The Answer is Always "I'm Fine"[Remus]

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She'd been so caught up in her own work, the cohort, the infirmary, her own training, giving Lilith extra training, she hadn't had much time to visit and check up on the Praetors. A terrible thing, because gods know they don't take care of their own health. She'd even let Ronan slip under her radar recently. It had to be some kind of prerequisite or something to be in a position of power, though she often excluded herself from that category. She made sure she ate adequate meals, slept what she felt as enough to get by, and bandaged herself when injured. Which honestly was more than what many of the others in charge seemed to do. Skipping meals. Going days on end without sleep. She'd done the same a few times, passed out several times because of staying awake too long. There was also the hallucinations that come with staying awake for over three days straight. Tessa was different, of course in her own mind, she did try to keep herself in good condition so she wouldn't get sick and give her cohort anything less than her best.

Speaking. Gods that was a hard thing to start doing again. Talking aloud to people, and watching their eyes glaze over as they were mesmerized by her voice. She hoped her cohort would get used to her voice, at least she could be heard above all the noise. Metal on metal as swords clashed, war cries as people attacked each other in mock battle. She'd even started medics on field training, how to get to the wounded, how far back they need to stay from the front lines. Not that she listened to her own advice, if anyone was injured too much in the war games she'd put herself anywhere and get them out. She didn't need many injured when Saturn finally decided to attack. How many people had already disappeared, no doubt to his side. Missing, and dead. How many? She found the young Kaylee on her infirmary steps, much like she found Remus, but not as lucky as he had been. The injuries to her were nothing small, and it looked as though there wasn't as much struggle. As if she had been held as she was attacked. Not much later a group of five were found torn to bits, and Nick was gone.

Tessa hated assumptions, detested them, but perhaps Nick had gotten his revenge for Kaylee. She remembered how he talked about her. How he couldn't think or train properly without her beautiful face coming to mind. What would she have done if she found Gunnar, torn and broken. Dead. Perhaps not murder, perhaps, but the rage and sadness she felt inside from the mere thought was enough to question what she would actually do.

Often the small, perhaps not as small anymore, lion cub Jadis would follow Tessa around. She'd basically been her mother while Edmund and Felicity were gone after all, and it seemed that would continue to be the case. Considering. For now though, the cub was else where, and Tessa's loan steps fell in the Principia. Her long jacket buttoned to keep her warm in the unusually cold winter. The world would certainly not end in it, it would not end in cold. Not as long as this camp stood. She believed in it, in the Praetors. Her knuckles rapped on the door to one of their offices. Remus Stone.

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Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. There was a lot of it when it came to running a camp. Especially when said camp was facing yet another war. But this was where Remus felt at home. Politics. War. The politics part may not be his father’s forte, or at least dominion, that he knew of. To be honest, even with all his classical training courtesy of Camp Jupiter requirements, he wasn’t sure there really was a god who oversaw politicians and government. Mars was the patron of Rome, that was something. Perhaps close enough for the time being. He’d look into it later.

For now, though, he had other things to attend to. Now that he was back at camp after the unpleasant ordeal at Orthys, he had to work double time. Saturn was on the loose, and gaining power. And Jason was gone, trapped still at Mount Orthys. Along with Neptune. He did not envy Jason, given the fact that Neptune’s greeting had been quite, well, anti-Jason. He worried about his friend, there alone with only a couple of crazy traitors to talk to. Though he had to admit, as he stared blankly at the latest report, Rhia’s actions had been curious. Nick had said that she was the one to supply the blankets, pillows, game, even the heater. She was a conundrum, Rhiannon Warlow was. She was the one who found him after he’d met with Vivian, had given him a hard time. But she was also the only one there, the only one for a long ways that he knew of. And he had been told below the table later that she’d been seen dragging his unconscious body to the infirmary. Definitely the last thing he’d expect from someone like her. And add to that the gifts in the dungeons? Rhia wasn’t all she seemed, that was for sure.

He recalled back to his day with Josh before he had been captured. Poor guy was a mess. He really did love Rhia, didn’t he? Then again, Remus knew firsthand what it was like to lose someone you loved, if not in the same way. When he thought he’d lost Felicity, he’d been a workaholic basket case. Now that he had her back, he couldn’t let her go. So he really couldn’t blame Josh one bit, even on the smoking thing. Hadn’t he done virtually the same thing, just with work instead of bad habits?

Remus was pulled from his thoughts as there came a knock at the door. He got up and crossed the room to the door, Aurum and Argentum at his heals, both on alert. The dogs hadn’t left his side since he got back, had even taken to coming into his room at night, which was kind of weird to see four glowing red eyes in the otherwise dark room. But when he opened the door, it wasn’t a threat at all that met him, but Tessa. He smiled. “Hey Tessa. Come on in,” he said as he took a step aside for her to enter.

Tag: Tessa
Word Count: 509
Notes: I hope it’s okay I placed this after his capture/return. I figure he was probably gone about two days and just got back. Hope that is okay by you, but if not, let me know and I’ll redo it.

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The sound of metal claws clicked on the floor behind Remus' door, a small smile on her face at the thought of the two metal dogs following around the praetor. Like lost puppies. But they weren't lost, they had failed, and more than likely didn't want o fail again. After all what had become of Jason? Her uncle, who had been the first person, and for a long time the only person, she felt cared about her. Despite all of her faults, Jason loved his little niece. Tried to protect her when in the end it was him who had needed protection. Now he was captured by that despicable Titan. Oh how she wanted to put an arrow, or quiver of arrows, in his eye. Who could have been fool enough to join him? Her mind drifted to that girl who had sent the relic to him. Rhiannon? She had refused to leave the infirmary for a week, refused to leave Josh's side, and for what? To ruin everything he had done? The injuries that nearly killed him? Some things she could not understand, that was one of them. Though she supposed she never really did understand love well, despite being a legacy of Venus.

How her grandmother must look at her. She was terrified of the feelings she had for Gunnar, afraid he and Jason, and Lilth wouldn't care about her anymore. That in just a day their feelings for her would dissolve. She had to be a good centurion, be a good medic, have everything perfect and right, or that's what would happen. They would all leave her inevitably one day, but perhaps if she worked hard enough it wouldn't be any time soon. Here was Remus, and for some reason she always hoped to see Jason stalking around the principia trying to get more coffee, or a new pen because he'd used all the ink in the packet she last got him. Perhaps be here in Remus' office since they got along so well. Alas, he wasn't. She's go back to the infirmary soon, there was always more things for her to do, always.

“Remus, how are you?” she asked with a smile, her voice chimed like a melody. The most beautiful combination of sounds that could easily leave a person’s heart fluttering in their chest. “From the stack of paper you've been busy, I hope not too busy to eat or sleep” Honey fulled her throat, coating her words as they came out, the dulcet, fruitful tones that held onto her voice were a bit distracting. Drawing attention towards her. Her graceful steps into his office not in the slightest bit disconcerting as she seemed to glide wherever she went. When she spoke, she was obviously a decedent of both Venus and Apollo. The grace, beauty and charm she kept at bay by not speaking, and wearing less flattering clothes seemed to continue to shine through despite her efforts.

Talking. She tried so long to go without it, now she was trying to get people used to her voice before she had to give orders in war. Last time she had only been an archer, listening to commands. Firing arrows at the creatures, helping her fellow legionnaires that way. Now she was supposed to be a commander. She was a centurion, she was the head medic. A full plate for anyone, even Jason had troubles with it. In her eyes that was what she tried to strive for. To be as good as her Uncle, or in the very least make him proud of her.

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Remus still wasn’t used to actually hearing Tessa speak. She had a nice voice. Then again, she also had charm speak, didn’t she? He remembered something about that in her files. Knowing beforehand was key. So he kept careful watch of himself that he not be affected too much by her gift. “I’m fine, and yourself?” Argentum sniffed curiously at her shoes as though trying to ascertain where she’d been lately. Aurum stood in what looked like the dog form of military attention, keeping its glowing red eyes on Tessa. He put a hand on the dog’s head and it broke its stare to look up at him. It was easy to tell the poor greyhounds were on high alert at all times now; they weren’t fond of having failed. He vaguely wondered what they had done with themselves when both he and Jason had been gone those few days. Though he knew it was hardly his fault, he felt bad for getting the dogs so worked up anymore. He loved the metallic creatures as though they were his real pets. His little automaton family. Really, they had been for three years now.

He chuckled at her worrying, which he had to admit, given the past, she did have valid reason. “Things have certainly been piling up. But don’t worry, I’m eating and sleeping.” A few hours a night at least. But it was still something. Better than the time he used to pull all-nighters on a regular basis. Though he still argued that he had perfect reason to do so again. Jason was gone, the work was double what it was before, and so was the stress. But that was a story for another day. Or night. He just… wouldn’t tell Tessa about the occasional all-nighter. As long as he was getting sleep most of the time, right? “So what about you? How are you doing? The infirmary, your cohort. Seems you have your hands full just as much as anyone. Coming along okay?”

Argentum padded outside the room on one of his seemingly regular nowadays cursory checks of the principia. It seemed more and more that the dogs took turns doing so, which he had to admit was pretty smart of them. No more Titans lurking in dark corners without anyone knowing about it. The dog would be back before long, or if not, then it was time to worry. That was about how things tended to work since he got back.

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I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath Remus ::Tag 620 ::Words ::Notes

She had a conversation with Remus before she decided to start speaking aloud, in honesty he was the reason she did. Talking to him helped, it seemed to help her a lot more than she realized. Little happenings when she would come to check on Jason, and soon picked up Remus, and Ronan. Kind of like little kittens that thought they could do anything and everything. Without sleeping, or eating, or any of the other million and one things you needed to do other than keep the camp together and paperwork. Tessa knew that they sometimes forgot they were people, humans, that needed to speak and interact with others, and who needed to rest and recharge. "I'm doing well, work's never done and all that" she smiled, she almost always did after all. Though sometimes, when Jason or Nick came to mind she found it hard to do. To force her smile, though she still tried. Four sets of glowing red eyes were set on her, one of which seemed to take to smelling her pants. The metal bloodhounds Aurum and Argentum. She didn't particularly move, except to let the silver hound get a better scent off of her shoes. She in general probably smelled heavily of the infirmary, and cleaning supplies. Though she tended to wear different clothes in there it had probably seeped into her being. Though she never quite noticed the fleeting scent of wild flowers that lingered on her, she'd grown so used to her shampoo and body wash it didn't seem noticeable. The smell that came from the archery field and fields of Mars undoubtedly stuck to her shoes. She spent the rest of her waking hours there after all. The infirmary and the fields, that was pretty much her life. With a slight side track from Gunnar. "Good to hear, that's three meals a day and at least three hours of sleep right?" she said a bit unbelieving of the leader of stubborn, hardheaded Romans. Her view on sleeping was a bit more lax than her uncles, but that was because she tried to practice what she preached, sometimes. Like anyone else in camp, she too could be caught in the occasional insomniac episode. "Me? Yes, but it's been less since I first took over. Change in leadership, people wondering how much they can get away with." she smiled, it was a bit hectic and she wondered if she was a bit too harsh her first month working. Still there were somethings she saw working as a nurse and paper pusher that made her want to change the situations. Just a few things, here and there. Mostly rules she wanted to enforce more, a few she amended to make more efficient. The whole changing over to someone with a different style of leading. Then there was taking over as centurion. She never knew how difficult it was to plan trainings that small children could do, and grown adults would be challenged by. How to balance them. She watched as the gray hound finished his inspection of her, seemingly passable, and leave the room. It was a little curious, though she supposed it was okay that they would take turns watching Remus, especially when it was someone as nonthreatening as she was. Undoubtedly Remus could beat her in any attempt she could give at over powering him, or fighting him. She turned her eyes back to the praetor. "It's going well now, I think I've gotten at least a little the hang of balancing the two, and Charlie has been a help in planning training. Nothing quite so extreme as hers, but figuring out and changing a few things. It can always be made better."

Lyrics from Roar by Katy Perry
Code done by step

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He nodded as she spoke. Yes, he knew that feeling all too well. How many times had he felt the same? Though, similar to Tessa he suspected from what he knew of her, it wasn’t so bad. Odd though it sounded, he actually liked work. It made him feel needed, important. Not that his ego needed boosting, but, well, it didn’t always support itself. He always felt the need to prove that he deserved to wear that praetorian purple cloak. “I’m sure it’s not. Preparing for the war, I imagine. You’ll have your hands full. Any way I can help? I mean, I’ll be busy on the front line, but I can get someone to help you out. What about that veteran, Kyle? He might be able to help command the infirmary efforts on the battle field while you stay with your cohort. And I’m not sure where Jason will be to be honest.” Assuming Jason would be in the fight at all, given his current state. But Remus refused to think that he wouldn’t be here fighting alongside him. Romans didn’t give up when they needed or wanted something. Why do you think they had conquered such a vast empire? It was all about knowing what you wanted and simply…getting it.

He followed her gaze and looked at the silver greyhound investigating her pant leg and shoe. “Don’t worry about him, he’s just curious.” He smirked at her tone when she spoke again. Of course she didn’t believe him. She had every right to doubt him, given his history. He chuckled. “When feasible, yes. Sometimes I skip lunch, but I always have breakfast and dinner. And usually at least three hours, yes. That tea of yours helps a lot.”

Yes, changes in leadership always seemed to demand a firm hand. “Well, if you need any help, let me know. Not that I doubt your ability. Though I’d be happy to join in one of your practices sometime. If for no other reason than I need the practice too.” He nodded his understanding, then smirked. “Charlie’s helping you? I pity your cohort. She’ll train them into the ground if you let her. But I trust you have a little more mercy than my dear sister. And yes, things can always be better. Good mantra to have.” He sat back in his chair. “So then, what brings you to the principia? Or just checking in? I’m afraid not much has changed here lately…”

Tag: Tessa
Word Count: 412
Notes:

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I    used    to bite   my tongue and hold   my breath Remus ::Tag 819 ::Words ::Notes She's not flirting at the end, just that friendly joking that sometimes sounds like flirting.

Tessa was no stranger to hard work, she'd been working hard since she got into the legion. Perhaps even sooner than that, trying to get the attention of her parents required lots of hard work. Though it was different once she got here. At first it was fighting, and getting stronger. That was a lot of work for the little actress from Hollywood. She had a few lessons in archery, but nothing like what the legion would give you. Being in Second Cohort was no joke, they had the same kind of standards First Cohort did. Be strong, fast, smart, light on your feet but difficult to move. To be honest the song from Mulan came to mind. Swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, and all the strength of a raging fire, though she didn't see the part about being mysterious as helpful in this context. Unless it was Gunnar, though not as mysterious anymore he still had the air about him. She knew some parts of his job he wasn't fond of, mostly if he had to hurt another member of the legion. Sometimes it was necessary she supposed, though she only knew of one instance since she's known him. He'd try and act like it meant so little to him, but she could tell how much it had bothered him. "Oh no, it's fine. We've all got our hands full, but we can do it. That's why were in the positions we're in right?" she said with a smile, though she felt very insecure about her own leadership style. Perhaps insecure was a terrible term, she felt down right paranoid about it sometimes. Was she too soft? Too hard? Was she doing the right thing? Did anyone like her? Did people think she was too difficult? They should. She'd hate people to think she was an easy commander. That was why she enjoyed talking to Charlie, though she didn't quite agree with just how much the other Centurion pushed her cohort. "Yes, there will be a few different ways medics will be used. I've been sending a few teams into First Cohorts forty-eight hour drills without weapons. They only get their medical supplied and they have to try and do first aid in the middle of combat, drag people behind the skirmish line. Things like that. So the emergency front line medics can patch people up before sending them to the back line medics with tents and equipment. Also been training the back line to work with limited supplies, how to problem solve if a machine breaks. General bad scenario's I can think up." Tessa couldn't help but frown a bit at the mention of Jason, glancing away. "Yeah...well...do you think we'll get him back before the war? Or will we have to wait....until after we storm Orthys? You don't think...ah..never mind....sorry..." She didn't like thinking if they tried to get information from him, or if they would do anything else to him. The people there weren't exactly sane after all. They were with the Titan, you couldn't possibly be sane and do that. "I'm not worried, I don't plan on lying and I'm fairly certain any attempt to harm you would drastically back fire without their help. Though that would be a great head line, Legacy of Venus attempts to hit son of Mars, breaks a nail and cries." A joke of course, Tessa kept her nails trimmed and even if they broke she'd never cried over one before. She smiled, and was trying to make light of the situation, to keep her mind off her uncle. Of her cousin, and Remus' nephew Nick. Smirking she shook her head a bit. "If you're going to be staying up most of the day you need not just three meals, four would be best. You defiantly can't go under three. I'm just going to drag you Ronan, and Nova all to actually eat some food. I'm sure I can find some more stragglers that try to skip meals too." A small bit of laughter filled her charming voice. She gave a small puff of amusement at his suggestion of letting charlie run her Cohort into the ground. If anyone was going to run her cohort ragged it was going to be her, and she was slowly trying to work their endurance up. She was causing tiny little fractures to work into their bones, and letting them rest to heal. Trying to make sure everyone in her Cohort drank enough calcium for it as well. That was the hardest part though, getting them to eat right. "You're always welcome to participate, if you eat your meals, drink milk and eat your vegetables." she said with a bit of joking in her voice strangely reminiscent of flirting. "Just checking up on you, making sure you haven’t worked yourself into a stupor or anything."

Lyrics from Roar by Katy Perry
Code done by step

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Remus nodded at her words. She had a point, of course. Well, she was Tessa Yates; she was possibly one of the more down to earth people in this camp. He liked that about her. Solid and reliable and hard-working. He knew he could always count on her. “Too true. All the same, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I may not know much about medicine, but I know a bit about leadership and would be happy to lend a hand where I can.” Being modest was hard. He usually didn’t bother. Usually he would have been more like Since I obviously know a ton about military leadership and am a great resource and all that jazz… yeah, so he wasn’t that good about his oversized ego. But Tessa was one of the select few around which he didn’t have the urge to toot his own horn. Maybe because he had a feeling she wouldn’t stand for it one bit. Something like that. All the same, he kept his ego in check. Though that wasn’t saying he didn’t want to help her with her cohort or with paperwork or anything like that. He had an unnatural love for fighting and teaching others to be better soldiers. He liked to think he hadn’t gotten into his position just because of his heritage too, but that was a matter for another time.

He listened as she described her ideas and practices. They all sounded good to him. To his knowledge, no infirmary lead had ever done what she was doing before, but he had to agree it needed to be done more often. Especially with war on the horizon. Medics needed these skills. It just went to show that Tessa was in the right position. Though it didn’t keep him from worrying about her. She didn’t seem to have a well-developed sense of personal boundaries when it came to workload. He mad e a mental note to bring that up later.

He mentally hit himself when she frowned a bit. Gods, he was stupid. Remus Stone, don’t mention the missing uncle in front of the niece that was probably out of her mind worrying. “Hey… sorry I said anything. If it makes you feel better, I know he’s being treated well. When I was there, we were given pillows and blankets and even a space heater. He’s doing alright. But all the same, we will get him back before this war. We’ll find a way.” He waved a hand as she stopped herself. “Tessa, we’re all worried, and I know you probably more than most. He talked about you a lot, you know. He’s very proud of you. But anyway, what I’m getting at is… you can be open with me, with anyone. We all feel the sting of his absence.”

Chuckling at her joke, he shook his head. “You are the last person I would expect to see cry over something silly.” But when she continued, he pretended to be exasperated. “More than three? I thought I was doing pretty good with two.” He chuckled, half joking himself. Though he had thought himself doing fine with two meals… ah well. “Yes, I’m sure you could find a good few. In fact, I bet anyone related to Mars of Bellona would be a candidate, and the other centurions, you get the idea. Workoholics. Though I know I’m one to speak.”

He shook his head, holding back a laugh when she said he could participate in her trainings given certain requirements. “You sound like a mother, telling her kids to eat their veggies. But now it’s my turn. Not to tell you to eat your veggies though. Tessa, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you were thinking about taking classes at the Academia. Please tell me that’s not true. You have so much on your plate as it is.”

Tag: Tessa
Word Count: 651
Notes: “…eat your meals, drink milk, and eat your vegetables.” I declare Tessa camp mom LOL

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I    used    to bite   my tongue and hold   my breath Remus ::Tag 1021 ::Words I like these two ::Notes

Praetor Stone was definitely a capable leader, and so was her uncle Jason if she did say so herself. Much better than Zidane, though she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the man. Second cohort was the first to feel the sting of war. She was thankful that she was able to get used to the position of Head of Infirmary before she was appointed to replace August as centurion. He was only in there for a short time, but it was extremely helpful. "I know, I'm still making sure to get my footing in my own leadership style. More of a combination of leadership styles, since I can't really treat the ten year olds the same as the twenty year olds." It was always nice to talk to other people in charge, even if Remus was above her own station. He was nice to talk to, and different than talking to his sister Charlie. They were siblings and she could see the similarities, especially in the height department, but as usual everyone was their own person. Charlie seemed a bit more laid back, but could switch to a bit of a scary person in the battle field. Remus seemed more cool headed though, even if some people thought Charlie was the more calm one. She'd love to have either of them at her back in a fight though. Ronan as well, despite that accident where she had to crawl behind a pillar from his fire. Perhaps he could be a few feet from her back, just in case. It was a bit nice to hear they had been treated well when Remus was there. She hoped it would continue until they were able to break him out. A bit of a smile showed up on her face when he said they would get him back before the war. She really didn't know what she would do without her uncle, and how camp would run without him. He was Praetor for a reason. Reliable. Smart. Strong. She could talk about her uncle all day almost if given the chance, and if she wasn't in such a poor mood recently when she heard his name. She tried not to think about it too much, but when she did to say she was out of her mind with worry was an understatement. He was her family, her best friend, the first person who cared about her so much in this camp. The first family that she got to know. Above all else he was her doting over protective uncle and she would do near anything to have him back safe and sound. Certainly not do anything for that insane Titan though, but she might stop before putting an arrow in his eye. Maybe. "Thanks Remus." giving him a pleasant smile "It's fine, you don't have to apologize. At least you aren't saying what some other people are." yeah, when someone is captured by the enemy sometimes people will talk. Sometimes they'll say what Saturn does to all his prisoners, or what a crazed daughter of Trivia would do to a prisoner. Especially after what she had done to Valerie. She didn't really understand why Josh drove himself crazy for her, he was as loyal a legionnaire as anyone else. Though she supposed he hadn't known Valerie personally, not trained with her every day the way she had. Though Nick killed five people, and she still loved her cousin. So perhaps it was something like that. They were just out of their minds, and need help. Perhaps that's all anyone in Mount Orthys needs, a bit of mental help. A lot of mental help. Her gaze turned up toward the much taller man in front of her. "Proud? Of me?" her voice might have cracked just a bit, she wasn't exactly used to hearing people were proud of her. Not to mention they were talking about her in Orthys. All the other things her uncle could have talked about. Plans to escape, or something, anything other than her. "Yeah...I'm...worried. Of course I'm worried. So I just have to make sure it's ready here when he comes back. I know you'll get him back." perhaps a bit of weight she unexpectedly added to his shoulders, but she really did believe in the leadership here. They have plenty of people who would do well in a leadership position but no one as good as Remus or Jason. Sure there were people who could be seen crying over a broken nail, males and females. Generally it's only a small rip at the top with no harm to the underlying flesh. Tessa had seen people nearly rip their fingernails off before, and that was not pleasant to finish the job so it could heal correctly. Though even then she might not cry. She had managed to bandage herself up from those arrow wounds in the war, enough to keep herself conscious for a bit longer at any rate. "Yes more than three." she said with a smile wrinkling her nose at him "Isn't that why I come to make sure you're not working too hard? You're not allowed to marry the paperwork you know." They were all at least partially addicted to work, or so she had decided. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing as long as you kept your heath up, but she knew if not for Gunnar there would be more then a few times she would forget to eat. Laughter was always the best medicine. Ryan was starting to rub off on her a little bit, but she tried to shoo him and his bubbles out of the childrens rooms. The soap bubbles were a nightmare to clean up after. Almost immediately she averted her eyes when he mentioned classes. As a nervous habit she turned a hair around her finger. "I don't really plan to attend them just yet. More...preparing to take them later. I have a few more years in the legion, only two. I was....thinking perhaps about taking one. After the war, some kind of medical class might be good..."

Lyrics from Roar by Katy Perry
Code done by step