[hr][hr][center][h2][color=00ffbb]Lawrence B. Ellison[/color], with special guest appearance by [color=AC58FA]Lizzy![/color][/h2]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/n1b6iEd.png[/img]          [img]http://i.imgur.com/4gv2Cqm.png[/img]
No clever header this time, there's nothing clever to say about brooding.
[@Lasrever][@GreenGoat][/center][hr][hr]

[color=00ffbb][i]Why am I here?[/i][/color]

Lawrence hated the prospect of asking pointless questions, but he couldn't help but return to that one throughout the day. With each time it returned came a growing sense of irritation. It wasn't simply that the classes were a waste of his time- both being that they were pointless in nature, and that he was supposed to be in lessons far more advanced than what they were being given. It wasn't even that he was separated from his peers, most of which he was only distantly acquainted with anyway. No, those two points were explained by what had been written on his schedule:

"[i]Experimental Unit B[/i]"

It made absolutely no sense to him, and nothing annoyed Lawrence more than pointlessness. Even Elizabeth had only been [i]considered[/i] for a spot on Shane's team, and she was far more powerful than himself. On top of that, if they [i]were[/i] for some reason trying to put him onto a team- why this new one? Why not put him with the people he had known far longer? It couldn't solely be because of his ability to keep the crazy ones- like the bloodsucker- in check. USARILN East had never been shy about simply isolating them and not sending them out with groups. There wasn't a reason to put him on [i]a[/i] team, let alone [i]this[/i] team, so what the hell was going on?

The firearms instructor bit was another layer of irritation thrown onto the pile. Again, surely they could have had a guard or somebody else do the instructing for these people. He wasn't clueless enough to not catch that they were trying to build camaraderie by having one of their own do the teaching- but again, he shouldn't even be one of their own. While he was happy to help someone who needed it, being [i]obligated[/i] to was a different matter entirely, and they could have at [i]least[/i] let him know ahead of time. 

With all of this and more gnawing at him, he chose a seat at random and began opening his copy of meditations, trying to ignore the lessons that were of no use to him, and also his classmates in case he tried to pick an uncharacteristic fight. He was apparently going to be expected to work with these people for a long time, there was no use in potentially making any enemies on the first day. Even his new copy of [i]Meditations[/i] seemed to bring him little comfort though, and as soon as they were allowed to leave for lunch he grabbed his old jacket and headed for his dorm- not caring if he ended up missing his meal.

[hr][hr]

As if sensing his mood before he came in, no Lizzy rushed to greet Lawrence as he entered the room. Slipping off his new jacket- yet another point of irritation, he wouldn't have wasted the money if he thought his old one would be returned- he hung it up on one of the empty hooks by the door before making his way towards the kitchen. More specifically: Towards the coffee pot within. After fixing up a fresh cup, he went over to his bed while it brewed, to face an expectant Lizzy.

[color=AC58FA][b]Stare.[/b][/color]

"[color=00ffbb]I don't have any food.[/color]"

With a [color=AC58FA][b]huff[/b][/color] she turned away from him, but was stopped by a sudden command:

"[color=00ffbb]Wait.[/color]"

Lawrence sat down next to her on the bed then, running a hand along the length of the curious dog's body. It was rare for the mage to take that sort of tone with her, and with curiosity she watched him until he finally decided to speak again.

"[color=00ffbb]Sorry, but you're going to have to trust me for a bit girl.[/color]"

Still keeping his hand running down the length of the dog, he enveloped the two of them in a white light. In response, the dog's left leg began to kick outward, the muscles in it being rocked by spasms. 

"[color=AC58FA][b][i]Whimper[/i][/b][/color]"

She tried to scramble away in confusion, whining the entire time, but Lawrence wrapped his other arm around the dog's chest.

"[color=00ffbb]Stay, Lizzy. I promise I won't hurt you.[/color]"

[color=AC58FA][b]Whimper[/b][/color]

The struggling stopped, but the whining continued. Lawrence on the other hand was struggling to deal with a new concept regarding his magic: exhaustion. While it was true that his original power might begin to tire him after excessively long use, it was nothing compared to the fatigue that was creeping into him now. He began counting the seconds, and after reaching fifty the white light finally faltered and he let go, feeling drained in a way that he never had experienced before. Lizzy took the opportunity to break away and stare at him for a few long moments, before giving a snort of derision and sauntering off. Somehow, Lawrence knew exactly what that meant.

[b][color=AC58FA]At least give me some food next time.[/color][/b]

With a sigh in response, he made his way back over to the kitchen and finished what he started. Fifty seconds from when he started counting, and maybe ten before that. So a minute? It matched up with what he had [i]felt[/i] the power could do, so his instincts were as reliable as ever. The exercise had made him feel a bit better, if nothing else. At least it was one more unknown taken care of. The coffee would hopefully make him feel better still- and perhaps the rest of the day would start looking up as well.

He didn't count on it though.

[hr][hr]

Before heading back to class Lawrence had checked the mini fridge- and seeing the note left for him- stuffed a few pills into each of the pockets of both of his jackets. The medication hadn't been refrigerated when she carried it to Ground Zero, so he doubted that sticking it in the mini fridge had been anything except a formality. Then, with his old jacket around his shoulders and fresh coffee in his hand, he made his way back to the classroom. It was far too late to bother with joining the others for lunch at that point, so he had simply stuffed a few pieces of bread down his throat and washed it down with coffee. 

Once back in class, he listened to the instructions once more before participating in the only classroom activity of that day: Electives. Again, he didn't give much of a damn what he was saddled with, so he only briefly weighed what sounded useful against what sounded interesting before returning his attention to their combat practice explanation.

[hider=Electives][list]    Art/Photography: 8
    Creative Writing: 7
    Woodworking: 1
    P.E.: 3
    Film Study: 6
    Music Theory: 4
    Home Ec: 2
    Computer Science: 5[/list][/hider]

The mention of his failure to guard Christmas added yet another layer of irritation to the day's events, but he tried not to let it get to him. Lawrence knew that he had done everything short of putting his own life in serious jeopardy to keep the unstable kid safe, so he tried not to take it as too deep a criticism of his efforts. If the point of the training that day was instilling the same sort of mindset he had going into the battle: Then he could do nothing but approve of it. Healers need protecting. It was certainly the first lesson [i]he[/i] would try to teach his classmates.

As far as the composition of the teams went though, Lawrence had little opinion. Hazel was the only one he knew the capabilities of. Allison and Sophia were complete strangers to him, and they had never even talked. Zoe...

He turned to the woman, apparently possessing the seat next to his in class. Well, he knew [i]next[/i] to nothing about her. He felt, at least, that he could rely on her in a battlefield situation, although that was just based on gut feeling rather than experience. As for her power- he had no idea whatsoever what the woman was capable of. Lawrence barely had time to keep track of what his own team was doing during the battle, let alone the other two. Still, he could at least rely on her until the fight was over, although sometime told him that dealing with her afterwards might be more volatile than he'd like.

Soon though regular classes were resumed and Lawrence returned his attention once more to [i]Meditations[/i]. He kept to himself much like the previous classes, and when it came time for their half hour break he quickly made an exit for his dorm once more and set about getting what he would need for the upcoming fight.

[hr][hr]

What he needed, it turned out, was a thermos of coffee. That was the only change to what he had worn earlier- an outfit almost identical to what he had been deployed in, down to the exact same jacket. When they arrived at the outpost he quelled an urge to speak to Rosa about his questions- there were far too many people around- and instead went about hunting about the teammates he recognized. Hazel, who was currently stripping, and Zoe, who had already stripped before arriving.

Unconsciously his left left hand crept up until it covered his face. Why was it the women he was involved with this year couldn't keep their clothes on? One more mystery to add to the pile today- although one that notably didn't bring as much irritation as the others. Figuring that Hazel would hunt him down on her own, not knowing if she had managed to meet their other teammates, Lawrence walked over to Zoe first. Raising his thermos in greeting, he admirably managed to maintain eye contact in spite of her state of dress. Occasionally sparing glances at the monitors along the wall.

"[color=00ffbb]I admit, I would have preferred meeting again in the library. How've you been holding up?[/color]"