fandomhigh | Oh the Humanity!: Friendship is International Adventure, Thursday, period 1

"Top o' th' mornin' to ye all!" Pinkie greeted the students as they arrived for class. Somepony had spent the evening googling St. Patrick's Day. Somepony also had a series of large, strategically placed shamrocks attached to her, like a festive, awkwardly shaped bikini.

It -- wasn't a good look. If nothing else, that green clashed horribly with her natural pink color.

Eliot was standing by, wearing a few less layers than normal, his hair a windblown mess, glaring down every shamrock that blew his way. "St. Patrick's Day in this country is a travesty." Spending a few years working above an Irish pub in Boston in March had made him a touch jaded, yes. "So we're goin' to Ireland instead."

"We be goin' to a loverly little close called 'Blarney Castle'!" Pinkie explained. "Fer those who don' know th' legend, givin' th' Blarney Stone a wee peck bestows upon ye a blessin', th' Irish gift fer th' gab!"

"Please stop," Eliot muttered. It was worse than when Hardison tried to do -- basically any accent. He led the way through the portal to a cheerful, naturally green landscape, incredibly warm for March, where a weathered stone keep dominated the view. "Some of you may have heard that the locals like to get trashed and go pee all over the Blarney Stone after hours. Honestly, I can't say that ain't true." Eliot pointed to the top corner of the keep. "But the stone's part of the battlements there, and while it ain't as awkward to piss on it as it is to try to kiss it, they'd still have to drag their drunk asses up a narrow, worn down stone staircase with a rope banister to do it. So make of that what you will."

"There's also lots to explore on the grounds," Pinkie said, the absolutely atrocious Irish accent gone with the shamrocks since she went through the portal. "Gardens and stone passages and magic rocks galore! Apparently the Irish really love their magic rocks."

"Or at least the Irish tourists do," Eliot said. "By the way, it ain't March around here, today. This place'd be even more overrun by obnoxious tourists if we showed up on the actual St. Patrick's Day. So enjoy a little bit of last May, explore, buy some tacky shit in the gift shop, try to catch a bus into town to find a pub." He shrugged. "Have fun."

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"That's why I was originally thinking of renting on campus," Kathy said. "Or heck, even getting a dorm and just pretending that Raven went to school there. This way, room and board pays for everything." Kathy bit her lip, thinking. "But I don't want her to feel trapped on-campus, either. So, yeah, if I could work for Leverage as Banzai, that might just make everything a million times easier."

Kathy would happily give up living on campus to get to stick with Raven. A million times over, even.

Eliot nodded and stuck out his right hand for a shake. "Alright then. You're hired."

What? They could pay her before she even left and she'd have some nice savings built up.

Kathy blinked, dazed. She hadn't expected this to happen quite so fast. "Don't you have to check with Parker?"

And, sure, Hardison, but Parker was obviously in charge.

Parker was in charge of planning jobs. She wasn't the CEO or head of HR or anything. Besides: "I known Parker awhile now. Don't think she's gonna object." Well. "She might assign you to practice jumping off more roofs."

Actually, the narrative would like to pause a second and savor the idea of Parker as head of HR. Mmm yeah, that was the stuff.

"I could handle that," Kathy assured him, bouncing now in excitement. "I'd even use harnesses and gear, rather than just bouncing my way down if she wanted! And I can write reports and things back, so you can keep track of how I'm performing out in the Bay Area."

Because Eliot would definitely want status reports to make sure Kathy was doing her job. Ayup.

Eliot would critique the hell out of those status reports and send them back marked up with further ideas for defense and patrolling.

And completely missing any errors she might make in spelling, grammar, or formatting.

"See? You're the best employee we've got already."

Pfft, that suggested she made errors in grammar, spelling, or formatting. Though the ideas for defense and patrols would be poured over and memorized, and maps and candid aerial shots would be sent back for better refinement.

"I might also be your only employee," Kathy said with a smile. "But I'm not going to let that stand in the way of a good compliment."

Everyone made errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting. Not because they were dumb. Just because they were human.

"Well, word gets out, and I'm sure we'll get all sorts of superheros applying. They'll have a hell of a standard to live to, though."

That's why rereading and revision were important! If Eliot thought that Kathy wasn't going to approach this as an assignment and hand in her best work each time, he clearly hadn't met her.

"Well, in summers, maybe I'll come back and show them how it's done," Kathy told him, her face hurting from smiling so much. "I love this place too much to just abandon it completely. It's where I first learned who I was. And to like it."

"You should!" Eliot loved that idea. "Come teach a superhero workshop. You'd be fantastic."

"Oh my gosh, I could!" Kathy went starry-eyed. "I hadn't even thought about it that way, but I could! Or--Or--we could even teach a class together."

"I don't really know anything about bein' a superhero, darlin'."

"No, but you know a million other things," Kathy pointed out, because Eliot was amazing and no one could tell her otherwise. "Urban survival. Reconnaissance. Self-defense. Do you honestly think I'd be even a quarter of the superhero I am if it weren't for you?"

Oh the Humanity!: Friendship is International Adventure, Thursday, period 1

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