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It was a second or two of tense silence before Ms. Duff smiled weakly and addressed Rupa's question. Thankfully, she brought up the fact that fungi and fruits weren't closely related, and Rupa breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to eat the apple. That would have been awkward - fruits are baby plants, right? 

Before she derailed herself too much, Rupa noticed that she was not the only one to show up late! The first was a guy that was scraggy and unkempt, wearing clothes that looked like he slept in them for the last three days straight. He also called out to Rupa and answered her apple question, echoing the director's response. 

[color=00a99d]"Woah, you guys let homeless people stay at HERO One?! Cool!! I know a guy named Sticky Ricky who got kicked out of the shelter for stabbing a dude, could he-"[/color]

Judging by his question to Ms. Duff and the fact that Hacker-girl was looking at him like he was Sylvester Stallone or something, Rupa quickly shut her mouth. Probably a thing for heroes in the States - maybe they're on the clock so much they can't take care of themselves or something? 

The other late arrival was a boy wearing sandals and an oversized hoodie, who appeared to have walked up to the rest of the group without a word during Rupa's badass introduction. He had a vibe that was kind of similar to the Hacker girl - more aloof and cold than Rupa would like. Emily walked over and gave the guy a handshake ([color=00a99d]JEALOUS!!![/color]), so hopefully that would help and make the guy a bit less grumpy.

Ms. Duff started explaining the orientation in more depth, and much to Rupa's delight, it wasn't going to be a boring ass speech! They were doing a scavenger hunt - which for some reason the others were groaning about and calling childish? Rupa thought it was super mature and cool, way better than reading a packet or something.

Especially the prize! Rupa couldn't really handle a proper pet right now, and Mrs. Yuvaves wouldn't like it either - but a plant is super easy. Plus Rupa probably won't kill it while she's sleeping, so that's a plus.

Like the scavenger hunt itself, Rupa seemed to be in the minority of people actually interested in the prize. Mushroom guy was especially grumpy about it, growling and ranting about how he was kidnapped to play games. He even let off a bunch of spores, which grossed Rupa out a lot - 'sporing yourself' sounds like the fungal version of shitting yourself, and that's yucky. Thankfully, it did enough to distract her from focusing on the whole 'kidnapping' thing, cause who knows what kind of tantrum she would throw if she knew that Mire was being held against their will here.

Rupa paused for a while and watched the others - no one seemed to be willing to pair up right off the bat. Jeez, did she get stuck with all the introverts and grouches!? The only one who didn't seem at least somewhat upset or annoyed to be here was the giant girl, and that was probably 80% because she didn't have to worry about stepping on pedestrians and fire hydrants right now. The girl in the trenchcoat and the emo boy were talking to the mushroom man, but it seemed kinda confrontational so Rupa zone out of it. She was only brought back to attention when Eva briefly mentioned hanging out after work.

[color=00a99d]"Hell yeah, pizza!!! Whooooo!!!"[/color]

Despite eating out pretty much every day, Rupa rarely ate with someone who wasn't her landlord. It would be nice to get to know some of her coworkers better - like their favorite movies, or their catchphrase when they catch a bad guy.

And their names. God, she needed to ask people what their names were.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rupa noticed the Hacker-girl continuing to stare at the homeless guy- er, not homeless. Stray. Joseph. Do heroes prefer real names or their made-up ones? 

Doesn't matter. It was time to get this scavenger hunt started, even if she had to force people to pair up. Rupa walked towards Joseph, thankful that she was oblivious to who he was. Harder to be intimidated by someone when all you know about them is their name and that they have what looks like chili stains on their pants.

[color=00a99d]"Mr. Stray! I'm challenging you! I bet that me and..."[/color]

Shit, who was Rupa pairing up with? Emo-boy? He'll probably say no. Giant girl? She's 10 meters up, she's not seeing those little ass pyramids, and Rupa did actually want those plants. Mushroom guy doesn't look like he's playing, so he's out...

[color=00a99d]"Me and the hot lady with the cool coat! I bet that we can find more pyramids than you and, uh... white-haired girl, I don't know her name either..."[/color]

Rupa pulled out her wallet and looked for whatever would be valuable to a homeless person. What the hell would Sticky Ricky like...

[color=00a99d]"I'm wagering $12.87! And a loyalty card to Surfshack Tito's Bar and Grill - two more stamps, then you get a free meal AND can choose what they play on the TV! If I win, you have to tell me Mr. Powers personal number so I can prank call him. O-or Ms. Duff's, either works!"[/color]

That rewards card was a hard price to pay. Surely Megumi would be thankful, and not annoyed by this embarrassing breach of privacy. Rupa didn't bother waiting for a response, turning quickly and making her way towards the green-eyed woman. She whispered (well, as much as someone like Rupa could) under her breath as she passed the woman, hopeful that none of the others had a perception-based power.

[color=00a99d][sub]"Please play along, I'll buy you a slice or two when we go for pizza!"[/sub][/color]

A white-haired woman covered in scars walked past Rupa, making her way towards the rest of the group. Rupa did her best not to stare - while she was used to those kinds of wounds on her guards with the Paksha, and Rupa herself had quite a few from the training she had gone through, she had yet to see an American look like that. She shook her head, focusing on the green-eyed woman.

[color=00a99d]"Oh, uhm, could I ask what your name is? I think everyone else forgot to do their Hero introduction like I did."[/color]