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kuropeco rolled 2 8-sided dice:
2, 6
Total: 8 (2-16)
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 Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:49 pm
[ HI IGNORE THIS I'M AN IDIOT ]
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 4:11 pm
He didn't remember ever feeling the attack. In fact, Gale was pretty sure it had not hit him at all.
Or maybe he was just imagining everything, since at that moment the entire world turned black.
When he opened his eyes, some time later, he was not in that room - in fact, he was nowhere near where he had first been. Instead, he was lying in a bed that looked suspiciously like one of the ones Caelius had been in before.
What the hell?
He attempted to push himself up, except someone walked in - a Death Hunter - and Gale flopped back down onto the bed. A good thing, too, since attempting to get up really, really hurt.
"Caelius asked me to question you - "
Of course he had.
"...the late Benjamin Summers."
That might, if possible, hurt even more than the fact that he had just failed his intermediate exam. Gale's eyes flickered, his mouth pressing into a thin line. He did not want to talk about That incident, but it seemed there was no escaping it.
"He said...he said not to underestimate the Death Hunters. And..." Gale trailed off, attempting to remember. His brain felt foggy. "...something about how he'd never seen a trap like the one we fell in - and that it was...unusual for that much FEAR to congregate and hide itself...and...and that it was a 'lair.'"
Reaching up a hand, Gale pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers, then pushed his hair away from his face, sighing.
"That's all I can remember."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 4:47 pm
The interrogator paused for a second at Gale's hesitation. "Hey it'll be-"
"-You are dismissed, Leo."
Said Hunter - Leo - looked at the trainee and then at Caelius standing at the doorway. "Yes sir." They looked about ready to say something else as they walked past their faction leader but wisely held their tongue.
Caelius took Leo's spot, choosing instead however, to stand. Perhaps he just liked glaring down at people. "So trainee, what does it feel like to fail?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 4:51 pm
Gale, unfortunately, winced a bit at the sound of Caelius' voice. He had rather been hoping he would get out of talking to his division leader, but -
"So, trainee, what does it feel like to fail?"
Apparently not. Gale made a small noise of disgruntlement, debating a sarcastic answer, but something told him that it wouldn't be a good idea. So instead he sighed and said truthfully:
"Shitty."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 5:16 pm
"I would appreciate it, trainee if you held extraneous comments to yourself until after I leave." Even the Death Hunter leader was well aware of his reputation. He walked over to the window. "I will tell you exactly what you did wrong. You took a mission without my full consent. You were inexperienced and it cost me one of my better Hunters. You forgot to mention details in your report, and most of all you, out of all people, had to have that b***h Aria rescue you."
Were they even talking about the actual promotion mission at this point? Caelius looked like he was ready to give Gale a second set of matching scar marks, though thankfully, his weapon was nowhere in sight. "I hope you have learned your lesson here." And with that, he strode out of the room.
Everything was silent again.
Several minutes later there was a light knock, as Leo walked in again, glancing at the door briefly. The Hunter was holding something in his arms.
"I wanted to give this to you: the boss conveniently dropped it on the way out." It was a simple Hunter coat, in fact almost the same as the one Gale was wearing, with a few exceptional differences, mostly a more ornate hem running along the sleeves and sides of the coat. An awkward silence as he let the trainee digest this. "Congratulations, you're now an intermediate trainee: you can probably expect a pay raise, but not too much else of a difference, though that is how it always is, isn't it?"
And there Gale was, celebrating his promotion with a complete stranger.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 5:24 pm
Gale did not even flinch this time, instead listening silently. Each word was like a stab into his chest, painful and real. He knew he'd screwed up - knew that he shouldn't have gone on that mission in the first place, when he was still on probation. Technically it was Ben's fault for having dragged him along in the first place, but Gale was not about to say that for several reasons, the first of those being that it felt wrong blaming someone who was now dead - even though he didn't blame Ben.
He opened his mouth to say "yes," but Caelius was already gone - of course, and Gale closed it again, sighing. He reached up a hand, rubbing his head tiredly.
<< Good grief. >>
You're telling me.
The door opened again, and Gale opened his eyes. It was that Death Hunter from before, the one that Caelius had kicked out.
He held something up - something white and very familiar.
Gale stared at it.
"WHAT."
[ AND FIN ]
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