Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

[puppy_fair]

"We did well this past weekend in warding off the gremlins." Even if Arthur'd been asleep for... well, less time than he was starting to blow it up into being, but he was frustrated. Anyway. "But we can do better. We have shared out our phone numbers - and if you haven't, yet, please leave it in the middle - but when an invasion catches us this early in the morning, we're still left scrambling. I want some of you to serve as points of contact for other students, I want all of you to see about getting a warning out or something like it if you are caught outside the dorms."

"Today's activity is going to be simple," Zack added, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling. "Figure out these points of contact that we have to work on, talk about what it is we can do to make sure that people aren't getting caught out in this stuff without warning. And," he smiled a little, his expression wry, "suggest ways that we could have handled this last invasion better. They won't always party themselves to death."

[Open!]

Comments

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

The gremlins had been fun, it was true!

"Yeah, it looked like things were pretty busy at Caritas on Saturday when I swung by there, too," Zack replied, smiling lopsidedly. "I left some potions behind, though, so hopefully they managed to make use of them."

Ninety-nine. So, you know. All of them.

Zack could pick up more in Midgar, anyhow.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

Ino eyed him dubiously.

"Did you keep any for yourself?"

See, she knew Zack.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

Oh, she knew him entirely too well.

"I have my Cure materia equipped!"

See?

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

She saw!

Ino eyed him for a moment longer then relented and smiled. "Okay," she said, "but you'd better make sure you've got the Ethers to go with it."

At least, she consoled herself, potions were as common as mud in Midgar.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"I've got at least four or five," was Zack's very reassuring reply.

One shy of a hundred potions, and he had four ethers. It wasn't hard to tell what items this kid burned through relentlessly, was it?

"Which was more than enough against those guys out there. Mostly, I stuck to my sword anyhow. And a few limit breaks."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

"Somehow," she said, crossing her arms. "I don't find that very reassuring. I've got potions, and you're taking 'em with you next time you go out and I'm not with you."

That's not the way to ask, Ino.

"But seriously, the gremlins weren't hard. It was a lot of fun keeping the clinic clear of them." Ino had an interesting definition of fun.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"It was plenty of fun clearing them from the streets, too," Zack replied, bouncing on his toes. Why no, he certainly wasn't going to protest her pushing potions on him, if it made her feel better. "Especially after dark! Did you get a load of the way those things swarmed after dark? I mean... They were kind of stupid for gremlins. Their bites just bled lots. But they were still fun to deal with."

Somewhere near the end of the weekend, he'd even remembered to tie a bandage around the bite on his arm.

Because he'd given his potions away. And didn't want to waste his ethers.

Shh.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

"I spent a lot of Sunday night goin' after them," she admitted. "'Cause Saturday I crashed hard from chakra-exhaustion."

Ino wasn't used to using that much healing chakra in one day. It had been excellent practice, but really...

"So," she asked archly, "should I assume that the bandage is a new fashion accessory?"

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"All the rage in... Uh... Mideel, this year!"

No, it wasn't. He'd been to Mideel once in the past twelve months, and the biggest fashion statement he'd noticed while he was there was red leather and complete facials in the style of Genesis.

"It's not a big deal, Ino."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

"If it's not a big deal," she replied, "would you mind terribly if I made it entirely a no deal?"

Look, she was both a friend. Friend. And a clinic worker.

Hello.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

Zack glanced at the bandage on his arm thoughtfully, and then looked back at her, smiling crookedly and shrugging. Why not?

"If it isn't too much trouble, sure," he replied. "It doesn't really bother me at all, though. I've had worse."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

"I'm sure you have," she answered, lips twitching as she reached to start picking that bandage off. "And you're still going to have to deal with me saying minor or not it's got to be healed."

A pause.

"'Less it's a training injury you got from being stupid. Then I will laugh."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"Gremlin ambush during my morning run," Zack laughed, shaking his head. "Back-attack, you know? The gremlin didn't last long after that, really."

He held out his arm to make picking said bandage off a little easier. Who was he to be difficult, after all?

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

He was a smart one, not being difficult. She quirked a grin at him as she got the bandage off and inspected the bite with critical eyes.

"You'd think the sword would be a hint that you fight back," she noted.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"You'd think, huh? These guys really didn't seem too keen on taking hints."

Like, at all.

Zack's arm actually didn't look too terrible at a glance. The bite wound was deep, and it looked like it had been messy, to say the least, when it was fresh. It also looked as though it had been in the process of healing for a touch longer than the four days that Zack had been running around with the injury, however.

It couldn't possibly be comfortable, but it wasn't anything to be alarmed about, either.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

She just sighed, huffing a soft laugh.

"You heal fast," Ino noted, chakra making her hand glow green as she placed it over the bite. Fast but Ino was still going to take care of it now.

"And that's true, 'bout the hints, they didn't seem to notice my pile of bodies outside the clinic." What? She'd needed some place to put them.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"Between you and me, I think the bodies just kinda encouraged them," Zack laughed. "I mean, they figured they could do better than the last guy, you know?"

Okay, Ino's hand on his arm... that was kinda nice. So naturally he had to smile some more.

And lean. Her way. Sorta. You know.

FRIENDS.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

Her smile went a bit silly, but Ino wasn't going to complain at the leaning.

Besides, it made it... easier... to heal him. Yes.

FRIENDS.

"They all failed," Ino said, wrinkling her nose cheerfully up at him as half her mind was focused on healing the bite and making sure it was clean. "Clearly means I'm badass. I got to practice some more with Thunder, though, which was nice."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"You must be getting stronger with it after a weekend like that, huh?" He wasn't bumping his shoulder against hers. Honest. That was totally your imagination, there. "I guess this means we're about due for another visit to Midgar. Maybe we can poke at this mission I've got, huh?"

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

A very solid imagination, yes. Considering it seemed to be a shared one. Ino leaned a bit and beamed at that. She let the glow in her hand fade, studying the unbroken skin and nodding at her work.

"I think so? I'm getting quicker at using it, at least." And wouldn't that be interesting once she got so used to fighting with it that fighting without got weird? "And I think we're seriously due for another trip. Mission! I still ain't heard anything back 'bout mine and it's totally unfair."

Which meant she was going to co-opt his, yes. Fair. Just like her own nudge that was your imagination at work.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

Fair's fair when working with a Fair. It's true.

Zack smiled, rubbing at his arm a little where the injury had been. Good as new! Which meant he was going to have to flex. Sssh. He knew he had nice arms, and he was totally at liberty to show them off now and again.

"And, you know, once we complete this mission, ShinRa might even send us more like it. You know, once we prove that we can handle it, and all!"

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

He did have very nice arms.

She was still going to snicker and move to poke him in the side, though, just for showing off. Even if she did appreciate it. A, um, lot.

"We can totally handle it." Probably! Ino was going to assume so and pack a lot of potions anyway. "And you're sure ShinRa's going to be okay with me tagging 'long?"

Yes, she'd asked that before. Yes, she was asking again.

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"So long as the work gets done, why not? It's just monsters, you know?" There he went, laughing and squirming at the finger to the ribs. "If we weren't doing it, civilians might start trying to anyhow, and that's when people start to get hurt."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[intraspective]

Ino prudently skipped back out of immediate reach in case he should opt for retaliation and laughed.

"I'll take your word for it," she said, grinning. "Besides, it's not like I'm doing anything bad, yeah? I'm helping so they can afford to ignore me."

Re: Talk to the Guys!

[puppy_fair]

"I guess it helps that you're not technically on the payroll," Zack pointed out, giving her a wry smile at that. "But you get your pick of the loot from the monsters, at least?"