[center][b][color=007FFF]Abel Fulgarate[/color][/b][/center]

Frozen in his premeditated position, Abel gave a ready ear to the injured faunus girl as she spoke up.  Very quickly, she made it apparent that not only was she afflicted by a serious wound, but it was also nothing short of a bullet [i]still inside her[/i].  The guardian's muscles on the back of his neck twinged in sympathetic concern, and he bore a face to match.  All the same, he remained still and silent.  Considering his lack of relevance to the matter at hand, which by now prickled him constantly, he opted to wait until called on.  He turned his head as Krysanthe began to speak, giving a little nod of his head in gratitude.  Nearby, a slender girl in a maid uniform that Abel did not at all recognize seemed to be provided assistance.  He found himself puzzled by her pointed ears, wondering if they were simply oddly shaped or the mark of a faunus, but either way he was grateful for her aid.

Another girl who soonafter called attention to herself, however, drew far less of Abel's appreciation.  Out of nowhere, a cat faunus whom Abel had previously seen with KESS, and was thusly almost certainly a member of that team, appeared and demanded to get drunk.  A stern look took over the guardian's features.  Did Skyra really not have any help to give her grievously hurt teammate, and did she really think that her selfish attempt to redirect her team came at a good time?  As much as this rankled Abel, he did not speak up.  Her teammates knew her better than he; it would be up to them to rebuke her for this insulting lack of consideration.

Breaking away from these thoughts, Abel rejoined the main conversation midway through a response by the maid.  Immediately he refocused himself on listening once again.  He'd never demonstrated any affinity for first-aid or medicine in general, but if some pertinent information could lodge itself in his thick head, he thought, it might turn out to be useful.  The maid's manner seemed befitting of Beacon staff: professional and bearing the weight of authority without seeming overdone.  It surprised him, then, when she introduced herself as not just a new arrival to the school but a huntress in training to boot.  With her introduction completed, he felt it inappropriate to be the first one to respond considering his position as a relative outsider to KESS's newfound crisis, and so waited for others to respond first.  In the silence that followed, he suddenly became aware of Shiro's ongoing discourse.  [i]Actually...how long has he been talking and gesticulating like that?[/i]  He lent an ear to his friend's shpeal, realizing that he was talking about Sepia and the general situation surrounding her, but he found it difficult to follow his rapid, animated delivery.  Instead, he set to wondering.  [i]Have I gotten used to his babbling after only two weeks?  I can't just let myself tune him out like this.  It's unfair.[/i]  Unfortunately, with Shiro caught in his reverie, Abel decided that he'd have to do just that as he shifted into the role of representing team SASG.  

“That would be great.  Thank you!” he replied to Krysanthe's invitation.  He'd held out hope that he might get to hang out with her again, and with opportunity realized, he couldn't help but feel light-hearted.  Of course, he didn't want to seem too eager.  The health and safety of the girl named Sepia came first.  Krysanthe's mind seemed to switch gears as well, and she turned with an expression of remembrance to Yue, inviting her along as well.  Just like that, everything seemed to fall into place.  The exuberant look on the blonde girl's face captured Abel's attention, preventing him from looking away until he realized he was perilously close to staring.  Fixating on the sunlit sky, just beginning to turn as though the heavens had been splashed with a free-spirited painter's rosy hues, he hummed a verse from one of Pallisade's live-performed songs.  An airship breezed into view, slowing down until it hovered just above the docks, then landed with mechanical efficiency.  The students' ride into Vale had arrived.