Jenevieve looks into joining the Guard, and has an interesting conversation with Leon.

LVC: Guardhouse
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Rather spartan, the guard house. It's actually two rooms, separated by a thick curtain barrier. The front room, in which you stand, is clean and rather bare: several wooden bins rest against a wall, a weapons rack hangs opposite them, and the captain's desk is tucked neatly under the only window in the room, in the outer wall. Beyond the curtain is a cluster of bunks for whoever wishes a quick nap after a long duty shift.

A small, rounded [Tunnel]-entrance opens at the back wall, darkness
obscuring what lies beyond it.
A doorway leads [Out] to the main entry corridor.

Jenevieve knocks on the door to Leon's office, slightly nervous despite her best efforts. She's not afraid of Leon, of course, but she was advised by her teacher to see him about her career options. Of course, it was made slightly awkward due to her family connections (in more ways than one), so she had no idea how he'd take this. However, Racso had always spoken well of Leon. That was good enough for her--whatever else, she had to hope he'd be fair.

Leon is, for once, not at his desk buried in paperwork. He's used his away time to get caught up on everything, and is finally ahead of the curve. Unfortunately, this means that he's bored, and Leon doesn't idle very well. He is standing in front of his desk, aiming a series of darts into a bulls-eye he's fashioned against the far wall. When the knock comes, he is just about to throw his dart. He stops, looks to the door, then sets the dart down on his desk and leans against the front, looking towards the closed door. "Come in," he says.

Jenevieve enters, looking vaguely uncertain. "Um, hi," she says, ever so eloquently. "I need to talk to you, if you're not too busy."

Leon looks slyly over at the hundreds of dart holes he's made in the wall, then turns back to Jen. "Ah, no. Not busy at all, actually." He steps aside and waves a paw at the chair in front of his desk. "Do you want to sit?"

Jenevieve nods, and takes a seat. "Thanks. Well, it's like this, Leon--I graduate in May, and afterward I'm considering joining the Guard." If nothing else, Jenevieve believes in being direct. "I can fight already--Aunt Gabrielle's been teaching me"

Leon rubs his chin thoughtfully, humming a bit to himself. "Yeah, I think she mentioned something about that a while back. The Guard, though, huh? Why the Guard?

Jenevieve straightens up in her chair, trying to at least give the semblence of having it together somewhat. "In a nutshell? Because there's a lot scary things out there--I know that firsthand. And I want to be part of defending our home from all that. I can--and I'm pretty good at it. " She shrugs. "Anything else you want to know?"

OOC> Leon asks, "Hey, question - how was Jenevieve as a student?"
OOC> You say, "She was smart, but had a messy home life--her mom abandoned her and Racso, then Racso went off to the city or whatever, and she lived with Ben and Becky's family for awhile, then went back to her mom (who she really doesn't have much of a relationship with) She got into a lot of fights, though she's pretty stable now"

Leon returns to his seat behind the desk and clasps his paws together. "Well, I can see why you'd want to defend Thorn Valley against all those crazy things out there. I know your family history - I've had a similar conversation with Racso, you know. There was a time when he wanted to join the Guard - as a strategist or something. He felt... well, I guess he felt a little guilty knowing that his parents had tried to destroy this. In the end, Justin gave him the colony recorder's position." He leans forward a bit. "I guess what I'm saying is, are you asking to join for the right reasons? Because you can defend this colony in a multitude of other ways, not all of them involve fighting."

Jenevieve's jaw tightens, and she looks as though she'd holding back some strong emotion. *Oh, for the love of...* "You know my family history? You and pretty much everyone else," she replies. "I have a well-developed sense of irony, Leon. I see what you're saying. You think I'm trying to make up for what Dad and Mom did." She looks up at him, her green eyes piercing his. "It's WAY more complicated than that, Leon."

Leon shrugs "I'm not saying it isn't. It's not my job to know why you're asking to become a Guard, because I know you'll perform admirably. I just want to make sure YOU know why you're asking to become a Guard. You did well in school, you could probably have any number of different jobs throughout the colony, I want you to tell me right now
that you know this is the right thing for you. If you say yes, then of course I'd love for you to join us."

Jenevieve nods, understanding. She really hadn't expected Leon to understand so well. "I do. It's hard to describe all the reasons why to other people, but it *feels* right to me. I can't do what Racso does--sitting at a desk all the time would drive me up the wall. And Mom wants me to go into politics, which isn't a huge attraction for me. Power's cool and everything, but it's not something I'm after."

Leon can't help bit smirk a little bit at that, though it fades quickly. Memories of her father still course through his mind, and he can't help but see him a bit in Jen's features. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, recomposing himself. "Well, if you're not after a desk job and you're not into politics, that leaves hard labor or The Guard, and hard labor means having to work with Arthur - and he's got a touch of asperger's I think." He snerks. "Yeah, don't tell him I said that. Sure, you can join the Guard, Jen. And while Gabrielle might've given you a leg up on the training, there are still exams to pass."

Jenevieve averts her eyes, knowing full well that her gaze makes a lot of people uncomfortable. She can't and won't deny that she looks and occasionally acts like her father--he is part of her. She can't help but smile a bit at Leon's assessment of Arthur. "Or he just likes to shout at people. My dad did--but he liked a bigger audience, you know?" The last part comes out before she can stop herself. "Um, pretend I didn't say that last bit. Okay. Exams. What does that entail?"

Leon sighs a bit at Jen's mention of her father, but quickly brushes it off. "Well, there are a couple. There's a standard physical exam - that's handled by Justin in the gymnasium. If you're uncomfortable with that, I can arrange to have somebody else handle it. Forgive me, but I'm not up to speed on whether or not you two are on good terms."

Jenevieve shrugs, brushing a strand of headfur out of her eyes. "I don't have any interaction with him at all--so I don't know myself. I don't, like, hate him or anything--why should I?"

Leon leans back a bit in his seat. "Just making sure, is all. I remember Racso had problems with Justin at first, considering what happened on at the Rose Bush. If you say it won't be a problem, that's enough for me. The exam is standard wind sprints, a few measures of strength, nothing too crazy. I'm sure you'll do fine. Once Justin gives me the okay, the second exam is outside - Xavier handles that one."

Jenevieve nods a bit, her brow furrowing. *Note to self: ask Racso what the hell happened with him and Justin.* "Right, okay. Anything else I should know about?"

OOC> Leon says, "I take it Jen doesn't have any ill will towards Justin for confronting/skewering her father? ;)"
OOC> You say, "No--she was really young when it happened. What matters to her is that he didn't deal the final blow--that was Sullivan. Who she cannot even look at or be in the same room with."
OOC> Leon says, "Ah, I see. Okay, then."

Leon nods once and points over to a bulletin board near the entrance. On it is a piece of paper with names scribbled here and there. "That's the sign-up sheet for the written test. It's actually a two-fold test. Obviously it's a test to make sure you can read and write - obviously that won't be a concern for you - but it's also a test of the colony's laws. You're presented with a number of scenarios, and you write in the proper response. A lot of would-be Guards do pretty poorly on that part, so make sure you've studied."

Jenevieve nods a bit, glancing toward it. "Do they really?" she asks, somewhat surprised. "Okay, got it. Hit the books like it's going out of style. Thanks, Leon--and if Justin doesn't want to give me the exam...well, I understand, and it's fine." She begins to stand up. "Anything else I should know?"

Leon shakes his head. "I'm not worried about Justin not giving you the exam, Jen. I'm sure you and he will get along just fine." He stands up and offers a grin. "I'll let him know you're planning on taking the exams and have him set up a date and time. Come back here tomorrow sometime later in the day and I'll have that set up for you.

Jenevieve nods, and stands up as well. "Thanks, Leon--I thought I'd have to put up more of a fight for this." She smiles, a bit wryly. "Not that I object to /that/, of course--still, I hope you don't get too much static for this."

Leon shrugs. "I can see there being problems down the line of course. You'll need to be ready for them just as much as I do." He offers her a smirk. "But I think if we can weather Justin rejoining the Guard after his exile, and if we can handle your brother recording the very history of our civilization, I think the naysayers will fall in line without much trouble."

Jenevieve shrugs a bit. "They don't worry *me* much, that's pretty much been my whole life. I can handle it." She pushes back her chair, ready to leave. "Just making sure. You seem nice, and you don't deserve all the crap you'll probably get."

Leon chuckles a bit. "Well, I appreciate it. I'm used to it, though. If there's crap to be gotten, chances are I'm somewhere nearby. Just do me a favor, would you? And I know I don't have to ask, but I am anyway - don't give them a reason to think this is a bad idea. They'll have preconceptions out of the gate, we both know that, but don't give 'em anything new to whine about."

Jenevieve nods, understanding perfectly. She can't help smirking a little, though. "Yeah, I get it. I'll do my best--it hasn't been a problem in awhile."

Leon nods sharply. "Good. Good, good." He stands up courteously. "Was there anything else I can help you with?"

Jenevieve shakes her head. "I think we covered it all," she replies, turning to go. "I better get myself signed up. Then figure out how to break this news to my brother." She flashes him a brief smile, then turns to walk out of the office.

Leon grins a bit and walks to the front of his desk, picking up a dart and deftly flipping it around his claws as Jen exits. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled. You have a nice evening, now."