A Troubled Soldier 01

[theriflespiral]

I: Delivery to Elysium
Elysium-the-city was far larger than Natalia had first assumed. Not that this was a problem for her-- a day or two among the rooftops, and she would know this place as well as anyone who lived here.

For now, though, she was momentarily relying on a map she kept carefully tucked away, and an address on a box with a memorized order form (and countersign, and counter-countersign, easily handwaved).

Being a delivery girl was hardly a novel cover, but it was precisely because such things were ubiquitous that it was easy to slip into the role as she came around the service entrance. Add perhaps a touch of bitter expression at the cold-- she didn't even have to try for that one-- and things would, hopefully, work just fine.


II: Blames Her Tools (Vault)
Natalia, after spending the better part of a day hitting targets from as extreme a range as the Vault could afford, was now overhauling her rifle, first cleaning the inside of the barrel with a cloth and a cleaning rod, and then disassembling it, screw by painstaking screw.

The casings were drying on a separate cloth nearby, with the scent of soap and water, waiting for an oven to finish getting up to the proper temperature.

It took up an entire gunsmith's bench, between the disassembly and the casings waiting for annealing and rolling and fitting and loading, but there was something to it. A peace, in an artisan's craft.

She looked at the tool rack above her and clicked her tongue.

She would have to go hunting for that particular tool.

Okay. Smooth hair. Stand properly. Act like you're supposed to be here.

Time to go among the other workbenches. Or workshops, if she had to.


III: Wildcard
Bug Natalia because she looks suspicious or because you need something.

Comments

II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki too, was one to seek the rifle range, or as near as the Vault could manage, and she too had skills to keep sharp and in practice. She was on her way in, carrying the instruments of her philosophy, when she heard and saw Natalia at the range and took up a space a respectful distance away, eyes afield, watching the other sniper work, and she let her work in relative silence. Once she had completed her set and headed oit, Oki took her own turn at the range, working out the proper cold barrel shot with the new weapon, zeroing the sights, even tasting and retesting the accuracy and then took rapid, practiced notes on the performance.

She rose after, with a chuckle, and returned to the workshops, in time to see Natalia once again, this time tending to every last nut and bolt, washer and toggle, with the intention of cleaning it thoroughly, complete with oiling. Oki set her own weapon on a gunsmithing table not far away, but wandered over, showing an interest in Natalia's regimen as well. She spoke clearly, from a few paces away, in full light. "We are of a kind, I can say with confidence," she said. "And forgive me, if I distract from your discipline." She tilted her head, gave a small smile. "It is nice to meet another, and not have them being on the other end of the scope for once."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

The very first thing that happens is Natalia reaching for a holdout weapon as she turns. She's ready to draw, but then--

In full light. Plainly visible. No aggressive moves. And... She let out her breath. "Yes, it appears so." The Slavic accent is thick, and perhaps a little bit affected.

She doesn't relax-- not really-- but she does stand slightly less ready to kill someone. She notes a dozen other little things-- the ease with which she came into this particular workshop, the way she held the case. "So that would make you... Korobase, yes? I believe we had a brief exchange over... Ethernet." This last being an intentional stopping to use that word instead of a modern English one.

She has a wire brush in one hand, and a tin of graphite dust with a brush on the bench. Normally, she'd use oil, but she's still not sure about pooling. "I am Natalia. It is good, to put face to name."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki stood quite still. She was fully prepared if the colleague sniper threw down, but showed no tension in her body, not even in her off-colored eyes, or indeed in her off-colored limbs. The readiness was there, certainly, but she was not one to twitch, in these circumstances.

She offers the slightest of smiles at Natalia's words, looking a bit wintry on her decidedly unusual features, but she followed it with a polite bow from the waist, her eyes not leaving Natalia for even a moment. A moderately formal movement of respect, from her own culture and she replied. "In my tongue, Korobase Oki, in others, Oki Korobase or simply Oki, among the other colorful titles. In circumstances where I am at work, the fewer syllables the better, of course."

She rose took a stride closer, despite her talons, her step was light.

"I can't blame you for wanting to completely clean and check a weapon like this, since I had as you can see, the same need."

She looked over Natalia's setup and smiled again, this time more warmly, a bit toothily. "It is good to put face to name, I completely agree. Perhaps, once we have both exercised our discipline..." She paused there, giving a shrug, a movement of shoulders and the slightest powerful flap of those wings of hers.

"Perhaps there is tea we can hunt in this place, and a bite to eat," She gave a tilt of her head and headed back towards the other workbench. "If you like, of course."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

The calm with which Oki stood slightly chastised Natalia all on its own. When had she gotten so jumpy? ... No, it only took one person getting behind your sniper's nest to make you wary of further, didn't it? Natalia thought about the weeks on voyage as provisional Flotsam, hunting the krakens with the captain, going after that slavers' ship near Elysium.

When was the last time she didn't have to be ready at a moment's notice? Come to think, when was the last time she ate? Between all the various missions she's been helping with, keeping her cover as a delivery girl in Elysium, and social visits to Flotsam...

Natalia blinked. Too long. Had she been relying on her ki to husband her energy so much? That wasn't a good plan. Or rather, it was a good plan, always seemed like a good plan, until very suddenly it wasn't.

"I concur, that might be better plan than just going back to range." She hums and slides the tray and casings into the oven with a slight clatter of brass.

That said, as she continues to work, she spares a moment to look over Oki's planned maintenance.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki could almost scent thee hesitation in Natalia when it happened, but she simply returned to her workbench. Her response came as she did in fact disassemble and organize the weapon with a very calm ease, eyes sharp and on the parts, as she too brushed and polished, refined, oiled and indeed, replaced with a practiced sort of ease.

She spoke again, voice quite calm, a note of warmth in it. "We are snipers. Our lives are spent on the range, in our minds, and in our hearts, we watch approaches, mark patterns, solidify routes, because that is what we do."

She assembled the weapon more slowly. "But we are still living beings, at least, mostly. The time for discipline also needs time for reflection, I think, and we can't be throwing thunder on empty stomachs and freezing our asses on perches every minute. Once I am done here, I'm boxing the beast and I'll be in well, wherever the commissary is."

She chuckled and finished a few minutes later, offered Natalia a nod, slung the case and simply started walking - though not too fast.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

Natalia finished reassembling the bolt-action and loading the brass, and while she couldn't put the Imperial standard into handy, fold-up pieces like her old Chuvakin, she had instead modified a particularly large woodwind case lined with improvised methods to maintain low humidity and keep out the ever-present salt.

Now that she's not trying to fool anyone, the Slavic accent fades nearly completely.

"Mm. It has been a very long time since I could talk with someone else about this stuff," she said, along the way. "Even then, it was in... The ballistics of the thing, the mechanical nature of the beast. Not... What it feels like, to tunnel into a spear's point."

"But I don't need to belabor that with you, either." She tilts her head. "Commissary this way, I think."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki's response was to chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about belaboring it in the slightest, not with me. Just getting the sights zeroed on new hardware is the biggest chore, then doing a full set so you can get your dope book started. Then, it's getting used to the action - no two bolts really work the same way."

She was keeping a relaxed pace, but there was a definite swish to her tail.

"But then as you say, let's not belabor that too much," she said, a marked twinkle in her eye as she followed to the commissary, collecting a platter and accumulating an amount of what was very obviously meat.

It would take her a moment to find a place to perch herself - she was far from small, after all.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

"Ugh, tell me about it. This damn thing's travel... I almost miss my Chuka." She pauses, and remembers how it couldn't hold a pattern to save its life. "Almost."

She also doesn't quite pile as high as Oki does, but is mostly letting her hunger guide her-- vegetables, fresh and pickled, and seafood, especially. "-- Obligate?"

She will sit across from Oki.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

"It's better than the Mosin or that block of wood with metal in it, the KAR, but I miss my own tools. And my damn armor. Love to get my M82A1 back or the Lynx. Damn." She snorts.

Oki was neither thin nor small, but her manners at table were remarkably modest. Hearing Natalia's question, she smiled and showed off a set of teeth, conical and needles alike, just for a moment. "Mercifully not 100%, but enough that it's the majority of my diet, and the epaulettes liked feeding me bread and foul water."

She relaxed a measure and smiled, more warmly this time. "Enjoy your food."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

Natalia winced. "We were farmers; we could skim at least. Let's both."

She set to the meal with exquisite manners, but also a tendency to go after it in quantities you wouldn't expect someone to be able to swallow as neatly and quietly as she does. It had definitely been far too long since she last ate.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki too, set to her food with relish, once she was eating - she even had a tendency to take a large piece of meat in her teeth and give it a sharp tug, sharply enough to tear the meat - and she made a soft sound that sounded halfway between a growl and a purr, but the look in her eyes was clear, she was looking absolutely delighted, for it had also been a time since she'd had meat in her teeth.

She did not stop until upwards of three quarters of the way through and she paused, taking a moment to dab her face with a napkin and her fingers as well, and take things more slowly. "Whomever prepares thee meat here knows what they are doing," and she could not suppress a soft laugh as she continued, much more slowly.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

Natalia nods. She takes the time to taste each thing on its own, but seems to prefer mashing them together into a slightly undifferentiated mess once she's done that. "-- There's a certain dwarf I could recommend as well, if you are ever out among Flotsam."

She didn't forget the advice Senshi gave about the gifts, and she wouldn't forget about him, either. "The Milk Run does excellent work. Perhaps it is just the cold and the hunger talking, but for a certainty, it was a meal I wished to linger over."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki was smiling, but looking a bit less serious and more thoughtful. "A certain dwarf, eh? I think I know who you mean, a gentleman who appreciates fresh fish, as it turns out." A soft, but quite warm chuckle.

"Cold and hunger can make hardtack and salted meat seem like a feast, it's true. Though the cold does not affect me in quite the same way, but hunger, oh yes." She laughs softly, leans back a bit. "Very much yes. Be it after a long op spent in the nest or a march and swim, or even just after a long night of listening, Natalia-san... The meal that follows is what begins restoring our strength, I'd say."

She looked fully towards Natalia then, both eyes, very different as they were, and she gave a slight characteristic flap of both wings.

"We are a very different pair in a very many ways, you and I. But I am beginning to see a kindred spirit in you, I think. And if this is so," she pointedly tapped a nail on the table before continuing, "then I am glad that both of us are here, on this side of the range."

She quietly resumed her meal, having said her piece.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

"Agreed. To have you on the other end of the scope, Oki..." She shook her head. "The thought already feels strange."

On the one hand, to meet someone who understands is a powerful thing.

On the other hand-- she desires to test her skills, even against someone as self-assured and strong in her craft as Oki. Why?

She struggled to remember what it was she was trying to prove.

Something... Important.

But buried under ice and snow.

She continued her meal in silence.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

She tilts her head and sighs, "It does feel strange - and I... am not in any great hurry to be running counter against you, Natalia, truly. No. I... do not want it on my mind." She rubbed one of her cheeks, eyes closed, and spoke again, softly. "Tis a cold place."

She did not plan to make enemies out of allies, not again, not like this. She ate more of her food, chewing thoughtfully.

She kept it hidden, but the thought did stay on her mind long enough for her to speak.

"We are predators," she said softly. "I think we take the measure of each other, as befits each of our natures, for our natures have sustained us. understanding that instrument within is important and for people like us..." She paused long, looking at a wall sidelong for many long, silent moments.

When she looked back, her eyes were very bright and focused on Natalia and she gave a small smile, her tone soft, understated but clear, and she nodded a little for emphasis.

"It's unavoidable."

She tilted her head, resting her head on her left fist, looking towards the other sniper while she thoughtfully chewed.

"I would raise a toast to that, if I had the sense to bring something along to drink, honestly."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

"Fuck it, I'll spring for the grog to this." The emphasis on 'fuck it' is the most emotion she's shown the entire conversation. It shows in how she rubs her arms after she says it, and continues, "What'll you have?"

And while Oki responds to this, Natalia will think a little harder about what she said.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki's eyeridges raised and she gave a warmer smile and a chuckle. "Strong beer will suit me fine."

She leaned forward, places both of her elbows on the table before her, resting her chin on folded fingers, watching now intently and with more than a small glint of humor in her eyes.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

She returns with a strong beer, and some form of heated punch that reeks of whatever alcohol the commissary added to it-- Ale, perhaps, by the smell, aided by apples, oranges, cinnamon and clove-- rise up from the heated drink, which she keeps her hands and warms them with.

Until, at last, she stares at her drink, and raises the glass, and says, "To your health, to our fangs, and..."

Her teeth begin to chatter, and she barely gets out, "t-t-to all-l-l the people who we ss-s-s-s-houldn't have had to bury."

She still waits, shivering, for Oki's response.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki rose, taking the strong beer in a hand and meeting Natalia's eyes with a smile. She sniffed a bit, taking in the nose of the drink, the mixture of spice, citrus and fruit making her smile a bit more.

She raises her glass too, smiling a bit wider, though her look softens measurably. She reaches out then, her hands large and her fingers long - and would gently put one of her hands alongside Natalia's, if she could, a concerned, even maternal sort of gesture and she responds.

"To your health and fangs, and to all those gone before, till sea swallows all," she says softly. She would release the very-gentle grip she had taken, after merely a moment and withdraw, looking a touch uncomfortable.

"Apologies," she said, with a nod of respect.

Was there color near the bold white spots under the chimera's eyes?

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

Natalia's hands are like ice, her teeth only not chattering during Oki's return through brute force, and she downs a good few mouthfuls of the heated wassail in a quick moment. Her hand does not leave Oki's, until Oki pulls her hand away. "Till sea swallows all," she answers at last.

"It is hardly your fault," she says, mouth still faintly steaming. "I have been... having trouble, of late. Nothing I cannot handle, but..."

More and more often in the run-up to the mission, things peeking out from under the ice, only to be swiftly buried, or if she goes looking, for herself to get colder and colder.

Who made her forget these things? Set such a command? And why?

More memories, buried in the ice. "... I would be lying if i said it did not worry me, just a little."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki's gaze was direct for a moment, sharp. She tilted her head and her color returned to normal. "You're very cold, and your reaction says that this is not your normal state of things."

She settled back into her chair, sipping from her mug a bit. "Nothing you cannot handle, but the mission worries you. Well, worry is... natural. Fear is a part of us all, Natalia." She looked over, warmly. "It comes down to training how your mind works with worry, and that..."

She paused, looking over at the still-shivering Natalia and gave a somber look and a slow nod. "That's one of the biggest challenges. Please, relax if you can."

She looked thoughtfully at Natalia for a long moment. "I confess, your temperature has me considering... shooing you off to the baths or the like, Natalia - hypothermia and frostbite are mighty foes, indeed."

Natalia Gains Sickness II

[theriflespiral]

"This is why the hot drink. I am learning the rules as I go, but I learned a few days ago that hot drinks can stop an acute episode like that one." Ah, that is what worries her.

"Still... It has..." Her brows knot. "It has never been this bad before."

"... Before..." And there it's slipped away again. She hums.

Re: Natalia Gains Sickness II

[harlequinchimera]

She nodded a bit and smiled. "So, you sometimes grow very deep cold and it seems tied to your recall of memories." She seemed to relax, at least marginally. "I have seen what too much cold can do firsthand, it's almost as fast and silent a killer as you and I are - it can be a very good tool in your arsenal on some missions, if you can keep yourself safe from it." She chuckled a bit and raised her mug. "Each of us has things we must do to be who we are, and that's not just part of the discipline."

"And things that come with being us." She pointedly tapped her own left temple, near the orbit of her left eye. The eye was a different color from the right and if one happened to look closer, it would be pretty obviously artificial.

Re: Natalia Gains Sickness II

[theriflespiral]

"Not... just memories. I can recall many things about my past. But if you ask me how I feel about them, or how I feel now..." She shakes her head. "Buried, or if they come up... avalanched."

Natalia looks, and then, blinks. "An impressive bit of hardware, though gaining it cannot have been pleasant. But it is you now, I think you mean to say."

Re: Natalia Gains Sickness II

[harlequinchimera]

She nods, slowly, looking thoughtful again. "Cold, as if immersed in ice and snow."

She tapped the orbit of her left eye again. "This? A correction of a deficit from my6 birth - the real difficulty was the calibration and the training that went with its use."

She shrugged. "I do not remember the implantation specifically."