Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20170705042341/@comment-5999656-20170706035225

Lustra straightened up from the wall when she heard her name, and turned to see a green-haired girl with purple shades and headphones approaching her. She brushed her brown bangs behind her ear and stepped forward to greet Cyzarine.

"Lustra Chamberlain. Good to see you," she said rather formally, grasping Cyzarine's hand and giving it a single, firm shake before letting go. She noticed that the trainee's skin felt warm, as though she had run to get here. Well, that Cyzarine was particular about punctuality was good. The last thing Lustra needed was a shadow who didn't care to follow instructions.

"So, I know you've probably got a lot of expectations about our mission over the next few days, but I'm gonna be straightforward and admit that this is my first time doing anything like this. There's a lot of things I want to touch base on before we head out, so please bear with me."

"My plan is that we'll go to one of the outlying oases around here and back, and see if we can run into any Grimm along the way. It'll be a bit of town-hopping, a lot of walking, some camping. The weather's been nice for the past few days, but remember to stay hydrated. Once we leave town borders, anything can happen, though we should see it coming a good ways away."

Lustra paused, and her hands strayed to the shapeless knapsack at her back. In it was a basic first-aid kit, some food and water, and a change of underclothes.

What else, what else...

"There's a few expectations I've got for you. I'm gonna try and give you free rein when possible, but when I give you an order, I expect it to be followed. If we run into any sketchy groups in the desert, let me do the talking. If you're injured I'll call for a team to pick us up in a vehicle. Here's the number, in case anything happens to me, and my number, in case we get separated."

Lustra tilted her Scroll screen towards Cyzarine so the girl could see the numbers displayed.

"Mmmm, I think I'm almost done monologuing. Let's see... ah, I know I might come off as a little cold sometimes, but seriously, if you've got any questions for me, please ask. Communication saves lives. In the same vein, if you disagree with an order I give, bring it up with me once we're somewhere safe. And lastly..."

Lustra let go of her backpack straps and reached behind her to the back of her belt, unclipping her two weapons and holding them out before her.

"My arms. A bladed fan and a collapsible staff. I can combine them like so," she slid the fan open and extended her staff, then attached the fan to the head of the staff, "to form a monk's spade." Lustra gave it an experimental twirl.

"Usually I wield them separately for dexterity," she explained, as she quickly dissassembled the spade and stowed the two weapons away on her belt under her chiffon. Lustra gave a good-natured smile as she leaned on the wall again, unconsciously.

"All in all, it should be a good trip. Now that I'm done, have you got any -"

Lustra stopped midsentence at the sight of a ragtag group of a half dozen bikers drawing up to her and Cyzarine. Plenty of people passed through the Spring, some of them sketchier than others, but they usually minded their own business and went on their way in short order. These guys, however, seemed to beeline straight for them, and the red-eyed scowls on their faces spelled nothing but bad news. Brain-addled after a night of drinking, obviously.

"Is there a problem, monsieurs?" she asked lazily, leaning her head to one side. The bikers stopped and formed a rough semicircle against the two females, legs shoulder width like they were about to gunfight like in an old Western.

Lustra turned back to Cyzarine, and slowly crossed her arms.

"Did you do something?" she asked, cocking one eyebrow. It was bad if Cyzarine was the type to start conflicts without thinking about the consequences. Just from first impressions, though, the young girl seemed more like the typical introverted sort, shy and not eager to take initiative. More likely she'd accidentally gotten mixed up with the wrong group.

"Okay, look," she said, straightening up and taking a slow, placid step toward the biker gang. "What happened happened. We can turn around and go our separate ways, or we can make this a lot harder than it needs to be. And I know maybe I don't look like much, but believe me, you're gonna take it back when you've got a needle pinning your hand to that wall over there," Lustra said, gesturing at the sandstone shop adjacent to the squad.

"I'm saying it nicely the first time. If you push me again, I'll strike. What's it gonna be, monsieurs?"

Even as Lustra spoke, she was bracing for a short but dirty fight. It would suck majorly for her and Cyzarine to to get into a brawl so soon after meeting, and these guys clearly weren't in a rational state of mind.

She about-faced abruptly and began walking away, gesturing for Cyzarine to follow. even as she walked, though, she kept gazing over her shoulder, ready for an imminent attack.