First Drill: Orientation

[littlebean]

Now that he needed his mouth for more than just eating the forkfuls were tinier and he slowed down his pace. If he ate slowly, maybe he could stay and talk longer, but only for a bit. The huge amounts of food in his belly was starting to feel kind of heavy, and soon he'd be ready for bed.

It was true that Loman had never heard of Igorath. It was never even brought up in his geography classes back home, and if it was as far down south as she made it sound, he probably wasn't the only who had no idea. Now he kind of wished he had something interesting to say too, his answer would be kind of bland in comparison.

"Oh uh, Algeroth. Nothin special so..." He paused to munch on some turkey again. "Is Igorath nice?"

[Skylar]

“Their happiness rests on their shoulders.” Taking one last bite, she moved her plate away from her, only to look up and study him closely. He seemed nice enough, perhaps a bit too concerned about everyone else, which probably meant he had a good heart. None the less, she wasn’t sure this was a conversation she wished to be having at the moment.

Reaching up she ran her hand through her charcoal locks, inhaled deeply and exhaled slower. “My point of view, on all of this?” She smiled wide, flawless pearls of white flashing up at him as she shook her head. “This is our fate, chosen by us. We should all make the best of it, because the worst could kill us.”

With that she stood, stretched a little, and returned her attention to him. “As for what drives me...it’s personal. Maybe a story for another time.” She looked around figuring the morning would start early. “I think I may head to the dorm. Care to walk with me?”

[Syntaphar]

Aldric put his hand to his chin and took a moment to ponder Misha's responses. He went through the social motions by reflex, smiling back when she did. But his furrowed brow and darting eyes gave up that he was going to give her answers the analysis they deserved. Her quips were interesting in form alone. Simple enough to be answers to the casual listener, but deep enough to be profound to the analyzer. With a little smirk, he said "You know, I think you are correct, Miss Misha. We are all to live life to ze fullest. Why should that stop when another chance iz given? Still, I find myself pondering ze fate of everyone in this room. But I suppose that iz a question best pondered alone, in silence."

Aldric dropped into thought again for a moment, he eyes half-lidded and his smile fading. But he was quickly brought back to reality and full expressiveness by Misha's offer. He stood up straight and offered her a hand out of her chair, partially a reflexive snap to his old noble ways, and partially a parody of the same. In the humblest tone he could muster "But of course, madamoiselle. I would be 'appy to escort you."

[Nayt]

"It's . . ."

Comfortable. Calm. Safe.

It was where her family lived, her mother and her little sister, the two people Areva traded her life for. Igorath was small and its only threats came from nature itself. Not even the End touched it. Supposedly several islands south of Igorath were wiped out from hurricanes, but Areva's home was absolutely safe. They'd only gotten a bit of rain and a few weird black bloated bodies washed up on shore.

"I don't wanna think about it," the girl shook her head, "I'm sorry."

When Areva looked out into the dining hall again, she noticed that several more cadets were heading out, either for the dorms or for town. It got her to thinking about leaving, too. Loman was nice, yes, and she didn't really feel all that tired, but she still kind of wanted to lay down. Besides, she hadn't even got the chance to see her room just yet. Areva dipped her head down as if she were already apologizing-- again.

"I-- I think everyone's starting to head in, now . . ." she whispered-- an observation that sounded innocent enough. Areva was actually pretty terrible at subtle hints, though.

[littlebean]

"Oh uh...."

His stare became downcast, looking at his plate that was now empty. He wasn't going to eat seconds like he thought he could, his eyes were bigger than his stomach and he was only looking for excuses to stay. The need for sleep was catching up on him, and he felt too guilty to eat anyway. She didn't want to talk about it? Of course not, considering where they were and why it made sense nobody would want to talk about it. Small talk turned out to be more difficult than he thought it would be. At least he tried? Wasn't his business anyway.

"That's okay, and yeah they are. So uh goodnight?" Was she hinting at them leaving? He wasn't too sure. It would be smart of them to go, especially since he had no idea where his room really was. He'd need time to find it.

[Skylar]

With a simple nod a smile she politely refused the hand up. She wasn’t tired really, but her mind had gone nonstop since she had arrived. She’d never admit it aloud, but she was curious to learn a bit about the other cadets, mostly their strengths and weaknesses, as...this would soon be very important information to know.

With a few well places steps she was swiftly beside him. “Shall we?” She knew where she was headed, and was sure he did as well, but it was his chance to lead. She wondered if he would go straight to the doors with little or no small talk, or if he would lengthen out the trip and try to learn more about her.

[Nayt]

"Umm . . . y-yeah," Areva trailed off.

She already felt bad for blowing Loman off like this. He seemed like a good enough person, it was just . . . well, she still had a lot on her mind. Too much. Areva didn't feel right being around people, no matter how nice they were--not right now, at least. Maybe later. Maybe after she got some sleep.

Like sleep would do this horrible feeling any good.

"Goodnight," Areva said as she excused herself, but paused right after she stood up. "Um, maybe . . . maybe I'll see you around sometime."

If we're still alive. She made sure not to add that part.

And with that, Areva turned and made her way to the front door of the dining hall. She knew where her room was and where she needed to go. She hadn't seen it yet, but she at least knew which hall it was in and the number.

Notably, Areva had barely touched her food by the time she left.

[littlebean]

"Ya maybe. See ya around!"

He spoke with the same smile and cheer he had when he met her, but really he felt terrible. Instead of cheering her up it felt as if he had said something he shouldn't have because of how suddenly she left. Should she turn around, she'd find a sorry mess of a boy pale, covered in mashed potatoes and staring at her wide eyed like a dog being tied down in front of a store while it's master went shopping.

Worst of all, she'd hardly eaten any of her food. Tomorrow she'd better be eating a big breakfast. Before he turned around to leave he scratched an itch on his head, and was surprised when his hands had potato all over them. Was he talking to her the whole time with potato in his hair?

"Oh..."

Then he turned around and left.

[Nayt]

Offtopic: This thread is continued [here].