[System]
Character Role: Jedi Padawan

Character Age: 16

Character Gender: Male

Character Appearance: Wrenu is a Mikkian, thus he has a full crowd of short, flowing rear head tendrils that float in the air. He has red skin with blue accents on the end of those tendrils and a lean, acrobatic body. He wears simple Jedi robes over this with a small blue tattoo on his forehead to match his blue eyes.

Character Personality: Wrenu is a very kind soul, having been taught the Jedi pillar of compassion very well. He greatly enjoys to help other people, but the way he helps may not exactly be the right way each time. He is also a very studious person, having spent a fair bit of time in the Archives. However, he has a bit of a superiority complex as he believes he already knows a lot about the world and how things work. He is also rather goofy and funny when he wants to be, which sometimes gets in the way of serious situations or problems.
Character Gear: He possesses a blue lightsaber and the various other small tools a Jedi would carry on their person. However, these tools are more geared towards the intellectual side of the Jedi.

Character skills: He carries a basic competency in the Force as well as acrobatic skills.

Character Backstory: Born in 38 BBY, Wrenu was raised on Lothal, an Outer Rim world with little to offer the rest of the galaxy. His parents were both technicians at a local dock in Capital City. Soon the Jedi came calling to take young Wrenu away, which his parents sadly did but hoped he would have a better future in the Jedi Order. There in the Temple, Wrenu trained and grew up as a studious but goofy youth with his fellow younglings, his race's natural connection to the force helping him throughout his life. Now, having become a Padawan, Wrenu eagerly hopes to learn from his master.

[User]
Dean Joseph Victoria Harbit

Dean was the last to arrive at the hangar and subsequently the last to leave.
While in the hangar he refrains from engaging in any conversation with the alien life forms and slowly plots out how he'd manage to get some of the crew to search the vessels for any signs to tie these seemingly independent 'Jedi' as they called themselves to the covenant. In this deep sector of uncharted space, it wasn't a far stretch to tie the locals to being under the influence of the insanity that was the covenant. His eyes continue to flick between the Jedi and their droids. While he imagined the majority of those around him to be interested in the new comers history and culture, he was more interested by what they hid under their robes. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume they were all carrying around high powered weaponry. Hand held plasma weaponry seemed to be at the top of his list of possibilities for their possession.

He barely notices the marine that falls back from his march and takes a look over at him before recognising his facial features. His blank yet thoughtful expression switches instantaneously over to a dirty grin. He feels the privates boot step on his foot and fails to contain his laughter. He wasn't expecting such a fast response and thus, was caught off guard. As the marine starts to jog back in line Dean feels the urge to call out to the sergeant but controls himself in the presence of the foreign ambassadors. Snippets of conversation are picked up through his scheming and the group starts to head to where he believes the mess hall would be. He raises his coloured assault rifle to about waist height before placing his free hand underneath it. He trails a safe two feet behind the group of Spartans and Jedi. As most people upon the Solar Winds could tell, Dean had an unnatural prejudice towards the Spartans and by the looks of it a similar level of disdain for the newly introduced Jedi. Being trapped in a corridor with untested neutral warriors and the UNSC's armies of one was on Dean's list of "Never in my lifetime will I.." Unfortunately for the Captain, these were his orders and so he would obey them despite his personal feelings and inclinations.

The group walk through the strangely empty corridors with zero care factor towards the absence of the crew members who would usually be trying to loiter or frantically pace these communal areas. Dean rationalises this as the hype being tied with the new craft themselves and in turn ignores the lack of those like him. "Jedi Master Olu Bumdoa was it? I don't ever remember reading about your race in our databases. If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me more about you and your race? I am very curious." Dean listens in, awaiting a reply. It was awfully rude of him but he was now beginning to realise that he'd zoned out the entire introductions the two groups had shared in the hangar. He practically wasn't there at all with the amount he talked. Although his presence could have helped to add bulk to the introduction comity. "Guess my presence wasn't useless." he mumbles to himself. Dean had an awful habit of losing himself in his thoughts. Hopefully the Jedi wouldn't take offence to his distance or assume his mumbling was at all intended for them.

[Assistant] snip

[User]
Olu Bumdoa

The Nautolan could not help but let his curiosity get the best of him, his large black eyes constantly setting themselves upon each and every corner of each new corridor they happened to walk through. It seemed like they were traveling through a maze, almost, given the amount of turns and elevators they'd taken. He made sure to keep up with Greggory's pace, occasionally glancing back at R7 and Wrenu. His tendrils could pick up mostly only one emotion, which was curiosity, coming from both parties. He felt particularly annoyed at the fact that he couldn't read the spartan, Savaymin, however. "I am a Nautiloid, from the planet Glee Anselm of the middle rim." Olu explained happily, but he obviously left out some details, such as the purpose of his many tentacles over his head, or the struck gills on either side of his head which seemed to pulsate every now and then. "We are an aquatic race." He added then, which should have already been obvious due to his obvious resemblance to cephalopods. "And yourself? Are you a droid?" Olu asked curiously, with R7 adding it a bleep and a bloop; not that any on the UNSC personell could understand it by themselves.

[Assistant]
A droid? That was the first time someone had asked her a such an odd question. Quite clearly, she did not display all of the tell tale signs of an android. She also doubted an artificial intelligence would be put in charge of foreign affairs. She could be wrong however, much to her surprise. It was not too often that she ended up wrong about something.

She realized he was still waiting for a response to his question. "I'm a human," she replied. "Sorry, but most of the sentient extraterrestrial species we have made contact with have not been as amiable as you. I had assumed you were some form of slave till you proved you could speak our language. And you speak it quite fluently might I add. I am quite impressed."
They were approaching the mess hall entrance (which I don't have a picture of so I'll try my best to make up something that makes sense). "Through these doors is where we will be having our talk. I hope it is up to your standards." She explains while typing in the code for the doors.

Within the room is a large circular table, filled with a plethora of earthly goods ready to be devoured. Cake, lobster, roasted grunt- I mean pig with an apple placed in its mouth. A very deformed pig... above the table is a banner with the words welcome aliens with happy birthday crossed out under it. There are also streamers on the floor for some reason.

Savaymin looks across the room very slowly, and then shakes her head in dissapointment.

"It seems they have forgotten the balloons."

@Cyber Mama@Zarkun@neogreggory@TheShadowKing3

[User]
Wrenu Tipolan

Wrenu, with his tendrils lagging in the air directly behind him, simply followed along quietly, leaving the masters to deal with the enormous political situation this had presented itself. Their ship, their technology and every aspect told him that this ship was entirely new. Maybe from a new sector of space? He had no idea, but he was very excited to find out. He did however, keep it to himself as they all walked along through the corridors, his natural force sensitivity feeling out to sense the emotions of the others in the group, and to a lesser extent, on the ship around them. Curiosity was the main factor he got back, but from their guide...arrogance. A hint anyway, he couldn't full read her as they stepped into their destination. He regarded the scene with a quirked brow before he slowly headed for the pastry in the middle...looked to be a cake. He wondered if it would taste like one too as he move to get ready to eat into it, if he was allowed to that is.

[Assistant]
Jedi Master Greggory Wick

Master Wick followed along, allowing Bumdoa to speak with the lead soldier, who identified as human. It would seem that all of the crew on this vessel were human, Greggory mused to himself.
The group stepped into the mess-hall, and Greggory was hard pressed to contain his grin. Before he could do anything however the Master's Padawan jolted ahead towards some form of cake, but hesitated. "I am sure it is alright Wrenu, they wouldn't have set food out if they expected you to not eat it." Greggory said with a hint of laughter in his words. He then leaned towards Olu and whispered, "Keep talking with Savaymin, maybe learn something useful before the formal talks begin." Wick would then take a step to the side, before turning to stand next to the far more grizzled looking soldier whom had been following them.

"Not sure we've been properly introduced. I'm Greggory Wick, Jedi Master. Yourself?"

(@Cyber Mama)

[User]
Perelliator away team

Magnus nods affably to the count. "Lead on." The group starts heading in the indicated direction, with the Ghosts and robots moving to flank them in an escort formation. As they walk, Dooku speaks again.
"Your ship and shuttle pose interesting questions. Clearly capable enough vessels of course, however I make note of no repulsorlift technology in the shuttle's design, and a number of the scan readings from your ship...the Perelliator, as I remember...are quite foreign to us."
Magnus nods again. "The same can be said of your ships to us. Though I must say, this ship and the others like it are quite impressive looking. Few starships where we come from can surpass the size of a Behemoth-class like the Perelliator, and none built by the Dominion. And the level of automation I see is similarly unheard of, it seems like nearly the entire crew is robotic."
The group enters a corridor on one side of the bay and continues on, Dooku making his reply.
"This ship is built and crewed by the Trade Federation, their battle droids make up the bulk of its crew and of the armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems."
"I see. And the remainder of the crew? I'm unfamiliar with the other species I've seen."
"Nemoidians. They run the Trade Federation, one of the corporate groups we've had to obtain support from to lend weight to our movement."
The group turns off through a door to the side and enters a large room with a conference table in the center, with Dooku walking to one end, his droids taking positions on either side of his end of the room.
"Please, sit. I can have some refreshments brought in if you wish."

[Assistant]
Joseph remained silent as the group made their way towards the Mess Hall. In that interim time, he'd been trying to place the one who'd identified as a Nautiloid anywhere else during his time in the Human-Covenant War and realize that no, he hadn't. So maybe they really had ended up in a different sector of space. Of course, then Savaymin had to go and insult the man by saying she'd thought he was from a slave race and spoke their language surprisingly well. God damn it, Savaymin. Then they arrived in the mess hall and he turned to the rest of Ra as she made her comments. "Alright, take up standard positions. No one but the admiral comes in after this." The other two members of Ra gave nods and took up positions on either side of the door while Joseph pulled Savaymin aside.

"Can we NOT antagonize the unknowns until we know what the hell is going on? Because I'm sure the admiral would appreciate it as much as I would. Clear?" After getting Savaymin's response, he would take up a position near the kitchen entrance, watching everything happening.

---

Crimson listened as the count spoke, frowning slightly when he said that the majority of the crew was droids. Will our weapons even damage these things? Every second they were there, he watched the droids move about the duties and patrol the halls and knew that they had no idea what they were even made of. Gauss weapons were powerful, they could tear through another fully armored marine in a suit of CMC-400 power armor with little issue, but if these droids were composed of something that a gauss spike couldn't penetrate...Cinder, get a read of how these droids work from one of the Nemoidians. Might give us something to pass along to Raven if we need leverage later.

[User]
Dean Joseph Victoria Harbit

Dean cranes his neck side to side with a mild popping escaping his joints. He did this often enough for it to be considered a daily habit. He stands in the hall, outside the doorway to the right side of the frame. He begins his wait for the admiral to make her way down as for discussion. While the Spartans may feel it their place to make small talk and give tours, Dean remembers his place in all this. He continues to monitor the room however by taking a slightly unnatural pose. Half surveying the hall, half surveying the mess. His right brow raises ever so slightly as the Jedi named 'Wrenu' rushed at the cake. In silence he was assessed and deemed to be the most unlikely security risk from the entire group. This allows Dean to focus on the other Jedi the Spartans that stand near him.
One of the Jedi begin to approach him and his guard is instantly raised. His fingers tighten their grip on the assault rifle and eyes narrow in. Every thing he could try to calculate about the Jedi was running through his head. In his mind, every little feature was being highlighted and labelled.
"Not sure we've been properly introduced. I'm Greggory Wick, Jedi Master. Yourself?"
"Dean. Rank details for crew personnel only." His response was sharp and somewhat misleading. While this wasn't at all the case, Dean just didn't feel like running through his position and giving the Jedi an upper hand in case of a hostage styled situation. "Mind clarifying your position as a 'Jedi Master'? Preferably what weaponry one in your position would use." As usual with new comers, Dean was straight to the point. The concept of them being trusted to leave their weapons on their ship didn't go well with Dean. In his experience, no one's ever willing to leave their weapons behind when encircled by new threats.

(@neogreggory)

[Assistant] Wrenu then simply cut the cake and started to eat it as he stood there, only watching and observing. He didn't approach anyone for fear of a diplomatic incident or something.


[System]
Username: Jollan
Race/Species: Khalahar

Gender: Male

Age: 32

Career/Class: Odd jobs, Vigilante

Weapons:
His father's large, heavy, two handed sword. Instead of a traditional two sided blade, it has a single blade. The upper most portion of the handle is protected with a bar in front of the hand, while the lower portion is unguarded and ends in a curve like an ax handle. Its sheath is a rectangular wooden scabbard with a fur lined inside and metal bindings at both ends. It attaches to the harness at the back and the sword is sheathed from the right.
A cutlass, though instead of the traditional curve, it has a straight blade. Its sheath is at his right hip.
His fists, which he will most likely use unless he has to resort to a weapon.

Physical Description: He is 6'3" at 320lbs (solid body with a little bit of fat, giving his muscles a slightly smoother look instead of a hard-cut one), with a large skeletal structure and a clear large muscle structure. He has a broad and barreled chest and a squared jaw with a trimmed beard. His hair is dark brown, a little short but clean cut. His eyes are green and very kind. He wears durable tan slacks that have a cargo pocket made into the left side for various items, and a plain white shirt, which sleeves end above the biceps. He has a two belt harness that runs across the front of his chest and his back. He has a shoulder cape on his right shoulder that is dark red on the inside and black on the outside studded into his harness by a leather pad, and just another pad on his left. both pads are lightly fur cushioned. His left arm is covered by what can be described as a large grey arm warmer that fits a little loosely on the arm and is held up by a small belt above his bicep. He has a regular glove with a thin cuff on his right hand.

Armor: None to speak of at the time being. He can't afford that.

Equipment/Other:
survival kit: small versatile knife, flint and steel, hooks, fishing line, small bowstring (for small hunting bow), and arrowheads. these are wrapped in a small roll-up leather pouch that he keeps in his cargo pocket.
Flask in his back pocket containing some ale.

Mental Description/Personality: A hearty and friendly man who is always willing to help someone in need, almost to a fault. When he sets his mind on something he will see it through to the end. He always falls for the damsel in distress routine, but oddly enough, is somewhat shy around women. He would rather fight with his fists before having to resort to his weapons, believing that fighting to the death should only be required if absolutely necessary. Though this isn't to say he doesn't enjoy a good fight, in fact, he finds them quite stress relieving and even fun most of the time. He still holds a grudge against the hierarchy and military of the Andred's kingdom, but doesn't hold it against its people. He has an incredible resolve to finish what he starts and a strong willpower that keeps him driving. Not being raised in any sort of higher status, he sees himself as a common man, never claiming to be anything more. Once his trust is earned, he would willingly give his life for his fellow friends. After the incident with his village, the need to defend what is important to him comes first. Because to him, if it came down to it, if his sacrifice would allow others to live, then it is his place to do so.

Goals: To start a new life and to become powerful enough to protect it. Secretly, however much he denies it to himself, deep down he wants to extract revenge on the crown of Andred, for the years of misguided crusades of slaughter against his people. When he heard that there was a mercanary guild, he decided to start making a bit of money out of his vigilante routine, since his odd jobs didn't seem to make that much. Not many people want a Khalahar working for them around their homes or business, go figure.

Background/History: Allard grew up in the Khalahar plains. It was a normally peaceful place, save for the occasional bandit group or rare so, but not that bad considering it wasn't very populated. Growing up, he learned basic survival and hunting skills alongside his two brothers. When they were old enough, their father taught him and his brothers how to fight and had them help hunt larger game. Since Allard was about 25, he was known to be great fighter, even taking on large hunts with so much as a knife. To do so however, Allard had built himself up to be an incredibly imposing figure of a man. However, sheer strength can only do so much.

One day, a group of bandits attacked the village while most the men were hunting. When the men got word and rushed back to the village, the whole place was nearly decimated. The bandits that came that day revealed themselves not to be bandits at all, but Andred soldiers traveling under the guise of bandits, leading small surprise attacks in Khalahar lands in the name of their 'crusades'. What made matters worse, is that there were also an unusual number of mages as well. Caught by surprise at their skill and magic, the retaliating men were cut down quickly. Allard was chained down by an immobility spell by one of the magic users while one soldier was running toward him to finish the job with his sword. Before the blade came to his neck however, one of his brothers spotted him and drove a spear into the man's skull, killing him instantly but drawing the attention of the mage that froze Allard in the first place. Unable to help, Allard watched his brother get torn apart by the black magic. Screaming was all he could seem to do. He watched as all of his family and friends followed suit, unable to combat the invaders with such little numbers.

Keeping Allard alive, they cursed him to reveal the location of other villages, forcing the words from his mind against his will. The payment for the curse required extreme physical pain of the subject, in which case they casually decided to crush his left arm. As soon as the words of the villages' location forcibly left his mouth due to the curse, the memory slipped away from him. For a "reward" they let him live, after beating his already limp body. That night, however, warriors from neighboring villages and traveling nomads came and extracted revenge on the troop, killing most of them and capturing a few. A healer found Allard locked up and attempted to mend his arm and reverse his curse. However, all he was able to do was heal what was left of the arm. It was still gnarled and mangled in a ghastly manner but the wounds were closed and not bleeding anymore. For the arm to work however, the healer made it able to mimic the ability of the other arm, making them equal in strength. Although the healer warned him that should his right arm be injured to a point where it was unable to move, he would lose the ability to use his left arm. To cover the arm from sight, Allard uses a thick, fingerless, grey arm warmer that starts at his knuckles and ends above his bicep, held up by a small belt.

Gathering the few belongings he had left, he recovered his father's sword from the ruins of their house and bid farewell to his family's graves, vowing never to learn or use magic. He then made his way to Starkvale and managed to make a living as an odd job man. Though, he is more commonly known as a vigilante. In this he his highly regarded by a few townspeople, hated by most, and not in good relations with the guard. He now dedicated his immense strength to protecting the things he holds dear. Though that isn't much considering he is a Khalahar. Somewhere inside is still a hatred for the Andred nation, but has come to find that the people and the kingdom can sometimes be two entirely different entities. So far, he just tries to stick to the slums, where people tend to overlook his place of origin.

[User]
The handsome woman, with her blonde hair tied in a bun, raised an eyebrow at their manner. "
I'm just the help...
" she muttered. Still, she had been stationed to be there so she wouldn't walk away, at least until she received a 'no' from everyone. The large man and the diminutive Gnome looking over what she assumed was an aclehmist's nightmare unnerved her somewhat, though the Captain seemed suave and refined enough to be within these accommodations, and the shorter woman did not seem too out of place.

Kayden gave Lis a grin. "I admit, it's a tad cliche'." he told her, letting out a chuckle. He called the woman over with a wave of his hand, and then sighed. "Don't take this as an example of my usual manner, but...it is free." He took two wine glasses, and downed one with little effort. The next, he held for later in his left hand, his other hand with its thumb within his belt. Allard's comments drew his attention, and he raised an eyebrow. Inquisitiveness he didn't mind, as long as it disrupted nothing. The serving woman had left by that point. "Just keep mostly to yourselves. It's all about presentation with Nobles. However, I wanted all of you here to hear what this Pembrook had to say."

As if on cue, they suddenly heard the distant 'clack' of something upon the ground, over and over and over. It ominously came closer, as if it was a stalking shark. Closer and closer, yet painfully slow.

Kayden nearly chugged his other glass when he saw the Lord Pembrook, for it had been revealed that the clack was indeed a cane, and the man holding the cane looked almost like a mole. Short, fat, his beard looked more like whiskers, and he seemed to be almost blind. "G-greetings fellow swordsmen!" he called, waving at them with the free hand. He wore fine clothing and many rings on his fingers. "My my, what a large group you have!"

"It's only the four of us, my Lord..." Kayden replied, trying not to offend the old man.

"Four?" He squinted. "Ah yes, those are the chairs. Anyway, yes yes I am quite glad you have deigned to meet with me, yes. I am quite glad indeed. Yes yes, follow me!"

He abruptly turned around, and as painfully slow as he had been before, he began walking away.

Kayden looked like what the kids called 'done.' "
By the Gods
...Sir, sir please. We're only here to hear what mission you'd give us."

"Ah, but why not speak in the living room?"

"We're fine here, thanks."

Lord Pembrook halted, and turned. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, indeed." Kayden replied, his smooth voice very breathless from the sigh he was making. He decided it was time to down that second glass of wine. As he chugged, the Lord halted and nodded. "Very well. You see, my boy. You see, recently I have come across a proprietor that wishes to buy a trinket I have in my vault, yes. Yes in fact he seemed quite interested."

"Cool."

"Yes, hehe. And Indeed I did not wish to part with it. No, my, I could never! For the Book is quite old, yes. Quite old! Very old, you see."

"I do."

"So! But see, yes. Yes, see. The man seemed very peculiar. Very peculiar. My servants told me as much as well, as did my house priest. We believe he will attempt to take the trinket out of my vault by force, you see."

"Because he was peculiar?"

"Oh, many nasty rumors in town, my good fellow. Many. And one can never be too careful, and so I dearly hope to hire you to be guards for my vault for a few weeks, that is, until things have died down and we can be sure, you see. Indeed, yes."

[Assistant]
At the sight of the noble mole-man, Lis' left eyebrow arched in disbelief, lips pursing in a displeased manner. Her look only soured more as the ancient Lord Pembrook began rambling on about nothings; clearly his mind was addled with old age (And alcohol, judging by the redness of his nose and size of his gut), and he still seemed to be living out his younger days in his mind. Although glad Kayden seemed to be dealing with it in a professional manner, part of her wished she'd taken the offer of wine now. If this job was going to be as dreary as it's employer, she was going to need a lot of alcohol to cope.

"We're guarding a dusty old book?!" Her harsh whisper to Kayden was equal parts incredulous and annoyed - this had not been what she was expecting from her first job with this company. She had expected fighting, bloodshed, excitement - even guarding a caravan on the road would prove more entertaining than being locked in this creepy old manor looking after an antique. Eyes darting back to Lord Pembrook, Lis stepped forward slightly to gain his attention; her not-so-quiet whisper to Kayden had gone unnoticed by the elderly man. His misty eyes did turn to her, double-taking and blinking in surprise as he had to look down, rather than up as he had with Kayden. Cheeks flushing red momentarily (Honestly, she wasn't that short - why did people still get surprised by it??), she cleared her throat, arms folded across her bosom in a businesslike manner.

"Surely tracking down and... dissuading this proprietor would prove more fruitful?" She suggested in as neutral a tone she could manage; only just catching herself at the end of her sentence and stepping back slightly to look at Kayden - he was the Captain, and it wasn't her place to decide such things; hopefully he didn't consider this for her to be speaking out of turn... otherwise they'd have some real problems down the road. Lis' opinion enjoyed being expressed.

[User]
Allard nodded as he left the book alone and walked over closer to where Lis and Kayden were standing. He had to suppress a chuckle when an old overgrown mole came from the hallway greeting them as "fellow swordsman". Maybe at one point, but the man was definitely lacking something that he used to have had he ever been called a swordsman before. Allard couldn't suppress his smirk that he had, but it didn't take long for it to melt away. The way the man spoke was just a little less than frustrating, and little more than mind numbing. From what he gathered, they were here to protect some old book, that was from Pembrook's own description just a "trinket", from a person who is just vaguely peculiar.

Allard slid his flask from his pocket and threw some back before asking the mole man to attempt speaking any further. He then looked over to Lis and seeing that she looked a fair bit agitated already at the man, he offered her the flask. She may need it to if they were going to make it through this man's explanations. "What is special about this book and, more importantly, exactly what kind of rumors are floating around about this peculiar person?" He then folded his arms as he continued,"Also, it would be nice to have a name or information on whoever it is so we know who to look out for."


[System]
Gender: M

Age: 26

Career/Class:Soldier / Ex-Soldier

Weapons:
* Basket Hilted Broadsword
* Imperial Dagger
* Norscan round Shield (Took from his first felled enemy)
* Aged Pistol

Physical Description Cyrdic is tall and lean, but solidly built, standing an inch over 6 feet in height. His eyes are reminiscent of shaped wrought iron. His face is ruddy and echoes a youthful appearance, though battles and training had roughed him into the look of a mature soldier. He has quite the rugged quality about him. Two scars mar his face. One parallel to the bottom of his left eye, and another scraping across his right jawline. His legs are long and his his facial hair is only a coarse, 5'oclock shadow thanks to his knife. He's clad in fine and tough leather over a chainmail hauberk, with sturdy traveling shoes and a worn belt.

Mental Description/Personality: Cyrdic isn't a fool. He spent a year apprenticed to a Quartermaster (as punishment for recklessness) and learned how to read and write (to a degree). The best way to describe him would be a hardened, rough soldier at the brink of his youth. He'll use what he can in his disposal to win, though half the time it turns out he'll need to fuck someone up anyway. His fierce independence and rough nature can only be matched by his determination to survive. He's not tactically intelligent, but he has a sense of how battlefields shift and can command smaller troops with his powerful voice. He tends to have a take-no-shit (unless it's from a superior officer) lookout on life. He's amiable to certain people however, and will have a dry wit around those he enjoys (or to people he wishes he could be more honest with). While fighting and killing and marching has been his entire life, he's not particularly fond of being thrust into impossible situations and doesn't lack a healthy sense of self preservation. He's gotten quite tired of working for corrupt officers. He's a devout Sigmarite thanks to his upbringing, and has a hammer chained necklace upon his breast to signify this.

[User]
Amal methodically checked the spring mechanisms of the lock with the tip of his dagger, the thief being familiar with over a dozen different types of locks over his tenure in the trade city of Al-Hiekk. Unfortunately, there was almost nothing that gave away this lock and Amal couldn't grasp how to manipulate it. The third skeleton was disintegrated by Emmaline's magic, but it was clear she wouldn't be able to hold them all day and night.

"Abn eahira!" Amal cursed, knowing he could get into whatever tomb or vault this was if he had the time and wasn't worried on himself and, more important, Emmaline. He felt along the wall for a minuscule crease or a slight indention that betrayed a way in. Still, nothing. It hurt his pride, but he tried something desperate. Reaching into his sack, he pulled out the key to his inevitable release, shoving the cylinder into the hole and giving a sigh of jubilant satisfaction when it opened the chamber. The figures on the door suddenly unlatched and pulled back from an unseen power source. The central stone spun twice before the two slabs detached and the door swung open.

Old, stale air that was almost suffocating to breathe in flowed out, buffeting Amal and causing his mane to billow a bit. Emmaline's mystical trap had decimated six of the undead so far, but the golden bands were thinning visibly. Amal tugged at Emmaline's shoulder, grabbing her attention from her magic. The doors behind him began grinding again, and he realized to his shock they were closing again. Well, they had the key so it was best to capitalize on it.

"Em!" He called, sweeping her off her feet. She squeaked and clung to him as her magic dissipated, and four skeletons reached at them with bony hands, fingers sharpened like knives. Emmaline was yanked out of their reach by Amal. "This is my treasure." He quipped, and leaped into the closing of the doors. One skeleton was apparently full of vibrant energy as it elbowed past the others and attempted to pass through the door. Amal kicked it back as it lurched through the closing entryway, for it to stumble back into the doors and be slowly crunched into dust as the doors closed shut upon it.

The lights were blotted out by thick darkness, until Emmaline alited her serpent's staff once more, emitting a pale golden light in the darkness.

The room was in far better condition than the corridor outside, though cobwebs and a few normal spiderwebs clung to the walls. Three archaic and ornate statues in the center of the room of old northern kings, framing the central throne in the middle of the small vault of a decayed skeleton with a crown of jewels and a red robe, covered in golden chains. Beside him, a large chest was closed, though the wood had rotted.

[Assistant]
Emmaline let out a deep relieved breath as the door closed behind them, the golden light fading from her eyes as the spell faded. The sound of boney hands slapping the far side of the tone were muffled and insistent, though it seemed unlikely that the skeletons would be able to make much headway.

"That was too close," she gasped, amazed that Amal had managed to open the ancient door.

"Even the dead are slower in this land," Amal joked, running his fingers around the top of the chest, apparently searching for any kind of traps concealed in the ancient metal rim. Emmaline was about to respond when her eyes fell upon the jeweled crown on the head of the chained corpse. Gold lust surged inside of her like the tug of a vast tide. She took a shaking step towards the throne, stepping between the stern eyed statues that seemed to be standing some sort of guard. Despite its evident age the corpse was well persevered, shrunken layers of muscle and sinew curled around it as tightly as the golden chains that still glittered. Almost without thinking, the sorceress reached out and lifted the bejeweled crown from the things head, marveling at the way the jewels sparkled.

"Em... I don't," Amal began but before he could finish there was a sudden gust of sourceless wind that seemed to drown even the spell wrought illumination. A high pitched ping of parting metal echoed through the room and the cadavers hand, ripping free of the chain shot out and seized Emmaline by the throat, lifting her into the air as the ancient corpse ripped its way free of the chair. Emmaline kicked the thing in the chest, but the attack had about as much effect as attacking a boulder. The corpse king shouted something in a booming voice, fingers tightening around Emmaline's throat. In desperation she struck at it with her staff, the golden metal bouncing of its shoulder with no effect. The corpse began to laugh but was cut short as the staff struck of its own accord, the golden fangs of head piece sinking into its neck. The undead thing yelled again, but this time in pain, dropping Emmaline to the floor as it reared back. Veins of gold were spreading slowly from the snake bite, but it didn't seem to have mortally wounded the thing. Emmaline scrambled backwards away from the creature, the crown still gripped in her left hand.

[User]
"HARLOT! RELEASE THE CROWN OR RELEASE YOUR LIFE!"

The voice tore through from another veil of reality to spew out of the King's dried skull-cave, echoing in Emmaline's mind so loudly even Amal heard the psychic aftershock. It jerked its other limb upwards, seemingly attempting to shake off an advanced and overdue case of rigor mortis. Clearly it did not need to breathe, but a ghastly flow of air emanated from its throat nonetheless as its head twitched from the golden assault the snake bite had gifted it. Amal stepped in the things way before it fully got to its feet, Emmaline clearly it's target.

"I don't think you'll need the crown." He said in Riekspeil, grinning a grin that would make Ranald proud. "Or whatever is in the chest. We'll take it off of your hands. What do the dead care?"

The Wightking swiped at him savagely. It was as if his hand was at his side one moment and across the small chamber in the next, but amazingly Amal had ducked. The thing wasn't angered, and it merely attacked again. It was hardly larger than a normal skeleton, but there was a magic weight behind it that told Amal whatever it hit would be sent flying. Despite his agility, the thing pushed Amal back into the right wall, slamming its fists into the rock and leaving terrifying indentions. Amal dodged and slid, and as the Wightking continued to attack the wall began to crumble. The rock cracked and the integrity of the structure deteriorated, giving Amal cause to smirk. Small beams of light shot through the holes.

"Thank you for the way out." The thief mocked, but it was one mock too much. It's next punch hit the wall and was dodged perfectly, but without pulling back, its fist shot through the rock again and hit Amal in the side, sending him flying into the next wall. The thief barely caught himself before his head cracked against the stone surface, and the Wightking strode past him towards Emmaline, blue witchfire eyes fixed upon her and the crown. Amal saw it approaching her, and he found a new strength in his weakened limbs and pushed off the wall. He tackled the Wightking to the ground in a hopeless, impossible contest of grappling strength.

"Use your magic, Em!" He cried, desperately holding onto the thing's wrists as its inhuman, inexorable strength threatened to dislodge or harm Amal.

[Assistant]
That was easy for Amal to say of course, he hadn't spent all morning playing magical peekaboo to annoy some anonymous horsemen. Nor had he just blocked a doorway against the vengeful dead. Magically speaking, Emmaline was nearly exhausted and didn't know how much more magic she could work. Still given a choice between being torn apart by an undead monstrosity and trying, she was certainly going to make the effort.

"Let go!" she yelled at Amal, hoping that he would obey and then tossed the crown underhand up through the gap the creature had punched into the ceiling. The wright roared and leaped after the circlet. Amal tried to cling on but the eldrich powers that kept the thing together gave it predigious strength. It leaped after the crown, crashing through the ceiling of the barrow dropping the Araybian thief to the ground. Emmaline raised both hands and began to chant frantically. The wright fell back into the tomb, the crown gripped in its hand, landing on the floor with both knees and one hand down.

"Now you will..." the doom laden voice cut off as the creature realized that it wasn't actually on the stone floor it remembered. Rather it was six inches deep in a pool of mud.

"Pathetic Sorceress you seek to undo me with water?" the creature sneered, derision dripping from its lips. Emmaline released the spell and the mud wavered back into the original stone, entombing the lower six inches of the wright in solid rock. It let out a roar of pure frustration and tore at the entombing earth, bones creaking and popping.

"Em..." Amal cautioned but she had already begun to chant again. One of the ancient statues now appeared to be half standing in a pool of mud. Hundreds of pounds of stone began to tip, slowly but with increasing speed as the statue toppled over, coming down atop of the barrow wrigt with a crash that seemed to shake the very earth and kicked up a wall of sepulchral dust that coated everything in the chamber. Emmaline sneezed violently as the dust began to settle. All the remained of the creature was a disarticulated arm protruding from beneath the ruin of the kingly statue.

"For my next trick," Emmaline coughed, sitting down heavily and leaning back against a wall, "I shall need a volunteer."

[User]
Amal coughed a bit, a small bit of his cloak around his face now, making him seem even more the bandit. He strode over to the fallen Wightking and plucked the crown out of its dead hand. He couldn't help but marvel at it like Emmaline had, but he spared no time in sliding it onto his arm and going to check on Emmaline, wiping her face of dust gently and picking her up in his arms with even more care.

"Ah my-" she coughed again. "My handsome assistant."

"Let's get out of here." He said, concern in his voice. But she tugged at his hair, whispering 'don't leave the chest' in his ear, hoarsely. He snorted, which turned into a full blown laugh. "You were always the smart one..."

---

The next day they made it to Suderburg with their loot, which, not counting the loot they already had from their previous adventures, was the bejeweled crown, four meters of silk, a brass teacup of ancient design, a broken arming sword with gold filigree and faded runes, and an odd, ruby amulet. The two had stuck the items in whatever sacks they could find amid the broken ruins of the Howling Hills, and kept it safe and secret among their belongings. Once or twice, the two thought they saw horsemen that looked like they might be working for whatever new authority that was in Delbertz, and so they never stayed the night at any inn. They kept walking, sleeping near the road under the trees and buying food from passing merchants before they hit a large river.

"Is this...?" Emmaline breathed, removing her hood for the first time in two days. Her hair shined like gold in the sunlight of the fading day. Amal removed his hood as well, a blanket of dark hair almost like fur covering his chin and upper lip. There were two things that never ceased to amaze him. The beauty of his woman and the sight of a flowing river in the midst of vast green. "It's the river Talabec. Which means Altdorf is just past these trees."

"Altdorf?" Amal said. Such strange names, these northern cities. "Is that a big city?"

She nodded. "It's the capital of my entire country." The woman informed him jubilantly. She stretched, and suddenly let out a groan when she felt the strain on her muscles from the constant walking they had endured. "We can find a seller for some of our treasures here, but we must be careful." Her words were tight as she placed her hands on her back, the comforts of a bed on her mind. "The law here is very strict."

"Will they take your tongue if you look at a magistrates clothed daughter?"

"Not if you merely look in her direction." She said meekly.

"I think we can handle it, then."


[System]
Age: 15

Appearance: With her long, golden hair and sharp blue eyes, she looks like the standard ojou. EXCEPT FOR THE SHARK TEETH. Yes, the teeth of a true DELINQUENT who enjoys CRIME and DOING CRIME. She has the pale skin of a VILLAIN and the twintails of a SUPER VILLAIN. She's very short but DON'T TELL HER THAT and ALSO NAPOLEON WAS SHORT AND HE KICKED ASS.

What do you mean Napoleon wasn't actually short?

Anyways, when she's not wearing her DELINQUENT track suit (because it's comfy) she's wearing… that's right… her BANZAI CAPTAIN'S UNIFORM.

Personality: Jessica was born to be bad. She loves sewing CHAOS and DESTRUCTION everywhere she goes because she is VERY INSECURE. Like all good delinquents, she has a soft spot for puppies and kittens. She spends most of her free time lazing around the house, eating junk, and consuming media like potato chips.

Background: Jessica was born into the most difficult circumstance imaginable: being VERY RICH. Her parents bought her everything she ever wanted, she lived in a mansion with maids and servants, and had her every whim catered to ALL THE TIME.

Truly a tragedy.

Jessica's older sister, Perfecta, was already set to take over the family MONEY BUSINESS by the time Jessica was born. Because of this, there were very few expectations placed on Jessica, and the few that were ended up easily crushed by the revelation that Jessica was VERY NOT GOOD at everything she tried. Why couldn't she play piano like her sister? Why couldn't she make numbers bend to her whim like her
sister? Why couldn't she come up with a revolutionary cure for LUGEFAUST SYNDROME like her SISTER?

Jessica's parents stopped caring about whatever she was up to and gave her a credit card in place of their care and affection, and in return, Jessica stopped TRYING. All-in-all a good arrangement.

One day, while eating Sugar Pockets Cereal (the sugary cereal for only the most discerning of manchildren), she came upon an ad for the Banzai Blasters. It was here that she found her place. She took out daddy's credit card, bought her way right up to CAPTAIN, and immediately had a sense of SELF-WORTH.

Money is AWESOME!

But she had no friends or acquaintances, so she had no blasters to lead. To date, her only successful job is a convenience store robbery. That she pulled off solo. While the manager was high as a kite.

But it still counts!

Motivation: Otterholt Point is just out of the way enough to ROB A BUNCH OF SHIT, make a name for herself, and get the recognition of the Banzai Blaster organization as a whole!

…Is what she tells herself.

But the real reason is that it's her birthday and her family forgot, so she wanted to go somewhere fun.

Assets: She's bad at a lot of things, but she knows a lot about media and can eat a lot of garbage without getting fat. She's actually pretty good with computers and electronics.

Flaws: She is physically very weak, is terrible at identifying her own emotions, and is reliant on a pyramid scheme for her self-worth.

Epithet: MONGREL

• GATTAI!!!- Jessica can combine with anything to create another form. However, this form is always volatile and only lasts a short time. Combining with animals lasts up to an hour, combining with plants lasts up to 30 minutes, and combining with minerals lasts a minute tops. She can uncombine at will, however, and the materials separate intact.

• Monday, it's time for ALCHEMY- Jessica can combine any two things to make a third thing that logically follows from the first two things. Like she can combine water and bones to make soup. Theoretically, she could then combine that soup with something else to make some sort of MEGA SOUP. But what kind of moron would use soup for villainy?

• QUICKCHANGE!- Jessica can immediately 'combine' with a different outfit, changing into her Banzai uniform at breakneck speeds! If she owns an outfit, she can change into it immediately. She can also change the clothes of others if she touches them, but only to clothes she owns.

[User]
"That depends on what you mean by 'everybody.'" Penny replied, ignoring Jessica's attempts to start a fight. She wasn't surprised that the dude with the heartthrob good looks of a TV star had shown up, not after getting a front row seat to how fast he was earlier. She didn't mind him being around either, speed like that could be a lifesaver. "Right now we're in the middle of...speak of the devil!" She finished as a small voice called out a reply from somewhere further in the jungle. "C'mon." She said, hastily hacking her way through the underbrush toward the voice. It was a little slower going than before, seeing as she was clearing out room for that bubble machine that Jessica had chosen as a prize.

It still only took them a little while to reach the source of the crying, and when they did Penny almost kicked herself. "Eugh." She gagged at the putrid situation. "Of course you're gonna stay where you are. Way to make me feel like an idiot." She hoped there wasn't some kind of undiscovered species of giant bug on the island that did this to people.

Jessica, on the other hand, looked like she was thinking of something way worse than horrible giant insects. The look on her face as she looked up at that kid reminded her of the look she'd given Penny when they'd first met, like she was just a little kid. The girl immediately got to work on getting the sap, or whatever that gunk was, off the girl. Penny was glad she was already getting some use out of that machine, but Penny worried that without the sap the kid was going to come tumbling down from the trunk. So when Jessica gave the word she snapped to. "I have just the men for the job, boss. Men!" She called out. The peasants as one dropped the bubble machine and stood at attention. Penny pointed up at the girl. "Fetch us that maiden fair." She intoned, with all the regal authority she could muster just to get them really pumped up.

"Aye Melord!" They said, throwing themselves at the tree and ascending as dizzying speed toward the girl like little hairy cockroaches.

"Carefully. This isn't like picking fruit!" She called up.

"Carefully." Came back down five voices as the peasants lines up around the girl and took hold of her with one of their hands, one each for her arms and legs and one above her gripping the back of her shirt. "Careful." "Careful." They said, using their surprising strength to gentle pull the girl from the remaining sap and began sliding slowly down the tree, little nails leaving gashes in the trunk as they arrested the speed of their descent.

"Well, that's one more accounted for at least." Penny said, turning back to Mark. "This is kinda what we're doing now. If we get attacked by a giant bug, could you kill in with your flash steps?"

[Assistant]
Mark watched as the girls rescued the child, keeping his senses open. He found it very annoying every time someone brought up his uncanny appearance of Jensen Ackles. He didn't like Jessica already and she wasn't going to make it easier to like her. "Let's just get the girl to safety." he sighed, glaring at Jessica.

He noticed the little people Penny summoned with her Epithet and how she worked them. He found it interesting. That's actually kinda cool, he thought to himself.

"Stride." he frowned at Penny. "My Epithet is Stride. It's a movement Epithet, not usually meant for outright combat. Giant bugs, though, shouldn't be too hard if you can find me a big stick to use as a weapon."

He was being modest, though it didn't sound like it, and he knew it. He loved his speed. He already knew how to fight with it.

With the girls behind him, he took point and began heading back towards the beach. "Leaving your find?" he asked Penny, motioning towards the bubblegum machine.

[User]
In a lucky turn of fate, one of the youngsters who happened upon the trapped child possessed just the tool for the job. Her quick thinking allowed her to combine a couple different objects in quick succession, putting the power of her epithet on display as she dealt with the problem in an improbably speedy manner. While that meant the child might tumble down the trunk and into the ground afterward, Penny recognized the situation and put her miniature legion on the case. They scrambled up and down with surprising alacrity, retrieving their target as carefully as they could. In the end, the little girl was retrieved with no fuss and only a little muss.

Though clearly shaken and close to overwhelmed, the child seemed grateful. "Thank you," she told her rescuers, remembering what her mother always said about manners. Given her saviors' recent experience with Noelle -Jessica in particular- it wasn't hard to come to a conclusion about her lineage. The teacher and her husband would no doubt be relieved, even if the return of their daughter highlighted the still-missing status of their son.

Not long after Mark divulged the nature of his epithet, there came a rustling in the underbrush. A thin girl with shot red hair, a distinctive skull-and-crossbones shirt beneath her coat, and striped red and black long socks appeared through the trees, waving as she came into talking range. "Hello," she greeted in a somewhat throaty voice before pointing her thumb at the trees behind. "Just wandering around when I found the girl. While trying to figure out a way to get her down, I heard talking. I didn't know what to make of you, so I kept a distance and watched. But way you rescued the young one there was incredible. You're obviously good people, and I shouldn't have doubted you."

In contrast to her somewhat punkish, rough-and-tumble appearance, the stranger gave off an impression of sophistication and sincerity as she spoke. Her compliments felt good, and conveyed a sense of real respect. In turn that made the stranger seem genuine and trustworthy, someone definitely in the others' camp. These associations and conclusions came easily, not weirdly so, but it just seemed so obvious. The only thing even slightly off was the ever-so-subtle sweet taste on the tongues of those present.

She held a hand in front of her chest and gave a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to meet anyone with their hearts in the right place. My name is Erin. I'm sure you have appropriately important things to be doing, but if I could lean on your generosity, would you mind telling me what's going on? Who you've encountered so far, and what you've been up to?" She asked in earnest, buttering them up a touch but by no means overbearingly so, as she stood between them and the way back to the beach.

[Assistant]
Jessica grinned her big shark grin, feeling accomplishment well up inside of her. She definitely didn't feel good because she helped a scared kid and it was the right thing to do. No, she felt good because she was AWESOME and now she could make that woman bow and apologize! She would order that lady to get down on her hands and knees and assume the dogeza stance just like in her anime!

"GAHAHA!" Jessica laughed loudly out of nowhere, to nobody but herself like an ABSOLUTE CHAD.

As if her massive accomplishment wasn't enough, the TV star Jensen Ackles of award-winning drama blah blah blah you get the point DIVULGED the nature of his epithet. He must've been pretty confident and, from the sounds of it, he had every reason to be. However, like that one cartoon said, "knowing is half the battle". Now that she knew what his epithet was, she could SCHEME ways to counter it just in case.

As Jessica turned to head back to the beach, her head HUGE from accomplishment, she quickly came face to face with a girl who looked like a PUNK. Dammit... PUNK was JESSICA'S aesthetic! At least when she wasn't a delinquent. It switched between the two depending. Jessica was about to tell the woman off for TOTALLY APING HER STYLE when she found herself being ABSOLUTELY FLATTERED.

"W-well," Jessica replied, blushing a bit, "I'm actually EVIL, you know? Definitely not a good person. But thank you for noticing how AWESOME I am. Actually, we were just... did I recently eat a candy?"

Jessica smacked her lips, paused a second, and then opened the bottle in order to sniff it.

She had combined a bottle and something that could be bottled, but had only assumed it was sap. Maybe it was syrup or something? She gave the contents a sniff.

"We were just, uh... going back to camp... with this kid... to make that teacher apologize," Jessica answered, a little distracted.

"You know... that busybody meganekko. I like your shirt, by the way. Do you think this TRACKSUIT looks cool on me?"


[System]
Gender: Female(she/her)
Age: 19
Species: Werewolf Vampire
Looks: Riyu has dark skin and light blue eyes. Her hair is a warm auburn color. Her ears and tail are tipped with dark russet points, and she has two fangs that she doesn't bother to hide due to her vampire genes.
More While RPing

[User] Riyu was on a walk, and she didn't notice much of anybody. She passed Axel, and the children, and a woman walking a dog, but she took no notice. She was the type where if somebody was hurt, she still wouldn't notice. Again, she was off in her own world od imagination.

[Assistant] Her attention flicked when she saw the new arrival, her eyes scanning the others appearance as if committing it to memory, she willed her brain to stop, to just let the information go, but of course, her brain committed everything to memory, she sighed softly, turning her attention back to the children who where playing

[User] Riyu suddenly was snapped out of her imagination as a boy of about 19 decided it was a good idea to trip her. She stumbled, but pulled herself together pretty quickly and easily sent the boy falling to the ground with a swift kick to the shin. Of course, she wasn't a fighter, and she simply walked away.

[Assistant] She looked back over, interest lighting her gaze, she stood, her movements fluid as she took the boy by the collar and stuck him up into a high tree, then proceeded to follow Riyu, because she was curious

[User] The boy was not very happy about being taken down by two girls, but he accepted his fate. Riyu, now remaining in the present, turned as she was being followed. "What the hell do you want?" She snapped.

[Assistant] She simply tilted her head, eyes expressionless "Nothing" Was all she said, her response quick, as if she already knew what the other was going to say, her voice was monotone and quick, containing no expression whatsoever

[User] She glared at Axel. "Don't kid yourself. You were fvcking following me. So why?" She snapped, not in the mood to take shit from anybody after what the boy had done.

[Assistant] She blinked, her eyes analyzing everything. "Because your interesting" Was all she replyed, doing it quick as if she knew what she was going to say, then again, she did

[User] She sighed. "I'm no different than anybody else. Leave me alone," She spat, turning and walking away at a brisk pace. She was sick of people, especially weirdos wjo behaved like androids.

[Assistant] She followed silently, her movements making no sound as she walked, her brain taking in everything around her as if it would make it all new again

[User] Her ears were pinned back, yet she knew Axel was still following her. "Stop. Following. Me," she growled, speeding up.

[Assistant] "I'd rather not" She said, continuing to follow her, although she knew it was creeper like

[User] Eventually, she stopped, turning. "Why? Nobody asked you to follow me. Nobody wants you to. So leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone." She snarled, her eyes flashing red.

[Assistant] She stayed still, watching with curiosity, her green eyes seemed to look barcoded as she analyzed this, committing it to memory as she always did

[User] She sighed. "Fine. Be like that, android," she turned into a bat and flew off. Due to her vampire genes, she could become both a bat and a wolf, so it gave her an advantage.

[Assistant] She watched this, eyes analyzing, mind committing, brain turning

[User] She flew to her house and in through a window, laying down on her bed sith a sigh. This was irritating her, to say the least.

[Assistant] She shrugged, going to a abandoned house and going inside, sitting on the floor, letting all her thoughts spill out and just sitting in silent agony

[User] She lay back on her bed and soon fell asleep. Her sleep was restless, plauged by nightmares and dreams of her fallen friends and foe.

[Assistant] She didn't sleep that night, to many thoughts to clear away, she cleared almost all of them to make room for new memories, most of her old ones were about a old friend

[User] She woke a few hours later, yawning and dragging herself out of bed. She knew something was off about the girl who had followed her, but she dismissed it. Skmething was off about most people.

[Assistant] She laid on the floor of the abandoned house, finally managing to sleep after the painful process of clearing her memories, she woke after a few hours, deciding to go try and find the person she had followed the day befire, something was different about that one

[User] Riyu began walking down main street, avoiding the hostile glares of a few random people. She turned into a small cafe and ordered herself a black coffee before sitting down at a table facing the door.

[Assistant] She walked into the cafe, which was actually the place she worked at, she opened the door, not seeming to notice the person she had followed the other day as she went behind the counter

[User] She noticed Axel and pulled her hood over her head, covering her ears and curling her tail around her leg. She took out her laptop and began working on some of her work that she had.

[Assistant] She put her apron on and went to a table, the table being the others "Hello, what would you like today?"

[User] "I'm fine, thank you," she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. Her attention remained on her laptop.

[Assistant] She nodded, something about this person seeming familiar, she searched her memories, being called over by a guy before she could figure it out

[User] She watched Axel walk away then returned her attention to her laptop.

[Assistant] She talked to the guy, who looked to be in his 40's he was practically yelling at her while she just stood there, taking everything he was yelling without emotion

[User] She noticed this but took no action, simply keeping her attention on her laptop

[Assistant] The guy raised his hand and slapped her across the face, she turned stiffly and walked away, although a single tear rolled down her cheek, the only sign she felt emotion at all

[User] That got Riyu to stand and come over. "Why the hell would you do that?" She demanded. Even if something was off about Axel, what the man had done was not okay,

[Assistant] She tried to calm the other down, the guy standing and looking angry, she went over to try to calm him down, but he slapped her again, this time sending her skidding to the ground

[User] She stepped in front of Axel at this point. "Try that one more time. I fvcking dare you." She snarled, letting her hood fall. Her eyes glinted red. She was not going to be as nice as she was aith the boy from yesterday, and she could be harmful.

[Assistant] She stood, wincing a bit, her cheek was bright red from where she had been slapped, she forced the tears back as she tried to calm Riyu and the guy

[User] She gently pushed Axel back, keeping her attention on the guy. "Take a break, kid," she told Axel, her tone void of everything except venom.

[Assistant] The guy stomped forward, and Axel actually looked scared, she hated when customers acted like this, the guy took a vase and smashed it, she squeaked "No!" She loved the vases, she quickly tried to pick up the glass, cutting herself multiple times but managing to get it all picked up

[User] That was Riyu's fjnal straw. She grabbed the guy by his shirt collar and dragged him out of the cafe, utilizing her werewolf strength. She dropped him on the ground. "Do you mind? Goddamn bastard, she did nothing to you. So leave her, and the cafe, alone!"

[Assistant] She had gotten glue and was frantically trying to glue the vase back together, she seemed like a totally different person than yesterday, some tears fell down her face, mostly because she had allowed herself to be slapped like that, twice even

[User] She left the guy and reentered the cafe, approaching Axel. "Hey. It's broken. I can make you a new one, if you want," she offered, her tone gentle and soft. Her tail flicked Axel's leg in a kind manner.

[Assistant] She quickly wiped the tears away when Ryui approached, she sniffled, trying to make herself look less like she was crying, she shook her head "No it's fine.." She said, her voice soft and sad, the man had ran away

[User] She sighed. "You sure? Also, is it often you let people treat you that way?" The question was innocent, but her tone was again mostly empty.

[Assistant] She looked away, avoiding the question "Thank you for helping me"

[User] She sighed again. "Yeah. No problem. The name's Riyu, by the way," she added, her tail flicking. She had noticed how Axel avoided the question, but she paid it no mind.

[Assistant] "Nice to meet you.. I'm Axel" She said in her soft voice, still holding the broken pieces of the vase in her bare hands

[User] She nodded, glancing at Axel's hands. "You know, somw broken things can't be fixed."

[Assistant] She held the broken pieces close to her chest "Well, I can still try" She said, closing her eyes and sighing softly

[User] "True. Or you could use the broken to make something better." She studied the pieces. "I work with glassblowing in my spare time. I could make something out of those."

[Assistant] "Really?" She asked, eyes lighting up in wonder, she was like a completely different person from who had followed Ryiu the day before

[User] She nodded, noticing the change but thinking nothing of it. "Really. Actually, I'm off today so..." she tilted her head.

[Assistant] She let a tiny smile through her usual blank face until memories flashed in her mind, bad memories, her smile instantly faded, but the look of wonder never leaving her eyes

[User] She took note of this and tilted her head. "You good?"

[Assistant] She nodded "Yup, fine" She said, voice taking on its monotone again

[User] "Alright. Well, I'll see you later, Axel," she turned, geeting her things from the table before leaving without another word.

[Assistant] She looked down at the broken pieces of the vase, her boss coming and yelling at her for not working, her boss telling her that the cost for the vase would be taken from her paycheck, she got off of work a few minutes later, going to a cherry tree orchard and sitting under a tree

[User] She went to her small shared glass studio, but didn't start another project. Instead, she started thinking of ideas for the pieces.

[Assistant] She had put the broken vase in a little pouch inside of her backpack, she leaned her back against the tree, signing softly

[User] She found an idea she thought Axel might like and began sketching a basic design.

[Assistant] She looked up at the leaves of the cherry tree, trying desperately not to burst into tears, she wiped away the few that had escaped, pulling her knees to her chest and trying not to think about what had happened in the cafe

[User] She finished her sketches then went in search of Axel. Of course, it didn't take her very long to find the other girl. But she would not be recognized, as she was in her wolf form, with a pouch at her side to carry the drawings. She barked a greteting, padding up to Axel below the tree.

[Assistant] She tilted her head at the wolf, her brain already piecing it together, she blinked, trying to get the sudden headache away, she nods in greeting to the wolf, knowing it was Ryui

[User] She tilted her head but sat dosn, shaking the pouch off and nudging it over to Axel. Riyu then lay down and waited for Axel to look at the drawings and decide.

[Assistant] She looks at the pouch, getting the drawings out and looking through them, her eyes lighting up in wonder

[User] Her tail tapped the ground as she watched Alex look at the drawings.

[Assistant] "There so pretty" She said, voice full of wonder as she looked through them, she picked one, eyes shining when she sowed it to Riyu "This one"

[User] Riyu nodded, standing and gathering the drawings aa best she coupd as a wolf. She pulled the pouch back on then trotted away, looking baxk as if wanted alex to follow,


[System]
Age: 25 years old

Gender: Female

Personality: Calm and collected would be the best way to describe her. Her usual expression is her normal face, as she doesn't smile while teaching to her students. She will smile though when she congratulates her students on a job well done. Or frowns and turns stern-looking when they fail. She is always happy to help a struggling student but she doesn't tolerate a slacker who's simply too lazy to study properly.

Backstory:
She was born in a remote mining village in the mountains, with her father working as a miner. Since she were little, she had taken interest in all things mining related, particularly on the bombs they made to blow up the wall of rocks inside the mines. The job to make the bombs fell to the females of the village, so she was welcomed to learn as much as she wanted on how to make them.

However, tragedy stroke one day, when a cluster of mining tunnel collapsed, trapping the workers inside including her father. Quickly, the females of the town used all the materials available to make bombs in order to dig through the rubble quicker, but even with all the bombs they had made, it was still not enough. And the next batch of gunpowder shipment wouldn't come until the next month. Sure, they had sent a help request to the nearest town but who knew when the help would come, if at all? So all the women in the town ended up digging through the rubble day and night in an effort to rescue their men before it was too late.

11-year old Freyja was naturally consumed with worry. If her father were to die, she wouldn't know what to do. Her mother would certainly be stricken with grief as well. Thus, she thought hard and long for a way to make more bombs without any gunpowder. And at that lowest point in her life, her power manifested. When she woke up after falling asleep due to tiredness, she was grabbing a bomb inside her right hand. At first, she didn't know why it was there, but she remembered that she dreamt about the bomb, how it was made and how its composition and structure should be. So she did the same once more and to her surprise, another bomb manifested in her left hand.

Thus, with this power, she managed to save the miners at last. The villagers didn't even ask any questions at first as they were that desperate for some miracle to happen.

And so she became known as "The Bomb Girl", one who could make bombs out of thin air. Instead of being suspicious against her, the villagers welcomed her ability instead, thanks to their closely knit community.

However, one day, another channeler arrived, thanks to the rumors about this "bomb girl" spreading to the nearest town. He was the headmaster of the Institute, and he saw the talent hidden beneath Freyja, who was 14-years old at that time. Without anyone to teach her, she had managed to expand her ability to create miniature bombs as small as a pebble. She could also set them to explode whenever she wished, unlike ordinary bombs. So the headmaster approached her parents and told them about their daughter's ability, and how he wished for her to be taught at his school. Of course, her parents were reluctant at the prospect of letting her daughter go with some stranger, but Freyja herself insisted to go, as she wished to learn more about her ability herself. She told her parents the truth she had been hiding that she felt stifled staying in the village for all this time and she felt her life could be better than just being a bombmaker for the village. After some more persuasion, they finally let her go.

So she was trained in the institute as a student. And she graduated with flying colors. The headmaster asked her if she had any idea what she wanted to do after this. If not, she could stay here and become a teacher as they were quite short on mentors with the typing of architect. She agreed, in exchange for the institute's resources as she still wished to develop her skills even more. And besides, she enjoyed teaching others as back when she was a student, other students came to her for advice as she scored the highest in most of the exams.

Appearance:

Equipment: She had many chemistry-related equipment in her room, and she would use it daily for her study and experiments.

Abilities: She is very well-versed in chemistry knowledge, as it was certainly needed for her to make better bombs. She is also somewhat knowledgeable in the art of gears and pistons, as she needed the knowledge to create her walking spider bombs.

Channeller category: Architect

Description of power: Bomb creation

Names/descriptions of moves:
1. "Tiny Tim" = Her basic combat bombs. Creates five miniature bombs in one hand and throws it towards the enemy.
2. "Spider on The Wall" = Creates a pair of bombs with legs in both of her hands. The bombs can walk autonomously on their own towards the enemy or she could control them with her mind as well. They could also stick to the walls and ceilings, so they could prove effective as an ambush
3. "Sticky Hands" = Creates a bunch of nigh-invisible, microscopic bombs on her hands. If she grabs an enemy with them, they would stick to their clothes/skins. Then she can detonate them remotely.
4. "Breath of Death" = Only works when combat happens inside a closed space. Creates microscopic bombs inside her lungs that she breathes out, making them spread around on the battlefield unseen by the enemy. She cannot control their movements, but she can bait the enemy to stand in a spot where a decent amount of them gathered and let them breath them in. Then, she detonated them once they were inside their own lungs.
5. "Land Mines" = Creates miniature bombs under her shoes that would stick to the floor as she walked. They are tiny pebble-sized, not microscopic but still could be really hard to notice.

Character theme song:

Other:
She is now learning medicine making in hopes of expanding her architect ability to create them too.

STAFF CHARACTERS ONLY

Institute role: Architect mentor

Why they were chosen for the Institute: She had been proven capable both intellectually and mentally to be a mentor. She had a calm and responsible demeanor that befit her position. She had deep knowledge on the art of architect, thanks to her constant strive to create better bombs.

[User]
AKIKO

Akiko's heart started to sink once the guy handed her the paper explaining all the combinations. So if the player rolls a pair of...no wait, if the banker doesn't roll a...no no that's not it. Akiko was thoroughly confused, she had never been good at math or number related subjects, she didn't have any clue what she was reading and didn't take in any of the information. "Ha, this should be easy!" Akiko lied as she slammed down the paper dramatically with fake confidence. She may not have understood half the rules of this game, but already accepted the challenge and she couldn't possibly back down now! ...Well she could, but there was no way she was gonna admit that she didn't know the rules

[Assistant] Ronald kept an air of smug confidence as he watched the girl who had come up to his table try and read through the rules. Confident as she was, whether she understood the rules or not absolutely didn't matter! Ronald had rigged it from the start, though neither her or the new stranger that had pulled up to Ronald's table knew it yet. "Then let's not keep waiting, friend!" Clearing his throat, Ronald threw the already shuffled dice from his hand and into the bowl. 5-5-5. Automatic win. A surprising outcome, even for Ronald! "Huh. I...guess I win the first round. Well, guess I'll just go ahead and re-roll." Ronald's words were genuine and kind. He truly didn't expect his first roll to be an instant win. He grabbed the dice from the bowl and shuffled them again, for once in his life hoping he isn't lucky enough to get another instant win again. It would be too suspicious. After a few seconds of shuffling, he threw the dice right back into the bowl. They rolled around, bumping and bumbling into and around eachother, like dancers in a club late at night! Finally, they slowed to a halt, showing the combination 5-5-2. Point set! 2 points towards Ronald and, though he wouldn't show it, he was relieved as he passed the bowl and dice to Akiko, eager to keep the game going. "Your turn. Haha!"

[User]
Akiko watched as the guy rolled the dice. Honestly she didn't have much of a reaction to the dice, as she hardly had a grasp of the game to begin with, but once she heard the guy say that he won she understood what was going on.Lucky for the guy, Akiko wasn't really the sharpest pencil in the drawer and was too focused on pretending like she knew how to play, so she didn't really react much to his win at all. She simply nodded her head and pretended like she understood what had just happened

After the guy made his second roll and gave the bowl and dice over to her, she eagerly grabbed them out of his hand almost instantly and shook the dice vigorously. "Ha!" Akiko shouted as she threw the dice into the bowl with great enthusiasm. 1-2-1...uhhh, what did that mean? Akiko didn't really know, so she chose to wait to see the guy's reaction

[Assistant]
---

Jonathan Walker

---

Jonathan nodded to Alexei. "I agree, it might be hard for her given her vicious streak. All the more reason...", he said, pausing for a moment to complete a row at 440 lbs. "...To keep reaching out."

Jonathan was just now finishing up his sets and had worked up a proper sweat. The strain and focus was helping clear his head up. Even though Alexei seemed to think he was just worried about having been punched in the face, talking it over was helping figure out how to deal with everyone else, too. The first few days were always the roughest no matter what. The summer break kept him out of contact with most of his better friends. There were the new students too, who all too often had just been ripped out of their old life and dumped into a freakish boarding school, and they had the whole fish-out-of-water thing going on that made them hard to talk to. On the bright side, he'd managed to reach out and talk to someone who he'd been absolutely terrified of all last year. That was fun while it lasted. More rowing, more straining, and he was completely finished with the workout.

Jonathan switched to a brighter subject as he got up and started wiping down the benches he'd used. Cleanliness was right on up there in importance with form. Nobody wanted to get a staph infection from working out, and Jonathan didn't want to be the one to make it happen.

"On a different note, when's your first class starting?"

---

Brock Van de Vate and Alexis Cartwright

---

The 'doctor' was utterly freakish. Brock couldn't tell if she was even licensed, but the other staff seemed to trust her enough to not even flinch at the sight of the ugly old witch with an axe. If they trusted her, then maybe this was all just some sort of intimidation thing to make sure he actually needed attention. The throbbing pain started seeping back into Brock's attention as his fear slipped away, and he decided that, yes, he did need to see the doctor about it before it got worse, even if Asa hadn't described what'd happened properly. He was pretty sure he'd have remembered getting knocked unconscious.

A quick look around at the other students on the field told him he'd put his foot in his mouth, so he decided not to mention his lack of a head injury. "Uh, yeah... I'm just... going to go with the doctor here. Lead the way."

Doctor Cartwright looked the boy over. Yeah, he was in pain. She'd seen enough 'tough guys' in her office to know when they were hiding it. He was too upright and stable to have any sort of head injury, so she threw that out, but his legs were slightly bent and shaky. Throwing stars were heavy enough to break skin even with a half-assed throw and without being sharpened properly, so a blunt throwing star was heavy enough to do lasting damage to the testicles without attention.

"Alright, fine. Asa, Freyja, I'll send him back out when I'm through with him," she said. There was a sort of vicious bite behind 'through with him' that made Brock shudder in semi-horrified anticipation, but he felt that whatever she'd do with him, it was better than sticking around in front of people who probably thought he was a total dumbass now.

Doctor Cartwright turned to waddle off back towards her office, and Brock gave a short glance at the other staff before hurriedly following along.

@Hammerman

[User]
"Very well then, I'll leave him to you," Freyja replied back. She couldn't help but smile a little at Brock's horrified expression. It was something she was quite familiar with, as new students would certainly be unfamiliar with how the doctor was. She was a great doctor indeed, even if she looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Now that's over..."

Freyja looked back and saw that there was a game of dice going on, with Akiko being one of the participants. She hoped she wasn't gambling anything with that, and she doubted that she was the kind of person that had the aptitude to being a good gambler. Speaking frankly, she was too hot-headed. Gambling was a game of tricks, where being predictable could cost you the game.

Well, it wasn't really her business. There was no rule that said that students weren't allowed to gamble. And so, she decided to just return to her office. It had been quite tiring after all.


[System]
Release Command: Sculpt

Shikai Ability: Upon release Gin no kessaku releases a large black plume of smoke that hovers in the air a moment before taking the form of a large, grey humanoid, which Ririsu is capable of controlling with vocal commands or hand gestures. Gin no Kassaku possesses a great deal of physical strength and resilience. The activation of Gin no kessaku's shikai leaves the physical sword unchanged with the exception of the black blade turning gunmetal grey.
Techniques:

[User]
The space around Saishu sped by into lines as he flashed stepped away from his retainer. The retired soul reaper slashed down where he once was, his trident-shaped zanpakuto scraping the earth. Saishu found the spot he had chosen a bit pretentious but it let him show, what Mr. Muten refused to hear. That he had grown beyond his lessons. That he was a notch above even a veteran soul reaper who had been a fourth seat in Squad Seven. Appearing on Mr. Muten's roof, Saishu turned to him with a kindhearted grin before half-bowing to the man.

Muten Kudo, retired soul reaper of Squad Seven, released his zanpakuto and simply stared at the youth who was his charge. There was a great sense of pride swelling in him, so much that it overshadowed the embarrassment of being so easily toyed with. He exhaled a life-full of worries until all that was left was the urge to let, Saishu fly. His aged hand rubbed his caramel dome. His baritone boasted a saint's authority. "You've made your point I suppose. I get it now. With your graduation so close you've decided to stop playing around. Since when did you become so proficient and agile with your flash steps?"

Saishu fell to his bottom and swung his legs over the roof. "Sheesh, that was so long ago now, Mr. Muten. I can't really recall."

Muten sheathed his zanpakuto at his hip then joined him on the roof. "Then for what reason did you hold back against me, My boy? Can you answer that?"

"I enjoyed your lessons, Mr. Muten," he said bluntly. "It wasn't until recently that I noticed I needed to make it clear. The difference between your generation and mines. Graduation is coming up and a certain name has been circling for our class ... Did you know they were calling us the Generation of Geniuses." Saishu held Chonan in his hand, its sealed blade reflecting his confident gaze. "I take pride in that title, even if its a collective one."

From behind him, Muten touched his shredded sleeve and thought on his other duties. The secrets he held from Saishu. "You are a prodigy, Saishu. Like so many of your classmates your title is deserved; I would even say Captain Hitsugaya was born a bit early in that respect." Muten's aged voice chuckled just a tad. "Just don't let the pressure get to you. You'll learn that being a genius comes with a certain burden, My boy."

[Assistant]
A gentle spring breeze that still has a bit of winter chill rustles across the ground of a small village in the rukongai. Just outside the rest of the village there is a tiny hut made in the traditional Japanese style. The floor is made from tatami mats and the walls of thin wood and a thatch roof. A small stream runs by it and the smolders of a fire being lit underneath an empty pot have long since gone out.

Inside the hut a young girl with white hair and yellow eyes is folding her bedding for the last time. Glancing around she sees that the place is spotless. The pot has been washed and the ashes cleared away. Her old clothes and her bedding lay in the corer folded neatly and she now wears her new shuhakusho shinigami uniform. At her side is her zanpakuto. In its sealed state it looks like a black shirasaya katana. She wears it just behind her hip so it rests comfortably behind her on her left side.

Stepping out of the home she puts on her sandals and gently closes the door one last time. Placing both hands she bows slightly and for a moment she offers a small prayer. Memories of the last few decades fly through her mind. The graduation ceremony is today and that means she will no longer live out here in the rukongai. A bittersweet sensation wells in her chest but none of it makes it to her face as comes out of her bow. She takes a final look over at the village. She does not have pleasant memories of this place but it was her home none the less for most of her life. One of the village elders who was up early sees her and their eyes meet for just a moment. She wished they hadn't and the elder quickly looked away before hobbling back inside his home.

"Things...don't change here." She says quietly to herself. Turning to look at the giant walls surrounding the seireitei she shunpo's away without looking back. She has a ways to go and she doesn't want to be late.

[User]
Takuya sat in his dorm room alone, cleaning his Asauchi as he watched a pair of bird chase each other outside his window. An MP3 playing a low fi jazz song he had found online, not remembering the name or the artist but only that it helps him relax.

"Takuya." A voice at the door calls for him. It was Midoriya, an underclassman to him that was his roommate for the better half of his stay at the academy. "You graduation ceremony is soon. Shouldn't you be going?"

Takuya continued to clean, the room feeling quiet despite the music still playing. "It will be fine." He responded quietly. "I have time, no need to rush." He says as he cleans the last corner of his blade, the weapon reflecting the morning sun. "Midoriya, it was nice dorms no with you, I hope we work together in the future." He says as he sheathed his sword, putting the blade on his hip. "Good luck with your remaining time here." He says as he turns around with a smile. "Stay smart kid." He said as he passed the younger boy, flash stepping away before the other could respond.

---

 As Takuya flash stepped along to where the graduation ceremony took place he took in his surroundings. Classes he'd never see again, classmates he will end up in other squads than. He wondered which squad he'd be in. Maybe he'd join squad 4 considering he was proficient in Kaido. … no that didn't feel right. He was here to find .. well he didn't know what he was looking for but he wanted to find SOMETHING. And squad 4 is the squad that can't leave the soul society.

11th doesn't sit right with him. Battles are!'t suppose to be fun, and death should be the only reason to stop fighting.

As he continued to list off his opinions of the squads, he arrived at the location of the ceremony. He stood at a bench near the entrance, waiting for the last second to enter so he could be at the back of the crowd, where he felt most comfortable.

(I'm gonna change the text color later when I have access to computer)

[Assistant]
Bakuto Hokori

Graduation..."Oh Graduation!" Snapping awake quickly is a young dark-haired soul reaper academy student Bakuto Hokori. He looks around confused around by his surroundings not remembering where he fell asleep the day before. Slowly Bakuto comes to the realization he is where he is supposed to be. Bakuto had fallen asleep where the graduation ceremony is supposed to begin.

Knocking over a few bottles of saké as he moved around and Bakuto's instant thoughts, 'Oh what did I do last night...Oh right a graduation party. At least I remembered to get to where I am supposed to be....'

He stretches a bit popping his back then his neck once he is done a smile goes across his face because he knows today is the day he graduates from the academy and becomes a full soul reaper of the thirteen court guard squads. Bakuto is wondering where will he be placed, the only squad he didn't want to go was squad four. The rumored squad where weaklings who can't fight go, and Bakuto doesn't want to be considered weak. Squad Eleven is the ideal squad for Bakuto. The squad that loves to fight and kill things is his kind of squad. Although Bakuto would be happy in any squad that isnt squad four. "Well at least I am not late for once.", Bakuto says to himself. As he has a tendency to be late where ever he goes this being a rare occasion where he was on time. Even if he fell asleep the night before after a long night of drinking where he is now.

Bakuto starts picking up the bottles of saké, shaking each one until he finds one that is still full and puts it into his shihakusho, but not before taking a small swig of it. He then starts to look around to see who has arrived yet and who is still arriving. Bakuto wasnt entirely sure who were all graduating today. He wonders who will be going to the same squad as he will be put in, although it doesnt matter he will find out soon enough who will be going where and who will be his squad mates.

[User]
Risiru sighed at her meat. It didn't sigh back. That was a shame, but there wasn't anything she could do about it at the moment. Perhaps someday she'd be able to change everything on a whim, but for the moment she was stuck in her own body, with flesh serving as walls which kept any and all potential limited to what the body could perform. She sighed again and checked the time. The ceremony was just about to begin.
"Might as well get going, I guess." She pushed a few strands of blue hair out of her eyes and looked around one last time at the various faces surrounding her. She knew them by name, and apparently they knew her. Each was watching her out of their corners of their eyes. Not in a hostile way, just wary. Her tendency of selecting fun had gotten the best of her in the past, and now, like a farmer who had used up the soil, this field wouldn't be giving very much fruit any time soon.
"Okay. Okay." She made a dismissive gesture with her right hand. "Everyone can calm down. I'll be going now. No need to get your underwear in a knot." Slowly sliding the rest of her plate across the counter so it could fall into a trash can on the other side, she smiled. If this field was barren that was fine because many more would soon open up to her.
"Well then." She straightened up quickly and everyone nearly jumped out of their seats. "I'll be off to the graduation ceremony then." She paid her tab and headed outside, and flash stepped towards the Shino academy.

****
"Now then." Captain Mayuri muttered, deactivating the screen, showing the images of his latest achievements' success, and putting the device back into his coat pocket. "That's enough of that." His attention turned away from the captain commander back to the screen, where his eyes seemed to all but phase into the work at hand. "I've plenty of work to do before heading off to the ceremony."

"What is it exactly, you're working on Mayuri?" Shunsui asked, crossing his arms over his chest and moving to get a better view of the screen.

Mayuri laughed. "A new breed of monsters, maybe, or possibly a new form of gigai. Whose to say? There's still quiet a bit more research I'll have to do on the phenomenon before I can say for sure. You'll just have to sit there and wait for my research paper to come out" The man's uncertainty in the matter didn't do anything to damper his spirits. In fact they excited him like no other companion ever could. For some, limit's were an insult to personal ability, but to the captain they were nothing but resistance to increase the mind's muscles, and he relished in the stress.
***
Risiru wasn't amongst the earliest of the arrivals to witness the event, but she was far from being the last. Even after landing, Soon to be Shinigamis kept appearing near the entrance. Most of them were well combed and looked like they were about to take part in some sort of job interview instead of being given a piece of paper they already knew they earned. It would've been cute if it wasn't so sad.

Sighing, she turned her attention towards the door and would've headed in, along with the rest of the crowd, but something caught her eye. It was another shinigami hopeful, Bakuto, she believed. She had him for a few classes through the last two years. He was busy, scrounging around through some empty bottles until he found one he liked, and drank some.

Risiru smiled. Hands behind her back she quickly moved closer towards the young(as far as Shinigami's were concerned) man for a better look. He had potential. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and there was a certain, how was it said, 'pain behind the eyes'. She assumed he had been drinking the night before. Unless memory failed her, and she doubted that was the case, he was something of a lush. She'd bet dollars to doughnuts he took a swig to help with the hangover.

"You know." She said, patting the man on the back. "I've always found that a bit of the hair of the dog that bit you doesn't really work. You need at least half a body to really drawn those demons, you know?" Smiling, she patted the man on the back and pointed at the procession of students moving into the academy.

"Trust, me, even if you didn't spend the night drinking, I say treat yourself. These ceremonies are always a bore." She patted him a third time, a bit harder, before hurrying to get in line behind another one of her classmates, whose name she was sure started with a T'. She had a good feeling about him and made sure to accidentally 'bumped' her elbow into.

"Sorry about that!" Ursiru replied happily. "Not used to so much excitement." As she moved she kept her head on the man with the bottle, hoping he'd do something that would keep things interesting.

****
"Master Mayuri" The childish young woman with the purple hair said, as far away from a whine as she could manage, which wasn't much distance. "We're going to miss the ceremony."

"Ahh." The captain sighed. "Yes. Yes. I suppose we are. Deary me, how did you end up so easily excited?" The man shook his head before his creation could respond and pushed a button which put the table he was looking at into stand by mode. "WEll then." He said without bothering to look at his current companions. "Shall we go?"

"Let's" Shunsui said with a half bow and smile.

"Yes!" Nemu said with a single soft clap.
****
After the tunnel, Resiru and the others found themselves stepping into a large, auditorian with an opening for the sun light to come pouring in. There was a large platform at the center where the actual ceremony would take place. Before it were dozens of rows of seats for the soon to be shinigami to be seated. Around it were large bleachers that were almost as quickly being filled up with the graduation ceremony's audience.