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[b][code]Grand Ridge Academy - Conference Room.[/code][/b]
[hider=Interactions.][@Atrophy] & [@Surtr Inc] & [@FernStone][/hider][hr]

"[color=c4df9b]Hey, Rien,[/color]" he greeted them warmly, envying their forethought to grab a coffee before attending this event. "[color=c4df9b]I'm doing alright, could be worse. What about you?[/color]"

It was a pleasant surprise to have Rien join him, it had been some time since the last time they'd talked. They had been there at the massacre as well, though he'd only seen them as they were being dragged off to the infirmary. He hadn't really been concerned with butting in on that moment, but he was glad to see them now and glad that they were greeting Rita. It was good to get his friends on a first name basis. He had even noticed Tuyen and had waved at her as she passed. 

"[color=c4df9b]This is Rita-[/color]"

Martin was good at talking one on one, he was not so good at talking in groups. When their group leader addressed that it was time to get started, he wasn't quite able to staunch the anxiety that rose inside of him. He didn't want to speak first but as the silence in the room grew thicker, so did his patience for sitting silently. It was strange but something about nearly dying had really made him feel a lot more ballsy. 

If no one else was going to take this golden opportunity to speak up then, [i]dammit, he would[/i]. "[color=c4df9b]Hey.[/color]" he addressed the room, his voice sounding awkward. "[color=c4df9b]I'm Martin Cromwell, you [i]uh[/i] probably don't know me.[/color]"

Aliana glanced up to attention when the goth boy chose to speak first, looking all the while like he thought he was doing them a favor. In a way, maybe he was, because it seemed like the room had died upon Britney's request for someone to talk. He even stood up, slowly, and he drew in a deep breath as if he were stabilizing himself. He was just as pale and scrawny as always, perhaps scrawnier looking without his trenchcoat.

The mark on his neck was extremely dark in flush with his white skin, it was like a brand. It would have gone unnoticed to those who weren't Awakened but it began to glow. She didn't have a keen eye but the shadows around him were shifting in an abnormal way. They were moving so subtly that it was easy to miss entirely.

It was weird to see him address more than one person, she had only ever seen him squirrel off with one to two people at a time. It was almost fascinating. 

"[color=c4df9b]I provided a distraction when Scott Reese hacked into the cabin because I had three friends in there that I didn't want to see. . .[i]y'know.[/i][/color]" saying "die" made it seem too real, it was as if that word left his mouth, he'd have to face the severity of what he'd survived. "[color=c4df9b]I'm fine though, I could have-[/color]" 

His mouth was getting dry and his heart was beating faster, he decided to change course before he could really start thinking about that night again. "[color=c4df9b]Nevermind, I don't want to talk about that bit anymore. I'm fine, my friends are fine, and that's enough for me but there [i]is[/i] something that happened afterward that I want to address with all of you.[/color]"

He had no reason to do this, but the only way that any person ever discovered anything was by being upfront themselves. He had a goal and if he was going to accomplish it then he was going to have to be proactive. In the name of discovery and in the name of making [i]everyone in this room uncomfortable[/i], Martin Cromwell was going to be honest. Whether they found him crazy or shared the issues that he was facing, he didn't care. It was about time that these people had to listen to him. 

It wasn't that Martin was adverse to a spotlight, he'd spent his whole life trying to garner the attention that his mother refused to give him but a spotlight for a crowd of his peers was [i]different[/i]. "[color=c4df9b]Some of you may have noticed my sweet new neck tattoo.[/color]" he started, "[color=c4df9b]Or maybe you didn't, maybe you don't give me enough sidelong glances to really [i]notice[/i] if I develop new tattoos or not.[/color]"

[i]Oh no[/i], Aliana couldn't believe it, [i]he was about to address the unaddressable[/i]. 

"[color=c4df9b]I dislocated my shoulder after the event, I was pumped through with pain meds and I might not have noticed it then but I noticed it when I woke up.[/color]" he had started to gnaw at his thumb nail, he was speaking around it. "[color=c4df9b]I had developed this marking and I thought I was crazy, like really crazy because [i]no one else could see it.[/i] At least. . . I [i]thought[/i] they couldn't. I'm not going to mention any names because I'm not a heathen but yesterday, two people noticed it, both people had been to the camping event.[/color]"

Aliana shot a glance towards Penny, a glance that was sort of an unspoken [i]should we say something or plead the fifth?[/i]

"[color=c4df9b]Now, [i]surprisingly[/i], I'm not big into conspiracy theories.[/color]" he bit off a piece of his nail, narrowing his eyes. "[color=c4df9b]But [i]other[/i] weird things have been happening and I'm willing to bet that weird things might have been happening to some of you as well.[/color]"
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