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 Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:44 pm
((OOC: This is the follow up for Hunters from the meta, anyone who was in the Oct meta is assumed to be here))
The Hunter trainees were wrong in one aspect: it was a good five days later before anyone even saw a glimpse of Caelius. And once again, it was on the Death Hunter's often whimsical and unpredictable terms. Come to the same classroom as per usual. Bring your cell phones, your wits, and possibly a spare lifeline.
He was waiting for them in his usual place on the table as they began to trickle in, looking like he had lost a fight with a lawn mower. Half his hair was cropped, the other half curled down his shoulder, and despite obvious efforts to keep everything clean and organized, all-in-all it seemed like a losing battle. As always, he waited for the last of them to file - or limp for some - before he looked up from a rather impressive pile of overly neatly stapled, filed, and paper-clipped documents he had been quietly filling to pass by the time. Finally, he stopped, placed the pieces together and tapped them lightly before stapling them again and putting them in a small stack. Another larger stack stood untouched on his left hand side.
"Trainees," Caelius tucked his pen into his chest pocket, "Welcome back. Glad to see everyone made productive use of their time." There was an unpleasant tone to his voice. "Before we get started with the mission report which I'm sure none of you even considered filling out, I would like to remind you that due to lack of proper information being reported post event, everyone involved in the incident has been placed under temporary probation, that means all activities will be held strictly inside Deus Ex facilities only for the next week until further notice." A pause, to let the new information sink into the trainees. "Myself included."
That would explain his bad mood. The Death Hunter pressed on. "Nonetheless, there is always work to do, and I appreciate while some of you may value the extent of your injuries to an almost unbearable degree, which is charming really, that you do not let entirely undermine your entire mission efforts. Next time, post mission, do not let others speculate for you. Do not provide only half the actual facts, and most of all fill in the ******** mission report form when you have a goddamn moment." A hand slammed onto the pile of stacked papers in questions, for a second Caelius looked like he was entirely going to lose it again. Thankfully he took a few deep breaths, focusing on a point far beyond the trainees.
"Now. Before we get started I do have some questions." A pause, and then, the expression was serious again. "Does anyone still have the 'Chill'." A few blank looks apprehended him. "Though weapons are generally quite intuitive when it comes to protecting a Hunter from death, it does not mean that they do not go through a partially near death experience. The effect of almost dying, or hovering in limbo creates an effect we call 'The Chill'. Aftereffects are pretty simple: you feel cold, you can't focus, your body feels numb no matter what you do."
It was questionable whether or not trainees actually wanted to share with a borderline unstable Hunter Council leader their thoughts and feelings regarding that matter.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:00 pm
Gale had thought Caelius had died back during that horrendous final battle.
Clearly he was quite wrong.
When he walked into the conference room he found their fearless leader sitting at the head, as usual - except he was not quite as impressive as he once had been. This might have been due to the fact that his hair, which was, under normal circumstances, long and sleek, was now...well, not.
Gale might have laughed, if he did not think he would be on the receiving end of that scythe again. And considering he now had a nice little line on his neck from the last time he'd angered the Death Hunter, he thought it best to keep his mouth firmly shut.
Which seemed to be a wise decision, considering that Caelius seemed - to say the least - quite put out at anything and everything.
The 'Chill.' So there was a name for it; the coldness that had seeped into his body upon awakening was not an unusual experience, apparently. Gale pressed his lips together in a firm line, a frown tugging them downwards, though he said nothing. Jinhai had not mentioned anything on the subject matter, but Gale had not actually asked him about the strange and somewhat unnerving icy feeling. And he was not entirely certain whether or not he actually wanted to admit that he had had the sensation.
Especially not to a PMS'ing Death Hunter with a scythe.
With a resigned sigh, Gale's eyes flickered up to the man at the front of the table.
"I do," he said quietly.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:04 pm
Cass had to bite her lower lip to keep from commenting on Caelius's hair. It was... His hair..oh man.. his hair, his hair his hair. She'd almost been entranced with the lost-lawnmower-haircut to the point where she'd been missing what it was he was saying. Except that the Death Hunter terrified her enough to actually have her attention for the time being. Time being shortish time. She wasn't actually sure about anything.
However, it seemed the note of people being put under probation was um.. oh. Reports. The mist hunter fidgeted at the comment that reminded her that she'd been so ready to take a shower and go to bed that she'd um. Oh dear. She could see why the Death Hunter was upset. She twiddled her thumb innocently as he continued to speak, bringing up something that he called.. the 'Chill'?
For a moment, she wondered if that was one of those FEAR categorizations that Nicodemus had told her about.
Then Caelius actually explained what it was and her mind went to Nicodemus. Cass personally was feeling find, but...Nicodemus still was acting a bit off. Not as off as Caelius was, but still, the young hunter shook her head to answer his question. She could feel her limbs perfectly well and focus was on the same subject it was always on to be honest. However, another trainee piped up about having the chill and she felt a small pang of concern about it.
The description along had seemed pretty horrible.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:18 pm
Bix was still bandaged under his clothes since his back had born the brunt of his damage. And his hair.
His poor hair.
Most others wouldn't notice the inches missing from the end of his braid, but he knew and that's what was important.
Caelius looked as beat up as the rest of them and even though he was back to his b*****d self, Bix felt a bit more loyal to the Death hunter. He'd essentially led them into battle and whether they did well or not, there was now a bit of a connection there.
The albino hunter listened closely as they were berated (no one handed out forms how was he supposed to know?!) and shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't exactly lean back yet and it was distracting. But it could have been the Chill.
"Yeah me too. Like being in the freezer section of the grocery store.. all the time." He frowned and glanced at Gale. The two of them had yet to hang out after the battle. He wondered if there was anything to say?
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:59 pm
Madison had finally made it over to the quartermaster, and obtained a new coat and scarf - everything just as she'd had it before, including a second pair of awesome shoes. The remains of the burns on her right leg were also easily hidden. Thank god. Thus, she entered the classroom with greater confidence... only for Caelius to smack it back down again.
Yeah, that was kind of back to normal.
"Um, I have... my fingers are always cold and won't warm up," she said, raising one hand and wiggling the offending digits slightly. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved at having the problem identified or not. Really, it all depended how Caelius followed it up - was he going to say it was easily fixed, or that it was permanent? Ugh, she didn't want to not have feeling in her fingers ever. Or her left ear.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:04 pm
Jerry shifted uneasily in his seat amongst the other trainees, looking uncomfortable. He had a new uniform by now, at least, and while he waited for his prescription glasses to come in, they had given him a pair of one of Caelius's many back up glasses. It... was better than being blind, but only in one eye, really. He wondered if his commander had astigmatism.
At the mention of the Chill, his face went white. Is... is that what it was? His hand slowly rose amongst the others, glancing to Bix and Gale momentarily. "I... ah... thought maybe I had caught some sort of Halloween um... Cold." Near death experience? He supposed that... really would explain it. No matter what Candace had said about it, he remained in firm denial on the subject.
He supposed there was no more arguing. His hand went back down again to nervously pick at the bandages on his cheek.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:22 pm
It was hard not to focus on Cealius's hair. Very hard. In fact, that was all Tikaanis could do was to stare at the death hunters hair. Blatantly in fact. Focusing just wasn't going to happen right now. That was until Cealius hit on a topic that interest the teen.
So the state of near death had a name. The chill. Tika felt her body shutter just slightly remembering what it was like to be so alone. So cold. Numb. Slowly her hand also raised with out a word.
Her own body seemed to be healing fine all and all for the most part. Aside from some heavy bandaging on her right arm, which she could move, and a few nicks here and there. Tikaanis had this chill it seemed, but it wasn't all bad.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:52 pm
Five days. Five days to think about what had happened, to play her epic failures in her head over and over and over. She was not happy. Sure, she could put on a happy face but inside Candace felt sick to her stomach. The woman was disgusted with herself for her poor performance. Even Jerry, as much as she adored the man, had done better than her. Jerry. The man with the trigger finger who needed get his emotions under control. Candace was making it her mission to calm him down. And on top of that she had forgotten to fill out an actual report after informing Clarice of everything she could think of in that moment. This was so not like Candace. It was out of character for her. Stupid. Stupid. STUPID! How many times have I told you to stop being so hard on yourself? Atropos sighed. 's**t happens' as you would say. Candace sank low in her chair, slouching with one leg crossed over the other and her arms folded across her chest. Now was not the time for that. She was unhappy. This was so ******** up.
Caelius finally spoke and Candace winced. His words stung. Wait..probation? She sat up sharply, eyes wide and looking like she'd just been kicked in the gut. She was in trouble?! But...but she...! ********..! Candace's fists clenched tightly in an effort not to try and flip the table in front of her, listening as Caelius continued to scold them again and again. Like children.
Like failures.
Candace remained silent, not caring about this Chill thing despite the fact that she was still listening intently. She hadn't ******** done anything wrong. Son of a..this wasn't fair! Ugh! Just stay quiet, Candace. Just stay quiet or you'd mess up everything and just make it all worse.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:14 pm
That hair.
Leon knew that Cael was probably trying to say something important, or talking about how much money he saved from switching to Geico..... Or talking about ponies. But it was so hard to look away from the hair. And just openly stare, practically gawking would be more precise, with its party on the left and god-awful hideousness on the right. But as he made cow eyes at the mess above, the words were slowly filtering into the boxers mind.
One word in fact rung out the most, Probation. Reports were reports yes, but probation was more foreboding. It was a cruel reminder of how he decided to shirk his duties in favor for a warm shower and a quick nap that went on for about 12-14 hours, it was hard to keep track in that pristine white room.
Nid however, Leon could feel the dragon diving further and further into the recesses of his mind at the mere mention of Chill. Which followed by the explanation made the head guest bloom back into the forefront of his mind in relief.
The Weapons were such interesting and yet fickle things.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:45 pm
Caelius was not oblivious: he was quite ******** sure that eyes did not grow out of the side of his head to make eye contact with, but the Death Hunter did what he did best: ignore the situation and blame everything else on their general incompetence.
Sadly, he was not wrong in doing so.
As the first of the trainees admitted their condition, and a second and then third follow, the Death Hunter was almost impressed by their honesty. Almost, because it could get them killed elsewhere, but surprisingly, they were not mindless drones. Quite yet.
"Good. I am glad that some of you can answer a straightforward question." He pulled from his left hand pocket a simple looking box: just a small cardboard box, in fact it looked like a traditional box of matchsticks, sans label. How the Death Hunter knew exactly what he was looking for in every one of his numerous hidden pockets was most likely one of the mysteries that breathed and died with his trade. He gave it a small shake, and the lower half of the box slid open, and a few simple objects popped out.
They looked like small green pills.
"Take one of these. Swallow it, you'll feel better." There was no room for negotiation in his tone: it was not a recommendation, it was an absolute and simple command.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 7:49 pm
Madison wouldn't have been inclined to argue anyway; she was sick and tired of this Chill business. She got up at once and walked up to get a pill, studying it for a minute before taking it, swallowing hard to make sure it went all the way down.
And then nothing happened. Sigh. Well, maybe it would take a while. "Um, thank you, sir," she said to Caelius before returning to her seat.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 7:51 pm
Gale's eyes flickered briefly towards Bix as the older hunter sat nearby, then moved away, back to their boss. He wasn't sure how exactly to talk to his friend just yet; after all, despite the fact that they had come together as a team during the last battle, there were still many questions that remained unanswered.
Caelius had pulled out a box - a strangely small box that seemed quite inconspicuous for someone like the Death Hunter.
A pill? Gale thought, frowning a bit. He was not entirely certain he trusted their leader, but with a resigned sort of expression on his face, he leaned forward and took one, sliding it across the table and back to himself.
"Bottoms up," he muttered, and tilted his head back, throwing the pill into his mouth and swallowing.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:27 pm
"oh, er... Thank you sir, but... What um... Is this exactly? I, er... Have allergies you see and um..." Jerry flushed, his hand trembling as he took a pill, but did not swallow it just yet. Sure his fingers were like ice and the cool against his burns made him feel a bit as though he was being torn apart by temperature but that was no reason to be careless about what he ingested.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:00 pm
Marcus was more or less, like the other. Fixated with their instructor's hair. Maybe Dr. H was right, and funding for his hair care products had been vut. For a second Marcus wondered if that was something to jokingly ask the doctor about. This thought was dismissed as he realized this would mean seeking the doctor out, and talking to him, while not ended up the next test subject. From the impressions he'd gotten, being told to become a test subject was so not desired. Even Dis was firm in not wanting to risk that. Marcus could die and he'd be stuck in that cave again.
The moon hunter trainee was more impressed by Dis's honesty than the fact he was managing to not comment about the girls in the room. Thank God for small miracles. While the death hunter spoke, Marcus thought about it. He hadn’t felt an of those symptoms described, but in the back of his mind, Dis was making incoherent noises of displeasure as talk of ‘The Chill’ went on. Now he was really glad he didn’t have it. Gale, Bix, Madison… that one guy with the bazooka. Headphones. Eugh. Poor guys.
To him probation didn’t suck a whole lot. They were stuck at bottom rung anyway. Harder to get lower than that. But to know their teacher got probation too… was that some kind of ironic justice? Maybe. His hair was like icing on the metaphorical cake though.
Raising is hand, he wondered idly was with Aria and that Halloweener. Just…what was up with that? How could they have missed it? Not only that but he an idea. Just… unsure who to talk about it. And he preferred Caelius over Dr. H. At least the death hunter wouldn’t test things on him.
He hoped.
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iStoleYurVamps
iStoleYurVamps
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:19 pm
"...Jerry please do not not make this any more difficult." He ignored any other looks at the side of his head and simply waited, folding both hands comfortably in front of him.
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