But Home Came to Me.

[StaolDerg]

The truck rocked to the right as it rounded a corner, and the soldiers riding inside collectively swung with it, holding their garrison covers to their heads as the fabric skin of the truck rippled against the wind of the truck’s movement. But among the Festrians, humans, Karrashi, Gryphons, and the Kithium native to Roskana, there was an outlier in the inselni sitting towards the cabin of the truck. Winding and jagged patterns raced about his exposed neck, face, and limbs, drawn over by the growth of fresh scales that only highlighted the contrasted between the scarred tissue of the hardmark.

But like the rest of them, too wore the Roskanan uniform, and as the truck finally slowed and brakes hissed and shook the truck at a conclusive halt, he followed the other soldiers out of the back, dutifully taking the pressurized air tank at his feet and slinging it over his shoulder as he hopped down. Sunlight glanced on their uniform’s emblem, a corona of illustrated sunrays pierced by a wrench.

A wide-shouldered Festrian with the rank of sergeant on their epaulette took the head of the squad, looking over them sternly as the soldiers disembarked. With a nod, they speechlessly waved at the soldiers and began to march up a small path that led away from the road they had stopped at to a rise.

The troops were quick to fall in line and march in column behind. Though the weight of the tools was hardly light, their pace was even and coordinated, and they quickly found themselves looking towards a parcel of land that the inselni recollected somewhere in their memory to be outside of Auran.

But his attention was drawn back to the duty at hand as the sergeant approached a well-dressed Kithium who seemed to be watching a group of laborers doing… something on the land.

The inselni squinted. Those workers had strange headgear- if anything, they reminded him of peasants’ hats back in Elenria, with that wide, conical form and generous brim that afforded whole-person shade.

“121st Battalion, Army Engineers,” the sergeant declared coolly. “Here as requested. What do you need us to do?”

[VoxApocrypha]

The foreman of whom had been effectively put in charge, rather than having wanted to be, would look up at them from her clipboard. It had been his day off clearly, as she wore what was supposed to be casual clothing, now already dirty with dust and dirt. She'd look around, and then gesture to a patch of which was being worked by a few of the immigrant Elenrians. "Over there is a group of Elenrian immigrants of whom are prying around on a patch of dirt. It's not particularly great dirt, nothing cool or neat about it. But its dirt. They're finding good spots to make homes, and as well, they're plotting out areas for which they can start establishing farms." 

"I've already caught hell for letting them plan out farms but I frankly don't give a shit." They'd say. "A couple of them are already working on setting up boundaries and such for their new houses, so I think I'll have you help them along with that, and probably if you can, start to dig out areas between their houses where we can build roads for them to use." They'd say. "There are water lines but no sewage, not yet at least. We have to focus on getting the water lines ready so these people actually can drink something and irrigate their crops." She'd tell them. 

 "Figure it out and get moving because there's still a mountain of shit to do and we're already half-way through the day." She would tell the sergeant. 

[StaolDerg]

The army engineers collectively turned and glanced at the squad's inselni at the mention of the workers' nationalities, who was himself frowning.

The sergeant did not possess such curiosity however, and eyed his men sternly before replying. "Understood."

He waved at the soldiers, who immediately perked up. "The rest of the battalion is due to arrive later, probably in the evening. We'll get to work helping the immigrants set up their houses and infrastructure, as well as get a general plan of the city from whoever is leading the design of this area. Plus, I think we've probably got a head start in terms of communicating with them."

There was a pause as he thought for a moment, before nodding and gesturing to the immigrants with a nod of his head. "Let's get started. Move out!"

As the engineers proceeded towards the largest bunch of immigrants, a group that had bunched around the building of the main settlement, what in its current state resembled a tent colony, the sergeant drifted towards the middle of the column, sidling up to the side of the inselni. "Corporal Sevi, I'm going to need your help here. You're going have to familiarize us with what your people are like, and translate what they're saying."

The inselni nodded. "Of course, sir."

His mind was racing. What were so many Elenrians here for? This didn't look like a mere expedition- it looked like at least a small town's worth of people! And worse yet, he wasn't sure they were of the same community as him- their clothes might be the same as the ones his family had worn back home, but so were those of at least thirty other nearby, distinct communities! What if they spoke a different dialect?

The engineers pulled up to the Elenrians, and as the sergeant introduced themselves, the inselni could not help but glance at the faces of the immigrants, trying to see the hardmarks on their faces. Similarly, the Elenrian immigrants glanced at him as well- and unlike the descendant kinsmen who had assisted them at the port, the inselni's hardmarks weren't just ink- they were proper traditional hardmarks, scarred onto his face. And yet he was standing just a bit too far away for them to see the markings properly. The more curious leaned towards one another and exchanged inquisitive looks, murmuring, some even squinting.

But both sides held back any further attention to one another as greetings were exchanged and the sergeant offered his platoon's expertise and assistance. The Elenrian elder who spoke to him was only too happy to accept- they were trying to figure out where to build roads, and had dug arrows in the dirt tracing the path of the planned road.

"Well," the sergeant mused as he traced the path of the arrows, "We need to work out precisely where the houses need to be before we lay the roads. Once that's done, only then we can start building roads."

"What about... the tunnel flow?"

The sergeant frowned. "The what?"

"The..." the elder struggled with the words, frowning themselves. "[The plumbing. Kelsun had miles of sewers that snaked all over, can't we do that?]"

Sevi stepped forwards, interjecting. "[Grandparent,]" he began, using an honorific, ""

The elder spluttered indignantly. "[But we are Elenrians! Who cares what country we're in- our ancestors did not worry about borders. Why should-]" They paused mid-sentence, staring at Sevi even as he held up his hands.

"[You're Fa's kid.]"

It was Sevi's turn to be flabbergasted. In a sudden rush, he looked again at the hardmarks of the immigrants now that he was closer: their hardmarks, at least the ones that identified community, were identical to his own. But before his confused mind could be further dragged from the relevant situation, the sergeant interrupted.

"Corporal, what are they saying?"

The martial snapped back to his task at hand, composing himself as he responded in short order while tapping his wristwatch, making a clock hand motion with his hand. They'd chat later.

"Sir, they wanted to dig an Elenrian sewer system beneath the road. I informed them that would both be unfeasible at the current time in addition to not being in accordance with government standards.

[VoxApocrypha]

A Festria in the squad, one of the two Specialists in the group, looked at Sevi and then at the eldar, before listening to the conversation between him and Sergeant. He tilted his head as he watched them make the hand gesture to the other Inselni, before turning his eyes back to the Sergeant. The orders given after were made in short order, directing them all to get to work.

More of their battalion was making its way to the site as they spoke, with some bringing steam-shovels to help with the excavation of the roads, though they'd leave them to start on that work later - they were pretty assurred of the safety of the equipment overnight, it wasn't simple to operate and the keys were on the men responsible for them. It helped there were cages with lockable doors over the controls too, and that they were anchored in place by tract-boots that the soldiers would remove when they came back the next day.

The Festria though, named Alexander, would wait for a bit and then come up next to Sevi, taking off their hat to show that he was too on his break period with them.
And so he'd plant his shovel next to them, and lean down, resting his arms on it as he looked at them.

"Can't escape winter in this country, huh." He'd say, taking a sip of water from the thin-skinned plastic bottle he had, his tail swaying behind him as the cool air would flow over them from a gust of strong wind, carrying on it some leaves as more grey clouds rolled in, blanketing some of the area towards the distant coast in sheets of snow.

"Those markings you got. Are they like theirs?" He'd ask them. "I don't know much about your people, but I imagine its got something to do with that."

[StaolDerg]

Sevi nodded, seating his shovel solidly into the earth. "My hardmarks? Yes."

He glanced over at the Elenrians who were only just arriving on the work site. Many were looking at him, and a few even wave when they noticed he was looking at them.

"They look similar because I'm from the same community as them. Think of it like one great big family made of your own family, your neighbors', and friends."

The inselni instinctively raised his hand to wave, then stopped himself, remembering he was supposed to be a Martial. He settled for a awkward raised hand in greeting, but it looked like the immigrants either didn't care about the lapse in professionalism or just took it in stride as they waved back eagerly.

[VoxApocrypha]

Alexander would nod his head, though not give a quick reply, watching Sevi wave awkwardly to his kin. After a moment more of watching, Alexander would decide it was time to get moving and to let his friend be. So in natural Festria fashion he leaned in, and would use his tail to pull Sevi a bit closer, giving him a brief one armed hug.
"You should ask the sergeant for some free time to catch up with them. Seems like a lot of them are happy to see you."

His tail would swish away, the Festria going fully upright again, and stretching out as he turned, his shovel being hefted up over his shoulder as he took out a crumpled note from his pocket, and began to follow a line of orange sticks to plot out the base of a new home's foundation. "Let me know if you need anything."

Before long Alexander had went off to go and start digging a ditch alongside a few others, so that they could work on setting up the infrastructure neccessary to create a new sewer system.

[StaolDerg]

Sevi watched Alexander stroll away, conflicted.

He really ought to get back to work- he was a Martial, after all, and no Martial was ever supposed get off task. But...

He thought about his family. His baby sister had given him her favorite bead bracelets before he had left. She would be fifty-two this year, if the serum that he'd sent home in time just before he'd departed from Sepedia had made it. She  His mother, three hundred thirty? A thought in the back of his mind wondered if she still had the scarf he'd given her before he left. Father, if he hadn't been killed hunting, three hundred eighty. His locker back at base had things for them- he'd made gifts for them for the day that he would go home: for his father, an amulet from bent and beaten casings- for his mother, a few jars of spices from Diria. His sister...

For the longest time he'd thought that the influenza had taken her, and given up then. But if there was even a little chance that she had come ashore with the community...

He glanced around reflexively, wondering if they could be here by any luck. Perhaps that Elder knew?

One of the immigrants noticed Sevi looking in their direction as they bent up from the ditch, wiping their brow. They waved, grinning.

Without second thought, he raised his hand and waved back.

He'd find out. His community, here, in Roskana...

Gripping the shovel, the Martial slung it over his shovel and began making his way towards the ditch where Alexander was.

Soon, he thought. Soon.

[VoxApocrypha]

He'd find Alexander standing next to one of the freshly dug ditches to which would be the foundation for a house, while others around him would be digging, Alexander had seemingly finished up fairly quick and the others were really just tidying up the corners, to which they didn't need much help. It wasn't like digging trenches in every respect, and it left a lot of room to smooth things out and make it neat.

He turned his head, and would raise an eyebrow.
"Aren't you gonna go talk to them?" The Festria asked him.

[StaolDerg]

"Now?" The inselni shook his head. "No. They're busy, and I'd rather do it when they're more settled in."

That was a blatant lie, and everyone could tell by the way he ducked away to work, but he tried to make himself believe it as he brought out his shovel and jammed it into the earth. He'd been gone from home for so long, and he'd never expected that instead of going home, he'd find his family right here. What would he say to them? 'Hello, been a while?' 'What happened, I thought everything at home was okay when I left?' He hadn't really kept to his oath as a Martial during his time in Roskana: he'd gone off base and partied with fellow soldiers, gotten drunk plenty of times, and a dozen other embarrassing things that no self-respecting Martial would ever do.

Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe he just needed time to think and collect himself.