The Deck, Wednesday After Classes

[life_inshadow]

Tara was in a good mood as the reserves gathered this afternoon, if one tinged with the slightest edge of nervous mania. Kennedy had told her just that morning that Constance was coming for the weekend. Constance the Watcher, who was going to want to meet Tara, and probably judge absolutely everything about her, and was there time for Tara to dye the random blonde streaks in her hair back to her natural color?

... Focus, Tara. She blinked rapidly at the group as she gathered her thoughts. "Hi!" she said. "M-most of you probably know this, but Parents' Weekend starts the day after tomorrow. That means a whole lot of our parents, friends, guardians and siblings are going to just show up and, uh, expect us to show them around."

"Which would all be stressful enough at a normal school," she continued, "But here, we have some special concerns. Like, do your parents even know you use magic, or hang out with people who do?"

"We don't have an activity today," she finished. "Just ... let's have a discussion. Should we tell guests everything and just let them process it, or is there a place for, um, little mostly white lies about what we're doing?"

Raven had felt a pang of loss at the mention of Parent's Weekend, but she kept herself composed. "I do not believe in lying," she said. "I believe they cause imbalance, and you run the risk of causing more trouble if you do not tell the truth. But the world I am from also has many people with magical abilities and super powers, so it would be easier for me to be truthful. If my world were not like that, and I had a visitor on the island, I think I would try to avoid the topic rather than lie."

Karla looked a bit sheepish when she began talking. "Really, I think there's a lot we already have to hide from our visiting relatives. Boyfriends, girlfriends, roommates of the opposite gender, grades, how close we came to dying in the most recent invasion..." Not that Karla had chosen any of these hypotheticals from her own life or anything.

"What's the point of hiding something like magic from our families compared to stuff like that? It's like saying we're ashamed of who we are and what we can do. I know that, back home, there are people who have to hide their abilities or face really serious consequences. I think that we should be proud to live somewhere that we don't have those worries. Hiding then sort of seems disingenuous."

"We should be proud when we can," Dolf announced, vocally. It was a topic he was pretty passionate about. "Even if sometimes people will want to hurt us for it. If we are doing good, then no one gets to insult us for who we are or what we do. Some will have to be careful about it, others not, but remember you have skills and you work hard, and no one here will let them get you." His voice tapered off at the end, as he realised he didn't have the words to rant more about it. His foot kicked at the ground in frustration.

Tara watched Dolf for just a second more to make sure he'd be okay before wrapping things up. "I see their arguments, but ... it kind of depends on who your parents are. My dad's really, really different from my mom, so lying to him sometimes makes sense." To say the least; bitterness crept into her tone. "What do the rest of you think?"

Girls with Guns Meeting. The Shooting Range, Wednesday Afternoon.

[gorka-wolf.livejournal.com]

Triela spoke in low tones with Makita as people trickled in for the club. Once it was time to begin, she turned and spoke up.

"Welcome to Girls With Guns." She paused and smiled just a bit. "If you've been here before, welcome back. Most of you probably know me, but for those who don't, I'm Triela. I'm one of the people responsible for making sure none of you shoot anything you're not supposed to shoot." She paused and glanced over at Makita, inviting her to introduce herself.

Makita seemed rather relaxed and at-ease as she smiled at the gathered students. "I'm Makita," she said. "For those of you that don't already know me, I learned how to shoot just after I learned to walk, and I've been a member of the Nokgorkan Resistance Militia for over three years. If it has a trigger, I know how to use it."

"And I've worked in counter-terrorism for about six years now," Triela added. "What this means is that we know what we're talking about. If we tell you to do something? You better do it. Oh, and if you haven't met her, you should get to know our adviser." She offered Kerrigan a nod.

"There's a few rules you need to know before you even think about picking up a gun, regardless of your skill level," she continued, pointing at a large sign that was posted on both sides of the door. "The foremost one is to always treat every gun as if it is loaded. If I see anyone waving around a gun and making shooting noises, you're gone. Firearms are beautiful, wonderful creations, but they are not toys."

Triela's eyes narrowed at that, and she nodded. "What she said. Firearms are deadly by design, so don't even think about screwing around. And if you're new to guns and aren't sure what to do? That's what we're here for. Ask, don't just guess and hope you get things right."

"So to start, I want to hear what experience you've had with guns, and what your favorite is, if you have one. Just so that we know where everyone is starting from," Makita stated. "For instance, my babies--" and she pulled out her unloaded guns from their holsters, "--are Twined Model 79 Samsonov protocol machine pistols, with under slung G-79 protocol grenade launchers, and triple protoclips. Which basically means I can empty my clips three times before needing to reload either manually or with a new protocol. The reason I love the Samsonovs are two-fold. One, these were a gift from my father, and two, they're light and easy to maintain. When you're on the go a lot, those are important qualities in a firearm."

"OK, then who's next?"