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 Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:15 pm
Dory had the worse pounding headache when he came back to. Last he remembered was failing the deathsweeper - in which he did pretty ******** good, but now Caelius was ripping in to them for turning on each other. There was just something a little unnerving about hearing someone yell ******** at you over and over again in a threatening way, but when he heard the three girls names - Peyton, Stormy and Abbi, he gave them all a little look, before being dismissed.
Giving a soft sigh through his nose, he worried about all three of them. They had only done what they were able to do to stay alive - and although the Death Head was right, he couldn't help but think that there was injustice in justice. Haha.
Lifting himself up from his seat, he went to the three girls and gave them each a soft pat on the head, kind of looking at them like, 'if you need me, after this, you know where to find me.' before turning to go leave as he was requested.
Before such though, he turned to lock arms with Solomon, clearing his throat a little. "Come on, man, let's talk it out."
He was sure the taller guy needed it.
[ Byyyeee bitchesss - leaving ]
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:17 pm
Melvin woke, confused and unsure of where was at, and was hit with a wave of deja vu. This was a place he never considered visiting again, and felt a twisting in his gut, which wasn't helpful compounded to a recollection of other things. His hand went to his throat, as if checking it would indicate he was more alive than simplifying breathing normally. Of course he was alive, he was breathing after all, and unless you could just ignore the fact you were bleeding from your throat, then that should have been that. However, he still touched his throat, seeking a sign that it had been real, but nowadays, he knew these signs weren't trustworthy. Everything came off as an illusion in the end, yet the realness of metal against your throat, the pain, the confusion, and the betrayl to people you barely knew were there - deeply imprinted on the mind.
There was no reason to stay with people who did not care for you, but already frail, he only felt the words of Caelius pelting him like large boulders. It mimicked the same idea other hunters had told him, other superiors who called him naive and expected more from those around him.
Is that why H decided to take what he needed and use others as pawns? Because he too saw them as owing him, as something less, and that even if they died, then they were just fulfilling a debt that they could never repay? No one could be trusted when they could easily kill you under a twist of reality, and considering how often that happened, it just made that threat even greater.
His eyes glanced to spot Rin nearby, and knew that overall, the dangers weren't just out in missions. It left a acidic, sour taste in the back of his throat, and he swallowed hard, half expecting his throat to split open from the smallest actions.
There was no reason to stay, and he rose from his seat, the chair squeaking as he did so, and considered the option on the other side. Was it also a sign of his naivety to have once felt some sort of pride, a feeling of greater purpose, when he was given the prospect of being a Hunter? What was it now? Was it deemed this worthless to everyone, this expendable?
He turned, passing Rin and gesturing that he would be waiting for her at the door, and left the room, feeling more hollow and yet too heavy for this world.
Exit
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:32 pm
Chel scooted out of the room faster than the ******** road runner. No way she was touching that angry poodle in the front of the classroom. Not with a ten foot pole.
She gave a worried look to Jack and Finn (though mostly at Jack), then left. As a hunter.
EXIT
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:35 pm
Stay
Blearily Jack had woken up in the room, though his mental clarity quickly came once he remembered what had happened--and once his name was called. The look that Chel gave him in passing was not a good sign.
He would like to choose to fulfill his condition as a Hunter if possible, thanks. He hadn't realized utilizing a liability in order to continue living did not fall under that.
The giant settled back down, having been in the motion of leaving with the rest, his face carefully neutral as he looked around. Interesting crowd: half of which didn't surprise him (Finn being his co-conspirator, Roland being a stupid ******** with the levers, Peyton simply because she seemed like the type), two of which he had no judgment for, and . . . then the other girls. He quirked a brow when he heard Stormy and Abbi's names, but he didn't show any other particular expression otherwise.
Nevertheless, he was still oddly proud of their apparently accomplishments. Atta girls. Just in time to get royally screwed with the rest of them. So proud.
As people got up to leave, Jack's eyes searched out for one particular blond, and once their eyes met he allowed one corner of his lips to pull into the faintest of smiles, two fingers lifting as if to say goodbye.
And: Don't worry, I'll happily watch her for you.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:37 pm
He remembered this place well. It was where everything had started. Not even a breath, and Caelius was already jumping into another tirade. Ah yes. How Wilson had forgotten how painful his division leader's rants were.
"..." Stoic silence as he took it all in stride, and when finally they were given the go ahead to leave, the death hunter slowly stood up and walked out mutely.
[ exit ]
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:38 pm
Solomon was getting a less well written post because his author was unhappy her phone had eaten the last one. He'd never met the Death Division lead before, but he seemed like the kind of person who needed coffee at 7:15 in the morning. Especially when the poodle man started ripping them all a new one.
He sunk down in his seat as one probably should have when a coffeeless man who looked like they did require beauty sleep went on a tirade, pulling his hood down over his head and frowning.
'Well to be fair I only went to someone's rescue. ..' he said quietly to himself before the image if Rin in the meat grinder returned to him. The thought made him briefly nauseous and he found himself trying to make eye contact (despite visor....) with Dorian.
Dorian who thankfully wasn't grounded like a list of people he couldn't help but feel pity for right then. When they were given excuse to leave, Solomon was up, walking over to the blue ranger and putting a hand around his shoulder.
'I want out of here now...' he said quietly, though he wouldn't admit it was partially because he missed Aren. That didn't stop him from shooting a concerned look towards Peyton, however. What had she done?
----
She felt 120% like crap. Her head hurt, her body was sore, and she felt like she'd been trying to breathe water for a bit longer than she'd intended to. If she'd been asked how she felt, she would have said she'd sworn she'd been turned into an electrocuted roast.
Opening her eyes, however, Cass quickly assessed a few things - she'd managed to stay asleep with Captain Murderpants in the room (eek) and her hand was crunchier than she would have liked. She gave it two test flexes before glancing around the room, her eyes settling on two trainees in particular.
Two trainees who would be dead if she had any say in it right then. However, Captain Murderpants had started talking and as such it was probably not a good time to interrupt him. The way he spoke probably should have made her sink into her seat with fear. A new minipet looking like him should have been born right then. Instead, she treated him much like a crazy person would a wild animal - she sat up straighter and maintained eye contact. Of course they were in trouble.
She hadn't signed up for any of that stupid trial, however, and she was missing her voice of reason. While thinking about things missing, Cass quickly realized the blade she'd been given was also missing. That meant Captain Murderpants was packing extra murder in his pants that day. Goodie. Still, thinking about Nicodemus and just wanting to get back to her office, Cass didn't put up a fuss when they were excused.
She did, however, give Finn and Jack a look that implied a sarcastic and very grim laugh. It was complicated that way. But beyond that one look, she had no other glances towards them as she took her leave.
Exit
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:43 pm
Ian left without a single word or glance to anyone.
[ EXIT ]
--------------------------------
In the back of the room stood a somewhat short, blonde haired hunter, arms folded across his chest, Gale leaning against the wall. He had spent most of the previous afternoon sitting alone in his house, idly turning Sam's tablet over in his hands as though somehow it might give him answers. Unfortunately, it did nothing except remind him of the bloody mess of her body, and after a while he'd tucked it away safely before heading to bed at six in the evening.
Now he watched the rest of them waken, his eyes scanning the room as each person slowly came to their senses. His gaze rested for a long moment on Stormy, her short auburn hair slightly mussed in the back, and then swept sideways to find the rest of them, make sure they were okay.
He caught Jack's eye, the smirk and the salute, but Gale just glowered at him, unmoving. Regardless of what he had to give Caelius (who he didn't particularly want to talk to, but it was unfortunately unavoidable), he was not about to leave without understanding what the Death Leader had to say to those he wanted to see.
Especially considering Stormy was one of them.
[ STAY ]
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:50 pm
Ami felt literally nothing as Caelius ranted and barked and spewed his noxious fumes at her. She was used to him being angry and pissed off. Though it did sort of scare her, at the end of the day Dr. H was her boss. He was the only one she'd really be terrified of. Caelius had his momentary scares, but only H could incite real terror in Ami.
She glared at Lawr as she stood up to leave. What an inhuman man. She may not have seen her attacker, but she felt the dagger and the push. Otto and Gale wouldn't do that. Sam and Charlotte knew better. Lawr had been giving her the eyes the moment he walked in.
As she moved to the door, her eyes fell on Stormy and Otto. She really needed Stormy in the library, and Otto ...
Well. Hunters died. She knew that full well- she didn't need a long Caelius rant about it to remind her of their inevitable uselessness. It didn't take any more words to get her to scoot out the door, quickly so as to avoid losing her position (and possibly her head). She did stop to pat Otto's shoulder on the way out. Subtly, as though she was bumping into him. Stay strong, brat.
< You think they'll be okay? >
No.
EXIT
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:55 pm
Waking up was confusing and disorienting, and Milo did it with a jolt. This certainty wasn't the spikes, which he remembered seeing below him, but a classroom. Where he was being yelled at, along with many familiar faces by someone who was only vaguely familiar; he didn't cross paths with Caelius too often except when apparently needing to learn some sort of lesson. And this one he kind of didn't get, maybe about fifty percent of it; the stuff about being Hunters seemed pretty clear, but the actions? Milo had kind of missed a big majority of the 'actions' his peers had taken part of to get to this point, so he wore a puzzled face until the very end; occasionally glancing at those he knew that were around him.
His name wasn't called though, which seemed like a good thing judging by the expression the Death Lead wore (not to mention that stern lecture and all, good indicator). Some of those he did know were though, many in the last group he had been apart of (he didn't really know Roland to put name to face) and some he considered comrades in arms, what they had done was a little concerning really and he wore a small frown wondering how they landed in such a spot. Kind of sucked not knowing (but maybe it was better that way? Jack and Finn had argued over something...) Obviously something bad; had something to do with those tubes and the cryptic messages on their bracelets, the dunes, that meat grinder thing, the blood... the spikes... Bad stuff.
Milo let out a small sigh as he got up, having been cleared to leave and all that. "Good luck?" Probably a stupid thing to utter in this case, but well, yeah. He made his way out.
[EXIT]
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:05 pm
Stay
It was deja vu. Her body certainly felt like it had gone through a few trials, and the walls were still blinding to the eyes for the first few seconds. What was different was that it was most certainly and horribly real. Stormy knew before he started calling out names that she was doomed. Blood stains were hard to remove, even with clean hands.
She didn't look up from the desktop until she felt someone pat her head, turning in time to catch Dorian's look. And like a child, she wanted to reach out and grab his sleeve and force him to stay. The reality of her situation was slowly dawning on her, and while normally she liked less people, in this situation she wanted more to stay. Mitigate the spotlight, don't leave, don't leave--
Of course, the other option was stay and watch them all get punished for their mistakes, but she'd rather witnesses than to be alone; even in a group of eight like this it was, somehow, lonely.
It startled her that Abbi was considered part of them, especially since the girl had revealed the dagger had not supposed to have been able to kill, but what else could they do? Stormy stiffened at the mention of Jack's name, glad for the distance but no less dreading their fates for it; unsurprisingly Finn was coupled with it. She wondered exactly how many those two had murdered.
Past the smug look her ex was giving was Gale, which gave her a modicum of comfort in this otherwise terrifying moment. She wished he wasn't on the far wall and much closer, but she didn't dare do much else give him a brief apologetic look before facing forward again, eyes glued to the desks once more. Maybe he wanted to keep the space. Maybe he was confused and frustrated about her once more. Pale in spite of her complexion and starting to sweat, Stormy threaded her cold fingers together and mumbled some lines under her breath like a calming mantra.
"I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use..."
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:20 pm
Given what was about to happen, Taym's thought on waking was appropriate: I didn't think she'd actually do it.The thought was banished long enough to listen to Caelius's lecture, delivered in typical Caelius fashion--a mode of speech Taym was becoming accustomed to; a cadence and sneer that he could mentally summon up at will, that he could effortlessly apply to every written communication with the man's name at the bottom. Once again, he found himself unsettled, uncomfortable, to realize how much he agreed with what Caelius said. And he found himself looking at Peyton with a flat, expressionless stare, and the waking thought resurfaced when her name was spoken. He didn't get up immediately. Risking Caelius's displeasure, he hesitated, and his eyes blindly roamed over the wall behind the Death Lead's head as he collected his chaotic thoughts and tried to steady the shaking of his traitorous hands. His conditions as a Hunter. He'd always lumped a loyalty to his fellow Hunters in with that, mentally. He was shaken, deeply, by everything that had just happened to make him question that ideal in himself as much as in everyone else. He'd thought it, hadn't he: that he was in as much danger from the people around him as he was from anything they all fought together. Maybe more. And even though his name wasn't on Caelius's list, the idea that maybe he was a danger to the people around him--the exact thing he'd come here to escape--made his stomach knot up and reminded him of how sharply, painfully hungry he was. It was this practical consideration, this bit of banality, that stirred him out of his introspective freeze. He turned in his seat to look at the door, and found himself looking dead at Gale, and for reasons he could not begin to fathom he lifted his eyebrows in a mute plea for permission, or at the very least for something that wasn't a sneer of disgust.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:28 pm
The last thing she had remembered was thinking about the letter C and holding the hand of a man she didn't know the name of. Blackness came after that, and a little bit later on was... A classroom.
More importantly, a room with a particular person up front giving a very interesting lecture. Instinct took over and Abbi scrambled for her notebook and pen. But wait! The rest of what she knew kicked in a second later to reveal that, well, this wasn't high school... This was way worse, actually.
A tiny, very small whimper left her as the harrowing speech continued and when her name was called, she went paler than she normally was. The air in her mouth felt too little as the teen sucked in a desperate breath, hating that they used her legal name rather than the one she went by. Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to stay? What had she done that--
Stormy had to stay too.
Startled, Abbi looked around the room in attempt to find her friend and spied the Frenchman's pitiful look on his way out. Another little squeak was her reply, but it died quickly as the girl found Stormy instead. It was terrible to feel this way, but a part of Abbi was comforted to know that the older girl looked as worried as she did.
But that was it. Everything else felt too much.
What they had been through wasn't enough, what she had done wasn't harsh enough to excuse her and now the girl sat, hands clenched together hard enough to turn her knuckles white, and trained her gaze straight ahead. If she pretended this was just detention (of which she'd never had), if she acted like this wasn't that big a deal, maybe she could convince her heart to stop hammering and her lungs to fill up properly. The fact that Finn and Jack's names had been called too only made her feel worse, for it meant something terrible for each of them surely. Others were spared and safe, which she would undoubtedly feel grateful for later on, but for now... What would happen to her?
Unfortunately there wasn't even the comforting voice of Viveca to ease the dread welling up inside. And she didn't at all know what would come next...
Stay
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:55 pm
He watched Stormy's back with an inscrutable look before finally tearing his eyes away, catching Taym's look in his direction. The expression was, to say the least, surprising, and Gale open his mouth slightly before snapping it shut again, pressing his lips together.
He gave Taym the smallest of nods.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 11:23 pm
When Mimsy's eyes opened, they were filled with a fury that extended all the way to the tips of her fingers, which curled into fists before she'd even taken her first waking breath. Felled by a girl who had apologized. It disgusted her. A knot tightened in her stomach when her glare briefly found Abbi, nails digging into her palms as her focus returned to Caelius. They were both unworthy of their successes, and despite the greater significance of the Death Lead's offense, she categorized them both as deserving of nothing less than abhorrence. He spoke of their lack of intelligence and excess of ignorance, then connected it to all the wrong reasons. It made sense to destroy those who were beneath her. Clearly he understood that. She remembered it well, because there was no possible way she could ever forget the moment that he had stolen something important from her. Everything he said served only to foster her belief that he was the idiot in the room. It was a feeling that began when he stole the hard-earned reward of two decades of work, then let the fruits of the labor sit out and spoil. He hadn't even enjoyed it. He'd discarded it before he could ever savor the taste. That was stupidity. And it was no less stupid to teach that it was unacceptable to turn on each other, wrong to create friendships on foundations of false actions and lies, incorrect to function with a purpose aside from owing them. Owing him. No. He was wrong, and he owed her. She deserved to get even, to make it right, and to come out ahead. Nothing less. The list of names would not have registered had it not included Lucky's name, followed by a silence that allowed it to sink in. The scowl on her lips became a frown, narrowed eyes settling on her brother. Protesting the false assertions Caelius made was too foolish a reason to remain in the room, and she intended to avoid speaking up when he had an audience and a reckless point to prove, but leaving Lucky here with him was concerning. Clearance in resolving this problem. She knew how he resolved problems. If he took a second thing from her, the consequences that she would try to enact were unfathomable to her. But she refused to allow him to believe that she was as stupid as he thought. She shoved at the desk to push herself out of it, moving to touch Lucky's left hand as she passed. A reminder. This was not the time to gamble with her survival. If she and Lucky both disappeared, their work would be stored away for an indeterminate amount of time, stunting progress yet again. If her other projects were unattended, they would inevitably fail. If she left her experiment alone, he would-- There was a jolt of panic that made her chest hurt, resulting in an accidental look of confusion towards Caelius instead of something more competitive. She hastily redirected her gaze to the door and stomped through it, muttering to herself about rules and finding something. [exit]Astaraei just a hand-touch of ambiguous meaning
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 11:29 pm
Impalement, pain, death. This was an all too familiar feeling for Finn, one that was still far too fresh, as his eyes flickered open, unfocused at first, disoriented, the brightness of the classroom making him squint. These flashes of memory were the first he had when awakening came, of his struggle to survive, of falling, an exhilarating yet utterly terrifying feeling, of feeling utterly free for just a few moments while at the same time knowing that soon the impact would come, and his body would be broken.
He was stony faced when he first sat up in his chair, stained gloved hands coming to rest on the desktop. It appeared he was in a classroom, and a quick glance around showed him some familiar faces, and others who were not so familiar at all.
And then the one at the front of the classroom, the one that for just a brief moment made the blood running through Finn's veins run cold, while simultaneously somehow he thought that his heart might beat out of his chest. It was him, the one Fini told him had been the reason he'd been sent to the Sahara. And he was pissed off, which could only mean they were all in for a world of anguish.
Only apparently not all. To Finn's credit, he didn't even flinch when his name was called, and as the list wound down, he could find no rhyme or reason for those who were asked to stay accept that....
Killers. They were all killers.
Finn felt a smile pull up at the corners of his lips, his eyes cold and dead. He and Jack, yes, they had pushed Cass into the water, had left her to drown, or be electrocuted, or be crushed by the walls, whatever happened to take her life first. But she had been downed, she had been a liability, she could be used to save them all and that's all Finn had intended in his actions.
That didn't mean that he felt any remorse. If he'd had to replay the situation over again, not much would have changed, if anything changed at all. His hands were not clean of that particular murderous act, and there was not a shred of him that gave a s**t about it.
When Cass shot them her parting glance, he turned that smile up at her, that cold, empty smile, and nothing more.
There were other names called, of course, some that he recognized. The one from their own group that had pulled the levers, Lucky, Otto...
And then the girls. Hearing Abbi's name did surprise Finn, but maybe not quite so much as hearing Stormy's. From his few interactions with her, she had seemed like much the same girl she had always been, but now..now it seemed he would have to keep an eye on her. As for Abbi, there was nothing more then a flare of pride, in knowing, without a doubt, that whatever she had done, if it had not been by accident, it had been done because she likely had no other choice.
Just as Finn would like to have said his own actions had been.
A glance was spared to those few who left that bothered to pay him any mind. Was he worried about what would come next? Yes. It would have been foolish not to worry, but he would not let that worry show.
He wondered, at this point, if he was ever going to get to see Fini again. He wondered at how furious she was going to be if he did. Possibly at him for landing himself here, probably at the Death lead, and maybe she would even hold some in reserve for Jack and Abbi, as well.
And then he hoped he did get to see her again, because she was absolutely breathtaking when she was angry.
Stay
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