Some things were going to take a bit of time getting used to. Other things were going to be considerably easier… Like dorm life. The brief time he had spent in college aside, he had been in and out of private schools throughout high school in an attempt to expand his horizons and make him a bit more social. If anything it had just fed his inner demons with games of the imagination, not to mention all of the urban legends surrounding schools.

He shifted his duffle on his shoulder, adjusting the box in his hands as well as he made his way down the hall. He was going to have to get used to moving around more again. It was going to be interesting…

This whole social living thing was going to take a bit of getting used to but he was trying to think of it like his previous home life. He had shared a bathroom with two little girls so it couldn’t be -that- different from that. The restrictions on what he could bring and could do in his room had been strange though and that would be hard. His room at home had been covered in posters and pictures and now he was going to have to stare at blanks walls.

Maybe if he was lucky he’d be working too much to really notice. Whistling to himself as he headed down the hall he watched the door’s trying not to walk past his own room. Thankfully he was paying attention though and managed not to run into the other guy heading down the hall from the other direction. “Hey! … have you seen one twenty six? I think I came in the wrong door”

"One twenty-six? Mm, nope. Can't say I've passed it yet. Looking for one twenty nine myself, though so if you find where you're going I can't be all that far behind, yeah?" His brow quirked slightly as he glanced up from his own thoughts.

He scrunched his nose slightly before sighing. “It was worth a shot”. He shifted his bag on his shoulder. “New too?”

“Actually, wait. You said…” He glanced back over his shoulder, trying hard not to curse as he adjusted the box in his arms before turning, not quite able to point at the door just across the hall from where they were standing. “I think that’s what you’re looking for. Means I can’t be far… And I would really like to set this box down.” He smirked before nodding. “What was your first hint?”

He wandered over so he could see the number on the door before grinning. “Perfect ….what's in the box? I mean if you don’t mind my asking.” He patted around for the key he’d been given. “The duffel bag helped.”

“Things that wouldn’t fit in my duffle.” He shrugged his shoulders lightly before turning his gaze back down the hall, eying the other door that he was standing in front of briefly before taking a step in the direction that the other young man had come from. Judging by the way the numbers were going up (something he would have noticed sooner had he been paying a proper amount of attention) his own room should be right…

“Here.” He murmured, mostly to himself, stooping to set the box down so that he could pause to remember which pocket (coat, cargo pants or sweatshirt) that he had put his own key in.

“Should have thought of that myself. I’m sure I left stuff behind that I’m going to miss just because it wouldn’t fit.”

He managed to find his key and after a short fight figuring out which way it needed to turn got the door open. It was probably good he didn’t have high expectations on what the room would look like since it really wasn’t much. “Uh …. thanks for the help.” Not that there had really been much but it wouldn’t do to be rude.

“Name’s Essex, by the way… Arland Essex.” He called back down the hall as he popped the lock to his own room open, giving it a nudge as he picked his box back up. “I’m going to set this stuff down and head to the common room I passed on my way down here; do a bit of exploring. You game?” He wasn’t entirely sure that he was in the mood for company, especially given the strange circumstances of his awakening, but it might clear his head to do something ‘normal’ for a bit.

He set his bag down on the bed and was slightly slightly surprised to hear the other man's voice floating across the hall. Snagging his phone he tucked it into a pocket before heading back out of his room. “Yea, sure …” He stopped in front of the other open door, not wanting to walk in without an invitation. “Inoke. Nice to meet you.”

He glanced around at the spartan environment briefly before shaking his head, putting a smile back on as he turned to look at the other again. “It’s going to take some getting used to.” He jabbed his thumb back in the direction of the room with its whitewashed walls and simple bedding. “I hope the food’s not this bland.”

He smiled slightly, nodding. “If it is I might have to try smuggling in some hot sauce to make it taste better.” He figured they’d have to have better food though since everyone needed to be fit to do what their superiors were, most likely, going to start asking them to do pretty fast.

“Have we figured out whether or not there are vending machines anywhere?” His brow lofted as he peered down the hall before scuffing the toe of his boot against the floor, making his way down the hall soon after. “Pretty sure I overheard something about rations…”

“There’s supposed to be vending machines but…” He shrugged slightly. “I haven’t seen them. Rations aren’t always terrible though. I mean they expect soldiers to eat them and I’m pretty sure if you’re stuck eating slop too long morale goes down, right?”

“... You weren’t a private school kid, were you?” He smirked, taking a moment to pull his dreads back, slipping one of his bracelets around them as a makeshift ponytail holder. It was loose, but at least it kept them out of his face for a moment. “Were you given the impression that morale was something they were concerned about? Just throwing that one out there as an honest question between the two of us.”

“No and .. not really.” He smirked slightly though. “You could let me keep my delusions though. At least for the first night until dinner ruins it.” He wasn’t really sure what to think about what anyone was going to want from them. He just knew he wanted to be a part of it. “It’s all just a lot to take in and I guess I’m trying not to think too hard about it.”

“I bet the first night will be filled with enough of that; thinking, worrying, wondering… Did you make the right decision? Are you going to make a difference? Is this really where you’re supposed to be?” He added a slight flare for the dramatic into his words before flopping down onto the couch in the common room, falling back over the arm of it to stare up at the ceiling.

“Inoke… That’s what you said your name was, right? Is that first, last, only?” That was an important question, right?

“I know the answer to one of those questions. The others might still be up in the air though.” He knew he’d made the right choice, it was really the only one he’d been sure of in a while. He dropped himself into a chair, tucking a leg up. “First. I don’t use my surname all that often so I don’t really think about it but it’s Nalu.”

“Since I didn’t check your coat, and it would be incredibly rude to ask you to stand up and turn around, what division are you?” He turned his head so that he could see the other a bit better, shifting just enough to snag a pillow from the far end of the couch to tuck under his head to prop himself up a little further. “Moon here.” If he was coming off as a bit of a talker that was fine for now, at least. He might be able to pick up more on things that way if others were willing to chat with him.

“Sun … which probably seems weird since I probably look like a toothpick.” He grinned. “But hopefully it works out for the best. They seem to know what they’re doing around here.” Reaching up he pushed a chunk of hair out of his face. “I’m pretty sure out of everything that’s where I need to be.”

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing a bit more of each other around here, then, once we’ve made it past the introductory stage.” He smirked, closing his eyes for a moment as he let silence fall between them just long enough to get comfortable before piping up again. “... Speaking of introductions, though. How about that cave? Lots of weird s**t down there.”

“Considering our rooms aren’t far apart?” He nodded. It would be a bit hard not to see each other around. The cave wasn’t something he’d thought would get brought up. The place still creeped him out even though he’d not gone back by it since getting his …. companion. “It was weird and creepy. I kept waiting for something to jump out at me.”

“Never know, though. Night and Day.” His smirk broadened slightly for a moment before fading as he opened his eyes, peering at the ceiling once more. “Can’t say I was worried that something was going to jump out at me, but the voices were something that I wasn't prepared for. Guess it’s not the same sort of an effect if you get a warning about that, yeah?” He snorted softly, shaking his head. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t heard voices before… But so many all at once; the whispers and the strange sounds. It was enough to remind him of the frightened child he had once been.

“Yea, no one warned me about that and it wasn’t exactly pleasant.” He nodded, leaning back in his seat. “I’m used to seeing things but hearing them.” He shuddered slightly remembering first stepping down into the room. “.... I guess i’m going to be hearing things from now on though. Which is going to take some getting used to.”

“Hearing things, seeing things… We’re in for an adventure.” He smirked. “Can’t say that I ever thought I’d be in a position like that, to be honest. Not outside of video games or table-top, at least.”

“After surfing with great whites, videogames just don’t seem as thrilling.” He grinned. “I never would have thought of this life though. It’s sorta starting to feel like being the one sane person in a horror movie or something. Even if I’m not the only one.”

“Not all of us are that adventurous. I’d probably break something if I climbed on a surfboard.” He shook his head slowly. “Can’t say I’d thought of anything like this either… Don’t know about being a sane person, though.”

“It’s actually pretty hard to break something on a surfboard unless you’re surfing in really shallow water and I don’t recommend that.” He laughed softly. “I mean the worst bodily harm the sport itself can really do is hitting yourself with your board. Hurts like a b***h but doesn’t usually break anything. At least that I’ve found” Not that he’d be doing a lot of surfing anymore. He doubted that would be a sanctioned hobby. “They usually say that genius and madness are just two sides of the same coin.”

“There’s also spending all that time out in the direct sunlight… Which isn’t all that great when you’re lily-white like I am.” His lazy smirk broadened into a bit of a grin. “Can’t say I spend a lot of time in the water in general, but I do enjoy hiking.”

“I grew up on an island so it was sorta hard to not like the water. I’ve gone hiking a few times though but I prefer jogging.” He hadn’t really felt up to a hike since his sisters had died. It just didn’t have anything for him other than bad memories.

“So… You said you weren’t used to hearing things. What makes you a freak, then?” His brow lofted as he tilted his head to glance over at the other. “Feel free to tell me to sod off if you’d rather not talk about it.”

"Seeing things I wasn't supposed to see. No one else ever believed it after I was about ten." Then he'd been too old for stories and ghosts and it was time to grow up. "Seems stupid now to think that I ever thought I might just have been nuts."

“I was twelve.” He shifted, swinging his legs off of the arm of the couch so that he could sit up, stretching with a soft groan. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night… I can think back on it and still see everything about it so clearly even though it seems like it could be a dream. It’s weird; not remembering little things about birthdays or holidays from that age or younger, but remembering stuff like that.”

"Yea. My therapist said you often remember the worst things better than the best. They're more vivid somehow. There's just some things I wish I could forget." He knew he wouldn't ever though. "My, well I guess big moment, didn't happen that long ago but ... but it killed both my little sisters."

“Only child here… But I am sorry to hear that anyways. Bet it was rough.” He leaned back against the couch cushion. “I mean losing anyone is rough, but…” He shook his head. “So that lead you to this?”

"It might have been easier if anyone had believed that a monster took them rather than everyone thinking that I let them play in a lava flow." He nodded slightly at the question though. "I guess I talked enough that I got their attention so here I am."

"I guess in that aspect I lucked out. I didn't lose anyone... Just parts of myself, but when you're young they seem to think that sort of thing just goes away. Its just a cat scratch or you must have fallen pretty hard. What were you doing to get yourself into that kind of trouble?" He rolled his eyes. "I just stopped taking about it... In person, at least. Forgot how easy it is to be tracked online."

"They seem to think it all goes away, or it will start to hurt less, or you'll learn from it or some bullshit." He shook his head. "Instead you're left with a hole you can't close because no one can tell you what really happened so you can get proper closure. I was hoping this place would help a bit."

"It will make for a grand adventure, that's for sure; the kind of story that no one would believe either... but, in the bright side you'll only be telling it to people who have Just as wild stories."

“So it’ll be more like sharing office stories over the water cooler than actually telling stories.” He smirked.

“Tall tales becoming the norm, you’ve got it.” He shook his head, laughing softly. “Here’s hoping the beds are at least comfortable enough to sleep in at the end of the day. If not you might find me out here on this couch more often.”

“They might frown on you sleeping somewhere comfortable. How are they supposed to build your character if you’ve got a nice fluffy bed.” He grinned, shifting so he could stretch.

“Don’t get me wrong, I can sleep pretty much anywhere, but…” He shrugged. “I don’t always enjoy sleeping on a rock. Getting up there enough in years it might be bad for me.” He managed an impish grin.

“You can’t be that old.” He laughed. “I mean you don’t look that much older than me all in all.” He knew he probably looked a bit young just because of how lanky he was but the other man didn’t look like he was ancient or anything.

"Twenty-two, so not quite dinosaur yet, but old enough that I should know better in some cases, right?" His brow lofted.

“I thought that was the age where you’re supposed to be making lots of bad life choices in college. Living it up and everything.”

"Well I'm here aren't I? That has to count for what mundane people would consider s bad life choice, don't you think?" He grinned. "We'll see if I've got time to live it up after that."

“I don’t know. It might just be the freak’s equivalent of joining the military to pay for college.” Only he doubted they were going to get lessons in statistics or economics or anything like a normal college student.

"Mm... maybe. I guess that's a better way to think of things in the long run. Might just have to adapt your line of thought, Inoke."

“I think living in too much sunshine and fresh air makes you have a better outlook on things.” He grinned. “Either that or i’ve just swallowed too much sea water and i’m a little more nuts than usual.”

"Always look on the bright side of lIfe, eh?" He grinned. "There are worse ways to think about things."

He nodded. “I try. it doesn’t always work but I do try.”

"So any thoughts on what tomorrow might bring? Think we should explore a bit more now while we can?"

“Around here? It’s probably a good idea not to try and think that far ahead.” He grinned, leaning back in his chair again. “Is there that much to explore?”

"There's the whole island. Doesn't that count? I mean I guess there's unpacking too."

“True.” He nodded. “I just wasnt’ sure if there were places we weren't supposed to go, being new and all.”

"That sort of thing might have been included in an introductory packet don't you think? Might be easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission anyways." He smirked.

“Might, unless they take that as something really bad then we might regret it.” He pulled himself up out of the chair. “So, wanna go do that exploring?”

"Hmm... Maybe you're right and we should save that exploration for another time."

“Is that a hint you’d like some time to yourself?” He could go unpack or something and then go wander around a bit himself if he got bored.

"Got to finish unpacking and get ready for whatever tomorrow might bring, yeah?" His brow lofted. "Maybe I'll see you in the mess hall for dinner."

“Yea, probably.” he nodded. Hopefully the food wouldn’t be terrible and he wouldn’t have to try to make something fall out of a vending machine, if there even were vending machines.

"See you around, then, hey?" He pushed himself up off of the sofa, stretching with a soft groan.

“Yea, see ya around.” He grinned before he headed back down the hall toward his room.

He lingered in the common room a bit himself before heading back to his own room. Time to make this place feel a bit more like home...