Welcome to Gaia! ::

The Life assistant's office was half computer lab, half metal shop. The computers were much like those found all over the hunter labs, an odd blend of human technology and runic magic that glowed softly as it worked. Typing at one of the keyboards was a blonde woman muttering soft complaints about ice, and time, and things that constantly kept trying to ******** with her.

Sitting back with a sigh, Clarice glanced at her clock. Oh good, it was just about time for her little chat with one of the trainees. She probably should have done this awhile ago, but better late than never, and it wasn't such a big deal until now.

Sitting up straight, Clarice gestured for the trainee to take a seat. "I've called you in here because I felt there's a few things you should know about working in the labs and our division's training facilities. To start with.." She leaned forward slightly, and gave the girl a serious look, "...you are an attractive young woman with a nice body."

The older woman sat back and continued, "And there's certain precautions you should take. Because our superior is a degenerate hedonist, and the majority of the Life Division is full of perverse trolls. There's several training courses in which you may get knocked out and most likely carried to safety." Or just left there, sometimes its hard to say which is worse, left alone or left with unconscious near certain division.members. "Now, we have fairly strict rules about bad touching, so don't worry on that account. But clothes sometimes ride up, sometimes things pop out, and getting carried while wearing a short skirt is ill-advised."

She turned back to her computer and shut it down, before getting up and moving to a her closet. "So when running the training courses, I'd recommend dressing with care when possible, and to keep..." She opened the door, revealing an assortment of what turned out to be coveralls, in various colours. "One of these on hand." She started putting one on and gestured for Madison to do the same, "We'll get you something better sized, but just use on of mine for now. You just slip them on over your nice lady-clothes and viola! Instant coverage against skeeving pervs."

She did a small turn, and it was like an anti-magical girl transformation, "They're useful when you have to do dirty work in the labs, as well. And trust me, there's lots of dirty work to be done in the labs."

Looking both a bit surprised and amused, Clarice replied, "You seem pretty eager to get dirty. I suppose I can go over the Life Arena at some other point. For now, just remember to dress appropriately, and that it's always a good idea to bring back up." Still suited up in her coveralls, a grey pair with the name tag Pete on the pocket, Clarice started moving toward the door, "Where do you want to start, then? The pets? Special projects?"

A screaming tech ran down the hall, past her doorway, his hair on fire. Clarice turned and smiled at Madison, "That one's not so much part of an official project, but more like a side project with a nice bonus attached. Wanna go see?"

"That's actually what they're working on right now..." her voice trailed off as she paused to consider this, and glanced in the direction the man had come from. Then turned and began guiding Madison away, "Seems like they have a long way to go still, so we'll save that for another time. It sounds like you're feeling a little lost concerning hunter divisions, but it's not something to worry about. You're still a trainee, and no one expects you to fully commit to a division just yet, even the one you're initially assigned to. The trade off, of course, is that you don't get to receive much in the way of specialty training beyond the courses."

She glanced back at Madison, "But as for Life Hunters? The short answer is that we're research and development. We're the techs, geeks, and mad scientists of the operation. But...what we deal with isn't science as it's generally known in the Human World. Our world, that is. Just knowing a lot about various sciences back in our old lives isn't enough. In fact, it can be a real liability, because all that we're taught is pretty much thrown out the windows. Basically, the most valuable assets in a Life Hunter are steady hands, good observation skills, and the ability to adapt and use new information. Being creative helps..."

Another tech ran past them, once again with flaming hair, but this time the fire was a particularly violent shade of purple. "...though not always."

The assistant's expression softened, "I didn't even run, you know? I hid. Sometimes? I still do. You're handling things pretty well, though, and you're with people who understand, so don't...don't be too hard on yourself if you aren't able to do all the things. At least not right away. The training areas and early missions are going to mess you up a bit, and they're meant to."

She paused at the Petting Zoo door, "This place is more of a fluff job, feed the creatures, play with them, clean up afterward. Take notes. You'll often find myself and more senior hunters carrying clipboards or small notepads, and with good reason. We need to take notes of anything out of the ordinary, and lets face it, everything here is out of the ordinary."

"There's a bit more...like a whole 'nother world of anything and everything else. But for now, yeah: special projects, fun little petting zoo, giant creeper, and...supply runs. A lot of our base materials are from over there, so shopping trips are pretty common. When we can, we try to investigate certain aspect of the other world, as discreetly as possible. Sometimes we send other divisions to go shopping for us but it's kinda like sending a guy to go buy tampons."

She glanced at the trainee, lips quirked, "It just doesn't end well."

"Well no, the Human World doesn't have the kind of items we need..." she looked at the girl in total consternation. Was she...was she afraid of entering Halloween? It was good to be cautious, but outright fear could be dangerous for the trainee. When Clarice continued, it was in a soft, careful voice, "You've done it before, Madison. You just go in, get what you need, and get out. No need to be worried, and you can always take someone to watch your back. If you want, I'll take you over right now, myself, and walk you through all the steps, nice and slow. Nothing to worry about, okay?"