SARP Third Try

"You're dancin' to Micheal's tune by bein' here now, yeah?" He says jokingly. "Then again, we're all in the same VTOL for this." He shrugs "Must mean someone's playin' the right tune."

"Nope. Their tune just happens to match up with mine." Rika replied. The VTOL came into view over the water. She'd probably have to move when it needed to land.

"Funny how it all works." He says as he begins to hear the VTOL's approach and, at its sound, he looks up. He follows it up by looking around, not seeing the others yet. Of course, they could pop up at any time, given the fact that he wasn't giving his full attention to the task. He looks back up to the VTOL and gives a yawn. "A quick nap on the way there can't hurt."

Cornelius came out on the other side of the field - opposite the dorms - with his luggage in tow. With one hand on his Soul, he moved swiftly and quietly across the field towards Rika et alterum.

Rika noticed Cornelius walking towards them. She didn't have any specific friends, she preferred her own company, but that didn't mean she disliked any of her classmates. She liked some more than others, especially the ones who were happy to leave her alone until Rika wanted to talk.
"Cornelius is precisely on time as usual." She said, to the both of them.

Cornelius smiles. "I am." After the meeting with the Archangel, he had gathered his luggage and things and gone for a walk off-campus grounds. Though this walk was not singular in its purpose, he had also checked on a birds' nest that he had helped build. By providing materials for the bird. He was certain that the bird recognized him now. He had taken a more scenic route most of the way back towards Sanctum, along the lake front.

By his calculations, the VTOL should arrive in a few minutes. "Three here, two missing."

Nerva showed up a moment after Cornelius spoke. Coming from the dorms and still messing with her hair to get it into place. All of her stuff she was wearing in her backpack, stuffed dangerously full. "Four here, Cornelius, thank you. Just waiting on the 'important one.'" She replied, not bothering to hide her frustration in her voice.

"Yo, Cornelius. Yo, Nerva." Richter says with a lazy wave. He looks to Nerva.

"How're those cuts and scrapes doin', Nerva?"

Nerva finished up her hair. "Doing good. Nothing a few more hours can't fix. I just hope we don't get into any kind of fight as soon as we land. Lip's just painful enough it's annoying me."

He nods and gives a thumbs up. "That's good." He brings his hand down and looks up to the VTOL. "I'm hopin' a fight won't break loose durin' the flight" He shrugs before looking back at Nerva. "Then again, it might be thrillin'"

"So long as -she- doesn't get all 'high and mighty' it'll be fine. No fighting, I promise." Nerva held up a hand, doing her best to look innocent in all of it.

"Good, infightin' wouldn't look all too great with the commander. Save that bloodlust for the real enemies out there."

Richter says that despite his lack of caring what the commander thinks. He'll nod and say what he thinks the brass would want to hear, but he'll just end up following what he wants to do. Especially if it's some inane task that doesn't require his full attention or any physical effort.

"Laila ain't too bad, I don't think. Sure, she can get a bit over the top and cocky with her father's position and everythin'. I think if we all get to know each other a bit more outside of duties and school and all that, it'll help. That's just the words of a "lazy good for nothin'", though." He says suddenly and as if the amount of talking he had just done wore him out, he yawns.

"Yeah, probably. Though it would also probably help if you could stay awake long enough to hold a conversation." She gently jabs him in the shoulder and waits for touchdown, looking up at the VTOL anxiously.

"You're not good for nothing," Rika said, "If you were good for nothing, you wouldn't still be here."

Cornelius nodded at Rika's comment. If Richter was a good for nothing, he wouldn't be here. That is a fact. He'd probably doing something at home. With his parents or friends. Richter might have problems on this assignment if he's disinterested. Nerva and Laila might have problems if either of them pick a fight and our Commander learns about it. The only two who are relatively safe are Rika and me. Cornelius looks towards the lake, thinking. Would Laila be able to accept taking orders from someone she might consider to be beneath her father's position?

I wonder what the weather is going to be like in Koga.

Laila strolled lazily across the field towards the other four. Her backpack was slung across her shoulder and she was twirling her glaive through her fingers. She came to a half in front of them all, completing the motion with an upwards flick and sending the glaive into the air before catching it.

The VTOL came in to land and, much like she had expected, Rika had to move. The hatch lowered, and inside was a relatively short, bearded man, a large, two-headed axe on his back.
"In." He said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.

Nerva waited for others to move in first before heading in herself, and finding a good seat nearish the hatch. She wanted to be the first one off for a multitude of reasons, most of fwhich were fairly predictable to anyone who knew her.

Laila walked on board the VTOL and sat opposite Nerva, glaring her down.

Cornelius sits down nearest the cockpit. Stowing his things safely in the compartment designed for the holding of baggage.

Richter finds a spot next to Cornelius, puts his things away and takes a seat.

Rika put her bag away and took her seat, the man with the beard hadn't moved from his position standing by the door, though he'd turned to face the group.
"You're still fuckin' kids." He stated bluntly. "Do any of you think you could kill a demon?"

"Probably. We've been training up a lot." Nerva replied, knowing full well there was no way in hell that'd be the case.

Richter gives a shrug and puts his hands behind his head, arms out.

"Of course I think I can, I wouldn't be sittin' here if I didn't."

Cornelius stays quiet. Why does this man think we are so inadequately prepared for facing a demon? We're only in our third year, we haven't graduated yet. This year we're supposed to learn what tactics to use to defeat a demon and... it doesn't matter if we think we can kill a demon. By the end of this year we should have the ability to do so. We'll likely see a demonstration of demon-killing tactics in Koga or on one of our assignments. Why is this guy so angry?

"No, you fuckin' couldn't," The man replied, "An' that ain't gonna change after a year sittin' around at school. Your team's dead, an' you're facing down a demon. What do you do?"

Nerva didn't have an answer. Well, she did, she just kinda wanted to get to where this was going. "Get help? Run back to base for reinforcements."

He didn't care to answer this question, if he did he would say something about leaving all of his fears and avenging his fallen comrades, even if it would lead to his own death. Running from a fight isn't in his nature. He would say this, but it didn't seem like the great bearded one would care and shoot off into a different question. In response, he just closes his eyes and makes it seem like he's thinking about the question.

"There is no right answer to that question." Cornelius answered. You could stay, fight the demon, and probably die if it's powerful enough to take on your entire team and win, it's strong enough to kill one person. Or, you could return to base for reinforcements, but then you'd be considered weak for not being able to kill a demon. Or if you stayed, fought the demon, and was injured, and the escaped, you'd be considered foolish for taking the demon on alone, and not calling for reinforcements. Either way, your team, probably your friends, are dead, and you are left alive knowing that the demon responsible is still alive. It didn't matter what you did at that point. Unless you have a miraculous moment of clarity and have been observing the demon's tactics, then you could fight the demon with a reasonable chance of survival, even if it meant letting your team die just so you could have the knowledge to defeat the demon.

Cornelius looked at the back of the mans head. What's this guys problem? What do we represent to him that makes him so hostile? Or is this a test?

He looked at Nerva as she answered,
"You run, and it chases you down like a dog." he said, before he looked to Cornelius, "You call for reinforcement, and keep the demon occupied until it kills you or your reinforcements arrive. Usually the former. Every time you hunt, you are expected to give your life at a second's notice. Can you say you'd gladly give your lives?"

"I'll never need to. There's no demon that can kill me."

Laila scoffed at this lecture. It was pathetic really. A stupid scare tactic that was nothing more than a waste of time. How ridiculous.

Cornelius stayed quiet. He looked at Rika and then the others. Give my life at a seconds notice. He looked down at his feet, biting his lip as he thought about the gravitas of the statement. to die at a seconds notice. Any moment could be my last. I could go out one day and never return - dying at the hands of a demon. Well, it was better than dying by his own hands.

Nerva shot a sideways glare at Laila. "I would, yes. If it's in defense of the ones I care about, for a cause I believe in." A dangerous statement if taken the wrong way, but she meant it innocently enough.

The man looked at Laila,
"With that attitude, you'll be the first one dead." He said, "You've all been coddled by that school, a few years ago you'd be on the front lines by now, trying to stop humanity from being wiped out. But here you are, getting a comfy VTOL ride to the quietest posting in the world."

Quiet doesn't mean safe. Cornelius thinks to himself.

Laila stood up quickly, approaching the man and squaring herself up against him.

"Wanna bet?"

The man headbutted Laila squarely in the nose, possibly breaking it, and knocked her to the floor.
"I'm not one of your teachers," He said, looking down at Laila, "From here, you're gettin' treated like soldiers, not kids."

Laila kicked out at his legs from the floor as she scrambled up. Her nose was spewing blood but she hardly cared about that right now. Once she was up, she swung for him with an arching uppercut.

The man ignored the kick, staring down at Laila with a disappointed, yet somewhat glad look. He caught the punch easily, and headbutted her back down the the floor.

She scrambled back up, spitting blood in his face as she swung yet again and following it up by bullrushing into him.

Taking only a single step back, he sighed, and wrapped his arm around her throat, choking her.

She kicked backwards, slamming her boot repeatedly into his shins. She could feel how tight the restriction on her throat was so she did little more than attempt to hold it at bay as opposed to pushing it off completely.

He winced as she kicked his shins, but showed no other reaction. He tightened his grip on her throat until she passed out. After he had dumped her into one of the nearest seats and strapped her in, he turned to students who were still conscious.
"You all saw her fall over during turbulance, right?"

Cornelius sat in his seat, mortified at what he just witnessed. She was attacked by him, she hit back and was choked out. This was not acceptable. Not that any action at this point would resolve this, if they arrived and she was not conscious, what would he say? He could tell them the truth, but circumstantially it'd be Cornelius's word versus his. We'll have to play this one by ear.

Richter gives a nod and straps himself in. Not bothered by what had just transpired.

"Gotcha, turbulence. At least now it'll be a quiet ride." Without missing a beat and wanting some information, he follows up with. "So, what are we goin' to be doin' while we're stationed in Koga?" He asks the bearded man. "You said it's a quiet posting, yeah? Why would they send us there if it's a quiet spot?"

Nerva was glad Laila got her ass handed to her, but didn't like how it was all so casual. She wouldn't back down from a fight, but doing it like it was just cleaning clothing was just...weird. She didn't know how to handle it but didn't say anything.

"How should I know?" He answered, "It's not down to me where you go. That's on Gabriel."

Rika sat quietly through the rest of the journey, like she had been doing already.

Richter's eyes narrow and his brow furrows. Good grief... we're all goin' to die on this plane. He puts back his head and closes his eyes. No one knows how to pass information properly, I guess. He sighs Sleepin' is the best course of action until we arrive. and just like that, his breathing slowed and he began to dream. Short snores can be heard from him over the sound of the VTOL itself.

The journey was much shorter than the one Rika had taken to get to Sanctum, because the VTOL went straight to Koga, rather than having to stop at New Peragus.

Rika was first off of the VTOL, stretching her arms and legs as she walked down the ramp.