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[sub][color=steelblue]I S L E   O F   I V A L I C E[/color] / / [color=steelblue]M A N Y   Y E A R S   P R I O R[/color][/sub][hr]
[color=darkgray]The Hall was exactly as large and grand as it had always been touted to be. Cream sculpted columns towered around the oval space, bases rooted in pristine marble floors and tops cemented in the recessed, golden, high ceiling. Ornate statues claimed four of the towering structures-- one for north, south, east, and west--wrapping themselves around the carved stone and seemingly caressing the posts in their unique poses. The table was firmly the center of attention, however. Matching the oval shape of the space around it, the handcrafted piece stood in the center of The Hall, freshly re-finished and stretching down the length of the floor. One hundred chairs stood guard around the outer edge, each one uniformly placed and enforcing the sense of order and structure that was deeply associated with the room. The Hall was the most famous of all the rooms in The Estate and a wide-eyed Corbyn silently took it all in as he marched into the grandiose environment alongside others in matching armor.  

Brigand led the group to the table, helmet under arm, and found a seat at the nearest head. His followers instinctively began filling seats in order on each side, Corbyn taking his seat somewhat far from the commander of the Order of Ivalice. Exasperation slithered into the air, a light hiss parting the annoyed soldier's lips. He had waited years for the day he would finally be allowed into The Hall and now the recent announcement would overshadow what was meant to be a personal achievement. Metal clanged against wood causing a quick glance from the boy to meet the welcoming expression of a girl. Aqua irises bore into umber as the two seemed to examine each other within a brief moment; dark hair, a slim, angular visage, and painted lips comprised the facial composition of the mysterious lady knight. Corbyn sucked his teeth and shook his head. The lady knight raised an eyebrow. "Do you have some kind of issue with me?" She asked in a light, fair voice.

"Obviously. Did you think someone would be impressed?" Corbyn shot back. The confirmation of the impending war and the immediate deployment was bad enough, but it was the gall of his foreign comrade that broke the camel's back. 

"Well well, aren't you testy. Scared of deployment? Or are you just afraid of war in general?" 

Corbyn turned to fully face the lady knight. She had finally gained his full attention. 

"The hell you'd just say?!" 

"I'm quite certain there were no misunderstandings. Which one is it? Look at you, you're even trembling in your armor. Is this baby's first deployment?" 

Corbyn stopped short of replying. He suddenly became aware of the tremors across his skin and quickly turned away from the lady knight. It was not only true that this was his first battle assignment within the Order, it was also true that he was scared. He tried to settle his mind as the background chatter grew quieter and Brigand stood from his seat. It was time to discuss stratagem for the approaching deployment.[/color]

[sub][color=steelblue]S O L D I E R   E N C A M P M E N T[/color] / / [color=steelblue]Z A L E R A    T U N D R A[/color][/sub][hr]

[color=darkgray]It had not taken long for the cold to dig its claws into the skin of the commander. Corbyn rubbed his triceps and shivered a bit as the group slowly grew bigger with each arriving SOLDIER. His shirt was long sleeve to a point, stopping at his forearms, but the material was supposed to be able to retain heat - a custom order made especially for the mission at hand. With his luck though, it was no surprise his clothing had done a half-ass job. Thankfully, one of the first to appear in the growing circle was of the mind to offer coffee and not the instant-made, choke-till-you-die type. Sammel was not an especially close associate of Corbyn's, but he definitely had a name the commander had heard before. Like the gentlemen he was, he offered cups to two of the newly arrived girls first - there was no complaining about that. As the offer was extended to the rest, Corbyn quickly, yet gratefully, snagged a cup of his own and immediately gulped a portion. The heat soothed the sharp piercing of cold and relaxed tensed muscles.[/color]

[color=slategray]"Is this, uh, coffee thing really that good?"[/color] [color=darkgray]Asteria echoed. Corbyn took a single second to consider ignoring her.[/color] 

[color=darkgray]"The hell do you care?" Corbyn thought, sharply.[/color]

[color=slategray]"I do not. Your body just suddenly had this reaction and there's only three reasons I can think of for such an occurence... "[/color]

[color=darkgray]Corbyn immediately repressed his mental line of communication, turning his attention back to new faces. There was the blonde and the short-haired girl followed by another huge guy and a few others. The quick dialog had distracted the commander enough that he had missed a few entrances, but he was just in time to hear Corr finally mention food. Adrenaline pumped and energy flit across Corbyn's eyes. Food was one of the few things that could really make the man sociable and since Asteria was always causing him to appear rude at the moment, the commander considered this upcoming impromptu dinner his chance to get to know these people somewhat. Apart from Carmen, there was hardly anyone he actually knew. Names floated around the Fort all the time and various reputations followed in tandem, but one could never truly separate truth from fiction without meeting or seeing the person for themselves. SOLDIER was still a hush hush program and it was hard to even meet other SOLDIERs properly at this point. The most exciting part of this mission, for Corbyn, was not the fact that he would finally see battle, but the fact that he would actually get to meet others who were just like him in terms of power, ability, and [i]affliction[/i]. This was the thing missing from the program that even training could not properly cover - building association with others in a team. 

With that, it was decided that this would be the perfect time for the final meal before the mission. Not only was everyone hungry and making comments about it, but it was getting finally getting dark and the shyps would not be arriving before the break of the next day anyway. The group moved themselves to the meal tent which was considerably bigger than the operations tent they had previously bundled under. There was still an influx of personnel floating around, but there was also a rather large, rectangular table with stools for seats and wimpy looking legs - obviously cheap furniture for use on the go. The group found themselves seated not long after Bruce's--thought unseen--lightning display. Corbyn took his chance, and his newly refilled coffee, to finally learn some about the people around him. 

"I, uh, probably missed some of your introductions because of a certain ridiculous someone, but I don't think it'd be too rough if we do so again, formally? I'll even start off. My name is Corbyn Vesper."[/color]