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[nimbuster]

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[xangel]

Hey buddy, how do we feel about temp pairings?

[She barely knows this guy aside from the time she facilitated... whatever exactly that family feud was about. It'd almost be easier to greet a total stranger this way, but whatever, they've both been on the boat long enough to know how awkward it always feels.]

[nimbuster]

[Oh, right. Cloud had almost forgotten he was going to be back in the rotation again, now that Fred's gone. At least it's someone he vaguely knows, although maybe that's more of a con than a pro right now considering his current mood.]

Sure are a thing.

[xangel]

Right, so it's up to you. You can tell me to fuck off unless you're dead, you can ask for any shit you need and I'll bug the admiral. And you can still tell me to fuck off after that. And if you want to hang out or hit each other with sticks or whatever, that is also cool.

[nimbuster]

[This is pretty refreshing, honestly.]

Actually, wouldn't mind hitting each other with sticks. Uh, assuming you mean sparring.

[xangel]

Yup, kinda my thing, between the gym supervision and the war machine thing I have going.

[nimbuster]

Knew about the gym but not about the war machine thing. Ex-military, myself. Where d'you wanna do this?

[xangel]

Gym's handy. Already stocked with safely fakey weapons.

And, um. We were called soldiers, but it was more of a culty death squad. Our only real operation was called extermination for a reason.

[nimbuster]

Damn. Least they weren't subtle about it. Shinra liked to dress up their death squads with fake operations and claim the deaths were 'accidents.'

Meet you there in a few.

[xangel]

I'll tell you all about the brainwashing sometime you wanna be depressed. I'll be there.

[nimbuster]

[That's his secret, Vaggie, he's always depressed.

Sure enough, it's not long before Cloud arrives at the gym. She mentioned fake safety weapons, and he's fine with those if that's what she wants - but he is also carrying what looks like six swords in sheaths that hang from a harness he wears on his back.

He gives her a nod of greeting when he spots her.]

Hey.

[xangel]

[That is a normal amount of swords to have, but she is the gym supervisor and safety is a concern. There's a rack of plain, functional practice weapons, mostly either wood or padded plastic.]

You prefer swords? I'm a polearms girly, so I can manage, but I'm probably not a huge challenge if you're used to them.

[nimbuster]

Yup.

[His head tilts.]

I am. Got a friend who's the same. Lotta aerial moves. Should be a good match.

[Assuming she doesn't have superpowers. Not that it would stop him if she did, but then if he lost he'd sulk about it a lot more.]

[xangel]

Long stick for me, then.

[If flying is a superpower, she does, and she hits real hard for someone her size. But she's not gonna pop her wings with a new inmate who's clearly not sold on her. Feels like a weird power move.]

I'm expanding the repertoire a bit while I'm here, lots of time to kill in the gym, but I'm always gonna like my spear best.

[nimbuster]

[Once Cloud finds out her "aerial moves" are more literal than Cid's, he's going to want her to stop holding back - but for now, he's just looking forward to seeing what she can do with a spear.

He nods.]

Maybe I should branch out more sometime, too.

[For now, though, he shrugs off his sword harness and sets it aside near the wall, then goes to pick out the biggest broadsword he can find among the wooden training weapons. At least he can still handle a blade the size of his full Fusion Sword when it's not made of solid steel, although the gym might not have any quite that big. If Fred were still here--

--well, she's not, so it doesn't matter. He turns back to Vaggie and nods - he's ready whenever she is.]

[xangel]

[She leans on her long stick, watching his selection. She does not make a compensating for something joke, because he is her inmate. She thinks it, though.]

I got pretty deconditioned the last few years before I was here. This place'll drive you crazy with deadtime and setbacks, but at least you can always go hit a heavy bag about it.

[nimbuster]

It's something. Though I prefer to hit fake opponents in the Enclosure about it, when I can.

[He has been doing more straight up training on the Barge than he had in years before that, but he still would rather actually fight.]

[xangel]

Hang around here and you'll get plenty of takers. Well. Maybe I just goad everybody who walks in into wanting to fight me specifically, but.

[nimbuster]

Heh. Yeah, maybe. Still working on unlearning a few habits that relied on my enhancements to work.

[And he'd better keep working on it, because who knows when he'll get another permanent warden? It took a whole damn year the first time.]

[xangel]

That something you're doing because it builds character or because you don't have a choice?

[nimbuster]

[He doesn't meet her eyes when he shrugs.]

Don't have a choice.

[xangel]

Something you wanna fix or you'd rather live with?

[nimbuster]

...something I wanna fix, but...it's not that simple.

[xangel]

[Not an easy guy to get a lot out of, but neither was her poor disappeared dumbass inmate. He was more verbose, admittedly, but the information content was about the same.]

Barge reasons or big stupid life reasons?

[nimbuster]

[At least he hasn't stopped answering entirely and walked away! Progress.

He gives her a small, rueful smile.]

Big stupid life reasons. It's...Fred offered to make the request for me, but I felt like maybe I needed to figure out some stuff about who I am without 'em first. Except then, she was just...gone.

[xangel]

I get it. Admiral lost my fuckwit inmate a couple months ago.

[Eh, what the hell.]

And, well.

[She pops her wings.]

I lost these the same time as my eye. I think going without actually was good for me, in a weird way. But only long-term. Sucked shit at the time.