[PRP] An unknown return (Petra & Saya)

[revenant aria]

Saya stood nervously in the hall, taking a step here and there. It was such a long hallway, were each and every one of these rooms all filled up? Room 147 .. Her eyes traveled along the way, her fingers twisting the bracelet nervously around her wrist or loosening her choker. She tried to think back, back to the time where they had all left.

Saya asked Prompto nervously, still adjusting to the strange feel that she was, and never would be, alone again. Holding a mini-conversation in one's head was much too confusing, even as the trainee thought she was mind-voicing it, it came out into a physical form. She rubbed her wrist anxiously, her feet moving in a slow hesitant rhythmical motion.

"H-Hey Prompto?"

What?

His voice always sounded a little curt. Saya flinched, reminding herself that she would do well to adjust to it. She was in the 120's now. Just a little further.

"Well .. I don't suppose you.. would know anyone called the Alphas? Or the Pheonix?"

"Who calls themselves such dumbshit names?!" Prompto's voice heightened into laughter, doubling back-- Saya didn't think it was that hilarious. A disappointed sigh escaped her, although it made sense .. Still, it would have been nice if he had knew. But weapons wouldn't know everyone, she guessed.  

[x_Nata_x]

The sound of a singular voice outside her door did not perturb Petra in the least. It was common to hear other hunters talking as they meandered down the hall towards their dorms, and certainly not unheard of for trainees to talk aloud to their weapons, carrying on what sounded like a one-sided conversation to anyone who heard them. Over the many months since she had been awakened and had been training to be a full-fledged hunter, the moon-trainee had long since grown accustomed to it, to the point where the muffled sound outside her door didn't even register anymore, much less bother her. As she wandered her room, picking out a shirt for the day and setting her boots down by the side of the bed, Saya's voice was completely filtered out by her own distracted thoughts, her mental checklist drowning out the other girl. Lifting one leg to balance her foot against the desk chair, Petra counted meticulously the events of the day as nimble fingers tied the bow, adjusting her spats as an afterthought before she straightened, heading towards the door, the inner workings of her mind still spinning like cogs in a machine.

As fate would have it, Petra was leaving her dorm not a few seconds before the other girl passed by room 128. At first, she paid no attention to Saya, shutting her door with a soft 'click' before turning to stride purposefully down the hall, clearly still preoccupied. In fact, she might not have even noticed her, despite moving slightly to the side to let her pass -- midnight blue eyes did not lift from where they rested on the horizon, half out of focus, the action clearly automatic as opposed to a real conscious thought. It was not until they had completely passed each other, the moon trainee taking a few full steps further before the words 'Alphas' and 'Phoenix' reached her ears, and her mind processed the information. Steps faltering slightly, Petra paused mid-motion, blinking slightly as she returned to the present, her eyebrows furrowing a little half in bewilderment, and half in shock. Had... she really heard that? Turning a little, she looked over one shoulder at the girl before turning completely around, a deeply thoughtful look passing across her expression.

Dr H had told her that they did golem missions for the would-be trainees. It was not only entirely possible, but likely that they reused the greek letters for squad names. Any number of hunters, trainee or otherwise, could have been Alphas, all the way up to Dr H and Caelius themselves, once upon a time. But Phoenix... that was unique. Until now, she had never heard the word uttered from any other's lips but her own team's, unless in reference to a sentient weapon who had at one time been one. And certainly never as the name of a group.

"You're looking for Phoenix?"

There was no introduction. No greeting of any kind, polite or otherwise. Petra's voice was crisp and firm, perhaps a little curious, but by no means inviting. That wasn't the type of person she was... not as Zeta Eight, anyway. In fact, there were only two whom Zeta Eight had shown any affection for at all, and only one had awoken. In fact, Jerry was still the only one besides Robert she felt comfortable being affectionate with. The moon trainee did not make any motion to step towards Saya, merely watching her with an analytical curiosity, head cocking slightly to one side. It was entirely possible that this was one of the old Zetas or Alphas whom had decided not to join them. And if that was the case, there might very well be a brawl right there in the middle of the hallway.  

[revenant aria]

Saya's steps paused, shifting to the side to accommodate both females walking through the hallway. Prompto was still laughing his head off, much to Saya's chagrin, her shoulders lowering. She wasn't even going to stop Prompto from laughing, it was useless because her words were simply overridden by his determined laughter --

"You're looking for Phoenix?"

Saya's eyes widened, turning around quickly. Her foot made a neat twirl but her other foot didn't follow as easily, nearly causing her to stumble forward, except the shallow turn wasn't forceful enough to knock her momentum over. There was something about that brisk tone that she simply could not place, her confusion heightening even further. The tone could hardly be construed as receptive but that detail was overlooked in favor of a desperate pull to find something familiar in the midst of Deus's overwhelming approach towards trainees.The poms that hung on the edge of her hood swayed slowly to a stop, Saya's eyes shining in interest.

Someone knew what she was talking about! She didn't have to go through an embarrassing number of people to question, in fact, it was the first person she passed in the hallway. It had never occurred to the female that it might have been someone from other groups, merely recognizing the name in a hostile manner. Caution was one's best friend, a friend Saya had not learned yet to place.

"I am!" She tried to stem the eagerness but failed, her features lighting up instantly. "Did they come by here too?" Oh no, what if she meant a individual called Phoenix? Saya tried to correct her vague remark, her hands gesturing in random fleeting motions, ".. but wait, they're a group -- I'm n-not really looking for a person named Phoenix, just some people who were in there. I'm Alpha Twelve ..I'm looking for Zetas and others .. Well, I'm not really a number but.."

Her features drooped, realizing her explanations were not going well. She needed to learn the art of coherent and discreet investigating.