<div style="text-align: center"><i>"It's not going to be easy, Juni. It's a tough, thankless life, you need to remember that."<br/>
<br/>
"I know, but I'll be able to do good. That's all that matters."<br/>
</i>​</div><br/>The conversation had taken place more than a year ago, but Juniper could still remember the way Klause had scoffed at her, the way his lips had tugged into a frown shortly after. He'd called her a typical girl scout before going off on a tangent about how most of their new recruits backed out shortly after.<br/><br/>She told him to eat his words, and Klause laughed at her pluck.<br/><br/>More than a year had passed, and she was still here - still fighting the good fight and smiling in the face of adversity. The first few months were rough of course, but over the course of her missions, Juniper felt as if she'd managed to earn her team's respect. The other day, she was moved up into a more high-risk team, the reason she was seated at an outdoor table with Klause and the rest of their four person squad.<br/><br/>They were on campus, and they had their books out to ward off suspicion, though there was nothing suspicious about a small group of college students gathering together for an afternoon chat. It was sunny Saturday afternoon and the air buzzed with the energy of weekend freedom.<br/><br/>A little ways ahead of them, a man was mowing the quad. The smell of grass wafted toward them.<br/><br/>"Juniper, you listening?" Klause called out.<br/><br/>"Klause, buddy, pal, you know me. I'm<i>always</i>ready!"<br/><br/>He rolled his eyes. Over the course of the year, he and Juniper had developed a love-hate big-brother-and-little sister type of dynamic. The others seemed to think it was cute, he found it a little irritating. She could be a bit more serious about things, but Klause would have been lying if he said he didn't think it was a little endearing. The cheer helped cut through the tension and the group appreciated it.  "Good, there have bee monster sightings in the area. One was spotted near campus just last night."<br/><br/>"I thought we'd just cleared out the area last week?" One of the group members asked.<br/><br/>"We did, but they're back." Klause was frowning again, this time in full force. "It feels like something big is about to happen, which is why I want everyone to keep on their guard up and bring a buddy along. We can't have those things catch us by surprise, not this time."