Terra waved the two off happily as she ran off to meet with her team. Dante's smile broadened as he looked at Iris, who seemed clocked out of the situation.
"He's friends with Terra? Terra Farren? How could that be…?"
She mulled over the thought over and over again until another figure approached them slowly. Their steps were light as the two barely noticed them until they got close. A familiar pink halo shone above their long midnight blue hair. She looked slightly up at the two and bowed her head. Her pink eyes flashed at Dante, seeing a recognizable face.
"It seems we were placed together. What are the odds?"
"Oh, it's you! I knew I had heard your name somewhere…but I couldn't remember it…"
"Don't mind, I didn't take the time to introduce myself last time. That's my fault."
"If you say so…"
"My name is Azuri Everton, hailing from the Everton family. You must be Iris, and we've already met one another, Dante."
Iris' face twitched at the idea of Azuri meeting Dante before, making her realize he wasn't just some random guy at the academy. But someone who had connections somehow and someway to two of some of the most well-known students at the academy. She was shocked that someone as brazen as he could even hold a conversation with monsters like them in her eyes. She slapped her face quickly with both hands to make sure that she wasn't sleeping and just dreaming up this whole scenario.
Azuri looked over to Iris and bowed to her as she reciprocated the same motion.
"It's nice to meet you. I can tell you're already more pleasant than Rowan. I hope to lead you both to success in this trial. Thank you for having me."
She bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment of the two, surprising Iris in the process. She didn't know much about Azuri beforehand, other than word of mouth, but seeing her pleasant introduction gave her a sense of ease. Dante moved forward with a smile, happily accepting her inviting introduction.
"I'm glad to have you! I've been hoping to see what you could do personally."
"Y-yeah! Let's do our best on this trail."
Dante noticed that this was the most pumped he'd seen Iris ever since meeting her, so this could be a good sign for their group. Shortly after, two others joined the group, a taller boy with well-kept gray hair, then another with messy brown hair.
"Hello, my name is Jarrett Greenburg, it's a pleasure to meet you all. Don't you ladies worry too much, we will breeze through this with someone like me on the team." He shrugged his shoulders smugly as he looked at Iris and Azuri. His confidence was exuding, though it seemed only to be ignored by stale faces from the girls. The more petite boy began to sputter after the failed flirting attempt.
"I'm Nolan Grimsby, don't mind my friend. He's quite the talker, but he's well intentioned—"
"Who said you can speak for me? Pipsqueaks like you don't get to do that."
"But Jarrett–"
"No buts, I don't wanna hear another word outta your mouth."
Nolan's eyes lowered as Dante and Iris looked to one another with a look of concern, though these two seem to know one another, their relationship seemed to be not the best, mostly due to Jarrett's cockiness. Azuri quietly walked up to the taller boy and he took a moment to look down.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, I just have to make sure people know who's in charge around here, it's nothing too big–"