Katja and Paul had taken the role of patrolling Beacon today. It'd been a night and a little since Ayesha and Hassan had gone missing, with the heavy air quotes necessary pertaining that pair of words, and Vesna and Vic had fallen asleep together in his dormitory, so Paul's room was technically occupied for the time being. Neither the Pole, nor the Hungarian minded it, however.
Katja giggled as she joked with Paul, "Le hon hon hon!" while the Hungarian rolled his eyes, smirking. She kept laughing as she said, "Man, I never thought I'd see your dog-ass in a fucking Froggy uniform, ever. Not even FFL..." before sighing and stating with a smirk, "Though I guess that's what you get when your Prime-Minister's an asshole that damn near alienated us, too."
"Pff, yeah, tell me about it," Paul snorted, "Hey, it worked out in the end. I got to go to Russia."
"And got your ass blown up there," Katja quipped, then sighed deeply, frowning, "I was with your mom and sis when the flag came back..." words which got Paul to frown. Katja realized what she said, raising her hands defensively, then quickly apologized, "Sorry, sorry... Fuck, I should've kept my mouth shut...!" and... Paused when Paul put a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head as if telling her to calm down.
"It's okay... I knew that'd happen..." He spoke calmly, though she could tell he was hurting, even with the fake half-smile on his face, "I'm just glad they had you there to... Y'know... Comfort them." As the girl was practically mentally berating herself for even being this much of a dumbass. Seriously, she'd have learned to shut her mouth, god willing, as to not upset the guy.
Katja smiled sadly at him, "I'm not a substitute for their son or brother, Paul..." then she breathed in, licked her lips and stated a rather direct, "I'm gonna shut up before I depress ya any further..." and she took lead of the patrol, keeping her eyes peeled and holding close her rifle. Paul had seen her carrying two guns when they met:A Standard-issue Beryl AK-pattern rifle and an HK416 that had been kitted out with the GROM-standard attachments.
He noted the scars on her face again, remembering that he'd seen them when she'd taken her mask off the first time, last evening. With a hum, the boy quickened his pace, then slowed down again when he was right next to her. As they walked, the man tried to figure out a way to best ask his beloved childhood friend about it. Sighing, he chose to be straightforward as he pulled out a cig and slid it between his lips. "Hey, Kat?"
"Yeah?" She quirked a brow, then frowned as she saw him lighting the ciggy. She forgot the guy had written to them that he'd started smoking a while back and remembered just now. It was still kind of upsetting. It meant he needed some kind of comfort from the world that resided in chemicals. Now, she wasn't one to comment, considering she had a flask full of the cheapest, strongest alcohol she could get her hands on on the front.
He walked up beside her and pointed at his face, "Your scars... They..."
The girl went a hint paler. She knew he was going to ask her about it in the end, but hadn't prepared herself for it. How does one tell her childhood friend what happened? How does one easily admit to... She sighed and replied with half-a-mouth, "A nuclear warhead. Krakow's gone..." and watched as Paul staggered, doubling over with all the color draining from his face. She smiled sadly, "I was on leave and was about to enter UNRUS with my unit..." Then her tone turned angry, vengeful, "The fucking Black League did it..."
"Krakow's... And you...?" Paul blanked, looking at her. She nodded, narrowing her lips and sighing as she looked at the ground. She rubbed her shoulder and was about to say something, before she felt herself pulled into a tight hug by her childhood friend. A hint of surprise first became visible in her facial features, followed by a frown. She began to tremble as the heat-wash of the blast reverberated like a phantom pain across her body. She wrapped her arms around him and grit her teeth, tears threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes.
She wanted to say something, but the flash replayed in her mind. She felt Paul's hug tighten and felt herself losing a bit of air due to the squeeze, before wanting to say something. Paul growled, then said, "I swear to you, Kat... If those bastards ever show up here, and seeing those fucking Kalashes on the Fang, they might, they're not walking off alive..." A fury in his voice that stunned even his lifelong friend.
"P-Paul..." Kat looked upon him as a chill shot up her spine and fear grew in her voice. She saw it, that pure, unadulterated fury the likes of which she never thought she'd see out of him. His face might've been impassive, but inside his eyes, a fire had sparked. And it burned brighter than any flame she had seen before. It was almost awe-inspiring, were it not so terrifying for poor Katja to stare at the man she cared for glaring into nothingness like that.
... She recalled the reports. That Omsk had been wired to blow. A good chunk of the city had become a crater. A crater in which the ashes of the Hungarian and his fellow non-French Legionnaires would settle upon the walls and floor, or scatter to the wind, only for him to wind up here. With a sigh, she tightened the hug herself, then said, "Thanks..."
"Hey..." He sighed deeply, letting the bubbling anger inside of him slowly subside, "Anything for my dear childhood friend... Right..?"
The girl blushed and frowned a little, "Please, don't push yourself like that... This is the... First goddamn time I've seen you like this. You actually fucking scared me, kurwa." and looking him straight in the eye. Paul took a moment to realize the simmering rage he had boiling within him. He let out a deep sigh, then shook his head as he tried to settle down.
"Sorry, Kat," He offered a half-smile, "Guess it set me off a bit."
"Yeah..." She replied awkwardly, then gave a half-smile back, "C'mon. We still have a patrol to run..." before motioning to him to follow. With a nod, the FFL Machine Gunner trailed behind his childhood friend, his mind still processing how she died. Bouts of fury that he barely concealed with his mask kept bubbling up every time he remembered the second biggest city in Poland and the home of his childhood friend was fucking gone.
Despite somehow managing to 'calm him down', Katja could still feel chills shooting up her spine every time she looked back at Paul, to see how he was taking the news of her death. The Black League. Weird extremists, she had thought at first, when they'd met them. No, the Black League was a nasty resurgent Russian fascist movement. And they had a Communistic counterpart in Eastern Russia.
The patrol went on unabated and the two were now looping around Beacon Tower to head on back home, though they'd stayed quiet while Paul processed the anger and Kat mentally berated herself for telling him so bluntly. Sure, the bandaid needed to be ripped off sooner rather than later, but there was no moment where she'd considered it a good idea to relay it with more tact.
She felt stupid...
Paul, meanwhile, had mostly gotten the anger to subside. There were certain concerns pertaining Kat and how she was handling radiation poisoning, but they'd pass with due time, considering the young woman seemed, for the most part, healthy. And thank the maker, he'd have been on a warpath if the girl was hurt. They were very close for a reason. The two stopped, however, when they saw Team RWBY walking toward their home from the right.
"Oh, heck! Hey, Paul!" Ruby waved, smiling, then noted Katja "And hi, Paul's and Vic's friend?"
"Heya," Kat smirked, turning toward them, "Katja Zielinska's the name. I'm this dumbass's childhood friend..." And she tilted her head toward Paul, causing the four girls to stare with a hint of surprise. The black-haired one, Blake, Kat recalled, seemed to grow a bit paler at the information. Kat hummed, however, taking a step back to let the team ask him anything they wanted to ask.
She hummed and watched Blake, a flustered mess of a catgirl, hanging back as well. With a hum and a squint, Kat tried to process it, but chose not to. With a sigh, she began humming something to herself as Blake walked toward her. Quietly, Kat began to whisper the lyrics to herself, "Tylko jedno w głowie mam... Koksu pięć gram odlecieć sam W krainę za zapomnienia..."
She only noticed Blake was staring at her with wide eyes once she was a couple lyrics in. Blake mouthed a certain swear at her, causing Kat's eyes to shoot wide open. She covered her mouth and began giggling like a schoolgirl, which caught Paul by surprise. He hummed, blinked and said, "Sorry, Yang. You guys have fun during your winter break..."
"Oh, right!" Yang jumped, then smiled and asked, "W-Would Vic like to come with us?" a faint red tint in his cheeks.
Paul snorted and shook his head. Poor girl had to have her world rocked some time. He simply replied, "If you're cool with his fiance tagging along..." before watching the girl's face absolutely drop. Ruby, Weiss and Blake all seemed stunned by the revelation, with Ruby beaming at the news. Paul chuckled, then said, "Yeah, Vic and Vesna finally tied the knot. In a way, anyhow."
"We're happy to hear," Weiss smiled, then looked to the half-smiling Yang, before noting, "Well, most of us."
Paul nodded understandingly, shooting an apologetic look toward Yang, before lifting his hand and waving, "We're gonna go now. Last leg of the patrol. Later."
"Later, Paul! Kat!" Giggled Ruby, smiling. She and her team walked away, letting Paul and Katja figure their things out. Kat snorted, then looked to Paul, while the Hungarian in French clothing grinned. The two began to laugh, both at Yang's little adorable reaction pertaining to her love interest being taken and at team RWBY's overall reaction to the news.
The two soon approached the parked Mastiff MRAP of their little force and hummed. Paul noticed that Hassan's bag was hanging off the HEAT-resistant cage fence, near the door. The two blanked and Paul radioed in, "Hey, Sammy? Has Hassan returned home...?" before he approached the door with Kat. Faint breathing, rhythmic but off-tune, echoed from inside.
"Nope..." The girl replied groggily, "Ayesha's missing, too..." words which got the Polak and Hungol to look to one-another, confused.
"You don't sound so good, boss," Kat quipped, "Sleep weird?"
"Just woke up. Was getting my coffee... Kěwù..." She replied again as the coffee maker's revving motor echoed in the background, garnering a short chuckle out of both Kat and Paul. Sam let out an exasperated sigh, then stated, "Lieutenant Lee..." And then yawned as she spoke, "Aaaoout..." before the connection went quiet. The two of them laughed quietly, before Paul looked to her and pointed at the door. She nodded.
Paul pulled on the handle and peered from behind the opening armored door toward the inside... Only for both him and Katja to see their resident weapons systems-knowledgeable Malaysian American fast asleep, arms wrapped around the redheaded Chechen beauty. Both were naked and covered only by their camo jackets and a Romanian Woobie, as it seemed, and fast asleep on the floor of the vehicle.
Paul, bug-eyed, slowly closed the door. Once it clicked shut, he leaned against the cage, looking to a just-as-stunned Kat. And the two burst into a laughing fit worthy of the gods, the tension from prior leaving their bodies. The two hunched over, with Paul sliding down the metal cage and feeling it grate against his backpack as he did so. The last people they expected to go at it first were Hassan and Ayesha, honestly.
... Meanwhile, in the Misfits' home, Lita had fallen fast asleep on the couch next to Jim, the Mexican-American boy suddenly waking up with the girl cuddling up to him in nothing but her camouflage shirt and pants. He looked to Sammy, who was nursing her coffee and grinning. She turned her gaze to the left, next, eyes locking onto the open door of Vic's dorm.
In the bed, Vesna and him lay in a blissful embrace, fast asleep. It was almost soothing to watch them, if Sam's heart didn't ache a little bit. She was a grown-up, however. She'd get over it, she thought as she sipped her coffee and looked around. Anja and Alex were sitting 'on the porch' outside, so to speak. Turned out this place had a rear garden where the two Doctors could easily relax and do things like... Gardening, she didn't know.
Saila, meanwhile, had gotten to cooking with the mass of ingredients in her backpack and some more frozen Elk she had on her, as well as some potatoes she requisitioned from Beacon's mess hall. The food, as usual for their favorite cook, smelled divine, so Sam had resigned herself to just making coffee and the rare noodle soup. Dushman, meanwhile, was drinking a local beer, some heavy-duty Remnant brand with a high alcohol content. Sam had restricted him to one a day and he chose to drink it when he woke up, so...
Vera walked up to her, arranging the hem of her shirt and tucking it into her pants, before leaning against the counter and looking toward the sleeping Vesna and Vic. A soft smile crossed her lips, a feeling of calm washing over her heart. She looked to Sam and said, "I know you had a thing for Victor, but... You have to admit, their reunion must be a blessing for both of them."
"Paul told me just how bad Vic had gotten... So, yeah..." Sam replied softly, nodding, "It's good to see him happy."
"You have a heart of gold if you can accept defeat like that, Lieutenant," Vera spoke, smiling.
Sam shrugged, "I'm supposed to be the big adult here, being the Lieutenant and all. I have to make sure you dumbasses don't get into too much trouble," and she smirked, "The hell kinda example would I be if I'd go crazy over my feelings not being reciprocated..."
... Vera noticed the sad glint in her eyes and asked, "Still hurts, though, doesn't it?"
"Oh, yes, it does..." Sam sighed, shoulders sagging. Vera chuckled, then hummed as she took a sip of her own drink. It was alcoholic, obviously. Sam swore, half the people here would fill an AA meeting in one go. Then again, she couldn't exactly complain after getting addicted to Sake, surprisingly. The Japanese were 'cooperative' with the heaviest air quotes possible.
"... We will find you, acting on your best behavior. Turn your back on mother nature. Everybody wants to rule the world~..."
The audible guitar, synthetic keys and drumbeat of the song filtered into the house. Sam and Vera both paused, then walked outside while Saila continued cooking a massive pot of stew. Both women grabbed their weapons off the floor and walked outside, before propping open the door and pushing out. Another vehicle rolled in ahead of them, an APC. Sammy's eyes shot wide open as she soon recognized it as a VAB, a French four-wheeled Amphibious armored personnel carrier clad in the standard forest camo of the French and bearing the French Red, White and Blue fluttering on its back.
And it was carrying personnel, alright. Manning the Machine Gun mounted at the front of the vehicle, on the right, and keeping it pointed upward, a French Foreign Legion soldier clad in their standard camouflage looked at them from behind a pair of sunglasses. The song blared from the VAB's audio system, all while the crew aboard noticed the Troops. Despite being tense at first, some spoken French later, two figures appeared at the front of the vehicle's cab.
One of them was a familiar guy. The other was a Ukrainian SOF member. Female, from the looks of things. The first figure grinned behind his own balaclava, popped open the side door of the vehicle and jumped out, carrying a 5,56 AK with a paratrooper wire stock and wooden handguard, as well as a mount on the dovetail. A green, white and red flag lay on his uniform's left shoulder.
The Uke SOF stepped off the vehicle next, all while the French Foreign Legion troopers dismounted. To their right, they heard running and saw Katja and Paul approaching. All twelve French soldiers turned toward Paul, to which the man froze. Kat grinned, looked to him, then to the French soldiers, one of which stepped toward Paul and stated in a thick Irish accent, "It's been a while, Paul..."
"McKinnon, sir," The Hungarian smirked and saluted as the Romanians marched in as well. The Uke SOF took her helmet off, revealing messy, dirty blonde hair that reached down to her chin. She grinned and looked to the Bulgarian soldier to her left, before Paul noticed him, too, calling out, "Alexi!? Fucking Alexi Stoyanov, you're here, too!?" with a wide smile.
"Ayy, the Hungol!" Smirked Alexi, taking his balaclava off to reveal a black-haired boy with swampy green eyes and a few scars of his own. The screaming seemingly caused everyone else to come out, Alex Ryan and Anja included, both of them smiling. Dushman stepped out as well, then paused and froze as he saw the Ukrainian SOF member. She blanked, noticing Dushman, too, then her eyes shot wide open. She smiled, threw her Malyuk bullpup rifle on her back and charge-tackled Dushman, laughing and swearing happily in Ukrainian all the while.
Sammy chuckled, "And that must be the Ukrainian girlfriend..."
"S-Sofiya...?" Dushman blanked, looking up at the Blonde. She grinned at him.
With a heavy accent, the girl leaned forward and spoke, "Hello, Quentin... Didja miss me, moya lyubov?" causing the Marine to grin right back at her, blushing red, as well. The group heard more footsteps and looked over to the right, to see Hassan and Ayesha approaching, with the latter doing a sort of walk of shame, both their faces red. The entire group immediately burst into laughter as they saw the two disheveled ex-Muslims.
"A good old family reunion," Vesna smiled, eyes on Vic.
Vic smiled back. It was sadly an incomplete reunion, still.