[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Bmc3wqz.png[/img][/center] [center][h1][b][color=6ecff6]Xander[/color][/b][/h1][/center] Sometimes there were days when Xander Zahir wondered whether he was fit to be a good man in general. Sometimes he wondered if he was fit to be a good warrior. And sometimes he wondered what kind of warrior he would end up being. Sometimes he would wonder if he would use his large blade to shield the vulnerable, tanking damage and focusing on extending the endurance of his comrades and himself endlessly without giving into a last breath. Sometimes he would wonder if he would use his large blade to prioritize destruction of opposing forces, striking the hearts of foes with merciless slashes directed towards the source of inspiration within the enemy. Sometimes he would wonder if he could become both at once and play two roles at once. Sometimes he wondered why he found himself sleeping on the ground. The particular thought was for another time, however. Sporting an unmistakably spiky hairstyle and a large sword on his back, Xander had received various reactions from people around him. Some called the attitude he held in the public to be "edgy as fuck, yo," and some simply disliked his face. And admittedly, he found his face to be stupid enough to betray him so many times. He had grown so used to carrying an idle expression that it now delivered a single message: "I don't know what I'm doing but I think I'm better than everyone." Which, while he wanted it to be the case, was definitely not true. [i][color=6ecff6]I'm going to be a real man,[/color][/i] Xander thought as he brushed his teeth furiously. [i][color=6ecff6]I'm going to become the realest of reals! Die, bacteria![/color][/i] After brushing his teeth, the man washed his toothbrush and put it aside before washing his face. [i][color=6ecff6]Die, dust![/color][/i] He thought as he washed the shit out of his face. He also wanted to shave, but much to his aggravation, his genes refused to let him sprout out facial hair. So he pretended to shave. Realizing that he had more important things to do, the swordsman took a deep breath and remained still in front of the sink. He relaxed himself. At that moment, his roommate opened the door to the bathroom. "Holy shit, that's the edgiest thing I've ever seen." "[color=6ecff6]...[/color]" Xander waited for the bald guy to close the door and leave him alone. [hr] [i][color=6ecff6]Today's a big day,[/color][/i] Xander thought as he left his room. Despite being plentifully new to ECHO, the blond had been directly ordered to join... something... under higher orders. He had no idea what to expect, but he heard that there could be some "[color=fff79a]war celebrities[/color]" that would join it as well. Thankfully, he did not seem to be the newest of members to the unknown group, as someone who literally joined the other day got sucked into the ordeal as well. [i][color=6ecff6]I don't know what today is, but I can tell it's going to be a big day.[/color][/i] He calmly walked down the hallways. Maintaining a stern and cold expression of idleness, the swordsman focused on keeping his posture straight. When he was a teenager, he had the tendency to walk in the laziest way possible. His father called him a walking scarecrow, and his mother lightly poked fun at him by calling him a gangster. What a light joke, right? ...Right. His moment of peace ended as soon as he bumped into the smallest girl he had met ever since he joined ECHO. [i][color=6ecff6]Oh fuck.[/color][/i] [hr] As soon as he bumped into the small girl right when he tried to turn a corner, she fell on her delicate behind and dropped a box of Resonants. Though he decided not to stare at her blatantly, he did find her tiny physique to be somewhat hard of him to not pick her up as if she were a kid. Then again she had a developed body, so she was probably going to be heavy. "[color=6ecff6]...[/color]" The girl did not say anything as she remained still for a second. And during this second, Xander's mind went through a process of elimination to come up with a good way to respond. [hider=Xander began to think][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3R8tkvlAlk[/youtube][/hider] [i][color=6ecff6]So right now, I have the options to:[/color][/i] [b][color=6ecff6]- FIGHT - SCOLD - IGNORE - SMILE - SMACK DAT BOOTY[/color][/b] [i][color=6ecff6]...[/color][/i] Xander legitimately wondered what the last option would bring up, but since he did not have a death wish, he chose not to ever use it. [i][color=6ecff6]If I fight her for bumping into me, that would label me as a bad guy. It's kind of aggravating, but I'll have to press on and not fight her. If I smile, she'd wonder why the hell I'd smile at her right after bumping into her, therefore risking the possibility of making her see me as a megaton fuckboy with no other hobby aside from bullying. And I haven't smiled to anyone but myself in my last month here, so it'd probably be scary for me to suddenly smile like that one clown I saw visit my town. If I smack that... never mind. If I flatout ignore her, then that'd just worsen the small amount of rumors that apparently spread even to my roommate. I can't just ignore her, especially if [b]that's[/b] the consequence of doing so. And if I smack that- I need to stop thinking like a pirate. If I scold her... I don't know. Maybe I should scold her?[/color][/i] As the girl got up, the swordsman frantically thought while perfectly maintaining his blank look, [i][color=6ecff6]Dammit, I don't know if I should scold her for walking into me because I technically turned the corner too quickly. Why do I only have five options in my process of elimination?![/color][/i] Remaining still, Xander watched the girl picked up the box of Resonants like it was nothing. "Oh, you're the new recruit," she said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "I apologize for being careless, especially as someone who's been here for three whole years!" ... ... ... ... ... [i][color=6ecff6]wat[/color][/i] Giving him a small bow, the woman who turned out to be a long-time recruit walked past him. Xander turned back to the hallway and walked again. [i][color=6ecff6]... ... ...Well, that's one way to do the process of elimination.[/color][/i] [hr] With the sudden ordeal out of the way, the swordsman continued his trip to the meeting room. He had everything intact: his sword was on his back, his hair was on point, and he had one of his best "serious faces" on. At this rate, it seemed as if the day would go by smoothly for him like he terribly hoped for it to do so. He arrived at the meeting room pretty early. With nothing else to do, he entered the meeting room.