Member
Forsythe
KreinMartin Chestnut and Dawn Agresta-Beacon Courtyard, moving to the Amphitheater-Monday morning
Participants: @Kaithas, @Flamelord
"That depends," Martin answered, his eyes staying on the courtyard for a few seconds more. "Do you happen to have any nausea meds on you?" There was a short pause, then he continued, a smile spreading across his face. His attention shifted back to the girl talking to him, back in the slight recess of the archway. "No, actually, I was late in getting off of the airship. It seems that a lot of the others have already found groups of friends... And whatever you were delayed by, it looks as if you and I are somewhat in the same boat. Call it silly if you want."
Another pause, then an abrupt start. "Oh, I'm Martin Chestnut, and certifiably not normal. Nice to meet you," he said, a steady hand held out.
"No," Dawn replied with a slight shake of her head upon the request for nausea medication. She didn't have those sorts of problems when flying, so had never seen the need for them in the first place. Well, he seemed functional anyway so it probably didn't matter that much in the end. She wouldn't feel bad about it.
After his further explanation, she glanced out into the courtyard, head tilted slightly in the process. "I see," she noted aloud. "I'm not surprised. I was busy writing down an idea for a novel I've been workin on. That's all." There would be more than enough time to make friends going on, but such ideas were fleeting and couldn't be allowed to slip away.
At the introduction, she nodded, taking his hand in a firm shake. "Dawn Agresta. Likewise."
His hand dropped to his side, vision tracing the outline of crimson hair zigzaging down the middle of her face and pulling back toward her left ear, covering her eye and a good portion of her cheek and jawline, then returned his gaze to the brown eye he could see, trying to puzzle some sort of emotion from Dawn's stare. As it was he was looking slightly down, but not much. She was slightly taller than average, not much, but enough to make him not have to stare downward.
Martin wondered if height was going to be obstinately extreme at Beacon.
"So... You're a writer, then?"
Somewhere, across the kingdom of Vale, someone was sighing at Martin's skill with small talk. That someone was Martin's brain, immediately after he said it.
Dawn didn't bother to examine Martin all that much in return, since she had gotten all the impression that she really needed to. She was aware of how her own appearance made her hard to read, but didn't mind that so much. She'd just never felt the need to change it. The people who knew her knew she wasn't all that depressing a person, and that was what mattered.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly, at his question. Had he not heard the part where she had said that she was working on a novel? Apparently not. Well, it was as much a clue as any, but she supposed that she could repeat herself for his benefit. He was probably overwhelmed, what with the nausea and all.
"Something like that," she confirmed, a hand coming to rest on her hip. "I'm working on it, anyway." Once she finished this novel anyway. Then her career could really begin. she was definitely looking forward to it.
After a momentary pause, she then went on, asking her own question now that she had the opportunity to do so. "What about you? Are you just here to be a Huntsman, or....."
"And for the schooling and training, yes." Martin shook his head, crossing his arms and sighing. "Killing Grimm constantly is not my idea of a great time, but... It's hard to pass up getting martial teaching and an education from the best."
He paused, determined to come up with something better than he had last time, then continued: "I am somewhat surprised an aspiring writer would choose Beacon, though. It's an excellent education, no doubt, but... I wouldn't imagine its focus is English."
Dawn shrugged as her choice of educational establishment was questioned, something that she was used to really. She'd definitely asked herself such questions more than once, that was for sure. But it was a bit late for regrets now even if she had any.
"Beacon is connected. If you can get through here, you're basically guaranteed a job anywhere. Besides, you can't make a living on just being an author." Sad, but true. "My older brother is a Huntsman too, so I suppose I'm a bit biased." A remote possibility, if one were to only look at it for a second, and not a closer inspection.
Luckily for Dawn's deception, Martin's ordinarily observant mind was doing its absolute best to move away from the embarrassment of his earlier question and hardly had time to put her statements under scrutiny.
"True enough, I suppose..." One of his hands reached up, one finger running from the bridge of his nose to the slight crook in it thoughtfully. "I just got tired of being decked for a hobby and possibly for a living later on." Martin looked back at her, dropping his hand to rest against his elbow again, then took a momentary glance at the courtyard. "Do you want to head out that way or stay in here? Assuming you're willing to have me stick around, of course," he added quickly, not wanting to seem needy, lonely, or pushy. Pick an adjective.
Dawn nodded as Martin accepted her reasoning, for which she could be glad. She knew that it was unconventional, but that was just how things had turned out. Would she change it if she could? Perhaps, but she wouldn't fret over those eventualities that could not come to pass for her.
Glancing out to the courtyard as well, Dawn let out a small sigh before nodding. "I guess we should be moving on. The opening ceremony is going to happen soon, and I don't think they'll appreciate it if we miss it." It wasn't as though they were late, but they might as well move on and make sure that it wasn't a higher possibility than it had to be. She would prefer to not be the person that was remembered for making a fool of themselves by coming in late.
Still, with it said she stepped forward, beyond the archway and into the courtyard. Time to get on the move.
Martin nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets and following after Dawn, blinking once he entered the direct sunlight of the courtyard. Evidently, his airsickness had dissipated--the measured care returned to his steps, his attention refocused on the environment around him and on keeping track of the only person he knew so far, less on his own stomach. Exploration of the academy could wait for a more opportune time, and maybe once he knew which team he was on they could explore Beacon together. Dawn had certainly already made up her mind about their current destination.
He walked behind Dawn for a time before saying anything, then finally spoke, giving voice to something that seemed to be more a question for him than for Dawn. Still, it was obviously directed at her. "Are you apprehensive about team assignments at all?"
For a bit the two just fell silent, walking along and looking over the campus as they made their way towards the chosen destination. Dawn didn't mind the silence, since it gave her more opportunities to watch the things that were going on, and to take in details that might otherwise go unnoticed about this place. It would be interesting to explore it more in detail later.
Glancing over to Martin at his question, she shook her head then, hair swaying lightly in turn. "Not really," she admitted nonchalantly. "We don't know how it's going to happen, so why bother worrying about something we can't affect?" She knew about the placements, and the assignment of partners from her brother, but apparently they changed how it tended to happen. Even she didn't know for sure what they would do this time. But whatever happened, it would probably be fine.
He shrugged, pulling the collar on his jacket up slightly and popping one of his shoulders. "Your team is the three people you fight and live with for four years. I might not worry, but I'm at least a little excited about seeing who they'll be, considering I'll be trusting my life to them." The amphitheater was rising slowly as they got closer, the glass dome of its roof ballooning up into the morning sky. "I'm also interested to see exactly how we're going to be assigned... And the dorm situation."
A pause, then a sigh of resignation. "All in due time, I suppose."
After a moment, Dawn nodded in agreement. "I suppose that is pretty important, yeah," she concurred, at least in terms of dorms of not the assignments themselves. It would be sorted out one way or the other, but the method was something that would need to be considered, if it had any impact on where they might end up.
Still, she couldn't help but agree with his finishing statement as they neared the amphitheater. All in due time, just like the next chapter in her novel (except hopefully a bit sooner than that, honestly. Otherwise they'd be here all week trying to work it out).
Post-Ceremony, Beacon Amphitheater
"Well," Martin said, standing after the speech and turning back to the ever-taciturn Dawn. "That was certainly an uplifting talk."
To be honest, Martin was somewhat insulted by Ozpin, but not insecure enough to be bothered by it. Whatever lack of purpose the Headmaster claimed to see in all of them, the one thing Martin had never felt was purposeless. At least they weren't late or the last to arrive--that honor was claimed by several students who came in too late to hear Ozpin's little diatribe.