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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"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."

"Thank you," Raven said, her smile more genuine now. "That feels very nice."

He blushed. "You're not the only empath around," he said, finding his boots very fascinating. How had he never noticed how pretty Raven was when she smiled? "The least I could do was help you out a bit."

"Perhaps some day we should discover what we could do with our gifts together," Raven murmured shyly. "Two empaths could potentially do amazing things with one another."

He turned scarlet. "I'm sure we could."

She said with, not to. But that as well. And he was very cute, especially blushing like that....

"I think I would very much enjoy working with you," Raven said. "We could surely teach each other many things."

"Oh, I'm sure," Ben babbled. "I'm not at all an expert in the netherverse."

Not dirty.

"I am not certain anyone is," Raven said with a light laugh. "Though I suppose I would be the closest to an expert, since my soul spans from the physical world into the netherverse." And many many points in between.

"Is that ability unique to you?" Ben asked. "It's pretty astral."

"I do not know of anyone else who might possess it," Raven said. She paused for a moment, then added, "Except perhaps my father. But I do not think it would be entirely the same."

Ben tilted his head. "Because he's a guy?"

"I know he can travel into the netherverse, but I do not think he can take others within him as I can," Raven said. "He does not have human blood as I do, so he does not have a soul."

"Different species?" Ben guessed.

Even after all his time in Fandom, that was his go-to guess.

"Demon," Raven said. She was a little surprised Ben didn't know since Tahiri did, but she'd never bothered to unswear people to secrecy about what she was once she finally decided to come out of the demonic closet.

Though maybe warning people "By the way, I am a demon" before taking them inside her might be a better plan for the future.

"Huh," was Ben's reply. "So you don't see him a lot?"

Raven shook her head. "I would prefer to never see him," she said. "He is a creature of pure evil and would like nothing more than for me to become as he is. But he has been trapped in his own dimension, thanks in no small part to your grandfather and Tahiri. They were of great aid to me."

Ben looked pleased. "Good," he said. "They're both pretty astral in very different ways."

Re: Discuss

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