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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"Jaenelle--she's my best friend in the world, in any world--pushes herself further and harder than I do," Karla admitted. "Sometimes, it's all I can do to keep up. I mean, I can't really. I'll never be able to keep up with her; she's too strong, too powerful. But, with everything that's happened to her, she doesn't give up. She pushes herself to the last. And even if I can't go as far as she can or do as much as she can, how can I give up if she doesn't?"

Karla had the worst role-model ever.

Reno's eyebrows, they twitched upwards.

"Sounds to me like you'll give up before she does, because you'll be too busy bein' dead to be helpful," he noted. Because damn it, he was Reno, and he didn't need no stinkin' honesty day to be painfully blunt. "The amount of dead people who've ever helped me out, I can count on one hand, Rookie, and you ain't no Ancient, hangin' around churches."

"I could always come back as demon-dead," Karla said, mostly because she was a Rookie and Rookie's had to be difficult. There was a rule about that somewhere. "Ask Andulvar how useful he is sometime."

Which was all very helpful, yes.

"I'm not trying to keep up with her, exactly," she continued, struggling to find the words. "There's no way I ever could. But...she'll keep going till she drops. I feel like I should be able to match her in conviction even if I can't match her in power."

That got a thoughtful nose wrinkle out of Reno all over again.

"You ever stop to take a breather, Rookie?"

He could deal with difficult. Rookies were boring if they weren't difficult at least sometimes, after all.

"I'm resting now?" Karla said. "Sometimes we go awhile between crises."

Like right now! Two whole weeks of nothing! Besides an bit of singing and some unanticipated antsiness.

Perhaps, Reno figured, Karla could tell just what he thought of that logic by the way he was squinting one eye and crossing his arms over his chest?

"Even Turks stopped to sleep on the job," he noted, dryly. "If there's more'n one of us on duty, that means there's enough that one can rest up and then they can swap off. Burnout kills. Learnin' that the hard way ain't worth it."

"Is there an easy way to learn it?" Karla asked plaintively, rubbing lightly at her wrists. Her hands were getting cold again.

Water wet, grass green, and further shocking bulletins as warranted.

"Generally, listenin' to people when they tell you that burnout kills? That's the easy way," Reno replied. Oh, his tone could not get more dry if he'd been sitting outside of old Corel, slogging through quicksand.

Karla shot him an annoyed glare. "I was hoping for something a little more concrete, thanks," she muttered. "Usually, I'm not worried about burnout until I'm three-quarters into a situation and then can't get out."

Reno actually twitched the smallest smile at that. Hey, if he wasn't being at least slightly annoying, then he wasn't doing his job.

"If you want, I can make up some worksheets," he offered. He was only mostly joking. "Trouble is, I don't know what kinda world you're from, Rookie. I got some idea about what went down, but I can't just lay it flat and set out examples without understanding what it is that you're gettin' yourself into, yo. But..."

He pursed his lips a little.

"Big first step is knowin' where your limit is, and bein' able to assess the situation up-front to be able to see what you need in order to get through it. And yeah, I know that sounds friggin' rough. Especially when you got an emergency fallin' down on your head, zoto. But it's somethin' you learn as you go. But knowin' you is the important first step, there, if the only resources you have are the ones you're pullin' from yourself."

"I have a rough idea?" Karla said, looking thoughtful. "I mean, it's not perfect, there's no Jewel-to-Craft ratio or anything; there are a lot of independent factors. It's more...I can tell when I'm approaching the end of what I'm capable of. How much more I can do before I put my Sapphire in danger."

She looked away. "I need to know that, because if I shatter my Jewel, I'll end up broken. I don't think I could ever push myself that far. Not even to save a life."

She felt more guilt over that, but pushed that away as unhelpful at the very least. "I guess I know my furthest limit, at least?"

Reno's little smile was pretty much a fixture on the corners of his lips, now.

"Sounds like that's about it, yeah."

He was not going to share his furthest limit. Reno was a terrible role model who tended to think that the better way out of some situations was 'dead.' Reno knew better than to pass these tidbits on to his students.

"But that's a limit you wanna avoid reachin'. So, pick a point before that. That's where you stop. There's where you take a breather now an' then, to recharge or whatever you do, yo. I can stock you up on ethers, if those'll help at all, but they still ain't an excuse to push to collapse, yoto."

"They tasted awful but they helped," Karla said with a nod. "My Sapphire is like a reservoir of power, and when it empties, my body gets cannibalized to try to refill it. So when I use a lot of Craft, it takes awhile for me to start gaining weight again because most of the calories I eat get shunted towards refilling my Sapphire. The Ethers fill it up immediately, so then everything I eat can goes right to me."

That wasn't an entirely perfect explanation, but close enough.

Except, knowing what she did of supplies in Edge these days. "I can pay for them," she added quickly. "In cash or supplies or however would work best."

Reno considered that for a moment. His own knee-jerk reaction was very nearly to say no, to insist that he could just get them for her easily enough the next time he went into Edge.

Of course, common sense kicked in shortly after, and pointed out that he hadn't been to Edge in months, and he didn't have the money himself to just get them shipped out like candy or something.

"Supplies," he replied, after a moment's thought. "I know of a few people in Edge who'd give you top-quality shit in exchange for seeds and medicines, yo. Especially since most people ain't makin' use of Ethers no more. People are afraid to hurt The Planet by usin' their Materia, so their magic reserves stay up. People can't get rid of them no more."

"I'm a Healer," Karla said, nodding. "There are plenty of medicines I can make without Craft and even more I can make with just a touch to make them more effective. Stomach soothers, burn gels, fever aids, coughing suppressants. Can you give me a list of things that would be most needed? I can see what I can make up."

"I'll come up with something," Reno replied, smiling that twitchy little smile of his.

So far as he saw it, this was something to keep Karla busy doing something productive, too. Not to mention how it helped people back in Edge. Win-win!

Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

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