[indent][quote][i]Several hours ago, it was pizzas and campfires. Everyone was introducing themselves, getting to know each other, walking through each other's powers. Biting heat on their lips, Ariel was nevertheless happy. They could get used to this, the life they left behind had been too lonesome. Even if they were a quiet and reserved kid, having other people close to her felt...right. Living with other people felt right, it [i]was[/i] right.

Then hours passed, and suddenly nothing was right.

At first, Ariel figured stormy weather caused the supervisors to usher the kids into their tents early. That thought was cut short when they began to hear a commotion. Nothing to be seen from where they were laying, but they were nothing if not perceptive. There was a situation and it was going south. Fast. Best to stay here and wait it out, Ariel reasoned. Then [/i]that[i] thought was cut short when the tents themselves were divorced from the ground. They screamed as their body was abruptly exposed to the elements. They were silenced when they realized what was going on at the Plateau.

A masked figure, malevolent hyperhumans, shows of strength, pontificating about superiority and the breaking of chains. This must be the Hyperion terrorists the TV was always on about. Destructive and zealous, all for some greater purpose: domination and the reversal of roles. An attractive cause they were trying to sell to the gathered young hypes. Some looked convinced, others still stood defiant. The message then fell to Ariel and it fell on deaf ears. They remained unmoving, having retreated into their mind once their body failed to retreat. Eyes shut, heart racing, Ariel wanted no part of this. As the Rolling Stones would say, 'Give me shelter'.

And just like the hot springs, where Ariel fell short, water rose to the occasion. Where their body failed to find shelter, water followed their will. Idle water close to Ariel flowed where she willed, irreverent of their containers, away from Hyperion. Raindrops falling onto them instead swirl around them into a barrier, whatever shelter she could. And yet nothing could protect them, nothing could prepare them for the crunching of broken flesh and the shocked screams of the other students. Their body, curled up defensively, trembled from more than the cold as it began to sink in that Hyperion had just taken a life. With that, Ariel knew that it would not be the last. This would not be the end of anything but the life of that poor student and any sense of safety the others had in Pacific Royal.

Ariel knew a declaration of war when they saw one.[/i][/quote][/indent]
[hr]

[CENTER][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1070187379547176990/1117084825220817068/Ariel_Mustafa.png[/img][/CENTER]

[indent][sub][COLOR=fde1ef][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Team 78 Campsite[/I] - [I]Northern Cove, Dundas Island[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=fde1ef][b]First Class #2.04:[/b][/COLOR] [I]First Blood (Definitely Not the Last)[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][color=fde1ef][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] The grieving students of PRCU. (Open for Interaction)[/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=fde1ef][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]...And They Were Teammates![/I][/right][/SUP][/indent]
[INDENT]Ariel never properly met the late Cassander Charon—their eyes were proper shut at the time of his death—but they were glad that he had the honors of being buried at sea. Like the funeral of an honored sailor or a brave viking. The depths of the ocean seemed more gentle of a resting place than the cold and unfeeling earth. They offered Cassander's last voyage a forlorn wave of their hand as the sea took him, a single teardrop trailing down their cheeks. Emotion got the better of them and the teardrop flowed free. Their hand inched closer to a Firebird teammate beside her and grabbed their wrist in an attempt to ground themself. Others surely grieved more than Ariel, those who shared a team with Cassander, but this was sad for everone. This was supposed to be a new beginning. There should be hello's and not goodbye's. Ariel had always hated goodbye's. The finality of never seeing what you left behind again. They wanted to hold on hope, that there would be no need for goodbye's.

[color=fde1ef][b][i]"Jumpa lagi,"[/i][/b][/color] Ariel whispered in Malay. See you later. Maybe later, they could properly meet Cass.

As the procession drew to a close, Ariel would be among the last to depart from the funeral. Nothing awaited them back with the others. Only tension and reflections of grief. The ocean offered a better reflection. Even with a dearly beloved friend in its embrace, even as thousands of bodies laid beneath its surface, the ocean continued to ebb and flow and roil and wave. Nothing short of the Sun consuming the planets whole could stop the ocean. Ariel resolved to be like the ocean. They would never stop never stopping. Like that boy who flipped off Hyperion.

Ariel owed him a visit some time. He was interesting.

A long sigh comes from them, and they finally acquiesced and moved out of the funeral grounds. Hopefully, the students would have a little more time before they had to say goodbye to anyone else. Ariel walked up to the rest of Team Firebird, a gentle and accommodating smile on their face as they straightened up their dress uniform. Enough comfort for themself, they were here now to comfort anyone else. A week was nowhere near enough time for the average youth to process grief. A week was nowhere near enough time for the average youth to understand that they were about to risk their lives.

They'd need at least two weeks for that.[/INDENT]
[color=SILVER][SUP][table][row][/row][row][cell][color=#2c2c2c]- -[/color]|◄ [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5445111][COLOR=fde1ef][b]FIRST[/b][/COLOR][/url][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][center]◄ [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5445693][COLOR=fde1ef][B]PREV[/B][/COLOR][/url] || [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5448985)][COLOR=fde1ef][B]NEXT[/B][/COLOR][/url] ►[color=#2e2c2c]-[/color][/center][/cell][cell][color=2c2c2c]-[/color][/cell][cell][INDENT][right][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5450585][COLOR=fde1ef][B]LATEST[/B][/COLOR][/url] ►|[/right][/INDENT][/cell][/row][/table][/SUP][/color]