The Keep

"It amazes me how things tend to work around here sometimes." A man's voice startled Alice out of her reverie. As she turned to face the approaching man she noticed he was several inches taller than she was, though most men were at Alice's meager height of five feet four inches. Because of his height, Alice was forced to look up from his chest and from an old habit she began appraising his body features. He had tan skin and was lean of muscle, taught and stronger like those of a track runner. As her eyes rose she came to meet his face; staring into his brilliant blues as he gazed down into her shining emeralds. His eyes seemed to accentuate his blond locks that flowed from his head, swept to one side. He's kinda cute, she concluded.

"I heard something about them extending the curfew hours or something. Not sure why, but do they ever need a reason for half the things they do?" Alice remarked with a small giggle. "Your a seeker aren't you? I can tell by your muscle tone. Most people don't bother with it these days unless they're a seeker. It's kinda depressing you know. So hard to find a decent looking guy," Alice said scratching the back of her head above her ponytail. "Sorry, I'm rambling. I'm Alice, you?" she asked, sticking out her hand in greeting.

Sheffer took the hand willingly, giving her a light shake, his grip strong but gentle. He was quite pleased with her small stream of compliments, finding himself looking her over with a quick glance. She was actually attractive, in his opinion, her hair framing her face quite well and seeing her fit body, more then likely developed within training of becoming a Seeker. He especially found her green eyes a prominent feature, seeming to study his own blue, shining in the artificial light of the garden area.

"I'm Sheffer," he replied, smiling, his teeth flashing white. "And no worries. If you need to talk, go right ahead." He chuckled some after the comment, letting his hand fall.

Sheffer took a moment to glance back at the lift yet again, still seeing the guard positioned there, looking cross. Letting out a small "hmph", he turned back to the girl, trying to ignore the fact he would be late visiting his new team. But... if the lift was closed here, it was more then likely the same on every floor. That would mean all of his other new Seeker partners would be late as well. One less thing to worry about, he thought.

"Anyway, yes, I am a Seeker, if it wasn't too obvious," he began, once again smiling. "Just got commissioned to a new team, and I'm supposed to be meeting them in a few minutes. I'm just hoping they're good at what they do."

Anxious.

If there was one word to describe Hope's current mindset, it would be anxious. She definitely wasn't expecting to be assigned to a seeker group so soon out of her training, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about the fact. She breathed in and out slowly to calm herself as she made her way through the Keep, her mind working on overdrive. She silently went through the list of things that she knew that she had in her bag, her usual routine for the morning, her own special way of keeping her sanity in check and calming herself when her mind and thoughts started getting away from her.

She made her way into the garden, one of her favorite places to find a place to read or draw, when she had the down time. Her favorite spot was off to the left of where she'd originally came in through where a small stones were placed in, what she'd always thought, a very unique pattern. They were positioned to make the perfect back and foot rest that made perfect position for propping a book against her legs for hours at a time. When she was young, she learned the easiest way to hide sometimes, was right in plain sight. Hope used to always find time to slip down to the area and nestle herself into her little seat and loose herself in whatever book she'd managed to get her hands on at the time. It always seemed to take a while before her parents would figure out where she'd gone to. Though, she wasn't crazy enough to know that, after the first few times, they'd known where to find her and waited until something needed to be done to search her out. Funny, she thought, how that one spot has been one of the few constants over the years.

Shaking her head at herself, half in amusement and half in self-scolding for getting side tracked once again, Hope made her way through the garden in the directions of the lifts. She glanced at her watch and grumbled to herself. 6:50. She was cutting it close, last thing she needed was to show up late. That'd make a great first impression though, wouldn't it? A small frown crossed her expression when she neared and saw the guard posted in front of the lift and she glanced at her watch again.

Well isn't that just lovely? she thought. Glancing around the general area, she saw a few other people who seemed to be having the same things in mind. With her confusion evident in her expression, Hope spoke up in her usual soft voice to the pair talking off to one side from the lift, "Excuse me? What time does the lift open now? I thought it was six-thirty?" Her hands idly fidgeted with the satchel bag strap that crossed from her left shoulder and was attached to the bag itself at her right hip. She always fidgeted when she was nervous.

"I wonder if I'll ever find another temporary job? Maybe I should just join a group. I don't want to but if it's joining a team or staying alive I'd rather live." Jack thought staring off into space "Oh I forgot to feed Joker before I left! poor boy I hope he won't be too mad at me."

The lift was finally open "Now I can get to HQ and hopefully find work" Jack thought as he watched a woman go up to the lift and press the call button. When the lift arrived the woman and her two companions a man and another woman walk inside. "Hey hold the door!" Jack called rushing up to the lift "Is there any room in there for me?" Jack asked.

"Hey thanks! I'm looking late already and I really need to get to seeker HQ to see if I can find some more work." Jack said stepping into the lift. "Hey you guys are all seekers right? Any chance any of you're groups is looking for a temporary assault guy? It's not likely but hey it's worth a shot right?" Jack said laughing

"Wow I sound like a loser right now most seekers have a team and stick with them but here I am a loner my old team disbanded or dead. Man I miss those guy's I miss Eve too I wish she was still alive" Jack thought sighing his upbeat demeanor suddenly fading to depression "Well I'm Jack Rivers an Assault seeker how about you three?" Jack said putting his hand out in front of him and masking his sorrow with a smile.