[center][h2][color=ff0000]Misadventures of Berry[/color][/h2][/center] The sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the stairway. Their loud clapping and odd pace telling a tale of a person that was in a hurry. The footsteps belonged to a fellow with unkempt short red hair, who paused only after reaching the third floor. His blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as he realized there was no one else visible in the hallway. [i][colour=ff0000]‘It hasn’t even been a minute since we last seen them, how the fuck did they get up here so fast…’[/colour][/i] His annoyance mostly stemmed from a device located in his right hand that he was in a hurry to get rid of. The device was called a scroll, [i][colour=ff0000]‘Is one of these rooms theirs?’[/colour][/i], a multifunctional device that was used both to communicate with other students through a safe line, [colour=ff0000][i]‘Maybe they’re on the other halfway,’[/i][/colour] helped keep track of their location during missions, [colour=ff0000][i]’should have known I’m not that lucky’[/i][/colour] and a 16-megapixel camera. He had a similar device in the pocket of his blue jeans, [colour=ff0000][i]‘Should i just knock at a random door and hope for the best?’[/i][/colour] and was trying to find the owner of the extra scroll, [i][colour=ff0000]‘Yeah, and get it wrong the first time while people give me weird looks…’[/colour][/i] It’s safe to say Berry didn’t like the thought of owning something that wasn’t his, particularly if the owner would likely need it, and was slowly getting agitated the longer he couldn’t find him. In an attempt to calm himself down, he closed his eyes as a golden light seem to emanate from his body before he took a deep breath through his nose. The breath lasted far longer than normal as the golden energy and worryingly large quantities of air was being inhaled by the Hunter to be. It was a rather mundane thing to do with his aura, and he got chastised repeatedly for using it so callously. Obviously, he didn’t listen, and thankfully so, as Berrie caught the wiff of something in the room next to him. A mix of residual fire dust and a scent he could only describe as edible. [colour=ff0000][i]‘Someone's making food,’[/i][/colour] smirked the would be canine, as he exhaled through his nose a gust so strong it pushed all the dust in the vicinity across all hallways. An intermittent mix of humming and whistling could be heard from the room emitting the smells of food, followed shortly by the click off a stove being turned off. A strong cinnamon smell wafted out of the small kitchen as a copper haired girl exited the room, carrying a covered tray. She paused a moment to turn off the light and noticed someone else in the hall. [color=b87333]”Evening”[/color] She greeted warmly, [color=b87333]”You don’t look like one of the students for this floor. New kid?”[/color] The girl inquired, balancing the tray on one hand a moment as she closed the kitchen door. [colour=ff0000]“Yeah. Was looking for a guy I think stays on this floor,”[/colour] now if he could only remember his name, [colour=ff0000]“Argent...uh?...Argentuh?”[/colour] Berry asked, hoping he got it right. [color=b87333]”Argento?”[/color] the girl responded, curious, [color=b87333]”Any reason why?”[/color] She contemplated a moment, [color=b87333]”I’m Alivia, by the way.”[/color] [colour=ff0000]“Berry. Found a scroll lying on the floor and i think it’s his,”[/colour] or at least he hoped it was. Berry raised the hand that held said device as proof. [color=b87333]”One way to check.”[/color] Alivia said, as she pulled her own scroll from her pocket. Sliding the device into the phone panel, she tapped Argento’s contact information from her call list; the result came near instantly, as the device in Berry’s hand began to ring softly. [color=b87333]”That’s his alright. Follow me to our dorm, he should be there with the others.”[/color] She instructed, immediately turning and making her way down the long hallway, shifting the tray into both hands after stowing her scroll.The younger hunter put the scroll in the pocket of his red hoodie, and silently walked next to the brown headed senior. [color=b87333]”So, how do you like Beacon so far, Berry?”[/color] She asked as they walk, her every other step leaving a slight metallic *chunk* sound in its wake. [colour=ff0000]“It’s...been fine, I guess,”[/colour] Berry half answered, opting not to comment on the sound. [color=b87333]”Don’t sweat it too much if you had a rough first day.”[/color] The girl advised, keeping an even pace, [color=b87333]”Any issues with teammates?”[/color] [colour=ff0000]“Barely met them so not really,”[/colour] said Berry as his hands found their way into the pockets of his red hoodie. [color=b87333]”That’s good, better not knowing them than having conflict.”[/color] The metal legged girl added cheerfully as they rounded the corner, [color=b87333]”I was lucky, already knew my partner, and had met one of the other two while we were in combat school.”[/color] She stopped a moment later, next to the room that Berry assumed was hers. Alivia rebalanced the tray on her right hand to fish out her scroll; waving it in front of the digital lock. With a soft click the door is unlocked. With a smooth motion, she opened the door and restored her scroll to its place, gesturing for Berry to enter the dorm. Within, two ordinary beds can be seen to the left, while at the right is a large padded matt covered in bedding. [color=702693]”Welcome back”[/color] Rumbled a deep voice from the left of the door, where a hulking man with unruly brown hair stood packing metal cans with dust and buckshot. [colour=ff0000][i]‘And people call [/i]me[i] tall?[/i][/colour]’, thought Berry, as he became aware that the giant was only a couple of feet away from hitting the twelve foot ceiling, while [i]slouching[/i]. The tall man turned and looked down, [color=702693]”Smells good, what did you make?”[/color] He asked just before he noticed Berry [color=702693]”Brought a guest along, eh? Make yourself at home.”[/color] He invited, a coarse edge to his voice. Gauthak capped the open shell and set it on a shelf, stowing the excess shot and powder in a compartment beneath the loading bench. [color=702693]”Welcome to the dorm, I’m Gauthak. and you are?”[/color] The overgrown young man asked, offering one enormous hand. [i][colour=ff0000]‘Unnerved...’[/colour][/i] Thought the guest as he shook the tall man’s hand as best he could. [colour=ff0000]“Berry.” [/colour] [color=702693]”So, what brings you to our humble apartment?”[/color] He joked, stepping away from the bench to allow Alivia to set her tray down. [color=b87333] ”He found Argento’s scroll.”[/color] Gauthak nodded. [color=702693] ”Doesn’t seem like him to lose it.”[/color] He looked at the shorter red haired student. [color=702693]”Where did you pick it up?”[/color] Gauthak asked, watching from the corner of his eye as Alivia places several squares of fried, battered bread on a plate. [colour=ff0000]“The ground. Was looking for our room after he talked to my team about...stuff, so we figured it was his.”[/colour] The olive toned giant could only roll his eyes. [color=702693]”Need to have a serious discussion with him about trying to pick up the freshman.”[/color] The man guessed, receiving a shrug from Alivia as she hands him the plate. [colour=ff0000]“I think so?”[/colour] Berry was beginning to regret not paying attention to what Argento asked them. [color=b87333]”Would you like some, Berry?”[/color] she asked politely, watching Gauthak shove a slice of the toast into his mouth and shooting her partner a stern look, [color=b87333]”Plenty to go around.”[/color] Berry mulled over the question for a bit. He didn’t like owing people anything, but she didn’t seem like the type to ask for favours. [colour=ff0000]“Yeah...thanks.”[/colour] He took one piece with a slightly concerned look on his face The girl passed him a plate and took a few pieces for herself, setting a fork onto her own plate and covering the tray. [color=b87333]”When you saw him was he with a blue haired girl?”[/color] The girl asked, waiting a moment as Gauthak slowly lowered himself to a cross legged position before sitting down on his knee. [colour=ff0000]“Yeah, was hoping I’d catch up with them since they left like, a minute before we noticed the scroll, but I guess they went to another floor.”[/colour] Alivia nodded along as he spoke, [color=b87333]”If Naeva caught him hitting on your new team she probably took him up the opposite stairs. She might have stopped to yell at him about it… Should be here any moment.”[/color] The copper haired girl guessed. They sat in silence for a brief moment as Berry considered just making a beeline for the door and just letting them handle this. His chance however pases when the door clicked open, with Naeva entering first and shortly followed by the silver haired flirt. [color=702693]”Argento, lose something?”[/color] Gauthak asked, gesturing to Berry, who reached into his right pocket to pull out the item that brought him here. Argento stared, startled and confused a moment before reaching back and checking his pocket. [color=757575]”When did I-”[/color] He wondered aloud, [color=757575]”Where did you get that?”[/color] He asked politely, composing himself. Stepping forward, the silver haired boy extended a hand to take his scroll. [colour=ff0000]“The ground,”[/colour] said Berry as he gave it back, [colour=ff0000]“we figured it was yours since everyone else had theirs.”[/colour] The teal eyed upperclassmen took the scroll, opening it briefly to check for tampering before storing it once more in his pocket. [color=757575]”Thank’s for returning it, be screwed without. Got a lot of important stuff in there.”[/color] [colour=ff0000]“Important?”[/colour] That one word was enough to send shivers down his spine. It was one thing to think an object was important, and another to be told so by the owner. The fact Berry also currently owned one didn’t help. [colour=ff0000]“Like?”[/colour] Naeva rolled her eyes as she brushed past them,[color=d6d6d6]”Scroll numbers for special friends most likely.”[/color] Stopping at the workbench to grab a few slices of french toast before sitting down on one of the two beds, [color=d6d6d6]”I see you’ve been welcomed into the pack.”[/color] The tin voiced girl noted, nodding towards the food in his hand before taking a bite of her own, [color=d6d6d6]”Welcome.”[/color] She added, still chewing, the pinpoint light in her throat blinking in unison with her words. [i][colour=ff0000]‘Was that thing always there?’[/colour][/i] Berry chose not to ask. Argento opened his mouth to contest her claim, but stopped to rethink her words before responding. [color=757575]”And school papers!”[/color] The boy finally protested, stepping into the room while closing the door behind him and flopping face first on his bed, rolling onto his back. [color=757575]”What she said, though. Welcome”[/color] [colour=ff0000]“You don’t need to be so nice...I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for the scroll,”[/colour] he mumbled out a response, realizing just how out of place he was in this whole situation. He was one step away from just leaving, but he figured he might have come off as rude if he didn’t finish the food offered. so instead chose to take a bigger bite. Agento watched the new kid from the corner of his eye, noticing the nerved slipping into his expression. [color=757575]”You know you can leave any time you like, right? We don’t mind having you around but honestly team mom over there didn’t need to invite you to stay.”[/color] Alivia glared at her teammate. [color=b87333]”Well [i]excuse[/i] me for being civil,”[/color] She shifted slightly in her spot in her partners knee, [color=b87333]”He is right, though. If you’re uncomfortable feel free to go at any time. You have no obligation to stay, and frankly we do need to clean up a bit before bed.”[/color] She looked up and over her shoulder at Gauthak, [color=b87333]”Need to get things tucked away for the night.”[/color] The largest student nodded silently in agreement. [colour=ff0000]“Sorry, not good with…”[/colour] Hunters? Elders? People? [colour=ff0000]“Stuff...probably need to clean up my room, after i find it,”[/colour] said Berry as he made his way to the door with his back towards it, [colour=ff0000]“Sorry, again. And, thanks, for the food I mean.”[/colour] Gauthak half waved as he stuffed another piece of toast into his mouth, while Argento provided a silent thumbs up and Alivia nodded curtly. [color=d6d6d6]”Come back any time”[/color] The blue girl added with a teasing wink, followed by a proper wave goodbye. [colour=ff0000]“Bye,”[/colour] replied Berry as he shut the door behind him in a manner that could only be described as a borderline slam. If one payed attention they might have heard a very drawn out sigh. Team VLCN however, did not need to pay a lot of attention to notice one of their carpets moving away from the door a couple inches. [color=d6d6d6]”Guess he was more freaked out than we thought.”[/color] Naeva observed, standing and returning her plate to the mostly empty tray. [color=d6d6d6]”Probably give him a few minutes to get clear before we take this stuff to the kitchen, don’t want to overwhelm the poor guy.”[/color] The other three nodded unanimously and Gauthak added, [color=702693]”Alivia, I love you, but do you really need to invite people to visit this late in the evening?”[/color] She shrugged. [color=b87333]”Just being polite.”[/color]