Going to skip ahead and back a bit.
“Yes,” Jan interjected. “Not to mention all the paperwork. These aren’t the old days, where you just grabbed replacement gear off a dead man and hoped your new legionary brand wasn’t too ugly. You have to sign things, instead. Things have become much smoother.” She dimpled. “As long as you have enough crayons.”
“Crayons?” asked Vivana. “Yes, why is it that your, ah, people use those, instead of quills?”
Liza noted that the mage didn’t even bother bringing up Hershey ballpoints. That was probably why she deadpanned, “We like to eat them,” just to see what would happen.
What happened was a frown from Viviana, a strangled snort from Cabot — and a dirty look from Jan. “The Tribune will have her little joke. The truth is, they’re more reliable when it comes to marking things up that aren’t paper. Beeswax we have in plenty, and we can make more in the field.”
Yes, thought Liza, but they do taste good. All that fruit they use for the coloring…oh, well, we’re trying to look civilized now.
There’s a US Marine corps joke in there somewhere, but I’m not qualified to make it.
I never let that stop me.
Then you are over qualified to be a marine.