Fantasy Alpha: The First Heroes

[Seraph Darkfire]

Life is random. The mind attempts to add order to this randomness but it only partially succeeds.

Deep Lake City is one of the random facets of life, an eccentric and wealthy individual finding, purchasing, and landscaping an empty area of real estate just to build a lake for himself, only to die shortly after its completion is random.

Corporations buying and building on the land is an attempt of order, to create high rise hotels with an exceptional view for profit. Over time, randomness sets in again, more and more people buying or renting land for homes, businesses, parks, and a wide variety of transportation until you have a city of random lives intersecting over and over again.

Randomness created a city, created the lives within. Randomness created the crime and ordered minds sought to beat it back and when that wasn't enough, randomness created those who could.

Life is random, chaotic, and beautiful. Lives are always changing, for better and worse. Sometimes true evil comes from this random life.

Sometimes it is something truly Heroic.

----

It is early fall. Schools have just started back up. First year in college is a big step for most young adults, even more so for those who know exactly what it is they want to do with their lives. The first month goes by relatively easily, everyone settling into their classes and daily lives of the big city. Five students however, have had an interesting month. Whether they are friends or strangers, they have all head very similar physical changes, some easily passed off as the final changes from older teen to adulthood, some are not so well explained. They aren't dramatic changes, just odd. Easily defined muscles, a loss of weight, cleansing of most or all blemishes.

Things are only going to get stranger before they normalize. It is going to be a long year.​

 

[Yhmera]

There are many things one could call Rain. Happy, eccentric, forgetful, or space case. But the name Rain didn't seem to do that personality justice. She lived in a corner loft over a bar that her hippy parents owned. And she spent most of her time at her little art stand in one of the busier shopping areas in town. Selling paintings and pottery that she would make the day before. That was when she wasn't in class.

Rain was working hard to become the next local sensation and took as many art classes as she could. Even if she couldn't always remember when they started. Or when a project was due. But at least she was giving college life a solid try. The sun just started to crest the sky when Rain came walking out with a bag in one hand and an easel in the other. She was halfway down the stairs when she realized she had forgotten her paintbrushes. Quickly she dropped everything off at her little beetle bug car then headed back up. She was on her way out again when she realized she had left her keys. Rain made a total of 5 additional trips to her loft before finally heading out.

She was dressed in a dark purple sundress that flowed gently around her. A mismatched bright orange cardigan covered her shoulders and arms. Bits of paint or even smudges were she absentmindedly wiped her hands covered her dress. Giving it a very abstract look that matched her tie-dyed hair. Amethysts eyes peering over her lightly tinted sunglasses as she worked to get ready for school.

Once again Rain was late for class and ended up with a spot in the back. Not that she minded. It meant she was close to the window and could feel the warm rays of the morning light flooding in on her. Being in the back normally meant she wouldn't hear a thing. However, over the past month things have started to change a little. Before Rain could only hear of she had her cochlear device on. But now, she was starting to pick up some sounds without them. It had become a game to see how much she could hear now. So being in the back often gave her a chance to test her suddenly improving hearing. She just wished it improved enough to hear without them. Whether it was a selfish wish or not, it was one she couldn't help but to make.

Like always, the window offered its blessings but also offered its distractions. Instead of doing the coal drawing of today's model, Rain would glance out the window and focus on the man sitting against the building on the other side of the street. His clothes dirty and hair matted with a few days of hair growth on his face. A bag on one side of him and blankets in a push basket on the other. Held tightly in his hands was a brown sack with a bottle of some sort in it. She could only assume alcohol of some type. Before she realized it, the class was over and all she had to turn in was the coal drawing of what appeared to be a homeless man. Not the model she should have focused on.

After turning in her work, Rain headed out and went to the cafeteria. The smell of turpentine and patchouli clung to her skin. Upon entering she made sure her device was turned off first. Even before the change in her hearing started, the cafe was just too noisy to have it on. Rain bought a few lunches, using her phone to text and help communicate what she wanted. Once everything was bought, she headed out to where she saw the man. As she thought, around the corner were two more people. Walking over, she gave them the meals with the carefree smile she always had. With no reply as they tried to thank her. Just a smile. Turning on her toes, she started back into the college once more.

 

[jrink]

Roden Meriweld​

Roden pushed his cheek into the cool glass of the bus window, drummed a nervous beat on the bare skin of his knee as he peered at the phone contained in his palm. No message was flickering across the screen for the moment - it was as dark as the eyes that peered at it expectantly. Touching the home-screen to light it up for a moment, Roden took in the time, 5:38.

It was a whole 8-minutes past when the email had said to expect either a confirmation or rejection. Roden wasn't sure whether to be frustrated with himself for expecting the promptness or with the committee for have the gall to even promise it. He was just beginning to look away when the phone lit up for a moment more with a little ping and the dark-haired man found himself leaning forward unconsciously, expectation flickering lightning fast across his brown eyes.

It was just a 'good morning' text from his mother.

Roden sighed deeply, annoyed enough to thrust his phone into the deep depths of the backpack underneath him and zip it closed, resolved to not check it again for at least an hour. The resolve was a weak one, he knew any sudden vibration or sound from it would shatter it in a second, but he made it nonetheless. He forced his attention elsewhere, out the window at the slowing pavement as the bus grinded to a noisy halt in front his destination.

This time of the day, the pavement in front of the college was only dotted with the small, moving crowd that was the early-morning crew. Most of these people he knew by face, if not intimately, by now. More then half were on the team, the rest the few unlucky enough to be slated for an early morning class. Tearing himself away from the window to swing his backpack over his shoulders and shake out the stiffness in his lower legs, Roden paused as the old man in the aisle across from his slid to his feet, made a slow, half stumbling, half walking exit. Roden took the space behind him, slowing his steps to a measure of one every ten seconds.

A couple of months ago, this slowness would've aggravated him, annoyed him enough to prompt a quick, shouldering exit with no regard for those around him. Now however, Roden found he didn't mind it much. Maybe it that he was getting used to the crowds that frequented the city bus, getting soft to the plight of the every-day bus commuter as he was starting to become one himself.

The man stumbled abruptly as he reached the steps and without thinking Roden jerked forward, hands closing over the man's shoulders to steady him.

The man's eyes flickered back to reach his once they'd cleared the steps and reached pavement, a grateful smile pulling the corner of his lips up. Awkwardness settled a heavy hand over his Roden's senses as he forced a half smile to his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes. That didn't seem to bother the old man any as he turned to go, Roden's eyes staying focused on his receding figure for a beat.

A vibration from his bag followed by a light ping quickly pulled his attention away, Roden jerking the bag from his shoulders to his hands as he frantically unzipped it, dipped his fingers into the dark space until they closed over his phones familiar shape.

'behind you' the lit screen simply read, and Roden felt annoyance rear its head. He attempted to force his expression into something bordering neutrality as he turned fully to take in his friend's - Ben Blackshaw, the phone's sender information had read - pale, smiling face. The expression-change obviously wasn't a successful one as his friend's lips slid down into an exaggerated frown as their eyes met.

"Someone's in a mood," Ben observed, stepping closer a bit cautiously before clarity lit up his pale face. "wait, the Clancy internship thing? Is it about that?"

"Yea," Roden muttered swinging his backpack back over his shoulders as he fell into step beside the blonde, towards the university's recreational building. "they said we'd know by 5:30 whether we were in or not. It's maybe 5-minutes from 6 now? Still no idea."

"Oh.." Ben trailed off, something like sympathy washing over his pale face as his thoughts likely went where Roden's had been going all day despite his best efforts at pushing them back. That maybe he hadn't been accepted, that he'd been waitlisted or even just flat-out denied to have not received any sort of confirmation for this long.

The silence between them had persisted for too long. It was beginning to pull more of these doubts to the surface and as Roden's hand closed over a sharp fist, he let his voice break into it.

"Can we talk about something else though? Like anything but that."

"Yea," Ben confirmed, "of course, yea. Maybe like how if it's really just 5-minutes from 6, we're about to be in real big trouble with coach sanders?"

Roden's lips slid up into a smile in spite of himself as they reached the building. "That's a good one."

..

Coach Sanders seemed to be in a good mood today, so any worries the boys had held about the 'trouble' Ben had predicted dissipated just as quickly as Roden's thoughts on the internship did as he turned all of focus towards practice. Today was a hill-day, so he focused on giving the hills his all as the team went up-down, up-down, a routine they were all used to doing by now but still left them all exhausted.

Roden though had found his stamina had improved enough in the past few weeks to allow him a couple more go's of the hill they'd lovingly christened the bfh (big f**ing hill). For the sake of team morale, he relented and the team was finally dismissed. Glancing at his phone for the time as he made his way into the showers Roden realized they'd gone over today. It was 6:18.

That gave him just 12-minutes to shower and get ready for his first class of the morning - physics II. In order those tasks, Roden skipped out on the usual locker morning ramble, instead speedily showering and dressing. He managed that in around 7-minutes and before long was making his to the science and math building, hair still dripping with a bit of excess moisture from that shower.

Hastily, Roden took an empty seat near the back and pulled his notes out to sit on the table before him. As the teacher - Professor Hardwick - entered the titters in the class quieted to a dull hum as he dimmed the lights, begin to flash yet another Powerpoint across the screen.

The boredom-inducing content of today's lesson paired with the dimmed lights made it quite difficult for Roden to keep from dozing off today. He barely managed it, sitting up abruptly and wiping his eyes as the class was finally dismissed. Pushing back a yawn as he exited, school stuff securely fastened across his back, Roden thought through his schedule for today, deciding now was the time for a break, for some breakfast.

The cafeteria beckoned; Roden pushed away any thoughts of the internship as he made his way over.

 

[Baryonray]

Robert "Rob" Ferro​

"Again?"

Will shot daggers at the girl passing out flyers near the lunch room. Rob lazily dragged his attention to the source of his friend's whining, before rolling his eyes at her dyed hair and fashion sense - she was "one of those ones." Whatever, who cared. This wasn't worth his time, he needed to get food off-campus before the next class. But Rob couldn't pull himself away, his feet had been fused to the spot. He studied the student's mixed success as her peers swam in and out of the cafeteria.

"Who is she?" Rob caved.

"Some loser that won't leave everyone else alone." Will sneered, throwing up an arm in frustration. "Can she even do that? Aren't there rules against this?"

The girl's brown eyes caught Rob's from across the room, and his face flushed. Shit. Rob's shoulders tensed as his fingers clenched around the strap of his messenger bag. Her hand innocently lifted the paper his way, "Do you want-"

Will hollered, loud enough to attract prying eyes, "Nobody wants your junk! No one cares about your protests, you're not special."

"Fuck off," the blue-girl snapped back.

The subtle drone of passerby's died to make space for this mortifying scene. Rob couldn't breathe. The floor was turning to quicksand and swallowing him up. What a miserable pair.

"Will, shut up." Rob pulled his feet from the hole Will had dug and bolted. Will pouted about something, but followed in tow. Rob wasn't sure if he was grateful Will had listened or angry that Will was still hanging over him.

The promising start of Rob's first college year had soured rapidly. The family's donations and history with the college had made him a shoe-in, he had gotten into the top fraternity with ease, and he had been setting the groundwork for future business connections with his professors. He could keep up with his grades with hard work and the first few parties were good. The escape from his cozy mansion and the daily walks to college had even made him more fit, made it easier to breathe despite his allergies. But now he was dealing with...whatever this was. This wouldn't have happened a month ago. A month ago, Rob would have ignored Will, and the blue-girl, and be halfway to a half-decent restaurant, but lately his body had been betraying him. Someone had stolen it from him, and clawed his eyes open to stare at people and topics he disdained. The universe was cruel.

Rob reached the outdoors of the campus and felt the sun touch his face. He instinctively sucked in a gulp of air and breathed out the lingering tension. Rob scratched the side of his head, itching at short tufts of blonde hair at the top. It would pass. It had to pass, eventually.

Rob and Will strolled to the main intersection nearby. Cars zipped by on all sides, either trying to rip from the college's grasp or trying to reach the same restaurants and bars littered on the larger street a few blocks down. Calmed down from before, the eighteen-year-old patiently waited at the edge of the crosswalk with several other pedestrians, half-listening to Will and politely nodding and smiling at the right times. The topics were mercifully mundane. Will didn't like his roommate. Will was doing well on the football team. A group of juniors were laughing and teasing each other as they approached the crosswalk. Will wasn't offering flyers, thank god. One of the juniors in that group was reveling at a reaction and lightly jostling his friend.

Dread settled in Rob's gut at the creeping awareness of something amiss. That junior and his friends weren't stopping, weren't paying attention to the cars or the road. They had to notice soon, right?
The crosswalk's signal changed to red. They had to stop, right? Cars from down the street were rushing to meet them. They weren't stopping. Rob's eyes widened in disbelief as the brunette student's foot entered traffic.

"Stop!" Rob jumped forward, snatched the man's hand, and yanked his arm back, hard. They stumbled back as a truck flew by a foot from the junior's face.

The brunette shuffled away and rubbed his shoulder, the sunny smile on his face swept away by shock. His friends crowded around him like a blanket. Rob stared at the ground and clenched his jaw, the sound of blood pumping filling his ears. This was too much.

"Thanks, man," someone whispered.

"No problem..."

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Yhmera D Dgjkbfx jrink Baryonray
.chxrryette.

Rain, Juniper, Elora, Roden, and Robert.

This was the day things truly changed for these five. Heading to class, leaving class, talking with friends, helping others. They found themselves drawn towards a crowd that had been forming for the last couple of minutes.

Various forms of conversation rippled around the crowd, each person asking if they should help, do something. All seeking confirmation that they didn't have to do anything. The mentality of 'Someone else will take care of it' was heavy. Not necessarily a bad mentality, just a neutral one, one that most people had. They wanted to help but were unsure of what they could do to help and thus left it to someone, anyone, that would be better fit.

The reason these people were talking this way? A young man was hanging from a building, legs dangling uselessly as he struggled to keep himself from falling further. The faces around them were filled with apprehension at the sight but also uncertainty.

Their changes over the last month didn't just enhance their senses or their ability to feel compassion. It enhanced their minds as well, in an instant several points of information was taken note of. The fact that the man didn't use his legs at all, the wheelchair smashed on the ground with what appeared to be a minibike engine strapped to it, the broken fencing on the ledge above where he was dangling. All of this information came together to give a story.

The building was the engineering department and the man, clearly a student, was learning to be an engineer. He'd obviously rigged up his normal electric wheelchair to give it more of a boost. Unfortunately, the boost had been too much, fling the wheelchair and its occupant off the building, with the man barely able to catch and hold himself.

Then he slipped, one of his hands losing purchase.

Each of them were surprised to find that not only did they immediately rush out to help, but so did four other people. They'd never met before, never interacted more than the basic student passing another interactions, but they each noted the look in their eyes and immediately came together, interlocking their arms and hands to form a human net. With surprising accuracy, the man dropped right into their waiting arms, each dropping slightly to match his speed and lessen the impact.

A second later they could hear the wail of police and firetruck sirens as they pulled up.

It took about an hour to get statements and reprimands towards the five students who'd risked not only the life of the person falling, but their own as well. However, despite the stern way the police officers had spoken to them, they seemed impressed and proud that they'd actually taken action. Afterwards, once the excitement had died down, the five were left alone with each other.

"That was...just amazing" a voice said behind them. The man from before was rolling up in a more analog but less smashed wheel chair. He looked surprisingly young, around nineteen or twenty years old "Jeremy Michaels" he said giving them a wave "Had to come talk to you after they finally let me go. I need a way to thank you guys. Let me buy you all dinner or something. Least I can do for saving my life" he laughed.

 

[Yhmera]

Everything happened so fast. Rain hardly had time to wrap her mind around it. She was headed back into the building. But as she opened the door people started filing out. Like all scatterbrains, after a few minutes of holding the door, she turned to follow the crowd. That's when it happened. She and 4 others rushed out to help catch the man as he fell. Trying to give statements only using her phone was a pain but they finally got it all worked out. Only took a few hours for it all to be wrapped up.

Now she was standing there. Looking over the other 4 who helped save him. One seemed completely out of place. Dressed in the finest clothes with his pristine haircut and all. Then again, she probably looked equally out of place. Especially with the coal on her hands, arms, and face from today's classes. The other three, she didn't have an opinion on yet. Nor did she know how to communicate one. Talking in public was always a pain since most didn't understand her anyway. And texting to groups got frustrating since her train of thought flowed like a piece of tangled spaghetti.

She would have never noticed the man who had come back if it weren't for the eyes being diverted in his direction. So his name was Jeremy. Rain simply offered a smile and a nod as he invited them out for food. Who didn't love food as a reward for anything?

A hand reached for a back pocket that wasn't there. Right, she was in her sundress today. Digging into the over sizes pockets of her cardigan to find they were empty too. That's right, she already checked those with the cops. Oh yeah, her shoulder bag! But it wasn't there. Amethyst eyes danced about until spotting it on a bench. Quickly she darted out over to grab it. Pulling out her phone to find it was dead. Need to remember to charge that later. If she could. So she turned to the alternative. A little pad and pin she kept for such emergencies. Glad you're safe. Food sounds great. Name is Rain. She wrote down handing the tablet over for him to see.

 

[Baryonray]

Robert "Rob" Ferro​

Rob was returning from lunch with Will when the incident happened. The second incident today. Another guy with another death wish had been one slip away from falling off the roof and splashing on the ground. This kid wasn't family, and he wasn't important, and - Rob later realized in a bitter haze - it was probably his own fault he was there. Yet Rob shoved through the crowd and ran after the fool like it was Suzan; like his own life was on the line. Another Rob in the crowd probably rolled his eyes at him for playing hero.

Worse, four others had spawned from who-knows-where to play hero, too, and he had trusted them implicitly - or maybe he just didn't have time to question it. Worse than that, their last-second plan worked without a hitch, with little to no communication or confusion. How? ...At least the student was safe, and no one was injured. Ferro had felt a kernel of relief untangle the knot in his gut when the roof-guy came-to unscathed.

"You could have died," a policeman had reprimanded. You're very helpful, and It should have been you, was what Rob kept to himself. He was good at getting along with policemen, teachers and parents, good at being polite and respectful to them. "I couldn't just let him fall," Rob helplessly shrugged his shoulders, "sorry, sir." The officer relaxed the criticisms after that.

While good at hiding his annoyance with the policeman, Rob did a poorer job of hiding his mixed reaction toward the other rescuers. Standing in their proximity felt like a bad omen. He snatched curious and suspicious glances at them, crossing his arms to create a wall.

Were they like him? Or was this normal for them? Only one person read as "normal" to him - the man with dark brown eyes that looked like he played sports. The other man had a messy mop of hair and what read like torn hand-me-down's, and the two women reminded him of blue-girl in the lunchroom. Tattoos, piercings, dyed hair, odd clothes. Rob glanced at the rainbow of colors framing the one student's charcoal-powdered face and his ears reddened at the renewed embarrassment.

When Robert heard a new voice and saw roof-guy, Jeremy, he forgot the relief he had felt for Jeremy's safety and vividly recalled the resentment that had been building in the last hour. It would look bad to shout at the person that almost died on campus, but half of him didn't care. Rob grimaced like he swallowed a nasty pill.

The sound of quick footsteps and the creak of leather brought his attention back to the rainbow haired girl, who looked like a painting had been done on her instead of a canvas, as she pulled out a writing pad, and it was the first time Rob noticed that she hadn't been speaking today. Was she mute? Ferro glanced at the message. Her name was Rain, and, it seemed, she was not as frustrated as Rob. The student with piercings, was, though!:

"What the f**k did you do to end up on the roof?! How could you be so reckless?!"

Robert took half a step back in shock at the outburst. But it was an ally on his island. Someone else was angry, someone else wanted to yell at Jeremy, too. Fantastic.

"Yeah!" Rob blurted, louder than intended, and flung an arm her way to emphasize her point. "It's not our job to babysit you! If it had been any other day, any other hour, you wouldn't be here. What the hell were you doing?"

 

[jrink]

Roden Meriweld​

One second, Roden had been making his way across campus to the dorms from his last class of the day, thoughts of a quick nap, maybe some food, occupying the the spaces of his mind. The next, the nervous chatter of a quickly forming crowd was drawing his attention. The spike of curiosity that pricked the edges of his mind like a needle was more pervasive than the exhaustion - Roden made his way to the outermost edge of the crowd, searched out a familiar face. There were a couple, though the most familiar was one ginger head closer to the front - one of his track buddies, Lionel. Elbowing his way over, Roden slid into the space beside the ginger, taking in the concern-twisted face, the pale eyes that looked far beyond him. The question died on his tongue as he followed Lionel's line of sight to the building and to the decidedly male figure dangling at the edge, far below him, a smashed wheelchair.

His mouth went dry, instinct more so than thought ruling his next actions as the man's hand slipped. Duly he could hear the voices of the crowd behind him raise an octave as he shouldered his way to the front. Others joined him, Roden then only dully acknowledging that the faces beside his were unfamiliar, perfect strangers. Despite this, their combined efforts in forming the human-net were enacted without a single word passed between them. It felt like his track team back home almost, the synchronicity without a word, the familiarity of it all sending a momentary surge of homesickness through the dark-haired man.

Just as quickly as that feeling had come however, it passed the instant the wail of sirens touched his ears. Breaking free of the human net they'd formed and edging his way to the back of the group quickly, Roden pushed down the panic that rose at that familiar sound, interlocking his fingers into a tight if painful motion as the police made their way over. It was just stern if half-hearted reprimands that came from the officers as they took statements, but even so Roden found he couldn't bring himself to relax even a little until they'd finally left, taking the majority of crowd with them.

Finally it was just him, and the group of other unlikely heroes.

Uncurling his hands to let them loosely dangle at his sides, Roden let his eyes flit over the group. He was loathe to talk for the time being, only numbly taking in the mix of colors and clothes that was this group of strangers. Though they'd initially provoked a bit of warmth for Roden with the thoughts of home just an hour earlier, now the dark-haired man found just glancing at them brought on a wave of fresh stress he pushed down just as quickly as it came.

Was it coming from the still unexamined oddness of the moment in which they'd all acted as one, or was it the remembered nervousness that came with the scrutiny of police eyes? Or perhaps it was something else entirely?

Roden wasn't sure, though just standing here wasn't bringing him any closer to the truth of it.

An unfamiliar voice tore into Roden's thoughts, the dark-haired man reluctantly turning to take in the man from earlier, the one who'd fallen, atop a new wheelchair. He was awfully cheery all things considered, though Roden decided it was maybe his reaction to the stress of almost dying. If not that, maybe he was a bit crazy? Duly, the dark-haired man tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment of the guy - Jeremy he'd said his name was' - introduction, pausing at the offer to buy them dinner.

Though an amused sort of exasperation did briefly touch at his thoughts, the only thing Roden could really grasp onto in the moment was exhaustion as the others quickly broke in to express their thoughts on the invite. First was the rainbow-haired woman with her assent hurriedly written on a pin pad along with her name - Rain. An odd median of communication, but connotative of her perhaps being deaf, though he couldn't make out any hearing device on either of her ears upon first inspection. Maybe it was some new technology?

Then the tattooed, dark-haired woman was yelling, cursing and the copper-haired, preppier looking guy joining in with more or less the same reaction. Although Roden couldn't entirely fault the two of them for their emotional response after what they'd just gone through, his eyes still flickered around with something like embarrassment at what remained of the crowd. Thrusting his hands into the pockets of his mustard sweatshirt as his mind inevitably turned towards making a quick exit punctuated by a hasty farewell, Roden found himself for some reason pushing those more selfish thoughts back as he considered the group, attempted to dispel the tension.

"I'm glad you're okay, Jeremy. Like they said, that could've gone really bad," his eyes flickered towards the others. "but it didn't, thank god. And I'm not really sure why, or how any of it, us, happened. But its good right? So can we just focus on the good of it, for now?"

It was an awkward string of sentences but Roden said it nonetheless, a red tinge taking to the corner of his ears as he finished and his eyes darted downward, fingers finding a free thread within his hoodie to distract himself with.

 

[.chxrryette.]

＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／
Outfit : Link
Location(s) : Gymnasium & Campus
Interactions / Mentions : Everyone
＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／

Spoiler: Post

From ledge to ledge, the girl leapt. Rough, powdery-white hands grabbed a hold of each rock that protruded out while her legs swung from side to side in search of stability. With every grunt, the girl reached another height on the rock-climbing wall; small balls of sweat glided down her freckled face. Not for one moment did she stumble or lose her hold on each ledge. From a bystander’s point of view, she looked as if she was flying. Her struggle was minimal, and she calculated every leap. Within a minute she had scaled the rocky surface of the wall and had reached the very top. Her free hand formed a fist, and she pumped it into the air in victory. “Hell yeah!” She could not help but yell those very words at the top of her lungs. The pride she felt at that moment was boundless. This was Juniper Reynolds, rock-climbing enthusiast and kickboxer.

She eased herself downwards with the support of the harness and let out a sigh of relief once her sneakers hit the rubbery safety mat beneath the wall. Juniper released her hair from its hair tie and shook it. The sweat-dampened, unruly black locks of hair found its way into her eyes and she brushed back her hair with a hand with a slight huff of annoyance. To her side, her coach begun clapping with an enormous grin plastered across his face. He looked like a proud father about to congratulate his child on winning a championship. “Good job, Juniper! You just beat your record by a landslide. Incredible.” He approached her and they fist-bumped as they shared a chuckle.

“Damn, I don’t know coach. It’s like rock-climbing’s become a bit easier for me nowadays.” Her lisp ever-so present in almost every word she spoke.

It was all true. She herself had noticed differences in her stamina and strength. Though she already toned because of rock-climbing and kickboxing, it seemed as if her body and upgraded in the last few weeks. Even in kick-boxing, her teacher was adamant in seeking the answer—or the “secret” in how good she had become in such a short time. Of course, she brushed it off as a product of her balanced diet and intense workout routines. Nothing more, nothing less.

Personality-wise, Juniper was a complicated girl. She was uncontrollable as her wild, curly hair and as boisterous as they came. What she lacked in intelligence and wisdom, she gained in charisma and strength. Juniper had her faults as she was ignorant, foolish, and naïve. She had a tendency to rush into situations without a second thought, and she would be unprepared to the fullest degree because of this. Her spontaneity had costed her, but had also rewarded her from time to time. According to her friends, she has a heart of gold and will put everything on the line for those she cared about. She was more than happy to sacrifice her well-being for another. As the loyal, bubbly, and excitable girl she was, Juniper brought more optimism and energy to the table than anything else.

“Yes, that is true.” Her coach replied. He then looked down at his clipboard and scanned Juniper’s recent results at every practice. “In fact… I believe you have broken your past record with every session. Are you sure you haven’t been taking supplements to prepare for the championship, Juniper?”

That was the one event that Juniper had been looking forward to for almost her entire life. It would be the moment she chased after her father’s dreams and place 1st amongst other skilled climbers. Her father had always enjoyed hiking and climbing the steep mountains on trails around the world, but after a tragic fall he became paralyzed, unable to seek joy from the sport he once loved. Juniper, having gone on multiple excursions with her father, also fell in love with rock-climbing. To win the championship would not only mean the world to her and to her father. She will not lose, hence the rather recent updates to her daily routine.

After she used a hand towel to rub away the beads of sweat that rolled down her face, Juniper’s expression morphed into that of a pout. “Coach, come on! I’ve already told you, all I’ve done is switch up my diet and fitting in some more exercises than usual. That’s all.” Once her coach crossed his arms with a hint of an expectant smirk, she rolled her eyes and assumed her own defiant stance. “I’m serious… Promise. The only reason I’ve gotten better is because I’ve switched up my exercises. Haven’t you always told me practice makes perfect?” Her already-present smile widened as her coach shook his head in slight disbelief. “Fine, fine. You don’t have to disclose to me your secrets.” He took a quick glance at his watch. “Anyway, don’t you have classes around this time or…”

Juniper’s eyes widened, and her mouth took the shape of an oval. “Classes!--Sorry coach, got to go before my professors kick my ass again,” Juniper explained and moved to the lockers that were near the front door of the gymnasium. She quickly turned her lock to the correct numbers and took out her backpack that was full to the brim with notebooks. The backpack was then slung over her right shoulder and sped towards the front doors. Juniper nodded a farewell to her coach and left the building.

Upon exiting, she walked up to her bike that was loosely secured to a pole with a rope. ‘I should probably save up for a lock’ Juniper thought to herself, untying the poorly made knot and hopping onto her bike. Her class was 15 minutes away from the gymnasium. She might make it in time before her first professor slaps an automatic F on her transcript.

As she road to campus, her bright blue eyes caught sight of the many people who lived in Deep Lake City. After all, she remembered growing up in a small town, of which was full of same people she knew for years. There was not much diversity in her hometown. But when she moved to Deep Lake City, she realized how many various types of people who lived outside of the countryside. She was excited to experience a place that had more to offer than the quiet old town of Fauston.

Not only did Deep Lake City have a diverse population of civilians, it also had various shops and cafes. Juniper was only accustomed to the Fauston’s one or two miniature, family-owned restaurants, not hundreds of family-owned and corporate-owned facilities. How was she supposed to visit these shops and restaurants without becoming overwhelmed to some extent?

Lost in her thoughts, and paying no attention to what or who was in front of her, Juniper almost ran over an elderly woman. Juniper used her feet to skid to a stop and muttered several apologies to the lady before she got back on track and headed towards campus once again. She needed to stop losing focus on trivial things such as the city’s amenities.

Ten minutes later, Juniper had arrived at the science department. A few seconds later, she heard two familiar voices call out her name. Juniper brought her bike to a stop and glanced over to the side where she saw the twins, Keagan and Michael, approach her.

“Hey June!” Keagan greeted, skipping to Juniper with a twinkle in her eye. Michael, her twin brother, greeted Juniper with a brief nod.

“Hey guys! Wait… aren’t you both earlier than this?” This question warranted an explanation, and Michael was already one step ahead.

He glared daggers into the back of Keagan’s head. All the while, Keagan purposely ignored her brother with a guilty face. “Hmm, I don’t know... Why don’t you answer that, Keagan?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about—”

“She took way longer on her makeup this morning than any other day. Ever.” Seems Michael was not giving Keagan a chance to explain herself.

“Hey… I have a lot of things to do today and I have to make sure I look good for all of those events. I can’t look like a goblin, you know. First impressions count.”

Michael narrowed his eyes as he inspected Keagan's face. “Yeah… I guess you failed in that regard, didn’t you?”

“Asshole!” Keagan screamed, though it sounded more like a chipmunk who squealed. She punched him in the shoulder and a yelp came from him in response.

Juniper would often play referee in these occasional sibling wars and break the twins up, but class was to start in a minute. She was not about to fail yet another class. And so, she slipped away and entered the building, leaving the twins to bicker outside.

- - -

When the professor dismissed the class for the day, Michael leaned back in his chair with a loud groan. “Any chance we can go get something to eat? I’m suffering over here.”

“Good, keep suffering. I hope you starve.” Keagan was not one to forgive and forget, she was the complete opposite. Holding long-lasting grudges was her forte.

Michael and Juniper exchanged glances. “And who’s fault was that? We didn’t even have time to eat breakfa—” Michael began, but Juniper was quick to cut him off.

“How ‘bout we go to the campus café? There’s been a salad I’ve always wanted to try there.” Now it was time for the twins to exchange glances. They both responded with their own version of “ok” and the three of them gathered their belongings and headed outside.

- - -

“Hey… what’s happening over there?” Keagan pointed out the formed crowd, a look of worry crossing her face as she covered her mouth with her well-manicured hand.

Michael squinted in order to see the scene unfolding a distance away. “Oh, shit…” He cursed, his expression matching his sister’s own.

Juniper took to evaluating the situation as well. Once she saw the boy holding on for dear life from the rooftop of a building, she sprang into action. “I’ll be back.” Juniper said in a hurry and broke off into a full sprint towards the building. The twins did not have any time to advise her against her sudden decision since she was already halfway there.

She pushed through the crowd to get a better look of the current circumstances. “Wait! Let me help too!” Juniper exclaimed when she saw four other students who were doing their best to save the dangling boy.

- - -

As stressed as Juniper was when she gave the police her statements, she was more than happy to see the once endangered boy greet them unharmed. Yet, before she could introduce herself along with the others, she heard two of the four other students berate him. Juniper could not help but flinch when the girl with tattoos blew a fuse and the other boy had also taken her position. Of course, Juniper was not the only one stressed about everything that just happened, but to take it out on Jeremy? The boy who almost lost his life today?

For once Juniper took a backseat in the conversation and waited until everyone had spoken. She would rather not step out of line on accident for this conversation.

“I agree with you.” Juniper said to the last boy who spoke. “At least everyone is safe and sound. We should look on the brighter side of things and be grateful that someone didn’t die today. I’m just happy we were there at the right time.” Juniper nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. “By the way, I’m Juniper—but you can call me June. Glad you’re safe, Jeremy.” She held out a hand in front of Jeremy with a giant grin on her face.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Yhmera D Dgjkbfx jrink Baryonray
.chxrryette.

Jeremy had barely a moment to read what Rain had written before he was being torn into by two of his five saviors. He didn't have time to reply before the other two stepped in to play peacekeeper. What an interesting group, such variety but all with the same care for their fellow man, something Jeremy had seen less and less of, especially after he lost the use of his legs. It wasn't that people didn't want to talk to him or look at him, but there had always been a slight air of...unease around him. But these five...while it may have been the stress of the situation, none of them even seemed to care that he was in a wheelchair. It was refreshing.

Then there was what he'd seen as he was falling. It could have been just a reaction to adrenaline or some trick of the mind, but when he'd looked down and saw them linking up to catch him he'd seen...

Juniper's hand broke his concentration and he smiled, her own smile far too infectious "Pleased to meet you June" he said chuckling as he looked at the rest of them "You as well Rain, though I haven't had the pleasure of everyone else's names. I should apologize for everything that has happened. I hadn't intended for the chair to have such a boost straight off the bat, it was supposed to slowly amp up, but it went from zero to a hundred real quick and pulled me off the roof"

"As for why I was up there, it was for my work. It is flat and open, people rarely go up there, and it is high enough that I won't disturb anyone else with the noise I make" as he spoke, he continued to look over the group and was amazed at how...attractive they were. They weren't alien beautiful or super model crafted beautiful, but there was something. Their hair was fuller and well maintained and he didn't spot any blemishes or signs of cover-up, it was the kind of skin that everyone wanted and commercials promised but no one actually had the time to maintain.

Then there was their strength. All of them were in good shape just by eye, Juniper being more obvious that she often worked out, but when they'd caught him, he'd felt no give that his weight had even made an impact. He wasn't a large person by any means but his falling velocity would have increased his mass by a small amount, enough to wind even five people but none of them even seemed tired or sore, they even had the energy to yell at him.

He laughed "It was definitely reckless, though, I'll give you that. I'll have to start implementing better safety procedures in the future. Might have been better if I'd had someone up there with me" he stretched slightly, his back popping in the process "But you two are right, everyone is safe and I'm alive, so if you all are interested in that dinner I'd love to-" he paused as a musical tone came from his pocket and he pulled his phone out to answer it.

"What the hell were you~!" he slapped his hand over the phone to block out the sound though everyone could still hear a feminine voice shouting though it was muffled. After a moment, it died down and he was able to place it to his ear.

"Sweetie..."

"Yes"

"No"

"...."

"...."

"...of course, I'm on my way" he hung up and looked at them sheepishly "It seems I may have to postpone that offer until this weekend. The Dean called and let my wife know what happened and she was understandably upset" he chuckled softly before pulling out a small notepad that he quickly flipped through. Quick eyes would spot the various diagrams and designs on each page before he found a blank one and quickly wrote out an address "This is the location of a nice little coffee shop that is one of my favorites, if you are all free this Saturday, I'd like it if you met me there. I'd like to get to know my saviors a bit better" he tore out the page and handed it to Juniper.

"Now, I should get home before she tans my backside" he gave them a wave before he headed off.

 

[jrink]

Roden Meriweld​

Roden's eyes darted up just as quickly as they'd flickered down as one of the other girls' voices broke the silence agreeing with him. That, paired with Jeremy's voice as he finally addressed some of their concerns, seemed to dispel some of tension that had been brewing within the group. Relaxing enough to relinquish his hold on the thread in his sweatshirt, Roden forced a weak smile to his lips even as the Jeremy once again made the offer for dinner.

In Roden's opinion though it was a nice gesture, it didn't seem like the best timing for that sort of thing, especially after an event like this where police statements and the like had come into play. He was just preparing to state something to that effect when the man's phone abruptly rang. The scolding that came from it - though muffled - was amusing enough to lighten the mood, at least for Roden who glanced down to cough in attempts to subtly mask his chuckle.

Per the scolding phone call Jeremy made a quick exit, attesting it to his wife's concern. The man still took the time to hand hand off the address of a potential meeting point, Roden finding his lips curling up into a more genuine smile in spite of himself at the man's persistence at getting a dinner/meeting with his 'saviors'. Maybe that was what prompted Roden to lean forward a bit towards the other girl - Juniper - to catch the scrawled address in her hand.

He recognized it as a coffee shop - bakery-hybrid place some of the liberal arts majors frequented. He'd been once or twice at Ben's behest (the guy sure had a sweet tooth) though it wasn't the best spot to go if you were trying to keep your weight in check, especially in the midst of their track season picking up. Pushing thoughts of the coffee shop away as Jeremy exited the fray, Roden found his eyes once again drawn to the remaining members of the group.

It was still... Awkward, but underneath those feelings brought on by the unfamiliarity Roden could still feel that same strange warmth - no, it was a weird sort of... magnetism - towards the rest of them, one that kept him in place for a moment longer then normal. It was weird to feel that way about perfect strangers, but maybe it was due to the circumstances that had brought them together. He vaguely remembered reading something about how trauma brought people together like no other event, but this had hardly been something traumatic enough to warrant all this, in his opinion.

The dark-haired, tattooed one - he still wasn't sure of her name - was the first to speak and Roden's eyes shot to hers as she hesitantly begin to leave. She seemed loathe to go as well, and that's perhaps what prompted Roden's next statement, the fact that maybe they - or one of them at least - felt that magnetism too.

Maybe Jeremy had had the right idea after all.

"Wait," Roden begin tersely, eyes darting up to meet the woman's before flickering over the rest of the group. "if any of you guys are hungry, I'm still heading to the cafe to grab a bite. You guys are welcome to join me if you want, or not. Fair warning though, I'm not half as nice as Jeremy so you'll have to pay for yourselves."

That said Roden angled his body towards the cafe, taking the first steps towards it even as his ears sought out the sound of footsteps, assent or dissent.

 

[Yhmera]

Rain was quick to jot down a note as Jeremy changed his mind on the lunch. She needed a copy of the address or she would never remember. Sooner her phone was recharged the better. A million reminders were always set on that thing. It was her life. One hand shoved the note to Juniper as she snapped to try and get Elora's attention. Man, how was she going to express anything to these people?

Frustration washed over as she looked around at everyone. There was someplace else she needed to be but didn't want to go. Offering a friendly smile, she wrote down one more note. This one was for them all. "Names Rain." That's was it. Short and simple.

Ron turned and spoke of food. Only catching a little of what he said. Still she quickly stepped up as if to follow. After all food was better in a group? How about in a group where they all just saved a life? Man, did she really just save a life?

 

[.chxrryette.]

＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／
Outfit : Link
Location(s) : Campus
Interactions / Mentions : Everyone
＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／

Spoiler: Post

Of course, Juniper did not prepare herself beforehand to save someone’s life today, and yet here she was, caught up in this situation with four other complete strangers. However, she saw this as an opportunity to better her social life at college and familiarize herself with those around her. Perhaps this was a chance for her to meet new people, other than the twins who had immediately clicked with her on her first day.

“So, guys—” After Jeremy had answered the phone call, Juniper could not help but flinch at the unknown female’s voice. She stopped speaking and remained quiet for the rest of the phone call. Since everyone was a bit quiet during the phone call, Juniper fiddled with her hoodie’s draw strings with a dissociated look on her face. Before she knew it, Jeremy was handing her a paper with an address scribbled onto it. She took a moment to read out the address, but none of the streets were familiar to her. To no avail, she could not figure out where this coffee shop was in the city; her finger came up to scratch her forehead in evident confusion. Juniper nodded a farewell to Jeremy and then looked to the others for answers.

Though, once she opened her mouth to say something, another boy had spoken up and invited everyone to come along with him to the café. Right, Juniper was already on her way to get something to eat, but was sidetracked by all the commotion; she felt her stomach rumble in agreement.

“Count me in!” She said with enthusiasm as she pulled out her phone and entered the address on the paper. Knowing her, she was bound to forget about it or lose the paper somewhere, and typing it onto a note prevented that from happening. “By the way,” Juniper began to say once she shoved the phone into her shorts’ pocket and then threw her arms above her head in a stretch. “I’m one of the few people who have introduced themselves, so far.” She glanced over to Rain, whose introduction Juniper saw for a split second on her tablet. “So, I need names. Unless, you guys are alright with me giving you some random nicknames to go by instead.” She teased as a wider grin replaced her gentle smile and motioned to the ones in question with an expectant look in her eyes.

“Especially since we should get to know each other at this café, if y'all choose to come with.” Juniper ended with a shrug and placed her hands into her shorts' pockets. She walked backwards slowly and watched the others to see if they would also follow.

 

[Baryonray]

Robert "Rob" Ferro​

The piece of paper with the address to the coffee shop hovered in Rob's periphery. The man didn't want to be associated with, let alone involved with, this lot, but curiosity pecked at his brain like a vulture. And then there was a momentary free pass, when one of the others began to pull away, freeing the knot that rooted the crowd of wannabe heroes there.

"Well...this was mighty fun and a bit fucking weird...I had best be off now."

Rob shifted one foot away as she turned, mouth half open to excuse himself in tandem, but he couldn't break away. There was no way anyone else would have any answers for what was happening, and it might not be so easy to get later. The woman hesitated, too.

"Wait," the athletic guy started, "if any of you guys are hungry, I'm still heading to the cafe to grab a bite. You guys are welcome to join me if you want, or not. Fair warning though, I'm not half as nice as Jeremy so you'll have to pay for yourselves."

That tipped him over. If it was one of the jocks, at least there was a semblance of normalcy, social and otherwise. The rainbow haired girl and sports girl joined him - Rain and Juniper.

"Yeah, yeah," Rob jabbed his hands into his pants pockets and breathed a sigh, "I'll join you. At least you don't run off roofs."

Juniper glanced over her shoulder and swiveled to look at the group. “So, I need names. Unless, you guys are alright with me giving you some random nicknames to go by instead. Especially since we should get to know each other at this café, if y'all choose to come with.”

Did they really need to get to know each other? A grimace slipped. Ferro didn't even want to remember names, or this month, in a week or two. Maybe Juniper and the other guy were fine, but being seen with a couple of these students was likely more trouble than its worth.

"I'm Rob." They weren't getting more than that. Ferro largely kept quiet as the crew moved toward the café, but as they neared it he caved and asked, "Have you all done a stunt like that before?" Robert more wanted to ask if they had been experiencing anything strange that month, but if they weren't, he was giving himself away.

 

[Yhmera]

It was hard keeping up with all the names. More like having problems remembering. She would have to write them all down later. But not right now. Now she was running low on paper and they were still needing to eat. At least she could hear. If worse came to wosre she could always try talking. No bad idea. talking in public always put her on edge. Mostly cause she didn't talk like others.

So in her care free style, She waved away everyone. Elora caught her eye for a moment. So many tattoos. Without thinking, she reached out and ran her fingers over a few of them. Tattoos normally had a meaning behind them. A form if art and expression. She couldn't help but to wonder what Elora was trying to say. Maybe it was about her life, or her job?

Rob on the other hand looked like he belonged in one of those super expensive prep schools. Drinking 100$ martinis or something like that. But there was something in his voice that suggested other wise. Yes he was a bit ridged and uptight. Maybe he wasn't use to common people?

Amethyst eyes dropped down to her own outfit. Wondering what it said about her? Then a smile tugged at her lips. It said she was an absent minded artist. She was sure. Maybe a bit of a mess pot too? Who knew?

Trying to bring her mind back to the here and now, she jotted her name "RAIN" down on paper and passed it off to Rob first since he wanted to know. Then she made a motion with her fingers like it was raining. Trying to show them the sign. Not that it mattered. Almost no one could understand her when she did that. After it was all done she simply tucked her pad into her pocket and clasped her hands behind her back. Kicking her feet out a hair, almost skipping as she walked about. Following the group quietly.

 

[jrink]

Roden Meriweld​

As Roden begin the walk towards the cafe, it was almost comforting to hear the general assent of the group vocalized behind him, the thump of footsteps on pavement following closely behind him. One of the girls - Juniper, he thinks she'd said her name was - mentioned something about introductions and Roden realized with a wry smile he still had yet to introduce himself. It hadn't seemed necessary those few hours ago, when the group was reeling from the stress of that full experience. But now since it seemed they would be spending more time together per his request, it had to be done.

"No nicknames for me, please," Roden intoned, glancing at Juniper as his lips curled up at the edges into a light smile. "my names Roden."

After the introductions were exchanged, the group lapsed into a silence Roden didn't want to read too much into. So instead he focused on the fastest route to the cafe from the street they were on, something that paid off as before long they'd reached a couple of paces before its familiar glass doors. Glad for it as hunger pangs had begin to roll through his stomach, Roden was just stepping forward to pull the door open when the other boy - Rob - asked a question. Pausing briefly, for some reason Roden found his thoughts turning towards the way his stamina had been improving in the past few weeks during track training, the way the muscle he'd had so much trouble retaining in the past were beginning to stick without much extra effort.

"Umm.. " Roden broke off, distractedly pulling the door to the cafe open and ushering the group in with his free hand. "I don't think so - Actually just no. This is a first for me. And hopefully this stuff is the craziest college is going to get for me."

 

[.chxrryette.]

＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／
Outfit : Link
Location(s) : Campus
Interactions / Mentions : Everyone
＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／＼／

Spoiler: Post

Juniper pursed her lips as she waited for the others to make their decisions. Personally, she would love to meet more people at this school. To make more relationships would only increase the chance of other doors opening. She could not just tag along with the twins for the entire semester without at least one other friend. They were nice and fun to hang out with, but surely, she could not have only two friends for the entirety of college. College life is supposed to be interesting and eventful—though Juniper could not exactly complain on that part. For the first few days she’s only been laying on her bed in her dorm, staring at the ceiling and deciding whether she should complete her homework now or an hour before the deadline.

The ones she was particularly “worried” about were the two who looked as if they were about to make a beeline in the other direction. By the body language alone, Juniper understood they either had better things to do and were not too keen on social activities. Perhaps they were the type to open up with time?

Once the one who introduced himself as Rob had agreed to come with, she fist pumped the air and mouthed a silent, but enthusiastic “yes.”

The other girl, named Elora, had also agreed to come for the ride. Clearly, she was leagues smarter than Juniper. Her sophisticated way with words and the fact she was working on research was enough evidence of that fact.

“Rob and Elora…” Juniper repeated their names, attempting to commit them to memory. “Welcome aboard, then. No promises that I’ll remember those names, though. I tend to be a bit forgetful, so you’ll have ‘ta remind me a few times before it really sticks, if ‘ya get what I mean. It’s nice to meet you two, though!”

“No nicknames for me, please. My name is Roden.”

Juniper glanced over to the boy who had originally invited the entire group to eat. She nodded, but a mischievous grin overtook her once innocent one. “Oh but Roden, all of that was but an innocent ruse. Nicknames are actually an inescapable fate for those who know me,” Juniper said, but a look of worry then crossed her face. “But seriously, if you don’t want me to call you nicknames, I’m totally fine with that. Don’t want to upset any of y’all by accident.” She rubbed the back of her neck as her eyes shifted from side to side, a nervous lop-sided smile tugging at her lip corners. “But to answer your question, nope! This is my first rodeo with saving people from impending death. However, I must disagree, I hope college continues to be this exciting!”

“Anyway, let me see if I got this down.” Juniper then sprinted to the front of the group, turning around and to walk backwards once more. “Alright,” she took a deep breath—almost comical in appearance. “Roden, Rob, Elo…..ra, and Rain. Did I get that right?” Her glance switched between people, hopeful that she did not mess up any names.