[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISM1z9BSED0][img]https://i.imgur.com/5B3hkEZ.png[/img][/url]

[@Izurich] [@SilverPaw] [@BrokenPromise]

An event happening simultaneously with [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5352345]another[/url].

The detransformed Silmeria would've already joined Samuel and the rest of the squad for some ice-cream, but it was then that she noticed that a certain someone was missing. Normally, she'd just live and let live, but fuck it, after all the shit that had happened today, she was feeling like being nosy.

Thus, it was how Jacqueline found her shoulder being cordially patted from behind by a certain squadmate that was an exact centimeter taller than her. 

[color=ff991c][b]"Want some ice cream...?"[/b][/color] She paused, [color=ff991c][b]"I insist."[/b][/color] before curling a barely-perceptible mischievous smile.

[color=a95c68]"Hm?"[/color] Jacqueline turned around when she felt someone touch her. She'd been too involved in her thoughts to have noticed her coworker's approach, so the interruption had startled her. [color=a95c68]"Oh...Silmeria,"[/color] she smiled, but it was a strained gesture. [color=a95c68]"I didn't really intend to, but,"[/color] she shrugged, sighing, [color=a95c68]"well, as long as I don't have to transform back any time soon, I guess it's fine."[/color] She seemed resigned to the idea. It wasn't that she minded spending time with her coworkers, but due to Justin's escape, she knew she was in a sour mood just then. Thus, she'd simply intended to decompress at home, or elsewhere, outside of the immediate working environment.

Even though Jacqueline wasn't as stone-faced as Dr. Moller, the ex-businesswoman wasn't the type to wear her heart on the sleeve like Orion either, falling somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, where most adults are in general, but even [i]if[/i] the older woman was more stoic than she was, Silmeria could ascertain why she was quieter than usual, what with how the operation went and all, the brunette was sure that no one was exactly in high spirits after their prey got away, especially after he had killed so many innocents right in front of their eyes.

...and that was precisely why a bit of sweet treats could serve as a little consolation prize, minor it might be. [color=ff991c][b]"Well, to be fair, it was Samuel's idea and he only said it after you had left."[/b][/color] The orange-eyed dropout shrugged, [color=ff991c][b]"Hmmm... who knows, Justin might decide to show up and chat, you never know with monsters, right~?"[/b][/color] Giggling exactly once, the long-haired sniper turned around, fully believing that her coworker would follow. 

As Jacqueline didn't care whose idea this was, she didn't comment. At Silmeria's playful line, though, she snorted. [color=a95c68]"Sure,"[/color] she retorted dryly. [color=a95c68]"Ya know, I had no idea you could be so cheerful,"[/color] she commented. Granted, they hadn't known each other long, and hadn't really interacted outside of missions, but still. The other woman didn't give off that impression.

Since Jacqueline wasn't that far away yet - or else Silmeria wouldn't have bothered to fetch her - they rendezvoused at the ice cream truck sooner than later. It was there that they could see Su, Samuel, and Ashley hanging together, while Binky was all by herself, an unamused frown on her battered face. Fritzi was no doubt still inside the mansion, coordinating the clean-up crew as she said, and Wukong... likely went somewhere. Well, time to bother the cabbage-haired esper then. [color=ff991c][b]"Hey Bink, I dragged Leroux back against her will,"[/b][/color] Her gaze then turned towards the fridge-on-wheels, [color=ff991c][b]"What flavor would you two like? Also, cup or cone?"[/b][/color] 

Binky must have seen the paramedics, because the side of her face was lined with a few butterfly stitches as well as a full sized bandage. A neck brace had also been installed, which looked a bit cumbersome on the cabbage-haired girl’s small frame. 

She pulled out her phone, opened a note app, and started typing. It was clear Binky wasn’t used to texting. Though given her position as a lab assistant, she was probably far more accustomed to typing on a full sized keyboard. But it didn’t take her more than a few seconds to type out “STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE” and show it to Silmeria. 

Jacqueline followed after Silmeria languidly. She huffed at the manner in which she was introduced, reluctantly entertained. [color=a95c68]"If it were against my will, you'd have to employ more force than this. Shouldn't it be, 'against her better judgement, I bribed her to return'?"[/color] Smirking, she added teasingly, [color=a95c68]"Speaking of, do feel free to treat me,"[/color] she nodded at the ice cream truck. Given Silmeria was asking for orders, it looked like she was more than willing to do so. [color=a95c68]"Just some mint with choco chip. Cone is fine,"[/color] she relayed.

After her fellow agent departed to get them their treats, she turned a considerate gaze at Binky. [color=a95c68]"So, what's the story? You should be getting bed rest, shouldn't you?"[/color] Her tone was curious rather than worried, though.

Jacqueline wasn’t wrong. Binky was not in fighting condition right now. The Binky chose to sit down on a park bench instead of stand like everyone else was no mystery. She hadn’t spoken a single word since she left the hallway. It was likely her jaw bothered her too much to properly speak, and her slow typing speed meant that she couldn’t keep up with conversations as easily. But that didn’t stop her from trying. After typing her next message, she showed it to Jacquiline, which was “NEED MY MILKSHAKE.”

Seeing the difficulties Binky had with writing, Jacqueline nodded, and sat herself next to her. [color=a95c68]"And you'll get it,"[/color] she added, more so to fill the silence than anything else. She leaned on the backrest, lounging as she waited for their orders to get taken care of.

[color=ff991c][b]"One choco chip mint cone and a glass of strawberry milkshake, got it."[/b][/color] Silmeria nodded, amusingly realizing that Binky chose milkshake because it was a drinkable dessert, easier on the jaw movement and all that. The stitches and neck brace combined with her green hair certainly made her look as if she was cosplaying a petite feminine version of Frankenstein's Monster, but Merry figured it'd be in poor taste to mention that outloud. 

Soon enough, the brunette returned with two cones of ice cream - one mint with chocolate chips and one with vanilla creme brulee - and a tall paper cup of strawberry milkshake complete with a striped straw; she handed the cup to Binky, the mint cone to Jackie, and kept the vanilla one for herself. Silmeria simply enjoyed the dessert for a few moments, watching Binky out of the corner of her eye to see if she needed assistance with anything. 

Up until she remembered something that the hammer knight said back then, and decided to address it to at least avoid any misunderstandings, they'd be working together in life-and-death situations for the foreseeable future after all, [color=ff991c][b]"Oh, Jacqueline, about earlier, well, we haven't really talked with each other outside of missions, and during missions, well... no one will disagree that it's difficult to be cheerful when facing against those xeno scum, right?"[/b][/color] Human trafficking, brainwashing, slavery, mass murder, pediatricide, the list goes on. Right now though, Silmeria curled a small genuine smile, enjoying the brief moment of respite with her teammates, [color=ff991c][b]"However, I certainly [i]will[/i] be more cheerful once I put a bullet through Justin, Billy, and everyone who swears fealty to them, yes."[/b][/color]

[color=a95c68]"Yeah, yeah, it'd be more disturbing if you were happy-go-lucky while on the job."[/color] She waved dismissively with one hand, while tackling her ice-cream with another. There was perhaps a certain irony to Jacqueline saying so, as she generally felt pretty good when going against monsters. As long as things were going well, of course. [color=a95c68]"Mmm-hm. It's a long road to success,"[/color] she said, disinterested in continuing that line of conversation. Instead, she tilted her head at Binky, more inclined to listen to what she might tell.

The only sound Binky made was a long, seemingly endless slurp as she took her frozen treat through a straw. She hadn’t spoken a word, so it must have been impossible or uncomfortable for her to speak. Though it clearly wasn’t uncomfortable to slurp her shake, which was just a bit louder than the wind that occasionally blew through the street. 

Binky only had her hands to communicate with, so she needed to multitask between talking and eating. It took her a moment to notice Jaquiline was looking at her, which caused the assistant to stop. She gave her a thumbs up and was about to resume slurping when she noticed something in Jacqueline’s features. She set down her milkshake and picked up her phone again. Though she backed out of the note writing app. Instead she booted up google and started to type. As slow as Binky’s typing was, the auto fill function meant that she didn’t have to type everything to form a complete sentence. She pointed at “What are you doing tonight?” which was sandwiched between “What are you doing today” and “What are you doing in spanish.”

It was a good thing Binky hadn't chosen to ask her agenda for the whole remainder of the day, because it was pretty vague and liable to change. Late night hours though? [color=a95c68]"Most likely going out somewhere. Getting inadvisably drunk,"[/color] she drawled. Raising a dubious eyebrow at the injured woman, she added, [color=a95c68]"Why? Interested?"[/color] Her proposition wasn't really a serious one, for more than one reason, but it's not like she couldn't be convinced.

It seemed that Jacqueline was one of those that was more indifferent to the tireless task of purifying the earth from the extradimensional aliens or she hid it well, but Silmeria's guts believed it was the former. It was likely that the dark-haired agent never lost a close family member to one of those creatures, twas' undeniable seeing your own child being murdered was far more harrowing than seeing [i]a[/i] child subjected to that fate. Regardless, Silmeria didn't really mind as in the end, they all stood together as humanity's first line of defense against the xenos. Besides, the sniper knew that she wasn't alone in this, a certain Orion was with her. 

Tangerine eyes shifted to the female Frankenstein's Monster as the older agent addressed her, amusingly replied via text typed on Totally-Not-Spyware-Megacorp's search engine query bar. Funnily, Binky seemed to have no issues drinking the milkshake though... perhaps the dopamine infusion from the sweet treat motivated her body enough to ignore any discomfort in the process. [color=ff991c][b]"Oh... hmmm..."[/b][/color] Merry had to think about that too, but then shrugged, [color=ff991c][b]"Sure, let's do that. Girls' night out?"[/b][/color]

It looked like Binky might have been considering her offer, but then she typed up a short message. “Might drink at home.” 

[color=a95c68]"Might be for the best,"[/color] her lips curled into a minute smile. [color=a95c68]"Maybe next time,"[/color] she said offhandedly, though the offer was genuine this time.

Then Binky understandably decided to keep things in-house, so she just nodded at the green-haired esper before turning back to Jackie, her ice cream almost finished, [color=ff991c][b]"Let's do it. You only live once, right?"[/b][/color]

[color=a95c68]"[i]You[/i] want to...?"[/color] Jacqueline was taken aback, but quickly recovered. [color=a95c68]"Sure. Let's exchange numbers, and we can arrange the time and place later,"[/color] she briefly turned to Binky, [color=a95c68]"You too, if you ever feel like getting drinks once you're back in shape."[/color]

The green haired esper fret her brow, but said little else. If the two were ready to leave, she would probably have one of the armored trucks drive her back to the base.

Silmeria took a moment to reflect at Jacqueline's reaction, starting to believe that she may have put too thick of a mask when it comes to her 'work face', but she's sure that she wasn't the only one to do this, right? Especially in an occupation where one wrong move could mean your literal death, that and she had never hung out much with her fellow agents. [color=ff991c][b]”...”[/b][/color] She supposed it's time to fix that, huh? Starting with Jackie. [color=ff991c][b]"Yeah... I... uh..."[/b][/color] She decided to keep it for later and just nodded, [color=ff991c][b]"Sure."[/b][/color] Fishing out her phone to exchange numbers with both Leroux and Binky.

That done, the brunette gave a sympathetic nod at the only mundane-form wounded esper among them, [color=ff991c][b]"Get well soon, Bink."[/b][/color]