Are pre-mission musings normal? (open!)

The hallways were, for the most part, empty. The weekend rolling towards its end meant that most students were out of the building. Spending their remaining hours of free time doing whatever activity they wished. For Danae-Alisse, all that meant was she was less likely to run into others by staying in school than out of it. It gave her the opportunity to think. A dangerous pastime to be sure, but a needed one. A mission was tomorrow. She hadn't had it in her to deny going when the opportunity arose. Despite all the mishaps, the previous mission she had been on was hailed as a success. Therefore, it seemed to her teachers that it would still make excellent training for her powers.

Danae-Alisse wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She continued walking. The mission was set to be south. Bermuda triangle south. She supposed that the change of weather would be nice. Leaving the depth of winter or, as Durran liked to say, the power of Jack Frost, behind would make a nice change. Refreshing even. To walk along a beach or into some tropical jungle. Sure, there was the matter with doing what they had to do there, but there was a promise of relaxation time afterwards. She'd even get to skip classes for the duration of the mission.

But what if I kill again.

The teen hadn't seen too much of her friends since the ball. The occasional hangout, lunch, random chance meeting were scattered across the few weeks since then. But, for the most part, she spent her time alone. She vaguely wondered what they were up to. Wondered how much of a bother she was. The teen felt flat and empty. Not a joy to spend time with, to be sure. Still, the nothing was better. It didn't hurt, for one. And pretending otherwise was as draining as a marathon.

At least they act like I'm fun.

Danae-Alisse had gotten back into her old daily stretching routine. Helped along by the combat class she took a short time back and bringing back the flexibility she once knew. It was...centering, for want of a better word. Helped to wipe her mind at the start of the day. Purging it of any night terrors. A blank slate to start the day. She wished the mission would hurry up and arrive already. Or just never come. That would work too. At least she knew a number of the people going on it.

Saying that Danae and herself were acquainted would be a stretch. While Alexandria did have minor class related encounters with Danae. The encounters themselves were neither good nor bad as she maintained a civil yet aloof relationship between the two of them. Most of what she knows about Danae is simple hearsay, but what she has heard would explain her reluctance to trust others.

This is why she found it surprising when the combat instructor asked her to speak with Danae. Personally, she could not understand why she would be the one to speak with her, as they're only classmates. Anyone could tell Danae's mind was somewhere else back in class. The instructor's concerns were valid as Danae was not in the correct state of mind to go on a mission as she or her team could suffer.

Leaving the class later than the rest as she had been tasked with speaking to Danae. Luckily she had lagged behind the rest of the students, making a break for their momentary freedom. Shifting her legs into her arachne form. Alexandria would shitter across the ceiling over Danae, " Hey Danae, you seem to be more retracted than usual". Feeling her skit pat against her abdomen, "Woops"! holding down her skit while returning her body and location to normality. Flashing Danae with a smile instead, " So what's up"!

Starting slightly, Danae-Alisse blinks twice at her sudden appearance, collects herself, and then says,"what? Oh, sorry. I'm just thinking about my mission." From having to deal with Gentaro in the past, she knew that trying get out the situation was going to be nigh impossible when the person literally was able to outrun, track down, and generally track her wherever she decided to go.

"And it's Danae-Alisse," she continued. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Say, Alexandria, have you gone on missions before? Is it usual to think about them a lot before you go. Obsess over them? How do you deal with it?" It was, most likely, the most words she had spoken to Alexandria in one go. Still, it was something that she both had to share and felt she could share. Pre-mission musings she felt, she assumed, she believed, had to be normal. Why couldn't they be on their way already.

Slightly covering her mouth as she was corrected on how to say Danae's name. With a small pause, the conversation continued on. " I've been on plenty of family related mock-battles as well as missions, though not nearly as many scholastic based ones". Tilting her head and eyes up as she pounding how to deal with post mission nerves. " My family tends to obsess over duty and efficiency above all, so are briefings and pre-ops are always planned out to nearly every action. However, on the field anything is possible".

Lightly clapping her hands in front of her face to poorly cut to the main question instead of talking about field tactics. Looking to D.A with a light smile that hid a touch of shame, " Telling you to not worry would only cause more worry. Though unfortunately, only confidence gained from first hand experience can suppress fear". She could've have lied to the girl too possible improve her confidence, but that would only cause further problems down the road. While she tried to keep the conversation positive, the reality of the situation could not be ignored. " Though, don't let it get to you so much. Everyone is nervous while on a mission, and if they say that they aren't. They're either lying or insane. While fear is the death of logic, it is illogical to completely ignore it".

Pausing as she turned away realizing that her answer probably wasn't the most reassuring. " Sorry, that last part probably does not make that much sense, but life like a mission tends to contradict itself". Letting her smile slip as she thought back to her first, mission and kill, but then quickly turn back to Danae with a reassuring smile. " The Academy assigns the right people for the task. They would never put you on a mission that they believe is out of your range of ability, but don't forget you're not alone out there". Leaning on the wall as her long winded answer had finally reached its conclusion. " Though if you're, still feeling as if you are not prepared the best thing to do is to speak with your captain and step down if need be. Other than that you could run some extra drills with your team to improve synergy".

"I see," Danae-Alisse said as she relaxed a fraction. While she didn't know much, if anything really, about Alexandria's family, it was nice to hear that there were others who put as much, if not more, thought into missions themselves. A lot of what she said did make sense overall. Know that fear was there and it existed, accept it, but don't let it have power over you. Danae-Alisse appreciated the simple, honesty of it all. Not harsh, but not coddling either. It made her feel that her concern was being taken validly.

"Heh, I suppose that's true, with the Academy and all. After all, my last mission was a success, so they can't just be mad." Naturally, she didn't feel the need to share exactly what happened on that mission. However, talking to her teacher was out of the question and, sadly, with how looming the mission was, there wasn't any real time for team practice. Still, they were things to keep in mind for the future. "Although, I don't think I'll need to speak to the teachers about stepping down for this. Talking about it helps. Thanks."

Certainly, Alexandria seemed to have done this before. In fact, from the sound of it, her whole family had. For that matter,, she thought, what does Alexandria's family do exactly? She voiced the the thought to her fellow student along with asking, "what kind of training do you do? Beyond what Beata offers."

"Your welcome". While she barely scratched the surface of the web of turmoil that was Danae-Alisse. However simply speaking with her was all that was needed to shake off the pre-mission jitters.

Alexandria's smile wavered as Danae-Alisse simply looked at her in silence. Waiting a bit longer as it looked like she had something on her mind, but currently in the midst of formulating her question. Hearing Danae asks about her training outside of the Academy made her giggle slightly. " The better question would be what I'm not trained in". Thinking about joking around by just saying that they're simply are family of gifted tailors, Alexandria mulled over the information and how to explain it in a brief explanation.

" While all clans within the CMF begin training at the age of five if they are healthy. While this only extends to martial training, my family trains in more advanced military tactics and espionage. From frontline heavy infantry to sabotage and infiltration. Plus". Alexandria's twirls around fanning out her skit, " We're also well known for are tailoring". shifting back to face Danae, " Though the annoying tradition of having to make your own clothes the material included can be annoying".

Danae-Alisse found it the strange and almost worrying to hear that Alexandria had been trained at age five for combat. Wouldn't that be akin to child soldiers? she thought, then further considered, At the same time, here I am going on missions where death could come swooping down at any moment. So what is even logic and law any more. In any event, she had no reason nor bearing to judge how families operated within Riverpointe. So she decided to simply settle on being impressed. "Wow, that's incredible! My only training that was, uh, before Beata, was some basic martial arts. Taekwondo, to be honest. Just a few years, so, nothing to your level no doubt. And you sew all that yourself? Incredible. I'm more apt to stab myself with a needle than even thread it."

Danae-Alisse didn't bother to try and imagine what it would be like to grow up in such a military household. She knew she wouldn't manage to grasp it. The rigor of it escaped her. Certainly, she had participated in sports and other vigorous activities, but none would truly reach even the level of basic training for the average soldier. She shifted her stance slightly, idly hoping that the conversation was wrapping up and said "Is there anything else?" It wasn't as if she disliked talking to Alexandria, more that Danae-Alisse was running out of things to say and, well, wanted to continue musing on the mission.

Another longer pause after her explanation of her family was the norm for those outside of the CMF. However simple pounding is better than the usual nervousness followed by an excuse to leave. As Alexandria prepared herself of a negative response, she got the exact opposite. Danae-Alisse's sheer excitement and praise about her family in talent made the spiderling's head expand to critical levels. " Flattery will get you everywhere, but we're here to talk about you and not me though I would not mind the occasional bouts of adoration within reason". Letting out a light laugh, "Though back to the topic at hand. I came to check up on you to make sure everything was okay. Now that we've spoken about your woes I assume you'd want to prep for your mission".

Looking at Danae-Alisse while musing resting her head on her hand while releasing an audible hmm as she examined the red headed girl. " While I've have my own responsibilities to attend to if you're interested I could persuade some of my family to runs some drills or share some pointers on a later date". While she would be unable to share family secrets and technics, basic drills and teamwork is not out of the question.

Danae-Alisse had to grace to not even let the slightest blush reach her face as Alexandria penetrated the classic defense of not talking about yourself. Making the conversation all about them. Still, it seemed that she was satisfied with the redhead's responses, so Danae-Alisse wasn't going to press her luck on any of it. "Yes," she said, "I'll be thinking through the mission one more time before getting some homework done and, well, eating and hitting the hay."

The offer surprised Danae-Alisse. Frankly, she thought it wouldn't have been worth anyone who wasn't paid to do it while to randomly train students. "I well, sure," she agreed after a moment of hesitation, "why not. I could always do with more training I suppose. Though, I won't be able to do it this week. The mission is going to last that long, so it will have to be next week." She then thought, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into.

Alexandria's smile grew as Danae-Alisse hesitantly accepted the offer. " No, I would not ask you to partake in any training so close to a mission due to the possibility of an injury". Thinking about the possibility of running a training regiment within a week is possible, but convincing a family member to assist in the preparation was most likely near impossible. The gears turned grinding away at the how of the matter until a devilish revelation poked through. " A week is perfect, as it will give me time to prepare everything".

Looking at the time, realizing that they spent quite a bit of time simply standing in the halls. While speaking with Danae-Alisse was refreshing any more time spent would put quite the dent in her daily regiment. Taking out a note pad she would write down her number, " Sorry, i'd like to continue this conversation, but duty calls". Handing the note over to Danae-Alisse, "The following weekend would be best to start, as it fits in with the winter survival trek. I'm sure Ethelthryth would have no issues about adding extra training on the side". Giving a playful salute, Alexandria departed with haste as she did not want to deal with anymore scolding than followed from her unexpected delay.