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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 0:11:25 GMT -5
... Jiaming didn't tell me that the trees fight back.
Xue lay flat on his back in his tent, letting the tension seep out of his muscles and the lactic acid pool in. This is gonna hurt tomorrow... least I've got the tent to myself for awhile. He closed his eyes and started to drift off, feeling relaxed for the first time in days.
The relaxation lasted only one minute and forty-one seconds.
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 0:23:47 GMT -5
For some reason, whoever was managing the daily chores had it in for Xiao. He hadn't counted, surely, but he was sure he had guard duty more than any regular recruit ever should. He didn't know whether it was a personal grudge, or if it was to get him out of the way where his hyperness couldn't disturb the other soldiers, or to simply tire him out completely until there was no hyperness left. He had the outskirts of the encampment practically memorized by now.
Either way, he half-stumbled back to his tent, rubbing his eyes sluggishly after another round of patrolling. He just wanted a nap, and it was a good few hours before any formal training or any meal took place. He didn't even have the effort to answer the lighthearted jeers at his state of quiet fatigue - a usually rare occassion indeed, though it was becoming more frequent these days. If he recalled correctly, Shikang had a shift himself right now, and the Squirt was always off in Only The Gods Know Where with some strange notion of 'becoming stronger' with Jiaming.
So, as soon as he crawled into the tent he all but fell into the area where their beds were arranged, not actually expecting anyone to be there, only to have a rather thin and bony pillow all but break his back when he landed on it. "Yeowch!" he yelped, when said pillow began struggling, and nearly elbowed him straight in the gut. He responded instinctually of course, kicking at it with all his might.
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 0:30:24 GMT -5
Given his paranoid state these days, Xue reacted relatively well: by throwing himself back directly into a tentpole with a full-throated yowl, throwing his arms up to protect himself from the flying limbs.
"H-Half the camp is nearby!" Xue shouted, flailing as he tried to sit upright. "I can get all of them over here in a second so don't try anything st..." He trailed off as he righted himself, noticing his 'assailant.'
"... Xiao." Xue dissolved into an embarrassed smile. "You're... um... early."
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 0:38:06 GMT -5
Xiao stopped his leg just in time, the heel of his foot about three inches from Xue's shoulder. He lowered the limb and made a face, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked up at his teammate. "Squirt?" he muttered tiredly, a little short of breath since the short scuffle had been rather unexpected. "Geez, you should've said so sooner!" he whined, reaching down to pull the tunic that had ridden a few centimeters up his torso from the struggling back into place and to fix his skewed collar.
"I'm always out 'round this time of day," he argued, sticking out his tongue for good measure. "Aren'tcha usually out attacking poor defensive trees with Jiaming at this time of day?" he asked finally, raising brows in question.
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 0:45:35 GMT -5
"First of all, the trees are not defenseless. They hit back." Xue nodded solemnly. "Or... rather... they throw branches at you, but..." He shrugged. "I don't know, I thought we could have some downtime tonight. I haven't gotten to talk to you guys in a while, you know?"
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 0:53:53 GMT -5
Xiao laughed. Somehow, it figured - even the greenlife was formidable for Xue. "Well, we've got to do our share too, y'know - Monster and me. We can't wait 'round here for you to show up whenever you're done whacking or being whacked by your inanimate friends." He pushed himself up, grinning and reaching out to flick the boy in the forehead.
Even if he laughed it off, Xue's words weren't far from the mark. Compared to when they had first become friends, the time they spent together had decreased significantly, to the point where Xiao didn't exactly remember when they had last sat down and actually hung out. It was one of those things that he had thought just couldn't be helped - with war a definite future now, things in an army were only going to get more hectic.
"Too bad you're out of luck, it's only me right now. Monster's got duty on his own."
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 1:03:44 GMT -5
Xue rubbed his forehead, but didn't comment on it; this sort of teasing from Xiao, something that used to embarass him, had become so rare that he couldn't help but be pleased. "Ahh... well, I'll catch up with Shikang, he'll come back eventually!"
He slowly uncoiled himself from his protective position, stretching his sore limbs and leaning unusually close to Xiao. "You look pretty tired... anything I can get you?"
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 1:11:46 GMT -5
"You make it sound like I'm actually waiting for that jerk," he wheezed, rolling his eyes to the side and up, sneering at the mention of their last teammate. Despite that, while he had never really had any affinity for the other soldier, he did miss even Shikang's presence. Just a little.
"Anyway, I wouldn't wait up too much, since he gets out late. As for me, I'm fine, I just wanted to catch some shutey...E-e-e-eh?" He had faced forward and had turned back right into Xue's face. The logical reaction was just to bowl backwards, and the back of his head happened to land in a spot just outside of their bed area, making contact with hard, dry earth. "Ow!"
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 1:15:43 GMT -5
"A-Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I wasn't th-thinking, and... are you okay?" Xue grabbed Xiao by the hands and pulled him into a sitting position, sliding closer to him with wide, concerned eyes. "Did you hit your head? Is it bleeding? Are you feeling dizzy? I c-can get the medic if you need me to!"
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 1:39:23 GMT -5
"I'm fine!" Xiao shouted, at the same time shoving both hands out in order to push Xue away from him. For a guy as jumpy as the Squirt was, he sure didn't understand the concept of personal space when it really came down to it. It wasn't as if Xiao was an expert at it himself - he was always butting into people's businesses, but he knew when to back off. "I don't need a medic," he added quickly. "I'm just tired, that's all!"
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 1:45:21 GMT -5
"... s-sorry..." Xue laughed nervously, only to keep himself from shrinking in complete mortification. "No, really, I'm sorry... here I was going to apologize to you because my nerves have been worse than usual, and then..." He gestured vaguely with a sigh. "I'm really sort of dangerous, aren't I?"
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 1:52:02 GMT -5
"Dangerous?" Xiao repeated, looking at Xue honestly. His brows furrowed, feeling a little sorry for his actions now. The boy looked terrified, an expression on his face that said he wanted nothing more than to desperately crawl into a hole and hide. "I'm sorry 'bout pushin' you," he amended, lowering his voice as if afraid the kid would bolt. He laid his hand on Xue's head and ruffled his teammate's hair, putting on a reassuring smile. "But you're not dangerous. Whatever gave you that dumb idea?"
Granted, Xue was sort of dangerous, but Xiao was pretty sure Xue didn't mean it the same way he and Shikang did.
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 2:00:59 GMT -5
Xue perked up a little when Xiao ruffled his hair, reassured, at least, that his thoughts weren't shared by his friend. He smiled weakly. "I think if I get any tenser, things are going to start exploding around me. I just wish there was a good way to relax..."
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Wu Xiaoszi
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Post by Wu Xiaoszi on Dec 24, 2006 2:07:50 GMT -5
"Uh," said Xiao, very eloquently.
"Sleep!" he chirped at last, with a hurried laugh, all but pushing Xue into his bed before making a dignified retreat in order to dart this own spot, where there was the safety of Shikang's bed between them. "Sleep is good!" he babbled in the meantime, "It's the simplest and easiest way to relax for sure if you're tense about things, believe me, it works for me all the time when I come back from duty! You'll wake up feeling refreshed and brand new!"
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Post by Zhong Xue on Dec 24, 2006 2:13:05 GMT -5
"I am kinda tired, but... I was just hoping we could talk a little more or something? I don't need a lot of sleep anyway, and I don't want to waste the free time I have by..." As he sat up, he stopped talking, hand slid under Shikang's bed. "Huh... I didn't know Shikang still had this. I thought he was going to send it to his sister?"
He gently pulled out the dress that his teammates had forced him into all those weeks ago, frowning as he held it up to get a better look at it. "At least it didn't get dirty." After a measure of hesitation, he held it up to himself, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know what you guys are talking about... I don't look that girly..."
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