fandomhighdorms | Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

Entry tags:

Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

"Okay, guys," Zack said, stepping to the forefront of the Reserves meeting and grinning, his hands on his hips. "Today we're going to follow the lead of the Magic Reserves, and start focusing on sharing the more specific talents of the people in this group. But with a twist! While plenty of the stuff that they have over in the Magic corps is specific to just the person giving the demonstrations, the benefit to working physically is that plenty of the skills that each of us have can be taught to one another! Maybe you've got proficiency in a weapon that nobody else here seems to know, or else you've got awesome tracking skills and think that we could stand to learn how to use them, too! Or you might have something as simple as a training exercise that you've seen put to use back home that you think we could benefit from, here. If you have something to share with the group, I'm sure we'd all be thankful that you offered up the time to teach us!"

Zack, for example, would teach the group the fine art of smuggling cookies into serious meetings of an almost militaristic nature. The trick, of course, was to leave them in his pockets and give them to people who asked nicely.

And Arthur would be onto him eventually. He was just keeping an eye out. "So if you are prepared to share, step up to us this week. You may bring your own tale to the front this week, give us a demonstration, and please come up to have a word with us if you would like to demonstrate some time in the coming weeks, or would be willing to offer your services in training, or leading the reserves through a training exercise. We are here to learn from each other as best we can, and so each other is the best resource we've got."

He gave a nod to those gathered, then took a step back. Only to take a step back later to give his own round-up.

[[ ~~wait for the~~ ocd up! ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I've seen them," Zack replied, wrinkling his nose. "They're freaky."

They kinda gave him the shivers. And he'd thought that he liked angels until he'd seen those things.

"What was up with those, anyhow?"

"Uh," she chewed her lip. "They, like, just showed up one day? And people started disappearing. So when people started putting it together, we went after them thinking--oh, you know, we'll be all smashy smashy on them and they'll go away and give us back everyone else? But you couldn't smash 'em, nothing really hurt them and they wouldn't move at all when you looked at them but if you even blinked they'd be right up in your face."

She shrugged a bit sheepishly. "One got me--I got sent to the past--1899, Paris, if that makes sense to you--and spent seven months my-time there but it was only a week of here-time."

The place meant nothing to Zack. He wouldn't know Paris from New York from Medicine Hat if the three of them joined forces and decided to kick his butt together. But the date, he could figure out. Over a century ago?

"So... that's all they did?" He looked kind of confused at that, yes. "They moved around and then they sent people places?"

... That didn't sound so bad, really. It sounded like an adventure.

"Well," Ino said, "no one knew they were sending people places. Just that they were disappearing them, so..."

"What was Paris like?"

Leave it to Zack to totally miss the point, huh? But he was kinda jealous. He wanted to go on an adventure like that! And Ino was back and in one piece, so it was fine!

No faaaaair!

Her lips twitched, but hey, it was a looong time ago anyway.

"It was--different," she said, shrugging. "I didn't know the language, and I didn't have any money that they accepted so I uh, resorted to ninja-ing to subsist."

Soul of a thief sometimes, really.

"Dirty but kinda--gorgeous anyway? Like? There was something amazing 'bout it even with all the things they hadn't invented yet."

"Sounds like a neat experience," Zack settled on, giving his shoulder a shrug. "I mean, maybe not someplace you'd want to be stuck for the rest of your life, not if you don't know the language and all, but totally a learning experience, right?"

Zack could find the bright side of just about anything. Don't mind him.

"Absolutely," she deadpanned. "I utterly adored being on my own for seven months with no idea if I'd ever see anyone I cared about ever again."

Oh. Right. And now he grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Okay, maybe not so much, then. I mean. If you did know? But that'd be a pretty big if, huh?"

Oopsie.

Ino relented and smiled at him.

"Honestly? If I did know? Then it would've been pretty awesome. Totally a sink or swim sort of adventure in learning another culture, I could easily be down with that."

And the smile that Zack returned spoke volumes about how thankful he was that the conversation was back on some kind of happy medium, then.

"Just like that," he agreed, nodding a little. "I mean, it's one thing if you don't know if you'll ever get back. I know that, too." He'd been a vampire at the time. "But if you knew there was a time limit? Heck, I'd go on runs like that just for the sake of it, if I could."

Ino paused.

"I... would too, definitely," she decided. "I mean, they're awesome training exercises, even if you're not fighting."

Zack's little smile shifted into a little grin. Zack apparently wasn't Zack unless he grinned at least now and then.

"Field trips would be kinda neat, huh? To places that are just totally out there. Like, I don't know. I guess Midgar would be a pretty big deal to anyone who hasn't ever seen a huge city like it before. Stuff like that."

"I totally need to see Midgar," she said, grinning at him. "I mean, my village is pretty big for my world but people 'round here have way bigger populations and stuff."

She laughed.

"People visiting my world? Would be totally funny." A beat. "And worrisome. It'd be like 'okay, seriously, don't wander off and ask weird questions--you're strangers, ANBU will take you and interrogate you if you make a pain of yourselves'."

"Sounds like the Turks," Zack noted. "At least, what I've heard about the Turks, anyhow. I haven't really worked with them, before."

This too will change, grasshopper.

Ino laughed. "Picture a village where, like, half the population has some tie to the Turks? That's what you get, kinda."

"Oooooooh." Zack blinked, mulling that one over. "Huh. That would make for one heck of a security grid, wouldn't it? Remind me to never look suspicious in your village, okay?"

Because, even if he could hold his own, for the most part, he didn't exactly want to rush out and piss off the ninjas either.

Ino laughed.

"Honest, you barely notice it if you're native--they know you're native too, right? But since you wouldn't be and, well, you'd kinda stick out as not being? Yeah, they'd be watching."

Creep him out more, Ino.

She shrugged. "They're not unreasonable, but yeah. Don't do suspicious stuff and seriously, if you visit, no sneaking about. That'd be bad."

Zack actually laughed aloud, at that.

"Have I ever struck you as the sneaky type anyhow? Heck, if they don't trust me, they're welcome to partner me up with someone to be sure I don't go poking around where I shouldn't. I'm curious, but I don't think I'm nosy."

The whole 'walking into buildings and poking through people's stuff while on missions' thing was just a game mechanic, shut up.

Suuure it was!

"I don't know if they'd go so far as to pair you up with anyone," she admitted, "but yeah, you'd probably do okay there."

Even if the fact that Zack sort of oozed military training would get raised eyebrows, no matter how harmless he was.

Or, at least, no matter how harmless he seemed.

Dun dun dunnnnn!

"Maybe sometime, I'll get the chance to find out." He shrugged, smirking. "We can swap-off. I'll take you to Midgar, and you can take me to... Uh..." Blink. "What is the name of your village, anyhow?"

Don't laugh at him Ino, there's a solid chance you never said.

She laughed anyway. "Konoha! Or Konohagakure no Sato, but you'd be better off stickin' with Konoha. And that? Is a totally awesome plan. I vote yes."

Because it was a pretty awesome plan.

Zack grinned pretty brilliantly at that, laughing a little and shaking his head.

"It sounds like a small, backwater kind of place," he replied. "Konohagakure no Sato!" And miraculously, he didn't butcher the name, either. "Like Gongaga, really. Only... More ninjas."

"Nooo," she protested. "It's not backwater at all! We're one of the five major Hidden Villages! I mean, we're not as--technologically advanced but..."

"Well, if you're hidden, then you probably don't get many passers-through, right?" Zack was smirking a little, yes. "That'd technically make you backwater, wouldn't it?"

Edited 2009-11-21 01:59 (UTC)

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys

Re: Talk to the Guys