[center][color=000fff][b]Abel Fulgurate[/b][/color][/center]

The very instant Abel replaced his scroll in his pocket, the tone rang out that signified the arrival of a new message.  [i]That quickly?[/i]  He slipped the device out again, leaning against the wall as he did.  Sapphire?  [i]Should have known.[/i]  Unfortunately, she did not want to join the group, citing some other responsibility to concern herself with.  He didn't know whether he believed her, but if she thought she needed rest or solitude, that was that.  Abel quietly bemoaned this turn of events.  While his team did not share the friendliest dynamic around, he wanted with absolute sincerity to get over this rockiness and reunite with the people that were supposed to be his brothers in arms—especially Sapphire.  The blue-haired leader of Swansong had only herself to blame for her current relationship with her teammates, but that didn't mean that Abel wanted her excluded.  Even if she treated him coldly, he felt inclined to try and be a proper comrade for her.  She was, after all, his partner.  Fate had brought them together in the Emerald Forest, and the guardian wasn't one to give up on fate so easily.

Still, he could look forward to joining the boys, at least.  Moving quickly now with great strides, Abel made tracks to the airship docks.  On the way, he stopped when prompted by his scroll to check his inbox again.  Suddenly excited to be headed out and doing something in the city of Vale, a place almost totally new to him, he read the message's contents, popped the scroll back into his pocket, and resumed his saunter with something on his face dangerously close to a smile.  “Now we've got a plan,” he ruminated aloud.  “The wheels are turning!”  In no time at all he found himself squinting slightly in the late afternoon sun, just starting to go to gold.  Heart light, he headed for the airport.

Almost immediately he spotted Shiro.  Altering his course for his faunus friend, he raised an arm to shout a greeting.  As he did, though, his eyes chanced to land upon the people right around him, and his shout died in his throat.  At least, it tried to; something malformed, never meant to see the light of day, rose from the grave and squirmed out instead.  [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnsiZOJjfUg]“Auehh?!”[/url]  Of all things he might have seen, he did not expect to find Sepia and...Krysanthe.  What was [i]she[/i] doing here?  Not that he didn't want to see her, but...he wasn't ready!  After showering, he'd paid absolutely zero attention to his hair, and while he very seldom fretted about his appearance, the fact seemed awfully conspicuous all of a sudden.  Feeling like a big goon, he took a few seconds to compose himself.  Could she have heard that goofy grunt?  No, no...she was too far away, for certain.  At that moment his scroll went off again and, grateful for the distraction, he browsed the new updates from Gren, two in rapid succession.  On closer inspection, the second text looked to be for him alone.  Sneaking a glance back toward the group, he recognized that Sepia did, though he wouldn't have immediately noticed on his own, seem to be in some sort of distress.  “Thanks, buddy,” he mumbled as he ducked behind a planter.  As fast as he could, he ran his fingers through his hair, effectively combing it back into the realm of civilized hair.  

Abel took a deep breath, straightened himself up, and strode back into the open.  With his left hand back in his pocket, he made his way toward Shiro, Sepia, and Krysanthe at a leisurely pace, trying to seem neither too eager nor too flippant.  Once in range, he greeted them, “Hey!  Good evening!”  Only at that moment he realized that if he just barged in, he might upset Sepia somehow.  Sweating on the inside, Abel gave his best attempt at a smile, and sidled closer to the other students.  He maneuvered his way farthest away from Sepia, ending up somewhere near the middle between Krysanthe and Shiro.  His hands clasped behind his back, not unlike the stance of a butler or bellboy.  In earlier years he'd learned that such a position made him seem attentive and ready to lend a hand if need by, but removed and noncommittal at the same time.  Standing like this, even a huge man could seem small, and even a big dolt could seem useful—at least, so he hoped.  Unfortunately, it seemed as if he'd entered into a thick silence.  “I..I hope I'm not intruding?”  He murmured to Krysanthe, judging that staying totally silent after just arriving would be the weirder course of action.