Marcus nearly jerked awake at the mention of lunch. He hadn't been sleeping, but he had been mulling over the many preceeding events in his head while people were talking. Not the best study plan, but he wasn't really concerned about it right now. He stood from his desk, stretching and yawning loudly, twisting to crack his back and looking at his roommates.
"
So, was anybody actually paying attention to that? I caught something about lunch and not eating the shrubbery, but that's about it."
"
I think that's the only important part." The words had barely escaped before a faint growl alerted Siena to the fact that she was hungry. Right. No breakfast. Turning her gaze directly forward, Siena paused as she noted that Callan was asleep. Having spent the past few days trying
not to wake her roommates up, the brunette wasn't entirely certain how to proceed. Turning to glance at Marcus, the mage gave a nervous smile. "
Er...how do you think we should wake her?"
"
I've got an idea..." Marcus said, grinning evily. He slowly leaned down towards the sleeping girls face, getting as close as he could. With a large intake of air, he prepared Callan's personal alarm clock. At this point, there was a little thought in his brain, racing to grasp at the controls before the young man could effectively commit suicide. A little thought that wouldn't make it before Marcus' next action.
"
WAKE ME UP INSIDE!" he shouted as loudly as he could, cupping his hands to make a makeshift megaphone.
Oh shit, said the little thought in his brain.
Nestled snuggly in the crook of her elbow, it wasn't so much the sound as the close proximity of
something being near her face that woke the sleeping Cal with such a start. Reflexively her eyes snapped open and she jerked away, but not before her forearm flew up-- sending the back of her hand hurtling towards Marcus' face. Her eyes flashed with clarity, falling sideways out of her chair. Marcus. Face. Her hand.
Oh shit...!Yep. Here came the hand. Callan was totally a scare-puncher. Fortunately, Marcus was already prepared to dash, basically from the instant he had started his yell and realized his terrible mistake. As Callan's hand seemed to swing at him in slow motion, he could tell that something wasn't quite working correctly. He should have moved by now.
The suppression cuff.
Just as Marcus had begun to panic in slow motion, preparing himself for death at the hands of a girly slap, the sweet sound of static faded into existance, and he was away. Somewhere safe, away from the killing blow of the supergirl's swing. He moved with astonishing speed, but his journey was quickly ended by another obstacle. His leg caught his own chair, and he went stumbling over it, coming out of his jump just in time to hit the ground.
BANG! CRASH!
The entire chair nearly went flying as Marcus hit the ground, softening the blow a bit by catching himself with his hands, to the slight detriment of his wrists. He lay there for a moment, legs draped over the chair, him lying face-down on the ground, before groaning and rolling over onto his back. He hurt. Everything ached from that little series of events, but he didn't seem to be seriously injured, despite the throbbing in his wrist. He shot an apologetic look towards Callan from his position on the smooth surface, a mixture of wincing and grinning displayed on his face.
"
Alright. Mistakes were made. I've realized the error of my ways, that one was my bad. Completely my fault." he sighed for a moment, punctuating his sentance with a long drawn out, "
Owww..."
If Marcus said anything, Callan didn't hear. Now sitting on the ground instead of her chair, she gawked at him through the mess of topled chairs.
"
Are... ARE YOU NUTS?!" she shouted, squaring her shoulders and tightening her fists, "
Do you have a deathwish?!" Even as she sat there, trying not to imagine the serious repercussions of what Marcus had just done, her eyes flickered towards the hamburger plush she'd stowed under her desk. He was okay. Nobody got hurt. His face was okay-- and it was just really close to her face a moment ago-- and this fucking hamburger plush, in spite of it all, was
smiling at her....
Callan smiled incredulously back at Marcus, clearly exasperated. "
God," she sighed with the smallest hint of an incredulous chuckle, "
I almost just wrecked your face."
There were definitely things that Siena had learned to regret in her lifetime. Apparently asking Marcus for an idea was going to be one of them. As the boy cupped his hands, a petrifying thought came to mind with clarity that made a magnifying glass of the highest caliber seem blurry.
'That is a terrible, terrible idea.'Siena opened her mouth a fraction of a second too late as Marcus gave a shout. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the events unfolded before the brunette, watching with wide, steely eyes as a fist went flying towards the prankster's face. Oh no. Oh no, bad. Very, very bad. Callan was
strong, and given that Siena could still utilize her abilities, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that the cuff wasn't going to stop Callan from being superpowered. Oh, this was all a big, big mistake. She should have just woken Callan up herself.
The fist cleared empty space as Marcus crashed into a chair...desk...everything, really. The boy tumbled to the ground, looking a little battered, but at least not looking like his jaw was broken in twenty different places. Callan's reaction was warranted, but just as soon as her voice was raised, the intensity seemed to trail off.
Wheeew... Releasing a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding, Siena slowly put her head down into her arms, feeling her heart start to beat like a stampede of buffalo. She let loose a soft groan before letting out a muffled complaint. "
You two are going to give me an aneurysm before a monster kills me..." Honestly, they were worse than Gerwulf, and he was no slouch at giving the mage heart attacks every few days.
A sudden shout from nearby yanked Ernie out of his silent whinging. The clique down the row, with Scarface and Seaweed, were fighting? No, messing around. His eyes followed Chestnut Boy as the freaking guy
warped down the room.
Ernie held his breath. People here had powers. Actual powers, not just dumb impractical nonsense like the kids at West. So this was the kind of stuff that went down on death row. He didn't know whether to be scared or fascinated.
Neither of them for now. The ridiculous sight of Chestnut flipping over a chair had grabbed his full attention. Ernie started giggling. Then the giggles turned to full on raucous laughter. What the heck was up with this Experimental Unit B? First the wacky staff mages, then these guys?
At least there was something to enjoy in this hellhole. Ernie's grin emerged for the first time since he entered the classroom.
"Holy shit, man," he chuckled between breaths and leaned over his desk,
"You okay down there?""
A little bit, yeah..." Marcus said, answering Callan's first question. He put his hands over his face and wiped them down, but his grin never faded. "
Not usually, no." he added, answering her second. A small chuckle escaped his mouth from where he was, content with just lying on the floor looking at the ceiling, contemplating life.
"
I almost just wrecked your face."
"
You sure did. And it wasn't holding up that well to begin with, either." he said, the words escaping without him realizing.
Oh good. We're joking about this now. said a little voice. He had surprised himself with the comment; the newer additions to his portrait weren't something that he was particularly comfortable with. Apparently though, he was comfortable enough to quip about them. He wasn't sure if that was a testament to his acceptance of the events that painted the stripes on his visage, or more for the new friends he felt at ease around.
His thoughts were interrupted by laughter; a sound he fully expected to hear given the events that had just transpired. He looked over to the face that was supplying it, still grinning as he answered this new person's question.
"
Not quite sure yet. Give me a few minutes for damage assessment." he said, reaching behind him and pulling out the pen that was uncomfortably poking him in the spine. "
Soooo....you guys gonna leave me down here, or are we gonna go get lunch? I hear the shrubbery's delicious!" His eyes flicked between the many people looking at him, and he extended his arms out in hopes that somebody would pull him up, squeezing his hands together almost like a small child would.
Callan exhaled sharply, glancing apologetically at Siena as she got to her feet. Her poor roommate had already seen Callan stroll through the door with a bloody fist the other day-- followed shortly after by a girl with a bloody shirt.
Unsurprisingly, the sound of laughter filled her ears. That guy probably had no idea what had almost just happened. She looked over her desk at Marcus, smiling like an idiot as he awaited assistance. Her eyes narrowed. Hands on her hips, she stepped towards him. She was mad... or at least trying to be. She was hungry, someone was still laughing, there was a giant hamburger under her desk, and she'd almost just killed her roommate... she willed herself not to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. She held her hand out stiffly-- the least she could do was try not to humor Marcus too much. She should be mad right now.
"
Thank ya, dahling." Marcus said, smiling and grabbing Callan's hand with his own, digging in his feet and bracing for the pull. Callan certainly looked mad, but the fact that she wasn't yelling meant that she probably wasn't
that mad. Probably.
Callan pursed her lips at the goofy response, biting back a chuckle. As she pulled him to his feet, she briefly noted the softness of his hand-- coupled with the disturbing weightlessness of his body-- before shoving her hands into her pockets and turning away. "
I'm starving. Let's go," she huffed, glancing at Siena as she started heading towards the door.
"Are you guys going to lunch?" Ernie hopped over the desk, eager to tag along. He needed directions, desperately. And these people seemed pleasant enough. From what he'd seen so far it looked like they could take a few jokes. Exactly the kind of people Ernie liked having around him.
"Could you help me find the cafeteria, or whatever you have around here? I'm, uh," he scratched his head sheepishly,
"I have no idea where anything is."He was going to hold back the bitter complaints about the morning. People didn't like negativity and he needed them to like him, at least while he was still figuring things out. After that, he could fly solo if needed. But who knows? These guys had the potential to turn out to be actual pals! And he could always use some more of those.
The sound of movement drew Siena's attention up from its resting place in her arms, gray eyes peering from one face to another--including one that she didn't recognize. Flashing a half smile at Callan, the brunette glanced at the mysterious new addition to their motley little crew. "
I wouldn't mind having more company. The more the merrier, right?" Pushing herself up from her desk, Siena tried (to no avail) to balance holding a large, spherical Loch Ness Monster in the crook of her arm while gripping a pencil case and paperwork for Chief Tater Tot in the same arm. Awkwardly reaching for the carrier, Siena promptly felt her Squishable roll out of her grip, hitting the floor with a dull plop as it rolled slightly. "
N-Nobody saw that..."
Attempt number two had the paperwork folded neatly into the pencilcase and the Squishable safely tucked away under an armpit and one hand ready to hoist a carrier complete with canine with the other. "
Okay...this works." Barely, but barely was good enough for her. The brunette turned her gaze towards the boy that had decidedly not crashed into a table. "
Er...I guess this is the part where we ask for your name." Before the moment passed and six months later, she was actively avoiding using a name for fear of her ploy being discovered.
"Yes, merrier is good!" Ernie beamed flawlessly at the third girl,
"My name's Ernest but everyone calls me Ernie. Awesome to meet you guys! So who are you? Are you all fresh transfers or something?"So his first day crew was going to be all Arbiters, huh. Ah well, beggars couldn't be choosers. This brunette seemed to be quite the klutz. Ernie's eyebrow was raised in amusement as she watched the poor thing flail about. How adorable.
A hand was offered to the girl.
"Want some help with that? I could take your pencilcase for you, or your Squishable. Gotta have both hands free to hold your dog up like a majestic newborn lion, right?" He hoped that joke wasn't too stupid.
"
I'm Marcus. But Awesome McCoolGuy works, as does HeyYouOverThere!" Marcus said, making a very dramatic show of brushing himself off. His palms still stung a bit from catching himself, but he was basically okay. He stopped as Ernie suggested holding the dog aloft, a suggestion that Marcus quickly, but subtly, tried to redirect. "
D-don't you think that's a bad idea?" he said, clearing his throat to try and hide the slight nervousness in his voice. "
We're heading to a cafeteria. Lots of food in a cafeteria. Don't want the little guy running off, do ya?" he said, gesturing to the dog cage.
Callan stopped at the door. She leaned up against the frame impatiently, staring at Marcus, Siena, and 'Ernie'. Couldn't they do introductions while walking?
"
Just bring the dog and come on! It'll be fine!" she called out, tapping her foot.
Marcus's immediate reaction to Ernie's inquiry drew a faint smile from Siena despite the overall feeling of "almost had a heart attack for the fifth time in one week" that was so graciously trying to overwhelm her. "
O-Oh, I think I got th--" As if to spite her, Nessie the Plessie squeezed her plump, plush body from Siena's grip, only stopping when the nub that was Nessie's head was pinned to her ribs by a quick squeeze of the elbow. "
I-it's fine!"
Plop....or not. Hearing Callan call out impatiently for the rest of the group, Siena gave up on trying to play balancing act with items wider than her torso.
"
I um...okay. I'll just get that after class. I don't think I can carry everything to the dorm at once anyways." With a nervous laugh, the brunette hoisted Chief Tater Tot's carrier and took a few steps towards the door before realizing that she'd never answered Ernie's first question. "
Oh, I'm Siena! And that's Callan." Motioning towards the other girl with a nod of her head, the brunette tried to keep her pace relatively stable despite feeling a little lopsided with the addition of a dog in one hand. As she reached where Callan waited, Siena gave an apologetic smile. "
Sorry about the wait."
"
Whiiiiiiiine..."
"
...and so is Chief Tater Tot."
Chief Tater Tot. What a mind-blowing name. Ernie could almost feel tears in his eyes from the sheer beauty of it.
"Ah, I'll finally get to see if East's food is as nice as its people, eh? Alrighty, let's go!"
"ID."Ernie threw the guy, 'Jason', an miffed look.
"Getting there, mister," he said, leaning down as if he was searching for something at his feet,
"Where's the dang--""ID card," Jason's eye twitched as he emphasised the last word,
"We don't have those cuff scanners at East. You need your student ID to get in. Comes with the package you get in your room.""Are you kidding me? I don't even know where the rooms are!"The staff member pinched the bridge of his nose and Ernie was about to unload some more, before a jolly
"Heyoo" pierced through the rising tension. It was that woman from earlier, the one who had handed the class' requisitions. She was accompanied by an escort of three soldiers.
"Don't think I don't have any presents for you, new kid," she grinned and flashily handed Ernie a glossy ID card,
"Oh, and if I recall correctly your room's in Building B over there," she pointed,
"Room 305. Try not to land yourself in too much trouble here, eh?"Ernie stared at her quizzically, startled by her energy and sudden appearance.
"Wow, uh," he looked at her,
"Thanks... Daisy?"Not-Daisy laughed heartily.
"Ah, that's just a silly name Freddy gave me. 'Cos I pop up like daisies when you least expect it, or something like that. The actual name is Rosa. Well, Cowboy. Bookworm. Chestnut. Supergirl. Chief Tater Tot. I'll catch you kids later then!"She strolled in with a flick of her own ID card, forcing a hapless Jason to swipe it in a hurry before she entered completely.
"And don't forget to go to training afterwards!"With the parting reminder, she jauntily strolled in.
Ernie glanced at the card before handing it to Jason. They were all let through with a slight grumble from the staff member.
"
Thank God," Callan griped, following after Ernie through the line. She stared after Rosa with silent thanks before taking her card back from Jason. Continuing over to the food stations, she turned to Ernie as she loaded her plate with food beside him. When he'd asked if they were fresh transfers or something before, she'd assumed he'd actually been there longer. Apparently that wasn't the case. "
Cuff scanners? Where are you from?" she asked curiously, scooping some alfredo onto her plate.
"The wonderful world of USARILN West," he replied only half-sarcastically. East's cafeteria seemed fine enough. A little on the small side, but that wasn't really a complaint. It wasn't like he was going to eat everything in here after all. Ernie went forth with his standard practice when faced with a buffet: take one of everything you can grab.
"I only got transfered here this morning. Didn't even get a welcome bag before I got shoved into the class with you guys. That's why I have no dang clue where anything is," he chuckled through the last statement to hide his annoyance at the situation. His stomach growled,
"Didn't get much breakfast either.""
Th-they transferred you?" The idea gave Siena a sense of relief. That meant that maybe, just
maybe, Aaron's missing presence was because he had been transferred elsewhere. Nothing dangerous. Nothing that would mean that something had happened to the boy. Following Callan's example, Siena decided to take a few samples of...whatever Callan was getting, really. It wasn't Maya's cooking, but that might have been a good thing. Surreptitiously passing on the alfredo after having unfortunately timed flashbacks, the girl shifted Chief Tater Tot's carrier from one hand to the other, giving a tired arm a break. "
At least it's lunch time now. I think everyone's starving after that rude wake up call."
Speaking of, was Chief Tater Tot hungry? The brunette thought briefly about it, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to give the canine just a bit of lunch, before perusing the selection for something dog safe. Meat, most likely...and maybe just a touch of bread.
"
Oooh, transfer!" Marcus cooed, surveying the lunchroom looking for something decent to eat. The little dialogue with 'Daisy' just now had caused his grin to reappear, and the little nickname he'd apparently been given only strengthed his resolve. This was a war now; he'd get even with her one way or another. He grabbed a couple of the breadsticks that Callan had, and quickly stepped away to avoid getting trampled. "
Did they do the whole, 'march in, I'm Director Zhang. Angry face, veiled threat, grr.' thing to you guys too?" he said, puffing his shoulders out stiffly and lurching around during his imitation.
His question was interrupted by his own train of thought. "
Ooooh, enchiladas! Hold that thought a moment!" he said, holding up a finger and scurrying over to the booth. "
Save me a seat!" he called over his shoulder.
Ernie gave a small wave as Marcus left. Now that was a fun guy. He turned back to the food, making extra sure to take only a small piece of everything to fit as much variety on his plate as possible. This was a challenge he was going to take seriously.
"To answer Marc's question," he directed his response to the remaining girls,
"I'd literally only just stepped off the truck before they took me to class. No intro for me. Seriously, all the info I've got about this place is from the stuff that Fred guy said before."Should he get enchiladas too? No, he needed to keep in order.
"I can't believe you met the Zhang though! Is she super psycho murder crazy like everyone says?""
Yeahh," Callan drawled, stacking a sandwich on top of the pasta and various other foods she'd managed to fit on the plate as well, "
Count yourself lucky you missed that orientation." She left it at that, sparing a look at Siena, who she remembered hadn't taken things as well as Callan had.
"
But yeah-- you could say that about her, I guess." Her thoughts on the Director were muddled as ever these days.
Memories of the first night flooded to mind. Blood. Bullets. Carnage. Her mind might have tried to formulate a replication with everything it had, but it had never quite matched up to that intensity. As if in response to the tremor that tried to anchor itself into her bones, Chief Tater Tot gave a sound that bordered between whine and bark, instantly dragging Siena out of the less-than-pleasant journey her mind was ready to put her on. Taking a breath to calm her words, the brunette took an opportunity to keep herself in check with a distraction--food. She put another item on her plate, not bothering to look at what she'd taken (a breadstick).
"
Practical. I think I would call her practical, if a little ruthlessly so." The words came out softer than anticipated, her voice still strapped down with the weight of unpleasant memories. "
B-but I mean...yeah. It wasn't an ideal welcome." Definitely not if Siena was still suffering from vivid night terrors that woke her up three times a night in a cold sweat--not all of them were of the orientation. "
What's it like at USARILN West though? I imagine different, but..." But misery loved company, didn't it?
Ernie shrugged, half as a show of nonchalance and half as a way to stall. Oh boy, where could he even start?
"What can I say? It's bigger, brighter--" He managed to stop himself before the 'better' escaped his lips. He wasn't trying to make them feel like shit, not now anyway. He needed to rein himself back and retry this.
"The buildings are really colorful, for one thing. Everything here seems kinda square and gray to me. A lot more security for some reason. And West is wayyyyyy bigger. If I'm remembering right it has about three thousand more subnatural kids than East, so sometimes it feels more like a town than a school. There's a shopping mall on campus, outdoor stages, friendly people, and the teachers don't assault your brain with Calculus and Physics first thing in the morning, haha."A rueful look crossed his face. It was still hard to believe those days were over. There was no going back to those happy times. Now he was in here, the damn finest gilded cage he'd ever been locked in. A place that offered only the tiniest of pleasures before it took away the ability to feel any of them. His sudden turn of thought made him grimace.
"How 'bout we find a table first? I'll tell you guys more when we sit down."Callan nodded and led the way to a free table. Making their way over, she glimpsed Marcus talking to Emma. She dragged her attention away, though her eyes kept wandering over to the pair even after they sat down and Ernie continued telling them about USARILN West. She found herself staring after watching Marcus handed the girl a napkin, upon which she wrote what only could've been her phone number. Her eyes snapped down to her food as Marcus looked back at their table. He was going to invite her to come sit with them-- of course. She quietly bit into her sandwich, trying to guage exactly how this made her feel.
In the end, she rationalized with the least uncomfortable conclusion. Marcus was her friend and roommate. He was nice and friendly and good looking and Emma probably was, too. A perfect match, really....
Following after Callan while parsing through what she'd just heard about USARILN West, Siena wondered exactly what led to being transferred from one to another. Records of some sort, maybe? Well, nothing that she could really speculate on without more information. As the trek continued, Siena was able to catch sight of Marcus talking to another girl--one of their classmates, if she remembered correctly. Not one she recognized by name, of course, but one that had undoubtedly been in the room earlier. A pause in the usually rampant thoughts as the napkin exchanged hands.
'Did he already find a girlfriend?' Being wildly inexperienced in the idea bar for a few stories overheard from when Gerwulf and Maya thought she was asleep (ha), her mind rationalized writing on a napkin as contact information. Well...maybe it was unsurprising, given Marcus's usual wit and humor. The distraction faded out quickly after a moment of logic. Clearly her roommate hadn't been wasting his days off. Not her business, she supposed.
"
So, about USARILN West then..."
It was getting clearer by the second. He'd developed a hypersense for these things after all, for
rude people who weren't paying attention to his awesome stories. As Ernest went on he could see the bright-haired girl, Cal, stare after her roommate and his...
Girlfriend? Girl friend? Some girl who dropped her napkin, prompting Marcus to pick it up and return it to her despite the obvious hygiene risks?
Come on, was that really more interesting than West's annual paint balloon wars? Whatever, Cal could stay hung up on her tragic hots for Marc. Or the girl. Whichever one it was, he couldn't care less. He continued his tales, undeterred. At least Siena and the dog were listening.
Emma greedily eyed the enchiladas. Her plate was already so full, but… the prize. Tortilla, sauce, meat, cheese…. It was such an enticing offer. And one that, embarrassingly, Emma had now been contemplating for over a minute. She was so enthralled with the internal debate over enchiladas that she didn’t even notice Marcus waiting behind her.
"
So; it's a really mean trick to owe somebody a drink and then run off without giving him any information. Bet you thought you were gonna get away from that, huh?" Marcus said suddenly, very much trying not to startle Emma. He'd learned his lesson by now, and the quip was delivered softer than usual, with the hopes that he wouldn't get killed by those wierd things she summoned. Flashing so many times in such a short period of time probably wasn't
super good for his health.
Emma turned around slowly.
Marcus? Her face turned red.
He didn’t see me staring at the enchiladas, did he? How long have I been here? Now I’m just staring at him. Say something, Emma!”Uhhhhh… hey, Marcus!” She said a little too loudly. Her hand flew up to rub the back of head.
Am I blushing? What’s wrong with me? I have to finish my sentence, don’t I? ”I… yeah, sorry. Uh… you gotta piece of paper? I don’t have anything to write on. Uh, for my phone number.” "
As a matter of fact; no!" Marcus said, his cheerful tone contradicting his words. There was the small slip of paper that Flower Power had handed him -- but he wasn't gonna give that up to anybody but the cold hands of death. He made a mental note to pull it out of his pocket before his clothes went through the wash. Actually...maybe it would be best if he just put the number in before he started eating; that would save him from all of this stress.
Fortunately for Emma, this momentary thought meant he wasn't completely aware of how red her face was getting.
He nonchalantly leaned over and grabbed a napkin from one of the nearby dispensers, holding it out proudly. "
But now I do!"
Emma accepted Marcus’ napkin, pulling out a pen as she did.
”And I’ve got a pen” she said, trailed by a laugh.
You’re suck a dork that wasn’t even funny. That definitely was not her stigma. Emma carefully wrote her phone number on the napkin then handed it back, and then…
”Well…. Uh…”Marcus looked up as she scribbled on the napkin, now noticing the redness of Emma's face. He smirked silently to himself, biting back words that would surely get him into a whole mess of trouble. "
Why thank you very much, dearest Emma!" he said, in a faux-elegant voice. He folded the napkin carefully and shoved it into his other pocket.
"
I do believe I will save this for a day when I am exceptionally parched! Always good to have a few favors at your grasp!" he said, giving a little wink.
Why did I just wink? That was the dumbest thing ever. Nice one, champ. It wouldn't be long before his own face started turning crimson; all of his confidence just melting away as his 'Cool McSmoothMan' facade started to fall apart.
Emma snickered at Marcus’ attempt at a joke.
”And you almost tricked me into thinking you were good with girls. This close,” she said, holding up her hand and pinching her fingers together,
”Better luck next time, I guess.” "
I'm sorry..." he said, hanging his head dramatically. "
I should have known better than to try and evade your keen sense of deduction. Alas, you've seen straight through me!" He grinned again and resumed his normal standing position, reaching for one of the enchiladas currently on display. "
Guess that means I don't have to keep up the act then." he finished, turning his head to look for his roommates in the lunchroom.
Emma also grabbed an enchilada.
”Hey, just because you blew your chance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep a girl entertained. Common courtesy, Marcus.” Emma stood by him, glancing around the room.
”Well, I guess I should find somewhere to eat…” she thought aloud.
"
Keep you entertained?" Marcus said, turning back to look at her. "
I've been doing this whole charade just to keep myself amused, thankyouverymuch. Don't you have roommates you can go sit with?" he said, his eyes drifting down to the 'X' across her throat. That was right; the 'X' people didn't get roommates...did they?
His mind raced for a moment, betrayed by a slight flicker of panic in his eyes. No, the 'X's didn't get roommates...but there had been exceptions. Was she one of them? It had all happened so fast! Was Emma actually dangerous. Oh no, was he about to get punched again?
"
I mean...where's clawfoot?" he said, regaining his composure.
Emma gave Marcus an incredulous look.
Did I not make it obvious enough I wanted him to invite me over? Maybe I’m coming on too strong… is he looking at my boobs? Emma became acutely aware of Marcus’ downward gaze. She cleared her throat,
”Eyes up here, Marcus.” As for the mention of roommates and Kusari she shrugged,
”My roommates aren’t exactly great company, and Kusari is… have you talked to her? She’d probably chew my head off if I wanted to sit with her.”"
I mean!" Marcus said, his eyes immediately flicking back to her face. Yeah, he probably should've made sure he wasn't being super obvious about that. It bothered him when people stared at his marks, magic or otherwise, so it made sense that Emma would be bothered by hers.
"
She yelled at me that one time. So I'm gonna count that. And yeah, I suppose that's a valid point." he said, nodding his head in agreeement. "
I mean, you can come sit with the best team, if you'd like." His voice was cocky now, clearly egging her on. "
We did pick up a stray though, so I hope you like making introductions!" He nodded his head in the direction of Siena, Callan, and Ernie.
”Best? Didn’t I have to come over and help you guys clean up? The way I remember it we took care of our monsters first.” She said, matching the cockiness in his voice as she headed towards the table he had indicated.
"
Really, because they way I remember it involved a giant fart-scorpion coming over from your side of the battlefield to spew garbage all over us. 'Course...that's probably just the shell-shock talking." He said, shrugging nonchalantly as he put a few more foodstuff on his plate. "
Sorry guys, picked up another stray on the way back." he said, standing before the table and jerking his thumb at Emma.
"
Hey Emma," Callan smiled and nonchalantly waved, "
How're you holding up?"
Emma shrugged, taking a seat.
”Better than expected, current situation considered. You?” Emma glanced at Ernie and Siena. To her recollection she hadn’t met them yet. She smiled,
”I’m Emma, if you didn’t pick up on that. Or Em. Either way is fine.”"
Same," Callan shrugged before busying herself with her drink. A weird habit for avoiding conversation she seemed to be developing.
"
Oh, it's...it's nice to meet you, Emma." The name felt awkwardly familiar--a name she'd given to a faceless sister? Not quite.
'Emily. You called her Emily.' Pushing the unwelcome thoughts aside with a practiced smile, Siena pushed forward with introductions. She was doing quite a few of these, apparently. "
I'm Siena. And this is Chief Tater Tot." Motioning to the carrier just by her feet, the dog seemed to give a small whine in acknowledgement.
"You better be talkin' 'bout the dog when you say 'stray', buddy," Ernie raised an eyebrow of mock indignation and turned to the new girl. It was the curiously peppy Emma from class. He eyed her X-mark but grinned as he introduced himself.
"I'm Ernest but everyone calls me Ernie. Awesome meeting you! I was just telling these guys what West was like.""
Offfff cooooooourse. The dog. Clearly!" Marcus said, with an unconvincing nod and wave of the hand. "
Oh yeah! West! Did I miss that part?" he said, sitting down and picking at his food. He'd wondered about a USARLIN West when it had been specifically mentioned that they were at East. It made them somewhat companions, he supposed. A foriegn traveller from a foreign school. A quick thought came to mind, one he voiced aloud after he swallowed a bite of food. "
Is there like...a USARILN North and South too?" he asked, as if anybody else would know any more than he did.
”Nice meeting you guys. Anyways, Marcus, there’s a USARILN Central, but besides East and West that’s it… as far as I know at least.” Emma had done her research before D&T went down, so at least she was able to look like she knew what she was talking about. She then glanced at Ernie,
”And from what I’ve heard West is a lot better than here… in that it’s actually almost a normal school and not a militarized prison. So, uh, welcome to the shit, I guess?” Emma paused for a moment before deciding that maybe being a little more genuine would serve her well,
”Really though, sorry you had to end up here. It’s not easy.”Huh. So the Aberration wasn't a total ray of sunshine after all. Ernie found that somewhat reassuring.
"Looks like someone's been doing their reading, eh?" he smirked at the girl,
"Yeah, there are only three USARILN schools, West being the nicest of the lot since nothing ever really happens there. I appreciate the welcome though. Thanks, buddy."He waved off the more negative aspects of her condolences. Useless words against irreversible problems. The only thing he could do now was try to shrug it all away.
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that! Shit's something I'm used to, haha!" he laughed in response to his own joke,
"Trust me, you're not the ones who need to apologize. It hasn't been all bad! I got to meet you guys, after all!"Emma’s smile brightened a little. Siena, Ernie, and, of course, Chief Tater Tot seemed nice. She was getting the chance to get to know Cal and Marcus, who both seemed awesome. She was having lunch at school with her new friends… everything was turning out okay, things were
almost normal.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
Ernie is right, though, there’s no reason to focus on this gloomy stuff! Emma nodded at him, clapping her hands together.
”That’s right, it isn’t all bad. Everything will be okay as long as we all stick together, right?” She glanced across the table.
Bullshit.Red flags raised the hairs on the back of Siena's neck, but she pushed them all aside without much thought. Weren't red flags the norm for her anyways? Instead, the brunette affected her best smile--
'Like a lady, Siena. Warm, but not too many teeth! Show them you care without baring any fangs.'--in response to Emma's apparent optimism. At least it was a step away from the dark clouds that threatened to loom overhead. "
There may be a point to be made there."
Liar. "
It's certainly going to take some getting used to though."
Marcus held his tongue at Emma's blind optimisim. He knew
damn well that everything could quickly go to shit, no matter how many friends, acquaintances, or allies you had around you. This was not that kind of story; their world was one of terror and death. But, the brief sparkles of hope at least made for a better lunch, so there was no use in shooting down what little faith they had to spread around.
"
I'll toast to that one." Marcus said, raising an invisible glass in the air after it became apparent he'd neglected to actually get himself a drink. He smiled warmly - an empty, hollow smile. He was sure Emma meant it as a pep talk, but he couldn't help but hear it as a reminder of their circumstance.
Callan responded by sinking her teeth into her second breadstick with a brief nod. Emma's positivity was only making her want to like the girl more. She always had to appreciate a good pep talk, didn't she? Suddenly Callan was reminded of another Emma. The Emma that couldn't control her tulpas and would've gotten her killed if she had been literally anyone else besides maybe Kusari. The Emma that had slapped Shane in the face and cried about her dead classmates. 'Stick together'? Yeah, that had done Padma a whole lot of good, hadn't it? She mentally kicked herself for being so negative out of nowhere.
Marcus probably liked peppy girls oozing with optimism. With another mental kick, Callan went back to saying nothing and trying not to care.
A circle of mirrors. Ernie looked from Emma to Siena to Marcus. Nice, pretty smiles that were well practiced but not at all perfected, for the latter two anyway. This sort of optimism bordered on straight up stupidity. He knew that they knew that. But at least they were putting in the effort to pretend like it was okay. It was this sort of pretending that made it bearable to live here, wasn't it? Ernie beamed even brighter than before, as if it were some competition now. If it truly was a contest, he'd win every time. He'd worked hard for it after all.
His scan of the table made him notice Cal's silence. No effort at all from her end. Huh, so East did have some realists here. For now a brief but knowing look was sent her way.
I getcha, buddy. Barely missing a bit, he returned to the swing of the conversation. There'd be plenty of time to check that attitude out later.
"Hear, hear!" Ernie laughed and toasted an invisible glass against Marcus's.
Whiiiiiine...The sound cut through the veil, drawing Siena's attention to the carrier beside her. The girl felt a pang of guilt--he'd been trapped in there for hours. Surely Chief Tater Tot could be out for just a bit. After all, as a therapy dog, Siena was certain he had at least basic obedience training. Enough, at least, to know better than to run off wildly. With some effort on her part, she slid the carrier out enough to get a view of the latch, slender digits already reaching to undo it.
"
Poor little fellow...I better let him get some air..." With a faint squeak, the front of the carrier opened, and a canine snout peeked out, sniffing the air eagerly before the rest of the Spaniel trotted out of his cage, tail wagging faintly with the motion. He peered up at Siena, wide, warm eyes looking like
the most precious thing in existence, before pawing up at her knees. Her heart melted on command. "
Awww..." The dog gave a few eager pants, tail wagging again, before dropping back to all fours and trotting around the members of the motley little lunch crew, pausing to give each a few identifying sniffs, complete with still-waving tail.
The sound of a whine cut through Marcus's personal veil, but for a different reason entirely. By the time he turned to come up with some excuse to keep the dog safe and sound in its cage, Siena was already leaning down to undo the latch. It sauntered out, and Marcus looked it over with apprehension. It was small, so he should be fine...probably. Right? A creature that tiny couldn't possibly cause him any real harm!
If that was the case, why were his hands getting clammy and his heart beginning to race?
As if to make matters worse, it seemed intent on walking around and personally meeting every single one of them. He tensed up as it drew nearer, his uncomfortableness hitting its maxium as the thing sniffed his leg. He was tense, and although he didn't realize it, he was holding his breath. He dared not look at it, hoping that avoiding eye contact would make it move along faster. A silent part of his mind really hoped his dread wasn't as obvious as he thought it was.
Chief Tater Tot was, as far as he was concerned, a good companion. The canine had been trained to handle uncomfortable situations, and was better at comforting the large humans-people than other dogs. Apparently. Really, he just loved the attention. Coming to a stop when he caught the scent of acrid fear, the beige-coated dog perked up, his eyes peering directly at the golden haired humans-person with wide, excited eyes and a tail swishing to and fro.
FRIEND.He approached, stood on his hind legs, and placed both paws directly on the humans-person's leg, mouth open and tongue out with each pant, as if just
asking for pets and attention.
Marcus jerked slightly when he felt the pressure on his leg. Surely, of all the people here, this dog had not just climbed up to him? He turned his head to look at the source, only to meet it directly in the eyes. He could feel himself beginning to sweat as he looked down at the thing.
It was small, harmless even!
The eyes.It was a therapy dog, for Christ's sakes! The thing was friendly! It was meant to help people cope with fear and anxiety and stuff!
The teeth.Alright. This wasn't working. He started to take deep breaths, trying to bring his heart rate back down. If he could get the thing to go to someone else, he'd be okay.
"
H-hey, little guy....you wanna go back to your owner?" he said, nearly through clenched teeth. He gave a little motion with his hand, desperately begging that the dog would move on. This situation was deteriorating, but his heart was starting to calm. He was starting to get everything under control. Everything was gonna be fine.
If Emma noticed everyone’s more negative reactions to her small declaration she gave no sign. As for Chief Tater Tot, she pet him as he came around to greet her,
”What a good boy!” she cooed, as the dog trotted on. As it reached Marcus she noticed…
Is he scared? The tone of his voice as he shooed off the precious Tater Tot all but confirmed that there was something making him uncomfortable.
”Ummmm… is everything alright Marcus?" She said, giving him a curious glance.
Grateful for the distraction, Callan had perked up as Siena voiced her decision to let Chief Tater Tot out of its cage. She watched as the small dog wandered to each of the others, finally coming to Marcus, who-- did he just jerk away? The movement was so subtle it was hard to tell. The tone of his voice certainly suggested he had as he encouraged the dog to go away. Obviously she wasn't the only one to notice, because Emma was the first to draw some attention to it. Callan set down her fork and looked between Chief Tater Tot and Marcus with an equally curious glance.
"
Are you allergic?" she asked, furrowing her brow. She hoped not, for Siena's sake. But if he wasn't allergic, then....
"Truly an honor to finally meet, Chief," Ernie mock-saluted.
Marc was getting noticeably shifty around the Chief. Deep breathing and all that tenseness? Ernie could have sensed those freaked out vibes from a mile away. Poor guy didn't like dogs, how tragic. But was it an allergy or fear? It couldn't possibly be fear, right? The little guy was adorable!
"Come on, man. Is that really how you greet a superior officer?" Ernie chastised Marc before whistling and offering a slice of turkey from his plate. The guy looked like he could use a hand. Ernie cooed to the dog in a babyish tone.
"Cheeky subordinates who call you silly things get shot in the kneecaps, don't they, Chief? Who's a good little buddy?"Spiky-head humans-person's discomfort didn't alleviate as Chief Tater Tot pawed up on his leg, making the dog lower his ears slightly. He was failing? He never failed at making humans-people feel better! The canine, being the young, innocent creature that it was, had never even considered that the source of Spiky-head humans-person's fear was him. After a pause, he wagged his tail again at the motion from the humans-person's hand, head tilting faintly in confusion bef--
Sweet merciful humans-person hands above, a humans-hand had food at face level.Dropping from his initial target of affection, Chief Tater Tot made a few graceful strides towards the source of the food, tail wagging and nose eagerly taking in the scent of glorious humans-person food. With a grateful-yet-restrained ruff, Chief Tater Tot took the small slice.
Siena, on the other hand, was busy taking Gerwulf's advice on meeting new people. Watch them. For the most part, Chief Tater Tot had elicited the expected reaction--he was a small dog, after all, and given his training, guaranteed to be virtually harmless even when provoked to what most would consider an extreme. Unfortunately, it seemed that Marcus was not
quite on board with the presence of a canine. The tension he emit was easily detected as long as the one trying to detect it was...a
noun.
'C'mon, why d'ya need a mangy little mutt when you've got us?'"
Oh no...if you're allergic I can always have Chief Tater Tot returned." Not that she would want to, but it was the proper thing to do, wasn't it? Despite her best efforts, Siena struggled to keep the barest traces of disappointment from lacing the offer. The idea of someone being afraid of a pet made for companionship hadn't even come to mind the morning that Siena had filled out the requisition sheets. Guilt yanked at the corner of her thoughts with an unbridled aggression.
Selfish. 'What, you were too busy thinking it'd be like home? Even Gerwulf and Maya wouldn't let you keep one.'But all she had wanted was a guarantee that someone would be there.
Oh good. Everyone had noticed. Just what he wanted. Marcus let got of the breath he was holding when Tater Tot moved onto Ernie, silently screaming 'thank you's at him. Now was time for damage control. He was cool and composed, or at least, rapidly trying to get back there. Fortunately, Callan had given him a perfect excuse; an answer that Siena was willing to take, and an answer that might solve all of his problems!
"Yeah, I'm terribly allergic. Sorry Siena, but you're gonna have to send the little guy back!"That's what he
wanted to say, at least. Those were the words that his brain desperately begged him to say, that had been prepared on the tip of his tongue. But Siena had specifically requested the thing, and he had seen her earlier excitement when the carrier had been brought over. Although her offer seemed to lack disappointment, Marcus knew that Siena would be crushed if the dog had to be sent away. She'd just gotten the little guy, and it didn't seem fair to rip that happiness away so suddenly. So, while his brain screamed at him to stop and just have Siena send 'Chief Tater Tot' back to the pound, he sighed, and his mind raced to come up with an alternative excuse.
"
Nono, not allergies! I just...don't care for dogs that much; my grandmother used to have a big, mean one when I was little. Always barked and growled at me when I got close and stuff. I was always afraid of that thing as a kid, and apparently I just never quite got over it." A lie. Well, a somewhat truth. He'd only ever remembered one of his grandmothers, and she'd been a cat person.
"
It's nothing that I can't deal with! Just make sure you keep him off my bed when we get back to the dorm!" he said, with another forced smile and strained chuckle. He just hoped that he
would be able to deal with it, otherwise his life was about to become a living hell.
Emma realized her mistake quickly
You shouldn’t of called him out, idiot. A voice echoed in her head. After Marcus was done speaking she was a little too quick to shoo away this line of conversation,
”Well, it’s not a big deal, right? She offered,
”I wonder what Daisy and Fred are doing working here, eh? They don’t really seem like Zhang’s run-of-the-mill goons, do they?” She hoped to change the topic, as Marcus very clearly wasn’t comfortable.
Marcus had never struck Callan as the type to dislike dogs, but she wasn't going to press it. It wasn't a big deal anyway-- like Emma said.
"
They seem pretty chill," she said simply-- her own attempt at being positive. She wasn't sure what to make of those two just yet. They almost seemed
too nice, given everything they'd been through so far. Even so, their sunny demeanors were like a breath of fresh air. Something she wasn't really able to appreciate earlier that morning.
Before Siena could fit in an apology to Marcus for failing to ask about obtaining a dog, Emma was quick to push the topic away. Part of Siena was grateful, the other part still riddled with guilt. Still, giving it some thought, the brunette couldn't help but wonder. "
They were definitely a bit...eccentric." Eccentric being an understatement, given their encounters with Freddy and Rosa. Pushing a small bit of chicken around on her plate absentmindedly, Siena gave a faint smile. "
But they seem nice enough as long as we follow directions."
"Mmm," Ernie chewed thoughtfully while occasionally tossing turkey bits for the dog,
"They're pretty wacky. But I guess it's better than having asses like Jason for teachers. Under other circumstances I'd say they're like that to butter us subnaturals up before tossing us into the fire, but these guys actually seem geniune about it!""
It's a nice change of pace, at least, Marcus said, his composure regained and him settling back into a calm state. "
Although, I can appreciate someone like Mrs. WhateverHerName; a faculty member who can take a joke and fire back, instead of just glaring me down and muttering behind my back. Did you see the mischevious little grin she gave you when she was handing out the Req stuff, Cal?" he said, turning to face her and taking a bite of food. "
I'd be careful stepping into our room; who knows what she's got waiting in there." he added, eyes flicking to address Siena.
"
I hope she didn't replace someone's bed with a giant dog bed. Or um...she said you requested pillows right?" The memory seemed to come to mind a bit fuzzy. Something about Squishables being fancy pillows that Rosa had said while handing the large, hamburger shaped plush to Siena's suitemate. "
Maybe they replaced all our beds with pillows." Pillows, maybe a few blankets, and nope, no more mattresses for frames. While it seemed outlandish, there was a faint trickle of apprehension in the back of Siena's mind that it might have been the case. A pause settled over her thoughts briefly, silencing everything for one serene moment as she considered that reality. Would she even have minded?
'...actually...that might be fun...'Callan wrinkled her nose and affably scoffed, "
No, I didn't see. I was barely awake this morning and half tempted to eat that thing, but... I wouldn't complain if she gave me more food shaped pillows."
Emma sighed,
”I think if all the beds in my dorm were replaced with food pillows I’d be the only one that would actually notice or care. Actually, Hazel would probably ask something like ‘What’s the tactical advantage of hamburger pillows?’” Emma gave a slight giggle at the back end of the joke that would only make sense to her.
Oh, that was an unpleasant reminder. Ernie was going to have to find that room in Building B at some point. No doubt there'd be the standard entry exams and requisition forms to fill out. More importantly, would all his stuff be there? He needed every single piece. It was a stash he had built up over his seven months at West after being so rudely ripped away from his collection in Reno. If he entered his dorm room and there was something missing, he wasn't sure how he would react.
"My room, huh..." Ernie muttered, mostly to himself,
"I'll need to find that soon.""
God, I can't imagine that would be super comfortable. I feel like a pillow-bed would just swallow you up, and then nobody would ever seen you again." he said, jabbing something on his plate with his plastic fork. He gave a curious glance to Emma, and a polite chuckle at the apparent joke, but he didn't know enough about her roommates to follow along. Ernie drew his attention, and he gestured his fork, with food still attached, at him as he spoke. "
Might be a good idea if you wanted to sleep inside tonight. Although, barring that, you could always go sleep on the bleachers by the track!" he said, shoving the fork in his mouth and shooting Callan a knowing grin.
She smiled back and shook her head, turning her breadstick over in her hand and accusingly pointing it at him with a faux glare, "
Hey, don't go around telling people! I had to fight off a hobo to get that spot."
"
Unless you've gone back and broken the rest of them, I'm sure there are plenty of bleachers left." Marcus replied, mimicking her glare and pointing his fork at her.
"
You say that like I'm willing to share," she chuckled mischieviously, "
Keep offa' my turf, Time-boy."
"
Fair point. Not really much I can do about that except rewind aggressively at you." Marcus said, shrugging and silencing himself with another mouthful of food.
Emma stared at her food, picking at the remains of the enchilada.
Nope. Not going to say anything. Jealousy is an ugly quality, Em. She reminded herself, taking a bite, quietly simmering with her forced smile still on her face.
"Rewinding and bleacher breaking, huh? Are those your cool-ass powers?" Ernie piped up, eager to break the chain of back and forths between the two. Interesting. Cal liked joking with Marcus, but Emma's smile went slightly wonky when it happened. He wanted to poke around that little puzzle some more but the chance to bring up powers had finally reared its head.
Callan's smile widened-- she was equally eager to hear about Ernie's powers. In the back of her mind, she felt the tiniest pin pricks of guilt-- still acutely aware of Emma's presence. She brushed the thought aside in favor of answering Ernie's question.
"
Sort of," she laughed. "
I've got super strength and durability, Marcus can, uh, rewind himself, and Siena--" her eyes lit up as they fell on her roommate, "
Hers is actually really cool, but I can't remember how she explained it..."
Finding some semblance of familiarity (perhaps even flickers of happiness? She wasn't entirely certain) at the banter between Marcus and Callan, Siena was taken off guard when the discussion turned to their powers. While she should have expected it to come up at some point, it didn't stop her from tensing the faintest amount. Thankfully, with the attention on her suitemates, maybe there was less chance of having to--
'Oh no.'"
U-um, uh I--bwah...?" It was the verbal equivalent of smashing her face into the control panel in the part of her brain that made words, but it was the best that she could muster as her body stiffened, the fork in her hand suddenly finding itself buried in the piece of poultry that had been victim to her aimless prodding prior to the moment. "
I-it's um...it's not that cool." Slowly, Siena regained herself, but at the cost of her cheeks flushing with color as she tried to make herself smaller in that instant. "
I can take names from um...print media, let's say that." With a nervous sound that didn't quite pass as a laugh, Siena felt her free hand instinctively reach for a stray lock of hair, only to stop the motion when she caught it. Bad habits. "
I just er...borrow things from them. Usually powers or skills."
And sometimes homicidal intent, but that was maybe better left unsaid.
"Well, my deal is a sorta mix 'n' match of stuff. I've got a magic rope that makes me tough and a little glyph that's pretty much a real version of Freeze Tag. Nothin too awesome like your stuff," Ernie shrugged. He summoned his rope for extra emphasis, a cheeky grin lighting up his face,
"The toughness is my favorite part though. If any of you guys wanna take a swing, just let me know, haha!"He turned expectantly to Emma.
Emma only realized she was prompted to speak when she noticed the silence around her. She looked up from her food.
”Oh, uh, powers?” Without a word Determination materialized behind her. She knocked her fist against his chitinous armor,
”I get to command these guys around. They come in different varieties.” She shrugged, redirecting her gaze back down as her tulpa disappeared.
Emma seemed a bit glum now. The banter between Cal and Marcus must have really done a number on her acting skills. Awesome. This situation only got funner by the minute! So Emma and Marcus had the hots for each other, that was pretty much confirmed by their previous conversation. Cal's banter made it certain that Emma had a definite eye on Chestnut. So now it was time to see what the other two thought, Cal especially. The only way to do that was to take some action. Ernie glanced at Marcus briefly, an apologetic look on his face.
Sorry, buddy."Holy crow, you're a summoner?" Ernie almost jumped in his seat. It was important to play up the excitement.
"Do you have any idea how awesomely rare that is?"Emma was slightly surprised by Ernie’s enthusiasm. Was her power really ‘rare’? She never really gave it much thought, just kind of accepted it as her own and then moved on. She did think it was kind of neat, actually, but really…
Is it really that cool? She thought to herself, excitement apparent.
”Uh, is it a big deal to be a summoner? I haven’t really thought about it too much.” She said, clearly downplaying the fact that Ernie’s excitement made her feel a little better.
It was an average sized deal. Summoners weren't a common type but they rarely did anything worth bragging about, from what Ernie had seen anyway. Recharge times were of little use in cage fights.
"Is it a big deal? Are you kidding? I knew loads of Aberrations before I got picked up by West and let me tell you, summoners, especially the ones that can summon big guys like yours, are as rare as they come. I only know one guy who could make something as sturdy-looking as yours. And you said you could summon a whole variety?"Emma shrugged in a decidedly nonchalant manner,
“Well, yeah, there’s the big guy with all the armor, one that can self-destruct, uh, one that can turn the ground into sludge, there’s one that can pull things towards it, and one that can siphon someone’s energy,” Emma nodded along as she listed them off.
”And that’s it.” She stopped, eagerly awaiting what Ernie had to say to that.
Oh. That really was impressive. His excitable facade dropped to reveal a genuinely stunned expression.
"Wow, I've... I've never heard of someone with five different summons. That's cool as hell!" Ernie remarked. It was time to make it personal. He leaned into his hand, slightly closer to Emma.
"You can't just end a list like that was 'And that's it'! Modest and badass, huh? You really are something."Emma blushed a little at that.
”Really, it’s not that big of a deal.” She sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head,
”Anyways, it’s not about the power, it’s about how you use it… and I still need to practice with them quite a bit.” She gave a Callan an apologetic glance,
”After all, she got hurt because of I couldn’t manage them properly, and really, well… if it was anyone other than Cal it probably would have been pretty ugly.” She sighed,
”Sorry, by the way. Don’t think I’ve said that yet.” Ernie dismissed Emma's doubtful words with a wave.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're a pretty capable-looking girl."Up until now, Callan had been listening intently as Emma described the extent of her abilities-- her expression a mixture of awe laced ever so slightly with a hint of feeble jealously. Emma was an
aberration and she seemed like she had way more control over her ability (she wrongfully deduced). And, to top it off, she now had Ernie pining after her as well as Marcus. Her buzzing thoughts completely vanished as Emma addressed her with an apology. Blinking in surprise, she felt her cheeks flush and she looked down at the table.
"
I-It's fine! You don't have to apologize! We're all still trying to get the hang of our stuff...." she replied, her voice tapering into little more than a whisper as she further chastised herself for being so damn petty today. Emma seemed nice and here she was trying to come up with reasons not to like her. She poked at what remained of the pasta on her plate and chewed the inside of her cheek, momentarily lost in thought.
Marcus, having done so well in bringing himself back to normal levels, did not notice Determination behind him. Between Emma's explanation and a particularly uncooperative piece of pasta, his attention was divided. So when Emma knocked on the thing's armor and Marcus turned to see a dark shape standing right beside him, he jumped enough to nearly throw his plate. He covered his surprise with a cough and a clearing of the throat, and sheepishly looked around to see if anybody had noticed.
Ernie caught his attention, and Marcus cocked his eyebrow at the look he was recieving. Then the kid started gushing on and on about Emma's power, and Marcus found himself caught up in the conversation. Summoning seemed pretty cool, yeah. If Emma could end up doing the types of things that Menagerie had done on that battlefield, she might not need the rest of them.
His eyes darted back and forth between Ernie and Emma as they talked, while he chewed on enchilada listening to them. Ernie hadn't seemed to be as excited about anybody else's powers; such a reaction almost made it seem like-
Oh.
This must have been how that Brent kid felt when he'd done that thing back at the track. Sure, Emma and Marcus didn't quite have as much of a night planned as he had, but he was still looking forward to that drink. He shot Ernie a look of disapproval, but there really wasn't much he could do about it. If anything, even saying something would be immensely hypocritical, since he'd basically done the same thing already. So, instead, he turned his attention back to Callan, assuming her soft tone to be a byproduct of yesterday's 'incident'.
"
It's definitely a learning curve, that's for sure!" he said, his tone trying to be more upbeat than Callan's, looking between the people at the table. "
But hey, look at us. When has our generation ever stopped because something was difficult? We're hard headed, some of us quite literally so, I'm sure we'll figure it out!" he said.
Emma nodded at Cal,
”Yeah, but… well, let me make it up to you sometime, kay? I don’t really feel great about almost getting someone killed.” As for Marcus, well… Emma nervously tapped her foot against the ground. She kept her smile, but it was becoming more and more forced. Not to say that would be obvious- she was good at faking a smile, after all.
Nobody likes someone who’s jealous, She reasoned with herself again,
Buuuut it’s super obvious what’s going on here… She cleared her throat as Marcus finished talking,
”It definitely hasn’t been easy. Although, Ernie, you’ve had powers for a while, right? I’m sure you’re a pro by now, especially if Zhang had you transferred out here.” Of course her move was a calculated risk- but if Ernie responded favorably and she pushed a little, it wouldn’t hurt to make Marcus a little jealous too, would it?
Ernie scratched his head with a self-effacing grin.
"My powers aren't anything too fancy, nothing that would take long to get pro at. I've had them for years now so it would be kinda embarrassing if I wasn't good at what I did. I wouldn't say they were what landed me at East though. It was probably just luck of the draw."Incredibly terrible luck. He was still very bitter over the transfer.
"
Well hey, I'd say we're all set then!" Marcus said, clapping his hands together softly. Like a fool, he'd taken the bait, and the new kid was about to become an unwilling target for Marcus's direct ire. "
Between the five of us, we've got Time Manipulation, access to literally any character ever written about, Supergirl incarnate, An army of Exploding Shadow Clones," he put a little more excitement into describing Emma's power, just enough to be noticable. "
...and rope! DC better watch his back!" he said, shooting a look at Ernie.
Just as Ernie had delivered his
'Sorry buddy' message, Marcus sent one of his own. A message between men, with all the respect that entailed:
'Bring it, buddy.'Watching the events before her unfold, Siena made herself scarce in conversation, deciding to observe rather than try to include herself on topics she didn't really understand. Between the other four at the table, there was enough tension to suspend a bridge, and to say that Siena wasn't interested in seeing some reference material would have been a bold faced lie. Grey eyes peered over the group, observing reactions as Siena gently stroked the fur on Chief Tater Tot's head to give herself
something to do. After watching a few exchanges, a few furtive looks, and catching a few stray emotions, Siena could really only come to one conclusion given the events and tangled connections that she tried to straighten.
"
Mhhh...dating really is like politics, isn't it?"
Emma was about to speak, but she instantly froze as Siena threw a hard ball from left field.
Her face instantly turned crimson.
”I… uh…” Her words caught in her throat. She just got called out for being cutthroat in a situation where it was now clear she shouldn’t have been.
”I… She had absolutely no idea how to proceed. For a second she had thought she was in control of the situation, but her Machiavellian scheme fell apart instantly. She glanced at Cal and then Siena, but not Ernie or Marcus. Retreat it was, she decided, now very sufficiently embarrassed.
”I… uh… gotta go…” She had meant to make up some sort of excuse as she left. She had also meant to not be a stuttering mess, but instead she choked out those word, picked up her tray, and headed for the door.
Ernie looked to Marcus, betrayal in his eyes. How could he put him down like this, even after Ernie had sent him his 'sorry' look? What an asshole! He should have chucked some turkey by Marcus and see who would laugh then. Before he could throw a counter back at Scarface, Siena let rip a comment that completely shattered his trance. Oh dear. He'd been so caught up in trying to rile up Cal that he'd forgotten to take into account how it looked from the outside. That was stupidly sloppy of him. Oh no, now they thought he was actually going for Emma.
"Wh-what?" Ernie sputtered, confusion and embarrassment clear in his flustered expression,
"When did I say anything about dating?"Holy
shit. The conversation had taken quite the turn. Wide eyed, Callan watched the events unfold in stunned silence. This... was a part of Marcus she hadn't seen before. She didn't like it-- though whether it was because she found his comment towards the new kid mean or because it was said out of jealousy over a girl that wasn't
her... well, she'd have to detangle that mental clusterfuck of feelings later. She stared after Emma as she fled in response to Siena's remark-- an unorthodox method of nipping drama in the bud if she ever saw one. Now everything was horrendously awkward. For a moment she envied Emma again-- wishing she could bolt for the door as well.
But she didn't want to leave things like this. Unlike Emma, Cal was going to have to see most of these people later. Even so, Callan had absolutely no idea what to say to put out the escalating flames of tension that were rising with every passing second.
Marcus looked back at Ernie, a smug look of satisfaction in his eyes. If the guy wanted to play hardball, then Marcus would gladly play. He stuck another mouthful of food in his face, his satisfied grin a show of his accomplishment. Immediately after that, he nearly choked to death on the same mouthful of food, Siena's comment coming out of
absolutely nowhere.
His face immediately went from white to red, and he gave a few gasps of air as he tried to replace the pasta currently filling his lungs with oxygen. Before he could say anything in reponse, Emma had already stood up and excused herself, Marcus's head turning to watch her as she left, before slowly turning back to look at their motley little crew, a look of complete disbelief slowly turning itself to face Siena. When Ernie defended himself, Marcus immedately looked at him with confusion. "
Wait, weren't you just-" he said, feebly pointing towards the exit.
"
Ahhhhhhhhh shit." he said, bringing one hand up to cover his face. Perhaps he'd completely misread the situation, and had openly sassed Ernie for no reason. That was another thing he'd have to apologize for later.
A long moment of silence passed, Marcus with head in hands, before he looked up and gave a long sigh, meeting the eyes of everyone present. "
So. I'd say that went well. Welcome to East." he finished, an apologetic look meeting Ernie's face.
Apparently pointing out what she'd
thought had been fairly obvious was
not the best choice. Confusion wrapped with guilt and topped with apprehension came neatly packaged onto the mental stoop of one Siena Santana, the card neatly addressed. Furrowing her brow flightly, Siena sorted through the situation at hand. "
Oh...perhaps I misread the situation." Doubtful, but possible, she supposed. "
Well, I suppose Gerwulf was right. I should stay quiet when I see things." The words were restrained, soft. Tinted with just enough apology to seem sincere despite the thousands of thoughts that concentrated into a flurry at all the newfound information she'd received. After a pause, Siena stood to her feet, motioning for Chief Tater Tot to return to his carrier before performing a repeat of her previous juggling act--easier now that her plate was largely empty, really.
"
W-well, I should bring Chief Tater Tot to the room for now. I'll be off first then," Siena claimed with a bow of her head. "
Sorry about earlier. I guess I haven't picked up as many social customs as I'd hoped." Or something to that extent. With that, the girl started her journey back to the dorm.
Callan's eyes flashed at the opportunity to leave. She hesitated just long enough to finish her drink and avoid eye contact with anyone before jumping to her feet. "
I-I'm gonna go with Siena. In case she needs help," she glanced at the new kid. "
See you later, Ernie. It was nice meeting you," she said with a brief nod and tentative smile. Her gaze turned briefly to Marcus and the smile faded as she resigned to chewing on her bottom lip, reflecting wounded confusion for the briefest moment before she turned to follow after Siena.
Ernie was too busy sulking over his failed recon operation to send pity Siena's way. Had he always been so terrible at this? Absolutely nothing had been gained from this nonsense, except for the fact that Cal never visibly reacted to anything and that Emma had a power that was wasted on her. He groaned into his now empty plate, completely burnt out by the awkward turn of events. Was he supposed to apologize to someone now?
He turned to Marcus at the boy's comment, surprised to see that they guy actually seemed sorry for earlier. Guess he wasn't so bad after all.
"Super well," he returned with a tired smile,
"Yeah, welcome to East."
