[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/LVxoGqK.png[/img][/center]
[center][h3]Air Docks[/h3][/center]

Ever since the battle at the fort had been resolved, the tension that had been keeping Sand awake and alert up until then had slowly dissipated, leaving behind the numerous discomforts that had accumulated throughout the ordeal. Her hands felt slightly numb and generally uncomfortable. She had only removed her gauntlets a few moments ago after wearing them continuously for hours on end. The mad dash through Grimm infested woods and the slow swim up to the abandoned fort had been but the start of it, and now that it was over, it was difficult to turn her thoughts away from a clean clothes and a hot shower.

So, as the group of students disembarked and the wounded Robert was brought out of the ship, Sand merely allowed herself to follow behind them, content to let Trad and Grane draw the reception’s attention as she gazed around the docks with tired eyes.

When the headmaster of Beacon academy himself stopped to address them, however, Sand felt some of that tension return. She drew closer as Grane began to answer, forcing herself to listen to the conversation. As the topic turned towards Robert’s performance in the mission, she found herself wanting to interject, but a simple thought forced her to hold her tongue.

[i]He’s not wrong[/i], she admitted to herself. Robert’s behavior had been strange at times. Not what she was used to in a team leader, at least. [i]I can’t really speak for him, either way. They’ve known him for longer than I have, and their friend was already gone by the time I got there.[/i]

Her eyes drifted away for a moment, only to be drawn back in when she heard her name. She blinked, part of her irritated by Grane drawing attention to her, the other part slightly taken aback by the sudden praise. 

She let out a sigh, briefly shaking her head. It didn’t matter. The coincidence that brought her there was big enough that she would need to explain herself eventually.

“Sand Vespa,” she introduced herself, clasping her hands behind her and injecting a degree of formality into her tone. “Sorry, Sir. My name may have crossed your desk. I was due to arrive next week, but I had business of my own at the fort. I happened upon these three there and—” she paused as a sudden image of the wounded Robert intruding into her mind. She shrugged it off as if she had merely been searching for the right word to describe the situation and continued “—[i]this[/i] happened.”

[@Guess Who] [@Awesomoman64] [@Nytem4re] [@Lugubrious] [@Lucius Cypher]