Before the speech had started, Kalimay couldn't bring herself to stay still and was squirming all over her seat as the anticipation almost did kill her. Ever bursting with energy, she'd never been one for assemblies or shows or anything that required her to sit for an extended period of time but when the Headmaster began to speak found herself enthralled. Of course, she didn't really understand anything he was saying, something about doors and Grimm and what sounded like a whole lot of walking, but it was the way he said it that held her attention. By the time he'd finished she was one of the first on her feet clapping with a beaming smile on her face. "This year is gonna be AWESOME!" She cheered, grabbing Sayuri and Alistair's hands and bouncing rapidly.

It was at the precise moment the boy asked them about getting food that KK's stomach groaned rather loudly, suddenly reminding her that she hadn't eaten since that morning. "To the free food!" She pointed into the air, putting a foot up on a nearby chair and adopting an 'explorer' pose.

Jaclyn Kent

When the curtain went up and the Headmaster started his speech, a pained look crossed Jack's face in the early stages of the oration. When he discarded the self-sabotaging script and started to ad lib, things got much better and Jack started to actually listen properly.

It wasn't as though anything that Arrun said was wrong, necessarily, but it rubbed Jack the wrong way. Maybe she was taking it the wrong way, but she didn't think so. All the talk about enthusiasm, wasted potential, opening doors... it just felt like he was grilling them about their motivations and piling on expectations. Is there really anything wrong with being here just because? You waste even more energy if you hurry through the wrong door, so to speak. 'Gah, I am so done with this doors metaphor.'

Standing as the freshman greeting was concluded, Jack filed out with the crowd of students that had chosen not to remain and talk with the staff. Since their seats were close together, it didn't take her long to spot Reya's parasol expanding as she exited the auditorium. Seeing as they seemed to be headed in the same direction, she figured it'd be nice to walk with someone she kinda-sorta knew.

"Hey, you headed to the buffet too?

As the curtain to the stage rose Tirren stopped running his hand through his hair trying to get the gunk out, in retrospect he probably should have dodged it, and focused on the man standing at the podium. The man clumsily introduced himself as interim headmaster Arrun. Eyes glued to Arrun, Tirren watched as he eventually gave up on his script and truly began to speak. 'Good', Tirren thought to himself, 'It is easier to say what one means when he truly speaks rather then going rather than going through a rehearsed speech and it is then that one can truly speak to those around them. Though written words had power, so did the spoken word.' With renewed fascination Tirren watched Arrun pace back and forth as he spoke, clearly out of his element.
Nodding ever so slightly when the headmaster spoke of how one must walk through the open door when it is presented. 'Quite so, after all I have already come this far, I must now just cross the threshold and the true journey shall commence'. As Arrun finished speaking Tirren allowed himself to ponder the simple message that the headmaster had spoken so bodly. While simple words they held many truths.
As the headmaster exited the stage a woman journeyed forth totake his place. She spoke of sleeping arrangements, food, and the oppurtunity to ask questions of the present faculty. Tirren debated sticking around to question his future proffesors, but decide that their worth lay insde the classroom not on thr responses he would be given while they were on stage.
With that he set off to the buffet, all the while trying to remove the remaining gunk from his hair and cloak.

Cheng Wu
嫦娥

Ornate, expensive, with eyes a glossed over in a disinterested trance as they stared holes into the curtain. Cheng Wu wore an elaborate peach colored dress with white, pink, and orange accents circling from the hem to the conservative neckline. The sleeves where tight near the shoulder, falling off into large hoops near her hands, engulfed in each other upon her lap as her heels, hidden despite the length, tapped impatiently, matching the cold feature tugging at her face. She looked up only to stare daggers into the latest addition, having an obvious problem with how whatever it was presented itself. Her crass and harsh demeanor faded in an instant as the curtain rose, eyes staring upon the crowd of equally eager and bored students. Stoic as she straightened, Cheng watched their temporary headmaster closely and with expectant eyes.

When he stumbled over his words, she tilted her head in disappointment, only to immediately pick it up as Arrun tossed the speech, further relying on his own words and wit. This was exactly the reason she respected the man, though her expression didn't show that. Her eyes picked up on the burned pieces evaporating into the air, directing a small glare at Dustin for his lack of caution. Of course, he'd only laugh off her scolding and proceed to tell her to, 'take that pole outta your ass.' It was no use crying over spilled milk anyways, so Cheng directed her attention back to Arrun and the audience, in particular. These were to be her future students and it would do no harm in quick judgement; she liked it when people proved her wrong. Indirectly, that is and in matters where her credibility wasn't at stake.

The words, though, the improvised speech was excellent and if it'd had been last year's, then she would have beamed a bright smile across the auditorium. Now, though, she simply nodded her approval and waited quietly for the students to further file out or move closer as Rose wrapped it up. She'd stay only as long as she was told to, as Cheng didn't necessarily like the talking aspect of socialization—not anymore, at least. Her gaze fell to her sleeves, closing her eyes and keeping seated as the bustle of students filled her ears. Eager voices, shouting, ecstatic cheers for food reminded her of the little girl back home, giving her grandmother nothing but hell.

---

Pascale Isadora Buckley
—♫♪ Vive la Nourriture♫♪—

That speech really hit home.

Pascale's nodded as Arrun talked, talking whatever she could really understand to heart. There was no doubting how hard Pascale worked, when she wasn't humiliating people through her variety of pranks, her adoptive parents could very well vouch for her. Work was all she knew, really, and what she did usually had a purpose to it, ones that she found viable enough excuses. She wouldn't label herself a thief, but she'd steal when there was no other way. People would say that there was always a choice. For a Faunus, there really wasn't a solution for everything.

"Work harder!"

For what? Fifty cents an hour for eighteen hours a day?

Even then, a Faunus in her position had to work twice as hard, if not more so, than those around her. It didn't matter that there was a Faunus on stage at the moment and it didn't matter that there were a ton just like her sitting in the crowd. Pascale was at a permanent disadvantage compared to pretty much everyone else in the room, so it was natural for her to feel like she still wasn't doing enough, despite the fact that she'd pretty much worked most of her life away—she was just eighteen, for further emphasis. So, what Arrun said brought a smile to her face and, as he wrapped up the speech and another teacher finished with an announcement and further instructions, Pascale stood up, nodding at Rygar in apology for ignoring his entrance and made her way to the aisle.

The only thing that stopped her from moving slightly closer to the teachers was the growling in her stomach. She'd forgotten to eat lunch on the airship, which could very well explain the upset feeling in her abdomen. It wouldn't hurt to eat before coming back, though the buffet would probably be raided by pretty much everyone in the school. It was a good thing her mother had stocked her with some spare cash before she left. It was more than enough to get by and she was more than tempted to give most of it back; she really had no use other than food. But, Pascale shrugged the slight guilt she felt as she ventured outside, smiling at the gal with the parasol as she passed by.

IC: Kiora nearly hopped out of her seat when Addica sat next to her, startled her a little.

Instead, she merely muffled a slight eek in the arm of her coat before regaining her composure by going over the three types of ancient Scylayan architecture in her head. She needed to make friends at some point...

"I-I'm Kiora. And I'm surprised you missed the- Well, there were quite a bit of blades around, pyrotechnics could go unnoticed-"

She fell into silence when the headmaster spoke, seeming to shrink into herself once again. When it was over the only thing she got out was "free food?"

Isaac Markeel

Unlike a great many of the individuals in the room: Isaac remained unimpressed by the display of the man who claimed only to be the ‘current’ head-teacher. He hardly seemed to have a confidence in his position, nor did he particularly believe in the speech already set out for him. He would of accused this strange figure of lacking conviction: had he not somewhat redeemed himself through the latter part of his speech. He took a note of the name, as well as the various…things that made up the faculty: which included at least one Faunus, several assorted teachers of various size and gender and a…thing.

Whatever that thing was, it disturbed him more than the thought of any Faunus-teacher could.

Either way, the speech began and ended rather quickly: considering the hubbub that had surrounded the punctuality of the students. Isaac could appreciate striving for punctuality though. Military precision was something he had been weaned on for the longest time. Knowing that it would likely continue was a positive note, considering the fact that young Isaac was surrounded by Faunus. A demanding regimen would serve multiple functions: keeping the Markeel heir busy, keeping the Faunus creatures in line, and at least making the concept of possibly being forced to work with them bearable.

The end of the speech was marked by the information that the students had a free afternoon to spend as they wish: and the obvious and the highlighted time-sink was food. Isaac pondered on the thought of the cafeteria; it would be nice to be able to scout out potential allies and talented students, however his thoughts seemed to dwell upon the tight space: filled with Faunus and worse yet…what if any Faunus were a part of the refectory staff?

No: the appeal of an outside catering option was preferable: at least until he could be sure that his food wouldn’t be touched by any of the…beasts. The most expensive eating establishment would be his choice. It was far less likely that a Faunus would touch his food that way. He rose quickly, ignoring the pair of individuals who had taken a notice to him earlier. They took no further notice of him, and he shrugged. Isaac replaced his headphones on his head, before withdrawing a pocket computer and locating the best fit for an exclusive eatery. The Markeel budget would not be stretched by anything as simple as that: even the fourth largest weapons manufacturing company held considerable capital.

So within ten minutes of the speeches end: Isaac was sitting alone in the most expensive restaurant in Beacon. He enjoyed a small venison steak with a bottle of mineral water: and he simply…waited. If things happened or not were of little consequence to him: he had music, and he had food.

---

Orion Armstrong

---

Orion watched Arrun’s speech with a mixture of emotions that ramped up and down the scale. First he was worried, and then he was amused: and finally he was left with a feeling of excitement that clenched his heart in its steely grip and pumped blood around his veins. A man of action led them it seemed! It should not be any other way, because no doubt Arrun’s job was dangerous and required a man who could make life or death decisions at the blink of an eye and without a hint of indecision.

The speech came, and the speech was soon done: and Orion was almost disappointed to hear the fact that the afternoon was theirs. He was eager to do battle now; to undergo the test and prove himself as much as proving that the conviction that was in his heart was real and that the path he was on was right.

"…dunno about you, but 'free' doesn't sound bad. I'd rather not blow all of my money right away." Orion suddenly looked over at Reya: shocked to see that she’d been speaking. The Faunus had been so lost in his own little world that he had completely neglected listening to both of the two people he seemed to be striking some sort of accord with; that wouldn’t do at all.

“I can get behind free.” Orion nodded at the Reya, who set about unfurling what looked like an…umbrella? Extravagant a design for an umbrella: unless it was her weapon. He shrugged lightly, before getting up and offering a hand to Arara. “Dunno if the main buffet is your sort of thing: but that is where I’m headin’. Least I could do is in offering you a hand up.”

The speech was underwhelming. Weak. Pointless.

Arara had expected something stronger than just some petty talk of what did not yet exist. This Arrun Tower, the current Head Master of Beacon Academy was obviously a new person in the role, someone who had little experience at all. A speech about potential and oppurtunity was pointless, because neither of those things had any immediate value. She was not here to think about the future. She was here to improve the present, and merely talking about metaphoric doors wasn't going to get anyone anywhere. If you want to get better, train harder. Don't talk about not having the right oppurtunities, because that's just a waste of breath.

Perhaps it was pretentious of someone with all the oppurtunities in the world to be thinking of something in that way, but it was ultimately her own point of view. She passed through the short speech with a neutral expression, neither challenging nor accepting the views of Arrun, simply waiting for it to be over. There were some things that were better left unsaid, and in the end, telling your teachers that their lectures were an utter waste of time wasn't a good way to get high marks. And getting high marks was her intention. It would put the name of Sakanade Textiles to shame if she wasn't at least in the top fifteen of the students her grade.

With the wasteful speech over and more important information popping up, that of curfew and meal plans, Arara was mildly surprised at the hand that Orion offered her. With a smile, she grasped his hand as the giant helped her up, before the heiress elegantly extracted her spear from the seats. That was the problem with ancient heirlooms: they didn't have a retractable form due to the difference in technology.

Shaking her head when it came to the youth's offer to the buffet, she said, “Thank you for your offer, but I don't believe I'll be leaving yet. I have someone I promised to meet after the speech was over. Feel free to go on without me. Hopefully I'll find you people there.”

And with that, she walked off, restraining her habit of twirling her spear, before leaning by the main exit that all the students were using, waiting for Alistair and his reply.

Orion nodded at Arara as she respectfully declined the offer. He had hardly expected her to come to a buffet with so many people: but she seemed mildly content with making an appearance later in the event: which would not be unpleasant, to say the least. He took a second to admire the spear in the woman's hand: not lost on the intricate detail or its obvious age. A weapon of sophistication, it seemed. It was oddly fitting for a woman such as Arara; who had done nothing but present herself as a sophisticated individual.

Much better than whatever idiot thought themselves clever when they assailed an entire class full of trained killers.

Still, Orion knew that he was probably being waited for by the other interesting interloper into his day. He didn’t find himself minding the company: which was strange, to say the least. Normally he was more begrudging with his socialisation, and often times he could come across as a bit of an ass: perhaps he had matured more than he thought in the year hiatus. That would at least be some good news, as he hadn’t actually achieved what he intended to do in the damnable break.

Following and then passing Arara, Orion soon ended up spotting the large pink parasol long before he spotted Reya herself. She looked different under Priestess’ shade; a more elegant shade of red shrouded by a mysterious tinge of pink. He gave a slight wave, keeping his own weapon at his hip: unwilling to draw it while so many others had theirs at the ready. “S’up. Arara says she has a prior engagement, so it’s just us. Lead the way, I guess.”

As the curtain rose Addica flashed Kiora a smile before settling in to watch the headmaster give the welcoming speech. The first few lines of the speech just made Addica cringe, he didn't need his semblance to see that Headmaster Tower wasn't use to giving speeches. After the first few lines of the speech Addica was stunned to see Tower set fire to the script he had been reading from. "Hell, if this is what the teachers are like at Beacon I could get use to this," Addica thought to himself as Tower seemed to radiate confidence with the pre-written speech gone. And then Headmaster proceeded to lose every ounce of respect that Addica had been gaining for him, "Who does he think he is? Accusing me of wasting my potential. I'm done with this speech,". Addica reached into his pocket and pulled his earphones out, popping them in his ears he turned his music on from his phone. He continued to watch the stage but rather than listening Arrun's speech he tapped his foot and bobbed his head in time to the music. In response to Arrun leaving the stage Addica pulled his earphones out just in time for another speaker to take the stage. "Here we go again, more of the teachers thinking they know us before they've even met us" Addica thought to himself. As it turned out though Ms. Patch, the new speaker, had nothing to say about the incoming students and instead just shared what Addica could only classify as good news. Free food AND a night to prepare for the entrance exam, as well as the afternoon free to themselves.

Hearing Kiora speak Addica blushed, he had forgot she was there and he had probably looked like an ass, what with ignoring the welcome speech and all. "Ummm yeah she said there was free food at the buffet, that's where I'm heading if you want to go together."

Reya brightened as Jaclyn approached, her seemingly always-present grin giving radiance to her words. "Yep, Orion and I, whenever he gets here. We should go together and, you know...catch up! I feel terrible for not getting closer with everyone at Signal...but no use lamenting the past right? Gotta keep our heads up!" Reya said with a healthy dash of pep. It was true, she felt bad for not reaching out more. Those that she spoke with quickly cast her off after her getting into Beacon. It was all well and good for Reya, though. New start, new friends, new everything! There wasn't much to fret about.

After a few more moments, Orion emerged from the auditorium, Lady Sakanade not in tow. "Lady"...it seemed like a superfluous title here. They were all there to learn, and if status got in the way of that, what was the point? Exhaling a bit deeper, Reya returned Orion's small wave. It was kind of hard to miss her, wasn't it? What with the big bright parasol..."Hey! Yeah, I thought so. Oh, and Jaclyn here's gonna come with...right?" Reya asked her fellow Signal graduate, just to confirm. The raven-haired girl didn't really allow any time before getting her phone out to check the direction of the buffet on the school website. "it should be over there...off we go! Careful not to bump Priestess, she's awfully temperamental when she's gathering Aura." Reya motioned to her parasol before walking forward a bit and turning around sharply. "Unless you guys need to get things out of storage?"

Rygar didn't really pay attention to the speech. As soon as he gave his greeting to Pascale he quickly dozed off. He didn't wake up until all the students began to file out. He barely caught word of what had happened, but a lot of students were talking about free food. And since his brain paste was spoiled on the airship, food sounded good. Rygar walked out of the auditorium and immediately began to walk up the side of the wall once more to get the Sepulcher, which clung to the wall above the entrance. ONce he mounted onto the mobile coffin he detached the claws and rode off the wall, following the crowd to the food court area.

The place was packed. Hundreds of students were already here, lines filling the place. Apparently he wasn't the first to arrive. Worse yet, many of the tables had already been taken, and it was cold outside. But this wasn't any issue; this just meant that he had more targets. Looking around, Rygar began to look for a dead tree...

*Morella Cinder*

* ~ *
* ~ * ~ *
* ~ *

Morella just stared at Tarkus, her face stony with mild irritation. "...You must have gotten a concussion. You keep that up, you might get another," she said, before rolling her eyes at his behavior. However, underneath the scowl and raised eyebrow was the hint of a suggestion of a maybe-kinda-sorta smile, which was as far as Morella would go. "C'mon, funny-man. If it's free, you can buy me a dinner," she said, brushing past him to try and walk ahead like she wanted, but at a slow pace till he'd catch up. She was feeling a bit hungry, and though she had gotten more used to fancy foods with her new trust fund and attention from the board of her parent's company, she just cared if it tasted good.

---

~Oliver Kootz~

/M\
/MMM\

Oliver's stomach grumbled as he blended in with the crowds. "Ugh, can't believe I lost my cotton candy," he said to himself, sighing as he reached into his bag. He pulled out two colored sandbags, holding one hand in his pocket while he calmly juggled them with his other. "Good thing there's free grub, kinda wanna save my lien for a rainy day," he said, tossing each bag higher and higher as he walked. The sun was nearing the horizon, late afternoon soon to be evening.

Oliver walked into the food court, spotting the free buffet that was quickly getting crowded. He passed by other several other booths, some fancy with their own seating corded off and some with take-out boxes, mouth watering for both. Normally, he'd pull some antic with sneaking some food away, but he worked up an appetite on the pillar outside. He shrugged, chalking it up to an excitable first day, pocketing his sandbags and flipping a plate from the pile at the end of the line, catching it and spinning it on his finger. He whistled, eyes drifting along the food choices, mentally making a checklist of the surprisingly large variety of food to pick. The list pretty much included everything, Oliver was planning on pushing the "free" part of the buffet as far as he could.

RolePlayerRoxas said
Grizel, surprised at Daiki's sudden dragging, stumbled as she fled from the raining projectiles. Taking rest under a catapult, she sighed with relief, knowing that nothing else was likely to hit her for the moment."Ah, don't worry 'bout it," Grizel would have returned the smile, but she was currently poking at her face with disgust and worry. Did she even have time to wash it before that ceremony thing? "Saving my life's nothing to apologise for."When the rag was offered however, Grizel immediately grabbed it and scrubbed at her face, hopefully getting rid of the worst of the grime. She sighed gratefully, holding the rag out for Daiki, then quickly retracted it when she noticed just how dirty she'd made it."Uh, sorry, did you need this? Um... I could, I dunno, wash it out for you or something?" Grizel offered with a concerned look. With a quick glance at the surrounding area, she added, "Though we should maybe make a break for it, too. Just in case."

Daiki smiled. "It's just a rag, feel free to throw it away after you're done with it." He offered kindly. He scanned the path ahead to see if there were any more traps lying ahead. Everyone was making their way in unmolested, so he sighed with relief. "Looks like we're clear to enter... Honestly, whoever did this has no sense of timing. I would have waited until after the ceremony."

After making his way in, Daiki picked the least conspicuous corner in the back and just shrunk himself inside it. No point calling more attention to himself than necessary. He listened as Arrun made his speech, quirking an eyebrow at the words. This school wasn't big on hope and optimism, it seemed. Though it suited Daiki just fine - he had fought enough Grimm to know the truth of Arrun's words... Everything he learnt he had done so from practice, and he sure as hell wouldn't have taken up the recommendation if he hadn't want to take that first step beyond the forest.

"That was... interesting." He commented more to himself than Grizel. He turned to her and reclined his head toward the door. "I could use a bite, you hungry?"

Tarkus grinned just a bit at Morella's reaction, she was always pretty serious, and this time he felt like he might finally have been able to lighten her up a bit, but he did note a hint of something...might have been her holding back a smile, but he wouldn't press his luck. He knew full well she COULD give him a concussion, besides, he was used to threats of injury, comes with the combat school friendships. He nonchalantly shrugged it off, he was more focused on the premise of picturing the free food, though he genuinely didn't expect it'd be anything too fancy, but hey, he was fine with that.

When they arrived, he almost immediately stopped in his tracks, his body radiating his olive green aura, he shut his eyes as a small, inaudible *ping*, which resounded quickly throughout the food court, the sound bouncing off of every object, food, people, stands, and oddly enough even a random bird taking a dump in the middle of the Echoes scan. The waves swiftly returned to Tarkus, the whole process taking roughly around 12 seconds, he'd seen the food, he knew where it was now, and his mouth was practically flooding, he hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and his stomach was finally complaining about it. If he didn't eat soon, his hunger would give birth to a primal beast the likes of which only knew to destroy and consume, the likes of which would be able to eat an entire buffet, at least that's what he hyperbolized in his head. He turned to Morella and said:
"Ahh, smell that? I smell good 'ol Mistraltan food...Haven't had it since vacation..." He proceeded to eye the buffalo bar with the face of a man who had just seen an oasis in a desert. Really, he was freaking hungry.

"Well..." Grizel carefully folded the rag and placed it inside a pocket. She was planning on returning it soon enough anyway. Even it it was just a rag, it was Daiki's, after all!

The wolf-faunus followed Daiki, still maintaining the slight distance as she watched the stage with glittering eyes full of excitement. It was starting to sink in that she really was in Beacon, that she really was going to become a Huntress... and that she really was going to be the best one ever! Maybe.

The speech was... interesting. The headmaster seemed a tad nervous, but managed to find his rhythm eventually. And his words were thought-provoking - was her potential really wasted up to this point?! If Grizel had known that earlier, she would have skipped straight to attending Beacon!
Another teacher concluded the little introduction, and Grizel pondered briefly just how much better Beacon really would make her. It was supposed to be an awesome place, but if she were to assess her own abilities...

...Meh, screw it, Daiki's offer for food was way more important.

"Yeah!I haven't eaten since, I dunno, ages ago!" Grizel supplied, "And I can't say no to free food!"

Smiling at Kalimay's growling stomach Sayuri starts heading towards the entrance, "Sure but could we stop by the storage first There's a couple things i'd like to pick up first if that's okay with you guys. If not I can head over there myself and meet you guys at the food court," she turns to look at them, 'Well these aren't exactly the most normal people I've made friends with but I'm pretty sure they will be some of my best,' her smile gets just a little bit brighter, "Either way I'm down for that free food!"

"So, food it is." Daiki agreed with a smile and headed for the Beacon Buffet. He was too hungry to care about the spots of slime on his clothing - he'd change and shower after a hot meal. He turned to ask Grizel if she wanted to shower after the meal, but caught himself before he said anything. He was not about to start his first day being accused of sexual harrassment or getting slapped by the only friendly person he had met the whole day.

"So, we have a few hours to kill, but I'm going to change out of my clothes and shower... I've only got a few stains on my pants but that slime stuff is sticky as hell." Daiki commented. "What about you? I figured you'd want to get that grime off you too, a rag's got nothing on proper soap and water... Oh, they didn't tell us if we could use the showers or where they are- Ah, screw it. They can blame whoever set up that trap." Daiki rambled on awkwardly, not knowing how to really carry a conversation with someone else. His social interactions had mostly been with his family and angry faunus bandits, neither of which were godo preparations for this.

He laughed nervously now that he actually had to hold a conversation with someone he didn't know his entire life. "I swear that sounded a lot more sensible in my head."

IC:

"Actually, Sayuri, that works quite well." Alistair commented, nodding. "You and KK go on ahead and grab what you need. I have something I need to do before I go too."

"Meet at the buffet in about ten minutes?"

*ping*

A girl with brown hair stood up, looking around the crowded food court. She looked annoyed, whipping her head around.

At the table sat the Christopher, Ashton the cowboy, Jonah the hammer-guy, and Naomi with her bear. The all oddly looked at the girl standing.

"...Lorelei? What is it?" Jonah asked.

"Lorrie, you alright, darlin'?" Ashton asked, reaching over and snatching Lorelei's fries.

She grumbled, sitting down and saying, "Nothing, I just heard some annoying *ping* thing, I'd keep hearing it at Signal and it drove me nuts." She looked at her plate and Ashton's, who sat and tried to look innocent while eating his chicken leg. Her sunglasses hid her rolling her eyes while she switched her practically empty plate with Ashton's full one, while the cowboy reached over in protest and had his hands swatted away, the others in the group chuckling over the exchange.

---

*Morella Cinder*

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Morella glanced at the Mistraltan booth as she and Tarkus passed it. She paused, reached into her pocket. She pulled out a light green card, tapping his shoulder with it. "You wanna go pick some up? I can spot you," she asked, flipping the card in her fingers. She was a little uncertain about offering, she wasn't sure if he'd take offense. This wasn't like offering a new drive cylinder or handle grip in the workshop, she knew some people who grew up like she and Tarkus did were very proud when it came to money, and she was introduced to her fortune a little over a year ago. Most people, she didn't especially care if she offended, but Tarkus, she found that she kind of did. She just shrugged nonchalantly as she offered the Lien for him to pay with, hoping it wouldn't be anything special.

---

Beecher Betelgeuse


In the Auditorium, the students were finishing up their questions. At the end of the faculty chairs, however, sat a very bored staff member with pink hair.

B.B. sat, leaning on his/her arm and admiring his/her nails. With a small sigh, the financial adviser for Beacon couldn't take anymore, as no one was paying attention to him...or her.

"Rose, honey, I'm going to grab some nosh. I hope you don't mind, sweet-ums!" B.B. said, standing up from the chair and smoothing out their pants. High-heels clacking, B.B. walked down the stage, hand on him, as Rose nodded and went back to facilitating the questions. B.B. decided to walk through the crowded students, smiling with a hand drifting around their faces and shoulders playfully, the prospective Hunters shuddering as the pink being passed. Rose looked to them, shrugging with a nervous smile, trying to get them to focus. She turned to the rest of the staff, saying, "I'll go deal with him if things get out of hand, let's not worry about it now," in a whisper, then looking back to the students with a warm smile.

B.B. walked, hips bouncing with each step, to the food court. B.B. blended in with the crowds of the somewhat shorter students, though not very well, as many B.B. passed gave a small jump like they were being pinched or poked. B.B. giggled, hands clapping as he/she managed to skip in those ridiculous heels, squealing, "Ooh, I love new students, so innocent and soft..." B.B. stifled the giggle as s/he left the crowds, ending up by the one of the fancier restaurants corded off. B.B. grabbed a post, possibly feigning a fainting spell and fanning his/herself with their hand. B.B. spotted a new student looking decidedly average in normal clothes. He sat in the tables with a cut of meat and a glass of water, simply watching people pass by with a quiet expression. But B.B. was very skilled at undressing people with his/her eyes, and s/he could see this student (Isaac) had a body practically cut from stone.

B.B. thought, Quiet boy, sitting alone...oh honey, you are just asking for it... as a tongue darted across purple lips. A thin leg climbed over the velvet rope, as B.B. hips practically bounced from table to table. B.B. stood before the boy's spot, hands on hips and leg on point to the side. Beneath pink bangs, B.B.'s eyes twinkled as the staff member said, "My oh my, honey honey, is this seat taken? The name's Beecher Betelgeuse, but you can call me B.B., baby," B.B. took no spare time in sitting down, leaning on his/her hands while crossing his/her legs, "accidentally" brushing his/her ankle against Isaac's while s/he did so. B.B. traced a purple polished finger around the rim of Isaac's glass, pouting while saying, "You're looking so lonesome all by yourself, maybe you need some Vitamin B?" the pout turning into a sultry smile.

B.B. wasn't using his/her Semblance right now, though s/he sometimes did in these situations. B.B. didn't think s/he'd really need to, as Isaac seemed like a quiet boy. Most people's Semblances were mainly combat related. They had other practical applications, usually, but most weren't used for anything...romantic in nature. B.B. wouldn't say his/hers was used for romantic purposes, but s/he did find it useful on a Saturday night after hours in a packed bar. B.B. could, in a word, "excite" people nearby. In battle, it was used for an adrenaline rush, endorphin spike, it interacted with other people's Auras to make their bodies perform at a much higher level than normal. In smaller doses, it increased blood flow and feelings of excitement, and usually made people more receptive to his/her attempts at "intimacy." B.B. alleges that it only increases feelings that are already there, but with a Semblance named "Spanish Fly," one sometimes wonders.

Jaclyn Kent

"I'm good to go." Jack answered when Reya asked whether or not she or her big friend needed to grab anything from storage. Speaking of Reya's big friend, Jack turned back to face him, still following behind Reya while walking backwards. "So, like she said, I'm Jack. What's you're name? she asked, giving him an appraising look from his feet up to the peak of his considerable height. After settling her eyes on his face, she smiled mischievously before heckling them a tiny bit. "You two dating?"