In the middle of an ancient, beautiful forest, right at the foot of a great tree, sits a mushroom ring. The 6 mushrooms are large, just large enough for a person to be able to sit on one. There's no particular order to them, just a circle. And some nights, when the moon is full and large in the sky, 6 people sit at them. If you could call them people. They don't exactly look the part of people, yet look too human to not to be called so. They have what seems to be pointed ears. Their canine teeth are elongated, resembling that of a vampire's. And strangest of all, they seem to glow. A faint white glowing light seems to surround each of them.

But this night, one of the seats are empty. The five that are present look agitated and nervous, for some unknown reason. A dark-skinned female paces impatiently, her fingers closed in a fist.

"Where is she?" the strange woman growls. "She should have been here an hour ago!" Her voice is sharp and agitated- yet something else is concealed beneath its tone. Fear, perhaps? She certainly does not show any signs of fear, for her eyes are narrowed and teeth bared.

A silver-haired man places his large hand on the woman's shoulder, his stern face unflinching. "Imra, we must wait for Velatha."he says, his voice deep and gravelly. "You know how she is. Now stop pacing, it's making you seem like a child."

Imra brushes his hand off of her shoulder, sitting down crosslegged on one of the mushrooms. "We're supposed to be the Council of Six, not the Council of Five!" she says, her eyes narrowed. But then her eyes soften a bit, looking up at the silver-haired male. "She could be hurt, Tanyl! You know how things have been recently. We've lost so many..." Her voice seems to trail off, her eyes settling on the ground. The rest have a mournful look on their faces as well.

"I agree with Tanyl," says a pale-skinned woman to the left of Imra. Her white hair stands out against the black of her cloak, creating a look that resembles snow against the black of night. "You need to calm yourself, Imra. This sort of thing is what attracts them." As she says this, her blood-red eyes close wearily.

Suddenly, a scream sounds from the surrounding forest. The pale-skinned woman's eyes pop open, and Imra jumps to her feet, ignoring Tanyl's glare.

"Velatha." she breathes, and dashes off into the forest.

"Damnit!" Tanyl growls, and motions to the red-eyed female. "Emiri, go retrieve Imra. You must not let her do anything rash. Qildor, Amren and I will stay here and protect the tree."

Emiri stands, and curses. "Why do I always get stuck chasing her down?" she mutters, and takes off after Imra's fleeting figure.

---

Beep, beep beep. goes the alarm. A groan sounds from the bed, and Amelie's head rises from the pillow. She looks around in her haze of sleep, before flopping back onto her pillow. the alarm continues with its incessant beeping, and she groans again.

"Shut the fuck up, will you?" she mutters, searching for the snooze button. But she had torn the button out of that alarm years ago, and all that remained of it was a mess of upturned wires. She admitted that it wan't exactly the safest of things to do, but what else was she supposed to do? So when Amelie touched the wires, and then gave a startled yelp. She jerked up, her eyes wide. "Damnit!"she yelled. "I really need to get that patched up..."

Amelie hit the off button on her alarm, and stretched out, yawning. After grudgingly getting out of bed, she proceeded to do her morning routine in the bathroom. You know, showering, brushing your hair, gettign dressed, all of that good stuff. When she emerged from her room, she was wearing a plaid blouse complete with dark purple jeans and her favorite pair of tennis shoes. She was all ready to face the day's challenges, and with her attitude she was likely to succeed.

The first place Amelie went was the kitchen- like usual. She cracked a whole bunch of eggs for herself and her teammates. The extra would be for leftovers, of course. She took some turkey bacon out of the fridge, and began frying that too. Then some potatoe,s along with some delctable spices. By now, the scent of the delicious meal was wafting throughout the base. She hummed while she worked, flipping the things every so often.

"I'm making breakfast, guys!" she shouted into the hallway.

---

Cayde Godfrey

The building stands quietly with not even a creature stirring. The rooms filled with sleeping individuals. Boys. Girls. Some older people. You can skip over them. However there was one room that is not silent. One room were a dim blue light peeks from underneath the door. One room that, clearly says "Knock before entering". Inside sat a fully awake Cayde, holding a white controller in his hands, a headset on his ear and a bottle of green tea next to him. Oh, and he's surrounded by at least a half dozen empty cup of noodles.

"JR on the point. Watch out for the turrets! My ult's ready! Going in!"

He sat in front of dual monitors with an impressive looking sound system. The room, however, is so dark that you can only make out minuet details. However, the light from the screen provides enough light to see how messy the room is. The only two areas that remain untouched were the bed, clean and made and the computer desk, not even a crumb or empty container laid near it.

"Victory"

"Aaaand that's how it's done~ Well done, Claire. You did get good-" He pauses as if being cut off. He stifles a laugh before responding "Hey now! You have way more time to play than I do! Hey, watch this, bet I got Play of the Game" He leans back in his computer chair as the screen continues to dance in a plethora of colors.

"Play of the Game"

"Hah! Told ya! Mark it down, sis! 258,083! I'm ahead again!"

Despite his energy, his voice never carried to far from his room. Outside the door, you could hear a soft whisper. You could attribute that to the many complaints Cayde has received since living here. Or, you can thank the sound proofing material he ordered last week. Regardless, he takes off his headset to stretch some more when his hears movements.

"Jeez, what time is it?" The exhaustion is clear in his voice as he checks the digital clock for time. "Ah, welp, the chef awakens`" He places the headset back on while a smirk creeps its way onto his face. Granted, Cayde is always one for minimal effort toward food, but that changes when homemade FREE food enters the mix. He stands up and bends over to his computer, typing faster than a normal person by leaps and bounds.

"Going to head down for breakfast then head to class. Make sure to let me know when the loot boxes reset via text."

"Are you sure, brother?"

"About the loot boxes? Hell yeah! I still need that legendary skin!"

"No I mean" Claire's voice held hesitation "Do you really have to go?"

Cayde sighs and smiles, softly. "I'm sure, sis. Don't worry, I'll be back tonight, hopefully. In the meantime, don't forget to check HOTS for the dailies on my account too."

The conversation wraps up as "normally" as you would expect from Cayde and he swaps out his darken yellow shirt for ... another darkened yellow shirt. His wardrobe is pretty limited. Checking the time, he smiles and just as he opens the door, he hears:

"I'm making breakfast guys,!"

'Right on time~' He thinks as he walks out of his room, closing, and locking his door before making his way toward the kitchen.

The sky was still dark when Keira woke up. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and got dressed. But since it was snowing outside, she put on a turtle neck top and pants instead of her usual midriff top and skirt. It really wouldn't do anyone good if she froze herself to death. As soon as she tied the shoelaces of her boots, she stood up and took her favorite winter coat off the peg behind her door. She put it on and silently ran a hand on the soft, colorful fabric. The coat had been her father's Christmas gift for her. He had seen her admiring it in one of the shop windows weeks before. Several times her father asked if she wanted it but every single time, Keira said no and pretended that she was admiring a less expensive scarf instead. The coat had been too expensive and they were saving money for traveling. So as not to be miserable about it, she had made it a point not to pass by the shop again. But on the day before Christmas, she did and was disappointed to see that the coat was no longer on display. Figuring that it had probably been bought already, she had pushed it out of her mind and eventually forgot about it. Until she opened the gift box her dad handed her on Christmas day and found the exact same coat in there, nestled in pretty red and green paper.

She could still remember her father's smile as he watched her twirl the coat around.

She reached out and took the bow her father made for her from its mount on the wall. She slung it onto her shoulder. While she no longer used it, she still kept it with her as a reminder of her father and their love for archery. She took it down now for a very special event, one that she repeated every year. She didn't take any arrows. Today, she would make one of her own.

She headed out of her room and walked down the hallway, her shoes barely making any sound. Two doors down, she passed by a room with a "Knock Before Entering" sign hanging on it. She glanced at the door as she passed by, noticing a faint blue light coming from underneath the door. She shook her head. Cayde probably pulled another all nighter playing his games.

She walked briskly through the hallway, pulled the hood of her coat on and then walked out the door. She looked up at the gloomy sky and at the white snowflakes falling all around. A cold and gray day. It was the exact same day that her father passed away two years ago. Slowly, she made her way to the back of the house, the cool wind swirling around her as she heard the flap of wings followed by a shrill screech. "It's good to see you, Falco," Keira greeted as a blue-gray hawk landed on her shoulder. "Did you come to say hello to Dad too?" she asked and was promptly answered by a low grumbling sound from the bird of prey.

Keira nodded and carried the hawk on her shoulder to the back of the house. Once there, she looked up at the still dark sky. "Hi dad. How are you doing up there?" she spoke softly as she pulled her bow off her shoulder. She held the bow with her left hand and then pulled the string with her right hand. As she did, an arrow made of pure light formed in her right hand, its glowing shaft perfectly fitting into the bow's arrow rest. "It's exactly two years since you went away, dad. Are you happy where you are? Are you safe? Are you and mom dancing to wonderful music on the clouds?" As she spoke, her father's name appeared on the shaft of the arrow she conjured. The letters appeared one by one in elegant calligraphy. Lajos Walker

Falco watched the glowing arrow and cocked his head to the side as he listened to Keira speak. The girl poured her heart out as if she was writing a letter to her deceased father. And when she was done, she raised her bow straight up to the sky and pulled the string all the way towards her face. "I love you dad. I miss you every single day. Tell mom I can't wait for the day that I'll be able to meet you two again. But not yet. Not yet..." she smiled before she released both arrow and string. As she did, Falco let out another screech as though he was sending his own thoughts towards the skies.

The light arrow shot up into the dark sky. Girl and bird watched as it lit up its path and waited until it disappeared between the clouds before they turned away. Keira sighed. "Do you think they see it Falco? I try each year to make my arrows brighter so that the Gods may take notice of it and send my message to dad and mom. Do you think my arrows ever get to them?"

The falcon made a gurgling sound. "I'm glad you think that way. I'd like to think they were able to see all my arrows too. I...miss them a lot." The falcon touched his beak onto Keira's cheek. "I know you'll always be here for me. And I'm glad. I don't know what I'd do without you." Keira reached up and gently stroked the falcon's head. She sighed again and then looked back up at the brightening morning sky. She stared up at the sky for a few more seconds before deciding to go back to the house.

"I'll see you later, Falco. I've put something outside my window for you. Breakfast."

The falcon made another low grumbling sound before it stretched its wings and took to the air. "You're welcome," Keira called out before she walked back in.

"I'm making breakfast, guys!"

"Impeccable timing, Mel," Keira said softly as she felt her stomach grumble in response to the faint smell of something good wafting out of the kitchen. She removed her coat, a little damp from the snow outside and then headed back into her room. She hung her coat on the hooks behind her door and then carefully placed her bow back into its mount on the wall. She looked at it for a few seconds before she headed back out into the hallway.

Breakfast. Her stomach rumbled again as if agreeing to the single word in her head.

With an uncontrollable yawn, Cayde stands not even five feet away from his bedroom door. In the back of his mind, he already regrets leaving his safe haven. ‘Maybe i should suggest room delivery …’ a stray thought runs through his mind before a small scenario plays out. How would that go over? Hmmm. Nah. It isn’t worth the effort nor worth having to listen to another lecture about “responsibility” and all that nonsense.

He checks the time again, this time using his smart phone, and his brain switches gears. The date. Cayde couldn’t forget this. The gamer who stays couped up in his room doesn't have many people he would call “friends” but if there is one, it’s Keira. They joined up around the same time a few years ago and despite her simple, happy-go-lucky and trusting exterior, she held a lot of depth. Cayde saw through her facades quickly and decided to ignore them for the time being. However, it didn't strike him as odd until last year when he noticed activity in the dorm. Normally, he is the only one up past 3 am most nights so stuck out to him.

Curiosity got the better of him and he saw Keira’s ritual. A send off of sorts. Cayde decided on that day that he would watch her back. If anything were to expose her defenses, he would shield her. He didn’t question why. He just did it.

Why bring this up? Well today is the same day. 2 years ago, Keira lost someone important to them. Though you wouldn’t know with how she is walking toward Cayde with a hungry expression that could eat the words you speak to her.

“Mornin'" He gives a two finger salute before shining a grin. “Looks like the head chef’s shrill has reached us all” His joking tone tries to add levity to the situation. Something to keep the mind off of darker thoughts. “It sucks in a way! I’m this close to breaking into a new level! So close to a loot box~”

Now this was the Cayde everyone knew: a die-hard gamer who thinks of life itself as a game. For now, he keeps up his own facade to cheer up Keira up. At least he hoped it does.

Her dorm, Chroma Knight base
December 19, 2016 - 6:10 am

Eyes opening to gaze out at the darkness that was her dorm room, Laura reached up a hand to turn on her lamp mounted on the wall. Blinking as light suddenly flooded the room, she checked the time on her alarm clock: 6:10. She frowned at the time. She had set her clock to ring at six when she went to bed last night, but now had no recollection of switching the alarm off. She had overslept by ten minutes, which was unfortunate but unchangeable. At least she hadn't overslept longer.

Reaching across to grab her phone from the dresser top, she turned it on and checked for any messages. There was one from her mother asking her if she had received her grades from her finals yet, but after scanning through the message Laura decided to ignore it for the time being. Seeing a notification for a text from her brother, she immediately smiled and clicked on it. Last night, she and Sebastian had added more than 100 texts to their message history together. She had stayed up late "talking" to him, which was probably part of the reason why she had had overslept.

It read:
L, I know u won't see this till tomm morning, which is part of the reason I'm texting you. If you're reading this and it's not yet 7, get back to bed. I mean it.

Laura rolled her eyes, leaning back in bed. They had exchanged photos last night, and the picture of her had revealed dark smudges beneath her eyes from the cramming she had done while studying. Still, his advice -or maybe she should think of it as an order- was enticing. Setting her phone to ring at ten to seven, she switched off the light and was soon asleep.

The sound of her phone buzzing and playing a tune woke her, and she quickly shut it off. With that bit of extra sleep, she felt better. Getting out of her bed, she began to get dressed. She had already set out clothes to wear last night, so it didn't take her long to change. An elbow length soft gray shirt and a pair of yoga pants went on first, followed by a tight fitting dark blue sweater. It had long extended sleeves, with holes for her thumbs to fit through so part of her hands were covered. Giving her hair a quick brush, she decided for once to let her red waves of hair fall loosely around her.

Now that she was done with her morning preparation, next would be... her eyes fell on the still open book on her desk. That would be next. But before doing so, she grabbed her phone once more and sent a quick text to her brother.

Slept till 6:50, happy now? Still woke a little earlier than you wanted, but who says I have to listen to you? XD

He would see it when he woke up, probably in three or so hours due to their time difference.

Walking over in socked feet to her desk, she sat down and bent over her book. No, it wasn't fiction. It was yet another of her textbooks. Just because she had a break from classes didn't mean that she would slack off. Absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair with her left hand, she began to read, mouthing the words silently.

Some time later, she became aware of the scents that were wafting into her room through the small crack under her door. She hadn't thought that she was hungry before, but now she definitely thought she was. A muted call soon accompanied the smells, recognized as Amelie's voice. With a soft sigh of satisfaction, she dog-eared the page and closed the book before unlocking her room door and stepping out, making sure to lock it behind her as well.

Then, she headed down the hall towards the kitchen. Standing in the doorway that stood between the hall and kitchen, she looked over to where Amelie stood at the stove. "Need any help?"

---

@canaryrose

The song echoed through the halls around five in the morning, the heavy bass rumbled the walls, the guitar rifts slipped through the cracks under the door and drowned out the sound of Darius's usual morning routine. Muffled by the sounds of music, Darius shuffled around his room, dipping and dodging the monster in front of him before rapid thunks from his fists hit the heavy bag that hung in his room. a heavy swet had been built up from earlier. About a three mile run, extensive calisthenics, heavy weight lifting and finally about a few hours on the heavy bag, fighting "monsters".

He never held back, sparing or training he always went all out, never restraining himself. It was something Father taught him. "I never go easy on you in training because what you fight out there will never go easy on you. Be mindful of this when you train. Never restrain yourself, always push yourself further and farther than anyone else." Those words The retired Knight made sure to drill into Young Darius and it seemed they paid off.

His eyesight was starting to go as he pushed himself faster and faster, the song had ended and the sound of heavy hits echoed through the halls. Once he reached his peak, he yelled out and slammed a heavy right hook into the bag, yanking it off its support and against the wall, denting in the gypsum board. Darius mentally cursed himself and flinched at the repercussions that could follow for destroying Knighthood property but that worry would have to wait. He decided it was about time to get a shower and ready for the day. Which reminded him. Amelie was probably going to make breakfast and if she did he would more than likely hope she made enough for him. Darius was not small by no definition of the word. He was tall, bulky and needed the nourishment associated with being "big". Hence why leftovers were almost never in the fridge because he would need it to keep healthy and ready for anything. That, and he simply liked to eat too. He was still a growing boy after all. After about a twenty minute shower and getting dressed in his usual attire, he heard the sound of the morning breakfast bell, nearly sprinting out of his room to the kitchen, skidding into the entrance. A bright smile on his face as he entered, glancing over at the items of the morning. His mouth watered slightly to the thoughts of how it would all taste.

"Morning! What do we have today, hm? Steak and eggs? Steak sausage and eggs? Steak, sausage, bacon, eggs and hotcakes? Oh please tell me you made omelets..." He clapped his hands together before rubbing them as he made his way to the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk before slowly making his way over to the stoves, hovering over Amelie to see what she was making and hopefully, snagging a piece of sausage off from the pan. As his hand slowly made its way to the pan, he bit his tongue on one side. Of course, he wasn't actually serious about doing something selfish and rude like that. Just something to tease the young woman about.

Keira's mind drifted off to the breakfasts her dad used to make as she made her way to the kitchen. Buttered waffles drizzled with warm honey, sausages, fluffy eggs and hot chocolate. He woke up early every morning to make sure she had something filling to start the day. Several times she had tried fixing herself the same food. Of course, it tasted exactly the same but not having her father there made all the difference. It simply wasn't the same.

"Good morning," she greeted casually as she walked into the kitchen and Amelie, Darius and Cayde in there. Amelie busy cooking with Darius looking over her shoulder, a glass of milk in his hand. The bulky man who loved to play loud music when everyone else was still sleeping. She honestly didn't mind it because he always started just when she was about to go out for her daily morning shooting practice. More often than not, his music played the role of her alarm clock. She worried for the others though and had several times considered knocking on his door to ask him to lower the volume down. Then she realized that Darius' room was sandwiched between hers and Cayde's. She figured that Cayde probably didn't mind, him being totally engrossed in his games most times. And if she didn't mind and he didn't mind, then there's no sense in doing it.

She looked towards Cayde as she walked in. She flashed him a grin and then walked towards him. She leaned forward and studied his face. Judging by the way he looked, he really did stay up the whole night. "Stayed up all night again, did you? I'd laugh my head off if your loot box ends up giving you junk," she teased lightly. She remembered the time when she had literally fallen asleep watching him play, only to wake up to his anguish cries. Or at least, what she thought was an anguish cry.

She thought he'd hurt himself or something but when she looked at him, he was actually laughing gleefully as he did strange poses. Victory poses, he had said. Keira had stared at him and then laughed before she left his room.

She looked towards the door and saw Lauren there, offering to help. At her question, Keira straightened up and then headed towards the cupboards containing the plates and the silverware. She figured she'd make herself useful and set the table while waiting for the food.

"giving you junk... giving you junk... junk... junk" The words echoed within his soul and the look on his face became twisted into a sneer of pain.

In a very animated way, Cayde gasps at Keira's comment on his precious loot. "Gah!! No, no, no!" He exclaims, pointing at her. "Don't jinx me like that! I still have to get my legendary skin!!"

Seeing her smile, at the very least, made him feel at ease. Maybe she was okay afterall. That'd make his life easier. As she goes off to help Lauren and Amelia, Cayde follows suit with the large Darius. It never cease to amaze just how the man worked. He was always "go big or go home" with everything. Thankfully, the two shared similar taste in music, since even though he usually wears headphones, the bass of Darius music could be felt through the floor boards. As he looms over Amelia, glass of milk in hand, you can really tell just how tall he is. He's like a freakin' titan! ... don't tell him I said that

"Hey, hey, now! Save some for the rest of us, dude~" He calls out to Darius, giving him a large grin and takes his seat at the table. "Granted, if all the food did get gobbled up, I have at least 2 weeks supply of cup noodles to last me, so don't feel too bad if you do eat us outta house and home"

Cayde isn't the best person to have in the kitchen. Smart he may be, but cooking did not suit him. Ever since the stew of yester-year, the gamer swore off that "stat" and kept on moving. Still, the environment here was nice. Had it really been so long since he moved here? With these people? Doing amazing things? Sometimes, Cayde could hardily believe it. But it's true. A blue hedgehog told him. It had to be true.

Keira finished setting up the table and took her usual seat beside Cayde. When she first joined the Chroma Knights, she didn't think she would make any friends. Not because she didn't have the ability to... She was actually a very friendly and soft spoken person. It was more because she didn't want to grow close to anyone. Growing close to people meant getting attached. Getting attached meant caring too much. Caring too much would eventually lead to pain. She didn't want to go through the same pain she went through when she lost her father. She didn't wanna cry again, didn't wanna feel like the whole world was against her again. Joining the ranks gave her a purpose. She didn't wanna ruin that.

But despite feeling that way, she was human. And she needed someone to talk to, someone to smile and laugh with, someone to keep the loneliness of being without family away. She eventually warmed up to the gamer beside her. An unlikely friend. Most times, she didn't even understand half of what he played and what he talked about. But she found his company oddly calming. He didn't seem to mind her company as well. And so without intending to and without realizing it, she ended up depending on him.

She turned towards him to tease him more about his oh-so-important loot boxes and to make a quip about his cup noodles. But the plate she had set in front of him grabbed her attention, the blue geometrical shapes mesmerizing her. She found her mind drifting off again.

"A diamond is a square turned to the side, a rectangle is a square stretched sideways. Why make them separate shapes and give them other names?" a younger version of Keira asked as she pointed to the different colored shapes that adorned her plate.

Lajos Walker, a tall man with graying hair, laughed. "You can bring that argument to the geometrists. I'm sure they'd have a lot to say to you." He said as he waved the plate he was holding, his other hand gripping the handle of the frying pan.

Keira laughed as she traced the shapes on her plate with a finger. "I should. Maybe ask them to just call anything with four sides a square, all shapes with three sides a triangle and all without sides a circle. Makes everything simpler right?"

A loud shattering sound echoed in the small kitchen as Lajos collapsed onto the floor, the omelette he had just put on the plate splattered on the floor peppered with the broken shards of the plate.

"Dad!"

Keira sighed as she tried to pull her gaze away from Cayde's plate. Normally, she found it easy to smile, to look at her memories of her father as something to remember fondly but today was a particularly difficult day. And all she could really think of was how she missed him. What if she had done the cooking that day and made her father just relax there on the kitchen chair? What if she had called for help earlier? There were so many what ifs and thinking about all of them made her mood dip lower.

The aroma of food being cooked slowly made its way to the nostrils of Cayde. Regardless of loving noodles, he is still human and enjoys a well cooked meal. He closes his eyes in content, enjoying the smell, while Keira sets up the table for everyone to actually eat. She took her seat, as she normally did, next to him. Cayde remembers once upon a time that this annoyed him. Keira was bright and cheerful, while Cayde enjoyed solitude and darkness. Once more, he remarks how time has changed.


"Y'know-" He begins to speak, turning to face his good friend before realizing something is amiss.

Keira's eyes gazed upon her plate, lost and aimless, almost like in a trance. The way her face began to slowly crumble to show the sadness in her heart made it clear to Cayde. 'So, it really is bothering you still...' Why wouldn't it? Cayde never knew his real father and the one who took up the role now has done so remarkably well. If something had happened to his mother, however, it would break him. Same with his sister. So, in this way, he can sympathize with Keira.

Seeing if it helps, he moves the plate away from him and out of her sight. "Hey" Cayde speaks more softly, moving his face so that his eyes stares into hers. "You okay? If you need space, let me know and I'll take care of it for you."

His voice also sounds way more determined and serious. Similar to his time during intense game matches, and for the times of battle, when things needed to be done, he made sure they were done.


"We can't have these guys seeing you like this." Once more, Cayde spoke in a whisper, so that only Keira could hear him.

ᴀᴍᴇʟɪᴇ ᴋᴇɴᴅʀɪᴄᴋ

Amelie lightly whisked the eggs and cheese, throwing in some pepper for good measure. She had cracked a total of 8 eggs into the bowl, in case anybody wanted more than she put on their plate. When the bacon was done, she tossed that onto a napkin to cool off and poured the whisked eggs onto the frying pan. Her hands were moving quickly, tossing vegetables into the eggs, foods such as chives and black olives. The potatoes were frying in their spices next to her, and she hummed a sweet song as her hands moved. The scent of the cooking was becoming even stronger by the minute.

"Need any help?" said Laura, who had somehow crept right up behind Mel, surprising her. For once her red hair was flowing free down to her waist. 

"Yeah, sure! Go on and pop 6 pieces of bread into the toaster and butter it." Amelie said in her cheery tone. "By the way, your hair looks great when it's down like that. You should keep it that way more often." 

She continued frying the food, humming softly, and when Darius reached for a piece of the bacon, she swatted at him with her hand. "No one gets any bacon until I'm done, understand?" she said, looking at him straight in the eyes. "Now go sit down like a good boy and wait for me to give you the food, alright?" Her tone was slightly playful yet sassy at the same time, her expression a mix between serious and amused. As she was turned around, she noticed Kiera with an ashen expression. The normally cheery girl was always sad on this specific day, and Amelie wanted to cheer her up.

The expression on the young woman's face was equivalent to the one Amelie wore on her birthday. Every year, she felt that way, out of guilt and shame for leaving her sister. She could imagine that Kiera felt the same way, without knowing why she was always sad on this day. As she walked across the kitchen to get a spoon, she set her hand on Kiera's shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. 

Bare feet poked out from under a rumpled cream comforter. The owner of said feet was currently burrowing his head under a pillow as the walls vibrated and loose papers buzzed. The fingers clutching the pillows twitched a bit then pulled the pillow tighter.

Finally the music stopped. A young man with tousled brown hair and sleepy eyes popped his head out from under the pillow and let out a sigh of relief. With monumental effort, he heaved himself over onto his back and squirmed around until he was snuggled deep within his blankets.

The young man cracked an eye open. A glance at the digital clock on his bedside table told him it was way the hell too early to be awake. Especially because he'd been up after midnight due to work.

Brian closed his eyes again and furrowed his brows as he began his farseeing, or scrying, whatever people wanted to call it. It didn't take long for a room to appear in his mind. It was similar to his, as far as the walls and dimensions of the room went at least. What was very different was the decoration and furniture. For one thing, there was exercise equipment in this room and a sound system against a wall.

He ran his powers gently over the wires in the speakers. It wouldn't be too hard to end the torment for a week or two. Just a little tug and the speakers would short circuit. It would be so subtle. At least, he hoped so. It was entirely possible he'd still get blamed anyways due to his "history" or some such nonsense.

If so, there would probably be another round of that merry and disturbing game of tag involving super-strength and a giant sword. After which, he'd probably be out a few thousand dollars in reimbursements and repair fees. Oh, and some sort of tedious punitive measure would be enacted, naturally. The disciplinary officer was a sadist, of course.

The last time this had happened, the fees for wrecking the dorms had been atrocious, and in order to save his hide, Brian had also had to pay enough to cover the old speaker system. The man, of course, had promptly turned around and invested that money into buying newer, louder, and far more expensive speakers. Brian was convinced the man had bought such an expensive system to spite him.

As for injuries... well. Asclepians were a mixed blessing.

It was great to be able to have limbs regenerated and injuries healed when fighting monsters. The downside is that people became somewhat less careful with their fists or other weapons. After all, a sufficiently powerful Asclepian could make right anything just short of death.

Being gutted wasn't exactly what he wanted to do with his Monday morning. Especially because it was the first Monday of his Winter break. Of course, for all he knew, being gutted today might be unavoidable. People in his particular line of work had a rather high mortality rate.

Well now, that was an unpleasant thought, and he had an afternoon shift at the cafe. Brian turned off his farseeing, and opened his eyes. He found himself staring at the ceiling of his own room. His eyes habitually roamed his room for anything amiss.

A monitor stood on the desk at the far end of the room. In front of the large 24" monitor sat a keyboard and a mouse. The computer tower sat next to the monitor near the wall. A lamp, a printer and a tray of papers sat on the corner of the desk. Next to the desk was a nice wooden shelf on which he put his textbooks, some binders and folders, and a few knick-knacks.

Across from his bed, which was shoved into the corner of the room, was his dresser. And next to his bed sat his nightstand with yet another lamp and the aforementioned digital clock. Other than a rug between his bed, a simple mattress resting on a metal frame about two feet off the ground, and his dresser, his room had no other adornments.

Brian closed his eyes. He had a few more hours until his shift.

He was going to roll back over and sleep.

Keira didn't notice Amelie's reassuring hand on her shoulder nor did she see her smile. She was so engrossed in her memories and her sadness that as soon as she finished setting the table, she just dropped herself on the chair beside Cayde.

She thought she was tearing her gaze away from the plate that brought forth memories of the day her father died but apparently, she wasn't so successful. She kept staring at it and only realized what she was doing when Cayde removed the plate from her line of vision. She blinked when she looked up and found herself staring straight into her friend's red eyes. A blush immediately turned her cheeks a bright shade of pink and her heart beat accelerated. She hurriedly looked away. "S-sorry. I didn't realize I had zoned off like that." She looked around, embarrassment evident on her face as she checked to see if anybody else had noticed.

She sighed, making a mental note to pay more attention to what she was doing especially on days that she didn't feel like herself. Cayde was right. She can't let others see her the way she was now. Everyone would be worried. And there would be a lot of questions. Are you okay? Is there something bothering you? Do you wanna talk about it? Questions that she really didn't wanna hear, much less answer. "I... I'm okay. Don't worry about it," she assured her friend in a voice that was just above a whisper, giving him the most cheerful smile she could muster. It wasn't much and she knew he'd be able to see through it but she hoped it'll look cheerful enough to fool the others.

She knew that Cayde knew why she was the way she was on this particular day. He was her closest friend, after all. Her thoughts turned to her memories of him.

When she had first joined the ranks of the Chroma Knights, Cayde had acted aloof towards her and she was sure that he had been annoyed that she chose the seat next to him in the dining hall. She tried being friendly to him and greeted him cheerfully every single morning. He had always greeted back or more like mumbled back and he never returned her smiles. She figured that it was either because he was not a morning person or that her presence actually offended him. It didn't really matter if the latter was the reason. She'd still try to befriend him.

---

"Good morning. It's a good day today, don't you think?" Keira greeted cheerily as she sat down beside Cayde. As always, he kept his gaze down as he muttered a greeting back. As expected, he looked annoyed. "Perfect day to sit next to a cute guy," she continued.

Cayde's head snapped up and he looked towards her. "M-me? C-come on, stop joking."

Keira grinned and looked at the boy staring at her, his cheeks flushed bright pink. As soon as their eyes me, he immediately looked away. "Oh, so you know how to say other words aside from good morning after all. Hi. My name's Keira Walker. We've been living in this place together for several days I thought it'd be nice to introduce ourselves. And your name is...?" She waited for him to answer but when several minutes passed by without a word from him, her smile faltered. I guess he really thinks I'm annoyi--

"Cayde Godfrey."

Keira was surprised but her smile widened. "It's nice to meet you, Cayde," she said as she stood up and grabbed an apple from the basket. "I'll see you around," she said as she walked towards the door of the dining room, a feeling of accomplishment lifting her mood up. She paused in the doorway. "You really look cute especially when you blush," His head had snapped back up again, the blush on his cheeks darkening. Keira laughed softly, waved a hand at him and then continued out of the dining room.

---

Keira figured that it was that encounter that had served as the ice breaker. After that, Cayde had looked a little awkward whenever she sat beside him but curiously, he began talking to her a little every day. It started with 'Hi', 'How are you?' and 'Nice weather today.' Even with only a few words, she found that he was actually nice. He wasn't the friendliest in the bunch but she found that she felt comfortable around him the most. Eventually, he stopped looking annoyed when she sat next to him and they conversed more. It became 'Hey, what's up?', 'Did you sleep well last night?' and 'Did you see that shooting star the other night?'

Slowly, they became close friends, close enough for her to tell him about her father and how he had died. And close enough for them to laugh about how their friendship started. She appreciated him and the concern he continued to show her.

"I'm okay," she repeated with a brighter smile this time. "Thank you."

Crap! One person is already curious and it would be Amelie. She would definitely persist until Keira gave up the information. His face held is pretty unreadable now but in his mind, he’s cursing up a storm and trying to find a way to make this not so awkward.Well this is gonna get complicated. Damn, of all days for this to happen. What the hell am I gonna do here?' At all cost, he had to keep this secret. Why though? He didn't know Keira for very long. Why did he feel he should protect her so damn much? Never mind that! How do-

"I... I'm okay. Don't worry about it,"

Cayde eyes dart over to Keira’s face to confirm if what she’s saying is true. No doubt, she gave it her best. A smile that would fool most but these Knights, their allies, aren’t idiots. His eyes flash a grimace that he tries to cover with his hair.

"I'm okay. Thank you."

Once more he stares to make sure before letting a chuckle leave his lips. “Alright good.”

A soft smile leaves his face before continuing “You kinda worried me there, but if you’re alright, then, I say let's dig into some food! It’s only so much that Cup Noodles can last a guy, ya know!”

Once more his natural enthusiasm takes over and shows his friends in the room that everything's a-okay.Friends? I guess they were now. Weird. A guy like him could have friends. Who would have thought.

Laura Tilney

Kitchen, Chroma Knight Base
December 19, 2016 - ~7:45 am

As Amelie gave her a job to do, Laura headed over to the fridge to get the bread, catching Amelie's compliment to her on her way there. She gave the older girl a smile and a thanks, before popping the slices of bread into the empty slots of the toaster. Though it was nice to have her hair down in occasion, it just wasn't very practical with the way that it got tangled. She would probably tie it up later, since she also planned to get in some training today.

"Six slices of bread, huh? Is the sixth an extra, or are you expecting Brian to join us?" Glancing at the kitchen clock, she added, "Looks like his plan for today is to sleep in." Laura's remark was aimed at Amelie, though her voice was loud enough for anyone in the surrounding vicinity to hear. Turning around from where she was standing, she noticed that Amelie wasn't at the stove. Spotting her at busy at Keira's side instead, Laura turned back and began to butter the bread. "Nevermind."

Finishing with the bread, she walked over to the dining table with the plate, setting it down in the middle just in time to hear Cayde announce that it was time to dig into food. Smiling broadly, she returned to the kitchen and took out five plates for the meal that Amelie had prepared before calling to her. "Time to serve?"

---

@canaryrose

The snow crunched on the sidewalk as Connor stepped up to the cafe entrance, steam rising from his shoulders. It was a cold December morning but it wasn't going to stop him from getting a morning run in. He felt that it beat running in the desert. Here you could warm up, where as in the desert you could never cool down. Reaching out to open the door, he noticed the red glowing on his hand. "Temporean huh... It already seemed like I had plenty of time before... Yet it's already been a month and I still haven't fully figured it out."

Pushing the door open and entering the base, a cold draft blew in as he let himself in. "Seems like breakfast is already ready", he muttered to himself. The strong smell of meat and eggs permeated the hallway as he made his way toward the kitchen. He greeted the room casually as he strolled in. "Mornin' everyone." A quick sidelong glance at the table and he was able to note a weird atmosphere. "Well, whatever", he inwardly shrugged to himself. He walked across the kitchen to the fridge, popped open the door, and stared around the fully stocked fridge until he found what he was looking for. "Ahah, there's my breakfast of champions, and the last one too." With an experienced motion, he popped off the top with his teeth and took a quick swig. Walking over to the table, he took an unoccupied seat and began to digest the alcohol as well as the atmosphere. Only living here a month, he still didn't quite know anybody, but they all seemed nice enough so he wasn't going to close himself off from the group. He decided that he would do his best to break the atmosphere and inquire about their plans for the day. "So what's everyone up to today?"

“You kinda worried me there, but if you’re alright, then, I say let's dig into some food! It’s only so much that Cup Noodles can last a guy, ya know!”

"But I'm sure you'd go back to your cup noodles if it meant that you can get a few more hours of gaming in," Keira fell into her usual banter with Cayde, the smile on her a face a little more relaxed. Talking to him always helped on a day like this.

She looked towards the newest addition to their ranks as he sat opposite her. It was always nice to see a new face. It meant an opportunity to make another friend. It was also something to take her mind off the sad thoughts that kept creeping into her head. She offered him a smile. "Good morning, Connor," she greeted pleasantly and then paused at his question.

What was she up to today? The previous year she had spent the day locked in her room staring at the bow her father gave her after her arrow ritual. Was that what she wanted to do again today? Would she---

"Do something productive, Keira," the familiar baritone of her father said.

Keira gasped and looked towards where the voice came from. But her father wasn't there. There was only Cayde beside her. She blinked, remembering a particular memory where she was complaining about how she couldn't do anything because it was snowing. "Do something productive, Keira." Her father had said and they ended up making a snowman together.

You're right, dad. I should do something productive, she thought to herself before she turned back to Connor. She smiled again and repeated the words. "Something productive," she said.

"But I'm sure you'd go back to your cup noodles if it meant that you can get a few more hours of gaming in,"

"You speak the truth, Keira!" He laughs. "However, I got yelled at when I missed breakfast for 3 weeks in a row." Cayde grimaces slightly as if remembering a bad time in the pass. If you look closely enough, you could see the chills run down his spine.

Despite the look of discontent, his eyes dart back over to Keira to make sure she's okay. From the looks of it, the mini game is completed. Successfully hid what REALLY is going on with his friend. Whew! That was a close one. Nice recovery, Cayde~ Wait, i'm suppose to type that in "quotes" Type the thing, Cayde! "Nice recovery~" Hold on! The Italics! Don't forget the Italics! "... Nice recovery?" Perfect! "..."

Just as the stomach grumbles, the new-comer enters the fray that is the kitchen dining area. He gives him a nod, a two finger salute and a simple "Yo", before returning his gaze to the kitchen.

"Not gonna lie," He starts "Kinda hungry here ..." It appears he is starting to think with his stomach more so than his mind.

"Looks like his plan for today is to sleep in."

Hearing this, Amelie furrowed her brows. It was like Brian not to show up for breakfast, but as far she was concerned, he definitely needed the fuel. With the exception of Cayde when he was gaming, Brian was the laziest member of their team. Sleeping in was a waste of a potentially productive day- Amelie had learned that a long time ago.

"Well, I guess he's not. said Amelie with a shrug. And then a mischievous grin as she said "I know how to fix that quickly."

Amelie had a history with mischief. When she had been a child, she had played no short amount of pranks on her sister. But unlike other mischievous children, she had learned the boundaries. Specifically, her father. She still had scars from what he had done to her. Not too many physical ones, but too many emotional. Her mood turned dark at this thought, but she shook it off.

Amelie headed out of the kitchen, going to her room. While in her room, she grabbed three of her favorite tools: a Sharpie, an airhorn, and a megaphone. The Sharpie was simply to amuse herself, and the the airhorn and the megaphone were for the express purpose of waking him from his slumber. Sleeping Beauty he would be no longer.

She creaked the door to Brian's room open, tiptoeing inside.

Brian heard footsteps down the halls. As one of his upgrades from vanilla humanity, he'd gained better senses, in exchange for his soul. He almost worked up the energy to sigh when he heard the footsteps stop in front of his door.

Please don't! Please don't!

Unfortunately, he heard the sound of the knob turning. He could have locked the door, but the last time that had happened, the door had simply been blasted off its hinges. Of course, that demon of a fiscal officer had forced him to pay for the damages. She'd said something about building character and learning to be an upright young man. It was something along those general directions. Possibly with an inclusion of the words lazy and slug.

Alas, a slug shall never become a busy bee he wryly retorted in his head.

He cracked an eye open just a sliver as the door opened. As he'd surmised, it was Amelie, and she held implements of torture in her hands. He decided to close his eyes and play dead, while using his powers to press the earplugs in just a bit more securely in hopes of weathering this storm.

As Amelie drew closer to the sleeping Brian's form, she giggled softly. He was so peaceful sleeping there- but that wouldn't last for long.

Amelie leaned over him, Sharpie in hand. She smiled with mischief as she uncapped the pen, and barely contained her laughter as she drew a large mustache beneath his nose. And then a monocle over his right eye. Deciding she had enough of the drawing, she capped the Sharpie and inserted it back into her purple pocket.

Brian kept his breathing even and his expression smooth as he heard his tormentor's footsteps across his floor. With super hearing, he could even hear her footsteps as she crossed his rug. He suppressed the urge to sigh as she giggled. It wouldn't do to give up the game after all. If he was going to play dead, he was going to be thorough about it, and hope to god she'd suddenly feel merciful.

There was a small pop as he heard her uncap the sharpie. He listened intently, and once again engaged his poker face. He could pretend to roll over now, but well, he'd already done that last time. It wouldn't do to make her too suspicious, and at least sharpie washed off pretty well.

He managed to suppress his reaction as the sharp stench of sharpie assailed his nose. He was pretty sure they were named Sharpies due to the smell of chemicals they gave off. He wanted to wrinkle his nose, bat away the sharpie, do something or anything to ignore the smell, but holding his breath would also give it all away.

Another suppressed sigh as he kept his body relaxed. He'd been playing the part of a super deep sleeper in order to get the others to leave him alone when he'd slept. If he let something like this get a reaction, he'd ruin his efforts. Apparently he'd been rather convincing. Perhaps he could be an actor. Or perhaps they'd just given in to his stubbornness. After months, his teammates and other members of the Knight's Order had surrendered the battle and left him in peace, with one exception.

This exception had just finished drawing a monocle around his eye, and Brian carefully suppressed the reflexive twitching and blinking movements he normally would have made when something was near his eye.

Another pop as the sharpie was closed. Was he saved?

He listened intently hoping that Amelie would give in early.

The fun had only just begun, and Amelie had no intention giving up. Holding the airhorn and the megaphone, Amelie activated them both at the same time, creating a blaring noise.

"HEY, GET UP, LAZY BONES!" Amelie screamed at the top of her lungs into the megaphone. The megaphone was positioned close to Brian, though not in any position where it would deafen him. Her goal was not to cripple him.

That would be bad.

As he was assaulted by the noise, Brian used his powers to ensure the earplugs blocked as much noise as possible.

He regretted his actions deeply. With his powers he'd sort of loosened the earplugs so that he could hear what Amelie was up to. He hadn't been prepared for the sudden blast of noise. He was mentally reeling from it, to be honest. He most definitely shouldn't have tried to listen closely and see if he could sense what she was doing.

I'd probably go deaf if I hadn't worn earplugs. Was the first thought on his mind. Right on its heels came: Actually, those poor people who had night-shift, my room isn't soundproof!

That decided him. For this one, he wouldn't suppress his reactions. He'd need to put an end to this before angry people from the night shift broke his doors and walls down in order to strangle him and Amelie. Hell, even now he might not manage to escape from that demon of an admin. All it would take would be a few complaints from night shift and he might get dragged out by his collar to the training room by a pissed off office lady/knight.

She was one of the older knight members. She had managed to retire from front-line duty, and that was quite an impressive thing. She was also no-nonsense and a Hammer. She was a ridiculous brute, and she terrified him more than any other brute of a hammer other than the crazy, berserk ones.

He flipped over, shoved his head under a pillow, and used his power to begin a game of tug-of-war with Amelie. There was no way he was letting her keep the air horn or the megaphone.

His actions had also made it clear that the megaphone and the air horn had gotten a reaction. People didn't flip over and burrow into pillows and blankets when they were in deep sleep. Cartesians also normally couldn't use their powers when they were asleep either.

He'd managed to catch her by surprise, judging by how quickly he managed to retrieve her instruments of torture and suicidal death wishes. He quickly teleported them away to some bushes in Grand Central Park.

Powers, great for hiding the bodies.

When her favorite toys were snatched out of her hands by force, Amelie scowled. Goddamnit. Brian would never give them back, even if she begged and pleaded. But nevertheless, she had gotten him up. She grabbed his arm, pulling him off the bed with her practiced strength.

"Now that you're up, you want some eggs? I made some potatoes, turkey bacon, and eggs. Vegetables, too. Keeps you fueled, y'know?" she said, this time softer. She shook his shoulder. The job of waking him up was completed, and all she needed to do was actually get him to the kitchen.

Oh, that and scare the living fuck out of him.

Using her illusion abilities, she made Brian see some things. In his room. Most noticeably a blood splatter on the wall, a rotting corpse, and a bloody knife embedded in the corpse. None of which were real, of course. If that stuff had been in his room when she walked in- well, he and the boss would need to have a chat. And it would not be a pleasant chat.

Brian heaved a sigh as she dragged him out from under his blankets. He was half tempted to just flop bonelessly to the floor, but that's what he did when he was supposedly "asleep." After all, they'd had hammers on the team. One of the things that had been tried earlier was simply dragging him out of bed by the ankle and leaving him on freezing cold the kitchen floor. Actually, there had even been times when they'd dumped him in the showers, and he'd simply refused to let even cold water rouse him.

No, he'd show no weaknesses. Well, other than the megaphone and the airhorn. The disturbances caused were a quick way to an early grave. Sleep-deprived normies were scary already. Sleep-deprived cranky Knights? Gah, no thanks, he still wanted to live.

He paid half a mind to Amelie's words. Luring him out with delicious food? Hah, no mere delicious food would move him! ...even if he was tempted.

He finally relented enough to open his eyes.

He was greeted with the sight of a corpse on his floor.

"That'll be a bitch to get out of the rug y'know. If you just wanted me to help you hide the body, you could have just said so. The airhorn and megaphone draw too much attention, Ames."

He yawned and stretched, secretly plucking out the earplugs with his power and hiding them in his blankets as he did.

He crouched down and eyed the body. There hadn't been a body less than five minutes ago, so he was pretty sure it was an illusion. Plus, there shouldn't have been enough time for rot to set in, if someone had been hacked apart in his room. He leaned in to get a better look at the face. It wasn't a face he recognized either.

"Really Ames, it's not good form to kill random strangers and leave 'em bleeding out on the carpet."

He still made a try at removing the body, just in case it was real. He doubted it, though. If he'd really been asleep, maybe it would've done something, but he'd already taken a look around his room a few minutes ago.

Maybe if Amelie was a Cartesian, but nah.

He sleepily attempted to poke the corpse's cheek when it didn't get teleported away. Since his powers couldn't touch it, and it should have been well within the limits of his power, he was pretty sure it was an illusion.

His fingers passed through it. He blearily began batting his hand through the corpse and poking at fake blood on his carpet.

"Your illusions are getting better."

Amelie smiled a bit at this. She always had liked it when people gave compliments to her, whether it was on her powers or her drawings, she had always appreciated praise. Sometimes, she sought approval like a starving wolf would a lamb.

"Thanks! And I must say, your teleportation is getting better too! You teleported my horn and my megaphone away pretty fast. Even though I'm still mad about that." Amelie added. She would miss that megaphone and that airhorn, though. They had served her well in her pranking expeditures.

With a wave of her hand, the corpse and the blood and the knife disappeared into the air.

Brian tamped down on that bit of disappointment he felt when she didn't really react at his casual behavior with the illusion corpse. This is why newbies were so much more fun to prank. He wasn't exactly an old hand, he'd only been an active Knight for a year, but he was still experienced enough to keep calm, sort of, when faced with stuff like this. Unsurprisingly Amelie was too. Actually most of his group were no longer newbies.

"Mhm, yeah, thanks. You do remember we've got some guys who were on night shift on this floor, right? And also there are still people upstairs and downstairs who may have been on night shift right? I figured it was better to go hide the evidence before we got murdered by cranky knights."

Brian yawned again.

"Now, if you'll excuse me-" he started as he began to crawl back into bed.

Amelie face-palmed. "Of course. I always forget that kind of stuff, Brian. You know me, so forgetful and all." she said with a groan. She'd always remember that one time her door was shrunk by an angry Croscope and she had almost been killed by an enlarged nightstand. Not fun times.

When Brian attempted to get back into his bed, she grabbed his foot. "Uh uh, mister. You're coming with me." she says as she begins to drag him by the foot out of the room.

Brian clutched at his blankets, but ultimately let go before he dragged them off the bed. He didn't feel like helping everyone clean the hallway floors with his blankets. He heaved a sigh as he let himself be dragged out the door. He made a half-hearted attempt to clutch at the door frames, but after a few tugs he let go of the door frame and just relaxed while Amelie did the hard work of getting him to the kitchen.

It was a good thing the floors were wooden or tiled and all floors were cleaned daily. After all, carpet-burn sucked, and there was a limit to how much dirt Brian was willing to be dragged through. Fortunately, he also had the habit of sleeping in old and worn clothes, so he didn't mind it nearly as much as he could have. He closed his eyes for a bit and waited until he felt the bump of the floor transition strip and felt tile beneath him. Apparently they had arrived at the kitchen.

When Amelie got into the kitchen, she let go of Brian's foot, dropping him to the ground.

Look who I got up! Amelie yelled at the her other teammates. She pointed at Brian, who was currently seated on the floor. She hadn't meant to drop him when she had put her hands on her hips- but, oh well.

It was a good wake-up call for him anyways.

Noticing the hungry faces surrounding her, Amelie began to serve some food. She placed each type of food on the table, including the six pieces of toast. She also set a pot of hot coffee on the table, as well as some creamer.

And then she noticed Connor, already having his drink of choice. Which was alcohol. At 8:00 in the morning. Not a good choice, considering that their line of work required sensibility- something that a drunk man could not achieve. Her face immediately turned from a smile to a scowl.

"Hey, Connor!" she shouted across the room, clearly a bit irked. Mind putting down the alcohol? You're not doing yourself any favors by drinking at 8:00 in the morning. Have some coffee instead. Coffee's good."

Brian sighed as he lay on the ground. The floor was cold, but he still kinda wanted to stay down. He daydreamed about curling up in the corner and just falling asleep where he sat, as Amelie began serving the food. She'd had to step over him a few times before he finally motivated himself to haul himself to his feet.

He blinked sleepily at the food on the table and shambled on over. He dragged a chair out and heaved himself into a seat. He promptly lay his arms down on the table and rested his head. He was pretty sure his current position gave everyone a pretty clear view of the sharpie all over his face.

He closed his eyes and activated his farseeing to observe the happenings at the table. Admittedly, he really was still exhausted, but this was a great way to practice his mediocre farseeing and also see how people reacted to his new style.

With his hand slapped away, she was met with a playful pout and a quip from Cayde to which he glaced over with a smirk. "If that becomes the case Cayde I'm going to need some of those rations..." he chuckled lightly before moving to the loaf of bread, preparing to make some toast with butter.

Well, I'll probably wait until everyone has gotten their share before I eat. He sat down and opened up a newspaper in an attempt to catch up with the times. As the others joined, greeted each one with a smile and a light wave, until he heard the screaming from the microphone, causing him to choke on his milk in laughter. Soon enough, Brian walked in accompanied by Amelie again to which he chuckled before offering Brian a fresh cup o' joe.

"Morning Bry. How'd you sleep?" He snickered recalling the loud "WAKE UP" call he got. Despite the smile he was still upset about his old stereo ending up in the New York Bay. Luckily, it was replaced with a better, more expensive one and should Brian find the need to send it anywhere out side of his room, proper healers would be needed.

Now that everyone had gathered, he waited for everyone to get their fair share before packing away a good portion of what was left. Keeping in mind, he was the only hammer currently on their floor and a big one at that. Able to put many career bodybuilders to shame.

"So does anyone know what the plan is for today? I was planning on sparring if anyone cared to join. Not many of the other knights can keep up minus those with experience but I can always tone it back for you guys." He spoke as he gathered his plate together.