Breakfast, and maybe more [Open]

[Gabriel]

Gabriel woke gently, it wasn't like in the books where the hero woke with a start from some kind of dream that was a forewarning of things yet to come. He was just a normal person living a normal life in a...well not exactly normal world by earth standards but hey, this was the year 2167 normal wasn't always defined by earth standards.

He went about his morning routine brushing his teeth getting dressed, everything he would normally do, he shaved the small amount of bristle that had begun to appear on his upper lip. He only shaved once a week so that the hair didn't grow to fast and he would end up wasting more money and time on shaving than was necessary, even though that wasn't really a huge deal here on Pandora but old habits die hard as the saying goes.

As he finished doing his morning routine he exited the room that was his, since he was a Lieutenant he got the privilege of having a small room all to himself although all it really had was a bed and a vanity to do the morning stuff, which meant if he had to do business he would have to go to the public washrooms down the hall. Walking down the hall to his left Gabriel headed towards the mess hall where they would be serving breakfast. He didn't keep up on the menu so he had no idea what there would be other than it would probably be on the average side as even though they were on another planet this was pretty much a colony.

Entering the Mess Hall he began heading towards the kitchen area where they would be serving food.

[SPC Charlie Townshend]

She had just gotten her own breakfast and walked out of the serving area when she caught sight of him. G. Kowalski. She didn't know what the "G" was for, she'd never taken the time to ask. Part of her was curious about all of the first letters she saw on fellow militants' jackets, but truthfully she didn't bother to strike up conversations first. She wasn't shy. Hell no. But she didn't like being the first one to approach someone unless they looked worth her time. It was just how she tended to be.

But as she gripped her plate of questionable French toast and most-likely powdered eggs in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other she tipped her head towards the guy and offered him a half-smile. "Hey, Kowalski," she greeted him, then continued towards an empty table set against one of the large glass windows. She slid onto the bench with a sigh, leaning her elbows against the table as she fished the fork out of the pocket on the front of her camo jacket and toyed with the globs of yellow on her plate and gradually forced them up into her mouth.

Her attention was luckily elsewhere, turned to the outside world that she had no chance of surviving in, consumed by the vast flora. She couldn't stand the men and women who volunteered for the Avatar program. They were all wasting their lives away being something they weren't. It wasn't like things couldn't be studied with an Exo Pack on. It wasn't like being in an Avatar could stop predators from killing you. Sure the science behind it was interesting, but only if you really understood that kind of crap. She didn't. So it made sense she wasn't always a fan. She tore her eyes away from Pandora and back to her plate, cutting the corner of a slice of French toast off and eating it. At least this had decent flavor.

[privatehudson]

Earlier on the same morning of Jay's crash:
Jay yawned and clambered out of bed and went to brush his teeth. He left his hair messy, as he was going to spend most of his time. He also left the black Jeep shirt he slept in on, only putting on a pair of black cargo shorts. He walked barefoot into the kitchen, plopping a French Toast, or what at least that's what it looked like, and eggs, probably fake. He drowned the eggs in hotsauce and plopped down next to a Marine. He glanced at her jacket. C. Townshend, it read. "Hope the Na'vi eat better tasting food than this crap" he said, before wolfing down his eggs "I'll know soon enough. I hope" he added poking the French Toast based lifeform with his fork.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel was a little surprised when the exceptional looking woman greeted him, he had never made any friends and was even a little scared to interact with people outside normal duties, this was of course something that he wasn't proud of but then again he didn't really care about it that much. As he retrieved some funky looking food from the kitchen he turned around and after little thought headed towards the table at which he woman had sat down and when Gabe wasn't looking had been joined J. Harrow, not looking directly at the womans name tag for the simple reason it was very close to something he would probably get...well he wasn't sure what she would do if she though he was checking her out or something but through his above average peripheral vision he saw that she was C. Tonwshend, he had never heard of the name other than in passing but other than that he had never heard of her.

He began slowly eating the not so great food that although it did provide nutrients and vitamins didn't taste all that great, however unlike Harrower Gabriel ate it plain, he had had much worse and it wasn't like he had to choke it down. As he ate he watched the two across from him without seeming to be watching them.

[SPC Charlie Townshend]

She shot her eyes sideways as the Private approached her and joined her bench, her back slightly straightening out of habit and her shoulders rolling back. She tucked her loose auburn hair behind her ears to see the man more clearly, her eyes slyly sweeping towards his name. It was amazing how they all stayed here and it seemed she was meeting new people every day. It wasn't like the Compound was huge or anything, but if you didn't bother to introduce yourself to every person you saw it made sense you wouldn't know them.

Her nose wrinkled a little as she saw the man unload what she could only assume was an unhealthy amount of hot sauce onto his powdered eggs, and then devour them. She grimaced and finished guiding the piece of French toast on her fork into her mouth. At his words she took an extra amount of time to chew and swallow the food before she decided to speak. "Who gives a damn what the Na'vi eat. It isn't like we couldn't eat some of their foods as ourselves." Maybe that was why she didn't know him, she realized. Because he was part of the Avatar program and she tended not to associate with that crew.

"Let me guess, you're one of those fellas who spends more time in that other body of yours than the one you were born in, right? Jesus. You aren't one of those creatures.. I don't see why you have the desire to go parading your ass around like you are." Her opinion had slipped out with little restraint. She often spoke her mind brashly like this; some found it insulting, others found it refreshing. She'd know soon enough what this Private was like when and if he responded to her. Her attention moved across from the both of them towards Kowalski as he also joined them, and politely she nodded towards him, her eyes meeting his own briefly before she glanced back to the man she'd spoken to.

"Sorry, man, but listen.. There isn't a damned thing wrong with being what you are. And I'm really curious. What's the thrill of being something you're not?"

[privatehudson]

"She's the queen bitch today" Jay said to Gabe. "And for your information I give a damn about what the Na'vi eat" he added scooting over a bit. "WEEELLL excuse me princess!! Well maybe I wanna be ten feet tall, have a tail, be blue, and be able to kick your ass in hand to hand. That thought ever come to mind? And I'm not parading my ass like I'm anything, I wanna learn their culture, their language, their ways, so I can write a book on it and prevent you brainless gun monkeys from blowing them to kingdom come"

Jay sighed and answered her last question "There is no 'THRILL', like I stated earlier I'm going to learn. Plus I wanna explore this gorgeous planet with out the goddamn exopacks. Now are you done interrogating me, Lieutenant Bitch?" he answered taking a drink of his OJ, slamming the glass onto the table.

[Gabriel]

Gabe stared half tiredly and half surprised, surprised that the man would be so corrosive, he spoke making fun of the man yet obviously joking in an attempt to try and diffuse the situation without either feeling he was taking a side, because honestly he didn't care who thought what, "Careful you might break the glass which if you didn't realize we have a limited supply of." leaning back in his chair and studying the two for a couple seconds he shook his head. "Each person has their own preference, each person has their own ideals and wishes, there is no point to telling someone they are wrong just because they don't agree with you for if everyone was like that then only the ones who killed the most would ever succeed. The Na'vi are sentient beings therefore it is not a bad thing to look up to them or want to be one for a little while, however if you spend too much time as one then you may forget who and what you are, this is what I think. So whether you use an Avatar or an exo-pack remember, you are experiencing the same things but through different perspectives, either way you are both human and should treat each other as such, whether you dislike who or what the person is or not." as he finished this speech Gabriel promptly forgot what he had said and from what little he could remember of it he was confused, but of course this kind of thing happened whenever he just acted on instinct and since this happened a lot he just discarded it.

[SPC Charlie Townshend]

She shot the Private a surprised look as he immediately pronounced her the "queen bitch" and went off on her. Her lip curled slightly until he finished and she opened her mouth to reply but then the other guy, Kowalski, was speaking. What the hell. Was it "lecture Charlie day" or something? Both of these guys seemed extremely long-winded and she couldn't help but tune them out, poking at the rest of her breakfast with her fork and turning her eyes back out of the window though she kept her head down.

But then there was silence. She didn't know how long it'd been since they'd both stopped talking, but she finally decided she could get a few words of her own in. "First off, no. The thought didn't cross my mind. Second, why would you do something if there wasn't a thrill? Sounds boring. And Kowalski, next time you feel like droning on and on... Don't." One corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk as she turned her eyes from first J. Harrower to G. Kowalski, shrugging her shoulders. She'd asked some pretty simple questions, she thought. There was no need for this Private to fly off the handle at her for no reason. Though she made mental note that if his testosterone got the better of him again she'd be challenging him to a fight in the boxing ring.

She wasn't afraid of men, seeing as she often thought of herself as "one of the guys". And it didn't help that she was damn strong enough to take most of them out in the ring. Her muscles her lithe and built close to her body, giving her a soft appearance, but when push came to shove, she could use them. She was also much more agile than her opponents and able to move around them more easily. It made her smile grow just to think of going a round. She couldn't help the fighting spirit that had been bred into her.

"And for the record, Private. That's Specialist Bitch to you. I'm not a Lieutenant. And the name's Charlie." There. That was somewhat of a civil introduction, wasn't it? Whatever. Some men were as bad as women when it came to being fussy. Any more of this, though, and she'd go right back to ignoring these fellas, plain and simple.

[privatehudson]

Jay scoffed at her "Dumbass Marines" he said dropping his fork onto the French Toast. He looked at Charlie and laughed. That name made her sound like a lesbian, well at least he thought so. Everything started to come together. He returned his attention to the female Marine. "Do I look like I give a rat's ass what your damn rank is. To me you're a dumb bitch of a Marine" he said getting up.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel shook his head before standing up and walking around the table behind Hudson and placing his hands on the mans shoulders. Pushing him down back into his seat he stood between them one hand on each of their shoulders and looked each into the eye ignoring anything they might have said and discarding the looks on their faces.

"Now I am going to say this once and only once, if you can't learn to get along then you shouldn't be here, if you have an issue then stay away from each other but do not, I repeat do not start fighting, I would think that you Specialist Townshend would have realized the need for discipline by now. If you continue acting the way you are you will be dealt with much more severely." with that Gabe spun around and began heading towards the doors to the mess hall and exiting with composure befitting his rank.

[SPC Charlie Townshend]

Her jaw flexed at the hand on her shoulder, her body slightly rigid as she kept herself in place. What the hell was wrong with this man? She had asked him simple questions. Very simple. And he was calling her a bitch every time he opened his mouth. She'd tried to make light of the subject by introducing herself but still he'd snapped at her. His behavior was completely uncalled for and she had more than half a mind to report him to the superior officers around here.

"I am NOT a Marine," she spat bitterly under her breath once Gabriel had finished speaking. She had never been a Marine and personally didn't care for them. She was an Army brat through and through, and this Harrower guy had a bad attitude deserving to be pushed back in his face. And really he had no right to be getting all pissy like he was considering she had sat here first and had been minding her business before he came along and helped himself to her bench.

She dismounted the bench before Harrower had another chance to and dumped her plate and silverware into the proper bin before she jogged to catch up to Kowalski again, her lips set into a firm and stubborn line. "I'll have you know I did nothing wrong and I was not the one with the behavioral issues. I won't be blamed for that man's temper. But, if I offended you, sir, then I apologize." She was genuine in the apology even if she was still upset and she stopped walking, falling back from the man. Once he'd moved on a few more steps she ducked past him into a separate hallway towards the Training Room.

The squeak of her rubber soles against the empty hallway was helping to soothe the angry pulse of her heart in her ears as she pushed open the door to the TR, ignoring the free weights and other various strength training machines to her left and headed towards the open exercise mats and the boxing ring to her right. She moved behind the ring, though, towards the line of punching bags that were set up and peeled her camo jacket off along the way. Usually she'd take the time to wrap her hands or put on her thin boxing gloves but by the way she could feel the muscles in her arms trembling, she figured it wouldn't matter.

Breakfast had not gone the way she'd intended. Her day was practically ruined now because some punk decided to run his mouth and insult her and she was the one being blamed for misbehaving. Hastily, she pulled her short auburn hair up into a ponytail, the tightness on her scalp helping her focus her attention to the worn black bag in front of her as she dropped her jacket to the floor and took the first swing. The right hook sent a tremble up her arm and inside her chest she felt the pressure release like someone had flipped a switch. Her hands curled tighter and flew against the bag making it swing, her breathing hard as any and all of her frustrations drained out of her.

She kept at it for a good fifteen minutes before she finally took a break, sweat beading on her forehead as she grabbed the bag to stop its swinging and pressed her cheek against its cool surface to steady herself. Everything was better now. She could function again. She could handle never speaking to either of those men again if it came down to it. In fact, that might be the best bet for her. Clearly Harrower had no intentions of getting along with her and Kowalski thought she was just a trouble-maker, so there was no point to bother..

She sighed and leaned away from the punching back, falling back onto her rear and leaning against her knees. "What a week this is going to be..." She muttered to herself.

[ooc: Okay, really Hudson.. Take it easy with the in-character insults and name-calling, please. You're getting a little excessive.]

[privatehudson]

(I know. I had Jay leave before things got out of hand, but that's Jay's weakness accuse him of something and he explodes. He gets it from his father and other, murderous brother) Jay dropped his stuff into the bin and went into his dorm. "Man I am not a morning person" he groaned as he plopped down on his bed. "Another person to freakin' apologize to. Provided she doesn't kill me first. How to explain myself. Man this rejection crap from high school's catchin' up fast. Maybe this Avatar thing'll chill me out. Thank god I ain't got a rank" he said flipping through the blank pages of his notebook.

[Gabriel]

Shaking his head Gabriel followed the woman who seemed to know well exactly how she should act, he watched her from the door way as she got ready and began to pummel a punching bag, each punch was precision not perfectly on target as she was probably used to however that was with good reason, for what had just happened was something that most people would have issues with.

He sat down beside the doorway leaning against the wall his hands woven together behind his head as he contineud watching her. After about 15 minutes (16 and a half by the clock) Townshend paused in her routine and sat on the ground to take a rest, meanwhile Gabe had fallen asleep, at least that is what had appeared to happen when in reality he was in a semi comatose state which allowed him to wake with ease if the need were to arise.

[SPC Charlie Townshend]

Once her pulse had slowed and her breathing had calmed to long, deep inhales, she cradled her face in her hands and then pushed herself up from the ground, grabbing her jacket along the way. She headed to the door, her eyes on the floor but her attention snapped up instantly at the sense of another presence. She felt warmth flush through her body, partially embarrassed that the man had witnessed her aggressive display of cooling off. But it seemed he'd fallen asleep -- or so she thought.

Sheepishly, she moved closer to him, a necessity since she was planning on leaving the room anyways, but she stopped, nudging the man's shoe with her own as she shrugged into her jacket again as opposed to wringing it in her hands. "Hey there. You okay?" She asked, unsure of how to really go about this. She was curious as to why he'd followed her, but if he'd suddenly passed out on her for some reason, it was a little rude to jump down someone's throat for an answer after you'd just gotten through apologizing to them.

[privatehudson]

Jay tossed the notebook onto his bed carelessly and went to work on his model truck. Now the wait began. Hours passed while he worked on the model truck, still nothing though. No guy giving him the good news, telling him he could finally use his Avatar after years of delay. He sighed and continued waiting.