[System]
Nickname(Optional): June Bug

Age: 33

Gender: Female

Physical Appearance: Sayeeda is a medium sized woman of middle eastern extraction. She has the wiry build of a swimmer or long distance runner. Her eyes are dark and almond shaped and focus slightly beyond the horizon most of the time. Sayeeda keeps her hair just longer than a buzz cut in order to facilitate wearing her helmet. She has a large tattoo of several owls in flight on her right shoulder. Sayeeda does have feminine curves but her breasts are on the smaller size of average and she does very little to emphasize her gender.

Clothing:  Camo pants and a tank top are her civilian dress. She wears a ceramic breastplate if she is expecting trouble and also has a commo helmet which she uses in battle and for technical tasks.

Personality: Sayeeda is a former mercenary soldier and has a fairly relaxed view towards life. Anything and anyone not currently shooting at her is the second priority. She is very tightly wound when it comes to people doing what she expects them too in dangerous situations and she is extremely punctilious when it comes to fulfilling any sort of formal contract.

[User]
Sayeeda didn't have the same sort of experience with starships that Neil did, but she did have strong survival instincts. Everything screamed to her that, if they didn't get out of this system in the next few minutes, they weren't getting out at all. The Highlander probably wouldn't survive a RIP jump in any case, judging by the damage they had taken back on Saavran. Or the planet formerly known as Saavran. Junebug wondered if the sleeping thing would have woken up if the Chalcedon's hadn't bombarded it.

"Steer for the Sky," she called to Neil to which York nodded emphatically. The Highlander curved gracefully into the hangar bay and the moment they cleared the magnetic shield the ship leaped into the RIP. Sayeeda's mind filled momentarily with spiraling neon designs which extended to the infinite without losing resolution. For a moment she hovered on the edge of madness and then she was back in the Highlander as it set down on the deck. The captain had taken a risk jumping while they were still airborne. If Neil had gone into a spastic fit they might have wrecked the freighter, but even that would be a small price in the mind of the battered warships captain.

"You have done a great thing for humanity today," York said smugly as they all walked shakily down the gangplank. A squad of marines in full combat gear was waiting for them and Sayeeda didn't get the impression that they were an honor guard. York stepped over to them and turned with an apologetic smile.

"Unfortunately… we cannot allow Mr Edwards to depart, that tattoo of his might be the key to more knowledge than we can imagine." Junebug stiffened at the words, although part of her had expected them, a mercenary always hopes that the contract will be honored, even when her guts told her otherwise.

"You are free to take the rest of your people and leave Mistress Cyckali, with the thanks of Terra and a hundred thousand credits in compensation," York declared magnanimously. Woods stepped off to the side clearly intending to cover Junebug incase she decided to do anything stupid. Junebug glanced at the marine and lowered her rifle, Neil shot her a look of mute betrayal. Junebug sighed heavily. She didn't know if Sven or Saxon would back her up and Taya looked terrified beyond words. The smart thing would be to leave Neil and go. She would have full rights to the Highlander then and she and Taya could probably pilot well enough until they could hire on another spacer as a helmsman.

"It is Captain Cyckali," she said in a flat voice and she was suddenly moving. With her off hand she cast her plasma rifle at Woods as an improvised missile and whipped a hand out from behind her back Neil's old style revolver in her fist. She had taken it from him when he started acting weird back in the temple in case he tried something when he wasn't in his right mind. The marines were expecting something, but they were so shocked by so suicidal an action that they hesitated for a fraction of a second. She shot York in the chest, the bullet smashing the disk in his breast pocket. Taya screamed and threw herself back towards the boarding ramp as half a dozen weapons opened fire. Junebug dove towards Woods, placing a second shot into a bandolier of grenades one of the marines wore. The hangar erupted in white fire as the bullet punched into the flash bangs, gang firing the whole bandolier and sending the charred remains of the marine smashing into a nearby cargo container. Junebug hit Woods around the waist, sending the woman sprawling.

The Terran was no newcomer to hand to hand but there was literally nothing you could do when two hundred pounds of body armor hit you at full speed. The tumbled along the deck in a ruck. Junebug struck at Woods face with a flat palm but the Terran caught the blow and twisted into a throw. Gunfire chattered deafeningly as Sayeeda spun over Woods shoulder, catching a grip of her backpack and slamming the Marine into the ground. Junebug kicked her in the hip, using the motion to shove herself away from Woods, trying to clear enough space to use the pistol, but the other woman rolled with the blow, skidding behind one of the lowboys that transported heavy equipment. Even though she didn't have a shot Junebug put a round into the vehicle before firing the remainder of the clip into the marines more or less at Random.

The soldiers were dragging the stricken body of York backwards towards one of the armored hatches. It was only the shock of attack and the flashbangs that had kept them alive so far. Junebug knew that in another heartbeat they would cut down the Highlander's crew in flurry of rifle fire. Woods was rising from behind her cover to line up a kill shot on Junebug. Screaming a curse Junebug swung Neil's pistol to bear and pulled the trigger. The final round cracked out and there was a sudden electrical discharge that painted the hangar with couscating static sparks. The bullet hit an invisible surface halfway between Junebug and Woods and dropped to the floor with a clang. Fire from a dozen weapons clattered into the same invisible barrier, limbing it with blue fire and revealing a cylindrical disc around the highlander. Junebug could only stare in wonder as bullets bounded to the deck and plasma bolts spattered impotently across the protective barrier. Taya had activated the Highlander's void shield inside the hangar. That was an insanely dangerous choice that might have just as easily killed everyone in the hangar in a massive generator failure. Well as they said in the Armored - Any one you walk away from.

"HA!" Junebug crowed and turned to dash towards the Highlanders landing ramp. There was a hollow boom behind her as one of the soldiers fired a shoulder mounted rocket into the shield, though he needn't have bothered, the Highlander's shields were built to take fire from another ship and there wasn't much a man could carry that packed that kind of firepower.

"Junebug we have maybe five seconds before the shield fails!" came Taya's voice tinny and terrified.

[Assistant]
Neil reached for his gun right after Junebug shot York with his pistol, only realizing after the fact that she had his fucking gun. Well, it couldn't be helped. The pilot might not be nearly as well trained in hand to hand as Junebug or Woods, but he had basic training down and was scrappy, and while York was close to superhuman levels of physical capabilities, he had just been shot with a large caliber bullet. Neil spun acrobatically and launched out with both of his feet in a drop kick, hitting York in the chest to add insult to literal injury. The sophisticated man cried out in pain and clutched his chest from the blow that had been struck into the bullet wound.

Neil caught himself with his hands, landing apeishly into a crouch. He just barely dived into the shield in time before the lasbeams and bullets began to ricochet off the void fields. Neil hit the ground in another roll, only to slam into the trunk-like limbs of Saxon, who looked down at him as if he was a particularly large shit he had just stepped in. "Your doing, I imagine." he rumbled, and to Neil it truly did look like he was contemplating on stepping on the lithe pilot. Neil shook his head emphatically.

"Not this time." He assured him with a grin. "Other times, yes. But this time, I didn't shoot first."

The growling continued for a few moments before it fadded off, and then a very human-like sigh escaped his mandibles. The Hexanagallion then began to access the small console within his armor at the wrist, and a small compartment raised up from above his massive hand. Neil heard air being sucked into the strange compartment before it launched its payload; a wrist mounted rocket. It sailed out of the void shield and detonated at the feet of the marine's, killing four and wounding several others.

"Don't stick around too long big guy, we're needing to get the fuck out of here." Neil said, scrambling to his feet and sprinting into the open cargo bay door. Saxon didn't respond, but he retreated nonetheless as he launched a volley of fletchlette rounds into the marines, who were leaping into cover and still firing just in case a few rounds pierced the shield, however unlikely that was. Neil passed Sven, who was simply doing his best to fix the parts of the Highlander that needed patching up.

"I'm glad I don't have to do two things at once like usual." Neil said to himself as he vaulted over a workshop table and slid into the cockpit access corridor. He hit the pilot seat hard and began to set the systems to go, calculating and working furiously. Thank Gideon, Sven had fixed the ship at least well enough to where it wouldn't detonate on impact, but Neil needed to still get things just right because going into the R.I.P. while already into the R.I.P. was probably the most risky thing one wanted to do in a ship.

When he saw that all were aboard, Neil revved the engine up and set the coordinates. The screen of the hanger bay appeared, and he saw Woods checking York on the ground, helping him up. Neil took a moment to watch her, before he pushed the image away and groaned. "Another one bites the dust." he said, and he hit the launch sequence. Within moments, the ship would tear a hole through the fabric of reality at the far end of the hanger and disappear into the void.

Neil felt as if his soul and nervous system were being tugged in two opposite directions, and he screamed as the ship tore through anotherarea of the R.I.P. He didn't even have air to warn the others to strap in. They simply were gone, and flew into the unknown.

[User]
The Highlander shuddered out of the RIP gracelessly. Junebug felt the hull torque as the insertion charge dispersed unevenly and she held her breath for long moments until it became clear that the freighter wasn't going to break up entirely. This time at least she hardly noticed the discomfort of dropping out of the RIP.

"Alright someone tell me we aren't all going to starve to death?" she said, her implant transmitting to all receivers that hadn't made a point of blocking her. Currently Junebug was wedged into one of the access crawlspaces, wedged in tight with a nest of wiring conduits and junction boxes. The space was too tight for her helmet so she had borrowed, stolen really, a pair of glasses from Neils tool box. The glasses didn't have the range of inputs her helmet had but they did allow her to link to the Highlander's database and to read basic electronic information from the circuits she observed. She had been in the process of troubleshooting a sort that was preventing the power cells from draining evenly. The problem was that each burnt out chip she found only lead to another burnt out chip, each sequentially fried by the surge when the ship had hit the alien shield.

It had been three days since they fled the November Sky. Exiting a ship already in the RIP had been risky but the Highlander had managed to extract into real space long enough for them to jury rig the power cells and take star sights. The sights only gave them a forty percent likelihood of an accurate fix on their position even with Savran as a reference point. The best they had been able to do was point themselves vaguely in the direction of civilization and jump again before the Terran cruiser could return and snatch them up.

"Well it ain't exactly Gremadine, but I think it's settled," Neil shouted, his voice unaided by communications gear. The thumping beat of his repulsive music echoed up the shaft from the cockpit. SHe had no idea what or where Gremadine was but she took his meaning. They hadn't talked much since they made their escape, they hadn't had time, even with all five of them working they had only just managed to keep the half crippled ship together long enough to take another star sight which suggested a likely settled world and make a last ditch jump. Sayeeda hadn't been kidding, if this world was uninhabited and there was a very real possibility the Highlander would never be able to leave it.

Surprisingly Saxon had found his way into her company more frequently than Neil did. The lizard alien seemed to be making a point of it, though Sayeeda couldn't imagine why. He made a few cryptic comments about her being cold which seemed a positive change from his usual threats against Neils life but the change still left her baffled. Junebug pulled a screwdriver from her belt and worked free the fried chip with a click. She removed a chip from her pouch and held it up in front of her goggles, allowing the computer to confirm it was the right unit for the job before slotting it into place. The chip flashed green as the built in ameteres registered the connection was good.

"Alright," she said, wiping her sweaty face on the shoulder strap off her tank top and then slithering her way back to the access port above the cockpit. With lithe grace she dropped through the port and landed on both feet and one hand just behind the pilot's seat. Neil must have expected the movement because he didn't jump or react other than to make a gesture at the forward view screen. The planet before them was largely arrid, mostly desert except for a few unenthusiastic strips of greenish gray near an unhealthy looking equatorial ocean.

"Sensors show habitation," Taya chimed in from her customary seat.

"Lony says there are even ionization tracks that indicate starship landings, though it doesn't look like they get a ton of visitors." As the girl spoke long curving arcs appeared on the view screen with estimated times of the tracks. The most recent vector was over two weeks old. There didn't seem to Junebug to be any pattern to them other than they all ended in broad canyons that criss crossed the desert.

"Any radio traffic?" she asked Neil.

"This dirtball have a name?"


[System]
"Tell it to someone who cares."
Age: 15
Height: 5'8
Weight: 122lbs
Build: Yasu is slender, but not overly thin.

Quirk: Live Wire: Involves creating threads of electric energy that shock any that come into contact with them. They can be left attached to surfaces in order to create a barrier or a trap for others.

Description: Yasu's slender, well groomed appearance might give the impression of her being of a more prim and proper individual, but that would hardly be fair. She enjoys all the hallmarks of an upper-middle class daughter, but a moment of conversation is all it would take to shatter any illusions about how she acts. She is coarse and brusque in her speech, irritable and combative when provoked and not afraid to be impolite if she has to. She is not beyond being sociable, but trying to make friends with her in an overbearingly friendly way is an exercise in frustration. She is the type to make her opinions heard loudly and if they're not assuaged she will make her displeasure known. Contrary to popular belief, Yasu is neither a bully nor a sadist, although she occasionally comes across as such after acting out of vindictiveness.

Yasu does not know her biological parents. She was dumped at an orphanage at an age all too young to remember anything prior. The Honest Hearts Orphanage was not the most pleasant of places, being both underfunded and socially stigmatised. Yasu, like many of the other children there, were often left to their own devices and became miscreants. They never did anything serious, but they were bad enough to warrant a poor reputation in the neighbourhood, which only served to place further stress on the orphanage owners, which flowed back to the children in kind. Yasu was 10 when she was adopted by a family. At first, it seemed like a stroke of luck for her. Her new parents were well-to-do, and she was quickly afforded many things she had wanted for as an orphan. If you asked her, she'd give it all up not to have to attend the schools they sent her to. Her parents had certain expectations of their daughter's upbringing, regardless of her origins. Their daughter would have to attend a prestigious school, the one in question being Nosaka High. It quickly became apparent that Yasu fit in poorly with the demographics of Nosaka High, and she soon found herself ostracized and harassed as a result.

After enduring it all for a year, Yasu gradually became more and more of a delinquent. First it was just an attitude problem, then it became deliberate disobedience, then she started acting out. The climax came when she picked a fight on the school grounds. This was Nosaka High, a prestigious school for prestigious students that absolutely did not brawl in the open. Yasu's parents were given a stern warning to have their daughter shape up, with their reputation and connections being the only factors preventing an expulsion. Unsure of what to do with her, they decided that the best option was to send her off somewhere to sort her out. Having heard of Jigokuraku Academy's reputation, they hoped it would help as both an outlet for her aggression and somewhere equipped to deal with problematic children. They gave her an ultimatum to either attend Jigokuraku and be straightened out or endure much harsher discipline at home. Having no attachment to her current lifestyle, Yasu went along with it. She didn't mind being a hero, but she had no idea what was in store for her.

[User]
One of the students she approached ran off screaming before she got an answer, apparently struck with an intense feat at the sight of one of the approaching teachers. For some reason that didn't really surprise her; she'd seen what some of the teachers were capable of during her own exam so the fact that one or two of the new students were a little apprehensive around them didn't shock her. Though this seemed a bit much.

Akeno turned to look over her shoulder at the blue-skinned boy, who at least seemed to have calmed down somewhat now that the teacher was done with him. If he was acting like that back during the entrance exam then it sounds like it wasn't just a case of him being excited by their first day at a new school. It seemed like he was going to be trouble, the kind Akeno wasn't sure she wanted to deal with; picking fights before they'd even set foot inside the building wasn't a good sign, even if Kenji did kind of invite it on himself.

It took her a moment to parse the rest of what'd he'd said however. Their exam had been cancelled? Why? Had something happened? Maybe it explained why the kid with pink hair had run off like that.

Bringing her attention back to the boy in front of her, the taller girl returned his short bow with a smile before introducing herself in turn. "I'm Kudo Akeno, nice to meet you to. I hope we can get along."

The door to the hall opened and a girl with two toned hair and wearing what was presumably this schools uniform stepped out. The teachers directed them to enter the school so that they could begin the assembly and the collection of students began to follow their instructions as well as they could; which in this case meant a few more late arrivals, some more shouting, a couple people trying to start fights and even one girl setting fire to some poor guys shirt.

Well, it wasn't like she didn't expect hero school to be livelier than her last.

Before she could move to follow the final student she had approached spoke up. She was taller than Akeno, which was rare but not unheard of, and had a slightly haughty air to her that Akeno didn't like.

Turning away from Mari, Akeno sought out Sakimoto again along with the other student that had been mentioned, but couldn't see them through the crowd. They'd really managed to take down the teacher that the students in her own exam had had such trouble with? Granted Akeno didn't stick around to see the end of that fight, splitting off as soon as she'd rescued one of the dummies to find more, but the last thing she had seen was Kenji being beaten senseless while a few others tried in vain to slow the dinosaur down.

It seemed like airplane arms could do more than just blow hot air, literally in his case, and could back up his words with action if need be. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Would it make him more or less insufferable if he actually lived up to his own hype? If he really was that strong then he'd be just another person who had a big head and a bad attitude just because he'd been lucky enough to be born with a strong quirk; annoying, but not uncommon and at least he'd make a good hero someday. It would, however, make his habit of picking fights with people more dangerous.

Akeno began to follow after the stream of students walking into the building, ended up near the back of the group due to her slow start. As such she was positioned close enough to hear when yet another student decided to stir up some trouble, very deliberately drifting over to be within earshot of Sakimoto before making a comment about how unimpressive everyone so far. Akeno just rolled her eyes at the bravado, but Sakimoto took the bait as everyone probably expected him to at this point. Rather than blow up or try to start another fight however, the blue-skinned student actually seemed to revel in the challenge.

Surprisingly, Akeno found herself smiling in response to the impromptu pep-talk. It was inspirational in a way, a reminder to all of them that this school's reputation didn't matter as much as what they did with this opportunity; even if none of them had made it into the Four Pillars for one reason or another that didn't mean they couldn't become stronger anyway. It mirrored her own thoughts on the school, and she really hoped they were both right.

Not everyone shared that sentiment, it seemed. A dark haired teen, leanly built and the same height as Akeno, walked up to them at the end of Sakimoto's speech, undoing everything the loud-mouthed student had said. Trash, undesirables, no one else would take us.

What an asshole.

Akeno was about to say as much, turning around to fully face the arrogant teen, but was beaten to the punch when another student grabbed the guys sleeve.

The pink haired student sounded more curious or confused than annoyed, like he was genuinely asking why the dark-haired teen had said such things. It was discordant enough from the Akeno's current mood that it made her freeze up for a second, her annoyance disappearing as she just looked wide-eyed at the new arrival. After a moment she regained her bearings and stepped forward to intervene before the taller teen could say anything else. She placed a hand on the pink haired boy's shoulder to get his attention.

"Because it's not one of the Four Pillars, and that's all anyone cares about; Jigokuraku isn't U.A., Shiketsu or one of the others so no one thinks very highly of it. But it's a new school and no one knows what it's capable of, so it's not like it has a bad reputation; it just doesn't have any reputation yet. Sakimoto is right though; all that matters is the heroes this school creates. We're the first students to attend here so its reputation is going to be whatever we make of it, good or bad."

Akeno finds out that the other entrance exam was cancelled and that the other students managed to take down the dinosaur-like teacher she saw during her own exam.
She responded to Shun and give him her name.
Overheard Souta's comment to Sakimoto and his response.
Heard Ryota's comment about all the student being trash and Hiroaki's question as to why he said that and replied.

of Thoth@Bluetommy@ShwiggityShwah@pkken@baraquiel

[Assistant]
---

Shun gave Akeno a sunny grin in response, but his attention was quickly stolen by the influx of students to the main building. This was it. Hero school. He was more nervous than he should've been. There was no test coming up, all he had to do was sit and listen. So why was his stomach doing backflips? Where was the excitement from earlier? Everyone else seemed composed; Shiki even stopped screaming, despite - or maybe because of - the massive dragon man looming over him.

Even Airplane Arms was saying something constructive, and he mentioned Shun! Although the glitchy boy wasn't quite sure if that was supposed to be a complement or not. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Worrying was pointless if everyone else was confident. He started clapping jokingly as he approached Hiroki, laughing lightheartedly like an idiot.

As he passed Ryota, his sunny disposition dropped on a dime as he narrowed his eyes into a judgemental grimace. This new kid was even worse than Hiroki. Sure, Airplane Arms was putting people down, but he at least had drive - Shun was fairly certain his actions were motivated by competitiveness and not spite. But Jigokuraku was the dark-haired boy's school too; he wasn't doing anything constructive, just dragging everyone down with him. Pixels then snapped his head back toward Hiroki, all bright smiles and neon colors again.

"I knew you weren't that crabby all the time!" He giggled, stopping before the Tsunderplane and rocking back and forth on his heels enthusiastically. "Guodo-sensei already said my name but I don't know if you missed it or not since you were calling me Pixels, so I just wanted to say you can call me Shun, nice to meet you! Even though we kinda met at the exam, but you didn't really do anything but yell at me and I wasn't really thinking straight anyway so I guess that doesn't really count." And now he was babbling in run-on sentences. It's over, he's fully awake, "Hiroki, right? Or do you prefer Sakimoto? I know some people like to be formal!"

---

Cosmos@ShwiggityShwah@pkken
and @baraquiel by proxy I guess

Shun shoots an angry look at Ryota before walking over and bothering the hell out of poor Airplane Arms.

[User]
Yasu had been hoping for a more explosive climax to dipshit's little spat. It was disappointing to see the staff swoop in and diffuse the situation. Yasu had no desire to see the instigator get hurt, but it would have been fun to see turbine boy suffer the consequences of getting violent. As it stood, the situation around them both had become a chaotic mess of people showing up, introducing themselves, getting involved and otherwise having things to say. It was all too much to follow, so Yasu didn't bother. If everyone else wanted to get in the middle and make comments, that was their business. She was just going to wait for the moment to go on in to the hall.

Eventually, they got the go ahead to head on in. Yasu nodded along with Kiko's bet as they went. She wasn't really planning to turn this into a serious bet, but it would be amusing to see if plane dude could last the distance. As they made their way in, it appeared this school wasn't half the dump she'd heard it might be. Still, it wasn't as opulent as some of the places she had been to. Nosaka High definitely had this place beat. Still, it hardly mattered to Yasu if one school looked prettier than the other. She would much rather be here than at Nosaka. Yasu opted to take her seat right next to Kiko. Sitting up the front wasn't usually her style, but she was her 'friend' of choice for the day, so it was as good a seat as any.


[System]
Age: 17

Backstory: As far as family life goes, Aaron got off easier than a lot of other people, but wasn't without his worries. His father, Aaron Loche, was a violent felon who'd split on his tenth birthday. Ronnie was often found himself as the object of his aggression, as his father believed Ronnie was a mistake. Early on, Ronnie developed a panic disorder and social anxiety. His father leaving was the best birthday gift Ronnie could ask for. Ronnie had yet to address the effects his father had on him, and Aaron Sr. lurks as a shadow in the back of his mind. Ronnie's older half-brother, Vincent, had been his role model, who'd taken his resentment for his father and used it to fuel his budding career as a policeman. After serving for four years, Vincent took a bullet to his knee in a gang raid, forcing him to retire young and giving him PTSD. Ronnie discovered his powers when he aided his brother with falling asleep and the frequent night terrors. As the years passed, Ronnie took care of the family with multiple part time jobs, while his brother Vincent went to college to pursue a safer dream. One year ago, Ronnie's mom was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and declined chemo. Refusing to allow him to watch her wither away, she forced Ronnie to attend Skyline Academy. In the wake of her death, Ronnie struggles to return to school and maintain his formerly optimistic outlook.
Abilities/Weaknesses: Somnokinesis
Ronnie has the ability to manipulate aspects of a person's sleep and consciousness.
•At a touch, Ronnie can make his target fall asleep. Ronnie can determine how long and how deep they sleep, and for the most part, does not force people to sleep. His powers also serve to wake people up.
•Ronnie can dreamwalk, but only if he is asleep. Dreamwalking allows him to be inside someone's dream, physically interact with the dreamscape and dreamer, and influence dreams. However, when he dreamwalks into another person's dream, he can't leave until the other person wakes up, and can feel any pain and sustains all damage in a dream. Damage done inside a dream does not apply to his awakened form, but carries into any other dreams he walks into. To heal himself, Ronnie must be healed by a healer in a dream, or go into a regenerative sleep. This can take a long time, depending on how injured he is. If Ronnie dies in a dream, he becomes physically unconscious and unresponsive until his dreamwalking form is healed to a stable state. Ronnie can't dreamwalk while awake, but can watch other people's dreams in his mind's eye. Ronnie is rarely able to influence dreams when awake.
•Ronnie is able to project the dreams he is in into the physical world. This is mentally exhausting to him.
Personality: Ronnie tries to believe there is at least a little bit of good in every person, but time has worn down this childish faith. He truly does want to help people, but doesn't believe he can, often underestimating himself. He has a very dutiful attitude, so whenever he sets his mind on something, he rarely stops until he thinks he's accomplished what he was looking for. Ronnie is very adaptable, and agreeable to the point of being a doormat. Ronnie has a tendency to get lost in his thoughts, making him very absent-minded, a point of frustration to him and many others. He prefers to keep people at an arm's distance, rarely letting them into his personal life. He has an enigmatic, aloof air to him, almost cold at times. While he doesn't intend this, most of the time, he doesn't mind the isolation it sometimes fruits.
Lately, Ronnie has become very withdrawn due to his mother's death, and spends a lot of time in his head. Lately he's spent a lot of time dreamwalking into other people's dreams.

[User]
Yeojung "Yunnie" Bae

After the events of Yunnie's late-night excursion, it must be said that she slept like a log. The illusions put on her clothes dissipated soon after she returned to her apartment and collapsed on her bed as Yunnie's powers wore off and it was no longer the priority--that being replaced by the heaviness in her eyelids as she hurriedly prepared for bed. The energy expended by Yunnie's powers enough to put her to the sleep the moment she snuggled under the covers, and upon waking up, she could only stare at the clothes scattered on the floor and think, "What, exactly, happened last night?"

Thankfully, nothing scandalous took place--unless you count spying and sneaking out as scandalous, which makes sense. Still, Yunnie is glad to attribute her light headache and rumpled clothes to the mysterious rendezvous in the courtyard and not to the party.

Getting ready, Yunnie thinks back to last night--was it really nothing? Or would something else pop up? It's a mystery, but she's definitely going to start keeping on eye out for suspicious masked man, or the headmaster. Hm, should she go with the hearts again or something easier and less... flashy? They are doing some sort of physical training today, so she shouldn't dress her best, or her clothes could get wrecked. Who knows how aggressive it could get?

Once Yunnie is finished with her extensive morning routine and following the other students to the forest, her mind is focused on the day at hand and a worrying rip in her white cat stockings, last night's worries temporarily forgotten. Brown hair flies as she scans the area, looking for the boy assigned to train with her. Hopefully he's not wanting to spar; Yunnie can dodge alright, but barely throw a punch. (She has noodle arms. But perfect fashion sense!)

Catching sight of a tired-looking boy out of the corner of her eye, Yunnie decides he's the one. The hologram says so. Probably. Brushing off the imaginary dust on her patchwork denim jacket as her nerves threaten to overtake her, Yunnie sucks in a deep breath and dedicates a minute of last minute do-I-really-look-okay time before going over to where he stands. Knees knocking (but only a little!) and hands in the pockets of her high-waisted shorts, Yunnie takes a good look at her partner--he's older than her, probably by a few years, and he has a nose piercing! Not that Yunnie can't appreciate street style, but her parents would bury her alive if she ever got as much as a second piercing--it took her literal years of begging to convince them to let her pierce her ears.

It looks cool on him, though. His hair could use a little work, but she's guessing he's the kind to not care.

"Um... Excuse me... you're Aaron, right? I'm your partner, I guess. I-I'm Yeojung, but you can call me Yunnie if you want!" Voice wobbling slightly when she finally attempts to start a conversation, Yunnie looks up at her partner--she tends to do that a lot, since she's... small. (Five feet two inches, to be exact!) He's not one of the kids she met last night, though she can see them milling around the forest, like her. Well, that means she doesn't have to worry about weird midnight occurrences. Kind of relief, actually.

"A-anyway...! I don't know what we're really supposed to be doing, since my power isn't very... weaponizable. It's just some sort of illusion thing." To demonstrate, Yunnie touches her hair bow, turning it from pink plaid to navy blue with stars. "Like that. Ta-da."

[Assistant]
Tai
It was pretty cool being in the outside world, Adrien decided. He'd wanted to do it earlier, but he couldn't really let people see him until he got to the academy, and then once he did get there, he had to immediately plug himself in to charge for two days because all he had for the trip was a crappy travel charger which barely even worked. From what he'd heard, this meant he'd also missed a student party he could've used to seamlessly integrate himself into the student body, which kinda sucked.

However, he had a second chance here, and from the sounds of it, he'd even finally get to field test his combat capabilities against an actual person! Finally, after so long,he'd be able to make a few friends other than his brother, and in the process he'd get to fight something other than training drones. If that wasn't a sign from the universe telling him that life was good, he didn't know what was...

Excited, he looked over to the screen, analysing the image of his partner, a young man named Davarius Hicks. He was just about to begin searching for the guy when he heard a voice coming from next to him, and turned to see Davarius himself walking up to introduce himself.

"Oh cool, I was just about to start looking for you." He said, his voice sounding mostly human except for a slight synthetic echo. "Yeah, I'm Adrien. Nice to meet'cha Davarius."

He held out his hand for a handshake, trying to remember the correct ways to interact with other people from his lessons. He was pretty sure what he was doing was right, but it couldn't hurt just to double check. In fact, as he thought that, he initiated a quick subroutine to analyse and record Davarius's movement and speech patterns, because the extra information could only help.

"Oh, nah, don't worry about it." He said, waving off the guys concern over being rude when he asked about Adriens body. "Yeah, it's my body. Pretty much all my original body's gone except for a couple of brain bits. That might sound a little depressing, but it's mostly just pretty cool. As it turns out, being able to customise your body any way you like makes life a whole lot more interesting..."

He trailed off for a moment, lost in thought, before returning to the present.

"But hey, enough about me, what's your story?" He asked excitedly. "What're your powers? And are they strong enough that you'd be willing to spar? Also how fast can you move, because I've wanted to test this new mobility configuration out for a while, but I had to charge once I got here, so I haven't really gotten the chance yet."

[User]
. R o n n i e .

Ronnie had not been at the party for a number of reasons. All of them could be grouped under the conclusion that last night had been horrid, and more exhausting than normal. One, he wasn't a fan of parties. The noise, the people, it wasn't really his scene. It wasn't that he didn't like parties, per se, but the situations often made him feel trapped, made him feel as if his lungs were seizing up on him. During his stay at Skyline Academy, which had been about a year, Ronnie hadn't really made any close friends. Most people he interacted with were in the dreamscape, and half the time they were being chased or falling or their home was on fire, etc. Most people didn't think twice about Aaron when they woke up the next day.

For a person of his ability, it would be assumed that he would not be able to oversleep. And of course, normally Ronnie wasn't the person to oversleep, he woke up after he visited and/or helped his brother. However, Vincent had had a particularly violent dream last night, which would be expected. Most of the time they were reflective of his time in the police force, but his latest dream was particularly disturbing. This time, Vincent was the bad guy of the dream, armed and dangerous. Normally Ronnie could manipulate the dreamscape to remove possible threats, but he wasn't good at it, and rarely tried it on the dreamers themselves. To fight a dreamer, he'd have to remove them from their own dream, which would make certain their dreaming form would sustain damage. Plus, Ronnie wasn't exactly expecting to fight his brother. The whole dream ended when Ronnie was shot three times. Two of the shots were fatal, on to the head, and one to the heart, the last one to his leg, which was more of a disabler than anything. Ronnie had died several times in his dreaming form, but the pain never left. The fear was present as well, but Ronnie knew he would wake up the next day after he'd had his regenerative sleep.

Vincent had woken up almost immediately after he'd shot his brother, obviously shaken by the whole thing. That left Ronnie to die in the dreamscape alone. It didn't take long, but due to the incredible damage he'd taken in the dreamscape, his regenerative sleep took much longer than usual. He woke up around 3 with a vague ache in his body, a swift reminder of what had happened last night. Unassuming of his time crunch, he'd hopped in the shower to let the warm water wash away his the dull ache and the stress of last night. He sure was thankful damage that occurred in the dreamscape stayed in the dreamscape. He'd visit Vinnie again tonight to check in on him. He doubted Vinnie would be asleep now, and with a twinge of sadness figured he'd probably be having a panic attack right now from the dream. He hadn't been able to help him, at least not tonight.

He didn't realize how late he was until he got out of the shower. He wasn't quite late yet, but if he didn't get it together, he would be. He decided to skip a real meal, rather in favor of not being late for meeting his partner. They were to practice their powers with a partner, assigned via hologram. He'd rushed up to the forest as quickly as he could, scanning the clearing for his assigned partner. She finds him first, and he looks over (or down rather, his 6 foot in comparison to her 5'2 makes her kind of really short next to him, he notices with a smile.) suddenly when she speaks, slightly startled. Jumpy from last night wouldn't cover it. He really hopes he doesn't have to fight anyone today.

"Uh, yeah, I'm Aaron." He distracted, and he knows it, so he focuses on being more present. He doesn't want to anger his partner within the first couple minutes of meeting her. "Sorry... long night. You can call me Ronnie if it suits you better. Whatever works." He manages a smile, but meeting new people never has been his strong suit. People in general tend to stress him out, but he notes she appears slightly nervous herself, so hopefully this whole thing will be non-confrontational physically or verbally.

"Good that," he says when he tells him her powers aren't offensive, it looks like he'll catch at least one break today. He smiles when she shows her his powers, it's pretty cool. "I'm not a fighter either. I'm a somnokinetic dreamwalker. I just make people go to sleep and change their dreams." He shrugs, unsure how to show her without actually using it on her. "I can show you if you want?"


[System]
Age: 11
Appearance: Mitzy
Personality: Mitzy is quiet, but not usually shy. She enjoys solitude but she's no stranger to adventure. She can't help her curiosity and has a bad habit of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. She will try and behave if she is able to though. She is okay at getting along with others as long as they aren't rude. If she is able to get close friends, she is forever loyal to them... That is if she really trusts them.
History: Mitzy had lived with her Korean mother and Irish father, who lived in a small villa nearby thick forests which she spent most of her childhood exploring. She had more fun adventuring with wild animals than the children who lived nearby. She has vivid memories of gardening, and cooking with her mother who passed away to cancer when she was 5. Her father did his best to take care of Mitzy by himself until he decided she needed a mother. Her father had remarried a high-maintenance woman who disliked Mitzy and often called her useless. In Mitzy's anger, she had set her glass of milk on fire, this being the first time she has utilized her magic. After she turned 11, she received a letter from Hogwarts, with her Father thinking it was the best way for Mitzy to learn control and her Step-mother agreeing just to send Mitzy away.
Blood Status: Muggleborn
Wand: Eucalyptus, Pegasus Wing Feather, 12 inches
Pet: A sloth named Harold, who sometimes wears a tiny bowler hat.
Pet Image: Harold

[User]
Mitzy started to braid her auburn hair into two cute little pigtails, blushing a little. She felt so embarrassed seeing how composed the girl had been, even as she talked about how excited she felt. She moved and walked with such grace, she could be mistaken for a princess... Then there was Mitzy, in her faded stockings and knitted black dress.

I should've brought that sparkly tie with me...

Mitzy internally scolded herself for being so immature compared to the first year sitting across from her. For goodness sakes, she brought rainbow socks with her.

Breaking from her thoughts, Mitzy nodded her head to the girl.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one." Her smile was awkward, but she meant well.

After another girl had entered, wanting to share the compartment, Mitzy sighed quietly, keeping an uncomfortable smile on her face.

I was hoping to have a quiet ride to Hogwarts.... But then again, there are a lot of students filling up the train, I'm sure it's cramped in the other compartments- plus, I can take advantage of this opportunity to make friends!

"Of course, you can sit here." Mitzy's smile became genuine. "By the by, My name's Mitzara Fae, you can call me Mitzy, though." The sloth on her arm lifted it's head to let out a 'meep'.
"Oh, and this is Harold!" She patted her pet on the back.

[Assistant]
Callum chuckled. "Matter of fact, yes I am THE Robertson." Callum questioned the boys awkward stare in his head, before noticing, that Ghost noticed, the kitten across the way from him. Ghost's ears perked up, and he perched his head to get a better look on his next victim. The wolf rose from his seat, and growled ferociously at the kitten. Cal put a hand in front of Ghost, and shouted, "Down! Down boy!" ghost immediately sat back down, and Carley up into a small, grey ball, obviously tired.

"Cal - I mean Lach - I mean, I prefer Cal. Cal sighed, and put a hand to his face. "Excited?! Hell yeah!" He didn't mean to, but he sort of yelled it at Lachlan. "Sorry 'bout that. Mostly for quidditch, I've already practiced a ton on my dad's old Nimbus. Do you like quidditch?"

[User] Paul sighed as he headed near the train. His mother, like always, was worring to much about him "Paul sweet heart don't forget to write home...your father will want to hear about your classes and everything." she said as she pushed his trolley laden with his trunk and hos owl Lia, who slept soundly ignoring the noise and the shaking as Paul's mother pushed. As they quickly found the pillar and entered Paul was greet by the Hogwarts express "huh...some reason I thought of something better than that he said jokingly as He quickly grabbed Lia's cage and placed it as his feet. Quickly his mother loaded his trunk on board and went quickly over to her son. "Paul good luck! Sorry again your father was detained at work...you know Auror Business..." she said softly as Paul rolled his eyes "Whatever... Tell him bye I guess." he says as his mother hugged him and Paul groaned as she kissed him on the forehead "Bye mom." he says with a smile as he boarded the train.

[Assistant]
Hiroshi Yukimora | Kings Cross

Hiroshi walked through kings cross, unwillingly lost. As if he wasn't out of place as it was, a lonesome Japanese boy walking through a train station with a cart of tiny business suite cases. All the suite cases were of course magic, bigger on the inside. Hiroshi continued to walk up and down Kings Cross, crossed that his mother. The one person who had wanted him to go to Hogwarts wasn't able to take him and see him off. Something to do with the team wanting to do some extra practice before the season started.

(In Japanese)

"Be a good boy, she said. You'll do fine she said. Platform 9 (3/4) wouldn't be to hard to find she said. From all the days she could have gone to work."  Hiroshi grumbled to himself as he continued to walk up and down Kings Cross.

As Hiroshi was about to give up, he turned around astonished to see a young boy run straight into a brick wall and disappear. Hiroshi smacked himself on the forehead for not noticing the brick wall that had a tiny sign that said 9 (3/4) above it. He slowly pushed his cart towards the wall. Even though Hiroshi knew that he would pass through the wall, a slow unnerving feeling crawled up his spine. He took a big gulp, and calmly pushed his cart through the wall, with him following behind it.

The next time Hiroshi blinked, he was at totally different place compared to where he was a second ago. He was on a different platform, brimming with life. Children and parents, with carts carrying the oddest of commodities, but what took his breath away the most was the big red train that read "Hogwarts express".

After figuring out where his luggage would be stored, he boarded on the train not knowing what to find or expect. Hiroshi walked up and down the aisles looking for an empty compartment. Most of them looked like they were already taken or had a person in them. All he wanted to do was to find an empty compartment and have a nice quiet ride to the school, but he assumed that he wasn't going to be able to have that. He walked up and down the aisles again until he found a compartment with 2 boys inside of it. He took a big gulp and knocked on the door.

"Pardon me, but do you have space for one more?"

@Apoalo

[User]
"Hi Mitzi, Hello Harold. My name is Lavender, and this is April. Thanks for having us!"
Lavender sat down near Mitzi and put the birdcage on the seat next to her. The owl was restless, but Lavender wasn't sure if it would be okay to let her out.

"I don't think I caught your name?" She said to the girl who had spoken first. Without pause she turned to Mitzi and continued "Is that a sloth? That's an unusual pet, isn't it? I love his hat! It goes well with your dress."
Finally pausing to draw breath, Lavender looked around the compartment and stole a few glances at the other girl. She liked Mitzi. With her faded stockings and knitted dress she somehow seemed more real than the pretty, elegant girl she'd been sharing a compartment with. Hard to believe that someone so composed could be a first years, but she looked too young to be anything else.

April gave a screech as a compartment door opened and closed somewhere near them, and Lavender rummaged through her bag. She emerged victorious, shaking a box of owl treats in her hand. She handed April a treat through the bars of the cage, and the bird accepted it with her beak. Settling on the branch, April transferred the treat to her left claw and began nibbling it. Lavender smiled and wondered what would happen next.

[Assistant]
Karen nodded, a bit put-off with herself; here she was trying to maintain a look of grace, and she'd forgotten the most basic principle when meeting new people: introducing herself! "Stupid, stupid! What kind of impression is that? What's the point of being elegant if you come off as rude instead? Stupid!" she raged internally. That she could allow such an oversight of manners was appalling to the utmost to her. Her head reeled at the thought.

Giving an inaudible sigh of exasperation under her breath, Karen smiled at the two, trying to cover up her inner frustration. It worked for the most part, with no indication other than the tight gripping of her hands.

"I apologize for failing to introduce myself, it was rude of me. I'm Karen Diana Irving McGraves, but you can call me Karen, and this," Karen picked up the big ball of white fur that was Elijah. The cat had a sour look on its face as she placed him on her lap for Mitzy and Lavender to see, and let its displeasure be known by shooting a look at Karen, "is Elijah. Don't give me that look, have some manners."

Elijah flicked his tail in response. Karen frowned.

"Someone's not going to get dessert tonight."

[User]
"Pleased to meet ya, Lavender and April!"
Mitzy couldn't contain her happiness as she physically vibrated in place, it was so pleasing meeting new people, though she looked mildly bewildered when Lavander said Harold was an unusual pet.
"Oh? I hadn't thought Harold would be unusual. It was either him or a turtle... Thought that would be my dad's pet... And it's kinda slow and boring..." Her speech turned to mumbling the more she spoke, though her last comment was heard by her pet. "Meh!"

"Oh, Harold! You're not that slow, and you are amazing!" The sloth meeped, pleased with Mitzy's response. "Plus, We are wearing compatible outfits." She giggled, then turned to Karen.

"That's a long name you have, Karen. Very pretty. I don't even have a middle name, let alone two."
Looking down at Elijah, Mitzy put her chin on her hands. "Hello, Elijah! Do you like catnip? I have some catnip in my bag... Somewhere..." Mitzy stood to rummage through her things, continuing to (or at least trying) to keep conversation.

"So... What do you girls like to do for fun?" Mitzy asked as she pulled out random things like a broken Rubix cube, and a coil of wire.

[Assistant]
Lavender was a little bit taken aback by Karen's response. She wondered if she should apologize for asking, but settled for "Hello Karen! Nice to meet you. Elijah is a very fitting name for such a beautiful animal" instead. She was almost immediately distracted by Mitzi, anyway. That girl radiated positive energy. It was catching. Lavender smiled a huge smile. She liked that little ball of joy, and her silly pet.

Catching Mitzi's bewildered look, Lavender's smile faltered. She shrugged. "I was curious, is all. The head mistress only mentioned cats and owls, I think, so I guess I just wasn't prepared for a sloth. Muggles don't keep them as pets, anyway. I've only seen them in the zoo, or on the telly. I think he's cute, though. And way better than a turtle. Oh and I don't have a middle name, either."

Blushing, thinking she'd given enough personal information, Lavender sank back into her seat. She watched Mitzi as she dug through her stuff and smiled again.

[User]
"It's nice to meet you as well, Mitzy, Lavender," Karen said, before she tilted her head towards Harold. "Well, Harold is an unusual pet; as Lavender stated, most people are expected to bring owls or cats. Still, unusual is not bad, and he is rather cute, really."

Karen flushed as Mitzy complimented her name. She shook her head, trying her best to hide the tint of red on her cheeks, although that was difficult given the paleness of her skin. "I-it's just one middle name, actually," Don't stutter! "Karen Diana are my first names, Irving is my mothers, my maiden name," she explained, a bit flustered - nobody had really complimented her on her name before, except her parents, but they didn't count.

Meanwhile Elijah, purred proudly as Lavender complimented his name, all the while looking up at the mention of catnip. The feline had a glint in its eyes that told Karen that he would be hanging around Mitzy often in the future. Being so easily swayed by treats like that, Karen was sure that Elijah would sell her out one day for a box of catnip.

Still, as she regain her composure, there was one thing she had to wonder about . . .

"Those are a lot of things, Mitzy."

What does she keep them for?

[Assistant]
As Mitzy shifted her things around she listened as Lavender and Karen spoke. She smiled to herself, feeling less worried than what she was only a few moments ago. Having Karen and Lavender with her made her feel safe.

"Ah!" Mitzy spied the little tin container of catnip, grabbing for it before holding it up into the air. "I've got it." She grinned eagerly as she nearly torn of the lid, as if she herself was hungry for catnip.
Mitzy froze for a moment when Karen asked about all the things Mitzy removed from the bag.
"Uh- You mean my toys?" She pinched a bit of catnip, leaning towards Elijah with a flat palm. "I didn't mean to bring so many... but I didn't know if I was going to make friends.. And I didn't want to get bored." She looked to her feet as she mumbled.
"Meep!" Harold reached one claw towards the catnip.
"You already ate half the cat-nip, Harold- Save some for later!" She closed the can, placing it back in her bag.


[System]
Age: 17
Gender: F

Apperance: Kanoko is well built and fairly tall, standing at 5'9" and 160ish pounds. She has wider hips and what seems to be a rather large chest, but in reality her body packs a lot more strength than would first appear. Being a weight lifter and someone who does strength training three times a week, Kanoko's form is thick and solid, with even the loosest clothing providing a very difficult fit for her musculature. Highly unusual for someone who likes gunpla and manages to scratchbuild aspects of a kit, other features that stand out are her rounder, cheerier face and her pastel, carrot-colored hair. With vivid green eyes to provide sharp contrast, her face is what attracts the most attention as she's usually dressed in track or exercise wear, mainly due to her workout schedule. Most days she wears a red track jacket, any kind of T-shirt underneath but traditionally ones with interesting patterns, and a pair of spats which are cut just above the knee, colored gray with a black stripe down the side.

Nationality: Japanese

Favourite Gundam Series: MSG: Thunderbolt, MSG: 08th MS, IBO, Gundam 00, Gundam Unicorn

Personality: Kanoko is very upbeat and outgoing, and is usually the life of a party. Almost always in a good mood, her attitude is simply bursting with energy, the girl being enthusiastic in almost all of her ventures no matter how tedious. She puts this to good use outside of her schooling and her workouts in the form of her passion for Gunpla, a highly unusual hobby for a girl of her temperament. However, the intense fights of gunpla tournaments resonate with her, and during battles she can be seen wholly throwing herself into the fray, her excitement flooding every attack and dodge to give her haphazard fighting style its own flavor. She's incredibly friendly, and isn't afraid to tell people off if need be, but she prefers to avoid conflict if she's able to.

History: One wouldn't think that Kanoko would be into Gunpla, but Gundam itself as a whole is one of her greatest interests. Being the daughter of an engineer, she was introduced to Gundam by her father through the Universal Century, where he took his own inspiration in order to become an engineer. In her early years she didn't build Gunpla, but was infatuated with the storyline, gobbling down every book, anime or movie she could possibly get her hands on about the Universal Century, until the series came to a head with: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. It was gritty, it was raw, the storyline was enthralling and the mobile suits themselves were detailed to a standard she had never seen before. The redesigns enraptured the weight training fitness girl more than anything else she had found, and the newest designs such as the Atlas or the Gundam Head GMs were fascinating to observe through the pages. Thus began her journey into Gunpla, using the energy and enthusiasm she put towards her athleticism into building gunpla and eventually submitting herself in tournaments.

Gunpla Info
Name: Hi-Nu Gundam
Scale: 1/144

Weapons: x6 Fin Funnels, Beam Rifle, Hyper Bazooka, Shield, x2 60mm MG, x3 Beam Saber

[User]
Looking up Yumi let out a small smile the gusion was shaping up quite nicely its inner frame was built and she was starting to attach the armor pieces onto it's rotund legs was done and Yumi was slowly starting to work her way up. "She has a point for any gunpla builder or fighter there is little to beat the chance to visit let alone learn in a place like NIelson labs." Yumi said in agreement to what Jessica asked as she kept working on the gusion. "Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb!" Seems to be the philosophy of the current Meijin Yumi added. She seen him only once and that was when she won the tournament when he was handing her the trophy. When he said something similar to that.

"Yup she is our magic puppeteer" Sakuya said looking at the bearguys of Dani's the idea was genius and it was great to see it in action of course Dani was a special kind of genius one that she was glad to say was her friend. "Though Dani isnt the only one who has been busy I been involved with improving the AI level of the battle systems. Sadly these improvements wont be seen for awhile." Sakuya stated with a sigh as she mentioned that part it was her greatest moment through hard study and research she managed to allow the AI to evolve and adapt to situations rather than a set computer generated set of moves. It was practically human like in its actions and movements and sadly was not ready yet for public use.

[Assistant]
Cassandra

"Sure thing Kamina." Cassandra snarked as she started actually building her kit now that the paint and panel lining was finished. She didn't disagree with the sentiment though, even if she wasn't as 'into' Gunpla as the rest of the people at the table where.

She then turned to the guy with the Xamel that had sat at a table next to them "We don't bite you know, and we got plenty of room over here for one more." she said. She might not be 'into' Gunpla like the others, but fellowship was a big part of why people came to her mom's shop over the larger one after all.

Alexis

"Maybe I should have you guys have a look at a battle program Justin's been working on then. He's got all the modeling and basic rules of the mode done, just needs some one to get some AI in the CPU opponents, and he says the stock AI is to dumb." Alexis said as she watched the bearguys fly around Dani. "New methods of control, and smarter AI is all well and good, but even the smartest AI can be crushed and broken if it's controlling something every one knows the ability of."

[User]
"Yeah, come on over! We have plenty of room here, and we aren't done with our kits yet," Kanoko grinned, going at it a bit slower than the other two. It was an out of box build, but she was being especially meticulous, as she had learned from her previous experience in Gunpla battling that higher build qualities yielded better endurance and overall operational functionality. The Hi-Nu was coming along nicely, but so far she had only gotten the torso, head and arms down, much less the legs and the funnel pack. It had been a while since she had the opportunity to actually have a group build; being in college didn't help, as her hectic schedule made it extremely difficult to do much with any Gunpla activity.

But now that she had been accepted here? There was time for all the gunpla building in the world. Hers wasn't going to get a coat of paint for now; just lining and some good filing to bring it up to par. She'd have time to dabble in it later.

[Assistant]
Jessica smiled. She enjoyed the atmosphere of group building. it was always nice to have people around her interested in the same things she was into. Building up the Pale Rider, the girl would keep following the instructions as she had them memorized. "So, why did we all choose the suits we did. There's tactical and style preferences, but there's always been a link with gunpla for me, where a suit will call out to me, speak to me to want to be piloted and work together. I've found success with these suits i feel drawn to. Why did everyone else choose their suits?" she asked, looking around the table.

Dani meanwhile was enjoying the conversation she was having. "An appropriate A.I. will make use of any suit its given to give even us challenges." Dani said looking around. "As to those gathered in this room... we are the closest humans there are to newtypes. some of the brightest minds on the planet teaching children and some of these children being the kids of champions." she said and placed a hand on Alexis's shoulder for emphasis. "So i will never underestimate an a.i. which can plan twenty steps ahead of me. I remember in our tournament, i went against someone using exclusively graze suits. Grunt suits. The Graze Queen. She gave me a really hard run for my money and i was piloting my Woundwort." she pointed out, taking her hand off and looked around the room, soaking in the same facility she had been in to develop her dive. "Besides, i'm doubly watching my ass when sakuya here makes an a.i. Cheeky girl knows all my tricks!" said the woman laughing full heartedly as she loved the company of her friends.

[User]
Cassandra
"There are two reasons, the first is; it's load out is one of the best you can get with a straight build." Cassandra replied. "Between the I-Fields, Beam Markers that can be used for both offense and defense, the verity in beam weapons, and the flexibility the Hook Anchors offer, not to mention the Heat Knives and Machine Cannons. Then there's it's armor and speed." She continued. "There isn't such a thing as a 'perfect build', but I firmly believe that the Full Cloth is as close as you can get. Least conceptually anyway." She added, then started to dig in her bag, pulling out a case.

"The other reason is." she opened the case, revealing a Barbatos Lupus Rex, but one that looked like it'd been through a hellish battle. Armor was damaged or missing, parts of the Frame that where visible where heavily damaged, or also missing, one arm was gone, the other arm was missing fingers, armor, and had a huge gouge in the frame. The 'crown' was gone completely as was half the armor on the head. "I haven't had the time to actually fix the suit I do feel that 'kinship' with you mentioned."

"and yes, 'you should see the other guys' applies here."

Alexis

Alexis's expression changed rather sharply. "Which is a problem by it self. I'm concerned that my title will put unnecessarily high expectations on her. Not that she can't build or fight mind you, trust me, I've seen her go 'all out', she's can be scary when she's got the motivation to do so. But she's not me, she's got no intention of being like me. She hasn't decided want she wants." Alexis explained, then paused "Beside making that asshole Simon eat his words." She added, before continuing. "Though, that said." getting back on track. "I'm less concerned about the staff, then I am the other students in that regard."

"But moving on to the subject of the AI." Alexis said, that smirk crossing her face again. "Soundly like you need some new tricks then. As for me." she shrugged. "A machine is a machine. It'll still run on a 'pattern' of sorts, or have a hole in the 'tactical programming', it's just a matter of figuring out the where those holes are and exploiting them."

[Assistant] "Just give me a moment to finish up this part I was working on, then I'll join you." Justin replied as he continued his work on the Xamel's cannon, "It should be about a minute until I'm done." After finishing up on the cannon, Justin picked up his kit and his work supplies and moved over to a open seat the table with Cassandra and the others, then got back to work on the Xamel. "By the way, I suppose I should introduce myself." he said, "My name's Justin Acelin, but most call me Jace once they hear my name."

[User]
"I chose the gusion due its sheer difference from what I normally use. Plus I have a soft spot for the toad guy. My normal gunpla is a verde buster" Yumi said as she opened up a small case placing her verde buster on the field with its extended v fin shining in the light. If one looked closely they could see cleverly hidden beam sabers on the rear skirt along with several stick grenades as well. "Either way I wanted to use something different than this old thing so this works in my favor as well" Yumi continued as she started to carefully place the large armor onto the frame. "Looks like Ill be done soon" Yumi muttered to herself as she looked at the gusion it was almost done just missing the armor on the arms.

"My zero system is like its name sake an A.I that can predict what the opponent will do next. While it is not self evolving or able to predict the future it does it's job. Though the Zero system is just a temp name since the project idea was based after it." Sakuya explained her work was not to be scoffed at just cause its a A.I it was meant to mimic a human brain so it can react as a person would in a fight. "Still dont worry about the students Professor Niels personally scans each and every applicant in great detail before making his choices. I even heard that the Meijin himself helped with the scanning of applicants." Sakuya added it was of note that Niels and the Meijin Kawaguchi would take time to do this.

[Assistant] "The main reason I chose the Xamel is it's a pretty obscure suit, and I kinda like some of the more obscure suits." Justin explained, "I mean, most people who are into the Universal Century-era suits know about the GP01 Zephyranthes, GP02 Physalis, GP03 Dendrobium, and AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra, but not all know about the GP04 Gerbera, GP00 Blossom, or YMS-16M Xamel. Granted, I also like some of the more-commonly known suits as well."

[User]
"Welcome! Glad you could join us~" Kanoko chuckled, plugging the completed torso of the Hi-Nu Gundam into its waist with the legs. She then began working on the funnel pack and the booster assembly, ruminating on Jessica's question. "I'm a Universal Century person. My father grew up with it, and he passed his love of the original series onto me. I've watched a number of the newer ones, but only Tekketsu No Orphans really meshes well with me. I have to say, despite the colors of the suits, the visceral close-quarters combat and actual gunfire versus the lancing beams of the Universal Century are really appealing. I only have a few kits I've created of theirs, but they're growing on me with simplicity and individuality."

Assembling the funnel packs one at a time, she attached them to the completed backpack and pressed it onto the back of the Hi-Nu, finishing its almost angelic appearance with the deadliest weapons at its disposal. Kanoko took a light brush and a cloth, deciding to wipe it free of any flash or filing dust left over from her construction. "I picked the Hi-Nu because I already have the Nu at home. I thought it was a bit fanciful compared to the rest of UC, but after seeing some Zeon designs, it grew on me. That, and Unicorn sorta brought the standards to a whole new level, if not entirely in my taste.

She looked at the other suits, raising an eyebrow and suddenly feeling very out of place again. "Geez, you all come prepared, don't you? I'm gonna be out of boxing all the kits I'm using here when we get the chance..."

Her ears twitched as she heard Justin rattle off some of the more famous suits, grinning a little. "You actually know about the Blossom? That's pretty cool! Not a whole lot of people know about it, mostly because there were just resin kits for a long time~"


[System]
Alias: Kurt
Age: 19
Gender: Male

Abilities: Animation; Without any physical or mental exertion, Kurtis can will to 'life' any inanimate object that he is in contact with, and with some mental exertion can actively control it. He can revoke this 'life' at will.

Weaknesses: The difficulty that Kurtis has actually controlling the 'creatures' he animates, or keeping them 'alive' is a multiplicative product of the animated object's size, complexity, and distance from him. As a general rule of thumb, Kurtis can keep his 'creatures' alive at about twice the maximum distance that he can remain in direct control of them. If he does not actively exert his control on them while they are within range, or if they are outside of range, they will remain alive, but mindless, without any direction other than an odd compulsion to perform whatever task is normally carried out by the animated object. For example, an animated broom that Kurtis wasn't actively controlling would simply sweep all over the place until Kurtis either assumed control again, or de-animated it. Additionally, while Kurtis can animate more than one object at once, the difficulty in controlling and maintaining them is additive. For example, if he animated two brooms at once, they would both be limited to half their usual ranges. If Curtis at any point loses consciousness, either by sleeping or being knocked out, all of his animated objects immediately revert to their inanimate states.

The only exception to these rules is in the case of direct physical contact. If Kurtis remains touching whatever he's animated, it is exponentially easier for him to control and maintain whatever being he's created. No matter how close Kurtis is, however, there is no way for him to maintain one of his animated objects while he is asleep.

Without his animated objects, Kurtis is not only a totally normal human being, but an exceptionally weak one, in ways better expanded upon in his appearance.

Appearance: Standing at 5'6" - well below the average for young men like him - Kurtis is almost a pathetic figure at first glance. His dirty blond hair is cut fairly short, and always looking just a bit scraggly. His dull blue-gray eyes are set just above to rather pronounced, dark bags, and his face is almost always set in a slightly sour expression. He has a very thin build, his ribs easily visible on his torso, and the skin stretched over them is exceptionally pale, even for someone of his Anglo-Saxon descent. Kurtis often hides most of these features with heavy, cold-weather-appropriate clothing, even when lacking the appropriate weather to justify it, and so is often looking generally sweaty and uncomfortable.

Personality: The easiest way to describe Kurtis would be that he's a control freak. He despises - and lashes out against - anything that makes him feel powerless. In tandem with this, he has a superiority complex that makes it incredibly difficult for him to make friends, convinced that they're just too dumb to properly understand him. Because of his domineering attitude, it is not at all unusual for him to make a scene when something goes against his opinion. Despite all of his behavioral issues, he has yet to ever misuse his power, and every so often he'll give some hint that he still has empathy for other people, beneath all the natural abrasiveness.

Background: Kurtis was only a baby when he was abandoned by the totally unprepared young couple that were his biological parents, so as far as he's concerned, his adoptive family is his real family, despite him having known about his position from a rather young age. Even early in his life, Kurt was always different from the other children, not playing many games with them, often keeping to himself entirely for whole school days. Worried, his parents tried to get him the counseling they thought he must need, but that seemed to only make matters worse.

All throughout his childhood and teen years, Kurt's parents did their best to cope with his gradually worsening personality, as well as a gradually worsening sickliness due to what they discovered was a weak immune system. All throughout this time, he would spend most of his free time acting out power fantasies with himself, gradually cementing his self-image as someone that could handle the sort of power he dreamed about.

Finally, one day, that power came to Kurt, when in he midst of one of his fantasies, he inadvertently animated one of his small toy soldiers. He wasted no time in showing this to his parents, who immediately decided that something like this, in Kurtis' hands, had to be handled by someplace that knew what they were doing. So, almost as soon as they learned about the Academy, they were sending him off to not only learn to control his power, but maybe, just maybe, make some friends among a group of people he might actually be able to relate to.

[User]
---

Veronica Emily Davis.

---

Stepping off the bus, Veronica took a good hard look around. Those sharp green eyes of her scanned the area right as the bus drove off to it's next destination God knows where.

This place, normally, would be the last place that Veronica would be seen in. She had no choice, because that damn email told her to come here, at this time, if she wanted to join this little school of theirs. After jumping through a million hoops, she showed up in this city. Why a park of all places, she didn't know. What she did know was that she would be giving any recruiter a piece of her mind if she gets mugged in here. Though, if that happens, the bastards will be shocked so hard his heart will explode. She wished that it wouldn't have to come to that.

Veronica sighed, dragging the luggage behind her as she walked forward through the gates of the park. The cool autumn wind blowing her black hair back. She looked down and looked at her white button-up, black jeans, and black heels. She was well dressed, but didn't stick out too much among these hicks. Good. Which means they won't be putting too much attention on her. She'll just have to find this representative, then she'll be out of here.

While she wasn't too fond of America, what was the most surprising was the fact that her cards still worked. Looks like Daddy's still out there, after all. Without it, Veronica would be living in squalor. She was grateful for that, she wouldn't have made it this far without that cash. Bus ride after bus, motel to motel, it felt like forever, but she made it here.

... It better be good at this school.

Veronica sighed, and kept walking. Her feet were getting a little tired. Veronica didn't want to stop, and leave herself vulnerable, but maybe a little rest was in order. She found herself a little bench, and sat down on it, and put her legs together.

Sighing again, Veronica closed her eyes.

---

Phoebe Jasmine Sarin.

---

Phoebe's arrival was somewhat better. Since her parents dropped her off right at the park.

Waving goodbye to the speeding vehicle with a heavy backpack on, Phoebe strolled into the park, and immediately took a whiff of the fresh fall air. This place was beautiful. Phoebe put a smile on her face as she stepped more and more into the park. Every step she took, she absorbed information about the plant-life here. She knew more and more about the beautiful plants of this park. She passed by a dying rose, and looked at it for a moment. Before she brought it back to life by exerting her will into it. A drooping, decayed, rose, became the red beauty it once was in an instant.

Now, all Phoebe has to do is find the recruiter and she'll get to work.

[Assistant]
Silas had arrived in the town a few days before the required meetup. Not knowing if he would be trusted, or if the school was to be trusted, he spent a couple days scouting the area. Overall, it was a fairly simple town with nothing too fancy. However, he knew well enough to know that he couldn't exactly just allow himself to be seen by the citizens of the town, especially after he burned down the inn. Therefore, he spent his time in the trees, staying hidden from view, peering out occasionally to make sure it was safe to move.

Eventually he settled into an oak tree near a river at the park where everyone was supposed to meet. This way, if there was a trap being set up at the park, he could find out instantly and then disappear before he was caught. Thankfully though, his days were uneventful as he saw nothing more than the normal day to day activities of regular people wandering the park.

When the day came, he payed special attention to the people, trying to spot who was a mutant and who wasn't. A couple girls stuck out like a sore thumb to him, seeing as their transportation left without them. One of them was obvious as she brought a rose back to its vibrant beauty.

Hmm, apparently she can bring things back to life. That can be a useful trait, he thought.

However, the other girl showed no signs of her power, but he vowed to keep an eye on her nonetheless.

Silas also noticed a guy beneath his tree, playing with a locket, which thankfully, wasn't shiny. It obviously had some meaning to the guy, but what the meaning was, he had no idea.

Two others arrived at the park as well, both with very colorful hair and easy to spot. They definitely seemed to want to be covert, which seemed backwards to Silas with their colorful hair, but eventually they reached a willow tree. After a quick glance around, they bumped fists, and one of them disappeared.

Immediately, that made Silas tense up. Was this guy a teleporter like he was? Does he disappear at will? Or was one a mirror image of the other, to throw people off? Regardless, Silas was ready to run or fight at a moment's notice, but needed to wait to see what happened next.

[User]
Toward the back of the bus, Abbie was sitting with her head resting lightly against the window beside her, her left foot tapping idly as she stared out at the nice little park on the other side. She'd been more or less like this for all of the bus rides over the last couple days, occasionally making a quick friend out of a nearby passenger, and asking them to wake her up at the stop they were going to get off, before taking a nap to keep herself going. She'd also been slowly working her way through the clothes she had packed away in her bag, changing in between buses whenever a restroom was available, and was now wearing a pair of simple denim shorts and a plain white tank top. It certainly wasn't the most luxurious way to be getting around, but it was the way that didn't cost her family an arm and a leg to get her out here to her new school.

Nope, just a leg.

Just as she was huffing a bit to herself at that, Abbie was jolted out of her thoughts as she felt the bus begin moving again. Suddenly realizing that she hadn't checked what stop this was, she glanced up and practically felt her heart stop as she realized that they were just beginning to pull away from her destination.

"Ah, hey, hold on! This is my stop!" She cried out as she jumped up to her feet, yanking her duffel bag up off the vacant seat next to her and slinging it onto her back as she hopped out into the aisle, ignoring the looks that all the passengers were starting to give her as she rushed up past the rows of seats, she stopped just as the bus was doing so again, pausing for a moment to turn to the driver and respond to his raised eyebrow with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that, I was kinda spaced out there." She explained, before quickly fishing out the last loose dollar from her pocket and popping it into the fare box. "Thanks for stopping!" She added brightly, twirling on her artificial heel and quickly hopping out through the open doors to the sidewalk outside.

Straightening up as the bus finished setting off behind her, Abbie straightened up and took a deep breath of the fresh air, looking around for a few moments to get her bearings. The little park was nice, but not in any sort of showy way... exactly the kind of place she'd always loved. Looking to one side, she could already see what was presumably the river mentioned in the instructions for her meeting with the recruiter. With a quick adjustment of the strap of her duffel bag, she turned and started further into the park, beginning her search for the willow tree she needed to find.

After just a little while of walking as close by the bank of the river as she could, Abbie finally spotted what she could only assume was the willow tree she was searching for. If the tree itself wasn't enough to tip her off, there was also a guy with a funny-looking haircut waiting just underneath it. Recognizing what could only be another prospective student like herself, she smiled, and was about to make her way over to meet him when she happened to glance over and spot somebody else. Much nearer to her, on a little bench by the side of the main park path, was a girl with thick black hair, sitting with her eyes closed and looking just a bit out of place. Quickly theorizing that she'd just spotted another potential new classmate, Abbie smiled a little more, changing course to make her way over to the bench, unslinging her bag from her back just as she was drawing up to it.

"Hey there!" She greeted brightly, turning to plop down on the bench just beside the other girl while dropping her duffel bag on the ground on her other side. Once she'd settled in place, she turned to look at the girl once more, already shifting into a more relaxed position with her left leg crossed casually over her right. "Are you here for the school, too?"

---

"I don't care if you don't set the rates, it doesn't change the fact that they're ridiculous!" Kurtis snapped back at the understandably huffy taxi driver as he was stepping out of the cab with his wheeled suitcase, another bag tied onto the extended handle to make it easier to lug around as well. The blond was wearing a pair of thick gray sweats and a black jacket, both of which were just a bit warmer than was strictly necessary for the weather at the moment.

Grumbling a bit to himself after his little outburst as the door closed behind him, Kurt turned to look ahead at the park he'd been asked to meet the recruiter in. And what sort of 'recruitment' process was this anyways? Special school or no, he could easily think of some much better ways to welcome new students than making them stay overnight in some sketchy motel, only to meet in an even sketchier corner of some park. Letting out a noise halfway between a heavy sigh and a hiss, he just reached up to give the crook of his neck a few quick scratches, before setting off into the park proper, to meet with this representative of the school.

As he was walking along the path with his belongings wheeling along behind him, Kurt happened to glance up just as he was nearing the river he needed to head to. Thinking that he saw something move for just a moment in one of the oak trees just by the bank, he slowed down for a few steps, narrowing his eyes slightly, before letting out another heavy breath and shaking his head, turning instead to continue searching for the weeping willow that he apparently needed to find.


[System]
Physical Description:
Sarah is a slender girl with bright green eyes and soft, shoulder-length pink hair and pale, almost alabaster skin. She stand at about 5'4" (162.6 cm) and weighs 100 lbs (45.3 kg). She has a curious glint in her eyes, and tends to see everything as though for the first time.

Class: Oracle

Personality:
Sarah is a warm, compassionate soul, always worried about other peoples' welfare and willing to go to any length to protect them. Despite her lack of social experience with the world, she can tell when people are being hurt or abused, and will try and ease their suffering any way she can.

Due to mostly being a blank state, the world around her entices her curiosity, and she will try to learn as much about it as possible. She will try and know more any new sensations or experiences she might encounter, giving her the feeling of a wide-eyed newborn child eagerly gawping at the beautiful world around them.

Her lack of experience with the world means she's also very naïve and clueless about current events or about certain social cues or behaviors that more worldly people would pick up easily. She does have a general sense of social decency and behavior, but the nuances or subtler plays are a bit beyond her experience, and a cunning operator can out-think her until she catches on.

However, despite this, one should not push her too far. She is still an Oracle, and programmed with combat skills and powerful abilities, and can end up fighting back rather tenaciously when she or those she cares about are threatened.

History:
Sarah recalls nothing of her past, practically having been 'born' to the world with the opening of her case.

Abilities:
* Enhanced physical attributes: As an Oracle and genetically engineered being, Sarah possesses a certain amount of enhanced strength, increased agility, and improved durability and stamina, as well as a small measure of enhanced senses. However, the emphasis are on stamina and agility, making her a poor choice for a heavy fighter.
* Healing: Aside from no small skill at normal healing, she possesses the ability to heal injuries and wounds almost instantly. Currently, she's still learning how to use this power, so she can heal mild injuries and cuts.
* Protective 'magic': Sarah can use her 'magic' to protect her allies by casting a small, protective halo to absorb some of the damage that hits them.

Equipment:
Sarah barely has anything beyond the shirt on her back and a few items and supplies given to her by her mysterious caretaker.

RP Notes:
Sarah is basically a blank slate, one with little to no knowledge of the outside world, and must learn more about it to survive and complete her destined mission. Fortunately, she does have a certain amount of combat skills programmed into her, allowing her to fight competently and survive long enough to get stronger.

Sarah's main virtues are compassion and empathy, the ability to feel for those around her, and a strong desire to reduce their suffering and help them find happiness.

Role-wise, Sarah would lean towards a mage-knight with an emphasis on magic and healing. While she is still an Oracle, she prefers to use magic and healing to support her allies in battle and help them out of battle.

[User]
Sarah

"Well, hopefully that will make our search a little easier," Sarah says as they leave the Archives. "It's still a bit daunting to try and find the Oracles all over the map."

"I'll be honest, Peter says, rubbing his head, "This is probably the furthest I've ever been from home. The idea of going even further is rather intimidating... though I have to admit, also a bit exciting."

"It is, isn't it?" Sarah muses. "I mean, the view from the sky-mantas was wonderful. A bit windy, but you get used to it. The view was definitely worth it. I mean, you're way up there in the sky, and you look down and everything looks small, like doll towns. I couldn't even see individual people, I was so high up..."

"I don't know, what if you fell?" Peter replies, looking a bit green at the thought. "It's an awfully long way down..."

"Well, Pip almost slid off the wing, but that's because he was so small," Sarah admits. "Still, he didn't mind. Did you, Pip?"

Pip barks cheerfully at the mention of his name.

"Oh, I wonder what the view from the towers is like?" Sarah speaks up cheerfully.

"Oh, no thanks, I'm fine around here, ma'am," Peter says nervously. "Maybe we should tour the rest of the castle first nice and slooOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!"

Despite Peter's protests, Sarah grabs him by the arm and drags him along to get a view from the tower. Pip barks and chases after them.

"Hurry up, Stephanie!" Sarah calls out cheerfully. "I bet it's a wonderful view from up there!"

[Assistant]
Facilities:
1. Apalachee Facility, USA
2. Sao Paula Facility, Brazil
3. Greenland Facility
4. Antarctica Facility
5. Cape Town Facility, South Africa
6. Helsinki Facility, Finland
7. Naning Manufacturing Facility, China
8. Seoul Facility, Korea - Main Offices for Biogenic research
9. Mt. Fiji Facility, Japan
10. Sydney Facility, Australia

Every facility has a research department, a pod manufacture dept, and a business office. The Naning facility manufactured the materials for building Harbinger and much of the materials used in the manufacture of the pods.

[User] He snaps at the eagle, wings beating and stirring up smoke. He growls from all the cuts and scrapes on his leathery, scaled flesh. He roars, and the sound makes a shockwave, blasting the birds away from him. He flies higher and higher, untill the birds can't reach him at his immense altitude.

[Assistant]
"Well, from what little I know of it, Project Prometheus was focused on the manipulation of something called 'Biogenic Energy'," Steph explained after Peter had inquired about the project. "That's the kind of energy harnessed by the sword Minoc gave me," she added, hoping that might make things a bit clearer. "It also had to do with the creation of beings specifically designed to make use of such energy, like Sarah here."

After Steph asked about potential methods of rapid transit, Peter frowned. "W-Well… There's the train we took to get here, but, uh, like I said, it only runs between the Castle and Tinkertown…"

"There are also several winged beasts upon which one can ride," Sir Gravy added. "Of course, they are not simply handed out to just anyone, but I have no doubt that two Oracles of legend, such as yourselves, would most assuredly be granted them, if requested."

"You can say that again," Steph agreed, when Sarah noted the daunting task ahead of them. Then Sarah mentioned going to check out the view from the towers, practically dragging Peter along with her. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a look at the local the lay of the land," Steph reflected with a giggle, as she and Sir Gravy followed after them.

[User]
Sarah

Up in the tower, Sarah was looking out at the landscape, letting her pink hair dance in the wind, brushing it out of her eyes to get a clear view, a bright smile on her face. To her left is Sir Gravy, doing little more than admiring the view himself.

"It's not as high up as it was on the sky-manta's back," she tells Stephanie when the other girl joins her. "But here, I can see things better. I can see the people in the towns, the farmers in the field. It makes me wonder what they're thinking of, how they're living their lives. It's just... so strange, thinking about how these people spend their lives.

"To be honest... I envy them a bit," she admits, a warm smile adorning her face.

Peter, by contrast, is rather green in the gills, leaning on the inner wall away from the battlements, and trying not to throw up. He's clearly not comfortable way up here.

"Begging your pardon, Sarah, but I don't think I'm cut out for heights," he admits. "I've never been this high off the ground, to be honest, and I'm finding it's making me sick."

"Oh don't be silly, Peter," Sarah giggles. "You just don't look down. I mean, I've been 'alive' for the past week and I already guessed that bit."

"Easier said than done!" Peter says. "You told me not to look down and it got stuck in my head! You just don't tell someone that, especially if they're afraid of heights!"

"Well, maybe it's dangerous if you fell from a great height-"

"Exactly! And I'd rather not find out!"

"But as long as you're standing on something solid, you'll be fine." Sarah stamps the stone. "See? It's safe. Even if the heights look scary, you're safe."

She looks down to prove her point, but then something draws her attention. It's the scorch marks left by Bandersnatch, blasting the castle walls with fire and magic. The walls had weathered them well, but the scorched black contrasted against the majesty of the stonework, marring the appearance. The paladin notices her gaze.

"It's a shame what that brute has done to the walls," Sir Gravy admits. "Fret not, dear ladies, we'll have the painters and stonemasons clean that up as best as they can. This castle's survived worse, so no need to worry."

"That's nice," Sarah muses. "But it's what he tried to do. He tried to destroy the castle..."

"As I said, this castle's survived worse. Trust me when I say this castle might stand for centuries more yet!"

"Certainly not for his lack of trying," Sarah replies bitterly. "Why do Draygon's servants do this? They seem keen on destroying everything... why? What do they gain from this? It's bad enough the world's fallen from the days of the ancients, they're trying to destroy more of it..."

[Assistant]
Steph raised an eyebrow at Peter's terrified demeanor.

"Seriously?" she asked Peter with a chuckle. "You're afraid of heights? Your home town was built on top of a mountain!"

"Y-Yes, that's true," Peter conceded. "B-But I never really ventured outside all that often, and I never got close to the c-cliffs…"

"I guess that explains it, then," she noted, although she still found it amusingly ironic.

Steph's attention was soon drawn back to Sarah, who was asking about Draygon and his intentions. It was something that had been poking at the back of Steph's mind as well. Who was this Draygon, and how was he able to create monsters like the harpy she'd fought back at Tinkertown? From what she had been able to gather, the so-called "Wizards" were simply people who had learned how to utilize some facet of old world knowledge or technology. Was this the case for Draygon as well? If so, then he had certainly acquired a knowledge of science far in advance of that displayed by the rest of this depressingly medieval world. However, before Sir Gravy could answer Sarah's question, or Steph could give voice to one of her own, they were interrupted by the arrival of a youthful squire.

"P-Please pardon the intrusion, Sir Gravy," the squire stammered, clearly out of breath. "But I come bearing a message from Master Tornel. He has instructed me to request that you…" His voice trailed off as he noticed the two young women present. "O-Oh, good heavens!" he exclaimed, prostrating himself in supplication. "Please forgive your lowly servant, mighty Oracles!" he pleaded. "I did not mean to disturb you with my presence!"

"D-Don't worry," Steph told the messenger gently, more than a little taken aback by his reverence towards Sarah and herself. "You didn't do anything wrong, and there's really no need for you to be afraid of us," she added with a reassuring smile, while kneeling down and placing a hand on the squire's shoulder. "We're regular people, just like you."

The young man gasped as he felt Steph touch his shoulder, but calmed slightly upon seeing her kind smile. Now that he looked at her face, she didn't appear to be any different than a normal person. And yet, she was an Oracle, a divine messenger of the Ancients! How could she be so… humble?

That thought was quickly banished when Sir Gravy spoke up.

"Young squire! You spoke of a message from Master Tornel! Out with it lad! What new task awaits?!"

"M-My apologies, sir! M-Master Tornel wishes for you to escort the Oracles to their chambers and watch over them until the feast tomorrow. I would have informed you sooner, but I was told you would be in the library, and when you weren't there…"

"Not to fret, young squire!" Sir Gravy reassured him. "Your quest to locate us was successful, and you have imparted the message entrusted to your care. You have done quite well indeed! What pray tell is your name, young squire?"

"S-Squire Toast, sir."

"Well, then, Squire Toast, I shall be sure to mention your exemplary service when next I speak with both Master Tornel and His Majesty, the King!"

"T-Thank you, sir!"

"Think nothing of it, lad!" the paladin replied with a hearty laugh. "A job well done deserves to be recognized!"

"Wait, you mentioned a feast?" Steph asked.

"Why, yes! Of course! Master Tornel is preparing a grand banquet in your honor! There will be music and entertainers of all kinds! Master Tornel has demanded only the best for our Mighty Oracles!"

"Tornel's setting this up?" Steph asked dubiously. She tried not to scowl at the mention of the wizard, but after his earlier treatment of Sarah and herself, she found it hard not to regard all his actions as highly suspicious.

[User]
"Well, the King was angry with Tornel at his actions," Sarah says. "Maybe it's his way of an apology?"

She still remembers the fury in the King's eyes at Tornel's actions, and while she's still a bit upset about how Tornel had tried to kill her earlier, maybe he saw the error of his ways? She's a bit full after her brunch with the King, but she's certainly curious about the entertainment for the meal.

"Either way, sounds like there's going to be quite the spectacle there, and I'm kind of curious to see what they have."