ic New Sound

[Darksider42]

Warren took a deep breath as soon as he stepped through the gates of Claremont Academy, his suitcase on one hand and his guitar case in the other. New school, new problems and hopefully some new friends if Warren was feeling lucky enough. He really had no idea what to expect from this place, but he was not going to start letting doubting his decision. And now the question remains...Where do I go? He though as he rolled his shoulders. Tension did that to a person.

[Electra]

As Warren considered his options, he became aware of movement out of the corner of his eye. A scrawny-looking orange cat was wending his way through the decorative posts atop the front gate, his tail waving jauntily in the air. As he reached the teenager, the cat leapt down and seemed to size him up, with eyes that looked surprisingly assessing and intelligent, even for a cat. Apparently the cat was happy with what he saw, because he approached and twined himself around Warren's legs, purring loudly.

[Darksider42]

"Hm?" Warren was snapped out of his thoughts by the cat. He couldn't quite tell at that moment if it had an owner or was just a stray. It looked friendly enough as far as he could, so he gave a shrug as he put down his suitcase and gave the animal a small pet. As soon as he did, Warren felt those last few nerves tugging at him weaken until he felt strangely content and relaxed. Some part of him knew he should worry, but he just could not give a damn right there and then.

[Electra]

When he bent down, Warren could see that the cat was wearing a blue nylon collar with a tag on it, so he was obviously shacked up with somebody. The tag proclaimed that he was Oliver, and his address was the same as the school. Apparently he was a local. Oliver butted his head against the patting hand, purring louder, then took a few steps down the path and looked back towards Warren expectantly.

[Darksider42]

Huh. Does belong to someone after all. Warren though. He Shrugged it off and picked up his suitcase. As much as he would like to stand around all day, he needed to get settled in. Wait, is that cat... Warren did a quick double take on the cat, but then shook his head. "Na. That would be stupid." And with that, he continued down the path.

[Electra]

Whether or not Warren admitted it to himself, he followed the cat down the path through the well-manicured grounds towards the main buildings. The cat occasionally glanced back to make sure he was keeping up. Just as they were nearing the biggest building, the orange creature made a sudden detour, leaving the path entirely. Turning to look, he saw a teenage girl laying on her stomach in the grass, a textbook spread open in front of her. The cat headbutted her in the ear, purring loudly.

"Hey Oliver," Erin murmured absently, reaching up to scratch him behind the ears. "Almost done, just got another half a chapter." She looked up when the cat headbutted her again, and spotted the person watching her. "Hey," she said, sitting up. "You new here? Oliver always finds the new ones lately." Another cute one, she noticed, sizing him up, and with a guitar case. Looked like Eddie might have a new target for his band machinations.

[Darksider42]

Warren did admit they really did keep the place tidy. Nice change of pace for him, that was for sure. Wheter it was subcontious or just feeling calm around that cat, he seemed to follow him right until it came across someone. "Oh, hey." He said, putting some of his stuff down just to get rid of the strain. "Just arrived a minute ago...Nice cat by the way." He added. He did not seem as phased as he normal when meeting someone new.

Strange...

[Electra]

"Thanks," Erin said, sitting cross-legged and running a hand down the cat's back. "He's Oliver, and he graciously allows me to feed him and share my bed with him," she said with a half smile. "I'm Erin. You play?" she asked, looking at the guitar case. "A couple of guys here do, you'll be in good company."

[Darksider42]

"I'm Warren." He said with a slight nod. 'Yeah, I do actually. Pretty much occupied most of my spare time." He said with a slight tap on the case with his shoe. He did seem to pay a bit more attention to the mention of other people playing. "Really? Might check them out. See how good they are." He did seem a bit confused at what he was saying. Now why don't I feel like myself?

[Electra]

"Well, Eddie's got a band he's put together, I guess they're pretty good," Erin said with a shrug. "Have you gotten your room assignment and seen the place yet? It usually takes people a few days to get settled in here, but it's not such a big place. So what do you do?"

[Darksider42]

"Not yet. This is technically my first time here. Barely have any idea where I'm suppose to go at the moment." Warren said with some very mild disappointment. He did pause for a moment to contemplate the next question. He barely knew much about the student body and it seemed normal so far. Well, other than the cat anyway. "Well...As for what I do I'm pretty much make sure things sound right." He finally said.

[Moira Morley]

Faith saw a new kid from across the way. She kept notes on who was new. Unless she were busy with official Young Freedom business, it was always a pleasure to meet and greet anyone new. By the time she got over to him, he was talking to Erin. Boy was this guy tall. Do they put something in the boys' water in this city? "Greetings," she said cheerfully, "I see we have a new face here. My name is Faith." She nodded a friendly greeting to Erin, "Nice to see you too Erin."

[Electra]

"Hey Faith," Erin said, cordially enough. "This is Warren, he just got here. He plays guitar." She looked around. "Where's Mark?" It was very rare to see Faith anywhere where Mark wasn't within arm's reach. Oliver walked over and gave Faith a perfunctory headbutt on the ankle and purr, his usual greeting for anyone who seemed to be in a good mood.

[Darksider42]

"Hey." Warren said with a short wave. "Nice to meet you as well." He looked at both Faith and Erin for a moment, realizing they didn't look half bad. "So...Where is everything? I really should do something about all my stuff." He said with a quick gesture to his things.

[Gizmo]

A lanky youth approached the small gathering from the direction of the parking lot. Battered black fedora tipped low over his brow, the dark haired student wiped oil and grease from his hands with a rag as he gave the ladies a slight not before turning to the guitar laden new arrival. "Trevor," he said simply by way of introduction, tucking the soiled cloth into the back pocket oh his jeans. His manner was preternaturally calm, his tone just loud enough to be heard without straining. One eyebrow raising almost imperceptibly in the direction of Warren's luggage. "Need a hand?"

[Moira Morley]

Faith knelt down and petted the kitty, gauging if it wanted to be picked up by her. She looked up to Erin with a smile, "Mark said he had some things he has to do tonight, so he's sleeping beforehand." Looking over to Warren, she nodded, "Don't worry about that. I'm sure the house elf will come and take your luggage as soon as you learn it's name." She winked with a chuckle. Oliver leapt into herarms and she stood up. Then another tall guy came over. She had seen him around but never got the chance to talk to him. "Welcome, Trevor. It's finally nice to meet you," she said with a curtsy.

[Electra]

"Hi Trevor," Erin said, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked up and smiled at Trevor. "This is Warren, the newest new guy. Warren, this is Trevor, the slightly less new guy." Introductions made, she settled back on her heels. "So what sorts of things do you do with sound?" she asked Warren, picking up the dropped threads of their earlier conversation.

[Darksider42]

Warren nodded to Trevor. He didn't seem to need to introduce himself that much, which must mean things are going well for now. "If their are any elves, it would certainly make things easier around here." He said with a small smile. He turned back to Erin and shrugged. Looked like she figered out some of it. "Nothing much. amplification, changing it, destroying anything using ultrasonic frequencies...the usual mix"

[Gizmo]

Trevor responded to Faith's curtsy with a deep nod that carried with it the impression of a restrained bow. He recognized the mannerisms of the social elite. Over the years he'd attended many parties for the rich and bored while representing his grandfather, who was no longer as able to go out and about as in his younger days. The original Midnight had insisted that it was as important to learn to deal with the upper crust as it was to deal with the lowest criminal, wryly suggesting that there was some overlap between the two groups. It wasn't a world that Trevor found terribly compelling, but it seemed only fair to return Faith's courtesy.

From her conversation with Erin he also inferred that the petite blonde was dating Mark, the school's resident Lucas. Given her apparently chipper demeanor, that made a degree of sense, although Trevor was mildly surprised that the energetic young hero's attention span could accommodate a serious relationship. Evidently he'd been too quick to judge.

The dark haired teen didn't react to Warren's explanation of his metahuman abilities, simply noting them for future reference. Shouldering one of the new arrival's bags, he dryly intoned, "Not an elf." It wasn't immediately obvious whether he was making a joke or simply stating a fact.

[Electra]

"The usual mix," Erin repeated, the edges of her lips quirking up. "Interesting. You should definitely get together with Eddie, then. He'll be around somewhere, you'll probably be bunked near him. Where are you from?" she asked. Asking questions about the new guy's background was safe with so many people around, it was much less likely that she'd be asked any pressing questions in return.

[Darksider42]

Warren managed to forge a smile on his face at Trevors joke. "Nice one. Seriously though, I think I can take care of it myself." He turned back to Erin and nodded. "Yeah. Like I said before, I'll look him up, if he's around later on. As for where I'm from, I'm just from Southside." He said, pointing in the direction he was pretty sure it was in. "How about you?"

[Gizmo]

"Just outside the city," responded to Warren's question with uncharacteristic promptness, simultaneously tossing the bag he'd picked up to it's owner at the guitarist's instance. The lanky youth pointedly hadn't learned the specifics of Erin's origin, but he'd picked up enough subtext to know she carefully skirted the topic whenever possible. The new arrival had no way of knowing that, of course, but it seemed best to avoid an awkward pause so soon into Warren's time at Claremont. "Family estate," he elaborated, knowing that the implication of wealth was enough to grab most people's attention, one way or another.

[Darksider42]

Warren turned his head back over to Trevor, looking a little surprised by his sudden mention of a estate. He caught his suitcase and brought it back to the ground. "Wait, estate?" Somehow, He knew he shouldn't be that surprised. The place was advertised as a private school, well up until now anyway. "No offence man, but you don't scream rich kid to me. Then again, I've never actually met a rich kid, so I really have no idea what the hell I'm talking about." He said with a shrug.

[Gizmo]

The dark haired youth crossed his arms neutrally. "Just money," Trevor opined calmly. His nighttime excursions into Freedom's less affluent heighbourhoods had certainly given him a better appreciation of the advantages afforded to him due to his family's wealth, but he didn't consider it a defining trait. In truth, he'd always approached high society with the same somewhat detached analysis he brought to most social interactions, this very conversation being an excellent example.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hey guys!" said Mark, walking over with a cheerful wave and big smile. The tall, solidly built boy had the charismatic good looks of a film star as he wrapped his arm around Faith's waist and gave her a quick kiss. Smiling at the others, then focusing on the new guy, he said "Hi, I'm Mark. You must be Warren." Glad to see another tall guy around, he shook his hand and said, "Welcome to Claremont. I'm your official tour guide. Just follow me and I'll show you around. You guys can come too," he added with a grin.