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[center][sub][@ERode][/sub] [I]Tiny hands,[/I] her father had said. [I]Just like your mother.[/I] [sub][@datadogie][/sub][/center]
This is how Fiore has spent her morning: Watching. Looking. Examining these tiny hands, the pride of her father. Delicate fingers wrap around the straps of her medical supply bag--size, large. Pattern, camouflage. Bruises, scars, and scratches decorate the exposed skin of her forearms, but she has long since disregarded her vanity, in preparation for life and for war. What good is grooming if a thousand people die, and thousands more are hurting? 

[I]Thank the heavens things have settled down since then,[/I] she thinks, pulling herself up from the seat that she has spent the last hour in, motionless, watching nothing pass by with a mixture of drowsiness and trepidation. The mission, a routine and almost dreary task that it is, still sparks a bit of excitement in Fiore. Anything is better than sitting around. She can hardly wait, actually. 

At the aircraft's arrival and subsequent landing, the cargo doors open and floor shake, causing Fiore to stumble slightly, hands reaching for a seat to steady herself. A rush of chilly wind moves throughout the interior, ruffling Fiore's long, black hair and maroon t-shirt, stinging her cheeks and nose a frozen red. She shivers, but the cold sensation is soon repelled by the movement of the other students as they forge their way into the abandoned cityscape. Tian Gui's transformation sequence, always a sight to behold, brings groans from at least one other student, but like Cellica, Fiore can only smile. Stepping down from the aircraft, bag in tow, she walks towards her group and activates her Psychic Drive. 

Her contacts, already put in that morning and working automatically to aid Fiore's field of vision, respond to the psychic energy and begin reporting the collected information. Her "mini-map"--Fiore's name for the mixture of sight and psychic cues that are collected and then sent to her contacts, which can then transmit them to her drone--begins to build itself in front of her eyes while Fiore pulls out her equipment. Her drone, [I]Amber Rise,[/I] blinks to life and lifts itself off the ground; the map of the team's destinations is scanned, uploaded, and put away once more. 

[color=f00055]"We should."[/color] Finally done preparing her defenses, Fiore speaks, her soft voice agreeing with Tian Gui's earlier comment. Pointing to the crumbled remains of what used to be city buildings, she stations Amber Rise above the treetops and lets her contacts do the rest. [color=f00055]"The first station is up and to the right of those old buildings over there; we should avoid the ruins, just to be safe. I don't sense any invaders at the moment, but I'll alert you if any do appear. Cellica, Tian Gui, any comments?"[/color]

Turning around to look at her teammates face-to-face, Fiore is once again hit by the limitations of her own physique; namely, her own height in comparison to Tian Gui's is like an ant staring down a lion. It takes Fiore a moment to compose herself when presented with a seven-foot-tall, flaming red mech that speaks with Tian Gui's voice but is 70 percent more terrifying. Even Cellica seems tiny next to him.

Nevertheless, Fiore is grateful for his--for [I]both[/I] of their--support. It's only due to luck that their team figured out the way it did, but the friendships formed are ones Fiore will treasure forever. Because, when you live your entire life in a tiny village with a tendency of getting hurt, it's nice to have both companionship and [I]sheer physical power[/I] on your side.

[color=f00055]"I'll be right behind you,"[/color] Fiore adds, sudden inner monologue reminding her that she can barely defend herself and that it would be better to stick close to the ones who can. [color=f00055]"Shall we begin walking?"[/color]