Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

[raspberryturk]

"Good afternoon, reservists," Arthur said, his voice loud enough to sound across the field. "Today, we've got a bit of a surprise for you. As some of you might still recall, Reno used to be one of the leaders of this reserve. He has chosen to stay with us after the weekend to see you through a meeting once again. For those of you who haven't met him, I suggest you open your ears and listen. Reno?"

"Yo!" Look, it was not a greeting from Reno unless there was an exuberant 'yo' involved, here. "I see none of you chumps managed to kill one another or get your asses completely kicked or anything equally stupid in my absence, so good on you." He shot Arthur a crooked grin before turning his attention back to the group, his stun baton resting lightly on his shoulder, one hand in his pocket. "I'm thinkin' you guys've probably been through all kinds of fun and excitin' shit involvin' weapons you ain't familiar with, but I hear you ain't got to play with my personal favorite yet, the baton. Nightsticks, for lack of a better word, 'cause I ain't stupid enough to hand you rookies a bunch'a live friggin' electrical weapons like mine, here."

See, Reno totally practised forethought, occasionally.

It was very impressive. Sort of. "We covered staffs last week," Arthur added, "But obviously, the baton works on a shorter range. I'm sure you'll be able to show us how to work it, though, Reno." Yeah. Forethought. Letting Reno lead the reserves.

"There's plenty you gotta remember when playin' with your rod," Reno mused, a deliberate little smirk toying over his lips. "First, like Arthur said, it's short-range. You're goin' up against someone with better reach, like staffs or swords, then you're gonna have to be faster, or damn good at takin' hits, yo." He gave the baton a swing, then, moving forward with a speed... that wasn't quite human. He hadn't done this around here in a while. He felt like showing off. "There's your drawback, slowpokes. The upside is, this puppy's a one-handed weapon, which frees up your other hand for anything you might need it for, from grabbin' your opponent by the throat to flippin' them the bird if they're pissin' you off." Shut up. That was totally important. "Bein' for closer range, you might wanna rely more on other things at your disposal, too. What your baton can't reach, your feet sure as hell should, yo. So while they're watchin' the stick in your hand, bust their jaw with a good kick. You ain't workin' with a bladed weapon, here. Speed's your best friend, because the faster you swing, the harder the hit. Blunt-force trauma, kiddies. It does wonders, zoto."

Reno was a terrible influence.

A terrible influence who had brought enough lead pipes batons for everybody here to play with. Please, don't kill one another.

[Open!]

Comments

Arrive! Mingle!

[raspberryturk]

Get your mingle on, yo!

... Zack managed to smuggle in cookies again.

You probably don't want to know what Reno would have smuggled in.

Re: Arrive! Mingle!

[intraspective]

...

Ino saw Reno. Seriously debated turning and fleeing from the meeting (because, honest, giving him a good chance to smack her sounded like a Bad Idea) but stuck around because, well...

Smacking people with batons sounded pretty good to her, yeah. Violence was sometimes the answer.

Re: Arrive! Mingle!

[bitchy_smurf]

Illyria might have been vaguely interested in what Reno would have smuggled in, given his proficiency with his...rod.

It didn't stop her from partaking of the cookies.

Re: Arrive! Mingle!

[brat_inslayage]

See Kennedy rolling her eyes massively at all the rod talk? Yes. Paying attention, though -- those things had more reach than a stake did, and some of the strategies were probably applicable there too.

Huh. Maybe a sharpened wooden baton... ? That'd be cool.

Re: Arrive! Mingle!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah snickered, and yup grabbed cookies. Then grabbed a baton, because hi, very similar to eskrima, and she could have some fun with that.

Re: Arrive! Mingle!

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

Back on the horse again. Fiona was there, looking at the new arrival, quirking her lips as she listened to his comments about 'rods'.

Spar!

[raspberryturk]

With batons!

Reno hooked buzzers up to the ends of them, so that if you hit someone else with the very tip, they'd make zapping sounds!

... Unfortunately, they're playing Carol of the Bells, instead.

Re: Spar!

[bitchy_smurf]

"More sticks," Illyria said, not entirely dismissive as she twirled it in her hand, just... she liked sharp things better. She was also fast and damn good at taking hits, though, so she could see the potential value of a weapon like this in a situation where her blade had been...eaten by sluggoths or something.

Re: Spar!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"What's wrong with sticks?" Dinah checked, then spun hers, throwing it in the air and catching it. "Like the man said, blunt-force-trauma. Woo."

Re: Spar!

[bitchy_smurf]

"It will do," Illyria answered with a bony shrug. "I simply prefer blades. The damage is more satisfying."

Re: Spar!

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

Sticks were all right. Fiona picked one up, hefted it to check the weight, and took a few practice swings to learn how it felt.

Talk to the Guys!

[raspberryturk]

When they ping in!

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[raspberryturk]

Reno? So there, and looking as smug as ever with a real baton resting on his shoulder.

And possibly keeping a decent distance from that SOLDIER kid with the spiked hair.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[bitchprince]

Like Arthur wasn't going to abuse the opportunity to hang with Reno. "Well, that was almost impressive." In his own way.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[raspberryturk]

"You know, I hear that a lot," Reno replied, grinning over at Arthur and giving his shoulders a light shrug. "What would it take to ramp that up to 'friggin' awesome,' anyhow?"

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Dude!" Dinah grinned as she wandered up, twirling the baton. "How's tricks and the state of Midgar?"

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[raspberryturk]

"Tricks," Reno said, his voice as matter-of-fact as Reno ever got, "are just as tricky as ever. Midgar's still... Midgar. You're askin' about Edge."

He frowned for a moment, shot a small glance in Zack's direction, ascertained that the kid was blissfully oblivious, and then took a few extra steps away from him, just for good measure.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[glacial_queen]

Well. So that was Reno. Funny, while Karla couldn't have pictured him in a thousand years, once she'd actually seen him, she'd known him instantly, even before he'd introduced himself to the group.

...Maybe he just seemed the kind of guy who'd happily get a Chocobo tattoo'd on his ass?

There was somehting both comforting and intimidating about him though. He had that kind of lazy arrogance she associated with Warlord Princes. Which was why she waited until after the meeting to cautiously approach.

"Reno?" Karla shot him her best 'unsure but game' smile. "It's Karla. Nice to meet you in person."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[raspberryturk]

"In the flesh," Reno agreed, giving her a little quirk of a grin and the smallest of raises of his chin in greeting. "So you're the one who wants to help out in Edge, huh?"

He took a half-step back, taking a look at her, as if he was trying to gauge exactly what she was capable of. It involved a thoughtful frown, and then a shrug of his shoulders. She looked about as confident about this whole thing as he was. That would have to do.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

Zack was there! And possibly thinking that this was kinda a neat idea, having graduates come in to teach things! Bonus points that they were Turks, too.

But these baton thingies were waaay too short for his tastes.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

Ino had given the fact that Reno looked like he'd be busy talking for a while, coupled with the fact that he was standing, like quite a ways, from Zack...

And decided she'd risk further smackage when Reno eventually caught up with her.

"Zaaack," she carolled. "I've got something for you."

[Massive SP 'till I get home!]

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[bitchprince]

Arthur was present, and in a good mood. For some reason. If this kept up, people were going to start having trouble recognizing him.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[thatsamilkshake]

Oh, if only Francine had trouble recognizing him. But no, she knew just who to approach with the leather coat over her arm, the bag containing a neatly washed and pressed shirt in her hand, and the expression of sheer FML, no, really FML on her face.

"I had your coat dry-cleaned," she said, not entirely making eye contact. "Also sorry, and thank you."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[future_sandworm]

Leto was here and wondering whether it was Reno's presence that had put Arthur in such a good mood. Whatever the reason, he wondered if he should be worried or relieved.

OOC

[raspberryturk]

It is not yet six in the morning. Blagggggh.

Also, I'll grab pings after work, if you have any for Reno and/or Zack today. :D