[sub][color=#B9BABC]O A K R I D G E  A C A D E M Y[/color]  [color=#6A5B7E]Saturday June 6 [/color] [color=f2f411]Cameron Thael Conrad[/color][/sub]
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It was a beautiful morning for a run, even one as laborious as this. Sweat trickled down the back of Thael’s neck, giving his skin a faint sheen under the glare of an unusually intense sun. His breath came heavily, but steady, in deliberately measured breaths, fitting the cadence of his gait. Thael’s usual circuit of Oakridge’s campus wouldn’t generally be this exerting, but today, as he had for every run over the past week, Thael was wearing full combat armour. The nano-woven carbon kevlar composite baselayer most soldiers wore was, in Thael’s case, supplemented by duratanium plating that more than doubled the weight of the armour. With his spear and shield magnetically clamped to the back, Thael was in total dragging over a hundred extra pounds around with him. Far too heavy for a normal infantryman to fight in, the load was perfectly manageable for a Guardian, especially one with Thael’s physique. The fact that he’d been out late ‘enjoying’ a spirited but tense party last night didn’t seem to affect him at all.

He was finding it hard to contain his excitement. Certainly the missions would be dangerous, but Operation Downfall meant Thael was finally going to put to use all those years of training. The thought of it literally set him aglow as his spirits responded to his excitement, a frequent occurrence that had earned him the nickname “Goldie” to some. Thael’s spirits were unusual in some: they refused to respond to quiet meditation and contemplation, they never manifested as anything other than ribbons of light, yet they were extremely attached to Thael’s emotional state. He sometimes felt like he was carrying around a crowd of excitable yet stubbornly silent toddlers. Thael envied Guardians like his friend Jack, who seemed to be able to effortlessly commune with their spirits, even gaining insight into their values and perspectives. Thael considered himself lucky to have been able to even glean a few names from his over-attached-yet-still-distant companions.

That was part of the reason that the Kimbalu Eidolon mission drew Thael’s attention. Of the four missions Guardians were tasked with, Thael judged himself unsuitable for two of the missions; the Nexus reactor mission was likely to require stealth and subtlety in tight spaces, none of which were Thael’s strong suit. The Doral mission was not a good fit either; Thael had no desire to go begging a bunch of traitors and criminals for help. That left the Hammer taskforce and the Kimbalu Eidolon mission. Thael had very nearly signed up for the Hammer; two of his brothers--younger guardians--would be with the main body of the army, and he would’ve liked to be there for them. But after speaking with his friends about their plans, he’d reconsidered. Subira and Jack had seemed fairly intent on tracking down the Eidolon, while Rogart planned on joining the Hammer. He hadn’t spoken to Olivia, but Thael knew her well enough to know she’d be going with the Hammer as far into the Dark Zone as she could. With that in mind, Thael had decided on the Eidolon mission; if the spirit-being proved hostile, a couple hundred pounds of armour and muscle should prove handy. Thael definitely wasn’t following Jack on the mission. Definitely not worrying about protecting his friend. Definitely not letting his thoughts linger on what had happened between them after a late night workout not long ago…

Blushing slightly, Thael forced his mind down other avenues. He still needed to shower, change, and say goodbye to his siblings, and Thael had yet to actually sign up for a mission. With that in mind, he picked up the pace.

Within half an hour he’d checked off the first three items on his list. Kevin and Kyle were bursting at the seams with excitement; like him, they’d been itching to join the fight for years now. The youngest Conrad brother, Connor, would be staying at Oakridge. By far the brightest of the three, when Connor was not helping out in the school’s research lab he was undergoing tests and experiments. Connor was the only one who was not a Guardian, something which baffled Oakridge’s scientists. They’d been on the verge of proving that spirit attraction was a genetic trait when Connor showed up and threw a wrench in their theories with his complete lack of spirits. At first he’d been simply a test subject, but the research staff had been quick to recognize his brilliance and Connor was now a valued assistant as well. Thael was glad that Connor would be staying behind; one less thing to worry about.

Wearing a fresh set of combat armour, spear and shield on his back, rucksack slung over his shoulder, Thael arrived at the school’s main entrance and the mission boards. The first thing he noticed was Olivia Celestine, staring up at the boards. He strode up to her and threw a casual arm around her shoulders in a sort of half hug. “Let me guess: Hammer, right?”
He abruptly noticed Olivia already had company, and stretched out a hand to the young man beside her. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Thael.”


[hider=TL;DR]
Thael goes for a jog, thinks about mission options, says goodbye to his siblings, and runs into Olivia and Nico at the mission boards.
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