Dormitory Lounge

[schrodinger]

Leaning back over the sofa, Venser thought for a moment before replying to Frederick.

"Wrong, hmm. I wonder. Probably, though it wasn't with me. It's alright now, or so I hope."

He glanced at Kris again, watching her leave. That was odd - it was a little too early for her to be heading for the gathering. She probably had other business to attend to.

Nothing harmful, I should hope... but I've interfered enough already.

"You know, it's strange... with this many people in a single room, you'd expect more conversation to be going on than this. Perhaps their attentions have been attracted elsewhere?"

Draining his cocktail, he shook the glass slightly and observed it replenish itself, going from nearly empty to brimming as he held it. He could have just asked George for another, but honestly... this was easier.

"Anyway, what about you? Anything interesting happen since you got here?"

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

Seeing the persistence of the two before him, George decided to let them be.

"Don't say that I didn't warn you," he smiled and pointed over his shoulder, "all the raw stuff is behind. Take whatever you want; it's sponsored by the school."

Of course, one should always follow universal reason to ensure the greatest amount of happiness. Rules are set by people, and they are often ignorant. Only by helping each other in the name of universal brotherhood will there be happiness.

But still, there are repercussions for standing up to authority, and he had to make sure the two students knew what they were getting themselves into.

George watched the two merrily making their way behind the bar and wondered how much of his pay Alecia would cut if she knew about this, then remembered that he wasn't getting paid anyway so he resumed his wiping of the bartop.

[theburntone]

Ellen EnGrave

"I'm Ellen EnGrave. Where I come from, the undead are merely fungus-animated corpses. About the only things our order's ever fought that defies logical explanation are ghosts. And even then they're just leftover psionic energy. Nothing unholy about that. About the only thing the Order considers "unholy" are the infidels from Skolir and Armoria."

Ellen shrugged.

"Either way I don't much care. Most of us younger recruits are patriots first, holy women second. The only reason we're in the White Order is because the higher-ups believe we're descendants Seru herself."

Ellen took a deep breath as she launched into a detailed explanation.

"Seruin goes something like this. Humans were created by the alien Creators, who gave us technology and science. But when mankind used this technology to destroy itself, instead of helping restore our society, the aliens abandoned us. Seru was the only one who renounced the rest of her race to save us, and manifested in a human form. That human was the only one to ever kill an alien before they left, and her descendants are all supposed to have her powers.

The aliens left behind a whole bunch of technology, and we in the Order have worked to understand that since our formation, so we can understand the alien technology, locate their homeworld and avenge mankind upon these aliens once and for all."

Knowing that this man was from a holy order stopped her from saying that the Order considered all forms of gods as merely groups of Creators which were deceiving humans.

[Qi En]

Pamela, however, decided it would be a bad idea to take the ingredients for free; She checked her wallet.

"... Oh dear, I forgot to change my currency again!..."

Pamela froze as she checked her wallet. She had exactly 1 Diamond, 5 Emeralds, and 10 Rainbow pieces (roughly $10, but it would be worth more if it is considered a rare item in this world).

"I'm sorry, George, I don't have exact change... would you mind if I give you foreign currency from my homeland? It should suffice for the ingredients..." Pamela apologised as she passed over a rainbow piece, which looks like a small orb glowing with 7 colors.

With that, she left the bar with Shichi, taking along with her some chicken stock, chicken meat, vegetables, and the pepperoni she was looking for. She thanked George for his help once again.

"So, Shichi, who is the girl you were trying to get the soup for? Is she your sister, or cousin?" Pamela asked.

____________________________________________________


<The spoiler has nothing to do with the post but something to do with my long period of absence, if I'm unfortunate enough>

SPOILER: Click to show

<My parents will be back by the 20th of December till 3rd January. I'll have to finish my Maths holiday assignment by the 3rd of January, so this might explain if I don't get to post for some time>

[Phagetthree]

"Oh, well that's good then. I had a little run in with the girl in the petticoat, I'll tell you about that later."

Turning back to Ellen, he gave a bemused expression.

"Mushroom zombies? That's interesting. As far as I know, the Titans who formed this world are from a greater pantheon where other Æsirs might reside. Their names are Freyja, Bjurn and Myntheon, and we were modeled to look like them."

He opened his right palm and allowed a soothing ball of light to emerge from it.

"Since the titans are not willing to interfere directly with worlds once they are formed, we do not have much communication with them. The only way to know they exist is through powers that they grant their followers, such as my Order and I."

Closing his palm, the light disappeared.

"When I grew more comfortable with the casting process, I've been able to feel their frustration and anger when I call upon these powers. It might be due to the existence of unnatural beings like undead and vampires."

Scratching his head, he continued.

"Nobody really knows how the vampires came about, though. There has only been rumors and ideas. Not even captured vampires themselves really knew about their sudden transformation. But that does not matter..."

Clenching his fist, he looked at Ellen in the eye.

"... they must all be destroyed. For all that is good and holy, and for my mother."

He looked down again, tears brimming at his eyes.

"They killed her. Like the cowards that they are."

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

George awkwardly received a small glowing orb from the girl. He tried to explain that the ingredients didn't cost anything to him and it shouldn't to her either, but she was too preoccupied with gathering ingredients from the back.

He placed the trinket to where the wine glasses were, and thought it looked nice.

At the corner of his eye he could see Miss Hono leaving along with Miss Choi.

"Maybe it can be used as a good hairpiece for one of them," he thought.

[ivankira]

"...Take whatever you want; it's sponsored by the school."

When he heard George's reply, he heaved a great sigh of relief.

At least something could be done in the end...

He gently lifted up the door-table and went to the back, holding it up for Pamela as well, making sure that she entered frist, before himself.
"Ladies first", that was wad he had learned through books and his respect for everyone else.

After they had gathered all the ingredients, Pamela paid for the stuff and they made their way back to the dorms.

"So, Shichi, who is the girl you were trying to get the soup for? Is she your sister, or cousin?" Pamela asked.

"Well... neither... She's just one of our dorm-mates. I met- or rather, found her at the top of the stairs." Shichi replied. "She wasn't looking very good though. So I just helped her into her room and told her that I would get some food for her."

He set his foot onto the first step of the stairs back to the dorms and carried on,

"We'd better move along more quickly, its nearly eight o'clock. I guess we can only help that girl after the meeting..."

He quickened his steps, one foot after the other. Each foot positioned in a way that the chances for him to slip and fall are minimal. His toes were about an inch away from the end of the step, and his heel is never fully on each step either. He wouldn't want all the ingredients to fly from his arms and be wasted.

[schrodinger]

"Very well then. I only hope the story's worth the wait."

Venser paused to let Frederick speak about his religion to the young lady (An Ellen EnGrave, he discovered, after a cursory examination of her mind). It seemed to be a common trait amongst men of the cloth to talk endlessly about their beliefs and the mysteries of their faith to anyone who would listen - he could recall Asriel speaking at great length about the minutiae of his church. He'd made sure never to present himself as a likely target for their impromptu evangelism, taking care to point out the logical flaws in any theology presented to him. It wasn't difficult, but as Asriel had resignedly told him many times, after many protracted (and ultimately fruitless) debates, doing so was 'missing the point'. He supposed that this was accurate - faith was, in the end, irrational, and a logical approach to it would be misguided. Emotions, too, were a key part of religious fervor - part of what kept a person devout was emotional attachment to his or her belief. Fittingly, these too were irrational.

He noted Frederick's tears, and allowed a solemn moment to pass.

I'd expected some level of emotional instability with the girl, at least. But a solidly built fellow letting himself tear up in front of people he barely knows - that's just unbecoming.

"Come on, man. You must be made of sterner stuff than that. Don't look back in sadness, face front with hope."

[Phagetthree]

Frederick wiped away his tears. Without looking at him, he addressed Venser.

"It is a difficult thing, losing one's parents. Especially having witnessed it first hand. Surely even the mightiest of warriors would be affected by the loss of a dear one. There is nothing wrong with sadness, from it I draw the strength to face each day and in the future the strength to kill the demons destroy any Bane that I come across."

Frederick stood up.

"You're still partially right though, dwelling on the past will not bring her back."

He smiled a little.

"Let's head for the lobby, shall we? There isn't much time left."

Perhaps this unlikely trio will be my family, in the absence of others.

Do you not agree, Venser?

[schrodinger]

"Indeed. In the end, what really matters is that we lead our lives with dignity and without regrets. It often helps to have others around to support you, too."

Venser finished off his cocktail and set the glass down on the counter.

"Thank you, George, it was most agreeable."

Facing Frederick, he made to leave the lounge.

"Shall we, then?"

[Phagetthree]

As they walked down the corridor towards the lobby, Frederick felt a distinct change in the air.

"Do you feel that, Venser? It is as if something has refreshed everything around us, like an event of mass renewal."

I hope this bodes well.

OOC: Merry New Year lololol

[theburntone]

Ellen EnGrave

Ellen noticed her new acquaintance getting up to leave.

I suppose I should get going too.

She stood and left the hall.

Alexa Bai

Alex stood up, seeing people filing out of the lounge. Then he remembered. There was some meeting to go to in the main lobby. At eight.

He looked at the wall clock. Seven to eight.

"ARGH!"

He sprinted out of the lounge, towards the main lobby.

[kaisan]

Ah, it's the usual idle chatter. Same kind of stuff as always.

Hitomi noticed the lounge's occupants leaving. She looked at the wall clock.

"Oh, it's almost eight. Better hurry..."

She promptly left the lounge, and headed for the lobby.

[Qi En]

"We'd better move along more quickly, its nearly eight o'clock. I guess we can only help that girl after the meeting..."

With that, Shichi began running out of the lounge. Pamela tried to keep up with him, but holding the ingredients at the same time proved a little too difficult for her.

"Wait, I can't --"

She slipped, and tumbled onto the floor, spilling some of the ingredients around her. Shichi had already disappeared from her sight, and it was not possible that he would hear her.

Pamela quickly picked up the ingredients again, while guessing where he could go.

Eight o'clock... We have to meet at the lobby. He might be there...

"Hey, need some help?" Pamela heard Quimby's voice.

"Come to the lobby first, Octo and I can help you with the soup."

[Phagetthree]

After the torture that was last night's introductions, Frederick had been one of the first to head straight up to his room for some much needed sleep.

Habit had him up before dawn and running laps, however. The fresh morning breeze and moist, dew laden grass and leaves were reward enough for getting up early. The extra fitness was just a bonus.

With the rise of the morning sun came the first rays of light, and Frederick stopped his run at the school gate as the golden globe made its way up over the horizon, bathing him in a soft, radiant glow.

Rejuvenated and brimming with energy, Frederick wiped the sweat off his face with his towel and went back inside, heading to the cafeteria.

"Hey, George. Good morning! May I have some bread with ham and a glass of juice? Thanks!"

With that, Frederick rested on his seat, cooling off while waiting for his food.

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

George was always ready to serve. He dropped his cloth in the sink and greeted the fine young man who arrived.

"Good morning to you too! Let us start the day right!" He turned and smiled cheerfully.

"Bread and juice are at the buffet spread over there," he pointed to the other side of the room, "but you're a growing man here. How about I make you something more worth your while?"

He slammed both hands on the counter lightly, and asked with enthusiasm, "Double baked bacon sandwiches and a wolfberry cocktail! How does that sound to you?"

At this moment, the door of the lounge swang open again. A rather tall youth carrying a suitcase appeared, panting heavily.

"Bah! I was calling out for you to stop the entire time, but you just kept going! What's with that!"

George looked up. A face he had seen before and recognized.

The youth set down his suitcase at a side, grabbed a plastic cup and filled it up with juice. Gulping it down, he resumed panting.

Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he got his composure together, set a normal breathing rate, and spoke.

"As I was saying, I heard the check-in this year was different, and I have no idea how to get the door key. I saw you, and wanted to ask, but you just kept running oblivious to the surroundings. In the end I chased you around the entire perimeter of this establishment."

"Now that I have your attention, could you please tell me, where do I get my door key?......Good morning George, I didn't see you there."

"It's alright, Mister Natsume," George replied, "the key's at the counter, just so that you know."

The youth exited the lounge without a word, leaving his suitcase behind.

[Phagetthree]

Frederick gave Natsume a bemused look before he left for his room key.

Now that I think of it... Maybe there was somebody shouting? Was there...? Well, no matter, anyway. It's past.

"I'd love that double-baked sandwich you just mentioned, George, but I don't take alcohol, so no cocktail for me."

Frederick smiled back at George's cheeriness.

"It's great to see someone so cheerful and energetic in the morning, most people get up with such dreary faces more often than once I had almost mistaken them for the wretched undead. And back to the matter of breakfast at hand, I'd just like some juice, so I'll head over there to get a glass. Thanks for your offer, though, it was most thoughtful."

Frederick got up and took a stretch, feeling and hearing his bones click into place.

Ah, nothing better than a morning workout to start the day, indeed.

Pouring himself a glass of mixed juices, he sat down at the seat again and looked about for anymore newcomers to the lounge.