fandomhigh | Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

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unconventional tactics

Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

"Yo, Rookies!" Reno had barely even bothered to wait for the students to take a seat before leaping into his lecture, today. No, he kind of wanted to leap right on in, get this out of the way, and then pretend that he was sleeping at his desk for a while.

He was grinning, but Reno was in one of his moods, apparently.

"What is it that people always tell you about the best laid plans? They go all to shit, or somethin' like that?" No, Reno. That wasn't quite how the saying went. "Well, I'm here to tell you, you can plan ahead all you want, yo. You can take these classes, you can go home and start up a friggin' arsenal big enough to take down a whole freakin' country, but you don't never know what's gonna come barging through the door, bigger'n you and able to take whatever it is you wanna dish out."

He smirked faintly.

"Fandom's even more special for that. It sees you gettin' ready for one thing, it'll do whatever it can to make shit interesting, throw a wrench in the works. Hell, graduations around here are evidence of that, yo. One year, somethin' even blew up the school. Another, even worse, everyone had themselves an eyeful of Madrox's bare ass. In multiple."

And Reno's, singular, but Reno didn't actually see anything the matter with that, so why bring it up?

"Point I'm tryin' to make here is, Fandom Island is a multidimensional hub. And it's got a mind of its own. It knows when you're gettin' comfortable, and it's got every universe and timeline out there to pull from in order to amuse itself at your expense. And that thing you spent three months plannin' ahead for? That'll be the first thing to go, yo. Don't be too surprised when it does."

He smirked, though it was still a little tense as he heaved himself up to sit on the top of his desk.

"Assignment for today is simple, zoto. Pick somethin' you been plannin' for, or somethin' you want to plan for sometime soon. It can be a school event, how you're gonna deal with the next big invasion, a date, whatever. And then come up with ways that Fandom can screw it up for you, yo. If you see it comin', where's the fun in it tryin', right?"

Nevermind that this exercise was something like giving the island ideas. But hey, Reno never said that his assignments were foolproof, either. Heck, maybe he was just taking out his mood on the students by dooming them to Fandom's weirdness. Who knew?

[Open!]

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Sure, sure. He could do that, and he'd be better at it than keeping his mouth shut and expect it to go away, probably.

"Your classes. I didn't make it up, did I? You don't believe in leaving someone behind. You watch out for people, right?" he asked.

Reno opened his mouth a little at that. Left it hanging that way. Shut it again while he mulled on a response.

Wow, was that absolutely not what he'd been expecting to hear.

"You ain't makin' nothin' up," he replied, finally. "I look out for who I gotta look out for. But I ain't no angel, either. Never said I was one, yo."

This was such a loaded statement, for the barest hint of a second, Reno really wasn't certain who he was trying to reassure.

"Didn't think you were," Jake said with a shrug. "I just figure you're someone who I can trust to have my back when it comes down to it."

There was a moment's hesitation, because he was still talking to a teacher but he'd gotten this far and retreat wasn't his style. "So when I hear that you leave a mate behind somewhere dangerous when they're not aware of what's going on around them? That makes me wonder if it's all a load of bull."

"Look, I..." Wait, huh? "... What?"

Sorry, Jake. You've just pummelled Reno with something that he did at least half a decade ago. It's going to take him a moment to twig on to what you're talking about.

"When the hell did I do that?"

Yeah, something like that did occur to Jake. Just... glowering too precedence to thinking things over.

"Like I know. Thinking about my own timeline gives me a headache, let alone how all of you relate to each other," he grimaced.

"...Well, that narrows that one down," Reno snorted, shaking his head a little. "So you were talkin' to... who? Zack? Rosalind? Cloud?"

It was sad that Reno had a list.

It was sadder still that he could keep adding names to it, if he had half a mind to. Fandom Island was turning into a convention site for Gaians through the ages.

Jake hesitated, not really wanting to give her up but he couldn't just make accusations and then not tell the whole story.

He made a face. "Rosalind. She said she'd never told back then so I guess if you didn't see anything wrong about it at the time, it wouldn't really come to mind now."

"No, I guess not," Reno sighed. He shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't have left nobody nowhere unless I was confident they could deal with it, though. I know that much. That long ago? She was a Rookie, Rookie. But that don't mean she was some little girl needin' her hand held, yo."

Also, she'd been, so far as Reno knew, not dead yet. He remembered that much.

"Rosalind's a Turk."

And that was exactly what she had predicted and Jake pressed his lips together stubbornly.

"Yeah? Even when they're asleep after a few drinks?" he asked, tilting his head. "I know she's got the whole I can take care of myself thing down to a t, but any kind of creep can take advantage of that. By the time she would have had her Turk wits about her, it could have been too late."

Maybe someone was getting protective a couple of years too late.

Try, like, six, Jake.

"Man, I was like, fifteen." Seriously. That wasn't any sort of excuse, but at least it would give Jacob maybe a bit of insight as to how late this lecture was, coming. "I ain't that kid no more. And anyhow, bar in the slums, right? If I was out drinkin' with her, she's got more Turks to hold a grudge against than just me. I never took the Rookies drinkin' one-on-one."

So she'd been left behind by several Turks. Classy, guys.

That got an eyebrow raise as Jake put that one together, yes. His pack wouldn't leave anyone behind and their youngest member was twelve. Sorry, Reno.

"Under the plate? Whatever that is," Jake said, realising he forgot to ask her. "I couldn't imagine you doing that, but she wouldn't lie."

Not tell him things, tell him he wasn't thinking, sure. Lying, no.

"Under the plate means it was some real classy joint in the middle of the slums," Reno pointed out. "And knowin' the kinda shit I got into back then? Shit, it could'a been anything. Things were crazy back then. We could'a got a call from the boss and had to rush off. Maybe we were all too damn drunk to remember to bring her along. For all I know, I could'a passed out in the men's room."

Reno had a long, colorful history of passing out in the men's room.

"I ain't sayin' she's lyin', neither. Rosalind's a lotta things, but she ain't a liar. But if she was asleep, you figure she knows exactly what happened, either?"

Because Reno sure as hell didn't. Little tidbits like who got left behind in what bar and when seemed to take second fiddle to who got killed by what freakish planet-destroying monster.

"She want an apology for somethin' some other Reno did, then? We already established that things are different between my timeline and hers, here."

Jake shook his head instantly. "No, this isn't her," he said vehemently. "She didn't put me up to anything, and I doubt she'd mention it to you if she didn't to her own Reno."

Ugh, timelines. But the set of his jaw was perhaps a little less stubborn as he did think things over.

"She'd probably have my hide for saying anything to begin with," he added with a wince. "I just... It didn't add up, but I didn't much like the thought of... You know."

"Of me bein' the hypocrite who preaches about takin' care of your own, when I went and pulled somethin' like that?"

Reno liked to think that he was good at finishing thoughts for people, sometimes.

"It's been years, Rookie. Even if I did do somethin' like that, and I ain't sayin' nothin' either way because I can't remember that clear, that far back, for somethin' I would'a just brushed off at the time, people change. I've seen... way too much shit to teach what I do without takin' it seriously, yo."

You watch your home crumble a few times, that happens.

That and what could have gone wrong, but he wasn't about to admit that out loud.

"Yeah, I can get that," he nodded slowly, a little awkward. "Thanks for explaining."

Reno shrugged a bit, shooting Jake one of those twitchy little grins of his. The kind that wasn't entirely a smile, but at least it edged into one just enough to count.

"Hey, I couldn't have my TA makin' dirty looks at me for the rest of the semester, yo."

Ever seen a werewolf look sheepish? It looked something like how Jacob was looking.

"An hour's pretty long to keep it up too," Jake nodded.

Reno snorted out a laugh and gave his head a shake.

"And I'd hate for your eyebrows to cramp up on my account, yo."

Okay, being a dork he could manage. It helped after serious business.

"Would that count as an accident at work?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe. What, you want me to double your pay or somethin'?"

Double of nothing was... Hm.

"I dunno. Sounds like a pretty steep raise to me, yo."

"I'd settle for a muffin. Or ice cream. Or apple pie," Jake summed up instantly. He wasn't difficult!

And that? That actually got Reno laughing. Well. Fine, then.

"Hey, you're easy to please," he mused. "Pick one, Rookie. I'll get it for you if we all survive the semester, yo."

And one for Chloe as well, naturally. Couldn't treat one TA for being awesome without getting something for the other, as well.

"Cool," Jake grinned and he took a moment to consider. "Apple pie," he decided. "I haven't had any in a while."

"Apple pie it is, then," Reno replied, grinning right on back. "Good choice, man."

Reno was pretty fond of apple pie too, darn it.

Even if apples from Earth were red or yellowish-green. What was up with that?

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Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

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