Welcome to Gaia! ::

The cafeteria, the mess hall, the what have you that occasionally served reasonable food, was almost over-occupied this afternoon. For some Hunters, their only consolation was their meals, that they would continue surviving, for others, the had not eaten for days prior to arriving.

The warm smell of food, baking, permeated through the room, oddly comforting and inviting. Spirits were relatively moderate in the cafeteria, the room was bustling with chatter, mostly quiet and amongst each other, several occupants more sociable than others.

Lucas Drake took his tray and turned toward the tables. Wonder which one is for the popular kids, he thought with a wry smile. It was odd being back, and to be around so many hunters at the same time. But he was not the type to just sit back in his room and twiddle his thumbs. Nor was he going to go waste energy at the training grounds. There was no good reason to head that way before a mission, it was time to relax for a bit. Settle the nerves. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

He walked, not to the closest table for that would be where the lazier hunters sat. Lazier meant that they died faster, nor did he try to escape the hustle and bustle. He headed toward a middle table and sat down, not really looking at who was already there. There was an empty space and he was here to eat and relax.

((Feel free to quote him/sit by him/drop a tray on him/whatevs)

While he hadn't been back home for at least a year, Isaac still knew the ins and outs of cafeterias. Especially of /this one/-- ah, so many fond memories here, so many things that made him so nostalgic...

/What are you eating,/ Kyanos asked in the back of his head. It wasn't so much a question as it was a demand.

/Ketchup,/ he thought back, still squirting a liberal amount on something that had once been edible.

/Give me some,/ Kyanos replied back.

Isaac grumbled a curse under his breath. /Don't be obnoxious tonight,/ he begged. He could barely hear himself reply in the din of the cafeteria, and-- now done with the ketchup-- grabbed his tray and wandered off to the least occupied area he could find, which was still sandwiched between three or four people. He grabbed a fork from a nearby dispenser and stuck it proudly in his loaf of ketchup, like a flag that was claiming something important.
... Well wasn't it? He scooped up a bite, listening to people chatter around him.

[Entering]

Billie hadn't really disappeared but she had spent a few reminiscent hours in her room. It was bigger than she remembered and she wasn't as used to the privacy and quiet anymore. Being on an outpost was like living in a warzone and there was never much time to relax. There was also never a moment without worry. She was a healer and she always worried. Her room was strange now but it was like walking through a museum. She'd touch something, smile and put it back. Even the old 'Welcome to K-Mart My Name Is: Billie' badge that hung from the lampshade, a remnant of her recruitment. It had been the only thing that survived her trial with her and she never forgot.

Billie was the sort of woman who had a greeting for everyone. When she stepped into the cafeteria, the buzz of people made her smile. The heart shaped lips perked excitedly and every hunter, known or unknown, received a 'Hi' with their own personal quirk of the lips. She spotted Warden and tried not to grin, instead acting like she didn't see him and scanning the crowd as if he wasn't there. She feigned a look of worry, auburn waves bouncing on her shoulders. "Oh.." She stopped and gave him a coy look. "There you are."

She didn't need to lean much, he was tall and she was petite and the barest of kisses was smooched quickly onto his cheek bone. Relationships were difficult to maintain and living in a warzone made you a bit private about sentimental matters. It was just uncomfortable for everyone to be too obvious.

"Settling in?" She hadn't grabbed anything to eat but she just knew he'd be in the cafeteria. "Any news?" Quick to the chase, the experienced FEAR wielders didn't seem to be able to take themselves out of the war sometimes.

She seated herself across from him so she could look at his face. After a moment of enjoying it, she glanced around the room for anyone else familiar.

FOOD. Dekina demanded but she ignored.

Mya was still a little bit stunned that she was back here. It seemed so long ago that she had been here last, training to become what she was today. This was the place that she had learned some of the hardest lessons of her life, and had made some of the closest connections with other people.

Oh Julien, if only you were here with me.... she thought to herself a little sadly. This was, after all, where they had first met. And the first time they had spoken had been right here, in this very cafeteria! How young and naive they had both been back then....But time had changed them both so much.

On the other hand, time hadn't seemed to change this place at all. It still looked the same..hell, it even still smelled the same! And god did she hate that smell. It brought back more bad memories then good! She finally began to move, snapped out of her sappy moment of nostalgia and back to the task at hand. She approached the line, grabbed herself a tray and got herself something to eat.

With that bit of business aside, she turned towards the tables, eyeing the other hunters who were clustered about, chatting it up with friends, laughing, having a grande ol time.

It was pathetic.

With a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, and eyes narrowed, she pushed her way through the crowd and towards a table, ignoring the angry mutters and shouts from those she had rudely shoved aside.

She was here to do a job, not to make more friends that would just go and do something stupid and die. The sooner other people knew that, the better.

She threw her tray down at a table with a clatter, pulling out the chair with her foot with a loud scraping rasp and settling herself down to eat.

((Entering the Cafeteria))

It was amazing. She knew there were this many Hunters in the world...but to have them all on the island at once? It was both comforting and unsettling. Though she had to admit, she liked the chatter in the Cafeteria, it reminded her of days over a decade ago, when life was free and easy. To think, she'd once thought English reports would be the death of her. Amy almost laughed at the thought.

Perhaps it was this almost uncharacteristic reminiscing that caused her to speak when a Hunter took the empty seat next to her.

"Amazing, isn't it? So many of us in one place."

(( Entering ))

Nnnng . . . food. Fooooood. Real food.

When someone considered cafeteria food real food, unless said cafeteria was excellent, it really said something about their normal diet off-base.

A shortish young woman entered the cafeteria, though it was a little hard to see her face: the hood of her Hunter coat was up, and her hair was swished enough over some of her eyes, but most obscuring at the moment was the charred skin across the right side of her face. The woman, Zoey, kept her head bowed as she grabbed her food and brought her tray off to the side of several Hunters at a table in the middle.

Beyond wanting sustenance, she had heard Isaac's voice, which was a comforting sound no-matter what was going on. Passing by a woman who seemed to be simply standing there, she accidentally bumped her shoulder in passing. All the woman got was a quick mumbled "Sorry" before Zoey quickly slid into the nearest empty chair.

She wasn't much of a talker, but she enjoyed listening. Had anyone heard what the new mission was? Or perhaps speculation would soon come up . . . Brainstorming was always interesting.

She also agreed with the woman who spoke at her table: this many Hunters at one time in one place probably called for something special. Though Christmas had passed, perhaps the leaders would allow them a quick gift-giving session . . .

Lucas looked as a chair rasped, the sound a touch too obnoxious to ignore. He raised an eyebrow at Mya, but decided not to say anything as he wasn't too sure if he really wanted to open that can of worms. He turned his attention back to the plate of beef in front of him. It was not solely beef of course, that would not be a balanced diet. He had a roll to go with it and sop up any juices, and a pile of little green cubes in a cup. Jello did make the world go round. Plus there was probably more cow in the gelatin.

He was about to dig in when the hunter next to him spoke. From the sound of it he thought she was a youngin' but then he looked over at her. He didn't really know the woman beside him, but he recognized her from a while back. "I don't like the looks of it. Normally they don't pull this many of us together. Have you heard anything?" That astute observation made he dug into his plate, tucking in with gusto. Whatever was going to happen if he had to face death he didn't want it to be on an empty stomach.

With a mouthful of food he began to look around the table, spirits drooping a bit when he saw a girl with light-brown hair, and burns on her face. It seems like they keep getting younger, he thought to himself. I'll have to keep my eye out for her if I can.