[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/ktlhhm5.png[/img][/center] Looked like his attempts to make light of the situation had little to no affect on Sophia at all. Indeed, his own awkward laughter was made even more awkward now by the completely dead expression that was on the young girl’s face. The lack of food after that rather spirited run had seemed to cut off her interest in further exercise as well, and while the brisk pace she set was still faster than normal walking…Brent didn’t find it too hard to keep up. Probably because her legs were shorter than his and all. Building A, standing at five stories tall and having the same appearance as an expensive hotel, made Brent take a step back at first. USARILN East, for all of its death and destruction and shit, really was quite the luxurious cage. It practically oozed with wealth, no doubt to placate all the Arbiters and Aberrations that were going to be less than pleased if they were forced to live in actual prison cells. Stepping in, his amethyst eyes flickered around once more, snatching up all the details it could. A slight shake. From the battlefield in the distance, perhaps? Two Arbiters in a conversation. Goth girl and emo dude. Match made in heaven. Blondie? Less of a match. In the corner, a potted mini-tree, whatever those were called. Marble everywhere. Veined and white. Polished. Glass everywhere. Bulletproof, probably. No cameras, at least the visible kind. To decrease the Big Brother sensation this whole place had, eh? [color=B0C4DE]“Third floor,”[/color] Brent replied, one ear on the conversation unfolding, [color=B0C4DE]“330. Probably don’t need to come to my room after you’ve showered and dressed up though, Sophs. I’ll meet you down in the lobby in…half an hour or so?”[/color] An absentminded reply, really, as his brain churned out the conversation that was growing louder in intensity. Shane and Decker. Arbiter that got cut in half and the healer that got killed to save him. What a…coincidence. Brent turned to the stairs for a moment, before deciding that learning was, for the time being, more important than exercise. [color=B0C4DE]“Yeah, just gonna slip in,”[/color] Brent called out, striding towards the elevator. [color=B0C4DE]“Hospital food’s legendary in shittiness, but apparently the dudes in Building D have no pity for the starved, injured, and IDless.”[/color] [color=f7976a]"You're new?"[/color] the messy-haired student sniffed at his own hoodie, the comment automatic small-talk. [color=B0C4DE]"Yup. The two of us got shot on our first day. Landed in the hospital, got out, and all that stuff."[/color] Bedhead responded with a quick nod, holding the elevator door open, as if the mention of getting shot was about as normal as the weather. At USARILN East, it probably was. Slipping in, Brent pressed the button for the third floor, before saying, [color=B0C4DE]"Name's Brent Roless. You?"[/color] It'd be pretty awkward to refer to him as emo kid all the time, after all. Especially when all the Xs were some type of emo. [color=f7976a]"Alex,"[/color] he replied, not returning the gesture of a full name. [color=f7976a]"She getting in, too?"[/color] He looked at the brown-haired girl who had come in with Brent. Brent turned his gaze to the silent, overthinking, opaque Sophia and wished once more that he could read minds. Or at least had a portable lie detector that he could Overclock into a mind reading device. [color=B0C4DE]"Uh...not sure..."[/color] With a sigh, Alex drummed his fingers on the elevator door's frame, waiting for either of the two to make up their minds. He hadn't forgotten the sensation of being new to this place, and he sympathized to some extent, but he just wanted to lie down. This was what he got for trying to be polite. Ultimately, after much deliberation, Sophia simply shook her head. [color=B0C4DE]"The stairs, eh?"[/color] Brent said, [color=B0C4DE]"Guess I'll see you down here in a bit then. Later."[/color] As he leaned against the back of the elevator, the amethyst-eyed youth turned back to Alex. [color=B0C4DE]"By the by, I did some eavesdropping. Shane's tanned, right? What's up with that...'spider-snake hybrid with razors for feet'? Those monsters the norm in the East?"[/color] Was it the norm for even the strongest Arbiters to meet their end against run-of-the-mill monsters? [color=f7976a]"You saw Shane?"[/color] Alex looked at Brent properly now. [color=B0C4DE] "I think I did? Didn't get his name, but the story sounded about right. Healer dying to save him and all."[/color] Alex's lips thinned in response to the light comment and he stepped back to let the elevator doors close. He was heading to the fourth floor, going by the number glowing on the control panel. His silence seemed fairly permanent now as he leaned against the elevator wall. [i][color=B0C4DE]A bust, huh?[/color][/i] The ride would last ten, twenty seconds tops. Probably less, really. Not enough time to be subtle at all now. His question remained unanswered, and Alex was now clamping down. Should he press for an answer once more? Brent flicked back to the conversation, recalling what he could. Highlights wanted Decker. Blondie was fine with Shane. And Alex didn't want to really think of any of all that. Didn't want his...friends? acquaintances? to have their value derived from how close they were to the Precursors, most likely. So he was a nice guy. And Brent liked him for that. But he liked learning things more. [color=B0C4DE]"So yeah, never really saw monsters up close till now. Is it normal for them to be so...for all of us to be so vulnerable to them? No one here strong enough to be 'safe'?"[/color] Alex regarded him quietly for a moment before sighing again. [color=f7976a]"There's the main team. They're pretty safe as long as Genevieve's up."[/color] He deliberately avoided the first question. It was too easy to fall into pessimism there and Alex wasn't interested in that right before bed. Genevieve and a 'main team'...Decker was the best healer, so she couldn't keep them alive like that. Defenses then? Or was she their artillery, while the rest protected her? Like a tank or something? [color=B0C4DE]"Mm...that's good to hear then,"[/color] Brent nodded. [color=B0C4DE]"You in a team too? Or what?"[/color] He wasn't visibly injured, after all, but also wasn't called out to fight and all that. The reserve corps then? Maybe Brent will pay Shane a visit some time in the future. Bring real food, ask questions. For now though, he'll have to settle for this. [color=f7976a]"No,"[/color] Alex turned away as he said it. [color=f7976a]"Not all of us are useful."[/color] The elevator dinged, reaching the third floor. Stepping out with a hop, Brent twirled around, that meaningless smile on his face. [color=B0C4DE]"Suppose I'll be suicidal, trying to be useful then. Later bud."[/color] Alex gave him a curt wave as the elevator doors closed. It didn’t take too long for him to find his room, which was far off to the right wing of the complex. Pushing open the door to a room that was both overwhelming and underwhelming, Brent looked about for a couple of moments. Two others seemed to be rooming there at the moment, and his own lack of luggage was met with an indifferent shrug. Parents probably just wanted to keep all his belongings so they could remember him, after all. All that was left was the clothes that he wore when he came to USARILN and an envelope containing his ID. Dreadfully empty, compared to the duffel bags of the others. There were also assignments on the table. Assessment tests? Hilarious. He should have learned to write with both hands before he needed such a skill. Taking a look at his casted shoulder, the youth considered his options for a couple of seconds. [color=B0C4DE] “Meh, clothes probably absorbed all the sweat.”[/color] He’ll just change. No need to shower. Not like his 'date' will notice, right?