Natalie looked up as the guards started making those horrible noises again, expecting them to be directed at her, but found them directed at the cat-girl. Natalie saw someone else from their cell, the one that was wearing goggles, but now she was wearing what looked like 3D glasses from a cinema. She was trying to start a Mancala game, a game that Natalie knew well. She went and kneeled down next to Neena, "I know Mancala. I'll play." Her voice was shaky after all that had happened, and all that was about to happen, but she tried to put on a brave face. It didn't work very well.

Tricity was dragged out of the van and pushed forward into the camp. Over in the distance she could see the males being moved away. They were separating them... She scanned the area in the quick moments she had to study the layout of the grounds. This looked impossible. Armed guards were everywhere and not just human ones. Tricity delayed a moment as she looked up at a tower where a guard stood posted with a rifle. A swift shove in her side got her moving along again as a guard ushered her forward and shut the door to the van. She was one of the last to get out.

She moved along with the rest of the line as it slowly proceeded. When she dropped all her belongings in a box, Tricity was brought to a new room where she saw women changing into what was clearly a bland uniform for them all to wear. A guard tossed one at her roughly and looked at her with an obvious, well go ahead stare. "What? You aren't serious..."

"Let's go, there's no time for shyness. I don't have all day," a male guard said who was clearly enjoying his work.

She was going to give a sarcastic remark back, but knew it would probably make things worse for herself and everyone else. After snatching the dress from her shoulder, she quickly stripped and put the so-called dress on.

"Hmm, you're the electric freak that houses other muties right?" the guard questioned, as he eyed Tricity up and down. "Boy would I show you something shocking!" She didn't respond and started gathering up her clothing.

She couldn't help herself. "Wow... You are so damn clever! I've never heard that one before. Did you think of that all yourself?" She tossed all her clothing at the guard and tied up her hair in a ponytail. "Have fun with that. I'm sure it still has my scent on it." She gave him the finger with a pleasant smile and moved along with the rest of the women outside where the sun was brightly shining, ironically. She could hear him cursing loudly as she walked across the dirt field.

Not too far away were familiar faces. She hurried in front of the other women and met up with the residents of the mansion. "Hey, girls. You okay?" Tricity wasn't really expecting an answer from them as she looked from face to face. Ruby seemed to be shaking from head to toe. She put an arm around the young girl and smiled at them all. "Keep your heads up okay? We stick together... Don't let them keep us down because it will show defeat which isn't an option. The others will find a way to get us out if we can't first."

"LISTEN UP!!" A loud voice from a PA system rang out across the camp. The mutant women watched as the guards took their stations in preparation for something. "YOU WILL ALL MOVE TO THE BARRACKS NOW WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS. IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE, I PROMISE YOU THAT. A FEW RULES WHILE YOU MAKE YOUR WAY OVER THERE... NO TALKING. STAY IN A SINGLE LINE. KEEP YOUR EYES AHEAD. FOLLOW THE GUARDS TO THE BARRACKS. AS I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE. GUARDS, BEGIN PROCEEDING TO THE BARRAKCS. MUTANTS, FALL INTO LINE!" The speakers crackled and the voice disappeared. The guards screamed and cursed, ordering them to get into a single line as they started moving them all to the barracks.

The walk wasn't too far. The barracks were at the edge of the camp. This seemed to be an ideal way to escape... A guard pushed the door open and the women stepped inside their new home. It was very plain. Nothing but beds lining the whole building. A small bed, two pillows and two thin blankets. "Wonderful..."

"Your names have been placed at the ends of the bed with a nametag that will hang around your neck. If you are caught not wearing this identification, believe me, you will be punished." The male guard turned to another and nodded his head. The second guard pushed a button on some type of receiver and a loud hum filled the room. The bracelets that some of the mutants were wearing were now detatching and crawling up the owners' arms to reshape and fit their necks. 'My God...' The sound of the latches locking in place echoed along the room next as they fastened around the women. "Find your bed and bunkmate until dinner is called. Talking will be kept at a low level. And of course, guards will remain here with you at ALL times."

At this, a few of the guards left, but many remained behind. The women separated and started searching for their nametags and to meet their new bunkmate and bed. It only took a few moments until Tricity found hers. She pulled the tag from the end of the bedpost and put it around her neck, seeing under it that Deathstar would be her bunkmate. The other girls weren't very far away either. At least they would be able to talk to one another without causing a commotion. They needed to figure a way out...

(OOC: I agree with Raina. If nothing else there should be one more common thread like the Infirmary, say perhaps the Mess Hall and Main Office?)

"Umm..What is Mancala Neena?" Nika asked. Neena smiled, still looking for various pebbles of a certain shade.

Mancala is an old game thought to be created in Ethiopia. Its a fun little game that is kind of an odd version of chess."

"I know Mancala. I'll play."

Neena smiled gently and nodded. "Sure, kiddo. Let's show Nika how to play." Maybe the game would help take away some of that hopelessness in the poor healer's eyes.

"You dig out six pits on each side," she demonstrated as she spoke, "and a seventh pit on each end. The seventh pit is called your Kalaha. Then you place three pebbles in each of the six side pits, like so. We each take turns a pick the pebbles out of one pit and move them to the other, like this." She picked up three stones in the fifth pit, and placed them in pits six, seven, and Natalie's first pit. "And you keep going around in a circle, like that. The idea of the game is to capture more pebbles than your opponent. And you capture pebbles by landing in one of your empty pits. You do that and the pebbles in the pit across from you go into your Kalaha," she pointed to the seventh pit on the sides. "The winner is the one with the most pebbles in their Kalaha."

Neena had an ulterior motive to teaching the game, planning on finding a way to communicate with the boys. But the plan was only half-baked at the moment, so she said nothing. It would depend on finding certain colored pebble-sized items. And the real trick was going to be getting the boys to understand it.....

Another though popped into her mind as well. If she could find a way of convincing the camp overseer that it would be a way of making a side profit as well.... Hmm.....

"Hey, girls. You okay?" Neena smiled at Tricity, despite the grim circumstances.

"Lookin' forward to the vacation," she lied cheerfully.

"LISTEN UP!!" Neena stuck a finger in her ear as the painfully loud PA system rang out across the camp. She watched the guards begin to line up around them. At least the insults slowed for a few moments. "YOU WILL ALL MOVE TO THE BARRACKS NOW WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS. IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE, I PROMISE YOU THAT. A FEW RULES WHILE YOU MAKE YOUR WAY OVER THERE... NO TALKING. STAY IN A SINGLE LINE. KEEP YOUR EYES AHEAD. FOLLOW THE GUARDS TO THE BARRACKS. AS I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE. GUARDS, BEGIN PROCEEDING TO THE BARRAKCS. MUTANTS, FALL INTO LINE!"

"What is it about talking that people take such offense to?" It was a rhetorical question, and she took her place in the line, not far behind Tricity. Not surprisingly, the barracks were about as bland as the rest of the place. Looking down she noticed something with six or more legs scurrying away from the sudden commotion.

Lovely....

"Your names have been placed at the ends of the bed with a nametag that will hang around your neck. If you are caught not wearing this identification, believe me, you will be punished."

<"I can imagine....">

A loud hum filled the room. The bracelets that some of the mutants were wearing were now detatching and crawling up the owners' arms to reshape and fit their necks. Neena watched without blinking, noticing she was one those whose bracelet remained on her wrist. Apparently her mutation wasn't considered 'dangerous' in any way.

<"Wonder how they define 'dangerous'....">

"Find your bed and bunkmate until dinner is called. Talking will be kept at a low level. And of course, guards will remain here with you at ALL times."

<"No surprise there.">

Oddly enough, there seemed to be a rush to find the bunks. Maybe because, if nothing else anymore, they could at least claim a bed as their own. Neena waited until most had found theirs, before finding her own. Because of her last name, she'd grown up used to being stuck somewhere in the middle of everything. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or be disappointed that her bunk was closer towards the front of the barracks, on the bottom bunk. Well, at least she was near the others from the looks of it.

She pulled off the dog-tag-like name tag and examined it curiously.

(OOC: Basic Mancala Rules. Enjoy! )

ooc: anyone up for being Rainas bunk mate? I'll leave it open... whoever wants it just post that you see her name and make your way to the same bunk!

ic:

Raina moved elequantly. It was something that came natural to her from all the years on the ice. Even while looking broken it was as if each step was chosen with an intense amount of scrutiny. She kept her eyes ahead of her and downcast. She followed the lead of the woman infront of her- was that Tricity? She'd only ever met her once. She knew Tricity had a baby... she wondered how the child was. At that thought she touched her own stomach feeling sick. She could never imagine having a baby in a situation like this. Sympathy pains riveted through her. She continued following.

Finally identification was pulled around her neck. Unlike the others, her collar had been in place from the start. She didn't bother to see who she was paired with- she was so exhausted that any bed sounded like a good bed. Though- her hopes may have been up a little when she saw the grade of the cells. she was shoved in with a spike of pain to her ribs. She trudged in and grabbed the bottom bunk. She didn't even bother to pull her shoes off... she lunged into the bed pulling up the blankets.

She started to drift off into a restless sleep... thinking of Rupert.

Deathstar remained quiet as the other mutants reunited with each other, She stood firm with her arms folded against her chest silently crying internally. Never in her life she thought she would be involved in such inhumane treatmeant of mutants. "If I have to live like this, then I look forward to hell", she thought to herself, She notices one by one residents of the mansion step foot out in the yard, but that doesn't break her silence. In a quick glimpse she catches Tricity of all people stepping out in the yard, with that in mind all the hope she held within, was escaping from her spirit. She pulls her hair back from her face softly as thoughts storm within her head, interrrupting her thought process she focus her attention, and listens to a woman she never met teach the other residents about a game.

"YOU WILL ALL MOVE TO THE BARRACKS NOW WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS. IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE, I PROMISE YOU THAT. A FEW RULES WHILE YOU MAKE YOUR WAY OVER THERE... NO TALKING. STAY IN A SINGLE LINE. KEEP YOUR EYES AHEAD. FOLLOW THE GUARDS TO THE BARRACKS. AS I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE. GUARDS, BEGIN PROCEEDING TO THE BARRAKCS. MUTANTS, FALL INTO LINE!"

Deathstar switched her attention to the P.A system, reluctantly following instructions she slowly walks behind the line when all of the sudden an impatient guard grabs her arm and shoves her forward, She pulls back her arm giving the guard a mean look as she return to the moving line inside the barracks.

Inside the barracks a loud hum sound eroded Deathstar's ears, she was caught off guard when the wrist cuffs detatchs from her wrist, and crawls up her arm. She tried to stop the bracelet from moving to her neck, but was instantly shocked by a small bolt of electricity, "Ugh!!" she moaned as the bracelet snapped tight around her neck.

She walked over to their assigned bunks and notices her name on the bunk along with tric's name, "didn't expect to see you here" she said to Tricity as she walked toward her as holding her neck from the newly tight brace while adjusting herself to her new entrapment.

There is no way for them to communicate except the infirmary which Calley has created or maybe the discipline circles. Other than that, there is no way for now.

"Yea, didn't expect to see me here either," she said with a smirk, inspecting Star's new gift that seemed to be irritating her neck. She touched and moved Star's neck slightly to get a better look at the thing, but she saw a small spark despite her helpful efforts. No tampering, that's for sure. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Star... Was just trying to see if I could..."

"Well, you can't so cut the crap." A male guard passed by and studied she and Star.

"Can you loosen it or something? It's kinda tight," Tricity asked him. He was rather short and stumpy. Didn't look like he belonged here. "Please?"

"No can do. Touch it again and the same thing will happen, so I'd advise not to." He walked off after that, twirling a baton in his hand.

"I'd give anything for something to shock me right now." Tricity touched the contraption around her own neck which was the complete opposite of everyone elses. It kept her from being able to absorb any type of electricity. "Maybe I can find a rug and rub my feet on it really fast," she joked trying to lighten the mood.

When they were clear of earshot range of the guards, Tricity motioned for the girls of the mansion to listen in. "We're going to have to put up with a few days of this camp. If we try anything now, it will probably just fail. We need to get a better idea of the camp's layout. If they start to assign jobs, we'll try and all do something different to help in efforts to get a better idea of what this place is all about, alright?" She noticed a few of the other women in the camp listening in on them. "If anyone else wants to help, you are more than welcome. We'll all need to stick together if we want out." She saw a few head nods and then signaled for everyone to move back as the guards were rounding again.

Tricity sat on the edge of the bed and thought of her baby. Her hands were shaking slightly and she stared off toward the open doors where more guards were talking. She knew he was alright... She knew someone was taking care of him... She knew...

Natalie jumped when the loud PA started blaring orders at them. Wordlessly, Natalie fell into line with the other mutants, as they were all herded into the barracks. There she noticed other people's bracelets climbing up toward their necks, and she nervosly looked at hers, fully expecting it to do the same. But it didn't. It just sat there. Worried that staring at it any longer would make it move, she headed for the bunks, and found hers. She saw that someone had already collapsed into the bottem bunk, and she recognised it as the bald girl from the cell. (OOC:Hey Raina!)

Natalie climbed up to the top bunk, and sat on the end with her feet hanging over the side. She half-listened to the lady talking about ways to get out, and putting up with it for a few days. Days? They thought it would only be days? Not a chance, they weren't going to get out of this, it would be years, more likely. The very thought of this caused her to burst into tears again, thinking about her parents, her home, and how she would never see them again. She remembered her little sister. She's probably be wondering why her big sis wasn't home, and her parents would be telling her everything was alright, even though they knew that it wasn't, and never would be again.

ooc: Don't forget that Rupe will help start an escape later on!

ic:

Raina stirred a little in her sleep hearing someone else in the room. She tried to pull herself from the infinite quiet and eventually the sharp pains in her stomach jolted her awake. Did they really hurt her that bad? She winced as she sat up practically panting from the pain. Who was that above her? Those dainty feet. She looked up. Natalie. She gave a wave to the young girl. Even without her wings Natalie looked like a fairy. It was like how Ted always smelled like a dog.

She could faintly hear Tricity- and though this place was a hell hole she was more scared of what would happen to her when she left. What she would have to face.

(OOC: I was actually thinking of something more visual, like a color-code-type thing, since I guess guards would keep talking to a minimum, but let me know if I'm stepping out of line.)

Neena listened quietly to Tricity's pep talk, the only hint of emotion being a raised eyebrow when the woman mention 'days'. She took Natalie's momentary outburst to mean that the girl also doubted that they only be here for a short time. She reached up and gave the girl's knee a supportive squeeze.

The suggestion of taking on different jobs set Neena to thinking again.... At this rate, verbal communication was out; the guards were already looking at them warily, and they hadn't even been talking for more than a minute or two.

"We'll all need to stick together if we want out."

Neena smiled and nodded, giving Tricity a 'thumbs-up' sign, then quickly moved away as the guards began to move again. She stood by the foot of the bunks, deep in thought. Eventually one of the guards passed her, a man an inch or so shorter than she was, and a bit on the lanky side.

"Hey, quick question." She reached out and touched his arm, a motion he recoiled from as if she were covered in sewer filth. She did her best not to snort, and retracted her hand. "Sorry, my bad. Eh, anyway, I was just wondering.... what exactly are going to be doing 'round this place? I mean, I'm sure you didn't round us up so we could lounge around all day."

"You'll be put to constructive use," was the vauge, and somewhat malice-filled answer. Neena smiled on the inside. <"Perfect...">

"Yeah, I'll bet," she remarked aloud. Trying to sound casual, she continued. "Soooo.... we're aren't going to have to do stupid stuff, are we? You know, like sewing clothes, or making jewelry. I hate beading." She forced a shudder, as if it were the worst thing in the world. "Besides, no one's going to buy that stuff when its made by mutants anyway, right?" This time she sounded hesitant.

The guard grinned, or rather, sneered at her. "You'll be kept busy, and out of trouble." He replied blandly, and moved off. Neena watched him surreptisciously, an expression of worry and unease plastered on her face. He went to one of the other guards who was dressed in a different colored uniform; one of the OICs from the looks of it. The two whispered for a moment, then the presumed-to-be-in-charge guards smirked and shot her a meaningfully intimidating glare. Obediently she lowered her head and turned toward the others.

A content smile took over her face. Since no one had yet appeared to claime the top bunk, Neena leaned over and stuck the other tag on the bottom bunk, then climbed up onto the top one. Unless her unknown bunkmate put up a major fuss, she didn't see any problem with it; she preferred to be up high anyway. She leaned back on the bunk, arms crossed behind her head.

"Sooo..... any of you ladies know Zulu bead code?"

"Yea, didn't expect to see me here either," Tricity responds, Deathstar stood still with her hands gripping her neck as Tricity tries to help loosen the tight-fitted brace on her neck. "I swear once I get out of this sh#thole someone is gonna pay with their.....Ah!!!" Deathstar responds angrily while tricity fixes her brace problem, but was interrupted as a small jolt shot through her body. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Star... Was just trying to see if I could..."says Tricity, "Its okay Tric, I'm used to this kind of treatment" She takes a deep inhale but catches a wondering guards eye. "Can you loosen it or something? It's kinda tight," Tricity asked the guard.

""No can do. Touch it again and the same thing will happen, so I'd advise not to." says the male guard

Deathstar rolled her eyes at the rude guard, "I'd give anything for something to shock me right now." Tricity says to Deathstar, "we'll get my chance".

Deatstar listened in as Tricity spoke her and the other residents. "We're going to have to put up with a few days of this camp. If we try anything now, it will probably just fail. We need to get a better idea of the camp's layout. If they start to assign jobs, we'll try and all do something different to help in efforts to get a better idea of what this place is all about, alright?". Deathstar exhaled with agitation, "Tric!, I don't know how long I can take this, If one more of those bastards come near, I'm gonna break his neck in half" Deathstar rage builds up as she talks, but quickly got quiet when the guards made their rounds.

"Sooo..... any of you ladies know Zulu bead code?" Says Neena.

"Look! Do you know where your are?, I keep hearing you blabber about games and now zulu beads, no one has time for that right now, if don't have anything to say that will get us out of here, then I suggest you shut it", Deathstar responds with rudeness toward neena, the aggravation and this camp is really taking a toll on Deathstar's demeanor.

Ruby was relived upon getting reassuring words from Tricity but her relief turned right back into worry when the PA system came on. She placed her hands over her over sized ears

YOU WILL ALL MOVE TO THE BARRACKS NOW WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS. IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE, I PROMISE YOU THAT. A FEW RULES WHILE YOU MAKE YOUR WAY OVER THERE... NO TALKING. STAY IN A SINGLE LINE. KEEP YOUR EYES AHEAD. FOLLOW THE GUARDS TO THE BARRACKS. AS I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU CHOOSE TO RESIST, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SEVERE. GUARDS, BEGIN PROCEEDING TO THE BARRACKS. MUTANTS, FALL INTO LINE!"

Emerald gently grabbed Ruby's hand, removing it from her head as the announcement ended. She lead Ruby to the Barracks and quickly found their bunk. They had both been assigned to the same bunk in the middle.

Both girls then began listening to Tricity and then Deathstars rant, Ruby watched as Emerald rolled her eyes, and her tail wrapped around her body meekly.

"Deathstar if you are so tough and Bad ass, why can't you stand a place like this for a few days, I was in a hell hole for ten years and you don't see me acting like a pansy ass in the face of danger." Emerald growled at the older woman, tail lashing back and forth.

Ruby sighed deeply, already feeling as if this was going to be a very long and tiring day. The fox girl let out a soft yawn, ears drooping a bit, it was already getting dark and Ruby hadn't had any sleep.

The females were soon rounded up after and extremely loud and annoying announcement blared out. They were telling the females to get in a line and head into the barracks. Which is exactly what they all did.

When Nika got inside the barracks building she looked around. Others were looking for their bunks. Still others were huddling in small groups and talking. Maybe they knew each other like how Nika knew the others from the mansion. Or maybe they were seeking some sort of common bond so that they don't feel so lonely.

Nika decided to look for her bunk like the others. She eventually found it. It was two bunks down from Tricity and Deathstar's bunk. Finding her name and her name tage she put it on. In doing so she happened to notice the name on her bunkmate's portion of the bed. The name was Isabel. Nika began to wonder what this other girl was going to be like.

"Look! Do you know where your are?, I keep hearing you blabber about games and now zulu beads, no one has time for that right now, if don't have anything to say that will get us out of here, then I suggest you shut it."

Neena tilted her head to look down at Deathstar calmly. "Mmm hmm. I know where we are. And I'm guessing that, if you don't want to go insane, you'll want to make time for things that will give a spirit lift." She couldn't, and didn't, blame the girl for her reactions. People handle stress in different ways. "Actually, if ranting will give you a spirit lift, I'm more than happy to provide an outlet for that too. I've been told I make an excellent punching bag." She smiled cheerily.

"Deathstar if you are so tough and Bad ass, why can't you stand a place like this for a few days, I was in a hell hole for ten years and you don't see me acting like a pansy ass in the face of danger."

It wasn't danger they had to worry about, though Neena agreed this place would be no cake walk. It was the humiliation that was going to be a doozy to deal with, especially for some of the kids....

She saw Ruby yawn, and sat up. She leaned down and held out one of her pillows to the fox-girl. "Hey there, kiddo, those lids look like they're made of lead. May as well get a nap in before dinner."

In agreement with her own words, she leaned back and closed her eyes.

"By the way," she murmured quietly, "Zulu bead code is a color code. Great for sending secret messages, if the recipient knows how to read it...." Then she seemed to drift off into a quiet sleep.

Seated upon a rather uncomfortable bench made out of some type of plastic Simon allowed his hands to fidget nervously while he hunched his back so as to appear as small as possible. Occasionally his head would dart from side to side as people entered and left the room but for the most part he kept his gaze focused on his lap as thought it were the most interesting thing in the world, ‘How long can it take to run a few numbers through a machine?’ he asked himself testily as he directed a carefully hidden scowl towards the opaque glass which concealed the area one of the secretaries had strolled into with his carefully forged paperwork. As his eyes settled upon the blank glass though the merc found himself once again staring at a complete stranger. The individual in question appeared to a young man between roughly 18-22 years of age with thick obsidian hair which lay messily atop his cranium and dangled awkwardly in front of his pure emerald green orbs forcing him to blink occasionally to clear his vision. The man had a thin, almost willowy build which was hidden somewhat by the crisp navy blue pants and collared shirt of a camp guard but were not enough to completely disperse the strange awkward aura which seemed to hover around him

‘Incredible’ Simon thought not for the first time as he reached up a hand to run across his brow and watched as the stranger in the impromptu mirror did the same. ‘I must to find out how to do this myself.’ Hunters staff had truly outdone themselves when they were set with the task of giving the 18 year old mercenary a completely different identity. They had dyed his hair with an absurd number of different liquids, altered his eye color with a matching set of tinted contact lenses and even gone so far as to change the shape of his face with some type of rubbery glue which matched the tone of his skin. The process had been long and tedious and the way the women had chattered constantly about their petty lives while they worked and rapped him on the head whenever he moved had nearly driven Simon insane but now that he could observe the fruits of their labour the British merc had to grudgingly admit it had been worth it.

However it hadn’t been enough to simply to change his appearance, well not by the elementals standards anyway; Zephyr had seen this new assignment as a chance to expand upon an idea which had become lodged within his mind ever since his chance encounter with the Kabals spy Calley; the shifter was one of Hunters key informants and therefore was capable of emulating a professional type persona but perhaps more importantly the boy was capable of hiding it behind an almost perfect aura of childhood like innocence. The value of such a performance had not escaped the mercenary and in the weeks following the encounter he had toyed with the idea of developing such an alter ego himself and after a few successful experiments in the more hectic sectors of the city to build his confidence the elemental had finalized what he thought of as a prototype persona which could be used in more social situations where he cared little about his own dignity. However those had always been short term performances where escape had been only a single alley away, when Zephyr had been given his latest mission he had seen it as a way to test himself and so had set himself the goal of attempting to maintain his new persona for the entire duration of the mission.

“Well this all seems to be in order”[/color]

Giving a small start that befitted his new role Simon jerked his head round and actually jumped a little out of his seat as he turned to locate the source of this new voice. The elementals emerald orbs swiftly settled on a bespectacled old woman who had resurfaced from behind the counter after having disappeared a few minutes prior.

“Oh, that’s good to hear” the merc offered in an uncharacteristically pleasant tone.

“Less work for me at any rate”[/color] the old woman replied off handedly as she shuffled a handful of documents on the desk before pushing them towards young man in front of her, “This’ll have everything you need; badge, ID, time sheet you get the idea, any problems don’t come to me”[/color] she told him tartly before settling back into her seat behind the counter an pulling out an aged magazine of some sort.

Looking slightly put out Simon hesitantly accepted the small bundle while the giving aged pensioner an undecided look which well masked his true feelings, ‘As if you could help anyone you old crone,’ he thought with a slight tinge of annoyance before he was struck with a flash of inspiration which caused an amused smirk to dance upon his lips for a brief second before he settled into his new role once more.

“Um, e-excuse me” he stammered nervously causing the old dragons eyes to flicker back to him and narrow in aggravation from over the top of her magazine.

“What?”[/color]

“Well uh, where exactly am I supposed to go now?” Simon replied attempting to appear as oblivious as possible as he shuffled the papers in his hands awkwardly. “It’s just that I don’t really know my way-”

“What did I tell you just a second a go?”[/color] the aging hag asked sharply still refusing to lower her magazine.

“You said that I uh, shouldn’t bother y-”

“So why are you still talking? Go ask some else.”[/color] She retorted in a tone of finality as she swiveled her chair round 180° and attempted to once more start reading whatever mundane article the editor of such a work had seen fit to include.

“…but you’re the only one here.” Simon replied simply in a slightly resentful tone as he made a faint motion with his empty hand to the empty office behind the unhelpful woman. “Who else am I supposed to ask?”

“I don’t know! Just go find someone else!”[/color] the old hag snapped at him in obvious aggravation as she slapped the magazine on the arm of her chair. Today was not turning out to be a good day for her… it wasn’t going to get any better.

“… but what if I go somewhere I’m not supposed to?” Simon asked in a whining tone he had often heard young children use on their parents. Who would have thought that such inane questioning could actually prove entertaining? Watching the old crone completely discard whatever semblance of poise she may have had would have normally only rated as a mild interest for the merc, however knowing that he was the cause behind such behavior leant a whole new dimension of entertainment to the scene and so it was all he could do to limit the expression of his internal laughter to a slight twinkling of malicious amusement in his currently emerald eyes.

“You’re the security here, what could possibly be off limits to you?!” [/color] the aged crone nearly screeched at him as she swiveled her chair round to face him once more.

“How would I know? I only just got here.” the response was delivered in the same tone of oblivious innocence as before but this time was accompanied by a confused shrug of the shoulders.

For a moment the woman was completely silent. Then, gradually her face began to fade to a dull crimson making her appear so much like an overripe tomato as she struggled with some type of retort before she simply decided to cut her losses and fell back in her chair with a slight thump. “That hallway, on your left, it’ll take you to canteen… just go”

“Thanks, uh..” Simon leaned forward and peered at the minute nametag on the woman’s blouse “..Gladys, thanks a lot” with a final at the bespectacled crone the elemental made a brief show of regathering his small bundle of documents and striding purposefully down the hall to his right for about five meters before turning round and walking meekly past Gladys as headed down the correct corridor, however he wasn’t even able to proceed 10 meters before a loud obnoxious voice caught his attention.

“Who the hell are you?”[/color]

Simon blinked at his reflection once and took a moment to remember his role before turning to the speaker with an expression of slight surprise and raised his left hand to point at himself in a classic “who me?” gesture in order to make himself appear completely clueless.

“Yeah you, I know everyone here and I sure as hell ain’t seen your scrawny ass before”[/color]

The speaker in question was a heavyset man in either his earlier forties or late thirties, a receding hairline and an enlarged gut the man appeared physically unfit, however Simon’s professional side swiftly noted the mans bulging arms, which and the flatten nose which hinted at a somewhat violent history. The mans eyes also told of one who was used to throwing his rather substantial weight around and would likely take an opportunity he could to make himself feel important which, judging by the badge on his chest would be quite often.

‘Ah the stereotypical bully, where would we be without them?’ he mused dully as he maintained his guppy fish expression and started spouting the script Hunter had given him almost a week ago. “M-My names Robert Peel sir” He stated in a slightly quavering voice which never the less deeply emphasized his British accent, “I just um, transferred here from London a little while ago and the guys in New York assigned me here.”

“Is that so?”[/color] The heavy set man replied with an all too obvious sneer as he looked down the length of his nose at the seated elemental before him. “and why the hell would the shame!s upstairs send me a tea drinking pansy like you?”

‘…did he really just say that?’ Simon thought incredulously as his brows furrowed and he gazed at the large man with undisguised resentment while allowing a note of skepticism enter his voice “Sir?”

The man gave an exasperated grunt before using his thumb to stick out the over polished badge on the front of uniform, “Watch your tone kid, the names sergeant Miller and since your wearing that uniform I’m your direct superior”[/color]

‘God help us all’ the merc mused dully as he maintained his uneasy stance and leaned back slightly to escape the mans foul breath while at the same time giving a mental sigh, ‘Still I suppose I should establish my role with the higher ups now rather than later.’ “Y-Yes sir” he stated nervously while simultaneously attempting to give a salute using the hand which was holding his documents and promptly spilled the files across the metallic floor. Crouching quickly in order to retrieve the papers Simon risked a brief glance up at the sergeant and noted with a certain smug satisfaction that the man was making no attempt to hide his disdain of his latest “recruit”.

‘That should do’ he told himself silently as he continued to scrambled the papers together in ruff order and heard more than saw the sergeant walk away. ‘It shouldn’t take long for rumors of the ‘clumsy foreigner’ to spread around the barracks. The only question now is where do I go from here?’

--

Standing in rank among the other guards who lined the perimeter of the camp Zephyr gazed out dully at the currently desolate camp grounds, the place looked as though it had taken directly from an old WWII movie. The earth seemed to consist of some type of gray dust, which judging by the lack of surviving of vegetation, was incapable of supporting any type of life. The rough shacks which were scattered around the grounds and would serve as the mutants sole form of shelter from the elements were all constructed from the same shoddy timber and appeared to be half rotten in some places. The one thing that held the elementals interest, albeit mildly, as he waited for the first shipment of mutants to arrive was the ancient corpse of a great oak from the branches of which hung a series of empty nooses.

‘Who the hell designed this place?’ A high school drama student?’ he asked himself disdainfully as his eyes scanned the deserted grounds once more, almost expecting to see a tumbleweed role by. Whoever had been left to design this construct clearly had a flair for the dramatic and Simon would have liked to meet them, if only to put them out of their misery; there were just some clichés that were best left alone.

The low rumble of motor engine suddenly caught his attention and Zephyr found himself turning instinctively towards the main gates for his half of the camp. The heavy titanium wrought gates gradually rolled to the side among an almost imperceptible pneumatic hiss as they made way for the approaching convoy of obsidian vans currently containing the newly “registered” mutants.

Simon watched in silence indifferent from the other guards who casually or gladly threw their pitiful insults at the “freaks” before them as the heavy armored vehicles pulled into the complex in a ragtag order as they sorted themselves into vertical rows in front of what had been termed the integration chamber where the new residents would be relieved of all their worldly possessions and introduced to the camps new uniform decorum and overall lack of hope. Surprisingly, albeit one or two nuisances on the male side of the camp, the whole procedure ran very smoothly and in just over an hour the entire first shipment had been processed and were loitering listlessly around the camps grounds in their new, and rather drab, attire.

‘They act like cattle come to slaughter’ he thought impassively as he stared at the multitude of bleak expressions decorating the faces of the prisoners. ‘Have they truly given in or are they simply biding their time as I would?’

The mercs attention abruptly focused on a group within the female half of the camp, it was obvious from the way they huddled together that they were all acquaintances of a sort and they sought some type of safety in their numbers, however what had drawn the elementals attention to this little gathering was their posture. These girls held themselves differently from their current companions for they still seemed to posses a backbone; there were no slumped shoulders here or any downcast eyes, these individuals still had, for lack of a better term, spirit.

‘Most interesting, they will bear watching’

And so when the time came for the camps new residence to be cordoned off to their huts Zephyr silently followed this fascinating group to their new homes and after a muffled exchange with one of the guards on duty and an agreement that the man owed him some strong liquor at a later date Simon assigned himself as the shacks advisor.

--

((OOC: At long last I have managed to make my entrance post. I apologise for the length but so much had happened by the time I finally got around to writing and I wanted to demonstrate Zephyr’s alter ego somewhat.

On a side note as many of you will have noticed by posting has been somewhat sporadic of late due to RL issues, I am able to post during the weekends but even that time is somewhat unreliable. Because of this I will be changing Zephyrs role somewhat so that he is more of an observer and only have him participate if completely necessary in order to try and avoid slowing the plot down and/or holding certain people up.

If I need to change anything just send me a PM))