[IC] The Archon Resonance (Reboot!)

[HylianRose]

Chapter 1

Day 1: The new Hunter Team is meeting for the first time for their 1st mission. This team, code-named "Accord", has been hand picked by ECHO's very own Harp. It is a special team that breaks all of ECHO's former traditions and is receiving much tension from the other teams of Hunters. It's the day of their first meeting and no one really knows what to expect from the Harp or of this new mission...
(This is all subject to change, just trying to work on stuff while I have nothing to do.)

[HylianRose]

"What the hell!?" A young male shouted from his bunk-bed. An equally pissed off female voice came from another room.

"YEAH! And they're meeting today." She told him from her room, groaning as she fell back against her bed.

"Are you sure you didn't just mishear it? I mean, why would they make such a weird team? Something has to be up." He added, shaking his head even though she couldn't see him from his room.

The girl stood up and walked over to her door to stare at her friend through the hallway. "Alec, why would the Harp make such a large team? I mean, seven people? Most teams consist of four members. Why are they special? Just because Shae Arca is a big name..."

"You're just jealous because the people in her team are such outcasts. I mean... I've even heard they're assigning new people to the team."

"...New people?"

"Yep, he just joined from what I've heard."

"Sure, why not. Let's just break ALL the fucking rules."

The female threw up her hands in exasperation and stormed back to her room, not wanting to look at the pile of paperwork piling up on her desk.

---

Meanwhile...

Along the corridors of ECHO's airship, four pairs of feet walked in tandem, heading towards the main meeting room. Three pairs of black boots surrounded one single pair of white boots as they marched their way in.

"Harp, they should be arriving any minute now. one of the men dressed in black stated, motioning for the figure in white to step forward and take a seat at the conference table. The figure simply nodded and took the seat, silent.

"...Have you heard anything more about the Lost?"

"Only what you've already heard, Harp." a female voice spoke out, bowing slightly as she spoke. The figure simply nodded once again, sighing. It's voice was hollow and empty, as if any amount of emotion had been drained from it.

---

On the other end of the ship...

"OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. I'M LATE!" A small voice rang out as Isabelline Carter bolted to a sitting position on her bed, her hair bunched up and tangled.

"Welcome to the living..." Her bunkmate returned cooly, not looking up from her book. Her bunkmate was a year older than her and had been at ECHO for a shorter amount of time. Isa blinked for a moment, staring down at her, Salena was her name. She was tall, thin, and very pretty, something you honestly wouldn't expect for a member of ECHO, but she was pretty good. Better than Isa, anyway.

Quickly, Isa threw herself from the top bunk, losing her balance as usual and falling to the floor in a heap of bruises and cuts. Salena ignored her and continued reading, something about the history of Barallia. Isa groaned for a few minutes and slowly got up.

Wait.. I'm... There was someth-

"I'M LATE!" She shouted again, remembering and rushed over to her closet, her wings knocking things over in the process. For such a large person, relatively speaking, they'd given her such a small room... It was terrible.

"Yep, heard you the first time." Another emotionless remark.

Isa went on, pulling on her clothes carefully, sliding her wings through the slits. When she was finished, she stood before her bunkmate and grinned. "How do I look?" She asked. Isa had on a pair of jeans, a khaki colored shirt with a jean coat over it and black boots. Her hair was tied up in a bun to hide the knots, which still showed in the messy bun, and her eyes had globs of what she called 'sleepers' in them.

Without looking up from her book again, Salena answered, "Tardy."

"OH SHIT!" Isa shouted before racing off down the halls towards the meeting room.

[NaraK]

Xander

Sometimes there were days when Xander Zahir wondered whether he was fit to be a good man in general. Sometimes he wondered if he was fit to be a good warrior. And sometimes he wondered what kind of warrior he would end up being.

Sometimes he would wonder if he would use his large blade to shield the vulnerable, tanking damage and focusing on extending the endurance of his comrades and himself endlessly without giving into a last breath. Sometimes he would wonder if he would use his large blade to prioritize destruction of opposing forces, striking the hearts of foes with merciless slashes directed towards the source of inspiration within the enemy. Sometimes he would wonder if he could become both at once and play two roles at once.

Sometimes he wondered why he found himself sleeping on the ground. The particular thought was for another time, however.

Sporting an unmistakably spiky hairstyle and a large sword on his back, Xander had received various reactions from people around him. Some called the attitude he held in the public to be "edgy as fuck, yo," and some simply disliked his face. And admittedly, he found his face to be stupid enough to betray him so many times. He had grown so used to carrying an idle expression that it now delivered a single message: "I don't know what I'm doing but I think I'm better than everyone."

Which, while he wanted it to be the case, was definitely not true.

I'm going to be a real man, Xander thought as he brushed his teeth furiously. I'm going to become the realest of reals! Die, bacteria!

After brushing his teeth, the man washed his toothbrush and put it aside before washing his face. Die, dust! He thought as he washed the shit out of his face.

He also wanted to shave, but much to his aggravation, his genes refused to let him sprout out facial hair. So he pretended to shave. Realizing that he had more important things to do, the swordsman took a deep breath and remained still in front of the sink. He relaxed himself.

At that moment, his roommate opened the door to the bathroom.

"Holy shit, that's the edgiest thing I've ever seen."

"..."

Xander waited for the bald guy to close the door and leave him alone.

---

Today's a big day, Xander thought as he left his room.

Despite being plentifully new to ECHO, the blond had been directly ordered to join... something... under higher orders. He had no idea what to expect, but he heard that there could be some "war celebrities" that would join it as well. Thankfully, he did not seem to be the newest of members to the unknown group, as someone who literally joined the other day got sucked into the ordeal as well.

I don't know what today is, but I can tell it's going to be a big day.

He calmly walked down the hallways. Maintaining a stern and cold expression of idleness, the swordsman focused on keeping his posture straight. When he was a teenager, he had the tendency to walk in the laziest way possible. His father called him a walking scarecrow, and his mother lightly poked fun at him by calling him a gangster. What a light joke, right?

...Right.

His moment of peace ended as soon as he bumped into the smallest girl he had met ever since he joined ECHO.

Oh fuck.

---

As soon as he bumped into the small girl right when he tried to turn a corner, she fell on her delicate behind and dropped a box of Resonants. Though he decided not to stare at her blatantly, he did find her tiny physique to be somewhat hard of him to not pick her up as if she were a kid.

Then again she had a developed body, so she was probably going to be heavy.

"..."

The girl did not say anything as she remained still for a second.

And during this second, Xander's mind went through a process of elimination to come up with a good way to respond.

Xander began to think

So right now, I have the options to:

- FIGHT
- SCOLD
- IGNORE
- SMILE
- SMACK DAT BOOTY

...

Xander legitimately wondered what the last option would bring up, but since he did not have a death wish, he chose not to ever use it.

If I fight her for bumping into me, that would label me as a bad guy. It's kind of aggravating, but I'll have to press on and not fight her. If I smile, she'd wonder why the hell I'd smile at her right after bumping into her, therefore risking the possibility of making her see me as a megaton fuckboy with no other hobby aside from bullying. And I haven't smiled to anyone but myself in my last month here, so it'd probably be scary for me to suddenly smile like that one clown I saw visit my town.

If I smack that... never mind.

If I flatout ignore her, then that'd just worsen the small amount of rumors that apparently spread even to my roommate. I can't just ignore her, especially if that's the consequence of doing so. And if I smack that-

I need to stop thinking like a pirate.

If I scold her... I don't know. Maybe I should scold her?

As the girl got up, the swordsman frantically thought while perfectly maintaining his blank look, Dammit, I don't know if I should scold her for walking into me because I technically turned the corner too quickly. Why do I only have five options in my process of elimination?!

Remaining still, Xander watched the girl picked up the box of Resonants like it was nothing. "Oh, you're the new recruit," she said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "I apologize for being careless, especially as someone who's been here for three whole years!"

...

...

...

...

...

wat

Giving him a small bow, the woman who turned out to be a long-time recruit walked past him. Xander turned back to the hallway and walked again.

...

...

...Well, that's one way to do the process of elimination.

---

With the sudden ordeal out of the way, the swordsman continued his trip to the meeting room. He had everything intact: his sword was on his back, his hair was on point, and he had one of his best "serious faces" on. At this rate, it seemed as if the day would go by smoothly for him like he terribly hoped for it to do so.

He arrived at the meeting room pretty early. With nothing else to do, he entered the meeting room.

[Driving Park]

The soft sounds of a violin reverberated across the hallways of the airship.

It came from a certain feren, who was busy stood with her legs crossed looking out the window. The music was merely a habit, and not presently the primary focus of the tall Tarcan's thoughts. That honor belonged to what on Earth the Harp wanted with a team of seven, why she didn't know who would be in it, and why the Harp hadn't invented a better name for it than "Accord". Conspicuously absent from the silver-haired Maned Wolf's thoughts was that the meeting to establish all of that began very shortly, and that she should probably start walking over. It was absent because as a veteran member of Echo, the long-legged woman knew that arriving any sooner than a few seconds before the Harp began to speak was unnecessary...and that rookies always took a long time to get to meetings. Speaking of rookies, the word on the street was that there would be some of them on this new team. For as long as this formidable violinist had been in Echo, she had never enjoyed being in charge, much preferring to operate second in command behind a certain Shindan that everybody on board the ship revered (and for good reason). Thus, the prospect of operating with newbies did not excite her, for there was the possibility that she would have to lead the team (an admittedly rare occurrence, but one she wished was nonexistent).

The name of this veteran, with a penchant for sarcasm and keeping her hair absurdly long, was Sylvia Sterling, and it was a name that was fairly well known throughout Echo. Not as much as Shae Arca, of course, but Sylvia liked it that way. She was able to fly under the radar while being a celebrity when she felt like it.

Just after Sylvia had finished deciding she really didn't want to be the leader of a team of all rookies, and right when she was absentmindedly about to finish playing through a piece that sounded remarkably similar to the Bach Partita, she heard someone run by very quickly...and very loudly.

Turning her head just in time to see a pair of wings bounce down the hallway to her right, Sylvia played the last few notes of her piece and then began walking after the winged girl. I suppose that's my cue, she thought absentmindedly. Walking at a casual pace, she yelled "Why so fast?" after the girl before she disappeared around a corner. Sylvia assumed the girl was going to the same place she was, but perhaps she could at least get her to chill out a bit before meeting what was presumably her new team.

[Jeep Wrangler]

"Are. You. Fucking. Kidding Me?!" He walked in, seeing Vern on the edge of his bed. The man was still carving away delicately at the small fragment of modelling equipment he had left in his hand. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for that meeting that's like...in... He looked for a clock, trying to make himself sound more intelligent towards his room-mate. Being unsuccessful, he continued onwards. "In....soon...you are still not fully ready and...You are still fucking making decorations?!" At this point, Vern looked up, giving his slightly superior comrade a half grin.

"You know I've been working hard on this one, Grant...let me have my fun at least..." Grant looked at the bin, seeing it filled with countless blocks of failed-attempts at the very same model he was making now. They looked hardly different, yet Vern's eyes they were abominations waiting to be burnt.

"I can...see you've tried a lot." Grant would chuckle slightly, with his deep and monotone grunt. "So what's it this time? Another bow? Maybe a swordsmen? Is it th-"

"Poloa." Vern interrupted him kindly, giving another grin before looking back at his nearly complete carving. It was the look of an elderly woman, and possessed many features of rural-clothing and looks. "You remember Poloa, right? She was that nearly ancient lady that kept selling strange herbs and spices to anyone lucky enough to go by her. Sometimes she'd tell a tale of the Lost, sometimes of the Feren...sometimes of the Origins of man itself...Pretty odd, for my liking." Grant was one of the few people that Vern had actually gotten to know extremely well. They had only fought beside one another for so little time, Vern using most of his service time with Weapons maintenance and design. However, these two had formed some sort of small bond, Vern actually being the one who had tweaked the thin sword of Grant. The two talked normally amongst each other, as if life-long friends, which was rather a strange sight if Vern was more famous than he really wasn't. Vern had quite a difficult time having conversations that involved such friendly Banter between one another.

"You mean Poloa the Witch? God I loved that woman..." This led to Vern's face having a smile creep in an ascending motion. He looked back up towards his partner and burst out laughing, right after he stated his long-waited joke.

"I see you prefer the more...Mature-Type." He continued to chuckle, before standing up.

Vern shuffled his way towards the nearest lighting, holding the carved object in the air. He would scrutinize the markings he had made overtime, looking to and fro at every hair line he had made. The eyes were of a natural shape, though they were previously messed up in the other attempts. Braids on the rear of the handheld ornament were rather iffy for what Vern thought, yet were most likely good in other people's eyes. It was no wonder that no one had ever really admired these other than those on his home island...well...who aren't exactly in existence anymore. He smiled slightly as he finally appreciated what he had carved. "Such smoothness in this one. I should surely be proud to call this my own work, Grant. You should try this too; I'm a bit tired of having no one who shares any interests in my ornaments and how they are made..."

"Maybe because, funnily enough...it's boring?" Grant called from underneath his pillow. He'd been up all night talking to some random girl that he'd been fantasising over for nearly a year now. Rather annoying, yet Vern was on par with his unfortunately unlike-able hobby. "You should probably get the rest of your fucking gear on and get a move on, you cheeky sod!" Him saying this, Vern jumped back into attention, rummaging around the room quickly to find some stuff to take with him. He wanted to look presentable, and that meant his hunter-attire. He fitted on a Green-Short sleeved Shirt, one that was dotted with buttons and made from a rather thin material [The one's you'd find on chequered shirts], a rough pair of loose sage trousers, the utility one-strap harness of a muddy colour and a forest coloured, hooded cape that bared the family's insignia upon it. Vern began to open his pockets on the Utility harness, packing the decoration into the biggest. Leaving it hear alone at this early in its life is a dangerous move, especially with Grant and his clumsy needs lurking around. Opening the door, he looked behind him, his already on footwear, lined with gripping-jagged linings on the under-face, and headed out the door. As he closed it behind him, he felt a sudden thrust of anxiety, knowing that this meeting could go horribly wrong on the behalf of confidence. This could be a major shift in his career, and the people he comes across might hate him forever and ever....well...shit.

[HylianRose]

"Why so fast?"

"Hm?" Isa mumbled, comically nonchalant as she skidded to a halt and turned to face the voice that had seemed to be speaking to her. It took her a moment to process the tall female feren before her and the instrument in her hand, but when she did, she nearly lost her shit. Her face went pale for a moment as she simply stared at Sylvia Sterling.

"S-Syl-Sylvia... St-STERLING!" She shouted, her eyes growing wide. "I'm sorry, I was just... this was... I'm not... I'm sorry!" She mumbled, bowing deeply in apologize. As she did so, her wings flopped around her, hanging to the floor in a lump of embarrassed bird feren.

I'm dead.

So dead.

Like... if I were a corpse I wouldn't be this dead.

Wait, that didn't make sense...

Speaking of things that don't make sense, why is Sylvia here?

At the thought. Isa slowly raised up her head to look at Syliva. "Why are you here?" She blurted out. As she realized the rudeness of her tone, her eyes went wide, but it was too late. It was out.

Isabelline Carter was a dead bird.

@Driving Park

[Driving Park]

When the bird feren in front of her asked Sylvia why she was here, the violinist did not yell.

She did not chastise.

She didn't even lightly scold.

In fact, she did the opposite of all of those things: she burst out laughing, and she laughed loud and long.

Sylvia had been trying to keep a straight face as the bird feren straight up groveled before her for no reason, but even Echo's resident wise-crack could only take so much.

"Where else would I be?" managed to exclaim during the laughter. "Vindrell?"

When her laughter had subsided enough for her to speak normally again, the maned wolf faren knelt down and addressed the obviously flustered girl slightly more seriously.

"Look, you're obviously very nervous about something. But why would I be upset at you for running? I'd hate for Echo to turn into an elementary school...coordinating group bathroom breaks in single file lines would be a nightmare."

"C'mon, let's walk," continued the Tarcan as she stood up resumed her previous trajectory. "I have a sneaking suspicion that you're going the same place I am. And if you reacted that way to me, for the sake of your sanity you're probably going to want to chill out a bit before we get there."

Dear Lord...if Shae is on this, this girl is going to literally explode, Sylvia thought to herself.

[Whoami]

The office was silent. The round walls were turned into bookshelves that reached to the roof. Two fireplaces opposite to each other lit the room and filled it with a comfortable warmth. In the middle of the room was a desk made of mahogany with white marble as its desk top. A grandfather clock ticked away every second, it's deep noise combined with the crackling of the fires made the office seem like the perfect study for any intellectual.

Sitting at the desk, was Lord Balthazar Darro, a man of high stature in Korstone city. Balthazar was writing on a piece of parchment with a quill, feathered with a vibrant aquamarine feather of a Kor-Jay. Balthazar looked up from his writing when the door across from him opened. One of his butlers stepped on through, "Huntress Arca is here to see you, sir."

Balthazar nodded, "Send her in, please."

The butler bowed his head and stepped out of the office. Moments later, a woman in ornate light plate armor stepped in, her helmet at her hip. "Lord Darro." she said, bowing her head respectfully.

"Good morning, esteemed hustress. I trust your rest was pleasant?" Balthazar said, placing his elbows on the desk and resting his chin in his palms.

Shae nodded, "Aye, your manor is far more comfortable than the Sentinel. I'm just coming by to tell you that I am returning to headquarters to report the Lost encounter in the Korwood. How is your daughter doing?"

Balthazar smiled and nodded assuredly, "Tessa is doing well, your arrival last night seemed to inspire more courage in her than fear from the Lost. And your reporting to me is rather convenient." Balthazar signed the letter he was writing an handed it over to Shae.

The huntress took the paper and looked it over, an expression of surprise took over, "You're joining Echo?"

Balthazar nodded, "You didn't only inspire Tessa, Shae. Last night's events showed me that the threat of the Lost is far greater than the public knows. My steward can handle my duties while I fight for Echo."

Shae folded the letter and sent it into her pocket dimension, "It'll be an honor to fight with you rather than for you, Lord Darro. I will pass the message over to the Harp."

Balthazar nodded and sat back in his chair, "Until next time then, Shaewyn Arca. I have arranged for an airship to taxi you to the Sentinel if you wish to accept it."

Shae thought of the commoners in Korstone, the airship became appealing almost instantly. She'd rather fly with one Lord Darro's men than walk the streets of Korstone and be fawned over by hundreds or thousands of fans. "I will accept, thank you." Shae turned and left the office.

[Obscene Symphony]

_{Mood Music}

Dreams. An escape; for the mind, for the senses, sometimes even for the body. A passage to another realm, more open and ready to be shaped than any possible reality. For some, a paradise; for others, an exercise in terror.

Linta, for now, dreamt of flying. Of leaning her weight on the wind, carried along smoothly and silently by the beautiful set of wings her bloodline had blessed her with. Ever dependable, sturdy, strong, her wings would never fail her, never drop her, never waver. Above her, the moons, her constant companions. All her life they'd watched her through the foliage, witnessed every moment and every milestone, a pair of distant observers to every event that shaped her. Around her floated the stars she'd tried and failed so many times to number, a myriad of dancing lights. Like children they followed her, like water they rippled out in her wake, drawing her path in the watercolour sky.

The colours, though, soon faded, plunging the bottomless sky into an eerie monochrome. The air grew heavy and cold, and Linta felt as if she had to fight to stay in the sky, instead of being supported by the rising fingers of the once-helpful breeze. A steady beat shook through the air, at first barely noticeable, a vibration seated deep in Linta's chest. The beat grew stronger, faster, soundless, but somehow reverberating through her irrefutably bones. Blackened silhouettes crowded the air in a storming spiral all around. Panicked, Linta flew faster, only to be cut off by a swirling wall of writhing shadows, trapping her inside the eye of the storm. The beating grew harder and harder, buffeting her left and right and stealing her balance away. She fought to stay airborne, but the air had disappeared; Linta could not find purchase, could scarcely breathe as she flapped like mad, flapped until blue feathers tore from her wings and she, like the stars and moons, fell spiralling down into blackness.

\-\-\............./-/-/

Linda awoke with a start, breathing heavily with wings trembling and talons ripping into her sheets. A muffled pounding, like the rhythm in her dream, threatened to dent the door in its urgency. Suddenly angry, Linta screeched at the door, an ear-piercing, animal sound that sent the knocker running, if the hastened thumping beyond the door was any indication. With a satisfied nod toward the door, Linta roused herself. Her tiny dorm was a mess, the few belongings that weren't nailed down littering the floor. Downy white feathers were scattered there as well, and the blanket Linta had lain out on the floor had several large tears from her talons' iron grip. Linta scowled. She had a hard enough time sleeping in the tiny room as it was, and then some snake-witted idiot decides to wake her by pounding on her door? Evidently it would take more than a few weeks to get used to this place.

Deciding she needed to see something outside, Linta pulled on her gauntlets and made for the door, catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror on the way out. Sharp, amber eyes were dark and raw from sleeplessness, like embers long burnt out. Her clothes - white and covering only her front, tied on like aprons to cover her breasts and groin - her backside amply disguised by tail feathers. It had been a battle to get them, but she loathed the thought of soiling her natural camouflage with a uniform - were wrinkled and twisted, but what actually miffed her most was the unkempt state of her feathers. Hopefully later she'd be able to find some ample time for preening.

She made a beeline for the balcony, to one of many exits that allowed access to the railed ledge that wrapped around the Sentinel. There, she could see the sky; something she missed in the night and in the day while she tried fretfully to sleep in her ever-smaller plaster cocoon of a dormitory. For a while, she simply stood on the balcony, drinking in the chilled morning air and admiring the sunrise. Soon, the gentle song of a violin wafted on the wind to her; it was sad and sweet, but far away; her keen ears could pick it up from the opposite end of the ship, and that, likely, was where it came from.

Judging by the wind, the ship was travelling slowly today; likely hovering over a supply station or perhaps even a boarding dock. She'd seen the smaller ships before, zooming in like flies to deposit members, and whizz away again. Yes, maybe that was it - she'd heard that there was a member or two yet to come aboard.

Choosing to test the winds, Linta mounted the railing and jumped off, letting herself fall for a moment before opening her wings. She truly adored that moment, the rush of blood and adrenaline that came with freefall. It really never got old.

The ship was slow, likely idle and simply maintaining a position in the wind. Linta appreciated its halting; normally she couldn't fly alongside it without quickly falling behind (although those days were, however, great exercise). Today, she could glide alongside and gain on the ship, able to fly around it easily. As she glided, more comfortable in the air than on the ground, she peered into the many windows of the ship in search of activity. Gradually, its occupants were waking up, and she saw a few running this way and that, one winged girl nearly totalling another in her haste. Linta recognized the taller one as Sylvia, the violinist she'd heard that morning. She and Sylvia hadn't shared many words, but Linta's few meetings with her had been pleasant. She'd go as far as to say she was more acquainted with Sylvia's violin than with the one who wielded it.

The two, however amusing, did remind Linta of the meeting she'd been informed of a few days prior. In the back of her mind, she considered shirking it altogether; however, these meetings almost always came with missions, and Linta wasn't about to miss the chance to slay more Lost.

Gliding to the railing, Linta landed and made her way inside, peering curiously at Sylvia and the other girl as she passed. The girl wasn't one she recognized, and she looked strange; like she were wearing her wings. In fact, if not for their subtle movements, Linta would have thought they were just that: A costume.

[NaraK]

Xander

Entering the meeting room, the blond swordsman blinked.

It was not as spacious as he thought it would have been, though he preferred it having a moderate size. There was a long table sitting in the middle of the room. Several chairs were placed at where the table lay.

Not too flashy, not too bland, he thought as he approached the table. Dayum, that's just the way I like it. I didn't expect this place to look moderately normal, though.

And indeed, he really did not expect the meeting room to be moderately normal. Sure, he may have lived in a plentifully poor town and found nearly every room in the ECHO ship to be fascinatingly fancy, but he knew that, by ECHO's standards, the meeting room looked pretty normal. There was nothing surprising about the room, and that was what surprised him the most.

Walking over to one of the rolling chairs sitting at one of the black marble table's sides, Xander carefully took a seat and crossed his arms, analyzing his surroundings a bit more. Now that he took a closer look, there were pictures of some people... He presumed them to be pretty important. Harp-level, even.

What're those pictures supposed to serve as? The swordsman thought, feeling a bit anxious at the fact that there were important-looking things in a seemingly unimportant room.

The blue-eyed swordsman remained still as he slowly closed his eyes. He would relax and take on a calm look. And calm he looked indeed. Within a few seconds, he ended up looking like an edgy hardass having nothing better to do aside from remaining seated.

Perfect. He was ready for his teammates. No, he did not want to impress anyone with his edgy "cross-my-arms-and-hope-to-die" look; he simply preferred keeping his own thoughts to himself while maintaining the image of a cool-headed and (probably) diligent warrior on the outside.

[Nevix]

Jaron hadn't stopped smiling since he had boarded the airship. Everything was so...interesting. The people, the weapons, hell, even the walls. He was even wowed by the fancy paper they had printed his orders on. He unfolded it and read it for the seventh time.

"You are to make your way to the meeting room, there you will meet your teammates and commander." It had taken him an hour just to find the hallway. Once he found the right room, he became sick with apprehension. What if his teammates hated him? What if his commander was mean? What if they thought Serpentis was lame? What if they thought he was lame? All these questions and more bounced around his mind for awhile. Eventually, he sighed and opened the door to find... a fairly mundane room empty but for a table and a blond haired swordsman. He took a seat and when the swordsman failed to speak, drew Serpentis.

"My name is Jaron." He smiled goofily "Swords are cool, aren't they?"

[HylianRose]

Isa

Isa stared at Syliva as she laughed, the sound coming out of her mouth sounding oddly hollow and cold.

She hates me.

...Well, then again... I'm pretty sure everyone hates me.

At that thought, Isa straightened and her face relaxed into one of content.

"Where else would I be?" Sylvia managed to exclaim during the laughter. "Vindrell?"

"I... uh... I don't know. Sorry..." She replied, her voice small. She really wished her font allowed her to disappear.

"Look, you're obviously very nervous about something. But why would I be upset at you for running? I'd hate for Echo to turn into an elementary school...coordinating group bathroom breaks in single file lines would be a nightmare."

Isa blinked for a moment, staring once again at the now all too close feren. Trying to get a bit away from her, Isa fell over on her butt, her hands catching her before she fell back completely.

No shit I'm nervous.

You're like... so much better at literally everything than me...

Isa sighed when Sylvia had said all she wanted to, asking her to walk with her. "Most people yell at me for running like I am a school age child..." She murmured to herself softly as she silently followed Sylvia, a pout on her face. But... They were going to the same place? What the hell did that mean?

Then, out of nowhere, a pair of feathers wings flew past them and entered the meeting room before them. "Mother Gala, how many people are coming to this meet- Wait... You're... headed... to that..." Isa's eyes went wide for a moment as she pieced everything together.

Who else?

How am I going to embarrass myself?

How can I prevent it? Can I?

But no really... who else? Holy shit... I think I'm going to pass out...

Calm down Isa. It'll be fine. You'll be fine.

Shit, no I won't. I won't be fine!

All the while, Isa followed Sylvia into the room at sat down, staring out into space.

[Jeep Wrangler]

Vern

Vern took off slowly down the hallways. It wasn't the ultimate concern, his minute lateness, as rather how the meeting was going to go began to create minor panic in his mind. As still, he was not sure of what was going to happen within this meeting or what matters where to be discussed within it. It was strangely terrifying at first, then worrying, then confusing. Why would the likes of Vern be pulled out randomly for something as anonymous as this?

I hope it isn't too bad...the thing I don't need at this moment is in time is a telling off by a superior hunter. It has to be that, right? It'd make sense for Vern to be sent for that. He wasn't badly behaved or mannered, though nothing extraordinary really happened to him, especially compared to some of the other few Hunters he knew. Vern never really had talked to any of the Hunters, besides Grant, as well as his other friend Les, and they never really talked to him. He knew none of the famous role models, to some extent, and never had attempted to get into that. If there was a place he'd have fitted in nicely, both socially and emotionally, it'd be the Engineering departments lower down. After the times he spent there, people shared common interests and understood what sort of individual he was. Up in these ranks, however, he was a phantom to social activities, was meerly nothing special amongst the comrades...even his only two friends barely shared a common interest.

Vern had now arrived to the hallway adjacent to the Meeting Room door. Looking around, a small clock embedded into the wall clearly stated that he wasn't that behind time.

"Alright...it's gonna be fine. Just walk in there...get the simple stuff out of the way, leave...then continue how you were..." It was almost as if he were speaking to someone else, minus the fact there were no individuals there for him to talk to. He took long deep, relaxing breaths to calm the minor nerves in his system. "C'mon...it'll be fine...you'll be fine. You have nothing to wo-"

He was interrupted by the door opening. And he turned sharply to identify the action, the individual was inside. He only caught a glimpse of the door closing.

Well, shit...it's showtime, I guess? Upon taking a few more relaxing breathers, he wrapped his left-hand around his right-arm awkwardly and dragged himself inside...

[Driving Park]

~ Sylvia Sterling ~

As Sylvia and Isa got closer to the meeting room, more people were seen flocking to it. Sylvia inwardly sighed at how she had successfully suppressed the bird feren's nervousness, but in its place stood poutiness. The violinist assumed that this mood would be short lived due to the assumed company of the meeting, but it came sooner than that when the girl finally realized what Sylvia had meant when she said "I have a sneaking suspicion that you're going the same place I am." Sylvia could almost hear Isa's eyes widen behind her as the gears in the young girl's brain frantically turned. Meanwhile, the Chrysocyon remained completely calm as she walked into the meeting room, leaving the bird feren to her own thoughts.

Taking her usual place on the wall, Sylvia surveyed the scene. Stood with her arms crossed hugging her violin and bow, and legs crossed down at her calves with one foot planted on the ground and the other resting on the point of its shoe, the tall woman hardly looked to treat this meeting seriously. She was by far the most casual of the bunch in all but what she was wearing, and to the observer she either didn't care or had done this a thousand times before. Those who knew of her knew that it was emphatically the latter.

There weren't too many people in the meeting room as of yet. Four people who Sylvia didn't recognize (and assumed to be rookies), including the bird feren, sat at the table. The bird feren looked predictably overwhelmed. Sylvia hoped that for her sake the girl would shape up quickly, especially with the prospect of Shae Arca taking part. It wasn't like the famed Huntress to show up late if she showed up at all, but Sylvia still held out hope that she would make her presence known soon so Sylvia wouldn't have to lead a bunch of greenhorns. Amusingly, the two swordsmen present seemed to be polar opposites - a repulsion that seemed to be already manifesting itself. Sylvia watched with interest, taking her eyes away momentarily to politely nod and grin at Linta, the resident Sky Dweller, as she entered the room. Well, at least there's someone that I recognize, Sylvia thought. Linta was certainly someone Sylvia had no qualms with, despite her relative feral-ness. Of course, right after the barn owl feren entered, another person Sylvia didn't recognize walked in. He looked mature, at least, but Sylvia still didn't like her odds of leading this bunch.

[NaraK]

Xander

A man walked into the room and unsheathed a sword.

Holy crap, Xander thought as the man he had never met before refused to sheath his blade. W...Why the fuck is he taking out his sword? Is this guy trying to kill something? Because I think I'm the only living thing in this room right now aside from himself. And I don't think he's the kind of guy to cut himself-

At that moment, the man greeted himself. Jaron was his name, and he asked if swords were "cool."

...Are they? At least he's not trying to kill anything... I think.

Truthfully, Xander never found weapons in general to be legitimately awesome-looking. Sure, some were full of gimmicks and some had huge histories behind them, but in the end, all that mattered was whether it could be used well or not to ensure a longer survival for its wielder. If his sword broke, then it was a useless weapon. If it did not break, then it was not a useless weapon.

But he had to admit, some of the more advanced weapons people carried around were neat. Some even had cup-holders installed inside their weapons. How cool was that?

His eyes directed towards Jaron, he slowly redirected them back to the table before he resumed carrying out his persona. The blond-haired swordsman shrugged without a word, and while he was not lying, he probably looked far more disinterested in the topic than he made himself out to be. Xander decided to comment in a dead flat tone.

"Xander. Xander Zahir. Nice sword."

He did not realize he looked so edgy while he said that, especially since he had his eyes closed and his arms crossed and all of that wiz-biz.

Not long after Jaron entered the meeting room, a slew of people entered the meeting room. And by "slew of people," he meant a whopping three people had entered the freaking room. Xander opened his eyes and glanced at the entrance.

Oh shit, he thought worriedly. These guys don't look like they're just wannabe heroes. Even if one of them looks like a wannabe hero, I should never underestimate those harmless-looking people. Especially that bird girl. She looks like the type who would bump into women in hallways, but she could turn out to be a hardass who underwent immense battle training.

Xander's eyes turned to the silver-haired woman.

And then there's Longitude the Tall Woman. Longitude is definitely hiding something crazy in herself. She's probably got lots of crap going on in her head as well. Oh damn, what if I get on her nerves? That'd suck way too much. No, but more importantly, what if she gets on my nerves first and I get on her nerves because I express that stuff?

Or maybe I could just stop paying her attention and worry about it later.

It turned out that ignoring the silver-haired woman worked. His eyes turning to the man who entered, the blond perfectly maintained his idle expression, despite the fact that he was screaming internally so much.

Okay, so that guy is almost obviously taller than me. And I'm barely smaller than that Jaron guy. He's probably got more of a build than me, and even if he's weaker than me, he's probably boasting some extraordinary thing that makes his height the last thing I should be worrying about.

Dammit, why is everyone looking so natural with this kind of thing?! Even that Jaron guy is just smiling like fucking crazy even though I'm sitting here doing nothing but staring at people! Gawd, this is so tense!

Xander sighed without sharing any context to the people around him, closing his eyes as he turned to the table. There had to be a reason why he was brought into a room with a bunch of interestingly intimidating people (and if even the harmless-looking Feren made him feel nervous, then there definitely was something up). The man maintained his silence as everyone around him took seats.

The swordsman opened his eyes yet again, glancing at each and every person who had entered the room. His eyes went over to Jaron, then the tall and lean man, then the silver-haired woman, and then the bird girl.

He glared at the girl for a brief second. He swore that there was probably something fucking insane inside her as well, and he was not going to be taken by surprise by catastrophic secrets. Turning back to the table, he closed his eyes for the third time and lowered his head a bit.

[Whoami]

Shae Arca
--<::[o]::>--

The transport was quiet. Shae Arca sat in one of the seats and looked out the window to her left. Korstone was a beautiful city, the massive resonant stone for which the city was named stood tall over the rest of the buildings. The palace carved into the great resonant spire bore the banners and flags of Barallia. Shae remembered when she had first come to Korstone as an eager young huntress. The Sentinel was flying overheard and Shae was marveling at the view of the Resonant Palace. The sense was nostalgic for Shae, and she still enjoyed the view.

Sitting across from Shae was a man, probably just nineteen years old. He kept on looking over to Shae and nervously fidgeting his leg up and down. He had been in the transport before it made a detour to pick up Shae. The teen probably wasn't expecting to be sitting in the very same vehicle as the legendary Shae Arca. The huntress saw the boy's leg bouncing up and down from the corner of her eye and it was driving her insane. "You're new to Echo, I assume?"

The boy froze and gulped, "Um! he looked like he was dreaming, Y- yes, Sha- Miss- Ma'am-... Your honor?"

Shae raised a brow, "Your honor?! Well that's a new one." she chuckled.

The boy facepalmed, he blew it! "Sorry! I er- I didn't think I'd be in presence of a hero today. I must look li-"

"Hero or not, rookie, I'm a person just like you. You don't need to put me on a pedestal or anything. Just call me Shae." the woman let it a slow breath and continued to look over Korstone.

The boy probably almost fainted. Him of all people, HIM, was granted permission to use the most famed of huntress' first name! His leg started to fidget again. "Um... I'm Paxton. Paxton Reyn. It's REALLY great to meet you, Shae!"

Reyn, a noble Vindrell family. Shae had had to escort Baron Reyn across Tarcanis once. It was the dullest and most annoying affair Shae had ever been through. She had heard of Paxton from the baron, a nephew who was terrible at politics and had no place in the Vindrell court. She knew that the baron was always a hardass, she couldn't help but sympathize for Paxton. Shae figured he had come to Echo in an attempt to earn his uncle's favor in another way, through battling the greatest threat to Chroma. Nevertheless, Shae had to inquire, "Paxton Reyn. I trust your (unbearable) uncle is doing well? He must be proud to have a member of the house fighting with Echo."

Paxton bit his lip and shook his head, "Actually... He sent me off himself after I spilled coffee all over a Shindani dignitary. I was shoved by my cousin though, I've got the calmest hands in Vindrel!"

Shae took in a breath and crossed her arms, "Ouch. Well I'm certain Echo will use your more prominent talents, and for a better cause too. A word of advice, though, You're going to see a lot of other hunters and huntresses as popular as I am. You might want to get used to it, nervous fidgeting isn't a good sign of confidence."

Paxton straightened his back like a soldier and nodded, "Yes, ma'am- Shae!"

"And do away with the formalities. Echo isn't a military organization, we don't practice parade drill for hours on end. You're going to find that a lot of the veterans are quite belligerent and vulgar towards one another." Shae looked out the window again, "Oh. We're here already. That was quick."

--<::[o]::>--

Shae approached the door to the meeting room. She didn't know what she was summoned for, but that particular meeting room always meant she was taking on some job she really didn't want to do. Her summons had expected her to be present forty minutes ago, she wondered if the people requesting her presence even waited for her.

Shae opened the door and walked in calmly, "I apologize for being late. I had spent the night a lords estate. It was a long night, but the sleep after was well worth it."

The huntress thought about how that must've sounded, Shae Arca sleeping at a lord's home?! Scandalous! Lewd! But she didn't bother clarifying, those verbal mistakes often kept the marriage proposals away for a short time. "Commander Shaewyn Arca, repor-"

That when she noticed the people in the room. Hunters and huntresses, while she recognized Sylvia and a few others, a good amount of them were completely unknown to her. It's going to be one of those assignments... Shae thought.

[Nevix]

Jaron was fiddling around with Serpentis when the woman walked in. She wore a full suit of armor with a long shidani saber on her hip. She was vaugely familiar, and the look on the faces of the others, including the two girls that had just walked in. Speaking of that, was there no unattractive people in this place? He was fairly certain that he had found zero unattractive people in his time at Echo.

He look once again at the older armored woman. The way she carried herself, as well as the armor, indicated military. The look and the girl with the bird wings, which were hella rad, by the way, told him she was well known. Famous Shidani soldier? Maybe...no. There was no way. A second look told him it had to be true. ECHO was just screwing with him now.

"No." He giggled hysterically "Shae Arca? No, there's no way. There is no way that I am special enough to be led by Shae "Goddamn" Arca."

[Jeep Wrangler]

[.]Vern Phelps[.]

---

As soon as Vern had entered the aesthetically pleasing room, he immediately noticed the authentic pieces of seating and dazzling colours around. It was almost like sending a kid into a house full of his most treasured toys, in triple scale-size. That was the first awestruck feeling Vern had felt since his initiation as a Hunter, the one before that being in his Weapon-Designer days when he arrived onto the HQ for the first time. Travelling had always been such a thing that left the man in his own world, and a ship as big and unique as this was only begging to have discoveries made. However, Vern never really had the time to do these things.

Vern then regained his vision of reality, returning to the body he was in. His eyes drew away from the artistic designs of some narrow details towards where he really was...Who he was really in a room with...He looked at the group inside. Pausing at the door-frame, he took the next few moments to study who was who. Two swordsmen, chanting away at one another, likely about swords, both at one side. They seemed averagely sized, in terms of height, though build was roughly similar to his own, yet being thinner in their own ways. Their weapons were large, uncomplicated designs. A simple manner of hack 'n' slash was definitely a popular choice within Echo's ranks. Next, on the adjacent wall, were two female figures. Ferens, of course. One was at an almost embarrassing height, if Vern were in her boots, bearing some sort of wings. They were pretty large, in fact, and were quite a sight for someone as unknown as Vern. She was dressed in casual clothing, in a similar way to his own attire, but with more simplicity. There was no family insignia. There was no hooded cape. The second, however, was much more formally dressed. Emphasis on Formal, it was more of a battle-ready outfit, combined into the unique look of a crystal-white dress. That was what at least Vern identified it as.

Before Vern continued to eye the rest of the group, he awkwardly made his way over to an empty wall. It was absent in the terms of any of his comrades, which made him feel the slightest bit more comfortable with the room. Crowding around one another can always be a tricky situation when out of combat, and one such as himself did not appreciate this when those anonymous to him. Vern allowed himself to take two unsteady breathers, allowing himself to come to somewhat balance against his nerves. From the little he had observed, half of these individuals had some sort of open personality to share amongst one another. Looking back upon the two guys he'd spotted first, they turned towards the door, smirking amongst themselves and such. Soon enough, his eyes followed slowly towards the door, as an armoured female entered. Once again, he seemed to be completely oblivious to anyone's identities, as a voice caught his ears from the first wall.

"Shae Arca? No, there's no way. There is no way that I am special enough to be led by Shae 'Goddamn' Arca." At that moment, a thought sparked in his mind. It was almost as if a thousand feet had just kicked him senselessly in the head to try and get him to realise his knowledge. He finally came to the sense of what he knew, and spoke it out to himself...

"Uhh...Who's Shae Arca?"

[HylianRose]

Still, staring out into space, her mind whirling with thoughts, Isa was oblivious to the events going on around here, even the entrance of her hero, Shae Arca, the glare of the blonde swordsman, or the entrance of the other members. After a few moments, a few words drifted through her subconscious, fairly delayed...

Commander Shaewyn Arca

Wait... What?

Isa blinked for a moment and looked up in time to see a newcomer ask who Shae Arca was.

Arca

SHAE

ARCA

"OH. MY. FREAKING. GALA." She shouted, her finger suddenly pointed very rudely at Shae Arca's face. Then, as if realizing what she'd just done, she continued, "OH MY GALA." She sat down, still staring at Shae Arca as if looking away from her would cause her to disappear. Then, what the boy earlier had said registered with her and she whipped around to look at him.

"You don't know who Shae Arca is? How new are you?" She asked him in all seriousness. "You must have joined like today if you haven't heard of Shae Arca. Shae Arca is my hero!" Then, once again realizing what she'd done, Isa's face went red and she sat down, suddenly silent.

From the corner of the room a strong female voice coughed as the black clad female coughed into her hand, nearby the Harp sat with what most just simply had to assume to be a smile on their face.

"Is everyone here?" The electronic voice rang out as the clear blue eyes behind the mask looked around the room.

"I believe so, sir." The same female responded after looking around the room. The Harp nodded slowly and began pulling out a briefcase and placing it on the table.

"Before I hand this off to your captain, I'd like to introduce each introduce yourselves. I'd also like to mention who your Captain and your first Lieutenant are. They are Shaewyn Arca and Sylvia Sterling respectively. So, if we will... Please start us off Shae. Just simply mention how long you've been with ECHO and something interesting you wish the others to know about you." The Harp told them, laying back calmly.

Isa thought it was all a bit childish but didn't mind the opportunity to talk about herself.

[NaraK]

Xander

Shae Arca turned out to be a metaphorical bombshell. Not only was she a commander, but she was apparently going to be their commander. And as a long-time member of ECHO, she had the permission to throw around her bragging rights.

Geez, I wanna be able to brag like that as well, the blond swordsman thought, though he did a good job with keeping an idle expression.

Xander wondered just what kinds of hardships his soon-to-be leader had gone through, but he also wondered just why such a strange formation of a team had been created. What purpose would such a team serve, and why the hell was everyone charismatic in some form?

That bird girl, though, Xander thought giddily, pleasantly surprised at how there seemed to be an energetic bubble for the team. Teams needed energy bubbles, and he was pretty sure she would serve as a great bubble.

Then again, I'm the only one being a try-hard here, he reminded himself. And indeed; he really was the only one trying super hard to look serious. While it was technically working, that did not prevent him from realizing what a sore sight he would be if people were able to read his mind.

He remained still with his arms crossed, though he was now staring at Shae Arca with some high expectations. His serious look made him look as if he were glaring, however, though he doubted that a proclaimed big-shot like Arca would give a single shit about some new recruit making some blank expressions.