She had not been expecting it, but then again, who would’ve? All she’d been doing was looking out at the base which herself and her partner were to basically going to get into for their mission to take out the threat within. Truthfully, a part of her was more than nervous about this, and still sure that she was to be nothing more than a nuisance for Paul, she’d cause nothing but problems. But . . . there was a bit of her that was beginning to think that she could maybe do something useful. Even if it were something small, she might be capable of just a bit more than simply not being a hindrance. Jacqli had begun steeling herself for the mission, for the true combat which awaited her below, more or less ready to leap when given the signal to do so.
However, that steeling herself seemed to be utterly pointless as her composure was completely shattered when Paul pulled her to him. She couldn’t hold back the yelp that slipped from her throat due to the shock of being yanked out of her own little world, nor could she dismiss the shocked expression that had forced its way over her face, the first bit of emotion that came across clearly without anything being held back by that mask of hers. The shock had gotten an edge in-between one of the cracks in her mask, and managed to completely force it off for that moment. Jacqli did not dare to look up, as she knew very well that she looked like she’d seen a ghost. This was right before her first mission, with a large part of her heart still uncertain of herself; she’d already managed to make her partner exert more effort toward convincing her otherwise than she was worth . . . the very last thing she needed to do was to express anything like distress, anything that could be mistaken for fear, or weakness.
So, instead of saying or doing anything, Jacqli simply stood there, still, her arms kept at her sides, syringe of Rush held with the needle facing away from her and Paul, and she let him speak while she simply focused on calming herself down, and pulling her heart rate back down to a normal range. . . . Although it was a bit hard to understand him as he spoke with the Rush in his mouth, the teenager was at least able to mostly comprehend what he’d said to her. Give myself the Rush when he lets go of me, stay back behind him, let attention go to him and then come in behind, and take them out while they are off-guard. . . . she went over it in her head as she forced her expression back to as normal as she could manage given her current position. Even if it was for the sake of their entrance into the mission, the fact that Paul had pulled her to him, and held her close, it was still unnerving for a girl like Jacqli, given the life she’d led.
It wasn’t exactly like she were used to physical contact from people, and what she had been used to typically resulted in pain. . . . When he spoke to her again, his Southern accent making a return, her eyes darted up along with her head, and she looked at him, eyes a bit wide from the shock of it still, and she remained quiet a moment before even trying to speak. “R-Ready as one such as myself can be for this sort of thing I suppose. . . .” she murmured, knowing what would come next. The fall. So, before it could happen, Jacqli couldn’t help the fact that she turned her head back down, and that her body tensed up, as she braced herself for the feel of being left to gravity’s mercy; grip upon the syringe of Rush tightening to the point that her hand began to shake.