[color=gray] [CENTER][COLOR=#AC0D01][sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5509391][img]https://i.imgur.com/Q5BATrT.jpeg[/img] [/url][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=#ff7514][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Southern Plateau, Dundas Island[/I] - [I]Pacific Royal Campus[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=#ff7514][b]Welcome Home #1.088:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Daily Protein Intake[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=#AC0D01][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=#ff7514][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]Banjo [@Hound55], Rory [@webboysurf][/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=2c2c2c][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [color=2c2c2c][I]Zug Zug[/I][/color][/right][/SUP] [INDENT] It had gotten really close at the end, but the two Blackjack members sent to aid in the construction of the Trial foundations had successfully delivered a job well done. It had taken a lot of effort, sweat - mostly Katja’s - and tears - all of which were from Banjo’s laughing bursts - to complete their assigned tasks. But, in the end, the results spoke for themselves. Robert could be proud! As they were making their way back, it became obvious that one of the pair looked a lot more worn out than the other. Much to the annoyance of the bigger one of the two. [color=#FF7514]“So, bru. Mind explaining to me why, when we have to work on something together, [i]I[/i] always end up looking like this.”[/color] Katja gestured annoyed to herself, covered in filth from a day’s worth of hard labor. [color=#FF7514]“And you look like you’ve barely broken a sweat?”[/color] She did an annoyed handwave towards a disheveled, yet conspicuously fresh Banjo to emphasize her point. [color=darkgoldenrod]“Well, y' see Bokkie,"[/color] Banjo started, with an authoritative tone,[color=darkgoldenrod] "there's a few things you haven't considered. First of all, there's powerset. Every time I juice I'm not only takin' a bump to my strength, but also my endurance and stamina. Whilst in your case, you're actually doin' your heavy liftin' with no aid beyond what you've previously worked towards in buildin' your own strength. And even though you're f'r sure strong, it's still gonna take it out of ya. Second, you've got to consider the way you're liftin', you keep liftin' for strength and aesthetic, don't lie, I can tell you're a proud sheila. Should be too. Whilst I'm just tryin' to move the thing, I'm not buildin' much muscle or doin' anythin' real impressive as I go. And finally there's the etiquette of the whole thing."[/color] Katja raised an eyebrow. [Color=#FF7514]“Etiquette? Really?”[/color] She asked with an amused smirk. [color=darkgoldenrod]"Yeah, you got there late, so I didn't want you feelin' guilty so I let you do the hard yakka..."[/color] He said, sticking out his tongue. [Color=darkgoldenrod]"I'm a nice bloke like that.”[/color] A grin appeared on Katja’s face as the Aussie was giving his explanation, rolling her eyes at him before swinging at his smug face with her right hand. Banjo narrowly dodged it, of course, and it only elicited more cackles from the insolent little bastard. Katja laughed as she saw him scamper away in his exaggerated fashion, shaking her head as she continued her way over to the dinner area Tad and Jessica had arranged for them. It seemed they had waited for Banjo and Katja, as after the pair arrived the freshly engaged couple gave their greetings to the group and went into great detail describing the meal they had prepared for the two teams. Katja took that time to clean her hands and arms, so there would at least be a semblance of cleanliness to her. This slight detour meant that she had to join at the back of the food line. She got anxious that the best scraps of food would be taken by the time she got there and she’d only be left with salads. That wouldn’t do of course, as a girl like her needed her daily proteins! Luckily, her fears proved to be unwarranted as she discovered that most of the containers were still more than half full with all of their delicious goodness. [color=#FF7514][i]Well, there’s one advantage to being last. Don’t have to worry about others not getting their fill![/i][/color] She thought as she helped herself to what she considered to be very humble servings. A humble Katja serving of course still meant that her tray was practically overflowing with food. A SUV drove up to the dinning area while Katja was busy serving herself at the taco buffet. It turned out to be none other than the newly appointed Chancellor, Jim O’Neil. Katja’s heart sank at the initial sight of him. After that shocking news from earlier in the day, his spontaneous unannounced visit could possibly mean that even worse was on the way. Luckily, it turned out that her fears were completely unfounded. In fact, Jim brought the wonderful news that all the students whose credentials were at risk had now been safely secured! She noticed however that he didn’t mention [i]how[/i] he managed to secure those credentials, while his vague mention of [i]other changes[/i] made her think that he had to give concessions over to the Foundation. That thought alone made her skin crawl. However, all in all it was a moment for celebration. As the future of her peers was no longer in immediate jeopardy. With her abundantly filled tray in one hand and two bottles of water in the other, Katja was about to go look for a seat at the tables when she noticed two of her teammates having a conversation. The first of the pair, Lorcán, was often considered the more striking of the two, thanks in no small part to his orange eyes, it was his conversation partner that drew Katja’s attention. No, her eyes were drawn to Rory, and Rory only. Sure, he didn’t have the [i]exotic[/i] Hype factor that Lorcán had. A trait that Katja usually found very attractive in people. But Rory had something different to him. From the first day they had met she had liked his personality. Now, that isn’t to say she didn’t find him physically attractive either! Far from it! She always found those blue eyes of his adorable, and of all the people in Blackjack he probably came the closest to her in terms of physical fitness. And who better to appreciate a body like that than a fellow gymrat? His body not folding in half at all the tackles she gave him on the field was a nice bonus too, of course. But while she had obvious feelings for him, Katja also knew she wasn’t the only one. She’d seen how Haven acted around Rory, how Mei looked at him. She knew that whatever attraction she felt for him, it wasn’t worth the pain she’d cause her other teammates if she inserted herself into their romantic overtures. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be friends with him though! She waited for a while before she approached them, as even Katja could see in their faces that the conversation they were having was quite a serious one. She was curious, of course, but kept a respectable enough distance that she couldn’t pick up what they were talking about. Seeing them amicably part ways gave Katja a small sense of relief. She would’ve hated for there to be discord in her team, especially between these two friends. Seeing Lorcán walk off, Katja used this as her opportunity to close in on Rory. Noticing that his gaze pointed in the vague direction of a pair of wings, a mischievous smirk curled up Katja’s lips. With her prey distracted, Katja quietly snuck up on Rory. Or well, as much as the giant South African girl could sneak up on anyone. While carefully balancing her tray in her right hand, she swung her left arm around him before gently leaning on his shoulder, pressing some of her weight down on him. [color=#FF7514]“That would’ve been a sack, bru! Can’t get too distracted by your surroundings. No matter how alluring they might be.”[/color] Katja gave a playful wink to Rory before nodding over to Haven. Letting out a boisterous laugh, Katja let go of Rory before gesturing over to some free seats at one of the tables. [color=#FF7514]“There’s still some spots left over there. Care to join?”[/color] [/INDENT][/INDENT][/color]