text | username: xXx_trueblue_xXx & redlion

[competing]

[With all the information coming out, it's apparent to Keith and Lance that one big elephant in the room has been ignored: the infection among the recruits themselves. Keith is tired and on edge, as he needs nothing to do with the infection to be cranky. Lance is jittery, too. But they have to talk about that elephant before it gets too late.

And for some of them, it might be. That's what Keith is really afraid of right now.]

Hey. It's Keith.

and ya boy, lance! [Because things are already pretty doom and gloom as it stands, and maybe things could use a little lightening up? Or something...

It’s a little more difficult to differentiate between people in a group message like this, but it’s a better idea to get something down on text in case they need to refer to it later, and anyone who knows either of the boys can probably tell them apart pretty easily through diction alone.]

we know your mind-phones have been pretty busy lately, but theres something keith and i wanted to talk to you guys about.

Before we get a move on in attacking Zymandis' agent, we need to look at our own numbers. A lot of us are sick. Maybe less than I thought. Or maybe more. Either way, we have to know who's sick and make a plan to help our own. And I'm serious about HELPING. Not putting someone out of their misery or any of the other stupid stuff I've heard from some of this team. We need to stop this disease. We need to help our own. Once everyone's BETTER, we'll make a plan for what to do next as a team.

[It's harsher than necessary but likely less harsh than how it might be normally, given Keith's frequently frustrated tone of voice. Text mitigates some of it, even if his frustration definitely does become CAPITAL LETTERS.

Lance, meanwhile, is quite eager to gloss over that sharp reprimand because seriously guys — kumbaya.]

yeeeeeah, so — helping! getting a head count is definitely ideal. we cant afford to be silent on this and we definitely CANT be alone right now, cuz every one of us affected and on our own can be a huge risk to everyone here. so we were thinking… since the city shut it down, we can use the middle school. those of us infected can stay there while we wait for our people to find that cure. like a quarantine safe house.. i know its not ideal, but its something. especially for those who dont have any other contingency plans.

[A pause. Well. May as well get the ball rolling, right?]

ill be there.

( ooc; p.s. there is an information plotting post for the quarantine space! )

Comments

[keystaff]

Right! I'm sure between all of us working together and helping, we'll figure something out to help! Even if I'm not that good with viruses, I mean.

Cooking at least, I can do. On the raw side? I'm not sure if you mean completely raw meat or just lightly cooked but I'll see what I manage.

[competing]

hey neither am i
luckily we got some people on our team who are actual geniuses and i believe in them

maybe both? i uh
i hear it starts to matter less when you get further along...

[keystaff]

I believe in them too!

I can do both. Raw would be easy enough if I bring that straight over from the shop, the cooked meat I could bring later once I had a chance to use the kitchen back home, or the one for the cooking lessons there at school, maybe.

[competing]

yeah we scoped the place out a while ago its still got all sorts of working stuff
how uh
how are you getting to and from these places by the way?
youre sticking to the buddy system right??

[keystaff]

Well, I could use the Fly card to get around quickly, but that would be risky, if someone local saw?

But I'm staying with Julius-san and Reika-san, so I usually have one of them with me, or Graham-san. So I've been sticking to that!

[competing]

...sorry
you just said a bunch of things that didnt make sense to me
youre gonna use the what to what now?

[keystaff]

Oh. I have these magic cards. Fly gives me wings. There's others too but that and Jump are the ones I use to get around quickly places.

[He...might still have questions but right now, at least in public, probably isn't the time for a demonstration.]

[competing]

[ some more heavy squinting

but you know what? it's not even the weirdest thing he's ever heard.

so he just rolls with it. ]

uh jump will probably work better then?
you can do rooftop to rooftop like a superhero!

[keystaff]

That's usually what I use Jump for, yes. I guess it's less likely people might notice that. I just can't help worrying when everything seems so normal here, like back home, where magic was rare and I never even knew about it being real until. Well. When I found the cards.

[competing]

nah thats fair
like i said, just do what you can
but dont put yourself at risk if you can help it
well make do with what we can
its not worth it to endanger anyone else over this

[keystaff]

But the rest of us should make sure you have enough supplies if you're staying there. You won't be able to get food or water yourselves.

[So of course something like this is sort of easier said than done. Sakura doesn't want to forget those in quarantine in the middle of all of this.]

[competing]

youre not wrong
but it isnt worth risking those of us who arent stuck, yknow?
so only do what you can

[keystaff]

I'll be careful. I promise. So don't worry about me.

[competing]

alright i trust you...
thanks. we definitely owe you

[keystaff]

Owe me? Ah, no, I'm just. I know if it were my friends or family infected like this I'd want someone to take care of them, so. It's nothing, really.

[competing]

hey were a team here
that makes us pretty much friends and family anyway
thats what i mean — we gotta look out for each other

[keystaff]

Family. You're right. I mean, it might not be Touya-nii-san or my actual dad, but. I guess you could still say there's others that look out for me anyway.

[competing]

yeah! we all gotta try anyway
so thanks for looking out for me this time
ill make sure to look out for you the next

[keystaff]

I do my best. Let's hope you won't need to look out for me next time. If it means the next mission isn' as dangerous.

[They inevitably are, just to more or lesser degrees of danger in comparison to each other in other missions. But still.]

[competing]

yeah heres hoping
i heard one mission was just babysitting these jelly babies
how come i miss THAT...

[keystaff]

Jelly? Ah! You mean the squidges? They were cute, I didn't mind that one. Even if I did need a little help sometimes.

[competing]

well, "it takes a village to raise a child" and all

[keystaff]

That's true. I'd just never even done any babysitting or anything before that so it was all kind of new to me.

[Let alone dealing with alien babies at that. On top of expecting a twelve to thirteen year old to care for one at all.]

[competing]

[ lance doesn't actually know he's talking to a child... ]

thats fair
pretty sure a good number of people were dealing with it for the first time too
so its good to know that people were willing to help each other out!

[ see, guys... how hard is it to be act like an actual team... ]

[keystaff]

Of course! I'm always ready to help if someone needs it!