[center][color=007272][h1]Noelle E. "Benji" Aether[/h1][/color][/center][hr][hr]
It was cold up here and the dust was irritating her nose, to the point where if she wasn't rubbing at it then she was instead wiggling it. Kinda like a bunny. But Noelle persisted -sneezes or not, she couldn't stay in here forever. But it was goddamned [i]cold[/i] and if it wasn't for the turtleneck she was wearing then Noelle was sure she would have been a trembling mess by now. At first her destination in mind had been her dorm room, someplace safe and familiar and away from everyone else. But the woman quickly realized that might actually be an awful idea based on the racket being made below. The corridors were probably swarming with guards by now and Noelle was willing to bet that they'd be searching the bedrooms this very moment for any of the Hybrids who managed to escape the cafeteria. She slowed her crawling and mused over her remaining limited options. What about Arlo? Maybe he could help... Arlo was the man personally in charge of Noelle's training. Well, the fighting part anyways. Dude probably wasn't that much older than her with light brown hair, grey-blue eyes, and short scruff of a beard to boot. He was shorter than her but definitely heavier and never went easy on her during their sessions. Hit like a train. Not to mention he had the mouth of a sailor but overall, the man was amicable enough. Noelle wasn't sure she completely trusted him to help her right now but then again, there wasn't anyone else she could turn to for aid and realistically there was zero chances that she'd make it out of here alone.

Proceeding with caution, Noelle continued along the maze. Since her sense of direction was pretty shitty she had to rely heavily on her senses to get to where she needed. There wasn't exactly a trail to follow so it was more of an intense version of the Hotter-Colder game. Here? Nope. What about over there? Nope. If it wasn't a dead end then it was just the wrong overall direction, something she realized only after the scenery started to become unfamiliar through the slits of the vents. An announcement over the intercom had her halting in her tracks but only for the briefest of moments. The voice was that of stranger but she recognized the name. Werner. Had they met before? Noelle tried to recall a face she could place with the title but promptly came up blank and then decided to forget about it. That wasn't important. The voice continued chattering and most of the man's words went in through one ear and passed right out the other. She listened but wasn't paying attention. Until the last part.

[color=darkorange]“And Ms. Aether…”[/color]
[color=007272]"What th- OW!"[/color]
Noelle banged her head against the aluminum wall of the air ventilation's wall when she tried to turn around, startled by the direct addressing. Or was it? She'd missed the ending of Servier's announcement so she had no idea what exactly it was he had wanted to say to her but that was irrelevant. Could he see her now? Noelle paused and waited but nothing else happened. There was a moment where she almost believed that she'd just imagined it, then scoffed at the thought. No she'd definitely heard it and that was the concerning part. Why was she being personally called out like that? Concerned that her earlier blunder of whacking into the wall may have may too much noise, Noelle scampered off to resume her search.

She had no idea how long it had been from the time she left the cafeteria until she finally found stupid Arlo but the relief was immediate. Said man was in his work-space at his desk, staring off at the far wall with a walkie in his hand. Probably waiting for further instruction she presumed. [color=007272]"Pst."[/color] The instructor's head whipped around as he searched for the invisible intruder. [color=007272]"Arlo, it's [i]me[/i]."[/color] [color=db7d63]"Benji?!?!"[/color] It took a while for her to get used to but he only ever called her by her alias. She wasn't sure if he was just following protocol or just trying to keep a professional space in between them. [color=db7d63]"What the hell are you doing here?"[/color] By now he'd located the source of her urgent whispers and stood up to approach, watching the ceiling. The little walkie was still in his hand but he didn't seem to be making a move to use it any time soon. She watched his fingers anyways. [color=007272]"Just come open this thing. I'm freezing."[/color] Arlo stuffed the communication device into a back pocket and grabbed a chair to boost himself up. It took some effort but some of the screws in the vent were already loose enough to work free with the back end of a pen and Arlo stepped aside as Noelle crawled out before landing in a neat crouch. The Hybrid stood and hugged herself. Arlo wordlessly went to grab his fleece jacket off the hook on the wall by the door and tossed it to her. [color=007272]"Thanks."[/color] 

[color=db7d63]"Why did you come to me?"[/color] Straight to the point as always. Noelle put on his jacket and zipped it. [color=007272]"I need help. Clearly."[/color] [color=db7d63]"So your bright idea was to find me? A man working for the very same people currently looking to stuff your hide like a fucking hunting trophy?[/color] [color=007272]"Pretty much."[/color] Arlo let out an weary sigh. [color=db7d63]"Losing my job is the least of my concerns right now if I do that. There are suits in the halls walkin' around with armed escorts. One actually passed the door not a minute ago. Are you out of your mind?!?!"[/color] His voice has raised just the slightest in frustration and Noelle flicked her ears, playing close attention to the door. [color=007272]"Please"[/color] she responded, although her hesitation almost made it sound like a question. [color=db7d63]"Unbelievable... Get under the desk and shut up."[/color] 

And with that, Arlo strode out. Noelle hid.