Welcome to Beacon. Please Try to Not Stumble Off the Cliffside Airdock.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Ren replies, his tone low an monotone, though there was sincerity in his words. "...Kinda reminds me of the occasional bounty we'd take." He snickers as Mark and Darcil walk off. "...Indeed." Okiro responds, before sighing and bowing her head. "...We going to tail them and make sure they don't mess up?" She then asks. "You know it." He responds.

--

"I-is something the matter?" Fahy asks, seeing Raxus grip his weapon. "I don't think that gripping your weapon like that will make ya friends, Raxus." She sighs.

"Force of habit." Raxus says quickly, explaining away the grip he had on his cleaver-cutlass, and for the next few moments, that's how he kept it, with his eyes forward, back straight, looking about ready for anything. However, after taking subtle glances at Fahy, The crowd around him, and his still rigid hand, Raxus let out a silent sigh, letting up on the grip on Tyrant's hilt. He still had his hand there, but left more slack than stiff; this many people around, students, not a clan of thieves, was going to take some getting used to.
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Plopping down on the bench Darcil had pointed out, Mark let out a relaxed sigh, the ache in his legs slowly beginning to fade from his muscles. For the greater portion of the day, he'd been working around; organizing the students, carrying messages, running from one end of the Academy to the other.... Mark felt he deserved this little drink break. So, reaching into his vest, Mark pulled out his palm sized, black metal flask, uncapped it, and did what he did best. Of course, this was nothing compared to tonight's escapade.
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Figuring that most of, if not all the students were already in the Auditorium, Salvador made a last minute check that what he had to do here was finished. The Airdock was near clear, little to no students around.... Everything seemed fine. For security purposes, though, Salvador was going to stay here a while longer, just until the Airship had de-coupled and taken off for its return trip.

Calming down a bit after thinking about his bounty, Darcil stretches his legs out and relaxes for a bit. "Tonight should be pretty damn fun." Honestly looking forward to tonights shenanigans. Darcil never gets out much and usually doesn't socialize.

He looks at the crowd of new students and smiles to himself. "Reminds ya a bit when we first got here huh?"

As he looks toward Beacon proper to ensure the new students are going the right direction, Lí notices a conspicuously familiar blur of color moving along the upper reaches of the buildings. Confident that the tide would direct any stragglers in the right direction, he begins moving toward the ballroom tower, where he notices the motion stop. "I'll meet you back at the dorm, Rudil!" he calls, already worried for his partner.

When he reaches the foot of the tower, he looks up, and shifts, propelling himself skyward, and beyond his destination. Quickly drawing Wyrmtalon, he shifts the hook, grimacing slightly as he hears it embed itself in the rooftop before the cord draws tight and begins pulling him in.

"Eh, just a bit." Mark admits, finally pulling his flask from his lips. "What I remember most, though.... Is steppin' off that air ship, an' seein' all these new people.... Law abiding citizens, with these big ol' suitcases.... Then there was me; the greasy, little biker, with not much but a duffle bag, and a Vale police issued ankle monitor bracelet stuck to me like a damn leech...." Mark took another swig from his flask, and actually began grinning, what scant few memories he had of his first year, trickling back into his thoughts.

Darcil listens to Mark and chuckles "Shoot lets see, I remember stepping off that airship with just my one bag of belongins. Then every damn student kept shooting me looks cause of my eyepatch." Darcil blows out smoke and grunts as he remembers something. "Oh, then there was also the one bully who thought he would pick on me. At least till I shot his belt off."

He coughs a bit as he laughs "Son of bitch's face turned red so fast! Nearly pissed himself as he ran away. First year was something to remember I sware."

"Oh, that was you?" Mark asked in mildly shocked surprise, grinning as he lightly patting Darcil's arm with his free hand. "I heard that gun shot, man; pretty sure half the class heard it. Didn't see you, or think much of it, though. I thought that was just how things rolled here."

Laughing as he recalled the memory, and all the shocked faces after the shot rang out, Mark shook his flask a bit, mixing up the liquid inside before consuming another quick sip. "Mmm, oh! Hey.... Um, Correct me if I'm wrong, man, but.... Did I ever ask you about what happened to your eye?... Just curious, mate."

As she reaches the Rooftop she searched for, Maria collapses to her hands and knees, her clothes soaked in cold sweat, her body shaking violently. She quickly has to do the bottom part of her mask, before she begins retching, clutching her paining stomach in one hand. Tears of fear streak down her cheeks, and sweat drips off her nose and face.

"Nah haha, trust me I got a few good words from Ozpin about that. Though I will say he wasn't that mad about it. Also no one has messed with me since so thats a plus." As Darci listened to Mark's question he thinks about how he did loose his eye. Walking into to see Ruck's getting ripped apart. The beowolf slashing it out as shots rang in the air.

"Oh ya know, I was too good with 2 eyes. Always said I could shoot with both eyes closed. Found out I still need one." He laughs jokingly to his partner. "In all seriousness though" He lifts his patch up to reveal the giant scar going across his lifeless grey eye. " Beowolf got it back a few years go, before I came to Beacon obviously. Hurt like a bitch, but didn't stop me from killing 3 of the bastards right after." As he sighs he also exhales smoke. He might as well let Mark know some of his past since he will be helping with it soon enough. He covers his eye again.

"Now that I think about it, how did you lose your limbs? Curious as well."

Hearing his partner retching, Lí frowns on his way down to the rooftop. His boots clack against it as he touches down, and he pulls Wyrmtalon's hook free before cautiously stepping towards the shaking woman. "Maria?" he ventures, slowly reaching a hand out to gingerly place it on her back. "Let's get you to the infirmary..."

The girl before Li almost seemed to flinch away instinctively, leaning forward on one palm and swinging her weight around, to try an whirl around to face him, and presumably attack on instinct, in reaction to the touch, however, her current state left her dizzy and weak, and the movement only sent her falling on her side, her hood angling up to reveal her cat mask still on her face, just inches above her lips. She had run from the dorm in a hurry, that much was obvious.

She made no move to get up, only wrapped her arms around her stomach, curling up on the ground, having mentally reassured herself that it was only Li.

Mark took a good look at Darcil's eye, not cringing, exactly, but his face did take on a bit of a grim expression; eyes narrowed, lips set thin. The satirical version of his team mates story brought a few quiet chuckles bubbling up, but at hearing the true events of how he lost his eye, and seeing how damaged the eyes' remains really were, Mark couldn't help but mutter a silent, "Damn...."; added to the fact that some hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end, and give him that odd prickling feeling.

When Darcil's turn came to ask a question, it snapped Mark out of his thoughts, and for a moment, the Scotsman sat silently, trying to come up with a good explanation. Finally, taking another quick swig, Mark answered; "Can't lose what you never had, brother." Huffing to clear his throat, Mark continued, "I drew the, uh... Genetic short stick, had a birth defect. Imagine my parents surprise when, after nine months, I popped outta me old mum, naked, cryin', and missin' my arms.... From what my Dad told me, for every moment I cried as a new born, my Mum cried, too."

Mark went silent, then; contemplating what to say next. When he did have it, Mark added in, "Skip forward ten years, and my Dad gives me the best birthday present I could ask for." He raises both his arms, wiggling the wrists, giving off metallic whizzing noises. "Brand new pair of arms, stripped straight off an early model AK-129 defense droid. Old man would've lost his job, if he hadn't altered them to the point of being untraceable.... A few months and grafting surgeries later, and I felt like a new person."

Darcil glances over at Mark's arms, he never really took a good look at them. "Thats one hell of a present haha. Those arms seem well made. Your old man sounds like one hell of a guy." He smiles at his partner and ashes his cig and pulls out a small black container and opens it. Putting the butt of his smoke into it. "No point in littering...." He mumbles to himself.

He already lights another smoke again and coughs slightly. "Now about tommorows bounty....." He breathes out a puff of smoke. "First off, If we find this guy I need to interrogate him. He is suspected for first degree murder, but sometimes its not what it seems." Thinking about this man again starts making his hands shake again like earlier.

He puts the cig in his mouth and holds it there, hiding his hands from his partner. "I need to talk to an informant of mine who you will meet tommorrow. Then we can go and get this guy." He starts tapping his foot slightly and his voice trembles very slightly "God damnit keep it together!"

"Another thing like I said don't hurt him to much even if I find him guilty. I'll do most of the beatdown, you could get in trouble for not having a proper license or some corporate bullshit. Not babying ya, but I would rather not get you sent to jail." This of course was a lie. However, he was making sure nothing nor anyone would be in his way at the time of judgement. "So, any questions?"

Mark only shook his head, indicating he had no questions, but he did have a few things on his mind; "If your gonna be havin' some words with this guy, I know a place down near the docks. Old warehouse, abandoned, quiet, filled with all sorts of toys... Probably locked, but nothing I can't break." Pausing to take a quick drink, Mark continued, "If we need a ride, too; I know a few areas where I can boost us a van or something subtle." Smirking with a bit of a chuckle, The Scotsman added, "I'm no stranger to jail time, brother. Grand Theft, among other charges. Why do you think I got cuffed in the first place?"

Running his free hand through his hair, Mark smooths down his already slicked back, black locks, scratching an itchy spot around the back of his head once his hand hovered over that area. He was trying not to call him on it, but the Scottish Cyborg didn't let his partners twitchy demeanor go unnoticed. After years working with ex-Cons and gang members, you learn to notice things about the people you work with. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his head, Mark spoke up; "Soooo, yeah.... I'll help you hold the guy, an' let you handle the fist work.... Heh, I'd probably kill him if I landed a clean right cross, huh? Hah-hah..... Anyway, your informant. They're dependable?"

Darcil sits and thinks for a second before responding ot Mark. "I'll hold out on the warehouse for now. A van would be useful for this case. I usually just end up kicking the door down and shoot everyone I see......But this is different." He sits up and leans forward on the bench. "My informant has been useful over the years, its a lil orphan boy. Kinda talks shit and always bugs me for cigs. I trust the kid enough, he hasn't failed me yet."

He ashes another cig and puts his lighter away. pulling out each of his guns and checking their ammo count. "Been asking this kid to keep an eye for him a while back. Only got a hit till now and I need to act. He's supposed to be at some sort of bar for a poker game er something." He puts his guns away and scratches his head. "Only problem is he won't be there until tommorow, so I have to wait. Main reason for meeting with the kid is to get an ID on him."

Xiang smiles gently, patting Raxus on the arm. "Just take it easy, Raxus. No need to be nervous." She assures her large acquaintance, retracting her arm. "What do ya reckon we're all gathered here for?" She asks curiously, gazing around the area. Her cyan orbs moved all across the room, seeing a few faces that were recognizable from Signal, and another, she saw, she thought she recognized as an underclassman from her days in Signal. She raises a brow in curiosity, staring at the redhead. "That girl..." She murmurs.

Lí slowly steps forward again, crouching down to look at Maria on her level with a concerned expression on his face. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he gently says, "Come on, Maria. Let's get you to the infirmary."

--

In the auditorium, a well-dressed man with silver hair and round spectacles steps out onto the stage, heading toward the microphone set up in the center. In his left hand, he holds a simple cane, unassuming in its appearance. At the mic, he takes a moment to adjust his glasses, and clears his throat, calling for the attention of all the new first years present.

"Hmm.... Yeah, alright. Plan's sound enough; I'll take your word on the kid, too." Screwing the cap back onto his flask, Mark leans further back on the bench, legs open, right leg outstretched, and both his arms at his sides, elbows propped up on the benches back support. "I take it you'll want me to boost the van first; split up for a bit. You meet the Lad, and I'll meet up with you at the bar?" He asked, looking for Darcil's appraisal of his statement. "You go in, I'll post lookout. If he runs, I'll be waiting; corner him, cuff him, drag him off."
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Raxus listened to what Fahy had to say, and, after finally gathering enough nerve to let go of Tyrants' hilt, let his left arm hang at his side. Not too limp, only having enough rigidity to react accordingly should anything happen. Remaining quite stoic, Raxus kept looking straight ahead, focused in the stage.

And with a slight quirk, Raxus' mouth formed the closest thing he had to a humored smile.

Fahy's quiet mumbling gets caught by Raxus' sharp hearing, but, before he can ask whom she saw, another noise perks the Black Lions interest. This time, it was coming from the stage, so, giving his shorter companion a small nudge, Raxus rumbles in a low tone; "You asked why we're all here. Does he answer your question?" The large Faunas gestured up at the stage with lift of his chin, at the silver haired, green suited, cane walking man.

The girl doesn't reply. Either she was too weak to, or had simply lost consciousness.

Darcil leans back onto the bench propping his arms on the back support. "Not a bad plan there. However, i'll need ya to be ready to fight. I think what I am going to do is buy my way into the game. Play it out for a bit and once I know its him grab him." Darcil looks up at the sky "I got this feeling though, its gonna get nasty." He looks at his partner "If it comes down to it where its just me and him though, let me take him alone. You just stand ready at that moment and keep some other bastards off my back." Darcil already knows how this might go down. He was gonna be damned though if he was gonna let him get away.

"Hey, you know I got your back, brother." The Scotsman says, looking at his partner, his facial expression that of complete seriousness. "You do what you have to do. I'll keep his boys off your back." And while Mark meant every word that he said, he couldn't shake this nagging feeling, like his Gunslinger team mate was going to do something that would have.... Some negative repercussions. Forcing those thoughts, again, to the back of his head, Mark added with his jokers tone; "You get one, I get the lot.... Hey, more for me, right? Hah-hah!"

"Ha! Exactly." looks back forward onto what crowd was left of the new students. "Enough about work though, lets have some fun tonight." He pulls out his lighter and a colored pack of cigs and proceeds to smoke again. "So who is joining us again tonight? I don't think I was ever introduced properly. Renji errrr something?" He breathes out a cloud of smoke and closes his lighter shut with a click. "Completely forget the lady's name though. She had nice boots though......."

"Excuse me." A polite and new voice said, tapping Darcil on the shoulder, "Do you know where I can find the main building? I'm sorta lost."

Laughing in agreement, Mark leans forward, rolling his shoulders to relieve some stiffness. After hearing a rather hard grinding noise from both his shoulders' mechanical sockets, Mark leans back, visibly more relaxed.

"Renji Aoki." The Scotsman answered, hopping to jump start his partners memory. "Same age as us, but a year ahead. He's a good guy, if a bit dead-panned at times; he's no stranger to a good time, though." With a humored grin, Mark brought his arms up again, placing his elbows on the benches back support. "An' the Lass with the nice boots, her name's Okiro. Don't know if she'll be joinin' us, not exactly thinkin' she'll be the type for a night out on the town."

Hearing a new voice introducing themselves, Mark looks over his shoulder from where he's sitting, eyeing the new arrival."..... Well, Darcil? You know where the Auditorium is?" Mark asks his partner, a bit of a grin on his face to go with his jokers tone.

Darcil listens to his partner and nods as he listens. He feels a tap on his shoulder and spins around to see a nun looking faunus. He looks back at his partner with a less than amused face. His slight frown bringing his ciggarete slanted in his mouth slightly. He breathes out smoke and faces the stranger. "I assume your new to the school...." He points towards the main building where the students from the airship earlier all ran into. "Thats the building your gonna want, might wanna hurry for your orientation.....er something like that." He sighs again breathing out more smoke as he crosses his legs. "That SHOULD be where you need to go. I can't imagine anywhere else."

The nun coughed, waving her hands to clear away the smoke, "Ugh, thanks, I guess." She said, turning around, allowing the massive Cross she carried to be seen in full. It was wrapped tightly in straps and cloth, and it was just as big, if not bigger, then it's owner.

"Ah, yeah...It does." Fahy replies to Raxus with a slightly nervous chuckle. She stares at the silver-haired man, waiting for him to speak,, digging her hands into the pockets of her vest. In an attempt to keep from panicking due to the crowd and nervousness, Xiang begins rocking back and forth on her heels, her boots making a slightly audible clack every time she hits her heel.

His partners expression and less than amused look about him was enough for Mark. Smirking and trying to stifle a few huffs of laughter, the Scotsman turned his head about a few times, looking at a few different points of interest. Only when he felt it was safe did Mark look back over his shoulder at the Faunas dressed as a Nun. He didn't regret looking.

"Holy Sh--- Uh-- Dust above. Darcil, you see that?" Mark motioned with a move of his head, "That.... Is a big cross." At this point, if Mark was with anyone else, he probably would've been slapped for starring at a Nun.
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Rumbling with his own quiet chuckle, Raxus stands where he is, legs spread apart slightly as he waited for, who he assumed was, the Headmaster to begin speaking....Then came the clicking noise. At first it didn't bother the large Faunas, merely a small tickle to the Black Lions' sensitive hearing. But, rather quickly, that tickle rose to a poke, then to a throb, and finally, Raxus couldn't take it any more.

Left ear twitching at the sound, Raxus immediately looked to that side, and tilted his head down. He sees Fahy rocking back and forth, the heels of her boots making the clicking noise. Raxus didn't say anything, however; if she was doing this, she must be nervous, and the large Faunas doubted a bit of chiding from him would help. So, pushing through the throb in his ear, Raxus continued his wait for the Headmasters words.

Darcil hears the coughing of the nun from behind him "Eh sorry about that miss, bad habits die hard." He turns around to introduce himself, making sure to breath his smoke away from the stranger from now on. " Name is Dar aR AR........." He then notices the giant wrapped cross the maiden is carrying around.

"Um....well now I see it." he responds to Mark. "Mighty large cross for a little lady like you." He turns away and breaths out smoke. "Names Darcil though, and this is my partner Mark. Nice to meet ya." He reaches out with his hand to shake.

"Alina." The newly named girl said, turning around to shake Darcil's hand, "And the reason it's so big is because it's full of mercy." She said, struggling(and failing)to keep the smile off her face as she delivered that line.

As quiet settles over the auditorium, Ozpin gives one more cursory look over the whole of the room. Satisfied that he has everyone's attention, he draws in a breath, and begins. "You are here, in hopes of becoming Hunters. In doing so, you will be training to fight monsters. However, there is a question you must ask yourself, and by the end of your time here, I dearly hope you have an answer. That question is, 'What is a monster?' Undoubtedly, many of you think you know this already, but here, I give you your first challenge to overcome in your time at Beacon. Think well on it."

Throughout his brief speech, his tone carries a sense of foreboding, if not warning, though his pitch remains steady. Having said his piece, Ozpin turns and walks off stage, his cane tapping on the floor with every other step.

Standing silent and stone faced, Raxus watched as The Headmaster made his way off stage; rusty golden eyes locked onto the older man, tracking his every move. With every step that Ozpin took, moving further away, Raxus' facial expression morphed into an annoyed scowl, bordering on a snarl, the cane's tapping echoing in his sharpened ears. "Oh, well that's it, then, isn't it? Gather the students here by the ship load, and give a quick thirty second speech." The large Faunas rumbled, exhaling with a sigh that seemed to end with a rolling growl. He kept looking around, though, almost like he was expecting more.

"Arrgh... A lot of good it did us, coming here... We could be getting our bearings around this place, right about now." Raxus added, huffing in discontent.
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Offering up a friendly laugh and a tilt of his head, the Scotsman added in a grin as he looked at Alina, and then at her giant Cross. "Hmph, mercy... Right." He remarked, still looking over the Cross. Mark didn't believe for a second that the mercy in that cross wasn't cold steel or high impact, explosive bullets. Plus, the fact Alina was smiling certainly didn't help her case.

"You're own fault if you don't believe me." Alina said, apparently having some fun at their expense.

-------

"Well that was....short."

"Yeah...You think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Ruby Rose, grade skipper by two years and Jaune Arc, heir to the Arc linage, shared a look, and shrugged.

"What do you think he means by Monsters?" Jaune asked.

"I think he means Grimm...But...." Ruby trailed off, unsure of the answer herself.

Dusk was silent as she stood next to Ruby, though she didn't know it at the time, "I wonder what he means by that." she said softly, whispering it to the red cloaked girl as she didn't want to interrupt anything or cause attention to them if she spoke aloud.

Cobalt blinks, staring up at the stage, a blank expression on her face, her eyes wide.

"What is a monster?...A monster is that which is deemed so by mass human populous. Easy!"

A smile slowly spreads on the Giddy girl's face, her eyes shutting happily.

--

"A monster...."

Shinda scowls and whips around, his arm crossed as he moved to start exiting the auditorium. He aimed to go explore the dorm before someone told him he couldn't.

"Stupid question..."

What is a monster? A thing that is very large, ugly, and or scary? Something that can be applied to many nouns. Hm. Clearly not looking for the simple answer... Kaali ponders to herself in the middle of a crowd of strangers. Having quietly departed the airship earlier, she managed to avoid getting into any conversations with people. Thus, she was left to her own thoughts in regards to the question.

As she considered Ozpin's brief speech, she glanced around at the students around her, her eyes pausing briefly on a large faunus  who appeared to be ranting to nobody in particular, and made cursory glances around the room. True that the speech was... very short, for such a seemingly important gathering. I wonder if there is more after all... Her observation of the room and her surroundings continues, noting that many of the students had already formed small groups to hold their conversations in, but not directly joining any of them.

'My own fault if I don't believe her?....' Mark wondered, his thoughts echoing in his own head as he turned on his seat at the bench, facing Alina a bit more fully. "... Oh? And what would you mean by that, sister?" He says aloud, tone feigning innocence as to what she actually meant, but with his mischief makers grin present on his face.

A young man stood fairly distant from any group or person in general. He stood simply observing with his arms crossed over his chest and his expression blank and unreadable. His black cat ears twitched once as if to prove the stock still man standing there was alive and not a statue. His black coat swayed slightly as his long cat tail moved through the cut in the middle. With a slight bob, the bell tied to the end chimed, resonating a harmonious and gentle ring.

The quiet, calculating looking faunus, was staring at relatively nothing. His analytical gaze behind his spectacles was cold and blank accompanied by dark rings under each of his eyes as if he spent weeks without sleep.

"What is a monster... eh?" Chess murmured thoughtfully. "The better question would be... what is a hero? The answer to both... neither exists..."

The faunus was strangely talking to himself in monotone. With his statement said, his tail bobbed once more, ringing the bell at the end once more."

"What is a monster? thought Claire to herself, repeating Professor Ozpin's statement. "I didn't know this would be an ethics school as well." Claire could tell that Opzin wasn't referring to Grimm, and that suited her just fine. The monster was a subjective classification, something that varied in everyone's definition. But as subjective as it was, there were some objective requirements. A monster had to act out of its nature, something that only a being with a soul could do. Otherwise, that monster would be merely a beast, something to be neither feared nor pitied.

Claire quickly dismissed the thought from her mind. She looked around and sought to join the small groups of students that were beginning to form after Ozpin's short speech.

Darcil smiles as he shakes Alinas hand. Then returning his hand to his pockets and continuing to smoke his cigarette. He taps his foot as a tune runs through his mind. Darcil just looked forward to the school and just listened as Alina and Mark talked back and forth. .....Lord knows i've sinned enough already he thinks to himself.


"Mercy eh?.....hmph ironic." He says to himself outloud. As he heard Mark speak to Alina he pondered also to what Alina may have meant. He listens for a response.

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Maia watched as Ozpin walked onto stage and gave his short speech to all the first year students. Maia begins to cling onto Ozpins question. "What is a monster?" She looks down at her mechanical limbs and her eyes dim a bit. ".....am I a monster?" She thinks to herself.

Looking at Clover she asks "So...um.....where do we go now?"

When Maria doesn't respond, Lí carefully wraps his arms around her, underneath her shoulders, and gently lifts her up, cautiously settling her over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. "Can never make it easy, can you?" he mutters, a mildly rueful tone in his voice as he prepares to start making his way to the infirmary.

With a sigh, he shakes his head, then looks out over the rooftops he'd seen his partner cross. "Well, let's get going..." he says, not expecting any sort of response.

Glynda Goodwitch watched as Ozpin delivered his "speech" and left.
'Never one for dramatics, is he?'
Glynda sighed ever so slightly
'I guess that means I'm to escort the first years.'
Glynda steps up to the microphone and taps it to get everyone's attention.
"Excuse me everyone, may I have your attention? If you would all wait outside the Auditorium, you will be escorted to the Main Hall where you will be sleeping tonight. I will meet you all outside in a few moments."
With that, Glynda left the stage and made her way to the front of the Auditorium.