|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 4:04 pm
For about a day after getting back from his first mission, Tedan managed to hold it in. All the questions, all the uncertainties and yes, fears about this new life of his. Eventually, though, he ended up pacing back and forth in his room, muttering to himself under his breath for nearly an hour. Finally, even placid Ardavan got tired of it.
Tedan stopped pacing. Yea that ... might work. She'd been just as grossed out and freaked out about the bodies as a lot of them had. Plus, she seemed more approachable than the Death Hunter. Two points in her favor already, in his book.
What? His phone...? Frowning, Tedan plucked the thing up off the bed where he'd tossed it earlier and started thumbing through the contact list. Oh. Well, wasn't that nice and convenient, everyone else's numbers were already pre-programmed. Thinking for a moment, Tedan then typed out a quick text message and sent it off.
Text Message hey sorry to sorta poke at you out of the blue but i was wondering if i could meet you somewhere to ask some questions about that mission? outside the dorms maybe?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 4:25 pm
Post confirmation that yes, it would indeed be okay for her to meet up outside the dorms with Tedan, the wait for the trainee to actually confront Julie took almost another half an hour.
At last, when it pretty much seemed like Tedan was engaging in trainee dorm centry duty, the Moon Hunter showed up, wearing what seemed like a white apron over her Hunter coat. "Sorry, sorry about the wait, I was cooking and I forgot to set the oven timer and oh, I knew that I should have put in the cheese before the meatballs." She wringed her hands on her apron as that particular train of through crossed her mind, a look of pure agony crossing her face. Pure cooking agony.
Thankfully, she recomposed herself, just slightly, hands still choking her apron. "So ah, what kind of questions are you looking for um - Steve, was that your name? - you do realize, some questions are on restricted access even to myself."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:42 am
By the time Tedan had been standing around for that long, he was about ready to give up on the whole damn idea. He'd pulled out his phone about twenty times wondering if he should send another text, a reminder, an 'are you alive?', anything. But then he always just ended up sticking it back in his pocket. Sure, Julie had seemed fairly normal on the mission but who was to say she didn't have some huge weapon she'd smack him in the face for if he bothered her too much?
Sticking hands in his pockets, he was just about to head back inside, when she finally showed up. Wearing an apron. Okaaayyy then. "Oh uh. Sorry to interrupt you then," Tedan replied to her cooking tirade, a bit awkwardly. What were you supposed to say to that, anyway?
Thankfully, she seemed to drop the subject after a moment, though. "I'm Tedan ... and uhm. I guess basically, to boil it down to a single sentence. I don't want to ever end up like that .... guy. Back there. I dunno if he was a good Hunter or whatever, but I want to be ... better? Faster, something. Pretty much whatever I need to do to be the best so I never get .... eaten." Or whatever had happened. Didn't know, didn't really WANT to know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:53 pm
"Yes, Ste- err Tedan that is, I totally meant to say that." The Moon Hunter nodded absently and patted down her apron, looking for something before she stopped. "That guy?" She really had no clue what guy he meant. But if he was pairing past tense verbs up with 'that guy', maybe he meant-
- "Urk." And then she felt sick all over again, the entire Sahara caged behemoth devouring one of her fellow Hunters just hadn't sat well with her all day. Though in a Hunter's short life span, they experienced probably way too many of these, it did not mean she was prepared all the time. Quickly, she fished in her apron pockets again, finally finding what she was looking for, a small prescription bottle with the words "ANTI-ANXIETY DRUGS" written on the label and some fancy words underneath it. She dry swallowed two before pausing. "Would you like one too?"
Not waiting for them to say yes or no, the Moon Hunter pressed on. "Yes well, yes, I see, that can indeed be um, quite something for a trainee." Julie was just not very good at being evasive, period. "So ummmm if you want to not be 'that guy', have you tried signing up for less missions?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:34 pm
Tedan stared at the bottle of pills for a moment or two before shaking his head. "Nah, that's okay. And uh, I didn't exactly ... sign up for that one, I just got a message saying to show up," he muttered, sticking hands into his pockets. He wondered if this was a normal thing. And also, this whole deal with the pills, was that her answer to seeing s**t like that? Maybe ... he should have picked someone else to talk to.
"More like... I guess I'm saying how can I train to be really good at this stuff? Cause I mean. We're needed, right? To save the world and all that ... " Sort of.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:55 am
Julie blinked. Several times. And then slowly tilted her head to right, giving the odd impression of an owl - the medication seemed to have kicked in and she was looking at lot less jumpy at least. "Good at... saving the world?" Head tilt to the other side. "Did... Caelius give you another mission? Because if he did tell him I am not involved in that one, regardless of whatever he wants us to kill or... save the world from." She began to mutter to herself. "Saving the world, really, Caelius, is that what you're telling trainees now?"
Upon realizing that Tedan was not a figment of her imagination from making too many special brownies and then attempting to eat them in one sitting - though she did miss Mr. Wiggles, bless you Mr. Wiggles, wherever you were - and that he had asked in some form or another other questions, she tried her best to comply. Hunters were trainees once upon a time after all, so it was important to be nice to their future co-workers. "Yes, well you can always ignore the message to show up. You know, noone actually kills trainees or disobedient Hunters, that's kind of barbaric. But see, I feel that you're contradicting yourself, ah, if I can suggest so. You ask to become 'really good at this stuff', but at the same time, don't want to become 'that guy'. I'm afraid its a hand-in-hand deal here. You become stronger, but the stronger you become, the closer you embrace death. I'm afraid there is no good alternate solution, other than some tricks to prolong your ah, expiry date further."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:59 pm
.... Great, so, if he was understanding her right. Being really good meant that eventually he'd end up dead in some horrible manner. Likely killed by some kind of monster if everything he'd heard about these creatures that preyed on humans was true. Wonderful.
"Erm, no I don't have any other missions right now. But I didn't realize that being good meant getting myself killed. If that's how it is, then .... yea, what are these tricks you're talking about?" Maybe if he knew enough tricks he could just prolong things indefinitely. She still seemed to have a pretty bleak outlook on all of this, though. Dammit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:08 pm
"Tricks, you know," Julie replied rather glibly, "that practice makes perfect. Well, err, hopefully not mission practices with certain division leaders, those usually had an awful survival rate, but I'm talking about general practicing in Deus Ex Academy. Trying some of the training courses. Sparring with those weaker than you." She knitted her eyebrows as she tried to think of other examples from her trainee experience. "Crying a lot, going into fits of depression, and um, finding a coping mechanism. Anything really, that will take the edge off the fact that the turnover rate here is usually a lot less than ten years."
For someone who had basically said her expiry rate was due any second now, Julie sure was talking rather cheerfully. Then again, it seemed almost all the non-trainee Hunters had something extremely off about them. To each their own poison.
She blinked rapidly as she realized she had gotten carried away with the little details again. Ahh this is why she had no friends wasn't it? "I appreciate you coming to ask me Tedan, I really am enjoying our talk." Her voice took a lower tone as she suddenly looked at Tedan with half-lidded eyes. Wait a second, was she...? "I really do hope that in the future you will come and join me for more missions, I do get so lonely you know, and my missions are just so solo."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:09 pm
Was she .... coming onto him here? Uhm okay. Not that she was bad-looking or anything (not at ALL) but she was kind of. Weird. Tedan hadn't exactly met enough of the other non-trainees to get that they were all a bit off, so this was sort of starting to freak him out. How did someone who cried a lot and was that depressed even handle this job in the first place? ********, though. When a girl asks you on a date (EVEN A WEIRD ONE), you didn't say no. Nope, not ever. He offered her a sort of knowing smile in return and tilted head. "Well, if you want me to come along on some of your missions, all you gotta do is ask, you know..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:31 pm
Unfortunately, looks was not Julie's problem. It was more of her stellar off-duty (and occasionally on-duty) personality that fit the rest of the equation.
The Moon Hunter giggled - a high pitch giggle that might have burst some eardrums on worse off days - and then snorted. "Steve, you are just so adorable." She then proceeded to pet him, kind of like an owner with their favourite pet dog. In fact, very much like an owner with their favourite pet dog, delivering two little pats to Tedan's head.
"Consider it a deal then, Jack." Wait, who the heck was Jack? "I will call you, for the next mission. Moon Hunters and Sun Hunters are just so close to each other, it will be nice to have them work together mmmm... hmm...." The rest of the words were trailed off as she thought deeply about how to make this work. "Oh perfect! I know just the right sort of mission for you trainees. I'll give you a text tomorrow okay, Juano, it was really nice meeting your acquaintance."
She untied her apron, and for some reason, retied it to a messier knot before saying some words to herself - just a few excited mutters, mostly involving the words "mission", "cleaning supplies" and "butter" - and strolling along her merry way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:18 pm
Tedan blinked a bit at the petting. And at the whole 'Steve' thing. Then blinked yet more when she randomly switched to a couple of other completely random names. Some part of him felt like correcting her, but then again he got the distinct feeling it probably wouldn't do any good.
Whaaaaat had he gotten himself into here? ********. "Uhm, all right I'll be waiting then," he replied kind of awkwardly as she walked off, staring after her. Weird chick. Very weird.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
