futurology | VIDEO; UN: HAWKEYE

[Instead of any person, the scene presently on the screen is of a backpack lying in the snow, overflowing with child leashes in a variety of different colors and patterns. The voice that pipes up has about as much warmth as the chill tundra wind and is just loud enough to cut through the continued wailing of infant squidges nearby.]

It appears that some of our superiors question our ability to properly watch over these small creatures.

[Though if the delivery was sent in earnest rather than as a practical joke, she can't say she disagrees with the assessment, at least not with regards to a certain subsection of Team Audentes. (Fortune might favor the bold, but it certainly won't favor anyone lacking basic common sense as far as she's concerned.)

Regardless, she presses on.]

While I should hope that none of you will need one at the moment [judging u if you put a leash on ur infant squidge tbh] some of you may find them necessary at a later point in this mission. There seem to be enough for each recruit to have one.

[Unfortunately.

A brief pause follows, enough time for a resigned sigh.]

With that said, if you are concerned about caring for a living being, I'm sure there are several of us willing to provide advice.

(ooc: i bought a bunch of child leashes as an ac reward as i was completely out of ideas, feel free to handwave your character grabbed one.)

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[she never asked to be a parent, ok....

But she does wince at the offer, reminded once again of the critical differences between raising a baby dog and a baby squidge.]

I think it's hungry. It refuses to eat any of the rations in my bag though.

Hm. (thinking about this predicament, shiro clears his throat and motions to his own squidge,) The Blob has a pretty big appetite. Maybe if yours saw mine eating, it'd want to join in?

I doubt it'd be something else, because they don't seem to... you know. Excrete anything.

(going straight to hell)

[What. She's no scientific expert - give her a pistol over a petri dish any day - but she's prettttty sure that's not how biology works.]

Are you sure you've waited long enough...?

[right there with you.]

Now I... I don't know.

(this is going to keep bothering him from now on.)

Have you seen—?

I...haven't.

[But to be fair, her squidge put anything in the one hole for it to be able to—err, come out the other.]

If your offer's still open, I'll bring mine over to see if it'll eat anything.

[And then they can observe the squidges afterwards. Y'know. For science.]

Absolutely. (shiro nods, conveniently not too far away from where everyone's been lingering.) I'll be here for the next little while. This guy's pretty tired.

(shows her a view of his location. and a shot of the squidge who is happily... absorbing something that looks like jerky. sure enough, they'll still be in virtually the same position when hawkeye arrives, shiro seated on the small pillow from his sleeping bag.)

[His only answer's a nod before she shuts down this one line of communication to open up another, more personal one. It doesn't take too long for her to appear, quietly crying squidge cradled in her arms and flanked by a black and white dog looking rather put out by the entire situation.

She loosens a hold on her squidge just enough for a small wave, though it's then that she realizes she has no idea what his actual name is. (The usernames on the network aren't always accurate.)]

I never did introduce myself. Riza Hawkeye.

(oh my god it's been so long since he's seen a dog... a crouch, offering a human hand out for the animal to sniff. to introduce himself to mom, shiro must first cross the loyal bodyguard.

a look up, raising his free hand—a metal prosthesis—to wave back at her.)

Riza. I'm Shiro. It's nice to meet you, all things considered.

[(What is it with all these people and their robo-arms, this is like the third one she's seen now. Is that particular trait on ALASTAIR's hiring checklist now, "must have prosthetic arm"?)

Said loyal companion gives the hand a dutiful sniff before stamping it with his particular seal of approval: one lazy tail swish before he plops himself down and scratches real quick behind one ear. Riza doesn't return the wave, arms too full of squidge, but she does offer a quick smile.]

I take it you're newer to the team?

[His isn't a face she's seen around too much.]

(clearly they think it's an important handicap to have... maybe the robo-arm crew will band together and revolt...)

That's right. (shiro acknowledges, giving the dog a hearty pat before straightening up with a spread of his arms.) Brand new recruit. Pretty sure I've been on Zeta-12 longer than the craft I woke up on... Seems they're fans of the "learn as you go" method.

—How long have you been here?

[Carefully, she sets her squidge carefully on the ground, where it oozes into a loose sitting position to watch Shiro's squidge with bright beady eyes.

Well, that's a good start.]

Ten months, and I can certainly confirm that to be true. Either they enjoy watching us suffer, or they've placed an inordinate amount of faith in us.

[She's leaning towards the former at the moment.]

(in turn, blob seems to enjoy the attention, body undulating. form of communication or just plain silliness, shiro's unsure.)

I really don't know why they'd try so hard to hire recruits just to watch them suffer, but to each his own. (dry as he is, it's what he's always wondered. even his own government employs their soldiers and pilots like tools. shiro guesses it's the same everywhere—and what can anyone do about that?)

You must be getting pretty homesick by now, huh.

[She had been watching the two squidges interact but her eyes lift at that question, surprised into momentary silence. It's the first time in many months anyone's asked. When she replies, her voice is soft.]

Very.

[It's a rare concession for her to make, an admittance to weakness of any sort and especially to a virtual stranger. But ten months in ALASTAIR has been enough to chip away at some of her walls, and she's had more good experiences with her fellow recruits than bad.

All friendships have to start somewhere.]

But sitting around pining for home isn't particularly efficient, so I try not to indulge it much.

(shiro doesn't see a weakness, when she replies in such a quiet reverence. what he sees is the strength it takes not to bend and break under the pressure of having been gone so long—and it's a sentiment the paladin relates to with a heavy heart. asking the question is always a coin toss, but the results have never made him shy away from it.

of course she misses home.)

I am too. (admitting it, despite his incredibly short tour with ALASTAIR; he hasn't been to earth, however, in well over a year.) I hear that, though. All we can do is keep our heads high and move forward. I don't have any doubt in my mind that we'll wind up back in our proper places eventually.

(a smile at her over, before finally offering riza's squidge a piece of the jerky his own's been chewing on.)

First things first, getting you guys home. Or... wherever we're taking you. Eat up, buddy.

VIDEO; UN: HAWKEYE

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