The first day was always the most entertaining for Nick. Everyone soon began to call it Orientation, because it was just a peek into the lives they would soon be living. Ava came in on the second day with that batch of recruits and thus was not given the 'luxury' of Orientation. But now, with some tempering, perhaps she would find enjoyment in it. Nick paid close attention to the noises and the conversations being had in the recruit barracks. It usually gave him all the ammo he needed to give them a proper greeting into the thirteenth battalion. And, funnily enough, gave him ample ways to introduce Ava into the near hazing he had planned for this first day. Plus it allowed him to gauge where about in the room they were, giving him an idea of who to target.<br/><br/>Immediately, he could tell which ones were the ones who were more prepared than the others. They were already at the food of the beds, leaning on or sitting on the metal railing that served as the footboard for the beds. They were the ones who had gotten up earlier and prepared everything as they should have, and they were the ones who thought ahead by staying as close as possible to where they were expected to be. There was only four of them this time. It was not disappointing or surprising, but he knew he could be a bit lax with his attention towards them. But the rest of them.... the rest of them were fair game.<br/><br/>"You know..." Nick started as soon as they noticed he and Ava were there. " I think my ass is pretty firm, actually." With a little quip out of the way, Nick properly entered the room, continuing on. "And the thing about rapid dogs is, usually, they ain't rapid. They only bite those who piss them off. To their owner -or in this case, commander- they could potentially be the most well behaved out of an entire neighborhood. Just depends on the 'rapid dog' and the owner." Nick slowly walked down the room, not looking towards anyone in particular. "So, it's safe to say that if you piss me off, you could find yourself pinned to the ground, bloody and beaten just because I 'accidentally' let go of the leash." Nick paused on his slow stroll down the aisle, right in front of a pair of the recruits. Looking to the one on his left, he immediately switched his tone to that of a commander. "Name, soldier."<br/><br/>"Hathem, sir. John Hathem," The recruit replied, not wishing to say anymore than he should.<br/><br/>Unfortunately for him, that was all Nick needed. This was the one who thought that talking shit about the commander's recruit was the best idea. "Well, Hathem. You've already pissed me off," Nick said, hoping Ava would pick up on what he had been saying. Nick continued to stroll on. With Hathem and Ava behind him, he continued to talk, raising his voice if necessary. "Something important you all should know, is that this 'dog' is named Ava Worthington. And Conscript Worthington was chosen to be my replacement, if I am to die in the field. Right now, she may be your equa- eh, I wouldn't say equal. None of you are proper members of the thirteenth yet. But if you manage to survive the next month or so, she will be your equal. And eventually, maybe even your boss." Nick stopped at the end of the aisle, smiling. "And if you can't tell, I've made sure that her teeth and claws are sharp enough to make sure none of you ever piss either of us off."<br/><br/>Nick turned back around, gesturing to the soldier to his left -on the right from the door- and spoke again. "And what's your name, soldier?"<br/><br/>"Bradley. Richard Bradley," The recruit said.<br/><br/>Nick gestured towards Ava, with a smirk on his face. "I think whoever told you Worthington was hot is from the half of the base that isn't scared of her. I'd find a middle ground before tomorrow, if I were you." With that, Nick lightly slapped the recruit's face a couple times and turned to face the majority of his new batch of recruits.