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[dog_eat_dog]

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[dog_eat_dog]

How'd someone who grew up in military barracks get to be so antisocial, huh?

[vaccination]

[She wipes at her mouth again with her hand.]

That's exactly how. People were up my ass at all hours. Fuck that shit.

[Sort of like living on a cramped train.]

[dog_eat_dog]

I never understood that whole introvert thing. People pushing you is good, keeps you motivated.

[vaccination]

I can motivate myself, thank you very much.

[She thinks she's incredibly motivated when she has a goal in mind. She'll travel hundreds of miles, enter weird space deals...]

[dog_eat_dog]

Yeah?

[ Tess doesn’t want to talk about Joel but it does strike her that Joel is pushing this girl from beyond the grave. ]

Sure, kid.

[vaccination]

You know, when you call me kid, it makes you seem really old.

[dog_eat_dog]

A lot of people here think I look far younger than I am, so it balances out.

[vaccination]

Yeah? Who, and how much did you threaten them?

[dog_eat_dog]

Arthur, for one, you little smart-ass.

[vaccination]

[Arthur Arthur Arthur. Fuck's sake.]

That's one.

[dog_eat_dog]

What, I have to list every person? Listen. Getting old means you survived that long. I'm not going to complain about it even if they thought I looked like an old hag.

[vaccination]

Maybe at home. Here, though? I think you'd freak out if you looked like an old hag.

[It's a compliment, implying she does not actually look like one!]

[dog_eat_dog]

I'm sure we'll find out when the Admiral decides we should all spend a week in a retirement home or something, but until then, I'm good how I am.

[vaccination]

Don't joke. I don't wanna be that old yet, or I don't wanna be in charge of taking care of old people.

[There's the brief, fleeting thought about whether she would have been the one to take care of Joel once old age caught up to him. When he got old, like Eugene, who was sharp as hell until that stroke took him out.

Dumb thought. She'll get him back and figure everything else out from there.]

[dog_eat_dog]

Yeah? You're one of the youngest people here, I think you'd be stuck being a candy striper.

[She's thinking the exact same thing, actually. It's been a thought before: if Joel lived long enough and they had another decade together, whether she'd be willing to take care of him when he slowed down.]