Welcome to the Club! (Daniel/Nero)

It had only been a few days since he had finished his paperwork and officially signed on the dotted line to join the Vandenreich, but Daniel found himself wondering if it had been the right choice for him. It was true that he wanted to grow as a Quincy, that drive had only been increased over the time that he had spent in the City of Light. So many powerful Quincy were here, so many talented people who worked at their craft, and received results through hard work and effort. In a way, Daniel wanted that for himself, and it SEEMED logical that the choice to join the Vandenreich would be a no-brainer to obtain that growth he wanted. Yet, it reeked of his father's influence. Like it wasn't really him deciding to pursue this path, but his father holding his hand, and helping him sign his last bit of freedom away to an organization in pursuit of helping him become a better Cross and a better heir.

It was causing him a bit of stress, alright, maybe more than a bit of stress, but he was good at hiding that sort of thing through a fake smile and a little bit of quick wit. It worked on most people, but the one it didn't work on was himself. Still he continued to push these thoughts from his mind even as he marched around, greeting people like normally as he made his way around base, and toward the barracks like he had been assigned to do. He chuckled internally at the idea that he was putting more obligations and more responsibilities on himself by choosing this new course in his life, but sometimes you can't do what you want in life if you want to improve. That was a notion he was becoming more and more acquainted with over time, but to be honest he hated that. He hated that it was becoming common place for him to just turn over and accept that his choices mattered little because with who he was to become, all of his choices HAD to lead to the inevitable of just accepting he would never be free and that he would just take over his dad's position after following a set path. A set path that had lead him to join the Vandenreich.

He shook his head, pushing that idea down again, and took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door of the barracks. He prepared himself, putting a stern look on his face, and adjusting his attitude to match that of a rank and file soldier, he was good at appeasing others and morphing himself to be what they wanted him to be so it wasn't hard to do. Without hesitation and with a bit of authority he opened the door, immediately entered, and stood at attention. He had watched plenty of military movies, he assumed it would be easy to replicate the basic mannerisms, and he had prepared himself for a drill sergeant to be in his face all day as he went through the basic training necessary to succeed there, but instead he was greeted by something else. Tables of food, a banner welcoming new recruits, and laughter were not what he had expected on his first day. Well mocking laughter maybe, but not the type of laughter of an amusement variety. Standing there, now completely awkwardly, and completing failing at making the type of impression he wanted to make, Daniel slinked off as quickly as he could listening to a few people murmur in confusion as to why he had acted that way.

"Good job, Daniel... nailed that first impression. Five stars, you idiot."

He said to himself as he went to the table to collect a bit of food, hoping to eat away his embarrassment.

Among the hustle and bustle of the room, Nero was one of the current few whose laughter was a little more suppressed, a quiet snort of a chuckle barely heard amongst the crowd. His mannerisms were humorous, but Nero could at least see that it was an attempt to make a good impression on these people.

When he saw him turn away and slink off elsewhere, he approached Daniel's table and introduced himself - an attempt, at least, to help alleviate his embarrassment. After all, he was fairly new here as well, and knew how difficult it was to make first impressions. Turning his head to him, he prepared a plate as he introduced himself to the young man.

"First day here? Don't worry. The lot of these men are a bunch of goofballs at heart. My name's Nero Arant. What's yours?"

He had been half-way eating through a finger sandwich when he was approached by a green haired person and for a minute he wondered if they were here to rub it in at what had occurred only moments ago. His eyes lolled to the right toward the roof and a small grimace spread across his face as his mind wandered to if he would ever live this down. His dad had warned him about being the best version of himself if he chose to be a member of the Vandenreich and he had already screwed that up. Of course there would have been a welcoming party, of course there would have been people excited to meet the new recruits, and of course he would muck all that up with his stupidity.

He was a bit surprised, however when the person talked about the nature of the men in the barracks, and even introduced himself. Was this salvageable, would he be alright even after this level of embarrassment? A small weight had been lifted from his shoulders in a second and the grimace faded to a smile. He looked down on the younger(?) soldier and decided to return the good vibes.

"I'm Daniel Cross, I just joined the Research team, and was told to head to the barracks for my living arrangements. To say the least I didn't expect a party, but now that I think about it... I probably should have."

"Oh? A fellow member of the Steingruft? Welcome aboard! It's always nice to meet a new member. I transferred divisions recently myself."

Bowing politely to the young man, Nero sat down at the table with his fellow peer. Since he was wholly familiar with what it felt like to be the "new guy", he had no intention of approaching the man to remind him of his errors. If anything, he came to applaud him for trying to make a good impression. When he first got here, it was a genuine struggle to socialize with anyone, to say nothing of making an attempt at good impressions. Properly seated, Nero finally offered his opinion on the matter.

"Different divisions have different ways of running things. I don't think your approach would've been as bad for a place like... the Todgestalten or the Sternritter, but a lot of us here know that most of our work will be researching, assisting the head of this division with possible inventions, and fighting on the frontlines if need be. Therefore, you probably shouldn't worry too much about impressions, Daniel."

"Looks like we will be coworkers at the least!"

Daniel said as he pounded through another finger sandwich as he quickly recovered from his earlier poor first impression and was now set on making at least one friend he could rely on with the team. Nero could be that friend, though he barely knew anything about him outside of the fact that he had been quick to approach him, and offer him some advice. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders at the least and seemed to fit in here quite a bit more than Daniel did. To be honest, he didn't really know if he was really "Steingruft" material. He had gotten in because his dad was a famous medical researcher and his mother was a top tier doctor, these two things meshed, at least from a genetics point of view, that Daniel would at least inherit a bit of their talent. At least that is how he assumed the recruiter had saw it.

He had his own reasons for joining the group though, he had something he wanted to research, and to research it he need a top of the line facility to do it. This was his one chance for him to do that and he didn't care if he fit in or was sub-par just as long as he could fulfill his promise.

"I just don't want to make myself look like a fool... though I guess I've failed that already, eh? How is our commanding officer by the way? Never met the person and they weren't around for the recruitment process at all. So must be pretty hands off?"

He asked Nero, kind of pressing him for info about their boss in a veiled attempt to learn how lenient they were with independent research.

"I look forward to seeing how well we operate together, Daniel. Don't fall too behind lest you invoke my wrath."

Nero chortled softly as he enjoyed his meal and conversed with his newfound peer. He seemed to be quite a respectable young man with a good head on his shoulders. Nero couldn't blame a man trying to make a good impression. After all, that was his intention in this division now, too. He didn't know Ehefera too well yet, but he hoped he could be of proper assistance in the end. When he spoke of her commanding officer, Nero had no qualms about revealing what little he knew about the woman. All in all, she was quite professional, and there wasn't anything he found disagreeable about her disposition.

"Our commanding officer, as far as I can tell, is a pleasant woman to talk with. I don't know her enough to give a detailed opinion yet, but when we had our interview, she asked questions, treated me with respect, and hired me not long after. I don't use this term a lot, but... I'd say she's "A-okay" in my books."

"Your wrath, huh? Go easy on me, I'm a rookie, Nero-sama!"

Daniel said with a laugh as he looked around the barracks at all of the people enjoying themselves and let out a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't seem too far out of place here in terms of the spirit of the team, but he would definitely need to work to catch up in terms of talent. He could tell that this division was no slouch in terms of research and development and he would need to be a contributor as quickly as he possibly could. He would need to study and work hard to catch up with the rest, not only in terms of his knowledge, but also in terms of power. It was clear as day most of the people in this room were above him, especially the little bloke sitting next to him seemed much stronger than he, and meant he would have to dedicate himself to training more.

"She sounds like a good leader. Hopefully she isn't too hasty on throwing a bunch of work my way when I am still trying to learn the ropes."

He gave Nero a smile as he once again stuffed a finger sandwich in his mouth. He had no idea what type of meat that they used in these, but it was damn good, and he made a note to ask once the festivities were done because nothing beat late night studying better than a good sandwich. With food still in mouth, he turned to look at Nero and began to talk again, mouth full of food.

"So, what are you planning on researching primarily? I plan on researching as much as I can in the field of medicine. My dad is pretty big in that field and wants me to take over the family business when he decides to retire...not that what he wants me to do has anything to do with why I'm here and why I'm choosing the field I am, but the background is there for me to excel in this field at least."

"I don't think she is. She seemed pretty easygoing when I met her, but that was my first meeting. Therefore, I can't speak with absolute certainty. If she does pass all that paperwork your way, you can always rely on me."

Offering a polite smile, Nero resumed eating his meal. His plate was a little heavier today, in due part because he decided to train before he got here. Though he was no longer a member of the Sternritter, that didn't mean he was allowed to rest on his laurels. He was a proud member of the Arant family, after all. Refining his talents was imperative. Even if he couldn't make a name for himself on the frontlines, he wholly intended on excelling at whatever challenge Ehefera and the Steingruft placed before him. Nero raised a curious eyebrow at Daniel's next question. He had an answer prepared in advance whenever others asked him this, and it felt just as relevant here - perhaps even more so.

"Medicine, hm? Do you come from a family of doctors? I think there are various things you could discover here, though I don't quite know if we do much research into medicine in this division. As for me... mine is pretty simplistic, I suppose. I joined this division to study quincy technology, with the potential of building unique and intricate items to use in battle, for myself and others. I was formerly in the Sternritter, and thought I could make a name for myself there, but... well... I just don't think I was cut out for it in the end."

Of course, that wasn't the entire truth. But then, he didn't feel inclined to reveal why he felt that way to someone he met just moments prior.

"I will definitely rely on you, Nero, but only as a last resort. After all, we are both gonna have our plates full for the foreseeable future, right? Well, that is if we are doing our jobs right that is."

He said with a smile as he thought about how he couldn't quite get a good read on Nero other than that he was somebody who seemed to be easy to lean on. He supposed that made him reliable, at least at first glance, and more than likely that meant he was either an overachiever, or someone who was looking for some kind of approval. For a long time that had been him, the person always looking for other's approval, especially when it came to his parents, but over time he had shifted his priorities. He wanted to be his own man and had strove to do so until things had been flipped on their head. He had begrudgingly became the heir apparent and now he was working his ass off to live up to their standards again, not because he wanted to appease them or gain some respect from them, but because he wanted them to leave him alone. Being a Cross meant having expectations heaped on you and he hated that, it was almost too much pressure to bear most of the time, and sometimes it definitely was too much pressure to bear.

Still, either way, he supposed he was following in his father's footsteps, and it was making his father happy at least. Not that he was doing any of this for him, after all he had made a promise to someone, and he was doing everything in his power to make that promise a reality. After all, he was a man of his word.

"Are you sure they don't study medicine?"

Daniel asked in confusion before shrugging his shoulders.

"I was sure that we covered a broad spectrum of subjects, but that is fine. It just means I will be awarded a large budget when I make my breakthrough in that field as I will be the only one in that field here."

He said with a sly grin on his face at the realization that he could get quite the monopoly on funding if he could at least make some kind of breakthrough and he was sure he could do that at the least. New ideas were already bubbling to the surface on what he could accomplish now that the proper facilities were available to him.

"So you were a Stern before? I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't fit in well there, but look at it this way, every door that closes is another one that opens right? We wouldn't have met if you didn't fail there and I wouldn't have met you if I didn't decide to swallow my pride and take my dad's advice."

He was surprised that the Cross name wasn't well known around these parts, but he assumed that is because they were more on the medical side of things than anything. He supposed he was fine with not being famous because of his family's name, though it had been one of the reasons he was brought on in the first place.

"My dad is a medical researcher developing prototype drugs and prosthetics for large pharmaceutical companies on a global scale and my mother is a doctor who deals in infectious diseases. So I guess you could say I have it in my blood to study this stuff."

Daniel said begrudgingly in answer to his first question as he rolled his eyes at the mention of his father.

"Only as a last resort? I'm quite the expert at handling paperwork, I'll have you know. I suppose you do have a point in that we'll be quite busy trying to ensure things are running efficiently in our director's division. At the very least, I don't want it to feel like we're holding her back to any degree."

Nero doubted that, though. Honestly, he felt she was plenty capable on her own. She didn't strike him as the type who required much assistance outside of tossing paperwork off to others to focus on her own projects. Then again,, he wouldn't proclaim he knew her to a personable enough degree to make that sort of judgment. His train of thought quickly shifted back to Daniel at his question about medicine being within the scope of Steingruft's study. He shrugged politely since he genuinely didn't know the answer himself. Wasn't that something within the Silbern's expertise? Or some other division that worked with nurses and doctors? At the same time, he supposed it was another form of research in its own right.

"Truth be told, I don't know the answer to that one myself. I know we have doctors and nurses on hand whenever our soldiers end up suffering major injuries, but perhaps you could be the first."

Reassuring him with a smile, it felt nice to be encouraged about his decision. He certainly wasn't ashamed to be here, but that regret still lingered every now and then. It would vanish quickly enough, though. He intended to make a name for himself no matter what. Even if he felt like he was an imperfect Arant, Nero knew he still had something to offer.

"Thank you for the reassuring words, Daniel. I'm glad I'm here now. I like where I could potentially go in the future. Judging from your explanation, it truly is as you say. It runs in the family. If you don't mind my asking, is Medicine a passion of yours too, or is it merely something you wished to do to make your parents proud?"