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 Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 4:07 pm
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It was still snowing, somehow, and Gretchen was out trying to enjoy the white powder while the weather remained for it. They lived on a tropical island, chilly temperatures were not just unusual here, they were unheard of. The only thing that let the snow fall on Deus was the influx of Fear that surrounded the island, and even then, it didn't happen often. It was like a little slice of the home she'd given up to come here. A glimpse of simpler things. She wondered, as she sipped her hot chocolate, if this was similar to the place Isaac had lived before he'd come here.
She'd just finished a mountain of paperwork, mission reports, mainly, and now she had the remained her of the afternoon to herself. She intended to take a walk around the training field, maybe circle around to cut along the beach, though she wasn't sure how far she'd make it, not with Devika hissing viciously at the back of her mind.
(You have no focussssss.)
Gretchen snorted, brows creasing slightly before smoothing again. My focus is fine. I'm allowed a little time to myself.
(You take plenty of time for yourself! You and that Nordic buffoon.)
You leave him out of it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:10 am
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The basement, he decided, was a most egregious step down in terms of Lexington's prior living arrangements. He did not consider his small Aachen apartment as a luxury affair, especially since the window sill often leaked and the back wall looked like it yearned for the ground, but at least he didn't suffer bedroom pipes thumping and banging overhead every time someone turned the sink on in the night. The place looked abnormally bare compared to what he had at his old residence, and the escorts who brought him here offered very little time to pack his bags. He counted himself lucky that he managed clothes and half a pack of cigarettes.
Which, due to the day's stressors, dwindled down to a single cancer stick. Lexington pursed the next casualty between his lips while he started up the groaning basement steps and exited out into the world of eye-searing diffused sun. New snow compounded the situation by reflecting all the brilliance back at him, offering two fronts to the same headache-inducing war. With a groan, Lexington lit up with a half-empty Bic lighter. The wind tried to snuff it out.
Ensconced in a sweater and jacket combo, he considered it safe enough to wander about and stretch his legs without accidentally freezing them off. Off to his right, he noted some dark-haired girl sitting iwth her hot chocolate but he paid her little heed; he needed cigarette time, not face time.
Really, he never needed face time.
"Oh come now, have a chat. Make a friend. Or do you think you can conquer this world all on your lonesome, Lexington?"
He glanced at the sterling armor that clung to his fingers. "I'm going to need more ******** cigarettes," he returned with smoke. "And I'm not interested in making any friends. Stop nagging me about it."
beebubbles i don't actually know what i'm doing but let's pretend i do
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:28 am
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It wasn't the crunch of snow beneath his boots that pulled Gretchen's attention from her steaming to-go mug, but the murmur of a voice. Curiously, she'd look, and when she realized who, or rather what, it was he'd been talking to, she chuckled softly. "Takes a while to get used to, don't it?" She drawled out in a chipper tone, flashing a grin at him as she half turned on the bench to face him.
Having been there for over a year now, she was familiar enough with the faces around the island to know when a new one appeared, and this guy was new. Really, really new, by the looks of him. There was that vague deer-caught-in-headlights air about him, like he wasn't sure where he wanted to go, and didn't know how to get there. It made her wonder how long he'd been out of the pod.
"You can talk to'em in your head, you know." He probably did, but on the chance he hadn't figured that out yet, she figured it couldn't hurt to offer that bit of advice.
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:46 am
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Lexington halted at the sound of a voice, and his attention snapped back to the girl he thought he passed earlier. Judging by their distance, he didn't get as far as he thought before his damnable weapon snuck into his mind.
"Careful, now. I'm your livelihood, remember?
"Will you —" Lex bit his tongue, and rerouted the message mentally. Will you shut the ******** up? The last thing I need right now is some piece of scrap metal prying into my brain.
"Oh, so touchy this morning. You'll learn respect, my child, or you won't last long here. Why don't you try with her? See if you can warm her heart with a little kindness."
"Sanks," he added in little more than a grunt. Fingers flexed in the pockets of his heavy jacket. No regrets, it read on the back, adorned in skulls, roses, and a brilliant dagger. The restless hunter turned in place, seeking out the beleaguered sun beneath the cloudcover. "Christmas passed, and zen zis. Here I am, spending New Years wis' some disembodied voice, a depressing number of cigarettes, and a room zat clanks and bangs every time someone washes zeir hands. It better get easier.
"It will when you make an effort."
"How long haf' you been here? You can't… Actually hear her talk, yes? How do you call zem - weapons?" Nomenclature and internal sabotage proved his first great hurdles to overcome.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:36 am
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Gretchen as all sunshine and smiles. Kindness radiated off her in waves, as if there wasn't a thing in the world that could have dampened her mood or dimmed that bright grin. "It gets better," she offered easily, before apparently thinking better of it. "Well, you get used to it, and things get easier." They had for her, at least. Especially after she'd made friends with Isaac and Chel.
"And, I can't hear her." She had her own pushy, opinionated partner to worry about.
Gretchen hopped off the bench, steaming cup lifting to her lips again as she walked towards him, gait a touch unusual, but the cause not immediately obvious given the long pants she was wearing. "I've been here over a year." Exactly how long, she couldn't remember.
Another grim, and she offered her hand. "I'm Gretchen, Death trainee."
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:47 am
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"Perfekt. So I just look like I'm ******** psychotic." He'd smoke to that. Evidently his weaponized companion sought not to respond to her comment, and Lex relaxed somewhat for it. The cigarette's height drew up short much too quickly; he didn't want to light another off the end just to stave off his insecurities for another ten minutes. New places often left him in an anxious, combative state.
While he watched her walk toward him, he offered no comment on it. He looked to her hand before he shook it; her fingers appeared unmolested by dirt, grease, and bathroom sewage. Good enough, he decided, and shook her hand. "Lexington. Yes like ze place, no I don't have a sibling named Concorde." He disliked that particular piece of American history for how often it stalked him.
"Most of what I'f gotten from being here is zat I'm to stay in a literal shithole, and zat ze goal is to learn to murder ze sings zat want to terrorise us. And I'm supposed to use zis weapon for it, instead of somesing more practical — like a handgun, or maybe some hand grenades. Is zat really ze gist of it? Is zere more going on here?" Lex's hand retreated to his pocket, and he looked toward the horizon with a bleakness that illustrated his aversion to sunlight and daytime.
"And what do you do in Deat'? I sink I'm part of…" He paused, glancing down at his coat. "Squiggles."
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:47 pm
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"Naw, I think we've all done it a time 'er two right in the beginnin'." Her handshake was light, but sure of itself, lingering a second or two longer than Lexington would have liked, probably. At the references he provided with his name she just smiled back at him, and it wasn't clear at a glance if she'd made the connection before he provided it, or only after. Either way, it didn't seem he was keen on it, so she wasn't going to tease him about it.
She was to nice for that.
Squiggle had her glancing down at his coat, and she had to chuckle. "Mist." Oh yes, he was very new. "The jack-of-all-trades division.
"As for your weapon, we don't have any control over what it'll be. They chose us." Unfortunately. "But they aren't just a physical weapon." Gretchen gave a her cup a little wiggle, listening to the little bit of cocoa slosh around inside. After a moment of contemplation she side stepped to toss it in a bin, then turned back to face him again. "They're also a shield of sorts. They provide like, an invisible barrier, it makes you impervious to physical attacks." Another chuckle. "Well, for as long as it lasts, at least."
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:58 pm
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"Yes, right. Mist." Like he was going to remember that; the whorls looked more like smoke or veins than an indication of mist. All he knew was Zeke had the same coat, which meant they may likely run into each other more often than Lex would prefer. "I guess I'll be paying more attention to coat designs from now on." Assuking he wanted to commit to learning who was in what division.
Which was probably a worthwhile endeavor, if Lex could focus past the impending nic fits.
Gretchen provided further useful information, he found, after he took a minute to parse through the accent. Most of what she said sounded closer to recitations of Jabberwocky, which he accredited to her accent. "So zey're supposed to be a shield?" The urumi materialized in palm, and he looked it over for a long moment. The bending blades offered no overt signs of shielding in any sort, and if there was a way to change its form, Lexington knew nothing of it. "So right now zere's also an invisible barrier? So if you tried to slap ze s**t out of me you wouldn't get very far, yes?" He withdrew the last of his cigarette and dropped it to the floor for a quick stubbing. "And what do you mean by 'as long as it lasts'? How would I even tell if it stops? It's not like I can look at it."
Lex peered at her then, and wrinkled his brow. "You're not having me on, are you? I'f heard some fantastical s**t since I'f gotten here, and my trainer is all rainbows and bullshit about zis."
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 7:08 pm
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She nodded at his question, though her gaze did drop to the weapon that appeared in his hand. It wasn't anything she'd ever seen before, and looking at the floppy blades, she wasn't entirely sure how one would go about using it. She wanted to ask, but as new as he was, he likely wasn't sure what it was himself. There was probably a database somewhere, she could always look it up later, if she remembered.
"Exactly," she grinned, chuckling. "We're harder to hurt, it's one of the perks of bein' what we are. So long as you've got your weapon with you, even as a totem, they'll keep you safe. Up to a point." The last came with a small shrug.
"It's kinda hard to explain, but I could show you, if you think you're up to it." There was something challenging in that offer, in the twinkle in honey brow eyes. She gestured with one gloved hand towards the training field itself, her bo staff materializing in the other, purple runes flaring briefly before dimming into a steady glow.
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Beejoux rolled 2 8-sided dice:
3, 2
Total: 5 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 7:38 pm
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She remembered being this new. When her weapon felt completely foreign in her hands, and she hadn't had a ******** clue what to do with it. The first few months had been spent blundering through, using the staff more like an overly long club, rather than it's intended use. Devika's constant harassment, the berating, She'd hated it. On the other hand, without the constant verbal abuse by the naga, would she have ever had the initiative to learn how to handle her weapon properly?
Hard to say. Certainly missions helped. Those hard, painful lessons. But would they have been enough?
On the field, she gave the staff a lazy spin, bringing it up over her head, then down at her side. "Alright then. I'm gunna come at'ya. Just remember, I'm not gunna be able to do much damage."
She moved, and to him, not yet used to a hunters advanced speed, it would probably come as a bit of a shock. (And Gretchen wasn't even among the quickest in their ranks. Far from it, in fact.) The Staff came up in a diagonal arch, the blunt end of it sweeping around for a body shot.
HP: 40
DMG: -
CHG: 0/3
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Strickenized rolled 2 8-sided dice:
2, 7
Total: 9 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 7:53 pm
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Lexington's heart raced with the prospect of an impending fight; even given his irreverence in regular life, Lex hardly found himself on the receiving end of a fight. Now he accepted one from a simple offer, and faced off against a woman wit a viable weapon in her hands - a bo staff. He recognized the damage they could do from a few idle channel surfs late at night, where old martial arts movies often reigned at the midnight hour. Here stood someone with enough dexterity to wield a bo staff, and while she may not be the next Bruce Lee in her efforts, she certainly held more skill with her weapon than he.
She swept at him, and while Lex intended to trust the invisible shield, instinct disallowed it - the steps backwards were many, and he nearly stumbled over his own blades, but Lex circumvented the attack with the aftercurrent stirring his hair into a mess. "Sorry," he offered in exchange. "I'm not sure I trust zis idea of an invisible shield. At least, not wis' zis weapon."
Which, conversely, he could test hers - Lex turned the foreign weapon in his hand and swept outward with it, expecting the arc to swing wide. It whipped in the full motion, however, and the blades wrapped about to strike at his clothing and catch him in light marks across the back of his arm. He cursed lowly, and he squeezed the back of his elbow where the cuts stung the most. "What ze ******** am I supposed to do wis' zis sing," he half-asked to Gretchen and half to the weapon itself. Malicious proved enthused.
"You're a smart one, Lexington. I have faith in you. Dazzle me with your brilliance. Figure it out on your own."
HP: 40
DMG: 3
CHG: 1/3
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Beejoux rolled 2 8-sided dice:
3, 3
Total: 6 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:15 pm
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She couldn't help but laugh as he jerked away from the blow, but there was nothing malicious in it. "I'd be surprised if you hadn't flinched a bit." Taking it on faith that getting hit with the business end of a serious weapon wasn't going to cause serious damage, or death? There weren't many folks around that could do that. Not sane ones.
He attempted a retaliation with the foreign weapon, and slowed in her advance, watching warily as the blades looped and curled around him, biting and slicing, before whipping out to catch her in the arm she threw up to protect her face. The long, thin blades were sharp, and she felt the sting as they nipped at her shield.
"You're guess is as good as mine," she answered haplessly, a note of apology in her voice. "Try again."
She'd let him have another go at it, see if taking the immediate pressure off would make it a little easier.
HP: 37
DMG: derp
CHG: derp
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Strickenized rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 5
Total: 9 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:26 pm
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He frowned at his weapon, and struggled with determining a method of attack. The blades proved long and pliable, but not in the way of any weapon he ever knew. Lex found it similar to waving around a scrap of sheet metal and expecting a deadly weapon out of it. Was Malicious serious? He was actually supposed to use her without a single scrap of guidance? If you keep at this, what do you think will happen? I'll be dead and you'll be out of a partner. Am i supposed to throw it like a whip?
"Ah, there's the spark I saw in you."
This time, Lex chanced a cracking motion, and while he did not receive the telltale striking sound he expected, the blades clattered to the ground instead of swinging back into him. A minor improvement, he thought, even if the attempted strike fizzled in its execution.
"So, is zere some way to get a different weapon?"
HP: 40/40
DMG: 3
CHG: 2/3
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Beejoux rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 3
Total: 7 (2-16)
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:31 pm
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Well that seemed a little more controlled, at least. Stung about the same, on Gretchen's end, but it didn't look as though Lex got himself half as badly as last time.
"Ah." Was there? Devika hissed furiously, and Gretchen offered a quick shake of her head. "No, not that I'm aware of." If there had been, the Death was sure she'd have known about it by now. Her own partnership wasn't exactly a match made in heaven. "Sorry."
(If you do not ssssstop talking so much and focusssss, this fresh hatched boil with beat you.)
Sorry! I don't want to overwhelm him...
(Attack, you uselesssss ghoul!)
She did, flinching slightly at the verbal lashing, and though she hit, it was a glancing blow at best.
HP: 34
DMG: 1
CHG: 1/3
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