[center][b][color=007FFF]Abel Fulgurate[/color][/b][/center]

As the information began to pour in, Abel stood stock-still to take it in.  He flinched visibly when Gren began to peel back his skin, and couldn't help but to retreat a step when the cyborg went to lengths like detaching an arm to advertise his inhumanity.  Of this secret Abel had been totally unsuspecting, for whatever eccentricities Gren might have previously displayed had been marked off as teenage or emotional issues in the guardian's mind.  To see such an important secret suddenly and quite literally laid bare, however, was a bit overwhelming.  [i]For more than a week I've been living, learning, and fighting alongside a machine?[/i]  Abel could never have expected something so bizarre.  And yet, for a bunch of metal and circuits Gren managed to seem rather empathetic.  This realization put Abel on guard.  A robot with a gun was dangerous; a robot with a transforming death machine and the ability to deceive, far more so.  How did a cyborg have a semblance anyway?  It just didn't make sense.

The questions racing through Abel's head, manifesting in a very stressed expression on the front of it, were turned on a dime and added to when Shiro began to take action.  He was watching intently, expecting something no less jarring than Gren's big reveal, when the faunus cast a glance at him.  Abel straightened up, as if he'd been caught looking at something private.  Ultimately, he could not ignore what Shiro had decided to show: tattoos.  [i]What?[/i]

Then came the tale of tragedy.  As he heard it, Abel found himself growing increasingly angry, though not at Shiro.  Who would do such a thing to the tiger faunus's village and family?  The thought of finding such a person made him grind his teeth.  In fact, he almost reached forward with a hand of comfort when Shiro nicked himself, but he couldn't bring himself to.  When Shiro mentioned hurting people, it was jarring.  Sure, Abel hadn't had a very comfortable life, but looking at Shiro it seemed that the guardian -with a home, parents, and love- had been the luckiest guy in the world.  Tragedy was something he'd never taken lightly, but at the same time it had always been distant from it.  Could fate have truly been so callous to his friend as to make him into a brutal orphan?  Abel was momentarily incredulous—before kicking himself for those thoughts.  Shiro was his teammate.  It was Abel's job to believe and support.  But how?

Finally, the tale finished.  Shiro made light of it, but Abel knew it was no laughing matter.  He had just psyched himself up to say something, perhaps contribute to the general honesty of this conversation, before Shiro mentioned him 'running his gab'.  At that, Abel's eyes narrowed with ire.  [i]If you didn't want me to talk, you could have just told me so.[/i]  Instead, the honesty he'd been ready to inject into his own past swirled around Sapphire.  “Sapphire doesn't care a bit for us.  Runs off first chance she gets, every time, and her contempt is obvious.  If you were to confide to her, she's just be bored and probably insulted.  All better off without her, really, but the team needs a leader, and it looks like we've all got issues.  Having an asshole for a leader is better than not having one, I guess.”  Abel glanced at his watch, still frowning.  “We can't skip class anyway.  Absences are a big deal.  I'll...think about what the two of you said.  It's kinda a lot to take.”   After a moment, he turned partially away, trying to avoid giving the impression that he was turning his back on them, and started to leave.