fandomhigh | Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

"Yo, Rookies!" If Reno looked a little less mellow than usual, that was totally the imagination of everyone in the class. If he looked like he'd done up a few more buttons than usual on his shirt, too? Well, that much wasn't. Even Reno could respect when it was really freaking awkward to go around half-dressed in front of students who were practically his own age. "We've covered all kinds of fun fightin' crap already, and healin' and all of that, yo. So today we're gonna expand a little on that barricade thing we did the other week, and go into defenses as a whole."

Insert thoughtful pause while Reno struggles not to make a horribly off-color crack about 'protection,' here.

"In the sim where we we set up that barricade and faced off against them griffins, we were really just stratchin' the surface, yo. There are plenty of ways to keep invaders out, beyond just pilin' things up. It's true, some of the best-fortified places have way more time to set up those defenses than we do, yo. Can we really be expected to-" he choked on the word 'erect,' "set up a wall around the whole island or whatever? But there are things we can do. I know my girl Rikku's got experience with puttin' together patrol droids, which ain't a bad first step. Knowin' there's an enemy on the way and gatherin' info about 'em early on is a big help on the way to fendin' them off."

Deep breath. Press onward, Reno!

"Makin' yourself ha-difficult to find is another important step. Camo, magic or tech-based sight-shields, findin' your way into convenient little hidey-holes, they're all gonna save your ass when the heat is on, yo. And then, of course, comes the barricade stuff. The point ain't always to pile so much junk so high that it'll take 'em forever to get in. That kinda strategy don't work against an aerial enemy, does it? But the same idea applies, whether you're layin' out mines, electric fences, or lightin' your barricade on fire for one major last stand."

Okay! He was in the home stretch now! He could do this!

"Discussion class today, yo. Knowin' as much as you do about the island, how would you go about protectin' what you got? Where do your own strengths sit? Talk about what it is you can contribute to fortifyin' the island if somethin' big hits, whether it's early-warning, finding a place to hunker down that'll give you a tactical advantage, or just keepin' shit out."

[Open!]

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"Is there a limit to how many people or things you can take inside you?" Ben asked.

And hello there, unwanted mental images. He hoped she didn't notice how much he was blushing.

"If there is, I have never reached it," Raven said after a moments thought, any innuendo going completely over her head. She paused a moment to count. "I have had as many as eleven people inside me at once without any difficulty."

Mind out of the gutter, Skywalker.

He coughed.

"So it doesn't hurt?"

"No, I do not feel any discomfort," Raven confirmed. "At least not with my friends. I have never been troubled by having them inside me, and I am always happy to accommodate them in that way. But other things that I have attempted to take within myself have sometimes not felt completely right, and I have had to expel them." Like the zombie piranha!

"Like what?" Ben asked, silently cursing his curious streak.

"Fish," Raven said solemnly. "They were not unpleasant at first, but when they became zombies I began to feel uncomfortable until I expelled them. After that Karla made me promise not to take evil things inside me."

Ben burst out laughing. "You ate the zombie fish? I never would have thought about trying that."

"They were not zombies at the time!" Raven protested, a tiny bit indignantly. "They turned on each other inside me and became zombies afterward. And I did not eat them! They were not digested."

"They just go to the netherverse inside you?" Ben checked.

Raven nodded. "Yes," she said. "I can show you. Would you like to come inside me?"

Only Raven could say that with a straight face.

"Right now in front of people?" Ben replied, blushing.

"I do not mind," Raven said. "I am happy to show ~~off~~ anyone what I can do."

"Um," Ben stammered. "I'm not sure Master Reno would want one of his students disappearing in the middle of class."

Pause.

"Unless that was part of what we were learning...I'm just checking out this new tactical thing!"

Skywalker ~~stupidity~~ curiosity at work, folks.

"It would only take a few moments," Raven said helpfully. "I could take you in and out again very quickly. But if you prefer we can wait until after class."

"Well, if it will be quick..." Ben said, then nodded. "Sure, let's give it a try."

Raven gestured for Ben to follow her in moving away from the other students, just so someone wasn't accidentally pulled in. "This may feel a little disorienting," she warned as the wings of her Soul-Self swept out of her body to wrap around Ben and pull him into the netherverse. "And a little cold."

No, Raven, it was going to feel very cold. And creepier than it ever had before.

"That was more than a little cold," Ben commented to, well, he wasn't sure as he looked around.

"Astral!"

Well, and creepy, but he was sticking with it being a neat thing for a while.

Raven's voice floated out of the vast cosmos around him. "I cannot see you now, but I can feel you inside me," she said. "It is not unpleasant."

But what might be unpleasant was the echo of the evil that had come from Raven in Kaeleer. Not nearly as strong now, but definitely there.

Ben shivered. "It's kind of creepy in here," he called out. "Can I leave now?"

Raven frowned as she withdrew her Soul-Self and released Ben. "Creepy?" she said.

"It feels like Kaeleer," he said, rubbing his arms. "Not in a good way."

"I am sorry," Raven said. "I am still shaken by what happened there. It must be affecting my Soul-Self."

"Or maybe because its affecting your Soul-Self, you're still feeling it," Ben offered. "Like psychic indigestion."

Raven forced a smile. "Like the zombie fish," she said. "That must be it. I just require more time to relax and recover."

Ben sent a wave of reassurance through the Force toward her. "It's going to take a bit," he said, "for everyone."

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