NDPD (January 16th)

[everyone_takes]

The snow was gone and with it all the crazy, puffy dresses in Kate's closet had disappeared as well, which wasn't something she was particularly sad about. The apartment that she and Marshall had been living in was pretty sweet, but if living in a hut was what she had to deal with to be able to wear a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, then Kate was totally okay with that. The hut wasn't so bad, after all, and she'd actually gotten used to the heat after all this time. (Although she'd been told about some German dude who made air conditioners and she was definitely going to track him down as soon as possible.)

Plus, with January came presents. Some people had already gotten theirs -- Kate had seen Jeff's puppy plenty of times now -- and she woke up nearly every morning and checked the hut for something that might be new and all hers. So far there had been nothing, not even that morning when she'd woken up, so, as usual, she'd walked to the Compound for a shower and breakfast.

What she hadn't expected at all was to find a brightly wrapped box waiting for her when she returned home. Just sitting there on their front step, a big bow on top and her name written on a tag. With a grin, Kate dropped down onto the step and began to rip into the box. There was a book, which she barely glanced at before dropping it on the step beside her, a weird leather looking thing and then a sleek, black box. A box with a gun inside.

"Uh..." Kate looked up and glanced around, half expecting someone to pop out of the jungle and tell her it was all just a joke. She didn't get guns as gifts. No one in their right mind would give Kate a firearm.

But there it was, lying in its box. The weird leather thing was a holster, she realized, and there was a box of ammunition. The book looked like it was mostly safety guidelines, but Kate couldn't quite get her brain to make sense of that yet. She was still too stunned by the fact that she was holding a gun in her lap. A real gun.

A real gun.

Comments

[cleverness]

"I don't think that the IPD's in the habit of forcing anyone down there if they don't feel ready. Or the ITF, really, although I'm sure that membership is a bit more strict in that respect for them," replied Hermione with a shake of her head. At least, she thought to herself, if either group tried to coax people down into a place like that, she'd have words. The ITF, being an independent group, wasn't likely to be swayed or persuaded by what she had to say, but the IPD certainly was. "Regardless, there are different groups of officers for different missions. They wouldn't demand that someone so new head down there."

She sat then, curling her legs underneath her. "This is all assuming that your desire to join the group persists, of course. One of the good things about the island is that people can truly change their course on a whim and not be somehow punished for it."

[everyone_takes]

Kate knew she had a tendency to be a bit flighty. Just because she liked something one day didn't mean she was going to like it the next and no matter how dedicated she might be to something, that could all be gone within weeks. She wasn't good at focusing on things or dedicating herself to anything. Not the way Marshall was and not the way Hermione was. It was actually sort of strange, now that she thought about it, that she was as close to Hermione as she was instead of Marshall. They were so alike in so many ways.

But she wanted this. She wanted to be useful, to have a purpose, even if she didn't know how to put that into words. It wasn't the type of thing anyone would have expected her to say. She was sure both her parents would be shocked -- Tara would probably fight it -- if they showed up here and found out what she was doing, but she was sure. Not for the first time on the island, she was sure of something.

"I want to," she said, smiling at Hermione. "I do."

[cleverness]

It was more surety than either of the boys had ever managed, Hermione thought, and the two of them had wanted to be Aurors since the option first presented itself. In fact, she was pretty sure that alone had been enough to make both of them study in earnest, pushing themselves, for the first time in their entire Hogwarts career. Having exams etch such a tangible effect on their records and on the expectations they presented to any possible employers was more immediate than marks which remained on the parchment.

And if Kate could be more certain than the enthusiasm of a couple of boys, well, Hermione had no right to get in the way of that. Especially when, all things considered, Hermione still wasn't even sure of her own path.

"Then I will be... cautiously supportive," she concluded with a smile. "Cautious only because a part of me will always prefer the idea of you or any of the others taking on the safest job available. Spares me the worry, at least."

[everyone_takes]

"I guess I can give you that," Kate said with a grin of her own, making it pretty clear that she didn't mind the caution. Sometimes she still wasn't sure if what she was doing was the best course of action. She thought it was and it felt right, but sometimes that didn't mean anything and it would be good to have someone be cautious about the whole thing, especially since she seemed to be throwing it all to the wind.

"Just as long as you don't say I told you so if the whole thing blows up in my face," she added with a laugh. "I mean, I'll probably deserve it, but I don't like hearing it. Marshall will probably say it enough for everyone." Although, really, he might not. Her brother could be really good about saying the right thing sometimes.

[cleverness]

"I... admittedly have a tendency to say that at times," Hermione replied with a slight cringe, a few occasions already rising immediately to mind. When advice was so carefully given and not heeded, Hermione thought it was only natural to want to impress upon the others how wrong they'd been, and to try and listen more the next time such a challenge arose. But she could also see how doing so would aggravate people from time to time.

"But," she clarified, hoping not to scare Kate off so suddenly, "only when it's the boys rushing on ahead without acknowledging the dangers and setbacks. We can always forgive ourselves for making mistakes, but the greater tragedy is when people make them and then don't bother to reflect."

[everyone_takes]

Kate couldn't help her grin, mostly because she could hear Marshall saying something similar. Or Shoshana. "But sometimes reflecting only makes you feel worse," she pointed out, still grinning. There was a lot of stuff she chose to not reflect on, some relationships in particular, with Ben and Gene. Thinking about those just made her feel really stupid and really young.

"I mean, not when it comes to dangerous stuff," she added, because she could see Harry rushing into something totally dangerous even while Hermione told him not to. "But I never had to worry about stuff like that."

[cleverness]

"I'm a strong believer in learning through... humility, essentially," Hermione grinned, pressing the heel of her palm to her eye with a slight groan. "It sounds awful, but I just think that there's a lot to be learned when people look back on past mistakes and remember what it feels like to be in the wrong, and then to move forward having learned their lesson in full. But, anyway."

Her eyes narrowed momentarily, trying to imagine where she'd have Kate Housed, were the decision up to her. She certainly seemed enough like a Gryffindor, Hermione thought.

"Hopefully, you won't start needing to worry about that anytime soon."