[System]
Age: 28 (assuming standard human lifespan)

Gender: Female

Race: Naga

Appearance:
 13 ft in total length, Mari's human half is 3 ft from her waist to the top of her head and her tail half is 10 ft in length. Mari has tanned skin, short black hair, golden eyes and pale olive green scales. When out of armor, Mari regularly wears a simple sleeveless tunic and belt over a sarashi-esque waist & chest wrap.

Personality:
 Mari is an odd duck. Half nomadic wild child, half daughter of the church, the Naga is as sophisticated & eloquent as she is blunt & plain-spoken. While she is a firm believer in the core tenets of the church, Mari will quite often interpret them through the harsh & pragmatic lens of a survivalist; frequently leading her to decisions that put her at odds with those who had more 'civilized' upbringings.

Brief Backstory:
 Born & raised as part of a nomadic tribe in the scrub-lands & savanna to the east of Thaln, Mari was kidnapped by slavers in her early-mid teens. After a short but brutal experience with slavery, the young demi-human was freed by Mayonite paladins. Taking pity on the young Naga, Mari was taken in by the church; an action that was met with mixed results. On one hand, Mari took to the core tenets of the dual church like a fish to water. On the other, she constantly fought with the rigidity of it's structure and by extension the structure of 'civilized' society.

 Naturally combative by nature, Mari began training with the resident Mayonite paladins as soon as she was able. When the War of the Red Flag broke out, Mari saw action on multiple battlefields, serving as the squire of a Mayonite paladin in the service of the Iron Rose Knights. Shortly after the conclusion of the war, Mari was granted her knighthood in which she swore her oath of loyalty to the Iron Rose Knights.

Equipment:
 - For armor Mari has a gambeson, partial steel plate covering her upper torso, arms & head and partial chain-mail over the rest of the exposed gambeson. For her helmet she has a sallet with a bevor. She currently has pair of heavy leather gloves as she currently can't afford a proper set of fully articulated steel gauntlets.
 - For weapons Mari has a quarterstaff with a small flanged mace head at either end. She carries a long knife and a hand axe balanced for throwing as backup weapons. In addition she has a long bow, though she usually doesn't carry it unless requested. Her weighted quarterstaff is also mildly enchanted for increased durability.

Skills:
 - A talented tracker, hunter and survivalist on account of her nomadic youth.
 - Skilled in combat with more utilitarian weapons; spears, staves, axes, bows and to a lesser extent hammers & knives. While she can use traditional blades, they are hands down the weapon that she's the least proficient with.

[User]
Martin Hollowsland

Battle. A brutal, unforgiving clash of will and skill. Martin by nature avoided conflict. It was terrifying being caught amidst the maelstrom of conflict that surrounded him, the various knights employing differing means of breaking their enemies both physically and mentally. The Iron Rose's tactic ultimately won them the battle as the enemy were now fleeing. Fleeing past him.

He hunkered low, praying hard that he wasn't seen by the many vicious mercenaries who were scattering past him. Heavy boots of heavily armed men stomped nearby. He couldn't see for his head was low, the bushes being the only thing in his sightline. He was neither brave nor fierce like the knights he had come to serve. He was a pitiful sight indeed. Luckily no one was able to see it, else he'd be caught by stray enemies and most likely killed. So he waited, biding his time until the foes were well and truly cleared from the battlefield.

_
With time he soon found an opportunity to peek his head from his hiding spot. Only corpses and the Iron Rose knights remained, along with the woman and that... Thing that seemed to be wandering about, grasping for it's missing head from the looks of it. He really didn't know what to make of it, not without further inspection. His curiosity was far lesser than his discomfort with being near the strange thing.

Still, it had done an admirable service. Protecting the knights and dispersing the enemies, this headless knight was a big part of their victory here. He wasn't going to fault the other knight's efforts but this now headless swordsman sowed a great deal of discord and racked up a fairly large body count too.

He was conflicted. For his reticence towards the headless knight he still felt it would be wrong to slight it after all that it had done. It was far more than what he had done, hiding there whilst the battle ran to it's own conclusion. Had the knights lost or suffered it would of been his fault, at least in part. Doing something was better than doing nothing, however little it might be.

_
Stepping forth from the underbrush he tentatively approached the site where the headless knight's head laid, cautiously stepping around the dead bodies both to avoid unnecessary bloodstains upon his garb and out of his relative squeamishness. Gingerly he lifted the decapitated head from where it lay, turning to face the knight's body as it searched for what he held. He could feel his stomach in his throat as the fear seized him, this intimidating unnatural entity standing before him, no indication as to what it may do next.

Preemptively grimacing so tightly his eyes were shut he held the head out, offering it back to the knight it belonged to.

It wasn't much but at least he was doing something.

_

[Assistant]
Maritza Verenna
 Throughout the melee, the naga had spared the occasional glance over her shoulder to keep tabs on the action behind her. When Sir Haelstadt had his head lopped clean off, Maritza tensed briefly, the Knight Serpenta clearly noting Lady Cal's words as she filed the information away for future use. Having returned her attention to the still seemingly empty woods behind them, it was not until after the Boar's commander had called for a retreat that the naga finally let up on her vigilance of their back.

 With a twist of her human body, Naritza looked down at the young noblewoman still loosely wrapped in her scales. "As long as you're alive, Haelstadt won't fall. Those were your words, yes Lady Cal?" There was something oddly detached about the naga's tone; a cold, predatory attitude, as if preparing for the kill. "I do believe you owe us an explanation in full for all this, now." The Knight Serpenta added in the same too-calm voice as her coils tightened around the childish noble with gentle firmness. For Lady Cal, the naga loomed above her, the demi-human's helmeted face and not entirely human body language offering little in readability.

[User]
Haelstadt seemed to express a moment of confusion at the offered head before taking it out of Martin's hands and putting it back where it should be. Seemingly, without any other intervention required, it was being healed to remain firmly attached once again, with one hand only staying there briefly to steady the process.

Veileena, unfortunately, was being particularly uncooperative despite the seeming danger she was in, the girl's expression stormy. "Are you threatening me? Hmph. Then I won't answer your questions or any others."

That got a response out of the armoured knight, immediately turning without so much as a word to Martin and starting towards the pair...

Tyaethe Radistirin

... now what? Maybe there was a survivor here that they could interrogate? There had to be some reason for a group of hired mercenaries to be ambushing them here. Preferably an answer that would make the inconvenience and pain of being impaled worth it; although, all things considered, that had gone remarkably well on the knights' side.

But questions of "what should we do next" or "maybe we should split up and look around were arrested by the more pressing concern of what was, ostensibly, an unkillable bodyguard seemingly in the process of about to get right to that. Moving fast, Tyaethe dropped her sword and attempted to restrain Haelstadt... although, as fast as she was able to close the gap, this was proving to be difficult. Of course, she didn't want to push it and she wasn't that strong, but even basically just wrapping around Haelstadt from behind... how strong was this knight? Haelstadt was still making forward progress. Just slower.

"Maritza, maybe let the noble girl go?" Tyaethe sounded rather irritated. Perhaps it was the diplomatic incident this would be.

@A Lowly Wretch

[Assistant]
Gerard Segremors

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

Their ranks crumbled beneath the crushing surge from the knights, and they began to turn tail at the behest of their blackguard officer. One by one, by two, by five, then by tens— the Boars were in full retreat, scattering and melting into the trees, out of the reach of his silver-stained crimson. His own breaths now filled the deafening void in the wake of clashing steel and spraying blood. The Knight-Captain's high and clear call reached his ears to confirm it:

The night was won.

"Victory," he managed, lost beneath the stronger cries of his fellows with fuller lungs.

Gerard... didn't know how long it had been.

Even with the resolute desire for presence within the chaos, time was a wind that slipped between his fingers, even had he wanted purely to grasp it. To throw oneself in the melee as he had, lost within the swordplay, it was a fool's errand. All he knew was that his condition hadn't failed before their morale.

Though, as he stood there panting, it may have yet been a close-run thing. Following up the Zweihander might not have exactly been tip of the spear, but acting as the weight driving behind it was tough work in its own right— like sprinting up a mountainside. All momentum— the moment he lost pace or focus, he would have been gutted like a fish. Their training had seen to it that they could exploit the opportunity Fleuri and Runa had created, but, equally, the Boars had their own— and it allowed them to get halfway to regrouped.

He took a step forward, waving to the two he'd wedged himself betwixt—

On the individual level, at least, their counterattacks had been sound right at the end. The better fighters, more experienced of the Boars, had for all his distaste of them been cut from the same cloth as he— thinking and acting on their feet was pressed into them on the anvil of the war campaign. The knights had won on a formation level handily with the snap judgement made by the Doppelsoldner routine.

—"Good work, people,"—

But on the individual, man-to-man combative level, it was much closer in the thick of it. The knightly pedigree had certainly not come unfounded— as a mercenary, Gerard wasn't sure that he'd have not lost anyone like this. There was a reason you were paid double, as the name implied.

—And found the world to drift out of and back into focus, catching himself as he staggered.

Well, shit.

That wasn't right.

He grunted, shaking his head and forcing his vision straight again. With a furrowed brow, the knight wiped sweat free from his face only to find himself suddenly aware of a deep, burning sting down from his cheekbone to his jawline, fading back into his senses as the last of the fight left him, and he was brought down to earth.

He grit teeth as more of those same lines of angry, dull flame began to draw themselves along the gaps in his armor, the folds of cloth where he moved. His armor had begun to feel heavier, now, and he imagined he was beginning to look a little pale and sluggish. Was the air always this cold?

Well, it being nighttime, maybe it was just the atmosphere. Long days asked for long rests, and the moon was high among the stars tonight, drowning them beneath its soft white glow. Tired and aching were familiar enough...

He checked his palm, fearing the result. A pull in his arm didn't make matters any better...

Red.

No trying to convince himself otherwise now.

He sighed inwardly, as two thoughts hit his mind at roughly the same moment as he marched forward again, this time with a pointedly steady stride.

Guess that was a long time coming.

"Fleuri, Runa. All good?"

Ow. Ow, okay. Ow. Dammit. Ow.

[User]
Maritza Verenna
 For several moments the naga offered nothing in reply, except for her snake half which carefully tightened it's grip around Lady Cal further. Though not enough to risk genuinely hurting the girl, the knight serpenta's scales were tight enough to most certainly be uncomfortable. Then with a slow sigh, Maritza unraveled herself, gently pulling away from the young noblewoman. "As you command, Dame Radistirin." The naga's reply came in the same eerily calm voice, as she withdrew to a more polite distance and sheathed her axe in the process.

 "Very well Lady Cal, if you won't answer to us, then I suppose you will have to answer to the crown and church. The daughter of a traitor with an undying bodyguard who has hired mercenaries to acquire a shard of an apocalyptic weapon which is responsible for the death of an entire garrison of soldiers, all of which neatly coincides with an assassination attempt on the princess... You must understand that this does not look good from our position." The naga added with slow, carefully chosen words; folding her arms across her chest as she looked on noblewoman.


[System]
age: 107
bio: Korash is a rare half Elf, half Orc. Not rare because Elves or Orcs are rare, or because either are particually powerful in their own right, but rare because Elves don't nomrally associate with Orcs. The story of the union isn't spoken about much by Korash, but he does say his mum was adventorous and his dad got lucky. He never met his parents, so is unsure if his mother was the Elf or Orc.
Korash was cast out as a baby. A disgrace to his parent's people.
He was raised by a mysterious wanderer who claimed to be a Guardian of an ancient treasure. Korash was groomed to be the next guardian. Trained in sorcery and sword play. When he was 32, Korash and the Guardian were attacked by a band of Goblins. That was when the guardian drew his sword for the first time. Unleashing Frostbrand, an ancient sword said to hold the primal ice of the world. The Guardian made quick work of the Goblins and explained the importance of the sword to Korash, also saying the legitemacy of the sword holding primal ties is unconfirmed, but it is a powerful artifact that must be kept from evil.
For about thirty more years, Korash continued his trining under the Guardian. Until simething came for the sword. A powerful evil came for Frostbrand, and the Guardian gave his life so that Korash may live, and escape with Frostbrand.
Korash has taken the name of the Sword as his surname. Needing a way to provide for himself, he turned to adventuring.
powers: Korash Frostbrand is a Warlock. Having a pretty good grasp on magic, due to years of training under the guardian. While he has a decent grasp on most magical forms, he personally excells at Abjuration and Evocation, with Frostbrand providing extra power for spells that deal withfrost or ice.
other:

Frostbrand is an ancient magical relic.
Many myths and legends feature the weapon in them. With some saying the sword was created by the gods, or the devil, or in some far off dimension. There are rumours that the wielder is immortal, but Korash knows that one to be false, as he saw the previous guardian die while wielding the sword. One thing is pretty constant in all the myths and legends though. Only a chosen hero, who is pure of heart can unlock the full powers of Frostbrand. Korash is not that person, and so can only unlock a fraction of what Frostbrand is truly capable of.
Below is a list of stories/myths/legends that refer to Frostbrand. It is not a comprehensive list, and are of varying degrees of accuracy. Some are likely to be true, while others are down right false. As a result, there may be some contradictions both of themselves, and preestablished lore.
* Mirajeon's Theory of Creation - This old account from an elven scholar proposes the world was created not by Gods, by primordial Elemental Forces. That once creation was created, the Primordial Elements had to be sealed away, so the first beings, devised a way to trap the Primal Elements in objects, with Primal Ice trapped in Frostbrand.
* The Siege of Dunstead Keep - Dunstead Keep was under siege for forty years, until a young squire managed to pull the sword from the stone in the middle of the Courtyard. Holding it aloft, he froze the entire enemy army.
* Northvale Creation Myth - According to the Northvale Mythos, the north wasn't always a frozen wasteland. Instead, it was frostbrand that made it as such.
* Demonomicron - The Demonomicron lists Frostbrand as one of the twelve weapons that can seal a rift to Hell.
* Plane Travelers Guide - The Plane Traveler's Guide states that if unleashing its full potential, it can not only close interdimensional rifts, but create them as well.

[User]
Starter:
The full moon had filled the sky during the night. There was a strange melody in the air. It sounded pretty, like the music of a flute. But, as soon as it began, it quickly stopped. It had seemed to go on for hours. When it ended, everyone thought that was that. But, they were wrong. They have awakened in the morning to find many of their own missing. Now, what are they to do?

Let us begin.

[Assistant] Margaret groans softly as she opens her eyes and slowly sits up. She frowns as she looks around, not recognizing anything. She gets to her feet carefully, unsure of what exactly had happened to her and what the potential damage the occurrence brought to her health.

[User] Sarah Phillips awoke with a groan. The last thing she remembered was waking up in the middle of the night and hearing strange music. The rest was a complete blur to her. Now, she was in a strange place, in a strange room. There was a stone floor and stone walls. The bed looked to be quite old. The window was dusty with a few cracks in the wooden window frame. There were bars on the window. There were cobwebs and dust all over the room. The only furniture besides the bed was a small table and a candlestick, along with a single chair. She gasped, ran to the door, and tried to open it, only to find it locked. She was trapped in a strange, unknown place.

[Assistant] Margaret sneezes at the dust and cobwebs clouding the room. The room and the furniture seem to be very old, and uninhabited for a long time. She frowns as she walks up to the door and inspects it. Deeming it locked, she tears out a strip of the lining of her dress to wipe the dust off of the bed before sitting on it.

[User]
Korash awakens in the local tavern. Stumbling to the bar, his feet still unsure of their footing from the night before. An uncomfterble tightness slowly working up through his stomach. A familiar pain radiating through the back of his head. He slammed down a handful of coins onto the bar, a little harder than he had meant to. Wincing at the sound he had created. "A large serving of whatever you are serving for breakfast today. Preferably something greasy." The bar held most of his weight as he lent against it. "No problem, sir. Take a seat. I'll have someone bring it out to you shortly." Korash smirked. "Thanks, mate." Was the half Orc's response. "Again, no problem. The amount of money you were pouring over the bar last night more than made up for the mess you made." The barkeep gestured to a pool of vomit on the ground. "I found you some clean clothes, and got you cleaned up, but you adamantly refused a room." Korash touched his hip, feeling for his sword. A look of panic flooded his face as it was not there. The barkeep seemed to know what he was looking for. "Your sword is on your back." Korash felt there, to find it was secured on his back. Breathing a sigh of relief. He moved off to find a table.

Settled at a table, the barkeep had brought his food over as well a flagon of water. As he took a swig of the cool water, the door to the tavern burst open. Before Korash could place the flagon back on the table, the Tavern was filled with yelling. "She's gone!' Korash winced at the yelling. It was too loud, and he was too hungover. Placing the flagon down he stood up slowly. "Quite please." He held out a hand to gesture that the woman be calm. "Who's gone?" He asked. The answer was the yelling woman's daughter. Just as the barkeep had got this woman settled enough that she stopped yelling, another person came in. Yelling again. Apparently more people had gone missing.

Korash sat back at his table and ate, as the barkeep struggled to keep the sudden influx of panicking people in control. Korash wanted to help, but he needed to finish his breakfast first.


[System]
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Sexual preference: Heterosexual
Species: Human

---

---

Strengths:
- Experienced with several firearms
- Fast runner
- Unthreatening appearance

Weaknesses:
- Extremely inexperienced with fighting werewolves
- Not very strong
- Extreme arachnophobia

Personality: Ryan is, for lack of a better word, an idiot. On the bright side though, he's friendly and kind to others, even if they're strangers. Then again, those aren't really the best traits to have in his line of work.

History: Ryan spent most of his life just skating by, just barely making it through middle and high school. The only thing he was ever really good at was shooting, a skill his dad, the local sheriff of their hometown, taught him at a very young age. Unable to get a job or go to college, Ryan was desperate. One fateful day, he applied for a job at a random chain restaurant. The interviewer, looking at the pitiful resume in his hands, told Ryan that he couldn't give him the job. Ryan asked the interviewer if he had any suggestions for any place he could get a job. The interviewer jokingly replied, "You could always become a werewolf hunter." Ryan, not knowing he was joking, quickly left, sold what little he had for guns and ammo, and went out searching Colorado for lycanthropes. He has yet to actually find one.

Other: He carries a bolt-action Remington Model 700 and two 9mm Berettas.

[User] Ryan finally decided on what course of action to take and lowered his hand to his side. Waking her up would be selfish. Ruining her sleep just to satisfy my boredom. What was I even thinking? Quietly, he walked back down the ladder leading to the ground floor. At least, that was the plan. Missing just a single rung on the ladder and Ryan was sent tumbling down, making more noise then a 150 pound, 19-year-old male should probably make. Time seemed to slow down as his brain processed what was going on, making the moment of weightlessness seem more intense. "Owww," he said once the dust had settled, metaphorically speaking. Oh man. That would've woken her up for sure. And the do- I mean wolf, too. I'm probably going to start hearing barking any second now. Wait, do wolves bark? Looks like I'm about to find out.

[Assistant]
Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia would lightly slumber, unbothered by the sound of the light footsteps pattering down the ladder, probably because she hadn't really heard them. Eyes shifting as she dreamed under the light curtains of her eyelids the curl on the ends of her lips signifying something pleasant before her top half would suddenly fly up, the sound of something harsh colliding on the floor startling her awake as she breath heavily.

"Chto! Chto , chert voz'mi , chto ?" she'd speak lightly, the thick Russian accent more predominant over the foreign words she spoke.

Her footsteps slowly pattering over the attic floor as she had emerged from the warmth of her bed, a partial limp in each step as she huffed having forgotten about the previous days events and as she peeked over the railing down at the human sitting upon his rump on the floor still she'd groan, "Der'mo ."

Her process of readying to ask if he was okay had been quickly interrupted by the scraping of claws upon the wooden flooring, Truth had made little noise until that point barely phased in her still sleepy mind-set by the thud of human meeting the hard floor.

[User] As Acacia entered his field of view, Ryan looked back at her with puppy dog-like eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," he apologized. "If you want, you can just go back to sleep." He looked down at the floor in shame. Stop messing it up with this pretty girl. You're going to blow it if you keep this up. Finally deciding to get off the floor and stop wallowing in his fear of failure, he got back on his feet to see Truth now standing before him. It might have just been his imagination or that he had not yet forgotten how he had first met the pet wolf, but it seemed like Truth was just about ready to take a bite out of Ryan. "Nice wolfie. No need to get all hyped up. The nonthreatening human is now going to go walk back to the couch and you, the big bad scary wolf, can just go back to sleep in your nice pile of comfy sheets."

[Assistant]
Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia rolled her eyes slightly at the red-head trying to apologize for waking her, the mess of auburn topping her head visibly messy as she reached up with a hand to rub her eyes before glancing back down as Ryan decided to head back towards the couch, his words towards the visibly still asleep yet partially awake canine made her smile lightly, He's not the brightest is he? she'd think to herself.

After a short moment she'd slowly decide to descend the ladder slowly, great care being given to the still feelable pain in her ankle. "Did you find the food I left in the fridge?" she'd ask lightly as she headed for the kitchen to pull out both meals if he'd not yet eaten his, after all she was hungry too and she hadn't exactly eaten it last night either. Though about half-way to the kitchen she'd realize she had to go to the bathroom and quickly altered her course to a b-line to the bathroom only to vanish within and closing the door behind herself.

Once finished she'd wash her hands and pat them dry on a small towel hooked on the wall, glancing around she'd then redirect herself to the kitchen to fish out the food, stomach rumbling lightly as she huffed.

"I'll share with you too, Truth," she'd say as she pulled out both meals and headed for the couch, not really interested in sitting on the hard wooden chairs at this point.

[User] As Acacia came down the ladder from the basement, Ryan moved out of the way for her while still keeping an eye on Truth. At the mere mention of food though, he immediately lost all focus on the wolf. "Food? Uh, no, I never checked the fridge," he replied as he followed Acacia to the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when she changed her path to the bathroom, confused until he realized where she was going. He decided that he'd wait for her on the couch as Acacia finished her business. As she exited from the bathroom, he turned to her and asked, "So what are we having to eat. Just out of curiosity." He scooted over to the other side of the upholstery to make room for her as she brought over the rabbit.

[Assistant]
Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Truth had already begun her trailing of Acacia, a mere short pace behind her as her velveteen nasal raced an collected all the scents floating from the two servings of food. Acacia ignored Truth for that short moment, carefully holding out one plate of just cooked rabbit meat towards Ryan. "I'm sorry I can't offer you anything more, we're running a little short on supplies," she'd apologize to the guest before sitting on the opposite end of the couch to him, "But, I'll restock when I take you to town."

Placing the cold ceramic plate upon her jean clad lap, she'd glance at Ryan and then towards Truth before beginning to cut into the cold meal. She could have heated it up, but that would have taken more work than she was willing to put in. After cutting the meat into multiple small pieces she'd toss a piece onto the floor across the room allowing Truth to eat it before eating one herself. "When are you wanting to go to town? Or do you want to go to your car to get anything?" she'd ask after swallowing her mouthful, though quickly placed another within her mouth as she awaited a response.

[User]
Ryan took a bite out of the rabbit, hiding his dislike for cold meat. He decided he'd try to eat most of it so as to not look rude, before realizing that he had no idea when the next time he'd be able to eat would be once he left Acacia. Probably best if I try to fill my stomach than. Just wish it was a little easier to chew.

When Acacia asked when he wanted to go to town, Ryan just shrugged. "I don't really care. Whenever you're ready to go, I guess. There's nothing in my wreck of a car that I haven't already gotten, so no I don't need to get anything from there either." He got up on his feet and began to stretch his neck and back, getting a few loud popping noises and reducing the soreness that he got from sleeping on the couch, before sitting back down and relaxing. Ryan wanted Acacia to choose when to leave since she was the one who would have to drive, or walk since he didn't actually know how far away town was, and pay for whatever supplies they got.

[Assistant]
Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia listened to Ryan quietly, she'd pick up on his slight dislike of the cold meat though too tired still from her day yesterday she'd barely register it and didn't offer him the use of the oven to possibly heat it up. As he mentioned he had nothing of worth at his crashed vehicle she'd nod and return to finishing her mouthful before responding, "Alright, well I need supplies before dinner as I have nothing to feed myself or her," she say the last part gesturing towards the drooling canine.

As she tossed yet another piece at Truth she'd glance at the door and placing her plate on the couches armrest she'd slowly rise to both feet flinching lightly when pressure was placed upon the punctured ankle. Looking around the small cabin once more she'd begin heading towards the door with almost hushed tones of Russian accent emerging parted lips, "I know you probably want to go off and find something better anyway," The words aimed at the wolf who devoured the small chunk of rabbit meat before pacing behind Acacia and puffing a gentle breath, eyes drifting to the human before she suddenly took off into the open field heading straight for the thick forestry.

Smiling after the free creature she'd head back to the couch at a slow pace, ankle still sore. "If you're fine with it, we could probably go once your finished," grabbing her plate as she spoke she'd move for the kitchen once again to clean it while eating the last chunk of food.

[User]
Ryan hadn't been looking directly at Acacia when she made her comment toward Truth, so when she mentioned knowing how he wanted 'to go off and find something better anyway,' he looked toward the girl in confusion. Why would she think that? "Huh? Wh-" he began before cutting himself off. It was then that he noticed who Acacia was talking to. "Oh, uh, nevermind," he quickly said before Acacia could ask what he was about to ask.

Ryan quickly began to wolf down the rest of the cold rabbit on his plate, as spending the day in town with the pretty Russian woman sounded like the most fun he would have in a while. His mouth still filled with food, he lifted the empty dish in the air and proclaimed, "I'm finished," though the food in his mouth caused it to sound more like, 'Ahm finshd.'

Rising from the couch, Ryan walked his plate from the upholstery to the kitchen, quickly swallowing everything in a large, painful gulp. He breathed in a small gulp of air before letting out a large sigh, making up for the lack of air the mouth-breather was getting with his main passage for air so well blocked. "Alrighy, I'm good to go, Ace."

[Assistant]
Acacia 'Ace' Malikova

Once her dishes were clean she'd turn to glance at the human when she heard a full mouth mumble only to find he was now making a b-line straight for the kitchen to wash his own plate. Moving out of the way she'd watch him clean the ivory ceramic dish and then listened as he swallowed the harsh mouthful of cold meat before taking in a breath and sighing; Acacia visibly grinning as she knew what he'd done to prepare to leave sooner. Some men aren't the brightest, she'd allow hushed thoughts to trail through her mind before heading for the door and opening it.

"Well then, time to go," she stated as she gestured out the door before vanishing out it herself. She had still been wearing the torn, sun-faded baggy jeans, white tank top and the black hoodie which she now slowly zipped up as she made her way around the outside of the house.

Acacia left a visible track of imprinted bare feet to follow as they led around the right side of the cabin and up around back behind some decently sized shrubs. Behind said shrubs, an old looking, white Toyota Hilux sitting in the snow with a decently caked on layer of pastel particles. Shrugging lightly she'd open the drivers door and search the sun-visor for the keys, smiling bright as she found them she climbed in partially to insert the key and turned it slowly as the vehicle came to life, and as it did she'd turn on the window-wipers to send the ice-blockage off of her window so she could see.

Leaving the Ute running for a while she'd allow it to warm up as she waited for the human and scurried around to the Ute's tray and rummaged through the snow to find a pair of black steel-capped boots that had been there from her last trip. Fingers grasping them quickly she'd pull them out and vigorously shake them to remove all of the snow before moving back and sitting side-ways in the drivers side of the cab. Reaching to the passengers side she'd grab a pair of socks that she usually left in the truck's cabin and slid them onto her feet, she'd then quickly follow the socks with the still chilled and noticeably wet black boots.

[User]
Ryan smiled happily as he followed Acacia to her Toyota Hilux. He couldn't help but notice her footprints were in the shape of bare feet. Sure enough, when he saw her feet rise out of the snow from taking another step, both feet were both completely shoe-less and sock-less. He was about to make a comment about her choice of footwear, or lack of more accurately, until he saw her go around to the back of the pick-up and pull out a pair of boots from the tailgate.

Having nothing else to do, he shouted, "Shotgun!" before climbing into the passenger seat of the vehicle. Someone could say that he had no reason to call shotgun, but he wasn't sure if Truth was going to be back and try to take the seat. There was no way he would sit in the tailgate, in the cold, all the way to the town. Ryan didn't even know how far away the town was or how bumpy the ride would be now that he remembered that they weren't exactly driving down a paved road. At least not one that he could see with so many layers of snow.


[System]
Age: 14

Affiliation: Hero Brigade

Appearance:

Wish: "I wish to prevent my brother from being harmed." Ryuko's wish came from a desire to protect her brother, as he was the dearest thing in her life, if not even romantically so, though she could never admit it.

Soul Gem Color: Orange

Magical Weapon: Ryuko uses an over-sized hammer that she wields with great strength, using it's weight to smash her enemies. Ryuko can also ignite the small motor on either side of the hammer, causing it to make a small explosion when it lands a hit.

(Core)
Skull Barrier:
Ryuko can create a spherical barrier in the shape of a cartoon-stylized skull reminiscent of her old gang's symbol from her open palm. They protect from physical and magical harm in the immediate vicinity of the area the spell was cast in, usually as a personal shield around the user, but it can also be cast on other people and areas. They form instantly either around her or an external target that is within reach. The barrier can either be formed with a set amount of magical power that shatters when it's damage threshold is reached, or a continuous one that drains Ryuko for as long as it's active.

(Secondary)
Rallying Point:
Ryuko can plant a hammer at a location and use it to remotely set up a barrier at will. However, the hammer is consumed in the process, and the barriers are weaker in strength than those personally created by her.

(Secondary)
Stunt Jump:
Ryuko creates a barrier under her feet in midair that she can use as a physical platform and jump out of, granting her some degree of aerial mobility.

(Secondary)
Homerun:
Ryuko creates a smaller barrier that she launches as a magical projectile using a swing of her hammer, like a golf ball. Barriers generated in this manner can be destroyed with less power than defensive barriers.

Personality:
Ryuko is always serious and determined in her actions, whether it is speaking with brutal honesty or clobbering her enemies until they're wet stains. She loves fighting to an absurd degree, and easily succumbs to her bloodlust, turning wild and reckless. She hates weak people, civilians and soldiers alike, and doesn't waste any chances at berating them. She is proud of her fighting skills, and loves showing them off whenever she can.

However, despite all her abrasiveness, she has an honorable side to her, and respects others who have proven themselves as capable warriors to her, which is usually when they defeat her or otherwise impress her. Her trust is hard to come by, and she can be argumentative and skeptic about a lot of things. However, deep inside there is a vulnerable side to her that she keeps in check by focusing on her training.

Biography: Ryuko grew up in a pleasant rural village with her parents and big brother Tamaki, who was a part of a local gang and respected as one of their best fighters. She looked up to her big brother, and admired him for being strong always there to protect her. Their father however denounced Tamaki for his delinquent ways, and forbade Ryuko from seeing her when she turned 12.

Ryuko still secretly met with Ryuko, and asked him to let her in the gang as well and teach her to fight. He eventually did, and Ryuko was happier than ever going to their secret meetings and getting to spend more time with him and his "friends", and in time she even developed a tiny precocious crush on him. The gang came to resent Tamaki for bringing his meddling sister to the mix, not helped by Tamaki's change in his attitude: at first Tamaki thought he was simply getting lucky when he turned invincible from Ryuko's wish, but after he was shot multiple times and survived he gradually went mad with power. One day he went so crazy as to try and take on the enemy gang on his own, and he was never seen again.

Ryuko searched for him for weeks, but couldn't find him. She never truly recovered from what happened to Tamaki, but his words of encouragement inspired her to grow stronger so she can protect herself, and not rely on her brother like she used to. Her mother's death only furthered this development. Some time later, she moved to Miso City to escape from the gang violence that enveloped their village, and do her best in fighting for what she believes in, no matter how hard she has to struggle.

Theme: Battle Against a True Hero

Other: Ryuko is physically fit, and has some skill in most sports and physical activities. She also has experience in travelling, and so has some knowledge in basic survival.

[User]
While she might not express overly hostile enmity for the Hero Brigade, Mitsuki was nonetheless skeptical of the explanation provided. A Primordial Queen arriving here simply because of their conflict? No, that was unlikely. They had not affected significant amounts of the populace after all, and their numbers were not enough to be that much of a draw for something so powerful. No, she had the feeling there was something else going on.

She let none of that slip though, mentally deciding to investigate on her own later. "If you say so," she replied calmly, letting the matter drop. Instead she turned to Ryuko once more, the girl rejecting the notion that they could possibly be friends in spite of all that had just been said. She was a stubborn one, wasn't she? "I'm sorry you think that," she replied in turn. "But I feel that you may find yourself surprised, if you allow for the opportunity." She winked, then let it drop. The proof could come later.

There would not be much more time to discuss things as the announcement of a primordial attack was made, the groups splitting up in order to go fight them off wherever they showed up. That was concurrent with Angel arriving, whom Mitsuki waved at. The group split up, some girls headed off to the bridge, while the others headed off towards the station. Certainly they had enough girls here to handle two attacks at once, though whether it could be done without animosity and conflict amongst those girls there was in doubt.

"Well, I suppose I shall head downtown," she said with a smile, rising to her feet and twirling as she transformed into her magical girl attire. With that done she waved to the others, even as she moved for the door. "Until we meet again." With that she headed off. There was work to be done, and it would not wait for her.

[Assistant] Ignore))

[User]
Sakiko Akazawa

---

Ryuko Ishiniwa was not alone in such a sentiment— that much was for certain.

Sakiko Akazawa remained quiet as she loomed in the back with an air of discontent as the meeting seemed to run its course not too long after the retort by the brash yet confident member of the Hero Brigade was shot out. At the center of her gut she agreed with the belief that the notion was ridiculous and a derogation of everything they existed to do as a mahout shojo; in fact, Sakiko was feeling like the entire meeting was a waste of time. Sakiko could've better used her time and resources better doing something useful like patrolling rather than stand and nod as leaders and vocal members of either faction had their piece. It was likely so obvious that Sakiko didn't want to be at the meeting that she didn't even need to voice irritation through a sigh or grumble. But she had been asked to come to this little meet and greet, so she was going to stick to it since she agreed to it.

The next voice Sakiko paid attention to was that of Yukino Okajima who spoke of her intention to head for The Bridge given that it seemed everyone had the situation at the Station handled.

Sakiko nodded in agreeance before looking back to those of her faction who were waiting on her own answer despite how silent she had been during the whole meeting, "The Bridge. That's where I'm going."

Moving back towards Yukino's direction she took a light breath. "Let's make this quick."

[Assistant]
Erika Natsuko

"I believe it's about time for us to move as well, Akame. The others seem to have ignored Yuuna's plan, though, I guess it's up to us to salvage the situation." Erika said to Akame as she walked off of the meeting room at a regular pacing, without even turning into her magical girl form, keeping her cool as she always did. "I'll handle the Train Station, you can go to the Downtown area, let us at least try and minimize the casualties. Farewell, for the time being, Akame."

At the Train Station, a group of Primordials, five or six in total, ran between the people trying to take shelter from the rain turned snow under the cover of the platforms as they waited for their train to arrive. The dark beings were spreading negative energy like a plague between the people, whose depression, or even darker feelings, were becoming more and more evident with each passing minute. Suddenly, as a train with a destination toward the suburbs of Miso City approached the B-Platform, a man drew a pocket knife at a woman as he tried to take her purse and make a run for it, the woman on her own, tried to fight, calling for help but, no one dared to interfere for fear of being knifed.

With one last jerk on the woman, the man lost his balance and slipped off the platform, trying to get a hold of himself by gripping another woman, who was thoroughly distracted review some papers (homework sheets from her students, upon closer inspection), dropping both of them on the tracks... it was far too late for the train to stop...

Yuna Yukino

"It seems that someone is following us. Why is it that no one never follows the plans? That's why we ended like this." Yuna said to Haku as both of them run by the riverbank, as far as they could. Haku still had an edge over Yuna even on this condition, but the ice magical girl wasn't slow by any means. Any of the other girls trying to reach the bridge would do so long after the two of them had gotten there, since the metallic construct was located almost all the way across the city, from Miso Middle.

"I still don't understand it. Why have you followed Erika's words, Haku? You know it won't change anything..." Yuna once more tried to get through Haku as they run at full speed, in the cold bitting wind.

---

, @Ariamis, @Queue13, @Unlucky0013, @Flamelord, @TheWindel, @Always, @Gowi

[User]
Angel Cassandra Malve
Angel looked around the table at the others who were still sitting in the room. Even though Ryuko said she didn't miss anything, it sure felt like she did. She shrugged it off assuming that Ryuko would end up explaining it later. She wasn't positive about it since she didn't always get a straight answer to the questions she asked. This is something she hasn't learned to uunderstand yet.

She grabbed one of the cookies that were offered to her before she stood up. Following Ryuko's lead, she changed into her Magic Girl Attire. She nodded as she was told they were going to go to the train station in Miso High. "Okay, I'm coming!"  She responded.

Hesitantly she turned to the others, and waved her hand. As she did so she called out,  "Bye!" She knew just because she didn't like a few people in the room doesn't mean she shouldn't say bye to them. She turned back around towards the door, placing her hand down and ran out, catching up to Ryuko.

Unaware of the previous plans, Angel asked,  "Why exactly are we going to the train station?" She knew that it was very rare Ryuko did something without a reason. There were a lot of times where Angel wished she could loosen up a bit, and have some fun.

[Assistant]
Ryuko hopped from rooftop to rooftop, the haughty girl completely confident that Angel would follow her. She spotted a couple of the other girls also leaving, and noted that most of them decided to head in the direction of the bridge, and only one girl went to downtown. Not that it worried her, since she knew she could handle any kind of threat, no matter how big. Occasionally she would glance back at Angel, and then shook her head; she couldn't imagine how she could wear something so low-cut and with a short skirt in a cold weather like this without freezing. She theorized that magical girls had some environmental protection that enabled them to act anywhere regardless of their attire.

Once she felt she found a roof with good visibility to the station, she stopped, and leaned against a chimney as she waited for Angel. She remembered what her fighting style was, and her weakness of requiring time, as she remembered one fight where things went awry due to her trying to mix up something difficult.
After she took an initial glance at the train station, she turned her attention towards the magical girl who soon caught up to her.
"There's Primordials attacking. And based on what I heard, there's probably gonna be more than a few. Hey, you used that potion magic right?" She asked her as she summoned her hammer. The weapon was accompanied by a faint roar of an engine as the weapon puffed out a small cloud of smoke. She then slammed the weapon on the ground head first, and the weapon dissolved into a white round barrier around them adorned by the face of an outward-facing cackling cartoon skull.

"Start brewing. As soon as you're done we're gonna-" she said as she looked over at the station, and had to stop due to her eyes narrowing down in response to seeing the Primordials running amok and caused civilians to fall to the tracks.
"Oh hell no!" She exclaimed, and summoned a new hammer.
"I'll distract the Primies, you go and save them!" She shouted, and then jumped off the rooftop with an explosive leap. She knew she couldn't use her barriers to stop the train, since it would result in the passengers being killed from the crash. She blasted off towards the nearest Primordial, and made a downward swing on it with her hammer, causing the earth to quake from the impact.
"How about you pick on someone your own size, like me!" She shouted to them in a ploy to draw their attention, and generated a strong barrier in the form of a jeering skull from the palm of her open hand to deflect counterattacks before she retreated back into the air, where the collateral damage to the city was minimal. She realized she may have been biting off more than she could chew by getting the heat on her; while one Primordial can be a challenge in and of itself, six was a lethal match-up. Despite this, the braided girl held onto a brave heart, knowing she is a heroine Miso doesn't deserve but needs, and that she is the only thing between the city and utter chaos.


[System]
Age: 32

Appearance:
Height: 6'1"

Weight: 185 lbs

Likes:
+Caffeine
+Reading
+Conspiracy Theories
+Working-Out
+Talk Radio
+Cars/Trucks/Vehicles/etc.

Dislikes:
-Seafood
-Sports
-Cold Weather
-Bad Grammar
-Authority
-Disorganization

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Special Talent: Legendary Alcohol Tolerance

Profession: Mechanic/Owner Apex Designs, a small, single-door garage, tucked away on the industrial Southside end of town with enough room for about three cars inside.

Bio/Personality:
Joel is a man who views himself as someone not necessarily doing what they want to do in life, but doing what they're good at. He enjoys repairing the automotive woes of many of Sol City's wealthy clientele. However, even though his work is considered some of the best in the city, he's often equally known for his lengthy vacations and costly invoices. Additionally armed with a business degree that he earned off of an only briefly offered scholarship in his youth, he very carefully balances work, play and sometimes outright laziness. He keeps no set schedule and can be found in his shop sometimes at the most bizarre of hours.

Outwardly, Joel has a very arrogant aura that often turns off others. He's been told that he's "unapproachable" and though he likes the thought of being intimidating, sometimes he does feel a genuine desire to have deeper conversations. He enjoys flirting and being in some social venues, but often feels bored and out of place. He doesn't consider himself extroverted. Interestingly, he tends to talk non-stop while working on vehicles and has his own crowd of conversational regulars, often the bored and retired older men of the city, that stop by just to see what he's working on.

Joel is very aware of his eccentricities and has a warped sense of justice. He enjoys watching people that may have wronged him or refused his advice "get what they deserve" to the point of comedy. He likes that some may look down on him for his chosen profession, but at the same time wishes he was doing something else. He's never satisfied for very long.

Joel in Chapter One:
Joel continued to his eccentric and reclusive lifestyle throughout most of Chapter One only making brief appearances on the outskirts of major city events when his pathway unfortunately crossed with the regular citizens of Sol. Joel spent the vast majority of his bizarre schedule preparing his custom-built Nissan 300ZX for the Sol City Grand Prix. A project which he also used as a convenient excuse to not participate in major events such as the Winter Party and downtown Jazz Night despite the encouragement of his friends. Only after being forced to take a detour off the outer loop one night after being chased by the police for speeding did he happen to meet Marinalia "Marlin" Olympus at the Old Cargo Airport where he and his business partner, Tommy Lomax, kept many of their imports from Asia in the Daedalus Airlines warehouse.

As chance would have it, Joel would again encounter Marlin at the same airport as he and the team rolled out the car for testing on a rented area of the facility. Unbeknownst to Joel, Tommy for some time and effort arranged sponsorship of the car with Marlin's family to give the team a publicity boost for the upcoming race. As part of the agreement, the car would "race" a sleek air-racer piloted by Marlin for exhibition. Furious at being kept in the dark over the agreement, Joel at first wanted nothing to do with the show, but after watching Tommy lose to the plane, he took the wheel and won in a quick rematch much to the chagrin of some of Marlin's wealthy family who turned out for the demonstration. A bit of a rivalry and tense friendship began to grow between Joel and Marlin.

The Grand Prix weekend put the team in the spotlight as other teams and cars descended from around the world for the final race of the Formula GT season on the streets of Sol and after a hard-fought race, Joel and Tommy managed to best their arch rivals from the factory Nissan team and win the Grand Prix after three years of trying. Joel was instantly elevated to national fame in the days following the race however, the drama following the race was more than he could bear starting with his falling out with Marlin's snooty family at the Olympus Heavy Industries Victory Gala. After leaving the party to step outside, he encountered a drunken Siobhan Murphy and a flirtatious friendship was formed. He made an agreement to modernize Siobhan's derelict, inherited Corvette after he returned from a business trip to Japan.

Chapter Two sees Joel returning from Tokyo after a two week hiatus from Sol where he claimed his share of a secret wager made with Nissan before the race. Fame has changed him little and looks to continue his eccentric business only out desire rather than necessity.

Celebrity:

Favorite Song:

Tell us about yourself:

Age: 32
What part of the world are you from?: VA, USA
How many years have you been writing/roleplaying: Around 17
How often do you have time to post?: Usually 2-3 times per week, maybe more depending on my work schedule/other things.
Anything else you want to mention?:
I actually work a pretty cool job, but it does demand a lot of time out of me sometimes. I'm married and have three kids. Roleplay/Writing is one of my few surviving hobbies in adulthood next to working out and reading a book occasionally. I usually only have time to write one game at a time here on the Guild so this is it for now. I'm going to my level best to make sure its a winner. I try to take care of my players, so if you're reading this and thinking about joining, we'll be glad to have you.

[User]
Romus Sisters

Victoria Darya Romus "Vika"
&
Marinalia Romus Olympus "Mali"
 Coffee Pot Victoria - Footsteps Sports Bar Marinalia - wensday Afternoon

---

Marilania was waiting as for a refill on the coffee she was drinking and saw a mountain of muscles and rowdy guys walk into the bar, all big, some bigger, one of them was a utter giant though and looked like had walked out the Got box set she was watching last night in bed. They where definitely a bunch of charecters and causing ernough of a stir around to makw a little zone of clear bar around there table.

More of a problem was that they had her Coffee refill mistakenly taken with there rather large and alcoholic round of drinks and if she wanted her cafine fix Marinalia would have to go over and claim it back from the muscle bound monsters. After the attack at Jaxx night that kind of situation made her alot more nervous than before and and fumbled about her bag for somthing, sliding a can of CS spray and a stun gun concealed depper in her bag.. After recent events she had taken things more seriously but stopped short of her aunts suggestion of a dagger, Marla always took things to the extreme.

Dressed in a flight jacket with a multitude of patches including a UK flag, gold wings and a bunch of various airline badges from Europe to Alaska. With a slight tap as she dropped off the barstool and patted down the fitted office skirt part of her more formal uniform. She did not quite like the 4 stripe designs and just wore the gold wings.

Heading over, slightly scared though her accent was pure British, with long blonde hair and a athletic figure built from years in the pool. It was pretty intimidating but she wanted her coffee more. Tapping the giant slightly and reaching over to get the coffee pot off the tray. Nerves kicking in, her accent was approaching cut glass old British. Standing at 5'5 she was aloy smaller and shorter than this mountain of a mano.

Expectkng the odd jeer or comment at that, she tried to remain clam as possible and just get her cafine fix and not wanting to wait the age a busy bar would be for a new round.

Excuse me, you have my coffee.

Just after my cafine fix.

Yeah, the nerves caused by group probbly did not help the servers memory, they seemed rowdy but not the same sense of dread or thr bad vibes she got off the jazz night group though. They where rowdy but not... The malichous nature was not there.

She had to admit, the man mountian made her curious out of sheer nature of being so huge, you rarely saw people that large and they always had a decent story.

---

Fox

Victoria waves aside Ashton weak protest against paying, she earned it and let her gesture to menu options before she placed a quick order to a server and turned back to Ashton, with a slight twirl as her hair was graduating between the colours in motion.

Taking a a little time to work out the what Ashton meant, yeah she had changed alot and appreciated the compliment.she had changed alot but definitely felt better in herself now.

Yep, I still Don, t like hospitals though!

I even started a new job, so things seem abit better than you last met me. Not quite so much of a mess now.

Ashton always took some guessing to work out exactly whst she meant, OK? Alright? She seemed to be implying she was not hurt badly and Victoria could understand that look, having been well on receiving end of it a good few times. Feeling a skittle bad about it but it it was hard to when you knew someone was healthy last time you met them.

As she handed over the article, yeah she definitely missed that as she was out of it, tests, or appointments in hospital and so. She had mm spent the week busy and so, barely even had time to message anyone yet alone check the news. Ashton had been, well a hero... A slightly foolish hero perhaps by a hero none the less. No wait... Was it... She might have been flying out that morning and had a early night. Impressed, and slightly Suprised... She jumped 5 floors, burns, legs and she was walking about... Her doctors had a fit at far less!

Wow.. Hero of the city then. Congratulations.. Though get well soon and back to work. That was extremely brave of you, though maybe be more careful! You might run out of lives.

Yeah, I probbly was heading to Texas probbly that morning, left very early for well..what made me... Like me.

Woah... Sol got.. Dangerous.. That and the stuff from work... Damn. That's scary... Those places well protected... No wonder security was nervous.

With last part as more a comment to her own thoughts, arson attacks, sharks on the Web, round up of local criminals... And a baby Rhino born, well that was adorable. She would have to register a name. Bit of fun to make up for the dark tidings. Pokey... Pokey and polo? Hopefully not rhino with a hole though. Cardinal might be intrested knowing that orgonozed crime and so was seeming to go crazy of late alongside the feds. He might want to go careful on his searches she knew he deny.

Finding a note pad she acquired from work. "Black Shield Security and Defense Research."  with thr image of two Greek soldiers from Theres back to back with spears drawn and Sheilds raised, wrongly attributed to be Spartans alot. They did not have best reputation at a all, but she trusted Ashton somewhat. She gave her a good feeling about things. Writing down a phone number and a address in Park View. Would be nice to keep in touch anyway. Even if phone calls not work. Though there new home was alot more able to welcome guests than the old.

Keep in touch in future? I'm kinda staying in city for abit.

Moving house is never fun though!

Laughing slightly, and talking n gesturing over coffee and some cake, it was a nice way to send a afternoon. Normal even, espechily after a somewhat busy day dealing with Sols newfound cyber bait that seemed to waking every fish after scraps possible.

[Assistant]
THOMAS LANCASTER
 Sol City Zoo

---

"Uh?" While Thomas was struggling with the wheel, he was unknowingly released from the sticky situation he was put in. Before turning around, he could smell the gentle scent of rose, as this person was really close to the wheelchair. He thought initially to be a female, but the voice was a little weird. It was the type of voice that a normal male adolescence would be experiencing, as he goes from high-pitch to low-toned. And without much thoughts, he turned around, to see a...gentleman?

It really looked like he was wearing men's clothing. No, it was actually neutral gendered. But his facial feature was somewhat...erratic. Not that Thomas is a master at studying human biological features or anything, but he had rarely seen a face like that. His hair was fluffy indeed. Flamboyant would be the first word that sprang to his mind whenever a reference about this guy was needed. But hey, he helped Thomas, so he ought to give him the thanks.

"My goodness. Thank you..."

That's the problem.

What is the gender of this person before him? First impression was very likely a he, but what if he was wrong, and ended up hurting the guy's feeling. He knew that transgender can be quite sensitive, even though it is no longer a deviance like we used to see it. But he didn't want to address him as bluntly as just a 'thank you'.

"...mister?"

In the end, he decided to go with the more likely scenario, and hoped he wasn't wrong.

[User]
Joel was about to take an exit ramp for a grocery store on the north side when he noticed his phone light up in the cupholder. Siobhan? He glanced down at the name. For fuck's sake, I can't even get to the house before people start blowing up my phone. He started not to answer it, but curiosity needled at him. Maybe she did need something important. He reasoned. She was normally pretty good about giving him space. Then again, he knew there was a part of him that wanted to talk to her, the curious part. He reached down and swiped his thumb over the screen before pressing the speaker firmly against his ear to counter the road noise. "Hey, what's up?" He said tiredly. What she came up with next however nearly made him run off the road. Home cooked meal? Was she serious? Normally the only place that could be found was at his parents' house. He wondered briefly if he had enough pots and pans for such an endeavor.

"Just shellfish," He said with some astonishment. "But I don't really like seafood other than salmon." He watched the ramp go by as she continued knowing he was basically committed, but didn't care. "I don't really drink wine," He said, already picturing dinner in his head and thinking that the sight of her making it wouldn't be too bad either. He didn't know what she was expecting though, he wasn't planning on starting her car on the same day as his return home, maybe only bringing in some of the parts that he ordered. "Get some Chimay, blue label." Which wasn't wine, but close enough. As she mentioned her place or his, he smirked some. She was about the most trash-talking woman he'd ever encountered. "I'll be at the shop in twenty."


[System]
* Age: 58
* Gender: Female
* What, you were expecting someone older looking?
* Personality: As with most magi of any experience, Johanna seems to exude callous indifference and a feeling that she would kill you in the blink of an eye. It's a pretty fair assessment when it comes down to it--she does put the pursuit of knowledge first and other people second but at least she has some concept of the value of human life, oddly for a magus. Unless it's actually necessary to kill someone, she'll try to refrain from outright lethal activity... and as she's happily pointed out to the odd rogue mage that she's recently had to deal with, no grand achievement has ever come from human sacrifice or necromancy; you just look like a prick.
She also lacks the arrogance that characterises most highly-ranked mages, having lost most of it during the mere process of reaching her current skill level and the remainder in the debacle that followed the Fifth Holy Grail War. She's still confident in her abilities, but by no means sees them as the greatest of the great, and tends to treat the cockiness of others with all the sarcasm it deserves. Or most other things.
Perhaps it is just a relic of her tutelage, but whilst she objects to evil being done and will move to stop it if she's in a position to, Johanna finds herself irritated by those who destroy things in their motivation to prevent a possible evil.
* Skills: On the one hand, as a magus, there are a great many modern-day skills that Johanna is entirely lacking. On the other, she's quite old enough to more than take care of herself and be forced into understanding the modern world during the post-war fighting. Mostly her abilities are on the "useful for magecraft but not much else" side of things. She's also, unsurprisingly, pretty bad at in-close fighting, though after some... unpleasant experience with someone that realised most magi knew no martial arts, she's at least picked up the very basics of moving in a fight and one hell of a right hook.
* Abilities: As her very name indicates, Johanna comes from a very old, very famous family, and has the circuits to prove it. What she doesn't have is her ancestor's unusual and baffling affinity--for Demons, the saying goes, or more correctly the Sixth Imaginary Factor. Her family, in recent generations, has come to see developing a more normal affinity as a blessing; creating and summoning demons went down poorly with many groups and got them in far too much conflict with the Church. Consequently, her affinity is comparatively boring despite her name--Earth and Wind.
Possessing an Earth affinity is one half of explaining why she seems to often carry gemstones upon her person--but also offers a significant indication of her primary teacher in the Mage's Association. Nevertheless, she is fully accomplished at embedding mana into gems and has had decades to do so... but in her haste to arrive, all of those are still in her sealed workshop in Germany. Instead, she has a surprising number of 'empty' diamonds on her person. Amongst the spells she has learned for the purposes of fighting, one combining her abilities, is a method to drain the very power behind simpler magecraft and funnel it into a gemstone; essentially converting a minor amount of her own effort and the entirety of an enemy's into stored power for later.
Many of her spells work in this manner, redirecting and stumping her opposition's efforts. It works less successfully with heavily physical magecraft--for that she has to take more active defences--but for fire, lightning, or wind, she can quite successfully work at grounding lightning away from herself, or creating an isolated bubble in the midst of a tempest. Her defence against more physical spells is near identical to her method of offence: spells to force one's prana through the ground or air, twist it, and reshape it. Raise the ground into spikes, make the earth shudder, or a vortex of air; Johanna is old, experienced, and by now sadly used to fighting magi.
She has two particular spells of note--one a full ten-count aria useful when pushed to her absolute limit (she wouldn't have lived this long without high-speed incantation to cut it, and her other spells, down to utility) and the other simply a very hard punch. The first spell, the cheerfully-named "Abbreviated Burial Rite" simply opens a large fissure from herself to her foe... and slams it shut again an instant later, crushing them utterly. The other is simply a method for throwing a punch harder than mere reinforcement: ground herself to not move, then have the air itself force her fist forward as the punch is thrown. She's considered using the trick without being grounded, but that's riskier.
* Brief Backstory: As her name attests, Johanna is descended from the famous Medieval demonologist, and her family (had) the stature in the Clock Tower to back it up. As a young student, one of her tutors grew envious of their position despite a lack of what he considered to be noteworthy accomplishments in the many centuries, and how his family were expected to fall in line despite retaining more of the original Faust's magecraft than Faust's own family had. He naturally jumped at the opportunity to bring the family line to a crazed and juddering end (perfect to inherit their political stature) when the Wizard-Marshall once more came looking for apprentices. Johanna found herself "volunteered" to take up the spot.
It backfired spectacularly. As a talented but nowhere near fully educated student, she couldn't be called the pupil of a Magician in any sense, merely advancing impressively in magecraft and picking up a lifelong interest in the utility of gems. Her former tutor's attempts to eliminate her family merely solidified its position for most of her lifetime--though in the long run, it may have been the catalyst for her current position, dropping from the highest of ranks to (though nominally still holding it) a mere Enforcer.
Quite simply, Johanna's tutelage had given her an interest in those things Zelretch had played a part in, as well as recommitting her interests entirely to reaching the Origin once she'd gained her independence. Thus, her interest was piqued by the Fourth Grail War--and the surprising changes in political currents following that. Yet it was after the Fifth that the mage took a direct involvement, standing firmly opposed to dismantling something as potent as the Grail. If it was corrupted, clean it, take every step to replicate it; to simply eliminate something kickstarted by the Second Magic in order to obtain the Third was an overly cautious mess.
Naturally, she came out on the losing side of that conflict--physically as well as politically. Trying to rebuild her reputation whilst being an Enforcer has proved extremely difficult, as well as costing her time that could be spent on more important magical pursuits... fortunately, however, she managed to get wind of this war at the last second. Unfortunately, with no time to prepare, she's shown up with the bare minimum, intent on seeing the Grail fulfil its original purpose, even if she's not the one to do it, simply to vindicate her prior position.
If she knew how young most of the others were, Johanna would have one thing to say: "Brats, playing in a war beyond their own understanding."

[User]
Shiny Berserker
Daze

As the light grew in intensity, so too did the power emanating from the circle. And as it continued to glow brighter, a figure slowly started manifesting from within the light. The only distinctive features were but a mere silhouette as the light was too bright to discern anything less...

And soon, the light slowly dissipated, fading slowly as the slim figure within the circle became more apparent. A young man, with golden hair, no taller than five feet and nine inches, stands before the magus. He doesn't seem to be wearing too much in terms of apparel, sporting a brown vest with a white fur collar and a crimson scarf, as well as a long pair of dark red trousers, matching the colors with his scarf. His clothing gives him the air of a traveler, one who has gone through some sort of journey.

What's odd, however, is that this traveler seems to lack any sort of footwear. In fact, his feet seem to have thick, golden hair growing from the top of it. The same could be said for the top halves of his forearms, going down to the top of his hands, which are propped back, cradling a red rod, a staff, with golden mace-like ends. This Spirit holds his staff behind his back, cradling them with his furred arms in a matter where he could easily rest his head on it, hands hanging down. A golden tail slowly curls out from behind him, moving around slowly.

The Heroic Spirit, more beast than man, raises his head up, his eyes opening and revealing his intense, golden eyes, a faint golden flame surrounding them. He raises his eyebrows as he looked into Johanna's eyes, as if he were staring straight into her soul, for a moment. He then nods his head, closing his eyes and bearing his teeth into a grin.

"Yes, you'll do..."

In an almost sudden spurt of movement, the beast-like Servant rose one of his knees, leaning back very slightly as he stretches his leg towards Johanna. He was too far to kick her, so it wasn't by any means an attack, although, it seems that his hairy foot is pointing towards the magus. Despite his leg being stretched out in such a strange matter, it seems as if he was keeping perfect balance.

"You!" The Servant spoke, as he pointed his big toe at Johanna, his other toes bending down.
"You're the one that's summoned me, yes? My... Master?" He continued, with a pained expression. The Servant moved his foot up to his chin, stroking it as if in thought, his eyebrow raising once again as his eyes gazed upward.
"And to summon me as a Berserker, of all classes..." He mumbled, before both his eyebrows, along with his tail, suddenly raised, pointing his foot once again at Johanna.

"Hey! Did you summon me as a Berserker intenionally!?" The Servant's eyes narrowed, seemingly upset. His face formed into a child-like pout as he awaited an answer. This seemed like the beginning of an interesting partnership...

[Assistant]
Elizabeth Reinholt

violet = speaking

lightcoral = thinking/mental communication with servant

---

As the black-haired woman made her way calmly towards the church doors of the gothic-styled church, a small smile hung at the edges of her lips. Perhaps she was excited, or perhaps it was the nervousness working its way up as some form of excitement within her bowels. Ah, not that it mattered much right now. The Church Representative was here, and Elizabeth was coming with her servant cinnamon roll of a daughter to register her participation in the Holy Grail War. At least, she had informed the representative before hand of this through a letter. She would summon early, arrive here, and then present herself to them for formal registration. As simple as that.

Letting out a long breath as she stopped in front of the doors, a small puff of mist could be seen lingering in the air for a moment, the chill of the night air enough for such without being uncomfortable otherwise. But the tension was near palpable for the master of Assassin, the tension of knowing that this night was the start of the Grail War...the start of the fight for the Holy Grail itself. At least, however, she stood upon neutral ground right now. Indeed, she was outside of the acceptable areas to battle in, lest the wrath of the moderator of this Grail War bring down her wrath on those who attacked Elizabeth right now.

'Sweetie, make sure we don't attack or hurt the pretty lady inside, ok?' the magus and master communicated to her servant via their mental link, unable to hold back sounding like a mother of sorts in her communication.

After all, she had the most adorable servant in the war, eh? She had even hugged her a bit after summoning her...and that was only a week ago. Heavens, the time had already passed quickly until this point. But at least she had been able to cook herself and her servant dinner for doing so well at getting ready for this Grail War, and how could she not do so? A hot meal did wonders for the morale at times.

With her communication finished, though, Elizabeth reached forwards, pushing open the church doors and beginning to walk in. She maintained her cool and composed stance, though the smile still hung visibly on the corners of her mouth for all to see.

"Hello? Is this the place to present ourselves to the Grail War's moderator? Elizabeth said, her voice ringing calmly but distinctly through the building as she spoke aloud, hoping to catch the attention of the particular woman who was supposed to be here.

[User]
The magus had to suppress a twinge of disappointment at the initial summon, not for any rational reason--simply for, herself, being taller than the Servant that she had summoned. It was a reasonable thing to expect; historically most would have been shorter than herself and there was nothing that required heroes to be of any particular height. Strange, when Berserker identified his class; it was the number one Servant to expect imposing stature. There was another twitch of disappointment whilst looking at him--he was nearly as intrinsically identifiable as Faust would have been had she summoned a Caster.

It seemed like she was going to have to put up with a rebellious, and from the damn pointing, rather rude Servant. It couldn't be helped, if she'd had time to prepare it would have been child's play to guarantee herself a knight of one kind or another--Barbarossa, maybe, or simply trick the French for a few weeks and get Charlemagne. If only she'd not had the misfortune of summoning a Berserker best suited to another class... at least he was capable of some thought.

"I can assure you that I had no intention of summoning Berserker if it could be helped. Nor do I have the knowledge required to manipulate the Grail in such a way," Johanna stated, adjusting her tie once more before turning around and going back towards the church, "Unfortunately, there still remains a matter of procedure before we can engage in the war proper. A brief, but necessary, formality."

---

Assassin

It was all so... overwhelming. To be summoned at all... the mere inclination that somebody might find her useful, might desire her even for the sake of brutal murders... it was beyond Assassin's wildest imagination. When summoned, she had been ready then and there to do as Mother commanded, to go and hunt down the enemies in this and plan how to kill them before the war had even begun in earnest and get it all over with in a single night of bloodshed. But... Mother had wanted her for more than that, had shown her more affection than she had thought was possible. Food... simple clothing... a hug...

She would do anything that her mother asked and win this war.

We will watch... but if she hurts you...

Inside the building, the young girl stuck to the shadows, white hair not giving her away in the slightest--nor the cream shorts. She was Assassin, and beyond that simply beneath the notice of anyone but Mother. Unless she made a move to fight, nobody would ever spot her, regardless of how much her colouration or anything she wore besides a black t-shirt gave her away.


[System]
Age:
15.

Gender:
Female.

Appearance:
Camryn has brownish skin and straight, black hair as a result of her Māori heritage. She's fairly tall (5' 10"), and usually wears her (quite long) hair in a ponytail. Her eyes are a light hazel color, over which she wears a pair of slim-framed glasses. She's generally seen wearing jeans and various space-themed t-shirts under her school uniform.

Personality:
Camryn is very gregarious and lively, always talking to people and trying to get to know them. However, if someone causes her to dislike them, they will know immediately, as her personality when talking to them will do a complete 180; she will become cold and harsh, throwing out sarcastic remarks like candy and never raising her voice.

History:
Camryn was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to an employee of Industrial Illusions' New Zealand branch, her mother, and a stockbroker, her father. As she grew up, she took an especial interest in two things: her mother's work (and Duel Monsters by proxy), and space. Over the years, she helped her mother design several cards, including some of the new Cyber Dragon support. Her parents got her a telescope and a Duel Monsters deck for her 13th birthday, and she's used both almost every day since. Her father heard about Duel Tower from a friend of his who sent his son there, and after talking it over with Camryn and her mother, they decided that she would enroll there to learn how to become a pro duelist.

Favorite Card/Archetype or theme:
The Gradius monsters (Falchion Beta, Victory Viper XX03, Blue Thunder T-45, etc).

Chosen courses:
Turbo Dueling/Xyz Summoning.

Current dorm:
Wind.

Chosen Structure Deck:
Deepspace Rebellion, a custom structure deck.

Custom Structure Deck List:
2x Deepspace Scout
1x Deepspace Stunner
1x Deepspace Infiltrator
2x Deepspace Berserker
2x Deepspace Suffocator
1x Falchion Beta
1x Lord British Space Fighter
1x Jade Knight
1x Blue Thunder T-45
1x Victory Viper XX03
2x Gradius
1x UFOroid
2x Gearspring Spirit
3x Cyber Larva
1x Cyber Eltanin

1x Deepspace Beacon
2x The Depths of Space
2x Solidarity
2x Burden of the Mighty
1x Riryoku
1x Berserker Soul
1x Mystical Space Typhoon

1x Solar Ray
1x Call of the Haunted
1x Ojama Trio
1x Beckoning Light
1x Painful Escape
1x Draining Shield
1x Compulsory Evacuation Device
1x Magic Cylinder
1x Rare Metalmorph

Chosen Pack:
Cybernetic Revolution.

Current deck:
2x Deepspace Scout
1x Deepspace Stunner
1x Deepspace Infiltrator
3x Deepspace Berserker
3x Deepspace Suffocator
2x Falchion Beta
2x Lord British Space Fighter
1x Jade Knight
1x Blue Thunder T-45
1x Victory Viper XX03
2x Gearspring Spirit
3x Cyber Larva
1x Cyber Eltanin
1x Machina Fortress
2x Cyber Dragon

1x Deepspace Beacon
2x The Depths of Space
1x Solidarity
2x Burden of the Mighty
1x Riryoku
1x Mystical Space Typhoon

1x Call of the Haunted
1x Ojama Trio
1x Beckoning Light
1x Draining Shield
1x Compulsory Evacuation Device
1x Magic Cylinder

Collection:
Chaos Emissary, Split Persona
Spellbook of Equilibrium x 3
Chaos Emissary, Lord of Summoning
The Depths of Space x 2
Deepspace Berserker
Chaos Emergence
The Chaos Emperor's Castle
Cyber Dragon
Gravesoil Sediment Golem
1x Steam Gyroid
1x Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei
1x Tyranno Infinity
1x Cycroid
1x Shien's Spy
1x Doitsu
1x Wroughtweiler
1x Steamroid
1x Cyber Archfiend
1x Berserker Soul
2x Gradius
1x UFOroid

Points:
50.

[User]
Hayate sighed with Tsukiko denying her request and walked off to class slightly disappointed and started to run towards the classroom ignoring the elevator when arriving at the classroom she felt a sudden jolt of pain in her legs which surprised her which made her lose her balance and looked like someone tripped her and landed right next to Vincent on the floor "ow ow ow..." Hayate uttered getting up and noticed Vincent and skittered off to get a seat in the corner alone and started to wonder what happened earlier and noticed Hayato coming in dropping off her mini solid vision projector and sat in the other corner of the classroom without saying word which made her wonder even more "I wonder what happened to him..." Hayate said to herself and looked at Tsukiko worried about her "Was she alone as well?" Hayate put that thought in her mind as she sat alone in the corner thinking about how to cheer Tsukiko up as she would hate to see someone that sad from the inside as she believed that kindness can heal any mental wound no matter how large they are though it might take a while to cheer Tsukiko up and sighed and pulled out her blue-eyes "What should i do...?" Hayate asked her card expecting an answer but sadly cards don't talk... it would have been weird if they did

Shortly after the teacher had started the lesson she started to take notes with her paper-craft once again which was strangely fascinating to look from a distance and the fact she was able to build her paper-craft as fast as she is in response to everything that was being explained at end of the class she had created paper-crafts representing every monster that was shown on the board including the synchro monster itself but sadly the lesson was quickly changing into a lecture about life and other things and looked at Tsukiko who was being bugged again and decide to step up to her once again and complained to the teacher pay attention to the classroom and continue the lesson with her paper-craft on the table showing off in order how a synchro summon worked and sighed "You really should stop talking about society and continue about the synchro summons instead" Hayate would say but doing that would get her in trouble so instead she started staring at the bullies in front of Tsukiko almost ready to just kick them if anything not that she would... she has surprisingly strong arms and legs after all but after a few moments she sat back down making more paper-craft out of habit she had made another blue-eyes though this time she added smaller scale Dark Magician to scale with it she did feel a bit like a child making so many detailed paper-craft on her own

[Assistant]
Megan eagerly scribbled down notes in response to the teachers presentation. The lesson was laid out in a very basic and easy to understand fashion, which pleased Megan, despite a comment or two from the peanut gallery. They may know how to do this already but she was here to learn. However pretty soon the conversation shifted to other, more boring things and Megan put her pencil down and waited for they to get back on topic somewhat irritated. The discussion on professional duelists had been mildly interesting and related but drugs and alcohol, while entertaining, had nothing to do with the lesson. However she was reluctant to bring it up to the teacher because she didn't like interrupting her betters, so she settled for muttering under her breath. "Be nice if our class on synchro summoning talked about synchro summoning." Mr. Wilhelms sure got distracted easily.

Sure she knew how to do it now, but that wasn't enough in it of itself. Were most synchros a certain level or had similar effects? Was there a set of cards that countered them? Was there a quick fix to them or do you have to dedicate a lot of deck room if you wanted to counter? How easy was it to work synchros into a deck, were there tuners that naturally fit into other decks, like warriors? Her lack of knowledge was frustrating and she couldn't turn to anyone other than the teachers for help, as shown by the light dorm's response. Bored now she began doodling Gilford the Legend on her paper. She had yet to summon him yet but was eager for the chance to get so, even better if his effect allowed him to load up and defeat the opponent in a single shot. Her doodle grew in size, until he was holding every weapon in her deck, with the little caption, "ITS OVER 9000!" above it.

[User]
Andre had his book out and was writing notes down scribbling while ignoring any of the teacher's comments about the effects synchro's had on children and teenagers especially since they were released. He himself had never had that problem with synchros and none of his brothers who both had at least one synchro in their decks...though Ben did hate Laudsallyn with a passion. The card embodied everything he DESPISED about the tale of Arthur. The seduction of a man's wife, the betrayal of one's king, and the fall to power. Ben was such a poet that he had sometimes refused to bring out Laudsallyn at times. What an idiot. If Laudsallyn could win him a duel why not use that black knight's power? Who cared what he stood for? Was Artorgius so special that he needed the spotlight over everyone and everything else? He himself had been considering about buying more synchros. Maybe trying out some stuff with plague spreader to top deck some cards. Maybe he'd get lucky and get about that one masked chameleon card he had heard was used a lot. Who knew what class would hold for Andre in the future? He was truly intrigued by the aspects of synchros and their diversity. Xyz had a similar quality though in the end they were simply so standard. Two or more cards mixed together to form one big monster. Sometimes monsters didn't need to be still on the field, sometimes they served better in a graveyard. With his deck his graveyard was all important after all. Fodder for his Emperor, fodder for his necrofear, and even more so maybe he could more cards to increase his special summoning powers. His normal summons were great with sinister yoshirio but he needed to make his strength more...palpable...to his enemies.

====

Ben tried to pay attention, he honestly did, but when he heard the kids talking trash about Tsukiko he couldn't help but get a bit frustrated. He wasn't above interrupting a lesson but he saw that another boy had already handled the ordeal for him. Henry sat next to him along side another boy from Team Awesome and he told them to make specific notes about cards they had for synchros. Numbers were everything as the teacher had said and he know understood why Andre had been so intent on synchros. It was right up his alley but for Ben himself? The whole god damn thing made him feel a bit uneasy. His main monster synchro was a literal monster. The man who betrayed his king...such a thing...it's not something so easily done but too almost kill his king and seduce him wife? That was a whole different level of crap. Laudsallyn...the mere fact that he had him in his deck made him ill. He'd take him out if the man himself wasn't so useful in the right situations. In the opening duel...against Angelo...he'd gotten lucky. And that made Ben sick. His cards failed him but came back at the last second. If he had been forced to bring out the dark knight of Avalon he would've...but he wouldn't have wanted it to end that way. He just hoped he wouldn't need to use him. The last time...wasn't so pleasant for Ben. Bad memories aside he was sincerely thankful this lady cared about her students to mention the side effects synchros had on some people. He just hoped they would listen no one deserved to suffer. No one deserved to get hurt in this world. The world....was beautiful. Everyone just failed to see it through the smog of hate...but maybe...just maybe Ben could get through too some people and reach out past that smog. He had a chance right now but the school year was just starting and Ben...well he figured that it was too soon to make big moves so it was all in biding his time at the moment.

[Assistant] "Ohh, it's a riding suit. My bad, I didn't know." Camryn said. She hadn't meant to be rude, but it looked like Mr. Cellrate had taken it that way anyway. She was one of the first few students to follow Mr. Cellrate into the garage, and she was fairly astonished at what she saw. "Whoooaaaa! This place looks way bigger on the inside than the outside!" She admired the Duel Runners from afar, in particular a model that looked very streamlined and modern, and was painted a dark purple. She began daydreaming about riding it, but was returned to reality by Mr. Cellrate beginning to exposit. Camryn listened intently, appearing a bit crestfallen at the end when she heard that they weren't able to ride the Duel Runners in their first class. Makes sense, I guess. The school doesn't want people splitting their heads open on their first day because they weren't used to the controls of a Duel Runner. She waited patiently for her name to be called, idly noting that the first person to be called up to receive their cards was the blue-haired girl with the weird outfit she had seen during breakfast. What a coincidence.