[color=a187be][center][h2][i]Meruin Hazy[/i][/h2][/center][/color][hr]
	Meruin was at a certain coffee shop, enjoying her . . . what was this? Breakfast? Lunch? It was her first meal of the day, but it was afternoon. Did that make it [i]brunch[/i] instead? But wasn't brunch eating a lunch food for breakfast? Or was it eating breakfast foods for lunch? [i]Or[/i] was it . . .

	Her thought process was interrupted by the serving of food on her table. In the end, she decided that it was not worth thinking about, and that food was food and meant to be eaten when you were hungry, regardless of the time. Picking up the spoon and fork, Merui prepared to dig in to her three pounds of steak, a bowlful of mashed potatoes, a whole plate of fish, three servings of chicken fillet, and a plateful of buttered rice and kofta balls in tomato sauce. Meruin frowned. There was something wrong with the amount of food on her table . . .

	Hadn't she ordered shawarma as well?

	In that moment, the resounding blares of alarms reached her ears, causing her to jerk slightly. She had a particular [i]dislike[/i] of loud noises, and especially so when they came without warning. Grumbling, she looked around for the source of the sound, before realizing there [i]was[/i] no source. So it was telepathy, which meant that it was either the Director, or someone associated with him.
	
	It turned out to be the latter as a rather unpleasant announcement made itself heard. A beast was being released into the city and they were all being forced to participate in its apprehension. Not that she was particularly adverse to the idea of fighting in general but she liked to do so [i]on her own time[/i], and lunch - brunch? - time was definitely [i]not[/i] that time.

	Meruin looked around, and it seemed people were evacuating already, including the proprietor of the cafe, an old man with a slight paunch. 

	Her face paled in horror when she realized that this meant she would [i]not[/i] be able to finish her meal, not if she was shooed out of the cafe.

	Looking about, Meruin quickly flung a hand over all of meals, the runes on her back glowing slightly. In an instant, she transmuted her foods into small, dehydrated cubes, while her empty vials of potions were promptly filled up. There was no way she was not going to eat these, she thought as she tossed the cubes into her rucksack.

	The tiny ,age joined the other students leaving the cafe. She suddenly paused and turned, wide eyed at the boy with runes glowing on his arms, and more importantly, his companions.

	To the outside, it seemed Meruin was just an curious little girl who was fascinated by Runik's runes, but the truth was different.

	Meruin, in an effort to advance her alchemy, had long made it a habit to analyze the structure and make up of everything around her - it made instant and long distance transmutations so much easier - and everything included people.

	Or things that looked like people, anyway.

	Currently, Meruin needed something, something that would advance her experiments greatly, but finding a source for it was difficult. Almost impossible, even. She'd been lucky enough to encounter it before, but that was several years ago, when she had no idea what it was she held in her hand.

	Now, that same substance, or at least, something close to it, was just within arms reach.

	[i]Pheonix Blood.[/i]

	That girl with red hair. She had Phoenix Blood on her somehow, and a [i]lot[/i] of it. Meruin [i]had[/i] to figure out why she had it, and eve more importantly, if she would be willing to [i]share.[/i]

	She approached the group of students, head leaning forward slightly. 

	[color=a187be]". . . can I join you three?"[/color]  Not exactly subtle, but Meruin was never the best at social interaction. Oh well, she could have done worse.