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[ The camera is met with an angry-looking Kate, one angle of her jaw flexing as teeth clench. Her forearms are folded on the tabletop in front of her and she leans her weight onto them. The way she launches right in gives the impression she's been holding back this bad mood for a while before giving in. ]

Okay, so first of all, whoever stole my bow at the jump: bring it back. It's a cheap piece of crap anyway and it's not like we have arrows laying around but it's the only one I have here and there aren't any more in the armory and it's not exactly an inconspicuous weapon so what are you even going to do with it without me finding you?? Seriously, just bring it back before you damage it somehow and I promise I won't hit you with it no matter how tempted I am.

And speaking of people around here being total assholes [ Because whatever, she's started now and trying to make her no-hitting promise sincere just has the frustration shunting off into another topic, ], is someone turning people into animals seriously allowed now? That's just a thing we're cool with, going to let that slide on by, no brig time involved? [ She's not generally a very animated speaker but her hands twist off the table into the air into a 'seriously?' gesture. ] FYI never annoy this Gold guy because I guess he can just turn you into a cat if he feels like it and nobody will ever do anything. If I disappear after posting this be on the look-out for new pets wandering around or something. On second thought maybe that'd be a nice change from this place's bullshit for a while. Gold, if you're watching, just make it a dog or a bird or something, alright? Cool.

[ It's hard to make a dramatic exit on a touch-screen device but she pushes the STOP button as abruptly as she can anyway. Hawkeye out. Nope, wait, spoke too soon. It starts up again after a second just long enough for her to shout: ]

And bring me back my god damn bow!

[ Okay, now it's done. ]

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[ Kate doesn't quite apologize for putting her on the spot like that but she does nod understandingly, smile tilting crooked at the question. ]

No, I'm just human. I mean, I'm really good at what I do, but I don't have powers or anything. But all of my closest friends do, [ she offers and hey look an easier segue into it. ] Billy is a sorcerer, he can bend reality. We thought Teddy was a shapeshifter but it turns out he's actually a long-lost alien prince from a shapeshifting race, but basically he can make himself look however he wants. Tommy is super-fast. David could absorb all the knowledge and skills of people around him. He can't anymore, but he remembers all the stuff he learned. America... not really sure what she is exactly, but she can kick holes between dimensions, and fly, and punch people really, really hard.

You really have to watch out for those long-lost alien princes. They'll get you every time.

[ She does something like giggle, and a lot of the tension in her chest dissipates. ]

Being just human wouldn't be so bad. That's all I used to want to be. I've more or less gotten over it and accepted normalcy for what it is, which is basically an impossibility. I mean, look where we are and what we're doing. I can't kick holes between dimensions or punch really, really hard but what I can do is just... it just kind of is, you know? [ And now for a distinct lack of segue. ] Are you any good at combat? Like hand to hand fighting? Or with guns?

It's amazing how they crop up, [ Kate agrees of alien princes, and smiles. Being just (just) human is a thing she has mixed feelings about day to day so instead of engaging directly she nods. ] Yeah, I am. I'm best with a bow, but I've studied martial arts and my aim's great with pretty much anything. And I fence. [ She shrugs and pre-empts the question: ] Private school.

[ Her face is a mixture of nonchalant acceptance and something impressed. You don't meet too many people who can fence. Or maybe you do, here. ]

When I signed up with Shepard, I mentioned that I'd eventually want to get out in the field, the way the rest of you do. I feel like I'd be better suited for it. Which... we've probably all seen, since I just got caught gossiping about a potentially hot but proven otherwise due to lack of hat guy on our team. She mentioned something about a Jax, but... if the mission goes well and we actually do end up working together well - [ Claire, stop rambling. ] - would you be interested in teaching me some basics, maybe? My dad tried to teach me once but it... didn't really take.

[ Kate's grin is quick to return at mention of pirate gossiping shenanigans, but by the end of the rambling she's nodding more seriously. ] Yeah, absolutely. We don't have to wait until after recon unless you'd rather, I mean this stuff is good to know just-- for life. Whether you're on a horrorship or not.

Oh and Jax is Jax Teller, he runs the Gunnery department and does firearms training if you join or are doing recon. He's great, I'm a fan of Jax. [ As evidenced by her smile. ] He's like this big biker dude but I'm pretty sure under the leather and facial hair he's got a total baby face.

[ Don't worry, Kate. Gossiping will continue as part of a morale booster at some point. And she'll get back to the more serious aspects of this conversation just as soon as she clears up one thing: ]

But does he have a hat?

A grubby baseball cap I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole?

Yeah that won't do. I'll have to check out this gun training. Sounds just as helpful as combat training, if you're up for it before the recon stuff.

Yeah, the gun training is a good idea. And mandatory for recon field work unless you already know how to handle one. We can start the rest whenever you want.

I feel like it kind of sounded like Jax and I are hooking up or something so I just want to make sure it's clear for the record that that's not true.

Right. Of course. Totally not hooking up. [ She laughs. Again. God, Claire, get a grip. ] Now I'm expecting him to drop in on this conversation, too. Anyway, I've fired a gun before, but I know that doesn't count as actual experience when you come down to it.

Seriously! [ Kate laughs, and shakes her head. ] He just kind of reminds me of my partner, that's all. But yeah definitely get real training. What'd you do, at home? [ It comes out more vague than in her mind, and she rolls a hand in gesture. ] Like school, or job, or....

That's how it starts.

[ There is a waggly eyebrow in there, as much as she can make one work. ]

School, mostly. It never really - I was thinking about dropping out, before everything at home started getting crazy. It's never really been something I've settled very well into, probably since my junior year. [ Friends getting murdered and all the other stuff will do that to you. ] What about you?

[ More laughter and some eye-rolling from Kate at that, and another little shake of her head. ] They're both walking disasters I really don't need to get that close to.

[ But oh hey, that sounds kind of familiar. Especially the friends getting murdered part. Her smile returns, smaller and more wry. ] I know how that goes. I've taken a couple classes but couldn't really make the actual college experience work with the rest of my life. I'm not going to give up being a superhero for dorm parties and 8am lectures, you know?

[ Kate is literally the physical embodiment of basically every desire that Claire has had for herself over the last two years. Maybe not the superhero part - but then again, it depends on the day - and Claire finds herself a little taken aback. ]

You have. No idea. How much sense that makes. I don't know if I'm necessarily superhero material, I seriously doubt it, but there's something that feels distinctly wrong about sitting still when you know that you should be moving forward, in whatever capacity.

Really? [ Kate was hopeful, but the understanding is still a pleasant surprise. ] Yeah, exactly! Not that college isn't important or worthwhile but it just feels like I can be doing more than that. I mean I have been doing more than that already, so it was like a step backwards. "Sorry, I can't come help save the world today, I have a chem exam?" [ She hesitates a beat and then adds, ] And it was kind of surreal.

[ She nods, mostly in time with what Kate is saying, ending with, surprise surprise, another laugh. ]

Right, exactly. You just feel like you're meant to be doing something else other than sitting in a lecture hall and not understanding astronomy or linear algebra or whatever. I spent so long trying to convince myself that was what I wanted that finally kind of realizing that it's not worth it to force it is... weirdly as refreshing as it is stressful. Because of course no one really gets not wanting to go to college, even if it means I just end up getting some kind of job or traveling or something that isn't so stationary, you know? [ She shakes her head, exhales. ] Is it weird to think that being here feels more in tune with what I think I need to be doing?

[ Kate considers that a moment, and then shrugs. ] I guess I can see that? If what you were doing at home was just really normal and boring, and this sort of thing being more of the adventure you're supposed to be having? Yeah, I can see that. I think being suited for this sort of weirdness definitely makes being here easier for me than some people.

But I still would rather be home. [ She admits it with a crook of a smile, maybe just a little uncomfortable with the idea of being homesick. ] I'd just gotten back from months of running non-stop and had kind of been looking forward to my own bed for a while.

[ There's sympathy in her expression. Or empathy, maybe. For as much as she likes the thrill of something new and exciting, when she thinks about her family, Claire feels that tightening in her chest, misses them. So she tries not to. ]

I will admit that the bunks here aren't exactly the most comfortable sleeping arrangements. [ Her dorm bed might have been worse, and she's being facetious, besides. ] My father and uncle are here, so maybe it makes it easier, and having something to actively do is nice, yeah. But I get wanting to be back in your own life, too. No one signed up for this, anyway.

Wow, your father and your uncle? [ Kate looks almost shocked by that, at least partially because the idea of her actual family showing up here had never really occurred to her. Friends and associates, sure, but her dad or her sister? That'd be weird. ] I'm not sure whether that makes you lucky or unlucky, but I'm glad it's easier?

The only person here from my world is Bucky, who's going to be on our team. We've met a couple times, but he was taken from before that happened. [ So she's prettttty much alone. ]

[ You can be in her little circle, Kate. She likes you so much already it's stupid. ]

The whole being grabbed from different points in time thing is so weird. I mean, let's be real, here, everything is pretty much weird. It just makes... communicating on some level that much more difficult. What do you say and what do you not say? How do you tell someone something that happens to them down the road, good or bad? That's a rhetorical question, by the way. I know it's a complicated area.

[ :D ]

It is really weird, and I don't know. I'm kind of dealing with that with-- okay, I'm just going to tell you Bucky's deal since you're on the team so I'm sure it will come out anyway and it's really related to this. To sum up a very long story, basically he was brainwashed into being an assassin. When I met him, he'd escaped and gotten his memories back and was a good guy again, but he came here from a time when he doesn't really remember much of anything yet. Like he knows there are things he doesn't remember, he knows he was brainwashed, but--.

So I'm trying to help him, and obviously he's got some trust issues so I'm answering all of his questions and stuff but I have no idea if I'm just screwing him up worse telling him about things he hasn't done yet.

[ That's a puzzler. And Claire thinks that transmutes some of the tension in a funny way while still managing to be applicable so she just goes ahead and: ]

That's a puzzler. I don't - [ She stops, because she really doesn't want to say the wrong thing without disqualifying how she feels about it. ] I don't think you're - I don't know. Will you let me know how that goes when you figure it all out? [ An offered smile, self-consciously. ] I think you're safe in telling him, considering that he already knows he's missing chunks. It might be different if you just introduced this whole new concept to him and he wasn't even aware of it. There's no telling how it's going to work out in the end, but your intentions are in the right place, obviously, and that goes a long way.

[ Claire knows that she probably wasn't looking for advice or reassurance but the compulsion to offer is there and doesn't go away despite her fumbling. ]

[ Kate kind of chuckles lightly at 'puzzler' and then listens, clearly sort of glad to be getting any kind of second opinion on this, despite general misgivings about sharing it in the first place. There's a thoughtful crease between her brows, and she finally shrugs and nods. ]

Yeah, I hope so. I guess we'll see how it goes. His head hasn't exploded and he hasn't tried to kill anyone else yet, so that's something, right? [ She's being facetious but not about the half Claire might hope. ] I don't know him well enough to give him a lot of details, anyway.

[ Naturally, Claire is suspicious - and now very, very curious, thank you Kate - but not in any way that has any real bearing on the conversation or situation as a whole. She's anxious to meet this character, if anything. ]

Let someone else handle the responsibility of the head-exploding variety.

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