first sortie.

[unbr8kable]

[Six hours previous, everything had been so much simpler. The Eta cohort had made it to live combat training, out in one of the few areas the Tenno had claimed back from the invaders. Xia had been vibrating the whole day, grinning wide as she suited up in the boring steel training mech (hers would be blue, she decided, or maybe black, with bold red stripes on the limbs) and deployed to the field, not even cracking on Wimperson, the Support (not his real name, but it may as well have been).

The Heralds didn't come up on radar until they were practically on top of the trainees. Maybe if there'd been more lead time, it would've been less of a shitshow, but who the hell knows.

The grimy details aren't important, but they aren't great. Damage to all suits, with two damaged beyond repair; the Leader froze under pressure, the Shadow couldn't keep up with the speedy Heralds. Wimperson actually came through. Johnson the Medic went down right there, in front of them.

Xia and Jacob have only just gotten out of their debriefing, another unexpected first for the day.

She and Jacob did good, Xia knows. They kept their heads, were barely hurt, they moved together well. "You'll make a good team," Corporal Kuwahara tells them before turning towards the medical ward to check on Johnson's surgery. "Go get some rest."

But no, rest is pretty much the opposite of what they need right now, Xia thinks. She turns to Jacob, giving her best attempt at a normal expression.]

Wanna get out of here?

Comments

[unbr8kable]

[she looks out over the street below, past it, lips pursed. hesitates, starts over.]

...Think you could make it to the station from here? Like the way the monorail goes, I mean. Down the tracks.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He pops the tsukune into his mouth and then the chip, too. He chews a minute, thinking, and scoots the oden over all the way into her lap. Then he grabs hold of the fence and leans out over the drop, way too far, so he can gauge the distance to the station. When he comes back up, his cheeks are flushed and he's grinning.]

I bet we could.

[unbr8kable]

[she watches him as he looks, casually chewing on chikuwa, because of course he wouldn't lose his balance, so why even worry?]

From here, it's just a matter of aim, right?

[crossmyheartandhope]

Yeah. I mean, we'll want to time it for right after the monorail comes through, but it's a pretty big target, right? All we gotta do is drop down.

[Doesn't seem especially concerned that the drop is the height of a train and a little more besides. Plainly that is a reasonable distance.]

[unbr8kable]

Yeah, if it'd get here sometime this century...

[as if she'd been waiting for it before... and so long as you were within 3x your height, no biggies, right? she scoots closer to the edge, leaning over to judge for herself]

But yeah, there's gotta be a good 18 inches, that's plenty.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Rescues the oden that just about slid off her lap when she leaned over.]

We better finish this before we go. It's gonna get cold.

[unbr8kable]

[it would've been a noble sacrifice, though the passers-by below do appreciate his foresight]

You can kill it. I gotta stay nimble to win this jump.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Salutes with his chopsticks and digs right in.]

You don't even want your egg? The egg's the best part.

[todorable]

I'll get that egg on your face when I beat you to the station!

[grins through another handful of chips, hopping to her feet and dropping one down, watching it waft towards the track]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Oh, you're on.

[Also, he is eating your egg, cause that totally sounded like a no to him.]

[unbr8kable]

Hey!

[It was a no, but that doesn't mean she won't crumble plenty of chips into his hair]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Squawks and jerks away, batting at her hands. Good thing he tied that bag to the fence, or it would have tumbled eighty feet straight down, onto the heads of those randos down there.]

[Just like the oden just did.]

.....aww, man.

[unbr8kable]

...Ahh-ha ha haw, man! That was awesome!

[said randos do not seem to agree, if the yelling and cursing that is sent their way is anything to go by]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Not as awesome as still having that daikon would've been.

[You wanted a noogie, right? Sure you did.]

[unbr8kable]

Ack-- H-hey!

[bats ineffectively at him, trying (and failing) not to laugh. on the ground, the randos's anger flips to freaked concern real quick, as two kids horsing around are even less desirable to have fall on you than daikon are]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[To be fair, it is probably not the best place for horsing around. He leans back and ducks down to avoid the batting hands, unrelenting with that noogie, but that puts him hanging out way too far over the drop again. He's laughing, too.]

Oh, it's way too late for "hey"!

[todorable]

I'll show you what's too late!

[she wriggles around to grab at him, attempting to tickle at his sides instead, surely this won't prompt anyone to go over the edge]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Yelps and jerks back, laughing. He's hanging half off the ledge now, one foot dangling, one hand holding him up. Someone is ridiculously ticklish.]

That's cheating!

[Well, they say the best defense is a good offense. Hopefully she is also ridiculously ticklish.]

[unbr8kable]

You're doing it!

[she is definitely not ticklish! at all!!! which is why she even (temporarily!) breaks off her attack to wriggle back deeper into the little divot to avoid him (well, as much as a couple feet of space allows for avoidance, which isn't really much at all)]

Q-quit it!

[she laughs, attempting to defend her sides]

[crossmyheartandhope]

No way - you're the one who wanted to fight dirty!

[Swings himself back up, now that he's not trying to escape, and doubles down on the tickling... for just a couple of seconds. Then he breaks off and cocks his head to one side, like he's listening.]

Wait. Is that - ?

[It is. Its's the monorail.]

[unbr8kable]

Thank god...

[she straightens out, peering over as the train chugs past, slowing to stop at the station some meters away. one or two tired commuters get off, a cheery chime rings, and the monorail begins to pull away.

Xia grins up at him, eyes shining with anticipation]

You ready?

[crossmyheartandhope]

Hell yeah, I'm ready.

[Or he will be in a second. He's busy untying the gin and candy bag from the fence and tying it to one of his belt loops.]

[unbr8kable]

[good thinking, she does the same with her leftovers and flips the bag up against her back, zipping closed her jacket to hold it in place. Then she stands and stretches, limbering up as best she can in the cramped space]

Bet I can make it to the platform faster than you can!

[crossmyheartandhope]

You got a bet.

[And he grins, and ducks his head, and steps right off the ledge.]

[unbr8kable]

[watching, and counting off since if someone was supposed to have brought a stopwatch it isn't her]

One...two...three...