[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.]