[center][color=0076a3][h2] [color=662d91]VERA[/color] and [color=f7941d]RYN[/color][/h2][/color][b]Barracks/Mess Hall, New Anchorage[/b][/center]
[hr]

The sound of scraping metal accompanied Vera as she dragged a chair out into the hall, echoing off of the metal walls. She knew lunch would be the best time for this, everyone would be gone to the cafeteria to eat, she could make all the noise she wanted. Still, every absurdly loud scratch sent a cringe up her spine, pulled her face into a wince, and she was glad when at last the chair was settled against the wall.
 
About ten feet up was the vent, one of the few that kept the corridor temperate. She made sure the chair was aligned properly beneath it, seat against the wall back facing out, then scurried back into the room. This time she came out not with a chair, but with the naked twin-sized mattress from her cot. It wasn’t too heavy, she found, but she had to waddle to keep it from sliding off of her back, and even then the end dragged against the floor. Oh well, at least it was quiet.
 
With some effort she managed to lay the narrow mattress against the chair, creating a sharp incline that led just under the vent. A sly, proud smile cut across her face, quickly chased by a giggle of excitement. There were likely easier ways to reach the vent, in fact there were better hiding places in general, but none of them were as fun to access.
 
[color=662d91]”Alright, alright, you got this,”[/color] she mumbled, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. [color=662d91]”Easy peasy.”[/color]
 
Vera dashed forward onto the mattress, and suddenly every grumpy thought she’d ever had about how stiff it was turned to praise. It held her up well, yielding enough for confident footholds but not enough to cave thanks to the support from the chair. At one half of the moment she had reached the top, linking her fingers into the thick flutes of the vent just as the mattress tilted in beneath her, and at the other, she was practically dangling on the wall.
 
Frantically she grabbed a small book tucked to the waistline of her pants. Thin enough to fit into the vent shaft, with a string tied to it that was kept bundled up beneath the cover, with only a few inches left to hang out in the open. Inconspicuous, out of the way, at least that was the hope. She slid it in just as the mattress flopped away, and she had to rely solely on the strength of her arms.
 
That didn’t last long.
 
[color=662d91]”Oh god—“[/color] she dropped, sliding down the wall, and, much to her relief, flat onto the mattress with an “oof”, and another excited round of laughter.
 
From there it was only a matter of putting everything away, a process she made sure to be quieter about now that it was closer to the end of lunch. Vera was sure she wouldn’t need to grab the little journal for at least a couple weeks. Whenever the operation would be.
 
She paused fitting the mattress back onto the bed, and felt a flutter in her stomach, like the kind she’d feel before going to get a shot. Over time she’d come to realize that the worst part was the waiting, the pacing around at home, the sitting in a waiting room, and that the actual deal was over in a moment. The surgery would be different, now she was certain all of the anxiety was justified, that there would be no quick in and out. She kept hearing Stein’s descriptions in her head, before she went to sleep, when she woke up.
 
But louder than all of that she remembered: [color=0076a3]”This is [i]nothing[/i] if you [i]want[/i] it.”[/color] And that was enough to keep her fears in check.
 
Everything done, she locked up the room and started off for the mess hall. It’d taken her a bit longer than she’d expected to hide the journal, but she figured there was just enough time to grab something small to nibble on.
 
That was of course before she actually arrived, and saw that not only did there seem to be enough time for a proper meal, but there was also someone new, someone young, though not quite as young as Ana. Maybe she and the new girl were the same age? That’d be nifty, she hadn’t known anyone her age growing up, but then, the Jackspar house wasn’t a very sociable one. Either way, she was grinning madly again, and scrambled into the cafeteria, stopping only long enough to give an enthusiastic wave to Ana and Percy on her way to the new girl.
 
[color=662d91]”Heya!”[/color] she chimed, rearing up beside Ryn and rattling off more of her greeting. [color=662d91]”I’m Vera, it’s nice to meet you! You’ve got really pretty hair, y’know that? What’s your name?”[/color]

The orange-haired girl raised a brow with fork in hand as she looked towards Vera, her expression decidedly unimpressed at the moment. But Vera was confident she could change her mood. 

[color=f7941d]“Ryn, and thanks. Your hair isn’t so bad either, though it’d be easier to tell without the... hat y’know.”[/color] A sly smirk pursed into the girl’s lips as she casually dove her fork down into the food on her plate, her eyes remaining on the blonde-haired girl who had sprung up the conversation.

So far so good, Vera figured, the girl was already smiling. She glanced up at her own forehead, having once again forgotten the hat was even there. Dang thing had become like a second layer of skin, so she supposed it was only natural, but even still Ryn had a point. Swiping it off, she gave her head a shake to let her hair down, laughing again. 

[color=662d91]”It’s cool to see another kid around, there’s only the two of us, and you now! What brings ya?”[/color]

Ryn grabbed a bite of the chopped meat on the fork before offering a response— twirling the now empty fork in-between her fingers she leaned back slightly as she appeared to think about it for a quick moment. [color=f7941d]“Same as everyone else, I guess. Credits. Giant Robots. Stuff. Sure isn’t being told I’m a ‘little bitty kid and should be doing my homework while the big adults do the heavy lifting’. Tch.”[/color]

Vera’s eyes went wide, her smile hovering on the edge of excitement. [color=662d91]”[i]You’re[/i] a pilot?”[/color]

[color=f7941d]“Well, [i]obviously[/i]. Aren’t you?”[/color]

[color=662d91]”Ahuh!”[/color] Vera said, nodding only to falter. [color=662d91]”Uh...well, actually, no, not yet. I gotta do that surgery. But then yeah! Wow, that’s so cool, how long have you been one?[/color]

[color=f7941d]“Well, ‘round four years now.”[/color]

It took a minute for Vera to register what that meant, and part of her wanted to blurt out that Ryn started younger than even [i]Stein[/i] had, but she managed to keep her cool. At least, in a way that meant she was practically bouncing in her seat. [color=662d91]”That’s so cool, you must be gettin’ really good!”[/color]

[color=f7941d]“Well, we have a saying in the indie circuit— get [i]good[/i] or get [i]dead[/i]; so I got good.”[/color]

[color=662d91]”Oof, so grim!”[/color] Vera giggled. [color=662d91]”Guess even out there everyone’s super serious.”[/color]

[color=f7941d]“Sometimes. Wasn’t ‘xactly taken seriously at first.”[/color] She pointed with her hand toward Percy who was at the far end of the table, [color=f7941d]“’cuz you’re a [i]kid[/i] oh my god where is your adult?! Fuckin’ morons. [i]I[/i] am the [i]adult[/i]! But guess who’s not awesome and who are obviously [i]losers[/i]? Them.”[/color]

To say the sudden, biting turn Ryn took didn’t catch Vera off-guard would have been a lie. There definitely seemed to be more fire in the girl than just her hair, and while she couldn’t say she agreed with everything Ryn had said, she also couldn’t pretend like she understood it. 

Nevertheless, Vera laughed it off. [color=662d91]”Who, Percy? Nah, he’s cool, he’s been here one of the longest! Everyone here is pretty cool, actually. Everyone left, anyway. We had some cool people here before too, but some of’em moved on.”[/color]

[color=f7941d]“Well, I had a talk with that loser outside and he totally thinks he’s hot shit and can tell me how to live my life, and let me tell you— he’s not. I’d like to shove my fist down his “I’m an adult” presumptuous babyhead. Nobody tells Ryn Dradht what to do but Ryn Dradht.”[/color] 

Ryn seemed pretty confident in her distaste for Percy, which didn’t come as too much of a surprise. She wasn’t the first to dislike him, and thus far she wasn’t the worse either.

[color=f7941d]“[b][i]Anyway[/i][/b], yeah that’s how it goes. People cash in and leave. I’ve been in tons of outfits and seen people cop out and whatever. Never had a real [i]team[/i] though, so this is kinda new and stuff. Here’s hoping this will at least be a little fun.”[/color]

Vera was glad that Ryn carried the conversation on, more than willing to change the topic. [color=662d91]”I think it will be! Everything’s better with a few helping hands, y’know?”[/color]

She might have waited for a response, in fact Vera might have been perfectly content talking with the new girl for the rest of the lunch period. But she got a stark reminder of her own hunger in the way of an almost embarrassingly loud growling from her stomach. She looked down as though a sharp look might silence it, but ended up giggling to herself again.

[color=662d91]”Boy, I really oughta grab [i]something[/i]. Hey, if I don’t catcha later, I’m always around the dorms, or with Ana. Oh! You should meet her, she’s awesome, I bet you guys would get along great!”[/color]

Ryn shrugged. [color=f7941d]“Iunno. But yeah, we’ll chat later if you don’t sit back down here, I guess. Going to be seeing a lot of me around anyway.”[/color]

Vera grinned, hopping up off of the seat and starting for the line of food. [color=662d91]”Lookin’ forward to it! See ya!”[/color]