Ladypug — Roleplayer Guild

PERCY
MESS HALL, N.A. FACILITY

The red-headed pilot could only stare in disbelief at Graham as he started out. Graham couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t have been. Percy’s gaze then settled on the young orange-haired girl, still not wanting to believe what he was seeing. What was this guy thinking? Was the child aware of how much danger she was in? How old was she exactly? She only looked about Vera’s age, so where were this child’s parents? Would this be the first time she’s done this? It didn’t look like it, but she might not have been adequately informed about how dangerous being a pilot is. There were so many awful questions buzzing in his head that he almost felt nauseous. Kids really shouldn’t be in this kind of environment as far as he was concerned, but was he really one to talk? His daughter was right next to him...

“Dad?”

“No,” Percy said, starting to stand up, trying to keep Graham in his sights. He knew that his daughter more than likely wanted to meet Ryn, but he was wary of that for the simple reason he couldn’t supervise it.

Percy forced himself to breathe, speaking in a less stern tone, “Just stay there, okay?” He’d glance over to her, but he didn’t want to lose sight of his commander.

Percy had to do something - every fiber of his being was screaming at him to do something. Even if Graham only had Ana run through the test and insisted that she wasn’t going to be forced into anything, if Graham was willing to hire a child pilot - even thinking those words doesn’t sit right with him - who’s to say that he won’t find some reason to go back on his word?

He didn’t even realize he was so worked up until he caught up to the man in uniform.

“Graham.”

Graham groaned as Percy nearly chased him down, the pacing of the footsteps fairly obvious as the two stopped in the main corridor leading away from the Mess Hall. The impatience and disinterest in dealing with one of his pilots when he specifically said he was busy was obvious but nonetheless he composed himself before turning around to answer Percy.

“Moore. I’ve got a meeting but if you need me to, I can spare you a few minutes. Can we make this productive and quick?”

Percy forced himself to stand at attention like he had been told to during training, looking slightly embarrassed at his outburst. But he felt that he was justified in having it. Even if he felt justified, he didn’t want a repeat of two weeks ago. Percy dared having the thought that maybe he’d be able to actually react, given the circumstances, but at the same time, he wanted this to be concise and to the point just as much as Graham did. He gave himself another moment to think about how he was going to tackle the issue in his head, unaware of how his position slacked as he spoke. 

“It’s, uh.. It’s just that Ryn looks awfully young, sir. Is she old enough to be doing this?”

Graham took a light breath, a half-chuckle leaving his breath. “That’s your concern? Oh, good.”

“Why would that not concern me? The kid looks twelve!”

“I believe she’s recently turned thirteen. Anyway, Ryn Dradht has been an independent pilot for three-to-four years now, she’s got the experience and interest in helping us so we hired her. She’s got a bit of a reputation but by all accords she’d probably tell you that she is very much old enough to do this.”

“The fact she’s thirteen doesn’t make it any better,” Percy spat. The face he made after the comment made him realize that he might’ve stepped a little out of line, but as far as he was concerned he wasn’t backing down now.

“The world is what the world is, Moore. What do you want me to tell you? That girl is plenty experienced for the job here and has the nerve to prove it. She approached us with the contract and she signed on the proverbial dotted line.”

“She approached you? No other adults involved?” Percy looked absolutely bewildered. Before Graham could reply, Percy continued, “Where are her parents? I might have to talk to them and make sure they know-” 

Graham nodded, “She sent us a digital inquiry a week ago— she was worried she missed our recruitment drive. As for her parents? They’ve been deceased or gone from her life for awhile now, but I imagine if you want the big details on that you’d have to talk to her about it, presuming she’s willing to share.”

The pilot looked like he had so much more to say - some things rude, some things a little more productive, but either way, he couldn’t find his voice to actually ask what was on his mind. It wasn’t like his worldview was shattered or anything extreme like that, it was simply concerning that Graham even thought that was a good idea. Ryn might not be at the level of emotional development needed , and doing something filled with so much tragedy and death at thirteen would definitely stunt her, if it didn’t already. However, Graham did say that she had been doing this for four years…

“She was doing this since she was nine?” Percy spoke a bit slowly, like he didn’t even want to ask that. The thought made his head spin. “She was nine?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been doing it since I was nine. You have a problem with that?”

The voice cut from behind Percy’s shoulder, evidently Ryn’s curiosity had gotten the better of her and followed Percy. He jumped and turned to see the shorter girl looking at him with narrowed brows, obviously looking displeased by the comments she heard.

“No- we-well, yes,” Percy stuttered, trying to keep his tone the same. He didn’t expect to be talking to her and Graham at the same time, “Yes, I do, but- It’s not your fault, of course, but-”

“I mean, it is my fault considering I sort of asked for it. But I guess you wouldn't know, that since you think you know me after less than a minute of seeing me. Tch, who the fuck do you think you are?” She mouthed, her tone oozing in confidence and profane attitude; an attitude that caused Graham to chuckle.

“I’ll leave you two to it. I’m running late.” Graham commented before Percy could react, leaving the two pilots to their conversation.

Was it weird that Percy felt the slightest bit intimidated by a thirteen year old? Yes, but given everything, it didn’t really surprise him. He didn’t expect her to be so sarcastic. He addressed the first thing that came to mind, though, “No, I never said you asked for it, I- It’s concerning that-” He gave himself a second to he could actually gather his thoughts and quit stumbling over his words. Worry in his voice, he dared to ask, ”A-are you being watched by anyone? A, an uncle, or a family friend, or-” 

She laughed point blank. “Ha! As if I need an ‘adult’ to watch me. I watch myself, thanks. I don’t need a stuttering know-it-all to know what to do. Shouldn’t you be minding your own business, anyway?”

“It didn’t seem right that a child's being put in this situation,” Percy tried to explain, “You should be in school still, learning.. Whatever it is they’re teaching now!”

“And who are you to decide what is right or what I should be learning? Geeze, I didn’t realize I’d see the moral high ground from a pilot who kills other people for a living.” Ryn sighed as she looked to Graham for a moment, “What a hypocrite.”

“I haven’t killed anyone,” Percy said, “I’ve done the best I can to keep that from happening.”

The girl shook her head as she heard Percy’s comments. “A NC pilot who hasn’t killed ever? And is like fifty years old? What a loser.”

The redheaded pilot’s face actually flushed at that comment. He didn’t think he looked that old. Sure, it could just be her being a little turd child, but he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Ana’s always been very bluntly honest, so he thought maybe Ryn was doing the same. “I’m actually thirty-two, for your information.”

“Look, I don’t care if you are thirty thousand years old - I care that you’re coming at me with this bullshit like you know what’s best when you don’t. I know what is best for me; end of story. You aren’t my parent, guardian, friend, or boss, so how about you go off into the bathrooms over there and go cry like a little baby? 'Cause that’s all I hear when you speak now - baby noises. Wah. Wah. Now if you excuse me, Mr. Babyman, I’m going to go return to the mess and eat my first lunch. Later. Don’t drown in your tears.”

Percy had never wanted to spank a child, but there he was, wanting to discipline her with physical assault. He let himself exhale slowly, the look on his face saying everything. He wasn’t going to cry, he was just very, very angry. But he knew he was better than hitting a kid; he prided himself on not using physical discipline on Ana, and he wasn’t going to go and hit someone else’s kid. But if Ryn was his kid she would definitely be bent over his leg and spanked at least three times. At least. Who does she think she is talking down to someone who is much older? She literally had to look up at him for fuck’s sake! 

All the more reason to keep her away from Ana. He thought to himself, going ahead and following a little ways behind Ryn so he could go back to his comparatively angelic little girl and finish his lunch, too.
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