{ lecture } Open your eyes...

[lizbot]

The classroom was typical of it's breed. About twenty wooden desks that were too tiny to do any actual work on, along with uncomfortable plastic chairs in various primary colours. At the front was a a podium and a white board with a few odd, partially erased, symbols drawn on it. When the last few of the new trainees and their keeper finally trailed in and took their seat, he finally introduced himself, "Welcome to Deus Ex Machina. I am Stacey Ulrich, and for the time being I'll be overseeing the Death Division." His voice neither warm, nor welcoming, but rather impassive with a touch of arrogance. "You'll be assigned to divisions later once you've taken your initiation, but first there are several things you need to understand."

He paused and glanced around the room as if judging each and everyone of them, "You chose this. Not just once, but several times over. We will ask a great deal of you, more than what you find to be fair or reasonable, but this is what you have chosen for yourself. There are lines we will tell you to cross, and you will cross them. You have already killed to be here, and have been killed in turn. No one here is innocent."

Another sweeping look, "You probably have questions, many of them will be answered with time and greater experience. Others will never be answered at all. Keep in mind that you are not owed these answers. Deus will feed you, clothe you, pay you, give you a home with others like you, and give you a purpose greater than anything you left behind. So we don't owe you, you owe us."

Glancing down at his phone, a slight frown of irritation crossed his face, and he finished tersely, "The other speaker will be here shortly. You may talk quietly amongst yourselves."  

[Blade Kuroda]

Once inside, Deryk went ahead to sit down, still wondering where Caelius was. When he heard the guy introduce himself and state his current role, he just stared.

"What?" he couldn't help but ask. This was the first time he had heard anything about their division leader being swapped out. Quickly, he looked to the other older trainees to see if they knew anything of this. The rest of what was said didn't matter to him. It was all stuff he had heard before.

And quite frankly he wasn't really sure how to feel about this. A notice earlier would have been nice. But, while this guy didn't seem particularly nice... he also wasn't Caelius, the guy who had called them all disposable.

Maybe when this was done, he could try to ask... uh.. Stacey what happened exactly. As a Death Trainee, it was good to be informed, right?  

[revenant aria]

Saya sat in her chair, taking a random one seated to the side, her fingers brushing against her locks of hair to tuck it against her ear. His words weren't encouraging, respectful or accommodating by any means. But there was a frigid truth to his words that made Saya pull her sleeves over her wrists a little more, flinching. Nobody here was innocent .. An unflattering thought, yet, it rang harshly within her. She would have liked to close her ears, except for the fact, that would have done nothing.

Saya wasn't entirely sure what she had woken up to but it wasn't a dream or a nightmare.

It was reality.

That was quite a draining thought. And this reality had yet to even start, really. She tried to make sense of them .. Division, leaders and Deus, a home of sorts. What a warm welcome, she thought, her flickering smile fading to a furtive frown.  

[Pepzilla]

((Entering))

NOOO!

Mercedes' heart sank when she was filed into the classroom. Great. She had enough of classrooms when she went through college as an undergraduate and now there was more. Surely there wouldn't be a lot of this, surely it was just a room for assembling in! Yea, that was it. A workshop even.

Once seated she tapped her fingers together. Where was a notebook? She needed to take notes, this was a staple to any lesson learned in the traditional environment. Instead Stacey went on to introduce himself with a tone of forewarning to his voice. Everything he said was true, much like Deryk had pointed out in the pod room but Mercedes could not help but linger on the days in which that awfully affirmative lady she worked for would speak to her interns. That's really what they were. Interns. Even as groggy and fresh as Mercedes was she could confirm there was a social ladder here at Deus Ex.

It was hard for her to determine whether or not asking a question now was appropriate and if so there were no amount or order of words that she felt comfortable asking the dull (and quite honestly lifeless) man at the front of the room. Whoever was missing from their position of the... death division must have a much more enthusiastic approach to the newly born lambs.

...


PPFPFTTTT...  

[DarkHeartedSorrows]

((Entering))

Feng sat down in a bright blue chair and paid close attention to what was being said. He swallowed hard at the harsh words, but he understood. Take direction, don't question it. Made sense. As long as it was a chance to understand the shadows. He'd chosen this because it was the better alternative.

When the small speech was over her sat back and looked around. Were there a lot of classrooms like this? He couldn't help his frown. He'd already gotten out of school. This was a little suckish. "I hated school," he murmured.  

[[ X_Bleeding Roses_X ]]

((Entering))

Michael stared at the rather uncomfortable looking chairs when he shuffled in and briefly considered just sitting on the floor before deciding he didn't want to get in any trouble just yet.

The speech looked like it was going to be a boring one, because nothing in these sort of rooms was ever interesting - it's why he'd skipped the whole college thing. Thirteen years of schooling where enough for him thanks.

He suppressed a slight snigger when the guy in charge introduced himself as Stacey of all things. That was a girls name. Or, er, at least where he came from. He had actually managed to notice all the different accents and realized this whole thing was multicultural.

And then his musings and laughter cut off as he heard the guy mention that they had killed. H-He remembered something vaguely like that now that he mentioned it... but it'd been them or him. And they where all fine now. (Ok that didn't stop him feeling a tiny bit guilty. It's like spiking a friends drink as a joke and then claiming it was all good the next day just because you'd made sure nothing too bad didn't happen. Still totally not cool. And illegal)

He sighed to himself and pushed the thoughts away for better things. Like free food, clothing and board.  

[Rown]

[ entering ]

Ofelia was freaking cold and the room they let her into wasn't any warmer. Maybe it was in her blood from being in the south most of her life that prevented her from getting warm or maybe it was because she was dressed poorly and had no shoes on. Her teeth chattered a bit in her skull as she settled in a chair near the door, wanting not to get stuck under something like an air conditioning vent. It was a bit unfair that the people she'd seen before had cool looking coats on and she was left to freeze. Jerks.

She didn't have time to sulk though as the conversation moved onward and Ofelia listened to the words being spoken. She snorted, loudly at the mention of the name Stacey, and she had to cover her mouth to prevent the continuing circle of cackles. She would have kept laughing if he hadn't mentioned that she'd killed someone. That in order to wake up inside that pod, she had to have killed someone. That thought washed down her back in a colder wave than she'd felt in a long time, prompting her to swallow shallowly. Ofelia had never considered herself a murderer. Yet...apparently she was one?

Well, no use dwelling on it. She was going to be here apparently for as long as she lived, if that meant anything, and Ofelia nodded. She then sneezed, hard. Dammit she wanted a jacket. "Any chance we'll be gettin' sommin' warm ta wear? A jacket o'sommin'? Ah'd settle for a flippin' shirt wit' sleeves."  

[its me debz]

((entering))

Clerise physically recoiled at the sight of a classroom. "********," she muttered, taking a seat next to a cheerful looking redhead, sighing in a rather resigned fashion.

While the man spoke, the acrobat spent some time inspecting other people in the room-- there were about a dozen other souls.

Huh. Apparently she'd killed to get here-- and...well. It's a price to pay, she supposed. Clerise didn't feel guilty, but that was mostly because she could barely remember who she'd killed.

It was, perhaps. Less murder and more...self advancement. That was the ticket. She was in Chicago when scruffy had spoke to her, so she was in a turtleneck (black), jeggings (also black) and some combat boots. In addition, she had a nice parka on.

"Quit the ******** sneezing," she muttered, taking her coat off and chucking it at the girl.

"Not used to the cold, eh?"

rown

 

[Eight]

Candace followed the group into the classroom, eyeing the blonde man curiously the entire time without being blatantly obvious about it. Did Caelius have an assistant none of them knew about? Was...was this man another Ben? She sat down as he explained who he was and Candace had to actually double take. Caelius...wasn't the active leader right now? But..wait! What? That was so strange! She couldn't see him just...giving power to someone else! Even when he had been bedridden after being half dead he was still very much in power around here! The last time Candace had seen him had been with..

Oh no..

Deryk's reaction wasn't much help. While it wasn't uncommon for them to not ******** know something it would have been a bit nice if this had not been the first time he had heard this. This didn't bode well.

Though really with a speech like that were they sure Caelius didn't suddenly just feel like getting some quick cosmetic surgery and yet another haircut to pretend to be another person for awhile? Jesus.

A look was given to each of the new trainees to gauge their reactions, seeing exactly as she expected. They were shocked to hear they had killed someone for the most part. It was intriguing to be on this side of things! To be able to see pretty much exactly what she had gone through happen to someone else. And at the mention of another speaker Candace had to purse her lips to keep from grinning. Would it be him? Oh! Would he have Clarice with him to explain to them as he had with her own group?! She could do with some amusement at the newbies' expense.

"Bless you," Candace quietly replied to Ofelia's sneeze. Were it not for the fact that Candace was bending over backwards to be able to keep her pretty new coat she may have offered it to the other new trainee, but as it stood she was clinging to it like a stubborn child who didn't want to lose her toys because someone else in the class had been naughty. It was good someone else offered a coat, though their words were unnecessary considering she only sneezed once.

"You'll get a coat and scarf like the rest of us after your initiation, Ofelia." Candace explained gently, looking up at Stacey after she said this with a slightly apologetic look. Was it okay for her to say that? She'd said it earlier in the pod room. Ofelia must have been too busy squealing over Gale to hear her. But this was Candace's first time helping with pod awakenings, she still wasn't exactly sure what she should and shouldn't be saying. It was just about the coats! Surely she wasn't taking any of the fun of surprising them with divisions out with her simple comment. They didn't look completely stupid there had. Een three different divisions in the pod room. They could hopefully figure it out.

At least Stacey seemed fairly less cruel than Caelius?  

[Zyphiris]

Dillon helped himself to one of the seats, finding the situation a little too familiar. No, he didn't mean school – it was something different. Some kind of written test of sorts ... ah, well. The young man stared down at the empty table in front of him and propped up an elbow on it and drummed his fingers on the wooden surface with his other hand. And then there was some twiddling of his thumbs. Eventually, Dillon withdrew his hands from the table and placed them on his lap, looking up at the rather imposing figure in front. Was this going to be a lecture? Dillon would have really liked to have a pen and some paper to jot down some notes then...

Nevermind. From the moment Stacey began speaking Dillon was being reminded of boot camp all over again. The part about killing, whether it was literal or figurative, was lost on him. As far as he was concerned, he didn't remember killing anyone -yet. But if he had signed up for this, there was a purpose to, and if he had agreed on it over multiple occassions, then, there was nothing to hesitate about. He was fine not being innocent.

From what it sounded like though, it seemed that his stay here was going to be rather... permanent. Dillon wondered what it was that he would give up going to college for. “A greater purpose than anything you left behind” apparently. A bit of him was starting to get a little impatient about how slowly the information was coming in – or how slowly he was recalling it. He didn't like not knowing. Patience, he told himself.  

[Rown]

Ofelia wasn't going to say thanks for the jacket, not at least right away or verbally. It had been offered to her along with a curse word and a command, neither of which really prompted the young woman into being grateful for something. She was going to sulk for a bit but that didn't mean she had to ignore the person who'd lent a jacket. "Nah, that obvious? Ah'm from the deep south where the summer gets inta triples an' the winters stay nice an' sunny. Ah dun dress for cold places 'cause indoor air conditionin' is fer people who can't handle livin' life outside." Also, her aunt had been really, really cheap and didn't believe central heating and air. Ofelia had learned to love less, it was more or less a means of survival when the summer was pushing 100+. "What's yer excuse for bundlin'?"

Ofelia hadn't even noticed Candace sliding in until the older woman blessed her for her sneeze and Ofelia mumbled thank you, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. The parka was doing nicely as a warmer but that didn't take the chill from her toes. Suppose she was going to ask to borrow the curser's shoes next, but that was going to have to wait.

"Initiation? Ya mean this Deus thing is kinda like a club Ah had ta kill ta join? Sounds like a pretty extreme method'a doin' somethin'." Ofelia placed a hand on her chin and frowned a bit, as though deep in thought. The moment swiftly passed and she grinned, broadly. "Pretty extremely awesome, that is. Ah've never been in a club b'fore so Ah'm kinda curious 'bout how this is gonna be. An' we get uniforms? This is also awesome, an' Ah hope mah coat's half as cool lookin' as yers."

It wasn't hard for Ofelia to imagine herself in a floor length coat, sweeping around this place bumping fists with everyone she met. Secret clubs for an amazing adventure? Yes please.

unstartled witch

Eight

 

[Eight]

"Not...exactly. It's not really a...and...well...it'll make more sense when he gets here." Candace chuckled, really hoping the 'he' was who she thought it was. It was always fun when he was around simply because the doctor just didn't give a s**t what anyone thought. And Candace loved that probably a little too much. "You'll find many, many, many things here are done with extreme methods."

When told her coat was cool Candace proudly grinned and shifted in her seat to lift half of the back of her coat. It showed off the gold mist pattern nicely, and she couldn't help the huge, goofy smile on her face. "Yours will be more basic to start, but you will one day! It's actually really fun to look at the different coats around here. It's the leaders who have the best coats, though. They're so colorful and ornate, and even their assistants get lovely coats. But Clarice's is my favorite." Of course it would help if she explained who Clarice was, huh?

...You know what? It was actually kind of fun doing the mysterious s**t and not explaining things outright. No wonder the leaders liked being so vague. "Just take good care of your uniform, okay? I had to get an entirely new one after one of our missions because of some stupid...I don't even..." She'd been turned into Mario. What the ********, man? Seriously? Candace pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes as she shook her head at the memory. Stupid ******** house. "I was given this really long lecture on how our coat is our pride and...it's..I just wanted a new coat, man." She pouted, dropping her hand and sitting back in her chair again with one leg crossed over the other and her arms folded just underneath her chest.

"So, the deep south, huh? Where at? Maybe we used to live near each other~." Candace teased with a smile, somehow not..doubting the possibility. The girl dressed like many girls she had known back in high school.

And by many girls she meant all the girls that stayed in that town and had like four babies before they were twenty.

Rown

 

[Ice Queen]

(Entering)

Syd slid into one of the awkward chairs, somewhat grateful for her average stature. It wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as it could have been. But she soon forgot all that as the man in the front started to speak.

So she had chosen this. That felt... right, she admitted silently. She didn't feel that tragic about what had happened to the old life, even if she had asked about it. It had been more of a curiosity thing. But she had killed to be here?

A second glimpse of something flashed through her mind. Something dark and--then it was gone. She looked down, finally taking in what she wore. Cargo pants, combat boots, a long sleeved V-necked shirt. No wonder she wasn't cold.  

[Kyrieko]

Entering!

Infinity walked into the room and had to pause, staring at how...well normal if a little on the claustrophobic side, the room seemed. Chairs and desks meant to be too small and uncomfortable. A white board up front and a podium. Kind of like that really shitty class you got stuck in with all the other unlucky students. She moved to an open desk, sitting - or flopping - in the chair. Just as uncomfortable as it looked. Not that that really mattered. Her attention was on the one that introduced himself finally. And then the only thing she could think was, Stacey? Reeeeeally? At least she hadn't said something about it out loud. Yet.

Fini frowned slightly, trying to make sense of 'divisions' and the one he called the 'Death Division'. A memory stirred, but she couldn't grasp it.

Killed. Death. I...died. She could very faintly remember...something. An encompassing darkness that took over after the final strand of will severed. I chose this? Yes. Yes that sounded right. For some reason she couldn't quite remember, that sounded exactly right.

Well, what had Stacey said? Lines would be crossed? None of them were innocent? So basically, don't bother questioning things. Do what is asked and know she (all of them) had chosen this? Fini snorted quietly to herself. She could do that. Sounded like her style. Jump first, ask questions later.

Or, in other words, work to keep her trap shut and not ask stupid questions.  

[Zoobey]

Justin listened with rapt attention for the first five seconds. This conversation, this was reaaaaaally....

Boring.

It was just like the talk his old guild leader used to give them before they invaded Wintergrasp for VoA25, except this new Guild Master's voice was if possible, more monotonous and condescending. Maybe all leaders were made of the same structure, which would explain several things. He glanced over at the faces next to him: all unfamiliar. Looks like he was still in beta testing. Might as well get used to all the weird bugs and glitches, though he already had ten different bugs to report once the GM was done with things.

He stifled a huge yawn and simply drooped back against the back of his chair.