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He felt less numb than he actually wanted to feel and, not for the first time, Ian wished he hadn't dropped the bottle of vodka back at the beach.

Pushed this way and that in the chaos of the people all running back and forth throughout the area, Ian settled for surreptitiously elbowing several trainees out of the way as he stumbled forward, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. There were shouts echoing from every direction, and from the gist of it, all Ian knew was that there was some enormous creature attempting to destroy the island.

The same creature that had already killed certain people. Ian grit his teeth together and tried not to think about it, tried to ignore the parallels, the reminders that this was not the first time he had lost someone he cared about, even if the caring was somewhat new to him, at least here. He hated how ignorant he felt, how utterly useless, yet simultaneously there was a surge of anger that he had not been given more instruction upon circumstances such as these.

He'd been thrown from the frying pan straight into the fire, it seemed.

The man in the wheelchair, who Ian recognized as the man who had reprimanded him for swearing earlier, was shouting out more directions now, and Ian kept running, pushing his way through the crowds until he reached the wheelchair, panting slightly.

Someone knocked into him; Ian staggered sideways unintentionally, colliding with the person beside him.

"Sorry - " he started to say carelessly, but a flash of pink and pale eyes made him stop abruptly, Ian's mouth opening as recognition hit him with a startling and unexpected feeling, like a stab to the chest.

"...Shiloh?"

"Well seems our little Q&A session is over." She raised her voice over all the commotion, looking at Land thoughtfully. It seemed all their efforts pooled together met success, but like in war.... as one fell another took its place.

Once they were debriefed on their next task (Ceres was hella-glad SHE was not being launched anywhere), she looked towards her taller companion. "We need to find you a partner... i have one i need to find too, but lets fine you one fi-"

Giving one of those little girl 'eeps' she hated, she turned and found a pair of eyes staring up at her. "Gale dontdothat!" She swatted lightly at the hand, more brushing it off than not.

"Im fine, "She huffed. "Trying to keep the monster from eating us is all, really." SHe paused. "I hope your house managed to make it this time, by the way."

"....Hey." She said, suddenly having a brilliant idea. "How do you feel about being Launched hundreds of feet in the air by my friend here? I need to go find Bix, i know he's out here somewhere." She turned and looked towards Arland, shifting eyes between the pair. "Land, Gale, Gale, Land. Play nice okay Gale? He's fresh meat. " Aka: First mission out of the pod.

[Death Hunter - Offensive]

Otto arrived in the battle just as Ami called him out. He'd been walking and staring in bewildered awe at the flying hunters, unsure if he should feel excited or terrified to take his turn for a flight. Maybe both.

He jogged toward her, staring at the gear with uncertainty. "Experimental, huh..."

“Well, c’mon Quinn, we’ve gotta stop that thing!”

His normally grinning face was serious, but he could help the hint of a smile that tugged at his lips as he watched Quinn snag Mimsy as well. Unfortunately it wasn’t so much a charge into battle but a charge into standing there obediently and listening while their tasks were explained. Shiloh watched as several hunters were launched into the air, and he gave Quinn’s arm a quick squeeze before letting go.

“Kind of glad we get to stay on the ground, eh- Huh? Oh, sorry, sorry,” Shiloh apologized, even though the other person had knocked onto him. He looked up when he heard his name, and grinned.

“Ian! Glad to see you weren’t dessert,” he laughed, gesturing at the Mist Hunter’s lack of slime. Laughter was always easier.

[ Life Division - Defense ]

Ami, being the motherly observant scientist she was, picked up on Otto's anxiety in a heartbeat. Admittedly, even she was a little worried about throwing Otto into the air but it couldn't be helped. Orders were orders.

"My apologies, but I don't think we get the luxury of declining," she said, unhooking the belts and loops to refit them on Otto. Under her breath, she muttered, "Some of us don't even get the luxury of a place to stay."

She then moved in on Otto, brushing off her frustrations. "Arms up!"

It wasn't possible, because he had seen Shiloh get eaten, he had seen him get swallowed up by the creature - and yet, here he was, grinning at him as though nothing had happened, as though Ian had not just gone through a certain amount of anger and frustration over the whole ordeal.

{ You're acting foolish. }

In spite of the disapproval in her voice, there was also a strange tinge to it, as though it were slightly softer than usual. It took Ian a moment to realize that she was almost trying to console him.

He said nothing, merely pressed his lips together and gave a tight nod to Shiloh, his eyes flickering sideways to catch sight of another familiar face - Quinn stood right beside him, looking, as usual, as though he'd rather be anywhere but here.

Ian forced a smile. "Hey, Quintuplet, glad to see you're all right." He clapped a hand on the other's shoulder. "Stay safe, okay? Don't let the bedbugs eat you."

Simultaneously, his other hand closed around Shiloh's wrist. Ian wasn't looking at him, but instead taking a step back, dragging the other with him.

"Sorry, Quinny, but I'm gonna borrow Shyduck here for a minute, okay? Keep your head up; I'll buy you dinner when we get out of this whole mess."

"Never really do." He muttered, wincing as he watched hunters fly. However, he also saw some of them zip line down. Now that looked awesome and fun. He huffed and tried not to think too much. "Yeah well it was stupid to make your home in the abandoned towns anyway." He reminded bluntly, "I mean, doesn't Gale's house get crushed every few months? You shoulda seen it coming." He meant all this in a caring way, really. However, he didn't know how to say things nice.

And now he was going to get fitted by the person he insulted without really meaning to. He lifted his arms obediently.