[i]“What the hell is that?!”[/i] The samurai yelled at Hibiscus. As she scratched the inside of her ear, he approached and changed his tone. [i]“How cute, so affectionate to you. What do you feed it?”[/i]. The samurai smiled at her, then knelt and reached out toward the hound. 

She sat back, keeping her face a mask. She considered intervening, thought about answering his questions cordially and politely. She might have said something in a soft but shrill voice such as:[i]Wait, he’s sleeping and doesn’t like strangers! Oh and I feed him flesh tee-hee.[/i] Instead, Hibiscus decided that experience was the best way for anyone to learn not to pet strange-sleeping dogs.

Instead, the intercom interrupted the action, the samurai drew back before he got to close to the dog. 

He left her before Hibiscus could say anything, the samurai was cursing the boy and giving new orders. 

She let the others file out first. When Hibiscus stood so did her dog, the hound looked around the room with empty eyescokets, and kept closely to her right side as she walked. 

When she opened her hands to receive her own Vert, the samurai said [i]“Come with me after you gather your equipment.”[/i]

[i]’Is he impressed by my dog?’[/i] she wondered. 

She followed the others to their lockers. “Let’s see what kind of equipment a magical peace corp requires…”

“Let’s see… Armor made from Carbonadium, Dura-Ceramic AND fate silk? I’m impressed, this operation is well funded…” She struggled with the armor for a few minutes, unsure of how to wear it. When she was finished she felt like a caterpillar strapped into a too-tight cocoon. The hound sat a few feet away from her and waited. “Does this make me look fat?” She asked him. The hound said nothing, regarding her without eyes or opinion. The tip of his tale wiggled ever-so-slightly.

“What else do we got in here. A few instant seeds, interesting. Medi-Gel, hm. Mana batteries.” These stored energy in beautiful blue gemstones. “Pretty.” She put the gems and gels into the various pockets and pouches provided by her armor. 

When she was done she and the hound met up with the samurai and a small group of students. They entered a smaller ship called the [i]Glyph[/i].

Hibiscus sat, and her hound occupied a seat beside her. She buckled him in and then herself. She was surprised to see the Samurai connect his Vert to the ship, his personal artificial digital lady appeared instantly before them, and began to ‘assist’ with the takeoff and navigation.

[i]’These are more than just training devices.[/i] She thought to herself, and wondered at what their deeper purpose and function might serve. She closed her eyes to ponder the matter, and remained that way for the rest of the rather-rough-ride.

[/i]“OUT OF MY SHIP!”[/i]

Unbuckling the hound gave Hibiscus the excuse to, once again, be the last out. He handed her a gun.

The cold metal felt awkward in her hand. “Yes, we come in peace.” She muttered, quickly tucking the thing into a holster.

She thought it odd to ‘train on the field’, however, perhaps the man was speaking in jest or sarcasm. Her fellow ‘students’ likely had their own experiences and talents, even Blueberry seemed to know how to use a sword. These recruits were not unskilled novices, they were only new to one another. 

The other possibility is that the Corps had no choice, the situation here was so bad that they had to arm and send out the newest recruits at the drop of a hat.

Hibiscus set her eyes on the horizon and held out her hand. The hound’s nose touched her palm instantly. Reassuring one another with this brief connection.

The Glyph left the group alone to face the trouble ahead. 

Blueberry and his friends, gathered and talked in a jovial manner.

The necromancer tuned them out, she stooped, placing her left hand on the ground. The soil was uneasy, the dead within it did not rest. Hibiscus imagined that they would rather itch, scratch, and pick at themselves, they were hungry, they could smell the living that dared to tread above them. It was as if the weight of the dirt itself was the only thing keeping them still…

“Has this place become a shadowland?”