[center][img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjcyLjA2NzRmZS5RMkZwZEd4NWJpQkZiR3hsYzNkdmNuUm8uMAAAAAAAAAAA/monitorica.bold.png[/img][/center] [color=#0066ff]"How are you going to prove anything if you don't use it?"[/color] She said to the retreating form of the man. Ah well. He had said he would talk later. She'd hold him to that, even as she turned towards the bearlike figure next to her. Kaz hadn't noticed the other American at all, slipping right past her as if she no more substantial than smoke in the wind. Whoops. People sometimes got touchy about that sort of thing, best to address it quickly. [color=firebrick]"Hey Miss C. I'm doing alright, you?"[/color] There, problem solved. Technically she probably should have been speaking with a little more deference since Caitlyn was kind of her boss, but Kaz was more or less tapped out of social awareness. Juggling two different conversations stretched the limits of patience, made it hard to focus on subtle cues. If Cait had a problem with her lack of subservient jargon then that was just too goddamn bad for the both of them. [color=firebrick]"Have they been keeping you busy with ops?"[/color] Keep it simple, ask innocuous questions that prompted the other person to ramble, that was the trick to making socialization bearable. [color=#0066ff]"No,"[/color] Caitlyn said with a shake of her head. [color=#0066ff]"The opposite, in fact. No DADs and I'm being kept out of the loop. Quite the opposite of busy. How about you though- doing anything on the side?"[/color] [color=firebrick]"Not really. I usually stick around HQ, only really go out for cigarettes and things like that."[/color] She scuffed at the ground with her boot as she spoke, pacing herself as she always did when speaking. [color=firebrick]"I wish they'd send me out on something already. The waiting is by far the worst part of this job."[/color] That wasn't true and Kaz knew it. There was always a cycle: spend time bored out of her skull while she waited for some raid to be organized, go out and get angry while the injection system pumped distilled hate through her heart, come home and curse her existence bitterly until it was time to start the whole thing over again. No part of the process got easier with repetition but she could at least anticipate them. No doubt she'd be mocking herself for wishing away the security of NSF headquarters the next time she was being shot at. [color=#0066ff]"Enjoy the quiet whilst you can. Doing things is good, but there was just a dirty bomb set off- I have a feeling that storms are on the horizon."[/color] [color=firebrick]"I guess I better."[/color] Quiet, loud, whispers, screaming, what did it matter? This sort of job was unpleasant no matter the situation. Fighting a dirty war against rogue military elements could never be anything but unpleasant, the sort of job that was only done by idiots who bought into patriotism or idiots who were willing to kill for money. [color=firebrick]"Guess we can hope that the next op will go smoother than the last."[/color] [color=#0066ff]"That's the only thing we can hope for really."[/color] Caitlyn knew when she wasn't wanted. [color=#0066ff]"See you on the field Kaz."[/color] Reaching to take another drag, she found herself interrupted by another figure addressing her... And with Japanese honourifics to boot. [color=#0066ff]"Please, C-Sama will do perfectly fine, if 'san' is too much for me."[/color] Caitlyn was struggling to put a name to a face as the woman addressed her, and failed even more as she switched to English. [color=#0066ff]"Begging your pardon, have we met before? You know my name but alas I'm unable to put one to you. My deepest apologies."[/color] Probably best to resort to the Japanese habit of extreme politeness in this case... And then, another voice. Asking about Shunsen. [color=#0066ff]"I saw Mr. Takai pass through here earlier, yes,"[/color] Caitlyn would respond, first in English, and then correcting herself to Japanese. All this switching between languages had her brain confused, but then came the mention of the woman who had addressed her first being new. [color=#0066ff]"Is that true? If so, welcome to the NSF, Tanaka... San? No, Kun?"[/color] Using these suffixes felt strange to her still. A collab with [@Smike] Talking to [@BCTheEntity] and [@Landaus Five-One] [hr] [center][img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjcyLmVjZTllOS5WR0ZyWlhWamFHa2dXWFZyYVd0di4wAAAAAAAA/fatrin-sushi-day-demo.regular.png[/img][/center] Yukiko moved into the range, a small presence among so many bigger, louder ones. Moving to her locker, she opened it up slowly and looked at the equipment laid out therein. An easy choice for now- some warming up with her revolver. Taking the loaders with her, she found her position, loaded her gun, and set the range distance to twenty metres. Keeping the revolver close to her body, she fired off three shots in rapid succession, watching as they punched solid holes into the centre of the paper target's mass. Pulling it forward, she replaced the target, set the distance again, and repeated the progress. Good. She still had her aim. Something abut the man next to her stuck out though- she had seen his target bloom with damage, the rifle in his hands... But no barks from the gun itself. She swung the chamber out and let the empty casings tumble down onto the metal surface of the gallery, before placing her Mateba down and turning to the man next to her. "Excuse me," She said with a quick bow. "That's a rather nice gun you have there. May I ask what it is, to make so little noise with its shots?" Talking to [@13Org]