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[color=lightsteelblue]  E L L E  M I L L E R[/color][/center]
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[indent] Elle had a smile growing on her lips as she made her way towards the stadium. She shook her head in bemusement as she read over the chicken scratch of a book list that her newest patient had given her. [color=lightsteelblue]"Hyperhuman law, huh?"[/color] She murmured to herself. She folded the paper once more and placed it in her skirt's pocket. Her eyes turned towards the groups of students ahead of her, yet her smile grew into a grin. [i]Who would have thought...[/i]

She was soon inside, the grin dissipating into a serious expression. She took her spot by her fellow firebirds. Mostly strangers, she realized as she looked down the line at them. Her attention roved over the other teams. Eclipse, of course, taking less time to observe now that they were missing students. Would anyone dare to fill their ranks? She wondered how broken the team might be, now that their student rep and half of the others hadn't been heard of since that night a week ago.  She took in Jim O'Neil, Blackjack's faculty advisor. Her eyes glanced at his empty sleeve, for one painful second, before quickly moving onto the students beside him. She still wasn't sure how he had lost it, and she felt guilty that she didn't want to know either. Team Blackjack appeared steeled in their positions. Though they were down two students, their group seemed to overpower the room. She could sense anxiety, determination, and anger radiating from them. She recalled the moments after the funeral this morning. Their sworn vengeance against Hyperion and his Children. As reckless as that seemed to her now, she had to admit that they were smart. Enough to trigger her own lightbulb moment while she stood nearby.

Her eyes stopped on the blonde. Elle immediately recognized her from a news report she'd skimmed over a few months back. [i]Calliope De León[/i]. The top name on Loverboy's list. It had rung a bell back at the infirmary, but she didn't know why until now. At least now she knew who to approach at the end of the ceremony.

So many strangers in one room... Time to change that. She turned to the person next to her and gave them a polite smile. [color=lightsteelblue]"Hey-"[/color]

The intercom rudely cut her off, interrupting any attempt to get to know one of her fellow students. [color=lightsteelblue]"Wow, I thought we still had a bit to wait."[/color] She murmured to them, before her attention turned towards Dr. Lehrer himself.

The year started [i]"rather irregularly"[/i]. She still hadn't heard a faculty member refer to that night as an attack yet. There was no doubt that they were thinking it. Yet they couldn't get the words out of their mouth.

[color=white]"It is not your responsibility or obligation to hunt down those who violated the sanctity of this institute nor to seek vengeance for your fallen classmates."[/color]

Elle's eyes slid back over to Blackjack. If felt like Dr. Lehrer himself had an idea of what the team was going through. Perhaps he shared the same sentiment... or perhaps he had ears all over campus that shared their earlier conversation with him. She couldn't know how well the team had gotten to know Cassander Charon. Yet from the steel in their voices this morning, Elle had to guess that it meant a lot to them to have someone stand up to Hyperion. To stand up for [i]them[/i]. 

She watched as O'Neil turned to speak to his team, giving them one last explanation about the team swap. Elle wouldn't be surprised if a few of them made the jump.

[color=white]"Please step forward and remove your armband."[/color]

Elle stood still, but her eyes darted around the field at any who stepped forwards. She took a deep breath, her eyes moving to look up at Lehrer as Miranda continued to explain the ritual. She recalled her first meeting with him. She'd been clear about what she expected to gain from being here. Those expectations, as grand as they might seem, were on her mind as she reached for the armband on her blazer...

and stepped forwards into the open space between teams.

She didn't dare to look back at the students behind her. She didn't need a fresh start. She still had to begin. She had no doubts that she'd flourish within Team Firebird. Hopefully none of them would take it personally. She still intended to get to know them.

Her gaze turned to Miranda Rivers, who approached her with a knowing smile and the two armbands for Eclipse and Blackjack. Elle presented a warm smile. [color=lightsteelblue]"Thank you for the opportunity."[/color] She said as she took the armbands from the advisor. Who simply nodded and patted her hand before turning to see if anyone else had stepped forward.

Elle looked down at the three armbands. Three decisions to make. One was easy. She tucked that armband beneath her second choice in her left hand. Her first choice she gently cupped in her right.

She raised her head now, looking towards the girl that had stood with none of the teams. It was interesting to see a student that transferred programs here. What could she share with Elle about her experience here? Elle wanted to give her a polite smile, but the small weight of the armband in her right hand kept her expression blank.

"On three, the whistle will blow and armbands go up."

Elle took a deep breath through her nose. No going back, now. This decision would shape her life at PRCU. She held her head high and straightened her shoulders. If there was one thing Elle needed from PRCU... it was to challenge herself. She wouldn't get far if she didn't have a team that would do so.

So as the whistle filled the silence in the field, Elle held her right hand up. Not straight, like she was waving her choice at the sky, but she held it palm up and extended. It was an offering, almost. As if she wanted permission from the group she was approaching to join their ranks.

Elle looked over the team. She didn't expect immediate acceptance from them. Nor did she expect a negative reaction. Whatever direction this offer would go, Elle was determined to see it through to the end. Her face expressed this sentiment as she drew closer and...

She stopped in front of Team Blackjack. Team Firebird's armband held loosely at her left side.

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