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 Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:03 am
Cass had this sort of feeling strike her. Similar to when Aria had...implied what her other options were when Caelius spoke, telling them of their failure. They had encountered the enemy and made absolutely no progress for it. She'd only managed to shoot one -
Which is more than some people did Nicodemus chimed in her head, but she silenced him quickly. That had been..madness. She hadn't even thought about it. She hadn't hesitated, had she? They had encountered an evil that had thrown her life into a turmoil and she was getting a chance for revenge, but... why hadn't she done... better....?
What could she have done that would have been less of a disaster than all of that had been?
Caelius's scorn told Cass one thing;
"We need to go back inside." she murmured, seeming wound up just a bit. There were ghosts inside and she needed to make sure every one of them got what was coming to them. It needed to happen. She would make it happen. If not that day, she would do it eventually.
Getting rid of all ghosts was becoming her top priority.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:14 am
He didn't have time to even react - it took less than three seconds for Gale to find himself standing with a scythe curved against his neck, his head tilted upwards to stare into the murderous eyes of their instructor. Gale said nothing, however; though he could feel the metal hot against his skin.
He knew when he'd asked the question that he'd been treading on dangerous grounds, that he'd pushed the boundaries of what was allowed. But he also could not deny that he had done what was asked of him already - things had not gone the way they were have supposed to have gone, no, perhaps not. He'd been weak in that room with the female creatures; he'd been lax in his own abilities. Right here, right now, in this moment, however - Gale had followed every step given to him by their instructor, at least as well as he could have.
But now was not the time to debate this, to question - that much was clear enough, as clear as the weapon digging into his neck - that there would never be a time. He would do what was asked of him; that was it. That was why he was here.
<< Pick your battles. >>
Gale kept his mouth firmly shut. Caelius moved closer, pushing on the scythe harder, and Gale felt a sensation similar to a sharp paper cut slice across the skin of his neck. His eyes flickered, barely holding back the automatic desire to wince as something warm and wet slipped down his throat, pooling in his collarbone.
<< Kindly don't do anything stupid. I would rather not have to try and find another human. >>
Jinhai's voice was surprisingly calm, though there was the faintest hint of apprehension to it. Gale kept his face neutral, his reply was sent back to the rifle within his own thoughts.
I won't.
"Crystal," he replied, keeping the hunter's gaze until Caelius stepped back, the scythe disappearing with a wave of his hand. Gale could feel the blood against his skin, smell the acrid, coppery tang of it, but he did not lift his hand to wipe it away.
<< You idiot. >>
Shut up, Ginny.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:52 am
Petra had been in the middle of looking around for her bandages when she'd noticed Madison had looked over at her. It hadn't been really a 'seen' notice, like she'd looked over at her and happened to realize that the girl had also taken the time to look over. It had been more of a prickle across her skin, almost like that paranoid feeling you got that someone was watching you... except warmer than that. More of like that tickle when your hair brushed your arm when you weren't expecting it, or a cool breeze which shouldn't have given you that little chill, but did. For a second she hadn't known what to do with it, and the moon hunter in training had just gone still, staring at the ground for half a moment with a bewildered face before she turned to look over at the pretty girl, that mildly confused, furrowed brow never quite going away. Giving Maddie a questioning look, it was only after she'd processed that quick little smile that her concerned features began to smooth over. She'd never be as close to Madison or Ennea as they were to each other, but that little smile was enough to bring the slightest one of her own.
And then Caelius ruined it.
Reaching up to slide a strand of jet-black hair behind her ear, Petra's eyes lowered as the Master-Hunter seethed at them, focusing on nothing in particular about the burns on her leg. It was an old habit, something from a lifetime that certainly wasn't this one, and it showed, glaringly contradictory to her frigid, unconcerned personality. What it was that had sparked it, even she didn't know, but the hunter in training didn't look up even as the others tried to proclaim or defend their competence. Being the last of Phoenix to wake, the one with the most wounds (all of which were for foolish errors on her own part, and not one a true battle scar,) perhaps it was shame. She certainly seemed unbothered by the physical threat Caelius was asserting on a hunter trainee she didn't recognize.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:02 am
Relief flooded Robert the moment he'd realized Petra was waking up, but guilt followed shortly after when Caelius' outburst had them looking like failures. He ducked his head sheepishly, and solaced himself with the girl in his arms.
"Looks like we've got more work to do, sunshine." Robert breathed into her hair, before laughing. "A heroes work is never done."
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:09 am
Jerry, knowing how he had always preferred his own classroom, and all the military in the movies he had seen and what happened to those who smart talked, straightened the moment their superior had stormed out in front of them.
It had saved him being a bit flustered in front of the phoenixes as Candace hung off of him, at least. Not that he minded it- no, he rather liked it. It was a new sensation.
Disorganized? They had tossed them into this mad house saying this was a training mission. They expected them to know exactly what to do off the bat while telling them nothing and then reprimanding them for being new to the whole thing? He cast Harrison a sideways glance.
As Caelius went on, he let his hand drop down to his side, fingers brushing against Candace's before gingerly taking a hold. For his own nerves or for her's, it was unclear, but he liked to think it was a good gesture all the same.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:15 am
The Death Hunter narrowed his eyes at the small interruption - it seemed he was not a fan of reunions - the tension in the air was all but visible.
At last he turned around. "You are dismissed. Go recover as needed. When you are ready, and when the transport device is back up and running, you will return to your groups to continue the search, your pendants should be very much in tune with the Soul Harvester. There is no use wasting yourself like sitting ducks here."
As Caelius stormed off, one of the Hunter technicians, who was now doubling as a first aid helper, gave the trainees a wry look with his good eye. "You'll get used to it after a while," he grunted, shifting his uninjured hand to pull out more supplies, "It'll get better once he has other newbies to bother." OOC Your characters can continue resting for another 12 IC hours to recover their HP back to full. When they are ready the "transport device" is also ready for use, and they can EXIT OUT back to their group threads! - Hunters will probably be summoned later for events, but those will be doing ICly through events or the cell phone relay
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:32 am
Waiting until Caelius had made his exit, Clarice led the captive back to where the other hunters had congregated, holding a small metal box very carefully. "I have a small collection mission, for whichever team is up for it. Come talk to me when you're ready. Except for you," Clarice jabbed a finger toward Jerry and the rest of Team Unicorn. "Nothing personal, but I don't need erratic tempers around resources that are becoming increasingly limited, understand?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:06 am
Caelius rounded on Gale and Candace tensed, the sight of the scythe filling her with a rush of adrenaline that was both unsettling and absolutely amazing. She wanted it. She wanted to touch it, to hold it, to swing it all around and be its wielder. In no way was she unhappy with the weapon that had chosen her, completely the opposite, but Candace craved that euphoric sense of bliss she felt the last time she had held that scythe; it was like a recovering drug addict being presented a bag of cocaine, she wanted it so badly. She knew it was bad for her, but oh how she wanted it. Even when it was pressed so tightly against Gale's neck it left a thin line of red that trickled with fresh blood, she wanted it. Candace...CANDACE. Atropos' voice rang sharply in Candace's head and startled her back into reality, having apparently taken a step toward Caelius. She skittered back to where she had been. You need to forget about that scythe. I'm your partner now. I don't know what you and that scythe had in the past but...it's no good for you to dwell on it. Candace swallowed and nodded. Atropos was right, but it was just so hard.
Purple eyes followed Caelius as he circled them. A weapon of mass destruction? That explained a few things. They really needed to get that under control, then. But the reminder that they had lost their captives and their equipment made her wince. This was bad. They were so ******** unless they fixed things now. It wasn't their fault! It really wasn't! They didn't know. She clenched her fists tighter again until something brushed against one of them and held her hand. Candace flinched at first, purely out of surprise, looking down at her hand and following up the arm the other hand belonged to. Oh...Jerry. She wore a shadow of a smile and unclenched that one hand so she could slip white gloved fingers between Jerry's, giving his hand a squeeze and stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. Whether it was for her benefit or not that simple action did help calm her nerves some.
"We won't disappoint you again, sir." Candace replied to Caelius with firm determination. She refused to let herself fail again. As they were dismissed she nodded and sighed, visibly relaxing as the very angry man stormed off. The idea of staying did sound rather appealing.
...As did a change of uniform. "I think staying a little while would be a good idea. But uh, I don't know about you two," Candace looked to Jerry and then Harrison, picking at the corset she was wearing with the hand not holding desperately onto Jerry's for whatever comfort she could get out of him. "But I'm not exactly sure going back like this would be such a good idea. With how I need to fight..this is just screaming wardrobe malfunction." And while on her own Candace wouldn't have cared, just remembering how Jerry reacted to any small touch and here mere presence told her that covering up as much as she could would be the best option for her. She plucked the little tiara off her head and twirled it around one of her fingers like a ring, sighing and leaning to one side to make Harrison support her weight now.
Candace perked up again when Clarice offered up a side-mission for their training, looking ready to accept the offer until their group was singled out. Just. Their. Group.
...What?
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, looking mildly offended by Clarice's words. Nothing personal?! But...that...what?! But she had been doing so well keeping her irritation under wraps, hadn't she?! She thought she had..! And Harrison! Harrison was the calmest of them all! Was it...Jerry? Purple eyes darted quickly in his direction before turning back to Clarice, her mouth snapping closed and her lips pouted, narrowing her eyes. "Fine, fine. Is there anything else we can do instead?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:19 am
Noticing the pouty lips, Clarice refrained from making any sweet Candy remarks (just barely) and instead settled for, "Yeah, stop being such a damn eyesore. If your uniforms are well and truly gone, grab a robe from supplies before heading back in."
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:26 am
Candace's pout changed itself to a smirk, raising a brow and tilting her head. "An eyesore? Aw, someone sounds a little jealous." She teased, but took note of the suggestion. A robe? She could do a robe. It'd be difficult to fight in with its length but she'd manage somehow. "Thank you, Clarice." Candace added before letting go of Jerry and pushing off of Harrison to go in search of a robe that would fit her. She was being wary to stay out of Caelius' way and out of Dr. H's line of sight as it was, she didn't want to piss off any of the other seasoned hunters and technicians running around trying to clean up the mess.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 3:23 am
Despite the obvious danger Gale was in, her lips twitched subtly upwards at the figurative and literal 'point' being made by Caelius. The only thing stopping her from laughing at the pun was how terribly not funny it would be if their dearest superior loped off the head of their youngest group member... Or her head. Or anyone's head, for that matter - he didn't seem like he was in the mood to joke.
When Caelius withdrew his weapon, Ariane found herself relaxing slightly; her eyes lingered on Gale's neck, however, where blood was trickling out from the cut left behind by his scythe.
<Wishing that I was sharper and less round, ghouly?>
'Blunt weapons can't exactly pierce through anything... Although I guess being stuck with you hadn't been all that bad,' She slung her desummoned weapon back around her neck before adjusting her scarf, smirking at the thought.
<Hey hey, I was good at piercing certain things too! Hehehe...>
After he left them, she walked over to Gale, lowering herself to take a better look at the cut on his neck. After a moment, she paused before straightening up, "They say shallow cuts hurt the most... Better clean that up quickly." That was the closest to 'Glad you're okay' he would get from her, as her attention soon drifted over to Clarice.
"What sort of a collection mission?" She asked, eyeing the box in the hunter's hands, "I'm up for it if my team is not against it." She looked at her teammates in a 'What about it?' manner; they had already disappointed their organization too many times today - failure to capture four targets without help, failure to secure the prisoners, failure to protect base camp. She was getting a little disappointed with her own performance.
Perhaps Clarice's little mission could give them a chance at redeeming themselves.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 3:51 am
Jealous...really? The assistant decided to save that little comment for later consideration and focused on Ariane. Looking over the group, Clarice felt the need to clarify one point right off the bat. "Before you agree..." She held up a hand and the red pendant dropped from it. The red glow pulsed as it spun and dangled on it's chain. She was quite aware that at least two of the trainees would recognize it for what it was. She didn't bother completing her sentence but the question was obvious enough.
Can you handle this s**t?
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 6:10 am
Barth hovered nearby, looking extremely concerned. He watched as Clarice dangled the red pendant from her fingers.
--
Candace, who had been in a bad mood ever since they'd woken up (or maybe since the getting tortured thing), stormed off too. Harrison visibly loosened up the moment Caelius was gone.
He quirked a smile with one part of his mouth, clapping Jerry on the back. "Come on, Live-wire. Thanks just the same Clarice, but the house keeps taking off our clothes every time we go in there. I figure for me, overalls is about as good as anything else. Thanks uh...thanks for the wake up call." He pushed up his hat, rubbing his forehead. "-and the bandaid?"
It felt like a bandaid.
A little recovery sounded alright to him, he wasn't eager to charge back into the House any time soon.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:33 am
Madison swallowed, hard, as Caelius brought his scythe around with a swish, reminded all too well of the many times that scythe had gone swish right through someone's body. For an instant, her gaze flicked towards Candace before returning directly forward, deliberately not looking at Gale and Caelius at all. If he was going to bite it right here, right now, she did not want to be witness to it.
Her shoulders sagged with relief when the Death Hunter desummoned his scythe and stepped away; only then did she dare to look at him again. Their mission definitely wasn't over - in fact, it seemed like it may have only just begun. When Robert laughed she glanced back at him, a faint smile stealing over her own face again. They'd be able to do it... whatever it was.
Ariane stepped up to Clarice when volunteers were requested, so Madison turned back to the rest of Phoenix. "I guess we're gonna go back in, huh Boss?" she asked, looking at Jordan and then back at the house. It didn't seem as imposing now. Stupid thing. No better than at a carnival or something.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:47 am
Before certainly seemed to have taken his time in exiting the tent. Despite not having any reason to linger and all the more to see to his teammates who've been knocked out by that scream-chick, he was likely one of the last to emerge. Teal eyes watched and observed and it seemed like they all had things under control. Instinctively, he desummoned Vanna, lightly giving the bottlecap brooch a tap.
He saw Ariane talking to Clarice and he felt his heart flutter. Slightly. Oh yes, he remembered the assistant and her ******** weapon 833333 <3
Softly, Vanna snarled.
And then his eyes fell on the pendant. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD8!!!!!!!!
"BOSS!!! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!!!!" he shrieked, bounding towards her with ground devouring strides. Suddenly lunging forward, arms outstretched to grab for the pendant as if it were a grenade he needed to lob the ******** away.
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