[IC] Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

Welcome back to Mother Base, Boss!

"Not too long, no." I managed to respond, picking my head up off my left shoulder with a herculean effort to meet our final tripfellow's impassive, cool gaze. "We pretty much just got in ourselves."

And speaking of Gratia being behind all of us, which I had good reason to remember the cause of—

"Sorry, about earlier." I said, even going far enough to incline my head in supplication. "Leaving you behind like that was unfair of me."

I couldn't incline my head too hard, though, because as much as I would have liked to show my apology through body language, I had to respect Beryl's personal space.

A full bow would be out of the question. First off, I was sitting, and second off, she was, again, right there next to me. Faceplanting straight into her thighs is something that nothing worth the risk/reward ratio could happen afterwards.

Even thinking about it makes me feel like I've done terribly wrong, even though it was purely from a hypothetical standpoint!

Beryl is pure! I understand, seriously!

I really do get it, okay?!

I am a man of discipline.

D i s c i p l i n e.

[Write]

@Silvan Haven, @Crimmy, @Plank Sinatra, @HereComesTheSnow

“Gratia’s here guys!” I said informing Luke and Beryl of facts they were all too aware of. I took off running, nearly skipping out of my seat in shotgun once Luke and Beryl had sat down. I bounced up and down as Gratia methodically made her way to her seat. They were all sat down, the luggage was in the trunk.

We’re ready to leave.

Everything’s coming up Bianca.

I skipped back over to shotgun and felt everyone’s weariness, the seats were pretty soft I suppose. But, this wasn’t much compared to the jet. Either way though, I suppose it paid to be humble.

“Feel free to rest back there. It’s still about forty minutes until we reach the harbor!” My feet were reaching the dash as the assistant stepped into the car and the trip began. It wasn’t long before it seemed as though the entire back section of the vehicle was asleep. I tried to doze off for a little bit, but then I’d think cruise and I’d feel like a hundred bucks all over again.

Or at least, what I thought was a hundred bucks, until I saw it.

“Holy shit we’re here.” I said quietly under my breath. Before calmly leaning backwards and glancing at my sleeping friends. They were so peaceful. Oh well.

“We’re hereeee~~~~” I sang getting out of the passenger seat. The night sky reflected beautifully into the water, it seemed there wouldn’t be any activities tonight. This was the last pick up so people would probably just be told to catch some z’s. If the tired faces in the back were any indicator, it was much needed.

“We have some luggage over here!” I said hastily waving down some employees. After quickly handing over the room information the employees departed with the bags.

“ARE YOU READY TO CRUISE?!”

All that remained was to board the ship.

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

"Aye aye, captain."

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

Aye aye, captain!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

In fourty minutes of idle chatter, I'd let the white noise of the road under the wheels lull me into a half-asleep state, only talking minimally where I'd normally have been easily as awake as anyone else in this car.

Thankfully, though, all that was left was just some walking. In terms of keeping forward motion going, grinding against a massive block in my way, I was a veteran. Even if the block was my own body, wanting to just chill out more.

"That's a big boat."

Have I ever told you that I'm especially wise when I'm exhausted? Really, look it up. I'm a regular Aristotle after a mission.

"Really excited, aren't you?"

Still, you've gotta smile at that rebound of hers.

[Crimmy]

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra

"No, because my purpose here was obviously for some other event," was the controlled, measured reply from Gratia Mindaro. Her tone was impassive, but it was quite clear that her words were sarcastic in nature. "Ask me when there are no longer any ships in sight."

The black-haired girl exited into the cold sea air, each and every movement wasting no energy whatsoever. She was silent, much like she had been during the car trip over. Her attention, it seemed, was focused on taking in the scent of this port. It was similar, yet noticeably different, to her own home.

The air was new to her.

It was a foreign country here. Not Mistral.

The salt in the wind ... the spray of the sea ... it was all different.

[Write]

@Silvan Haven, @Crimmy, @Plank Sinatra, @HereComesTheSnow

”Okay I’m going to go check the boat out, I’ll meet you guys back at the dorm room have fun!” With that I took off. Flapping my wings with earnest I stayed low to the ground, but in only a few seconds I was on the boat. I landed carefully, lightly putting my right foot down, and then my left. As if I had time to spare on grace.

I took off, feet pounding the deck. There’s the pool! It was massive, so many people could’ve fit in there! There were chairs by the deck, a lifeguard’s tower. But it seemed like almost everyone except for some people drinking and a few employees were inside by now. I flew down the steps towards the pool but passed it, I found the bar/lounge area. That was neat! There was a grand piano that seemed to be bolted down onto the deck, a bar that was pretty populated, even some patio tables.

But there was no time for slowing down, I needed to see more! This time I began walking, my pace was pretty quick but I still didn’t want to make a scene or anything. I looked around, the ocean was beautiful and the ship itself was massive. Looking back in the direction I came from I could make out the entrance to our rooms, which was kind of cool.

Satisfied all I had seen so far and wanting to leave some surprises for myself I decided to rest my case there and return to the lounge. I couldn’t help but

Not too long ago I had learned a jazz rendition of a recent hit.

It started out rather soft, and while the song doesn’t have much of a crescendo the volume did increase slightly as I played. People seemed to enjoy it so I kept it going. I played just loud enough that people could still hear their own conversations. It was pretty fun.

[Plank Sinatra]

I Put A Spell On You

"Are you here for open mic night?"

The boy speaking to Bianca had approached in total silence - an impressive feat when taking into account the brisk, confident walk and the food cart preceding him. Said cart had slowed to a stop to the left of the piano, and the boy ducked underneath one of Bianca's wings so as to not be blinded by the angelic appendages. He was clearly a member of the wait staff, despite lacking the white coat and bow tie of a waiter or bellboy. Instead, he wore the same black t-shirt and vest as the bartender of the lounge did, though unlike the bartender, he also wore a pair of fingerless black gloves; where the left glove ended, a long sleeve of gauze began, running all the way up from the boy's wrist to his tricep.

He stared at Bianca for a long moment, then grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, because if you are," he said, reaching up with the bandaged arm to play with his hair. It was long and thick, brushed over his shoulder in a sort of unbound ponytail; oddly, the tips of his hair seemed to fade from chestnut to a bloody red that appeared natural instead of dyed. He twirled the crimson hairs around one finger idly. "You're gonna have to wait until Sunday. It's on the pool deck starting at 9. You can't really miss it."

Deep golden eyes looked at Bianca apologetically for a second, then blinked.

"It doesn't look like you've been helped yet, ma'am. Whoops," he said suddenly, as if the blink had triggered something in his memory he was supposed to be doing. "I'm Jer. Part of the wait staff. Welcome to the Sleipnir lounge. Has anyone here tried harassing you about our specials yet?"

[Write]

@Silvan Haven, @Crimmy, @Plank Sinatra, @HereComesTheSnow

A man struck conversation with me. He seemed to be an employee. For a brief moment, he looked at me and I looked at him. For a long moment, we shared the gaze. I felt someone turn their head towards us, My fingers took off on an entirely new beat.

Next came his sheepish grin which felt practiced in a way. Sort of like a good cop, bad cop routine, something about the grin was unbelievable but I shook the feeling.

"Sorry, because if you are," shit, he was saying things. "You're gonna have to wait until Sunday. It's on the pool deck starting at 9. You can't really miss it."

His hair was all too intriguing to ignore. It faded to a somehow very real red, I knew hair colouring and that was not it.

His golden eyes stared at me briefly once more and before I realized it, the look was gone again. Is there something he wants to say?

"Thank you Jer, that's wonderful. I'll have to stop by," I lifted my wing in order to give him more room, pulling it back towards my body. They had a habit of stretching outwards as I played music, honestly that may have been the reason I was getting all these looks. That or my beautiful starry night dress. I glanced up at him with a smile. "I'm Bianca."

I took a brief moment to focus on the song I was playing, more people seemed to be watching my movements. This song was more complex. IN all of the excitement I hadn't even realized there was a band playing along with me by the bar. Looking back up at Jer I gave him a sort of half-shrug. "No one has harassed me yet, so you might as well take a seat and let me here what you've got." There was room enough for a second person. I let myself wonder if he was going to try and be a player about the situation.

Not many people had tried to pick me up before, if that was where this was going. This cruise was just getting better and better!

[Lady Seraphina]

Sapphire Rode - Infirmary

Sapphire shrugged when Oswald started talking about the inaccessibility of his home and the unlikeliness that his parents would be putting in an appearance for Mondays events. From how he spoke he seemed to have a fairly good relationship with his mom and dad so it was a shame they wouldn't be able to see how he was doing at Beacon. Then again given the shape he was in perhaps it was best that they not visit till he'd recovered. With his abundance of aura Sapphire had no doubt that would be fairly quickly, perhaps a week or two but it certainly wouldn't be by Monday. She wondered if there was anything she could do to help but short of a magical cure all it didn't seem very likely. Maybe she'd see if she could bring him some food over the weekend. The infirmary didn't exactly serve fine cuisine.

As the conversation shifted to the strange boy with the sound semblance who'd appeared the week before and a number of other strange occurrences something resurfaced in Sapphire's mind that she hadn't given a lot of thought to. Perhaps that she hadn't wanted to give thought to. Her team's dynamic and trust issues were messed up enough without her believing that one of their own might be a criminal.

"I don't know exactly what's been going on but there is something else that should be added to the strange occurrences pile. You remember my first mission, Swansong stopped a scientist that was researching ways to turn faunus into humans? After that kid with the EMBODIMENT tattoo showed up I thought maybe I should ask Pops about the girl that had the same tattoo back at the Shelter. I called the prison where he was awaiting trial and..." she paused trying to think of a way to say what had happened without sounding like a conspiracy theorist. She decided to just stick to the facts, nothing else. "Pops was gone. Two nights after he arrived at the prison he disappeared, security cameras were wiped and however he got out he did it without leaving any physical evidence at the exact right time that no guards or other inmates saw anything. The one solid link I thought I had to whatever is going on and it vanishes into thin air."

Sapphire wasn't exactly the most social person in the world. She didn't make friends easily but she felt strangely comfortable around Oswald. He didn't make her raise her shields on contact like most of the students. She wouldn't have exactly called him a friend, Sapphire's trust issues were such that to her a friend was something a bit more extreme then most people would say but she could call him a confidant. At least about this. Not wanting to say what she thought outright though Sapphire instead asked a question. "Oswald, what do you think of Gren?"
@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

To the dorms? Did I miss something, were we not getting on the ship?

Heh.

Of course, I kid. Even an idiot wouldn't fail that hard at finding her meaning.

Even as Bianca took off, I took my steps up the boarding ramp and onto the ship myself, at a much more leisurely canter than "literally flying". Even the excitement of a paid-for trip pales in comparison to a properly long day. So, sorry, Miss Nuit. I hope you're fine with me not quite matching your boundless energy.

I'm too experienced at going slow.

With Bianca's departure, I could feel our little group beginning to fragment and split off in our own respective explorations of the ship. I suppose I should be grateful for the natural splintering like that.

After all, I wouldn't want to just wander off if we were all sticking together. If they thought they'd lost me, that'd lead to a really embarrassing search this late at night...

If I had to guess, I was gonna leave Beryl behind once I got past this pool. I wouldn't blame her, either, knowing how much she loves to swim. A pool this big... yeah, she was probably over the moon right now. It was like the ship had picked up its own chunk of ocean to bring along wherever it went. Absolutely huge.

Yeah, ten or so laps a day would more than do for me.

After what felt more like a long walk on a sandless beach than a deck, I entered the doors to find a bar and lounge type area. It actually wasn't too dissimilar from this fancy hotel I'd had the luxury of staying in once...

Amazing. If it weren't for the gentle sway of the ground beneath me and the tiny adjustments of my weight distribution I was having to make to correct for them, I'd have forgotten that I was still on a ship. This was outright opulent compared to what I was used to, and drove home a distinct absurdity, to me, about how I got here.

Here, take these tickets from pretty girls you don't know and bring pretty girls you barely know along.

Pff. Whoever wrote a trashy romance novel like this from the guy's perspective? You've got it all wrong, author-san. This stuff only sells if there's the possibility of an anime adaptation.

...I-I'm not gonna get adapted, right? Please, whatever you do, don't give us to DEEN! I'll beg!

A familiar tune from the piano lulled me and my tired, loony mind out of my pseudo-meta-commentary, and my eyes searched for the source to find...

My eyebrows ticked up a notch.

Hoooooooooh.

Already chatting up the cute waiters, Bianca?

A wry grin spread across my face.

She really had bounced back from that all-but-broken state quickly, hadn't she? Already buzzing all over the place and socializing like it was second nature to her. Being a pretty girl, it probably was all along...

I yawned, bringing a hand to my mouth as I hung out there by a random column. It wasn't healthy of me to assume, of course, but I could say with a fair degree of certainty that it was even less healthy to assume she was overly conscientious like me. I can't expect everyone to need to work at that social stuff like I've been.

At least I've made a lot of progress. I can almost pass for a normal guy now!

Ha ha ha ha ha.

It seemed like she was having a lot of fun. Meanwhile, I was over here, in my tired state, making tired statements and being generally negative in my own head, more than I needed to be.

I always was a little bit grumpy if I needed more sleep, I supposed. That must have been it. Really, forget almost passing— I am a normal guy. Normal guys don't have to be lives of the party or butterflies or what have you.

"Haaaaaaaaaaah..."

Yeah, if I was yawning this much, I definitely needed to hit the sack. Bianca could have her fun and flirt with whoever she pleased without me sucking the life out of the room like a vampire.

I turned away.

I took one step forward. Two.

I looked over my shoulder.

...Something about that guy felt funny. Was it his body language? His posture? Did something seem false, or just not correct? Like he was putting on an air?

Something was up with him. What was it?

I stopped in front of the door, watching him twirl a strand of his gradient hair...

He surprised himself. I couldn't hear the words at either distance, but I could read how he stood well enough. The blink, jolt, then release...

...Duuuuuuh.

I was definitely tired and grouchy. I walked calmly out the door after that, hoping my transgression woiuld be forgiven by those watching over us. He wasn't being awkwardly fake.

Just awkwardly awkward. The poor guy was just catching himself in an unfamiliar spot.

I know exactly where that comes from, especially when talking to cute girls. He had probably just forgotten he was still on the job for the moment when they started chatting, that was all. Distracted by the cute, staff guy? I hear you. I'm sorry for not reading it right at first, if you can forgive a dense, un-clever boy.

Seriously, that was something else. As if I was still on edge from the mission...

Or a jealous guy...

Yiiikes.

That wasn't me, but I sure had acted like it in my head. That was a worryingly valid comparison to make. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference at first. Very bad, veeeery bad!

I had just met Bianca. Despite helping her in her time of need, I barely knew the girl. Yeah, she was pretty, but every girl I know's pretty. And I know for a fact that they could all do way better than an average joe like me. She's no different from them.

There was nothing to be jealous over, seriously. I promise I wasn't, no matter how much it may seem like a damning, entirely too fervent denial when I say it like this. I know where I stand, I just want to make sure everyone's on the same page.

And maybe, my brain will get tired of rambling incoherently, if I keep doing it like that! Yeah, that'll work!

Ugh. Save me from my head, oh merciful God. Just rabbit punch me out of this labyrinthine thought process. I don't even know where I'm going with it anymore.

Before I knew it, I was at my room, key in hand. Time to sleep out the zaniness. All this melatonin or tryptophan or whatever was building up, had been taking me weird places that I had no reason to be in.

I flopped unceremoniously onto the bed.

Ganbare, Bianca-san. Tell me how it goes in the morning.

Yelnats here is done digging himself into holes.

---

And after all that, I can't sleep?!

What the hell, man?! I just spent hours looking forward to a nice rest, and I'm squirming under the sheets because I can't turn my brain off?! I feel stupid! I feel cheated!

I've been building up to a good night's sleep so much, and it's taken from me by what?

The boat rocking?

I don't even know...

"Maybe more fresh air would help."

...It was better than nothing.

Out on the balcony, I at least had stars instead of a dark, empty room to look at.

[Krayzikk]

Ben and Lauren, sittin' in a tree...

"H-U-N-T-I-N-G!"

From Ben's right, a dark shape - though one draped in blinding white from the navel up - pounced at Ben, sliding into him and locking one arm tightly around her team captain's waist. Lauren Negasi cast her head back and pushed her hair with the fingers of her free hand, wild grin slapped onto her face. Her head slanted slightly to wink at her eternally-flummoxed best friend.

"First comes missions, then comes riches! Let's make that money and fuck these bitches~!" Lauren's arm tightened around Ben, and her grin widened as it closed around a small piece of Ben's ear. "Hey, there, prettyboy! I was worried you'd try to hide from me!"

@Krayzikk

@Plank Sinatra

"Wouldn't do me any good." The dry resignation behind the words was completely at odds with the grin at Ben's face and with how tightly he wrapped an arm around Lauren's shoulders. Her sliding pounce had made him sway slightly to the opposite side, but the youngest Lloyd had learned her tricks; his balance remained, and the danger of falling over was minimal. Thankfully. He only just stopped hearing about last time. He used the momentum from correcting his sway to knock his head against Lauren's lightly, the sound of skull on skull his affectionate retaliation for her bite.

"Had enough of hunting for the day, unless it's for a good drink." Ben turned his head, amused blue eyes meeting winking green. After a quick squeeze his hand made its way from her shoulder to her head, giving her hair a quick ruffle. "But I'd be willing to bet you've got an idea of where to go."

"Ready to get going?"

[Crimmy]

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra

The initial impressions of the cruise ship did little to rectify Gratia Mindaro's already-established opinions on the entire matter. It was essentially a sanctuary for the upper classes (and the uncouth, nouveau-riche fucktards who irresponsibly splurged their disposable incomes in a crass desire to pretend as if they were actually important rather than pathetic snobs), one with activities suited far more for the lowly masses than her. The interests of her inferiors were, after all, of no importance to her. Her unfortunate presence on board was the result of other factors rather than any desires.

She quietly made her way around a corner, impassively circling past a violet-haired little girl in a hoodie in order to climb the cold stone steps to the upper levels of the ship. Rich, mellifluous melodies drifted into her ears from the cool black headphones that were an ever-present component of her appearance, the device sitting comfortably around her head and isolating her from the incessant chatter and irritants of the lessers.

What was more prominent about Gratia, however, was the fact that the clothes she had chosen to don for the night were completely different to the outfit she was most associated with. Although her initial course of action upon arrival had been to ensure the safe delivery of all her luggage, the Mistralese girl had decided to also get changed, deeming her signature turtleneck and winter coat to be unnecessary in such a place. Instead, she was now wearing an incredibly basic, maroon t-shirt and a pair of simple jeans, evoking a sense of casualness that, while still present in her usual clothes, was frequently drowned out by the stoic, aloof aura that constantly permeated the air around her.

Her steps took her out onto the balcony, the sudden onrush of air whipping coldly against the now-uncovered pale skin of her forearms. As expected, the air was tinged with the scent of salt and seaspray. It may not have been the same air as her home in Mistral, but for now, on a cruise she held little interest for, it would be a suitable replacement.

It wasn't like she had any better shit to do than "smell the roses".

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

Being on the shoreline, it seemed a landward breeze was essentially a regular occurrence. I had half a mind to try and see if there was a regular interval to it, but figured that would just defeat the purpose of me coming out here in the first place. Any sort of math would get my brain to start turning it's gears, I mean. It'd be much easier to idle until I got tired of my hair getting toyed with and my face light sprayed with saltiness.

As much as I would have appreciated looking up at a starry expanse, us being at port had an answer for that too. A port town being a port town, and one that had luxury liners coming in and out of the docks, you could take a bet on it staying bright well, well into the bank. Straight to the vault, no thermite necessary.

I guessed we'd have to be more out at sea, and away from civilization if we wanted something picturesque. Right now, all I could pick out were the brighter ones that had the staying power to survive in the glow of the city behind us, and any errant airships coming in for a landing.

Well, at least it was relatively quiet. Just the soft tones of jazz drifting down the ship, the waves coming onto shore, the quiet footsteps of someone walking out behind me, and the wind hitting my face. It was kind of soothing, like a soft metronome—

Wait, one of those didn't fit at all!

I turned to face the newcomer, wondering which of us had been the first to arrive after me.

And I suppose that I should have guessed it. Two of them I'd already accounted for as being engaged in something else.

That left the odd one out, in her simple t-shirt and jeans that managed to leave a pretty big impression in their own right, despite being basic in the extreme.

She really did always wear the jacket and turtleneck, didn't she? It's kind of a shame.

Gratia looks good in casual stuff.

"Hey." I raised a hand in greeting with a small smile. "Can't sleep either?"

[Crimmy]

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra

Click.

Gratia's music player paused, silencing the noise that had earlier been flowing into her ears from the headphones. Her onyx gaze drifted towards Luke's smiling face, once more locking directly onto his eyes. So the benefactor of the tickets had chosen to visit the balcony as well, although for reasons far different to hers; sleeping issues were not the sort of bullshit that would incite her to wander the cruise ship, particularly when they barely afflicted in her in the first place. Likely some insignificant issue was acting as an irritant towards the other teenager, but that was no business of hers. That was his fucking shit to deal with, not hers.

However, the fact was that they were both present on the balcony at the same time.

She could afford wasting some of her time on him.

Research, on the other hand, would require a better venue if she were to conduct it. When the amount of possible emotional stimulants present was less than the amount of fucking people alive in some village in the asshole of Vacuo after a Grimm attack, performing such a half-arsed observation of Luke Schwarz' hair would just be an utter waste of time.

"Schwarz," was her standard, curt reply.

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

I had to admire how she always looked you straight in the eye. Whether there was anything that she had to say or not, Gratia Mindaro would always meet you head-on. It was just how she did things.

If I could be half as straightforward, I'd probably be sitting pretty compared to the state I was in right now. Fortune favors the bold, but unfortunately I'm not half as bold a guy as you'd like me to be.

If she weren't as talkative as a brick wall in the event that she didn't specifically have something to say, I might end up asking her to coach me on being more direct. But, unfortunately for me, Gratia Mindaro was not a woman who would suffer idle chatter easily. At least, not for most of us.

Maybe every so often you could catch her on a good day, and she'd let you kill some of her idle time with errant thoughts. Like in a line for an airship.

Or on the balcony of a cruise ship.

If it was directness I wanted, there was nobody better to train it on than the most direct person I knew.

Have I mentioned that I'm not bright yet today? In case you weren't aware...

"What have you been listening to?" I asked, eyes momentarily flicking to the headphones around her neck.

Keep not answering questions, the way things are shaping up, I'll have all night to think up new ones.

[Crimmy]

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra

"Jazz."

It was a short and simple reply, belying no emotion whatsoever in the tone used. While the Mistralese huntress had never really given much of a shit about such conversations, Luke Schwarz's presence was not a particularly irritable one, thus she saw no issue in giving him an answer to such a meaningless question. There was little reason not to do so, especially as it had been her own choice to remain on the balcony alongside the other Hunter.

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

"Ah."

Well, points for trying, right? I apparently still hadn't graduated past one-word responses.

Jazz. In fairness, so had I, ever since we'd gotten here. This ship definitely loved it's jazz. No matter where on it you went, you couldn't escape it entirely. Maybe it was to help drive home the whole "luxury" aesthetic the Sleipnir had going for it.

"Luxury".

Have you ever used a word so much you started to get sick of it? I need a word of the day calendar or something, language has never exactly been my strong suit by any respect. In any case, I could more than likely get away with assuming that she'd referred to the stuff coming from her headphones, as I had been.

Duh.

Of course she was, moron.

"What artist?"

May as well follow the trail. "I don't know too much about jazz, but I'd like to check it out more."

I'd have to, if I wanted to know what I'd be in for for the next couple of days. Thankfully, it wasn't bad at all so far.

[Crimmy]

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra

"Benson currently," she replied. Her headphones sat comfortably upon her head still, albeit devoid of the soothing sounds that blocked off the noise of the hustle and bustle of the irksome masses. It was fortunate for Luke Schwarz that he, at least in the cold onyx eyes of Gratia Mindaro, was considered as having been slightly elevated over the proles, and thus somebody she would deign to converse with rather than simply dismiss like a piece of trash on collection day.

"And do you expect my fucking help or something?" added the Mistralese huntress, her impassive tone unchanging. There was no emotion in those words.

They simply were.

[HereComesTheSnow]

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

Still a tundra to talk to. Her Kuu-Tsun dichotomy was never gonna let up, would it? It simply was a constant presence in her speech. You know that makes it hard for us poor plebians to read you, don't you? I'm working half-blind here, Gratia.

Ah, same old story. It's honestly getting just as tired as "luxury". If I wanted to keep up with the grand insights, I was gonna have to find some new material instead of constantly beating the "tundra" and "kuutsun" bits into the ground. Though I'd certainly call her a "character", she's more than just "that girl who speaks rough words in a calm voice". It wouldn't do her justice, you know?

For that matter, I'm probably not doing anyone except myself justice here.

And just maybe myself.

"Well, you did give it." I responded coolly, turning back to look out over the waves once more.

Benson. Into a search engine that name was sure to go some time tomorrow.

"Any others you like?"

[Eklispe]

@Lugubrious

Krsythane lay in her bed, looking at the ceiling and wondering what to do. She'd already gotten dressed and was ready for the day. But her team for the most part seemed dis-interested and they'd gone out for pizza and stuff but it felt kind of forced. Though she had felt much better after a good nights rest on a pizza filled stomach. Hm. . . Should she try to think of a teambuilding thing? Well it'd be awfully hard to team build without a full team. Maybe she should try to find out what happened to Ebon? No, she would worry about it on Monday, the school should definatly have figured things out by then so it was better to wait rather than bothering people pointlessly. Krysthane shrugged to herself and whipped out her scroll sending a message to Abel.

---

To: Abel
From: Krysthane
Subject: Hang out?

Hey Abel, my team is feeling kinda meh today and I'm not sure what to do until we hear more about Ebon or his replacement. I was kinda hoping to do something fun today, not sure what to do though. Any ideas?

---

Krysthane nodded to herself, though she internally winced at using the word 'replacement'. Gawds it was so easy to sound callous when you weren't trying to be. Krysthane rolled off her bed and surveyed herself in the bathroom breifly. Her long yellow hair fell loosely around her shoulders except for one rebelious strand at the top of her head that refused to stay in line. She was wearing her red scarf as always, a casual gray shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. It'd do for a casual have fun trip. Krysthane lay back down on her bed, waiting for a reply and thinking about Monday. She'd been pondering about the wrestling thing and she thought she had a pretty fun idea. She might need to do a bit of shopping to make it work out better. Plus her parents were coming, her mom was probably going to be super embarassing and her dad would definatly ask how her missions had gone and stuff. At that point she might as well register her last name, it was kind of silly to not have been using it before. Not once had anyone asked for her last name and she hadn't really seen anyone treated differently based on their past. It had been a foolish fear and one Krysthane was glad to see was unfounded.

[Crimmy]

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra

It appeared that Luke Schwarz was legitimately interested in understanding more about her preferred genre of music. That was a fascinating turn of events. She leaned back against the balcony railing, arms crossed, but her eyes never left the other teenager, not even when he turned away to stare at the sea. What could be so entrancing about the water she wouldn't know; to her, it was just another fucking aspect of her day-to-day life. An empty expanse of waves and sky.

"Well if you're so curious," said the stoic Mistralese girl flatly, "then allow me to elucidate."

There was no detriment in listing those smooth jazz musicians who were reasonably competent and whose works wouldn't be examples of utter mediocrity that could cure even an insomniac elephant. It would likely 'save' Schwarz from being covered with shit, although if he sought it out on his lonesome, she was unlikely to put in the fucking effort to help him in that regard.

"Sade if you want vocals, although she's R&B too," continued Gratia, gaze not breaking away from Luke's form. "Instrumentals? Fucking Armstrong or bust."