Magic/Support Reserves: the Preserve, Wednesday After Classes

[trigons_child]

Today's snacks were distinctly fall in flavor and included cranberry baked brie and crackers (whole wheat, of course), roasted pumpkin seeds, and apple slices and caramel. It was possible Raven had gone a little overboard with nice treats in an attempt not to worry too much about the missing member of the Reserves today.

Said missing member may have also inspired the topic.

"Today we are going to discuss communication," Raven said. She didn't, to her credit, launch into a tirade about vague text messages and how they should be avoided because they were terribly distressing, Karla. "Though many of us come from different worlds and cultures, we all know how to communicate in some way, be it words or gestures or writing or telepathy or countless other ways. We have come to rely upon things such as the telephone or the internet to communicate with one another, but if something were to happen to deprive us of that technology, what other methods of communication do we have to pass important messages about dangers facing the island? What skills or powers might you possess to help deliver information quickly or safely or secretly?"

Tara would have had her own, milder, tirade to deliver, but she was also not going down that particular path. "Some of you are telepaths and can communicate that way," she said. "And ... some of us could work on spells that would let us talk mind to mind. It's not something I've tried, but it's in books. Or you could use a basic code, like pig latin or, if you're writing things down, the thing where 1 is A, 2 is B and so on. It all depends on how secure you need to be."

Dolf didn't know a certain Reserve member all that well, and so he was blissfully ignorant to any of the subtext of this particular meeting. He smiled at the group in all his ignorance. "Runners work, if you don't have powers," he said. "But they can be slow. It can also be good to have some signals decided, like with smoke or light, if you have a fire or a torch. I think communication happens through things we decide on ourselves, which is why it is important to talk about it. It can keep people from being killed or worse." He... wasn't making things much better for the subtexty mood that he wasn't picking up on, was he?

"As a fun way to show the importance of communication, we are going to play a game called "Scribblish," Raven finished up. "Once we are done discussing, I will pass out cards containing short phrases. If you wish to participate, you may attempt to draw what the phrase describes without using letters or numbers. Then you may pass the drawing -- without the initial phrase -- to the next person, who will attempt to describe what the drawing is of. The next person will draw the new phrase without seeing the previous drawing or the initial phrase, and so on until there have been three drawings and three new phrases." She managed a tiny smile. "I am told the resulting miscommunication can be very humorous."


[Please stand by for OCD. OCD is up! Co-written with the sensational life_inshadow and swordsandsoccer, but not glacial_witch, since she's run off to do "plot" stuff.]

Girls With Guns - Shooting Range [Wednesday afternoon]

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

As usual, Triela had brought a lot of her own gear to the range today. But some of it was new. Specifically, she had a small stack of wooden cut-outs that were shaped like pistols, but were clearly props. "Today we're going to do something a bit different," she announced with a small smile. What? She liked changing things up on people.

"Today, we're playing Keep-Away!" Maki, don't smile at people like that, it's disturbing. "Or, 'what do to when the other person has a gun and you don't.'"

"Most of you are going to be new to this, so we'll be practicing. And that means no live guns. So everyone safe and stow your weapons." Triela wasn't about to risk someone getting shot during an exercise because they were waving a live gun around. "And then come collect one of these," she added, holding up one of the wooden props.

"Do not hit each other with your fake-guns, either." It needed to be said. "Now, to be honest, the best thing to do when someone else has a firearm is to get the hell out of there. Call for help, head towards a crowded area where they may be more hesitant to fire. Don't be stupid, and don't be a hero. But sometimes, that is not an option."

"Exactly. You've all been around guns long enough by now to see how much damage one can do, so if you can disengage and find cover, that's the first choice. Sometimes, though, it's not an option. In that case, the first thing you need to understand is that you only ever get one chance to do this right. Mess up, and you'll get shot for your trouble. So we're going to practice this, and Makita and I are going to be very, very picky." No screwing around!

"The wrist is small, so unless you have very good aim, try to hit them in the shoulder or elbow to loosen the grip on the gun," Makita continued, pointing out weak spots on her own body. "Get above them and drop something, or hit from behind. If you can knock them out, that's better than just disarming."

Triela nodded in agreement. "And in the absolute worst case scenario in which they get the drop on you? The most important thing to do is control where the gun is pointing. It takes practice, which is what we're here for today, but if you're fast enough you can control the angle of a gun even if the person you're up against is bigger than you." She cocked her head. "Quick demonstration?" she suggested to Makita.

Makita did not have a wooden gun; Makita had a tiny squirt pistol. Because she was an organizer and she said so. "We'll do this in slow-motion a few times, so that you can see what we're doing," she said, taking aim at Triela.

The squirt gun got an amused little eyeroll, but then Triela moved. "Remember, the most important thing is to control which way the barrel of the gun is pointing. That means you don't just knock it out of the way, you have to grab something." She turned, her body twisting to bring a hand toward Makita's wrist. "Don't just grab someone's wrist. It doesn't actually control what matters." She paused for a moment to let Makita demonstrate the fact that someone holding your wrist just made it hard to aim at them, not impossible.

Whatever, Triela would get to use it in a few minuets. She could roll her eyes all she wanted; Makita was going to pull the trigger to demonstrate that aiming was harder, not impossible. "She'd be better off striking up, under my chin to force my head back," she offered, firing at her co-instructor. "Or, really, any number of things except grabbing my wrist."

"The wrist isn't necessarily a bad grab, but only if you can get another hand in to control the gun itself." Triela reached around with her other hand and wrapped it around the gun. "That way you control the weapon. You win if you keep control, and you win if you can incapacitate your opponent without getting shot. Those are your only two options. So everyone pair up and try some things out." Her smile was a bit cold. "Makita and I will come give you some pointers."

Fifth floor common room [Wednesday evening]

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

Rilla had turned on the television, mostly for background noise as she attempted another batch of cookies, but the cooking competition had caught her attention.

"Why would you make corn into a snow cone?" she asked aloud. "And what is a snow cone?"

The cookies were going to be charcoal if she didn't remember they were in the oven soon...