The lion chuckled at Vonys's first comment, knowing she had a little crack at least in there. She'd get on well with him, he knew that much- at least she wasn't going to sit there and be too downbeat about all of this. Even if the coffee wasn't great, Max was at least awake enough to hold conversation and enjoy the company of people, rather than sulk into his own tired state. He listened to her, nodding about the injury in particular. He'd known all too well about that. But then again, medics wanted their job to be simple. At the very least, it was good advice for someone else, but Max didn't need that. Not that he would make a point of it. Vonys would slowly see that, or at least, Max hoped so. He wasn't here to make friends but well....he didn't need to be a dick. Well, and she trusted him back at least. So hey, there was that, he contemplated internally. [quote=@Ramjammer] She sniffed, shaking her head at the man as if to dispel whatever negative thoughts he might have had. "If you're trusting me to keep you from bleeding out, then I can trust you to look out for us Max. Someone has to, and I have a feeling I'll be busy soon." [/quote] "That I can do. If I do my job properly, you shouldn't be as busy." Max replied quickly to her last comment to him, sipping down the rest of the cooling beverage as he placed the cup down and turned to see the bear. Even at 6"8, the tall lion did have to look up at the bear and was physically intimidated on pretty much all fronts- and beyond that it was a kind of gravitas, a certain straight-to-the-point mentality Fionn had. That and the fact that well, Max knew who was going to send 40 mils down range when shit needed to go kaboom. He'd used a grenade launcher before, and knew full well what it took to carry one day in, day out. It was not a weapon you used because you were trying to eliminate a position, it was an implement of total destruction and a terrain delete key. Weaponised chaos, in that at least a bullet had a point to it. A 40 milimeter HE grenade was a giant "Fuck you" to anyone in its way. A GEAR could be deadly in its own right with the right loadout, but a bear with a grenade launcher....Max made a very strong mental note that he'd rather be afar and keeping his eye down his optic rather than through his naked eyes when he saw that shit happen. When you needed a guy on foot to stop a GEAR, you didn't have a single opportunity to fuck around after all. Even if Fionn was the quiet, gentle giant that he was beneath, you just didn't entertain the idea of stopping a heavy weapons specialist with a boomstick. He noted Vonys's comment to that, nodding himself. [quote=@Lurking Shadow] “Figured I’d take this opportunity to actually introduce myself since we did not do much talking earlier… I am Fionn and I'll be handling the Heavy Weapons. You probably thought I was shy, quiet, mute, or otherwise not much of a talker. That’s not entirely the case as I can be quite gregarious, its just that I often have little to say.” Fionn said softly. He did not have anything else to say about himself, at least not something he wanted to share with people he just met only hours before. [/quote] "I guess you let your weaponry do the talking. I don't blame you. I understand that, believe me. You'll have my laser designator when you need things blown up from further away." Max remarked to Fionn, as he heard the exitable otter come over quickly, herself the parraleled opposite to Fionn. Bursting with energy. [quote=@Esailia] "Hi! Rishun Sprinsteam, nice to introduce myself! WaitthatswrongImean, Nice to meet you all! I don't like coffee much but I am happy to muyn with you still." *utterly smooth....* she thought, rubbing the back of her neck as she chuckled nervously.... [/quote] She probably had not much idea of just how scary war could be when it was in this sort of field, Max judged as his judgemental self would, but hey, that would come. Though he sympathised, she was a bit awkward, self aware at least. So long as she was good at electronic warfare and hacking, he'd trust her. If not, Max wouldn't be past his opinion. But hey, he was a bit of an arse on that front, even he knew that himself. It was what it was, as she spoke in a species-specic dialect. Again, Max couldn't place the accent, but it was something to it. Awkward as she was, at least she was happy, confident. And Max was pushing down that inner bastard to let some open-mindeness through, or at least, till he saw her do what she do best and his predjudice could least shift as Vonys replied. Her story was insightful, and well, reminded him maybe not too clear and breach doors with her in tow. Lest he got prodded in his eyes by her horns. He'd served with a reindeer in the past before, and her antlers were always a good chuckle for everyone in the team when they needed to set up an observation post; hiding and hiding away from everything. Then there was Leslie, sugared up and probably inbetween all four, the explosives expert. It was hard to place, but then again, a combat engineer could be very much anyone, so long as the job of repairing and blowing shit up in equal measure was done. And most importantly, like any engineer Max had ever met, exceptionally to the point. No bullshit. Max could have his own, but he did respect straight-talking people more than anyone, just a deeper ability to trust and understand what they do more than anything. Something he could do better, but then again, Max wasn't going to get out of trouble by keeping things simple now, was he? [quote=@redbaron1234] "Anyway, my name is Leslie. Nice to meet you all." Popping another sugar cube into her mouth, she continued. "I'm a Combat Engineer. If you need a door blown open, a trench dug, or just any sort of obstacle removed, I'm your gal." [/quote] "Aye, Leslie. Good to meet you too....Vonys will keep us all going, you'll keep our gear working, so that works." Max simply replied with a light awkward chuckle., before Vonys could as he looked back over to the ibex, shaking his head about her comment. [quote=@Ramjammer] She smiled, softly and gazed at everyone seated around her. "So please, if you're hurting now, or you start hurting later just let me know. I'm here to treat you and make your lives easier. Not judge." [/quote] "Nothing yet. I really hope it doesn't end up changing. I've got way too much on my plate to deal with before getting hurt." Max chuckled, shaking his head almost as he knew just what a fallacy it was in itself. Max looked to the others, aware they'd probably be wondering what on earth Max was here for and why on earth the lion was here. It was almost a snapping twist, a cut back to something serious and the other side of Max. The one that wasn't just friendly and warm, but the harsh, weathered soul of the late twentysomething. "Anyway, building what Vonys and Leslie said, I'm Maxwell Bastion, Reconaissance and Marksman specialist. Call me Max. I've served multiple tours in Anti-Insergency, Counter-Terrorism, peacekeeping, all sorts of stuff in Embrai and Faraenal involving looking through the lens of a rifle scope or my PID in the 505th. Intervening when required, and it's not often pretty. I try to be honest with whoever I work with, so I guess I'll say it now before we go into this....I guess you've all serving, so it's easier. I've seen...and done some really awful things in Recon." "Things that would change your perspective on Arvarans...it'll make you feel sick. Not things to be proud of, but things that have saved a lot of lives in a way Vonys's skills can't. It's the part of war where I guess there are no good decisions and it sometimes just comes down to dumb, stupid luck on who lives and who dies. It's just mad." He begun, an almost poetic undertone in his now quite sullen voice. As he spoke he was looking to them all, knowing it was probably the gut-wrenching opposite of what some were in this line of work for. But, that was Max really. A sharp implement, from his personality to his intellect, to his approach to war, and his role in it wasn't one that was pretty. He didn't want to ruffle feathers for Fionn, given it was likely similar, but given his experiences he felt compelled. "But we've all got to make those decisions eventually in this line of work. Understanding who it is, and where the bad guys are that want to end you, your friends or just innocent bystanders does tip the odds in your favour though. Information is power on the battlefield. So believe me when I say I will do whatever I can to tip those scales for us when I operate. Feel free to get your HUD linked up to my UAV and patch in when you need a second pair of eyes around a corner or over a hill. You can all look after yourselves, but I can give you a second opinion pretty quickly." He said, looking at his mug for a moment, realising it was empty before realising he should probably stop ranting. He'd probably said enough- and probably erked the few here a little, but still, it had to be said. "I'm not always this miserable, but I just like to protect the people I serve with and not sell it all short. It's just a heads up for when we're out there. When we're out of the line of fire however...I suppose you get a coffee deficient lion who happens to like catching waves. Just a shame I haven't got my surfboard with me on this boat...damn, now that is something I should have thought about."