The Newest Novack [Open]

A young woman clicked her tongue at the sight of the academy, "Not bad at all..." she mused quietly to herself as she looked around her. It was certainly a large campus that obviously deserved its high status by just how amazing the place appeared to be. Granted, looks aren't everything, but they certainly didn't hurt the first impression. And even to Willow, someone who had lived in quite a large home for all of her life, moving to something even larger wasn't an idea that she was ever against. In fact, she welcomed the change as being around people that weren't her family would allow herself to meet new and interesting individuals.

And so, the young woman was looking forward to her future from this point. In fact, she was getting the chance to graduate even earlier than most even get a chance to. That would certainly look good on a resume if she needed it. That is, if she ever put in a resume for a job that involved hunting. She wasn't entirely sure that was even something most hunting jobs required. But hey, it certainly doesn't hurt to have that just in case one does.

But all of that were things to worry about in the future. For now, right in this moment, it was more important to figure out what to do next. Well, that's not entirely accurate. Willow knew exactly what she wanted to do now that she was here: wander around the campus until she found something that was interesting enough to her that she would stop and investigate. This could be people, an area, or something even more peculiar.

But Willow wasn't going to find any of that here. Lifting her bag from the ground, the brunette craned her neck, causing it to make a faint crack. With a confident, the young woman set out to wander until she found something of interest.

Richard sat in a cafeteria chair, seething. Gyro hadn't let him spend the summer with him and, as a result, he had been stranded at the academy most of the time. So much for the "freedom of summer."

With a grumble, a yawn, and a sigh he rose from his chair; in search of something to cure his boredom. He decided to hang outside the library, waiting for the librarian to get off her lunch break. Partially glad that soon his boredom would end with books and research, there was a topic he had to delve into.

Now, just as bored as he was before, he pulled out a book. Now, this wasn't just any book. It was empty, not a single word on any of it's twenty pages. Instead each of the first three pages were each coated a different colour. The first a hard grey, the second a cold blue and the last a vivid green.

Richard reached beneath his scarf with his other hand, pulling forth a large cloudy gem of sorts. An explosive dust crystal he has bought just earlier that day. He found the very nature of such dust so strange, no physical form. Just instant carnage.

The short man spun the crystal in his left hand, pondering just how to make a golem from such a thing. Was it even possible? A bomb golem? His eyes furrowed and locked at such an idea.

The pint sized man grumbled loudly to himself, too immersed in his work to notice anyone in the immediate area or even really notice how loud he was being. He didn't even notice as the librarian walked by, scowled at him, and re-opened the library.

He stood in the desolate corridor, dust and a book in hand, and grumbling loudly; just waiting for an idea to strike him.

Not exactly the most interesting thing to come across as the first thing on the campus, Willow thought to herself. But considering how useful the library will most likely end up being to her, it was fairly fortunate. However, that doesn't mean she hadn't wished she could have found the cafeteria or training arenas first. It didn't, however, bother her all that much and figured that while she was here, she might as well figure out what the place was like.

Willow walked closer to the library, her eyes glancing about her surroundings to ensure that she at least remembers where the building is for later reference. That is, until whatever concentration she had was broken by the sound of someone grumbling quite loudly to himself. Quirking a brow, Willow allowed her eyes to fall on a rather short young man. Short to the point that she wasn't sure if he was even in his teens yet; not that she was good at determining peoples' ages in the first place.

With a slight shrug, Willow decided that she might as well introduce herself for the time being. Taking a few steps closer, it certainly didn't seem like the boy had noticed her; him being too engrossed in his work, as it seemed. Willow gave a hum of surprise at the intricate looking dust that the young man was examining as it seemed like the expensive type of dust that her parents never let her play with because it was far too dangerous for a girl that wasn't even done with her training. That and her not really being good with dust by nature didn't give people faith that she would be able to do much with it. But there's a reason why she's a warrior and not a duster.

Clearing her throat, Willow put on a smile as she gave a quick wave, "Heya there, hope I'm not interrupting something important?" she asks, trying to sound as friendly as she possibly could and trying to avoid the fact of the poor guy's height. Which was already a difficult thing to do, but she could hopefully manage the conversation without pissing off the first person she's met at the school, "I'm Willow and I'm new around here. You wouldn't happen to be able to help me out with some directions and where to go, would you?"

Richard was snapped from his grumbles by a voice behind him. He immediately closed his book, slotting the dust crystal beneath his scarf. He turned to her, mildly annoyed. A new face asking for a tour, he'd done this already.

"Well, it would help to know where you want to go." He sighed, realising this one now knew that he was a user of dust. An advantage over him knowing noting about her. He'd have to learn something about her to balance things, couldn't scare her off if he wanted to do that.

"Well, library's here; as you can see. Would seem it's open now. Perhaps there's a book or a flyer with the school's layout on it, that way we can save the effort of wandering. You probably also want to know what it's like here, best do that inside where we can sit."

He yawned as he pushed open the door, assuming she would follow. He cracked his head to the left, wandering in and plopping himself down on the closest beanbag, scanning her up and down. To be fair she was probably the closest to a decent female huntress that he'd seen. Short hair, can't be grabbed or get caught. No clear weapon, perhaps the handle at her waist but he couldn't determine what that would become. She could be well armed right now and he'd have no idea, ideal for a hunter in an urban situation. An enigma in a good way.

Richard put it bluntly, "So, you're a new student I take it? I'm Richard. You probably ought to skip all you're classes and just learn here, fellow students are annoying and teachers are boring. Can probably learn more yourself, using their tools, than with them."

Willow certainly wasn't expecting this short guy's reclusive attitude, but considering he was outside of the library all by himself, it wasn't all that surprising. Without so much as a delay, she followed him in step, entering the library and ensuring to close the door behind her. The brunette was not typically a very studious person. In fact, it was one of her less favorable things to do while growing up and training to take the Syne exam. But when it came to libraries, despite how much she wasn't a fan of them, she had no choice but to get used to atmosphere that they gave off. Otherwise, studying in the Novack Manor's library would have just been that much worse.

When Richard sat down, Willow opted to instead stand and began to slowly pace around, looking around and scouting out her surroundings. This was for two main reasons. The first was in case she found something interesting enough to go investigate it. The second was in case she needed to get away from a situation that was dangerous or just unfavorable. It's not that she was expecting to get jumped by the short guy in the middle of the campus library completely unprovoked, but the entire point of an ambush is to attack when they least expect it.

"Hm, that so?" Willow asked, giving a quick glance towards Richard as she scanned a shelf filled with books about mathematics, "I'll have to keep that in mind then. However, I'll admit that I'm much more of a fan of the school environment and the students than I am of being locked up in a library alone. But, that's just my preference; to each their own, really." she went on as she moved to a different shelf.

Willow paused, "Ah, yes, and before I forget," she began before turning on the balls of her feet towards Richard. She moved a hand infront of her waist and gave a moderate bow of respect and class. Said bow certainly wasn't perfect in any regard, but it wasn't that bad and showed that she had practiced that for some time, "Willow Novack, and I must thank you for helping me in whatever way you can. I certainly appreciate it." she says, a slight smile still on her face.

"Hm, you seem uncomfortable. Not sitting, scanning the environment. Really, if I was going to jump you wouldn't I have done it in the empty corridor where I had my dust out rather than in a library within the sight of a cranky librarian who hates me... and knowing this school probably has a massive weapon of sorts on her. I mean good that you're not trusting me, I don't trust you either, but still. I'm too tired to fight anyone right now. I dealt with a far more... rowdy newske this morning."


Richard yawned, almost emphasising his point, before reaching under his scarf and pulling a stashed chocolate bar out. He unwrapped it and took a bite as she explained her stance on teachers.

"Ah I see. I can't stand the idea that teachers think they're above me... what was his name... ah yes, Coot. Hadn't fought a grimm in his life yet thought he could teach people how to. Such an annoying man, students in the class weren't much better... they must've burnt the classroom down."

A she bowed, he cocked an eyebrow slightly, mid bite on his bar.

"You really don't have to do that. Really, and don't expect it back. I'm not one for gestures like that, if I wanted a thank you I would have asked for it. Really, just chill. It's Richard Lionheart, not like your addressing some trashy king or anything. I'm not formal on the battlefield so I'm certainly not formal here."

Richard sorted his hat, pushing the brim up so he could see her a little better from her standing position. An idea was beginning to work it's way into his mind, her height seemed about perfect for what he had been working on.

"So, what do you want to know then?"

Willow gave a light chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head while craning her neck to look over her shoulder towards Richard, "Heh... don't take it personally, it's just a habit of mine. I prefer to keep moving instead of sitting. So it's not me worried that I'm gonna get jumped or anything. In fact, it would be rather weird to think you were planning on attacking here of all places." Willow states before giving a shrug, "And, well, don't worry about you bowing or anything. I don't do it because I expect a bow in return. I do it out of courtesy." she states before reconsidering and adding, "And... okay, I'll be honest and say because it makes me just a bit more memorable when introducing myself. Afterall, first impressions are important"

Placing a finger on her chin, she turned to face Richard completely, "What do I want to know? Well... honestly, I think I have it handled from here. Getting a map or directions shouldn't be too much of a problem at this point." Willow explained, pointing a thumb at the librarian, "Plus, I don't want to interrupt your studying much just so that you can help out someone new figure out the basics."

Richard guffawed, "St-study? Seriously?! It's the summer holidays, no one's about. No teachers and no students to pester me, why would I study now? I came here out of sheer boredom, I'm only in school 'cause I've got nowhere else to go."

Richard stopped laughing, stuffing the half eaten chocolate bar back beneath his scarf before slowly getting to his feet with a sigh.

"Well, if you don't know that it's summer you probably don't know about the attacks on the school... or do you? I don't know, you might have come from far off where this kind of thing would be small news... or maybe you come from nearby and just don't know, in which case I may have misjudged your character a bit."

The short man let out a yawn, "Honestly I've got nothing better to do right now and I'm lacking the inspiration to configure my dust, you'd be doing me a favour by distracting me... even if it's something as boring as showing you around campus. Regardless, the librarian is incredibly passive aggressive. She probably harbours ill will toward you already, give you poor directions."

He walked passed her, toward the door, "Besides, hopefully the few brats that chose to linger here'll leave me alone if they think I'm working."

Willow cracked a smile at the young man's laughter, "Heh, well, not studying then." she says before giving a shrug, which is fairly closely followed by a shake of her head, "Attacks, huh? No, I can't say that I've heard of anything like that. Granted, I don't live that close to here, but that sounds like something that would reach our home..." Willow grimaces slightly at the thought of not being informed of something. But perhaps it was better that she and her family weren't informed as that would mean that Warren wasn't harmed at all. But she found it a bit ominous to simply have no clue as to what happened.

Shaking off her more paranoid thoughts, Willow attempted to refocus on the conversation in front of her. Whether or not her brother was injured won't change by her thinking about it too much. And it's not exactly easy to hurt the older Novack; he's a big boy that can handle himself. Returning her attention to Richard, she gives a light chuckle, "Well, luckily, being a distraction is one of my main talents, so I'll be free for as long as you so desire."

Willow tapped a finger to her chin as she considered what she should do, "Well, if you're sure about being fine with touring me around..." she pauses, mentally going through all the places that she could think of. "Y'know... I kind've want you to just immediately show me to where the fighting and sports areas are, but... well, I'm sure there's plenty of time for that later on. Actually, I think it's getting about time for lunch, mind heading to the cafeteria with me?" she asks, shooting a thumb to point towards the library door, "And if the dorms are close to that, I should be able to handle myself from there."

"Ah well, it's over dramatized nonsense anyway." Richard shrugged, "None of the students got injured too badly. Just been a could incidents of Grimm getting onto campus is all."

The short boy stretched, has spine letting out a crack as she proposed ideas to spend their time.

"Lunch, sounds fine to me. Don't think you'll have many options save for the vending machines. I can easily set you on course to the dorms and the training areas."

With a yawn and a nod he pressed on, once again expecting she would follow his lead. He quickly led the way, out the library, down the stairs and straight to the cafeteria. The room was large and spacious, windows lining the far wall and showing a view of the courtyard. Voices were relatively quiet.

He pointed off to the right, not even looking back to check whether she was there, "Vending machines are on the right, I recommend the third one. Other two tend to stick more often and there's not really anyone around to fix them. A good kick usually sets them right though."

With another yawn he scanned the lunchroom, not a teacher in sight. Students were sparse, a few groups of two spread out across the many tables. Some looked up, seemingly surprised to see Richard with someone and not trying to tear their heads off. A good scowl and the unsheathing of claws in their direction soon set most right, returning to their conversations. He wasn't particularly one for friendships nor relationships of any kind, just people to quell his boredom briefly... such people were few and far between. It took but one bad move, one poor choice of words, and Richard would become stubborn and attempt to avoid whoever made the move.

The short boy dropped down at an empty table, his feet didn't quite reach the ground so he instead opted to swing them up onto the table top awaiting his new... companion's arrival. He pulled back out the previously enclosed bar and began to bite into it, ignoring it's square pattern entirely.

He spoke between bites, "So, Willow... any particular reason to show up here? Most people show up to this he school with some kind of motive in mind, many over the top and stupid, anything more to it than just becoming a hunter?

Willow glanced about, noting the lack of anyone really, even during lunch time. Which she thought was rather strange considering the size of the school, "So is there a reason there's not many people around? Is it because it's summer and there's just not many people or do they typically eat in their dormrooms or something?" she asked as she followed along.

Before taking her seat, Willow ensured to actually get a tray of food. Sitting down, she had quite a meal prepared for her to eat at her own pace. While the quality of the food was soon to be determined, she certainly got more then plenty to sate her appetite. She began to eat slowly, seeming to try everything at least once before moving on to the next in line for her to taste. Once she figured that the food was of sufficient quality, she began to dig in, eating significantly faster than she was before, and only pausing to answer Richard.

Willow certainly hadn't expected the question about her purpose for being at the school, "Seems pretty obvious, I think. I wanted to be a hunter and this was the place to do that. Busted my ass and I made it in. Granted, there were more... personal reasons, but I don't think that altered my decision thaaat much." she explained. In reality, Willow hadn't really considered that question before now. She had always wanted to become a hunter, but did she have another motive other than that? One could consider becoming as strong as her brother a motive, but she wasn't entirely sure about that. She shrugged off her lack of an answer for now, "So... I guess my reasoning is fairly simple, I suppose."

"I suppose some people might, I know I usually eat in the courtyard but by the looks of things it's pretty empty to. Guess most people just headed home to be with family over the summer." He shrugged.

Richard flopped his feet down as she answered his second set of question, annoyed that they hung rather than reached the ground.

"Oh, so there is another reason? Don't think there's a single person here without an ulterior motive, even if it's just a minor one... as for my own it's quite simple. When I become a hunter no one will bother me, they'll know I could beat them should they annoy me. I'll simply work whenever I can be bothered and laze around the rest of the time. The job pays well so after a while life'll get easy."

Richard smiled slightly at the thought of such a life before shaking it off and returning to his regular neutral faced self. He bit down on the bar again, slowly but surely an idea was making it's way into his head.

He reached back under his scarf, removing both the book containing many colours and a pencil. He looked at the girl across the table, her proportions would probably work for what he had in mind.

"Oi, how tall are you? I think your approximate proportions work for something I have in mind, a combat thing."

Willow gave a pause before letting out quite a loud fit of laughter at Richard's reasoning. To the point that even a few more stray glances and glares were shot their way, making Willow and Richard's appearance together even stranger. Afterall, since when the hell has anyone actually found something that the short guy had said as funny? Willow certainly couldn't have known, but it wasn't entirely unlikely for that answer to be never. Her fit of laughter didn't last long as she realized how loud she was being and covered her mouth with her hand, only allowing her to let out small giggles. Which was a significant improvement.

When she finally stopped her laughing, she attempted to compose herself once again. That is, she straightened her back and cleared her throat, attempting to look as serious as she possibly could while she listened to Richard's request, "Ahem... huh? Well, I'm like five-foot-seven. Wait, proportions..?" she asked, tapping a finger to her chin as she considered the request, "Well... before I agree to anything, I want to know more about it. And this better not be a weird experiment thing that'll end up doing really weird stuff to me. Not without me knowing first!" she gave her conditions as she wagged her finger in the air.

Richard immediately went red at her laughing fit, he wasn't used to having anyone laugh at anything he said; let alone a girl in a public place. He let out a small growl, turning to the onlookers.

"Oi, just because I'm clearly a superior comedian to the likes of you lot doesn't mean you can stare into my life!" A quick unsheathing of his bear like claws soon set most right, muttering apologies or simply turning away.

He sighed, returning his claws to their sheathed state; "Honestly, is it really that funny to look for practicality in life? Make enough money to get by and just sleep the rest of the time, it's ideal."

Richard quickly noted down her height, five feet seven inches. He'd assumed around that number, give or take an inch.

"Oh, you'd hardly be involved at all in this, certainly wouldn't get hurt I-

Richard was once again aware of the onlookers. To give such information away to possible combatants was foolish, it was almost foolish to explain them to her alone.

The short boy kneeled in his chair, leaning across the table toward Willow and whispered, "If you tell anyone what I'm going to do, with my dust, I will find a way to make your life awful. Got it?"

The short boy paused, leaning back and scratching his head, "Although... perhaps we could make a trade of information. You show me your weapon and I'll explain what I plan to do with my dust. Seem fair? That way neither side need worry about the other giving away valuable information. If you'd like we could take this to the training area, you did want to go there after all and there would be fewer onlookers and such."

Another chuckle managed to escape from Willow's mouth at the sight of Richard's outburst towards the onlookers and then followed by the boy's explanation of what he wants in life. The attention from students scattered throughout the cafeteria certainly didn't bother her at all; or it didn't seem to bother her, at the very least, "Yeah, yeah, you're pretty funny, I'd say. And wanting to sleep?" she asked as she pinched her forefinger and thumb together, leaving only a very small amount of space between them, "That's a bit funny, I'd say. But hey, I can hardly fault you for knowing what you want to do. Even if I wouldn't exactly agree with it." she said before moving to drink a cup of water that she had gotten along with her food. Finishing it off, she wiped her mouth before pushing the entire tray away and leaning back to let the food settle for a few moments before they got moving again.

Willow tossed Richard's suggestion in her mind for a few moments as she glanced around, her head tilting back and forth as she considered. It might have been a strange sight. The young woman gave a hum, followed by, "I think... sorry, Rich, not gonna happen." she claimed, giving a noncommittal shrug as she grinned, "Not exactly going to give away a secret like that for information that might not even be worth it and, as you said, has almost nothing to do with me." Willow's hand had at some point trailed down to begin to slowly finger around her weapon's collapsed form.

Willow let out a snicker as she continued, "I mean, don't get me wrong, a little more incentive and I'd have no problem with sharing some secrets, but I'm hardly the type that'd flap my lips about things." she paused, blinking once before adding, "Okay, flapping them about important things that could put me at a severe disadvantage." she finalized with a nod, crossing her arms under her chest. In her mind, the secret of her weapon wasn't that large of a deal, actually. But she felt that Richard was fairly large on keeping secrets, as well the advantage over other people. If he tried to up the information traded, it would certainly confirm a few things in her mind. On the other hand, if he dropped the idea completely, it would assure others. Really, it all depended on how her new friend reacted.

"That's true, it does have little to do with you... unless we were to spar... or if some kind of tournament came up. Or perhaps if we were ever fighting along side each other, then you would have some inkling on quite how I fight and I would you, at least partially but I won't force your hand. I'm hardly willing to give that much information as it is."

The short boy yawned, even if she wasn't willing to divulge the information he could make estimations on her proportions. He already had one of the major ones down. He closed his book, making it look as if he wouldn't take any further notes all the while calculating dust quantities based on her movement and limb length, "To be honest I can respect not wanting to give away information, I certainly try not to."

"Well, anyway, if you want to see the training area we can still go there or would you like to drop off your things first? Doesn't particularly matter to me. We'd go through the courtyard to reach the training area, might be nice to get a look at the grounds... maybe the remnants of the attacks'll still be kicking about."

With a nod, Willow placed her hands onto the table and lifted herself up from the chair, giving light stretches as she readies herself to head out, "I'm thinkin' heading to the dorm first, if that's alright. I want to toss my things on my bed really quick and see if I have any roommates, y'know?" she asked, still smiling the same friendly grin that she's had for most of her and Richard's time together. Preemptively, she made her way over to the door, opening it and holding it open to allow Rich through and to lead, "I think I saw the courtyard you were talking about when we were walkin' over here, right?" she asked.

Whether or not she was right, she began to follow Richard outwards to wherever he decided to lead her. She dug into her pocket and rummaged around her loose change and papers, eventually pulling out a crumpled piece of paper that she opens and attempts to straighten out as much as possible. Looking it over, she reads it off, "Hm... it seems that I'm on the second floor on the eastern side of the dorm? Well, that's what this time claims anyways." she explained, waiving the paper about lazily, "Doesn't really give specific instructions on how to get there though... it's like this place wants the new students to be helplessly lost or something..." she mumbles, mentally cursing the terrible design choice, "At least a diagram or something would suffice, y'know?"

"Yeah, courtyard's that way although fastest track to those dorms... a floor up from the library. We could just take the same stairwell again. Should be a quick journey... if those are the new first year dorms I hope I don't bump into any brats."

With a sigh he jumped down from his chair and proceeded through the door, leading the way. He yawned, making idle conversation as they traversed the stairs.

"Is a bit useless of them not to give a diagram, probably meant to encourage you to make bonds with your fellow students and figure it out amongst yourselves... still, pretty stupid of them. None of the other first years will know their way about."

He poked his head around the corner as they entered the dorm hallway, rather glad to find no stragglers standing where they might piss him off.

"Alright, get your stuff away. Say hi to your roommate or whatever, I'll wait here. Odds are I'm not welcome to wander freely around the girl's dormitories, probably bump into someone I hate even if I was."

The short boy leant against the hallway wall, before the first door, absentmindedly noting both the girl's posture and movement. His idea was coming together quite nicely.

Stepping into her room, Willow felt a bit of relief wash through her already. Here it was, finally, the place that she would call home for the next few years. Well, unless she gets switched at some point, but still; for the foreseeable future, this is where she was expected to relax and unwind after a long day of training or studying. She looked around the place, noticing a total of four beds: only one of which seemed to have been touched and claimed at this point. Which means that she does have a roommate after all.

A slight smile appeared on her face though nobody could see. It was good to know that she wouldn't be alone all that much; even less if the other beds get filled out as well. She moved towards one of the unclaimed beds, specifically the one that was closet to the one already claimed. Tossing her luggage onto the bed, she waited for several moments before some sort of commotion began outside of the doorway.

Yelling from the hallway, it seemed. And by what was being yelled, it was a girl that had gotten into a fight and was still salty. Willow chuckled at the thought that someone would be so upset at simply losing a sparring match. However, thinking back, Willow and Richard were the only ones in the hallway at the time. Which would mean...

Poking her head out of the doorway, she looked about, confirming that the new girl was in fact yelling at Richard. She didn't say anything just yet and just watched the scene unfold, as well as examining Mana. With the rapier and long black hair, Willow couldn't help but to get a peculiar sense of familiarity from the young woman. She touched a finger to her chin in an attempt to figure out where exactly it may have been from. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she hoped that she could at least get her friend from getting into an argument in the dorm hallway.

Putting on a friendly smile, she stepped from the doorway, giving a slight wave, "Heya, how's it going? I can see you two are already close, so that'll make things a bit easier." She did something that Richard would have seen once already: she bowed as a greeting, "Willow Novack, it's a pleasure to meet you, miss." she says, flashing the girl the friendliest smile she could possibly manage.

"Yes, because clearly I wanted to see you again brat. That's totally why I left you alone in the forrest after I beat you so easily. Clearly I wanted to see you again," Richard sighed, his voice went from dripping with sarcasm to just plain unamused, "And to hell with your rematch. I beat you once, recently no less. I'm too lazy to fight you again. You're not a rival, you're not even a challenge to me, I don't even know your name."

The short man yawned as his companion made her usual greeting, pulling out his book to ignore her pointless courtesy. He quickly noted down all the approximate measurements he had taken. That was the easy part. Getting something, or in this case someone, to pull it's measurements from. Now came the hard part of working on the creature's actual design. He had a few ideas. Faunus ears... extra padding on the hand to help with attacks...

He closed his book and turned to Willow, "I believe that was a wasted effort. Soon she'll throw a scroll at you, demand you fight her, and get really salty when she loses. Honestly, she's not even an amazing fighter. You should hope that she isn't one of your roommates, should there be another attack on the school I'm sure she would be extra luggage."

The short boy yawned once more, trying to ignore the long haired girl; "So, your room look okay? Take it there was no one in otherwise we'd have more company than this one."

"That one right there?" Willow asked, shooting a thumb over her shoulder towards the dorm room that she had just come out of. She smiled and gave a nod, "Yep, that ones mine as well. Which means we're roommates. Which is, honestly, a bit of a relief." she admitted with a slight shrug. For Willow, it really did give her some comfort that she would be living with someone like Mana. As in, someone not incredibly hateful and with actual manners and is pleasant to be around. So far, at least; she doesn't want to make too definitive judgments about someone she's just met.

Although it wasn't entirely surprising to Willow that Mana and Richard didn't get along at all. They seemed to be completely different in every way other than their mutual hatred for each other. Which, if left long enough, would boil over from just them and cause life to be difficult to deal with if they're at eachother's throat constantly. And considering Willow would like to have them both as friends, if possible, it would take some effort to get them on terms that they at least don't fight with the other at the slightest provocation. Willow let out a sigh at that thought, considering that she had no choice in the matter.

Putting a smile back on, Willow turned towards Richard to answer his question. Afterall, it wouldn't exactly end well if it seemed like she was ignoring one of them. Willow gave another nod, "Oh yeah, it looks pretty nice in there. Plenty of space, even with the beds and things meant for four people. And since there's two of us so far, it's like having an entire house to ourselves!" she says, exaggerating a bit as she puffs out her chest. Giving a chuckle, that semi-joke was an effort to actually ease the tension between the two hunters for the time being.

Willow clasped her hands together, "Alright, so I appreciate the help of guiding me here, Rich, but I think I have it handled from here on out." she says before looking towards her watch, "That is, unless you don't really have anywhere you need to be at the moment. In which case, I'm more than cool with hanging out a bit more." Willow gave a glance towards Mana, hopefully signaling that the offer was to both of them.

Richard stretched and yawned, pondering on the idea of further social interaction; "No, I think I'll head Willow. That's more than enough social interaction for one day. Nights rolling in, think I'll head and sleep for twelve or so hours. If I'm awake and you need me odds are I'll be in the library or the courtyard."

He pushed off the wall, walking toward the boys dorm when he realised something, "Oh yeah, Banana or whatever your name was. If your going to get stronger over time, won't I? Odds are you'll be trapped in a loop of losing to me till I get bored and decide to give you a win won't you?... Food for thought."

Stretching his claws in and out he felt the usual drowsiness hit him. Fortunately his dorm wasn't too far from theirs, down a corridor a bit and third on the right from there. His dorm-mates had given up on being hunters, failed pretty early on in the program and so he'd pushed the four beds together for maximum sleep potential. The room was a tip needless to say, sketches and ideas littered both the wall and the floor, but it was his tip.

The short boy flopped onto the bed and neigh immediately fell into his comatose-like sleeping state, weapons and dust still on him.

[EXIT]