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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hi...?" Dolf ventured at last, holding up a hand in greeting. Normally, he wouldn't be this tentative, but he was still feeling weird.

"Hello," Triela responded. "You're new this semester, right?" She hadn't just missed him, had she?

"Yes, I got here a few months ago." At least those were questions he could answer! "You're not?"

Very boring answers, but still.

Triela snorted. "I've been here nearly three years." She paused, frowning thoughtfully. "Your accent. You're from..." she trailed off. She should know this one!

"...The Netherlands," Dolf said, after it became clear she wasn't actually going to finish that sentence. "Yes." He was feeling oddly self-conscious about his accent all of a sudden. "And you're...?"

He could be doing this all day. It was only polite, and it was... well, it was less awkward than anything else could be.

"Italy," she answered, letting a slight accent creep into her voice. She smiled a bit self-consciously. "My Dutch is atrocious, by the way."

"That's okay," Dolf said, shifting the bag on his lap a little bit. Just to remind himself it was still there. "Most people here aren't very good at it at all." He smiled at her again; it was hard not to. "I bet your Italian's good. I have-- had a friend from there. I can speak a little... of the old?" What had it been called in English?

Triela smiled back, genuinely please. And, perhaps, a bit warmer than she might under most circumstances.

"Multi-lingual, huh? It's always nice to meet someone else who knows how different languages can be."

Toscaans. How would he-- "Tuscan," Dolf said, triumphantly. "I speak a little. And I've had to know a lot of languages, I've travelled." He paused. "Where in Italy are you from...? Tuscan, Lombardy, Venezia?"

"Rome," Triela answered. "But I've also traveled extensively. I was even in Amsterdam once."

Or so her file said.

"I'm from Amstelveen," Dolf offered. "It is... close to Amsterdam." He paused, then asked her, in stunted Tuscan, if she could understand what he was saying.

He was just curious, and maybe part of him didn't want to forget through disuse.

Triela frowned slightly, cocking her head to one side as if that would help her listen better. That was... definitely not a modern dialect, but she managed to get the gist.

"<Sort of>," she answered in modern Italian, wondering if the two were close enough to have an actual conversation.

Piecing together his experience in several languages, Dolf could make sense of that. He nodded. "< Very old. I learned it some... time? Before now. >"

It took Triela a couple of seconds to parse through that, but she thought she got it. And wouldn't admit if she hadn't, anyway.

"<When were you born?>" Because the dialect thing made sense if he was from the past. Which, since this was Fandom, was perfectly reasonable.

"< One nine nine one. >"

She blinked rapidly. Then repeated the numbers to herself to make sure she hadn't misheard them.

"<Then how...?>" She couldn't figure out precisely how to phrase the question, though.

"< I... gone to one two one two before here. >" Dolf looked exceedingly doubtful about his words, but it was slowly coming back to him. "< I walked in time. >"

Ah. Now a lot of stuff made sense. Triela nodded slightly.

"<Not on purpose?>" She was guessing, but she thought it was a pretty good guess.

"< No. >"

He took a deep breath. "...Can you teach me modern Italian?" is what came out.

He wasn't even trying for innuendo. He was genuinely curious.

Triela grinned. "Sure," she answered. "And German, French, and Russian, if you like." Triela was good at languages, and at teaching them. It was nice that someone had even asked.

"I know German," Dolf said, "And some French." And at the very least the bare basics of several medieval dialects of the same. "But not Russian. It'd be nice to know some. In case I ever travel again."

He missed the freedom of travelling, one way or another.

"I'd be glad to teach you both Italian and Russian, then. If you like."

"I like," Dolf said, quickly, nodding. Maybe a little too quickly now, although the sentiment of the statement remained the same whether it was this week or the next.

"How much time do you want to spend on it each week?" Triela offered. After all, learning a language took a lot of work.

"I only have two classes," Dolf noted. "I could spend two afternoons or more working on it." He was used to being a little more immersed at this point, but he could make do.

He should also stop staring at her neck.

Re: Lecture

sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com - 2010-11-10 19:00 (UTC) - Expand

swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com - 2010-11-10 19:03 (UTC) - Expand

sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com - 2010-11-10 19:05 (UTC) - Expand

swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com - 2010-11-10 19:07 (UTC) - Expand

sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com - 2010-11-10 19:20 (UTC) - Expand