[center][h2][color=990000]Team LamBRusCo[/color][/h2][/center]
It was perhaps an hour later, after the newly minted teams had eaten their dinner and taken their time to introduce themselves to each other. For most of the students the concept of a 4 man team wasn’t introduced to them up until the ceremony; there were those suspicious of the fact that every sword they could chose had a matching sheath, but in their rush to pass initiation even the most savvy applicants didn’t have the time to fully comprehend the implication. 

Among all of them though, it was perhaps team LBRC that had the most ground to cover. Three of them have both worked and fought together during initiation, while the fourth was slow to talk. They all had a lot of explaining to do with one another, so much so that they couldn’t cover everything during lunch. The quartet agreed to talk along the way, as they began their search for their new home for the coming years. 

[color=crimson]”Looks like we’re pretty close to the ground.”[/color] The newly appointed leader noted, skimming a map of the dorms. Playing with her scroll as she deciphered the device’s navigational tool, [color=crimson]”Closest elevator is…”[/color] She trailed off as she noticed a small building near the main campus. 

[colour=ff0000]‘Why is she turning the map upside down?’[/colour] thought Berry while trying hard to mask his worry, having a small inner conflict on whether he should antagonize his new leader or not.

[color=crimson]”Beacon has a gardening club?”[/color] she noted.

[colour=ff0000]”I…uh...how can you tell with the map flipped over?”[/colour] Berry decided to prod carefully.

[color=crimson]”I can read upside down, pretty easy actually.”[/color] the red haired girl responds automatically, still trying to find the directions to reach their dorm.

 [color=crimson]”Doesn’t help that this map makes no sense…”[/color] she complained, attempting to decipher it.

Russ thought about lending Lan a hand in reading the map, but a quick glance over her partner’s shoulder quelled that idea. Too many words denoting places she wasn’t familiar enough with yet to know by shape, and the font was small. She took a look at the map on her own scroll before finalizing it, and with a sigh wondered if they’d have to ask for directions right off the bat.

With a resigned nod, Berry took out his own scroll and checked his own map. Once satisfied, he raised his right finger while looking at Lan’s scroll...before turning his scroll upside down and taking another look. [colour=ff0000]“I think that,”[/colour] he said, while pointing to the inverted elevator on the lemur Faunus’s scroll, [colour=ff0000]“should be the closest elevator.”[/colour] 

After a slight pause Berry took another look at his scroll...before turning it rightside up. [colour=ff0000]“It should be that way,”[/colour] he said, while pointing in the general direction of the elevator.

[color=crimson]”Thank you”[/color] she responded sleepily, stowing her scroll and taking a turn towards the bank of elevators.

Tsuki wanted no part in getting them lost, so she watched the three on them as they pulled up the map on their scroll. The tigress, on the other hand, was simply messing with the functions of her newly acquired device. There were so many cool hidden features and not-so-hidden features for the faunus to play around with.

All said and done, Lan gestured for the team to follow towards the elevator. As they waited for the lift to arrive an older boy with shaggy silver-blonde hair arrived behind them, standing silently for a moment as he examined the four.

Russ felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. A life spent making sure she wasn’t seen had left her with a keen sense of “what the fuck is watching me”. She tossed a glance over her shoulder, at first content to just see the single boy there, but at length she realized he wasn’t simply standing, he was observing. 

[color=a0410d]“Uhm, hey dude, got something in my teeth or…?”[/color]

[color=757575]”Nah you’re good.”[/color] he said softly, smiling at Russ, [color=757575]”Speaking of which,”[/color] he looks at the rest of the team once more, [color=757575]” I’m writing a term paper on the finer things in life, and I was wondering if I could interview you?”[/color] the boy added.

She cocked a brow and turned full-on. Well, the guy was pretty smooth, she’d give him that, at least way smoother than tiger had been. Russ gave a shrug, but couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at her lips.

[colour=ff0000]“Not interested,”[/colour] replied Berry, not even turning to face the stranger. He wasn’t fond of being interrogated by people older than him, and he planned to avoid having to talk to one as much as possible.

It took a moment for Tsuki to fully grasp what mystery boy was implying. When she did  though, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, with a slight smirk on her face. [color=808080]“Nice try,”[/color] The white faunus scoffed.

The boy half shrugs to Tsuki’s rejection.

[color=a0410d]”Boring bunch sorry to say.”[/color]

[color=757575]”Sorry to hear that, you seem pretty interesting to me.”[/color] he joked, offering a hand, [color=757575]”Argento Caden, team Vulcan.”[/color] the short boy added warmly, waving to the rest of team Lambrusco.

Russ saw no harm in matching hospitalities, and took Argento’s hand, giving a firm shake in return. [color=a0410d]”Russ, pleasure,”[/color] she said, looking to the rest of her team.

[color=crimson]”Zhu Chun Lan”[/color] the leader responded, halfway between grinning and glaring for a split second before giving a half-assed wave.

[color=a0410d]”Ey sour puss, be a bit polite, guy seems like he means well,”[/color] Russ said, giving Lan a little nudge with her elbow.

[color=crimson]”Oh, hush.”[/color] the red haired faunus whispered back, swinging her tail back and forth behind her. The girl stepped forward to shake his hand, attempting to slip the other hand into the pocket where the edge of a scroll could just barely be seen.

Russ kept herself from grinning when she saw what Lan was doing. Well, the guy was nice, but nice guys made the best marks. Besides, it was another chance to see the girl in action, get an idea of how she picked pockets, how sneaky she could really be in broad daylight, face to face with her mark. 

[color=crimson]“Vulcan, you said?”[/color] she asked calmly, pinching two fingers over the top of the scroll and deftly sliding it up into her palm, [color=crimson]”Sounds familiar, but I don’t think I saw you in the naming ceremony.”[/color] she said, shaking firmly and watching his eyes, making sure to keep contact as she retracted her other hand quickly, passing the scroll to a partially open pouch on her belt as she did so.

[color=a0410d]”You prolly weren’t looking hard enough,”[/color] Russ said, stepping in to try and pull Argento’s attention. [color=a0410d]”Then again, you look all gussied up. What year are you?”[/color]

[color=757575]”Third, I believe my leader helped bail out one of the other teams from initiation so you might recognize the name if you encountered him.”[/color] The teal eyed boy replied, unaware. [color=757575]”I would have been in the field with him but I was otherwise occupied.”[/color]

Russ shot Lan a subtle wink, then rolled her eyes back to Argento. [color=a0410d]”Heroic, you guys do a lot of helping out around here? I’m sure we newbies need it all the time.[/color]

At this point she was more or less buffering. The further their conversation went after the pocket had been picked, the better. Less suspicious that way. Besides, the guy was interesting enough, she’d held much more boring conversations before.

Argento released Lan’s hand, [color=757575]”Not as much as you may think. We tend to take away missions, the big guy gets a bit claustrophobic from time to time.”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“You can choose your missions?”[/colour] Berry finally turned to eye the older one, curiosity written on his face.

[color=757575]”Yeah, starting second semester they send you on missions from time to time.”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“Don’t the teachers choose the missions for you?”[/colour] Berry pressed on.

[color=757575]”Sometimes, for the really important stuff. Otherwise they tend to give teams free pick when mission assignments are put out.”[/color]

It wouldn’t change much in the end. He wasn’t team leader and he barely had any sway on the team's decision since he hadn’t helped them during initiation. Still, he had a chance, slim as it was, to go somewhere he would like, and that thought alone brought a silly smile on Berry’s face. [colour=ff0000]“Nice,”[/colour] he murmured, eyes looking away from Argento to stare nowhere in particular.

[color=808080]“Yea, great conversation and all, but the elevator’s here and I'd like to set up shop [i]before[/i] midnight,”[/color] The slightly annoyed tiger grumbled. Her lack of sleep the night before was getting to her.

[color=757575]”I’m sorry to have bothered you, miss, unfortunately I’m going up too.”[/color] Argento apologised curtly, stepping towards the elevator.

As the door opened, a well dressed blue haired girl stepped out. [color=d6d6d6]”Argento, I was just looking for you. We need to clean the room up before-”[/color] She noticed the other students and turned towards them, giving a friendly wave while also revealing the blinking light on her throat. [color=d6d6d6]”He wasn’t bothering you too much, was he?”[/color] The girl inquired, a slight metallic tone to her voice, [color=d6d6d6]”Come on Argento, we’ll take the stairs.”[/color] She said, and the two departed for the stairwell opposite the elevator.

The members of team Lambrusco made the elevator ride up in relative silence. Arriving on their floor after a few short moments, they began the search for their assigned room.

[colour=ff0000]“What was the number again?”[/colour] asked a now only slightly distracted Berry, stepping in front of the team to check the numbering on the doors.

Lan stopped in her tracks, wearing a puzzled look. [color=crimson]”Not sure, let me check.”[/color] The red haired girl withdrew a scroll from her pocket, opening the device and staring intently at it for a moment. She paused, eyes shifting as she slid it shut and replaced it before withdrawing her own. The girl once again opened her scroll, looking for a number, [color=crimson]”Looks like… 205?”[/color]

[color=808080]“Hold up, since when did you get two scrolls? I know you’re the leader and all, but do you even [i]need[/i] two scrolls?”[/color] Tsuki asked, a bit annoyed. Was there something on the other scroll that was special? If so, the tiger faunus wanted in on this two for one deal that was going on.

The lemur faunus tilted her head, feigning innocence, [color=crimson]”I found it lying on the ground earlier. Haven’t had a chance to turn it in.”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“Maybe it’s the third years,”[/colour] noted Berry as he made his way to the group, [colour=ff0000]“I think if we hurry we can still catch them...what was their name again?.”[/colour]

Lan shrugged and pulled the stolen scroll from her pocket, offering it to Berry, [color=crimson]”Feel free to take it to him then, I think third years are two floors up.”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“Right, catch you guys in a bit.”[/colour] Wasting no time Berry made a beeline for the stairs...but stopped just short of the first step before turning back to his teammates. [colour=ff0000]“His name was Argent, right?!”[/colour]

[color=crimson]”I think it was Argento.”[/color] Lan responded, checking the number on the latch for the nearest door as she did so and shaking her head slightly when she determined it was not their room.

Berry muttered a quick thanks before dashing up the stairs in hope of catching the duo before they got to their room.

 [color=crimson]”Good luck finding him, Berry!”[/color]

[color=808080]“If he doesn't come back quick he's gonna end up with the leftovers,”[/color] Tsuki observed, raising an eyebrow.

[color=crimson]”What leftovers?”[/color] Lan wondered aloud.

Tsuki sighed, slightly annoyed that she had to explain herself. [color=808080]“Ya know, whatever bed is left over, the closet nobody wants, the desk that's probably broken, those kinds of things.”[/color] The feline shrugged.

A look of recognition crossed the lemur tailed girls face, [color=crimson]”Oooooh… I thought you meant food, but we just ate, so…”[/color] She shrugged and moved to the next door, checking the control panel for a number. [color=crimson]”If anyone wants to help me find our room, that would be great.”[/color] Lan stared at her first target a moment, [color=crimson]”Actually, I think this is it.”[/color] she mumbled, pulling out her scroll and waving it past the sensor. With an affirming click the bolt released.

[color=a0410d]”Great, I’m ready to lie down,”[/color] Russ said, stretching her arms out wide, a satisfying pop bringing a quiet hum from her lips. 

The quiet of the hallway was suddenly banished by the bubble of four girls chatting very loudly as the elevator opened, the conversation making no sense to anyone who was listening. As they turned the corner, they group revealed themselves to be the cheerleader-themed team as they alternatingly skipped, danced, walked or jogged slightly to keep up with their leader; a slim auburn haired girl with a pair of sugar glider ears poking out from the top of her head.

[colour=d2691e]“So I was saying we should like totally-oh!”[/colour] The sugar glider faunus came to a halt suddenly as she noticed LBRC standing outside their doorway. [colour=d2691e]“Hi! My name’s Cinnamon!”[/colour]

The red haired faunus slowly turned towards the source of the noise, a slight look of concern on her face, [color=crimson]”Uh, hi?”[/color] Lan muttered, unsure of what exactly was happening.

The smallest member of their team, one with a small amount of armouring on her outfit and a platinum blonde pixie cut glanced at the latch beside her. [colour=f3e5ab]“Cinna, what room were we again?”[/colour]

[colour=ce320b]“203, Vanilla,”[/colour] The tallest replied instead, her raccoon tail swishing slightly.

[colour=f3e5ab]“Then this is it.”[/colour] Vanilla responded, pointing at the doorway they were standing outside of.

The last member, a curvaceous girl with hundreds of different coloured ribbons braided into her lavender hair, spoke, [colour=F4D414]“Oh! That was lucky!”[/colour]

Russ blinked. Oh boy, this would be something else, the four girls looked like they contained a good share of Beacon’s energy. Fair split of faunus too, from what she could tell. Made her grin thinking of what the pugnacious folks from the other day might have to say about it. 

Lan looked over the four before suppressing her concern over the sudden change in the atmosphere, [color=crimson]” Zhu Chun Lan , but you can call me Lan.”[/color] she greeted, tail twitching nervously.

[colour=d2691e]“Lan?”[/colour] Cinnamon squinted at her, obviously thinking hard. Beside her, the curvaceous girl sighed.

[colour=F4D414]“Lambrusco. Lan is probably the team leader.”[/colour] She told her with a slight smile.

[colour=d2691e]“Oh, right! Thanks, darl,”[/colour] Cinnamon flashed her a grin as the red haired faunus waved her scroll on front of the latch and unlocked their door. Cinnamon gestured at the curvy lavenderette, the fiery haired raccoon faunus and the petite platinum blonde in turn. [colour=d2691e]“These are my girls, Honey, Maple and Vanilla. Which room are you guys in?”[/colour]

[color=a0410d]”Russ,”[/color] she said, offering a slight wave to the four girls before squeezing past Lan and into the room.

[color=808080]“We’re in this one,”[/color] Tsuki said rapping two knuckles on the frame of their newly found room. [color=808080] “I’m Tsukiko by the way, but it's easier to call me Tsuki,”[/color]

[color=crimson]”I am the leader as well.”[/color] The lemur confirmed with a nod as she extended one hand, [color=crimson]”You’ll have to forgive me, but what was your team?”[/color]

[colour=d2691e]“Chamomile!”[/colour] Cinnamon chirped and shook the proffered hand quickly, even as Maple and Vanilla slipped into the room with a small wave. Honey glanced between the quieter pair and her leader before giving the trio a friendly smile.

[colour=F4D414]“Nice to meet you, neighbours.”[/colour] She stated pleasantly. [colour=F4D414]“Though, where is your fourth member?”[/colour]

Cinnamon blinked, before visually counting the number of Lambrusco members. [colour=d2691e]“Huh. Where are they?”[/colour]

[color=crimson]”Berry is… indisposed at the moment, should be back shortly.”[/color] Lan answered, [color=crimson]”Nice to meet you four as well.”[/color] With that, she ducked into her own dorm, leaving Tsuki alone with the remaining cheerleaders.

Honey gave an amused smile to the tiger faunus that had just been abandoned by her teammates in the face of the overexcitable Cinnamon, [colour=F4D414]“We’ll let you join your team.”[/colour]

[color=808080]“See ya,”[/color] Tsuki waved them off with a fake smile plastered on her face. How can people smile all the time? It's so much more work. But hey, when you gotta be a decent person, it's the best way to go about it.

Honey entwined her fingers through her auburn haired team leader’s, tugging the girl into the room next door. Cinnamon waved enthusiastically to Tsuki, [colour=d2691e]“Goodnight! Nice to meet you all!”[/colour]

The door shut behind them with a definitive click.

Inside the dorm, Lan looked around the room carefully, spotting a sheet of paper on one of the desks bearing a simple diagram. Sitting with the paper are several sturdy wooden pages, [i][color=crimson]”Bunk…. beds?”[/color][/i] A grin crossed her face and she looked over at Russ, [color=crimson]”Hey! Russ! how do bunk beds sound?”[/color] She asked excitedly.

After being left in the hallway by everyone else, the laid back first year took a quick survey of the hall. She noted the number of windows, the number of dorms, and all the exits. Then, she slipped into her new living quarters.

[color=a0410d]”Holy shit,”[/color] Russ muttered at her first sight of the room. It was massive, absolutely massive, even the beds looked like they could fit multiple people. These were the kinds of rooms people painted, or --she presumed-- wrote about in stories, not actually live in. And yet it was theirs. 

She nearly missed Lan’s question, turning to her partner with a quizzical [color=a0410d]”hm?”[/color] before shaking the sense back into her head. [color=a0410d]”Bunkbeds? Sure, why not, love a bird’s-eye view.”[/color]

Lan looked between the beds, her partner and the conversion instructions, ,[color=crimson]”I wanted top bunk…”[/color] she muttered half-heartedly. [color=crimson]”Wait, bad, Lan no sleep.”[/color] the crimson haired girl reminded herself.

[color=a0410d]”No sleep? How could you go through a day like this and not wanna just crash?”[/color] Russ asked, going over and peeking at the instructions. Ugh, more words, but at least the pictures helped get the idea across. [color=a0410d]”Alright how do we do this?”[/color]

[color=crimson]”That is a question I ask myself every day.”[/color] she sighed, [color=crimson]”Fine line between want to and can’t.”[/color]

[color=808080]“Well what does the first step say to do? Instructions are helpful ya know.”[/color] The faunus girl asked.

[color=crimson]”I think we just… put these pegs onto the posts and lift the other bed on top of it. Seems simple enough.”[/color]

[color=808080]“Then, let's get started!”[/color] The tiger faunus grinned, grabbing one set of pegs. She headed towards the two beds on the right hand side of the room. [color=808080] “I call the top bunk over here.”[/color]

With a slight look of disappointment, Lan picked up the other set of pegs, moving to insert them on one of the other beds, [color=crimson]”So, you two have anything you want to do with this place other than bunk beds?”[/color] the lemur asks politely.

Taking silence as her answer, the red haired faunus continued to assemble the bunk beds, a simple task in and of itself, but exhausting and time consuming due to the absence of their fourth member. By the time they finished, it was growing late and the girls were exhausted.
 
Lan flopped on one of the bunks, physically drained, and muttered something with her face buried in a pillow.

Russ as well was fairly beat by the time the three had assembled their beds. She clambered up to the one above Lan, hearing the girl mutter something as she passed.

[color=a0410d]”Wassat?”[/color] she asked as she pulled herself up onto her bed. It took about five seconds for her to realize it was the damned coziest thing she’d ever been on. 

The red haired faunus turned her face out of the pillow just barely enough to speak clearly [color=crimson]”I’ll measure the closets tonight”[/color]

During this time, their 4th member was making his way down the stairs. He was a bit frustrated the elevators were locked, but realizing he only had to go down the stairs helped alleviate his nerves. 

[colour=ff0000][i]‘Why are those things locked though? They worked fine when we got here,’[/i][/colour] Berry couldn’t help but muse as he made his way to the elevator, using his scroll again to try and activate it. Much to his annoyance, it was still locked, [colour=ff0000][i]‘whatever,’[/i][/colour] he thought turning back in search for his room.

As the red haired student made his way to his room, another quartet were already halfway through the hallway. The four made their way down the hall, stopping at each door so their leader -A tall red eyed youth- could check the numbers on the latches.

[colour=ff0000][i]‘Kitchens...we have a kitchen? 201 and 202... 205 is probably the second set of doors down,’[/i][/colour] though Berry as he made his way towards what he hoped was his room.

While the team moved closer to their dorm, the other male in the group eyed Berry cautiously, a wisp of smoke escaping his mouth as he mutters something to one of the two females. The fox tailed girl shot Berry a sideways glance before tapping the shorter of the two men on the shoulder to get his attention.

[colour=ff0000][i]‘The hell is their problem?’[/i][/colour] thought Berry as he removed his right hand out of his pocket. Students at beacon were given lockers to keep their weapons in but Berry would have been damned if he took it off and placed it somewhere he couldn’t see it. Of course thanks to his hoodie only he really needed to know that. Not wanting to overreact he took his eyes away from them but kept moving along.

The gap between Berry and team Nightshade closed gradually, with the team spreading out to check dorm numbers more efficiently. Berry for his part took a slow intake of breath, one that wasn’t looking like it would stop, as he centered himself in the middle of the hallway and made his way past the other four.

The four students passed by Berry wordlessly, finding their dorm at last before stepping inside. The leader paused to watch the red haired student for a moment before slamming the door behind him.

Letting out a long breath strong enough to send a gust of wind through the hallway, Berry used his right hand to search for his scroll. [colour=ff0000]“Well that was anticlimactic,”[/colour] he mused as he reached his room and waved the scroll in front of the lock, [colour=ff0000]“guess i got tensed over nothing,”[/colour] as he made his way inside the room, [colour=ff0000]“...again.”[/colour]

Lan rolled onto her back as she heard the door open, pulling herself into a sitting position [color=crimson]”How’d it go?”[/color] she asked cheerfully, cocking her head to the side. 

[colour=ff0000]“No one tried to punch me,”[/colour] Berry absentmindedly replied as he closed the door.

[color=crimson]”Strictly speaking that is better than the alternative.”[/color] the faunus noted, [color=crimson]”Hope you’re okay with bunk beds, too late to change now.”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“Huh?”[/colour] said Berry as he took a look around, [colour=ff0000]“Was I gone that long? Shit, sorry you did everything.”[/colour]

[color=crimson]”It’s fine, got a lot more to do overnight anyways. Anything interesting happen while you were out?”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“Thought another team was picking up a fight, some dude with red eyes was giving me the stink eye earlier, but nothing happened...which bed is mine?”[/colour]

Lan pointed at the other set of bunks, [color=crimson]”Lower one over there I think.”[/color] She looked back to Berry, [color=crimson]”Get that scroll back home okay?”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“Huh, oh yeah,”[/colour] supplied Berry as he was preparing for bed, [colour=ff0000]“met Argent...o’s entire team before i could give it back though.”[/colour]

The blue eyed girl nods in interest [color=crimson]”How were they?”[/color]

[colour=ff0000]“...Nice?...”[/colour]