fandomhighdorms | The Rocky Bits, Tuesday Afternoon

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The Rocky Bits, Tuesday Afternoon

Arthur'd left a message to all about the change in location for today's drill, last week. He was in something of a better mood, although yesterday's spar with Lady Elspeth had knocked him back down to a normal grouch. At least he no longer looked like he was contemplating murdering his co-conspirator.

He didn't start speaking until he was fairly sure they'd gotten their haul of people for the day. "Today, we begin to work with our terrain," he announced, "And each other. You all have vastly different skills and powers at your disposal; now's the time to share them. You'll be venturing out to different defensible locations, spread over the seaside to your right," he nodded, "the Rocky Bits at your left," another nod, "And the ground you're standing on. Pick one, and set up a plan to make it defensible."

After a quick glance at Arthur, to make sure he had finished, Leto continued: "And after having made your own strategy for defense, some research will help you develop it. Find examples from various points in history of successfull defense of a geographic location similar to the one you chose and write a short report on your own conclusions."

[~~Wait for OCD!~~ OCD is up!]

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"Huh," she said noncommittally. "Does it tire you out?"

She shook her head.

"No."

When she got angry, the rage could drain her if she let it slip. But when she was like this, it was fine. It was simple. It was, in fact, a little too easy.

Ino's silence was a bit longer that way. "Cuts through everything, huh?" She shook her head. "Not the weirdest, I guess, though I don't see how it doesn't tire you."

"It's like a knife through hot butter," she admitted. "I can hardly feel it. I was afraid I'd cut myself once, but my uncle explained that as long as I don't want to, I won't."

Which made the fact that she had, and what she'd done, even more terribly ironic. Emphasis on terrible.

She was switching topics now!

"What can you do?"

Ino was definitely glad for a subject change. "Me?" She chewed on her lip. "A pretty good range of stuff, I guess? Walk on water, up walls; I'm not bad at hand to hand. I use kunai--they're blades a bit bigger than my hand with handles that have a loop on the end of them--and senbon--metal needles--and wire mainly. Explosives too, I guess."

Take over peoples' minds.

"I'm better at espionage and sabotage than all out combat."

She felt somewhat stupid for just mentioning the one skill since goodness knew she had others. She'd studied the greatest tacticians the world had ever known, knew half a dozen languages, and probably had an understanding of anything factual you'd find in a dusty old book to rival Benton Fraser.

~~...that was a conversation that had to happen one day.~~

"We never did much espionage. My brother would probably be better at that."

"Espionage doesn't suit a lot of people," Ino admitted, with a shrug. "There's a lack of glory, for one, and people think it's dirtier killing someone who'd endanger your cover in cold blood, than it is to do it on the battlefield."

Which Ino thought was beyond stupid. Dead was dead was dead.

"It's kinda my family niche, though."

"Well, we snuck into an army base once, but that wasn't really 'stealth' so much as--"

Her brother killing a lot of people. She still felt terrible about that, and she knew Eliot hadn't quite recovered. She wasn't sure he could, really.

"Killing is killing."

She thought about Perry Millhouse and wished she hadn't.

"And I understand about family."

"Depends on the family," she said. "But I enjoy what I do."

Even when others treated it like it was dirty-bad-wrong.

Fiona didn't, at least not in the cold light of day, but she could see the necessity in it. Perry Milhouse had needed to die. She'd just done what needed doing. And Amanda Lane was safe because of it. She had to start thinking of Amanda more often.

"That's important. And like I said, how it's done doesn't make it any better. Dead is dead."

She shook her head.

"We should probably get to the activity. I'd bet you have experience in this kind of thing, don't you?"

Fiona had book knowledge, but not much experience.

"Of course," she said, with a shrug. "This whole thing is a bit like a game to me."

True, though not because she knew it already.

"Though it's a bit silly to go at it this way. There should be sides, and we try taking each other over."

"That would make more sense. Maybe that's what they're planning but they didn't tell us since they wanted to see if we'd be prepared for it anyway."

That was... Grandmother-type thinking.

"Well," she said dryly, "that's what they'll say when someone comments anyway."

Ino's opinion of both the leaders of this, now that Reno was gone... was not high.

She noticed.

"You don't like Leto either?"

No judgment, just curiosity.

"Nope," she said, with a cheerful smile. "I find him a stuck up jerk who thinks that the world ought to revolve around what he says, and that if people have oh lordy the nerve to disagree with him that obviously their opinions can't possibly have merit unless you happen to be of rank."

She looked a bit smug. "Which, obviously, doesn't work so well with me. I don't respect no one for anything, much 'less just who they were born, 'less they respect me too."

She'd found him rather nice, but then again, she'd never disagreed with him much.

Fiona lifted her head and gave Ino a smile.

"I'm the same way. Who you are and who your parents were are two completely different things, when it comes to respect. Leto's been very nice to me, but I won't stand for any of that nonsense. I've had enough of it already, thank you."

But she wouldn't act until he showed that face to her. She knew from her father that reputations, and disputes, had two sides.

"He might, possibly, have mellowed," she allowed. "But that's what he was like when I talked to him."

"And, it's not like I expect people to agree with me continuously? But if you're going to disagree I'd like more reasoning than that. I like a good fight, after all, but that's ridiculous."

"I wouldn't have stood for it," she agreed.

"And a good fight doesn't fall back on stupid excuses."

She grinned a little.

"One of the reasons I miss Eliot is because we used to fight sometimes. It was good for both of us. No one here is really equipped for vocabulary insult, though."

"Vocabulary insult?" she asked curiously. "And I'm totally good for a fight, 'long as you don't assume the fight is the end of, like, the world. That's boring."

She nodded.

"Eliot and I would think up the most obscure things we could say about each other to see if the other one could figure it out.

She smirked a little.

"Like if he needed to take a shower, I'd say he was starting to resemble a Amorphophallus titanum."

Ino blinked.

"...do I want to know what that means?"

Fiona laughed.

"It's a carrion flower. They smell like rotting meat."

"Ew." Ino wrinkled her nose. "That's revolting."

"You haven't met my brother when he needs a shower," she pointed out with a smug smile.

"I don't want to meet your brother when he's like that then!"

Re: Arrive/Mingle

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