[center][h1][color=pink]Jideh Basrah[/color][/h1]
[@Arya10108909][/center]
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[color=pink]"It's fine, I'd prefer to eat here if it's all the same to you. Besides, I wouldn't worry about studying. The exams at this school, the ones that don't have to do with regular classes like Biology or Calculus, I'm going to guess that they'll be much more practical than theoretical. Which means you shouldn't say you haven't studied, but rather, that you haven't trained enough. But I suppose I don't really know myself, [i]have[/i] you trained enough? In fact, Amelia, why don't we play a game? If I win, you have to take care of a plant of my choosing. If you win, I'll read that [i]Highmoor Crypts[/i] book, or whatever it's called."[/color]

Jideh took the pitcher of water that a waiter had dropped off at their table and poured a glass full enough so that the meniscus could be seen pressing outward, held back only by surface tension. He placed another glass at the other end of the table, empty, and grinned widely at his little challenge. Privately, he wasn't even sure if he'd be up to the challenge, but this seemed a delightfully entertaining way to grab the girl's attention and try to accommodate her worry at the same time. He looked at her expectantly, his eyebrow raised and his hands waving with dramatic flair. Jideh enjoyed playing the showman, especially when it came to silly pursuits such as these.

[color=pink]"Well? Have you figured it out yet? The game? This can't be that inscrutable."[/color] Jideh chuckled as a passing patron's steps shook their own table, causing the water to ripple dangerously, almost overflowing but not quite. [color=pink]"Well I'll just up and tell you then. The objective of this game, Amelia, is for us to each in turn attempt to move the water in this glass to the other. Obviously, we can't use anything but our elemental powers to move the water, and we also can't break anything, or in any other way make a scene. This should help to exercise our fine control of our abilities, and as neither of us is a water-elementalist, this shouldn't be childishly easy. You can go first Amelia, since your element is less likely to make a mess than mine will.[/color]

Jideh sat back and relaxed, intent on studying how proficient she was at her own element, while he toyed with his own ideas in the back of his mind. Depending on how well she performed, he wouldn't need to worry about doing all that well himself, and could even perhaps beat her with a single drop of water in the other glass. He would have to wait and see, because he had guesses as to how she'd try and accomplish the task, but there was no real way for him to be certain.
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[center][h1][color=gold]Jordan Manilow (Flashback)[/color][/h1]
[h2][color=silver][b]IRONCLAD: PART I[/b][/color][/h2]
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[b]0600 Hours, Monday, Week 17, BTU-#K862[/b]

Jordan spluttered awake, his bunk soaked with icewater. He forgot where he was for a moment, his instincts abandoning him when he most needed them. He felt somebody's powerful fingers crunch down around his neck and fling him out his cot and across the room. The force of the throw slammed him against the next cot over, waking its occupant who was similarly disoriented. A subsequent splash of icewater washed over them both, and they were then blessedly ignored as the next row received the same treatment. This process flowed through the bunk as did the icewater, which had a short distance to flow into one of the permanent drains that interspersed the floor. Jordan and his row-mate untangled themselves in the meantime, and began to get dressed.

[color=green]"Hold fast pussywillows!"[/color] The drill sergeant roared, and both Jordan and his rowmate froze. He turned around and loomed back through the dorm to glower down at them. [color=green]"You [i]had[/i] your chance to get dressed and be ready, to be standing at attention, waiting for your commanding officer to come collect you!"[/color] Jordan winced at every loud, spittle-covered syllable, and stepped out of his pants. He was shirtless, and wearing just briefs. It had been hot last night. Now he shivered, water dripping off of his body. The rest of his unit, also dripping and mostly naked, excluding one person Jordan remembered from yesterday who had packed his bags and left the night before, all followed the drill sergeant out of the dorm.

The military compound expanded out beyond a short wall which encompassed the recruits' dorms. That short wall was a secondary barrier that denoted where the real soldiers were, versus the greenies. The only place where the two groups intermingled, was in a compact underground chamber referred to, as Jordan heard the drill sergeant loudly declare, [color=green]"The Hole! That's where you'll be headed after today's little warm-up greenies! It's also the only forward, since you can either climb outta the hole, or get tossed back to wherever the hell we picked you up from!"[/color]


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