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As the briefing commenced, Zoe watched the demonstration of the alloy with interest, if slight irritation. Oh, sure. Armour. Every day, her restrictions got more and more annoying. Admittedly, even she would probably use a little of it, but there was definitely a trade-off to consider there. Maybe just going with the torso protection would be a decent compromise once they reached the battlefield. At the very least, the belt meant she could carry some stuff with her despite not having any pockets of her own.

She wondered if they'd make something her powers would work through one of these days.

Still, the extra safety it granted was definitely reassuring. If nothing else, it made her feel a bit better about the lack of protection she herself could offer the others. A bit. Being stuck hiding in some faraway building still hurt her pride somewhat, no matter how practical the decision.

The rest of it... Well, she already knew an attempt at escaping was pointless, even without knowing that she really wasn't the type to run off and leave the others to their fates. But the confirmation that the order was 'kill-on-sight' sent an odd mixture of feelings running through her head. It was horrifying, the idea that if one of them broke rank, the others would have to kill them. The people they'd fought and trained alongside, some of them even friends. Maybe not friends with her - she found it difficult to imagine most people even considering that idea -  but certainly with each other.

So what did it say that part of her wanted it to happen? The yearning was faint, almost imperceptible after her morning session, but definitely there. And still odd, still not quite right in its intensity, in how it felt. But so soon after sating it... Was it just the stigma, or was she growing to [i]like[/i] this?

[color=palevioletred][i]Not right now.[/i][/color]

That was right, she had to prioritise. Just focus on the fight. Always focus on what was coming next instead of giving herself time to think about it all. If she could keep moving, she wouldn't have to think anymore.

Mind you, she'd have a lot of time to think on the way there.

But the others would be in the truck, so she'd keep up the mask. Determination and resolve, strength enough to make sure she wasn't looking scared. Once the fight started, it would be true enough. She could lose herself, and then fear would be an afterthought. She was looking forward to it, in her own way, which was abnormal enough in itself. In a positive way, really. Wouldn't do to have [i]everyone[/i] moping about their probable demise.

Yeah, she could deal with it. If she could look strong, then maybe the others could take something from that, considering she was basically running on 'completely-normal-human' levels of usefulness here. So if she wasn't scared of this, maybe it'd convince them things weren't so bad. Telling herself it'd help them out gave the facade a purpose, made it a lot easier to hang on to. Her natural eagerness for combat didn't hurt either.

After receiving the belt, she looked over the knife for a brief second before nodding to herself. It'd do. She considered taking a gun, but after a moment's consideration, scowled and decided against it.

[color=palevioletred][i]I can kill anything a bullet would anyway, right? Waste of energy.[/i][/color]

By the time she took her seat in the truck, she wasn't giving it any more thought - Her mind focused on the monsters they were about to face. Despite herself, the aberration wore a lazy, confident grin as she took her seat. It'd be fine. Even if there were plenty of reasons to feel fear, there weren't any reasons for her to show it. If she wasn't coming back, no way was she having them remember her whining like a little kid.

For the time being, she'd just try and relax a little. There were worse ways to spend a journey.