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 Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 3:02 am
x_Nata_x Text from: Unidentified There's more than one way to advance. Heard you might have the right kind of ambition. Pod Room @1400
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 9:41 pm
At the moment she had received the text, Petra was in the infirmary, sitting on an examiner's table. She would have also been nearly naked and in a hospital gown, if Robert had had his way, but considering this was an informal check up and there was absolutely no reason for her to be in a hospital gown in the first place, she had given him a firm stare that clearly expressed her disinclination to acquiesce.
As if they really needed another excuse to have sex in a public place. Especially his work place, where he was really happy, and would be really upset if they kicked him out of.
Her back perfectly straight, the death trainee watched her husband with an interested, albeit muted expression, her eyes following him around the room. He looked... amazing. Dressed from head to toe in scrubs, perhaps someone who didn't know him would have laughed, or seemed surprised that such a hulking man would be working in an infirmary at all. But for Petra, it just... made sense. And it was perfect. It was where he belonged; she could feel it in the way he moved around the place, so confident and in his element, like he was so in tune with it all it came as second nature to him. Where he had seemingly always had trouble fighting, here... she just couldn't describe it. She took him in like everything else, absorbing the little nuances, every detail, analyzing it all, and what she found was that her husband was happy. And so despite the fact that this was Life's domain, and despite the fact that the chance of running into H ran higher while she was in this general area (a fact that she could have spent her entire life NOT experiencing,) she was completely relaxed as she sat there, looking to all the world like an unfeeling robot... except to him.
The phone in her pocket buzzed once, the pale blue light flicking on to illuminate a square from within the pocket of her hunter coat, distracting her momentarily. Glancing down at the pocket, Petra slipped her hand inside to withdraw the phone, flicking it open and glancing at the screen before she flicked it closed again, a bewildered expression crossing her face for a second before she returned to watching Robert, putting the text, for the moment, out of her mind.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 11:59 pm
"And then, and then, I can like, listen to heart beats. I'm not a hundred percent sold on exactly what I'm listening for, but enough people let me try that I actually know what a normal heartbeat rhythm sounds like. Look, look this is my -" Robert stopped here, licked his lips, and focused really hard to say the word right. "Sssteth..o.. scope." Once said, he grinned and nodded, putting it on his ears and holding it out to her. "I'm gonna touch your boobies, now. So don't get too excited. Or do - then go put the paper gown on." He gave her one last, hopeful look, and then sighed in resignation. "All right, all right. Watch out, it's cold." He settled the stethoscope on her chest, and listened real hard. He really had no idea what he was listening for, he just knew that her heart rate sounded like most other people, and that was good enough for him. Except it didn't seem like that, seeing as he moved the stethoscope several times, sliding it under her shirt, and her breasts, and then the doing the same on the other side. All in the name of science, of course. He finally slid the stethoscope under her shirt to listen to her heart from the back, but everything sounded the same to him. He was looking forward to the day when he knew what he was listening for. Until then... he slid around and listened to her chest some more. "Okay okay OKAY." He pulled away, giggling like a naughty child, and pulled out the blood pressure machine. He wrapped the felt around her arm, and let the velcro stick into place, before pressing a button. "You remember when they used to do this s**t with like.. a stop watch or something? Like my old doctor just used to put his two fingers on my wrist and count. What the ******** was he even counting? I don't know." The machine beeped, after squeezing her arm tight, and he pulled it off. Pulling out another small device, he rolled it over her forehead. "********', modern technology. I just took your temperature. I don't get it. Mom used to shove s**t up my a** for that, now.." He pulled out a thin little handheld device, turned the light on the top, and touched her chin gently. "Say ahhh, sunshine." He would use the device to look at her tonsils for all of three seconds before abandoning the pretense entirely and sticking his tongue down her throat instead, barely managing not to pin her down on the hospital gurney while doing so. Was there a text? Like hell did he even notice. x_nata_x YOU KNOW I REALLY THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING SOMEWHERE HELPFUL FOR YOU...but then it didn't im sorry
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 7:29 pm
Petra listened quietly, taking a moment to glance down politely at the stethoscope in his hands, her eyes drawing back upward to his as he hooked it into his ears, holding up the round disk between his fingers. Naturally, she didn't seem to perturbed that his hands were going to be anywhere near her breasts, the slightest amusement flickering behind the deep blue of her gaze as he told her not to get too excited, although the mention of the paper gown brought her eyebrows together a little, scolding him with a skeptical look. And of course, he understood right away what it meant. She needn't have even gone that far... he could read her like a book. Straightening a little further as he stepped closer, the death trainee let him set the cool metal against her chest, making a sound which may have been the start of a chuckle under breath before she reached up to pull the top of her tanktop down a little, out of the way of his stethoscope, letting him put it against her bare skin.
And then she just watched. It was sweet, the way he tried really hard to listen to her heartbeat, making sure she was ok. And then of course he decided this was the perfect excuse to feel her up a bit, groping her 'discretely' for a bit before he finally decided it was time to be a responsible adult again. If Petra didn't know him like she did, she wouldn't have been sure that were even possible.
Offering him her arm, she waited patiently as he took her blood pressure, then her temperature, and then finally checked her throat, opening her mouth as she listened to him chat at her like he always did, not needing to reply or nod for him to know she was listening. It was only after that, when he looked like he was sorely tempted to use her mouth for other 'experiments' that she closed it again, cutting off his check up prematurely, extending her hand to offer him her cell phone, the text still up on the screen.
"Robert."
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 7:59 pm
Cockblocked. Robert whined like a child when Petra held the phone in front of his face. He tried to brush it away without looking at it, pursing his lips in an overdone smooching gesture - sound effects and all. But instead, he kissed the cold surface of the phone, and grumbled something about phones being terrible kissers before finally taking it to look at the message. All of the frivolity melted out of him in a heartbeat, and he stared at it suspiciously for a moment. But as quickly as it had come, his suspicion vanished. "Looks like somebody's finally noticed how ******** invaluable you are. Maybe you're up for an early promotion! Don't like the ********' pod rooms, though.." He started to carefully put all of his tools away. As he did so, he remained quiet, an uncharacteristic trait. Her silence was speaking to him, as it always did. He knew her questions without her ever having to say a word. When he finished putting all his stuff away, he turned back to her and sighed. "Yeah, I think you should go. But don't get into the pods unless you know exactly what you're gettin' into. Hopefully it's just some debriefing or something." His fingers reached out, brushing against her chin. "Be careful. I need you."
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 9:11 pm
This is what she loved about him. When he needed to be serious, he was; when she needed him to be her rock, someone to lean on, someone who could watch her back and know that she would watch his, he was there, completely unshakable.
There was a slight change in her expression that voiced that she didn't agree with what he'd said about an early promotion, nor that anyone thought of her as 'invaluable.' That likely could not be farther from the truth. Not one of the higher ups knew she was alive, she was certain, and the ones that did probably did not like her in the least. She wasn't exactly the likable sort. And while her entire goal in life was to be the perfect mindless killer, the death trainee didn't get the feeling that was promotion-worthy. No, she was sure there was something else going on.
Lifting her chin at his touch, she let her eyes slide closed for a second, enjoying the sensation of his fingers against her chin before she reopened them, a hint of concern lacing her gaze.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:08 pm
"I know." He whispered, reading into her expression like an open book. "Don't you know I'm scared of the same thing, too? Ain't nobody gets sent to the pod room for good things. Best case scenario is, they're trying to intimidate you. But most likely, you're goin' on a mission to the freak world." His eyebrows knit together, and his expression darkened with anger. He knew she could take care of herself. He really did. She went on missions without him all the time, he knew.. he knew.. "You want me to come with you?" He blurted it out anyway.
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:50 pm
She smiled -- a real, true smile that was so rare, he was the nearly the sole recipient -- and reached out to cup his jaw gently in hers, leaning forward a little off the examiners table to kiss the corner of his mouth. "I would love for you to come with me," she answered quietly, brushing her thumb along his jaw, feeling the stubble against her lips before she pulled back. There was a second, unspoken part to that statement, unspoken because they both knew what it was.
'But you know I need to go alone.'
Sliding off the table, she picked her phone back up, typing out a quick message to the sender before slipping it back in her pocket, turning towards the door.
"I'll be back soon."Lizbot Text to: Unidentified Meeting location confirmed.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 11:07 pm
Robert growled when she tried to pull away, after teasing him with the ghost of a kiss beside his lips. He jutted forward and stole her lips, pressing hard against them for the brief second she left him before she pulled away. It wasn't enough - well, it was never enough - but this time, somehow, it felt even less satisfying. He didn't know why, but she could tell, in his eyes, that he wasn't ready for her to go. And that he knew she had to, anyway. "Text me when you wake up." He muttered, in a way that sounded far more pleading than he meant it to be. He cleared his throat, and forced his expression to lighten. "I love you, sunshine."
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 12:24 am
Petra turned just before she stepped through the door to the infirmary, pausing there in the threshold to glance back at him. "I love you too, Bobby."
~~~
At 1345, the Intermediate Death trainee entered the pod room, not a hint of her previous uncertainty left in her cool, unyielding expression. As always, the pod room made her blood run cold as she swept her gaze over the countless glowing pill-shapes, the electrical whir of technology creating a gentle hum in the background. How many of these people would never awaken, it was impossible to say. Those who failed the entrance exam, that fight to the 'death' on the beach with the gas masks and hazmat suits. Even more impossible to say was how many hunters would never awaken, deemed to volatile, too dangerous to their cause, traitors or perhaps politically invested in just the wrong person...
They had both thought it, both she and Robert; it was a very real possibility that it was exactly for that reason she had been summoned to the room.
Turning away from the particular pod she had been staring at, Petra swept her gaze around the room once more, slowly, waiting patiently for the Unidentified to show themselves.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:01 pm
When Petra's eyes swept back there was a figure now awaiting beside one of the pods. It was a woman, of average height and normal build. Her dirty blond hair wasn't messy, but not exactly what one could call styled, either. Her eyes were a shade blue if you looked long enough to notice, but few would bother. She gave a bland smile, and greeted the intermediate in a voice that held the sort of perfectly moderated rise and fall that blends seamlessly into the background, "Hello, Petra, my name is Jane." Because of course it was. Jane was familiar in the way of someone passed in hallways and seen during missions, but not as someone worth noting or knowing. It's possible that she had been on a mission with Petra before, but it's also quite possible that it was someone else equally as unremarkable and utterly interchangeable with the woman standing here.
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 9:23 pm
To her credit, the death Trainee managed to keep the startled expression from her face, the only hint that the woman had put her off balance at all expressed in the way her pupils dilated, blown wide for a second before they narrowed again, like a mechanical aperture. It was only years of practice which kept the rest of her reactions in check, despite the sudden injection of adrenaline into her veins, remaining cool and collected. One of the earliest lessons she had learned at Deus, even before she even officially knew she had been enlisted, was not to show fear. Any reaction, in fact, was a weapon, knowledge that someone could use against you. And while she was undoubtedly, perhaps fanatically loyal to the Hunters, she didn't exclude them from this practice. In the sheer fact that she could move as silently, stealthily as she did, this woman was dangerous.
No one whose intentions were innocent didn't sneak around. Then again, those whose intentions were innocent didn't hide their every emotion either.
Shifting a little, slowly, to face the plain woman, Petra took the moment to assess her before she made any move to reply, midnight blue eyes sliding conspicuously over Jane's frame. What she found was nothing short of intriguing. For all her average features, Jane was truly remarkable, although not for the reasons many might consider. Jane was remarkable in the fact that she was completely, masterfully unremarkable. It could have easily been the Death Trainee over thinking, but she had a hunch that this was not by accident. It wasn't just the average height, the average weight. Average hair style, hair color, complexion. It was the way she held herself, benign enough that an aggressive person wouldn't feel threatened, but not timid enough they might be inclined to overstep any boundaries. It was the way she gave off absolutely no impression at all. Like Petra herself, she offered little in the way of emotions that could give her away, and yet she didn't retain the abrasiveness, the blatant difference that Petra's robotic behavior retained. She was easy to overlook; stealthy and completely forgettable, a very dangerous combination. It was impressive, and Petra found herself quickly impressed.
Quickly, but cautiously.
Returning her eyes to the blue ones her own mirrored, she gave a slow, unhurried blink. "Hello Jane," she replied in an equally neutral, if somewhat monotone, remaining unmoving from where she'd been standing before. She didn't say more than that; for now, the other woman had the upper hand. Jane knew who she was, and if she was the Unidentified individual who sent her the text, which could not be confirmed at this point, she knew her cell number. In fact, Jane probably knew a lot more than that about the Intermediate Death Trainee.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:09 pm
Jane nodded, and walked to the monitor station, gesturing for Petra to do the same as she sat down. "I see you received John's text," she began, "and your presence indicates an interest in alternate advancement. I'm glad you've chosen to come, as hunters willing to step outside of the given path provided by our superiors are rare. It's always been a bit surprising," her smile widened, and for the first time, it reached her eyes, "given our circumstances. Stacey felt that you might be one of the few, and had intended to approach you. Unfortunately, long lives aren't common in our division, less so for hunters such as he." And possibly you, was left unsaid, but there was that in the way she met Petra's eyes that left the statement plainly between them. "His death level a gap in our division. Would you be interested in filling it?"
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Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 1:28 am
At the gesture, the death trainee followed Jane towards the monitor, keeping a polite, and more importantly, safe, distance from the other hunter. At this point, she had mostly accepted that Jane wasn't the threat which had been lingering in the back of her mind, the paranoia which she couldn't quite shake, but still Petra couldn't resist taking a quick survey of the area around the station with her eyes before lowering them to the screen, her attention focusing again on the other Death hunter. She neither confirmed nor denied it when Jane suggested her presence meant she had an interest in deviating from the path of advancement, listening quietly as she continued to explain why she... or rather, they, it seemed... had summoned her here. Nor did she seem startled or distressed when the blonde eluded to the fact that it was very probable... no, more than that, it was almost guaranteed that she, as a Death hunter, would die a painful, premature death.
It was alright. Petra had never expected to live very long.
What really surprised her, however, was when she mentioned Stacey. But it wasn't his death which startled her; as Jane had so accurately mentioned, Death division had a rather high mortality rate. All hunters had especially high mortality rates. But what really baffled her was that Stacey had paid the slightest attention to her at all. The only time he'd ever shown the slightest interest -- and even then, he had been remarkably condescending and dismissive -- had been...
... just before her transfer into Death.
There was something strange about that mission that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Something which was there, in the back of her mind, a memory that she could never seem bring to the forefront. Sometimes, when she thought about it for a long time, she'd catch herself picking at her coat, or dragging her nail over and over across the wood of her desk, idle insistent habits she had never displayed before.
"I was unaware that Stacey had died," she replied after a moment, catching herself just as she'd begun to scratch at the skin of her folded arms, "However, there must be some mistake. Stacey had never shown any indication that I was anything more than a hindrance to his operation." The matter of fact tone would have led someone to believe she felt no malice towards the now-deceased hunter, but there was a distinct flicker of irritation which suggested otherwise.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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