[center][h2]Robert Allen and Richard Bateman[/h2][/center]

[i]Tick.
	Tock.
		Tick.
			Tock[/i]
	Robert glanced down at his watch, the sound of the seconds slipping away through the annals of time echoing through his mind, being the one thing he had available to him to distract himself from the monumental moment about to come. The Sacramentum had been built up to him his entire life, instilled into him that this would be the ultimate way to increase his value. The maturity, bond, and experience that this was a symbol and portent of was not something to be taken lightly. He listened and watched as his classmates walked up, and met their soon to be other halves. He took a sidelong glance around, wondering who was destined to be his first partner.

[color=f7941d]Richard watched and waited as pair after pair was called, walking up the short steps to their respective podiums and undertaking their [i]sacramentum[/i]. He felt a ball of anxiety knotting itself in his stomach, like he’d eaten a cannon ball. He was still nervous about meeting his Mage, and that nervousness was amplified by his own insecurity. He didn’t have his Ability yet. He didn’t know what it was. The only way he could find out was by taking a partner and hoping it manifested with the burden of extra energy off of him. 

What if he disappointed his partner? That thought weighed heavily on his mind. He wasn’t particularly impressive, unless his swimming or musical talents were being taken into account. But he highly doubted any mage would consider an amphibious, powerless musician to be a useful familiar, unless his partner was into the obscure field of aquatic concerts. If his Ability turned out to be something totally useless… What was he going to do?[/color]

				“Robert Allen and Richard Bateman.”

	Robert immediately stood up, when he heard his name called, and snapped his head towards the other redheaded man who followed suit. “[i] R and R[/i]” Robert thought to himself. As he made his way up the to podium, he tried to size Richard up in his head. “[i] Well, he doesn’t look incompetent, actually quite the opposite.”[/i] There was something about Richard that made him look like he was ready to do whatever he had to do. Robert smiled, confident he’d be working with somebody who would be taking this seriously.

	He tilted his head upward and to the left as he met Richard at the front, locking eyes with him for a moment before quietly saying, “ Nice to meet you Richard, I think we’re going to do great things together.” He gave a cordial smile, before turning his attention back towards the druids. It was crucial that his partner thought well of him, in Robert’s mind. His success was no longer just contingent on his own abilities, but also those of somebody else's, meaning they would need to have a working relationship.

[color=f7941d]Oh god. That was [i]his[/i] name! Richard would feel his knees shaking as they moved, a stiff, robotic movement, pre-programmed into his brain, carrying him almost unwillingly towards the stage. He got a good look at his partner as he approached the stage too, both of them standing in front of the podium. He was shorter than Richard was, though he supposed that wasn’t unusual, 6’2” was a tall height for any 16 year old. Short blonde hair, green eyes, and glasses, though of a rounder frame than his own. [i]’If both of us lose our glasses at the same time, that will make for trouble.’[/i] he thought to himself, trying to give a shaky smile that turned out more of an uncomfortable grimace.

“N-N-Nice t-to m-m-meet you t-t-oo.” Richard stammered out, his voice almost breaking as he spoke. Oh gods damn it, that stammer! He shouldn’t have said everything! He wiped his hand on his pant leg before holding it out, hoping to the heavens it wasn’t too sweaty. He knew his cheeks were full of color at his embarrassment, and he needed everything in him to hold himself together. He hated being on stage, he hated being in front of people like this! He didn’t dare glance at the audience, if he made eye contact with someone he might just faint on the spot. So he kept his gaze lowered, looking at their hands as the Druids had them clasp together for the ceremony. Every syllable they uttered felt like an eternity, he was getting hot and dizzy on the stage. When would it be over? Would this torture ever end?

It did, though it felt none too soon, and Richard quickly stole his hand back and speed-walked off the stage as soon as the ceremony was complete. He hadn’t realized he had held his breath during the ritual, and now a rush of cool air was sorely needed. He only realized afterwards how awkward that made him look, and was awash with shame. Great, 2 seconds into this partnership, and he had unintentionally given his Mage the cold shoulder. Wonderful.[/color]

Robert raised an eyebrow as Richard stuttered his way through an introduction, lightly lowering his expectations. Granted, he may just have social anxiety, this didn’t mean him to be incompetent. He shook Richard’s quivering palm, and then turned to the Druids as they bonded them together. He felt the tingle on the back of his hand as the ceremony completed, the Druid’s chanting echoing through his head. And just like that, it was over, leaving Robert and Richard together. He turned back to face Richard, as his hand was quickly pulled away.

Before he knew it, his new partner has decided to take flight from the stage, leaving Robert quite literally standing at the alter. Feeling worried, and even a little embarrassed on his own part after being left there, Robert hurried after him outside. “Hey man, you ok?” He asked, concerned, making his way to Richard and laying a hand on his shoulder. Robert frowned. Something had to be wrong, he couldn’t have done anything to fuck things up yet.

[hr]

[center][h2]Felicity Goldberg[/h2][/center]

[color=f7941d]Felicity was never very good at reading people, and it was even harder to read someone wearing sunglasses. Her novels said that eyes told more emotion than the rest of the face, and not being able to see them… Well, she could see her own, in the reflection of Korrey’s lenses. But that didn’t help her a whole lot in determining what he might be thinking. If only she had telepathy or some kind of psychic ability that Familiars had! That would help her immensely in figuring out what to say.

“Um…” She began, picking out her words carefully so she didn’t talk too much.
“What classes are you interested in taking? I really wanna take cooking, cause one of my friends might be in it, and it would be nice to learn how to cook. If you take cooking with me, I’ll take a class with you? Does that sound okay?” she asked, trying her best to not run him over with her words again. She should save her energy for Monty and Nancy, and not exhaust her new Familiar too much with conversation.[/color]