[center][h1]Location: Saint-Germain Castle
Barney Armstrong[/h1][/center]

The most diplomatic thing one could say of the pool water Barney was currently resting in was that it was [i]brisk[/i]. Leaving the windows open to the pool was a [i]terrible[/i] idea! Some parts of the water had built up a thin film of slush, and it was once such cluster of icewater that gently nipped at Barney's midriff. Scowling bitterly, Barney turned to his comrade beside him.

"This pool is [i]fucking awful[/i]!" Barney said. "Why'd you even bring me here?"
Barney's comrade, a native Michiganian, chuckled at Barney's misfortune. "You'll get used to it, man! A nice dip in some cool water gets your blood pumping and your brain working!"
"Screw that!" Barney complained. "I'm not freezing my nuts off for a [i]rush[/i]! You told me it'd be fun!"
"It's fun for [i]me[/i], man! Seeing you flip out over [i]water[/i] is goddamn hilarious, man!"

Barney climbed over the pool's edge, not relishing the frigid chill of open air. Streaming frigid water, he snatched a towel from a nearby maid and wiped himself down. A pair of waterlogged boxers clung tightly to Barney's hips, shivering wildly at the slight breeze cresting the castle's ramparts.

The faint sounds of something from the dining room quietly sounded out from the interior wall of the pool, but Barney neither understood it nor cared to understand it.

Barney furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around the pool. Where was Tzatziki?  Where was Reb? Where was Chips Dubbo? It seems that the rest of Barney's fireteam had, left to their own devices, wandered off to parts unknown. Barney's gaze passed over the attending maids and that [i]bastard[/i] Michiganian, and fell upon the effette, blue-haired boy slouching sheepishly against a beach chair.

"Hey, you!" Barney called, stepping up to Hayase Kouichi. "There's supposed to be a group of three guys around here, but they've gone and skipped out on me. D'you know where they went?"

[@Sodium]