asgardmeridiem | Getting to know you

Entry tags:

Getting to know you

Who: Any/all strike team members
What: Training/mingling/SNACKS
When: Day 473-474
Where: The Citadel

[From the outside, the small medieval-style fortress appears unoccupied, but on the inside, the first meeting of Asgard's strike team. For the next two days, members are invited to get to know one another, share what they can do, train, or...you know, team build.

For those who wish experiment with working together, equipment has been set up to form an obstacle course of sorts that takes up half the gym area. (Those who have trained with the Assassins on their capture-the-flag courses may feel the similarities.) Plenty of seating is available for those who just want to mingle or talk strategy.

There are also snacks. Eat them.]

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[Eat snacks and glower at people, you mean? Well, yeah, sure, okay, he can do that. He's standing off to the side, just watching all the people mingling with each other like he's assessing their threat levels and munching on something in the meantime. Nothing personal, he does it to nearly everyone he runs across.

He's also eyeing the obstacle course with some interest, and later on will probably be found trying it out by himself, practicing his power. For now, though, he'll just lurk here instead, eating a sandwich and watching everyone and every exit point in the room like a hawk. A slightly paranoid hawk with a shiny metal arm, anyway.]

The obstacle course was what drew her attention. Second to the food. Young teenager, a world on rations, you do the math. After inhaling a sandwich, Ellie had taken instead to the obstacle course. She's fairly good at free-running, but it's already clear she has a long way to go to catch up to Desmond's coat-tails.

The first time she gets onto the course, she plows halfway through it before she stumbles across one of the high-ladder-like structures, gets a foot caught and plummets into the mats -- she screams.

Ellie leaves the mats, shivering but determined, going again. And again. The next time she falls, a wooden beam explodes into ivy vines she catches with her hands, uses them for leverage to swing into the next area, forming a makeshift ladder. It's not perfect, but it's effective. It's a move she's going to need to practice.

[Ellie can spot the exit marking. It's a familiar method, marking someone as suspicious of everything, often threatened. She pulls the same thing in an unfamiliar place.

At least he looks like he belongs here. Ellie is a scrawny teenager, petite and freckled, a little sweaty from working over the obstacle course, catching her breath between practice.

What would Desmond or Riley do?

Shaking the stiffness from her arms, Ellie approaches the stranger.]

When you're done, you wanna try the obstacle course? I feel like an asshole running it alone.

[The girl is scrawny and sweaty, not much of a threat, but he knows better than to dismiss her out of hand just because of that. He can guess that most of the people here have some kind of skill that makes them useful in a dangerous situation, and he's not going to fool himself into thinking that this girl doesn't. Not after seeing her having a go at it at the obstacle course.

He finishes off his sandwich, silent at first as he turns the offer over in his head. Then he nods.]

Fine. [What a great conversationalist.]

[It takes so long for him to answer, Ellie rocks back and forth on her heels, wondering if she's being ignored. Thankfully, she's used to the silent type. She'll give him a minute.

She's about to turn away when he finally answers, and she gives him a fleeting smile. If they're going to work together, they're going to have to build up some sort of rapport and trust. If this guy is here, Desmond and the others have spotted something in him, something that would make him worth trusting.

Taking a deep breath, she holds out her hand for him to shake. It's small, but her fingers are calloused, nails cracked. That sort of wear and tear comes from handling guns.]

I'm Ellie.

[He stares at her hand a moment (and he can recognize the wear and tear of handling guns when he sees it, it's on his own hand as well), then reaches out his own--his right hand, the one made of flesh and blood, similarly calloused, from years of handling various weapons.

The left hand he's tucked away in his pocket.]

Barnes. [It's as good a name as any to give, and in the meantime he's quietly revising his first opinion of her. Not much of a threat, certainly, but could be one. Could be a good ally.]

[Ellie's green eyes stay on his pocketed hand, and as soon as they shake, she draws back again, keeping an arms' lenth distance between them out of long, paranoid habit. She doesn't quite turn her back on him, walks with him.

None of her gestures are outright mistrust. It's just long habit.

She studies the way he holds himself as they move toward the course, blurts it out.]

Mercenary or military?

[Well, at least someone's got some sense in this city.]

Military. [Which isn't too far from the truth, especially since he moves with the same coiled tension as other veterans, alert and ready to either fight or flee. He watches her as well, studying her movements, before:] You're a little young to be either.

[Not everyone here was human, but then again was that entirely strange for Bucky, having come from the world of the Hulk and giant dimensional portals spewing untold hordes of robot armies? One of the people looking at the dishes was clearly into the non-human categories, though he might have seen her on the network before.

She was plucking up a collection of small meats onto her plate before looking around. Popping one, she made a small face and sighed. Of course it wouldn't have any real flavor. Not to her. At least it was meat.

Her blood-red eyes caught him as he watched and she smirked. That... was a very familiar tactic. How many here were the sort to lurk in the shadows and just wait? Watch? She started to make her way towards him, a faintly curious look in her eyes, one that focused on his arm for some reason. She'd known a guy back home with an arm like that.]

Nice arm. Choice, or not?

"Again."

It's the only thing Ellie hears when the vines erupt and help her catch on. Samantha's leaning up, just in ear-shot, watching her as she goes. 'Free-Running' isn't something she practiced much. When you could call a barrow gate up and teleport several hundred feet, 'the path of least resistance' had a different meaning. However, she still appreciated the value of acrobatics after losing her wings and was at least fairly limber. No way could she keep up with Desmond, though. She'd learned that in Muspelheim. She was better at carefully and quietly moving in.

"This time, if you fall, try not to scream. Focus on the plants instead. Scream, and they'll hear you." No, she didn't seem surprised that Ellie had snuck into the group. In fact, she probably would have been more surprised if she hadn't, even had Desmond tried to talk her out of it. Her reaction was more just to treat her like all the rest. She could be overprotective off the clock. Training was more valuable in the long run.

Normal Option
She was in her every-day clothes when she came, picking ones that were just loose enough fitting not to give her mobility issues. Temperatures were pleasant and the weather nice, so she'd seen no reason to bundle up. At most times, the red-head could be seen against the wall, people watching. She was placing names to faces, even checking the network now and again if she didn't recognize someone.

The obstacle course wasn't something she focused on, not today anyway. It would be good training, but she wasn't here to win brownie points. She was more interested in seeing what everyone could do, what powers they wielded. Once she'd sighted the exits, she developed a studious gaze, one focused on gauging them all for some reason, though it was easy enough to break out of her reverie.

Special Option
Occasionally, she'd slip just out of sight of the others and re-emerge, having turned on 'forget me not,' one of the runes on her back. It would last only a half hour at a time and there were limits, but she had her reasons. This time it was less paranoia, and more the desire to observe people in the Strike Team without being noticed as easily, so that they didn't know she was watching.

She watched anyone on the course like this, keeping her own motions to a minimum as she jotted a few short-hand notes. Her body was nearly invisible if she wasn't moving, the air getting a faintly shifting quality when her pencil worked, a bit like the predator's camouflage. It would then go still again. Only the faint sounds of pencil on paper were an indication someone was there unless they caught the scent of sulfur really close or were good at hearing.

Of course, one of the downsides was that the creepy little watching routine left her very susceptible to someone coming along the wall while she was paying attention to something else and bumping into her. After all, she wasn't concerned about an attack here.

(OOC: With very little movement, it's very hard to see her with the rune active. Smelling, hearing or bumping into her, however, is quite doable if you want.)

Edited 2014-07-05 13:04 (UTC)

[He's easily one of the younger members here, though perhaps fortunately he doesn't seem to be about to play that up at the moment. Still, a faint smile can nearly always be seen on his lips as he goes through the snacks and observes his new teammates. Sometimes he makes an effort to watch from the corner of his eyes; others, he'll blatantly stare, and even offer a cheeky wave if they happen to turn towards him. Close at his heels the whole time is a black cat, its ears perked and on the alert as it watches, just like its owner.]

[Later still, he'll be found over at the obstacle course, though he won't try to run it himself. He's far more interested in seeing how the others do, and will stand back to take note of what techniques they all use to cross the course in one piece. Of course, if anyone approaches him, he'll be quick to turn and see who it is, that ever-present grin still very much in tact.]

Pretty good show, huh?

He honestly probably wouldn't have noticed her if Shirou hadn't caught her scent first, stopping to hiss at empty air. The action gets his attention immediately; where his senses fail, Shirou's always pick up the slack.

One hand immediately goes to his wristband - and by virtue of that, one of his knives - but given the setting he decides to pause to ask first:

"Who's there?"

Considering it had been rather hellish to help set up, you bet your ass that Desmond is running the obstacle course. Climbing was never an issue before he lost his arm and, with practice, he'd like to make it less of an issue now.

That still doesn't mean he can't fall flat on his ass, much as he tries not to. Part of the course has one of his favorite options, requiring a backwards vault, a quick turn and a grab of the ledge opposite. The first time he instinctively reaches with his missing right hand, plummeting like a stone in a pond with a sharp, muttered "Ah, crap!" Desmond twists in mid-air like a cat righting himself, so he lands tucked into a roll instead of on his face, but it's still a disappointment.

If he catches a watcher though, he'll flash a confident smile, and crook two fingers at them. Nope, no lolly gagging, friend. Let's roll.

Edited 2014-07-05 20:08 (UTC)

Ellie hauls herself up, getting her upper body up and over the top of the block, breathing face. Despite the spots of color in her cheeks, her face is pale. She gives Sam a quick nod.

"Trying to get over that whole fear of falling thing."

It was how she'd died. Falling into that damn gorge. It's hard to loosen up, to trust her step again, to not second-guess herself. It's why she's pushing herself so hard. She can't afford to freeze up out on the field.

[He says military, but she suspects something more than that. Simple military training doesn't result in skills like what the strike force looks for. She figures she'll find out.]

Military boarding school. Would've graduated when I turned sixteen, but I went rogue and turned smuggler.

[Ellie flashes him a smile. All of it is technically the truth, there's just more to it.]

I also grew up after the apocalypse, which I guess counts for something.

[Observing]

[Altaïr may not be the boss of ~~some members of~~ the strike team, but he put this together and he wants to see who he'll be working with. If you run the obstacle course or have a training session, odds are fair that he'll watch at some point. He'll give his opinion to anyone who asks, but he'll be completely honest about it.]

[Obstacle Course]

[His own run at the course make him look fairly skilled, but he does have an unfair advantage. Still, he pushes himself to move faster, quieter. Skills are nothing if they are not maintained. He appears less comfortable using his powers, but tries to incorporate them into the routine by aiming mall fire arrows at targets. He's competent, but lacks his usual grace during this part.

Afterward, he's more than willing to listen to any suggestions or critiques, or just to talk.]

[Mingling]

[What the hell is a canape, anyway? He'll be here when not training or observing, regardless.]

She paused and looked over at him, the air shimmering for a split second before going back to normal. There wasn't any clear impression of a person, but she made a mental note to wear something to dampen the scent on missions. Always a good reminder.

"Nobody important," her voice said out of the thin air. "Just taking a few notes."

That was the attitude that the half-demon liked to see in principle. If something terrified you, put yourself in a position where you had to face your fear. Admittedly, she was grotesquely hypocritical when it came to snakes, but she wasn't about to break that particular habit.

"Yeah, it's not the fall that's the problem. It's the sudden stop," she said with a wry laugh. "Keep it up. You want to beat Desmond's time, right?"

She snickered at him when he flashed the smile. Yeah, she'd been watching. "First time I tried flying when my wings were missing, I ended up on my ass with a busted shin. Took hours to heal up completely," she said, the wry look stuck there. "How the hell'd you lose that anyway?"

[Samantha wasn't actually on the course today. Her eyes were all for gauging everyone, observing the white-cloaks as they hurtled through the course. She was gauging them, one and all, combining powers in the back of her mind. She noticed Altair and paused, tapping at her lips before shrugging and making her way over towards him.

Between one of the runs, she settled there and spoke in a very low tone, turning on one of the other runes she had. It was one for hearing, to amplify the sense. She wanted to make sure her voice was pitched low enough that only Altair was hearing it, her body posture right to block line of sight for anyone reading lips.]

So, I've been meaning to ask. What did he tell you guys about our little... trip.

"Pfft."

It actually gets a laugh out of her, morbid as it is, and Ellie works herself to her feet.

"What about your time?"

"You beat the course, and you beat me," she said with a snort. "I'm a climber, but I'm no free runner. I prefer to sneak in slow and unseen. I've never been quite limber enough for a few of those moves."

[Team building. What is that supposed to mean? Skinny as he is, he's happy to munch away on the snacks. Especially anything and everything sugary, because that's healthy. He's going to be fat before he goes home.]

[Other than that... training is stupid, they all look silly, and he doesn't need a 'team'. Keeping his mouth shut is really the only way he can get along with anyone for long.]

[Mingling]

Mother Nature is a rather old hand at watching people. She's predominantly wearing brown today, leggings and a vest over her green shirt and while most would probably be wearing shoes for tackling the obstacle course she (as usual) isn't.

She watches those running the course with the same scrutiny that a predator watches others in order to learn how to better hunt. When she's not watching them she's mingling and rather delicately mingling and eating the offered snacks like some highborn lady of a court at a royal function and not surrounded by a mix of strangers.

[Training]

Mother Nature is not half bad at the climbing parts of the obstacle course, she's used to navigating trees and vines and deep forests. Her sense of balance is good as well, once she gets up on things though there is one rather glaring hole in her skills.

She's a pretty bad judge of distance and her landings are poor, more often than not slamming in to edges and scrambling up or smacking her knees and hips on things in landings. She takes a few bad falls, landing hard on the floor and wheezing as she recovers the breath knocked out of her.

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Getting to know you

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Special option!

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Observing

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