fandomhighdorms | Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

Arthur scraped his throat after everyone had arrived. "I hope you all enjoyed Reno's presence last week. Today, we'll be concerned with two things, reservists," he said, "First of all, I hope all of you have taken the time to visit the Magical Reserves at work some time during the past few months. If you haven't, please do. They are hard workers, and worthy of our trust." After a pause, he continued. "We will all at some point encounter a foe using forces we don't understand." Thank God for that 'we', or Arthur never might have managed to get the phrase out of his throat.

"In such case, it's important not to panic, and to keep some kind of plan ready. A way to shield or shroud yourself. Keep hidden and strategize, or think on your feet, use your surroundings. I am not necessarily speaking of magic here; running into technology you don't know might have the same devastating effects." ...Boy, was Arthur happy he'd learned about guns before running into anyone using them.

"I'd like to open the floor for debate about the best ways to deal with an attacker who uses powers or materials you don't have a direct grasp on. How would you improvise? Likewise, if you have such a man-- or, er, a woman. If you have such a person on your side instead, learn from them. Find out what your fellows are capable of. That way, you won't wind up underestimating their abilities in a fight, and cheating yourself out of a good partnership." Cough. "On either end, understanding is our greatest tool. It might even bring you friends where you used to see enemies."

Arthur crossed his arms. "Secondly, we'll be repeating an old exercise," he said, "Pick a partner. One of you hides in the preserve, setting a trap, the other tracks them and tries to take them out." Beat. "Without lethal weapons, if you please. That will be all. Get to it."

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There are sandwiches! And... no cookies. It's an Arthur day.

How do you cope when you run into an enemy who doesn't use means you're familiar with? How much do you know about your fellow warriors' special abilities?

Which Arthur still insists is not hide and seek, but a brilliant tactical exercise.

When they ping in.

And off to the jaw doctor for me. Blargh.

Arthur was there, of course, and fiddling with his gloves a bit in a show of nonchalance.

In reality, it was because he wasn't sure these gloves technically fit anymore, considering that they were starting to wear with age. Hm.

Good thing Dinah brought some Beaver Buzz and a bag of cheezy chips expecting that, hunh? And yay, stalking day!

Good luuuuuck! And yay shirtless Bradley! Keep picturing him if they have to drug you up!

"...really?" Jennifer said out loud, a little twinged. "Our exercise is 'The Most Dangerous Game, Home Edition?"

Kennedy's list of reactions to Arthur's spiel went something like this:

1) A slightly smug smirk about being ahead of the curve on watching the Magic Reserves at work, even if half of it still made no sense to her.
2) An eyeroll of 'duh' at his point about not panicking.
3) A resigned sigh over all the 'think on your feet, use your surroundings' stuff that she'd heard from her Watcher a million times, but was somehow 95% less compelling when she had to hear it from a guy. (Constance hadn't been her originally assigned Watcher, female Watchers being few and far between; even at the age of six Kennedy had mastered the art of pitching a fit.)
4) A dangerous upward twitch of her eyebrow at 'if you have such a man,' luckily disarmed by 'or, er, a woman.'
5) A skeptical look and a disbelieving snort at the description of the exercise.

"... we're playing hide and seek. Seriously?"

"It's not hide and seek," he said, promptly. "It's a military exercise. I suggest you get moving."

"Our exercise is 'how not to get killed in the woods'," Arthur replied, lifting an eyebrow, "But call it whatever pleases you, I don't care."

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Psht." Somehow she was extra bratty around Arthur. Why was that? "Only if you have a drill-sergeant type of term for yelling 'it,' but it's still hide and seek."

Maybe it was all the extra testosterone seeping out of his pores when he walked.

He leaned over. "Hide and seek is a children's game," Arthur told her. Lightly. "This is about stealth, discipline, and overpowering your opponent when he--" Pause. "...or she least expects it."

I just spent half an hour Wiki-surfing through articles on variants of hide-and-seek and other children's games.

It was ridiculously fascinating, but.

*SHAKES FIST*

Yeah, you know, that had to be it, having the polar (with attendant drastic temperature drop) opposite effect of pheromones-- and hey, with the leaning over and being taller than her and hey. She wasn't intimidated, but come on, not helping with cordiality here!

"So it's the PG-13 version instead of the G-rated one," Kennedy said, partially mollified; put it in those terms and it sounded a little less like playtime. "Fine. I can work with that, but just FYI? Still hide and seek. Maybe a cooler version, though."

"It is not," Arthur said, with a slightly incredulous laugh in his voice, "Hide and seek. I'd be happy to join you if you need to be shown the difference."

Oh, you love me, bb. Don't lie.

See, now I can't hear the phrase 'shirtless Bradley' without thinking about the commentary on the first few Season 2 eps and Bradley loudly counting his own shirtless scenes.

Who's lying? I just choose to express it in dysfunctional ways. :D

Kennedy's jaw set, and she nodded. "Okay, then. You're on."

Oh, Kenn, don't. Just don't.

As if you'll listen to your own narrative.

Mat was totally hiding.

Under his hat brim.

At least until someone came along to make things a little more interesting, that is.

"Would you like to be the hunted," Arthur continued, amicably, "Or the hunter?"

Either way, he was more than fairly sure he'd best her. For one, she was a woman.

... at least he tended to keep these kind of judgements on inside voice these days.

...You realise that mentioning dysfunctionality while I'm on this account obliges me to link this clip again in order to satiate Arthur's need to go NO WAY ME MORE THAN YOU, right?

Or maybe that's just me. Carry on.

For two, she had a painfully high opinion of herself sometimes. Most times. Whatever. People tended to not keep that judgement on inside voice.

"I can take you," Kennedy blustered, using up a month's supply of bravado in four words. "You know what? Hell, I'll even let you be the hunter just to prove it."

She was so going down.

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Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

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Hide and Seek

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