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 Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:03 am
Silence.
"Your hand on the table. Your right hand."
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:22 am
Lucky's eyes darted sharply between the death lead and the desk a few times. His offered hands had already been withdrawn and were crossed nervously with the hands tucked away. He started to stammer a protest of some kind. "I- um - I do no think that is-" He noticed the look he was being given, and gradually trailed off. Mimsy told him not to argue anyway. He'd have to trust this was the least painful of his limited options. The trainee looked extremely uncomfortable. After a few tentative starts, he finally reached out and slid his right hand very slowly onto the desk. The circle branding on the back of it was impossible to hide.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:09 am
"Contradictions." The Death lead began to shuffle things around Lucky, or rather, his hand. A few papers were stapled off to the side. "You are still a Hunter, given a very specific set of rules and conduct." A folder was stacked on another folder. "Yet, you go out of your way to make mistakes against these rules."
And then, that sword that had been there the entire time buried right into Lucky's hand. It was a sword, not a dagger or anything shorter, but from a single movement alone, the steel cut flawlessly through sinew and bone. It cut a perfect line right through the O sigil leaving only the pommel sticking out.
"And I'm pretty ******** sure I haven't given you the opportunity to show you the error of your ways." And then Lucky got a little more up close and personal with the Death lead as the Life trainee's head was forced - slammed down against the table. Lucky had nowhere to look other at his own hand, at it pinned so perfectly, at the pain radiating from such a simple, singular source, as dark red began to pool around his hand the more he struggled. "I do not think you understand significant consequences. I want answers, I want tangible results and I want you to understand how transparent your little charade is. There is no such thing as double-crossing. There is only a thin, singular line in which you tread on that could be cut so easily." The blade moved, the Death lead twisted it, just a little bit, dragging out the pain a little longer. "You do not have an advantage, you are not special. And if you continue to prove you cannot be used then you will no longer be still a Hunter and I will make that choice for you. Now that you have been properly informed, I want to hear how you will put to use all the freedom you have been given."
He sat back down, but didn't remove the sword.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:47 pm
For a little while, nothing happened. Caelius's words were tense, but his body language was anything but intimidating as he moved papers and stapled them like an office worker. Maybe he was just using the tattoo as more reason Lucky would need better evidence. Okay. He could work with that. He had just begun to relax his hand against the desk when he saw the flash of steel and felt it not a moment later. He howled. It was impossible not to. All the while he was staring blankly at the sword, and that was why he never saw the hand that grabbed him roughly by the hair and pushed downward. The side of his head hit the the table with an audible crack. He reeled, blinking back bright flashes of color as Caelius's lecture matched the sword with a sharp edge of its own. Pain changed priorities. He wasn't clever enough for this. He had no power here. No leverage. The blade had impaled his hand perfectly - and he could feel how it had cleaved through a number of things that should not have been severed, and continued to do so with every movement he made. There was too much blood. His fingers twitched, spasming like a dying animal under the hilt and adding to the growing red shadow around them. Caelius twisted the blade and he may as well have been pressing it to Lucky's throat. His thoughts were clouded with pain and the primal need to escape it. And if he couldn't think, he had nothing. He knew the risks. Sam had laid out the risks before he had even taken the card. He'd wagered his life and lost to the one opponent he feared most. And he hated that he could not just let himself die with dignity."C-C- Courier-" he stammered. It was most valuable word he had, and if it didn't get Caelius's attention, none of the rambling after would probably matter. His voice was out of control, hyperventilating and spiking in volume any time the sword lodged through his hand grew particularly unbearable. "A ceremony - the Judge - they chose me - sssss - but it should not have - have happened - it vas just - ah - just for information--" He spent a few seconds breathing through clenched teeth and making a few noises under his breath that sounded like they were probably intended to be offensive in another language. "I know them - the other Couriers. Names. F-faces." He was scrounging now, for whatever detail would buy him his 'freedom'. He was starting to turn slightly paler than he already was, and his eyes had become a little unfocused. He'd betrayed his own beliefs, his goal of taking neither side, and somehow that hurt more than the gaping hand wound. But giving up physically and mentally was not a great feeling. His head was still against the table as if he didn't even have the will to lift it. "They are expecting me to - follow their commands. Their assignments. Executions. But they do not know that I do not vork for murderers." "Sir," he added painfully.
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:43 am
"So you do know how to make some semblance of decision." An expression that was very close to a sneer. "I'm sure it was easier than you imagined it to be."
The pain was actually worse as the sword was removed. It might have been easier at this point to cut off Lucky's hand entirely instead of having three feet of solid steel, thin, sharp and temperate slice through the open wound one more time, creating an even larger gouge in its wake. The Death lead had at some point picked up Lucky's coat, and was now wiping the dirtied blade against the fabric.
"Executions." He didn't bother sitting now, as he continued to make sure every facet of the artifact he was holding was perfectly clean. "An interesting job for someone of your... status." There was definitely another word he wanted to use instead there. "I do not care about your personal ******** ethics, people following their personal moral codes leads to them justifying their actions. Shallow justification is ******** useless here. If you really wish to benefit yourself then you will do as you are told until you can convince me otherwise." He didn't seem like the type that was easily persuaded.
"Now. Let us talk about your future endeavors. I will give you partial clearance to make decisions with a very specific condition. You are unfortunately even more useless than your predecessor, but she is unfortunately dead and you are for the time being, not. I will assign you with another Hunter, and together you will replace her previous role, or a very small fraction of it. You are still running so ******** blind, without even an idea of how much is actually going around you, thinking stumbling around will get you results. Why were you chosen as Courier, did your predecessor ever mention this. Who recommended you. Why were you given a task that was so easily accomplished with minimal effort from you. It must have been convenient for you, but everything is convenient when you were lied to from start to finish and still believed every single word. I will give you time to figure out how much your predecessor hid from you, and after you have been properly self informed, you will properly use this information to produce more accurate results."
He had sent a message idly on his phone while talking, and it only took a minute later before Mark showed up at the door.
"Hand," the Death assistant squeaked, and then fumbled in his pockets, pulling out two wads of gum, an empty beer bottle, and a pin-up poster of a Busty Asian Beauty before finally coming up with a half-used tin of Runic bandages which he had just started wrapping around Lucky's hand-
- "Mark. Bring Shiloh in."
And then the verdict for Lucky's partner was revealed.
Mark paused, quickly wrapped one more loop around Lucky's hand, and then just as quickly skidded out the door. Sammpai HELLO YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:20 pm
While he'd gotten considerably better at tolerating Mark, he still wasn't happy to see the assistant, and was unhappier still with the reason for which he was seeing him. Still, he forced a smile and tagged along back to the office, sure things couldn't be that bad. Caelius probably wanted a progress report, or something, which probably meant he was going to get slammed into a wall for some reason or another, but, as he recently learned, there were worse fates than getting thrown around a bit. Except, as he stepped into the office after Mark, and stared at the scene before him, he realized it was that bad. Cael stood wiping a formidable looking blade with Lucky's coat, and what he was wiping off of it seemed to be Lucky's blood, as Shiloh's gaze drifted to the Life hunter and his bandaged hand, and he put two and two together. He didn't say anything to Lucky, however, nor did he even acknowledge him really, turning back Caelius with the smile on his face considerably dimmed. "Sir," he said politely.
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:32 pm
He endured the derision in pained silence for as long as he could. More yelling. Pathetic - he almost didn't realize it was his own voice at this point. Lucky had turned several shades paler and faster at the removal of the blade. He was slumped back in the chair, clutching at the wrist of his injured hand as every little movement felt like fire through his severed nerves. He had nothing left now, that hadn't already been taken from him. The only thing that moved were his eyes, half-closed in pain, and tracking Caelius as the death lead cleaned the blade with his coat like some kind of dirty rag. That same gaze gradually found its way back to the floor again. Only ever a pawn in someone else's game. But he had chosen, no matter how much he regretted it. Caelius may as well have been gloating, taunting him with secrets and implications of treachery. And all of this coming from a hunter who had no qualms about murdering his own. The only consolation seemed to be that he was aware of the game at all, and the machinations that few others seemed to notice. The more Lucky discovered, the less of a charade he had to endure from the people pulling the strings. Having a partner, though... Lucky was briefly distracted by Mark's appearance. He wasn't even sure if Mark recognized him. He hoped not. But he didn't realize how bad of shape he was in until he offered his injured hand, and saw how both had become slick with red in a matter of minutes. The runic bandages were a nice thought, but at this point all they could do was stop him from losing any more blood. Caelius's choice of partner did seem to get a reaction out of Lucky, even if there wasn't much left in him to react. Shiloh could probably see the staring out of the corner of his eye, as Lucky seemed to be treating his presence with disbelief and possibly dizziness from the blood loss. Shiloh, who was supposed to be dead. Who was supposed to be dead at Lucky's own hands. Oh, yes. The universe was really getting in on the joke now.
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 2:13 am
"I'm sure you remember your previous assignment Shiloh," the Death lead thankfully followed up rather quickly post arrival of the second trainee. "You have been given an opportunity to work with your intended target." This was still, clearly addressed towards Shiloh, the undertone of where Lucky had stood on the non-O side suddenly rather clear. "You will continue from where Sam left off, and you will produce accurate results. If I only see results from only one of you, then I will assume that the other party was no longer needed. You have some semblance of choice as a Hunter, how you choose to continue will determine your results. I will expect a report back in the first week. You have clearance for class B external missions as long as you immediately provide results, in written or presentation form. Both of you are treading on very thin ice, it would be prudent for you to consider each and every action a with a little more respect. You are both dismissed."
Really, any longer, and Lucky would have had matching scars in a week.
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 11:22 pm
“Understood,” Shiloh said, his expression entirely neutral after Caelius finished explaining the finer details of their predicament. Simply spectating had been one thing, but having to work together with the Hunter who’d capitalized on his death was another one entirely. He was entirely unsure of how to approach the situation in a way that didn’t involve more thoughts of his fists colliding with Lucky’s face, so, with a gentle reminder from Haruko, he reined in his feelings, and turned the blank expression on Lucky, his face eerie when it was devoid of its usual smile. “Get cleaned up, then contact me immediately afterwards,” he said quietly as they both headed towards the door. “We’ll get started right away.”
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