[Mingle] The First Official Meeting of the Young Adult Club

[skyward_eyes]

WHO: Nida
WHERE: House 16
WHEN: Evening/Night Monday the 14th
OPEN TO: Mingle: Open too all young adults (22 and younger); Older may show up but expect a testy Nida.
WARNINGS: Young Adults Partying, Possible: Underaged drinking if people bring stuff. If your thread changes ratings, in subject line and DM me so I can update.

---

The message goes out over the Network Sunday evening.

'Young Adult Club, First Meet-Up/Party Monday night. First house after the Jail/Barn. Bring Snacks If You've Got Them To Spare.'

Invitation sent in general, The rest, now, came down to Nida. Good thing he had someone who knew how parties worked was right there too. Rinoa turned out to be a pretty good resource. He learned there were a few important things to do for a party. Three major things were needed: music, treats and games. Unfortunately they couldn't do much about the former, so instead Nida employed his housemates in trying to make sure the latter two were covered.



The Nibbles

The easiest person to go to about food turned out to be Seifer. Of the three of them the blonde had somehow ended up as the defacto chef of their house when it came to important things like this. What this meant was a variety of easily made food, things like a plate of half-dollar sized pancakes for easy munching or dipping into other things, fried potato edges, even a quiche that Seifer had managed to whip up, not that Nida even recognized what the whole thing was. While it wasn't as impressive a spread as the New Year Eve party had (or perhaps even the forge gathering) it was clear that the three had done the best they could with the skills two mercenaries and a formerly sheltered young woman had between them. Hopefully treats from other people would help with the spread. Personally, Nida was hoping to steal some of the fritatta Seifer had made in their cast iron skillet, but guests came first of course.



The Games

Games. What even were party games? For that one the center spotlight had gone to Rinoa's planning efforts. Nida had scrounged in the inn's shared supplies, borrowing a set of playing cards and a Jenga set. Not that he really knew what the latter was. The cards went to the dining room table with some extra chairs borrowed from an unoccupied house, the Jenga onto the coffee table, and Rinoa's peakitten Julia got shuffled into her room to prevent her from knocking over the wooden blocks yet again. Nida was tired of rebuilding.




Introductions

They're all new here, they don't all know each other, so Nida and Rinoa encourage people upon arrival to start out simple. And all you have to do is say your name and three facts about yourself. Or, if you're feeling mischievous, two truths and a lie. Can people guess the truth of the matter about you? Or do they already know you well?



Quite Spaces

Frankly Nida wasn't sure how he felt about opening their house to so many people, and with the living room, dining room and kitchen all prepped for use, he realized there was one other thing people could need. A place to talk quietly or just have group games. As he was the only one of the three of them that didn't have much in the way of property and could give up the whole concept of privacy for a bit, the back bedroom ended up having a note pinned on it with a kitchen knife.

'Quiet Space for Your Use - Do not have sex in my bed please'

With his staff stored in the basement and his tiny journal and pencils stored out of sight on top of the standing wardrobe, the room was perfect for anyone who just needed to cool down. Or have a private conversation. Good thing the house has electricity because that could be used long into the night.

Comments

Introductions

[demiurgency]

Billy Kaplan had been a few faces before; 'two little brothers and a twin,' 'the Sound of Music,' and 'ticklish elbows,' which, okay, weird, but he seems to be generally over it and far more interested in the other introductions happening, which seem to be even more varieties of weird. He visibly perks up at Cissie's last truth, though, and when she's done, he speaks up, clearly interested.

"A field medic? Can I ask what kind of training you've had? I mean, I'm not doubting you, I'm just wondering."

[cisskabob]

Cissie smiles easily, if a bit wryly, shaking her head. "No, don't worry about it. It's okay. I did like, the usual Red Cross classes? For CPR and first aid, anyway. But most of my training was done by my mother. I'm not sure her methods are exactly standard, but. I can do some damn good sutures. Are you a medic?"

[demiurgency]

"No, but I'd kind of like to be," he says. "I mean, maybe not professionally, but I think it's a really useful skill to have here and I'd like to learn more of it. We did CPR certification in school, and I've been reading over some of the general first aid books the schoolhouse has, but it'd be nice to learn from someone who has a little more training. Was your mother a doctor? Or a nurse?" Or, you know, any of the other variety of medical professionals there are out there, he's not biased. He'd just be interested in learning a little more about how to help keep people in one piece, especially since he doesn't have his magic to help him keep them safe anymore.

[cisskabob]

Cissie nods as Billy speaks, at least up until he asks about her mother. She grimaces then, just a little, pulling a face and shrugging a shoulder awkwardly. "Uh. Well... No, she isn't. She's... She doesn't actually have a job, honestly? She home schooled me for a long time, and trained me in a... lot of things. In her defense, she did a really good job training me? And I passed all of the exams and stuff to get certified. But I'm not... actually sure how she got her hands on the textbooks and stuff that she had me use."

She gives him a sheepish smile and shrugs, spreading her hands. "Sorry. I do a mean suture, though. Hardly ever leave a scar. And I do have some practical experience, even if my training was... less than traditional."

[demiurgency]

"Oh--well, I mean, you don't have to have a degree to learn things, I just--usually assume people doing stuff like that, uh, have a medical degree," he answers, a little awkward. "Not that you're not totally competent, especially if you've gotten certified, and I mean, you've definitely got more practice than I do. I'd still like to learn what I can, if you wouldn't mind. A book only gets you so far, you know?"

The mention of practical experience is also enough to pique his interest. Yet another teen hero type? How many of them were there in this place??

[cisskabob]

"I mean, that's usually a safe assumption to make," Cissie agrees, grinning to show she doesn't mind. "If we're being honest, my mother taught me a lot of things she really shouldn't have been teaching me, but that's... not really here nor there. I'd be happy to help however I can. Honestly, I kind of always wanted to learn more about it all? It's pretty interesting. And it's nice, being able to help."

Being able to help without a mask, in a way that really does help people, and doesn't require her to pick up a weapon or fight those instincts that tell her the people who hurt her friends or innocent people should pay for what they do. Being the things she doesn't say out loud.

[demiurgency]

Billy smiles back at that, a little sheepish. "You wouldn't be the first person I know to say something like that. I guess it's...kind of a thing, sometimes." Kids learning to fight, kids learning to do triage, kids learning to do things that shouldn't be expected of them but not being able to resist doing them anyway once they learn what the world is like. He hadn't been one of them for a while, but now he sort of knew that was just because he'd been lying to himself.

"You're right, though. It is really nice to help. There's a pretty decent selection of books on first aid and triage in the schoolhouse, and some other stuff, too--maybe we could start a study group or something. I bet Doctor Crusher would be willing to help out, too."

[cisskabob]

Cissie laughs, a little sheepish herself, though she nods. He's not wrong; it's definitely a "thing." And it's a hard thing for her, and becoming harder, the longer she stays away from home and in these strange situations where the rules of the Real World may or may not apply, and it becomes harder to remember why it was so important that she quit and stay out of the game.

When Billy mentions the books, she perks up visibly, unable to help looking interested. "Really? That's a great idea! I mean, I know we're young, but even doctors have to start somewhere, right? Is there just the one doctor here? Maybe we can offer to help them somehow, as we're learning."

[demiurgency]

"I think Dr. Crusher is the only medical doctor here right now. I mean, I think there's other people with medical experience, but she's the only official doctor-doctor?" He says the words, but he's laughing at himself a little for the phrasing, too. "But yeah, I think that's a good idea. If you want, I'll show you what I've found so far? I'm in the schoolhouse most days going through books." It'll be nice to finally have some company doing that, honestly.

[cisskabob]

She brightens at that, nodding before he's finished. She couldn't say when she got so interested in learning things, or the idea of school. When she was in school... Actually, she had liked it a lot. She just had been so different and weird already that adding the stigma of being one of those nerds who like school was not something she had wanted to do. Being away from school for over a year has definitely calmed that instinct in her.

"That sounds great," she says enthusiastically. "It'll be interesting to see what they have. Is it like... old fashioned stuff, or more modern stuff too? Because I don't know about you, but this place is pretty old fashioned by my home standards."

[demiurgency]

Billy's never been ashamed of enjoying learning. Maybe he should have been; maybe if he'd tried to hide it better, he wouldn't have gotten bullied so much for so many years, but he's never been good at hiding anything. The way he feels is always right out there, not just on his sleeve but basically broadcasting on the emotional equivalent of a jumbotron. He'd gotten lucky enough later on to find people who appreciated that in him, encouraged it, even, and he's not going to stop that here. After all, it's probably his best talent here.

"A little of both, I think? Like it's nothing super advanced--I think they mostly want us to be able to work with the materials we have here, so there's nothing crazy in there, but it's definitely all useful, from what I've seen so far. I mean--this place is pretty old-fashioned to me, too. When I left it was 2016, and I'm originally from New York, so even if it was modern, it'd kind of be old-fashioned anyway." Said like he obviously means the city, and like anyone else would obviously get it.

[cisskabob]

"2016? It was 2011 for me. Time is weird in these multidimensional pockets, huh?" Cissie grins, and shakes her head a little. It's enough to give her a headache sometimes, but she's also found that it helps sometimes to remember the ways this place is different from home. It's too dangerous to get to comfortable yet. "It makes sense, when you put it that way, but... It's kind of creepy, isn't it? Can we trust what they're providing us with? Can we afford not to?"

[demiurgency]

"It definitely is. I haven't done much time hopping, it was more of a multiverse world tour, but like ninety-nine percent of them sucked," he says, like this is a perfectly normal conversation to have. Honestly, here it kind of is.

He sobers at her last words, though, expression more serious. "I mean, that's a valid question. But honestly, I don't think they're trying to kill us. Be pretty stupid to go to all this trouble to deliberately let us die, especially when so many people I've talked to were already in really dangerous places back home? But I mean, even if they are...do we really have any choice?" He shrugs. He's made his choice to trust what he can. The books, at least, are just that.

[cisskabob]

Cissie sobers with him, but when he asks if they have a choice, she smiles, hopefully encouragingly. "Maybe not," she agrees. "But you've got a good point, given all the work they're putting into this. And also--we've got each other, and we can do things like this," she gestures around the room at the get together. "And if we get to know each other and build relationships and stuff, well. Teamwork makes the dream work?"

Yes. It's corny. She knows it, but she believes it, too. She's a glass half full kind of girl, for the most part.

[demiurgency]

Billy might be laughing at her words, but it's not a mean laughter. She's not wrong. Honestly, in some ways, she kind of reminds him of Cassie, optimism and determination. It hurts a little, that thought, but it's not bad. "You aren't wrong. I mean, I guess there's some people who'd rather do it alone, but I've always been more of a team player. There's a lot we can accomplish if we work together, I'm sure of it."

[[Wrap here maybe?]]

[cisskabob]

Cissie's fine with laughing; she expected it, after saying something that corny, but it does still please her that his laughter is kind and not judging. It also pleases her that he feels the same way she does; it makes it easier to work together when the people you're working with also want to be part of the team. "Me too, honestly. It's good to know other people here feel the same way."

[[Works for me! c: ]]