Twisted Nerve [Open!]

[emma]

Malandra really hated late shifts.

Besides the obvious drainage of beauty sleep that would lead to baggy eyes, premature wrinkles and generally the total ruin it was bound to do to her stunning beauty, she had to deal with late-night visitors from outside that liked to smash into the windows and give her a fright every now and then. She now narrowed her eyes as something small and birdlike in both appearance and intelligence unglued itself from the pane, flapping in tiny circles. Ooh, an unnamed species. That was liable to drive one of her zoologists mad with joy. At this point, however, at one o’clock in the morning, Malandra couldn’t care less.

As the tiny bioluminescent creature flapped off, she tossed her long black hair behind her bared shoulder, trying to concentrate on her paperwork. Malandra never left her room without dressing her best, even if it was just for lonely work in the laboratory. She’d be damned if an attractive researcher like Christopher walked in and saw her looking like a maid. She had straightened her hair, letting it hang in thick chunks around her shoulders, and had outlined her eyes in rich black eyeliner. Her lips were fully plumped, her eyelashes long and curled with mascara, and her eyelids were dusted with dark blue eyeshadow to match her outfit. Though Malandra often had to cover her womanly attributes with a basic lab coat, tonight she, having only simple forms and notes to fill out, could happily recline in her usual near-nakedness. Only a deep sapphire corset hid the full curves of her upper body, while tiny azure slippers dangled off her feet as she lazily put them up on another chair. Her legs were bare.

Malandra finished filling out yet another request for more researchers before deciding to give her aching hands a break. She leaned backwards, flexing her fingers and sighing dejectedly. And to think- she could have been back on earth, surveying her unique and precious experiments. Pandoran after-effects had been such fun. Now she had Pandora all around her, but no experiments. Na’vi-human relations were far too strained for the blues to fail to notice if some of their members were ‘borrowed’, and she had too few scientists to risk permanently injuring them. She would go insane with boredom.

Malandra stood up, and too quickly- momentary dizziness made lights flash before her eyes. Luckily, it cleared her head. She paced over to one of the laboratory tables, which was laid out with glass containers filled with live floral specimens such as octoshrooms and anemonids. They were being grown in a controlled environment for her botanists to study. Malandra resisted the childish urge to tap one of the glasses and see the reaction. Instead, she decided a walk would clear her mind and her boredom before she had to get back to her paperwork. She strode over to the wall, checking the simple clock set up against it. It was two in the morning now, Pandoran time. Malandra groaned grievously and adjusted her corset. She didn’t even have one of her scientists to keep her more carnal pleasures at a comfortable level, which she desperately needed. If she didn’t get something constant to keep her occupied, she’d…

And then, as if Eywa had heard her despair, there was a knock at the door. Malandra jumped before scowling, wondering what someone could want with her at this hour. At least, in a laboratory at this hour. She flipped her hair a bit and checked her makeup in the steely reflection of one of the tables before calling out to the person waiting outside.

“Come in!”

Words;; 609
Muse;; Sleepy. Rawr.
Thoughts;; I'm up for more than one person jumping in. =D

[Dutch]

Dutch startled from a fitful slumber, his eyes wide in the pitch black of his bunk. His slate grays scanned the room for a minute, the only thing visible was the neon-green of his alarm clock. 1:30 am... Thought the man with a groan. He reached up to wipe some sweat from his forehead, whether it was there because of the restless sleep or Pandora's humidity, he didn't know or care. Dutch exhaled slowly before he moved to slow up, but the reading lamp above him had other plans. With a tremendous Bang! Dutch's forehead collided with the dastardly lamp, the man instantly fell back to his bed and grabbed the spot where he hit.

"Guh!... Lamp..."

He reached up to smack the lamp away, the culprit spun on it's swivel stand and gave Dutch room to sit up finally. His legs swung onto the cool floor of his bunk and sleepily rubbed at his eyes. Dutch's stomach gave a slight grumble and he grinned. Midnight snack? Hell yes. The bodyguard thought, his mind then traveled to the compounds kitchen, and wondered what nibbles could be in there. Muscled arms moved down to lift Dutch from his bed, his right hand went to the chair next to his bed to grab a pair of jeans from it. Dutch'd be damned to actually wear anything to bed on Pandora, night-time sack sweats were no fun.

His feet slid into the denim pants and Dutch pulled them up then did the fly. It would be late, so he wouldn't worry about getting all formal for a snack run. An a-shirt would be grabbed from the floor at his feet and slid over his torso, the snug cotton shirt comfortable and cool. Forgoing shoes, Dutch stepped away from his bed and opened the door to the hall. A few minute walk in the quiet, dim halls would lead him past one of the labs where he heard a sigh within. Guess I ain't the only one who can't sleep... Thought Dutch. He'd have to bring them some food too.

Once in the galley, he instantly went to the fridge to get a bunch of materials for it, as well as grab a loaf of bread from on top of it. His hands expertly wove together a simple, but thick sandwich. He brought his up to take a bite of it and groaned slightly, damn he loved sandwiches. Dutch nabbed a couple plates from a cupboard and placed the sandwiches on the plates. Once more he went to the fridge, but this time to grab a couple beers. The beers went under his arm while his hands placed the plates on his forearm and right palm.

Another few minutes would take him back to the lab where heard the sigh. His free hand rapped his knuckles on the door, which to his surprise was responded to by a female voice. Malandra's voice nonetheless. Shit... boss lady... Thought Dutch, but he had already reached the point of no return. He opened the door and stepped in with a coy grin on his face, which was completely replaced by a slightly bulging-eyed expression and a jaw drop. He thought that the woman was definitely attractive, but to see her like this, Dutch was not prepared. He coughed and shook his head, his eyes trailed up to just above her head, careful to not sit there and oggle the beauty.

"Hey-uh, Malandra. Is it OK if I call you Malandra? I could call you Miss Ramakrishna if you'd prefer. Or doctor. Are you a doctor? Y'know, I better shut it before I sound like more of an idiot..."

He chuckled at himself and looked down at the sandwiches and beers in his right hand and arm. Dutch stepped forward towards Malandra, still careful to not check her out. The plates made it to the table as well as the beers. He twisted the top off of one and held it out to Malandra without looking at her.

"I heard ya in here on my way to the galley, thought you might wanna beer and a bite, and maybe some company too. I can't sleep either."

[Aramius]

BANG!

In what could be called an explosion of movement, Alexander sprang up from his bed as the loud noise reverberated through the wall, hand instantly unsheathing his KA-BAR Combat Knife as he stood in an unsteady combat pose, eyes bleary, knife held more-or-less in a fighting position.

Then consciousness caught up, and Alexander let out a long, aggravated sigh as he turned back to his bed, eyes clearing, to sheath the KA-BAR, before sitting on the bed. "So much for sleeping well," he thought, as he sat there, blood still humming with the slowly fading buzz of a sudden adrenaline rush.

As he sat there, allowing the adrenaline buzz to fade, he heard the muted 'Thud' of a door closing. More specifically, the door of the room next to his. After a moment, he shrugged, and stood up. "May as well say hi to the guy that woke me up," he thought. "After all, not like I've not had a short night's sleep before." That thought brought back memories of the 'Hunts' in the underground environment of Commando School, including his 'Graduation' Hunt; 36 hours, on his own, evading all the instructors. Completely without sleep. As these memories filtered through his mind, his body continued on autopilot, pulling on black leather pants and shirt, followed by his belt, holster, WASP Pistol, and KA-BAR in back belt sheath. Finally, on went his black leather jacket, with its signature scarlet hawk silhouette on the back, and steel-capped Combat Boots, and he stepped out of the room, careful to close the door quietly.

As the door latched shut, Alexander's senses jumped up a notch in alertness. It was not that he felt unsafe; rather, it was just a subconscious action, drilled into him by two years of painstaking training. "Constant vigilance is the cornerstone to survival." Even as one of the Commando mottoes flowed through his mind, he quietly walked down the corridor, only to see, by the light of the outpost's darkened night-lights, a quasi-familiar figure in blue denim jeans step into the lab, sandwiches and beer in hand.

As he made his rambling introductions, Alexander silently crept up behind the man; "Earldutch Sampson... that's his name, if I remember correctly..."; and, leaning in to just behind his ear, said in a dead-serious voice, "Win your fight with the furniture, Earldutch?"

[emma]

Malandra’s boredom nearly had her at her wits’ end, so she found herself practically trembling with anticipation when a figure stepped into the lab, arms laden with beer and sandwiches. It wasn’t Christopher, which at first made her mood sink. But then she realized it was actually Earledutch Sampson- the Fifth, if she was correct- one of the four bodyguards escorting her team on Pandora. Not to mention one of the best-looking ones. She hadn’t gotten a chance to properly meet and speak with him yet, so he was something new and fresh for her to play with. Much to her entertainment, his jaw hit the floor when he looked at her. But then, that was to be expected. Malandra was suddenly very thankful that she’d chosen to wear this particular outfit for the night.

“Hey-uh, Malandra. Is it OK if I call you Malandra? I could call you Miss Ramakrishna if you'd prefer. Or doctor. Are you a doctor? Y’know, I better shut it before I sound like more of an idiot...”

He chuckled and dropped his head, looking anywhere except at her. Malandra smiled, flashing her white teeth. A shy boy. What a pleasant change. Back at El Paso Military Hospital, she’d always been surrounded by the macho man types and, frankly, they’d gotten quite tiresome. Still, that had made it all the sweeter when she’d stuck them underneath the knife with no anesthesia. If she did the same to a boy like Earledutch, she might actually be upset for ten minutes or so. Maybe even more…

Earledutch looked at her again, patiently awaiting a response, and Malandra realized she’d slipped into nostalgia and fantasies. She blinked, returning to the present. Now was not the time for that. She simply didn’t have enough team members to risk harm to any of them, no matter how bored she was. Instead, Malandra focussed on the food in Earledutch’s arms- beer and sandwiches. Hardly the healthiest midnight snack. But he’d clearly brought some for her, and she wasn’t going to refuse him.

“Evening,” she said smoothly, stepping up towards him. “Mr. Sampson, is it not? It’s Doctor Ramakrishna. And in any case, it’s not Miss. I’m married, after all.” She gave Earledutch a wink. She kept her voice, rich with her self-refined English accent, sultry, warm, and inviting. “Do step inside. I…”

She paused, seeing a shadow shift somewhere behind Earledutch. Malandra raised her eyebrows and turned her head, just in time to see a head pop out of the darkness right beside Earledutch’s ear and whisper, “Win your fight with the furniture, Earledutch?” The boy jumped about a mile into the air, and Malandra realized she recognized the voice as Alexander James Donovan, another security officer guarding her team. She had yet to get to know him as well. As the shorter man’s eyes fell on Malandra, she smirked a knowing smile. “Couldn’t sleep either, I’m assuming, Mr. Donovan.”

Words;; 489
Muse;; Not great.
Thoughts;; I'm sorry my posts are so short, you guys. This is my first time writing in third person in... three years, I think, so I'm still really rusty.

[Dutch]

Dutch returned Malandra's pearly white smile with a nervous grin. It usually took a lot to get Dutch flustered at all, but gorgeous women in skimpy clothing? Yeah, that would do it. His gaze stayed on her as she seemed to space out, his eyes glanced down in this moment to wander the good doctor's curves. She was exquisite indeed. Just as his eyes were stuck at her bosom he noticed her walk towards, his cheeks flushed pink for a second as he realized she could have seen his gaze.

He was suddenly aware of the proximity between Malandra and himself. Dutch could actually feel the body heat radiating off the woman, and that didn't help his already too-clouded mind. Huh, she's hot. Literally. Thought the guard, his gaze now looking into hers. As she spoke he took note of her accent, he had never really noticed until now how differently she spoke. His head nodded as she asked if he was 'Mr. Sampson' and chuckled as he did. The usual reply to that would be Mr. Sampson is my father..., but at this rate, Malandra could call Dutch anything she wanted.

Any ideas he had though were quickly smote by that one special word. Married. Though her wink did make his skin flush a little bit. That accent just drove Dutch batty, but he made sure to keep his cool the best he could. However, that cool would be quickly dashed not a second after the doctor's gaze turned to look behind him. A voice sounded and Dutch jumped, his hand shot to the spot where his pistol would usually be, but it wasn't there.

"Dammit Alex, one of these days, you're gonna get some lead in your brainpan if ya keep doin' that. And yes, I taught that bitchass lamp who's boss."

Dutch brought himself to laughter though, he did enjoy a good scare after all. He clapped a hand on Alex's shoulder and handed his own beer off to the fellow guard. Share and share alike as Dutch always said. The guard stepped away from the pair to take a seat in one of the exam table's chairs and kicked his boots up to rest on said table. His gray eyes turned to Alex then to Malandra, a habitual wink slipped from his left eye and that same grin touched his lips.

At this points, Dutch wasn't too sure what was to happen with this night- part of him almost hoped that Alex would excuse himself, but the other part told him such thinking isn't right. But then again...

[Aramius]

A slight smile flitted across Alexander's face, brought on by Dutch's response. "You couldn't hit me if you tried, Dutch," he replied, stepping into the lab and accepting the beer as Dutch sat down. Turning to look at the Doctor, his eyes widened oh-so-slightly at her attire; for once, it was an exercise in self-control not to give her a full look-over, instead focusing his attention on her eyes, fixing her with his intense emerald stare, even as he replied, "Actually, Doctor Ramakrishna, I was sleeping. That is, until Dutch decided to wrestle with his lamp." Leaning slightly against a counter, he eventually broke his gaze and took a short swig of the beer, before handing it back to Dutch.

As he passed the bottle, he saw the way Dutch looked at the scantily-clad Doctor, and suppressed the urge to sigh; he'd seen similar looks during his time in the military, usually from the younger, fresh-faced recruits toward some attractive superior officer. And, for the most part, it only ever ended with trouble. "Still," he thought, "This isn't the military. May as well let him have his fun; might be fun to watch him get shot down." He fought down the urge to smile at this thought, he instead turned back to Malandra, once again fixing her with his emerald stare, and asked in his usual neutral voice, "Why are you awake at this hour, Doctor?"

[emma]

“Dammit Alex, one of these days, you’re gonna get some lead in your brainpan if ya keep doin’ that. And yes, I taught that bitchass lamp who’s boss.”

Malandra raised one dark eyebrow, mildly amused at Earledutch’s sudden change in tone before he cackled raucously. But then, military types rarely came from distinguished backgrounds. Earledutch passed his fellow guard a beer before strutting over to one of the lab chairs and making himself comfortable, kicking his feet up onto the table. Malandra twitched slightly at this, but kept her face smooth. Still, she couldn’t help but eye the live fauna next to the guard’s massive boots. So frail and vulnerable… However, it wasn’t long before the man was staring at her again. He tossed her a wink. Malandra returned it with a small toothless smile. She was flattered, but not surprised.

“You couldn’t hit me if you tried, Dutch,” said Alexander, seating himself in a lab chair. “Actually, Doctor Ramakrishna, I was sleeping. That is, until Dutch decided to wrestle with his lamp.”

The tone was clearly mocking, and Alexander stared Earledutch down before taking a small swig from his beer. Malandra also noted that whenever the taller guard looked at her, he was very, very careful to look only at her face. Hmm. Having spent a good few years at a military hospital, Malandra had seen her fair share of soldiers. She’d seen the loud, chatty type like Earledutch, but then there were some who applied their military training to non-combat situations rather well. Alexander didn’t look like he was leaving the lab anytime soon, and with Earledutch drooling all over the place, Malandra figured she could make an amusing little game of this.

“Why are you awake at this hour, Doctor?”

Both men glanced curiously at her. Malandra raised her hand to her forehead, rubbing it tiredly before turning away and walking towards the station she’d previously occupied, swinging her hips. She glared down at the piles of paper littering the desk, unpleasantly reminded that she still had a lot of work to do. But Alexander and Earledutch were still awaiting a reply, so she turned back towards them, her face troubled.

“Leading an operation comes with responsibilities, as you no doubt know. One of them is paperwork.” She groaned and glanced up at the clock. “I’ve spent the last few hours filling out requests. And this laboratory is so cold and lonely.” Her gaze shifted to the two men sitting near the entrance again. “Tiresome work, but I digress. Security must be a far more entertaining occupation. How are you two faring with guarding the avatars?”