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Post by sonya on Nov 14, 2012 23:47:46 GMT -6
On the train platform stood a woman whose remarkable height set her apart from the visibly intimidated crowd. Her pale face was stern and impassive; her blond hair was pulled back in a severe braid. Her black military coat and grey ushanka, of the cheap material known in Russia as "fish fur", were somewhat excessive for the mildly chilly weather.
Her upright posture and near-motionlessness suggested someone who was accustomed to standing guard. Next to her, several crates, suitcases, and a steamer trunk were stacked up almost to her height. It seemed impossible that so much luggage could belong to one person, but judging by the Cyrillic baggage stamps which it was all covered with, it certainly looked that way.
She was slightly worried. Her train had arrived slightly ahead of schedule, so there was no reason whatsoever to think yet that her new teammates wouldn't be coming to pick her up, but even so, if they didn't, there was almost no way that even she could get all this luggage to the base on her own.
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Post by Franciska on Nov 15, 2012 23:05:37 GMT -6
Fran pulled her coat closer around herself, her breath forming hazy clouds in the brisk morning air. The day was mildly chilly to most yes, but she couldn't stand it. It only served as a reminder of the miserable battles trudging through the mud in the freezing rain that lay ahead. She shook those thought from her head. Best to worry about that when the time came. Right now, they had a new teammate to meet.
Fran turned look back at Zacharie and Gordon walking a few paces behind her before skipping on ahead. She really couldn't help herself; having new people around the base was always so exciting. She didn't say anything about it of course, but she was pretty thrilled to hear it was another woman too. God willing she'd actually talk to her every now and again. The medic's office got lonely so quickly.
If her file was correct, she shouldn't be too hard to spot at all. Indeed it wasn't as Fran immediately saw the woman in black towering over the other passengers. That must be Sonya Sren...Stran...uh, Sonya. Goodness, she knew the woman was tall, but seeing her in person was an entirely different matter. She found herself a bit hesitant to walk right up and speak to her, so imposing was both her stature and the severeness of her expression. Fran leaned to Zach and said jokingly, "You think that is her?"
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Nov 16, 2012 0:13:57 GMT -6
Flicking his cigarette into a nearby bin, Zacharie adjusted his red wool scarf again to where it loosely covered the lower half of his face. He tucked his gloved hands into the side pockets of his overcoat while he followed his two team mates closely. In fact he quite liked the cold weather, he looked forward quite eagerly to his first winter spent at Sawmill.
On the other hand he was just eager to meet their new team mate, it was the first heavy weapons mercenary to join since he began his stint at the base. It was certainly needed, the more firepower the better. Zacharie took a moment to read Sonya’s personnel file before heading out on their little trip, he made special note of her appearance as well as her place of origin. Would it be rude for him to introduce himself in Russian? Was his accent still off? Perhaps he was just eager because he hadn’t practiced it in almost half a year.
It didn’t take long to spot her, indeed, neither was her luggage. He listened carefully as Fran leaned over to speak to him. He raised an eyebrow at her remark and entertained it a bit with a grin. “Yes, I believe so.” The spy turned his head to speak to Gordon. “Shall we go greet our new team member? We also may need a luggage trolley, I think.” As he spoke the latter part of his sentence was directed to the group as a whole.
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Gordon
Sufficiently Lethal
RED Sniper
Posts: 179
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Post by Gordon on Nov 16, 2012 0:32:31 GMT -6
The morning was quite chilly as Gordon buried his face in his scarf. He slid his gloved hands into his pockets as he was following behind his teammates. He didn't mind the cold a bit although he wasn't too used to it after being stationed at the blazing base that was Dustbowl for a long time. Sawmill was definitely a change for him but it was nice nevertheless. Walking around the train station, Gordon looked for their new teammate.
They needed all the help they could get. Gordon was glad to hear that a heavy weapons mercenary would be joining their team. He looked around for any sign of her in the train station among the crowds of people. He found a very tall woman with a rather stern face who was more than likely their new member. That was their consensus and Gordon nodded in response.
"Yeah." He replied as he fixed his scarf and adjusted his coat slightly. A balance in strength on the team was crucial. The crowds of people in the train station began to slowly disperse as the woman waited for them to pick her up.
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Post by sonya on Nov 16, 2012 23:25:20 GMT -6
Sonya, scanning the crowd for any sign of her new teammates, caught sight of three people looking toward her and talking. Which... was not unusual, honestly, but they didn't have the surreptitious look she associated with people staring at her for her appearance, or, more recently, just for being really obviously fresh off the boat from the Soviet Union (after all, there was a Cold War on, which she was told had made it hell to get her a work visa). But surely if they'd been sent to pick her up, they'd come greet her. She hadn't received much information about her teammates beyond their roles on the team, so their faces held no clues. Somehow they looked like mercenaries, though, even the petite, cheery-looking woman with the glasses who she'd seen skipping around like a schoolgirl. And they were wearing quite a bit of red.
She decided to risk being mistaken and waved stiffly to them, abandoning the boxes which held nearly all her worldly possessions and striding over. Stopping in front of them, her icy features suddenly cracked into a friendly, sheepish smile. She doffed her ushanka, before speaking in a thickly-accented voice.
"Hello! You are new teammates, yes? I am Sonya Denisovna Strelnikova, new heavy weapon specialist. Is good to be meeting you! Am sorry, I brought... many luggages. There is place in car, yes?"
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Post by Franciska on Nov 17, 2012 13:01:22 GMT -6
Fran stiffened as the woman approached. She couldn't her them talking abut her, could she? Her nerves were quickly put at ease as she offered the group a surprisingly warm smile.
"Nice to meet you Sonya!" Fran said, not even attempting to pronounce the rest of her name for fear of butchering it with her own accent. She held out her hand rather timidly, but with an enthusiastic grin to back it up. "My name is Franciska Olander. Please call me Fran!"
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Post by sonya on Nov 17, 2012 18:20:25 GMT -6
Sonya shook Fran's hand, gently, aware that Fran had held it out as if she were thinking there was at least a non-zero chance it was going to get squished. Sonya supposed the other woman's nervousness may have had something to do with that Sonya was at least a foot taller than Fran, although she couldn't say that was a situation she'd ever precisely been on the other end of.
"Fran. Is nice to meet you, too. You are... um..." She wracked her brain for the phrase. "What is your job on team? When I sign up, they do not tell me much."
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Post by Franciska on Nov 17, 2012 20:38:57 GMT -6
She braced herself for some crushed fingers, but was quite relived when Sonya gave her a completely normal non-hand-smashing handshake. "Oh." Silly Fran, she was so concerned with not appearing as nervous as she was, she forgot to mention her job.
"I am the RED team's medic. I keep everyone alive and in one piece. Mostly." She said with a chuckle. She turned to look expectantly at the two standing behind her. She really didn't need to though; knowing Zacharie, he was probably far too eager to introduce himself. One normally would not expect there to be a spotlight in such a mundane situation, but you could definitely leave it to Zach to find one.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Nov 17, 2012 21:07:45 GMT -6
Zacharie stood by patiently as Fran introduced herself, the differences in size between the two was comical, possibly even adorable. The spy waited with his hands folded in front of him professionally, offering his trademark roguish grin as Fran looked back at him and Gordon expectantly. And as she did expect, Zacharie made no hesitations in stepping forward and offering his hand to their new team mate as well. As he stepped closer it became obvious that she was just taller than him by a few inches, he didn't mind having to tilt his head upward to meet eyes with someone for once.
"Приятно познакомиться." He said as he stepped forward, making sure he got his pronunciation as perfect as possible. "I am Zacharie Volkov, RED team's spy." His tone was professional but pleasant.
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Post by sonya on Nov 18, 2012 21:12:41 GMT -6
((The Russian is just going to be written out in English because I can't get the right effect using phrasebook Russian.))
Sonya laughed a little at Fran's remark about keeping the team alive and in one piece, although, based on what she'd heard about respawn, it was probably more or less true. But hearing Zacharie's Russian greeting, her face lit up and she nearly dropped her ushanka in surprise, fumbling with it before shaking his hand. She switched to speaking Russian as if she'd been barely holding back from doing so all along.
"You speak Russian! Wonderful! I only started learning English this year, and it's absolutely dreadful. I'm not fishing for complements -- I know it is. Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Zacharie. I'm so glad I'll have someone to talk to. Your Russian is excellent, by the way." Gone was all the nervousness and hesitation of earlier.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Nov 18, 2012 21:49:32 GMT -6
(( It's cool, I think it'll be easier this way in the long run for everyone, haha. ))
Even though he kept his composure as calm and cool as ever, Zacharie was quite surprised to see Sonya light up so quickly. He couldn't help but chuckle as she shook his hand and spoke eagerly, it must be difficult having to get by on barely half a year's worth of practice in a language you barely know.
"Thank you very much, it has been some time since I last spoke in Russian. So I feel that I'm somewhat out of practice! Your English is fine, don't worry." He placed his hands back in his coat pockets after shaking Sonya's hand, nodding as he thanked her for the compliment on his Russian. Something told him that he was going to end up getting some practice in the future.
"Ah, and of course." Zacharie turned and gestured to the sniper standing behind him, not wanting Gordon to feel left out of the introductions.
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Gordon
Sufficiently Lethal
RED Sniper
Posts: 179
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Post by Gordon on Nov 18, 2012 22:08:59 GMT -6
Gordon smiled slightly to himself as he heard their conversation in Russian. It must have been nice for Sonya to have someone she could communicate well with. It must have been rather tedious for her to have to communicate with only a limited knowledge of English it seemed.
As Zacharie gestured towards him, he nodded politely towards the woman with a small smile as he extended his hand for her to shake.
"I'm Gordon. A sniper. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said calmly.
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Post by sonya on Nov 19, 2012 16:39:00 GMT -6
"Thank you. If you want to practice your Russian, any time. I'd be glad to help. Although I suppose I should practice my English, honestly."
Sonya had almost forgotten that Gordon was there. Being quiet and almost unnoticeable was probably a good skill for a sniper. Speaking of which, she hoped there were at least a couple more mercenaries on their team. If she was going to be the only one charging around the front lines with a weapon, this gig was likely to, in a word, suck.
"Gordon. Is nice to be meeting you, too." She shook his hand, then glanced over her shoulder at her luggage. It had taken her a couple trips to carry it out of the train: aside from the minigun, there were the clothes, books, typewriter, boxing gloves, weights... she was beginning to doubt the wisdom of having packed weights, actually. "Now, um... maybe I will need little bit help carrying luggages to car..."
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Post by Franciska on Nov 21, 2012 19:35:06 GMT -6
Oh great. They are going to be doing this all the time aren't they? Fran stood by patiently as the spy and heavy carried on their conversation. She couldn't understand a word they said, but it was pretty clear by Sonya's sudden shift in attitude that she was ecstatic to have someone to speak with fluently. If it made her this happy then she could certainly put up with being left in the dark. Zach on the other hand, made her unreasonably nervous when he said things she couldn't understand. Hell, she could barely understand half the things he said behind her back in English. No, it was a matter of time before he used this new power for evil as well.
"Not a problem! It should not be too difficult between the four of us." Fran walked over to the woman's pile of luggage, grabbing a suitcase by the handle and carrying it towards the car. At least, that was the plan anyway. The suitcase didn't budge. She stood for a moment, pulling at it with both hands, but she couldn't even get it off the ground. The image brought to mind the stories her father liked to tell of Mjolnir, a weapon that could only be lifted by the god Thor. Granted, the chances that Sonya was transporting an ancient dwarf-forged hammer in her luggage was rather slim.
"I uh...might need a little help here."
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Nov 21, 2012 20:55:08 GMT -6
“Certainly!” Zacharie said as he clapped his hands together, taking a few steps forward to retrieve a suitcase. He ended up relatively more lucky than Fran, picking up another case with both hands with a bit more ease. He glanced over at the medic as she failed to pick up the large suitcase several times, fighting the urge to laugh.
“I think that we may need that luggage trolley I mentioned earlier.” The spy added, glancing back at Gordon as he placed the case he held back down on the ground again. “I think I’ll go retrieve one, it’ll make it easier to get all of this back to the car in a single trip.”
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