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Poor Jude. It was clear to her that her friend was still feeling rather down--understandably so--but she wasn't sure what to say. Maybe it would just be best if she just kept quiet. So long as he knew that she was there if he needed a listening ear, then perhaps it wouldn't be necessary for her to say anything at all.

Her attention was diverted when their superiors suddenly showed up. Eva's expression changed quite suddenly upon seeing Caelius--her lips twisted downwards in a deep frown and there was a glint of wariness in her eyes--but she kept quiet.

Or at least, until the Sahara bit came up.

At once, the girl stiffened as the memories of the mission--her first mission--flooded back to her. The bodies, their stench, and how they felt when they were forced to reach down with their hands and--

"I think this is going to be counterproductive to my attempts at fixing my sleeping schedule." Eva confessed, trying to keep a humorous tone in her voice despite the fact that she looked anything but amused. But...but she would be fine. She had learned plenty since that first mission. Davey had managed to keep her calm then, and now she had others too--friends--who could, if the need arose, keep her calm this time.

Besides, whatever happened, no mission could be as terrifying as the last one she had just been on.

...

Or so she hoped.

"..Just about everything we do here is counterproductive to something," He observed with an equal attempt to try and keep the humor going he turned a bit to face Eva and quietly touched on her arm, "C'mon let's go get prepared. Okay?"

Unless someone walked in and forced Eva to go with them he took it upon himself to focus his attention on her and on helping her out.

He liked watching out for others. It was comforting. It took the focus off of him and it gave warm fuzzy feelings all of which he desired right now.

Tedan was doing all right until Jerry started singing the song. He remembered that song. The last time they all were supposed to practice it or whatever, the island got attacked by all kinds of weird things. Right around Christmas ... now it was just a few months later, and already he had a bad feeling about this mission.

Learning the location didn't help. He felt his stomach turn over slowly and swallowed almost convulsively. He really ... wasn't at all comfortable with going back to the Sahara to look for more bodies or whatever. But maybe. Maybe this was a different kind of mission. It had to be, right, with everyone going? Then he remembered something else. The last time every Hunter went on a big mission ... they all died. Or most of them died. Almost all. That file they'd found on the USB ... that mission also involved the Four Clans. He shuddered slightly, then blinked and looked up. What? They were moving? Oh s**t, he'd totally spaced out.

"Uhm, yea, here comes the Sun," he muttered, following after the others a little nervously. Surely this couldn't be as bad as that last one they'd read about. Surely.

Harrison went off and Marcus nodded. They should be able to handle things. The leads and assistants arrived and- It was as he feared. Horsemen. That rock he felt once before was back and it was aiming to ruin him. Caelius began giving the usual only- it was serious. It wasn't condescending so much as a warning, a veiled threat not just from hunters, but from the fact they were dead no matter what happened. In one way or another they were already dead.

The the place. The sahara. The first mission. The one where they had touched the dead, felt the very real threat of death just a few feet away. Once the hunter began to file out did Marcus let out the breath he'd been holding. He was bnervous but he was doing his best not to show it. As Allan called them over Marcus scanned the other trainees.

Gale.

Suddenly he connected the dots. "Uh, excuse me guys be back in a bit." He waved to the moon trainees before going to the short death hunter. A small shove to his shoulder and. "Hey." He smiled. "You remember what I said right?" The smile was genuine. "Because I'll say it again if I have to."

"In my defense," Justin countered, "I read the expiry date upside down okay?"

Wait, what did this have to do with dates, wouldn't that mean that-

"So," the Mist trainee leaned over a little closer to Saya, in what he thought was a whisper, "You gonna ask to be dps or heals? I think once they check my gear, they'll totally ask me to tank."

There were a few others still doing the serious roleplaying thing so he didn't want to be too loud: it was nice to be considerate of others.

"Heals." Saya whispered back, glancing up at Allen with complete and utterly minor adoration. Saya hung back, as Justin was hugged by another trainee, reflecting in a wistful manner, that her teacher was quite popular.

The girl who ran by was really quite pretty though, sparking a slightly curious flare. Hmm. That was .. She wasn't quite sure what that was. Nevertheless, Saya hung back. She was sure that Justin was perfect for tanking.

If Justin was an overgrown, scruffy puppy, his tail would have wagged even more as Reine neared them. Omg, he had to tell her about the-

-No wait. Srs bzns. He did his best to look All of the Solemn as she handed him a bind on equip trinket and stalked off. Oh crap, she was roleplaying too, maybe he should say something in character. "May the blessings of-" wait wait wait, what if she was unfriendly with that faction? "I mean um...."

It was too bad the life trainee was already out of sight. Justin shrugged and turned back to Saya, whispering something along the line of "Serious gamers".

"It's okay I got this, don't be nervous and all," it was probably Saya's first time raiding after all, "Whisper me if you need help and oh yeah! Don't step on the fire." The mist trainee happily wrapped Reine trinket around his wrist as he gave Saya an encouraging wink.

Oh wait, srs bzns.

He very carefully tried to keep his expression neutral. Drinking that expired milk really helped.

"Hey Jordan." Ennéa gave the older hunter an uncertain smile but didn't resist when he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Yeah." She replied, feeling a little awkward. "It's good." She gently shrugged Jordan's arm off and stepped away to stand beside him instead.

Both he and Maddie were so kind. She didn't deserve it, not after how she had just left them.

But... she was so glad they were here.

Ennéa absently looked around the gathered crowd of hunters with unfocused eyes. There was a nervous energy that even she could pick up on. Two months in the pod had apparently spared her a couple of the more horrific missions but the tension in the air was starting to make her feel jittery too.

She quickly stomped down on that feeling. She had been given a rare second chance to fight against the monsters. She wouldn't waste it this time.

Across the way, a hunter turned and waved at someone. Ennéa blankly looked back for a moment before it registered that the hunter was Gale and he was waving at her. She flushed and quickly waved back. It had been quite some time since she had seen the other hunter; part of her was pleased to see him but another part cringed in shame at the thought of explaining where she had been.

She wasn't quite sure if she was relieved or disappointed when Gale turned back to the other hunters he was standing with and didn't come over to talk. Before she had a chance to worry about it more though, Caelius started speaking.

Ennéa listened and nodded at Caelius' words. She had made promises. She wasn't going to run away from them. That time had passed, she had learned her lesson the hard way. Fearless even against death. Ennéa clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms.

She started when Maddie squeezed her shoulder. "Yeah. Thanks." Ennéa gave her friend a small smile and forced herself to relax. Her hands tingled.

Ennéa looked up over at Jordan but he was already distracted by his own division team. "Stay safe, okay?" She whispered at him, feeling a lump form in her throat. She then quickly turned and went to join the rest of the assembled death hunters.