She found her way into the lounging area with the mix-and-match furniture that she actually thought was hilarious and sad and adorable all at the same time, and she flopped onto the sofa to stretch out. "It's hoooooot..." she complained at the ceiling. "I'm Filipino, I should be used to tropical weather, Sen-- No, hey! No! Don't you ignore me."
She was flopping around on the sofa, hand extended while she was pointing at it accusingly with her other hand. She...maybe looked a little bit crazy. "Sen! Sen! C'mon, use your words! You know you wanna! Talk to me. Help me sleep. You're super boring, and you talk like..." The girl would ramble on for a while, not noticing if people were passing by, possibly giving her weird looks while they did.
---
Car: A short red bobbed haircut had been sitting in the common areas this entire time, quietly reading through a well loved copy of The Old Man and The Sea. Despite the ruckus and commotion caused by just one other Hunter, Cassandra could keep her thoughts on the book.
Or so she thought. The book was gently shut after the death trainee had read the same line over ten times, and set to her side. “Excuse me.” Cassie’s face was a pointed smile, slightly trembling. “Do you need some help sleeping?”
---
Pao: The other hunter that had apparently been there for a while got Gabby's attention when she suddenly spoke, the surprise in finding she'd ignored someone without meaning to getting her to shut up more than anything else. She blinked at the redhead for a second, blinking, and then sat up and moved to the edge of the sofa she was on.
"I do! But who're you? And was I bothering you? Sorry. Sen, here," and she offered her hand to show off the ornate ring that was Sen in his totem form. "Usually helps me but today he's just ignoring me and being generally mean. I'm Gabby, who're you?"
--
Car: Gabby seemed alright, as far as first impressions went. A little kooky it seemed, or at least very hyper. Like Jaime Reyes, or Bart Allen. “No, you’re completely fine. I’ve read this book a hundred times.” Understatement of the century. Cassie smiled and dipped her head, regarding both Gabby and Sen. “My name’s Cassandra, but feel free to call me Cassie.” She tapped the pendant around her neck, sending the little bat swaying. “This is Tendaji, or Tenten.”
--
Pao: "Cassie," she repeated, smile bright as usual now that she had someone else to focus her energy on. She really did have too much of it, which was probably why Sen burned out as often as he did. "And Tenten--that's such a cute nickname. Nice to meet you both!" The girl scooted closer, brushing aside some strands of hair that had gotten in her face during her little fit at Sen.
"I'm still really new here so it's always good to meet people, kinda get a better feel for the types that get recruited by Deus. How long you been here?"
--
Car: “He hates the nickname.” Cassie smirked, ignoring the pressure Tendaji built in her head. He’s been ravenous as of late, heckling her to get out and spar more. Fear, fear, all he wanted was fear. She’d had a minor migraine all week. “But that why I gave it to him.”
The redhead tapped her chin as she thought about her two years at Deus. It had flown by, without much to show for it other than a few inches, uncelebrated birthdays, and a strange blue lock on her right hand that no one else could see. “Two years, about. I’ve only been on island for a total of maybe two months, though. I’ve been assigned to all sorts of outposts, for whatever reason. You?”
--
Pao: "Two years!" she echoed, eyes bug-eyed as she finally slipped off of the couch she was on and scooted even closer to Cassie. She was right at the foot of Cassie's couch before she started talking again. The silence, ironically enough, got Sen to speak up.
< Finally... >
She ignored him, though, and put her entire focus on her fellow hunter. "I've got almost one month under my belt," came her reply once she settled in, having grabbed a pillow to use as a makeshift chair. It seemed stupid to sit on the floor, but close proximity made for better conversations in her mind so she liked being up close just like she was. "This place is kinda nuts but I don't really mind it. What are outposts?"
---
Car: “You can sit on the couch, if you’d like.” Cassie patted the seat next to her, scooting the book into her lap. “The floor seems terribly uncomfortable.” She still wasn’t quite used to strangers, but there was one thing she had learned in her years of outpost hopping: it paid to be friendly. He it a good report to her superiors, owed favors, or just a friendly face she could go to with problems. “Unless you prefer that?”
The young woman blinked a few times at Gabby’s question. Didn’t try to over this stuff in orientation? Then again, it had been ages since her own. “Wow, a month. You seem well acquainted for only a month.” Cassie chuckled a little, remembering how scared she was to come out of her room. “Outposts are sort of like...external bases for Deus. Usually, they involve monitoring old Horsemen lairs, or the effects of Halloween in the human world.”
---
Pao: When the seat was offered Gabby smiled even bright and hopped up, settling in the offered spot and now hugging the pillow she'd previously been sitting on. Unlike Cassie, she was clearly perfectly comfortable around strangers, even leaning forward a bit to close some of the distance between them. And it wasn't much. "I can sit wherever, honestly," he answered, scratching her cheek. "Long as we can have a conversation comfortably. This is plenty comfortable, better than on the floor probably."
"Not really well acquainted?" she said, a light blush at the not-quite-a-compliment that she took as a compliment anyway. "I mostly just do what I'm told or what makes sense. And I ask questions if I don't know anything, so I don't...flounder." Floundering was not something she much enjoyed doing, nor did she like putting up a front like she knew anything about anything around Deus. Even after a month she still felt like a newbie. Which was why she asked the question, and when Cassie answered she leaned in and listened carefully.
"Ohhh...that's cool..." she murmured, basically staring at the other hunter. "So we're just...voluntold to go to these outposts? Or can we request for specific assignments?"
---
Car: "Floundering can quickly lead to quite a bit of scolding." Cassie chuckled, darkly almost. It was more out of a memory from years ago, when she sat helpless on a beach and was chastised by two jerk offs for panicking after an encounter with...something. The familiar weight of the chains on her left arm, unseen by anyone but the young woman, pressed against her arm. "Especially in my division. But floundering in yours... well, we wouldn't have many more chats." Another smile, not sinister, but foreboding.
--
Pao: Gabby was at least aware of the fact that most Sun hunters didn't last very long, which was why she was so concerned about going about things the right way. "Yeah, I figured," the girl nodded, "I've always been one of those asks-too-many-questions types, but with my life on the line I'll ask as many questions as I need to so I can come back alive."
She nodded in a sage-like manner, crossing her arms as she thought about how much sense this made. And then she glanced over at Cassie, curiosity dancing in her eyes because her division had come up. "So which division are you in?"
---
Car: “That’s quite the sage philosophy.” Cassie nodded in agreement, leaning forward. “The only stupid question is the one went unasked.” Mother had said that often; it was essentially her motto as a teacher. Father always agreed, as the principal.
“Me? Oh, I’m in the division where questions are only asked after you do what you’re told.” Cassie’s hands twisted in her lap, nervousness seeping in. It was complete bogus, she knew, but the rumors of constant surveillance got to her at times. Talking bad about Death’s head was a death sentence. “Death division. I think I was sent to all those outposts to just update data and see if any developments have occurred.”
---
Pao: Gabby nodded in absolute agreement. "Most definitely true," she agreed. There was little more to add to it, so she left it there and listened quietly as Cassie explained.
"Death, huh?" She blinked, not sure what to make of it. "I read about that division in the pamphlets and heard about it from the orientation...sounds kinda like a Deus version of Big Brother." The idea of being constantly watched sent a little bit of a chill down her spine. Thankfully there was another topic she could grasp at, so she turned her focus there. "So which outposts did you get sent to?"
---
Car: “Essentially. Big Brother, MI6, CIA. We’re, for all intents and purposes, the Cool Spy Dudes.” Cassie liked that explanation far better, it made her feel like a cool, female James Bond.
“Oh gosh, almost everywhere. Antarctica, Arizona, the Amazons, China, Seoul, Mexico. Did a stint in Canada, too.” Most of those were good memories, ones the young woman had hold hold on to as long as she lived. The people she met, the late night, coffee fueled talks they shared. Crushes, of course, and the one kiss she’s had in two years with a gem of a Korean girl. “Seoul was my favorite, by far.” A blush reddened her cheeks. “My mother was from Korea, so it was nice getting to connect to her in that way.”
Cassie’s lips puffed out a soft sigh, and her body finally fully relaxed. “How about you? Your parents, family, what were they like?”
---
Pao: The list was impressive, and Gabby's expression most definitely had a look that said she was, indeed, impressed by it. She also noted the blush and had her thoughts on the why behind it--she assumed some kind of a relationship--but she figured she could just circle back to it later if ever so she left it alone. When she was done and had turned the question back on her, Gabby smiled something much warmer, and perhaps if Cassie looked carefully enough, a teensy bit lonely.
"Family of Filipinos struggling in the City of Angels," she said with a little roll to her eyes. "Money was tight but we all made it work. Y'know, looked out for each other." And then she heaved a sigh and shrugged. "Until we couldn't anymore and I decided to join up so they could make it work again, even if it meant being without me."
---
Car: You must miss them terribly.” The hint of loneliness hadn’t been lost on Cassandra; observation was her job, after all. “What you did, that’s quite noble.” Hesitantly, Cassie put a gentle hand atop Gabby’s. She had learned how important solidarity was, through real life and the adventures and comics she’d read. The Avengers needed each other, Batman was less effective when removed from the Bat Family, and even Wolverine needed a friend or two.
She wished her parents were still alive, some days, when the crippling loneliness of the basement set in. Her little podunk town had been their refuge from the rest of the crazy, brutish Gordon clan, and her parents had escaped while Cassie was still in her mother’s womb. “Have you ever had someone check on them for you?”
---
Pao: She sort of shrugged, not wanting to make plain her feelings about the situation. Cassie seemed pretty apt at reading people, but that didn't mean she had to confirm or deny anything. The comforting gesture, even, was met with only a plastered on smile. She appreciated it, to some degree, but wasn't entirely sure what to do with the sympathy.
The next question that came threw her off a little thought, and she blinked once before shaking her head. "No, never thought to ask...but that might make it suck more, don'tcha think?"
---
Car: “It very well could.” Cassie replied, nodding softly, “but I know that if my parents were still living, I would want to know they’re safe.”
Her headache returned - Tenten hated it when Cassie got sentimental. A sign of weakness, he would always mock. Just a frightened little girl in the world of scary beasts. She pressed on, smile flickering and waning. “Not that I’m trying to guilt you!” She gasped, realizing her words. “I’ve come to terms with their passing.”
---
Pao: Gabby considered it a moment, barely a moment actually, before deciding she would stick to her guns. While they weren't dead in the literal sense of the word, it'd be easier for her if she stayed out of the loop. So she shook her head, and then more fervently so when Cassie implied that she might have offended her in some way.
"No, no worries," she tried to assure her, "Thanks, really, for the idea. Just...they mean so much that seeing them would make all of this suck more. I resolved to leave them behind for their benefit, I feel like if I don't stick to that resolve then I'm resigning myself to," briefly she gestured to the room, though she really meant the whole of Deus with that wave of her arm. "Well...all of this. Not exactly the coziest new place to call home."
---
Car: Relieved she hadn’t offended Gabby, Cassie leaned forward a bit, nodding in understanding. Deus could be a rough place, and quite a boar to handle. Cassie was almost glad she hadn’t left anyone behind; the Hunter wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle it the way Gabby was. “No, not at all. Cozy is reserved for people who survive long enough, and even then there’s a huge gap between our cozy and the rest of the world.”
Cassie’s hand left Gabby’s, back into the redhead’s lap. “But I guess what Deus lacks in comfort, it makes up for in people. Not everyone is a salty soldier with a chip on their shoulder.”
---
Pao: She couldn't agree more, and she showed as much by the incessant nodding along as Cassie spoke up about how "cozy" Deus really wasn't. But then...she figured a secret organization wouldn't let their members get too comfortable. That was never how it worked in the movies, either, and she imagined real life was far, far worse than most anything dramatized.
At the salty soldiers comment though, she finally stopped nodding and just blinked for a couple of seconds. "I wouldn't know? I've only been awake for like...a month now? Almost a month? So the people I've met are really, really limited."
---
Car: “Ah, right.” Cassie had to remember that not everyone had such a brutal first week out of the pod. Maybe Gabby had met some nice people. “What I meant is that, camaraderie comes easy here. Everyone’s got at least some form of common ground.”
A brief pause, Cassie fiddling with her hands in her lap. She’d always been horrid with small talk, despite waitressing. That was easy enough, just be pleasant and let the customer do all the talking. Real people were harder. “Besides helping your family, did you come to Deus for anything else? Obviously fighting the shadows and the monsters...but what made you want to fight them?”
---
Pao: "I honestly...didn't?" came a very honest reply, about as honest as she'd ever be with someone who was, at least at the moment, a perfect stranger. "Want to fight them, I mean. They freaked me out but they never hurt anyone in my family as far as I knew, so it was one of those 'leave me alone and I'll leave you alone' things for me. So family's my only reason."
The girl heaved a sigh and slouched back, wondering suddenly why she was there given she didn't have any other goal in mind when she joined--it was purely a decision for her family, for her sister's sake. "What about you?"
---
Car: Interesting...Cassie had not met someone yet who didn’t harbor at least a small grudge toward the shadows. Cassie herself has always been frightened by them, and still held them responsible for all the fear and doubt that hung around her head like a jagged onyx crown. “I...I’ve just always hated them, I guess.” Tendaji pressed harder. Don’t lie, don’t shy from the truth. Weak weak weak. “They’re the reason I was the weird kid at school. In some little podunk town, if you claim to see spirits and monsters... Well, I’m sure you can figure out the rest.” The pressure relieved, Cassie was able to sit up a little straighter, crossing her legs as if meditating. “But I’m mostly just here because it’s a steadier paycheck than being a waitress, or a nanny. It puts a roof over my head, Food in my stomach, and at the end of the day I feel like I’ve made a difference.”
---
Pao: Being the oldest, she knew what it was to poke fun at people who said they saw things. Ironically she'd done that to her sisters because she didn't want them to pay any mind to such thoughts. The shadows were real, she knew that better than she imagined her sisters did, but she didn't want them growing up fearful of them. She could only hope they didn't see the real deal.
"Hating 'em is probably the more normal thing," admitted the girl with a little laugh, more directed at herself than at Cassie, "I told my parents once and they told me to stop daydreaming so much." She shrugged, tucking her legs in and wrapping her arms around them. "Didn't bother telling anyone else, so I guess I can't really relate, but I'm sorry your school was full of asses." She was never one to curse, but she hated the idea of people around her getting bullied. Sure, Cassie was so far only an acquaintance, but she was physically nearby and a very exceptional person as far as she could tell. Knowing someone like her had been bullied had her protective older sister vibes vibing.
"Ah, better reason than me," she nodded, "and when I think about the organization as a whole I do feel like I'll be making a difference at some point. Like maybe when I get to retire my newblet cape. Does it get any better, though, after two years?"
---
Car: “It really just depends on what you put into it, I think.” Cassie had always believed that you had to truly invest to see any positive results. Her global adventures had proved the theory, and now she had to follow through with that lesson. “If you actively make connections and seek to do well, you’re going to find yourself with lifelong friends and the ability to rise above our not so desirable circumstances.” She gave Gabby a reassuring smile.
The redhead shrugged at the mention of her old school. “They’re all worse off than me, probably. The last time I saw my biggest bully back in Washington, I was serving her a cup of decaf, since she was pregnant with her third kid, from her third ex since we graduated.” Cassie relished that moment, the triumph she felt. Her life had been slowly degrading, sure, but Kelcee’s had been a shitstorm that Cassandra loved to watch on FaceBook. She only get bad for the kids, hoping the girls didn’t turn out to be their mother.
---
Pao: Gabby listened intently, soaking in her words and nodding slowly as she processed it all. "So far just a few connections," she murmured almost to herself, "hopefully am on the right track." The girl smiled right back, suddenly feeling a little bit better about her progress over the past month.
"Wow..." she blinked at what seemed like pity for Cassie's old bully. It sounded like pity...and then on the backend it also sounded like something she was happy about, or maybe satisfied was more accurate. Satisfied at what karma dished out to that girl for all the years she spent bullying others. Truth be told, Gabby felt a little bit of that satisfaction, too.
"Well, you get what's coming to you is how I look at that. Did you rub it in her face or...?" She guessed no, but asked anyway because she was curious.
---
Car: “I️ wanted to.” Cassie sighed, shoulders slumping. Mama Gordon had always said to be careful not to give in to her darker thoughts, to no indulge the evils inside her. Mama also said that the reason Cassie saw the shadows was because she indulged the darkness of the world too much; mama was wrong. “But I️ couldn’t do that in front of her kids. I️ wrote a passive aggressive note on her receipt, but that was it.” Cassie had almost added an extra ‘0’ to the ten dollar tip Kelcee had left her, but she knew better. She would be fired, and those two sweet children would go hungry.
“That was about a month before I️ was approached to join up.” Good things, too, as she’s just been laid off due to increasing competition crushing the mom and pop diner. “But yeah, I’d say you’re on the right track. Just do your best to avoid passion off you division leader, or Caelius. Actually, just don’t piss any of the division leads off.”
---
Pao: "Nice of you," she said, reaching to give Cassie a pat on the back. It was always a challenge to not be petty...she struggled with it to a...significant degree. The advice she often gave her sisters was likely a confusing mix of, "Be the bigger person," and, "but if they trip and fall down a flight of stairs, don't hold back your laughter if you think it's funny. Dial 911, though."
She pulled her hand back and settled for rocking in her spot. "Was it good timing for you? 'Cause it was for me." The girl paused there, smile faltering some as she recalled that meeting. "And yeah," she managed to refocus after a moment though, "I'm trying to not piss anyone off, really. Not sure who to avoid and all so just generally behaving well and being nice felt like the best option."
---
Car: Cassie appreciated the pat on the back, nodding in gratitude. “Yes, very good timing. A new Buffalo Wild Wings has just been built in Vader, and it totally stole all our customers at the diner.” Cassie sighed, shaking her head. How on earth could so many loyal customers, who had been fed George’s homemade meatloaf, pancakes, steak and eggs, country fried steak, and fried chicken suddenly switch to mass produced chicken wings and burgers? Sure, George and Arlene didn’t have any other beer but Coors Light And Rainier, And the only extra topping that would go on a cheeseburger were two thick slabs of bacon, but the food was made with love and respect for the customers. “George couldn’t afford me anymore, so his wife had to take over the serving. I️ hope they’re doing alright...” Even though Cassie knew they more than likely had to sell the place. George was so old, Cassie had always worried he’d die if he stopped working.
“Avoid my boss, for sure. You’ll know him when you see him - long black hair with a white streak, blue eyes, has an aura of murder about him.” Cassie shuddered. “Oh, and if and when you find yourself in the infirmary, do your best to just do what you’re told. The head nurse is pretty nasty, I️ hear.”
---
Pao: "Franchises," the girl said on a sigh, shaking her head. "Shame about your old job and bosses,. I mean I love franchises but I feel like they don't really belong in smaller communities that have more Mom and Pop type shops." She waved her hand to dismiss her thoughts that were about to lead into her life in LA. "But yeah, sounds like great timing on the recruiter's part. They kinda follow us around, right? So they kinda see us at our lowest point so they can draw us in with the perfect offer given our situation?"
She whifted in her chair, trying to picture the Division lead as Cassie described him. "Sounds simple enough to remember," she eventually said, frowning a little. The whole walking on eggshells thing was never her strongsuit. "And I will definitely remember the infirmary thing, thanks for the advice."
---
Car: “No problemo, my young Padawan.” Cassie chuckled, squeezing Gabby’s shoulder. The Old Man and The Sea was tucked into the young woman’s coat, and she stood up from the couch to take her leave. “It was nice talking to you Gabby, but I’ve got a date with a bucket, some rubber gloves, and a bathroom.” A frown crept on her face; didn’t the cafeteria serve that abomination they’d tried to pass off as chili yesterday? Ugh...
”See ya around!”
x_ p a o cx
