Cobra Barracks

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

(Attention Cobras, Snake, and those brave enough to risk it)


The Boss was quite use to moving from base to base, and in all honesty, there was very little difference between Russian Barracks and American barracks. They both had that same drab feeling of uniform efficiency. Life on one military base was generally like life on another military base, regardless of location.

Her morning routine generally included a rather long run around the facilities but she decided deviate from her usual morning activities for a few days until the men on the base got use to the idea of her being around.

Instead she decided to check up on Jack before going to locate Volgin. She needed to have a talk with Snake to clear things up. And, unfortunately, she also needed to corner Major Ocelot and get information from him.

There was also the fact that she would probably need something other than her American Uniform to wear, but that was low on the priority list.

Comments

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

The night before, after Krauss had left him, Snake had gotten down to business--first taking a long shower (and he was pleased to find that he didn't run out of hot water) and then locating his assigned room. He barely had any clothing (what was he supposed to sleep in?), but the American was used to that sort of thing. He got the feeling they would be providing him with more and more things he didn't necessarily need as time went on.

He could always throw on some clean camouflage to sleep in, which is what he ended up doing. The Tree Bark print, in fact.

Luckily enough, no one was in to bother him too early the next morning, so the snake was given some time to sleep in and rest up after his mission the day before. He was out of bed by ten, though he wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself. He'd been expecting someone to drop by with orders of some sort since he certainly didn't know what parts of the base he was "allowed" to wander around on his own.

He was considering heading down to the mess hall for breakfast, but then again, finishing off the food he'd picked up in the jungle might be a good idea... Otherwise it would end up going raw.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Boss knocked on Jacks door, having no intention of just barging in there and literally dumping Snake out of bed. That may have been her preferred method for getting her student out of bed, but Jack had long since outgrown such treatment.

"Wake up, Snake." It was going to be difficult to get use to calling him Snake instead of Jack. For some reason that codename seemed oddly fitting, and Voyevoda couldn't quite figure out why.

"It's time for breakfast." That, and now was as good a time as any to have their little talk.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

It was nice that he was already awake. Snake was fairly sure that if he hadn't been, it would have been difficult to stop himself from letting out a few not-so-nice curses in response to the knock on the door.

The Boss wouldn't have stood for that, and he would have gotten beaten pretty badly for it. Or maybe not. Maybe they were beyond that level of their relationship. He was hardly her equal now, but not as much of a student, either. Or maybe he was just hoping.

He wasn't going to say no to breakfast, though. (Not that she'd let him.) Sighing, Snake stood from his bed, feeling awkward in his new uniform. He wasn't quite sure why he'd decided to put it on (certainly not to please Krauss), but he was curious what his mentor's reaction to it would be.

Pacing over to the door, he opened it.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

Whatever she had been about to say died on her lips when The Boss saw Jack in a Soviet Uniform. In fact, she wasn't even sure what it was anymore. The uniform was a poor fit, and it took a second for Voyevoda to regain her composure.

It just... looked so wrong on him.

"I see you've got a Soviet Uniform..." She was using a cautious tone, one that indicated she hadn't quite decided what to think yet and was probing for more information before issuing a final verdict on the matter. The preliminaries weren't in favor of the new look, though.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

Snake grunted, folding his arm over his oddly-clothed chest. "I don't like it any more than you do." In fact, he'd probably stop wearing it sooner rather than later, but might as well please the higher authorities for a day or so. If enough people bothered him about it, though, he was just going to change.

It wasn't worth wearing if people were going to gape and make comments every time he walked into a room.

"Anyway," he said, finding the whole topic unimportant, "you mentioned breakfast?" He sounded perhaps a bit too eager, though The Boss was probably used to that from him.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Joy eventually came to the conclusion that Snake would be wearing the Soviet Uniform as little as possible. Of course, there was the little fact that neither of them could plausibly keep wearing their American uniforms.

When Jack changed the topic, Voyevoda nodded. "Yes, breakfast... unless you'd rather go outside and have some nice barbecued snakes... might actually be tastier..." She paused for a moment and smiled slightly. "Possibly healthier, too."

She smiled at Jack, glancing past him briefly to look into his room before turning to walk towards the mess hall, trusting her son to follow.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

Snake had never been big on uniforms in general. He wore them if he absolutely had to, but he usually was in clothing that was more conducive to what he did--infiltration, sneaking. He needed to wear things he could move easily in, things that wouldn't make a lot of noise.

He'd wear nondescript, comfortable things in the future. The uniform was tight in some places and loose in others and generally far too uncomfortable for his liking.

"That's not a bad idea," he said with a small smirk as he followed after her, making sure to close the door to his room behind him. He wondered how the rest of Groznyj Grad would respond if he and The Boss started roasting snakes out in the snow. It would be pretty amusing, he was certain.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Joy smiled slightly as Snake agreed with her assessment of the food at Groznyj Grad. "So, I believe we need to clear a few things up, don't we..." She paused in the middle of the hallway of the Cobra barracks, glancing around.

Voyevoda had made sure personally that the area was quite secure and free of monitoring devices. "Any mission you were on is put on hold until I say otherwise. From now on, you will follow any orders I give you without question. You will not make any attempt to contact Major Tom." She paused for a moment, considering how much to say. "I really cannot tell you more than that just yet."

[vostok-n2o4.livejournal.com]

Had the pair been just a few steps to the right, or lingered for a moment longer in that exact spot, the poisoned arrow that shot across the narrow hallway and lodged itself in the door casing, swaying back and forth, would have more than likely found a meaty home in Snake’s shoulder.

Its source was immediately obvious: the slightly-ajar door on the other side of the hall; the distinct sounds of a violent struggle, cursing, and psychotic giggles of sadistic delight.

“Get that fucking crossbow away from him, and hold his head so he can’t bite me again!”

“I’m trying, he’s too quick.”

Like a bad omen, several large hornets took the next loud crash as a sign it was time to leave, and took off down the hallway just as quickly as their wings could carry them, showing little interest in Voyevoda, Snake, or anything else besides getting out the main doorway with all of their legs and antennas still attached.

Just about the time it was determined, through nervous, confused glances, that one of the two should investigate the disturbance, something spilled from the open doorway and out into the hall -- a writhing ball of standard issue drab sheets on the wooden floor, and a certain cosmonaut struggling simultaneously to unwrap whatever creature was tangled in the bedding, and keep from falling over.

“You’ve been sleeping all day!” The Fury declared, finally finding a corner of the sheets and pulling. “It’s time you got up and did something useful!”

“I already did something! I had three breakfasts and even found the spare time for a nap.” The writhing form protested, “that should count for something!”

With one final, sharp yank, The Fury unraveled the remainder of the blanket cocoon, and the Fear spilled out onto the cold floor, flailing, shrieking, naked.

“Help me carry him to the door.” The Fury ordered of the Pain, lingering in the doorway, “we’ll toss him out into the snow and leave him there. Maybe then he’ll wake up.”

It wasn’t until they had mostly secured the struggling spider soldier that they noticed the Boss and her pupil watching from the other end of the hall -- an observation which made both of them drop the Fear, who only growled to himself and took the opportunity to scuttle back into his quarters and lock the door.

The silence that followed was deafening, until the Fury couldn’t take it any more, and pulled off his helmet to address them. “Joy! Apathy! It’s good to see you’re awake! Good morning.” Blessed insanity; the cosmonaut was eternally unaware of proper social conduct.

The Pain only smirked behind his balaclava, a generally gruesome gesture, but all in good nature. The hornet charmer wasn’t prepared to kidnap either of the two soldiers and dump them into the snow bank outside; it was a damn good thing they were awake. “Sorry about the arrow, Boss.”

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

It was relieving to finally hear what his status was, though Snake wasn't sure how much he liked it. What The Boss was basically telling him was that things were stagnant. He had to wait around, listen to her when she bothered to give him an order--and he couldn't even contact people via radio.

The whole thing made him just a little uneasy, but he wanted to believe that his mentor knew what she was doing. She had defected, after all. Which side was she on? Were they enemies, or was this all just part of the act?

There wasn't any way he could defy her and get away with it, though. If he tried to make contact with the US, she'd know.

He was planning to respond, but was soon enough distracted by an arrow coming rather quickly in their direction. Luckily, the aim was off and he didn't have to hit the deck or shove The Boss out of harm's way. He stared at the projectile for a moment before more racket came from the other side of the hall.

Then there was a whole lot of naked and grumbling and general insanity... and for a moment all Snake could do was watch. He snarled at the Apathy comment, but didn't bother to respond. Hopefully The Boss would do something about them, because they really didn't seem to be acting elite to him.

[sunnymario.livejournal.com]

"And you, American." The Pain smirked, "did you sleep well?"

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Boss couldn't help but smile fondly at the commotion at the end of the hallway. Of course, she had realized that she was in fact smiling, and managed to make her face a mask of passive observation before her three cobras noticed that she was standing there.

Honestly, the arrow hadn't been all that surprising, stray projectiles of all sorts were common around her Cobras, she had found.

"Good Morning, Fury." She always liked to hear her Cobras call her 'Joy'. It was informal, it was casual. And the irony was that it was her given name. "And his codename isn't apathy, it's Snake." But she would have to give him an emotion before too long. She needed to think about that.

"Snake and I were just about to go to breakfast..." Voyevoda was secretly looking forward to hearing The Fury's opinion on Jacks Soviet Uniform. Her fiery Cobra always had an opinion, and rarely had any problems informing people what said opinion was.

[vostok-n2o4.livejournal.com]

“Breakfast?” The Fury tilted his head, as though considering the word very carefully. “It’s almost time for lunch.” He looked around for a moment before pointedly stepping over the Fear’s lingering bedding, heavy boot falls obvious on the wooden floor. “I’ve been trying to wake him up for the last six hours. The sun rose over the Krasnogorje mountain peak at exactly six fifty two this morning. What reason does he have to still be lazing about in bed?”

What reason, beyond the ridiculously fast metabolism, and the fact that the Spider spent most of his nights out hunting?

The cosmonaut examined the arrow jutting from the doorway, considered removing it, then though that it wasn’t worth it. “And that is the thanks I get. He bit me, as well. Twice.”

Just another day at Cobra barracks.

And then, he noticed Snake, glowering and glaring in that ridiculous olive drab train wreck of a uniform, and he didn’t need any more invitation than the American’s sour glare to stomp down the narrow hallway for a closer look.

The Fury barely hid his amusement, and barely restrained his desire to poke at the newcomer in amused disgust with his flame thrower. “Poor thing. You let Major Krauss dress you this morning, didn’t you?” Reflexively, he secured his helmet again at the notion of being so close -- hard telling what the kid was carrying. “Right. Sorry about the jodhpurs then. He has a nasty habit of issuing them several sizes to small to the new recruits he really likes.”

[sunnymario.livejournal.com]

The Pain was pretty sure that the Joy was amused by their little wake-up campaign.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d188/snmario/cobradaily.jpg
The American, on the other hand, was confused a little, judging by the fact he tensed beneath his new uniform. He'll understand the fun with the spider. The Pain thought, if he could actually join the Cobra family by surviving all the teasing from the Fury.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

It seemed like all of them were determined to harass him. Well, except for The Fear. Snake felt he'd prefer it if he stayed asleep. He already had two of the emotion-labeled freaks bothering him relentlessly.

"I slept fine," he responded, though he didn't seem happy about having to answer in the first place. He could have said nothing, but he was trying, for The Boss' sake, to be at least social, if not amiable. And he had slept well, but he usually did. He'd never had issues with insomnia.

Snake rolled his eyes as the cosmonaut drew closer, already having an idea of what he was going to bother him about. "He gave this to me last night, actually," he informed the man in a clipped tone. "And I doubt that he likes me." No, the German had seemed to dislike his attitude regarding uniforms and haircuts and whatever else. At least the Cobras weren't hounding him to get his hair trimmed. That was something to be thankful for.

[vostok-n2o4.livejournal.com]

“Last night. Hmm.” The Fury shook his head, and decided to leave all possible inappropriate assumptions about ‘last night’ and ‘Krauss’ to the imagination. “Looks good, kid. I like it. A bit too flammable for my tastes, but it’s a good color on you.”

Woolen uniforms were quite flammable, much to the cosmonaut’s delight, and much to the dismay of every GRU officer who crossed him on a bad day.

Briefly saluting the Boss, he stepped sideways to avoid hitting either of the two Americans with his jet pack in the narrow hallway.

The sociopath said nothing more as he reached the main door, even though he had a lot rattling around in his fractured mind. Plenty was left unsaid about the suspected nature of The Joy’s true mission, and what that meant for himself and the rest of the Cobra Unit.

It was just easier to go on like nothing was wrong, and find a nice, peaceful diversion.

Reports trickled in all morning about a truck stalled at the front gates of the fortress, just prefect for stripping down as spare parts. Volgin would be livid to learn the Krasnogorje flame patrol and their leader scraped a perfectly good military truck for the fuck of it.

Infuriating the Colonel was about as peaceful of a diversion as the Fury really wanted to occupy his time with.

“If anyone comes looking for me,” he stopped in the doorway, “they can find me easily enough in my laboratory.” Without another word, he disappeared into the cold, white morning beyond the security of Cobra barracks.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Boss smiled broadly at the exchange between her sons. She would allow The Fear to sleep, well aware of his nocturnal tendencies.

She was pleased to see that The Fury seemed to be accepting Jack, even if Jack didn't quite see the brotherly teasing for what it was.

Voyevoda remained quiet, happy to merely observe her small family.

"Well... Snake, it looks like we'll be having lunch instead of breakfast." She had almost slipped up there and called him Jack. Again.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

That had been a curveball. The cosmonaut had just complimented him? Unfortunately, it wasn't something he agreed with. Wearing Soviet cloth and colors felt wrong. There was a good chance The Fury would never see him in it again. Snake wasn't too guilty over that fact; the pyromaniac had been nothing but an annoyance since he'd first opened his mouth.

And he'd been hoping that the Cobras were quiet, methodical people.

Glancing at The Boss, he shrugged. "First meal of the day. It's breakfast." He wasn't arguing so much as stating a fact. Either way, it was food that would quell his stomach's complaint. He waited for her to lead the way, ignoring the only Cobra still in the hall with them.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Joy nodded to The Pain as she turned and headed for the mess hall. It was probably a good idea that Jack was with her, following her. She'd learned early on she had better credibility as a commander if she had someone under her command following her.

Being a woman in the male dominated military life could be difficult at times, even for a 'legendary soldier'. Too often men expected her to be much more docile and obedient. It was almost satisfying to prove that she was just as capable, and in many cases more than capable, as any man when it came to fighting.

It was inevitable that she would have to prove that she had earned her codename of 'The Boss'. She would also need to make sure that Volgin learned where she drew certain lines involving the chain of command. Voyevoda also needed him to realize quickly what happened to anyone who crossed those lines.

"I'll see about getting something else for you to wear. I needed to speak with Colonel Volgin anyway... but that can wait until after we eat."

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

As usual, Snake was at a complete loss as to what was on his mentor's mind as they made their way to the mess hall. He had always wondered, but he had never known. He was protective enough of his own thoughts--it made sense that she would be as well. Despite that, he was still curious.

He was also eager to know if she still thought well of him--or if he hadn't been meeting her expectations as far as performance, infiltration and socialization included. The fact was that he could only be himself; he could try as hard as possible to please her, but there were certain things he couldn't change about who he was.

...He shouldn't have been so hung up on it, anyway. He was his own person, after all. It didn't all have to be about her opinion of him.

"I wonder when I'll get to meet him," he said with a wry smile. It would certainly be an interesting experience, based on what he'd heard about the man.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

"Sometime today. I need to talk to him." The Boss looked at Snake as she spoke, glancing at the smile warily. "Be careful around him. He has absolutely no problem causing severe harm to his own soldiers. I don't think he realizes that I won't tolerate him harming anyone under my command."

'Under my command', it was a general statement. She had almost said her Cobras. But that didn't include Jack, not yet. She couldn't deny that he was family. He was actually fitting in very well with her violent, eccentric Cobras.

"Tell me about your fight with the Ocelots." It was a vague question, purposefully left open to interpretation. She had often posed the same question to her Cobras.

The Sorrow had always taken a philosophical, scholarly view of battle. His answers were always tragic and enlightening. Knowledge at the price of life and innocence.

The Fear had generally given vague, gory accounts of his battles. '...then the Nazi who'd been hiding behind an old log with some nasty smelling mushrooms on it fell over and began twitching...' He could often describe in great detail how they had died, but wouldn't have been able to remember if the soldier had been a Colonel or a Private.

Hopefully hearing Jack talk about his fight would give her some insight to what emotion best suited him.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

All Snake kept hearing in conjunction with the name Volgin was warnings - more and more warnings. He knew well enough to be careful around the man, but that didn't stop him from wanting to meet him. He couldn't help having some curiosity when he'd heard so much. He'd be careful, though he wasn't sure what he would do to upset the man that much in the first place.

Unless he was that strict about people wearing uniforms.

Her question--more of a demand, really--was easy enough to respond to. It had been just yesterday, after all.

"They surrounded me, but they didn't attack at first. Ocelot taunted me for a while and he thought I was you at first. I made fairly short work of them, though. I didn't kill anyone, though one of them had to take a tranquilizer dart to the arm." He shrugged. Some would have considered that sloppy, but it was what he'd needed to do at the time.

"I told Ocelot that he'd handle a Revolver better than that Makarov he was using." That was the truth. If there was one thing Snake knew more than enough about, it was guns.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

"I'm glad that you didn't kill any of them. If you had I'm fairly certain that the rest of the unit would be out for blood." Snake couldn't have known that he would be coming to Groznyj Grad in an impromptu, forced defection of sorts. "But beyond that, in most situation it's better to disable an opponent than to kill them."

There were all sorts of tactical reasons behind it, capturing them and interrogating them, and furthermore any enemy that left the battle injured consumed resources and took up space without being able to contribute to their sides efforts.

There were plenty of moral and emotional reasons to leave them alive as well, but thinking about those always lead her thoughts to The Sorrow...

She couldn't help but smile slightly in amusement at the knowledge that Snake had given Ocelot gun advice. "You have to be very confident to give advice to an enemy." The Joy didn't believe Snake was overconfident or arrogant, the statement was mostly to find out why he'd said that to Ocelot.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

"I know that," Snake responded, though not in a hostile manner. Obviously, as a soldier, killing was something he'd had to come to terms with a long time ago. However, being in infiltration, killing tended to be detrimental to the mission--and most sane people would rather not kill unless they had to. It had been easy for him to make sure they all lived--it was in dangerous situations that blood had to be spilled.

He shrugged. It might have been a bold move, but he had his reasons for it. "He's talented, but he'd be an actual challenge if he got good with a revolver. With practice, he'd become a better soldier than he is now. A much better soldier." He smirked, glancing at his mentor. "And I'd like to fight him when he's become that soldier."

There was some skewed logic in it, yes, but he felt that The Boss would understand. There was a certain type of exhilaration he got from a particularly good battle--and he hadn't felt it the day before. He wanted to.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Joy nodded in quiet understanding as Jack admitted he would like to fight the Ocelot Major when he'd improved. Honestly, she felt similar about Snake. When she had first found him, she had somehow known that if anyone would ever surpass her, it would be him.

Voyevoda had been looking forward to that day since she had started teaching Snake, and she was beginning to think that she wouldn't have to wait too much longer.

"It's natural to desire a challenge." Most people, however, assumed that if they could defeat a person once, they could always do so.

"And you're right about Major Ocelot." He would become a much better soldier, she was sure of that.

The Mess hall was mostly empty when they arrived, still too early for most to be eating lunch.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

Snake had to wonder why it was natural to want to work so hard for something instead of it being easy. It didn't make sense, though challenges provided the only way one could improve.

And when it was all based on survival of the fittest...

It made some sense, then.

"We'll see if he listens to me," he said with a smirk and a shrug. He was surprised the young man hadn't tracked him down yet to give him a tongue lashing for the stunt he'd pulled the day before, but maybe the kitty was still licking at his wounds.

They'd run into each other eventually.

Snake was pleased to see how empty the mess hall was. Nodding to his mentor, he moved away from her so that he could quickly grab a tray and gather some food.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

"I think he will," She said, smiling at Snake. He had grown up a lot since the last time she had seen him. The Joy moved at a more relaxed pace as she grabbed a tray to get food.

Partly because she was really not in any hurry, and partly because she did not look forward to more Russian military food. Then again, American military food wasn't any better.

"What do you think of Groznyj Grad so far, Snake?"

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

What was there to think of it? It was a base--there wasn't anything particularly special about it, as far as he knew. Then again, he hadn't exactly seen much of the base. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to simply go wandering around. Certain areas probably required specific authorization levels and so on...

He shrugged. "I haven't seen much." He didn't want to speak badly of the place, since he wasn't sure what The Boss' feelings on it were. He didn't enjoy any of the people thus far--the German and the Cobras had irked him more than anything, but he knew his mentor would frown if he mentioned that.

No, it was best to keep quiet. With his tray full of food, the soldier quickly sat down at a table and started to eat.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

Had Jack always been this... withdrawn? Perhaps apathy did suit him best, but that wasn't how she remembered him... then again, it had been several years.

"I think The Fury is starting to accept you." The Joy said quietly as she sat down at the table as well. "They take some getting use to..." She smiled fondly, remembering when she had first gotten them all together.

They were difficult to deal with on their own sometimes, but all of them together... It was a wonder that the Unit had grown as close as they had. Family...

"Do you want to be a Cobra, Snake?" It was best to ask him before she tried to start the process. "You're my student, and if you didn't know it already, my Cobras often called themselves 'The sons of The Boss'... they're like family to me." Voyevoda paused for a moment to let it sink in before continuing.

"Because you trained under me, you have the right to be a part of that family as well." Honestly, she didn't think her Cobras would give him much of a choice. The Fury seemed oddly insistent in his own way that Jack become part of the family.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

It was true that he wasn't always quite so quiet, but being in another country, expected to conform to the Soviet way... It put him on edge. He would have been a bit more vocal if he could have spoken of his some of his complaints about the place and the people in it, but he wasn't sure if The Boss would approve of that... And he didn't want her thinking badly of him.

"Accept me? He doesn't exactly know me," he responded with a frown. Then again, who did? Well... if there was anyone, it was The Boss. Maybe she would understand the cosmonaut's behavior, but he certainly didn't.

As for her question, it was difficult to answer. The truth was that he didn't exactly want to be part of that group, but he wasn't sure if she would really consider him at part of her family if he didn't. However, being a Cobra seemed like a lifelong commitment... And he was only planning to be here as long as the mission required it. (Then again, he had no idea what was happening with that... And this limbo he was in was making him more and more uneasy.)

"I..." He sighed and stared down at his food. Where the hell was his appetite? "I don't. Not really." He was wincing inwardly, worried about how she'd respond. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want her scorning him, either.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

The Joy nodded slightly, staring intently at Jack and doing her best to figure out his emotions, as hidden and suppressed as they were.

"I understand," It was a big thing, really. Her Cobras had given a vow to follow her till the day that they all died. And the way they had said it gave the impression that they firmly believed they would one day follow her on a mission from which there would be no return.

Particularly with that sad smile The Sorrow had on his face as he said it. The Boss blinked slightly as she looked away from Snake towards a window. It was raining outside, heavily.

Not for the first time she wondered if The Sorrow had known, even then, and agreed anyway. "I didn't expect you to say yes."

Jack was too pure, too young to be a Cobra. He hadn't yet learned what it was to carry an emotion of his own into battle. To embrace the strengths and weaknesses inherent to emotions.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

She understood. But did that meant she liked the answer? Then again, picking apart everything she said was just going to give him a headache. Or perhaps an ulcer. Neither of which he particularly wanted.

Even if Snake didn't understand everything about what it meant to be a Cobra, he knew enough to realize that it was a lot of him he'd have to give to his mentor. Then again, so many others had been willing... Why wasn't he up to it?

And why had she expected him to refuse? He frowned, not exactly pleased with the situation, even if she hadn't been disappointed. He picked at his food and decided that a change of subject might be a good idea.

"Any plans for the day?" He hoped there was. He didn't like having nothing to do, especially when he felt like he was supposed to be accomplishing something. But he was simply waiting for her word at this point... Or maybe someone from back home would get in contact with him.

It was becoming more and more obvious that his life was based on listening to the instructions of others.

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

"I need to speak with Volgin, and probably Major Ocelot as well. You can accompany me if you wish, if not, I suggest you get familiar with the base. The Fury informed me that there are a surprising number of under ground tunnels and similar interesting things..."

"But don't wander off too far, I might need you to help me with a few things later." Like sabotaging the shagohod, for instance. That was a big job, and while it could be done single handed, it would be simpler with help.

She had eaten all she wanted of the less than appetizing food. "Snake... stop worrying. I'm not unhappy with you for not wanting to be a Cobra. Being a Cobra or not, it doesn't change very much." That was more or less true, she would likely continue to see him in the same manner if he was a Cobra or not.

"I know I've practically turned your world upside down in the last twenty four hours." Strange, earlier she was thinking how much he was changed, now he reminded her of how he was when she first started training him.

She leaned forward until her forehead was almost touching his. "If you really want something to do, why don't you go ask The Fury what he thinks about the Shagohod? Just don't be surprised if he entertains fantasies of seeing it blown up and on fire." A subtle message in there, hopefully whatever sabotage occurred would be a lot less obvious than that.

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

Tunnels? It might be a good idea to look into that if he ever had to sneak around the place--or sneak out. Still, if The Fury knew about them, who knew how many other people did as well? It had to be better than sneaking above-ground, though. "I could come with you," he replied with a shrug. "I'm not sure what parts of the base I'm allowed to be in and what parts I'm not." Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but Snake tended to end up in high-security places without meaning to because he was naturally quiet and inconspicuous.

Help her with a few things...? "Like what?" He didn't see any harm in asking if she had mentioned it. No one was paying them much attention, anyway.

Dammit, why did she have to be so good at reading him? He sighed and nodded. If there wasn't much difference between being a Cobra and not being one, then he'd much rather not be one. Signing himself into a group like that would have felt... suffocating.

"I'm used to that sort of thing," he replied. Getting his world turned upside down tended to be part of the job description. Things often went the way he expected them to. At least she was here this time.

"Why would I want to go talk to him?" he asked with a scoff, resisting the urge to pull away from her as she leaned in. "I'd rather go with you or wander around on my own... So long as I know where I can or can't be."

[unsurpassedjoy.livejournal.com]

She was almost disappointed that Jack hadn't managed to string together the clues that she'd dropped. Then again, he did alternate drastically between dangerously insightful and painfully dense.

"You might like to get to know him. It was just a thought. Despite his eccentricities The Fury is always a good person to have as an ally. He's also quite intelligent, a genius even... but don't tell him I said that, he has enough of an ego already."

She got up from the table. "But you're welcome to come with me if you like. I would enjoy the company." It had been so long, she really had missed her youngest.

"When we talk to Volgin, we'll find out what parts of the base are off limits."

[naked-snake.livejournal.com]

Strangely enough, he hadn't eaten much. It wasn't that the food was bad. He didn't mind it that much. He'd just been occupied with other things and with the conversation. He stared down at the food and took a few quick bites before standing.

As much as The Boss spoke well of The Fury, Snake wasn't sure if he liked him. All he'd done thus far was irritate him. Maybe he took some getting used to, but Snake didn't have the time or effort to put into that. He also didn't care enough to bother with it. Though he got the feeling that no matter what he did, the cosmonaut would probably bother him.

Going with her seemed like the best idea at this point. He'd wanted to meet Volgin, anyway. "When was the first time you met him?" he asked curiously. They had seemed to know each other pretty well back on that bridge...

He wouldn't be nervous about it. That would be stupid.