[for Terry]

[fears_nothing]

Niko had never really been much of a fan of Halloween considering it was commercialized and too many people willingly putting themselves in harm's way solely to beg candy from strangers, but when the clothes box did nothing but spout costumes at him, he'd decided to go to the party anyway. He'd dressed as a Viking, more or less, and Niko was

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[faithanbegorrah]

Terry smiles when she sees Niko, pleased to see he's in the spirit. "I'm just your average femme fatale from any noir film ye can think of," she says with a shrug.

"I like the viking look," she adds. "Ye remind me a bit of Thor."

[fears_nothing]

"I suppose I could be Thor," Niko said, mulling that over. "I wasn't looking to deify myself though. Just your run of the mill Viking."

He hadn't been around the gardens when she was around lately, not since the hurricane.

"Did the hurricane a while back wreak any havoc on your garden?"

[faithanbegorrah]

"Aye, it did," Terry says, nose wrinkling slightly at the reminder. "I was able to save most of the plants, and got warning enough to move what I could inside."

[fears_nothing]

"Susan's wasn't so lucky," Niko said, remembering how hard they'd had to work to clear it. "I spent the better part of a Saturday clearing out her garden."

He nodded toward the refreshments and, namely, the punch laid out. "Would you like something to drink? I can go get us something."

[faithanbegorrah]

"I'm just fine, thanks," Terry says. "I just had some juice and I don't drink alcohol." She adds the latter almost by reflex, in a tone that speaks to how many times she's had to say so and how much she'd like to avoid explaining why.

[fears_nothing]

"Neither do I," Niko confessed. "I've tasted beer a few times, but it doesn't really hold much appeal for me. Besides, I'd rather be in full possession of my faculties at any given point. You never know what might happen."

He didn't touch on why she didn't imagining that either she'd share her story or, if it was personal, just move on. Either way, it wasn't his place to pry.

[faithanbegorrah]

"And it gives ye great blackmail material for anyone who does drink," she adds, with a sly little quirk of her lips. Being on the other side of that coin after years of drinking had been a welcome change. "How's your night going so far?"

[fears_nothing]

"Well," he admitted, a little shocked to be saying that. "I'm not exactly a partygoer for the most part and definitely not Halloween, but this isn't as...well, horrible as I thought it would be. I guess anything can be a novelty at least once. What about you?"

[faithanbegorrah]

"Pretty good. It's a mite better than last year, Brad and I had a wee bit of a zombie problem on the way home from last year's big party."

Hopefully tonight wouldn't end the same way, though with the rumors she's heard spreading, Terry isn't sure she can say tonight will be entirely trouble-free.

[fears_nothing]

"Those are unpleasant."

Any sort of lumbering, hive-minded creature was and the thought of raised undead reminded Niko of revenants. Hardly a threat, unless in numbers and someone got cocky. Occasionally, Cal could be cocky.

"Does that happen often, the zombie invasions?"

[faithanbegorrah]

"Not as far as I know," Terry says with a shrug. "It was the first I'd ever heard of one, though sometimes it's not always zombies. I hear the dinosaurs have broken out once or twice. Or ye end up being teleported away in the middle of dinosaur territory without a warning."

[fears_nothing]

"Happened to a boy that Cal and I look out for," Niko said, nodding a little. "Incredibly ill-prepared for it, but I guess he'll train more in the future. I honestly think that ninety percent of this island could benefit from some awareness training."

He smiled, only a little. "Which percentage are you in? Prepared or unprepared?"

[faithanbegorrah]

Terry can't help but think of the years of training thanks to Cable, and she smiles. "Prepared," she says simply.

[fears_nothing]

"I had hoped," Niko said, the smile going a little wider. "I have to be sure there's someone competent in case I'm one of the ones who ends up in dinosaur country."

[faithanbegorrah]

"Ye could try teaching at the school the next semester," Terry offers. "They've got weapons training classes, or ye could start a self-defense class. Anything ye can think of, ye can probably teach it if there are students willing to learn."

[fears_nothing]

"I might," Niko said, giving it some genuine thought. He'd taught Cal his whole life and while that could be...occasionally rewarding, he had to wonder what it would be like with a group of students who actually wanted to learn.

"Do people generally take well to those sorts of classes? I'm used to not having a captive audience."