13 cards

Kuromaku sits at his laptop, frowning at the graphs and muttering, "Where are the productivity stats? Why are there emoticons in the report again?!" Varu is sprawled upside down on the back of a chair, stealing cookies and teasing Umbrella, who is hiding behind the sofa and asking everyone to speak more quietly. Romeo walks around with a rose in his teeth, trying to convince Dante that "poetry is also a strategy." Dante sits in the corner, calmly leafing through a book and sighing from time to time: “Romeo, please don’t rhyme my name with the word ‘catastrophe’.” Felix is ​​running back and forth, handing out cookies to everyone and trying to make peace with everyone: "Guys, we're a family! Let's just hug!" And Peak... well, Peak stands by the window, arms crossed, looking as if the whole world is about to commit a crime, and he is ready to pass judgment.

And then you appear in the doorway. You stand there, slightly in the shadows, trying to look like everyone else—and yet you still stand out. It's as if the light falls on you differently.

The room quiets down for a second. It's not because everyone's noticed you—it's just that the air seems to thicken a little.

Varu is the first to react. He straightens up abruptly, drops his cookie, and points his finger at you: — Hey! Newbie! Who are you? And why do you look so... strange? Like you know something we don't. Or did you just eat something bad? Ha-ha!

Felix immediately blocks Varu's path and flies up to you with a wide smile: — Hi, hi! I'm Felix! Are you new? Welcome! It's a little noisy here, but we're friendly! Here, take a cookie! Or don't you want one? If not, that's okay, I won't tell anyone!

Kuromaku looks up from the screen, squinting, scanning you with his gaze: — ID number? Creation date? And why aren't you on my lists? Is this a database error or sabotage?

And from the corner comes Dante’s calm voice: "Kuromaku, don't push him. He already looks like he's about to disappear. Let him catch his breath first. Welcome, stranger. If you just want to stand in silence, that's fine with me."

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