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 Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:15 am
Oh, that definitely lightened the mood. Candace put her elbows on the edge of the desk again and cupped her chin in the palm of one hand, drumming her fingers along her cheek. "Roses? That's so sweet of him!" She was grinning again, a much more genuine expression now. Candace remembered that little trip, though there were mixed feelings about it. She focused on the good parts. "You should go see him, then. I'll tell him thank you for you if you really want me to, but I think he'd like it more if he heard it directly from the recipient of his affections. I bet the roses were lovely." Candace would not mention having any part in them. Lance got them for Aria all on his own.
She shook her head at Aria's words, her grin softening to a fond smile. "Not at all. That's one of the many things I admire about you, Aria. You actually care about the people in your division as more than just tools, or bait, or disposable warriors at your beck and call." But then her smile faltered. A replacement? Oh, right. If Lance didn't get better..he couldn't be her assistant anymore, could he? Candace tried not to frown again, sitting up straight once more and fixing her hair. "I'm sure everything will work out, yeah? Maybe you won't have to look for a replacement. Maybe everything will be fine. Have a little optimism every now and then." She told Aria with a light and somewhat playful tone.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:47 am
Aria sighed, leaning back against the window. "I don't... know. I just get a bad feeling when I think about going myself. There's something about it that's... off, I suppose?" She stepped away from the window and began to pace again. "If Lance really did take a powerful attack then his weapon should have been charged. It wasn't."
She turned, shaking her head. "He was out when the weapons were placed in golem form, so I can't ask Afir directly. And given the possibility of the Infection spreading or becoming something worse, it could have affected her. Or if it's affecting him... Paralyzed or not, he would be able to cause considerable damage with her." Aria raised a wrist and tapped it, adding, "I'm not sure if you met the... trainee with a runic bracelet on. It suppressed his ability to summon his weapon. Lance is wearing the same, just in case. Considering the destructive forces of the phoenix, that dragon, and the effect it had on the townspeople..."
Her words trailed off as she pulled her chair out again, dropping into it. "With luck I'm just being paranoid with how... conflicted I am. Trust me, before?" She looked up at Candace, meeting her eyes, "Before I would have placed him in a pod or surrendered him completely to the Life division for study and picked up a new Mist without a second thought. Now... Now I'm not so sure. God!" She threw back her head and laughed without mirth, "If anyone finds out about this I'm sure they'll have rolled their eyes and considered getting rid of me in order to do a better job themselves."
"Besides," Aria continued, "there are times when I wonder if I'm really caring or if I'm being selfish. The Mists are worth more to me alive than dead." She sat up, reaching to pull open a drawer in her desk as she began to root around inside it. "Either way... God, I can't wait for all of this mess to be over."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:07 am
The oddities just kept piling up. Some of them didn't make any sense...then again that was why they were considered odd. One thing Candace knew was that seeing Aria like this pained her greatly. The woman wanted nothing more than to get up and envelope Aria in a tight hug, but her leader always reacted strangely to hugs. Perhaps she just didn't like them. The mention of the cuff had Candace rubbing at her wrist. "I know Rep well enough. We even discussed why he had that cuff...it gave me quite a scare when they cuffed me for the weapon golem testing because of him." Lance wearing one was good, she supposed. Afir was a very destructive weapon, much like Aria's own weapon, and letting an unstable Hunter summon their weapon under those conditions was a very dangerous thing to risk. Candace held Aria's gaze, her frown returning as her leader explained what she would have done in the past. Yes, she definitely liked this Aria better. "So self-deprecating." Candace murmured, toying idly with the end of her scarf. She'd tried and tried and tried. Candace really wished there was something she could do to help Aria's negativity.
"Caring and being selfish can be mutually exclusive. Hell, maybe it just is selfish, but people disguise it with good, happy feelings so that they don't feel like an a*****e. 'Don't do it, I care about you so much.' 'I don't mean to say these things it's just I care.' 'I do this because I care.' Sounds pretty selfish to me." She shrugged. "Personally I don't find anything wrong with being a little selfish every now and then."
Candace found herself sitting up a little straighter in her seat and even craning her neck to try and get a discreet peek at what Aria was digging for. "I don't blame you...I'll do anything to help, Aria. I swear it. I'll even get some Mist trainees to help if you want. You know I'd do anything for you, I've told you before." She sounded sincere if not just a tad bit distracted with trying not to look too obvious about her curiosity.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:24 am
"Rep? Rep, Rep... Hm. I feel like I should know that name...?" Aria trailed off, then shook her head. "Either way, Lance should be... contained, I guess? As well as a former Sun can be. The last thing we need is for him to-" She stopped, shaking her head. "Either way, we need to be careful. While Lance and I have our moments there are times when it's like playing with fire." A smaller safe was pulled out and held on her lap while the division leader twisted the knob, unlocking it and pulling out a small package. With a tap on the edge of her desk Aria withdrew a cigarette and put it to her lips, locking the smaller safe and sliding it back into her drawer. In a moment her weapon was summoned, cigarette held against the pilot light until it lit.
Aria dismissed her weapon and took a long drag, holding her breath before slowly releasing it. "God. Considering how unstable Insanity is, I don't know if my appearance would do more harm than good. You know? There's so many risks..."
She trailed off, fetching a cigarette tray from her drawer and dropping it onto her desk. "Either way... At this point, the best thing to do is to just keep your eyes open. Be on the look out for Insanity and try to learn more, or at least get the other Mists to help. Or, hell, even talk to other trainees. Maybe visiting Lance would help, or it might infect you, too. Is that something you're willing to chance?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:48 am
"William, the Scottish misogynist who became your very best friend during that mission to the North Pole." Candace explained with obnoxious cheerfulness. Yes, delightful Rep. Always a charmer. The reasoning for cuffing Lance made sense. She'd seen his charge, seen his weapon..just the size of it was something of a risk. Candace didn't press Aria to finish when her leader cut herself off, but she couldn't help but smile at the mention of fire. "One would think the two of you were professionals when it comes to playing with fire all things considered, yourself especially." A safe!? Not another one! Candace just stared with a 'that better not be another ******** present' look directed at her beloved leader. She was not doing another puzzle. Oh...cigarettes. Another new thing to learn about Aria.
And then Aria summoned her weapon to light the cigarette in her mouth. While she didn't pull the trigger Candace still looked at her like she was ******** crazy.
Because she just used a goddamn flamethrower to light a cigarette hanging from her lips.
"No more of this caution s**t around me with your weapon if you're going to hold it inches from your face to light a cigarette." She said flatly, though there was still some hint of amusement in there.
"Sure, I'll look into it. I'll see what I can find out..." The idea of possibly getting infected seeing Lance hadn't actually crossed Candace's mind until Aria brought it to her attention.
s**t.
I would never let something like that happen to you! That's a foolish idea! Candace frowned. Aria herself had said there was no telling for sure..
"..Yes." She began warily. "I'll look into any kind of possible precautions, though. I doubt a plain ol' hazmat suit will have much effect. He'd probably laugh himself to death at the sight of me." Humor, humor, always humor...though she should stay serious. This wasn't exactly a laughing matter. "All joke aside though, yes I am willing to take that chance."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:00 am
"Ah. Him." Said with the same amount of enthusiasm and oh, a dead rat or oh, Jerry blew up another men's room except without the shameless smirk and teehee those suckers that accompanied the later. "I haven't seen him in a long time, though if that was him... Hm. Some things don't change, it seems." Aria shrugged, her amusement fading quickly. "That's the tricky thing about fire, Candace. When you think you've got it figured out the wind shifts unexpectedly, and you find yourself burned."
As Candace scolded her, Aria removed the cigarette from her lips and pointed it at her. "Hey. Don't knock my bad habits, it's not like I do this often. Only when stressed. It helps, even if just a little bit."
The cigarette was lowered, the end tapped against the rim of the tray to catch the spent ash. "Then that is that, I suppose," Aria said. "If you're positive... He'll be in the life labs. He managed to get his laptop along with a couple other things, so with luck he'll be himself. But if he isn't..." Aria leaned forward, jabbing her cigarette towards Candace. "Protect yourself. Get out of there. Do you understand me? Prioritize yourself over him. And don't tell him you have lockpicks, either. If he catches wind of those he might try to use them to get that bracelet off."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:13 am
"He's...interesting. Listening to his personal problems makes me feel better about mine." Shrugging, Candace was back to playing with her lockpicks. She was going to like having these. "You could pick up a second hobby of poetry saying things like that, ma'am. But I get what you're saying.."
When reprimanded for her own scolding, Candace pouted like a petulant child and even slouched in her seat. "I'm going to buy you a proper lighter. It'll be pretty, and have your name engraved on it. Not knocking the smoking, I don't have a problem with it, just the use of a flamethrower to light a teensy little stick hanging from your lips."
Right. Life labs. She'd mentioned quarantine..but not by himself? Why...why wouldn't he be by himself? Candace wasn't sure she wanted to know what Aria was implying. She frowned and nodded, sitting up like a proper adult lady again. "I understand, and I won't mention them..." She paused awkwardly and fidgeted with her scarf again. This was so odd for her. Candace didn't used to fidget so much before..eugh.
"Is that all then, ma'am? Or is there anything else you'd like while you have me?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:29 am
The comment about poetry earned Candace a shake of her division leader's head followed by a roll of her eyes. "No thanks. I'll leave the poetry to Lance and... anyone else," she faltered.
She seized on the topic, shaking her head. "Symphony is just fine thank you. Save your money for a pair of shoes. It's not like I'm pulling the trigger to light it. I tried that already. It doesn't work."
Aria set her cigarette down, blowing the smoke out of her lungs with a quick breath. "That is all. You are dismissed. Just... stay safe. Both of you."
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:47 pm
Candace chuckled and shook her head. "Nope, I can get shoes anytime. I have an idea in my head and it's staying. Enjo--what." She actually pulled the trigger once.
Why, Aria.
Why.
When dismissed she simply nodded and stood from her chair, collecting her lockpicks and turning to leave. She stopped just before the door, looking down at the lockpicks in her hand and then at Aria over her shoulder. Pocketing the set, Candace turned without another word and walked back to Aria. She moved around the desk to stand beside her before leaning down and giving Aria the hug she'd wanted to give her before. Candace's arms were around the woman's shoulders, her face buried against her hair. "I'm sorry, Aria." She said gently, resisting the urge to press a kiss against her head and instead just nuzzling at her. "If you need someone to talk to, Hunter business or just normal conversation, I'm here." Releasing her, Candace stood again and stepped back with a small smile. "You stay safe too, okay? I'll see you around. Thank you for the lockpicks, Aria."
Giving a small wave, Candace then turned and finally left the office.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:31 pm
Aria shot Candace a stern look that said drop it in regards to that particular idea. She merely waved her away, wearily dropping her gaze to the paperwork in front of her to continue where she left off.
She jumped when Candace put her arms around her, forcing her body into a rigid stillness. "I-- I'll be fine." Aria managed when Candace released her. "Just -- go. See you."
It wasn't until Candace was gone that Aria shook herself and stood up, moving towards the window to stare and think.
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