Ntombi clutched at her heart theatrically, doubling over as if already shot and making a gurgling noise. [i]"Diddles, darling, you hurt me with your cruel, cruel words!"[/i] wailed Ntombi, dreadlocks flying everywhere as she shook her head violently. for a while, before stopping suddenly and peering up at Death with those bright amber eyes, just in time to hear his warning. [i]"Well, now that you've said that, I might just set off the alarm just to see what the punishment is..."[/i] she crooned, pulling her pale and pierced lips into a sadistic grin. Sure, a bit of pain would hurt, but if it meant seeing mask-girl scream...well, what better reward is that?

Speaking of mask-girl, where'd she head off to anyway? Ntombi just asked her to prove her skills, did she just go and leave her? Rude. What she really needed to do, was to find scarf-boy an-

[b]"You shouldn't berate people with your incessant banter unless you're ready to dodge a bullet from their rifle or deflect a blow from their swords."[/b]

-and who was that, exactly? Ntombi slowly turned around to see the other blondie, Alice, start leaving the room. Her grin widened as she mockingly called after her, determined to really make it sting. [i]"You really shouldn't berate people for their banter unless you're ready to beg for an antidote after breakfast, bitch!"[/i] sneered Ntombi in a mockery of Alice's tone, letting her leave before heading off herself to find the elusive scarf-boy.

Luckily, Ntombi didn't have to look too far. She found him and his scarf fiddling with the boot-laces on his boots, and suddenly she was hit with a wave of familiarity. She knew that frustrated groan. She's uttered that groan many, many years ago, way back when she was just about ready to produce children, in a land that the Empire burnt, having to wear shoes for the first time in her life...

All of a sudden she was crouching down next to Gin, peering at him critically with bright amber eyes, lip jutted out in a look of concern, but not pity. [i]"Yeah, I hate shoes too. They gave me strap-ones 'cause I didn't know how to tie them up, but I learnt how."[/i] said Ntombi conversationally, sitting down by Gin's feet and, if possible, taking the shoelaces off of him.

[i]"You see, it's kind of like this...You make a knot, which you know how to do, and then you put your finger there, and then you loop it, then you turn it around the loop, then you pull like that."[/i] explained Ntombi, showing very clearly how to tie a simple bow.

So, one of her members was a boring, antisocial little sap, and the other didn't know how to tie his own shoelaces.

Ntombi had a good feeling about this team.