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They wanted them to write down their fear? Tika blinked. She'd been quiet through out the whole thing and managed to some how be a blip under the radar but now the teen was more alert. Others were already writing down their fears. So sheepishly the teen chewed her pen and did the same as the other candidates.

- Freezing to death

The teen chewed the tip of her pen some more. Was that what they were looking for or was that to general of a statement? Tika looked over her answer for a moment or two before deciding she was fine with it and passed her card to Caelius.

Ennéa bit her lip and flicked the blank card between her fingers, pondering the question. What was it that she feared?

Instantly, the image of that black/white goat-woman surfaced in her mind. Ennéa shuddered and nearly dropped her notecard. Even now she couldn't quite explain the visceral horror she had felt that night. Words just could not seem to adequately describe that creature's horrible gaze and mocking laughter; couldn't explain how just a few moments in its presence had managed to reduce her to a quivering ball, unable to do anything.

Was the goat-woman what she feared? Ennéa slowly uncapped her pen to write her answer but then hesitated, frowning.

No, that wasn't quite right. Ennéa closed her eyes and thought about that horrible night. After the goat-woman had left, Ennéa had called her brother with shaking hands barely able to grasp the phone receiver. She had begged Tobias for reassurance, to help her feel safe once again. She wanted him to understand.

Only, he hadn't understood and, she realized that night, he never had. Her whole childhood, growing up practically raised by him, *everything*, was nothing but kind lies and concern.

Ennéa opened her eyes again and ruthlessly rubbed them before the stinging could change to tears. That was it, wasn't it? The goat-woman had deeply scared her, but what she was terrified of, what she feared most was trust.

Her simple trust in the person most important to her had broke that night. And after that night, nothing was the same ever again. Ennéa looked over to Jordan and to her other Phoenix squad mates, her heart heavy. She adored her squad mates; she would fight tooth and nail to not let them down; she would keep trying -- no matter what -- to help and protect them. She had made that promise.

But. She didn't think she could trust them, not with that easy wholehearted trust she once had. She couldn't bear to be broken again like that; she was terrified of it happening again.

Ennéa squirmed in her seat. She didn't like facing such hard truths about herself, even in her own head. She quickly scribbled down her answer and tossed her notecard to Caelius as if burned. Then, desperate for distraction, she looked around the room, trying to guess what everyone else had written.

And then it was done. Gale slowly slid his feet down from where he had propped them back up against the table (Ariane had been distracted by writing), pushing himself to his feet and stretching out his arms. The idea of a mission excited him, and eagerly he took a surreptitious look around the room as the man - Caelius - disappeared out the door. He wasn't sure what the mission would entail, really, but it was still thrilling.

"Well," he said, mostly to himself as he tapped a finger against his chin. "Guess I better go pack."

Then, with his hands in his pockets, Gale Gentry ambled out of the room and back to his own.

Robert's mood lightened faster than the blink of an eye.

"Ooooh. Fieldtrip." At this point, anywhere out of this stuffy room was a field trip. Still, packing? That meant a road trip was in order. He didn't think he had stuff to pack, but he knew there was one thing he wouldn't be forgetting.

He stood up from his chair, clapped Jordan hard on the shoulder with a grin, and gave the girls a wink. "Let's go get some."

Robert had just the kind of cheesy, hardened charisma that made a line like that sound inspiring, and not - well, cheesy.

Then he bent down in front of Petra, without so much as a look, and flipped the girl over his shoulder. It was time for them to have a little talk, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

Hence the flipping her over his shoulder bit.

He saluted Jorden military style, and sauntered out.

So they were done already? Tika looked around at the other faces and shrugged. She'd not said a word during this whole thing so why start now? Instead of staying to chat about what they had all just sat through the teen opted to sneak out and get prepared.

Jude had come in and sat down in the very back area. He'd been quiet and contemplative the entire time but above all else he tried very hard to simply take in everything that was currently happening. It was all a bit much to take in during the first few moments of what he would call a 'rebirth' but he would swallow it down and take it all in especially if it meant survival of some sort. When it all seemed to be over he blinked feeling as if he'd just sat down but he supposed that was the price of being late.

He'd quietly introduced himself but otherwise he'd been silent. When questions were answered of him he only faltered a little before he decided to answer, "I want to find the truth," it was simple enough. He wanted to find the truth, the meaning to these Shadowy Figures that haunted him since he was young amongst other things.

Jude wasn't sure what he was frightened of but he simply scribbled down the word 'Loss' and let it go at that. He was afraid of losing sanity. Afraid of losing family and friends but he had neither of those here or so he felt.

When it came time to go he simply turned and wandered out with the rest easily falling in amongst the the others. Almost faceless and nameless.

It all felt hectic and yet not. As if that made any sense at all.

The moment Caitlyn finished her introduction, the man at the room spoke up once more. He spoke of missions and learning, of gaining experience. Caitlyn wanted to learn, but if the missions were anything like the week on the island, well, she shuddered to think of it.

What was her greatest fear?

Caitlyn could make a list as long as she was tall of all of the things that scared her. The dark, for one thing. The old barn was another. But none of those seemed important anymore. They didn’t seem big enough to write on the clean white card.

So, what was her fear then? Caitlyn thought back to the last moments of her old life. The white walls and white uniforms, the voices that spoke about her, but never to her. Caitlyn felt goose pimples raise on her arms at the thought of the nurse’s needle pricking the sensitive skin of her inner elbow.

She swallowed deeply and wrote: Oblivion.

As she handed her card up to the front of the room the man with the suspiciously familiar scythe, Caelius, mentioned their first mission. Already? Caitlyn opened her mouth as if to protest, but the man was already gone.

Feeling suddenly vulnerable in this room full of Betas and strangers, Caitlyn slipped into the procession of exiting students and left as discretely as she’d arrived, with one quick glance over her shoulder and the dark haired girl who’d identified herself as Epsilon Ten. They would have to have a talk.