[System]
| Basic Info
__________________________________________________________
Age:  25

Birthdate: April 4th, 2045

Sexuality: Straight

Nationality: Germany

Class: Psi Operative

Preferred Adv. Class: Templar |

 Appearance
__________________________________________________________

Eye Color: Amethyst

Hair Color: Snow White

Weight: 161 lbs / 73 kg

Height: 5' 11" / 180.3 cm

Complexion: Light, Fair

Body Physique: Lean, Muscular
Helene's body is well-toned with lean muscles. Her white hair is always done up in a bun or a pony-tail and never lets it down in public. Every step she takes carries weight and the pride that her heritage and training has afforded her. A fearsome gaze hides the bright, energetic person behind the purple eyes. Extensive training and little time in actual combat has ensured that Helene's body is relatively spotless. |

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| Social
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Affliations:
* Sigmund Weisser- Father and current head of Weisser Armaments.
* Katrin Weisser- Mother and renowned researcher of xenobiology.
* Stefan Weisser - Grandfather and Former President of Weisser Armaments.
* Leon Weisser - Older Brother, Military Service Classified.
* Alexander Smith - Close Friend from the Academy, stationed on Mars

Relationships:
* TBD
* TBD
* TBD
* TBD
 |
 Equipment
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* Plasma Rifle
* Ion Knife
* Weisser W45 Pistol (C. 2015)
* Plasma Grendade
* Customized Psi-amp
* Standard-issue Ostryx Body Armor

Gene Mods
* Muscle Fiber Density
* Bioelectric Skin
 |

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Biography
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 Helene was born five years after the official end of the Alien's invasion of Earth. Her grandfather, Stefan Weisser, was serving in the German Military when the conflict first started. At the time, he was a potential prospect for Germany's KSK but instead was recruited into XCOM shortly after the devastation of Berlin. Stefan served valiantly and with courage alongside his squad, nicknamed the "Grim Crows". However, Stefan's impact on the war was truly measured when he was one of the first candidates to successful undergo the testing for psionics. While some may call it a gift, Stefan was brought to some of the most brutal and intense fighting of the war in attempt to use his psionics to turn the tide. Helene's father was born on one of XCOM's base in the middle of the war, though due to security concerns he was forced to remain with his mother. The war ended and Stefan Weisser had managed to live through it all, taking over control of the family business after learning his father had passed away.

 By the time Helene was born, Stefan had retired placing his son in charge of the business. Weisser Armaments took the brunt of manufacturing Earth's new line of plasma weaponry, using the experience and information from XCOM to produce the weapons on a wider scale. This, of course, afforded the Weisser family a life of luxury that many recovering from the war did not possess. Helene never wanted for anything in her life, though she often found herself enthralled in her grandfather's tales when he would tell them. It didn't matter the distant look he would get sometimes in his eyes, she wanted to be a hero just like him. That was why when Helene starting showing signs for natural psionic ability, she was overjoyed and happier than she had ever been. Her father enrolled her in a special school for other individuals like her. No matter the obstacle Helene fought her way to the top without regard for anyone else. The school was also charged with preparing the students for military service, as the demand for their talents were high. Helene proved to be a fearsome combatant with the image of her grandfather standing atop a pile of dead aliens encouraged her to push herself.

 Helene didn't even hesitate going into military service at the end of her education, knowing that she had to do her part to defeat the alien menace once and for all. With top marks and at the top of her class, Helene was admitted into a program exclusive to psionics after completing her basic training. As part of the program, she was outfitted with two genetic modifications throughout her training. Higher density muscles meant she could jump, hit, and run faster than most. Bioelectric skin allowed her to sense when others were present or approaching, even release some of the electricity in short, controlled bursts. After her training was finally completed, she was shipped off to Mars to protect humanity's interests on the red planet. However, it was her first time being part of a squad that didn't possess her abilities. It was clear from over-hearing conversations that some of the regular grunts didn't think too highly of psionic power.

 Luckily, her time in the colony of New Star didn't last long as she was transferred into a new unit with a new set of goals. It was time to strike back at the same aliens who had devastated Earth. The same enemies that her grandfather had fought and made him a legend. This time it would be the aliens on the defensive. She was going to uphold the honor of the Weisser name and forge her own legend.

[User]
Hartford Military Base
New Star, Mars Colony
1110 hrs Local Time

The captain listened to each question closely, looking at the speaker accordingly and nodding in acknowledgement to each spoken question. "Good batch of questions, for the most part. We leave in ten, our skimmer will take us to the USS Bronzebeard in orbit and we'll jump to slip space about ten hours after that. There are two other strongholds being attacked simultaneously with our objective, but ours is the closest, so our jump is last. As for the number of tangos, expect numerous, Private Steinboden. This is an enemy stronghold after all, so they won't slouch on keeping it manned. Private Devries, you'll be retaking the course on Earth's interstellar travel when the mission is over, but I have addressed the first question. Your second question's answer is quite simple, and that's that there is no particular rhyme or reason. Another squad is Hawk Squad, you've got the Vengeful Sharks, a Spec Ops team of mostly Rippers with a couple of Reapers in support. So, no particular reason, just where our lot fell most likely."

The captain, having given a quick brief of general details and gotten all the new bloods to talk, walked around the table and hit a button on it, bringing the holographic display up on the fortress that they'd be helping to assault. "And since no one asked, I'll give you guys something more in depth. This is the stronghold Alpha as we've labeled it, though intel says the aliens call it Outpost Warden. Regardless, the official plan that the Commander laid out for us is to insert at the top of the stronghold and work our way down to the main hall while also dealing with any defensive emplacements we can." The gunslinger spoke up at this point.

"But we both know you got a second set of orders from the Commander that weren't so official, which are?" The captain, chuckling softly, nodded.

"He did and that was that the unofficial plan is to move as we see fit and focus on getting to the enemy leadership and contain or neutralize. Orbital support is being tasked to remove anti-air and anti-infantry emplacements on the outside of the outpost. Seems simple enough right?" Damian nodded and took another bite of his jerky as the image shifted to a layout of the Bronzebeard. "Now, as for our accommodations on the Bronzebeard, XCOM units are considered a branch of special forces, so we'll have our own armory, barracks and mess hall for our small unit, though it is encouraged that we mix and mingle with the UEG regulars at meal times and during PT." Snapping his fingers, Captain reached behind him and withdrew three XCOM patches and approached each of the new bloods.

"These are your XCOM patches, signifying that you are members of the unit within the UEG and that if you say your mission is of dire importance, then the regs had better listen to you. However," the change in the captain's tone caused the new bloods to jump, "don't abuse that power. You ever hear of the boy who cried wolf? That's what'll happen to your authority."

Returning to his position at the table, the holographic projection turns off and the Captain starts to walk off. "I'll be back in five to gather you four for the trip up to the Bronzebeard, but until then, get to know each other. You'll be working closely for the foreseeable future." And with that, he and his Gremlin were gone. After a moment of silence, the Irish accent in Damian's voice won out as he jumped down to converse with his new squad mates.

"Alright then, where's everyone from? Hobbies, likes, dislikes?"

[Assistant]
"I'm from South New Star. When I was small, my family immigrated to Mars from France and I love watching holonovels -- especially romance films! I love playing virtual reality games using my neuro-enhancer helmet. I like strategy games and RPGs and first person shooters! And I looove virtual reality dating sims! Not only that, I've logged over 2000 hours in marine combat simulator X. I can totally take out the final boss in The Empire of the Crescent Moon in less than five minutes."

Marcia just wondered if she blabbed too much about herself. I hope they don't think I'm an airhead. I hope they still think I can add my weight in any serious combat situation.

"I love people with courage, and I hate cowards, even though I'm sorta a coward myself."


[System]
Age: 21

Gender: Male

Race: Hundi

Appearance:

Ian stands at 5'3" with a deceptively lithe figure hiding a surprising amount of strength. Atop his head are two pointed canine ears standing up about five inches with fur matching his hair color, he also has a nearly two foot tail of the same fur color.
Personality: Ian is a rather free-spirited one, typically erratic and with a difficult to break happy-go-lucky demeanor. It's not very difficult to become friends with him and he is not too shy to display his interest in someone, bluntly or playfully, and he can on occasion be uncomfortably affectionate. He's very devoted to his companions, his dedication to their protection can be seen in his chosen fighting style and the tenacity with which he will defend them. His tail and ears are often expressive of his mood, the latter of which he enjoys having pet, messing with his tail, however, will usually earn a growl from him.

Brief Backstory: Ian was born to a pair of Hundi sellswords in service to a wealthy trader in Ithillin, nothing much happened in the early years of his life, he would train with his parents or wrestle with the Trader's children, he was even allowed to receive tutoring alongside them as well. As his sixteenth birthday began to draw near he started accompanying his parents on the trade caravans and once the day hit he accompanied his last caravan into Velt, and stayed when the caravan returned. At this point he set out into the world, traveling through Velt continuing to work as a mercenary to fund his wandering. He would eventually cross over into Thaln, where his first encounter with the Iron Rose Knights would occur.

He'd encountered a group of brigands on the road, brigands that had already been targeted by a small group of Iron Rose knights already. The initial brigands had been dealt with but Ian and the knights had confused eachother for enemies. Ian had come out of the fight on top, besting the knights one on three, it was then that the leader of the group offered him a place within the order.

Equipment: Light plate armor designed to allow for a wide range of movement, A pair of Towershields each about two feet wide and almost as tall as he is, A crossbow, And a waraxe.

Skills: Ian's unique fighting style has him using a towershield in each hand, utilizing the heavy shields not only for protection but to pummel his opponents. He is surprisingly agile when using them and can swing them rather easily. When not using his shields his fighting style switches to one reliant on agility, dodging strikes rather than blocking them. Alternatively, Ian is quite skilled with a crossbow.

[User]
"...Eh?"

Tiral didn't even have a moment to react before he was knocked to the ground, bread flying off to the side and all of his various versions of the anti-lightning ward circles scattered over the ground. Luckily enough, there was a lack of wind that day, else all of his work might as well have gone flying out of the training ground and into the sky, but there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

Like the giant wolf that looked like it was about to maul his face off.
Who even let this beast in here?! And a better question: how could he have failed to notice it in the first place?!

"Whoa! Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa! What the heck is going on here?!" Tiral shouted, frantically squirming under the weight of the wolf as it bore down on him. Was this really how he was going to go down? There hadn't even been any evidence that he'd done anything to cause such an event! "Hello?! Anyone? Please?!"

What rotten luck he had, for sure.

[Assistant]
Marianne Delacroix

Rounding the large wolf and hearing the cries for help from a familiar voice, Marianne placed a hand over her lips as she gasped, seeing who it was under Ricard's giant paw.

"Sir Ricard! Get off of him! That is Sir Tiral, an Iron Rose and a comrade-in-arms! Allez, là! Tout suite!"

It was quite a sight, seeing Marianne nearly disappear into Ricard's thick fur as she futilely attempted to push the wolf away and off. Of course, she was nowhere near strong enough to do so. There was hardly a man alive that could grapple toe-to-toe with the wolf purely from a weight standpoint alone. Sir Ricard opened his maw to growl directly in the young man's face. A pungent and acrid stench would waft around Tiral's head. The scent of blood and rotted flesh ripped from their owners, consumed and digested long ago. The question was, was that the scent of human remains or something else? Doubtful anyone would care to ever find out. But, when Sir Ricard felt Marianne's laughably small body (*in comparison) pressed against his own, Sir Ricard shut his maw and looked at his beloved human. Realizing he had possibly made some mistake and committed offense, Sir Ricard turned to shoot the Iron Rose Knight a final glare and snarl before removing his paw from the young man's chest and stepping back a distance. Possibly, a rather uncomfortably short distance but at least the canine detached himself.

Marianne was not amused. Placing her hands on her hips, she didn't have the same fear that was instilled in the others. With a sharp and pointed finger she stood in front of the canine and actually reprimanded the creature in her native language. Whatever she said, it was rapid-fire and dizzying to listen to. Though, it was clear it was angry speech. Sir Ricard lowered his head and eyed the ground, taking the ass-chewing with a certain humility. What it took to have such command and power to humble such a beast spoke untold volumes as to Marianne's standing over him. After the short tongue-lashing, Marianne turned back to Sir Tiral and tucked a long lock of hair behind her ear as she helped him stand. Marianne's maids approached when they determined the line of fire to be safe and dusted off the poor boy, some of them beginning to gather his dropped belongings along with Marianne.

"Oh, my deepest and sincerest apologies, Sir Tiral! Sir Ricard is rather quick to hostilities against strangers."
What she meant to say, was everyone.
"Are you quite alright? He had not harmed you, had he? Here, let me help you with your items."
With the maids and Marianne's back turned, Sir Ricard continued to angrily glare at Sir Tiral.
He was not happy that the man was there, let alone Marianne being so physically close to him at the moment.
It was a good thing Ricard had already eaten and wasn't hungry.
Not only would he be extra ornery, but it was possible that Ricard was a man-eater.
And everyone not Marianne or a Delacroix was on that menu.

[User]
Sir Tyaethe Radistirin

Oddly, the Captain seemed perfectly happy to accept a member of the nobility as just another servant... though that didn't mean the princess would. This called for at least some clarification from Nero: "Did you even ask the princess before doing this? What if she doesn't want your sister to be another maid?"

It wouldn't surprise her if neither of them had given any thought to what should happen in the event one of them wasn't able to comply with the conditions attached to their defeat. It would be such an easy way to get out of any trouble, since there was nothing to fall back on.

[Assistant]
Nero smiled courteously as she looked to one side, her blue eyes meeting Gillian's for a second. "My, so eager to start, sir Gillian? I thought you were beyond chasing around maid skirts, but alas, you prove me wrong. Although the induction... well I suppose i should comply. You seem to know how to handle your...sword around." Nero giggled somewhat, before adressing Fanilly.

"It was an stupid conclusion to an stupid duel, yet both we chose to honor it. We thought that this outfit would be embarassing to someone of our...disposition. But given what my previous outfit was, I find this a welcome change." The eldest of the Sunfield siblings then spun around herself, flailing her skirt around as if to prove a point. "We never set a definite duration, but since you are my mistress now, you may choose to dismiss me anytime. In fact, if you don't want me as maid, it just means less work for me."

"I also did say I would join the roses, so if you want another knight... you know what to do, mistress." Nero added, a strange smirk forming in her face.

Clearing her throat, she looked at Tyaethe. "I understand your reticence, oh venerable lady. But rest assured that If I know the princess enough, she will be delighted." She chuckled so slightly. "See, us Sunfields have more than loyalty to the throne, in fact we both have a faint claim to the throne as it stands. We will never inherit that, but it grants us access to mingle with the royal family." Nero explained, her hand open.

"Sult happened to eat princess Eliabelle's 7th birthday cake in a bout of mischievousness... so there's been a grudge between these two as long as my grudge between her and I. Which I think it was due to me condemning the whole incident by denouncing my own sister." Nero finished, her eyes peeking.

"Besides, you probably should worry more about the mascot lady Delacroix brought yesterday. I never watched it leave."

[User]
Fanilly was silent for a few moments. Well, that explained why Princess Eliabelle would be glad to have a Sult she could exert control over... even if it seemed like a bit of an absurd explanation, it still was one. But this situation, well... Nero was a knight. Fellow nobility. And now she was dressed as a maid, under the loss conditions of a... very very strange duel. After a few moments of silent confusion, the blonde tried desperately to figure out some sort of response. It wouldn't be proper to completely discount the conditions of the duel, and yet... could she simply declare a fellow noble her maid? No, she could not, and she did not want to. Yet there had to be some sort of compromise, something that could be done...

The short girl took a deep breath. Now, perhaps, she had hit upon a reasonable idea that would neither entirely ignore the duel's conditions nor enter into the... strange... maidly circumstances that were being involved. Especially given she could not imagine Sult would not be returned to their order.

"You... will work as a maid for today, and after that we will discuss your joining of our order," Fanilly declared. Yes. This, at least, made some level of sense to the girl.

Of course, today would soon become somewhat more complicated.

[Assistant]
"A-ah... N-no, but I won't deny that he certainly scared me stiff. Doesn't help particularly much that he knocked me to the ground and all that," Tiral said, nervously laughing as he took Marianne's hand to right himself. "Still, thanks for the ai- oh, darn, my food's gone to waste."

With a glance to where the bread had fallen, Tiral sighed as he glanced around to find where all of his scattered papers had fallen, only to find that the beast that had leaped onto him earlier was still staring daggers at him.

"I swear, I didn't even DO anything..." he complained to himself internally as he broke off eye contact, instead kneeling down to help pick up the assortment of magic circles that had been scattered around.

"Actually, I ended up coming here by sheer coincidence; the original plan was to go to find that magician's projection that had showed up while we were out for some advice on the circles you see lying around now, but seeing how you were out here, I figured there might be another solution," he began, collecting the last few papers that hadn't been picked up by the other maids. "Would you mind helping me test these things out? They're anti-electricity wards that siphon the magic towards whatever object lies in the center of them, since last time I encountered electricity, well..."

A nervous laughter escaped him lips before he began to collect whatever the maids had picked up.

"They redirect electricity, so I think if you're tricky enough, you could set up some fairly devious traps with a few in hand. Are you free enough to try something out, or did you have some other outstanding plans today?"


[System]
Known on the seas as: Vic, The Incubus
Age: Late 20s
Title: Captain of his ship, The Black Star
Appearance:
Brunette hair, often pulled up into a knot. Athletic build. He sports a simple overcoat normally only for battle or business, and other than that, he usually matches his crew: breeches to the knee with stockings to secure them, a loosely fitted white linen shirt. He doesn't believe in the way of his predecessors, how they had to distinguish themselves from the rest of the crew through fancy attire. He does, however, display a few rings he had stolen on his fingers. Dark tattoos can be found all over his body, aged by the sun. He has multiple scars to his torso, arms and legs, and has a single scar running down his face.

Personality: Life on the sea had hardened Vic. He had killed more than he can count, and he watched his men get impaled or bludgeoned with no second thought from their murderer. Although he had a definite sense of humor, Vic usually remained stone cold in his demeanor. To be a good captain, he thought, he needed to remain impartial and unemotional, often pushing his own feelings to better serve himself and his crew. He had an insatiable thirst for blood and wealth.

[User]
Alice did not sleep so easily that night. In fact, she barely slept at all. After the fright she'd had, she was awake at every bump in the night. And this wasn't exactly the quietest of households, either. Every time, she looked across to see the large figure of Victor spread across her floor. It was a very comforting sight. Somehow, his presence made her feel safer than that of any hired guard. He... really did seem to care for her wellbeing. When she came to her senses in the morning, he had already left her. She frowned a little, disappointment welling in her chest. Hold on- she hadn't actually been wanting to see him in the morning, had she? Oh, well. To be honest, she wondered what he would look like in the morning. Perhaps actually vulnerable, maybe even cute...

Letting her imagination run free for a bit, she rose from the bed and dragged on her clothing. The open wound on her neck was still sore, and she let out a soft gasp as the material of her shirt was pulled over it. "Shit," she hissed, then immediately thought better of it. What was getting into her? She was forgetting that she was a lady, in these rough areas with rough people. It wouldn't do to forget where she came from if she was going back. The incident from last night had made her jumpy, but she still recalled how Victor had hugged her. He'd felt so strong and yet so soft and warm, one hand gripping her arm tightly. It was the sort of thing that girls like her dreamed about - forbidden and attractive. She hesitantly pulled a brush through her hair, unused to having to do such things herself. The pendant on her neck was still there, warm against her skin. A bit of blood had leaked down onto it, and she had to scrape it off with a nail.

Alice could now remember the way down to the dining hall, and she wondered how many more days she'd be remembering it. If all went well with her father, one or two more. Then she'd be back. And she didn't know how she felt about that. Feeling a little troubled on the inside, she entered the rowdy dining room. Giving Tiny a small wave (he seemed to be staring at her bosom a little less), she made her way to Victor's side. The sight of the serving girls made her a little jealous, to be honest. To think of what they did with him, how they made him feel - she had no right to think of these things, but they pervaded her thoughts nonetheless. She took a plate and the same as yesterday; bread and a sausage. "Good morning," she greeted Vic evenly, glancing at him. "Did you sleep alright...?" It couldn't have been comfortable on the wooden floor.

[Assistant]
The sight of Alice approaching the table made Victor smile, and he scooted his seat over a bit to make some room for her. "Aye, yes, love, it was fine. I have slept in much stranger places," he chuckled as he picked at his plate. He would surely miss the meals and hospitality at the inn when they left Isla Imorda, but he knew soon enough he would itch to be on the water if he tried to stay. He looked over to her and eyed her neck. "Ah," he said, squinting his eyes as he examined it. It looked to be okay, nothing irritated or infected. She had looked like she had a rough night of sleep; Her appearance was fine, but something in her eyes told him she was tired. "If you would rather stay in today, Miss Rohan, I can task a crew member to sit outside your door to keep an eye on things while I'm out." He nodded to reassure her that he meant what he said, and moments later, he finished his breakfast. "Delicious as always, Blue!" he nearly shouted across the room to Madam Blue.

"Well," he began as he used a cloth to dab his mouth, "shouldn't be too much work today. We sold most of what we needed yesterday to get the supplies we need to sail again. We shall stay on the island until we hear back from your father, and then be off to the port once again." Victor began having second thoughts after he visited Esmeralda about returning her if her father had rejected their demands. It would make the whole operation pointless and Vic look weak, which he did not want either to happen. But, Victor took great pride in his word, so he decided that if they needs are not met, he would stall a little bit. Possibly negotiate. He would not quit until he got access to the port again.

Sarah ran over, as always, and grabbed the plate almost immediately after Victor put down his fork, and he said a quiet "thank you," as she began to leave the table. Normally on a trip to the inn, he would be flirting wildly and drinking already, but there was business to be handled. He stood up, groaning as he stretched his long body, and looked down to the small girl next to him. "We shall be heading out within the hour. Let me know what you decide." He pushed in his chair and headed down the long hallway to find his room.

He removed his shirt and plopped down on the bed, sighing in relief to feel the softness under him. He wanted to attempt to get some shut eye before the day, as he didn't get much the night before. Soon enough, his eyelids became heavy, and he drifted off to a heavy sleep.

[User]
Alice was not too sure of what she wanted to do this day. Of course, she was still shaken and feeling a little poorly. But was it any show of strength to hide away in her room? If she allowed such a thing to upset her to the extent of becoming a hermit, then it would be a poor show of any sort of nobility. She could not allow the world to downtrod her spirits so much. She continued eating after Victor left, even sinking her teeth into an apple. A couple of the men had glanced over to see her neck, and Tiny sat down next to her with a big smile. They talked idly for a little while, although he was occasionally distracted by the scantily-clad girls.

"Let Victor know, when he emerges, that I am to join him," she told Tiny. He nodded eagerly, eyes bright (and ever dipping down). She nodded back at him politely before walking back to her room. She winced slightly at the noises coming from behind some of the doors - most terribly vulgar. Would she be expected to make such noise one day, to her (probably ugly and elderly) husband? Dear lord, please no. She couldn't imagine doing that - surely nothing felt so good as to induce those sounds? Her cheeks dusted pink as she closed the door behind her, heading to the window. The girl peered out at the world before her, marvelling slightly at the sights and sounds of freedom.

[Assistant]
Victor awoke almost an hour after he had fallen asleep, and he abruptly popped out of the bed at the realization that they needed to head out soon. He grabbed the blue shirt quickly off the sheets, and dashed into the hallway with it in his hand. He wouldn't blame Alice if she didn't want to join him, but he had to admit, he truly did enjoy her company – especially now that she was beginning to open up to him. When he had first taken her, he figured she would be like all of the high-class women he had dealt with in the past, who were usually very snobby and ostentatious. But not her. Even if she tried to put on a show, he was beginning to see who she really was.

He rapped on the door lightly before entering, and as the door loudly creaked open, he saw her standing by the window, hair flowing freely down her back. "Miss Rohan, have you made your decision?" he questioned her as he entered the room slowly. The look on the girl's face made him realize his shirt was still off, but instead of rushing to try to cover himself, he stood there unabashed. Esmeralda told him to fight of the feelings of guilt or shame, and that was exactly what he was doing. Before Alice came into his life, he would have never cared about something so trivial. Why should he now? It was nothing she hadn't seen before.

As he awaited her answer, his eyes scanned her up and down. Each day he had been with her, he noticed different things about her that he found quite attractive. Today, it was how elegant and graceful she was in her movements. She was almost like a ghost, floating while she walked or turned. He subconsciously cocked his head to the side as he stared at her, but once he caught himself, he nonchalantly shot his eyes to the floor. "So," he cleared his throat, "what shall it be?"

[User]
Alice didn't have to wait for Tiny to come and fetch her. Instead, Victor came to her. Somehow, she knew it was him before he even opened the door - and that was when she realised. She knew the sound of his walk. It was the slight swagger that lead to his slow pace that covered large distance due to his stature, and the way his feet lingered on the ground. It was lazy and relaxed and confident. In other words, Vic. She turned away from the window as he started to speak to her, and her own mouth opened when... oh. That had been unexpected.

He was just standing there, bare chested and bold in the doorway. His tousled brown hair was messy, and he still seemed to exude sleepiness. The lines on his chest, both pale faded scars and black tattoos, made a mosaic across muscles she'd rarely gazed at before. What was this feeling, in the pit of her stomach and to the left of her chest? Why was her longing so strong? Clearing her throat, she glanced away. No wonder the girls here threw themselves at him. Perhaps she was starting to understand their mentality. "I-I'll be joining you," she finally managed, trying not to look too much at his torso. He seemed to be looking at her quite piercingly too; probably in her imagination. She walked toward him, passing by Vic to stand in the passageway. A hand subconsciously brushed against her pendant. It was bizarre, to think that he'd bought this for her.

[Assistant]
Vic smirked as she passed him, feeling amused again by how uncomfortable she became around him. It was almost like a game to him. He swiveled around to face Alice as she waited for him to continue, and he held her gaze as he slipped on his shirt. "I am glad you like it," he said as he nodded his head at the bird-shaped necklace sitting on her chest. "I think it fits you." He winked and walked past her down the hallway to the heart of the inn. The men were moving about getting everything prepared for the day ahead, and Victor slipped right in to join them until everything was set.

"Alright, boys. Everything that we did not sell to our bulk buyers will be sold to the street vendors. I have a quick stop to make with Alice, and then we shall join you shortly after, yeah?" A collective "Aye!" was shouted back at them as the men began to move out of the inn. He said his goodbyes to Blue, as always, and signaled for Alice to follow him. After they stepped outside into the sunlight, Victor took a moment for a deep breath before continuing - the sun on his skin, next to water or a woman, was his favorite feeling. "We are heading to a friend's. Esmeralda. She asked to meet you," he vaguely explained as they walked down the already crowded street. The woman told him to bring Alice in to see if she could read anything off of her. If her father was responsible for a curse put on him, Esmeralda was confident enough that she could sense it.

Victor brushed his hair back and worked his hands into it until it stayed put in a knot. "I must warn you, she is a strange character; very inquisitive," he chuckled. "But you needn't worry, she is a friend of mine." He looked a foot behind him, making sure Alice was keeping up with him. He slowed his pace slightly, noticing he was nearly making her jog to keep up with him, which caused him to snicker. "Must you be so slow, Alice?" he groaned, obviously joking. The smile he had been missing yesterday was back on his face today.

---------------------

As they walked into the dusty, dimly lit building, Esmeralda came to greet them in a thick Spanish accent. "Hello, Victor, welcome back. And this must be Alice," she inquired as she approached the girl. She paced in a circle around her, observing everything she could. "Well, Victor," she said, her voice gruff with age and tobacco, "you know how to pick your prisoners, aye?" Victor laughed at the remark. "Ah, yes. Always a talent of mine."

Once she was done eying the girl, she nodded to Victor and shook her head nonchalantly. This meant that Alice's dad was not responsible for the witchcraft that took place. This made his mind race; if it wasn't him, who could it be? He knew that he could have a boatload of enemies that he wasn't aware of - scorned love ones of someone he slaughtered, a surviving member a ship The Black Star had sunk. But with the possibilities endless, it would be quite difficult for him to find the answer.

"Esmeralda, always a pleasure," he said as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. He nudged Alice with an elbow gently to signal her that they were going to leave. "We have got a bit of business to attend to. We shall you soon, yeah?" He waved and guided Alice out of the shop with a soft touch on the back until they reached the street again. "Well, we should be heading back. I suppose you'll need a change of clothes for after we leave the island. Don't exactly have maids on the boat, now do we?"

The fact that the letter from her father should be in his hands by sunset almost made it hard to focus on anything else. Once he had he the answer from him, he would be able to devise a plan of action to gain back control of the port. He knew one thing - he wasn't ready to return Alice to her home. Not yet.


[System]
Class: White mage
Species: Human
Trope you fill: McGuffin Girl, Cute Witch
Equipment: Simple Broom, spell book with Antidote and Bandage spells in it

Works as a Bar Maid.

[User]
Cutscene:
Prince Philip: "Mwahaha. My father is now dead, and I'm the new ruler."
Baron Rothbard: "I assume he died of a broken heart from your sister being missing, presumed dead?"
Prince Philip: "No. It was his heart, but it wasn't broken, it had my knife in it. Mwahahahahahaha. Now my sister is the only one who could challenge my right to the throne, and she's dead, right?"
Baron Rothbard: *thought* Well, the bandits I hired said she hit her head hard against a tree before the hunters drove them away. *end thought* "Yes, she's dead."
Prince Philip: "Then I will be king, and rule this country with an iron fist. Mwahahahahahahahahaha."

---

You awaken in the local Inn. Inn? you think, as you remember that you went to bed in your house/apartment after playing the latest Indie Fantasy RPG. That's it, you must be dreaming of being in the game. Well, this could be fun. You realize that you are in the body of one of the game's NPCs. Interesting.
You make sure you have your beginning equipment and head down stairs, where you are greeted by a friendly Innkeeper. "Hi." he says. "Did you sleep well? My name is Chekov." You notice a musket hanging on his back. "I run this Inn and happen to be the only man in town that owns a musket, including the guards. How can I help you?"

[Assistant]
Meiko awoke with a start -- this wasn't where she had remembered falling asleep, but then again, it didn't really matter since she was a traveler anyway. Still, she found it a bit suspicious. . her suspicions were quelled slightly after finding her companion, Frey, curled up next to the bed that she had awoken in and her lance resting across the room.

So what had exactly happened?

Eh, she didn't have time to think about it. Instead, she stood up, giving Frey a little kick and grabbed her lance before heading downstairs and being greeted by the Innkeeper. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the musket and his friendly "demeanor". . there was nothing more dangerous than a friendly stranger in her eyes. .

She had to lie and "cover up" the fact that she was lost. "Can you tell me where to find a blacksmith?" Her small dragon stumbled down the staircase, wrapping its tail around her feet. It was still small enough to fit inside most buildings and co-exist with humans, though it was still much larger than her. "I need to get work done on my lance, it's getting a bit dull."


[System]
Bad blood and no holds barred
A warning shot, a sacrifice that we made
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Birthday: April 3rd

Species: Mutant
Power: Persuasion. The user can compel people by speaking, the victims are unable to disobey; the seemingly cogent commandment is far too compelling. At high level, user can even persuade people into hurting/killing themselves, but can never cause victims to achieve what they are not capable of

Coates or Townie: Coates (Bad)
Personality:

Brief History:
The Pearce family was known in San Perdido for one thing and one thing only - they were some of the wealthiest and most influential people in the town. James Pearce was San Perdido's acting mayor, and everyone looked at his family for perfection. There was Mrs. Yasmin Pearce, a masterful pianist. Their first born, James Pearce Jr, was the personification of perfect. Great grades, great looks, and a great attitude.

Ant, on the other hand, was nothing more than a black sheep - a mistake that her parents would rather stuff in the attic and forget. She was sent away to Coates Academy, and she knew well enough what that meant. She was fine with that. If her parents didn't want to acknowledge her existence, then that was just fine with her. She took her trust fund and left the academy. She found herself a new home in the downtown area of Perdido. She met people the Pearces would have never dared to even breathe the same air with. The wrong crowd, as some people might say. For Ant, they were the only crowd that accepted her without question.

They became her family. The band she formed with them gave her the inspiration to wake up every morning. She loved them almost as much as she loved herself.

When it happened, Ant felt ecstasy crawling up her veins. Oh, she was finally free of their clutches. She was finally free of her insipid mother, her perfect brother, and her cruel father. Her friends had began to loot around when they encountered a Townie that threatened to stop them from destroying the town. That was when Ant discovered that the words she spoke could actually manipulate people. An evil smirk took over her face then. The Coates knew she would be useful, and Ant was willing to do anything for her friends. Rather, she was willing to make people do anything for her friends.

---

[User]
Alex

"Alexander!"
The shrill voice jolted Alex out of his slumber, blue eyes wide and gazing around him rapidly. His gaze finally locked on the older woman in front of his desk, hands on her hips and a none-too-happy expression on her face. It took a few moments for Alex to register what exactly was occurring. He had barely slept last night. His room had been absolutely freezing and he had tossed and turned all night, trying to scavenge as much of the blanket as possible. After a moment of blank staring, he finally discovered he was in his second period history class and Ms. Woods was glaring down at him like he had stolen the Mona Lisa from its museum.

He ran a hair through his blonde hair, clearing his vision and finally gave the woman a cheeky smile. "Hello, Ms. Woods. Can I help you with something?" He politely, yet jokingly inquired. A couple girls giggled and began whispering excitedly. For some reason, this happened often and Alex never knew why. He glanced over at them questioningly and their eyes widened as they turned away hastily, holding back their smiles. He shrugged it off with a sigh.

"Yes, Mr. Remington. You can help me by STAYING. AWAKE. As charming as you are, I have no sympathy for you when you're not paying attention in my class."She emphasized and stalked back to the chalk board, returning to creating irritating sounds with a piece of chalk.

Though he stayed awake for the remainder of the class, he hadn't exactly paid attention. His mind recovered the memories of his day slowly and he finally realized he had rushed out the door this morning without walking Emma to school. Alex hoped she got to school alright this morning. She tended to be a troublemaker whenever she found an opening to be. It was a miracle she hadn't been sent to Coates Academy yet.

The bell rang and Alex hopped out of his seat with a sigh of relief. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way out the door and toward AP Chem, a class he personally dreaded more than the rest of them. With a yawn, he practically fell into his seat in the back of the room and buried his head in his arms. He didn't have to pick his head up to know a girl was picking a fight with Mr. Phillips again. The same brunette girl did it every day. A lecture from the teacher about behavior always followed. Sometimes he forgot this was supposed to be an AP class.

Then all of a sudden, it got silent. Alex picked his head up and stared forward. Mr. Phillips was gone. The girl that was sitting in front of him was gone too along with the boy two seats away from him. They couldn't have all just left in the few seconds he had his face buried in his sleeves. He watched as a girl, who he recalled was named Selene, got to the front of the room and declared, "I am going to have to say that.... school is most likely out now?"

Alex stood up as a surge of energy along with confusion filled him. "Wait... What just happened again?"He inquired. He made his way rapidly over to the door and yanked it open. He glanced up and down the hallways, hoping to see Mr. Phillips and the missing kids there. Instead, he saw a few dozen faces peeking out of doorways as well, matching his expressions of confusion.

"Our teacher just vanished!"One kid exclaimed to another. "Yeah mine too!" A young voice answered from elsewhere.
"A bunch of seniors just disappeared along with them! ... My phone isn't working!"

Alex moved back into the room, letting the door slam as he took out his phone. He began trying to send a text to Emma. "No signal. " He murmured and glanced at Selene. "Was there a senior prank I didn't know about planned? Usually they do these things toward the end of the year, no?"

Emma

Emma sharply inhaled when she felt sudden weight grip her shoulders. The weight wrapped around her and she finally registered this weight as a set of arms that felt surprisingly warm despite the cool water their bodies were submerged in. It suddenly wasn't very hard to keep her head over the surface. She didn't waste her breath on speaking as he swam them over toward the boat. As they neared the boat, he tossed her over the hull and she quickly grabbed on and began pulling herself back on board. Rolling over on her back against the wood, she settled her weight on her elbows and glanced up to find her savior. A boy with dark hair had his arms crossed over the side of the boat. She took an awkward pause to catch her breath, letting him be the first to speak.

"Were you going to look for mermaids, or did you just fall in?" the boy asked between low pants, "Decent-sized fish. Would make a good dinner." He swept his hair out of his eyes and squinted at her, "What's your name?"

Emma stared at him as she began peeling wet strands of hair off her neck and collecting it into a ponytail. She sat up a little and finally answered, "I jumped in. I thought my dad fell in or something but he wasn't in the water." She chose to ignore the fish comment and prioritize other topics, "I'm Emma. Thank you for saving me, I'm really grateful and all but I still don't know where my dad went. One moment he was here and the next..." She drew off, doing one more scope around the boat. "He was gone." Emma sighed stressfully and moved over to the side of the boat to offer him a hand in helping him up. "What's your name?"

[Assistant]
Jerrot was woken by his music player, saying it had lost its cloud connection. Funny he thought... he almost never lost connection unless he was underground. He tried to reconnect.. nothing. He tried to ping local hosts, finding he could connect to the antenna near his home but not to any others or to any satellites. His headset receiver must have broken or malfunctioned, that was bad news, the software should be untaintable and the hardware should never have errors: The only other explainable option would be some sort of interference.

He decided he would return home, walking west along the beach. He passed the various fishing boats that were stored there, some on trailers others on parallel planks of wood.. and some, just floating there. Many of the boats were in the water as was usual of this time, but none of them had anyone in them. Wherever the people gone to, they had left all their stuff behind. Jerrot figured that the only explanation was that there must have been an emergency so they had been called to help in some way. But what sort of emergency warranted the help of the entirety of the fishing crew?

He carried on walking past the boats, it was a strangely unsettling sight. Jerrot didn't like it when he could not explain something.

Further down the coast he saw what looked like two people splashing around in the water, fully clothed. Had they forgotten swimming gear? Things were just getting stranger and stranger. Jerrot doubted they could see him at this distance, he had yet to meet someone with his level of vision, he started into a light trot: He wanted to find out what the hell had happened to the fishermen.

As he got closer the two figures climbed into a boat near them, both looked shocked, had they fallen in? The male on the boats side he recognized as the nicknamed Noah, or Ming Hua, a student he had met around town a few times though didn't know very well, he looked a bit younger than him, he was probably in the year below. The female he did not know, though he has seen her face before, on two counts. She was looking round the edge of the boat looking rather flustered. He heard her words: "..was gone." She began to help Noah up "What's your name?"

Jerrot waited till Noah was atop the vessel before shouting in his augmented voice: "Hey!" Waving as he did. Most people in town had seen his mouthpiece already so he doubted they would be alarmed.

"You guys?! Noah? You alright? You don't know what's going on do you? Like, where everyone went?" Jerrot had a bad habit of asking too many questions at once.

[User]
Ved
 He woke with a start, his hand automatically moving to his nightstand to turn off the alarm that was screaming into his ear. With a low groan, he sat up and ran his hands over his face, forcing open his eyelids as he rolled their contents back towards his skull. Fuck Waking up this goddamn early he mused softly to himself as he sat forward, double-checking to making sure his alarm was off, and not simply on snooze. Staying still for a few moments, completing his waking up process, then sliding his lower-half to the left and pressing his feet against the cold hardwood floor. Throwing the blankets off of his legs, he stood, and walked half-haphazardly into his bathroom, turning on his shower, then stumbling back into his bedroom. Grabbing a pair of clean underwear, he walked back into the bathroom and undressed, then stepped into the now steaming shower. Going through the usual routine of lathering and rinsing, he took maybe five minutes, tops. Hopping out, he wrapped his towel around his lower body and lifted a bottle of pills from his medicine cabinet, twisting it open and tossing two down his throat, without water.

 Having kept the door open, the steam hadn't built up too much, and instead of a cloud of steam flowing out of the room upon his exit, it happened slowly, a steady stream continued to move out of the door as he stepped out. Walking to his room, he continued to dry himself off with his towel, before slipping into his underwear and putting on his glasses. Looking through his closet, he decided on a simple pair of tight and intentionally ripped up black-jeans, a tight black sweater, and a pair of 11 inch combat boots with the jeans tucked in.

 He walked into his kitchen/dinning room, after getting dressed, and turned on the television. He opened the fridge, searching for something to eat, and deciding upon eggs and coffee. Grabbing the carton of eggs and tossing them onto the counter, he placed a pan on the stove and turned on the heat. Then began the process of making coffee, afterwards, he began looking out the dark window as his eggs began to fry.

[Assistant]
Ant Pearce
Ant walked around the high school. There were some students who had walked out of their classroom and frantically looked around, panicking at what they had just witnessed. Ant knew that feeling. One moment she was talking to them, the next they were just gone. She assumed that the same thing had happened to these kids. They all had the same questions on their lips: Where did everybody go? What's happening?

Some of them held their phones up in the air searching for even the tiniest bit of a signal. Ant was almost tempted to shout at them. There's nothing! No matter how hard you try, the phones aren't working! She glanced back at her own phone, which still remained black, and ran a shaking hand through her hair. Her first plan had been to run all the way back to the apartments and find the twins, but a quick look at the roads told her that it wouldn't be wise. Cars without their drivers were hitting poles, climbing the sidewalks, and bouncing off of each other. They still had the momentum pushing them forward, and Ant knew that she'd probably get herself injured if she tried to traverse that.

That was how she found herself inside the high school, looking through the rooms in search of someone - anyone - that might have the answer. Unfortunately, she wasn't getting anything from these kids. She wondered briefly if the people at Coates were also suffering from this. If so, did they have the answers? Ant frowned to herself as she came to a stop in front one of the classrooms, where she'd seen some boy slam the door behind him as he reentered the room. Coates Academy was far from where she was. It would probably take her a little more than an hour - probably more - to walk and maneuver through the mess in the streets.

"Dammit!" she cursed, making some of the students in the hallway turn to look at her. Before they even had a chance to question who she was and what she was doing there, she entered the classroom nearest to her. She blinked back at the students that were still inside - she recognized some of them - and propped herself up on the teacher's table. She looked at them expectantly. "Any of the bright minds over here can tell me what the fuck just happened?" she asked, every word dripping with Coates brand sarcasm. But she knew she'd let a waver take on her voice as well. Fear. She hated it, but there it was. She was scared.

"Come on, people. Theories? Anyone's got them?" She ran her eyes around the room before pointing at someone holding up a phone and talking to a girl she didn't recognize. "You. What's your name again... Alex? Yeah, Alex. Talk." The last word felt off as it came out of her mouth. It felt as if it carried a different weight to it as the others, but she couldn't figure out what made the order different.


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon: The Ampere, a unique polearm with a wide, flat blade rather than a spearhead along with a gray steel pole. It has both range and lethality, keeping most melee fighters at a range safe for Abel but devastating to them with a tempered steel point, as well as channeling Abel's natural aura far better than he can do by himself (Inside the the Ampere's pole is a thick mesh of silver and copper wire). The Ampere has a single alternate mode that splits the wide blade into four parts and reverses their direction, creating a vaguely mace shape. In this mode, the Ampere can release bolts of lightening that travel impressive distances instantly.

Specialty: Abel fits best into the role of guardian, fittingly enough. His size, range, and defensive characteristics make him good at intercepting danger coming for his teammates, and he can certainly throw his strength around at close range, armed or not. Using his lightening bolts, he is able to paralyze if not flash-fry a single opponent at long range.

Semblance: Surge - This ability allows him to project electricity that can manipulate the Ampere at short range without touching it and summon it back to his hand when disarmed, as well as channel electricity to shock anything the weapon touches. By using Surge to rotate his staff quickly at very close range, he can create a sort of shield. When he focuses his power sufficiently through the Ampere in staff mode, he is able to fire a bolt of lightening that takes several minutes to recharge.

Personality: Abel is proud and gruff, very serious and totally without humor. For someone who appreciates the creativity and technique of both weapons and battle so thoroughly, he ironically is without creativity. Instead, he tend to go about his business by the book, a principled young man of habit and routine with little to no capability to think outside the box. While he is dependable, he is not flexible, and can respond to bullying, injustice, or even plain teasing with sudden anger. While not antisocial, he sticks with only a few friends at any given time, concentrating on strong bonds rather than many bonds. He loathes popular culture and those who overtly subscribe to it. The Grimm mask he carries makes him upset and angry, more at himself than anything else, but as it reminds him of his brother he cannot let it go. Deep down, Abel is a severe defeatist.

Color: Azure

Emblem: An azure lightening bolt, naturally.

Appearance:
When reading, he is forced to put on glasses.

[User]
"Thank you," Robert said as Priscilla cleaned up the milk. He was relieved that she hadn't gotten irritated by the milk splashing, even if only a little bit got on her. In fact, he was so relieved that he let out a light chuckle. When Priscilla said that she'd like some of the cookie, he handed her the half that hadn't fallen into the milk. Robert also tipped the milk a bit in her direction so that she could dunk her half as well if she wanted to. He would eat the half that had fallen in... after Priscilla had dunked to her satisfaction of course, he didn't want to stick his hand in there if she was going to use it.

"Hmm? What do I think about them? Hmmmmmmm. Well, while I did run into Daniel before you and Greyson, I didn't really get to talk to him beyond sharing my name and him his before running into you guys. So, I knew him about as well as you or Greyson. So yeah, that bed comment took me by surprise. I hope he isn't normally like that. Anyway, Greyson. He seems like a pretty nice guy. I can't help but think there's something that he wants, but I don't know what. And yeah, that's about it," he said when Priscilla asked the same question back.

Robert looked at the upper section of his peripheral vision, expecting to see the time and temperature function that appeared on the HUD of his visor. He had forgotten that he had taken his visor off right after the battle several hours ago. He was just so used to almost always having it on that he'd forgotten what it was like not to. Robert reached into his pocket with the goal of taking out his visor to put it on only to see what time it was when his hand brushed by another object in his pocket. He suddenly remembered the scrolls that the Beacon staff had passed out during initiation. That had a time function! He could just use that instead of having to put on his visor, something that Robert always felt made him feel detached from conversation. It wasn't that a big of a deal, but Robert couldn't help but feel a little excited about this new technology that he now officially owned. He looked at the time given by the scroll. "Hmm, we should probably get back to our room. I haven't heard anything about a curfew, but if there is one we're probably nearing it. Let's quickly grab something for Greyson and Daniel to eat and go."

[Assistant]
Mokuren's mental durability was snapped at the hearing of her nickname 'moku-moku'. Her future meal was babbling, but by now she couldn't even understand what he was trying to say.
"Isn't a nickname supposed to be shorter, or easier to say than the original name?" she muttered out loud, before looking to the other man. "You are crazy, and you speak out of your ass" She stated bluntly, before turning to walk off. "i'm going into town now, there are things I need to do" She told the group, turning and stiffly walking away. The craziness of this group was going to be the death of them. She wasn't sure she could handle then even when she wasn't fighting the urge to kill them.

[User] Geni sighed dreamily as Mokuren walked away angrily. He was defiantly into her, he liked the angry, I wanna kill you now types. Unfortunately, Geni had a feeling that if she had not left, something bad may have happened. Geni had a knack for doing stuff like that, pushing people over the edge, but nothing had ever sent shivers down his spine. He would have to work on that, find away to get past that hard exterior and find away into that soft interiorof hers, if she had one. Geni had to wonder what she was going into town though, were they not supposed to get ready for bed? It was getting pretty late. But if anything happened, Geni knew that she could handle it, she had handled the Salamander Nest fine, so anything in the city would be like child's play for her, at least that's what he hoped. "Bye beautiful!" He yelled as she disappeared for view. "Im going to head for the dorms, long day tomorrow." He said to the rest of his teammates as he walked away, tomorrow would defiantly be a long day, for his fellow students.

[Assistant]
Gren finished his long winded speech by putting away the snacks he had brought. It was getting late, and no doubt Kuhaku and Sapphire needed to recover still. Sapphire seems to be in a slightly better temperament, but more improvement could always be done. But not today. As he was going to help up he saw Kuhaku drop his cake, his napkin dramatically shattering on the floor somehow. "Shiro?" Gren walked towards his partner who was cowering on the floor. This was obviously not good, less so when Shiro started to arm himself. He was in no condition to leave seeing that he was still mentally disturbed. "Shiro, please hold on...."

And that's when Kuhaku flung himself out of the window that Gren had used to enter. Sapphire tried to give chase but her injuries prevented her from doing so. She handed Gren a syringe full of sedative, which Gren was hesitant to accept. He had no idea what sort of dosage was needed for it to work on Kuhaku, and he knew if he used too much... Kuhaku may never wake up. But he did take it as a last resort. "I'll keep in touch."

And than Gren threw himself out of the window as well, with much less grace than Kuhaku did. He simply landed on his feet, burying himself knee deep into the ground. But he didn't let that stop him as he pulled his feet out and hunted down Kuhaku. Luckily for Gren all he needed to do was follow Kuhaku's path of destruction. He must have gotten tunnel vision from how narrow his path was. Gren activated his Semblance to reduce the friction underneath his feet once he got his momentum and more-or-less slide after Kuhaku. Crushed grass and the sound of snoring was all Gren needed to find his partner asleep in the grass. His face was concerned, but also serious.

He dared not wake Kuhaku up. Who knows what sort of thing he might do. Seeing that his partner was armed where Gren wasn't however, all he could do was put his helmet on in the even Kuhaku tries to hit him in the face or something. Than gently, Gren tried to pick up Kuhaku and bring him back to their dormitories. He'll need Abel to watch over him while Gren gets the medical equipment to ensure Kuhaku makes a full recover. Whatever was in those IV's must have been keeping him sane, and if he needed that oxygen mask he just have lost control of his lungs at some point too. Gren sighed as he tried to think what other measures he'd have to take to ensure that Kuhaku doesn't inadvertently endanger himself.

[User]
Kuhaku felt himself be lifted off of the ground, being carried away. Opening his eyes slightly he tried to see who it was, too exhausted and drained of strength to be able to struggle and fight. In an odd state between wakefulness and slumber, he was able to open his eyes enough to see Gren's face. His face coming through clearly against the still-blurred background of his partially-impaired vision. A slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips, he reached a paw out and placed it right on Gren's face. In his sleep-drunken stupor, his glazed eyes seemed to recognize him.

"Gren.." his smile grew wider.
He seemed to recall something funny and laughed weakly.
"Dat figh...in da tun...nel...'swas fun, innit?"
He sighed and closed his eyes, words slurring slightly.
"We ok...dun fel ba..d..."
He laughed musically and patted the front of Gren's face, his paw still on it.
"Saphy...she..."
His words trailed off, unfinished. With the flip of a coin, his mood changed. His face twisted in agony as he clutched at his chest with his other paw, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.
"I'm sorry..." he sniffled, choking out the words.
"I forgot you all."
Sniffling, he removed his paw from Gren's face. Just as quickly as his mood changed, it changed once more. Ears flattening, tail curling around his own leg, he balled himself up and pressed himself closely against Gren for warmth. Making a grumpy sound and frowning, he muttered "You're cold. Not very..warm" He then yawned, quickly falling back into a deep sleep. Snoring lightly, his body eventually relaxed. A playful smile on his face he uttered one last comment, "'Swas fun..."

[Assistant]
As soon as Shiro began to move, Abel stood up, and not just to avoid the shards of cheap china and splatter of cake. Of course, he wanted to help, but he had never experienced anyone with this problem before. Back at the edge of Vale, on the walls near the town of Palisade, people with mental problems were few and far between. Abel had always avoided them; it was easier to simply ignore those unfortunate souls and let the more qualified attend to them, rather than try to get involved and expose himself to helpless worry. A couple courses of action flitted through his mind: he could shout really loudly, or strike Shiro, to jar him to his senses., or he could restrain him or try to talk him down. When the faunus grabbed his weapons, Abel wisely decided that taking physical action probably wasn't a good idea.

Looking all the world like a terrified animal, Shiro jumped straight out the window. Abel took an instinctive step to stop him, but the faunus was already through the aperture before the guardian could lay a hand on him. His frown deepened, and he allowed Sapphire to push past him to get at the window. She's not seriously thinking about jumping...? he wondered, incredulous. Forgetting his unhappiness with the girl, he reached forward to grab her if she attempted it, but she quickly turned away. Sapphire was the last person that Abel expected to start taking charge of the situation, but for the first time since they met, she did her job. Relieved that the girl might not be a lost cause after all, Abel crossed his arms and listened to her with his signature serious expression. As she outlined her plan, Abel considered Shiro a little more. Was he losing his mind, or was this simply an unavoidable side effect of his semblance? If the latter was the case, Abel was truly sorry. Such a power was more a curse than a blessing. The obvious conclusion, however, was that Shiro used his semblance knowing what it would do to him, because he cared about his teammates. That was something Abel would have to work hard to repay. When Sapphire was done, and Gren had defenestrated himself, Abel nodded to her and dived out the window headfirst.

While plummeting, he swung his mass around in a crude somersault. The landing strategy was simply, but for almost anyone else, it would have been very painful. Abel hit the ground with his upper shoulders force, turning the impact into a roll that put most of the force on his broad back. There was a popping sound, but it was nothing more than that, a pop. Anything truly threatening was shielded by his aura, and as he brought himself to his feet, Abel could feel the electric tingling moving through him. He paused momentarily to get his bearings, during which he noticed the holes in the ground where Gren had partially embedded himself. Heavy man, even without armor. Then, he took off, moving with strides large enough to keep pace with smaller, technically faster hunters.

Without a friction-controlling semblance, he had a harder time navigating the area. By the time he spotted his target, Shiro was already held over the shoulder of Gren. Relieved to have found him so quickly, Abel pulled out his scroll and dialed Sapphire. "Gren found him. We're coming back now to put him to bed." He paused. It didn't seem like he was doing enough to help. Then he remembered. "Rather, we're taking him back to the room. Forgot about the whole phobia thing you mentioned. See you tomorrow, I guess."

With Gren by his side, he reentered the main building, holding the door open. As Gren passed, Abel got a close-up look at Shiro's face. There was a strangely peaceful smile there. Though it didn't make the guardian smile in return, it gratified him to finally know for sure that everything was going to be okay. "Poor fellow," he remarked, and the small group trekked to the official Team Swansong dorm.


[System]
Species:
Primus Sapiens. Geneticaly Modified human

Age:
29

Gender:
Male

Height:
6'8

Weight:
135 kg

Personality:
Calculative~Bold~Honest~Stoic~Charismatic

Zavid is a calm tactician. He values honesty and loyalty, which is rare in his line of work. He aims to exceed expectations and to break down barriers he faces as he isn't a born human. Zavid is a smooth talker, knowing several languages and weilds a golden tongue. He may not be the frontline fighter, but none have his guts. He's a bounty hunter dating a high ranking officer of the very organization against them... He's got to have some crazy in him too, as most don't see the fun in chasing "monsters". Zavid is an active defender, seeking to help others and serve the good of the people any way he can. When stressed he's often found retreating into himself, as he didn't grow up in normal society, and doesn't exactly do well when angry, which leads to him drinking.

History:

Icarus Project:
Clearance Level 9, UNFC

Goal:
The Icarus Project was a trial to see whether or not one could create the Perfect human.

Result:
Mass failure. Primus Sapiens are relatively unstable, having chemical imbalance and psychological disorders.

Trial:
Conducted on Zecrux Prime, in the Milky Way Galaxy, Sector Omega. Total Number of Subjects equaled 3000 at start. All, gen-modded from conception.

Trial was 25 years long. 25 years of tests, of needle poking flesh, and of children who never knew what it was like to love. Unlike the Giantis Sapiens, this test was cruel, sadistic and inhumane. There were no names goven to the subjects. They weren't deemed as equal in the human subspecies. They were cattle. To be jsed for testing and creating a weapon capable of tearing down armies. There was no love given to them, so they grew up without it.

The first test group was a failure. Too violent for their own good and were put down. The second, well, the second went the same way, but took out some scientists with them. The Infamous Doctor Icarus refused to stop, creating a third group. To the ones doing well, he cherished, gave them treats. Let them outside the lab to see the sun. Unlike the other humans, Primus Sapiens could handle the intense gravity of Zencrux with ease. With it's double moons and blue star sun, the planet was lush with life... But the lab only knew death.

An accident saw Icarus killed. Some say it was sabotage, others say suicide, when he realized what he'd become. The project continued, only lead by an even more evil man... Doctor Eisenhower. He wanted weapons. So he turned these young teens into a fighting force. Primus are capable of many feats humans cannot do, being faster and stronger due to the environment they were created in, and the gene edits that were dome to them. Many had "damage" and were destroyed. They say that it was because some subjects developed mental illness and Eisenhower wouldn't tolerate it.

There were a few that stood out among the rest. Subject 233, 257, 859, 860, and 1000. These five formed a close bond. When put together, they excelled in everything. Eisenhower took them and did separate tests, to see if he could do his next step: Integrate them with technology.

But it wouldn't happen. The Federation had gotten word of the project and swarmed in force with their own gene-mods, the Giantis. These humans were titans of flesh and used powerful mechs. They took control of the base and started to looknthrough the files, only to find them wiped. Eisenhower was taken in along with the other scientists and the subjects were assimilated into the military for a while. Most stayed, sekingb the thrill, but one notably broke off and decided that he wanted none of it. He took on the name Zavid Nightblade, Subject 1000.

Zavid was part of a cancelled Icarus Project. He and his kin were genetically modified at birth to be stronger, faster and smarter. Which was the goal... What they got was warriors who lived off rage and fought so much that death was a large part of the program. Following a raid by the government the project was shit down. Only a few of the subjects remain, most having to be put down for how volatile they were. Zavid was noted as one of the few successes... out of nearly a thousand subjects.

The subjects who were deemed safe were assimilated into the military. They became known for their strengths... and feared for their fits of berserker rage. The hundred or so who were left have been slowly dwindling, until only a few remained. Zavid relates to these last ones as his family, a thought shared by them all.

After a year or so of wandering, Zavid met a man who called himself Shinzo Shida, who offered him a job as a tester for his inventions. It worked out so well the pair became friends and Shinzo would get him tech to do bounty hunting and escort jobs. Currently, Shida is looking for new materials for weapons and armor, as he is the name in all advanced tech.

After a few years of bounty hunting, Zavid met Brant Quentin a man who he met after... A long night of drinking. The two stayed in touch, went on a few dates and then decided to stick together... Despite Brant being an officer in the UNFC who is against bounty hunters.

Weapons/Supplies:

Zavid prefers to be as far from targets as possible, but is one of the best in close range. His weapons and armor are made by his closest friend, who's known for his top of the line gear under the pseudonym Shinzo.

Prototype HPGR: Custom made Sniper Rifle. High powered Laser weapon.

Centipede Exo Gear: Fits like a second skin, this further enhances his alread high strength and speed. Has a built in jetpack and active camouflage(works only when still).

Centepede WPT: A beta tech that enables a short FTL dash in almost any direction. Has a long power up time.

Centepede Visor: Detects all bands of the EM spectrum. Also has a active HUD for overall status, map and motion sensor.

High Frequency Communicator: Used to communicate with Shinzo and Brant. The former as it is the only direct line to him, no one besides Brant has this. For Brant, it's how they communicate, as they are often far apart.

Lux: A rechargeable energy broadsword Can be used even when powered off like a regular blade. Blade is a meter long and made of a special alloy.

Misc:

Zavid is from Zencrux, a planet with extreme gravity. He has denser bones and higher strength than normal humans. Zencrux' gravity is 26.48 m/s
2
. Brandt has a six year old son, Leon who lives with his parents on Earth.

[User]
Onyeka Guerrero

---

Onyeka made a disgusted noise, still connected with her call, "Rubio, I wish you coulda just heard what this guy said..."
 "Huh?"
 "Three minutes-- get comfy? Really? Why the hell would I get comfortable in three minutes?"
 Rubio laughed loudly on the other end of the line, "I dunno, I know some guys who only need three seconds."
 "What? A breeze?"
 As Rubio started laughing again, Onyeka shook her head, then looked around the room. Immediately, she was unimpressed with her surroundings. "What a freakin' dump-- it ain't even real," Onyeka mumbled into her comm, "Wait. Gimmie a sec." As she walked toward the fireplace, Onyeka made a few hand gestures in the air, as she controlled her virtual interface. She muted her comms, finally satisfied with potentially annoying the others, then began taking a few pictures. "Rubio," she started, completely and eerily silent as far as the others could percieve, "This place is trash-- how's my next assignment going?"
 Rubio made a noise conveying his surprise then replied, "How are you ready to leave that quick? What did they even do?"
 "Ain't nothin' they did man," Onyeka replied as she walked over to the nearest bookcase, "It's more of the fact I'm with a bunch of aliens-- I thought I'd be mostly with humans but no-- and I ain't comfortable with these things man, you should see some of 'em-- freakin' hideous."
 "Aw man-- you know how hard it is to find a replacement with your skillset--"
 "--Joy, Ygrette, Arturo, Michael-- Flemmings not Charles-- uhhh..." Onyeka sucked her teeth.
 "Okay, Okay, I get it, but ain't nobody willing to test that shield in the field like you."
 Onyeka pulled a book off of the case with irritation, "Like I give a shit-- start workin' on it. Byeee. You have work to do. Byeee."
 "C'mon, don't be that way-- just try to work with them?"
 "Until you find me a replacement," Onyeka said tossing the book over her shoulder. It probably hit something or someone, she didn't care, "But not past that point-- ugh. They're going to try and talk to me. I feel it." She took another book out of the case, dropped it at her feet, did the same to a few more.
 Rubio sighed in exasperation, "But bossssssss."
 "Who's the best assistant on Earth?" Onyeka asked as if she were talking to a pet, "You are! You are."
 Rubio chuckled, "I hate when you do that-- look, I'll keep you posted."
 "And you keep Miranda happy."
 Miserably, Rubio asked, "Why does she keep coming up?"
 "You know why," Onyeka replied ominously, then immediately disconnected the call.

Turning to the room, a pile of books scattered about around her, it seemed Onyeka was looking for the next thing to toss around and certainly hadn't heard anyone if thy had protested her book tossing-- now, however, it seemed she would be more receptive to... interaction. Possibly.

[Assistant]
They weren't the most talkative bunch it seemed, well, apart from the one human who seemed to be rather fond of pink and talking loudly to someone on the phone. Arra was glad when they finally quit their yapping but after (presumably) being called a monster she wanted little to do with the woman. What she did have interest in was the bar, Arra was going to take any opportunity to sample alien cuisine and now seemed as good a time as any to have a wee sample.

Resting against the bar on her elbows she began to use the two front mecha tendrils to examine the various bottles and wines on display, looking for any that sounded good and wouldn't leave her as drunk as the big guy during the meeting.

While doing this she turned to Quinn, and in an attempt to initiate conversation now that the noisy phone lady hat shut up, asked

"Don't suppose you know what's good among all these?"

She brought up two of the tendrils bearing random bottles to show in-order to punctuate her question. Her voice itself came from two speakers mounted on her helm rather than directly from her mouth and had a quite literal bubbly tone to it, filled with genuine curiosity, a little excitement with all the new things she was experiencing and literal bubbles.

She smiled at the woman with a friendly grin made slightly disconcerting by the multiple rows of shark teeth it contained.

[User]
So they had a little time to mingle. Three minutes didn't sound like a lot of time but it was something she supposed. There was such an assortment of people to interact with she really wasn't sure where to start. Speaking of the number of people coming in was rather large. Surely they would be split up into smaller squads, which would make getting to know one another easier in a group.

The loud and obnoxious one made a jab at all the non-humans in the room. Harriet was pretty sure she fell into that category now despite still being mentally human. So she didn't seem to be someone she wanted to talk to to start. Moving away toward the bar she glanced over the various options. Since her transformation things she used to enjoy her body cleaned up a lot. Things like liquor didn't have the same punch it once did because her body filtered a ton of it out before the buzz even had the chance to impact her. She'd probably throw up before she ever got drunk again. Still it was a good conversation piece and it seemed the fish woman took interest in what was there.

The question posed was rather open ended about which was better. Glancing over the labels none of them seemed to jump out at her. Though that was likely because of the above mentioned making them not enticing. The woman knew that she would have loved some of these. Either way she tried to remember what was good to her. "Good? Hm, the Talorian Rum is good. They use a sort of cane equivalent that's local to that planet. Gives it a unique flavor from your typical human rum." She reached out and grabbed the bottle in question and poured a couple glasses. Though it wouldn't have the same effect anymore at least it was a way to break the ice.

[Assistant]
Zavid stayed quiet during the trip to the room. When he got in, he took note of the simulated floors and walls, and the bar. After setting his gear down, heheaded over to it and looked through it, staying out of Harriet's way. "I myself prefer something stronger... It takes a lot for my subspecies to get wasted..." He spotted a clear bottle with a bluish purple liquid in it. "Ahh... Serrice Ice Brandy. Thatssome good stuff. Hint of blueberry, blackberry and rasperry, with just enough kick to remind you that its not something to drink casually."

He poured himself a tall glass, pressing a button to detach his helmet. As it comes off, the entire suit retracts, showing him in a leather jacket and dark pants. He placed his helmet next to him as he took a swig, reminiscing of when he first tried this stuff back on Earth with Shinzo, years ago.


[System]
|Aja Kay|
Gender:
Female
Age:
15
Year:
5th
Blood:
Muggle-born
House:
Warren
Wand:
Hazel, Phoenix Feather, Rigid, 10"
Pet:
Maxwell the Chinchilla

Electives:
Arithmancy
Care of Magical Creatures
Divination
Clubs:
Choir
Personality:
Upon first meeting her, Aja is easy to categorize as "that friendly girl with good grades." And indeed, this is an accurate description. She's helpful and empathetic, has a warm, welcoming air about her, and never fails to achieve impressive marks on her assignments and tests. But while Aja seems like all smiles and sugary sweetness, she's actually rather introverted. She'll wave to people she knows in the halls, and chat with her neighbors in class, but if asked, no one would be able to say who her friend group is. In fact, no one would know much about her at all. Aja is a private person who prefers to reveal only superficial things about herself to others, though she's fine with others confiding in her. The constant smile she wears throughout the day keeps everyone out of her thoughts, and if she was upset about something you would never know.

Many would be surprised to learn that Aja has a very calculating nature. She knows how to assess a situation (or person), how to pick her battles, and how much she can get away with. That's not to say she's ever malicious or outright manipulative – she's just always measuring everything around her. Aja often uses these skills to understand others and put them at ease, though sometimes she does manipulate just a bit to get her way. Aja knows it's easy to be charmed by a young, friendly girl and that people often underestimate her. In her opinion this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Aja's lack of any real friend group is likely why she gets such good marks – that, and the fact that she's still absolutely fascinated with magic and has some perfectionist tendencies. Because she's often left to her own devices, she spends most of her free time in the library or garden, learning new spells or finding other ways to entertain herself. Aja loves a challenge and has a hidden competitive streak a mile long. She is adaptable and can thrive in most environments, but is surprisingly stubborn when it comes to certain, more personal beliefs and practices. This applies to the few people she truly cares about, also. If you manage to win her loyalty she is fiercely protective and unendingly caring, but thus far only her family can claim this status – her big brother, Ollie, in particular.
Likes:
Performing Arts
Privacy
Animals
Spicy Food
Dislikes:
Nosy People
Conflict
Large Open Spaces
Fears:
The Dark
Vulnerability
Uncertainty
Biography:
Growing up the middle child of nine was chaotic, to say the least. The Kays are a high-income family from Chicago, though you wouldn't believe it from the state of their house: while big enough for eleven people to live comfortably in, it's always in a constant state of disrepair. Most of the money goes towards things like food, electricity, food, water, clothes, school, and food. Aja's childhood, while always a clamoring mess, was a happy one.

Though a Muggle-born, she knew about the existence of magic long before she received her acceptance letter to Salem's – her oldest brother, Olorun, got his own letter when Aja was just five years-old. The entire family was astonished, of course. Not only was magic very much real, but little Ollie was a wizard! While surprising, this also cleared up several mysteries surrounding the boy; the uncanny way he could quiet his siblings when he was trying to do homework, how he somehow got his sister's flower to bloom for her after she pouted that it wasn't "waking up yet," how easily he fixed his brother's action figure after it was launched out of a second story window… suddenly there was an explanation for why the eldest child was so gifted.

Once the family finally knew the rhyme and reason for these strange events, they began noticing the same pattern with Aja. It wasn't until Ollie came home for winter break, however, that their suspicions were confirmed. Of all her siblings, Aja had always been the closest with Ollie. She adored her big brother, and Ollie doted on her even more than their parents did. When he'd left for boarding school, Aja'd been devastated to lose her brother, but all the more devoted to him when it was revealed he could do magic. When he finally came home, she all but tackled him with a hug, and wouldn't leave his side for hours. She babbled on and on about all he'd missed at home, and peppered him with questions about magic and his new life as he unpacked. Her eyes lit up when they fell on his wand, and like the curious little girl she was, she picked it up. Unfortunately, the moment her fingers closed around the hilt, all the lightbulbs in the house blew up.

With this final confirmation that Aja was a witch, she began playing more and more with her magical abilities. Eventually she actually got pretty good at directing her magic – at least, as good as she could get without a wand or any real knowledge of spells. She learned to entice wild animals to come to her, make her mom think her room was cleaner than it actually was, and change the colors of her toys, among other things. She was, and still is to this day absolutely delighted with magic. At first the other Kay siblings didn't know how to react to their magical brother and sister. Some were jealous, others were enthralled, but eventually everyone just accepted them as more quirks in their eclectic family.

Aja's first year at Salem's was also Ollie's last. She was sorted into the same house as him, and throughout the year the two could often be seen together at night in the common room, working on homework or teasing each other. Ollie had a friend group of his own that he'd have fun with, but whenever Aja wasn't with her brother, she was alone. When the two went home for break, Aja took full advantage of having a seventeen year-old brother. Ollie was no longer underage and thus could freely use magic outside of school – which meant that as long as Aja practiced her spells near him, the Republic of Magic wouldn't be able to tell which of the two was casting outside of Salem's. Ollie (and their parents) was disapproving at first, but he'd never been able to deny his little sister anything, and if there was one thing Aja was good at, it was getting her way. She even got Ollie to teach her some of the more advanced spells.

This continued even after Ollie graduated, as he continued to live in their family house to help take care of his younger siblings. He currently works in Chicago's wizarding world in a vet's office for magical pets. As for Aja, she's continued her studies at Salem's without her brother. By all accounts, she's a friendly girl and a good student, but no one seems to know anything about her besides that.

[User]
At first, Lars thought it was Mercury and Pluto arguing with the intercom on again. The familiar sound of their frighteningly senile shofars was always floating through the air from somewhere in the King Tutt, like the place was haunted (the horrors to come if either of the two bags died here though, no doubt). But they sounded awfully loud though, and uncannily close? Like they were practically right beside her…

Lars stole a glance—one tiny, little, paranoid glance at her birds and then practically snorted from laughing so hard so suddenly. Her birds babble had always been entertaining, but this was downright hilarious. The little witch curled into herself between bouts of laughter, knowing full well now who was responsible for her poor birds' sudden voice over (if the familiar sounding laughter two seats over was any clue). It took her a good second, especially after Gar's (or should she say Pluto's?) last comment, but Lars eventually managed to calm her diaphragm long enough to reach down and pull her wand from inside her boot. One mumbled incantation and a quick wrist twist later, and the two presently confused birds were back to squawking unintelligibly into the air. Lar's turned her attention to the true culprit then, a wide grin stretching across her face.

"You know, you're really lucky neither of those two feather heads have held a grudge against you yet." She announced to the younger wizard, who was currently laughing behind some poor girl. Jules was an underclassman, and a part of both Tituba and MCC, so Lars knew and got along with the kid fairly well. The jokes weren't anything new either, and only the tip of what she hoped would be an iceberg of fun this year.

"When the heck did you get on the Tutt?" She asked then, done with her laughter and suddenly amazed that she hadn't seen him around until now. This place was large, yes, but not too large that you couldn't spot a familiar face if you frequented it enough. Maybe she'd been on this bloody road trip a bit too long.

[Assistant]
The Tomb was a most excellent gathering place for the youthful students of Salem Witches' Institute (which despite its name, was not actually restricted to magic-capable American adolescents of the female persuasion), and it was with great flourish and gusto that Lü Ziya made his entry into the vibrant hang-out, his signature furry ushanka-hat and light-grey surgical mask present upon his head, obscuring all but his nasal bridge from view. It would seem to some that such a state of dress was detrimental to attempts at socialising with others (and indeed his mask served to muffle his deep, accented tones, making it quite difficult for certain peoples to understand his words), but the Chinese-American teenager was not somebody who would let his own clothing of all things get the best of him!

Manoeuvring through the crowds of students in a manner not too dissimilar from how Luke Skywalker traversed the narrow and deadly trenches of the Empire's mighty Death Star, he immediately honed in on the vermillion leather couches that dotted the room's landscape, intent on enjoying the comforting feeling of sitting down. Indeed, since his first year at the school of magic, Ziya had been a connoisseur of the Peregrine's furniture, admiring the egalitarianism they symbolised and their availability to all social classes, for no student would be able to dominate one sofa for their own selfish desires. Truly it was a grand step into introducing socialism to the magical society of the United States! The comfort of these couches would be provided to all that sought them!

Aha! There was a familiar face present on one of the couches!

Ziya plonked down right next to Aja, the force of his sudden appearance causing the piece of furniture below them to squeak quietly. As a fellow fifth year in House Warren, the Chinese-American was acquainted with the other teenager, and it was quite polite to greet one's acquaintances wherever they were.

"Good morning Aja!" he said cheerily, although the muffled sounds that emerged from his mouth could have been misconstrued as "Guten morgen A-jar", which, while not entirely inaccurate (albeit sounding like he was speaking a completely different language), was noticeably different from what he was intending to say. "And greetings stranger!"

His next words were directed at Aella, his head shifting slightly to 'face' the sixth-year his housemate was handing a candy bar to (though the obscured face made the turn of phrase a bit inaccurate). He hadn't really encountered the girl much, so his enthusiastic greeting was hopefully the first in a possible acquaintance.

[User]
Amelia watched as more people came into the room, watching as each one came in. They could definitely be seen as a weird bunch of people. The first one to come down after her of note, was a... boy she guessed, who was wearing a big, fuzzy hat and had a mask covering his face. She couldn't even make out the person's face behind all they were wearing. Next came a girl who was accompanied by two birds, something that Amelia was surprised at as she hadn't seen anyone come down here with pets before. The next person to come down was a boy who glanced around before moving over to and sitting next to Amelia, who quickly looked away from him. She could've laughed when he gave her a 'shh' but it was impossible for her to make any noise that would require a voice. She heard him whisper something the then the voices of the old ladies who drove the car. She glanced around in panic before realizing it was the birds the one girl had brought down with her. The shear comedy of it brought a smile to her face.

The owner of the birds looked around in surprise as well before realizing the source of the noise and began laughing. It took her several seconds to recover but when she did, she came right over to Amelia and the boy, addressing the latter of two. It would seem the two were familiar with each other by the way the girl talked to the boy. Amelia was fine being out of the spotlight and would've preferred to stay that way. Sadly, her stomach had other plans and let out a loud rumble that was unlikely to go unnoticed by the two strangers near her. Her face went bright red and she was too mortified to even try and move away.

[Assistant]
Aja opened her mouth to answer the girl. Instead of words, however, what escaped her was a surprised squeak when Ziya plonked down next to her. She looked over to see his familiar face (mask?) and managed a response.

"Morning," she said with a smile. She didn't know him very well, but they always had classes together since they were in the same year and house. He was eccentric to say the least, and Aja found that he typically worked best in small doses, but he was nice enough. Aja turned back to the other girl. "Aella Strand, this is Lü Ziya. Lü Ziya, Aella Strand. I'm Aja Kay." Aja had been meaning to ask Aella if she was alright, but she doubted the girl wanted to divulge all her problems to two strangers. So instead, she just explained, "We're in Warren together. Fifth year. He's very politically minded." She turned to her classmate, then. "So Ziya, how goes dismantling the ruling bourgeois class?" If Aella couldn't confide in them, then at least they could distract her. Small talk didn't exactly seem to be her forte anyway.

---

"Since Sacramento," Jules answered Lars. A smile was still stretched wide across his face as his laughter died down. "And come on, I bet they love all the attention I give them! They'd never hold a grudge against me." Of course, by 'attention' he meant 'constant use of them as pawns in his pranks.' He was about to say something else when he was cut off by some unholy rumbling. Jules snapped his mouth shut and turned to look at the blonde girl sitting next to him. Oh yeah. He'd completely forgotten about her. In his defense though, he'd been talking to Lars. Pretty, funny, cool Lars…

"Uh, wow," he said, snapping out of his thoughts. "That was actually really impressive." His smile was back on his face, but then he remembered that sounds like that typically weren't a great thing. "But seriously, are you ok? Like… have you eaten or something?" He remembered the sandwich he'd brought down from his room and scrambled to pick it up from where it was resting beside him on the couch. "Do you want part of this? I already started eating it, but I don't have cooties or anything like that. I could tear off the part I bit if you want."