eyes were a breathtaking ashy green, and definitelynot like Emmett’s deep blue.

“No thanks. Any more o’ that and I’ll soon not fit in my uniform,” he said.“I’ll have a drop of water, if you have it.”

She produced a bottle of mineral water from a picnic basket. “You can drinkdirectly from the bottle, if you don’t mind. I forgot to packglasses,” she said, and flushed.

“It’s nothing,” he said, and drank. Before the war, he despised fizzy water, but living abroad had refined his tastes. Honestly, mineral water was thesafest water to drink in some places, and disease ran rampant on thefront. The bubbles dancing on his palate made him smile. “S’good,that.”

“It’s from our own spring,” she said, smiling.

“Lovely,” he said, staring at her. Now that she wasn’t frowning, she lookedyounger than she did earlier. He calculated. If Emmett was 22, andshe was 6 years older, then she must be … 28. And unmarried. He wascurious, but he didn’t know to to broach the subject. He stareddown at her long, slim hands. They were pale, but her fingernailswere not long. They were short, with ink worked deep into the quick.They closed slowly into a fist, and he lifted his eyes. She looked athim pensively.

“You do a lot of writing?” he said.

Gladly, his frankness only delighted her. “Sometimes. I’m not Emily Dickinson– I just teach reading and figures to the kids of all the workerswho live around here.”

“You mean, your father’s employees?” he said, nodding.

“Yes,” she said.

He looked at her with new eyes. Most young women of her station rode horses and bought pretty dresses and jewels, regardless of the war that raged aroundthem.

“Don’t be impressed. It’s the least I can do to help. Those women work theirfingers to the bone, and the last thing they need is having theirchildren fall to the wayside as their fathers and sons fight on thefront,” she said.

“I’m afraid it’s too late,” he said, smiling.

“Well, don’t,” she said, but she smiled.

“It’s women like you, and the women you help, that keep a soldier’s body and soul together on the front-”

She interrupted. “What do you get from it?” she said. Her brow knitted withintensity. “You must’ve had a nice home before, a beautiful girl back in England…”

“I had no home outside of my friends’ kindness. And no girl. And my best friend David was murdered for being …” he leaned forward “…for being a conscientious objector.”

Her face turned milk-pale. “Murdered. Why?”

“Because they were cruel. Because he told them the truth to their faces,” he said, blinking slowly. Memories of his best friend still hurt deeply, evenafter 2 years.

Her mouth worked. “A conchie.”

“Lizzie, darling, let him shoot off his pistol again,” one of the girls whined.

“Let me shoot off my pistol in front of the girls,” Emmett said. Theo looked at them, frowning at the innuendo. He was mystified at her reaction.

“Do what ye like, but not here. I want to keep my hearing,” she said, waving them away. They ran, giggling, deeper into the woods. Again, Liz wasfingering her locket.

“Is it precious?” Theo said gently.

She turned to him. “What?”

“The locket,” he said, nodding at the necklace.

“Ah, this old thing,” she said, letting it go. “A friend lent it to me.”

“Interesting. An old school girlfriend?” he said.

She rose and turned to the maid. “Won’t you pack up this mess, Mrs. Kerlin? I’m about ready to go back.”

“Aye, ma’am,” she said, and stood up much quicker than he thought a women like her could.

She walked along the grassy bank of the stream, her hands held behind her. She looked to him, and he realized she was waiting. He walked beside her, closer to the water.

Again, he watched her lips work, as if she was trying to untangle and voice a thought.

“I apologize for my confidence earlier. I didn’t mean to perturb you,” he said.

She shook her head, and her thick hair haloed in little curls and tendrils. “No. It’s not that.”

They walked together in silence for a few minutes, until they lost sight of the clearing.They jump as Emmett discharged his revolver nearby.

“Don’t shoot toward the water, boy!” she yelled loudly, making him jump, thenchuckle.

“Okay!” he yelled.

“You’re not that far apart, but you call him boy,” he said.

“Admit it, now. He is, just a big, lumbering, soft boy,” she said.

“He’s a good man, and I’m glad he’s my friend,” he said firmly. Her eyebrowrose. She appreciated his sincerity.

“And he’s glad as well. You wouldn’t believe how much he goes on about you. It’s ‘Captain Howard’ this, and ‘the Cap’ that,” she said, kicking at a bit of sod. “He seems delighted by all the action. It’s inexplicable.”

“There’s a reason, Elizabeth,” he said. She looked up at him. “He’s good,and he’s brave.”

“But is it monstrous of me to wish that it was someone else out there in themud, saving the world? Or that the fighting-” she stopped abruptlyand bit her lip. Her eyes rimmed with tears.

“That the fighting wasn’t necessary at all?” he prompted gently.

She sobbed once, but sucked it in. “Is it? Monstrous?”

“Not at all. I wish that we lived in a world where such suffering and pain didn’thave to exist to make a political point,” he said. His own eyes stung suddenly. David said the words to him not so long ago, verbatim. “And that it had not devolved into such inhuman cruelty and mass murder.”

Although he missed his friend to his bones, he was glad that he had not lived to see what Hitler was doing with the Jews. He would’ve wept for them,suffered greatly. And perhaps, fought and died an even crueler death.His stomach gurgled.

“I reckon I’m glad I was born a woman,” she said softly. She looked out at thewater.

“Because you don’t have to fight?” he said. He’d heard so many women say the same thing, and he didn’t think them crass, or selfish. War was ahorror.

“Your friend David. He was a clever lad, like you?” she said.

“He was very clever. And a promising writer, before the war.”

Her eyes narrowed. “A good and just man,” she said. “And brave for stating hiscase.”

“He didn’t succeed,” he said shortly. She noticed his change of tone, anddared to touch his arm.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said. “It’s dreadful to lose a friend.”

“We were brothers,” he said. His lower lip quivered, but he kept himself inline.

“I completely understand,” She said, and opened the locket around her neck.Inside, there was a photo of a couple – young and happy. Both ofthem were raven-haired, and attractive.

“They’re our childhood friends,” she said. “She’s off in America. She leftright before things got really bad.”

He nodded, understanding. “Jewish?”

“Aye,” she said, and closed it. “She gave it to me before she fled. To keep, youknow, until she can return home.”

“Is he fighting the war?” he asked.

“No. He fought his fight,” she said, closing the locket. Her eyes watered again.

“I am sorry,” he said, putting his hand over hers.

“David was okay with you enlisting before he, uh…” she said, starting to walk again.

He looked around, as if there were spying ears ready to hear his confession. But he realized it didn’t matter. He did his duty, and he would continue to due so, despite his reservations.

“I felt the same way he did, before he died,” he said softly. She stopped walking.

“You were a pacifist?” she said.

“Yes. But after he died at the hands of scum for having a gentle soul, I realized that remaining behind as others fought made me no better than those whorun. I’m healthy, and I’m clever, and I love my country. Andmaybe, in the face of such villainy, the wisest course is to activelystand against it.”

She looked at him. “So you’re not a pacifist anymore.”

“I don’t like it. But it’s necessary,” he said.

“I want to believe you,” she said carefully. “I really do.”

“Why did you say that earlier? That you’re glad to be a woman?”

“Because, were I a man, I think I wouldn’t be as eager as my brother to fight,” she said. Before, she wasn’t quite comfortable voicing it. But Captain Howard wasn’t who she originally thought he was.

“Everyone’s afraid. That doesn’t change, no matter which side you’re fightingfor. But you do it. For your country. For your family. To hopefully end the bloody conflict,” he said.

“And the woman sit back and watch the world burn, waiting to sweep up the ashes,” she said.

“That’s poetic,” he said.

“It wasn’t me. An old American Army nurse wrote it,” she said.

“America,” he said. “Land of opportunity.” He was friends with a few Americansoldiers. The stories they spun about hometown pride, apple pie, andmama’s spaghetti made him want to see what they lived. “I want togo.”

“I love Scotland,” she said simply. “I don’t think I’m built for rodeos andbroadway shows.” She was glad of the change of subject.

He chuckled. “Yet you’re a farmer’s daughter,” he said.

“A boring, rich farmer’s daughter. I’ve never bucked a bronco in my life. Itwould be a disaster.”

“You watch too many films, I think,” he said, laughing now.

“I take the kids sometimes to see the westerns or the musicals,” she says. “Itdistracts ‘em.”

He was enchanted by her unlikely kindness. And even more so curious as to why such a woman did not have a husband.

“May I ask you something … delicate?” he hazarded, turning to her.

“What?” she said. “And just in case – of course I buy ‘em some candy, andcrisps. They need to enjoy being children, even in the midst of allthis … mess. And I confess, sometimes, I go see a romantic filmwith the factory ladies. They love a good onscreen snog.”

He laughed as she pursed her lips comically, simulating a kiss.

“And you don’t?” he said, then he flushed. He didn’t mean to be so forward. But she wasn’t offended.

“It’s been a long while since any of that nonsense. There’s no men about.They’re all … gone,” she said, giving him a lingering look. Again, he felt heat underneath his uniform. “Or, they’re old and had it.”

“I’m sure that there’s many a soldier who would find it an absolute delight tocorrespond with you,” he said. The heat rose above his collar. Hisearnestness resonated with her.

“And, what might I have to correspond about? The complexities of teaching a child to multiply? Healthy hair tips?”

“I’m sure he would just be chuffed that you took the time to write,” he said.“And I have a feeling you’re a bit more complex than childhood maths andbeauty tips.”

“D’ye get all that from a conversation?” she said, but she smiled.

“I suppose I got all I need, yes-” he said. Emmett broke through the brush before he could finish his statement.

“I’m out of bullets,” he said, smiling at them both and waving the gun in his hand.

“Good for you,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m heading back. The girls want to change before the dance,” he said, and took long strides toward the clearing. “Gotta drive ‘em home.”

“Dance?” she said, walking after him.

“Yes, there’s a dance in town. The Regency ballroom, for the soldiers,” Theo said.

“Fancy,” she said. She took a few steps and turned to him. “Are you going?”

“Yes, in support of my men,” he said.

“And not for the pretty young women?” she said, smilingwistfully.

“Would you like to step out with me tonight?” he said, not mincing words.

She reddened. Captain Howard was very handsome, and clever, and good, but she had made a promise to herself not to fall for a soldierbecause- she looked in his his eyes, and she couldn’t quite remember.

“I’m a bit old for such revels,” she said.

“No, you’re not,” Emmett yelled from somewhere nearby.

“Mind your business, boy!” she said, blushing harder.

“Good luck with ‘er, Captain. She’s a difficult lass!” he said, his voicefading. He was running across the field and to the house, where theyoung women already waited.

“Tell me you’ll consider it, Elizabeth,” he said, smiling.

“Maybe,” she said, biting her lip. “I didn’t get much notice.” She patted her hair playfully.

“Luckily, we’re close to home. How about we take the long way to the house, and you can tell me then?” he said, pointing to the circuitous path that ran around the field and to her home. She might love a long, slow walk with the handsome captain.

“I think I can do that,” she said. He extended his elbow gallantly for her arm. She waited a beat, then grabbed it.