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Once the ball had concluded, Cordelia chose not to examine why she’d had such an eruption of emotion during that night. Instead, she threw herself headfirst into a strict regimen of self improvement.  Cordelia came back to her and Nicole’s dorm room each night with a new bruise, scrape, or tear. Cordelia was always doing at least two things at once, if not more. During her studies she was reading while manipulating a pane of glass, practicing her control without having her eyes on what she was changing.  She noticed when Nicole would go away every odd night, dressed up at times, others dressed in her typically light-effort but still impressive attire.

At first, Cordelia mourned a social life she could be having, but instead redoubled her efforts on her studies. She’d be studying when Nicole would leave their room at night, the amber glow of sunset complimenting the pinks of the skies. She’d be studying still, when Nicole would re-enter, the morning frost and dew coating their window, Cordelia’s eyes growing dark with sleep deprivation. However, as time went on and Cordelia was especially single-minded in her studies, she’d feel Nicole’s hands gently kneading at her shoulders. Massaging them in an effort to get the girl to relax some. It often worked, and so Nicole had seemingly picked up a kind of awareness of a line that Cordelia would cross, or so she assumed. When she felt most closed off and obsessive about her studies, Nicole would start to relax her by asking for help with the work she was currently doing. She’d first get Cordelia to explain a concept, then the conversation would be effortlessly directed somewhere else. Nicole would ask her roommate to accompany her, and somehow, they’d end up at a theatre or arcade. Cordelia slept best after a night out with Nicole, but still struggled to recognize the importance of that balance, and never initiated a night out herself. Always waiting for the bubbly girl to work it into conversation. Even once she’d realized her roommate’s tactics, she didn’t stop them. She’d never admit it to herself, but the comradery was something she yearned for some nights when Nicole was off wandering embodying the wistful nature of her power. Cordelia remembered falling asleep one night, wondering what aspect of her personality reflected her own ability. Glass, easily shattered, reflective, made in intense heat and pressure. She fell asleep before coming to any meaningful conclusion.

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The briefing room’s electrical lighting hummed in a way that made it feel like Cordelia herself was making the sound. She watched as green-tinted imaging was presented to them, making mental notes of general layout, windows that were present as well as where her teammates abilities may be constrained. The tight halls and escorting nature of the task at hand made Cordelia weary of her own fighting style, her greatsword may not find purchase in a narrow field, and the anti-magic abilities of the robotic opposition may or may not nullify her ability to deflect their blows with her mirrors. Cordelia’s knee bounced against her elbow, as she tried to slow the adrenaline flow until they were on-site for their training exercise. She always got like this before an engagement. She deftly manipulated a piece of glass between her fingers, thinning it, sharpening it, widening it back out again. Over and over, she transmuted it like a wizard of yore, focusing entirely on the instructions not so much on the basic manipulation in her hand. While she’d been with the team for a little while now, she was still very much the odd duck. The thought stuck in her mind like an ace of hearts in a hand full of spades. No matter what she thought, it kept sticking out to her. 

She could feel herself winding around a coil, tighter and tighter still. Ready to snap. 

[hr]

The sound of rain formed a thick layer of white noise around the exercise, their payload behind them, and each of the girl’s forming a phalanx around them, strategy began to be formed. Cordelia’s lips curled upwards as Penny quietly asked Nicole to keep things completely platonic during the excursion, the thought of Nicole flirting over comms was so odd Cordelia could hardly hold back her chuckle. 

Penny offered the concept of a quick blitz upon first engagement, and then rushing before reinforcements appeared. Cordelia generally found the strategy to be serviceable. Dana was quick to add to the strategy, noting that she’d be able to disable the optics of the first patrol so the rest of the team could efficiently deal with them.

Cordelia had been thinking since departure about her own plan, and for the first time since before briefing, decided to air it. 

[color=9df7ff]“I believe Penny’s strategy is sound. May I propose a pawn sacrifice? I believe if we blitz the first patrol, we should be able to discern the relative combat effectiveness of each of us in the face of this enemy. Afterwards, once we make a run for the exit, I believe we should leave one member behind to distract any oncoming opposition in order to not sacrifice any speed, and not give the opposition time or chance to injure one of our escorts. I believe the order we should be leaving members behind is by least effective to most. The least effective of us can distract, evade and distance themselves from the opposition, such that should the final member of our team come against opposition, they are the most effective against this type of enemy and have the greatest chance of defeating them.”[/color] Cordelia took a deep breath, understanding that what she was suggesting may not be a popular suggestion. She considered the operation in its entirety. [color=9df7ff]“Once we have our escorts to their forward operating base, we could send out a signal or message, and all rendezvous there in order to receive our secondary task. In an ideal scenario only one or two of us would have to branch off from the group before we reach our destination, this strategy puts us at more risk, I understand that, but it effectively eliminates as much risk as possible for harm coming to those in our charge.”[/color]