[Smile Junky]

Glas exhaled slowly. Warm sun, quiet afternoon, plenty of quiet:  almost the perfect chance for him to lay back and tack a nice, long nap. He would have normally taken that offer too, but if there was one thing that Glas tried to be consistent on it was his relaxation. Today was no different, as evident by him slowly going through his meditation routine out in one of the many open spaces on Beacon’s campus. Hands extended in front of him, he carefully went through the familiar motions as he let his mind clear out and relax.
 
New school, new life, new everything… Not like I thought I was gonna get used to it immediately or anything. he thought to himself. Glas quietly brought himself into the next form of his movements, jacketed arms gliding through the air in a rhythmic fashion as he entered position after position. His breathing stayed a steady pattern of exhaling and inhaling at all times, and he was completely in his element.
 
It was almost strange that for once it was because he was actively participating in something physical. Anyone that had seen Glas around would probably recognize him as the guy that seemed ready to fall on his face and sleep on the spot, if he wasn’t already sleeping on his desk at that point. Either that or chalk it up to the weird new guy just being weird.
 
He eventually reached the end of his first set and centered himself, letting out one last relaxed sigh into the air.  “Ahh… Not a bad day at all.”

[Vision]

Diana was taking a leisurely stroll through the Beacon grounds looking for a suitable tree. The stress of her first few days at Beacon was still heavy on her shoulders. Initiation had been tougher than expected, she still didn't really know her teammates, and Vale was more different than she had expected it to be. Still, all that shouldn't matter right now. She had nothing scheduled for the rest of the day and the weather was lovely. Finding a tall oak she laid down using it as a backrest and pulled out a book from her bag.

Finally, she could just relax.

Except she couldn't. The story was interesting enough if a bit too Sci-Fi for her taste, but on every page her mind would wander to one of her real problems. This was supposed to help her relieve stress, not make it worse. After rereading the same page for the fourth time she gave up, she was just too restless.

Getting up she decided to just keep walking, maybe a hike could spend some of her energy. During her walk her gaze would go from student to student, she loved seeing all their unique fashion and weaponry. One guy caught her attention as he was wearing what seemed like a particularly heavy green hoodie. That in itself wasn't too special for Beacon but who wears something like that in this temperature, she had ditched her combat attire for a simple pale blue dress.

Whilst his temperature inappropriate clothes drew him to her attention she became fixated on the movements he was making, they were slow but very meticulous. The striking thing was just how calm and relaxed he seemed to be. Stopping in her tracks she ended up just staring at him as he went through positions. Whilst her eyes were still focused on him her mind was drifting, wondering if she should look into this and trying to make a mental note of the positions. As such it didn't fully register with her when he stopped. Not realising that she was just standing there staring right at him, with a rather stupid blank expression.

[Kingnoname1]

Taking advantage of the afternoon off Calen was sitting in the sun, working through a simple worksheet. It was simply busy work and had no place in a combat academy but here it was, a relic of some bygone era.

'Not unlike some of the staff here.' Calen remarked to himself chuckling quietly instead studying the other students around him. Playing a simple game his sisters had taught him, inventing stories to fill in the blanks left by their physical appearance. Take this boy going through some set of slow movements, good and steady breathing suggests confidence in the process. Perhaps a family technique. That jumper must be hot in the sun, wool unlike Calen’s cotton suits would allow very little breathing particularly with such a thick weave. Maybe it was an endurance thing? An additional test for his movements?

Moving his gaze to other students around a small girl caught his eye, her pale blue dress standing out against the greens and browns of her surroundings. Reading, reading slowly, maybe simply not a talent? Or it’s a set book by a class. The girl left for a run and Calen lost sight before he was able to get anything about her. Dejectedly Calen returned to his worksheet and was about to head back to his dorm when he caught sight of the girl again. Staring quite blatantly at the boy in the green jumper; team mate perhaps? No too off balance. Family or childhood friend? Unlikely, you are drawn to things you half remember. Laughing at his imagined histories Calen approaches the two slowly interested to see how this would continue.

[Smile Junky]

Glas’ eyes had been closed as he performed his routine, as he usually did, so the sight of Diana in front of him as he opened them at the end was… a thing. Wasn’t exactly surprising to the first year from Mistral because… hey it happens sometimes. “Yo” Glas said nonchalantly as he slowly raised a hand to greet the new acquaintance “How’s it goin’?” Hadn’t seen her around before, granted there’s bound to be lots of people I haven’t met before ‘round here. Perks of bein’ the new guy.
 
Of course his greeting also helped him realize that she had been looking at him kinda strange after he had finished. Glas looked around him for a brief second to make sure he hadn’t missed any ‘no meditation here’ signs on his way to his current location. That was his first thought for why his little calming hobby drew such a stare from her, but there didn’t seem to be anything saying he couldn’t be here either. Only one way to find out, really. “So… Everything alright with ya? I’m not sittin’ on your spot or anything, am I?” he asked as he tilted his head to the side inquisitively.
 
Can’t be that weird to watch, right? Granted I guess I’ve never tried it out any place other than home, so… Maybe they just don’t have this sorta thing around Vale. Huh. Well how else do they chill out after a long day? Glas soon spotted another figure that approached them and greeted them just as calmly as he did Diana. “Hey, how’s it goin’? Not causin’ a problem, am I?”

[Vision]

I'm sure I've heard of something like this before, it's like a meditative martial art or something. she thought to herself. I wonder where it's from, and how's it goin'? she frowned What? that last part made no sense. She blinked, and finally her brain put two and two together as she realized that question hadn't been her own. Her eyes focused again, still looking at the guy, just that now he was looking back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I kinda zoned out" she blurted "Long day well, week really" she did her best to put on a smile. This was a bad first impression even by her standards. She laughed in hopes of relieving the tension "Hah, yeah I'm fine, didn't mean to stand there staring and no no it's not my spot or anything. I just haven't seen that kind of meditation before. Is it a Vale tradition?"

She spun on her heal when Glas addressed someone behind them, seeing as how she had already fumbled one introduction she decided to let the newcomer respond first.

[Kingnoname1]

‘No problem sir, just admiring the spectacle.’ Answered Calen with a slightly teasing grin. ‘Simple curiosity, like the young miss, I’m quite interested in your poses. Where did you learn them? What are they for?’

Turning to Diana and with a slight bow before offering his hand continued, ‘I’m Calen by the way, Calen Shirke. May I ask your name?’ Noticing the young girl’s nervousness he ensured he moved slowly and predictably to put Diana at ease.

[Smile Junky]

"Naw, it's fine. Wouldn't be the first time I'd been stared at by a pretty girl, y'know?" Glas said casually. "'Course first time was because I accidentally fell asleep on her desk for an hour or two. In my defense we both kinda had similar desks right next to the window, so..." his anecdote trailed off after a while as he looked at Diana and Calen

"Oh yer askin' about the thing? Nah, nothin' Vale about this. Least I don't think so, I'm not from around here. Mistral born n' bred and all that." Glas moved to a more relaxed pose and put his hands into his pockets as he continued to talk with the two. They seemed pretty harmless enough from what he could tell. Aside from the sneakin' up on him thing. Least from how she acted after he stopped she was kinda apologetic about it all.

"Somethin' I picked up from ol' Granny Ginger in my hometown. Says it helps keep her movin' a bit so her muscles don't get all atrophied and everythin'. Since I kinda sleep around a lot to begin with, she got me trying it too. That was when I was back as a kid, just... Kinda stuck with me I guess. Helps when regular ol' naps don't make me relaxed as I'd like too." The fact that it was also the basis of his own personal brand of martial art didn't seem like it was something he should have brought up alongside that explanation. He didn't trust them that much.

"Name's Glas by the by. Glas Mossberg."

[Vision]

As Glas finished his anecdote Diana was rather unsure of how to respond to the compliment apart from giving a more genuine smile than her previous attempt. "Well thanks for not being weirded out" she said rather sheepishly. "As for the meditation you just seemed so calm and relaxed and I guess I've been stressed ever since getting to Beacon, so I was a little curious. I'll make sure to check on my scroll or the library next time, not sneak up on people."

Unsure of if he had taken any offence at being referred to as Valish she decided to play it safe. "And really I didn't mean to assume that you were from here, sorry. I haven't been in Vale long myself, I'm from Atlas actually. Did you move here just for the Academy?" Figuring that being on the safe side was a generally good approach she turned to Calen and said "If you don't mind me asking are you from around these parts or?"

Trying her best to seem more confident she put her hand out to each of them in turn."I'm Diana. Farren, and like I said I'm from Atlas, well Mantle, but you know. Nice to meet you both."

[Kingnoname1]

‘Like Master Glas here I’m from Mistral, a reasonably large town on the south coast.’ Responded Calen flatly as he moved passed Diana on his left and offered Glas his hand. ‘But Mantle. You don’t often here about the fallen capital of Atlas, I’m sure you must have stories Miss Farren.’

‘Relaxation? Master Glas, well you picked a good day for it.’ Continued Calen, his eyes rapidly shifting to take in as much of the boy as possible. ‘You know some of those movements could do some damage, if you added a bit of speed but I suppose there is a time for therapeutic relaxation and a time catharsis.’ A smile formed on Calen’s lips as he shifted himself to his right, forming a triangle out of the three students.

‘Considering I have already bothered you both I would normally refrain from asking but could I trouble the two of you for a favour?’ Calen finished, finally meeting the gazes of Diana then Glas.

[Smile Junky]

Glas shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Hey, no worries. Gonna take a lot more than starin’ to weird me out anyway. No harm done.” Just being curious about what he was doing was an alright excuse as far as he could see. Outside looking in, perhaps seeing someone moving weirdly in the middle of a courtyard would probably warrant some questions. “Maybe just a lil’ warnin’ before you give me a stare next time. No need to hide yerself away in a library or anything’”
 
The other guy, Calen, seemed to be a bit more chill about the whole situation. Glas could respect that. It was just three fellow students chatting it up, right? “Well lookie there, another Mistral native, huh? Never had a chance to visit the coast though, how’d that go?” To be honest, he hadn’t even really heard too many stories about it either, but then again… well he didn’t exactly seek them out either. “Hey, no harm done either” he reassured Diana. “’Least I would know my way around here if I was from Vale, but I still get pretty lost from time to time. Pretty big city, it is.”
 
She seemed to be an Atlesian, so that was cool. Met quite a few of those around the school, which was a bit odd. Maybe. Beacon seemed to attract all kinds of people to its halls, apparently. “Kinda picked Beacon to just get out of Mistral to be honest. But man, any day’s good for relaxin’” he replied back at Calen. “You just gotta know how to.”
 
The other guy bringing up that his choice of meditation could also be used to fight made Glas raise his eyebrows, but it would have been hard for the other two to see that from underneath his hood and hair. “Never thought about that, gonna be honest. Just a nice chill way to keep the muscles and mind limber, y’know? Besides, not exactly the ‘fast’ kinda guy myself.” He didn’t believe that either of them was being a bother, but Calen’s next question got him wondering anyway.
 
“Depends, man. Whatcha got in mind?”

[Vision]

"Not really hide I just meant that if I wanted to learn something similar I would read up on it rather than, well, what I did. But thanks." Diana wasn't sure if he had offered to let her take notes next time or what, but decided not to push it.

There was something to be said for knowing their names, they all seemed a bit more equal in a way which helped her relax a bit. Until a small voice in her head reminded her that she didn't actually know what year they were in, these could be third or fourth-year seniors for all she knew. Well Glas had said he was new here right? Not sure of Calen, he's tall enough to be older, and he did call me young miss. It doesn't help that everyone around here is so freakishly tall. Maybe I should really start wearing heels I've heard that can help with confidence, and I'd at least be taller. Realising that her thoughts were drifting again she snapped out of it concentrating on the conversation.

"We're all international then. I wonder if that's more common here, didn't see too many at the Academy in Atlas" realising she had mentioned the academy she quickly changed the topic "And yeah Mantle. Fallen might be a bit harsh but it's not untrue, It is kinda sad as the city just seems to be slowly dying. Anyone who starts succeeding ends up moving to Atlas, even my parents are there now." She may have lived in Atlas for a few years but Mantle would always be her home.

Despite her brains best effort to get her into a panic Diana did appear to be a bit more balanced, she stood a bit straighter with her hands behind her back. As she calmed down she had to admit it was nice to talk to someone other than her team for once.

"I'll help if I can, what kind of favour did you mean?" she said with a rather curious look towards Calen.

[Kingnoname1]

‘Mistral’s southern reaches are a bit more open than the rest of the populated areas of the island, although this brings its own problems the land is resource rich enough to demand a large military presence as well as families of huntsmen sworn to protect individual settlements.’ Replied Calen quickly averting his eyes from Glas’s gaze. Spending a few more seconds playing his game, trying to figure what Glas might look under the jumper he gave up, knowing that he himself is evidence that speed doesn’t always come from the physical.

Genuine sorrow crosses Calen’s face as he turns to Diana. ‘I’m …sorry, home is never easy to leave behind. Even when time makes it unrecognisable. I’ve heard good things about Atlas but good even great is still not home.’ . Giving up on his little game Calen started to rummage through his pack seeing as both students had offered to help and brightened up quickly.

‘A cook is only as good as his ingredients and since moving to Beacon I lack the same knowledge I had of the local produce as I did in Mistral.’ Calen explained taking out three small boxes out of his bags. ‘As such I’m in need of some test subje… I mean second opinions before I start translating my recipies.’ A grin shows that Calen is mostly joking as he opens the boxes revealing three sets of bit sized caramel slices. The difference is the chocolate layer; one is smooth and soft like a ganache, another is sweeter and firmer while the last is almost bitter and firmer still.

[Smile Junky]

Glas nodded. "Ahh, I gotcha. Wouldn't know if it'd be in any book or anythin', so I can't really help you there. Wish I could help you more with it, but ol' Granny Ginger just kinda taught me the movements and how to breath right. The whole 'history' part of it all I kinda forgot." He kinda, sorta slept through the parts that weren't just the exercises themselves. It just wasn't a part that young Glas cared out, and he had still managed to learn how to do it all. Wasn't like he missed too much... right?

"I get whatcha mean, Diane. Couple of folks where I grew up eventually hit it big time and moved closer towards the city too. 'Course being Mistral, wasn't that it was always on the up-and-up either." Glas smirked slightly, but it wasn't exactly one out of jest. Perhaps just a bit of bitterness had sneaked into his otherwise relaxed tone as he said. "Can't really forget your true home, though. It'll still be there no matter where you move away to, that's for sure."

Glad rested his hands behind his head as he looked over towards Calen. Heh, sounded like the dude just gave me the encyclopedia entry for the coast. That's either some local pride or a guy that reads way too many books. Could be both I guess, but... I mean who's got that kind of time? The other guy then mentioned something about cooking, and he produced three small boxes filled with... some kinda food. Teeny bit suspicious...

"Well, guess I can't exactly pass up free food, right?" he said with a shrug as he picked up the slice from the middle. He didn't eat it right away, however. He actually waited to see if Diana was going to eat one herself before going in on it.

[Vision]

Diana had read about Mistral but it was nice to hear about it from two natives. "I've read about the beauty of Mistral, sounds amazing to have such varied climates in one country. But yeah I have heard stories of a black market and other grey area trades in Mistral, but I thought that was just a stereotype or something. Is it really, that bad?" she asked looking towards Calen to see if he seemed to agree.

Whilst she isn't the best at picking up social cues, ever since she learned her semblance Diana has been good at picking up on some of the emotions of speech. It made it all the more touching to hear the sincerity from them both when mentioning home. Calen seemed to mirror her own feelings but there was something that seemed more, aggressive from Glas. Perhaps some family or friend had left his hometown to strike it big or something, and abandoned him there or something, she couldn't really put her finger on it.

She thought briefly of her home again. Whilst she missed Mantle it was first when thinking of her family that a single tear dropped from her eye. I should really give them a call again soon, how long was Allo's training going to be anyway? she wiped the tear away and said to the others "Yeah can't really forget one's home" adding a smile she finished "I'll just have to make sure I get back to them when I can."

As they were talking Calen had pulled out some boxes from his bag and opened them, she giggled at his test subject joke and responded "As far as requesting favors go, giving us sweets probably won't be one of the harder ones to do." and she gladly took a slice at random as she didn't realize that they weren't all the same, she had also not noticed Glas' reluctance. She bit into a corner and covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke "They're delicious, the chocolate is fantastic, do you remember where you got it? Although, the caramel seems... really sweet. But I'm really not that familiar with caramel so it's probably perfect and all, I'm just more used to making pastries." The slices may have been bite size but Diana still managed to take three bites to get it all.

[Kingnoname1]

‘It’s a funny place, Mistral, innovates culturally as much as Atlas does technologically. It leaves the whole place without a centre, moral or otherwise’ Calen continued, then he glanced up at Glas ‘Or at least that is my experience of the land, I had quite the singular upbringing.’

Calen’s smile widened as the other students, not noticing Glas slight pause, partook in his slices. ‘Thank you Miss Farren, the cocoa is from a small plantation off the east coast, they do tours I believe but the only store I know which stocks their chocolate is a small café on the harbour. They sell it in blocks so it shouldn’t be hard to add to your own creations. Speaking of which how are you finding the change in ingredients? I couldn't imagine much wheat grows up in Atlas but with their technology I suppose anything is possible.’

Not allowing much of a pause so the topic doesn’t turn back to the homes they seemed to have all left behind Calen asked ‘So how long have you all been in Vale? I’ve been here for a little over a year studying for the enrolment exam.’