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</div></div><br/>Akena noticed another boy nearby, glasses and reddish hair, strike up a conversation with Nekro, but he decided to mentally retreat instead of continuing the conversation. He already wasn't too great with people, and frankly he wanted it over with. His eyes closed and he leaned back in his chair, trying to push all the noise out of his mind. "Damn ceremonies and tests," he grumbled, "I just want to get to my dorm and take a nap. Maybe they'll-"<br/><br/>He was cut off by the speech ending, and the other students starting to file out. And, to his minor astonishment, only seven were left. He knew Vale was picky about it's applicants, but only seven first years? ...And something about it being an odd number bothered him. He took stock of the others as they walked forward. Nekro seemed fairly lax, but if he was at Vale, he was at least strong or intelligent, or both. He scrutinized the others, trying to gauge them. A red haired girl, human, with a sword, who seemed to be accompanied by yet another human girl with darker hair. The redhead looked chipper and energetic enough and was probably a good combatant, and the other one looked like she was carrying herself like a high-born, which immediately set off some alarms in his head - he'd never been super great with anyone that came from authority - but then again, they were equals here. Then there were the two boys that had been close to where he was sitting. The first in a pinstripe shirt and tie, who also looked laid back in the same way as Nekro...though the way he carried himself was a bit different, confident in an almost smug sort of way, and he also seemed to be avoiding eye contact with them? The second one in the orange hair had exchanged a few words with Nekro, and he looked fairly lanky. His tone had been...not really authoritative, but his words implied he was already familiar with Vale in some capacity. And finally. the mouse faunus girl, a comforting sight in a crowd of mostly humans. Short, scrawny, with a tail almost as tall as she was, Akena noted the gauntlets on her arms - unlike his own Nyx Astra, these looked far more 'industrial', perhaps she had made them herself, but chances were they hurt if his hunch was right.<br/><br/>What a crew.<br/><br/>Akena's edged ears perked up as the headmaster began speaking to them. It sounded like the usual droll beats. Higher expectations, more danger, etc etc ad nauseam. Could they just<i>get on with- </i>"Whoa!" Akena was caught entirely off-guard by the floor suddenly dropping and let out a<i>very</i>effeminate shriek as he hit a cold stone floor. As Prof. Cerulean's voice explained the task ahead, he clung to his jacket, pulling it around him tightly, bemoaning the thinness of his silk blouse-top-shirt-torso item. Why did dungeons always have to be<i>cold</i>? Akena took Nyx Astra out of his bag, and it slowly floated up into the air, the black-ish jagged metal orb hovering in front of him. He slipped on the metal bracelets, and started feeling through his jacket pockets, finally finding a small vial of red fire dust. Slotting it into the orb, it slowly started heating up, and he stopped shivering.<br/><br/>Akena took stock of his surroundings. he had two paths to go down, and it sounded like the main part of the trial was at the end. Still, enclosed spaced meant the orb wouldn't be of much use, so... Nyx Astra split apart, forming gauntlets that went over his hands and up his forearms. They still were giving off heat. Akena knew some martial arts, but he wasn't particularly strong. Instead, the gauntlets augmented his strength, and let him use dust if needed. There wasn't much light either, so the better he was able to react, the higher his chances of succeeding. He began walking forward, the orb of light following him. As he walked forward and navigating, he started to hear..skittering. Like paws. some light growling, too? Akena's ears perked as he began to approach what looked to be a room in the gloom. He was...nervous. He hadn't really fought an enemy before, would his training still hold up?