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[h3][color=4682b4][i][b]Ash Holloway[/b][/i][/color][/h3][i][b][color=4682b4]Location:[/color][/b][/i] Education Center (M)
[i][b][color=4682b4]Skills:[/color][/b][/i] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.ibb.co/4SyBv75/Ash-FC-2.jpg[/img][/right]
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	It was possible that Ash enjoyed the quick hug from Thana a little more than the situation had called for. Then again, he had to make up for lost time. The remainder of the situation, in contrast to many of the faces he saw around him, was actually somewhat comforting. This was a situation that struck with familiarity with him, being a career officer in the United States Army. A Court Martial, if it went more of less by the standards of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, meant that he could observe and predict proceedings to one degree or another. In truth, Ash was more than a little curious as to how this was going to deviate from the standard. 

	Ash took a seat toward the front and, almost reflexively, looked back over his shoulder to see of he could locate Thana on the balcony above. He was happy to have spotted her immediately, sharing a look with her and a little wave before trying to settle into his seat to await the start of the proceedings. It was a satisfying feeling, knowing that she was looking down on him from on high. If Ash were in a forward position on hostile ground, he'd feel the same sort of reassurance knowing that she held the high ground someplace quiet with a sniper system, covering his ass. Even if it was all metaphorical at the moment. 

	The moment that he focused his attention back around to the front, Ash was startled to see that there was a face hovering close to his, attached to [url=https://i.ibb.co/Z2zpJpd/Hank-Bear-Fight.gif]an older guy[/url] sitting right next to him. Ash's muscles tensed before he could tell his body to stand down, that this was not a threat. [i]Hank Wright.[/i] He hadn't been a threat [i]yet[/i] but Ash was convinced that if he was assigned him as a survival buddy, he might have to scratch an itch in the back of his head with a bullet before too long. Or until some kind of personality-based homeostasis could be achieved. 

	[color=burlywood]"A little jumpy there, Debra Do-Right?"[/color] Hank whispered, not wanting to draw much in the way of attention but still wondering exactly [i]why[/i] he didn't want to draw any attention. Maybe it was courtesy. Maybe he liked Ash, just a little. Hell, maybe he respected the guy a lot. The more he'd heard of what Captain Holloway did over the past several months, the more he sounded like some kind of folk hero. Seriously, who the hell goes on a epic quest to reunite with a woman they'd almost immediately fallen in love with, stayed true to quest for a year and a half, and helped survivors along the way? Then pulled it off? Not to mention the rumors about him. This was shit from bad television or good literature, depending on how much he'd had to drink. No, that last part might just be it: Ash had his name on a bottle of clear mountain whiskey and that was very much alright by Hank. Must be it.

	But getting to business, Hank was really looking for Wayne and just happened to come by Ash. So as long as he was here... [color=burlywood]"Hey. Look um, man to man here; what's it like being with a warrior woman, huh? That lady looks fierce in [i]all[/i] the right ways, am I right?"[/color] The flash of anger in Ash's face came and went in a fraction of a heartbeat, but Hank caught it. The man was apparently good at practicing the manly art of observable stoicism. Hank heaved out a mildly sarcastic sigh, followed by, [color=burlywood]"Fine. Be a gentleman about it, jackass."[/color] He then immediately switched gears with, [color=burlywood]"Hey, you and me need to get some fishing time in, what do you say? Maybe get the other quiet man, um, man who interviewed me. Mac! Yeah. He's a good guy. What do you think? Put some poles in the water? In a totally hetero way, I promise."[/color]

	Ash looked at him coldly, his face carved of cold granite but seething with annoyance underneath. He did give Hank a nod, though whether it was in earnest or just to get rid of him was debatable. Hank seemed to take it positively, telling him [color=burlywood]"Great! I'll try to set something up,"[/color] and slapped him on his shoulder as he rose from the seat. The moment that he placed strain to move to a standing position, he involuntarily allowed a low, honking amount of methane based vapor to escape his posterior. He had a half-second of embarrassment on his face, then shrugged it away and announced to Ash, [color=burlywood]"You enjoy that."[/color] Looking up to Thana on the balcony, Hank raised his fingers in an OKAY gesture for no other reason than to sow confusion, a mischievous smile upon his face. He finally spotted Wayne and wandered off in his direction. 

	His mood thoroughly thrown, and now having no idea what he really, truly just nodded an acceptance toward, Ash sat dumbfounded. The man (Hank) hadn't bothered to speak to anyone in his presence in a week, and now busts out with this nonsense. His lead-in to the conversation gave Ash a serious piece of consideration to hitting him as hard as he could - just once - as a preventative measure in case he got any more foolish ideas for conversation. Still, what came to mind mostly in this instance was the same thing that he wondered aloud, annoyance clearly marking his voice. [color=4682b4]"What the hell just happened?"[/color] Then, of course, came the call for quiet. That was fine. Ash didn't have a lot to say anyway. 


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[h3][color=dc143c][i][b]Thalia Carmichael[/b][/i][/color][/h3][i][b][color=dc143c]Location:[/color][/b][/i] Education Center (M)
[i][b][color=dc143c]Skills:[/color][/b][/i] [s]Stealth[/s]
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	While idling in the front of the Education Center, Thalia was surprised to get a "Yo" from Volts as he passed by on the street. The thought was something of a hindsight realization that she was in a community, putting down permanency with cumulative actions, this last one being that she involved herself in a fight in the gym. In enough time, people might consider themselves friends of hers, a circumstance which Thalia did not give due consideration. A thing which she hadn't really thought of until just then also was Thana's advice on her hair. Were they actually getting domesticated enough to start trading grooming tips? Thalia hadn't considered braids before. Her pixie cut was easy to maintain out in the world and kept the hair from her face. Now, shaving the sides? Thalia had meant it as a joke to begin with, just some excuse to say to follow up on the lead. Now that she was really thinking about it... she had a maybe going on. If she didn't like it, there wouldn't be much of a wait (so far as hair growth went) before it grew back to an acceptable length for her usual, shorter style. 

	But even this turned into a thing she would have to put on the back burner. There were things to do, questions to answer, and from the look of Nigel who had just entered, more people with whom socialization would have to be attempted. To give him credit, he was right about the day being interesting. In the coming near future, probably. For Thalia, it was already pretty odd. This was just heaping more onto the pile. She didn't address potential interest in the coming hours except to nod, and even her response to his camaraderie was stunted. Though she did acknowledge him. [color=dc143c]"Yah, thanks. I'm sure you will."[/color] Not merely pleasantries, she was pretty sure that if it didn't involve hand fighting or a short blade, he would probably kick her ass in a fair fight. And what was training other than a series of controlled, fair exchanges? Thalia was going to re-learn humility, she could just tell. Maybe she needed to.

	Okay, introspective bullshit done. Thalia had somewhere to be and moved to get there. The sooner this got started, the sooner it would be over. She caught Joaquin's eye and nodded, for some reason surprised to see him here. It was not a very bright assessment on her part, seeing as the guy was working security for the settlement and this, while not walking a patrol or bodyguard duty, was nonetheless part of it. She should know. That was her profession, once upon a time. Perhaps she was out of practice. Things had been a little weird with Joaquin since she had confessed to him the deal with Gavin. It could be her imagination. She knew this was not simply a forget-and-move-on scenario. Still, a little confirmation from him might be nice. Admittedly, now was not the time. He was on duty and she needed to be inside. 

	Wishing to proceed unnoticed, Thalia broke away from the group entering with her and became as nondescript as possible, hiding her form behind whatever barriers or visual breaks she could without arousing suspicion to the fact that she was trying to make herself scarce. This was a thing she was good at. Or used to be. The past few attempts to remain out of sight and thought did not come to as excellent fruition as she once might have been able to accomplish. But this time felt different. She was moving with grace and nonchalance, nary an eye moving near her direction. This was what she was built for, by birth and training. She was a mist in the shadows, flowing effortlessly and unnoticed. Thalia located a seat that was in the approved area, off to the side yet not so far away as to draw attention, with good access to exits and room to slump down in the chair, and even a respectable view of the first row of the balcony above. Thalia was good at picking stealthy places that afforded good visibility for her own endeavors. 

	Thalia made her way down, over, and through, laying claim on her chosen place of rest until she could answer questions and book it for anything else that day. She quietly glided her lithe, toned form into place, and started to fold down the seat for use. 

	This was her big mistake. 

	The horrified young woman slipped her body into the chair as it was folding out, putting additional strain on a piece of furniture that desperately required oil, or graphite, or an axe to reduce the damned thing into firewood for the awful noise that it made. It was a loud, sustained grating of metal upon wood that didn't quite fit upon each other but was being forced to anyway; carpenters' materials that screamed their disapproval at being awakened to function in the manner of their construction. It was a protest of many decibels, cutting through the otherwise mostly quiet auditorium and drawing eyes of every sort present. Any hope of not being noticed evaporated with this piece of woodstained horror announcing to the world that [i]THALIA WAS HERE[/i]. She might as well have gone around posting fliers and wearing a crown of lit candles. 

	But that wasn't the worst part of it. As the chair came to the last of its descent to becoming fully open, it seemed to hit a snag, which the weight of its user caused it to overcome by force. And she'd be damned if it didn't make a sound that was forever etched into Thalia's brain, until the day she gived up her mortal coil and leaves this earth: [i][b]Mmkwack-squeakee![/b][/i] Seething with quiet rage, Thalia was able to hiss out, [color=dc143c][i]"Fucking chingado goddamn PATOS!"[/i][/color] before restraining herself and praying that the chair was done blowing her position.