two ◘

[stormfist]

Who: Jayden and YOU!
Broadcast: Yes - fleetwide
Action: If you want? - SS Goldstone
When: not too long after the latest shuffle

[ Oh, look. Another week, another round of people coming and going. She happens to be looking through posts and information on her device (out of sheer boredom) when she notices something in the rosters change... Curiosity gets the better of her, and she reads through the list, noting anything different. She especially notes the absence of a certain name. And she really, really especially notices that it's now impossible to contact her. ... Damn.

So, she sends out a text to the network as a whole instead. ]

if anyone's looking for Betamax-8, Exo Warlock, used to be on the bishop - name's stricken from roster. so she's gone.

[ She wants to say "gone home" but she's not sure she believes that. Jesus, now that she's actually confronted personally with people she knows coming-and-going, she has to think about it, and it's all... off-putting. How about that. ]

Comments

[onlyanapple]

Bummer. She was interesting to talk to.

[He doesn't care. Nope. He absolutely doesn't care if any of his crew are hurting. Nope. Nope-a-roony. ]

Want booze on the house tonight?

[Nope. Doesn't care. ]

[stormfist]

yeah, she was interesting, for a warlock and a nerd.

[ How cool of him to not care about her not being sad about someone she wasn't actually starting to consider a friend. ... No wonder she gets along with him, geez. ]

can't ever say no to booze on the house. pick up anything new on the ring planet?

[onlyanapple]

[He is super cool, they can not care together, it'll be the best. ]

There's some really strong stuff. I wouldn't recommend drinking too much of it at once.

[stormfist]

[ oh god. ]

their local stuff? yeah... might have done that already last week...
at least means i know when to stop with it now.
still a good time.

[ oops? ]

[onlyanapple]

Really?
Colour me impressed!
That stuff even made me give it some second thoughts

[He is genuinely impressed.]

[stormfist]

thanks
but i will admit it was a good time but a shitty next morning
they said it wasn't for people "my size" i thought it was a short joke. turns out they were just talking about humans

[ she had to defend her short, feisty honor okay jfsdkl ]

[onlyanapple]

So really they should have used "your species"
I mean, if they were going to be accurate about it
still
good on you

[She must! And he will always be there to wave the humans are awesome flag.]

[stormfist]

right? i swear they did that on purpose.

[ bastards. :| ]

[onlyanapple]

Jerk-birds
still I might steal some of their booze to give it a try in the bar
not really what we usually serve but hey
it might make some money

[stormfist]

bet it would. higher proof higher price right?
you can always fancy it up for your place. it mixes well. found that out too.

[ l o l. it was A Night, okay. ]

[onlyanapple]

That's the idea
really?
I might have to bring you over to the bar, show me what works bets with it. we might make a few half-decent cocktails out of it
I'll even let you name them :)

[stormfist]

yeah? deal. why not. glad to help.

[ This? This sounds like a damn good time, either way. ]

[onlyanapple]

Great! I'll let you know when I can rustle some up.

[It'll be the BEST time. ]

text

[expellerhead]

Someone you know, I'm guessing.

[stormfist]

yeah. another guardian actually.
looks like it's just me now.

[expellerhead]

That sucks.

Need a distraction?

[stormfist]

yeah. hope she actually got to go home at least.

[ Because she'd mentioned being somewhere else before this, and the implications of that are not fun to think about if you ask Jayden, thanks. ]

probably not a bad idea. was going to hit the gym on the iskaulit if you're interested? unless you have something else in mind

[expellerhead]

Maybe. Do you know hand-to-hand?

[stormfist]

i do. US military training. kind of a mix of disciplines. looking for some sparring?

[ because she is so down with that. to absolutely no one's surprise. ]

[expellerhead]

Don't wanna get rusty.

I'll meet you at the gym. Gimme twenty minutes.

[stormfist]

good point.
see you soon.

[ Well, that's a better distraction than she'd hoped for!

She gets to the gym first, just by virtue of being antsy and ready to go. She's taking a few swings at one of the punching bags while she waits - you know, just a warm-up. ]

[expellerhead]

[aizawa's tying up his hair with a crappy rubber band when he arrives, in the same semi-sloppy black jumpsuit he's almost always in. the guy doesn't vary outfits very much and while it might not seem like something ideal to fight in, it's what he's most comfortable with. this'll be awkward enough without his weapon.

and she's already there, not that he thought he'd beat her here. he's only just barely within twenty minutes, by the grace of god mostly.] Are we doing this gloves or no gloves?

[stormfist]

[ She's not looking so swanky either, between the blandly black standard issue crew pants the Fleet so kindly provides, and an incredibly plain blue tank top. They're good enough to work out in. That's all she cares about.

She steps away from the punching bag when he shows up, gives him a nod in greeting. Honestly, it wouldn't have mattered to her at all if he'd been late. She's just glad for the distraction. And the company. ]

I say no gloves. Powers?

[ Or, you know, the negation thereof. Obviously. Could be fun to play around with, but also might be too much? She doesn't know. She's not a good judge of "too much" on a good day, let alone right now. ]

[expellerhead]

Let's not. Lights in here might not be able to handle you. [aizawa plucks up some tape from a nearby supply cabinet and does a rush job on his hands and knuckles. his skill lies in the quick and efficient disabling of an enemy combatant, but considering how long it's been since he's fought just plain hand-to-hand and the fact that jayden looks like she could easily shake off any kind of grappling hold he could put her in gives him the feeling this'll be a little longer than what he's used to.

oh well. stepping out of your comfort zone is good for you or some shit.

after a quick moment to stretch and crack his aching neck, aizawa shakes himself out and assumes a relaxed, almost droopy stance, watching her carefully. she looks like the type to charge first and ask questions later, but she's also the pragmatic type. she might just wait for him to come to her.]

[stormfist]

Fair enough. Let's do this, then.

[ Hey, you know, forcing a blackout can be a good tactic! ... Depending. ... Whatever, doesn't matter right now.

She takes a moment to stretch as well, rolls her shoulders to loosen back up after her brief stint with the punching bag. And when Aizawa takes his stance, she does pause - a nearly split-second analysis. He's pretty relaxed. Fluid. If his reflexes follow suit, she'll have to be ready to adapt.

A stance like that also makes her assume "reactive," so she'll strike first - a quick rush forward, and a simple right cross. There's time to get ~fancy~ later. ]

[expellerhead]

[she mentioned military training; u.s. military, specifically, and though aizawa's had a few training sessions with foreign heroes he's largely kept his own style a healthy mix of karate, judo and aikido. that right cross gets blocked, but given how quick she follows up she probably expected it.

one-on-one isn't exactly advantageous for him, not to mention he usually also has his weapon. while aizawa doesn't grab for it and come back with nothing, there are a few moments where he lunges at an opening that doesn't exactly work with a shorter reach. it gets him flat on his ass on the mats more than once, though he manages to knock jayden down a couple times as well. he shifts more into judo to make up for the lack of his weapon, sticking to throws and holds that emphasize angle over strength since he's pretty sure she's got him beat there, too.]

[stormfist]

[ She knew she'd need to be on the lookout for that adaptability, but she wasn't prepared for just how sharp and seamlessly he operates. That's the first thing that gets her knocked on her ass, honestly: being too rigid, trying to stick to certain tactics against a man proving to be ready for anything.

But each time Jayden goes down, she files just a little more information away - those holds he catches her in, every angle he takes advantage of. She starts correcting what she can, braces herself for anything she can't. She still ends up on the ground sometimes, but so does he. They're steadily managing longer and longer between one or the other of them hitting the floor. Makes for a hell of a session. And Jayden might still be too focused to comment on that fact, but she's definitely noticed.

This is more than a sufficient distraction. This is probably the most on-point and okay she's felt since getting stuck in this Fleet. She'll have to properly thank him for that somehow. ]

[expellerhead]

[when one session goes on for nearly fifteen minutes without either of them pinning, disabling or knocking down the other aizawa taps out, breath coming on harsh pants against her arm before he pushes back away. one-on-one really isn't his favorite, but hell if it isn't a good workout. jayden doesn't even look that tired, fuck her.]

What the hell...kind of stamina do you have, [aizawa groans, bending over with his hands on his knees.]

[stormfist]

[ Jayden's a little surprised that he taps out - he was doing damn well, after all. But she's starting to get worn out as well. So when he bends over, she lets herself start breathing deeply as well, arms dropping to her sides as she looks up to the ceiling. ]

Necessary stamina. [ What? It's true. ] You kept up, though. Seriously. ... Nice throws, too. Shit.

[expellerhead]

[hey fuck u maybe if he did raids every day instead of ten tons of deskwork he'd be able to run to the fucking moon too]

Also necessary. [sighs and straightens up, fixing his hair and heafing to the water station] Though they're not worth much if my opponent can break half of my holds. [which she did]

[stormfist]

[ you don't want to run to the moon friend, it's all hollowed out and evil now. lots of green, glowy shit down there. so gross. ... Also? Stop underselling your skills.]

Only after figuring out how. Took me a minute. [ She rolls one of her shoulders. ] You did knock me on my ass a few times before that.

[expellerhead]

[underselling himself is part of his strategy ok don't knock it] I would be embarrassed of myself if I couldn't at least once. [there, you happy?] You said you're a Guardian; what exactly does that entail?

[stormfist]

[ she'll catch on. at some point. ]

We push back the Darkness. [ dryly. Okay, so maybe everyone referring to things as ~The Darkness~ still seems incredibly melodramatic to her. But... since it is a real thing, time to elaborate!

... But don't mind her stretching her arms a bit as she talks. ]

Bunch of alien races are the enemies of the Traveler. Showed up centuries ago, wrecked all of our shit, destroyed everything. So right before it died, the Traveler sent Ghosts out to find people capable of helping. Guardians. We protect the last remaining city on Earth, we fight off the aliens who trashed our shit, and we try to restore the Light back to the Traveler.

[ Done with her stretching, she takes a deep breath, and now it's her turn to start toward the water station. ]

So in short, I fight. All day, every day. Wherever they need to send me. Earth, Venus, Mars, Saturn...

[ It's subtle, but her tone implies she doesn't resent it. It's fact, and she's fine with doing whatever she can to help. ]

[expellerhead]

[why do half the people here have these crazy mmo backgrounds]

...that sounds tedious. [brings over some water for her too, like a fucking gentleman] So by centuries ago, does that mean the war is centuries old, or that both you and the war are getting on in years?

[stormfist]

[ because the other half are either too anime to function or belong on the cw - if not already straight outta the cw. ]

It's a lot to do, yeah. [ She wasn't expecting the water. djfskal but she takes it with a nod. ] Thanks.

[ She pauses at the question though. ... Then shrugs a shoulder and p much blurts out, ] The war's centuries old, I died centuries ago. Ghost woke me up about two years ago. Makes for some questionable age math.

[expellerhead]

'Woke you up,' huh... [revived her, that is. brought her back to fight day in and day out, not that she looks particularly perturbed by it.] That's a pretty fantastical story. I think you can go ahead and call yourself hundreds of years old.

[stormfist]

[ She's good at burying shit, that's all. ]

Can't decide if that sounds more impressive, or depressing. [ She's pretty amused, though. ] Would be weird filling out any paperwork, writing my age as "couple hundred and something".

[expellerhead]

[ALSO A HELPFUL SKILL]

Pretty sure whether or not "couple hundred or something" sounds impressive or depressing depends on your delivery.

[stormfist]

[ Damn right it is :|b ]

Yeah? What kind of delivery should I aim for, then?

[expellerhead]

Asking me for advice on presentation? [gestures to entire self] Do I look like an appropriate judge of that?