A new day and a new dawn--wasn't that the phrase? It likely was, and still it called as tedious and tolling, and there was little to show for the night but spent shells and ammunition. Not that Albedo minded, in the end. It was Nigredo who'd likely have a problem if any, but the amount of shells were never specified and were still close to a surprise. In any matter, it was a way to release some tension, and he had half a mind to spend every night close to the same in this.

Except there were days in-between, and he was half-tired of the redundancy. The boy sighed when he was collected, tugging at the uniform in light weariness. The man who was with him pointed at the hat resting mussed on Albedo's head. "You can take it off if you need to." The boy raised his eyebrows. After all the fuss to get him to wear it the first time. The soldier said little else, merely pointed at the pins on the beret. Albedo slid it off and stared at them. So there was a usage to these things after all.

How cute. It was like they were training them to respond to comfort. Should he wager 'good' little patient-soldiers got candy and cigarettes? Albedo laughed, making the man glance at him. The child could care.

He grinned as he left the soldier's care, moving to a nearly empty table and dropping the plate without a second look at the mush. His body was reacting negatively to a lack of food by now, but it wasn't enough to halt his processes. Therefore, Albedo didn't need to feed himself. Logic. He had it.

So instead of eating, the boy amused himself by spinning the pins around on the beret. How many more were there, he wondered.

[ Ritsuka. ]