Snippet #1668402

Man... all these people were so... solemn. It was like somebody's funeral or something. Well, okay, maybe it was in a sense for some of them, if a preemptive one, but that was only if one assumed failure, and Netanya Haddad, genius, optimist, and lover of all things intriguing (not necessarily in that order) never assumed failure. If you thought you were going to die, you'd already put one of your own feet in your grave, and it seemed silly to do that when there were plenty of little and not-so-little monsters and assorted creepy-crawlies who'd gleefully do that for you, natch. Which was why, even though she was a doctor and had absolutely no combat experience whatsoever, she did not simply assume that she was unsuited to the task and give up before she had begun.

Instead, Netanya took a sober, reasonable pace into the forest and studied it. Typical North American fare, largely coniferous. The scent of pine needles and spruce was everywhere, not to mention the needly green canopy overhead. It was a nice place, actually. She wondered if anyone had even noticed. most of the board probably hadn't. Tachibana had that very angry, 'I-am-a-scary-powerful-man-huuurr!' thing going on, which probably meant that he didn't stop to appreciate the little things. Tapia was nuts, no two ways about that, but in the sort of way that made Anna want to giggle, then maybe scream and run in the opposite direction. Since neither of these things was really in keeping with the job description, though, she suppressed the desires for the moment. Christianson was scary, and she made a mental note to sneak into his office and decorate for Channukah or Christmas or some holiday that involve cheer if she ever got the chance, just to see what he'd do.

Greenwich might get it. The thought tugged at her lips, and she was wondering if he'd loan her the key to Christianson's domain when she stepped right on a twig, which broke with a clean snap. "Oops," she mumbled to herself, though there was little but good-natured amusement in her tone. Apparently, someone else was not quite so amused, and someone was yelling a second later. It took her a minute to decipher the actual words, but once she did, the person who had yelled was joined by another, this one with a hilarious-looking beard, who told him to keep it down. This time, Netanya did chuckle- it was like the teacher scolding you in school, only she was certain that Mrs. Davis was never in possession of facial hair you could hide small animals in.

Once beard-guy had left, she turned to the man who had originally addressed her. "I could use a hand," she confessed, though in a much quieter voice than the one he'd used. "I'm a doctor, see, so that whole 'pew, pew, kill things deal' isn't really my specialty. I've got a buncha stuff here if you get bitten, though." She shrugged, causing a small disturbance in the rucksack she was wearing. "So... you get two, and I'll patch you up after?" It was about all she had to offer, but if he'd been kind enough to ask in the first place, he probably wouldn't mind, right? Besides, she was hiding more than just a medical degree, and she'd be useful in ways that people with weapons often forgot they needed.