[mingle post!]

[cavedwellers]

Boy Valentine's Day was sure an adventure, wasn't it? Gosh, it's a good thing all that's over with.

Have a mingle post! If you're starting a new thread, mention where you are in the subject line. Tag each other, hang out, do whatevs.

Comments

[ice_and_steel]

It is. I've never learnt how to draw. Is it difficult?

[okay yes we will go with technical questions. hopefully Sai, unlike Relm, will not throw his charcoal sticks in her face.]

[lifestudies]

It takes practice, but it's good observational discipline. My superiors encouraged it as a means of learning to note details in the surrounding area.

[ice_and_steel]

I can see how that would work. You have to notice things to draw them, right?

[looking with fascination at shapes and shadows] Such things were considered unnecessary indulgence, for me, as long as I could read maps.

[lifestudies]

Maps are also important, but they will only give you strategy ahead of time. When you are in the middle of a mission you need to be alert to your immediate surroundings and conditions.

But then, you were a general, not a footsoldier, weren't you?

[ice_and_steel]

Yes. I have some experience in fighting on the ground, but my superior preferred not to let his precious experiment be in too risky of a position.

....That, and the last time I was low enough rank to act as a footsoldier, I was twelve. However, my teacher always said that it was important to know what you were asking your troops to do. He also delivered the news of any fallen soldiers to their families personally, and impressed upon me that it was necessary to do the same. He said it would keep me from sacrificing troops unnecessarily when another way existed.

[lifestudies]

Your forces must be organized very differently from ours. In Konoha, the more skilled a shinobi becomes, the more likely he is to be directly involved in the most dangerous missions.

[ice_and_steel]

Your missions are generally performed by a small team, though, are they not? If I am not mistaken, your skills are somewhat akin to our special forces operatives. I commanded armies of hundreds or thousands. Even a very skilled combatant can be overwhelmed if twenty or thirty lesser soldiers surround her.

[lifestudies]

That is usually the case, yes. There are large-scale wars from time to time, but those are much more rare than small targeted missions. It is advantageous for all of the five major nations to maintain at least the illusion of peace rather than committing themselves to outright war.

[ice_and_steel]

We use a mix of things, but many rulers do so love the pageantry of war with all the flying banners and prettily armoured soldiers. Of course, said rulers never have to fight the battles themselves, safe behind capital city walls. [Her tone is slightly bitter]