"This is stupid. This is so fucking stupid, what are you thinking?" Riley stood before a full-length mirror, where she'd been standing for the past several minutes trying to talk herself out of what she was about to do. It had been some time since she'd last seen herself decked out in a full set of armor, and while there was a seed of dread growing in the pit of her stomach, she couldn't deny the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins as a result. Soft, flat-soled, knee-high tactical boots were laced tightly up the front, dark leather pants were donned, darker leather straps pulled snugly around her thighs, a dagger rested at each hip, throwing daggers stored in the hidden pockets of her tunic and bracers, and a small collection of vials were carefully concealed within the pouches of her belt. The dark fabric of her hood and mask hung loosely about her shoulders for the time being, her ebony locks gathered into a ponytail at the base of her neck. There was something comfortably familiar, even cathartic, about getting herself ready for a mission, and it always made her think of Malcolm; his absence had been felt deeply, every day, but it was times like these that she missed him the most, and whether it was a force of habit, part of the ritual, or just an absentminded gesture, she felt the weight of the key in her fingers as she lifted it to her lips, leaving a kiss there before tucking the trinket back beneath the front of her tunic. With a sigh rumbling in her throat, Riley shook her head, pulled her gaze away from her reflection, and swiped her pack off the end of her bed by its strap with enough momentum to hike it up onto her shoulder on her way out to the front room... and the three males she'd left waiting while she got herself ready. Stanley yipped happily, shaking his entire backside as he was scooped off the floor and into the loving embrace of a woman who was reluctant to leave the little one behind. "Behave," she whispered, grinning as she caught his tongue across the tip of her nose, coming to a stop before Jasper so she could deposit the feisty fuzzball into his arms.
"I'll be back, Jay. I always come back, it's one of my best character flaws," her lips curled into a smirk, and though it was far from her normal levels of snark, it was surely the first real glimpse of his friend he'd seen in weeks. She rolled onto her toes, one palm pressed flat against his right cheek while she planted a kiss on his left, and pulled him into a hug. "Don't burn the place down, yeah?" She teased, pulling away so she could turn and address the towering blue elephant in the room, folding her arms across her chest as she peered up at him, one dark brow arched high. "Alright, Big Blue. Let's go save our friend from that glorified tree-house you call a city."
(( @jasper-quinn & @baelar-maeranar for mentions! <3))