Once they arrived at the Student Union Center, Crystal was somewhat overwhelmed by how many students attended, rendering her feeling nervous. She suddenly felt Farkas' large, strong hand hold her small one. The gesture reassured her that she was safe with the gentle giant.
"It's okay..." Farkas said to her. "I got you..."
A man arrived, looking similar to Farkas, but with shorter, neater hair and a grumpy expression. He was dressed in a sport coat over a white t-shirt and dress jeans with brown oxfords, while Farkas had a white t-shirt and grungy blue jeans by comparison.
"There you are, brother..." The grumpy young man said. "The others were wondering where you were..."
He then noticed Crystal, his eyes narrowing. This elicited a cringe of fear from Crystal, prompting Farkas to gently place his hand on her shoulder.
"Who's this...?" He asked.
"Oh, this is my new friend, Crystal..." Farkas replied with a dimwitted and innocent grin.
Crystal shrunk back, holding her arm. Vilkas got closer to her.
"So you're his 'friend', eh?" Vilkas questioned her suspiciously. "You better not try anything with my baby brother..."
"Lay off her, Vilkas...!" A female voice barked up.
The voice belonged to a redhaired woman with silvery eyes adorned with a bit of olive drab eye shadow. She was wearing a black wife-beater under a camo flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. She wore a pair of khaki cargo pants and combat boots.
The redhead stared down Vilkas a bit, causing the latter to back up a bit.
"Sorry about that..." The redhaired woman said to Crystal. "He just gets a little protective of Farkas... Farkas is pretty nice to people... It's just that brains aren't really his strong suit, so Vilkas is worried someone will take advantage of his brother..."
"It's understandable..." Crystal responded.
"I'm Aela, by the way..." Aela introduced herself. "Your name's Crystal, right?"
"Yes..." Crystal replied.
"Nice to meet you..." Aela responded. "We'll take you to meet the other Companions..."
Aela led the way to a table where some other students were.
"These guys are Athis, Njada Stone-Arm, Ria, Torvar, and this is our Harbinger, Kodlak Whitemane..." Aela introduced everyone to Crystal.
Athis wore a long-sleeved fitted red t-shirt with a pair of black tripp pants with red accents, and a pair of black boots. His dark red hair was tied in a ponytail and he had some dark red peach fuzz. On his wrist was a leather cuff bracelet with small studs.
Njada wore her platinum blond hair in a fauxhawk. She had a black wife-beater, zippered camouflage hoodie, and tan cargo pants with combat boots. She had two piercings in one ear but none in the other.
Ria seemed to be very peppy. She had an olive complexion and dark brown hair, which was cut into a shoulder-length bob. She wore a black Rolling Stones t-shirt and khaki cargo pants and combat boots.
Torvar appeared kind of slovenly, and a tad lethargic. He had messy, shaggy blond hair and unkempt stubble, a grey hoodie, a black t-shirt underneath, blue jeans and black sneakers.
Kodlak had a more professional appearance. He wore a white dress shirt with sleeves rolled to his elbows, dress jeans, and his long white hair neatly slicked back. His bushy beard appeared to be neat as well.
"Hello, child..." Kodlak said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Crystal..."
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Whitemane..." Crystal said.
"Please, dear girl..." Kodlak introduced himself with a friendly smile, "... call me Kodlak..."
"Very well, then, Kodlak..." Crystal responded, a tad nervous.
"You're not one for social situations like this, are you?" Kodlak mused. "You're used to the peace and quiet of solitude, refuge from the hustle and bustle of a loud world... I know the feeling... I am an introvert myself..."
Crystal smiled, feeling a little relieved.
"Oh shit..." Njada muttered. "Silver-Digger's here..."
"That's Silver-Blood to you, Dibella's misfits..." A young woman retorted, narrowing her eyes at the group. "Betrid Silver-Blood to be exact..."
Betrid's eyes finally zeroed in on Crystal.
"You there, ugly, with the shabby clothes..." She said in a stuck-up tone. "Are you some of the new blood here? Hmm?"
"Her name is Crystal, and you'll leave her be, Bitch-rid...!" Njada said, imitating the stuck up tone Betrid used on Crystal.
"Haughty hearts often break the most when they fall, Betrid..." Kodlak advised.
"Don't tell me what to do, old man..." Betrid retorted as she sashayed away, but not before winking at Farkas, eliciting a shudder of disgust from him.
"I don't trust that woman..." Farkas muttered.
"Your instincts are right, Farkas..." Kodlak said to him.
Crystal was silent, shaking. Betrid's words cut her pretty badly.
"What fucking beef has she got with Crystal?" Njada muttered.
"I agree..." Ria said. She continued, "Crystal's got that feeling of just being innocent in that... Hey, are you okay?"
Ria had just noticed Crystal trying to hide her tears. Farkas instinctively wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. This elicited an angry glare from Betrid as she sashayed away.
"Don't listen to her..." Farkas said. "She's jealous... You're a lot prettier... And nicer..."
Crystal blushed at hearing Farkas call her "pretty". She looked up at him, her shy blue eyes facing his kind grey eyes.
"Oooooh...!" Torvar uttered. "Someone's got a crush..."
Farkas heard the remark and blushed a bit, as did Crystal.
"So, uhh..." Farkas started. "Do you want to come to our party tonight? It's at Jorvasskr House... I can bring you there..."
"O-okay..."Crystal nodded.