|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:33 am
Jerard's fingers absently brushed his nose as he adjusted his glasses and inspected the students currently in his office. Admissions to SHIBUSEN were somewhat rare but new partnerships had been rife lately, and while the administrator was pleased at the sharp rise in percentages, he was not particularly happy about the paperwork filling and shuffling that inevitably followed.
He shifted his gaze to the files in front of him: Dario dri'Are and Rayne Cantravé. A sniper rifle...? He digested the piece of information with a slightly raised eyebrow, nodding when nothing appeared to be amiss. Perhaps an unusual match, but no more unusual than the other alliances that made their way into this room.
"Congratulations Miss Cantravé, Mr. dri'Are. I've organised for Hanzel to take you on a tour of the school; he should be along shortly. I trust you'll do your best." He fixed them with a heavy look before turning towards his laptop, a clear dismissal.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:28 am
"Yes, sir; thank you." Being in an authoritative figures office did not make Dario happy; being in said office with someone as loud mouthed and rude as Rayne made the experience even worse on his nerves. Seeing the dismissal as what it was and seeing that Rayne apparently intended to say something of her own, Dario decided to take the opportunity to pull the small girl from the office before she could possibly get either of them in trouble by saying something stupid.
"Hey~! No need to be so pushy!" Pouting, Rayne crossed her arms over her chest as the door fell shut behind them, content to stand huffily in the center of the hall as Dario reclined back against the wall to wait for their guide. "You need to loosen up, you know that?"
Dario chose to ignore the comment, closing his eyes as his way of ending the conversation before Rayne got the argument she had been trying for all morning. Why did she have to be so combative and rude all the time?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:41 am
Hanzel walked – well, the correct term would probably be shuffled – down the hallway, rubbing his eyes with his fists. The gesture made him look younger than he was. Closer inspection would reveal that his buttons were done up wrong and half his shirt was tucked into his pants. Though his jaw sported the beginnings of a five o'clock shadow, the overall impression was one of a messy child.
Why didn't Jerard give tours? It was an idle thought and a hopeless line of argument – if anything, Alexis had probably tired of him getting ink smudges over his cheeks (or more importantly, her paperwork) and signed him up for the introductory tours to make him go away. It was a bit high-handed, but this was Alexis after all, and she could be considerably meaner if she wanted. So yeah, Hanzel would do the tours if it meant his fellow Death Scythe kept her stilettos to herself.
Ah.
He backtracked awkwardly, having passed Jerard's office without realising, and stuck out a hand at the awaiting pair. "I'm Hanzel," he smiled, "It's okay to wake me if I fall asleep." The latter part of his sentence was said with the same cheery intonation as the first. "I'm new to this so go easy on me, yeah?"
He stretched, back popping with the movement, then grinned brightly. "Anywhere in particular you wanted to see?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:57 am
Dario straightened as the man approached them, taking in his appearance with a less than impressed gaze. He could understand casual but this was somewhat ridiculous. Choosing not to voice his opinion, he instead took the offered hand. "Dario dri'Are and this is-"
"I'm Rayne!" He really should have known she couldn't keep quiet long and of course would interrupt him if he chose to speak. Irritating but not unexpected. Thankfully, she seemed to choose better than to make a remark about their guide falling asleep, although the bright smile and crazed look in her eye made Dario more than a little nervous of her intentions. She seemed just a little to eager about this whole thing if the way she was bouncing on her toes was anything to go by. Well, at least she wasn't trying to pick a fight with him right now.
"Right, anyways; I think whatever order you choose should suffice, unless Rayne has an opinion..?" As the girl shook her head slightly, that look not leaving her deceivingly wide eyes, Dario couldn't shake the feeling this might not go well and Rayne had no intention of letting it go smoothly either. Wonderful, just wonderful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:00 am
Hanzel clasped the hand in his with a sunny flash of teeth and gave it an enthusiastic shake-squeeze. His eyes still weren't cooperating very well, blurred and gritty from weariness but he thought they were a sombre-looking pair – both black-haired to some degree, and dressed mostly in the same colour. He wouldn't have pegged the boy as the friendly one. "Nice to meet you, Dario, Rayne." He bobbed his head at them, mop of brown curls half-falling into his face.
"Uhm," he scratched his cheek when they didn't express a preference. That... had sorta been a large part of his master plan. He'd only skimmed the start of Jerard's instructions before he lost them, but he'd figured the new kids would probably have a whole bunch of things they were excited about - and how hard could it be to wing it? Really? Ashie did these tours all the time.
He cleared his throat and directed his next words at Dario, who seemed to be the designated spokesperson. "How about we start with... the Missions Department? It's where I work. Kinda," he added, moseying back the way he'd initially come without checking to see if anyone was following.
"Right!" He stopped in front of the large board that spanned the corridor wall, half-covered in bits of paper and dire-looking mugshots. "This is where we post open missions, and where you guys can claim them." It was all a bit self-explanatory as far as Hanzel was concerned, but you never knew.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:37 am
As the man took off again after a moment of hesitation at their lack of preference; Dario chanced another look down at his smaller partner, noting that she was now smiling somewhat and clearly amused by their guides discomfort. Taking off after Hanzel, Dario listened until he heard the sound of Rayne's boots behind him, not feeling very apologetic when he noted that she had to run a bit to catch up with them.
Coming to a stop by the board Hanzel was indicating was the mission board, Dario took a few minutes to study it. The system in which things were organized didn't seem particularly difficult to understand even without more detailed instructions than those given. He could tell when Rayne caught up with them, her boot connecting a bit roughly with his lower leg; enough to make him flinch but not hard enough to actually do harm. Turning slightly, her glared down at her, resisting the urge to return the childish action lest it encourage her behavior.
"Seems simple enough." His tone was a bit more hostile than he meant it to be, something Rayne seemed to find amusing as she grinned and nodded at their guide.
"I think we got it~" She seemed more than happy to move on, though Dario didn't think she had actually bothered to look at the board. He was not explaining it to her later.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:20 pm
"O-kay then," he nodded, glad they'd caught on quickly. Hanzel confused himself a lot of the time, but it was going good! Great, even. "Well, since we're here and everything, I guess... I should show you Alexis' office." His smile dipped a little. The taser was visibly reluctant, having just escaped her ire, but they didn't have to go in – it'd be safe to scurry past. Probably.
It didn't stop him from dragging his feet just a bit, and he left a respectable distance between the doors and their group of three in case... Well, in case. "This is it," he said lowly, gesturing at the shiny plaque that heralded so many people's doom. "You don't really need to know where it is 'cause you won't be dealing with her much, but uh -" he paused as his brain caught up with his mouth, and he viciously rubbed out the rest of the sentence ("it helps when you're trying to avoid it") - "Anyway, if you've got any questions about missions, you can just drop by and ask me, or your teachers." He grinned, then paused in thought. "I'll show you the classrooms next." Another destination on his head-map lit up and he turned the corner with rare energy. Being stimulated didn't usually help with his condition, but he wasn't about to question the respite.
"Most of your lessons will be here," he held his arms out as he walked, and flapped them a little in emphasis, "Except for #5 and #7. You'll be told if you need to meet at the training grounds. So, uh, any questions so far?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:46 pm
This time as they took off towards their next destination, Dario was sure to let Rayne go ahead of him, ignoring the slightly huffy look she sent him for the gesture. Allowing himself the childish gesture of rolling his eyes once her back was turned, he almost missed their guides nervous and quick explanation of the office they were standing a good distance from. Well, that was an odd reaction to the seemingly normal door and of course it seemed to have intrigued Rayne for as their guide took off again, she started towards the door they had just addressed.
Grabbing her arm, he yanked her after Hanzel as the man took off again with more vigor than Dario had seen him display this whole tour so far. He loosened his grip once they had come around the corner and she had started tugging a bit more fiercely against him, gaining some small satisfaction as she stumbled to the side at the sudden release.
Rayne took a few moments of grumbling oaths and 'fixing' her sleeves before she tuned back into what Hanzel was addressing at the moment; her interest instantly snagged as she spoke up; "What's in room's 5 and 7?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:20 pm
At Rayne's question, Hanzel adopted a lopsided smile, bending an arm to rub the nape of his neck, and ignoring the way his hair tried to cling statically to his fingers. How to answer that? Kids and their mysteries. They alllll wanted to get down to the bottom of everything. Sometimes it was just better not knowing – letting sleeping dogs lie, and all that? Mmm... Sleep.
He blinked a little at the thought, lashes starting to flutter shut, but did a bit more eye-rubbing and managed to resist the urge. He glanced blearily at the two doors in question. From the outside, they looked identical to the rest of the classrooms, perfectly unassuming. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. "#5 is usually empty," he mused slowly, which was only true. "You're not strictly supposed to know about #7," he gave them a playful, half-pleading look, "So I'm not gonna be the one that tells you. Lexi would have my head." That last part was muttered under his breath.
"So..." Hanzel was at a bit of a loss. Missions bureau, classrooms... He was pretty sure those were the only really important spots that had to do with academics and the nitty gritty stuff in all of SHIBUSEN. Unless they wanted a list of hang-out places around Death City? "You guys from around here?" It was more for the sake of distracting than making conversation as he continued aimlessly towards the general cafeteria area.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:44 pm
Dario watched as a slow, somewhat creepy, grin spread over Rayne's features at Hanzel's response, only taking a moment before she opened her mouth to continue on that line of questioning. "Rayne; drop it." Might as well kill that before it started; if they weren't supposed to know, they weren't supposed to know and that was fine, no use getting Hanzel in trouble because Rayne couldn't keep her curiosity in check.
Ignoring the disgruntled glare his interruption earned him, Dario turned his attention back to the man standing in front of them, perfectly happy with the change in subject that seemed to have been provided. "No." Apparently Rayne found his rather terse answer funny because she immediately forgot she was mad at him and burst into a fit of giggles, reaching up to stifle them with one hand. Shouldn't that corset be making it hard to breathe or something? Maybe she'd suffocate for her amusement...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:07 pm
"No?" Hanzel repeated, and swung his head back to look at the pale boy. Inwardly, he was panicking a little; one-word replies really weren't going to prevent them from noticing that he had no particular destination in mind. Maybe he was going about this wrong? It'd been awhile since he was a student himself, but from his experience emo boys weren't particularly talkative. Then again, 'special' kids were even lower on the social food chain, and while Hanzel didn't have a learning disability, having an illness had meant being stuck in the same classes.
"Well," he tried again, "I was born in Germany, in the east you know? We moved here when I was a baby 'cause I don't do so well with the cold." That was a bit of an understatement. Hanzel's constant sleeping habits and the continental weather had been disastrous for his poor circulation.
"The library!" he said suddenly, with the tone of someone who'd only just figured it out. "I mean, that's our next stop," he explained at a more normal volume, and laughed nervously. "This is how you get to the cafeteria, by the way. Follow the signs. You can lunch here, or in the city, so long as you make it back in time. I think there's a list of recommendations somewhere..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:46 pm
Watching Rayne to make sure she didn't actually die, Dario missed the minor panic attack his reply seemed to have brought upon the other male, although judging from the fact that every time Rayne looked Hanzel's way she broke into more giggles, she did not. Finally deciding his partner wasn't in actual danger brought upon by her own stupid clothing choices, Dario brought his attention back to their guide as the man started jabbering slightly about his own origin, finding only slight surprise in the country given the fact the man's name was 'Hanzel'.
"I'm from Northern Europe." He felt no greater need to specify than that as he really didn't have one country of origin he really felt a need to claim. And it really didn't matter now that he was here and not there with no real return in his near future unless just to visit his siblings.
He was more than happy to oblige when the man moved onto a new subject as he seemed to remember where they should head off to next. He rolled his eyes as the giggles Rayne had finally seemed to get under control bubbled forth again, her amusement rekindled by the sudden exclamation and their guides obvious attempt to cover for himself. Sighing, he waited for the tour to continue and draw closer to it's conclusion, in his mind equating Rayne to a child you never wanted to get caught in public with. Had no one ever thought to teach the girl even the smallest amount of manners? Judging by her behavior... no they hadn't.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:21 pm
Hanzel knuckled the bridge of his nose as Dario grudgingly parceled out four more words, and scrambled to think of an answer. He had to remind himself not to pout; more than one disapproving adult (girlfriends among them) had told him it was unbecoming. Glad that the tour was almost over - this was exhausting, even if Hanzel existed in a perpetually tired state - he made a non-committal noise that might have been, "Oh?" but didn't mean much of anything, and trudged on towards the northern end of the building. He had a nap scheduled for 2 o'clock. If they hurried...
The silence was really making him antsy. He slid a hopeful look at Rayne as the black and white tiles continued underfoot, sending vibes encouraging her to step in and help him out - but the girl was still laughing at him, and either didn't notice or was squirming with sadistic glee. Hanzel coughed and smiled weakly. He would have bet all his dessert money on the fact that it was the latter. Why were all birds vultures?
He really did pout this time, relief evident when he spied the closed doors of the library. "This is where I leave you," he beamed, maybe more enthusiastically than was warranted. "Good luck with everything - I'm sure I'll see you around. And don't worry, you know? Ma says if I can become a Death Scythe..." His voice trailed off, body already vanishing behind the fork in the corridor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cosmoses generated a random number between
1 and 100 ...
23!
|
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:35 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
