The Roof - Thursday [after classes]

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

There were storms rolling in and Claire had the urge to sit on the roof and watch them.

Yes, it was a little on the crazy side, but she was feeling restless today for some reason, even after her early morning run with Jon.



[open roof!]

Comments

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela had changed out of her tuxedo after class and was now wearing one of her usual suits. She had a fairly large black duffel bag slung over her shoulder as she walked out onto the roof.

She seemed surprised to find Claire there. "Oh, hey," she waved.

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Triela," Claire said. She eyed the duffel bag. "Going somewhere?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Just the roof," she grinned. "Dinah and I were talking the other day and I realized that I hadn't actually practiced for an emergency exit from the roof."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Claire considered that for a moment and then grinned. "I guess it makes sense. What's in the bag?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Rappelling gear," Triela answered as she unslung the bag and set it down on the roof before kneeling next to it. "While I could just jump there's a chance I'd be injured at this height. And most of the other students couldn't go down like that anyway."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Only a chance that you'd be injured?" Claire asked. "And would we have access to rappelling gear in an emergency?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," she nodded. "Even I could hurt myself if I landed on something without much give at this height." She grinned, "And I keep the bag under my bed." Along with a whole bunch of other 'just in case' gear. "But I might actually leave a set up here just in case."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire smiled at that. She knew that she could jump from this height and would immediately heal upon landing. "What all abilities does your Conditioning give you?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Oh, the Conditioning just handles emotions and motivation, but it's necessary because most of my body is cybernetic." She kept forgetting that not everyone knew that. "So I'm much tougher than most people."

Ironically she didn't heal nearly as well as most people, though, and tended to need actual repairs if she got hurt.

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Cybernetic," Claire repeated. "How does that work? Did you have parts replaced or enhanced?"

Or had she been 'built' in a lab? That idea made Claire slightly uncomfortable to consider.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Replaced," Triela explained. "Most of the girls brought into the Agency have suffered some sort of catastrophic trauma. Well beyond anything modern medicine can repair. So it's either replacement or spending the rest of your life in a hospital bed."

Not that the girls really got a say in the matter, but that didn't change what the options would be if they did.

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Oh, wow, that's..." Claire paused. "I'm not sure what that is. I mean, I'm glad that there's a way to make people not suffer. But turning them into soldiers is kind of... I don't know."

She was afraid that's the kind of thing the Company would try.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's all still experimental, and that means expensive. The best way to get a government to pay for something is still the military."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire nodded. "Do the girls get a say in it at all?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"We're all wards of the state, so no." Triela didn't seem to mind, but the Conditioning wouldn't really allow that.

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Right, and Claire realized that. She wasn't sure how she felt about the whole thing either.

"So your cybernetics allow you to jump off of roofs without getting injured?"

That was a safer topic.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Well, to a certain point, yeah." Triela shrugged. "My bones and muscles are artificial so they're a lot tougher than the natural ones."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Which makes sense," she said. "Do you have any kind of healing ability?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela shook her head. "Actually, I don't heal as well as most people. The bones and muscles are artificial so they don't heal right. If I actually do get hurt I have to get repairs."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire nodded. "Wow. Can the clinic here do that kind of stuff?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"I don't think anyone there is trained for the sort of replacements I'd need. And as far as I know no one outside the Agency even has the necessary parts to do it with."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"So what happens if you get hurt here?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"I need to go back to Rome." Triela shrugged. "But so far that hasn't happened."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Well, that's good at least," Claire said.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"I'm tough enough that something pretty awful would have to happen for me to need repairs." She grinned. "I'm mostly bulletproof, after all."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"That must come in handy," Claire said with a smirk.

She was essentially bulletproof too. Or, well, getting shot only slowed her down for a minute or so most of the time.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"It does. Especially when people shoot at you."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Do people shoot at you often?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"It's not uncommon. Usually I shoot them first, though."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire nodded. "So you're good with guns? I was kind of uncomfortable using one in class the other day."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"I'm extremely good with guns." Modesty wasn't something Triela did very well.

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Then I guess I know who to come to if I want some pointers," Claire said.



[wtf icon fail in the last ping]

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Yep!" Triela agreed with a grin. "I'm a pretty good teacher, too." At least when it came to teaching people how to shoot things.

[Heee! Icon fail is fun!]

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"I will keep that in mind," Claire said. "I just joined fight club and Leto said he'd work with me on hand to hand."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

The mention of Leto had Triela pulling a face before she caught herself. She shook her head, "Well, in the Fall we'll be starting up the gun club again, so you'd be welcome to join us there."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire noticed the face but decided not to comment. "I might," she said. "We'll see what happens."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Even if you don't, if you ever want some pointers or anything come find me."

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," she said. "I definitely will."