The HunterName: Mercedes Lynn Chenoweth
Nicknames: None yet, though Hadjoc might call her Fleshy Tasty Thing
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Category: Mist - The group that does not have one specified role but fills in for everyone. A jack of all trades master of none group, they are usually asked to take missions from all four categories, but as a result do not get "specialized field" missions.
Personality: Mercedes is an inquisitive girl. She's neither totally serious nor overtly whimsical and can be relatively easy to approach. Having always been a hard worker at her design firm, she will take orders as they're given and tends to fret nervously if it's for someone she's not familiar with. Because of this she will deliberately avoid volunteering for tasks if she's certain she's not the best for the job.
After the death of her employer Mrs. Debevoise, Mercedes has developed a slight complex of keeping down people's names, taking pictures of them, and assuring herself that she has a visual record of those she's met. The fear that spawns from her is centered around what she's afraid to lose... rather than the things she doesn't know/mysterious beyond. This makes her a good pair with Hadjoc who repeatedly wishes to intimidate her despite being under her control. (see more on Hadjoc below)
Despite proper dislike for the kind of creatures that sent her boss into complete despair Mercedes tries to view her new line of work as neutrally as she can. It's a clear concept to her that light and dark should both exist... as long as the dark doesn't overstep its boundaries. One particular problem that Mercedes still cannot overcome is her need to question and reassess any decisions she has to make. Always looking for the right answer she will find herself searching hard enough for the right that it becomes wrong.
Outside of her work as a hunter, Mercedes still reflects on learning to become a designer. She adores bizarre fashion and likes to wear comfortable but fashionable clothing. Most of her life she was into non-technology reliant things so to her video games, computer science and digital pleasures are alien. This doesn't mean she won't try them though, she just prefers walks through the woods, sketching and painting pretty patterns in watercolor, and watching indie films. What a hipster.
Why did your human character choose to become a Hunter?
Stress at the Vispera Design Firm was no stranger to Miss Chenoweth. Day in and day out her life as a lowly intern involved running to get coffee, making prototypes on the dime on rare occasions, and taking phone calls for Mrs. Debevoise. The work had become so mundane that Mercedes was beginning to question her path in her career and whether or not it was something she wanted to do. Questioning everything she’d done was not out of her character. At times she'd considered it was more of a curse than a blessing and to do it now while she was in her prime? Simply terrible.
It was a busy week in October when things began to change for Mercedes Chenoweth. The vibe in the office was already like that of walking on eggshells but now even the tough-as-nails Mrs. Debevoise was beginning to show signs of wear.
“Where is Chenoweth, I was supposed to have that analysis printed five minutes ago!” barked the mistress from her lavish office.
Mercedes of course was within earshot only she’d been fighting with the printer as it repeatedly jammed after each print job tried to go through. “Gah, gremlins-“ she hissed angrily and kicked the machine with the side of her shoe. Noticing a quiver of darkness jetting out from behind the printer and into a crevice in the old building’s wall she curled her lips in disgust. Great now we have a rat problem… she thought to herself as she managed to yank out a few jammed papers now crinkled and smeared. Thank God they were still legible.
“Don’t fret Mrs. Debevoise, I have them right here, my mistake-“ Mercedes chimed as she entered the office pushing some hair out of her face. Always take responsibility in front of the mistress. Everything is your fault at crunch time whether it truthfully is or not.
The scowl on Mrs. Debevoise’s face was explicitly unpleasant. Mercedes had actually memorized this look: First she would chew her out until she’d leave the office, shut the door and the blinds, then reveal herself again with calm composure. After this step Debevoise would then approach the interns’ workstations and pass Mercedes with a pat on her shoulder. Just a pat, no words, no smile. Mercedes learned this was the best way she could show her gratitude and appreciated it all the more.
Only today that would not be happening. The first thing that Mercedes had noticed when she’d entered her boss’s office was that her lamps had remained off. The blinds had already been shut, a rare thing for the paranoid CEO to do without reason. She’d also caught a glimpse of Debevoise’s face. It looked as though she hadn’t slept in days, which was highly unlikely with her tight-knit schedule. Maybe this deadline was a very exclusive one? She knew that she was looking to expand the firm and possibly reach out overseas. Mercedes remained on standby not once sitting at her station. If there was something going on with Mrs. Debevoise it was best to remain completely and totally available.
Time passed and Mercedes approached her boss’s office with the intention of checking in. Not once did Debevoise step outside in the hours after she’d last seen her. Something was fishy about that and as mean of a lady as she could be, Mercedes did care about her (and the security of her job of course). “Mrs. Debevoise?” she asked while knocking on the door gently. No response. Mercedes gently pushed it open. There her boss sat staring at the wall which could only mean she’d hit a block in her plans.
“Mercedes… now is the time we return home~” she cooed whimsically to the intern.
“Excuse me ma’am?”
“He will lead the way. We leave in 6 more days. The plane will take us to the gateway where the birds will take your hand by the light of the green halogens-“
Now Mercedes was worried. “Mrs. Debevoise, are you alright, you look fatigued..” the intern moved beside her and gently brushed her arm. Whatever it was the contact seemed to shake her out of it.
“Mercedes why are you in here, shouldn’t you be making sure everyone’s up to speed?” she declared almost immediately. The exchange had grown awkward as Mercedes continued to stare at her boss blankly. Had she just forgotten everything she just said? Snap, snap- Mrs. Debevoise snapped her fingers in front of Mercedes face. “What are you getting paid for right now, I’m alright, go do your job!”
Mercedes fluttered her eyes momentarily, and rubbed her hair in confusion before turning and leaving the office. Nothing about that felt right at all to her. Deciding it was best to keep a watchful eye on her, Mercedes continued to observe her boss throughout the week until the final day of work, October 31st, rolled around.
The day had started off fine, in fact the mood was abnormally calm. Usually Mercedes arrived first but Mrs. Debevoise’s Mercedes Benz in the lot stuck out like a sore thumb. During that week leading up to Halloween plenty of people at the firm had begun to notice their employer’s change in appearance and behavior but nothing about it seemed exceptionally bizarre. Everyone but Mercedes seemed satisfied by their now haggard boss. Never one to get hysterical, Mercedes promptly left her car with the lights still on and fumbled around with her key to the building. Right now she had one priority and that was the safety of Mrs. Debevoise.
“Hello?” she called firmly into the lobby. Of course if she was in her office she would not be getting a response but instinctively Mercedes chose to patrol the ground floor before proceeding up. Had someone forgotten to set the thermostat? she thought to herself and reached to clamp her arms around herself. Even if they had October was chilly enough not to need the A/C roaring like it must have overnight. “Mrs. Debevoise are you alright? Can you hear me?” she called once more as she reached the second floor beyond the mod staircase. No response. “Mrs. Debevoise?” Once more the silence sent chills down Mercedes’ spine.
Please just be on the phone… please just be asleep something no.. Mercedes didn’t want to believe something was wrong but her gut told her otherwise. Every step closer to the door was like counting down until detonation. From the room she could feel the cold actively emitting producing goosebumps on her flesh. No. There definitely was something wrong and she absolutely had to gather up the courage to open that door be it at the wrath of Mrs. Debevoise or.. something worse.
Sprawled on the floor was the body of Mrs. Debevoise clean but putrid at the same time. Her eyes were rolled in and digits gnarled. It wasn’t riggormortis, she was still so… fresh. Mercedes cupped a hand to her mouth and felt her knees buckle beneath her. Her body lay between her and a dark figure that Mercedes simply couldn’t make out… but there was not a doubt in her mind that it wasn’t there. “B-Back off!” she snapped at the shadow. Mercedes scoffed not oblivious to the sneer it was throwing at her. “You think I can’t see you, BACK. OFF!” Now she stood, even with tears in her eyes and a terrified quiver in her body. “Whatever you are LEAVE! YOU DID THIS I KNOW YOU DID! LEAVE!”
Clearly the shadow was displeased by her defiance of fear. No… it could tell she was scared but any other fleshy human would have scurried away in terror. Pressing forwards it made a last ditch effort to leech the fear from either of their bodies but Mercedes brought her weight forwards. “NO.”
It leaned closer-
“NO!” she didn’t dare shut her eyes but she wished she could. She wished she wasn’t leaning over a corpse ether but her heart would not let her falter. Finally the shadow began to disintegrate but it wasn’t enough to satisfy Mercedes. Clamoring over to Mrs. Debevoise’s desk she grabbed the phone and dialed 911 frantically.
When the ambulance had arrived, a couple other employees had as well in response to the mass text Mercedes had sent. Explaining the situation was a challenge considering nobody would believe her about the shadow this she was sure of. Best to keep it clean cut, Mrs. Debevoise was dead by unknown means. Eventually the paramedics would take her body away and seal off the room as a crime scene. It was obvious by then that whatever had happened was internal. In a matter of days the firm would learn the autopsy results to be suicide by deliberate malnutrition and ultimately aided by an overdose of sleeping pills. To Mercedes this could mean a number of things- either the creature she’d seen had murdered her boss.. or convinced her to go off the deep end. Either way, the intern was completely dissatisfied with the rest of the firm’s ignorance. Perhaps it wasn’t ignorance though. Maybe she really was seeing things and of all people who needed help… it was her?
Mercedes refused to believe that any of this was just her imagination or some crazy one-time thing. All those times that printer messed up; that wasn’t just a coincidence. Nor the times when clients would find their feet torn out from beneath them. Mrs. Debevoise had experienced a several month-long legal battle when one of the highest names in the business slipped and broke his leg.
No. None of it was coincidence.
“Hello?” 3 days after the autopsy the firm finally re-opened with a temporary CEO in charge. Mercedes had been given a higher position in theory but remained low in command. Now she was answering more calls than before and arranging meetings for the temp’s daybook.
“Mercedes L. Chenoweth?” the voice responded on the phone.
Mercedes was stunned that they had called her by her full name. Surely that information was on their website… otherwise…
“I’m contacting you on behalf of a private organization that is seeking young and reliable subjects like yourself for a large project that may interest you. I believe you posted in a blog Sunday about your boss’s death. We are deeply sorry for your loss and hope that we can do what we can to console.” Naturally these were just words to hide a different interest. They did not want Mercedes for her degree. They wanted her for her gift.
After arranging a meeting that would follow the next evening Mercedes kept her hopes up that maybe she would be jumping on a new opportunity, one where she would be in a work environment that was free of deadly coincidences and shadows creeping behind the printer. She couldn’t be more wrong.
On the evening of their meeting, Mercedes was approached in a quiet café by a man in a white and gold trenchcoat, an awfully bright ensemble but in the fashion business this was not abnormal. He had a warm-colored scarf tucked in beneath it and smiled at her as he approached. He knew who she was and was prepared with every question that he needed to ask her.
Their interview consisted mostly of small talk and pseudo business language until most of the café had emptied out and Mercedes was beginning to scan the clock on her phone.
“Listen Mercedes I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t represent a design firm. I am not seeking you for a position. I am here to recruit you for a series of trials involving a talent that you may or may not have. Now please, tell me about how your boss died.”
The Weapon
Name: Hadjoc
Nicknames:
Type of Weapon: Dual Bowguns (A lighter variation of a crossbow. The arrows are smaller and would cause equal damage if only used together. Just incase this needs to be specified!)
- Long Range
Former species of weapon: Ravenmocker (Im going to stick with this for now rather than Skinwalker I think because Hadjoc like.. Really is a demon raven thing right I mean come on.)
Gender: Male
Personality: Like any Halloween creature forced into weaponhood, Hadjoc is eternally bitter about his position with Mercedes. He doesn't care for her much, though there are other hunters he would loathe being bonded to. Often Hadjoc speaks in reverse (a trait he held since before he was weaponized) as if it would irritate his master. Initially it threw Mercedes off guard but in time she would learn to understand it and use it to her advantage by using her superior intellect. All that Hadjoc ever seems to care about is food, flesh, food, eating halloween and human alike.
Though despite the lack of respect for one another, Mercedes is not bitter about her weapon. In fact she almost considers him a pet and would never mind meeting him in person (so long as she is still the dominant here). In time of turmoil Hadjoc is quite respondent for he would never get to taste delicious meat again without Mercedes.
Weapon Ability
- Tainted Fang
When charged, Hadjoc's arrows become heavy with a venom/aura that if successfully performed will leave the target feeling as though it is being picked at from the inside out, like ravens feasting on a carcass. (The type of pain is distinct though the effect is the same as any tainted fang attack)
Unsummoned Form: Either a feather extension (HIPSTR) or a small raven's skull on a necklace (HIPSTR AGAIN)
Physical Description:
A note to the artist, because I like surprises you have a lot of liberty with her aesthetics. Please feel free to do anything however you want, just as long as they kinda include some of the things below:
Eye Colour: Greyish brown
Hair Colour/Style: Pretty simple, thin and straight. Brownish dirty blonde brown
Skin Colour: A very gentle pale color but with plenty of pink and warm undertones
Clothing Style/Colours: Hood is preferred up. Coat design is free, not too long though, as short as the standards allow and maybe a bit longer if need be. Most of the design is up to the artist; just note that Mercedes looks towards practicality with her uniform. Long scarf and longer coat are less her style. Her scarf ends quite short (uhm despite the ref, I think I just lost the drawing of it really short uh... o_o)
Something this length: http://www.brooksbrothers.com/content/scarfknots/images/slipknot-scarf3.jpg (yay google!) See ref pics for color range
Under her uniform I want something pretty but practical so again, kinda just up to the artist. Think Bohemian though, for sure. She's also into weird fashion so just have a load of fun!
Extra: Please note her figure; she is flat chested so little to no indication of boobs would be great. Otherwise, she has a fairly average body type. Not too skinny I guess AUGH im so weird it wont matter Ill probably love whatever is done with her.
References:
Heres just some prototyping with Hadjoc and Mercedes. I just threw a Jean Paul Gaultier piece beside it because I really liked the palette and the PANTTSSS HOSHIT.
Basic doodlesketch of Hadjoc (with small palette references too)
