[b][i]Flashback Collab, Part Three[/i][/b] [hider=Flashback Part Three] [b]NPCs:[/b] The Truck was moving closer to Lingayen City, close enough that the people inside can see that soldiers and civilians alike were helping dig trenches and place what Anti-Air systems they can afford (including [i]one[/i] Israeli SPYDER system) wherever there was space. Barbed wire and large spikes, as well as concrete Anti-Tank 'hedgehog' barricades, were also being placed. At least there were preparations... [b]Qingshe:[/b] There was a flicker in the confined space, as -between one moment of splattering dessert and the next- the fragments seemed to disappear mid-flight. No. Not quite [i]disappear[/i] so much as they were snatched out of the air at speeds barely perceptible to the naked eye. The floor was no longer a steely grey, but instead an inky, bubbling black flecked with green. It was there that the last flickers of what were once small writhing tendrils -the tips headed by fanged mouths not dissimilar to chest-bursters straight out of Alien- could be seen retreating into the void. Tsking her tongue in a chiding, strangely motherly manner, the tall woman in the cyberpunk dress had [i]moved[/i]. It was hard to find a better word to describe the serpentine swiftness with which she'd suddenly gone from being in her seat to standing next to the two Arms Master girls... with a hankie in hand? "[i]Jesus[/i], Qingshe! At least [i]try[/i] not to rile the troops!" one of the higher-ranking soldiers exclaimed with a startle, several of his comrades echoing his alarm before acknowledging the lack of actual threat and returning to tense annoyance, intermixed with -for some- reluctant amusement. He clucked his tongue at the unrepentant smile he received in return from the now named green-haired woman. Instead, those golden, slitted eyes returned to the younger girls. "Oh, my [i]my[/i]~! How uncivilized~" Despite the words, there was a purr of interest(?) to her voice that -if one didn't know any better- they might compare to the rattling of a viper. "Honey, if you wanted a treat of your own, [i]all you had to do was ask[/i]~!" The blackness on the floor had retreated till it ebbed tidally merely around the edges of the hem of Qingshe's dress, like a mockery of a shadow. From its mass, a thin cylinder crawling with glowing green lines extended up from it to the voluptuous woman's hand... before the top opened like a tube and expelled an ice-cream cone identical to what the melted mess used to be. Extending the hankie to dab the mess around Nil's lips with a kindly smile, she plucked the cone from her shadowy cyberpunk appendage with one ebony-gloved hand and offered the fresh treat. It was... visually somewhat odd behavior, given that there appeared little if any difference in age between her and the snowy-haired young woman, but the latter's own prior actions lent an air of unusual genuineness to the gesture. The offered dessert was strangely well-chilled as though it were fresh out of a fridge, and -were it to be tried- one would find the flavor to have suffered no loss, despite the odd origin. In every conceivable way, it was an identical, flawlessly reproduced product, edible and enjoyable in all the ways that mattered. [b]Hannie:[/b] Hannie begins to smile at Nil's strange eating behavior, and that smile is promptly killed. She makes no successful effort to conceal how the shadowy apparitions unsettle her. She watches them with wide eyes, and remains frozen after they fade away. Is this what Arms Masters are like? Kirvella's scary, this gir- wom- Qingshe's scary, the white-haired girl... well, she seems okay, but she looks kind of creepy? They can't all be like this. Can they all be like this? Can she get used to working with people like this? It's doubt after doubt piling on. She might die from her own anxieties. She never should've spoken up. [i]being sent to die all those people staring at her they didn't even let her talk to mom before they sent her to d[/i] Hannie drops the cone. [i]it's so crowded in here the way they looked at her what were they thinking what's Kirvella going to do out there why are they at war why why why why[/i] There's not much room on the seat, but she brings her knees up to hug as well as she can. A ragged breath narrowly escapes her before she lets her face fall into the soft fabric. She should try to cry quietly. She'd rather not disturb anyone. [b]Nil:[/b] Nil didn't expect the green woman to just... teleport across, likely no one did, Nil was startled by this unexpected situation, when and how did she move so fast but more importantly why? was it the ability of her [s]stand[/s] Noble Arm? Nil was shocked for a few seconds and could barely understand what the woman was saying, was it related to their earlier discussion? did she do anything wrong? why is everything so green right now? Then the green woman just... materialized a new ice cream, that was just as unexpected but this time rather than being shocked Nil gave a hasted 'tank you' in danish before eating the frozen dessert in two quick bites, trying and failing to be less voracious. 'Thanks' she said right after this time in english, realizing that's how she was addressed just a second ago, a bit less on the edge Nil now just sat in her corner slowly gnawing at the handchief she was offered. [b]NPCs:[/b] The truck was on the outskirts of Lingayen City, and had to stop at a military checkpoint, where two soldiers can be heard gossiping that the Chinese Fleet had appeared over the horizon and that the northern part of the Philippines was being bombarded by planes and targeted by missiles. Nevertheless, when the truck driver rode up to them, they snapped to attention and one of them asked in better English, "We've been notified there are Arms Masters in the truck; what are their names and general ranks?" He then clarified, "NA Ranks, I mean." [/hider]