07-08-2018, 08:49 PM
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Washington didn't know what he had wanted to be when he grew up. The technology that they had then made life a whole lot easier for a lot of humans that were on the planet. But it also meant that it made it difficult for other's as well if they weren't able to get a job thanks to technology making it easier to get things done. When he was taking classes, he remembered other children talking about how they wanted to be a Vet, or how they wanted to be a cook in the future. Washington didn't know what he had wanted to be because all he had ever wanted was to take care of his sisters. Being an older brother meant that he had been extremely protective of them. He didn't want to have to see them in tears in the middle of the night because their father was gone. They were all incredibly smart too, and they were plenty of times where they would gang up against him and mess with him. It was really the life until they started running out of money, and it was during this time that Washington didn't get to have a choice anymore. He didn't care what he got to be when he grew up, he needed a job, any job so that he could support his family after his father's death in the Great War.
He usually did physical labor work since those were the most common jobs around that time, and since the Great War was happening it just meant that they needed more hands to make weapons and other ammunition. He never was great enough to catch anyone's eyes while he worked and the pay was never even that good. He had gotten a job against his mother's wishes because she said that they would be fine, but he was tired of seeing her upset and wanted to see her smile like she used to with their father around. It was a big deal to him, and he had accomplished his goal. He managed to make their lives easier, but it was from that moment on he knew how he could better help his family. After seeing tragedy after tragedy on the television about the losses that the UNSC was losing, he feared that the aliens would manage to make their way toward Earth and there would be nothing protecting his family from their onslaught. So, he had taken it upon himself after graduating from high school that he was going to draft himself into the army. This had been where his father had died, and he wasn't going to follow in his father's footsteps when he had to get back to his sisters. This also meant that he didn't really have time to think about such trivial things, especially during basic.
It was only when he joined Project Freelancer that the rookie was able to relax a bit. The entrance exam had nearly killed him but he didn't care because he had made it almost to the leaderboard. From there, he was able to actually have time by himself. Not giving orders. As it would take a couple of days before they could reach the destination of their mission. He wasn't allowed to train 24/7 because someone needed to schedule themselves for the training room. He was given time to think. Thinking about his family. The cats that he had back home. And the personalities of those that he was going to work with. It was certainly jarring. But one thing that had never come to his mind was the thought of what animal the other Freelancers could end up being. If anything, he would think that Agent Maine would be some type of bear just because of how bigger he was compared to everyone else. York would probably be some kind of dog because the guy was literally nice to everyone, and maybe in North too. South was definitely a type of cat with her attitude. He didn't know a lot about the different animals that existed out of the animals that were considered to be pets. No one had time to study the likes of animals in Project Freelancers. Washington was the type of man that would watch a couple animal videos from time to time on the holographic tablet that they were each given.
Although F.I.L.S.S would ultimately warn him that he could be doing something better. He would reply back saying that he was only going to watch a couple more, which turned into another marathon till he was scheduled to actually be somewhere. Washington's gaze followed Carolina's movements as she laid herself down. She was tired. They were all tired. He could imagine how much she was working herself or thinking of their former teammates. He was picking up on some of the couple habits that the leopard was expressing, but he wasn't sure if they were considered to be habits since she had just arrived in this place. They were nearing the end of their ropes, especially with information, but he wasn't about to give up yet that was for damn sure. He noticed the change in her face almost immediately though. A face was certainly expressive human or not. He blinked his golden eyes as he noticed that she was smiling. Well, that was certainly a good change of pace right there. He wanted to be the neutral party in all this. Just to make sure that the civilians there weren't going to be an issue. But he knew that if his patience would wear too thin, they could easily become the civilians enemies. Had they ever killed civilians?
Probably during the heist back when Texas first arrived on the freeway. He had only heard stories about what happened, as he had been on the pelican back to the MOI. Hearing her comment though about him being a meerkat, the former rookie would inhale a breath as if he was offended. "A meerkat? Really? I'd rather be bigger than a shorty." Washington was quick to tease back. Something he felt like he hadn't managed to be able to do in a good while. With all of the stress of the leaderboard and everyone basically at each other's throats, him trying to make a joke would have probably gotten him killed. With that statement, Washington had made sure to make fun of Carolina's height compared to him. Which wasn't all that much but she was still shorter, and that had to count for something. He was never that great with comebacks. One thing that Washington often did would wait for someone to finish speaking before handing in his input on what he thought of the situation. if it was even asked of course. The armored smilodon watched her movements before she began to speak about how hard of a situation it was going to be, but he at least had one solution to one of her problems. And about the mention of not here to make friends, he completely agreed. He was here to get his job done. He wasn't here to make bonds that would eventually be crushed once they managed to become humans again.
"Luckily for you, the civilians here sometimes cook their food and even make jerky. So there won't be any need to eat anything raw here. Although for resources, since it has been stated that humans are still around, we could raid human cities to gather what we need, as they have a generator here." Washington would explain, as he knew that raiding humans would be risky, but if they needed radios or anything else, they could get it from stealing it. Which was something that the Freelancers had done before. Washington made sure not to mention how his struggle to not eat any raw food had nearly caused him to starve to death while he was here alone. She was right about being left out basically in the open for another Freelancer. He knew that Carolina could probably beat the majority of them, but if the armor and she didn't then they would be in trouble. "We need to find your armor. It may even have some of your equipment still in it. Or get you some form of replacement armor that a civilian offered to make you. I agree with you in that they should just back off for a little bit till we've settled in, but this outpost seems certain to be social with everyone... whether they like it or not. We'll just have to figure out a way to work around them. Gaining their trust would help us in the long run as they seemed open to giving me anything that I needed if it was reasonable enough. If we really have to, we can always move to another place." There was a darker tone to Washington's voice in his last sentence.
It sounded as if the Ascendant's weren't willing to help, that he would be willing to get rid of them. He didn't have mercy as a Freelancer most didn't. Even if they were civilians. They needed to get back. No matter the cost. He was only playing nice for right now because if he did he could manipulate them. Something that he had been hiding from everyone else. Destroy any sign that they had been there, and that would include all of the residents that lived here. It was lucky that Washington had his helmet on because his eyes would have gone cold with that cryptic statement. The armored smilodon would give a curt nod of his head toward the leopard at her request. "Give me a couple hours and I could potentially have a full roster for you to look through." Making and giving reports wasn't exactly hard to do. As soon as he said that though, he realized that he didn't have hands to write or type with. Great. He was going to have to think of something else but he could figure something else out. Improvising. Washington's thoughts were pushed back again when Carolina mentioned where he was sleeping. It seemed like a regular question toward him. "They have this place not completely connected to the Observatory, they call it the Bunker. It's fairly large and two stories. I'm on the second story to the far right corner to get a view across the entrance of the Observatory and the plains. Sadly there are no room numbers." Washington would explain like he usually did when it came to giving a report. His body language not having changed since he had been around Carolina. Compared to the leopard that was capable of relaxing, he was not. "I can show if you like." Washington offered, raising a nonexistent eyebrow toward the female. Something that she wouldn't be able to see, but he did the action without thinking. "speech"
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