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 Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 4:17 pm
[Room description once I have time]
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Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:58 pm
It was a simple room that he stepped into. Flat walls. No windows. An electric light hung above him, a marvel of the modern age that he had little interest in. The only interest he had was in his partner, or prospective partner as it were, who was sitting in the middle of the room. He recognized the little thing. It was a Swadloon, though he knew it not by a name but by the taste of its flesh. It stared at him as he entered the room, apparently neither interested nor concerned by his presence or his still somewhat bloodied appearance. It had a book in front of it that it was more interested in than his own presence. The lack of interest was twofold; he didn't have much of an interest in the little thing either. Swadloon were weak. He had never had difficulty killing them. He would have preferred a stronger partner, someone who wouldn't be too slow or too weak. The Swadloon, who was apparently male, seemingly read his thoughts when it broke the silence.
"You can reject me and try to get another partner but you won't be able to. Nobody else is going to be willing to partner up with a Scyther covered in blood. And the guild won't let you take work without a partner."
The Scyther stared angrily at the much smaller creature. He didn't like what he had been told. It was correct in the most significant fashion but he strongly disliked it because it was contrary to the singular solution he had to everything: violence. Power was what mattered, violence was a means of using it. But neither power nor violence would offer him a solution here which simply left him with the passive frustration. There was a sense of futility, a sense of his own inability to get past something he viewed as unfavourable. Something he viewed as an obstacle. Something he wanted removed.
Of course, our dear Scyther had no such depth of thought. To him, it was nothing more than a nagging frustration. "Then don't get in my way."
"That's fine. Just don't get in mine."
[One-off] [Bumped down from the first post]
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Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:27 pm
"What is this?"
Donovan's voice was a low hiss. He was furious to say the least. The mission had been a wash. The fight had been easy. The ones who wanted to join the team were no better. The only joy he had had the mission was the relief of a basic, basic fury that had built up over the course of it. Slaughtering the little "group" had been good stress relief, even if the frustration itself had only built up due to the insulting nature of their "rule". They were weaklings. The fact that they had the audacity to try to "rule" over anything was ridiculous. Killing them had been both pleasurable and justified.
But this. This. This was an insult! The "rewards"! Some useless garbage and an egg! Theodore had known what the rewards were. Donovan was certain of that much. He had know what the mission was too since he was the one who had chosen it. All of this! This waste of time! For nothing--a worthless fight and even more worthless rewards. Donovan was ready to smash the egg where it rested and consume the contents as he had done so many times before.
Theodore, luckily, disagreed.
"It's an egg. It's going to be the third member of our team."
Donovan could barely believe it. It had been a mistake, all of it. Allowing himself such a weak partner, joining the guilds--all of it. It had been a complete and utter waste of time. The mandibles inside of his mouth clicked softly as he contemplated simply eating Theodore then and there.
"And why would I want a child?"
Theodore nearly huffed on instinct but held his tongue. It was like he was talking to a child.
"Because nobody worth anything is going to join you. You're going to kill them all. We need a third member of the team for the sake of protecting ourselves." A brief pause ensued and Theodore began to quickly speak again, effectively cutting off Donovan. "You may be willing to die just because you get overpowered but I'm not. A third member will stop that." Another pause, this one longer. Donovan was no less enraged by Theodore's actions but at least the little bug was able to articulate a reason for it. "If it's weak you can kill it."
"...Fine."
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The hatching itself would take place later on, though not that much later at all. Theodore had been careful to care for the egg properly with both warmth and supervision. The result was a quick-enough hatching and, after a lot of outwards prodding, picking and pushing the egg unceremoniously opened itself and the occupant fell out.
Donovan was ready to eat it the moment it exited the egg. He didn't particularly relish newborns but it was a rare experience--fortunately, he would be stopped by an invisible barrier. His gaze shot angrily to Theodore, the only other party who could have interfered, but the Swadloon was holding a book up towards his partner.
The page was open. Along the top, in text that Donovan couldn't read, was written "Ursaring". The picture below however communicated the intent clearly enough. It was a hulking, massive creature that looked to be considerably taller than the average Scyther, much heavier and much, much stronger.
"This is what it turns into once it grows up. It's worth keeping. You can train it to fight once it's a bit older."
Donovan studied the sketched image carefully. Although the figure in the book was cloaked in fur and drawn by hand there was a sense of weight and strength to the creature. Although brutish and slow, there was a sense of strength and the sort of feral nature that drove true predators, true conquerors. It wasn't a Scyther. It was something very different. It was also no less fierce, no less potentially dangerous and overwhelming. If he had to bear spawn then it was of the suitable sort.
...Still. He glanced over at the little Teddiursa. It was so... feeble. Tiny. It was a far cry from the creature in the book. For Donovan, the concept seemed almost impossible. Scyther very rarely evolved and those who did were often shunned from their clans for abandoning their forms. A Scizor was not born from a moment of stress, a moment of need or a demand to grow; a Scizor was born from a choice and that choice was, to the Scyther who varied finesse and speed, almost heretical in nature. The notion of such a huge change, such an absurd increase in both size and power was a foreign and implausible one to him.
But...
If Theodore was lying to him, it only delayed an inevitable meal. Theodore had used him once for this end and he would be foolish to do so twice. Staying at least until they had foraged into guild work once more was a worthwhile proposition. If Theodore thought he was clever enough to manipulate or use Donovan then he would meet a swift yet very painful end. If Theodore thought him a fool then he would have reason to end it all, child included. If not, then there was merit in allowing it to go forward for a time. He stood to lose little aside from a moment of his time.
"Fine."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 12:14 pm
It had been a good venture by most metrics. Nobody had gotten hurt, lessons were learned and Team Cut had returned with a new member of their team. Adding to the ranks was a good thing, it meant your team had more power and more versatility. It meant safety, it meant strength, it meant a lot of things that were almost unerringly good.
In spite of that, the mood was hardly festive.
For Donovan, the entire thing had been a waste of time with little exception. He had fought little, wasted much and done nothing. It was disappointing. It was no less disappointing that the "highlight" of it all had been a recruit. A very weak and helpless looking one, at that. The only thing that had driven Donovan to accept her was interest stemming both from curiousity and a self-serving desire.
For Theodore... Well, it was hard to tell with Theodore. He was quiet, as he always was. The first thing he had done when he returned to the room was wordlessly bury himself in a book.
For Anastasia, it was all overwhelming. Of course, what else would it be? Donovan's question had explained itself quickly but the answer was harder to understand than the question itself. He had a child but no mate and it was of a species entirely foreign to his own. Boris was quiet and obedient and somewhat lacking in the normal curiousity that was supposed to drive infants. He didn't seem to be damaged or abused, simply... subdued. The room that she was led to was also much smaller than she was used to and much... differently organized. It wasn't in a dreadful state, Theodore (presumably) had kept things fairly neat and tidy but it wasn't the way she was comfortable. She was thankful at least that she would be able to have her own sleeping area, however much smaller it was than she was used to. The first thing she did when she found herself in her new "home" was to tend to Boris and then to set about cleaning and organizing things.
Donovan simply watched. He was pleased, in a sense. At least she was acting properly.
"I'll test you tomorrow." Theodore spoke the words but he didn't bother to look up from his book. He knew who he was talking to, as did she.
Anastasia felt a lump rise in her throat. "I understand."[ Continued]
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