Tal caught Deimos's look and frowned fiercely in thought, finally giving a small shrug before heading off to his own task. There was nothing he could do about from the target pile, so he left the question to Sah.
He was used to having to repair things on the trail - the sledge, the team's harnesses, even the tools he used in those repairs - with nothing but what he had with him and his own ingenuity. Tal might not have been much for leading the men and women who had joined him with the targets, but he worked with a quick, neat efficiency and scowled in embarrassment at the occasional admiring praise from his teammates.
Still, when a few of the older soldiers tousled his hair fondly, he just ducked his head and accepted it without complaint, doubling down on the task at hand until they'd managed to create a small army - or at least an understaffed squad - of vaguely humanoid foes for the recruits to test their mettle against.
Which meant it was time to move on to the really fun part.
Tal grinned as he grabbed the first target and a brush. His tongue stuck out from the corner of his mouth as he began dabbing features onto the face with a steady hand. Slowly but steadily, something that looked remarkably like Neron - mouth open and jagged, pointy teeth ready to bite - began to emerge. Admiring his handiwork for a moment, the courier set it aside to dry and picked up the next. He pondered it for a moment, and then his eyes lit up and he set to work, doing his best to re-create the features he'd seen on the target he and Deimos had previously destroyed, right down to the bulbous nose.
Whatever the soldiers chose to paint, Tal's artistic endeavors were one or the other of those two templates.
He was used to having to repair things on the trail - the sledge, the team's harnesses, even the tools he used in those repairs - with nothing but what he had with him and his own ingenuity. Tal might not have been much for leading the men and women who had joined him with the targets, but he worked with a quick, neat efficiency and scowled in embarrassment at the occasional admiring praise from his teammates.
Still, when a few of the older soldiers tousled his hair fondly, he just ducked his head and accepted it without complaint, doubling down on the task at hand until they'd managed to create a small army - or at least an understaffed squad - of vaguely humanoid foes for the recruits to test their mettle against.
Which meant it was time to move on to the really fun part.
Tal grinned as he grabbed the first target and a brush. His tongue stuck out from the corner of his mouth as he began dabbing features onto the face with a steady hand. Slowly but steadily, something that looked remarkably like Neron - mouth open and jagged, pointy teeth ready to bite - began to emerge. Admiring his handiwork for a moment, the courier set it aside to dry and picked up the next. He pondered it for a moment, and then his eyes lit up and he set to work, doing his best to re-create the features he'd seen on the target he and Deimos had previously destroyed, right down to the bulbous nose.
Whatever the soldiers chose to paint, Tal's artistic endeavors were one or the other of those two templates.
