TKaG, Chapter 3: Holy Bonding/(Semi)Naked in the Hot Spring

[Isle of Lithonia]

Before the mighty and ineffable Price of Darkness, and his Daemons and Legions, who dwell in the fires of Perdition, who fought the first battle of heaven for our sake and the sake of freedom, and this assembled company. I acknowledge and confess my past error, Renouncing all past allegiances to He Who Is Three, and his Angelica, I proclaim that Satan-Lucifer rules the Earth, and I ratify and renew my promise to recognize and honor Him in all things, without reservation, desiring in return His manifold assistance in the successful completion of my endeavors and the fulfillment of my desires. I call upon you my enlightened Brothers and Sisters, to bear witness and do likewise.

---

Things had come to a stalemate in the War on Heaven (which was more of a new US Civil War according to the past chapters. Wait, why the hell is the US is the center of the fucking world again?!?!). Much of the US had come under the control of Chimera, and with it's military might (found in Chimera Security and the NSD) it was able to intimidate the US Military into a state of inaction.

And with the relative security that this period gave them, Karlson decided to take full advantage of it. So, he had a short talk with Yuri about it, and they made plans to give the recruits and their leaders a time of leisure. Besides, I've not had any time to just cool off.

The plan was simple: they all would head to a podunk town in Montana, called Hot Springs (I wonder what the fuck made these dudes call it Hot Springs...). There, Yuri owned a private Onsen, and even a mudahfukin' wahtapahk. And it was in this Onsen that the gangsters/assassins/flower-children/fluffy-bunnies would let loose and just relax.

Now that the creative juices were obviously not flowing very well in the Divine Author's mind, he decided to merely place everyone in a train, in the middle of winter in Montana, heading through the mountains towards the Onsen.

Oh, and Karlson was sitting in a seat, and smoking a cigarette (booyah!).

[The Templar High Council]

After a long time of doing nothing, Maiso has returned to do... more nothing. He sat on the train, playing his bass, and listening to music in his earbuds. It was a little bit of this, but only the bassline. He ignored everyone around him while he was playing, and Fuma ignored him too. Fuma was off somewhere, probably meditating. Doesn't matter. He can be anywhere he wants like that.

[The Floating Island of the Sleeping God]

"Trains are cool," announced Krouse to nobody in particular as he stared out the window, "because they've got all the interesting sights out of the window that a car trip has, but it's like a plane ride in that you don't have to do any of the driving yourself." Jack snored loudly beside him. Krouse elbowed him in the ribs. "You don't even have a biological need to sleep any more. Why are you snoring?"
"I guess your musings on public transportation are just that boring."
"Jackass." He got up as Jack pretended to go back to sleep and paced around for a while, hoping someone would engage him in conversation. He would've started up a conversation on his own but, y'know, he didn't want to be rude and interrupt someone not looking for company. Yeah, that's why. Not because of a lingering discomfort with his inability to make good small talk most of the time. Lightning-slinging soldiers of Hell don't have social anxieties, that would be ridiculous.

[Charmera]

"Trains are cool," announced Krouse to nobody in particular as he stared out the window, "because they've got all the interesting sights out of the window that a car trip has, but it's like a plane ride in that you don't have to do any of the driving yourself." Jack snored loudly beside him. Krouse elbowed him in the ribs. "You don't even have a biological need to sleep any more. Why are you snoring?"
"I guess your musings on public transportation are just that boring."
"Jackass." He got up as Jack pretended to go back to sleep and paced around for a while, hoping someone would engage him in conversation. He would've started up a conversation on his own but, y'know, he didn't want to be rude and interrupt someone not looking for company. Yeah, that's why. Not because of a lingering discomfort with his inability to make good small talk most of the time. Lightning-slinging soldiers of Hell don't have social anxieties, that would be ridiculous.

Miranda sat next to him, a somewhat down look on her face. She had not talked to anyone besides a few words since the mission. Marcus had spurred the girl onto talking to someone... anyone. He seemed rather dazed too but he knew his host definitely needed to talk to someone, so he finally managed to get her to decide to talk to someone.

"Hey... Krouse." She started, her voice quieter than usual, but she tried to be a little perky. "What... do you think this... break will be like?"

Laura
Laura was slightly concerned about Clarence, since the last mission she had not really had the time to talk to him and hadn't really been able to stick with him since they were all told to take a vacation, so that left her sitting on her own. She wanted- no needed to talk to him. She was feeling more than a little tired actually, the mission being somewhat draining for her. She had made her first kill that very morning, and now she had added... Ten? Eleven? As much as it shocked Laura, she hadn't counted the lives she had callously ripped apart. Even now she couldn't muster much guilt for their individual deaths and more regret that she had to kill them. She soon found herself nodding off slightly.

She snapper herself awake. It would look unprofessional and absurdly sloppy to be sleeping on the train, so she stayed awake.

[The Floating Island of the Sleeping God]

"Trains are cool," announced Krouse to nobody in particular as he stared out the window, "because they've got all the interesting sights out of the window that a car trip has, but it's like a plane ride in that you don't have to do any of the driving yourself." Jack snored loudly beside him. Krouse elbowed him in the ribs. "You don't even have a biological need to sleep any more. Why are you snoring?"
"I guess your musings on public transportation are just that boring."
"Jackass." He got up as Jack pretended to go back to sleep and paced around for a while, hoping someone would engage him in conversation. He would've started up a conversation on his own but, y'know, he didn't want to be rude and interrupt someone not looking for company. Yeah, that's why. Not because of a lingering discomfort with his inability to make good small talk most of the time. Lightning-slinging soldiers of Hell don't have social anxieties, that would be ridiculous.

Miranda sat next to him, a somewhat down look on her face. She had not talked to anyone besides a few words since the mission. Marcus had spurred the girl onto talking to someone... anyone. He seemed rather dazed too but he knew his host definitely needed to talk to someone, so he finally managed to get her to decide to talk to someone.

"Hey... Krouse." She started, her voice quieter than usual, but she tried to be a little perky. "What... do you think this... break will be like?"

Krouse was pleased that the cunning gambit of sitting around like a doofus and waiting for someone else to initiate conversation, one of the classics in his social repertoire, had paid off. He looked across at Miranda with a smile.

"I'm not sure. On the one hand, most of our fellow hosts desperately need to take a load off. The usual metaphor would be that they're ticking time bombs, but I feel like it's closer to a tactical nuke in our situation. Everyone needs a release, and this is as good an opportunity to slack off as ever. On the other hand, though, we've got the more...boisterous, let's say, of our comrades. The fighters. I expect I'm not alone in thinking that our time might be better spent elsewhere, fighting for the human race. I doubt everyone will see the merit in taking a vacation, though. It's..." He trailed off, searching for the point he was aiming for. "It's all about balance, y'know? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That sort of idea. It's like that with everything. Life, chemistry, war...if you hit the balance right, then everything's good. Tip too far in either direction, and that's when things start blowing up in your face. So...yeah." He finished awkwardly, realized that he was on the verge of rambling. "What do you think?"

"I think you are terrible at talking to women."
"Then I'm glad I wasn't asking you."

[Nekronia]

Jackie was sitting around on the train in a distinctive outfit, idly watching a cartoon on his phone. Clearly this wasn't individualistic enough and was laying on the floor under a table. Once he finished humming along with the ending song he turned off the smartphone, smokeshifted it into his back pocket, and rolled out from under the table. Well... may as well ask for help with my problem now. No time like the present. Longest project is the one that's never started. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Preheat oven before insertion. Et cetera.

He got his face off the floor and stood up before brushing himself off and looking around for his target. He walked around and found Stern, who would likely be the best at resolving the critical issue at hand. Karlson could potentially work too, but it couldn't be assured if he would help or not, and this was a rather pressing matter so the best chance is the best option. The bearded manchild waltzed up to Stern and attempted to minimize the frivolous, douchey, irritating, (etc.) mannerisms that he would normally exhibit since this was not the time to be making an enemy. "Sir, uh... may I speak with you? In private, sir?"

Wait... I forget, are we supposed to do the generic 'you will start and end everything you say with sir' thing? Shit, I can't ask right now.

[Charmera]

Miranda sat next to him, a somewhat down look on her face. She had not talked to anyone besides a few words since the mission. Marcus had spurred the girl onto talking to someone... anyone. He seemed rather dazed too but he knew his host definitely needed to talk to someone, so he finally managed to get her to decide to talk to someone.

"Hey... Krouse." She started, her voice quieter than usual, but she tried to be a little perky. "What... do you think this... break will be like?"

Krouse was pleased that the cunning gambit of sitting around like a doofus and waiting for someone else to initiate conversation, one of the classics in his social repertoire, had paid off. He looked across at Miranda with a smile.

"I'm not sure. On the one hand, most of our fellow hosts desperately need to take a load off. The usual metaphor would be that they're ticking time bombs, but I feel like it's closer to a tactical nuke in our situation. Everyone needs a release, and this is as good an opportunity to slack off as ever. On the other hand, though, we've got the more...boisterous, let's say, of our comrades. The fighters. I expect I'm not alone in thinking that our time might be better spent elsewhere, fighting for the human race. I doubt everyone will see the merit in taking a vacation, though. It's..." He trailed off, searching for the point he was aiming for. "It's all about balance, y'know? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That sort of idea. It's like that with everything. Life, chemistry, war...if you hit the balance right, then everything's good. Tip too far in either direction, and that's when things start blowing up in your face. So...yeah." He finished awkwardly, realized that he was on the verge of rambling. "What do you think?"

"I think you are terrible at talking to women."
"Then I'm glad I wasn't asking you."

Miranda paused for a second. "Well, a little while ago I would have been one of the... "fighters". I probably would have wanted to get right back into the war... but now... I..." She found it somewhat hard to express what she was feeling. No longer there was the tense Miranda who looked like she would explode at a moments notice, Miranda seemed oddly... released of tension, exhausted too. "I... need a break I suppose. Time to think."

She smiled a litte. "Plus. From what I've heard, this break should be decent fun. We really haven't had an extended period of time where death and resurrection wasn't a day away. It'll be nice to get away from that."

Marcus was unfused from her, sitting down next to them.

[Mnar Secundus]

Laura was slightly concerned about Clarence, since the last mission she had not really had the time to talk to him and hadn't really been able to stick with him since they were all told to take a vacation, so that left her sitting on her own. She wanted- no needed to talk to him. She was feeling more than a little tired actually, the mission being somewhat draining for her. She had made her first kill that very morning, and now she had added... Ten? Eleven? As much as it shocked Laura, she hadn't counted the lives she had callously ripped apart. Even now she couldn't muster much guilt for their individual deaths and more regret that she had to kill them. She soon found herself nodding off slightly.

She snapper herself awake. It would look unprofessional and absurdly sloppy to be sleeping on the train, so she stayed awake.

Clarence was walking along the train's hallway with Boali on his shoulder when he found what he was looking for: Laura, apparently to be struggling to stay awake in her chair. He had a cup of tea, as it happened. The Demon host had intended to drink it himself, to clear his mind as best he could, but his parner seemed to need it more than he did, so he went to sit down next to her, put Boali - who looked drowsy herself - down at his other side and offered Laura the hot beverage. "You ... want some tea?"
The words felt awkward in his mouth, but then again, mostly everything he did felt awkward next to Laura these days. Except for killing, of course. That would never feel awkward. Clarence's brow furrowed as memories of the recent battle flashed through his mind, fusing and mixing themselves up with his previous experiences in a fluid torrent of torn limbs, screams of pain, splattered guts, the stench of shit and fear and blood and blood and blood - Stop. He blinked several times in quick repetition, unlocking his clenched jaws and his tense muscles, and allowed himself to sit back into his chair and close his eyes for a second. He was intensely aware of Laura's presence at his side, as though she radiated a perceptible heat. It felt good.

Clarence didn't know why he had been looking for Laura, exactly. He just felt an urge to see her, to talk to her, to ascertain her existence. It was as if he knew, somewhere inside of himself, that things would turn out well as long as Laura was with him. If she was here, he could fight and kill with the knowledge that he had something worthwhile to protect, something to go back to, something to hold onto. The world wouldn't do the trick. For one thing, it was too abstract, too large, and Clarence didn't have much use for most of Mankind anyway. But maybe if he fought for Laura instead, he could forget about the battles they'd face from now on. And if he could do that, then maybe he could forget about the battles he had faced before, and about ... everything else back then.
Besides, even without taking all of that stuff into account, being with Laura felt good. It felt right. There was no need for any other motivation, really. So Clarence, after putting his jacket over the now-sleeping Boali, faced the young woman next to him with an awkward smile and said, "So. A vacation. In a hot spring to boot." He flailed in his mind for something else to say - Clarence wasn't exactly used to small talk -, then settled for: "Have you ... been to one before?"
He actually wanted to talk about the battle: he thought that Laura might need to get some metaphorical weight off her shoulders, and he wanted to help her as much as he could. But that would require remembering his own recent actions, which would bring about memories of his less recent actions, and this battle had been tame. He didn't know how to bring up the subject without hurting either himself or Laura. Still, it needed to be done ... And there was something else he wanted to discuss, but he wrestled the thought out of his mind lest his eyes betray his feelings. He wasn't sure how to handle that yet, either.

[Hetland 2]

Jackie was sitting around on the train in a distinctive outfit, idly watching a cartoon on his phone. Clearly this wasn't individualistic enough and was laying on the floor under a table. Once he finished humming along with the ending song he turned off the smartphone, smokeshifted it into his back pocket, and rolled out from under the table. Well... may as well ask for help with my problem now. No time like the present. Longest project is the one that's never started. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Preheat oven before insertion. Et cetera.

He got his face off the floor and stood up before brushing himself off and looking around for his target. He walked around and found Stern, who would likely be the best at resolving the critical issue at hand. Karlson could potentially work too, but it couldn't be assured if he would help or not, and this was a rather pressing matter so the best chance is the best option. The bearded manchild waltzed up to Stern and attempted to minimize the frivolous, douchey, irritating, (etc.) mannerisms that he would normally exhibit since this was not the time to be making an enemy. "Sir, uh... may I speak with you? In private, sir?"

Wait... I forget, are we supposed to do the generic 'you will start and end everything you say with sir' thing? Shit, I can't ask right now.

Conrad looked over at Jackie, and took another puff from his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ash tray. "If you want to do the proper military request, it'd be 'Permission to speak freely Major?'." He paused, immediately regretting snuffing out his cigarette and lighting another one. "But from your demeanor it seems like you're actually having some problems. So... have a seat." He gestured to the seat across from him and tented his hands. "One thing, don't tell Anuragini that I'm smoking. Ever since my... death, she's been on my case about it. But enough about me. What brings you here?"

[Charmera]

Laura was slightly concerned about Clarence, since the last mission she had not really had the time to talk to him and hadn't really been able to stick with him since they were all told to take a vacation, so that left her sitting on her own. She wanted- no needed to talk to him. She was feeling more than a little tired actually, the mission being somewhat draining for her. She had made her first kill that very morning, and now she had added... Ten? Eleven? As much as it shocked Laura, she hadn't counted the lives she had callously ripped apart. Even now she couldn't muster much guilt for their individual deaths and more regret that she had to kill them. She soon found herself nodding off slightly.

She snapper herself awake. It would look unprofessional and absurdly sloppy to be sleeping on the train, so she stayed awake.

Clarence was walking along the train's hallway with Boali on his shoulder when he found what he was looking for: Laura, apparently to be struggling to stay awake in her chair. He had a cup of tea, as it happened. The Demon host had intended to drink it himself, to clear his mind as best he could, but his parner seemed to need it more than he did, so he went to sit down next to her, put Boali - who looked drowsy herself - down at his other side and offered Laura the hot beverage. "You ... want some tea?"
The words felt awkward in his mouth, but then again, mostly everything he did felt awkward next to Laura these days. Except for killing, of course. That would never feel awkward. Clarence's brow furrowed as memories of the recent battle flashed through his mind, fusing and mixing themselves up with his previous experiences in a fluid torrent of torn limbs, screams of pain, splattered guts, the stench of shit and fear and blood and blood and blood - Stop. He blinked several times in quick repetition, unlocking his clenched jaws and his tense muscles, and allowed himself to sit back into his chair and close his eyes for a second. He was intensely aware of Laura's presence at his side, as though she radiated a perceptible heat. It felt good.

Clarence didn't know why he had been looking for Laura, exactly. He just felt an urge to see her, to talk to her, to ascertain her existence. It was as if he knew, somewhere inside of himself, that things would turn out well as long as Laura was with him. If she was here, he could fight and kill with the knowledge that he had something worthwhile to protect, something to go back to, something to hold onto. The world wouldn't do the trick. For one thing, it was too abstract, too large, and Clarence didn't have much use for most of Mankind anyway. But maybe if he fought for Laura instead, he could forget about the battles they'd face from now on. And if he could do that, then maybe he could forget about the battles he had faced before, and about ... everything else back then.
Besides, even without taking all of that stuff into account, being with Laura felt good. It felt right. There was no need for any other motivation, really. So Clarence, after putting his jacket over the now-sleeping Boali, faced the young woman next to him with an awkward smile and said, "So. A vacation. In a hot spring to boot." He flailed in his mind for something else to say - Clarence wasn't exactly used to small talk -, then settled for: "Have you ... been to one before?"
He actually wanted to talk about the battle: he thought that Laura might need to get some metaphorical weight off her shoulders, and he wanted to help her as much as he could. But that would require remembering his own recent actions, which would bring about memories of his less recent actions, and this battle had been tame. He didn't know how to bring up the subject without hurting either himself or Laura. Still, it needed to be done ... And there was something else he wanted to discuss, but he wrestled the thought out of his mind lest his eyes betray his feelings. He wasn't sure how to handle that yet, either.

She blinked as she saw the tea, trying to shake the drowsiness. She couldn't remember the last time she had tea... She dearly missed it. She nodded, "Sure." Then her thoughts turned to Clarence. Laura found it very hard not to think of Clarence recently, especially after what had happened during the battle. In fact she had been thinking about Clarence a lot even before the battle started. It made sense, she supposed, he was the person she could trust, that should could rely on in any situation, plus they had gotten rather close... much closer than Laura had anticipated they could a year ago.

"Nope. Never been to one." She replied, taking a sip of the tea. Laura put it back down on the table afterward and fixed her hair. "Sounds... nice, though."

She then sighed. "Eight. I killed eight during the battle." She commented, having finally counted her kills, though she was sure she missed a few. Her voice was quieter. She rubbed her tired eyes. "I've gotten very good at killing this past year haven't I?"

[Nekronia]

Conrad looked over at Jackie, and took another puff from his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ash tray. "If you want to do the proper military request, it'd be 'Permission to speak freely Major?'." He paused, immediately regretting snuffing out his cigarette and lighting another one. "But from your demeanor it seems like you're actually having some problems. So... have a seat." He gestured to the seat across from him and tented his hands. "One thing, don't tell Anuragini that I'm smoking. Ever since my... death, she's been on my case about it. But enough about me. What brings you here?"

Ffffuck. Jackie was rather irritated with himself for forgetting the way he should have said it, but did his best to push that aside. Hm, yeah, Anu really shouldn't worry about smoking. We get shot and poisoned and generally butchered on a regular basis, smoking's probably the LEAST damaging thing that happens on a daily basis. ...Should I bring that up out loud? No, probably not, can't risk looking like I'm badmouthing his kid. That would be very very bad. Uh, okay... here we go... I guess...

He gave a nervous "Sorry, sir. Major. Stern." before hastily and awkwardly sitting down in the designated seat across from his superior. Dammit. "Don't worry, I won't tell her. It wouldn't help anyone. Anyways... uh..." He thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to best word the request. "You're more experienced than I am, so it's kinda the best, um, option to go to you first, since Anuragini happened, but I'm not really sure- Er, anyways, uh... how..." He started lightly messing with the hair on the back of his head before finishing the sentence. "How do I... 'woo' people. Like... you know. 'Talk to girls'. And stuff." In his nervousness, the youth wasn't particularly sure if he got his point across accurately, despite 'how do I not be an incompetent boob and get a girlfriend' clearly being the intended request. "Like... I have a crush on someone but I don't know how to approach the topic... I mean, I was in a relationship once before, but- do you know what 'blackrom' is?" ...probably not... "Anyways it wasn't a normal relationship at all and she kinda died in a DUI so I don't really know how to approach a normal relationship at all so I don't really know what to do with my new crush and damn it I'm rambling again..." Jackie was a bit hesitant with the eye contact, but did his best on the matter. Meanwhile, a dictionary somewhere else was having a photo pasted next to the entry for 'anxiety'.

You have a crush? You could have asked me, you know. You've never kissed a girl, gramps. Piss off. I'm REALLY not in the mood to deal with your crap right now. How d- Because I'm not retarded.
Walter mentally sighed, and resumed being in the background of Jackie's head.

[The Floating Island of the Sleeping God]

Krouse was pleased that the cunning gambit of sitting around like a doofus and waiting for someone else to initiate conversation, one of the classics in his social repertoire, had paid off. He looked across at Miranda with a smile.

"I'm not sure. On the one hand, most of our fellow hosts desperately need to take a load off. The usual metaphor would be that they're ticking time bombs, but I feel like it's closer to a tactical nuke in our situation. Everyone needs a release, and this is as good an opportunity to slack off as ever. On the other hand, though, we've got the more...boisterous, let's say, of our comrades. The fighters. I expect I'm not alone in thinking that our time might be better spent elsewhere, fighting for the human race. I doubt everyone will see the merit in taking a vacation, though. It's..." He trailed off, searching for the point he was aiming for. "It's all about balance, y'know? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That sort of idea. It's like that with everything. Life, chemistry, war...if you hit the balance right, then everything's good. Tip too far in either direction, and that's when things start blowing up in your face. So...yeah." He finished awkwardly, realized that he was on the verge of rambling. "What do you think?"

"I think you are terrible at talking to women."
"Then I'm glad I wasn't asking you."

Miranda paused for a second. "Well, a little while ago I would have been one of the... "fighters". I probably would have wanted to get right back into the war... but now... I..." She found it somewhat hard to express what she was feeling. No longer there was the tense Miranda who looked like she would explode at a moments notice, Miranda seemed oddly... released of tension, exhausted too. "I... need a break I suppose. Time to think."

She smiled a litte. "Plus. From what I've heard, this break should be decent fun. We really haven't had an extended period of time where death and resurrection wasn't a day away. It'll be nice to get away from that."

Marcus was unfused from her, sitting down next to them.

I like it when she smiles. The non-sequitur had crept unbidden to the front of his mind. It wasn't like Krouse to take stock of how other people felt while he was in the middle of musing. He blinked, then moved on with the conversation.

"Yeah." He gave a small laugh. "Any day we spend here is a day crazy teenage maids aren't shattering my ribcage." He frowned slightly, then amended, "Hopefully." He looked towards the front of the car, trying to see if Karlson was listening and immediately remembering that Karlson couldn't give a fuck what they discussed in their free time, then proceeded. "What really strikes me is that this is Karlson's idea. I mean there are obvious advantages to the vacation: he doesn't have to babysit us because there's no danger, we stay occupied instead of bothering the guys who are actually doing things, but..." He struggled to find a more eloquent way of phrasing his next thought, then gave up. "...it seems downright nice of him to come up with this."

[Charmera]

Miranda paused for a second. "Well, a little while ago I would have been one of the... "fighters". I probably would have wanted to get right back into the war... but now... I..." She found it somewhat hard to express what she was feeling. No longer there was the tense Miranda who looked like she would explode at a moments notice, Miranda seemed oddly... released of tension, exhausted too. "I... need a break I suppose. Time to think."

She smiled a litte. "Plus. From what I've heard, this break should be decent fun. We really haven't had an extended period of time where death and resurrection wasn't a day away. It'll be nice to get away from that."

Marcus was unfused from her, sitting down next to them.

I like it when she smiles. The non-sequitur had crept unbidden to the front of his mind. It wasn't like Krouse to take stock of how other people felt while he was in the middle of musing. He blinked, then moved on with the conversation.

"Yeah." He gave a small laugh. "Any day we spend here is a day crazy teenage maids aren't shattering my ribcage." He frowned slightly, then amended, "Hopefully." He looked towards the front of the car, trying to see if Karlson was listening and immediately remembering that Karlson couldn't give a fuck what they discussed in their free time, then proceeded. "What really strikes me is that this is Karlson's idea. I mean there are obvious advantages to the vacation: he doesn't have to babysit us because there's no danger, we stay occupied instead of bothering the guys who are actually doing things, but..." He struggled to find a more eloquent way of phrasing his next thought, then gave up. "...it seems downright nice of him to come up with this."

Miranda shrugged. "I mean, there are the advantages to having us just chill for a bit as you said..." She replied thoughtfully. "There are some of us who definitely need this break too. Or it could simply be a reward because we did a good job, I mean it could be just another part of our training... we do something well and we get a nice things I suppose." She chuckled, "Hell, maybe he wants a break too. I don't know."

She suddenly saw Laura in the corner of her eye and suddenly focused on her, glaring at the girl briefly. Laura didn't notice Miranda's glare, which only annoyed Miranda further. I really do not like her, at all... Miranda was briefly tempted to armour up and kick her ass, but then remembered what had happened on the battle field, and immediately felt guilty for thinking of doing that. She then turned back to Krouse,

[Achidyemay]

Conor shivered. Pouton had anted to be somewhere on the train that didn't look like an average seating arrangement, and for some reason, he had let the demon have his way for once. Clearly, letting a demon decide your actions wasn't the best choice. Conor shivered again and wrapped his blanket around him closer and drawing the hood closer around his face. Looking across the relatively luxurious caboose floor to the other side where Pouton had opened the window and stuck his head out like a dog, tongue flapping in the wind. Pouton had been rather open in his memories to Conor, and Conor was entertaining himself with them now, lots of parties, none of which where fun.

Have you ever seen a dog riding in a car?
No, why?
No reason.

More snow swirled into the car and onto the carpet. Conor thought about lighting a fire right there in the middle, where it would be nice and warm...

[Isle of Lithonia]

Things had been complete shit for Karlson. Complete shit.

He had completed his objective of gaining control over Washington Capitol. He had also successfully sent Ira Dei running out of Washington, and the whole state was firmly under Chimera's control. However, there had been rather heavy losses for such little ground made, and it worried Karlson, a whole fucking lot. Obviously, he needed to really bump up the strength of his Illuminati, and start using them more effectively.

And worse, he had lost Leon. That prick was one of his closest associates ("friend" is not really in his vocabulary). That fucking asshole got himself killed. Yes, it was to protect Karlson's little group of assassins, but he could've done a million other things than sacrifice himself.

Fuck.

So, Karlson decided that he and his little group needed a break before more shit hit the fan. And here they were.

He looked out the window letting out a puff of smoke. The snow-covered trees glistened in the sunlight as the retrain sped on. It had been, what, seven years? Six? He didn't know. It had just been forever since he had been in the backwoods. The trees parted for a few moments, letting Karlson get a glance at what lied beyond. A hint of a smile crossed his face. God, I've missed the mountains.

And there he sat, smoking his cigs and otherwise minding his own business.

[BlackDeath27]

Raven slepted in a empty train car away from everyone else. It wasn't because she didn't trust anyone it was because she had been having nightmares of being killed by the holy spear. Each time being worse then the one before, and this time she woke up screching at the top of her lungs. Then her eyes shot open to only look at Aria grim face looking back her from the adjacent seat. "That make number three today Raven. You may fear death, but know it doesn't fear you or fear taking your life. I'll be back just try to get some rest even if you don't have to sleep, a scared solider is a useless dead soldier." Aira walked out to the next car to find Conor to see if he would be willing help Raven.

Finding him near his demon she looked over the demon host." Hay kid I need you to help my host she needs your help. Will you help her?" Aria asked in demanding voice.

[Mnar Secundus]

She blinked as she saw the tea, trying to shake the drowsiness. She couldn't remember the last time she had tea... She dearly missed it. She nodded, "Sure." Then her thoughts turned to Clarence. Laura found it very hard not to think of Clarence recently, especially after what had happened during the battle. In fact she had been thinking about Clarence a lot even before the battle started. It made sense, she supposed, he was the person she could trust, that should could rely on in any situation, plus they had gotten rather close... much closer than Laura had anticipated they could a year ago.

"Nope. Never been to one." She replied, taking a sip of the tea. Laura put it back down on the table afterward and fixed her hair. "Sounds... nice, though."

She then sighed. "Eight. I killed eight during the battle." She commented, having finally counted her kills, though she was sure she missed a few. Her voice was quieter. She rubbed her tired eyes. "I've gotten very good at killing this past year haven't I?"

Clarence took a few heartbeats to answer. For one thing, he didn't know what to say, and he was also finding himself quite distracted by the image of Laura fixing her hair. Why is that attractive? She was just moving a bit of organic matter around. Then again, Laura's beautiful brown hair was particularly attractive organic matter in and of itself, and Clarence had to struggle internally not to stare at it, and then there was her expression, and the gesture itself was quite ... cute - which was a word Clarence had never thought he'd one day use to describe Laura.

He gave himself a mental slap. Focus, man.

Chosing his words carefully, he answered: "I killed ... over twenty. At least twenty-one." He made a pause to let that sink in - both for Laura and for himself, the sheer number striking him like a physical blow - before resuming with a slight stammer. "The point is ... Don't beat yourself over it. Objectively, your life is as important as that of any other human being, so it's justified to kill for the purpose of staying alive, even if it wasn't technically self-defense. Those men were working for someone who's trying to destroy the world. If we don't kill them, we will die when they reach their objective anyway. That, in and of itself, justifies our cause on an individual level." He took another second to gather his thoughts.

"Way to go," interfered Boali all of a sudden. "I'm sure that speech would have solved all the existential issues the average computer could have."
"You're awake?", answered Clarence, keeping his surprise in check.
"Apparently. I can't stay asleep when you're drowning yourself in her hair, for Lucen's sake."
Clarence crushed the sudden rush of embarrassment like a gnat. "Well then, if you've finished snarking, why don't you explain your criticism a bit?"
Boali sighed mentally. "Did you actually think pure logic was going to work? Everyone can't objectify violence as easily as you, Clarence. It takes time getting used to it - for most people, that is, and we both know what it means when someone can just kill without issues from the get-go."
He did. It wasn't a good sign. "You're saying it was too ... impersonal?"
"You don't say? You have to put some emotions into things like this, Clarence. And be honest to yourself, too. I swear, why must I play the matchmaker here? I'm eight years old. My main source on romance is manga."
The Demon host patted her hand behind his back. "You'll enjoy our onsen chapter then, won't you." He felt her smirk as he turned his attention back towards Laura.

Clarence hesitated for a second, feeling a slight blush coming to his cheekbones, then said, "Also. Laura ... I, personally, feel that your life is far more important than that of the men you killed. I would still feel that way even if you killed a hundred, a thousand, a million people. Your life is important, be it only because it's ... precious to me. So go ahead and kill however much you need to stay alive, right now and in the long term. If you don't think that you can do it on your own, then think of it as killing for my sake, because I forced you into it; I'll take responsibility for your crimes. You can hate me for this if you want to," though I hope you won't, "as long as you don't stop fighting to the best of your abilities to stay at my side."

"Wow. Corny." Boali felt nonplussed.
"You said to be honest to myself, right? Well, I love Laura. Therefore, I have to take whatever weight I can off her shoulders, which implies shouldering it myself. Isn't that how it works?"
The little girl stayed silent for a heartbeat, then shook her head mentally - she was still feigning to be asleep - and answered with a sigh. "Clarence ... You really can't come up with any solution to any problem that doesn't hurt you, can you? Why don't you make things easier for yourself occasionally?"

Clarence didn't answer. As if someone like me could afford that kind of happiness.

[Charmera]

She blinked as she saw the tea, trying to shake the drowsiness. She couldn't remember the last time she had tea... She dearly missed it. She nodded, "Sure." Then her thoughts turned to Clarence. Laura found it very hard not to think of Clarence recently, especially after what had happened during the battle. In fact she had been thinking about Clarence a lot even before the battle started. It made sense, she supposed, he was the person she could trust, that should could rely on in any situation, plus they had gotten rather close... much closer than Laura had anticipated they could a year ago.

"Nope. Never been to one." She replied, taking a sip of the tea. Laura put it back down on the table afterward and fixed her hair. "Sounds... nice, though."

She then sighed. "Eight. I killed eight during the battle." She commented, having finally counted her kills, though she was sure she missed a few. Her voice was quieter. She rubbed her tired eyes. "I've gotten very good at killing this past year haven't I?"

Clarence took a few heartbeats to answer. For one thing, he didn't know what to say, and he was also finding himself quite distracted by the image of Laura fixing her hair. Why is that attractive? She was just moving a bit of organic matter around. Then again, Laura's beautiful brown hair was particularly attractive organic matter in and of itself, and Clarence had to struggle internally not to stare at it, and then there was her expression, and the gesture itself was quite ... cute - which was a word Clarence had never thought he'd one day use to describe Laura.

He gave himself a mental slap. Focus, man.

Chosing his words carefully, he answered: "I killed ... over twenty. At least twenty-one." He made a pause to let that sink in - both for Laura and for himself, the sheer number striking him like a physical blow - before resuming with a slight stammer. "The point is ... Don't beat yourself over it. Objectively, your life is as important as that of any other human being, so it's justified to kill for the purpose of staying alive, even if it wasn't technically self-defense. Those men were working for someone who's trying to destroy the world. If we don't kill them, we will die when they reach their objective anyway. That, in and of itself, justifies our cause on an individual level." He took another second to gather his thoughts.

"Way to go," interfered Boali all of a sudden. "I'm sure that speech would have solved all the existential issues the average computer could have."
"You're awake?", answered Clarence, keeping his surprise in check.
"Apparently. I can't stay asleep when you're drowning yourself in her hair, for Lucen's sake."
Clarence crushed the sudden rush of embarrassment like a gnat. "Well then, if you've finished snarking, why don't you explain your criticism a bit?"
Boali sighed mentally. "Did you actually think pure logic was going to work? Everyone can't objectify violence as easily as you, Clarence. It takes time getting used to it - for most people, that is, and we both know what it means when someone can just kill without issues from the get-go."
He did. It wasn't a good sign. "You're saying it was too ... impersonal?"
"You don't say? You have to put some emotions into things like this, Clarence. And be honest to yourself, too. I swear, why must I play the matchmaker here? I'm eight years old. My main source on romance is manga."
The Demon host patted her hand behind his back. "You'll enjoy our onsen chapter then, won't you." He felt her smirk as he turned his attention back towards Laura.

Clarence hesitated for a second, feeling a slight blush coming to his cheekbones, then said, "Also. Laura ... I, personally, feel that your life is far more important than that of the men you killed. I would still feel that way even if you killed a hundred, a thousand, a million people. Your life is important, be it only because it's ... precious to me. So go ahead and kill however much you need to stay alive, right now and in the long term. If you don't think that you can do it on your own, then think of it as killing for my sake, because I forced you into it; I'll take responsibility for your crimes. You can hate me for this if you want to," though I hope you won't, "as long as you don't stop fighting to the best of your abilities to stay at my side."

"Wow. Corny." Boali felt nonplussed.
"You said to be honest to myself, right? Well, I love Laura. Therefore, I have to take whatever weight I can off her shoulders, which implies shouldering it myself. Isn't that how it works?"
The little girl stayed silent for a heartbeat, then shook her head mentally - she was still feigning to be asleep - and answered with a sigh. "Clarence ... You really can't come up with any solution to any problem that doesn't hurt you, can you? Why don't you make things easier for yourself occasionally?"

Clarence didn't answer. As if someone like me could afford that kind of happiness.

"Rationalising it... I've tried that. It works in the short term... but it doesn't help for long. I start thinking about their faces... Then...her face."

"As for blaming you..." Laura sighed, sipping some more tea before putting it down and pausing for a second. "I can't... I wish I could heap all my problems onto someone else. Pretend I'm not responsible for what I've done. Hell, I have plenty of people I could blame rather than myself." She responded. "But I can't. I pulled the trigger, I ended those lives, I killed them. And as much as it will be hard to live with the fact that not only have I killed, but I will need to do so countless more times in the coming years, it would be impossible to live with the injustice of blaming someone else for the things I've done."

She had resolve in her voice now, a fire in her voice that wasn't there before. A fire that Clarence may not be familiar with. "I am responsible for my actions. I will deal with the consequences that come of what I have done, no matter what they might be. If I have sleepless nights thinking about this, so be it. It's the price of what I have done and I must pay it." She promised. "I will not heap blame onto you Clarence merely to save myself guilt."

Laura paused for almost an eternity after saying that, not even drinking her tea. She couldn't put more guilt onto Clarence, especially considering his past and the traumas that caused him. The results of the traumas she had witnessed first hand. She would have to deal with this herself, to save him the unnecessary mental load. It was the least she could do for him.

"Besides" She then paused again, longer, deeper, her eyes looking into Clarences. "I can't hate you." She said simply, finally having summoned the courage to tell the complete truth. "You are one of the few people I can trust. You have been loyal, honest and kind throughout the past year. There is no one I respect more than you. There is no one I would rather spend time with." She still couldn't say it. The words she really wanted to say seemed off limits to her, as if she couldn't comprehend them or as if they were locked away by herself during a time she couldn't afford them and she had somehow lost the key...

Instead, she put a hand to Clarences cheek. "Clarence..." She said, looking deep into his eyes. "Do you... want to give... 'us' a try?" The question was practically rhetorical at this point, but Laura still mentally prepared herself for rejection.

[Isle of Lithonia]

"Rationalising it... I've tried that. It works in the short term... but it doesn't help for long. I start thinking about their faces... Then...her face."

"As for blaming you..." Laura sighed, sipping some more tea before putting it down and pausing for a second. "I can't... I wish I could heap all my problems onto someone else. Pretend I'm not responsible for what I've done. Hell, I have plenty of people I could blame rather than myself." She responded. "But I can't. I pulled the trigger, I ended those lives, I killed them. And as much as it will be hard to live with the fact that not only have I killed, but I will need to do so countless more times in the coming years, it would be impossible to live with the injustice of blaming someone else for the things I've done."

She had resolve in her voice now, a fire in her voice that wasn't there before. A fire that Clarence may not be familiar with. "I am responsible for my actions. I will deal with the consequences that come of what I have done, no matter what they might be. If I have sleepless nights thinking about this, so be it. It's the price of what I have done and I must pay it." She promised. "I will not heap blame onto you Clarence merely to save myself guilt."

Laura paused for almost an eternity after saying that, not even drinking her tea. She couldn't put more guilt onto Clarence, especially considering his past and the traumas that caused him. The results of the traumas she had witnessed first hand. She would have to deal with this herself, to save him the unnecessary mental load. It was the least she could do for him.

"Besides" She then paused again, longer, deeper, her eyes looking into Clarences. "I can't hate you." She said simply, finally having summoned the courage to tell the complete truth. "You are one of the few people I can trust. You have been loyal, honest and kind throughout the past year. There is no one I respect more than you. There is no one I would rather spend time with." She still couldn't say it. The words she really wanted to say seemed off limits to her, as if she couldn't comprehend them or as if they were locked away by herself during a time she couldn't afford them and she had somehow lost the key...

Instead, she put a hand to Clarences cheek. "Clarence..." She said, looking deep into his eyes. "Do you... want to give... 'us' a try?" The question was practically rhetorical at this point, but Laura still mentally prepared herself for rejection.

Karlson had been listening in on the conversation for a short time now. He had the strange feeling that some lovely-Davey shit was occurring, and he was right. At first, he was tempted to laugh aloud, 'cause damn, this conversation was extremely sappy, awkward, and just plain weird. But then he remembered how he had first approached Selena. Of course he was drunk at the time, but he had said what was on his mind at the time. And damn, that was even more sappy than what these two were doing. And worse, his was so damned forward, he'd have freaked the fuck out of anyone if he had said it to them (although Selena seemed happy when he told her to fuck him...).

And besides, these kid's seemed to have just a bit more depth to their relationship than he had. He mainly just wanted someone to fuck, and to kinda stand beside him when he needed help. But he was pretty emotionally and mentally tough, so he didn't need too much mental support from Selena, and it showed. Clarence on the other hand needed all the help he could get. So, we all know who's going to be the top of this relationship.

Suddenly, a picture of a mostly nude Laura sitting atop Clarence and undressing him popped into his mind, and he unwillingly let out a short chuckle. Ya, if anyone is going to initiate the whole sex thing, it'll be the one wearing the pants of the relationship.

Yes, he is dirty minded. But hey, he didn't mean any harm. In fact, he hoped that those two would make it out alive, and that they'd have the stereotypical, "happily ever after" ending. And in the meantime, he continued to watch the pair out of the corner of his eye.

[Hetland 2]

r forgetting the way he should have said it, but did his best to push that aside. Hm, yeah, Anu really shouldn't worry about smoking. We get shot and poisoned and generally butchered on a regular basis, smoking's probably the LEAST damaging thing that happens on a daily basis. ...Should I bring that up out loud? No, probably not, can't risk looking like I'm badmouthing his kid. That would be very very bad. Uh, okay... here we go... I guess...

He gave a nervous "Sorry, sir. Major. Stern." before hastily and awkwardly sitting down in the designated seat across from his superior. Dammit. "Don't worry, I won't tell her. It wouldn't help anyone. Anyways... uh..." He thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to best word the request. "You're more experienced than I am, so it's kinda the best, um, option to go to you first, since Anuragini happened, but I'm not really sure- Er, anyways, uh... how..." He started lightly messing with the hair on the back of his head before finishing the sentence. "How do I... 'woo' people. Like... you know. 'Talk to girls'. And stuff." In his nervousness, the youth wasn't particularly sure if he got his point across accurately, despite 'how do I not be an incompetent boob and get a girlfriend' clearly being the intended request. "Like... I have a crush on someone but I don't know how to approach the topic... I mean, I was in a relationship once before, but- do you know what 'blackrom' is?" ...probably not... "Anyways it wasn't a normal relationship at all and she kinda died in a DUI so I don't really know how to approach a normal relationship at all so I don't really know what to do with my new crush and damn it I'm rambling again..." Jackie was a bit hesitant with the eye contact, but did his best on the matter. Meanwhile, a dictionary somewhere else was having a photo pasted next to the entry for 'anxiety'.

You have a crush? You could have asked me, you know. You've never kissed a girl, gramps. Piss off. I'm REALLY not in the mood to deal with your crap right now. How d- Because I'm not retarded.
Walter mentally sighed, and resumed being in the background of Jackie's head.

Conrad paused, eyeing up Jackie. "So..." In all honesty he wasn't quite sure what to do. This'd probably be the only time anyone'd come to him for relationship advice so, well, he figured it'd be best to not fuck it up. "I'm not actually sure what you want. You want to know how I got my wife? How I found out I impregnated a girl about half my age and that she gave birth to the child and raised her on her own, better than I could? Honestly even though I've been a dad officially for a year, I still don't know what I'm doing." He paused. "So... before we get any farther who's the..." Conrad paused, briefly reverting to his native tongue, "Hoe sê jy*, lucky girl?"

[Achidyemay]

Raven slepted in a empty train car away from everyone else. It wasn't because she didn't trust anyone it was because she had been having nightmares of being killed by the holy spear. Each time being worse then the one before, and this time she woke up screching at the top of her lungs. Then her eyes shot open to only look at Aria grim face looking back her from the adjacent seat. "That make number three today Raven. You may fear death, but know it doesn't fear you or fear taking your life. I'll be back just try to get some rest even if you don't have to sleep, a scared solider is a useless dead soldier." Aira walked out to the next car to find Conor to see if he would be willing help Raven.

Finding him near his demon she looked over the demon host." Hay kid I need you to help my host she needs your help. Will you help her?" Aria asked in demanding voice.

Seeing the demoness in his car, Conor gratefully excepted her request with his usual emotionless face. Why she came and got Conor is beyond this author's perception, I mean, he's literally emotionless by request, but then again, what do I know? Besides every facet of Conor's being. I digress, Conor rose to his feet. "Anything to get out of this frozen hell-hole." He said dryly, addressing her as he stood.
"Will you be alright just hanging out here, Pouton?"
Pouton waved his hand dismissively behind him, nearly falling out of the window as he lost his balance. Then he grinned hysterically and jumped out of the window. Conor felt a strong pang in his stomach as it felt like his spleen was being ripped out, an experience he knew of only because of Memoir. Then Pouton rolled in from under Conor's chair, getting caught up in the blanket, that Conor dissipated, clothes becoming his standard hoodie and cargo pants. As Pouton got up and ran toward the window again, Conor caught him by the arm and looked him in the eye sternly. Pouton returned the glare and said, "I don't appreciate you going too far away from me."

Conor rolled his eyes and left, following Aria back to Raven's car.
"Hey there," he started, fingers rapping gently on the door. He crossed the small room lightly in very few steps and sat down next to her in her seat. "Aria got me," a gesture in her direction, "what is it?"
His face was creased worryingly and he looked at her slightly confused, but mostly worried.

[Nekronia]

Conrad paused, eyeing up Jackie. "So..." In all honesty he wasn't quite sure what to do. This'd probably be the only time anyone'd come to him for relationship advice so, well, he figured it'd be best to not fuck it up. "I'm not actually sure what you want. You want to know how I got my wife? How I found out I impregnated a girl about half my age and that she gave birth to the child and raised her on her own, better than I could? Honestly even though I've been a dad officially for a year, I still don't know what I'm doing." He paused. "So... before we get any farther who's the..." Conrad paused, briefly reverting to his native tongue, "Hoe sê jy*, lucky girl?"

Jackie was getting a bit more worried at this point since the person he had come to grovel ask for help didn't seem very confident about the matter, but the bearded dork did his best to explain his reasons for coming. He messed with his thumb as he spoke, his anxiety increasing. "Well, er, I... it's better than nothing, at least... I mean... dammit... uh, I mean you managed to woo someone and stuff at least passably, so I mean that's something, at least. ... ...A-as for the... erm... 'lucky lady'.... uh..." While Jackie didn't know Afrikaans, he presumed that it meant some equivalent of 'lucky lady' by the context (He was wrong of course, but it's not like it mattered here), then went back to nervously messing with his hair with one hand and awkwardly clenching and unclenching the other by his side. He spoke very rapidly and without really much ability to think clearly about what he was saying due to the rising anxiety and worry. "I'm, uh, not entirely sure that it'll really encourage, uh, you to help if I said who it was but I'm not saying that you can't I'm just saying that it might seem less, uh, of a task worth going for to you if I say it and I'm not really sure if it's really needed to- It's Madam Lightheart." Jackie flinched and gripped his hair with the hand that was previously playing with it, as though expecting to be hit over the head for the, quite frankly, retarded course of action. He fully expected schadenfreude or a similarly negative outcome from this.

WHAT.

[Hetland 2]

Conrad paused, eyeing up Jackie. "So..." In all honesty he wasn't quite sure what to do. This'd probably be the only time anyone'd come to him for relationship advice so, well, he figured it'd be best to not fuck it up. "I'm not actually sure what you want. You want to know how I got my wife? How I found out I impregnated a girl about half my age and that she gave birth to the child and raised her on her own, better than I could? Honestly even though I've been a dad officially for a year, I still don't know what I'm doing." He paused. "So... before we get any farther who's the..." Conrad paused, briefly reverting to his native tongue, "Hoe sê jy*, lucky girl?"

Jackie was getting a bit more worried at this point since the person he had come to grovel ask for help didn't seem very confident about the matter, but the bearded dork did his best to explain his reasons for coming. He messed with his thumb as he spoke, his anxiety increasing. "Well, er, I... it's better than nothing, at least... I mean... dammit... uh, I mean you managed to woo someone and stuff at least passably, so I mean that's something, at least. ... ...A-as for the... erm... 'lucky lady'.... uh..." While Jackie didn't know Afrikaans, he presumed that it meant some equivalent of 'lucky lady' by the context (He was wrong of course, but it's not like it mattered here), then went back to nervously messing with his hair with one hand and awkwardly clenching and unclenching the other by his side. He spoke very rapidly and without really much ability to think clearly about what he was saying due to the rising anxiety and worry. "I'm, uh, not entirely sure that it'll really encourage, uh, you to help if I said who it was but I'm not saying that you can't I'm just saying that it might seem less, uh, of a task worth going for to you if I say it and I'm not really sure if it's really needed to- It's Madam Lightheart." Jackie flinched and gripped his hair with the hand that was previously playing with it, as though expecting to be hit over the head for the, quite frankly, retarded course of action. He fully expected schadenfreude or a similarly negative outcome from this.

WHAT.

Conrad raised an eyebrow. "Lightheart? Wow... that... was not expected. Well, not exactly unexpected to have a crush on her, but actually acting on it, huh. That's... definitely a first." He tapped his cigarette on the ashtray. "Wow... you're something else, you know that? I suppose its good it isn't my Anuragini... unless you're thinking that you're too good for her." Conrad leaned forward staring passively at Jackie. He perked up, and tossed his cigarette out the window as Anuragini entered the room.
The Indian girl gave Jackie a concerned look, and said something in Hindi to Conrad who responded to her in kind. The conversation got a little heated and Anuragini stuck her hand into his jacket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and started yelling in Hindi at him. She glared at Jackie and turned away with a hmph.

[Nekronia]

Piss off. John, I r- Don't. Fucking. Call. Me. John. Okay, sir, just listen to me. I really REALLY advise against pursuing a relationship w- I am literally signed up to kill a nigh-omnipotent being. Please piss off for the LOVE OF THE GOD WE ARE TRYING TO DISEMBOWEL. I FUCKING KILLED HALF A PLATOON OF MAGICAL WIZARDS WITH A GOD DAMNED PILE OF CORPSES. I formally request that you take your stance, and realign it directly above an abyss. Please, j- WWWWWHOOPS, I just dropped all the fucks I don't give down the abyss. I'm s- My god, are you STILL talking?

Conrad raised an eyebrow. "Lightheart? Wow... that... was not expected. Well, not exactly unexpected to have a crush on her, but actually acting on it, huh. That's... definitely a first." He tapped his cigarette on the ashtray. "Wow... you're something else, you know that? I suppose its good it isn't my Anuragini... unless you're thinking that you're too good for her." Conrad leaned forward staring passively at Jackie. He perked up, and tossed his cigarette out the window as Anuragini entered the room.
The Indian girl gave Jackie a concerned look, and said something in Hindi to Conrad who responded to her in kind. The conversation got a little heated and Anuragini stuck her hand into his jacket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and started yelling in Hindi at him. She glared at Jackie and turned away with a hmph.

Jackie instinctively raised his hands peacefully in a defensive manner at the 'too good for Anuragini' remark, but put them down immediately afterwards due to Anuragini's entrance. Jackie knew a grand total of jackie-shit what they were saying, but he presumed that Conrad was implicating him somehow judging from Gini's glare. Jackie telepathically sent a message to Conrad, but intentionally gave no outwards indication of doing so. "Compare Lightheart to Anu. Ragini." Damn it I mucked up again. "They're close to opposites. My taste in women is mine. Besides, you'd probably shoot me if I was after Anuragini anyways. Although, Lightheart's probably going to shoot me anyways... You get the point. You're a father and you wouldn't let me be Anu-ragini's date." Goddamnit I did it again.

Jackie suddenly had an idea. One as roundabout as ever. "...Well, I hope this works." Jackie reached into his coat since Gini seemed to have irritation directed at him and was glancing away somewhat. Suddenly Jackie hastily whipped out two (illusory) cigarette packs of the same brand in Conrad's jacket and dropped them out of the train window, clearly trying to be hasty to avoid being caught with them by Anuragini. And here's the roundabout part: Since he's avoiding being caught, if he's caught he'll likely be presumed to be the one smuggling packs and maybe even tempting Stern. So she would either notice or not notice. If she doesn't notice, nothing happens. If she does notice, Jackie has a good chance of taking blame since he's usually a prick anyways and possibly removing some blame from his superior who was already caught with smokes. Or Jackie's plan could backfire and Anuragini gets madder and Jackie gets wounded by one of the two people infront of him and is left without dating help. Or some other result, Jackie wasn't 100% sure about the situation anyways.

Just another day in the live of Johnny Nutrin.

[Charmera]

Jackie was getting a bit more worried at this point since the person he had come to grovel ask for help didn't seem very confident about the matter, but the bearded dork did his best to explain his reasons for coming. He messed with his thumb as he spoke, his anxiety increasing. "Well, er, I... it's better than nothing, at least... I mean... dammit... uh, I mean you managed to woo someone and stuff at least passably, so I mean that's something, at least. ... ...A-as for the... erm... 'lucky lady'.... uh..." While Jackie didn't know Afrikaans, he presumed that it meant some equivalent of 'lucky lady' by the context (He was wrong of course, but it's not like it mattered here), then went back to nervously messing with his hair with one hand and awkwardly clenching and unclenching the other by his side. He spoke very rapidly and without really much ability to think clearly about what he was saying due to the rising anxiety and worry. "I'm, uh, not entirely sure that it'll really encourage, uh, you to help if I said who it was but I'm not saying that you can't I'm just saying that it might seem less, uh, of a task worth going for to you if I say it and I'm not really sure if it's really needed to- It's Madam Lightheart." Jackie flinched and gripped his hair with the hand that was previously playing with it, as though expecting to be hit over the head for the, quite frankly, retarded course of action. He fully expected schadenfreude or a similarly negative outcome from this.

WHAT.

Conrad raised an eyebrow. "Lightheart? Wow... that... was not expected. Well, not exactly unexpected to have a crush on her, but actually acting on it, huh. That's... definitely a first." He tapped his cigarette on the ashtray. "Wow... you're something else, you know that? I suppose its good it isn't my Anuragini... unless you're thinking that you're too good for her." Conrad leaned forward staring passively at Jackie. He perked up, and tossed his cigarette out the window as Anuragini entered the room.
The Indian girl gave Jackie a concerned look, and said something in Hindi to Conrad who responded to her in kind. The conversation got a little heated and Anuragini stuck her hand into his jacket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and started yelling in Hindi at him. She glared at Jackie and turned away with a hmph.

At that point, Thomas walked into the train carriage, holding a half drunk bottle of water. He didn't seem to notice Gini was in the area until he was into the train carriage, then noticed Stern. He tried to conceal an expression similar to that of a deer caught in headlights . He had not seen much of either of them since Sterns resurrection, and was unsure what Gini thought of him after the mission and was sure Stern did hate him (He wasn't exactly socially equipped enough to know why however) and Jackie's presence didn't exactly help. He tried to say some thing and found his tongue had tied into a not. "Hi…" was all he managed.