[i]Beep...[/i] Shiro cracked a heavy eyelid, peering from underneath his eyelashes sleepily. [i]Beep...[/i] He recognized that annoying noise. [i]Beep...[/i] It was the sound of that infernal EKG machine, the heart rate/pulse monitor. [i]Beep...[/i] Wait, where exactly was he? [i]Sniff-sniff[/i] His nose sniffed at the air. The scent of something delicious wafted into his nostrils, rousing him from his slumber. Slowly sitting up, rustling the bedsheets as he moved, he rubbed at his eyes and yawned. Blinking away the sleepies, he scanned the room he was in. It was most certainly not an infirmary or hospital of any sort. His ears twitched. He was in what looked to be a dormitory. He found that he sat in the top bunk of one of the two bunk beds in the room. Looking at the EKG machine and tracing its connections, he saw that he was still connected to various medical equipment. Grunting in annoyance, he removed them and hopped out of his bed to switch the machines off. Scratching himself, he continued to inspect and examine the room curiously. When did he end up in this room? Attempting to recall his memories, all he could vaguely remember was floating in his sleep. Did he float here somehow? Preposterous. As his head and eyes circled around the room, he found that his belongings had been brought in. His bags set off to the side together. Ears perking, he quietly padded over to his things and rummaged through them. Everything was there. While he was at it, he searched for his bag of toiletries. While he squatted near his bags, he realized he felt rather cold and exposed. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was half-naked save for his boxers. He had a bad habit of stripping articles of clothing off of himself in his sleep. Frowning, he quickly located his clothing on the ground near his bunk. As he moved to go grab them, he noticed that he wasn't alone. There was at least other one person still asleep in the room, some large young man. [i]"...Abel Fulgurate..."[/i] a voice echoed in his memory. He smiled at his sleeping teammate. Glancing at the other beds, he wasn't able to locate the other two occupants. They were probably already awake and going on with their days. Though, something made him a little uneasy. His nose sniffed at the air and something told him that another person's scent was still strong and present in the room, but it wasn't Abel's or his. He quickly glanced over the other beds one last time, his eyes telling him that other than Abel, the two were alone in the room together. Sniffing at the air again, he remembered that a yummy scent had woken him. Looking over at a table, he found the source of the scent. Trays stacked high with separate plates of pancakes. Eyes practically sparkling, he walked over and saw that someone had written a note and left it. He picked it up to read it. [quote][i]"Made pancakes eat them while they're hot. I'm getting the bath ready right now."[/i] --From Gren[/quote] He brought the note closer to his eyes and squinted at it, tail sweeping at the floor behind him. [i]"Gren...Gren Orchid?"[/i] He recalled the large armored fellow and smiled. Eying the pancakes, he set the note down and looked at Abel who was still sound asleep. It looked like no one else would be joining him for breakfast, sadly. Turning back to the tray of pancakes, he noticed something peculiar. There were only three plates on the tray with two plates still having pancakes on them. The third, someone had already eaten. [i]"Hmm..."[/i] Shiro scratched at his head, his fur a silly mess. He got bedhead like nobody's business. He contemplated waking Abel to join him, but he decided against it. Shrugging, he pulled up a nearby chair and quickly ate his fill. Silently, he thanked Gren for having made breakfast for them all. What a pal. Finishing his meal, he grabbed his clothes from off of the ground, slung his weapons on his back, and grabbed his hygiene bag filled with his toiletries. He padded out of the room after grabbing his things. As he avoided stepping on some odd dirt tracks, he made a quick note of the time from the clock that was in the room. It was just a little before 7 AM. Softly shutting the door behind him, he made his way to the baths. Whistling a bright little tune as he started his day, in nothing but his boxers. --- Humming as he walked, he wandered around the school halls. Fur freshly brushed and tamed, fangs brushed, body showered and clothed, stomach fed, and weapons ready to go on his back, he wondered how exactly their schedule would go. As if to answer his questions, the school bell blared and screamed at him. Startling him profusely, his instincts told him to run and run he did, straight into the nearest wall. Falling on his ass, he painfully clutched at his nose as his ears flattened on his head to protect against the harsh sound of the morning school bell. He damn near had a heart attack. At that moment the Scroll in his pocket vibrated and he pulled it out, looking at the screen with a watery eye. It was a mass message. Their first class would be with Ms. Glynda Goodwitch, attendance was mandatory for all students. Pocketing the Scroll, he stood up still holding his nose and shamefully made his way to class. Hoping that no one saw his embarrassing display. --- Standing amongst the crowd in his usual attire (he always hated wearing school uniforms), he found himself amongst strangers. Most of the other students around him were from the other teams, and he was unable to locate his friends as large as they were. At that moment, Ms. Goodwitch spoke up, causing the room to fall silent. [b]“Good morning! My name is Ms. Goodwitch, but you all may refer to me as 'Ma'am'. My assistant here is Ms. Sarina Tala Dei. Yesterday you became students. Today, I start you on the path to becoming a Hunter. Over the course of this semester you will all learn to battle like real Hunters and Huntresses, but before we can begin fine-tuning your training, we must first conduct a little test.”[/b] Behind her, the lecture room wall parted ways with a metallic heave, revealing a huge orange-tinted room greatly resembling an arena. Ms. Goodwitch took several steps before jumping down into it, whereupon she turned and addressed the students in a raised voice. [b]“I can't very well tell you what you're doing wrong until I see you doing it. That is why we are going to hold twelve sparring matches within the next hour, each no more than five minutes in length. Miss Dei and I will be monitoring your aura level as you fight to ensure nobody is hurt. If your aura is reduced to red, you lose, but as long as it's evident that you seriously tried you'll receive a full participation grade. Now, Sarina, please read off the randomized pairings from your scroll.”[/b] As Ms. Goodwitch's assistant read off names, Shiro's thoughts began to tune her out. So, they would be fighting each other to demonstrate their individual combat skills. Thinking back to the initiation test, all he remembered was that he and his team had passed. He had somehow ended up in the infirmary after, but they passed and were christened Team Swansong. He was unable to recall how they all performed in the test's battles. Was that monitored at all? Did that count towards their grade any? In his current physical state, he was unsure if he was up to the task of a short 5-minute fight with another student. Frowning, he tried to recall who was the fourth member of their team. Who was the leader again?.. [b]“Daniel Day Dalton vs. Kuhaku Shiro!”[/b] He blinked, returning to reality, and tilted his head. He scanned the room as he tried to search who he would be going up against. He didn't know the name or had a face to attach to it. He wondered what kind of person they would be.