C Keep Marching On

[Sam260]

Rain... It used to be something that one looked forward too.  It used to cool down hot summer days, replenish and nourish lawns that had been lain dormant for the winter.  It used to just be a fun thing to go out and run into when you were a kid, having all the fun in the world.  Now?  Now rain was just constant.  Never-Ending.  Relentless.  There were certain things about rain that even Forrest didn't even know existed.  Like that rain could come in all different directions.  He used to think it only came downwards, from the sky, but then his views on rain, and how it fell, all changed.

    Vietnam, it was June 27th, 1956 when Forrest Clark's numbers were called.  He had thought, when the war started, that seven months later he wouldn't have been called to action, but things happened.  He remembered the day so vividly.  He and his father had been sat out on the back porch of his childhood home, a place he was very fond of, had spent his entire life in.  They were enjoying a drink together and just chatting, listening to the radio.  The announcement came in the middle of his and Connor's -his father- favorite song, interrupting that do-wop they loved so dearly.  They listened to the broadcast like their lives depended on it, their hopes were that the war was over, that they no longer had to see off friends, family, and others they loved.  However, their dreams, their hopes, they were shattered when it was declared that another drawing was to occur, that more able bodied men would be called to action.  They sat and they prayed.  They sat and they listened.  Their hearts broke even further when Forrest's numbers were called.  Their bottles dropped and the two men, father and son, embraced, held each other for dear life as they cried into one another's shoulders.

    Forrest sighed as he wiped the rain from his face... Or was it his tears?  Honestly he had no idea anymore.  He was sat up against a tree in the middle of the Vietnam rainforest -ironic name, wasn't it?-.  There was a tarp hung up over head but it only did so much to protect you when rain just relentlessly battered down over your heads.  He was sat under said tree with a few friends he had made whilst being over here.  The young Corporal was attempting to write a letter to his father, but the words -or lack thereof- seemed unwilling to come out.  He sighed and shoved his stationary pad -an old notebook- into his pack and just laid back "I'm tired of rain... I'm tired of being cold and wet." It was the middle of summer, and yet he was freezing all of the time. Slowly, Forrest looked over at the young man sat beside him "How're you holding up today?"  He was in a group of young men, all between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two, the only person who was older than all of them was their captain.  The young man beside him, he found rather attractive, though he knew he shouldn't have; he simply just could not help himself "Having any luck writing a letter today?  I seem to be at a loss on what to say... I'm sure I've said it all a dozen times, and nothings changed..."

[Klayko]

Getting drafted had never spooked him as most, to be honest. In some ways, Cass seemed a little disillusioned by the thought. His father proudly served in the war before, a sense of patriotism buried into the male the second he was born. He was a kid who grew up playing with toy guns and imagining the idea of combat, as a result. Not that it meant in any way he was particularly hateful towards any other ethnicity. His family just came with flaws at the same time.

His parents were the kind of individuals most in an urban society would scream at, negatively.

"One of my boy's going to war," his mother lauded with joy in front of the local news outlets. His father? Couldn't be any more proud, despite his frantic screams in the night to frequent drinking to forget the trenches of Berlin. So, to be quite exact, Cassidy "Cass" Jordan would head into Vietnam with a sense a patriotic duty for the great glory of America. 

That was then. Compared to now, Cass still felt what he was doing was right and even if he didn't, what could he do? He was out in a forest in the middle of foreign land. What would he do? Desert his brothers in arms and flee for the forest for enchanted lust as some of them did? No, he couldn't. He had to push through and be a leader. For their sakes, especially. They could not afford to lose any more good men. They still had lives to live outside of this apocalypse.

That's what he was looking forward to: Life outside of the forest. Life outside of war itself, God permitted. He could put on his resume that he knew how to fire a gun pretty well and received a nifty medal for it. That would get him a job somewhere in this world, he was sure. As he sat underneath the tree, he wrote out to his family his dreams and plans. He also wrote things he was truly appreciative for as well, luxuries he had been without on while proudly giving his life on the line for a war that did not truly affect his Country. Writing was a way to distract from mostly everything.

"I guess you can say I'm soaked," he stated towards the other male who sat under the tree with him. "That's neither too well nor too bad, I guess you can say. Just mellow, really."

Cass could guess how this individual was feeling. He had already heard the male exclaim his disdain towards the droplets descending the skies. As he lit a cigarette, he chuckled.

"I've just started to write about my plans outside of here. Writing about boats, explosions and the adrenaline of a new day became repetitive. Maybe you don't have to write about anything at all sometimes. Just a letter to let them know you're alive counts, too."

As he smoked his troubles away, he glanced down, brown eyes gazing out towards something inching its way towards them.

"If you want, you can always write about the wild critters," he pointed towards the movement, curious as to if it were a snake, a frog or something else entirely. Either way, he his free hand was reaching for his knife.

[Sam260]

"I've wrote about my life outside of hell... I've even just wrote 'I'm still alive' on a few letters..." Forrest grabbed his own pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, quickly lighting it up and exhaling the initial plume of smoke. He looked down at the movement and slowly pushed his foot outward, a frog leaping forward and landing on his knee. He laughed and shook his head, flicking the critter back off into the muddy grounds "Don't suppose a frog attacking me will make much for a great story, but it's something more than I've been able to write these past few days." He grabbed his notepad back out and scribbled the highlight down in his messy scrawl. Luckily his father could read it, otherwise he'd have been screwed from the start. Smoke billowed from his nose and mouth as he wrote, and he finally stubbed the cigarette out, sighing and shaking his shaggy head, water droplets spraying everywhere "Ya maybe wanna go for a walk? My ass and legs are gettin' kind of numb..." They had designated safe areas where they could walk, locations they had already cleared and laid traps, protecting them from surprise attacks.

[Klayko]

"Seems like it is hell, huh," Cass merely mused while glancing up at the tree, peering through the branches and leaves, getting a glance at the sky. "I'm sure it's quite the lost paradise on any other day not tainted with gunshots and explosions."

Perhaps a query for to write down for his father. What was Berlin like outside of everything? What about the other places he visited on his grand crusade to do away with Hitler and the rest of his vile Swastika regime? Surely outside of the remnants of war, they had to be great places in the world to see. This forest was no exception, Cass was sure. Yet, he wouldn't wander off like some already had done, becoming disillusioned on what they were doing and never wanting to return to the life of war as a result. His father's war and Vietnam were different. The only thing similar was the fight for survival at the end of it all with wanting to return home and say that a job was well done.

"Sure, I could go for a walk, numb butt," he stated with a chuckle. He flicked the cigarette butt into the muddy ground, his combat boots trekking against the ground. Cass wore an army green wife-beater and combat pants at the moment. They sort of were off duty until given the command otherwise, after all. "I don't think I've met you around before. There were...a lot of us...back then. Call me Cass. Cassidy in the fullest, but Cass all the same."

[Sam260]

Forrest was in similar attire to Cassidy, seeing as the only thing changing their off-duty wear to on-duty wear was a camouflaged jacket, both of which were hung up in the tent to keep dry -or, rather, dry- from the weather. He slid in beside Cass and smiled warmly over at him "Forrest... I ah, don't actually have a shortened version of that, which is probably annoying considering how long it actually is." He sighed and shook his head, rain drops flicking off the ends of his dark hair. He looked out toward the muddy ground as they wandered on, sticking closely to the perimeter made by their commanding officer "So, what part of the United States are you from, Cass? I was born and raised in Alabama... Northern parts of it."

[Klayko]

"Forrest? That's an interesting name, all things considered we're out in wilderness as of this very moment. Maybe I can think of something to call you."

Shrub perhaps. Sap maybe. Maple? Who knew. A lot of possibilities swirled around coining a nickname for a man named Forrest. Cass tossed his Boonie over his dirty blond hair rather than choosing to let it get wet.

"A nice large State a few States away from Alabama," Cass responded. "Texas. Papa wanted to settle somewhere with a big ranch and nice church to congregate. Come hear the stories of a man who's been to war and lived to share the Gospel, he'd often say. He gets to retire peacefully while one of his sons gets to pick up where he left off."

He chuckled, looking at the perimeter. "I'd take the sights of France over blindly trekking into a forest, though. How'd your folks handle the news of you being shipped out?"

[Sam260]

It was Forrest's nightmare to somehow pick up a nickname based on their present location, given his name, but he had a feeling that whatever Cassidy picked, he would somehow find it endearing, might even like it. The truth in that remained to be seen, but he could hope that would be his feelings towards it.

"Texas... I've been a time or two, mostly visiting my dad's friends who moved there." He hummed softly and kicked a rock across the muddy dunes, sighing a touch. He winced slightly at just the thought of his father and how the news was handled "My mom left when I was just a baby, so... Even if I could tell her, or even if she knew from listening, I doubt she cares..." He looked down at the tips of his muddy boots as they headed on "My dad took it pretty hard... One could imagine why. He raised me my entire life, it's always just been him and I, and now... here I am, doing this whilst he's stuck at home." Hand ran through his slicked hair and he shook it again; he desperately needed a haircut but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon "If he could have, he would have taken my place... I know that much."

[Klayko]

Sounds like Forrest had it rough in general. No mother in his life. Just his father.

"And you're the only boy from him? I happened to be the last son."

Although they were eighteen, they were in a forest where the rules of normal American civility seemingly did not apply. That meant in Cass's case, whether or not he care about it in the first place, certain items always came in handy. A canteen full of liquor in this instance as he reached for it in his pocket. 

"Sometimes these sorts of leisure help out. I'm sure your pops doesn't have to worry about you dying, though. I've got an eye on his little twig. I'll keep him safe and sound just in time to make it back for Christmas."

Confidence for a man who was shorter than Forrest. Cockiness, one could say. It's gotten Cassidy a long way, however. Of course, Cass was only teasing him though, lightly patting the male's face with a chuckle before downing some of the liquor with a swig and handing it to Forrest. 

"I'm serious though. I'll try to keep you safe. We serve a few more months and then we'll be shipped off from the battlezone. Making it out in one piece is the problem."

[Sam260]

Little twig... He smiled and chuckled a little "Little Twig, huh?" He looked over at Cass with a raised eyebrow, nodding his head just a touch "I think I can live with that as a nickname, Cass." He reached over and lightly bumped his hand against Cassidy's, smiling and shaking his head "How's about we keep each other safe? It seems like the only way we'll get out of here is if we do it together, as a pair..." He had almost said couple, but he was trying to not get too far ahead of himself.

After a few more steps, Forrest finally stopped, and so did the rain. He sighed and looked up at the sky, dark as it ever was, but it was dry -however long that lasted- "When I get back to the states, I'm going to move somewhere that it never rains..." He took the offered liquor and took a small swig of it, face twisting slightly from the burn as he swallowed it down. He handing the flask back and sighed quietly "I just don't appreciate the rain like I used too... It's not that great anymore." He leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes, just slowly breathing and relaxing.

[Klayko]

"Maybe," Cass stated. "But if you're like some of them who freeze up, I might have to either slap you back to attention or just leave you behind. Not letting stray mortar roast me back on a free trip to the states and casket for that matter."

Oh, this guy most certainly said pair, but from the way he had to closely correct himself, Cass might have unintentionally read a little more into it. Was he trying to say couple? Fancy that. One of those possible happy men was right among his company. It wasn't Cass's place to judge though. Of course, it wasn't talked about nor discussed among their company. Frowned upon, even. But, he's had a lot of judging to do all things considered the place they were in. He was still doing sorts of judging, right now to be exact. He downed the liquor, chuckling as Forrest's face twisted a little at the taste of it.

"First time downing Bourbon? It's straight fire. I cringed when I first had a little of it."

As he watched Forrest ease back on the tree, Cass got the ingenious idea to be a little humorously bold. He removed his Boonie, letting water fill it as the other male rested his eyes underneath the tree.

"You don't appreciate rain the same way, huh," he inquired. "That's a shame. I happen to enjoy playing around in it when I get the chance. Something about the cold feel."

And when he mentioned cold feel, that's when he let Forrest have it, the water ready to splash down upon the unsuspecting male.

"There's plenty of dry weather and air in Texas, I've been told."

A slight suggestion of his own, in a way.

[Sam260]

"I think a slap to the head'll do just fine to get me back on track with the action." Forrest didn't fancy being left behind, so he'd take a slap to the face if he had too, if it meant keeping alive and getting out of the hell hole they were presently living in. "I'm not so sure I'm ready to get lain in a casket myself, so I'd be best suited to stay in a constant state of awareness... Especially around you."

He shook his head lightly "No... I've had liquor before, bourbon even. I'm just not quite used to the burn that it does have. I'm more of a beer person. My dad and I... we used to sit out on the porch and drink a couple. It was a Saturday tradition for us. We'd sit out, drink, talk and listen to the radio."

Forrest really had just started getting comfortable against that tree when the sudden rush of cold and wet hit him. He shrieked, maybe a bit too femininely - even for his own liking- and then glared at Cass "You son of a bitch!" He snarled, shaking off the water and quickly charging, though as he went to tackle Cass, he couldn't help but laugh as they landed in the mud together, Forrest on top of the other, looking down at that muddied face "You're going to pay for that, Cassidy. You're going to pay indeed." He looked down at Cass again and shook his head, grabbing a handful of mud from the ground and simply slopping it on the other's face, smearing it and rubbing it in "Texas would be nice, though, if you don't mind the assholes who tend to come from there." He teased, of course.

[Klayko]

This was perhaps the most fun Cass had in a while. Even if it was rolling around in mud in the middle of a forsaken forest. Everything was listening to commands on any given day. Feeling the slap of mud smeared across his face sort of hammered a mixed reaction from Cass. One that prompted him to slap Forrest across the face with some of his own.

"How's that for a slap to head so far," he jokingly mused. The rain would wash most of it off, no doubt, but for a few moments, Cass sort of lied there, not caring that they were dirty, in a way. "Papa's the biggest asshole I've met in Texas so far. I've been told I can match his temper. We've just gotta look out for one another like we do here. Nobody understands us than one of our own."

Amid all the roughhousing, a little excitement stirred within Cass. His pants particularly. He cursed when realizing that he was starting to get a hard on for another man.

[Sam260]

He yelped as that hand slapped at his face, though he couldn't deny that it was damned hilarious. He retaliated quickly and it soon delved into a full-on mud slinging war where they rolled around and just laughed. Forgetting the worries and woes that their current circumstances had them in.

Forrest was somehow, still, on top of Cass when they stopped, though he was panting and, not that you could tell, sweating from their exertions. He was also very turned on, and luckily that was also pretty hidden, the pants he wore just a touch baggy in that region.

He leaned back and sighed, hands in the mud keeping him upright. He was certainly surprised to feel Cass' erection, but he figured he wouldn't say anything, though couldn't help himself if he shifted against that erection slightly "I'm not judging, that's for sure. Sometimes being an asshole is all you have." He breathed a little heavier, his arousal kind of getting to him "I'm glad we have each other, Cass. So we can keep each other alive in this hell hole... Won't be good on anyone if we get blown to pieces." He loomed back over the younger man, smiling down at him - hips were still just slowly shifting, mostly on accident "I don't think you match the forest very well, so its probably best to keep your guts inside of you."