Welcome to Gaia! ::

The man himself was sitting at his desk, going over several proposed new rune arrays, and wondering if Caelius still looked deranged and if he'd leave his division's assistant open for very long. The smile that greeted Otto was very similar to that of a shark, biding its time simply enjoying the taste of blood in the water. Noting the bag, the trainee, and said trainee's division, the doctor greeted the young man with a jovial, "Special delivery, hm? No, don't drag that in here, you'll ruin the carpeting. There's an empty lab room across the way, linoleum floors with a delightful drain for when things get messy."

The doctor stood up to follow, leaving the paperwork behind, "So, a youthful trainee of the Death Division, sent on what must have been a rather terrible little errand. It must have been quite the struggle hauling that, yes indeed, but here you are despite such adversity. I know Caelius isn't exactly the most easy of leaders to please, but no doubt he'll appreciate your effort."

"That's a shame, but don't take it too personally," the doctor sighed at the sight of the trail the bag had left in his hallway. "Yes, just put it there, excellent. Poor Cael has had a rather difficult month. If he's simply you giving an obnoxious task, rather than sending you here for desperately needed medical attention, well...it can be considered something of an improvement." The doctor stripped off his more typical leather gloves and began washing his hands.

"You are...hmm...Otto, correct?" He continued conversationally, "You know, two things come to mind with that name. The empire and a piece of rather useless furniture." He dried his hands and slipped on a pair of surgical gloves, "I assume you chose to become a hunter for a reason. There's always at least one or two. But my real question would have to be..." the doctor's eyes slid from his hands back to the trainee and he grinned, "...which are you, Otto? Conqueror or footstool?"

"Whatever indeed, Otto," the doctor murmured, plucking the note from the trainee's fingers, glancing at it, and then balling it up and tossing it the trash. "Delightful man," He gave the younger man a once over and said, "You'll be fine, examination over. Now for the special delivery, special sauce included."

He pulled down the zipper, revealing a bag even more chock-full of awful and nightmare than even the tears and disgusting streaks on the floors suggested. The doctor hummed as he set to work, digging out pieces, setting a few aside for further examination. Pulling up and entirely too human looking jawbone, he gave a little whistle, "Perhaps I should give this to Clarice, she always did like that smile." He looked at it again and then sighed, a gold filling, she'd be able to tell the difference. Christmas shopping for his assistant was always such a trial.

He pulled out a spine with a meaty squelch and snap, and held it up, "Very nice. So Otto, it appears you've been given a bit of a s**t job in several of the most unpleasant senses. Obviously Cael felt you had a lesson of some sort to learn, so my second question is...what lesson do you think that is?"

"Are you asking me or telling me, Otto?" The doctor replied, pulling out what looked to be...no it really was, a zombie dragon bladder. Fortunately the dragon had several, so this one was fairly manageable. Snagging a hypodermic needle, he extracted a bit for the urine sample, and dripped some onto a slide. "But yes, bugging him at any point in time would be ill-advised. Unless, of course, you're me." the doctor smiled, all teeth and good cheer. "I do so hope your reason for doing so was worth the trouble you received."

"Fair enough, I suppose. Boredom can indeed be a rather tragic state if you allow it to remain. And yes, yes, off with you." The doctor gave the trainee a little wave, "Should you see Caelius on the way back, be sure to thank him for me. I do so appreciate when he deigns to share."

"I am sure he is indeed 'poking holes into my specimen'." Caelius was in full research mode, measuring something with a protractor. He looked up, briefly, at the battered, Otto - covered in specimen ichor and blood - before returning back to his work. "You are dismissed trainee, I expect a full report of your efforts. Unless you would like to stay for another mission?"

It looks like Otto had caught Caelius in one of those rare moments where the Death Hunter leader seemed more amused than anything else. And there was only one reason he would ever be amused: when someone else was suffering.