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 Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:55 pm
The more Madison thought about it, the more it was annoying. They'd been assigned to watch that Horsewoman, to question her and take notes and everything - but they hadn't even had a chance! They'd pulled them out way too soon, and the freak wasn't even dangerous. There was so much neat stuff buried in that crazy horsey brain, and Madison hadn't even gotten to scratch the surface. It was unfair, and it was stupid, and it was not using their resources to their full potential. Madison had thought of that last bit after a half-hour of pondering, and was rather proud of how professional and official it sounded. Much more professional than stupid. Thus armed, Madison gathered her courage and frustration and headed off to Caelius' office. After all, how was he going to know about not using resources to their full potential if she didn't tell him? In a polite and professional and official way?
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:50 pm
Caelius's office, or rather Classroom A, his usual spot, which might as well be called his office, was actually devoid of the Death Hunter at the exact point and time when Madison headed in. In fact, if she waited, it would be almost four hours later before he made an appearance, cell phone in one hand, looking for the most part, not as upset. That was a start.
The Death Hunter stopped abruptly right in front of the trainee, which was rather unnerving since his eyes had never left the cell phone. "Is there something I can help you with, trainee?" The heavy emphasis on the words "I" and "help" suggested he was indeed, annoyed at the intrusion.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:08 pm
Four hours was a long time. Madison hadn't stayed there the entire time, but she had gone back and forth, checking every so often to see if Caelius was in. At least for the first three hours. After that, she'd parked herself firmly in front of the office, determined to stand there until he came back. Boring, Kouki complained. Madison was inclined to agree, but by this point she'd wasted so much time that she felt stubbornly obligated to see this through. Finally, finally, the Death Hunter appeared. Madison straightened as he approached, then stopped right in front of her. Without actually looking at her. "I, uh," she began, then managed a somewhat pathetic attempt at a salute. "I wanted to talk to you about intelligence. Information I gathered. And, um, could have gathered. But didn't. Because I didn't get a chance to. And using resources effectively." Where was official and professional? Somewhere far far away, eclipsed behind the clouds of sudden anxiety. She was thoroughly intimidated.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:23 pm
And for Maddie's efforts, she was rewarded with a sharp glare in her general direction. "Do you have information or not?"
The question was simple, succinct, and down to the point. Caelius simply did not have time to wait for trainees to ******** around.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:44 pm
The glare and the terse words might have cowed someone else, but they actually burned right through Madison's nervousness. She'd come this far; she was going to do this right, so at least she could look back on it afterwards and say that. If nothing else. Madison straightened. "I went on a mission to Halloween with Clarice a few weeks ago, and brought back some information along with the supplies we'd been sent after. I, um, believe that information could be used to our immediate advantage, sir. I included it in my mission report, of course, but given recent events I think we could, like, do more. Using our resources to the fullest extent, sir. Rather than leaving them untapped as with the Horsemen, sir." Okay, there, at least she'd tried. She was probably going to die now, but hey.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:57 pm
Caelius took the liberty of moving to his usual designated spot while Maddie talked, shuffling the papers slightly before sitting down. Though it might have been considered a dismissal from anyone else, for the Death Hunter leader it was simply efficiency.
"Madison." And then there was the eye contact again, which could either be good news or, ninety-nine percent of the time very bad news. The sneer that followed indicated the favour towards probability. "I appreciate you informing me of how information retrieval works, but I assume you are here to talk of more than of just how my own division operates in general. While it is unfortunate that there are indeed 'untapped resources', as is with the general situation of Halloween, I assure you that permission to do such missions lies within the jurisdiction of the Death Division alone."
The hint was more than obvious enough.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 10:16 pm
She... wasn't dead! Yet. She pivoted as Caelius moved, following the Death Hunter with her gaze, and taking another deep breath. "I want to help, sir. I know how to... well, how to do high school crap, like spreading rumors and tearing people down with information. And I know this isn't, like, high school. You don't have to tell me, but I still think I can help. Even if I have an idea, I can't share it or anything because my coat is wrong? Sir," she said, evenly, lifting up the bit of her coat that bore the Life Hunter emblem.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:51 pm
"You know how to do the high school crap." Caelius repeated with his excellent gift of making everything sound ten-thousand times worse. Fortunately, before Madison could consider the option of developing instant and immediate teleportation, the Death Hunter broke they eye contact, pulling out his cell phone. A couple more moments of equally awkward silence passed.
"I was under the impression the main purpose of Clarissa and... your investigation was to grab supplies for your division. While I do not always agree with specific Council members' decisions when it comes to trainee divisions" - there was an audible snap as Caelius closed the phone - "It does not mean you instantly merit consideration for other divisions."
The stare was once again directed at Madison. "If you are indeed implying you would like to continue your studies in my division, you will earn it." Before the trainee could speak another word, Caelius shifted to grab a spare pencil and piece of notebook paper, placing it towards the trainee on the table. "Sit down. Explain to me clearly and concisely your mission proposal. Use ******** complete sentences." OOC Madison needs to write up a proposal for her mission, make sure to explain what was discovered in Halloween, and what she has planned!
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:47 pm
Wait. Other divisions?Madison stared as Caelius placed pencil and paper in front of her. That wasn't - she didn't - What.Then her gaze narrowed. Caelius wanted a proposal? Fine. She'd give him her proposal. She'd come too far to back away now; he'd never take her seriously if she ran at this point. Chances were he wouldn't take her seriously ever anyway, but a chance was better than nothing. "Yes, sir," she said through gritted teeth as she picked up the pencil and began to write. Madison's Proposal Clarice and I went to Halloween on a standard resupplying mission. While in Halloween Town, we observed some odd things and gathered some information as well. This is what we saw: - From a newspaper clipping: the school Amityville Academy is currently under suspicion from the Boogeymen (police) and the City Hall. It mentioned the 'field trip' that I suppose was the Haunted House incident, and blamed the actions on a professor (I assume the one who posed as Aria). The newspaper stated that the faculty encouraged the students to blame Hunters to cover up the 'truth'. It suggests that most of Halloween considers us to be mythical. Many students are being removed from the school by their parents. The article was very critical and suggested the school could be shut down. Clarice filed the original clipping, I think. - We saw a Boogeyman in the shopping district at two different times. He spoke to me and asked if I'd seen any Amityville students gathering anywhere. He said to call 666 if we saw anything and implied the students might hurt other Halloween creatures. Later on we heard him talking to a shopkeeper and asking that any information be passed on to him. The shopkeeper referred to the students as revolutionaries. He also mentioned a treaty of some kind but only in passing. - In the bookstore, we found propaganda left in the books - red slips of paper reading "We are Halloween and we cannot die". I questioned the shopkeeper and he said the students were, quote, "trying to incite the masses". He said pieces of paper had been left earlier that talked about the sun rising or setting. The shopkeeper's opinion is that the professor (the Aria imposter?) brainwashed the students. - Lastly, we witnessed a 'revolutionary', a winged firey figure in a red cloak who was being chased by Boogeymen. It dropped pieces of paper as it flew away. The paper we took said this on one side: the sun may rise the sun may set but Halloween never surrenders never forgets and on the other, a code I have not yet figured out: NZP asbdo ela uh suuhneca . Clarice said that the winged figure had been on our Island before but did not tell me anything else about its identity. Given that we wore red cloaks like the winged figure's when we went to Halloween last mission, I know that the senior Hunters are aware of the meaning of the cloaks - that they represent revolutionaries who have a bad reputation with Halloween authority. The truth of what happened in the Haunted House is being hidden or mocked at high levels including the police force. I think we can do more with this information, and further discredit this school and the students. My proposal is for two separate... missions, I guess. Mission 1: Enter Halloween and gather more information. Assess the state of popular opinion after our last mission and see if the appearance of more red-cloaked figures 'attacking' caused a stir. Continue to do terrible things while disguised as 'revolutionaries', making their ideas more hated and mocked. They are already viewed as outsiders, so we should keep encouraging that. Also encouraging the idea that they are brainwashed and/or crazy followers of a crazy professor. Like a cult? Mission 2: Try to break up student unity. People who are attacked on all sides often pull together underneath the attacks, so we could also try to split apart the students from within. The students saw the Horsemen come with us and seem to think they are powerful allies, but Famine didn't seem to care about the students that much. Maybe we could suggest that the Horsemen are not to be trusted? That they are in league with the Hunters? The court of public opinion is a very powerful thing and while it won't win us the war it could make things easier, or frustrate the students into doing something really stupid. Or get them tangled up with the law of their own holiday so they don't have time to bug us or mess up our stuff. When she ran out of words, Madison stared at the paper. It wasn't exactly polished essay material, but she doubted Caelius would have the patience for her to write out a couple rough drafts - and, truth be told, she didn't want to write out a couple drafts. He'd either like the idea or he wouldn't, and it being prettier wasn't going to change things. "Here, sir," she said, straightening and pushing the paper back towards him.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:11 am
The only noise after Madison finished, waiting, was that of the Death Hunter scrawling something on a worn map. He paused for a second, gave the trainee a long look that most likely said something like 'This better be ******** worth my time', a hand slamming down on her paper, sliding it over.
Thirty seconds later, he simply folded her report in half, then in halves again, then again. "I shall re-clarify with you the purpose of Hunter divisions." So far so good, no yelling quite yet, "Each division not only has general mission duties to fulfill, but also a specialized purpose. You come to me, asking division-specific questions and then a follow up mission that not only has nothing to do with the Life Division, but is also far beyond any scope of trainee clearance. Either you are entirely retarded, which is highly possible, or you have a purpose. If I even so much as consider your little mission project proposal, it would require compromise: what will can you return to me of equal value for my time?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:46 am
Madison took a deep breath. It was so hard to think remotely strategically right now - she couldn't help but feel that she was way, way out of her depth. Hell, Caelius had basically said as much. But she wanted this. She wanted to set her plans into motion and tear the little freaks apart... not with weapons, but with words. Isolate them, drive them crazy. Hell, maybe they'd commit suicide and solve a few problems at once. ... That thought shocked her, but only for a moment. It's not like the freaks were human, after all... "... I'll break something for you. To show you that I can." Another deep breath; it was all she could do to keep her voice even. "Some freak. I'll bring one back myself if there aren't any in the cells. And I'll break it and give you the, um, the contents." Kouki made a faint noise in her mind that she couldn't decipher.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:12 pm
Silence.
"Madison." It seemed like the trainee wasn't the only one struggling to remain even with their tone. "When Red confronted you as Aria, did you ever notice that she was a 'freak'? Never make the mistake of underestimating and never <******** promise something you can not deliver."
The last few words were definitely not 'inside voice' material as his voice literally seemed to echo in the room. Caelius composed himself enough to assess his own work load again. "You are dismissed trainee."
As per usual, no definite outcomes. Nothing was resolved.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:19 pm
Throat tight, Madison stood. "I value your time very highly, sir. Thank you."
With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Caelius to his paperwork... and herself to a fresh new tangle of doubts.
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