xp_communication | Encrypted email to Kyle from Anika, encrypted email to Alison from Mick

To: (Kyle)
From: (address encrypted)
Subject: hey you!

Guess who? Well, I suppose you can't really tell, given that you won't be able to read my email address. I'll give you three hints - trees, squirrels, and backflips. (It's me, Ani. In case that wasn't blatantly obvious.)

So how goes, sweetie? You'd be just about ready to start writing exams and stuff, no? You doing okay with that? Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get some fresh air and run around a little. You'll find you focus a lot better if you do. Although it's got to be getting cold there now... but cold is good! You might actually find that you want to do more running around.

Things are not bad here. Quieter than they were a week or so ago, which is nice. I started painting again. Did I tell you I painted? That was what I was doing in Paris, studying art. Do you want a painting? I was going to send you something strange and funky for Christmas, but maybe a painting would be better.

You can reply to this if you want - it'll get to me. I'd love to hear how you're doing.

Ani

---

To: (Alison)
From: (address encrypted)
Subject: hi...

Me again. How are you feeling? Better, I hope...

Things are settling down a bit. Bridge says you gave him some good news? You should be careful talking to this MacInnis person, though. I don't think I like him, even if he did give Nate the info to find me.

I'm typing this with David sitting across the room pretending not to watch me. His turn. He's a little less blatant about it than some of the others are.

Mick

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

To: [Encrypted email]
From: [Alison]
Subject: re: hi...

A bit, some. Nervous on some things that are coming up, feeling sort of useless since I can't do anything and - yeah. I guess it's that part where you think you can do stuff, only it's still just that much out of reach still.

Yes, I did. It was nice to be able to do that, too. Did he give you the details? And hey, that's ok - I don't like MacInnis either. Not one bit. I'm being careful talking to him though he's probably hating it each time he gets an email from me by now. He needs to be kept off balance for a bit longer.

Hrm. Don't know if you a cell, so I'm sending off and SMS to GW's for you.

I'd find a way to come visit if long trips were allowed yet. Still not. Promise me to come by for a visit at the mansion when you can?

Alison

I can sympathize a little... I know our situations are very different, but Ani went out on her first job with Dom and Lien this week and I'm feeling kind of useless. More so because they're still not letting me be alone for more than a few minutes at a time. You have one little slip and suddenly you're this broken-winged bird that needs wrapping in cotton and 24/7 observation.

GW's been really good about telling me everything, yeah. At least he's not trying to 'protect' me to that extent. And you know, as much as I wish you weren't talking to MacInnis at all, better you than Nathan, I think.

I'd like to come back... maybe sometime this month, for a couple of days? I want to see you and Nate and Madelyn...

Mick

Situations may be different, but the overall feeling's the same. One little slip, huh? Want to talk about it or is it a 'leave it alone please' kinda thing for now? And say... I may have something to distract you with. I just got handed work to do (no longer so useless, yay) and if you don't mind working largely blind, there's probably a way you could help me. If you want to. Might be touchy in the way of what it'd bring up, so it's your call.

You'd just find out some other way and then it'd be worse. GW'd figure that out dead easy - 'sides, he wouldn't want anyone 'protecting' him either.

I asked Nathan to let me talk to MacInnis. Though I haven't told dear Mackie that. I'm letting him wonder.

Yes. I have no clue where I'll be at or if I'll be allowed to go out for longer than a few hours at a time (am later today, btw) but I'm holding you to that. :)

Alison

If you've got something you can use my help with and it's all right to show me, send it along? Some sort of distraction would be really good...

Little slip was... kind of stupid. Everyone's been really good about it. I guess Nate used to have these little slips, too...

Mick

Nothing to show. I need to scour your brain, m'dear. I'm working out exercises for the teams. Whatever you'd feel like suggesting, be it for smaller groups, single ops or large scale missions would be good. Be creative, have fun with it, make it as challenging or as sneaky as you like. The more I have to work with and the more I incorporate into the exercises, the better it is, and trying to do this solely from my viewpoint might mean I end up with tunnel vision. You'd help me a lot. :)

Stupid? I'd bet not. Anika probably had them too, y'know.

...and I was contemplating some pretty little-slip kinda stuff at one point when it wouldn't stop hurting. Sort of. I can't believe I typed that. Sending now. Before I delete it.

Alison

To: (address encrypted)
From: (Kyle)

ANI! Hey, I got another squirrel the other day. In under fifteen seconds. You'd be pleased, even if Forge wasn't. He didn't like that I brought the squirrel to visit.

Yeah, I have exams end of the week, which is... okay, I guess. Lots of tutoring and some of it should be pretty easy since its all stuff I had last year. I hope.

Dr. Moira's making sure I have breaks and extended times to account for the "natural inability to remain seated for more than thirty seconds". Its funnier when she says it in that accent though.

And yeah, its cold here. I had to wear shoes, which kinda sucked until I figured out how to get the seams in the toes undone. Much less annoying now. And Clarice made me socks, which are actually kinda cool, since they have no toes. Yeah, it sounds dorky, but they keep my feet warm.

Paintings would be cool. I'm taking Art, but I'm crap at it, its just better than Music with eighty quadrillion out of tune flutes or something. But its kinda fun, and we get to do stuff with clay now, which is -way- funner than it sounds. You have to hit it to get the air out, and who knew there was air in clay, but Piotr (our teacher, who isn't too bad even if he's dating Warren which I'm SO not telling my folks I have a gay art teacher) says there is. So we get to hit it. I kinda like that part. :)

Kyle.

Forge is your roommate, right? Is he the one who thinks Nate is a ninja? That's so funny, you know. Nate is so not a ninja.

The way you've gotten back into stuff like school so soon is just amazing, you know? You're just ridiculously tough. I'm so proud of you. And not surprised that Moira's helping you out like that. Nate has really good taste, doesn't he?

Clarice? Who's she? And why is she making you socks? Is she a friend?

Okay, so painting, check. I'll have to come up with something interesting to do for you. Hmm. Thinking really hard over here.

Ani

Forge is the roommate, and Nate told me about the ninja thing, and ... okay, you gotta understand, Forge is smart about a lot of things, but he's really really really really REALLY dumb about people.

At least he's really dumb about Nate. Cause Nate's way too big to be a ninja, and also he doesn't have black pajamas that I know of.

Not so amazing when you think about that I threw my algebra book out the window twice yesterday. Sides, school's not so bad here. Teachers are okay, classmates are mostly okay, and there's no stupid football jocks trying to punt me into the lockers.

Clarice is the purple girl who can teleport, and she made me socks for Christmas early, because she's nice. She helped me go visit my folks for Thanksgiving (and my mom had a huge cow, and my grandparents gave me money for clothes. They're cooler with the ears and claws than my parents are.)

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