Welcome to the War Games

[Jack Doyle]

(( Collaborating with @Dip and @Midian ))

[BCOLOR=transparent]Eric was mostly bored by Cy's complaining but it didn't bother him too much. Though the other room mate clearly did. He had lashed out at Cy, who now only seemed all the more annoyed.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"I hope that you do realise that his complaining isn't a good thing but your anger is certainly a bad thing," said Eric, correcting their newest addition. "There's no need to start shouting at anyone or getting annoyed. After all, we will be spending the next year or more as roommates together. Now. To the most important thing of all: Introductions."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Sure," said Shan. "I'm Snappy, he's Whiny and your Sarky. Now can I have some quiet time?"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Hey," complained Cy. "I'm not Whiny."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Eric just shook his head. "The bed by the window is yours, you've already put your suitcase underneath it. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Whiny [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]here claimed the first bed and I took the one by the door when I arrived. I guess that it's quiet time now."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Fine," said Shan singularly.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Fine," replied Eric.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Fine," chided in Cy.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]They all sat, well Shan stood, uncomfortably for a while. The silence was long and drawn out, not to mention awkward. It was some time before any of them even moved. Eventually they were all growing bored and impatient.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Soooo," began Eric, drawing out the single word. "What shall we all do?" He fell silent again shortly afterwards and no one answered the question. "No suggestions then. I guess we can just sit here do nothing all day."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent] "So exactly what he's used to doing."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Come on, you've been nothing but angry since we got here," said Eric. "What's the deal? Just because some rich kid whined about his money not buying him a better room." Cy nodded.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm angry because I've have to work, and bleed, and give everything just to get into this damn school!" shouted Shan. "Where as you two just bitch about not getting a damn level three room." [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"I don't have to listen to this," said Cy as he stood up.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Where are you going?" asked Eric after Cy.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Out," Cy replied. "Clothes shopping. Something that my money can by. Beats listening to this one shout about being poor and all of that crap." He turned back around to face Shan. "You know, some poor people are grateful for they get. You had ought to try it." He left the room and slammed the door behind him.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"So that was Cy," said Eric, finally getting around to a proper introduction.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Shan scoffed at that. "What do I care what his name is?"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Call me old fashioned but I think that you should know someone's name before you give them hassle over something so trivial."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oh! Of course you think not being born to a rich family is [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]trivial[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]," Shan scoffed.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"And I'm Eric. At least know my name before you assign the blame." said Eric, his voice betraying a hint of sarcasm. "Besides, I wasn't born to a rich family either, barely managed to get into this school on a scholarship."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Sorry, I just assumed…" Shan began to say before being cut off.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"No need to apologise," said Eric. "I've been there. Angry at the nobles for, well for everything. But you won't change everything by shouting whenever some snot-nosed kid can't get what he wants. You just need to prove them wrong. Prove that people like you and me can still do anything that they can. You've made it this far, proven that you can get into this school with better grades than half of the other students just to qualify."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm giving you a new name," said Shan. "You're no longer Snarky. You're just a know-it-all."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Great, I'm a know-it-all," said Eric. "And who are you? Besides Snappy."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Shan sighed. "I'm Shan, Shan Feng."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Well it's a pleasure to meet you," said Eric.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Mmm." That was Shan had to say for further greetings and pleasantries.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"If only everyone was as kind as that Eddie girl," commented Eric from under his breath.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"What was that?" asked Shan.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Nothing."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]They sat in silence again, neither saying a word more. Finally Eric grew bored and stood up to leave. He paced across the small room before opening the door.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Where are you going?" asked Shan.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"To look around," answered Eric. "Dont really know the campus so I figured that I would check it out. Got a problem with that?"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"No," answered Shan flatly.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Good. See you later then." He left and closed the door behind him. After a few moments, he found Shan at his heels.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent] "Got nothing better to do," Shan said, a smirk rolling over the corner of his mouth. "Let's take a look around, know it all."[/BCOLOR]

 

[Falcon]

Henry clenched his fists and tried to take a deep breath. One, two, in, out, But it didn't do him much good. The anger was still there.
"Save your sob story for someone who doesn't have one of their own, and try thinking about your fellow classmates for a start," he snapped. And before he could say anything else he might regret Henry left the room.

He wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, just strolling the halls, trying to cool his head. For some reason moving his feet seemed to help him think beyond his temper. He shouldn't expect everyone to think as logically as he did. They hadn't seen what he had, lived through the way he had, and with the rooms shuffled all around they way they had been, it made sense that nobody was happy. Everyone's expectations of their living arrangements had been screwed up. He supposed he should feel lucky with the upgrade. Henry himself was supposed to be in a level one with minimal access to . . . hang on, was that . . . ?!

Up ahead he could hear voices talking. Something about the level three rooms? what had happened with those?
His curiosity getting the better of him, Henry skirted the wall to the corner where he could hear without being seen. He knew the voices, or one of them at least. One was the monitor who had been on hand to give student directions to the rooms.

" . . . How did it . . ."
"We don 't know how it all got there, but there are tangles and thorns everywhere. It's quite a mess, nothing seems to kill it, either" ((line courtesy of mids))
"Nothing? Have they tried . . ."

But the footsteps were coming his way, and rather than get caught and possibly in trouble for eavesdropping, Henry turned on his heels and made his way back the way he had come. Well not all the way back. His own room seemed pretty hostile to him at the moment, so Henry opted instead towards looking for the cafeteria or a student library.

Fortunately it seemed he wasn't the only one out and about. As Henry rounded the corner he found two kids he hadn't yet been officially introduced to walking ahead of him. Henry greeted both with a smile.

"Eric right?" He called. "I heard someone say your name earlier when we were all finding our rooms. And you are . . . Shan?" Henry rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and held out the other for a handshake, before abruptly wincing and remembering his shoulder was bruised. He offered an apologetic smile with a murmured, "sorry, the fight . . ." Both Henry's eyes had a decidedly dark, bruised, shadow under then from the injury to his nose.

"My name's Henry, Henry Ainsley. I was looking for the cafeteria if you'd like to join me? I don't know what kind of food they serve here, but it's gotta be better than the way I cook."

When they entered the cafeteria Henry couldn't help but look around. He tried to hide it, but he'd never been in a place this big intended solely for the purpose of a bunch of people taking a meal together. The electric lights sent a warm glow around the beige room, accented with chocolate-browns and maroons. He could see where the buffet line started, entering through the kitchen door set in the corner of one wall and coming out through another door at the other corner. The dinning room was already partly full of other students, sitting around the round tables and chatting with their friends. Henry couldn't help but reflect on how nice a scene it made, wishing and hoping he might be able to be like that one day. He knew himself too well to hope it might be any time soon though. Still, he was going to have to learn at some point.

"Why don't we see if we can sit over there?" Henry asked pointing at a table that already had several girls around it but with plenty of room for other people to join. Henry had pointed at that table because he had recognized one of the girls as Addie, the girl who had helped him up after his beating, and he couldn't remember if he had thanked her properly. He assumed the other two were her room mates.

He did just that when he reached the table, thanked her, before putting a hand on the back of one of the maroon upholstered chairs.
"May we join you?"

---

Sydney perked up when she heard what Eddie was saying about mechanics after she returned from, what Sydney presumed, was putting her things in her locker in the girl's community bath. It was a pity that each room didn't have its own, but in a dorm she supposed it had been more efficient for the builders to build one large shared bath with lockers and stalls than it would have been to route the plumbing for a bunch of individual ones.

"Really?" Sydney exclaimed as she put the last of her things away. "My Dad's a mechanic, I wonder if you have similar building styles?" Her eyes were bright and her eyes glistening with excitement. "I don't know much, but maybe you could teach me some things? And then I can understand what he's talking about next time I go home!" Suddenly Sydney frowned and bit her lip. "I don't know what to offer in return though . . . Maybe . . ."

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as her stomach let out a loud grumble. Sydney, however, didn't even have the social knowledge to know she should look embarrassed.

"Maybe we could discuss it more over lunch? I think I remember where the cafeteria is . . ."

 

[Midian]

(collab with @Killako )

After the lady in the pink had finished, Lycus walked over and read "Jason Tierney, Isaac Cattaneo, Lycus Stark- Level 2 Room 103".Navigating his way over to his room, he opened to door, and claimed the first bed, unpacking quickly and efficiently. He noted his two other roommates, and thought he should introduce himself. He was about to walk over the the boy named Isaac, but the bell rung. He decided to try and strike up a conversation as they walked towards lunch.

"Hey, I'm Lycus!" said Lycus, walking over to Isaac. "You must be Isaac. How are you doing?" He stuck out his hand to shake.

Isaac hesitated a moment before quickly shaking Lycrus's hand and letting go, as though he hadn't especially wanted to in the first place. But even though he put his hands in his pockets, he walked alongside Lycus anyway.
"So what's your specialty, or do you know yet? I mean, what are you wanting to do?" Isaac asked after a moment. The tide of students was thinning out as they made it into the cafeteria, but the noise level had gone up considerably.

"Well, I've got some special conditions for me to be here." Lycus laughed. "Due to those, I am a speed daemon. I love going fast and -" at this he pulled out a pencil and handed it to Isaac. "Well, let me show you. Throw this at me." he spread his arms out as he walked 3 steps backwards and then turned around. "As hard as you can, please. No wimping out."

Isaac looked at the pencil and then looked at Lycus, clearly uncomfortable with using his new roommate as a dartboard. He looked around at the others milling around in the cafeteria, looked back at Lycus, and then the pencil.
"You're just going to dodge it, right? Right?" Isaac asked, wondering what would happen if the boy didn't doge it. Pencils hadn't been made with lead in a long time, but Isaac was still against hurting someone else, for fun or otherwise. As he was considering it, however, Emily Desjardins came up behind him and snatched the pencil out of his hand, throwing it at Lycus.
"Big fucking baby," she sneered at Isaac as he backed a few steps away from her, looking over to make sure Lycus was okay.

Lycus quickly spun around and grabbed the pencil out of midair with just two fingers, the index and middle, grabbing it just exactly on the point.

"That's how its done." Said Lycus with a smirk, before turning to Emily and saying. "Please step away from him, and refrain from calling names in my presence." before walking to the Lunch hall with Isaac.

Isaac glanced back at Emily as they walked away, noting that the blonde was trailing them with a look that could kill whatever the bones of the city had once belonged to.
"Um, Lycus..."

But they emerged into the dining hall and he lost track of her, opting to follow Lycus around instead and sit down with some of the others they'd met on acceptance day. Isaac picked at his food as the others greeted Lycus and involved him in their conversation about what the first day might be like. Unsure of what to say, Isaac kept quiet until Emily approached Lycus from behind, intending to dump a bowl of soup on his head. Isaac stood up, glaring at her.
"Hey, what's your problem, anyway?" he asked her, avoiding a kicked shin narrowly.
"Refrain from calling names in his presence? Who does the brat think he is?" she asked angrily. "He's shit-all to me, how dare he try to tell me what to do?!"
"Sis, please!" Agatha said suddenly. "Can't we just eat, please?"

Emily mumbled something and stomped away, sitting at a table farther away.
"Guess you'll have to do a lot more dodging," Isaac said to Lycus.

(end of collab)

The food in the dining hall proved to be pretty decent, and Addie tucked in with gusto, doing her best not to elbow Quinn on her right and Eddie on her left. Eric had ended up across from her, with Shan on his right and Henry farther down. Lycus ended up next to Isaac, who sat on Henry's other side. Nadine had made room for Sydney and dragged Cy down near her, only scooting everyone around to make room for Leon when he arrived. It was a tight knot of people eating, some at the table and some with plate balanced in their lap, but it was almost comfortable as Nadine ribbed Sydney about being tiny enough to tote around and jokingly nudging Eric's feet when they got too close to hers. Addie was almost as quiet as Isaac except for checking on how Henry was doing and offering him some concealer for his black eyes.

By the time everyone had eaten, dorm curfew was announced, much to the grumbling of all the first years since was still quite early in the afternoon. However, they were herded to their rooms by the monitors, and Leon found a note where his forge had been, stating it had been moved out past the PT yard and that it was not allowed in the dorms due to fire, smoke, and sound hazard. Cyril made no remark on it, pretending to be asleep in his bunk.

---

At 3:00am on the dot an alarm sounded and the first years were drummed out through the halls and into the dining hall where they were almost force-fed a hearty breakfast and then summarily sent out to the PT field. It was too large to see end to end and contained all manner of equipment, a track of endurance and speed training circling a simulated battlefield. The track had walls to climb, obstacles to go over, under, and through. Barbed wire crawls, rope climbs, and many other tests. They were all overseen by a tall, barrel-chested woman with a hawkish nose and razor-thin lips. When she spoke, she barked, and her orders were simple:

"Laps around the track."

She did not say how many, or when to stop. The implication was clear: they were not to.

 

[Aldriem]

"Ah... It's alright." Jason stepped back hurriedly while raising his palms to signal neutrality. He'd just run into a girl and before he could say anything, she started.

" And yeah. Of course that's it. Today was only the announcement of New students, ya know? Again, really sorry...I'm still a little hyped up."

"Uhh... y-yeah. I mean, n-no. I was hoping we'd be doing something more today. It's fine, though." Jason replied scratching the back of his head.
"My name is Teagan. Teagan Dunn." the girl said offering her hand.
"J-Jason. I mean, I am Jason Tierney. Nice to meet you." He gingerly took her hand and shook it ever so slightly. "Well, I-I gotta go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye...!"

Jason headed straight home where he burst in with a wide smile on his face.

"Mom, I'm in...!" He shouted, his voice ringing through the house. After a few minutes, Trey walked out of the kitchen and waved at Jason.

"Mom's gone to get groceries... *cough cough*" He said. "You... back...?"

"Well yeah, I leave tomorrow. Got a lot of packing to do. I'll get to it. Take rest, bud...!" He ruffled Trey's hair before heading off to his room.

_________________

Pulling out a big blue side-bag and a grey suitcase, he started stuffing things into it hoping that the next day would be awesome.

Dinner was eaten in silence except for the fact that Jason's mom seemed a bit happy and Trey was stoic as usual.

Early next morning, Jason jumped out of his bed and grabbing his room money and bags, quietly left the house.

_________________

Obviously Jason was very late despite leaving early. He entered the dining hall which had a few stragglers moving around still. Making a beeline for the room allotment sheets that had been put up on the notice board, Jason scanned for his name on it.

Jason Tierney, Isaac Cattaneo, Lycus Stark- Level 2 Room 103

Got it, he thought as he readjusted his luggage and headed on to the first level where he searched out his rooms and pushing the door open, stepped in. "Hi...", he started, except, there was no one there. "... I guess."

Plopping the bags down on the remaining bed near the window, Jason rested a bit before heading off to lunch alone.

At the dining table, he found all the first years he'd seen yesterday except they were all already wrapping up having eaten their food."A-Ah guys. I am so late." Jason forced an awkward smile to the people who passed him by all the while cursing himself inwardly before grabbing a seat at the table.

The first day had started off less awesome than he had anticipated.

 

[Victor Markov]

Leon was one of the last to arrive much to his objections about needing to get as much work as he could done at the forge so he could continue attending the academy. Although he hated to admit it, the meal he ate was the best he's ever eaten. Before long, he was hearded back to his room only to find his forge gone.

Leon seen the note when he got back to the room and scowled before he left for his forge to work on a few more projects. He couldn't believe that they moved his forge without any prior warning! The trip to the forge ate up a good portion of his time. Time He could've been using at the forge. He was grumbling throughout The night and forged another thirty or forty weapons for his clients. He had about another five hundred and sixty to go. Before He had fired up the forge He cleared a good amount of ground around the area of any flammable material.

Before He knew it, the night was gone and morning class were called to begin. He finished the ornamental sword he had been working on before he put the fire out and started running. He was making Some headway on his large list of projects that needed to be done. After He was done with classes he would call each client and let them pick up their finished orders. In the meantime, he ran and paced himself so he wouldn't be one of the first to fall or stop. He wasn't the leader of the pack or the one bringing up the rear, but somewhere in the middle. Once this day was done, he would likely collapse by his forge so he could knock out another chunk of projects for another few days.

 

[Falcon]

3:00 a.m.
Why did they have to start at 3:00 a.m. ?
Henry forced himself out of bed, dressed, and followed the others to the dining hall all without saying a word. He was too tired to even think about starting a conversation, much less what he might say. He was similarly silent through breakfast, though there he did manage an exhausted sounding "Pass the orange juice please?" to which he was obliged by a tiny looking, blonde, girl named Sydney.

Sydney was one of the few people who looked even remotely alert among the first years.
"How can you stand it?" Henry grumped. "The sun's not even up yet. No reasonable person should be."
"Reasonable or not, my dad always had to be at work early, early, so mom would get up with him . . . and I learned breakfast was always more fun with other people so I'd get up too. It's not so bad. This way you get to watch the sun rise and that's always worth it." Sydney's beaming smile might have been enough to cheer Henry up had it not been so damn early.

The next part of the day was no better.

Laps

Not that laps really bothered Henry. He'd always made sure to stay in shape, and running was an easy and enjoyable thing for him, but running in circles going nowhere interesting or without an attainable time goal, well that was torture. He wanted to know how long or how many so he could spur himself on. There was something about telling himself "only a quarter of a mile left" or "only fifteen minutes more" that left him with a sense of satisfaction at the end. This, just laps, was meaningless for him.

Still, he ran,

and he ran,​

and he ran,​

and he ran,​

and he ran.
​

In circles​

​

Controlled breathing, paced rhythm, steady trot neither too fast or too slow. It was not a race so he did not need speed, but the instructor said to take laps so he was required to go faster than a walk. Henry almost smiled. He could manage thirty minutes like this, but what if . . . what if she wanted longer?

What if she wanted them to do this all day?

Henry's budding cheerfulness melted away like the dew on the grass in the rays of the now rising sun. Sydney was right. The sight was well worth the early hour. But they were running and could not stop to watch.

It was quickly becoming obvious who was in shape and what kind of shape they were in. Perhaps, Henry mused to himself, that was the whole point of the endless laps. Those who were in shape and could run, like him, had begun to lap their slower comrades. Henry himself was coming up on his fifth turn around the entire group. The slow ones, and those out of shape, were beginning to fall out of ranks.

Up ahead he could see little Sydney about to do just that.
The girl's knees buckled, her hands went to her chest.
"Can't -- breath --"

 

[Jack Doyle]

Eric rather enjoyed the food. It was better than what he usually ate. He sat across from Eddie, constantly looking her way to see she was looking back at him. Was she looking back? For the most part he wasn't even listening to Shan, unsure if he was even talking to him. Addie, Quinn and Eddie all seemed to be getting on well. Maybe Eric should make more of an effort to get to know his roommates.
"So uhh, Eddie, what are you up to today?" asked Eric who was not entirely sure of what to say to her.
"I think the school has our day all planned out," replied Eddie.
He made no further attempts to converse with her. They both mingled with those sat next to them. All the while Eric kept glancing over at her. Further down the table Eric could see his other roommate, Cy, conversing with another group.
Then finally the curfew was announced and they were all set to return to their rooms.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eddie grumbled at the sound of the alarm. She really didn't want to wake up or get out of bed. But they had little choice. It was just so damn early, at least three in the morning. She quickly found herself being drummed out of the room and into the halls. Herded through the hallways Eddie quickly found herself lead into the dining hall for breakfast. She looked around for Eric but couldn't seem him in the mass of first year students that flooded the room. After this hearty breakfast they were sent out the field for Physical Training. Not Eddie's strong suit.
"Laps around the track," called out their overseer, a tall woman with a sharp face.
Eddie wanted to complain but found no time for it. She had to start running, they all did. Though the woman had not told them how many laps to do. Or when to stop. Where they supposed to stop? Eddie dreaded the thought of simply running until she could run no more. It was about the physical duress. She had felt pain, she had been tired and exhausted before. Instead it was the boredom that terrified her. Eddie was a mechanic, she needed something to keep her mind busy. But Eddie was forced to run with the group. How many laps could she possibly do?
The group ran together at first. But each person's pace and stamina began to slowly spread them thin. The slower runners and those that tired first were at the back. Whilst the more athletic students lead the group in their laps. Eddie was at the back. No surprised there though.
"Come on! No pain, no gain!" called out the teacher to all of the students.
"I'm not against physical training… But is it necessary to do it so early in the morning?" asked Eric as he tried to regulate his breathing. Eddie hadn't even seen him running next to her and was almost startled. "Sorry… Didn't mean to scare you."
"That's okay," replied Eddie. "Not the best time to catch up and talk though."
"Yeah, I get that… But we've not had much time… To talk since that opening ceremony," said Eric. "Do you wanna' maybe ... Catch up after training and lessons?"
"I don't know, I think that our day is all planned out until the curfew again," said Eddie by way of an answer. Eric just nodded as he drew in weary breaths. "Are you okay? You look like you're running out of steam."
"I didn't have much... steam to start with," retorted Eric. "I'll be fine if… I just get a... Moment to rest." His breathing was becoming much faster as he struggled to fill his lungs with the much needed oxygen.
"No slacking!" shouted the teacher. "I see you two at the back. Pick up the pace! Ain't nothing to it but to do it."
"Do you think that… She comes up with.. These winning quotes... On her own?" asked Eric. Eddie almost laughed. But he was struggling to get his words out in between his breaths. "How many laps... Have we done?"
"Four I think," answered Eddie. She was also growing more and more tired by the second.
"You only get out, what you put in," shouted the teacher. Both Eric and Eddie were quickly finding her to be annoying. "I don't want to see any of you stopping. And you two at the back, pick up the pace. If you ain't first then you're last."
Eddie grumbled and Eric sighed before they tried to pick up the pace and catch up with the rest of the herd.
Marginally ahead in the group, Cy stumbled with step and struggled to draw in one ragged breath after another. He could hear the teacher shouting words of encouragement but struggled to know exactly what she was saying over the sound blood pumping in his ears. He struggled on despite his weariness. But how much longer could he hold out? He had already done four laps.

 

[Midian]

It took Isaac a lap to see that Sydney had fallen since he was so caught up in trying to keep going himself. Isaac wasn't in terrible shape by any means, but he certainly wasn't used to sustained, long-distance running. Quick bursts and darts were more his style, and by the fourth lap or so his chest was burning properly and he was sure he was going to die. That was when he saw Sydney and dropped down beside her.
"Do you have asthma? Do you have an inhaler or anything?" he asked her, helping her to her feet so they could limp off to the sideline. Sitting her on a bench, Isaac tried to parse out her response to his question. Meanwhile, Addie had fallen out herself and skinned her palms, coughing and sitting back on her heels. When she looked at the instructor, the woman was making notations on a tablet, watching them all closely. Addie got up again and began to run, making another ¾ of a lap before she twisted her ankle and went down, gripping it tightly. The instructor made no move to help her and instead watched the students to see who would help her. Addie gratefully clung to them as they helped her out of the way, still coughing from the exertion. From the sidelines it became clear the woman was not taking notes of who fell, but rather when someone helped them up or off the field. Nor did she yell at those on the sidelines to get back up.

"They're seeing how we work as a team," Addie murmured. "That's what this is about. Who helps who."

Finally the woman blew her whistle.
"Break time!" she shouted, herding them back into the dining hall where they were given water and fruit in the air conditioning. While they ate, nurses came around and checked on sprains, strains, and scrapes; one came and gave Sydney a breathing treatment and checked her blood pressure. Addie had ended up sitting near Leon and Eric, drinking deeply from her water glass.
"How'd you guys do out there? I couldn't pay attention. It was rough, huh?" she asked, trying to make conversation.
"I hope we don't have to go back out there. I feel like I'm dying."

 

[Killako]

Collab with @Aldriem

On the field, Lycus grinned as he knew that this was one thing that he could do. He began jogging along the track, noting who was running and who was jogging. The runners were the silly ones, this was an endurance test, not a speed test. As he was running, he noticed another boy with short black hair jogging along. Pulling up beside him, Lycus breathed out a quick, "Hey, I'm Lycus."

"Oh. Hi." Jason slowed down in order to be able to talk to the boy who introduced himself as Lycus. That's when he remembered that Lycus was his room-mate. "U-uh...? Lycus...? Dude, I am Jason. Your room-mate. Sorry I came in late last night and so went to bed later than you guys. Sorry...!"

Jason felt idiotic. He was sharing, or rather, had shared a room with people he hadn't even got himself acquainted with.

"Umm... so... what's up...?"

"Hey, I was wondering where you were!" Lycus laughed lightly. "Yeah, not much is actually up right now. I think they're testing our endurance. Its kind of funny to me, actually. This is easy money for me. I try to do this on a regular basis. Laps are not so bad. Now, dodging lasers while doing laps, thats a whole 'nother story."

Lycus looked around and saw who was running. "So, what do you think so far? I'm pretty excited about this whole thing, thought my parents are very worried about me."

"I am pretty excited too. Can't wait to get started with the more advanced stuff already. Why were your parents worried...?"

Subsequently, Jason slowed down in order to save his stamina so as not to tire himself out while he had the conversation.


Lycus just turned to look at him, and said harshly "People die in these "War Games". People die fighting for what they believe in. People die for honor. People die for glory. People die. Death is now a part of who we are. Inescapable. The sooner you understand that this is no game, the better off you are. You are NOT going to be coddled. You are in the real world, Jason. Welcome to the War Games." Lycus looked away and moved slightly faster, maintaining his previous pace.

 

[Victor Markov]

Leon was half way around the track when Addie fell and twisted her ankle. As soon as she grabbed her leg, Leo split from the pack and went to help her. "Come on. I'll carry you through to the finish." he said before he picked her up. Not too long after the last raven picked her up and rejoined the pack with Addie on his back, the instructor told them to take a break and Leon took Addie where the class was going. After they found a place to sit, he set her down and took a seat beside her. When she asked how he was holding up, he shrugged and said "running after working all night and on an empty stomach. So far, I'm alright. How's the ankle?"

Leon was concerned about Addie since she fell not once, but twice. The first time, sure she got up but second time what got him. Leon wasn't some heartless robot, but a person who was going through a rough spot in life. He wondered when he was going to get in the cockpit of a mech so he could get a chance to prove the house of ravens wasn't only good at making weapons, but also good at something else. Someone who stood up against injustice. Since nobody went after the men who killed his family he was going to use his new status to find them and take them down himself.

 

[Falcon]

(collab with Mids)

Henry, meanwhile, had come to the rescue of Agatha who had been unable to continue the laps any further. He had seen her start to slow and lag behind, and had stalled his pace as he came up beside her to see if she was well. "You doing all right?"

"Ugh-- no-- I'm not-- Used to-- running." She bent over, putting her hands on her knees to hold herself up, sweat pouring off her face. "Agatha: I can't go any farther. I can't do it."

Henry stopped beside her and offered her his arm to lean on. "If you need a hand off the field --"
He hesitated and looked at her condition "Or I could carry you if that would be better" It was not exactly a smooth offer. The words held a touch of uncertainty and hesitance .

She looked at him from under her curtain of hair and coughed. "Aren't you in bad shape yourself? I saw the fight the other day."

Henry only shrugged and looked a bit sheepish, "Kinda Yeah. I mean it hurts a bit, but I've had worse, and it wasn't as bad as it originally felt . . . helping you off the track would get me off the track . . ." he took a minute to think about the options, "what if we leaned against each other?"

"Capital idea as long as it won't hurt you. There's a lot to be said for someone who doesn't leave their teammate when things get rough," she said, glancing over at Isaac.

Henry couldn't suppress the growl that welled up in him. "I've been meaning to have a chat with him about that. Come on, let's sit down and rest a bit first. And then depending on what comes next --"

"You can save that chat, I know him. He's a skunk with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide."

"I'd rather he knew that some people don't tolerated that kind of shit," Henry winced at his own language, "Sorry. I don't mean to offend."

Agatha turned a little pink, but shook her head. "No, it's okay. Go ahead if you like, but it won't help. His family got exiled a few years ago and he's been in a permanent bad mood ever since, not that I blame him. Still though, how he acted towards Cy was uncalled for. It wasn't the Vesters that sent his family away."

"Who did," Henry asked before he could stop himself. perhaps it wasn't the beast question to ask given the situation they were all in of being classmates, and maybe teammates later on. grudges were a hard thing to get rid of, but he wasn't going to let this kid put other's in danger just because he had a chip on his shoulder. Not if there was something he could do to stop in anyway.

"Well... I'd prefer not to talk about it," Agatha responded, breaking away from Henry as they got off the track. "Thank you for your help. I hope you never have to get involved with noble's business."

"All right, sorry to pry," Henry sighed as he watched her walk away.

A moment later the instructor was calling a halt and herding them all inside to be checked on.

Sydney clung to Isaac gratefully as he helped her off the track. She tried to explain to him between gasps of breath that it wasn't asthma, not exactly, she just had always had a weak form. Her lungs simply were not used to the strenuous activity.
"They're going to kick me out," she panted to Isaac as the nurse tried to get her to calm down and take the breathing treatment. "If I can't even do laps why would they keep me? I - I worked so hard just to get my folks to agree to let me come . . ."
She didn't see Henry making a beeline for Isaac as soon as he entered.

"I'm sure they're not going to kick you out," Isaac tried to reassure her. "They had to have known that you'd need to do some catching up. I'm sure they didn't accept you not knowing any of that."

Sydney tried to breath and relax and the nurse left as she accepting Isaac's words and Sydney calmed down. "We don't have much money," she mumbled. "It was a stretch to get me here. To fail after everyone worked so hard . . ." She broke off as a dark shadow suddenly loomed over them. Looking up Sydney found Henry looking very displeased and glaring at Isaac.

"So," the other boy started, "It's nice to see you'll at least help someone in trouble."

Isaac narrowed his eyes at Henry and frowned. "It's none of your business," he said snappishly. "I wasn't stupid enough to fight for the amusement of the nobles that run this school. And Cy was getting in regardless. Maybe his family should've bought his way out of that fight too."

"And when the war games come?" Henry practically spat. "What will you do then? If a member of your team comes from a well off family? Will you sacrifice them and the rest to satisfy your ego?"

"Hang on!" Sydney interjected looked between the two. "What -- ?!"

"I'm not going to sacrifice anyone in the games," Isaac snarled. "But neither am I going to go around senselessly hurting people. Our enemy is human too. That fight out there wasn't a war game, it was the ego of the school. And those from 'well off' families can well enough protect their own. They don't need my help."

Sydney's confusion was clear. "What happened?" she begged, "Why are you so mad at each other?"

"In that fight the other day he walked away from someone who was getting pounded," Henry explained curtly. His eyes nearly disappeared into the bruising below as his lowered brow shaded them. "I came over here hoping he had a good reason for it."

"Cy wasn't that bad off by the end of it, and it's clear he needs to learn somehow that he's not at home anymore," Isaac spat. "Besides, I'd rather spend my energy looking out for people who are here on merit, not money. People who actually need help and not a little coddling."

"Chtch," the sound more than conveyed Henry's disgust at the situation as he studded the other boy. but before he could say anymore Sydeny had thrown her arm between them.
Her voice was quiet, but there was a determined lift to her chin and a boldness in her eyes as she spoke. "Please stop."

"Fine. There's no point in arguing it anyway. What's done is done."

Sydney found relief in Isaac's words, even as she kept her gaze on Henry. After a moment he turned and walked away.

Isaac sighed and turned to Sydney, running a hand through his hair. "Do you want me to get you some food so you can sit and chill out for a minute?"

She looked at him a bit unsure and then nodded. "Thank you." But she couldn't help wondering how it was he chose his friends. Henry's words had struck a chord.

Isaac brought her a tray a few minutes later and sat down with her, picking over his snack. "Feeling better?"

Sydney nodded as she tore her food into tiny bites before eating it. "What about you?" she questioned, "He wasn't very nice."

"I'm not going to worry about him," Isaac said quietly. "But if he bothers you, will you tell me? I don't know what he has beef with."

"I think," Sydney whispered, "It sounded like he was angry because he thought you should have helped some one -- It's okay though. I can handle myself - I hope."

"I know that... But I mean I don't know what else will set him off, and I don't want him bothering people just everywhere."

"Well if he does," Sydney's chin lifted in a defiant manner, "We'll just have to make him stop!"

 

[Aeronfarron]

Quinn spent the dinner reading a book on tactics and didn't try to make conversation. She worried about her mother, in between slight dodges to keep the voracious girl beside her from elbowing her. Finally, the girl snapped her book closed, stood, grabbed her tray then left, beyond fed up with the irritating and meaningless chatter.

3 am

Teagan was up and ready to go when the alarms came. She ate as lightly as she could, and was beyond happy when she was forced to run along with the others. She didn't try to make small talk, it was only wasted breath.

With her long, even strides and steady breathing, it was obvious that Quinn worked out often. She didn't seem to care for those that lagged behind or that she lapped. She didn't care when ankles were sprained or people passed out. That was the result of laziness in her opinion, the lack of a dream or drive. She had no time for that sort of crap. In a battle with exo suits, you pushed past your limits, or you die. Those were absolutes, those were truths. So, she passed them by with nary a look. She didn't jeer nor did she make fun of them, she simply...passed by.

When the first break was given, Korina set her hands upon her head to open up her lungs to catch her breath. She'd been towards the front of the pack the entire time, though she had to admit that the lack of obstacles was boring her to death. Long distance running was great...but throw in a challenge or two every now and then. She cast a look over the rest of the field and smiled in anticipation of the obstacle course.

 

[Dip]

Eddie had upper body strength, sure, but if you asked her to run... well, the only way she would run was if someone or something was chasing her. She could left and heave and pull like no one's business. She could do pull-ups for days, no sweat, but she had legs like a lame stallion. They could hold up her weak frame, sure, but they could only do that much.

Eddie regretted the conversation she had with Eric, simply because she felt like she was going to die immediately afterwards. As she came to a halt when the angle-faced women yelled for the rest, she had to control herself from falling onto the grass and claiming sanctuary with the earth-worms and the blades of trampled grass. Her legs were shaking, and she felt her shins splitting with each step she took. She was just thankful that she managed to pull on some gym-shorts that morning. Note to self: sleep in gym clothes.

As Eddie made it back to the Hall, she could feel her body calm down from the excursion. Her legs functioned orderly, her breathing had stopped laboring, but one thing that still remained was a very sharp pain on the side of her body. Had she broken a rib? She didn't remember getting stomped on or anything, but she did take some pretty nasty hits and falls. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask for a body wrap, or maybe a nurse to inspect it.

Eddie had other fish to fry before she would do that. They had offered bottles of water, and Eddie wished that she had a bag with her. She grabbed three bottles, a plateful of fruits and veggies, and scavenged a spot to call her own. She plopped down in a remotely empty table, and wished that she had time to brush her teeth that early morning. Note to self: brush teeth in the middle of the night, from now on.

She took one of the bottles of water and slammed it down in almost one gulp, wishing that she was outside so she could soak herself in the crisp, cool liquid. She hated how the back of her shirt stuck to her figure, and she wished that there was time to shower before the students did another asinine fitness workout. She could take twelve-dozen pushups, and maybe five-thousand pullups, but she just hoped to any God that would accept her soul that she'd never have to run again.

"Hey, excuse me," She asked, in a small daze, as a nervous nurse buzzed around the tables in figure-eights. "Can you help me with something? Ah--I think I messed up a rib or two."
"Oh dear, oh dear..." The nurse said, placing a small medical bag onto the table she was at. Eddie took a carrot from the plate, and took a small bite from it.
"It hadn't been hurting-- well, not as bad as now, when I went to bed, but now it's just--fuck! Fuck, ow, ow ow ow..." Eddie hissed, as the man lifted up a side of her shirt and applied pressure to her left side.

"Oh dear," He muttered once more. "Oh, I do believe it may be fractured... You definitely have dark bruising around the area of fracture... Oh dear."

Eddie took another bite of her carrot, and watched as the man reached into his bag to pull something out. "This may help, but it'll take atleast three weeks for it to fully heal... I wish I could tell you not to do strenuous exercise, but I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon.."
"Oh dear." Eddie said.

The man wrapped a body bandage around the area, and applied some form of gel onto it that made it feel like it was on fire, but someone had placed an ice-cube on it at the same time. The man said that he would give some to Eddie as soon as the day was over, and she was retired to her dorm room. She gave him her dorm number, and the level it was on, and pulled her shirt down happily.

She ate like a horse for the rest of the morning, swallowing down carrots and various other foods with gulp of water after gulp of water.

​

The entire situation, thought Cy Vester, was an entire load of shit from the ground up. It was a complete and utter orgy of disgusting, putrid fecal matter.

Not only did Cy not have enough time to brush his teeth that morning, but he didn't even have time to wash his face-- or any part of him, for that matter! His legs were numb from the moment he got up at 3-in-the-fucking-morning, and they felt as if they had completely disintegrated by the time he reached the finished. He was just thankful that a nice lady, most likely someone seasoned in this skill, had stopped to give him one of her many scrunchies.

Cy had his hair up in a pony tail for a good period, sweat pouring down his face. He was just glad he put on deodorant, unlike some of the students he had smelled earlier. He had fallen back in the race, sure, but he knew that it wouldn't take him long to adapt to these kind of situations. He wheezed himself over to the hall, and helped himself to the fruits of his labor.

The more Cy thought about it, it seemed like the entire time he had been there so far was a load of shit. Shitty roommates, shitty dorm rooms, shitty everything so far. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long school year. He plunged an apple into his mouth, and took a napkin to wipe off the juice that had squirted out. He took it upon himself to wipe away the rest of the sweat, and he did that aswell.

He placed the apple on the table, and planted his elbows on his knees. He let out a sigh, and looked down at himself. He would have expected to atleast make friends with some Nobles by now, but he had barely spoken a few words and he was public enemy number one. He ran a hand thought his hair, making sure all of his dreadlocks were intact and none of them were loose.

Because he was alone, he didn't have to talk to anyone. And because he didn't have to talk to anyone, Cy engulfed himself with himself. He fixed his eyebrows, palm-rolled his dreads, went to the bathroom to run water over his face, and even borrowed some perfume that the same scrunchie-lady had to make sure he didn't stink. It was hard keeping up a life-style such as his.​

 

[Midian]

Isaac couldn't help chuckling at Sydney's response and put the rest of his food on her tray before going to dump it. To his left Eddie was getting treated by a distraught male nurse and Isaac wandered over to check on her, wondering what could have caused that much damage.
"Eddie, what happened?" Isaac asked, taking a chair and sitting down next to her. "How'd you end up like that?"

Isaac glanced around, seeing Quinn off alone and looking to be in better shape than a lot of them. She hadn't seemed to want to socialize at breakfast and, as much as Isaac knew it made him seem like a hypocrite, he had thought it cold an heartless that she hadn't stopped to help anyone, not even those to fell or couldn't keep going. He tried to ignore the ghost of Henry's words returning and shook his head violently, causing his green curly hair to floof out a little.

Meanwhile, trouble was on the horizon as Cyril approached Addie and Leon, smiling pleasantly despite looking a bit winded.
"Hey Corvinius, sorry about reporting the forge and all, but that really can't go on in a dorm room. Anyway, I hope they didn't take it too far from the school, yeah? Looks like they're gonna keep us busy with PT, though. How're you doing?" he finished, looking at Addie.
"Oh, I'm okay," Addie mumbled, making a half-assed excuse to scoot away from them since she didn't want to be there if trouble brewed. Instead she found Jason, and remembered sort of overhearing what Lycus had said to him while they were running.
"Um, hey," she said. "I'm Addie. I heard what Lycus said, or part of it, sorta. Are you okay? I know it'd bum me out."

---

Once everyone had cooled off for an hour or so they were shown into an auditorium where for the next couple of hours they were regaled with the history of the school, the layout, the rules (most of which related to not damaging each other, the teachers, or the property outside of combat) and what was expected of them as first-year students, which amounted to not dying, not dropping out, and passing their classes. After the lesson was over they were dismissed until late afternoon, when they would begin at the obstacle course.

About half an hour after they'd all settled into their dorms, one by one Nadine made her rounds, knocking on the doors and sticking her head in to say:
"I know we're all tired, but the pool's open! Let's go, they've got beach balls and a volleyball net and everything!"

 

[Falcon]

"A pool!"
Sydney could hardly believe her ears when Nadine appeared to tell her. "They really have a pool here?" The tiny girl looked happily over at Agatha and Eddie.
"Please, oh please let's all go?! I haven't been able to go swimming in forever! not that I'm very good, but still - A Pool!"

There were very few chances for Sydney, or anyone with Sydney's economic background, to go swimming. Water was a precious resource after all, and the recycle and treatment plans required to upkeep a pool could be expensive. The only people she'd ever even heard of having a pool of their own were the nobles, and the number of people in the city who could get a license and manage the upkeep of a public pool were few and far between. The fact that the school had one had her over the moon.

It wasn't long before Sydney had arrived at the pool dragging those she could with her. The pool itself was shaped in a large "L" with a shallow end and and a deep in, and one leg set up for water volley ball with a spattering of green, white, and orange lawn furniture around the edge.

The very few times she had ever been to a pool the girl had rented her suit and so had none of her own. It was for this reason she arrived in a pair of short black sleep shorts and a black tank top. Not exactly a swim suit, but it would serve and not show off much when it got wet. She thanked her lucky stars that Agatha had been paying attention and been able to offer such good advice. Sydney was a bit jealous to learn Agatha had her own swimsuit, but she had heard earlier that students who went through water training could get one from the school at some point, and the sight of a few older students lounging around the water in just that gave her hope.

The school suit wasn't particularly fancy, just a green and white striped top with an orange bottom, but it was a swimsuit all the same. A luxury Sydney had never had and she was looking forward to it. She'd grinned broadly as she looked around and found the faces of the people she knew. Some like Henry and Addie also had their own suits, others were like her and in the water in whatever acceptable cloths they'd been able to scrounge up.


She took one look at them, grinned like a maniac and raced for a safely clear space.
"CANNON BALL!"

Spplllloooossssshhhh

The resulting wave from her tiny person was enough to catch most of them with a wall of suddenly moving water. Quinn seemed to have gotten the worst of it.

 

[Victor Markov]

"That was you?" Leon growled out once Cyril said he was the one who reported his forge to the staff. "I'm lucky they didn't lock it up or kick me out. Next time have them ask me to either move it or fireproof my work area. Don't just go behind my back like that. That's my ONLY source of income. Hell I wanted a room ti myself so I could work. I'm not stupid enough to not fireproof my work area. Thanks to you, I got set back an hour and a half. I could've had three orders finished in that amount of time!" Leon then left for his forge, not looking back on the group. To say he was upset would be an understatement. He was furious. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice anyone around him or if he was being followed to his makeshift forge.

As soon as he arrived, he knocked out a few more and then was pulled away from his forge to attend a lecture. After that, he returned to his work and didn't leave the forge for the rest of the day and that night. He had a very strong work ethic and the motivation to back it up. He was alone in his struggle. Nobody to back him up and now he couldn't even trust the people he was assigned to room with. As long as he had orders to fill, he would not trust them. Cyril had set him back several irreplaceable minutes. Minutes he could've spent cranking out orders he had to fill. He didn't return that night, but collapsed by the forge from exhaustion and the furnace died down and went out with nothing in it except the fuel for the fire. "Shouldn't have blown up at him like that." the last raven muttered when he woke up the next morning.

At breakfast, he came into the cafeteria and found Cyril and said "hey, Cyril. Sorry about yesterday. These orders are starting to get to me since I don't have any help at home and nobody really in my corner. There are very few people allowed to make weapons for the nobles and that makes the job a very coveted position. My family was one of them and I'm the last of my family's bloodline. No cousins, aunts, uncles or grandparents. My parents and sisters were murdered. Murdered by a competing family who went the industrial route instead of the traditional hammer and anvil approach. Then to make matters worse for me, over nine hundred orders came in not even an hour after I buried my parents and sisters. The stress is starting to get to me. I have over seven hundred orders to fill. Would you like to help me crank them out? I'll split the profits with you fifty fifty." Leon then held out his hand for the other boy to shake. He was still upset, but he was willing to bury the hatchet and start again. This school was his chance for a better life. His second chance. His chance to start over. And he was sticking to what he knew. He needed to break the chains that bound him to the past and move forward.

 

[Jack Doyle]

Eric sat alone for breakfast. He didn't have much to say to anyone and needed the time to collect himself. The running had left him fat too distraught to even attempt to talk to either of his roommates. As Eric ate he kept glancing over at Eddie. She was being attended to by a nurse and he found himself worrying about her. Would she really be okay with all of that bruising?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He finally found time to relax. Sprawled out on his bed, Eric made no move to interact with his roommates. Too much effort. He simply found himself drifting in and out of sleep for a few hours. He wasn't sure how long he had laid there in silence. Then came a knock at the door followed by an invitation to the school's pool. The school had a pool? Well it didn't really surprise Eric much, seeing as it was meant to be an academy for the rich and wealthy. He found himself wondering if Eddie would be at the pool.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The pool was just about how he expected it to be: Huge and with no expense spared. Shaped like a large "L" with the offshoot being occupied by a volleyball net. As the pool ran it's length it gradually grew deeper. At least there was a shallow end, Eric didn't have much experience with swimming and was already tired enough from the morning practice. Various articles of furniture, showing an array of green, orange and white colors, were placed around the pool. Maybe Eric could find himself a beach chair to lounge in.
Whilst many people had brought proper swimsuits with them, Eric was simple wearing a pair of shorts. He didn't have the widest collect of clothes anyway. Nothing fancy, just a green striped top with a pair of orange shorts. He found himself sitting in a similarly striped chair made of fabric and wood. He would try the swimming soon but for now he just wanted to rest.

((Sorry that it's late and so short.))

 

[Dip]

Eddie conversed with Issac for a good moment or two, before they were all crammed into the auditorium like they cram sardines into little containers. She wouldn't lie, and tell you that she slept thought almost all of it. From the time she sat down in those comfy chairs, to the time she was nudged by a fellow student to move out of the room, she was as dead as a doorknob.

As Eddie lugged herself to her dorm room, she could feel her muscles rip and tear with each step. She knew that she would gain muscle-mass after this, and maybe she might be a little more fit, but for now, she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Eddie felt her sore thighs quiver with each step, and she knew that it would take a lot longer than three weeks for her to fully recover, and she wasn't just talking about her ribs this time.

As she neared the door, she found a small jar filled with the same goop that she had gotten previous that morning outside of the dorm room. It was a label on it that read, "TO: ERAEQK'AA AL OMAYYAD" and all Eddie could think was, "Holy shit. They spelled my name right." Eddie took the jar, labeled "MUSCLE TENSION RUB." and placed it near her stuff. She felt the side of herself, and sighed. It would be a pain for a while, but she hoped that maybe it would be a good pain in the end.

Eddie, once she scaled her bed, fell right to sleep, for the second time that morning. Well, that was, until a shrill voice of her roommate awoke her abruptly. It wasn't even the knocking on the dorm room, no, it was the excitable female she shared a room with. She rolled her eyelids open, and rubbed them as she spoke. A pool? She thought those were a myth. She had never stepped foot in one before, let alone had the time to learn how to swim.

"Why not," She smacked her lips tiredly, groaning and hissing like a snake.

Eddie dressed in a white shirt and a pair of black shorts, with no intention of going swimming at all. Maybe she'd soak her feet, but she wouldn't dream of ever going any farther. She had copied Sydney's idea of swimwear, and went home with it. Eddie wore shoes and socks to the pool, and just decided to sit at a table and watch the rest of the class play. She was bored, and a little groggy. The humidity of the pool wasn't helping her much at all. She rolled up the sleeves on her short-sleeved shirt, and rubbed her eye.

​

Cy, when he found out about the pool, hopped out of his dorm room almost instantly. His swim-trunks were a flattering shade of red, that he matched with a pair of red glasses. His shorts weren't as glitzy as the rest of him was, but they were nice. They were red, with white trimming and a white string at the top of tie them tightly to his figure. While Cy was not the most physically fit, he did have a pretty well-to-do body. He had followed a pack of other kids to where he presumably thought where the pool was, and soon found himself at his destination.

He would have, if he was at his own estate, taken it upon himself to jump right in, but he didn't. There were people all over, and he found it almost insulting to share in the cesspool of bacteria and germs. He found a local group of Nobles, and decided to stroll over. He still had the scrunchie that the stranger had given him, and he took it upon himself to pull his hair up in a pony-tail.

The Nobles were sitting around the pool, talking about training and how everything had gone. Most of them were complaining about how there were no Level-Three dorm rooms, and Cy found himself and entrance. "Tell me about it," He spoke, sitting near the edge of the group. "I got put in a Level-One dorm room." The Nobles hissed an apology, and some of them nodded sympathetically. They didn't do much but soak their feet, giving gentle conversation like, "What does she think she's wearing," and "Stupid First-Years,"​

 

[Midian]

Nadine clapped Sydney on the shoulder after the cannonball, nearly putting the little blonde under by accident. Seeing her go down, Nadine scooped her back up quickly.
"That was brilliant, squirt! Who knew something so little could make that much of a mess, huh?" she laughed, looking over at Quinn, who was positively soaked.
"Good one, can you do it again?" Nadine asked mischievously. Addie, who was scrounging around for a volleyball on the side of the pool, couldn't help smiling at Nadine and Sydney. They looked so happy and confident in swimwear, whereas even though she'd agreed to it, Addie couldn't help feeling painfully self-conscious and more than a little flat-chested, especially in comparison to some of the older girls by the pool. She wished she could be like Isaac and Eric, asleep by the poolside without a second thought in the world. Shan had tagged along as well, not wanting to be by himself in the dorm, but as he walked by Cy, it was clear he didn't particularly want to be there either, dressed in long, baggy shorts and an equally baggy top, both in black. Shan sat by Eric and Isaac, hoping the two sleeping wouldn't bother him, and leaned back to watch the people in the pool.

Once Addie had found the beach ball she came back into the pool, trying to decide who to ask first. She could sometimes talk to people fairly easily, but asking people to do something for her was not her strong suit, even if it was to join a game. Cyril and Leon seemed to be headed to the pool too, and she sort of knew Leon. Cyril, not so much; the blonde was an enigma. Cyril seemed to be walking away from Leon, at least, having told the boy something to the effect of "dead family doesn't mean you can keep a forge in the student dorm" and now not seeming to want much to do with him. The blonde flopped in a beach chair next to an older girl and the two started chatting, ignoring the others. Addie hesitantly approached Leon.
"Do you play volleyball? Do you want to play?" she asked, shifting the volleyball under her arm. "I was--"

A great sploosh of water from Sydney's next cannonball hit her back and Addie yelped in surprise, causing Shan to jump and accidentally elbow Eric. Seeing the nobles around Cy snickering at Addie, Nadine made a huge splash at the edge of the pool that soaked Cy and them.
"Hey, how about some volleyball?" she shouted, causing most of them to wander off, grumbling and shaking the water off themselves.
"C'mon braids! Looks like they all left you!" she shouted at Cy. Addie followed Leon to the pool, waving at Henry shyly.
"Henry, do you want to play?" she shouted, holding up the volleyball so he could see it.

Meanwhile, Agatha had recruited a still-sleepy Eddy to help her make sure the net was in order as they congregated for the game.
"We need two team captains first," Agatha said, looking over the others as Isaac and Eric joined them, followed by a resentful-looking Shan being herded in by Nadine.
"I'll choose a number between one and eleven, and the two closest people can be team captains, okay?" Agatha asked.

 

[Victor Markov]

"Never been to a pool before, Addie. Plus I've never played volleyball. Much less anything else. And unfortunately, my roommates have thoroughly gotten under my skin and treated my family like they lived at the top ring. If that's not the case, it sure is the impression I'm getting. And I'm starting to think coming to this pool was a mistake." Leon said, barely containing the raging inferno his temper was becoming. He valued his family above his work, but he didn't have anyone to fall back on anymore. "I have to say I'm a bit envious of you, Addie. You have everything I don't. Friends, family, no work loads. And yet I can't give up my trade. It's all I know and all I have left of my family. Maybe I'll have some friends after I get all the orders I have filled. I dunno."
Leon was trying to keep his family's name in good standing and keep the money flowing in. It was obvious he needed a helping hand with his work. But the question was would he let himself ask for it? How long until he broke under the stress from his large list of orders? He had over five hundred left and he still had to contact the clients he had finished orders for. Thing was, he didn't want to trouble anyone with his personal problems. He was running out of time to finish his massive list of weapon orders, but he was making some progress. "Hey Addie, could I interest you in a small deal?" he asked, deciding that help would make things go faster. All he needed was someone with steady hands to carry a container of molten iron from the furnace to a set of molds he had set up. He had hollowed out some tightly packed sand and put the two halves together, leaving only the end of the hilt open, since everyone wanted at least a new blade.