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Of course.

I would prefer to go somewhere we can talk private. Is it alright if I go to your place for this?

Of course. I'll be waiting.

[Her tiny room's a bit of a mess from all the unloading of her most recent mission, but it should be fine for the purposes of a talk.]

I'll be there soon, thank you.

[So he'll be knocking on her door within twenty minutes or so. Hopefully now's not a bad time???

HI RIZA.]

[HER DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN FOR JULIUS though in this case it takes a moment for her to cross the room and pull open the door, her free hand gesturing towards the inside of the room.]

Please, come in.

Pardon the intrusion.

[He walks in minding his own manners.]

Thank you for allowing me to come here. Lieutenant, back in Woodhurst ALASTAIR awakened my latent combat ability.

It has become a burden. Have you experienced anything similar?

It's no trouble.

[She means it genuinely; Riza has never been the sort to take anyone else's burdens upon her without absolutely being willing to do so. His comment gives her pause though, and she tips her head to one side, thoughtful.]

What do you mean? ALASTAIR gave me magic at some point, but it was never my own to begin with.

I see then. [So she never got powers back from home. Instead, they were all new spells. He nods in acknowledgment.]

In my case, I wasn't able to utilize my abilities here because they required a certain circumstance. A life and death scenario with duress, to be precise.

Under those conditions I can use even stronger combat techniques. ALASTAIR made it easier for me to access that power.

[Problem is he's not really used to it.]

[They're all boring humans where she comes from, sorry.]

Did you never encounter a situation like that back home?

[It's a little surprising to hear, given his position as a military commander and all that he's told her of in the past, but she supposes that perhaps her own life has been more exciting than most. Life and death circumstances seem to be the norm now, much to her dismay.]

I've only encountered that scenario a few times during missions. Honestly, I've been off duty for more time than I'd like to admit.

[He looks down and then back at Riza.]

Were you ever off duty in the military, Lieutenant?

[For any reason at all?]

[Wow, what a slacker!! But the news doesn't bother her; if anything, she's glad he's gotten opportunities to rest, and that his work hasn't been a string of missions, one after the other.]

Not very often. [Accompanied by a single shake of her head.] I had few enough days off as it stood.

[It'd become something of a joke back then, how often the Colonel had called her in even on her days off. But those are days long gone now and ones she thinks of only infrequently now. (If only because there's an ache in her heart each time.)

She's quiet a moment before she adds, softer this time:]

You can call me Riza.

[They are teammates, after all, and there's no hierarchy in ALASTAIR. She's left many of her old trappings behind at this point.]

You're fine with that? [He's been addressing her as Lieutenant for so long. It's going to be hard to break out of this habit. ]

Riza then.

[Julius says her name shyly. This is kind of awkward for him.]

[It's something she's thought about a lot lately, both her place on the team and the concept of a team as a whole.]

There's no real hierarchy here, despite how much several of us seem to want one. ALASTAIR isn't a military; there are no ranks and pre-defined roles for any of us.

[It only makes sense then to see each other on even ground.]

That's true. We still have to be mindful of everything around us.

What we decide today can affect the future.

I want to make every action count. [Obviously he can't really do that alone.]

[He's not wrong—]

Every action we take has an impact, whether we intend for it to or not.

[That's simply how life works. But he'd said he'd wanted to speak to her about something and she's not about to set that aside so easily.]

Are you still worried regarding your new ability?

Yes, I received that ability because the genes in my body were tampered with.

[Riza knows about his injections right? It's fine to tell her that much.]

I would only hope that there's no lingering side effect or something similar. Health is always a concern.

[Ah health....hers has always been stable, more of a passing thought than a daily concern, but from the sounds of things that's less the case with Julius.]

Reika mentioned she was worried about your health.

[Said as neutrally as she can manage.]

Ah, she's told you then. [ He feels bad for making other people worry like that. ]

I should be fine so as long as I take medication and eat well. It becomes easy to forget important things when our situation becomes chaotic.

Have you been taking it easy in between missions, Riza?

[She tilts her head, pulling forth a brief smile.]

As best I can. I learned how to take care of myself early on.

[Which, in part, is the reason she'd wanted to talk to him in the first place. Her mood sobers again, smile fading as she watches him for any sign of distress or weakness.]

Reika mentioned too that you tend to worry about me.

You're a close friend.

Was it wrong of me to worry?

[He does tend to think of others more than himself. Julius isn't sure what Riza's opinion of this is.]

[She smiles, shakes her head.]

Not at all. It's hard not to worry about a friend. [Goodness knows she's similar, in that regard.] I just hope it never becomes crippling - it's hard to predict what could happen here.

[She could die, she could be transferred away. She's always seen ALASTAIR as something transient rather than something permanent.]

You're right.

Too much concern can be a hindrance. We have to keep going forward, no matter what.

Just like we've always been doing.

[So they should make the most of their time.]

["Keep going forward"....goodness knows she's heard it often enough from him, and said it often enough but there's merit to pausing every now and then, taking things easy.]

Just make sure not to overwork yourself. It's alright to take breaks every now and then.

[Otherwise Reika might collapse from worrying too much.]

I'll try not to over do it.

Thank you for worrying about me. It's nice to have a friend you can rely on during these times.

[He's thankful for Riza's support.]

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