First day on the job (open)

Alex groaned as his alarm clock started to go off, not wanting to wake up. Considering that he normally had nightmares for the last few years, a night without any type of dream had been a welcome one so he didn’t want to wake up. However simply reaching over and hitting the snooze button so he could sleep longer wasn't an option because he had placed the alarm clock on the opposite side of his bedroom. He never did like to wake up even when he wasn’t having nightmares. Only way it was turning off was if he got up and pushed the off button. Grumbling he opened his eyes, got up, and walked over to the blaring alarm to turn it off. As he did so he thought the clock read 5 in the morning. Rubbing his drooping eyelids to get his eyes to focus and stay open, followed by him looking at the clock again. ”Yeah, that thing says 5am alright. But why did I set the alarm so…” Alex muttered to himself, then his voice trailed off when he realized that he didn’t recognize the bedroom of his apartment. It was too big, and since he woke up alone in bed there was no way that he had gotten lucky and spent the night with someone else. Besides, who would take their own alarm with its custom made alarm sound to someone else’s home?

That’s when he noticed the note sitting in front of his alarm clock. Wake up sleepy head! You start your new job at Syne Academy today! DON’T BE LATE!! was scribbled across the note in his own hand writing, which could be described as chicken scratch instead of hand writing.

Seeing that made Alex’s eyes snap open. ”Oh yeah! How the heck did I forget?!” Alex exclaimed, now fully awake as he turned on his heel and headed for his nearby dresser to get fresh clothing. Now he remembered why he didn’t recognize his apartment; this wasn’t his apartment at all. When he had gotten the job as the grounds keeper for the academy they also offered him a place on campus for him to live since his original apartment was on the opposite side of Bellmuse. The last two days had been spent moving all of his stuff to the bungalow he now called home, and it was at least 3 times bigger then that cramped apartment. Now he was close by in case there was an emergency. There wasn’t one now, but he had to get moving if he was going to be on time for his routine shift… and it would look bad if he wasn’t on time for his first shift of a new job.

It took him very little time to get washed and dressed in a casual set of clothes that would look alright if he got some dirt on them. After that he put on the magical belt that his foster mother had given him, and slung a metallic backpack over his shoulders. It was actually his ball and chain weapon, Wrecker, and he wanted on hand since there were reports of Grimm getting on the campus at times and he wanted to be ready. He also wanted it on hand in case the students here were on the rowdy side. His time at Beacon had taught him that some students liked to spar each other, and even the professors at times, to blow off steam and Alex was certain that was the same here.

Now fully ready, Alex got out of his bungalow, locked it up, picked up his gardening tools from the shed behind his new home, and quickly headed for Syne’s courtyard. As he walked Alex couldn’t help but marvel at huge the academy was. It wasn’t like Beacon to be sure, but Syne had a personality all of her own. With a small smile Alex made his way to some of the trees out in the courtyard and started to remove some of the weeds. It was a simple task, and some would even call it pointless for a Hunter and Huntress academy, but experience had taught Alex that many people judge an entire business by first looks. So if the exterior of the building was unkempt, then how could the people that worked there have a chance of running a good business? A great looking exterior would make the Academy as a whole look better, which would result in more families willing to send their children here to train. That in turn led to more hunters and huntresses, which meant there would be more people protecting the innocent from the darkness of the Grimm.

It was all a matter of looking at the big picture while keeping all the fine details in mind.

After removing a handful of weeds and sticking them into a trash bag, he turned and headed towards a rose bush in order to clip off some of the dead limbs. He was going to have plenty to do today, and that was if it went uninterrupted. However Alex was expecting that he was going to get interrupted. This was Vytal after all; there was no such thing as a normal day in this kingdom.

Errane slouched against Ragnarock's blade, embedded in the ground behind him. His hair was long due a trim, having reached mid black length all around save for the segment he had torn in front of his eyes; simply to let him see. From his seated position his mangled lilac locks were dirtying on the ground, their ends coating them in both dust and dirt. It was a little upsetting that it had gotten this long... he kept getting it caught in doorways and on hooks before falling, causing him great deals of pain. He'd attempted to avoid the outside world for days for this reason but, at last, hunger had gotten the better of him.

He craved flesh. He cared little for it's sort. His eyes were cast across the courtyard, catching sight of a man he had never seen before tearing a plant from the ground... Errante had no idea that those plants were delicacies. Seemed that way if he were collecting so many in a bag alike candy in a jack-o-lantern. The gangly boy reached across the ground, finding such a plant sticking out of the ground and tore it from it's roots. Without so much as blinking he took a bite from it's base... and immediately spat it out.

"...Why would one kill for such a bland and tasteless food... what are you doing killing without purpose. Silly man. Don't you know? You should always kill for a reason." His word was like a cold wind, drifting across the courtyard and toward the man who had pulled a similar plant to him; "Only a dummy would kill without one. A Puppet. But who's puppet are you?"

As Alex continued to remove weeds and stick them into the trash bag he had on hand, his eyes were only on his work 50% of the time. He was constantly glancing around at his surroundings and watching what the students were doing. While one could argue that his shifty gaze made him look a little crazy, fidgety, or even nervous, in reality he was looking out for anything that might possibly threaten the safety of the students. While it was true that they were training to fight Grimm and each one could therefore hold their own, the fact of the matter was that they weren’t quite there yet. So until they were, Alex would watch over them. That was his job after all; not just pull out weeds or take out the garbage, but at a grounds keeper he was the one that was outside most of the time and therefore the closest one to Academy’s outer edge if something or someone with ill intent approached the walls.

It was this glancing around that caused Alex to notice a particular student that was leaning up against a sword he had stuck into the ground… or at least it looked like a sword from where Alex was. He had seen plenty of weapons that looked like one thing but were in fact something completely different. One wouldn’t expect the disc on his back was a wrecking ball, would they? As he occasionally glanced at the young man he saw that the boy and picked a weed out of the ground by the roots, so there was no way that one was going to grow back. He didn’t realize that the students helped out with caring for the property… wait why was his mouth opening like that?

Alex’s eyes widened slightly when the student put the weed into his mouth. At first Alex thought that the boy might have been a type of Faunus that ate plants, but that idea quickly died when he spat the plant out. That’s when the accusations started to come from the boy, directed at the grounds keeper. What did he mean by killing? He was killing anything. Alex’s gaze shifted back towards the weeds in the garbage bag, realizing the boy might of meant the weeds he was uprooting. Did that boy thing Alex was collecting food? He supposed it was possible that the young man didn’t know how vegetables looked like before they were sent to the markets, but surely he knew the difference between an edible plant and a simple weed… though that notion was shot down before it even got off the ground because the student DID try to eat a weed.

That’s when the student continued and called him a puppet. Alex slowly stood up and turned to face the student with a calm look on his face. The words didn’t hurt, not at all. However something had to be done about this. With that, Alex started to walk towards the student with his hands clasped behind his back. One would think that this position would put him a disadvantage, but with his hands there he could simply reach up a few inches and grab Wrecker for a quick draw. ”A puppet you say? Is that what I am? If I remember correctly a puppet is only capable of taking action if the puppeteer is pulling the strings. A puppet, therefore, is nothing more than a slave and gets nothing in return for its work.” Alex stated when he was close enough to the young man for him to hear him using a quiet tone of voice so their conversation would at least be semi-private. When there was at least 3 feet between them Alex stopped approaching and stood with his feet shoulder length apart with his knees slightly bent.

”I however choose to do this job, which would make me a servant instead, someone who willingly gets their hands dirty so no one has to do the dirty work.” He looked out of the corner of his eye towards the partly chewed weed, which he guessed had tasted bitter despite what the student had said, then turned his gaze back towards the student. ”You are correct though, killing without a cause is horrid. Something only a monster would do. However removing weeds isn’t exactly what I would call murder. They’re taking away the nutrients in the ground away from the plants that need it, such as the rose bushes over there. I don’t intend to eat those weeds though, they’re heading for the garbage.”

The grounds keeper reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag full of beef jerky, teriyaki flavoring. He intended to use it as a snack in case he got hungry, but if the student had just tried to eat in uneatable plant than he must have been hungry. Now since the student had tried to eat a plant one could say that the student was a vegetarian, though the meat was the only thing Alex had on him. He could grow a small tree and make it produce some fruit for the boy to eat, but that seemed a bit inappropriate. He held it up in front of the student, offering the student to take them. ”These might be a little bit more palpable then that weed. I’m Alexander Davis by the way.”

"Servant?... The prideful name for a slave. They give you a couple pennies and you'll go against your own moral reasoning won't you? They give you what people simply believe to be worth something, money. They don't even feed you do they? Make you pay for a resource vital to life." Errante sighed to the brainwashed man, "Do you really have a say in whether you do work? You do or you die of starvation. This is what makes you a puppet. Afraid to cut some strings."

He rolled his eyes at the rose bush; "Is that really fair? Is the sacrifice of so many of these worth that one? That plant has barbs and can hurt, it does not require your help. These ones are small and weak yet you harm them so... Yet they say to pluck the life of another for nutrition is so wrong. Tsk tsk."

Errante didn't even look at the food he was offered, "If I wanted something like that I would take it myself. Tear it directly from the source rather than let it get so old, hard and cold. There's no challenge in that such meal. You must be new here, they would have told you of me... they will soon. I'm the Don."

Errante flicked the dirt out from between his teeth through the use of his tong, not wanting to sully his mouth with it's awful taste.

Alex started to feel a little foolish holding his arm out for the student to take the food he was offering only for the boy to completely ignore his offer, so he lowered his arm as he placed the food back into his pocket. His eyes never left the young man in front of him as he continued his philosophical talk about how Alex calling himself a servant was really just him calling himself a prideful slave. This kid was clearly very intelligent, though his point of view seemed a bit on the creepy side. Still though, the two of them were having some sort of game and Alex’s pride, what little he had, had decided that he would at least stick around to see what this kid had up his sleeve. However he did managed to get Alex a little mad... and in such a sort period of time that was impressive but not something to be proud of.

"Alright then I'll be straight up with you. We badly need more huntsmen and huntresses, so anything that will encourage people to join our academy is important. You'd be surprised by how many people would have second thoughts about this place if they saw weeds overgrowing it all. By removing the weeds, those people don't get second thoughts and will join, becoming the future protectors of our world." Alex stated flatly, clearly having second thoughts about getting into an argument with this boy so he wanted to finish it quickly.

However when the student continued in stating that he preferred food that was freshly torn from his prey made Alex cock an eyebrow, clearly puzzled. "Okay I'll admit that when you're hunting Grimm out in the wild you will occasionally have to hunt the local wild life for food to survive... but you don't seem to be talking about deer or birds." Alex replied, admitting to himself he had to go hunting for food occasionally while going after Grimm when he had been in his prime. Fighting Grimm on an empty stomach was just asking for trouble.

However the young man's don comment made Alex's eyes narrow. Did this guy think he was in charge of the academy or something? The one to be feared the most? Now Alex was officially mad. "I don't care what you call yourself... Head Mistress Leena Lilac is in charge of Syne, not you. If you mean to say you cause the most trouble here, then I'd suggest you clean up your act. I'm not known for being tolerable of those that cause problems for others because they find it fun."

Errante leant further back against his sword, staring directly toward the overhanging sun; regardless of what damage it could be doing to his eyes.

"Where will you become stronger. A vile pit in which you must fight to even move, or a daycare in which the slightest eyesore is removed without a moment's hesitation? Even if you don't regard the plant's lives as valid, at least as valid as your own, can't you see that? The fools will learn from falling on their face a good few time... I did one too many times and look at me."

He lowered his gaze back to the man before him, razing his hand and placing it in his mouth. Sucking and biting on it, not so hard as to break the skin but to cure his hunger like a smoker chewing nicotine gum.

"Tell me... when did you last see the headmistress? You can call her on your scroll sure, yet she has left many of us to the rags. We never have assemblies. We never see her fight. She never takes classes. Why would one do a job alike this one from the shadows? Face it, when push comes to shove and the beasts descend do you really think she'll come to your aid in time? Or just after? Will she come at all? Or will you have to fight yourself, like the beast within?"

Errante rose, purging his partner from the earth and slinging it over his shoulder, hand still in mouth.

"If every life was taken as equal the weak would have been banished long ago, eaten by the strong. It's not out of fun so much as doing it because one can... you know? Exorcizing of power. Is that not what being a hunter truly is? Seeing what is weak and wrong and purging it to protect your own? If we could eat grimm we would, would we not? We view them bellow us. So few eat dolphin or dog as they're viewed as intelligent. As if their brains give them a right to life. You shouldn't care for one plant yet kill others without thought."

As Errante turned, removing the hand from his mouth, his mind went blank. To him it was as if the prior conversation had never even taken place. Perhaps it was due to the injuries he had endured, damaging his mind... or perhaps a conversation with the man had meant as little to him as the plants the caretaker held in his bag.

He took one step forward, sniffed twice then turned around; "... What am I doing out here?... What are you doing here?... Who are you again?... Huh. Weird."

Alex's face remained neutral while 'the don' stated that trying to make the campus seem more welcoming will result in the students not becoming strong was a mistake. From Alex's perspective this young man had missed the grounds keeper's point entirely. This wasn't about making the campus safer, it was bringing in more students. The students were known to spar against each other and hunted the Grimm in the nearby forests solo or in groups. That's how they got better. "Are you basically saying the best way for our students to train would be for the walls of this academy to fall and let the Grimm run wild in here? None of the other academies do this though, so why would we?" Alex stated flatly, not wanting to play games anymore.

However when the young man started to talk down about the head mistress, Alex's hands curled into fists behind his back. Yeah Leena didn't come out that much, but then again she wouldn't of been made the head mistress if the council in charge of all the academies didn't think she could handle it. Besides this academy was new and was just starting to get on it's feet and they didn't have enough professors. Of course Leena wasn't going to be around. She was pretty much handling all of administration by herself. She was busy. However if the students got in trouble, he was sure she'd try to help if she could. If he got in trouble though... if he couldn't hold off his attackers it would be his own darn fault. He was a huntsman for only 6 years counting his 4 at Beacon and he had stood among the best. He didn't have any room to complain if he got in trouble. If she didn't help him, then so be it. He didn't say anything in response though. He was on the verge of decking the kid so if he said anything then chances are he'd bite the kid's head off. Figuratively or literally was yet to be seen.

However when the boy started to act like he forgot about the conversation he was having, Alex cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but instead of restarting the conversation he viewed it as a way to get away from this situation and do something to get rid of his temper. There was a dead tree in the back that had to get removed. Maybe he'll smash it into kindling with Wrecker instead of simply digging it up. "Beats me." was all he said before turning around and walking away at a fast pace, tossing his bag of weeds into a trash can as he passed it.

*exit*