⚡ 9th zap | action ⚡

[i_am_not_cute]

[Early in the morning, Pao-Lin returns from her mission, exhausted but itching to get back to normal (Luceti) life. Two weeks just for combat testing? What the hell was that about? She's a pretty fit girl, and there'd been two days of break in the middle of it all, but some of the things the Malnosso made her do strained even her. Which, she supposes, was the point of it all, but it still sucked. She's so very glad to be back in the village, with friends and good food and her own apartment, and when she gets back to said apartment she sits on her couch with some snacks and her journal to check what she missed. There's going to be a lot to go through, but after being up and about nearly nonstop the past two weeks, Pao-Lin doesn't mind sitting still for a while, so sit still she does, eagerly flipping through the pages.

The eagerness quickly fades when she comes across Ginia's journal post not two days before, declaring the departure of one Rupert Giles. The announcement unsettles Pao-Lin: Giles was one of the first people she'd met in Luceti, someone who seemed like he'd always been around and always would be. Although the two hadn't been that close, she'd liked him a lot and they'd experienced quite a few things together. To have him just suddenly be gone...

With unease burning in her throat, Pao-Lin continues perusing past entries. Seems like some sort of experiment happened while she was away...not that anyone seems to remember what happened then. (Perhaps for the better? She's certainly glad she missed out on things.) There's an announcement from the Malnosso about the missions, and --

Toph. Toph is gone, too.

Her heart thuds against her chest, tripping over the news. She has to take a moment to catch her breath so she can process things. How could this happen? Pao-Lin wonders. Weren't she and Toph supposed to become even better friends in Luceti in the future? They couldn't do that if she were gone! Were Toph's future memories really just fake ones created by the Malnosso, then? In other circumstances, Pao-Lin's innate optimism would take over and reassure her that maybe Toph, like Luca, would come back eventually. She'd have to, if they were going to be much closer later on. But Pao-Lin's tired from her mission, and barely recovered from learning about Giles' departure, so she's not bouncing back into shape as easily as she should.

The final blow comes when she finds Mia's voicepost about Amiti being sent home. After that, Pao-Lin doesn't even bother checking the rest of the entries.

Three friends, gone within two weeks. She didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them properly. And none of them had even known she was gone, either: by the time she'd actually found the mission summons in her journal, Pao-Lin had to report in. There was only enough time for a quick message to Luca letting him know that their drawing lessons were temporarily on hold, and then she had to get ready and head out, more concerned with what she'd have to do on this mission than about losing friends in the meantime. It's not like the girl has any shortage of them in Luceti, but they're still all dear to her, seeing how few she's had in her life prior to this.

Pao-Lin slowly closes her journal and sets it on a nearby coffee table, next to her forgotten snacks. She lies down on the couch, clutches a pillow to her chest, and silently cries a little.]

***

[Once she's pulled herself together sufficiently enough, Pao-Lin heads out into Luceti to go about her day. Despite having spent most of the past two weeks involved in strenuous physical activity, she'll still go through her kung fu forms by the river, though her movements won't be as spirited or as focused as they usually are. She'll take her main meals at Seventh Heaven, but she'll drop by the bakery for some pocket food before wandering aimlessly through the streets, not going anywhere in particular but not wanting to stay at home and brood, either. At night she can be found at Good Spirits, staring morosely at a melting milkshake. If approached at any point, she'll put on the brightest smile she can, but at this moment the brightness will be less like sunshine and more like a flickering lightbulb.]

Comments

[i_am_not_cute]

I'm all right. [Said in a flat tone, still with that wan smile.] Just came back from a mission, so I'm kind of tired. [But she didn't want to just sleep all day, either.]

[mindgooshed]

[ he .. doesn't really believe her, but hey, he gets it. barnaby's a private guy, so he's not about to go prying into her business. ]

How did it go?

[i_am_not_cute]

[Shrug.]

It wasn't too bad, I don't think. Kinda boring and tiring, though we at least got two days off in the middle of everything. And I ran into someone else from Luceti there, so at least I wasn't by myself.

[mindgooshed]

Are you able to disclose the details of the mission?

[ HE NEEDS TO KNOW HE NEEDS TO KNOW ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[WELL SHE CAN TELL HIM BUT IDK HOW MUCH HE'LL GET OUT OF IT -- ]

It was combat testing. I had to go through simulations like the ones we have in the Battle Dome here, fighting in different situations with and without my powers.

[mindgooshed]

[ HE WILL ALWAYS GET SOMETHING OUT OF SEEMINGLY IRRELEVANT INFO OKAY he's just going to tuck it away into the back of his big smart brain. ]

Hmm .. that's all? Just observation? No objective of any sort?

[i_am_not_cute]

[She shakes her head.]

They didn't tell us anything like that. I tried asking some of the testers, but they wouldn't answer me. And the people from the other villages didn't know anything either.

[mindgooshed]

[ he nods crisply, and shifts the brown bag of wine from one arm to the other. ]

Right. Thank you.

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin nods.]

Are you thinking about signing up for missions?

[mindgooshed]

Yes. I've been busy recently, but soon enough..

[i_am_not_cute]

Ah, I see. [Another weak smile.] I'm sure you'll do great on them, whenever you go.

[mindgooshed]

[ man if he were less socially awkward he's totally ask you what's really wrong

but, uh

yeah. ]

.. ah, that's very kind of you. [ also so true. KING OF HERO. (yea) ] I'm sure you did very well.

[i_am_not_cute]

[Another nod.]

Yeah...actually, me and Kurt -- the other person from Luceti on the mission -- scored the highest on the simulations, I think. I didn't get to see many of the other people actually fight, but I managed to get a glimpse of the scores towards the end of the second week...they were pretty low.

[mindgooshed]

[ wow really. ]

That doesn't sound promising.

[i_am_not_cute]

I mean, it's not that they were terrible, or anything! They could fight. It's just...I've seen a lot better from most of the people here in Luceti. [She shrugs.] Maybe it's just that they didn't take the best fighters from whatever villages these people were from.

[mindgooshed]

I suppose that's possible ..

[ however unlikely. still, barnaby wants to examine this from all angles. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

And their villages sound worse off than ours. Most don't have electricity, it seems.

[mindgooshed]

[ really? he can't help but wonder just how many of them are out there.. ]

I can't imagine that you were spared much time for conversation with them.

[i_am_not_cute]

They usually kept us separated when we were waiting our turn for the simulations, but we were all together in the cafeteria, and I shared my room with someone from another village, though I didn't see them too much.

[mindgooshed]

Yes, I imagine they didn't want you sharing too much information with each other, just as a precaution. The Malnosso seem confident, almost overconfident, but I suppose that allowing you to talk freely is too much.

[i_am_not_cute]

[A nod. This makes sense to her.]

Still, it's good that they're letting us go on these missions. There might be a chance to find out something big, so we can help everyone.

[mindgooshed]

I agree. At some point, they're bound to slip up..

[ barnaby gives pause, and his eyes flit from left to right, glancing over his shoulder. even with the journals closed, in public, he always has this sense of paranoia that they're somehow, in some way, being watched. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Spurred by Barnaby's reaction, Pao-Lin looks around as well.]

What is it?

[mindgooshed]

[ and he shifts his eyes back to her face, then quickly shakes his head. ]

Nothing. I'm just.. [ being overly cautious. ] .. distracted. I suppose I should be on my way.

[i_am_not_cute]

Ahh...right. Sorry for bothering you. [Even though he's the one who talked to her first.] Have a good night, Mr. Barnaby.