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[indent][sub][COLOR=fde1ef][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Team 78 Campsite[/I] - [I]Southern Plateau, Dundas Island[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=fde1ef][b]The Homecoming Trials #1.88:[/b][/COLOR] [I]...And They Were Teammates![/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][color=fde1ef][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]Lucas Bray [@Nemaisare], one Sierra Hilton instance [@Junkmail], Efraim Tenorio [@Theyra], the rest of Team Firebird[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=fde1ef][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]The New Normal[/I][/right][/SUP][/indent]
[INDENT]Tent set up and pizza roasted, the time was right to unwind and have a good time with the rest of Team Firebird. A girl on the smaller side came by to sit next to Ariel and that boy, striking up a conversation with him about plushies. They offered her the same accommodating smile, which grew bemused when they saw the same girl talking to three different people? And then more of the same girl...at the same time, working on the same tent? Things rapidly took a turn for the less mundane.

Suppose that was the point of stuffing all these hypes into the same island. They didn't know how life was like for the other kids to come out of the lead-lined closet, but Ariel had been the only hyperhuman with 100 miles of Truth or Consequences. The isolation of their condition made them resent the HZE ions or whatever it was inside them. Now, there were at least ten of their same-age peers with wildly different powers but the same strange compound in their blood, protected by some of the best technological infrastructure they had ever seen. After weeping nights in lonesome roach-infested motel rooms, this was a comforting thought. [color=fde1ef][i]Something for Past Me to look forward to.[/i][/color]

Despite the rumbling gray on the horizon, Ariel relaxed their posture after the initial confusion of the girl's cloning faded. Even with the bunker-like tents, the rain wouldn't be a problem for them. Once they figured out how to use their HZEs to influence water, all it took was a little bit of focus for the descending raindrops to avoid Ariel altogether, keeping them dry and cozy while the world dampened. It had been one of the first practical uses of Hype powers they discovered, and with luck, their time here at Pacific Royal would bring with it a couple more uses. Like self-defense.

Turning their attention back to their spicy pizza and their friends' conversation, Ariel picked up a vague mention of the T-Rex and comparisons of time. It was a shallow middle-school factoid, but they would be the last person to point that out. Instead, they used the piece of trivia to leapfrog into the conversation.

[color=fde1ef][b]"Whoa, I didn't know that,"[/b][/color] Ariel remarked to the fact after biting into a super-spicy pizza. Their voice was breathy on account of their steaming tongue pleasantly poison by capsaicin. [color=fde1ef][b]"Time is weird. It's kind of like how Anne Frank and MLK were born on the same year."[/b][/color] 

[color=fde1ef][b]"Also, don't force yourself to stand around in the heat,"[/b][/color] they added for good measure to the absent-minded boy. [color=fde1ef][b]"I can watch your pizza for you, if you'd like."[/b][/color] Ariel was aware that their water affinity made it just that more painful for them to stand in around in the heat he was in, but once again, peace of mind and good graces were worthy pieces of currency to fight over.

More of Team Firebird had started to file in and make themselves known after setting up their respective tents. The diversity of ethnicities and age groups in the team sank in, and Ariel's mind raced. On the one hand, this many different walks of life and experiences leads to many divergent perspectives, some even contradictory to one another. They couldn't really explain it, but the warning signs of tension was already in the air, like ozone in the air before a lightning storm. They could almost smell it. On the other hand, the stakes at hand were their survival as a group, no matter what flowery words promoting academia were said at the ceremony. All things considered, that was a damn good incentive to work together. Ariel was certain Team Firebird could work well.

And if they couldn't, Ariel was no stranger to working solo either.

Their soft voice once more rang through the dim hum of the pizza oven when some began to introduce themselves. [color=fde1ef][b]"I agree, pizza is great for group activities like this."[/b][/color] Ariel tore off a slice of the sriracha-laced pizza and held it out for anyone and no one to try. More of a statement than anything else. [color=fde1ef][b]"My name's Ariel. I'll 'room' with whoever, but I guess for now, I'll be in the same tent as him."[/b][/color] They used the slice of pizza to point at the boy beside him. [color=fde1ef][b]"He never told his name so until he does, I'm going to call him 'Dominik'. Because he looks like a Dominik. I'm sorry if that offends you, 'Dominik'."[/b][/color]

So far, Team Firebird had not disappointed Ariel's initial assessment: fine folk who were awkward around other people. 'Dominik' was nice and shy. The clone girl (girls?) seemed energetic and inquisitive, rightful traits for a student. The curly-haired one was 'weird and loud'—and those were her own words, not Ariel's. The one with the Scandinavian accent looked oblivious, none the wiser to some bees fluttering about her pizza, poor thing. One of them, Efraim, had a distinct Mexican accent and a curious Ariel tipped their head, smiling at his choice of words in an attempt to comfort him and perhaps show some kinship. And then there were a smattering of others Ariel had yet to get a good read on. Embarrassing as it was to admit, they missed this sort of situation. The first day of school was a horror story for most, but Ariel enjoyed the thrill of figuring out new faces. It was like solving a puzzle.[/INDENT]
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