Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Upon arrival at the base, Gorōta had gone wide-eyed, eye darting around to try and see the strange beauty. The area was clean, and large, and Gorōta wondered how any of the teams had managed to keep it clean with how large it was.

--

The area they were in at the moment was circular and tall, with a large chandelier surrounded by windows above them. Hallways led away from the room, and some staircases led upwards. The walls were stone with carvings of words and pictures, the floors were marble. The place was astounding, and definitely not what he’d been expecting. He’d been expecting something akin to his friend’s ‘base’. This place made that one pale in comparison.

--

“What the hell?! This is so cool!”

--

In his opinion, the excitement was infectious, since he was grinning too, his singular eye open in wonder. Though the socket of his other eye behind the patch was open too, something that felt strange but he was used to at this point.

--

“Don't worry, I intend to give you all a tour, but first, let's get all of your things to your rooms.”

--

“You better, I wanna see every inch of this place!”

--

Gorōta smiled, the amount of wonder in the room was almost overwhelming, if he hadn’t been so awed himself. He gripped his bags tighter in his hands and began walking after Horatio.

--

As the group walked, someone ended up next to him. If his memory served him right, then it was Micha. The new elemental holder, the one with an at least semi-nice family. He doubted it could’ve been perfect, but their mom, sister, and friend had seemed nice. Micha introduced himself as the two walked too, which was nice since it meant that he hadn’t been wrong about who it was. He gave Micha an anxious smile in return, introducing himself too.

--

Eventually though, they ended up in a different hallway with plants and benches, eight doors with four on either side of the hallway.

--

“These are our rooms. On each door you see a symbol, these all match up with the powers you were given. The eye is time, the moon and star are space, the treble and bass clef are sound, the dumbbell is physical, the four main element signs are elemental, the snake and staff are healing, the handshake is trust, and the puppet with strings is judgment. Each room was specifically made to fit the needs of your power, and if you need anything else please alert me and I will get it taken care of. Each room comes with a conjoining bathroom and washer and dryer. I'll give you some time to settle in. Let's meet out here in half an hour and I'll show you around some before we eat.”

--

He nodded, mostly to himself and then scanned for the snake staff door. It ended up being pretty easy to find, and the placement seemed great too. Across the hall was judgment and positioned besides elemental and trust. But overall, it was one of the middle rooms, easily accessible to everyone. The room farthest from his own was the time holder, Horatio. Which made sense. Definitely good placement.

--

Stepping up to the door, he noticed names on it, the most prominent to him being Salvia in what had to be the chicken scratch font. Or maybe just doctor handwriting… He was able to read it, after all. He held back a small laugh, and then went to open the door, watching for if his own name would appear. It did, in the same chicken scratch doctor handwriting as all the other ones. Gorōta in a dark pink, doctor scratch font. He bit down a small smile and walked in, carefully closing the door behind him.

--

Setting down his bags, he glanced around. The room was a lot bigger than he’d been expecting, and was stunning. The floors were a sterile white tile, the walls a dark pink covered in different medical charts, there were bookshelves and the light was just right- Blocking shadows but not hurting his eye. There was a desk, sturdy and large enough for someone to at least sit on and be fine. In one corner, was a large king sized bed, adorned with shades of pink for pillows, blankets, and sheets. The frame had to be metal, and there were a set of buttons to shift the bed to be more comfortable. Next to the bed was a nightstand, with a notebook and pen already sitting atop it. There were a few drawers and a closet too, each already having a few clothes in it. The room also had a few chairs, set up in the middle and facing each other. The entire room was amazing.

--

The bathroom was sterile and clean, complete with a slight scent that accompanied heavily cleaned rooms. He even found some gloves in the bathroom, in the medicine cabinet above the sink. The washer and dryer was connected to the bathroom, and was just as clean. With those checked out though, he walked back into the main room. He needed to get to unpacking, and so he did.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Gen’ya had gotten used to the dizzying effects of teleportation rather easily, something he attributed to being friends with Jass. She was crazy, and any time spent with her could easily have you on your hands and knees, head spinning as you tried to keep up with her.

--

Due to their lack of dizziness though, they snickered quietly(as quietly as they could), as Mr. ‘I’m too busy and good for you’ Rowland tried not to stagger. The guy had almost fallen over completely the first time, blinking and shaking his head, clutching his phone and coffee cup as if those would help. Now, the guy was pretty obviously trying very hard to keep his feet firmly in place, taking a sip of coffee and refusing to look away from his phone. Frankly, Gen’ya probably would’ve laughed for whole minutes if they didn’t know how rude that would be. And sure, ‘Rowland’ definitely wasn’t nice but they weren’t exactly keen on being rude anyways.

--

“What the hell?! This is so cool!”

--

Glancing around, Gen’ya muttered an agreement. The place certainly was pretty fucking cool.

--

“Don't worry, I intend to give you all a tour, but first, let's get all of your things to your rooms.”

--

“You better, I wanna see every inch of this place!”

--

Gen’ya nodded, making sure he was holding his bags still, and then followed Horatio to where their rooms would apparently be. Honestly, this whole thing would’ve seemed way too good to be true, but with the whole lie detection thing? This truly was amazing! And real. Which was also amazing.

--

The walk was maybe six minutes? Probably less, honestly. Either way, the entire walk was filled with them examining the words and pictures that were carved into the walls, eyes wide and searching. But either way, upon arriving at the hallway with benches and plants, four doors on either side, the group stopped and Horatio spoke.

--

“These are our rooms. On each door you see a symbol, these all match up with the powers you were given. The eye is time, the moon and star are space, the treble and bass clef are sound, the dumbbell is physical, the four main element signs are elemental, the snake and staff are healing, the handshake is trust, and the puppet with strings is judgment. Each room was specifically made to fit the needs of your power, and if you need anything else please alert me and I will get it taken care of. Each room comes with a conjoining bathroom and washer and dryer. I'll give you some time to settle in. Let's meet out here in half an hour and I'll show you around some before we eat.”

--

And he’d already found his door, all the way at the end of the hall, across from Nico and next to the healing holder. The last words made him nauseous but it was quickly overrun with the same awe that had him distracted before. The door had carvings of names in a perfectly legible font in the corner, a poetic cursive font. A font that someone would’ve expected to see on important, fancy documents. And as he went to open the door, his own name appeared in the same white font.

--

They stepped inside, closing the door behind them. And immediately dropped their bags in wonder at the room. The floor was decked in white carpet, the walls on his left being white and the walls to his right being black. A singular stripe of gray at the middle, right in front of him. A perfect show of duality. The lights were dim, and yet still somehow managed to seem as if they were dispelling every shadow to ever exist. They stepped forward after grabbing his bags again, heading straight to the large bed in the corner that was decked in white and black and gray, they sat their guitar case on the sheets, along with their bags.

--

Turning from the king-sized bed, he saw a nightstand that already had a notebook and a few pens resting atop it. He glanced around the room again, noticing some bookcases scattered around the room. The walls seemed a bit bare, but there was a vertical window within the gray stripe. Sitting at the windowsill was a desk and chair, where a typewriter sat along with a clock that looked suspiciously like one of those justice scales in movies.

--

The closet was a walk in, with a few clothes already set up inside. Nothing that really caught their eyes, but it was at least good to know they wouldn’t run out of clothes too soon.

--

Glancing at the door to the bathroom, he grabbed a sheet off of his bed, one of the black ones. Walking into the bathroom, he quickly and carefully covered the mirror with it before looking around the room. It wasn’t horrible, it was actually a pretty standard bathroom. A shower, towels, the necessities, sink, toilet, a cabinet. The washer and dryer room was also connected to it. Which he supposed was nice.

--

Stepping back out into their new room, they went over to the bed where they had set their stuff down. Best to go ahead and unpack as much as they could before they had to go back out there and figure out what to do about the meal… Maybe they could ask to take it up to their room? They couldn’t lie anymore, so they’d have to be smart about their wording instead. Hopefully it worked out in the long run.

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Arriving at the base through teleportation was terrible. Frankly, teleportation in general was terrible. Revan felt sick and nauseous, feet planted as firmly as possible in an attempt to keep himself from fumbling and staggering like a newborn. It was pathetic, truly. How he had to blink and stare at his phone, holding tight to it and his cup of coffee that was already halfway gone. The heels threatened to trip him too, as he brought the cup up and took a sip. He really didn’t feel like passing out due to disorientation either. A small snicker in the background didn’t slip past his attention, but he decided against saying anything about it. After all, there were more pressing things.

-

Such as the notification of a message on his phone that he was still staring at. Did his mother not know how to leave him for two minutes? She did it fine all the time before this, why was she suddenly so involved? He tried not to scoff aloud at her, and instead opened the message.

-

“What the hell?! This is so cool!”

-

He rolled his eyes, not looking up. It could wait, not like he’d actually need to know anyways. He would either be following someone else to wherever they were headed in the moment in silence or working. Hopefully, he’d be working more than anything else. He typed out a response to his mother’s message that was seriously just her griping at him, and sent it. It wasn’t much, just a quick reminder that he knew how to work remotely already and that he’d be fine. Hopefully she took that as the hint to stop griping and instead switch to pretending she actually cared at all.

-

“Don't worry, I intend to give you all a tour, but first, let's get all of your things to your rooms.”

-

He began to look up, forcing his feet to follow along after Mr. Caeso, his phone vibrating with another notification from his mother keeping his eyes on his phone as he did so. ‘I’m aware you’ll be fine, however unfortunate that is.’

-

His grip tightened around his phone, carefully not tight enough to break it though. However unfortunate- He went to turn off his phone; that didn’t need a response. Another vibration kept it on, another message from her. Continuing on as if she hadn’t just… He typed out a response to her newest message, ignoring the one before it and the cold pit in his stomach.

-

He kept walking, texting Katalyn the meeting schedule so that she would already know what it was. Responding to his mother who just kept on messaging him. Somehow, he didn’t end up in the back of the group, but in the middle. He kept taking sips of his coffee, whenever the lids to his started feeling heavy. Which was rather often, unfortunately.

-

He meant to look up at least once or twice as they walked, but the messages that bordered on meaningless that still were phrased as questions that he had to answer kept his head down, and before he knew it… The group was stopping in a hallway.

-

“These are our rooms. On each door you see a symbol, these all match up with the powers you were given. The eye is time, the moon and star are space, the treble and bass clef are sound, the dumbbell is physical, the four main element signs are elemental, the snake and staff are healing, the handshake is trust, and the puppet with strings is judgment. Each room was specifically made to fit the needs of your power, and if you need anything else please alert me and I will get it taken care of. Each room comes with a conjoining bathroom and washer and dryer. I'll give you some time to settle in. Let's meet out here in half an hour and I'll show you around some before we eat.”

-

Finally forcing his eyes up and away from his phone in time to see the moon and star door practically right next to him, he walked over it, pulling his suitcases behind him(the suitcases having been in one hand, his phone and cup of coffee held in his other). Bright silver letters caught his eyes, he glanced up at them. Tevel was the most obvious one to him, and the only name he recognized.

-

Rolling his eyes, he pushed the door open, seeing out of the corner of his eyes as his own name wrote itself out on the corner in silver cursive lettering. His phone vibrated in his hand, he looked back down. Just his mother reminding him to make sure to get all of his work done while gone. He closed the door and then immediately sighed, leaning his head against it. He turned off his phone after typing out a quick ‘Will do’ and sending it, putting it into his pocket.

-

For a few seconds, he simply stood there, not looking at anything, exhaustion pulling at his eyes. He groaned, taking a long sip of his coffee and finishing it off, before pushing himself off the door and looking around at the room.

-

It wasn’t terrible. The floors were cold, silver tiles. The walls were also silver at the bottom, but halfway through they switched to show the galaxy. The stars were bright enough that Revan decided to not complain about the choice. The ceiling had a chandelier in the middle, each light looked as if it was a star. The ceiling itself also showed off the universe and stars. There was a dial by the door too, which he shifted in an attempt to see if it would make the room brighter. It did, luckily, shifting the walls and ceiling to show off what looked to be a supernova mid explosion. He kept the dial there, and continued looking around, seeing how the light from the supernova reflected off the metallic tiles and brightened the room even more.

-

There were bookcases along the walls of the room, a counter and desk in one corner, and a set of odd looking stairs in another that went nowhere. He glanced at the last corner that held something, a bed and nightstand. The nightstand had a journal and a few pens and pencils sitting atop it. The bed was easily king-sized, covered in silver and gray shades. The strangest thing about it though was how there were blackout curtains hanging off the metal bedpost, draping around the bed.

-

He grabbed the journal sitting on the nightstand and one of the pens, opening it to a page and walking over to the desk. Placing the empty cup on the desk, he ran a hand against the silver chair at the desk. It was soft and flexible. He titled the page.

-

‘Changes;

Remove the blackout curtains.

More lights for the corners or to sit on the counter or desk.

Different chair for the desk.’

-

He glanced around the room again, checking for a clock. Upon not seeing one, he added it to the list. ‘Clock that goes off every hour.’

-

He set the journal and pen on the desk, heading into the bathroom and suppressing a small yawn. The bathroom was standard, with the washer and drying room connected to it. He walked back out and towards the walk in closet where the floors, walls, and ceiling were all a supernova. There were a few clothes already in the closet, most of which were fairly standard clothing. Things he’d probably never actually wear.

-

Going back over to the desk, he checked for an outlet, beyond glad when he saw that there were outlets. He set out on unpacking after that, starting with the suitcase that held the coffee machine so that he could go ahead and set it up and make a pot. After all, he’d definitely need it in order to get done unpacking in and settling in, mostly setting up his working area.

-

He glanced around again though, and thought about the meal they would apparently be having soon. He certainly wasn’t looking forward to that. He had too much work to do, and it wasn’t like he was actually welcome. Besides, he never ate with people. The once a week dinners with his mother barely counted. Maybe he could ask for a mini fridge so that he didn’t have to leave for meals either. He added it to the list. ‘Mini fridge to waste less time while working.’ He continued unpacking.

*~*~*~*

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Honestly, Gwyar was almost surprised by how quickly he’d gotten used to the teleportation. Enough so, actually, that he noticed upon arriving at the base that someone else hadn’t gotten used to the method of travel. The person stumbled, he moved his arm to allow them a way to make sure not to trip. The other did grab his arm, taking a step back and letting go almost immediately after.

--

“S-sorry.”

--

Gwyar opened his mouth to offer some type of reassurance, but someone else spoke first. Loudly.

--

“What the hell?! This is so cool!”

--

He glanced around, taking the place in upon those words. The place was tall, circular, stone and marble. There were carvings and pictures and a large chandelier. A large window that allowed light in from the upper half, there were hallways and two staircases which probably led to even more. The place was huge.

--

“Don't worry, I intend to give you all a tour, but first, let's get all of your things to your rooms.”

--

“You better, I wanna see every inch of this place!”

--

Gwyar bit his lip to keep from grinning himself, as he followed Horatio along. The walk took a few minutes, nothing he truly minded. Though, he did wonder how the one in heels managed to make the walk. That had to hurt their feet, right? He glanced their way a few times, but every time he did, the guy was keeping pace rather well, staring at their phone or taking a sip of coffee. His own attention kept getting snagged away too anyways, with all the picture carvings and word carvings and all the history that was there! The place was amazing!

--

Eventually though, the group ended up in a more open hallway. Gwyar glanced around the space, noticing the eight doors in the hallway as Horatio spoke.

--

“These are our rooms. On each door you see a symbol, these all match up with the powers you were given. The eye is time, the moon and star are space, the treble and bass clef are sound, the dumbbell is physical, the four main element signs are elemental, the snake and staff are healing, the handshake is trust, and the puppet with strings is judgment. Each room was specifically made to fit the needs of your power, and if you need anything else please alert me and I will get it taken care of. Each room comes with a conjoining bathroom and washer and dryer. I'll give you some time to settle in. Let's meet out here in half an hour and I'll show you around some before we eat.”

--

Gwyar stepped forward, easily finding the door with the dumbbell carved into the center. The door was right next to the time and judgment holder, across from the elemental holder’s room. Which made sense, the leader was closest to the way out, and the two more suited towards fighting he supposed made up the barricade next. For if anyone ever intruded, probably. He noticed the name Wiro in the corner of the door, along with a few other ones, each in a different hand made font- As if carved with their preferred weapon. He took the door handle into his hand, watching as his own name seemed to carve into the door in a blood orange color. He pushed the door opening, resolving to figure out what type of weapon carved his name later.

--

Walking into the room and closing the door behind him, setting his bag down to look around at the room… He blinked, and pinched himself, a few times to make sure he was dreaming.

--

The room had cases and cases of weapons, each one holding different types. There was training equipment scattered around the room too, the floors made out of some type of orange wood, and the walls were blood orange with pictures depicting battles and wars. There were even a few bookshelves that seemed to hold history books over time periods that were filled with war, or battle, or mass death of some kind. The closet was huge compared to the one he’d had back with his guardians too, even with the clothes that were already stored there. The only thing he’d be changing was perhaps the bed, which was large but sat in the corner of the room. There was a little nightstand next to the bed too, which also had a glass casing for a few weapons underneath.

--

Going back to the closet with his bag, he set the bag in there for the moment. He made his way into the bathroom they’d been told about, which was just as strange if he was being honest. He’d never had his own bathroom, and the one he’d used back at his guardian’s house certainly hadn’t been as clean. The washer and dryer were also there, so with that seen, Gwyar went back into the room, taking a look at the bed again.

--

The bed was nice, he didn’t doubt that. The mattress was large, and had sheets and blankets. Both of which were shades of orange and red orange. Not to even mention the bedpost. Which the bed had. Made out of what seemed liked wood, with plenty of carvings of what seemed like vows up close. Mostly ones of protection or loyalty. But no, there wasn’t any problem with the bed. The bed was the best bed he’d ever seen. Definitely fifty steps up from the bare mattress he had back at his guardians’ house that sat in the middle of the room. But that was the problem. The bed was in the corner instead of the middle of the room, and while Gwyar definitely wouldn’t be complaining about the placement… He had to decide whether or not to move the bed, because he really didn’t want to end up waking up someone through the walls due to where the bed was placed of all things. But he also didn’t want to move the bed and someone come in, see that he’d moved the bed, ask why or get mad or…

--

He resolved to not move the bed, that he just wouldn’t use the bed. He could sleep on the floor, take a sheet or blanket from the bed and sleep on the floor. That would work. He’d move the sheet and blanket back to the bed whenever he woke up, so that no one figured out. That way, no one would feel bad. Easy. With that decided, he walked into the closet where his bag was, and began to unpack.

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Gwyar had finished unpacking with about ten minutes to spare before the thirty were up, but not wanting to seem too early, he had ended up simply looking around at the photos hanging up on the wall. He recognized most of the battles from descriptions he’d read in history books over the years. But to actually see pictures of them in person? They were incredibly detailed photos, he would’ve believed someone used the best camera ever invented to take them. Even though for many of them, cameras hadn’t even been around yet.

--

He looked at the photos until he heard someone outside, seemingly talking to someone else. At which point, he shifted and decided to go ahead and head out there. After all, he didn’t want to be late, and if people were already out there then he wouldn’t be too early.

--

Stepping out of his- The room, the room that Horatio was kindly allowing him to use. He saw that Horatio and one other person were already there. One that had already been there when he’d met Horatio. Gwyar should really figure out their name… Either way, the person practically immediately spoke to him.

--

“Hi! Isn't this so cool?! I never thought I'd see any place like this ever! I mean, my room is huge, and everything is clean and nice! I think this is the biggest place I've seen ever, and we get to stay here, that's fucking awesome!”

--

He grinned in response, nodding. “This place is really big, yeah.”

--

The person kept on rambling, something that Gwyar didn’t mind. At all. Frankly, he was fairly glad that there was someone loud around here. Silence always ended up feeling too tense. Too volatile.

--

A bit later and two more people were stepping out. The one that had stumbled earlier, Micha, and someone else that he didn’t know the name of yet. He thought he’d heard Gorōta at one point during the walk up, but, well… He wasn’t sure, he didn’t want to assume. Either way, he gave the two a small smile, and the person who had been rambling seemed to notice Micha too.

--

“Hey, Micha, right?”

--

“Um, yeah…”

--

“Cool, can I call you M?”

--

“S-sure.”

--

“Great, and, Aries, can I call you Ari?”

--

He looked over at the beaming sound holder, trying to keep his smile in place. The smell of blood hit him like a wave, the feeling of the universe going dark and being unable to breathe rolling over him. Somehow, his smile didn’t fall, at least not completely.

--

He looked at them, debating saying no. Only one person would ever be allowed to use that name. His mouth was on autopilot though, not wanting to make the other upset. “Yeah, of course. Call me whatever you want.”

--

The one that had scoffed at him came out next, with a cup of coffee and still staring at his phone. Which was kinda odd, but Gwyar didn’t pay any mind. Frankly, he was having a bit of a hard time with that in general now. He saw someone else come out, but he couldn’t focus. The smell of blood, the feeling of warm, sticky red…

--

Focusing on anything else was hard. Put simply. He hadn’t- Chile- No- No no no no- Not Chile- Anyone but Chile- He took a breath, trying not to think about what happened. Trying to focus on the people in the hallway. Someone else came out, people were talking, someone was showing something off. What was happening? He killed him- Gwyar tried blinking, biting his lip, clenching a fist so that his nails were digging into his palm. People were talking as if underwater. Why couldn’t he hear them? At least no one seemed to be looking at him. Stop staring- Stop- Why- This wasn’t right- Chile shouldn’t have- Why wasn’t he on the ground instead?

--

He was lucky his knees didn’t buckle, was lucky he didn’t cry or even seem to really react. Though he could tell his pupils had gone small, that his smile was definitely smaller. That if he kept his nails digging into his palms for much longer then they’d end up breaking skin. He needed to calm down. The event wasn’t even that recent.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Gorōta finished unpacking and truly checking out the charts on the walls one minute before the thirty minutes had passed, stepping out of his room right on time in his opinion.

--

Three people were already out. Aries, Horatio, and… Nico? He was pretty sure that was their name. And about two seconds after he had stepped out, Micha was out of his room too. Which left… Rowland(?), Briar, and Gen’ya.

--

Pretty quickly, Gorōta ended up standing off to the side, not wanting to jump into the conversation that Nico seemed to be having with basically everyone that was already out of their room. Micha ended up standing near him, in silence. Something that while he could easily feel the anxiety washing off of him, Gorōta was already anxious enough for it not to really do anything.

--

Rowland came out next, and ended up standing a distance away from everyone else while staring at his phone and holding a cup of coffee. Did he just have infinite coffee? That wasn’t really good for him, Gorōta would have to make sure he drank a cup of water at least once today. Someone couldn’t live off of coffee alone, after all.

--

Gen’ya was next, and sort of loitered around, but also obviously present. More or less. They looked really nervous about something, if he was being honest. And ended up going over to Horatio, probably to say something. He made a point not to listen in on the conversation.

--

Briar ended up coming out last, a certain feeling of urgency being drowned out by an almost sudden feeling of… Well, just anguish, to be honest. A feeling of complete despair and loathing. Towards who, he couldn’t tell. And who it was coming from, he also couldn’t tell. Luckily enough, the rut was easy enough to ignore with Micah’s happy squeal next to him.

--

“Oh my god, can I touch it?”

--

“Uh, I don't know, actually.”

--

“It depends. The judgment snake has been the companion of the judgment holder since the first one was selected, his attitude is completely dependent on his holder. See, the judgment snake is, as you might expect by his title, a judge. He can sense the intentions of his holder and of those around him. As long as the judgment holder, Briar, is okay with you, and the snake doesn't sense any negative intentions against Briar, then you should be fine.”

--

Which, that was really cool. Like, super cool. The snake was adorable too, though he didn’t really want to get too close, given he didn’t know what kind of snake it was.

--

“Okay then, go for it! I don't hate anyone yet!”

--

“He's so pretty!”

--

“I know, right?! Awesome!”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Revan had managed to set up his coffee machine, laptop, and drink another cup of coffee by the end of the thirty minutes. He also managed to make another cup of coffee to take with him into the hallway.

--

And then his phone vibrated in his pocket. So, he took it out, a message from his mother sending out a brand new something or other that she wanted done tonight. So he sent her a text to tell her that he’d get it done, and then uploaded it onto his laptop.

--

After that, he was finally able to leave his room, coffee in hand. Luckily, two people were still missing so he wasn’t completely late. He kept his eyes on his screen and shifted silently away from the rest of the group. Where he doubted anyone would bother him.

--

While waiting for the other two to show up, he opened the work his mother had sent him on his phone. He might as well as go through as much of it as possible while waiting for whatever the group was going to do. Frankly, he considered going back into his room and grabbing his laptop so that he could actually work. The longer he took to get started, the longer it’d take.

--

Unfortunately, by the time he was ready to go and grab it while waiting, the last person arrived.

--

“Sorry, sorry! I forgot. Look, though! I got a snake! His name is Coral, I love him already!”

--

He glanced up, taking a sip of his coffee and giving Briar a good glare before looking back at his phone. They were late because they were busy with a snake? That wouldn’t have been a good enough reason for his mother if he was late to literally anything.

--

“Oh my god, can I touch it?”

--

“Uh, I don't know, actually.”

--

Was he actually being forced to listen to this stupid conversation? He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. This was dumb and pathetic, unprofessional a thousand times over. He should’ve went and asked Mr. Caeso about the list of things he needed to change about his room while waiting. Or just grab his laptop and work at one of the benches.

--

“It depends. The judgment snake has been the companion of the judgment holder since the first one was selected, his attitude is completely dependent on his holder. See, the judgment snake is, as you might expect by his title, a judge. He can sense the intentions of his holder and of those around him. As long as the judgment holder, Briar, is okay with you, and the snake doesn't sense any negative intentions against Briar, then you should be fine.”

--

“Okay then, go for it! I don't hate anyone yet!”

--

“He’s so pretty!”

--

“I know, right?! Awesome!”

--

This was incredibly stupid. And pathetic. Why were any of them getting this excited over a snake? Even if it were a magical one. The excuse didn’t matter, the fact remained. It was a snake. He scoffed to himself, he would’ve gotten in trouble if he’d ever wasted time on a snake. He had gotten in trouble when he’d tried to ask someone about their pet snake at 14 years old. There was no reason two almost adults couldn’t have the same decency that had been expected of him then.

--

But that wasn’t even the point, given how he certainly wasn’t jealous of them. Because that would be more unprofessional and pathetic than even the snake. No, the point was that a snake wasn’t an adequate reason to be late to an agreed upon time. He took another sip of his coffee, pointedly glaring at the screen of his phone.

--

Frankly, Revan shouldn’t be so upset over a snake. Was he normally this irritable or was it the lack of sleep? Given the idea that he normally shredded all paper invitations to hang out that Kata- his assistant gave him, he supposed he was just normally irritable. Then again, he normally didn’t get much sleep so… Maybe both, actually. Too bad testing it would require him to sleep and he had far too much work to do for that.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Gen’ya might have actually forgotten for a minute that the group had agreed on thirty minutes before meeting up again. Could you really blame them though? They had been pacing, trying to decide how to go about the dreaded meal. The meal that the mere idea of was keeping them near the bathroom door for just in case the nausea actually managed to push its way up completely.

--

It hadn’t taken him long to remember about the time anyways. Maybe one minute, definitely not more. And he had left his room immediately after, still with no clue how to go about the obstacle ahead of him.

--

Luckily, they weren’t the last one out into the hallway, which meant they still had at least a few seconds to figure out what to do. So they shifted throughout the group already there, keeping eyes and ears open on what everyone was doing.

--

Eventually, he gave up on trying to avoid it all, and managed to go over to Horatio. He stood nearby for a few seconds before speaking, in a voice that wouldn’t immediately be heard by everyone around. He didn’t want to interrupt their conversations, after all. “About the meal, Horatio… Do you think I’d be able to take it to my room? I won’t get it on the floor.”

--

As they waited for an answer though, Briar ended up rushing out into the hall. Holding something.

--

“Sorry, sorry! I forgot. Look, though! I got a snake! His name is Coral, I love him already!”

--

And oh shit- That was a snake! An adorable one too! Thoroughly distracted, they shifted closer to the snake to get a better look.

--

“Oh my god, can I touch it?”

--

“Uh, I don't know, actually.”

--

Briar was looking at Horatio, so he glanced over at him too, invested in whatever Horatio had to say about the snake. Micha certainly wasn’t the only one looking to pet the creature.

--

“It depends. The judgment snake has been the companion of the judgment holder since the first one was selected, his attitude is completely dependent on his holder. See, the judgment snake is, as you might expect by his title, a judge. He can sense the intentions of his holder and of those around him. As long as the judgment holder, Briar, is okay with you, and the snake doesn't sense any negative intentions against Briar, then you should be fine.”

--

Gen’ya grinned at that, stepping closer to the group of Micha and Briar and Coral. Not too close, of course. A few steps away, since Briar hadn’t said anything yet. They didn’t want to intrude or make Briar think they had to say yes.

--

“Okay then, go for it! I don't hate anyone yet!”

--

And he watched as Micha reached and stroked the snake. The adorable reptile.

--

“He’s so pretty!”

--

“I know, right?! Awesome!”

--

They finally stepped over fully, looking at Briar with a small grin. “May I pet Coral? He’s pretty damn adorable. I’m afraid, in fact, that he’s too adorable to resist petting.” They paused, and then added. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Someone was walking over to him. Had he been too obvious? He wasn’t supposed to bother them, he wasn’t supposed to bother someone nice enough to house him.

--

The lights were harsh, but they were dim too, the smell of blood, the sound of background voices and noise- He wasn’t in the eye of the storm anymore, and yet he was the center of attention and he couldn’t-

--

“Hello, Aries.”

--

Who was that? His eyes flickered over, at least tried to as he tried to tilt his head in question. He couldn’t keep up, there were too many names. Chile- Don’t talk, don’t talk- Stay awake- Don’t leave- Please- He blinked slowly, glanced around, breathing through his mouth carefully. As quietly as possible. He was fine, at least he was alive. His fist tightened, nails digging deeper into his palm.

--

“I was thinking we should get to know each other better, as we're going to be a part of the same team for a while, may I ask what your interests are? Feel free to rant.”

--

The voice right next to him again. Had he forgotten about them? He glanced over again, trying to figure out how to formulate a response. What were his interests? History… He swallowed, hopefully discreetly. Why were they cheering? He bit his lip, nails digging. He hoped he just seemed to be thinking about the question.

--

Wait- The question? The question- About his interests. He looked over at the person next to him, glasses, two brown eyes. More importantly, not him. He swallowed thickly, blinking, forcing his voice to work. “S- Sorry. Uh, I like history..? That’s not, really, uhm… Not really an interesting topic to most… Stars? I guess. Stars are cool. They have a lot of, uhm… Survival trivia is fun to learn, and can be really helpful too…”

--

He fell silent. Most of his interests ended up circling back to history, if he was being honest. He liked stars because of how much history each had along with how nice they looked from afar. He didn’t have many interests or hobbies, did he? Most of what he did was in preparation for the games… He enjoyed those things. Why had he smiled?!- He wouldn’t be mentioning any of those. They didn’t need to know.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Nico was walking over, luckily in view of his only eye. So, ahead of time, he went ahead and looked over, giving a small smile in greeting.

--

“Hi there, Gorōta, can I call you G? I like your eye patch, it's really cool looking! What kind of music do you like? Do you like games?”

--

He blinked a bit, taken aback by the amount of questions. He smiled though, and thought for a moment. “G- Uh, G’s fine, y-yeah.” He paused, then added, “S-Sorry, Uhm…”

--

He stayed quiet for a moment, trying to think of answers before speaking. Frankly, he didn’t think he’d ever spoken as much as he had today already. Which wasn’t exactly ideal but… “I h-have a few m-more patches w-with. I hope n-no one ends u-up ne-needing one though.” He tried to give a small laugh to come off as joking, he’s pretty sure he ended up failing at that.

--

Honestly, that was a legitimate concern. He really hoped nobody would ever need an eye patch. They’d have to learn how to write, how to walk without bumping into things, how to judge space and distance again- It was a whole process that he didn’t wish on anyone. But that still didn’t answer the questions, music and games… “M-Music… I-I like cl-classical, a-and cla-classical pop… I-I don’t really l-listen to m-music too much though, I d-don’t n-normally have time… Ga-Games can be fun, d-depends on which one though, I-I guess.”

--

He paused, thinking it over for a second before smiling. “I-I like m-most though. What, uh, what about you?”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

The one that had snickered earlier had also joined in the childish antics of petting the snake. He noticed despite his eyes glaring at his screen, trying to read the work his mother had sent him to get done by tonight.

--

The whole conversation they were having was pathetic. And stupid. And dumb. And unprofessional. He could barely believe he’d be forced to deal with these people for an unforeseen amount of time. It was not in his list of things he wanted to do, ever.

--

“Hey, uh, what's your name? Space holder person, do you want to pet Coral? I'm sure he wouldn't be opposed to more affection~!”

--

Rehab glanced up, glaring daggers at the laughing group. He hated people like that. Had, at least, back in school. Before he was 16 and taken out of in person schools in order to have more time to work for his mother, put into online classes that he could work on at any time. But glaring at them was wasting time, so he rolled his eyes, scowled, scoffed, tsked, and forced his eyes back onto his phone.

--

The tone had been joking, insulting. As if he were jealous of the snake that was getting attention. As if he were jealous of them for being able to give the snake attention. Attention it certainly hadn’t earned. Being jealous of a snake would be… “Pathetic.”

--

He bit his tongue, he hadn’t actually meant to say that aloud. That had been supposed to be reserved for his mind alone. He didn’t need to be giving verbal responses, lest they think they could actually talk to him.

--

One of them spoke though. “You know, they were just being nice and offering. I’m not even sure if Coral would even let you pet him, with how rude you’re being.”

--

He huffed, keeping his eyes attached to his screen. He still answered, sarcasm and boredom dripping off every word. At least he was still good at that. “And? Petting a snake is a waste of time better used elsewhere.”

--

“Maybe that doesn’t matter, ‘Mr. Rowland’. You could still be nice enough to, as you wrongly stated, waste that time to pet a snake.”

--

He closed his eyes in annoyance, taking a sip of coffee. Opening them again was harder than it should’ve been, but he did it and he kept them on the screen of his phone. He didn’t respond, he was under no obligation to do so. And why should he? If this person wanted to argue over petting a snake, of all things. Well, he didn’t have to. He could just use the same strategy he had for his mother whenever an argument started. Silence. If he knew that arguing wouldn’t do anything, silence was the best next thing. Not agreeing, at least not aloud. But not arguing either. It wasn’t worth his time anyways.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

“Of course I don't mind, silly, go for it! Like I said, I don't hate anyone yet!”

--

Gen’ya was probably a bit too happy to get to pet the snake, but well- Could you blame him? It was a snake! A snake! Named Coral! Which was an adorable name for an adorable snake.

--

“Well, hopefully you don't hate anyone ever!”

--

“True, true.”

--

Gen’ya nodded in agreement, fully invested in petting the snake.

--

“Hey, uh, what's your name? Space holder person, do you want to pet Coral? I'm sure he wouldn't be opposed to more affection~!”

--

They almost groaned immediately, but ended up snickering first instead. Briar hadn’t been there to meet Rowland, so of course they didn’t know what an absolute dick he was yet. Though, maybe it had been a joke? The tone had been pretty much the tone of a total joke. Then again, the lie detection thing hadn’t said it wasn’t genuine so…

--

And sure enough, Rowland scoffed, tsked, and even let out a small “Pathetic.” Who it was towards was hard to say. Gen’ya doubted someone like him would say it towards himself though. Rolling his own eyes, he continued petting the snake, speaking up before he even realized it. “You know, they were just being nice and offering. I’m not even sure if Coral would even let you pet him, with how rude you’re being.”

--

The dude had the audacity to answer though, after huffing. To reply arrogantly. “And? Petting a snake is a waste of time better used elsewhere.”

--

They looked at him. “Maybe that doesn’t matter, ‘Mr. Rowland’. You could still be nice enough to, as you wrongly stated, waste that time to pet a snake.”

--

He watched as the man took a sip of coffee, still not looking up from his phone. Gen’ya definitely didn’t like him, that was for sure. He didn’t speak again though, so Gen’ya just went back to petting Coral. He’d see what everyone else did first. Not like Coral was his snake, so he couldn’t make any actual decisions on the matter.

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

“I quite enjoy history, actually. It's interesting and certainly a good thing to learn about. Personally, I like to read up on older ideas and religions, Greek, Norse, and Roman mythology are certainly at the top of my list. However, modern history can be interesting as well. I'm also quite fond of stars, especially considering most constellations can be tied back to Greek mythology, and most of the planets are named after Roman gods. Survival trivia is definitely useful, and enjoyable to learn, though, I admit, I'm not really the best at it. My skills fall more into the technical field. Is there a certain history that interests you greatly?”

--

To his credit, he only flinched the second time. And even then, the flinch had been small. Hopefully small enough to not be noticed by the other. He was already worrying them enough.

--

He forced a nod through the smell of blood in the air, taking a moment to fully process what had been said. Taking a moment to try and remember who was here, next to him, talking to him about history. He bit his lip. If he wasn’t going to figure out who, he still had to answer. No one liked being ignored, especially when the person who was ignoring them was someone who they were allowing to stay.

--

He shrugged, heavily. “I uh.. I like all history pretty evenly, to be honest… Greek myths are uh, are my favorite of the myths, I guess. I’ve read some of the other ones you mentioned, Roman and Norse. Egyptian mythology is also pretty cool. Stars are pretty much everywhere in history, so… Like you said, they can be tied back to everything and have lots of history. Which is really cool. Survival trivia is just a lot of memorization and sitting in nature enough to be able to implement the information… Uhm… What’s uh, what’s your favorite Greek myth?”

--

He bit his lip, trying to force his palms open without nails breaking the skin. Trying to get rid of all the signs that could possibly cause worry. He didn’t need them to worry. He didn’t want them to worry either.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

“That's true, that probably would not be good. However, I know patches wouldn't take down anyone's positively amazing looks! No need to apologize! Classical music is cool! I like classical! Though, really, I like any music that isn't totally sad, ya' know? Ooo, most games are fun, I like some trivia, some board games, and some sports! I'm not too great at a lot of sports though, but they're still fun! What else do you like to do, though? Any books you really like?”

--

The comment about the eyepatch was honestly really nice to hear. Especially since he got so many weird looks because of it usually. As for the music and games? Yeah, Gorōta could relate to all that. He smiled, relaxing a bit now that he wasn’t too worried about being judged for every little thing.

--

He paused in thought before answering all of it though. “Yeah, sad music is just… Sad. Way too much of that everywhere already. But it can at least help people feel less alone, so… Board games and trivia games are basically the only ones I can play. H-Hard for m-me- for me to do s-sports, haha… U-Uhm… I ha-have a lot of medical books that I read… I like f-fantasy too, sometimes… What about you?”

--

Honestly, this conversation wasn’t that bad. Though, he should probably stop trying to make jokes hinting at his eye or other people’s eyes, given how that probably wouldn’t end well. For him. Or others. Plus he didn’t really want any questions about it. Not that he really thought Nico would think differently of him because of it, but, well… You never knew how people would react.

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

“It's okay, Coral, we don't think you're a waste of time! We think you're really cool and pretty!”

--

“Yeah, you're really cool, Coral! The coolest snake ever!”

--

Revan clenched his jaw, continued reading the words on his phone. The conversation wasn’t important. Surely he could just tune them out? Selective hearing?

--

“Yep, and if some people don't agree, that's on them, and they can live with the fact that they're wrong and never get to pet such an amazing snake ever!”

--

He scowled, trying to keep his eyes on the screen. He ended up glancing up, accidentally meeting the eyes of the snake, and then immediately forcing his eyes back down to his phone. That certainly hadn’t been necessary. Was the universe just out to get him today? Wanted him to be caught being as unprofessional and pathetic as possible?

--

He hoped no one noticed. He hoped the snake wasn’t somehow telepathetic and told them. Or his mother, quite frankly. He was more worried about his mother finding out. Which was stupid and pathetic! There was no reason for that!

--

“Most definitely! It’s their problem that they don’t get to pet an awesome snake like you!”

--

He huffed, gripping his phone tighter. He was being pathetic. There was no reason to be acting like this. It was literally just a snake. That people were petting. Without a care in the world. About people, about family, about public image…

--

He bit his tongue, clenched his jaw, and forced himself to keep reading through the work. At this point, he was switching between his notes app and what his mother had sent, keeping notes on what he had to do. They weren’t very good notes, his coordination wasn’t as good as it once had been, so mistypes were much more frequent. He could still read them though, he’d had the coordination problem long enough to learn how to. Side effect of sleep deprivation but, well, small price to pay for efficiency.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Mostly Ind).

--

Gen’ya nodded to Briar at the grateful look, it wasn’t as if he’d said anything that big. Just the truth, obviously.

--

“It's okay, Coral, we don't think you're a waste of time! We think you're really cool and pretty!”

--

“Yeah, you're really cool, Coral! The coolest snake ever!”

--

“Yep, and if some people don't agree, that's on them, and they can live with the fact that they're wrong and never get to pet such an amazing snake ever!”

--

Gen’ya grinned, and nodded firmly. “Most definitely! It’s their problem that they don’t get to pet an awesome snake like you!”

--

Rowland was still huffing and scowling at the back, whether at his phone or at the snake, they couldn’t tell. They doubted it would be at himself though, so it was either the phone or the snake group. That guy really needed to figure things out. Really annoying. Basically the average snob. Why was he even chosen? Gen’ya made sure that their mouth stayed closed. They didn’t need to risk saying that out loud. A bit too rude for their liking, in all honesty. Those were the type of thoughts that stayed inside someone’s head.

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“I think my favorite myth would be that of Achilles and Patroclus, though I also enjoy the myth of King Midas and his golden touch. Neither are very happy, sure, but both are quite interesting, in my opinion. What about you?”

--

Aries thought for an answer, before he felt something against his fingers. He glanced, and blinked as his fingers were pulled away from his palms. He blinked again, looked into the face of the hand. A smile, the hand that had pulled his fingers away shifted. Holding his hand, making sure his fingers could curl and dig into his palms. His throat was dry.

--

What was he supposed to do? Acknowledge that? Ignore that? Apologize? Chile- Sorry- He’s so sorry- Why didn’t Chile- His fingers instinctively shifted, moving to dig again, the hand blocking their path immediately had them stopping. Immediately on autopilot, “S-Sorry.”

--

He stood silently tense for a moment, the pressure on his heavily calloused hands giving him a slight grounding presence that also just had him trying to figure out what to do. And then he remembered the question, what had been said. He swallowed, tense. “Sorry, uh- Achilles and Patroclus is a good one. King Midas is great too. Minos and The Minotaur, The Bacchae, hm… Seven Against Thebes is a good one too. Uhm…”

--

He paused, biting his lip. That worked as an answer… Right? But what if the other wanted him to actually choose a favorite? That was hard- But he couldn’t just not pick a favorite. He hadn’t actually answered the question if he didn’t. “Sorry- You asked for a favorite, sorry. Uhm… Seven Against Thebes. Yeah. That, uh, that one. Yeah… Er, I mean, Achilles and Patroclus is really good too… Maybe that one. S-Sorry…”

--

He should probably shut up. He should’ve just said Achilles and Patroclus from the start. He knew that that would’ve been a safe one, given how that was the favorite of them. Frankly, they probably had wanted that as the answer anyways. So that they felt like they were right, just like how they were right to be holding his hand. Which they were, of course! Obviously. He bit his lip, tense.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Exactly! I see what you mean though, with it helping people feel less alone and all. Personally, it doesn't really help me, but no judgment toward whoever it does help! Yeah, I get that! I don't know much about medical stuff. I mean, I know basic first aid and I know how to stitch some smaller wounds, you kinda have to know that stuff where I'm from, but other than that, I don't know anything. Medical stuff seems to take a lot of math that I don't really understand. I can do basic math stuff, and I'm not bad at algebra, but math's definitely my worst subject beyond that. I have a lot of respect for people who are good at that, though! I also like fantasy! Sci-fi and adventure stuff is cool, too! Wait, do you watch movies, by chance? If so, do you like Disney?”

-

Gorōta’s eye lit up at the mention of Disney. And he smiled, wide. “I love Disney!” He screwed his mouth shut for a second, definitely at least slightly embarrassed and ashamed at the sudden outburst. He stayed quiet for a moment, and then spoke, quieter. “Uhm, yeah. Disney’s great. How many of their movies have you seen? Did you ever watch the one where Donald was like, in WWII as a Nazi? That one was really weird. It’s one of the older ones though, so I guess it makes sense. That it’d be weird, I mean. Who’s your favorite Disney princess though? I personally like Rapunzel. Imagine having hair that heals people, that would be awesome.”

-

He paused, biting his lip. “It’s cool you know first aid and stitching up smaller wounds- I might have you be like, my nurse here so that whatever I don’t see, you may. That actually might be helpful… Having someone to help if things get busy in taking care of patients…”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

The laughing was really starting to get to him too. Did those three have manners at all? Who raised them? Taught them? At least he was actually presentable in public… Where he practically never went, unless if one counted the meetings. That he would no longer be attending in person. But still. The point stood.

--

He bit his tongue, digging his teeth into it. An old habit that had taken three weeks to fix after his mother found out. He supposed it’d be harder for her to find out now. Regardless, the tissue had surely healed enough at this point. He just needed something to further distract him and these people wouldn’t shut up. About a snake. As if it were the coolest thing ever. The most worthy thing of attention. They were childish. And he didn’t care. He didn’t.

--

“Aw, he really likes you!”

--

“That's adorable. Must mean you're really great!”

--

Revan glanced up again, despite himself. He forced his eyes down to his phone before he could truly take the scene in. It didn’t matter. He dug his teeth into his tongue a bit more. Maybe he’d bite it off and become unable to speak. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about forming attachments, or complaining, or being jealous of a snake and the people petting it. Or disappointing his mother.

--

He took a sip of his black coffee through his teeth. He doubted he’d actually manage to bite his tongue off, even if he tried. He continued going through the work and typing notes.

--

“Well, Coral’s great too. I do wonder why he hasn’t done it to either of you yet though. I certainly shouldn’t be the first if that’s what it means.”

--

Revan managed not to roll his eyes or huff or scoff at that. Mostly because he was slightly busy suppressing a yawn instead, digging his teeth harder into his tongue to help. He took another sip of his coffee, a slightly longer one. He hadn’t even gotten throug a whole three days yet… Why was he this exhuasted? He’d had plenty of coffee. Was it the room? Had the room made him feel too comfortable? He definitely needed to speak to Mr. Caeso about the changes.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Gen’ya watched as Coral examined him, laid his nose on his finger. He stared for a moment, grinning with a sense of pride. A rare feeling for him, but certainly a welcome one.

--

“Aw, he really likes you!”

--

“That's adorable. Must mean you're really great!”

--

It was an odd combination of pride, self-loathing, and joy. But frankly, of course the other two should’ve been first. He hadn’t known them but for half an hour or so, but he could tell they were great people. Micha was kind, Briar was humorous, and they both had good hearts. He could feel it. And intuition was supposedly very important with magic, according to his grandma, so he was perhaps a bit biased to believe it was true. But still, the two seemed like amazing people, and the idea that Coral decided to do that for him first? It didn’t sit right, but it was amazing. And cool. And man, Coral was awesome.

--

And they smiled softly, “Well, Coral’s great too. I do wonder why he hasn’t done it to either of you yet though. I certainly shouldn’t be the first if that’s what it means.”