Flight of the Heron read-along: Part I chapters 5-6

[regshoe]

What is right and what is wrang, a short sword and a lang, a weak arm and a strang for to draw...

Welcome back to the read-along! This week's chapters are getting a bit more serious, historically and for our characters...

Next week we'll read the first two chapters of Part II.

Comments

[sanguinity]

I like your observation that Keith's bitterness about love not only distances him from personal relationships, but also leaves him unable to comprehend the sincere feeling motivating the Jacobites.

It's perhaps an interesting view for someone whose job is to take an active part in fighting against them! Is it? He strikes me very much as a professional soldier, aiming himself where he's pointed, and not having much feeling about any of it. It's a profession, no more and no less.

And yes, so many feelings! And so many possessives for Ewen: "my Warrior," too along with the rest.

his note mixes sincere liking, the honour of a soldier and a good deal of snark. I shook my head over that. Had to lob one last dart, did you, Keither? Just say you like the man, and stop pulling his pigtails.

I did feel bad for Ewen on finding his prisoner had fled, though. There's something almost domestic about their arrangement over the previous week (Keith offering his cloak to Ewen!), and I daresay Ewen had settled into the seeming of it, and momentarily forgot its truth. Poor Ewen! I suspect Keith is right, that the experience has taught Ewen not to make that oversight again, and I hope that in one of their subsequent meetings there will be more domesticity between them...

[regshoe]

He strikes me very much as a professional soldier, aiming himself where he's pointed, and not having much feeling about any of it. It's a profession, no more and no less.

Yes, that's true! I suppose I expect someone in that position to have some feeling about what the profession actually involves doing, and some opinions on the enemies he's fighting. But you're right, for Keith professional ambition without much emotional detail is the important thing.

Just say you like the man, and stop pulling his pigtails.

XD

Oh dear, yes, poor militarily naive Ewen! And aww, I agree about the weirdly sweet quasi-domesticity. Actually, if you enjoyed that bit of domesticity, I have a couple of fic recs for after you've finished the book—this one is a canon divergence which starts with Keith failing to escape at Fassefern and this period lasting a bit longer, and in this one there's another period of lovely quasi-domesticity while a prisoner. (Do wait till you've finished the book though, both contain big spoilers!)

[sanguinity]

Thank you for the recs!

[luzula]

He strikes me very much as a professional soldier, aiming himself where he's pointed, and not having much feeling about any of it. It's a profession, no more and no less.

Yes, he's very much a professional solder--but that moment when he refuses to promise that he will not take part in the remainder of the campaign in exchange for being set free does show that he has pride in his profession, and also he has standards that he keeps himself to!