[center][b][i][color=00a651]Gren Orchid[/color] & [color=ed145b][b]Clair Carnelian[/b][/color][/i][/b][/center]


[color=00a651]"Ah.  The garden's weren't too far Sorry about that. My team found me and dragged me to the air docks. I  told them I'll hang back and wait for you though. Want me to come find  you?"[/color] The garden's weren't too far away. He could liekly make it  with a explosion assisted rocket jump.

[color=ed145b][i]Well,[/i][/color] she thought. [color=ed145b][i]If I tell him I'll meet up with him, I might as well just go off on my own. But...[/i][/color]

She looked off at the school's central spire, which loomed over the gardens. [i]He does have my phone number, so it's not like he couldn't contact me.[/i] She sighed. [i]Looks like I dug myself a little too deep with this one.[/i]

[color=00a651]"Hello?"[/color] Gren asked. [color=00a651]"Is anyone there?"[/color]

[color=ed145b]"Ah, yeah, sorry,"[/color] she stumbled. [color=ed145b]"I'll just wait here for you. I still don't know my way around this place yet."[/color]

[color=00a651]"Alright, shouldn't take me more then a minute. See you soon, and watch your head."[/color]

Gren hung up his Scroll and pointed his body in the direction of the gardens. Mentally, he calculated what would be the best means of propulsion: A rocket jump or a bullet jetpack? On one hand the rocket jump as actually more controlable for him, but that was only good for fairly short distances, about 30 meters at most. But with a bullet jetpack he could launch himself into the air, cut off the bullets, and land in the gardens with easy. Assuming that he could control his flight and doesn't end up blasting anyone unfortunate enough to be underneath him. 

[color=00a651]"Decisions decisions..."[/color]

About two minutes later Gren landed in the gardens with a thump. Fortunately he landed in a big pile of dirt well away from anyone else, minimizing the damage of his impact. Walking out and shaking the dirt off of him he called out. [color=00a651]"Clair? Clair are you around here?"[/color]

[color=ed145b]"I'm over here, asshole,"[/color] Clair said between bouts of coughing. She brushed clumps of dirt off of her skirt as the cloud of debris dispersed. [color=ed145b]"Did you really just launch yourself here from the air docks? Are you really that desperate?"[/color]

She shot him the dirtiest look that she could muster. [color=ed145b][i]This is way too much for one morning. And I just showered, too. [/i][/color]

Gren shortly debated to himself what to say. On one hand, he was sorry for getting her dirty. On the other hand, he did say for her to watch her head. What was she doing next to a pile of dirt anyways? [color=00a651]"Sorry about that. I thought I'd meet you at the air docks like I said, didn't think you'd come back here instead."[/color] Admitidly Gren was starting to put his his defenses now. As much as he thinks Clair is pretty, he's not about to let her looks overcome his pride.

[color=00a651]"Also I don't know about you, but it's actually sometime in the afternoon. Hence why I asked if you had breakfast yet; seemed like you forgot a few things."[/color]

[color=ed145b]"Wha - no way, but it's... wait, what?"[/color] Clair looked at the time on her Scroll.

It was 3:00 PM, not 7:00 AM as she had been led to believe.

Why? The clock on her bedside table - 

[color=ed145b]"Oh, dammit.[/color]

She had put new batteries in it before she left for Beacon, but she had forgotten to reset the time after the old batteries had died. That would explain why Sarina was already gone before she had left. It was Sunday afternoon.

She buried her face in her hands. [color=ed145b]"Oh my god... how did this happen? How could I have let this happen? No, no, no..."[/color] she grumbled. She turned to Gren. [color=ed145b]"You. You're telling me that I slept until three in the afternoon?"[/color]

Gren smirked, but quickly wiped the smile from his face. He could tease Clair about this more if he could lead her on. [color=00a651]"Yes. Me. Gren. I can't say I know what you've been doing up until I met you, but if you just woke up then yeah. You slept right past breakfast and lunch."[/color] Still Gren could help but to let out a stifled laugh.

[color=00a651]"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Today's Sunday, and there isn't much going on unless you had plans. Which by the way I should remind you, my friends just left about five minutes ago. We'll need to take the next airship if we want to catch up to them. So unless you have something planned for this afternoon, still want to tag along?"[/color]

"My life is a mess..." she mumbled. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. I'll come along. It's not like I know anyone here anyways."

[color=00a651]"Well, I'll help you fix that soon, won't I?"[/color] Gren smirked.

[color=ed145b]"If you say so."[/color]

Given his height, it was hard for Clair to keep up with Gren, but the two of them managed to make it to the next shuttle, albeit a little winded.

[color=00a651]"I'm part of Team Swansong by the way. Led by Sapphire Rode. I don't think I heard what Team you're from,"[/color] he said.

Clair thought for a moment. [color=ed145b]"Well, if you could call the Princess and me a team, I guess I am on one. It doesn't have a name."[/color] She paused.[color=ed145b] "Ah, sorry. That's Sarina. It's just what I call her."[/color]

[color=00a651]"Princess Sarina? Tell me about her."[/color] Gren had a feeling that this Sarina might sound a bit like his Sapphire, if Princess is any indication. He was still working out his feelings about his team leader; on one hand he's trying to respect her authority. On the other hand, he frankly just doesn't like her. Leadership is all she has on him. There's no camaraderie, no compassion for her. If she dies, Gren's only lament would be that they need a new leader. He knows more about her father then he knows about Sapphire, which was really the only thing about her that mattered at this point. He should fix that, truly. Do something to get this team together before it falls apart.

[color=ed145b]"Can't tell you much. I just met her yesterday. All I can say is that she's definitely not my type, but it looks like I'm stuck with her. She definitely seems like the kind of person who likes to keep to herself, and I can't say that I think that there's anything wrong with that."[/color] She crossed her arms. [color=ed145b]"But that's not exactly good roommate material, you know."[/color]

[color=ed145b][i]Not like I'm much better,[/i][/color] she thought. [color=ed145b][i]But at least I can [/i]pretend [i]to be sociable.[/i][/color]

[color=00a651]"Sounds rough."[/color] Though he didn't know much about Clair, she seemed the type to run on her own too. It must be awkward for her to be tagging along with Gren. And he thought he was the dorky one. [color=00a651]"What's your definition of roommate material? Sounds like you're not exactly the sociable type either."[/color]

She raised her eyebrows and sighed. [color=ed145b]"Well, you're not wrong. My ideal roommate would be... well, ideally I wouldn't have one, but if I have to then it wouldn't kill for them to act like they know what socializing is. Just because I'm not good at it doesn't mean I don't know how to."[/color] 

Gren let out a soft chuckle. "What is socializing?" The golden question. [color=00a651]"I take it that Sarina isn't much of a talker? Or does she talk too much for your liking?"[/color] Getting to know these aloof types weren't easy. Sometimes though, you just need to give them the chance to say their peice. Surely Clair had something to say, just never the opprotunity to say something.

[color=ed145b]"I don't mind that she doesn't talk much. It's not like I have a lot to say to her, anyways. It's mostly just her attitude that bothers me. It's like she doesn't get how to act in social situations or something. It's one thing to be cold and distant, but you can't just... ugh. Sorry. I'm probably not making a lot of sense."[/color] She took a deep breath. [color=ed145b]"What I'm trying to say is that she has this 'ice queen' persona but she uses it at all the wrong times. Where she should try force herself to be a little sociable she comes across as callous, and in the times you least expect it she forces friendliness on you. If that makes any sense."[/color]

Gren nodded his head intently. He understood the jist of it... But he also had a feeling he wasn't getting the whole story. Like there were things that neither he nor Clair knew about Sarina. This was when Gren felt like he was at an impass. Shoule he ask her more about Sarina, or should Gren ask more about Clair? It certainly seemed like Clair had something to say about her partner. But then again, what if Clair wasn't the type for gossip? That would look awkward on Gren's part. He could inquire more about Clair instead, since he did want to get to know her. But she also made it fairly clear that she doesn't like to talk about herself much. A few moments of quiet contemplation and Gren spoke.

[color=00a651]"I get ya. It makes her seem... Fake, I guess. Hard to tell what her problem is. Hard to try to get to know your teammates when they won't be honest with you. What about you? You do seem the distant type, but hopefully you're true to yourself too, right? You're not just tagging along out of pity, are you?"[/color] Gren chuckled to his last question. He knew, or at least had a strong feeling, of what the awnser was.

She smirked. [color=ed145b]"No, I'll take anything over spending Sunday afternoon with the Princess. And I wanted to see if you'd prove me wrong."[/color]

Gren looked at Clair. Prove her wrong? [color=00a651]"Then I'll make sure to do this right."[/color] Gren had no idea what Clair meant, though if he had to guess she thought less of him. Oh well. He could at least give himself a fighting chance to impress her, considering all he did to make a dork out of himself.


She gave him a quiet chuckle. [color=ed145b][i]Yeah, he definitely proved me wrong. He's more than a meathead, that's for sure. Still desperate, though. Oh well. At least he means well. Could be worse.[/i][/color]

[color=ed145b]"Maybe you are clueless after all,"[/color] she said. She gave him a tiny smile. [color=ed145b]"It's the thought that counts, right?"[/color]

A voice came over the shuttle intercom. "Now arriving at: Vale. Please watch your step as you depart the shuttle, and have a nice day."

[color=ed145b]"Guess it's our stop,"[/color] she said, straightening out her skirt. [color=ed145b]"Better late than never.[/color]