Down in El Paso [Reida, Liltotto]

Reida was, honestly, more glad than she could quite rightly put into words to be back in the field. Sure, she'd gotten plenty comfortable being in the City of Lights with Alastair every day, but that wasn't really her style. She wasn't trying to be attached to the hip to him, and besides, she'd still joined up for a reason.

Of course, she normally didn't work together with the Sternritter, but if anything, she was probably being watched with a bit closer of an eye since that last outing. Probably got put on a list or two for just how dangerous she'd ended up showing she was. Ah well. So far, at least, she hadn't minded getting assigned out here to Texas with Miss Lamperd, though it wasn't really the part of the South she cared for. Barely even the South, honestly.

"You camp often? We'll be out here for a few days, odds are."

She didn't mind covering for someone if they didn't know how to handle it, but at the same time, Reida had a fair suspicion any member of the Sternritter was at least okay in a wilderness situation. Wasn't them Albedochiffren pencil-pushers, after all. It was mostly just her trying to start a conversation out here in the badlands.

Of all places to be deployed, had to be one of the states with high summer heat, huh? Liltotto's eyes were partially closed in a squint, not of boredom or some odd distaste for the landscape around them, but more from the irritable brightness of the sun glaring down on them. Not a single cloud budged to give even an inch of blockage, soon letting a soft grunt of defeat.

Fine, One of her hands reached into her cluttered bag of packaged food items, pulling out a pair of sunglasses, Congrats, you've annoyed me out of being lazy. Hope you're proud of yourself, Sun. Fuck you, Clouds.

Oh well, she was along for the ride with a Tolgestalten Coordinator - a pretty unexpected matchup but she wasn't going to complain; if the bosspeople thought that was what was needed, then that's that. Already starting on a package of trail mix, she'd look to Reida as the woman broke the silence between them, letting out a faint chuckle,

"If we're talkin' the 'Fuck off from society' brand of camping, i'm overqualified," She'd will a stronger smile than her typically neutral face to form, [b]"Hot as piss, but it takes a lot more than heat to get me complaining."

She'd then look off at the distance, hmming softly, "So, care to remind me what we're doing in.. What looks to be UpShits Creek?"

"Just keepin' an eye out. Had reports of a few hollows runnin' around unchecked in these parts, and I can't hardly say that's too terribly surprisin'. Ain't nobody comin' around these parts, and tryin' to stay here long term is askin' for trouble."

Taking a long drink of water from her flask, Reida took a brief pause, having forgotten that she'd replaced the liquor in it. Well, it was for the best, really. She missed the burn, obviously, but it wasn't gonna carry her forever. 'Sides, she had at least a couple people who wouldn't much care for it if she kept that up.

"It's pretty rough out here, no two ways about it, and I imagine that's gotta be why they picked you n' me to come out here. Not too many other people who could handle this sorta environment."

The sun was certainly beating down, but it didn't bother Reida too terribly much. She'd been through a lot worse than this, after all, and any real damage the sun could do would just get fixed up right quick.

The corner of the woman's lip twitched at the thought of it - wild hollows running around and in a cosmic sense, the inability to stop them. At least, not without some form of backlash.

"Ah, hollow watch, my favorite." It wasn't an out of the ordinary job for her, but every time they were meant to deal with the heartless kind, she couldn't help but have a rise in her chest for those around her. Old wounds didn't fade so easy, she supposed, "Ah, don't mind my grumbling. Not directed to you or this, just a bit cranky I guess."

Her shaded eyes would look across the terrain, definitely not picking up any scents as of yet. Good, at the very least they weren't being immediately thrown into a situation, those are always a pain in the ass and she earnestly didn't feel herself to be super great with handling those kinds of surprises.

"Very least, i'll probably know when they're coming before we even see them," She'd reply after another helping of her snack, "Worst case scenario - I take being punching bag pretty well. Hah.. Jokes."

She'd shrug her shoulders and drop her hands to her sides, "..Well, don't need your mouth for watching, could squeeze in a bit of chatter."

Even with her more relaxed appearance, she was in fact paying close attention to any changes in Reiatsu around them, "When I was younger, parts I moved through were on the mild to cold side, frigid even at some times of year. I don't usually try to stay out in hot climates but, hey what can ya do if you're told to go. Living arrangements definitely weren't anywhere near as... Considerate, I guess is the right word. Lots of sleeping outside with nothin', yknow."

"Heh, I can't say I'm a big fan of hollow patrol either, but it's an easy job, if nothin' else. And there's somethin' to be said about the sorta peace that's goin' on if even someone from the Todgestalten like me's on patrol like this, eh?"

Of course, really, Reida had mixed feelings on that. She knew that peace was a good thing, that she shouldn't want any more serious conflict to be arising. But, at the same time, she still hated the Gotei and Vastime with all her heart and soul. She still wanted blood. But that wasn't healthy to dwell on all the time, and she distracted herself with another swig of water as she listened to Liltotto speak.

"I didn't grow up with much in the way'a cold. Winters might drop to freezing at night, but them summers were scorchin'. Always humid though, nothin' dry like this. Me 'n... Me 'n the kids would usually go campin' a lot when it cooled down a bit. I'm used to stayin' outdoors."

Talking about her life before the war wasn't exactly comfortable for Reida, but she didn't want to make a scene out of it, either. She knew trying to be more open about things, act like more of a normal person, was probably the only way she was ever going to actually start feeling better.

She hoped, anyway.

She caught that hesitance in the dark haired woman's voice, one she was all too familiar with - That discomfort with the past. Her faced softened a bit, which wasn't much of a difference than her usual expression, but nonetheless could probably be picked up. Well, if any time's a moment to encourage opening up, she supposed now was an alright instance.

"I moved around a lot as a kid, was just me and..." Ah, that was right... Copeland was responsible for looking over Giselle's shoulder for a time, huh? "...Myyyy mother..." God she hoped that pause from that awkward thought wasn't looked upon with much scrutiny, "My favorite thing to do when it started snowing was horseback riding in the fresh snowfall, through the woods. Sometimes the other kids would join me and badger me into racing, much to my young self's annoyance, but maybe I enjoyed it more than my stubborn heart cared to admit. World felt a lot less... Oppressively large and complicated back then."

Her soft pink lips would be met with a gentle biting in cringe. She knew full well it wasn't much longer after those years that they would have been killed in combat, their young lives snuffed out while she was the one of the unlucky few who remained, and remembered.

"..Good times are good to reflect on, I feel, even if it's tied up with other baggage," She'd speak with an exhausted sigh, "Forgettin' about em all together just doesn't feel right. Like pushing away any scrap of good I had for only a big heap of bad."

It wasn't as if Reida had been unaware of who her company was, or the potentially awkward situations it could feasibly have brought into play. But she didn't have anything against her former charge, and even if she had, it certainly wouldn't have followed through onto Liltotto.

"Everyone misses simpler times. Probably one of the biggest things holdin' everyone in the Vandenreich together, if ya think about it. Doubt there's too many of us who don't know what it's like."

Of course, sipping water could only get a woman so far, and Reida instead took a brief sip from the bottle of whiskey she still carried with her. She certainly agreed, maybe a little too much. All she did was reflect most days, at least until lately.

"Guess it depends on how much baggage, don'tcha think? Ain't good to weigh yourself down so much ya can't even move."

"Hmm, guess so. Do notice a fair amount of people who wish things could just roll back, like the war never happened. Or in other's cases, wars."

Her boot traced the dirt beneath her in a repetitive line as she reflected, "I'd guess my version of simpler times is different to yours and many other's. Eighteen-hundreds didn't have much in the way of the spiritually aware, or people very accepting of the strange. Very different times, these days - people look at what would have been the oddest shit ever just a few generations ago, and shrug their shoulders. Felt like a weird migration from creature to person to me."

The prejudice in her early life never bothered her too deeply, it was always dumb shit others fixated on that really shouldn't have been their concern. It did fuel some early onset animosity she supposed, but recalling her younger self's views seemed less her being sad or angry about the way some treated her, and more just a glaze of frustration over it and the lack of a visible solution apart from pushing it aside. Felt like the longer she lived, the more normal and adjusted her surroundings felt to exist in.

"Hmmh," She'd consider Reida's words once more, "Well, yeah, can't let the shit weigh you down, else you go full hermit and settle for eating trash instead of treating yourself properly," a soft chuckle left her, "Same time, you can't just carry it alone. Like... If you got somebody who understands and has their shit together enough, letting them know the bags are getting a biiiit too heavy to handle would help you out. Also, take it easy on that stuff - gotta be alert after all."

"Y'er old, old people are always gonna see the world differently than us young'ns. Things're always changin', people're always gettin' different circumstances in the world. Hell, you're probably old enough to remember stuff I only ever read about in school. Stuff like slavery'n all that. Makes me glad I missed it, but at the same time, I get the feelin' a lot of people back then still had it better than some people do nowadays. These wars sure's hell ain't been kind."

Not that Reida considered herself some expert on things like this. She hadn't exactly been great in school, and it wasn't information she ever used in her day to day life nowadays, so it pretty much got discarded. She couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle at Liltotto's suggestion, though.

"I've been drinkin' on every job I ever did until a few months ago. A sip or two to cool the nerves ain't anything to worry about. Want one?"

She didn't really assume Liltotto would, but even so, she offered the whiskey bottle briefly to her. It was just good southern hospitality.

Her gaze seemed distant for a moment with Reida's commenting of what she had witnessed, a soft nod following, "Yeah, yeah you could say that," she'd mumble out while downing another fistful of mix, "Be real thankful you missed it, real thankful... Back then wasn't a great time to be a Quincy."

Oh, woman could hold her alcohol; she didn't take Copeland to be an irresponsible drinker or anything, mostly being concerned of her alertness than anything else. Didn't hurt to make sure mistakes aren't made, in the end.

"Nah," She'd give a gentle wave of rejection, "I've found it's pretty hard to enjoy alcohol if you can't even get buzzed. Stuff flies through me, so gettin' any feeling out of it is pretty much impossible."