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 Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:55 pm
The last time Gale had seen the Death Hunter (he had a habit of referring to him as a Death Eater at sporadic times, at least in his head - originally being from the country that had produced Harry Potter often made Gale's mind work in mysterious ways), Caelius had been when he was lying in a hospital bed with the division leader reprimanding him for being "incompetent" during the first failed mission and leaving out crucial information. The time before that he was lifting the scythe to deliver the final blow to a - whatever it was - deep in the heart of the Sahara desert.
Needless to say, Gale's experiences with the leader of the Death squad had not exactly been pleasant.
But despite that, despite knowing that he would most likely get nothing from Caelius but more questions and irritation, he was still determined to do what he wanted.
Namely go and find the scythe wielder and figure out what exactly had happened to Benjamin Summers.
<< This is a death sentence, you realize. >> said Jinhai mildly, sounding faintly amused and simultaneously exasperated.
Yep. But this is what I'm doing, regardless.
After asking questions of many startled looking hunters along the way who quickly scurried out of his path once they had heard of who he was looking for, Gale found Caelius in the same place he always was - the conference room.
It took him a moment, but after screwing up his confidence and straightening his shoulders, Gale pressed his lips together in a grim line and knocked on the door.
"Sir. I'd like to speak to you, if you don't mind."
He would mind, most definitely, but that was beside the point.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:20 pm
Caelius looked up from his desk, eyes wide and caring. "Oh, Gale," He muttered, looking very aghast with himself, "You look so horrible. Come here, you poor poor child. Let me give you a hug and some warm cocoa and make things better. I am so sorry for everything."
Sadly, this was not how things rolled, though Deus would probably be much happier, joyful place in general. Unfortunately, the reality went something like:
Caelius did not even bother to look up from his diagrams, despite the knocking and the intruding presence. It was something of a miracle that the Death Hunter had not thought to simply just find another location at this point. What seemed like a minute ticked by in silence. "Yes, I do mind, trainee."
Another minute, which was supposed to be a cue for 'you can leave now'.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:34 pm
It was a good thing that Gale had not expected any sort of warm fuzzies from the Death Hunter, since all he got was a disgruntled expression and a disgusted "Yes, I do mind."
Which was exactly what Gale had thought would happen, so it didn't deter him in the slightest. It might have made him sigh internally with a vague sense of exasperation and irritation, however.
He came in anyway and closed the door behind him with a click. Considering that, even with his promotion, this might be his only chance to ask what he wanted, it was now or never.
<< Leaping into the fire now, are we? >>
Might as well. Gale stepped up to the table, hands folded behind his back.
"Sir, I want to ask about Benjamin Summers."
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:11 pm
Caelius did not even so much as flinch at the sound of that name, though there might have been an eyebrow twitch of annoyance when Gale closed the door behind him. He despised those kind of talks, where trainees thought they could actually come in, sit down, and have some sort of conversation with a Council leader.
"He is dead trainee. I am under the impression that you witnessed his death. So yes, congratulations, I have no Death Hunter assistant." The Death Hunter leader continued writing as he talked.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:36 pm
Gale had not been expecting some sort of cathartic, heart to heart talk where they sat around and discussed feelings - nor did he particularly want it anyway. What he did want were answers.
Whether or not he would actually get them? Entirely different story.
"I'm aware of that, sir," said Gale coolly, still standing stiffly beside the table. This was going to be a difficult task regardless, but the fact that Caelius was not even looking at him made him irritated.
<< Don't show it. >> warned Jinhai, a low hiss in his ear.
I'm not. I expected less than this, so we're already doing better than I had hoped.
<< Don't count on getting anything clear from him. >>
Nada.
"I want to know what that mission was about," continued Gale. "What that thing was. And if that...body that you pulled out at the end, if that was Ben."
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:48 am
Headache incoming in 3... 2... Internally, Caelius was just slightly monologuing to himself. Not as bad as, certain ******** crazy Life Hunter division leaders per se, but it was getting there. At least he had not yet regressed to the point where all work could be ignored for something that basically amounted to either several years in jail for teenage molestation or a really horrible attempt at role play. Everyone wanted to know what that mission was really about, himself included. But did the Death Hunter sit around and hope that answers would pop out of someone else's mouth instead of searching for them?
"Gale." Caelius finally managed, trying to keep his irritation and thus self monologuing in check, "You are a trainee in the Death Division. While I do not have high expectations for any of you, I had hoped that you at least had a shred of self preservation. And if not even that, at least a some common sense. So next time, before you bother to ask these questions, take a ******** second to ask yourself if you already know the answer. Sometimes, just sometimes, not all answers come at once."
While the Death Hunter division leader had not yet dismissed Gale, he was teetering very close to the edge of doing so. Not to mention, if one thought about it, Caelius had not really answered anything at all.
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:03 pm
"I'm quite aware of that - " There was a small pause. " - sir. I know what the Death Division does. I am capable of doing what is asked of me and what is implied of me because of this."
There was a near one hundred percent chance that Caelius would disagree with this with either an incredibly skeptical look or a disdainful one, but Gale said it anyway, and then continued, still standing calmly beside the division leader.
"I know I wasn't supposed to go on that mission, sir. I know that I was under probation and that I should have said no when he asked me."
Admitting that he had made mistakes was not hard; admitting that he had made that particular mistake, the one that had cost him so much, took every ounce of Gale's self control.
<< Slow and steady. >>
"I know I don't deserve anything," said Gale, his voice wavering just the smallest amount, barely audible - tense and clear. "But I still want to know at least what Ben was looking for in the Sahara the first place. If you don't know, then fine, just tell me that. But if you do, maybe you could at least point me in the right direction."
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 11:29 am
"If you are so interested in asking me obvious questions then perhaps you should consider some research." Caelius raised his voice to cut off any lingering remarks from the trainee. "Even if I knew exactly why I assigned the team to the mission, and exactly why you incompetents <******** it up, it still does not mean that you have the right to question my orders. Running in blind, if you are lucky, will grant you a slightly less painful death, whether or I wish so or not."
Something was literally flung towards Gale, catching the trainee off guard. It was a book that read in simple letters that did not really match the illustration on the cover "The Little Scareling Primer".
Caelius looked at Gale with an expression just one notch above outright derision. "I hope this level of reading content is not beyond your outstanding intelligence. So far, Gale, your promotion has given me nothing but disappointment. It is usually standard protocol for those in our division to ask me questions only when they know more than half the answers. If Ben was actually ******** standing here, I am sure he would not disagree."
All that the Death Hunter leader really needed to say at this point was a "you should know better" to really, put the icing on the cake.
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 11:57 am
Caelius certainly did not mince words - that much was blatantly obvious. The unspoken "you should know better" might as well have been said, since it was practically screamed anyway. Gale, however, still managed to not flinch - miracle of miracles.
He caught the book, but just barely, staggering back a step, his fingers grappling to not drop whatever it was. Turning it over, he read the cover.
The Little Scareling Primer.
...what the bloody he -
<< A Halloween book. >> said Jinhai. << I recognize that. >>
Gale's hands clenched around the book. He hadn't been questioning Caelius' motives, but the other would never believe him otherwise, so he said nothing, instead standing mutely and listening to the insults and degrading remarks with as much pride as he could manage.
Fine, then. He wants me to do research? I'll do research.
His fingers tightened. "My promotion won't disappoint you," said Gale icily, drawing up as much force as he could without yelling, his voice still level and calm. A small smirk had appeared without really intending it to. "I will make you think otherwise - even if you'll never admit it."
Taking a step back, he ducked his head in a gesture of respect towards his squad leader, and then made his way towards the door. He stopped at the way, however, turning back to look at Caelius over his shoulder.
"I'm a damn good Hunter, and I'll prove it."
Then he hastily exited the room before Caelius decided to throw his scythe at him.
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