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 Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 8:57 pm
The afternoon left Lexington listless. The winter sun peered through endless evergreen branches, tossing shadows in growing length across the snow. He joined in the deep trail of footprints as he paced the camp without great reason to do so; he hadn't taken an assignment or a patrol, and fixing various parts of the camp only held promise for him to break them further. He knew potent distractions worked well, but he didn't want to commit to any of it - he wanted the time to process what became of him in the last week.
Lex drew to a stop at one of the old bonfire sites, where old ash spread its stricky fingers across the leftover leaves. Two great logs sat desiccated in the center of the mess, and a wrought-iron frame sat over the top of it. Lex imagined that more than a few camp kids cooked their meals here, and now they planned to use it for… What? Apart from spit roasts and building connections and playing the part of the enemy, Lex knew little about their ultimate goals for the camp. All this talk of crossing boundaries and fluid realities left him grasping for meager anchor points. Smoking remained steadfastly beyond his reach while he searched for means of obtaining new cigarettes. So far, he had only nic fits and increased irritability to show for ******** sake…" The hunter bounced on his heels, restless energy stirring him into the shakes. He peered toward the sky where the sun tried to burn out his retinas. "What's it take to get a cigarette around here?" He sighed, and his breath drew cool clouds across the winter sky.
"Maybe this is your chance to finally stop smoking. Wouldn't it be nice to have a few less crutches to lean on? Someone might even find you charming."
Fat chance of that.moonkistune let me know if this works!
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:27 pm
"You need to either find a supplier and buy them or find something to trade. Cigarettes are always being sold around here, and those little.....um...smokey tubes? Vapors?" A tall, thin Hunter came strolling up tot he fire with a handful of paperwork. His hair was blonde, thick yet short in soft, shiny waves. He worse jeans, boots, and jacket over a heavy-metal T-shirt.
Moving to the fire, he checked a few papers before tossing them in the fire, some copies of mission reports that had gotten stained with coffee and he had to write all over again. Fires were good for getting ride of them.
Dusting off his hands as the papers burned into ash, he turned to him. "What are you doing?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:51 pm
Lex started when he heard a voice, and half-turned to find a nerdy-looking blonde talking at him about trades. Thanks for eavesdropping. "Not much to trade, and I'm not desperate enough to start turning tricks for cancer sticks." His resolve in this was doubtful; no money or marketable skills left him few options for feeding an old habit.
Are you even old enough to know who Metallica is, or did you just buy the t-shirt because it looked edgy? Lex swallowed the question for now; his own dress choices left him looking little better than mall goth. A black zippered and eyelet-laced shirt, black jeans, and a black zippered hoodie formed the epitome of goth attire, and the skull and roses motif on the back related heavily to Guns N' Roses. "Sanks for ze tip." He offered haltingly.
The next question the blonde offered left him floundering for answers. What am I doing? The hell kind of question is that? "What does it look like I'm doing?"
"I'm starting to think you're always this grouchy."
I haven't had a cigarette in days. Days.
"Sorry. Just…" He set his teeth as he searched for a decent answer. "Trying to get used to all zis s**t. I'f had about a week of it and it's already starting to get to me." Lex folded his arms about his chest. "What were zose? Not somesing important, I expect." Or he just tossed vital ffiles into the flames. They did mention splinter factions in the pamphlets; why not meet one on his first week?moonkitsune please quote me~ i'm one of those people who never checks rps unless i am quoted into them or get a heads up on aim
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 7:20 am
"A week and you are already getting high-strung. You will need a counselor soon if this is your limit. If we get attacked, or some giant titan shows up, then you will have a lot more on your plate than general duty work and hanging around other hunters." He said as he adjusted his gloves a moment and regarded him with a raised brow.
"What? Are you going to report me? If you haven't seen mission report papers before, then you aren't really knowledgeable enough to know what is important documentation and what isn't. After a while, you'll be VERY familiar with those forms. Those were just extras I had to rewrite since the original got coffee on them and I'm not about to send that to the higher-ups looking like garbage."
And since the man decided that not only should he question what he was doing, but was clearly new to the game, he gestured ahead. "Congrats. You get to go on a patrol with me."
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:17 pm
"Sanks for ze vote of confidence." The corner of his mouth twitched and Lex suppressed a snarl. "I bet you'f never been forced to quit smoking against your will before…" Zeke sounded out the process as if losing access to cigarettes was a common occasion, and Lex imagined that many other vices went unattended during the beginning weeks. Beer he could live without, but cigarettes earned a special place in his hand and mouth that he would not so readily relinquish.
Melvin's defensiveness on the matter of burning papers earned a cocked brow. "I asked a question, not an accusation. What would I give a s**t if you were burning important documents? None of it had to do wis' me." He shrugged, and kiciked at the melting flecks of ash that accumulated in old snow. He knew very little about mission reports, and this Melvin sussed out perfectly. He also articulated a sense of neatness, and for this, Lex assumed he wasn't interested in using neglect as a form of passive-aggression against his superiors. A shame, really, since Lex already experienced a certain streak of Schadenfreude from given orders.
And Lex expected that Schadenfreude struck again here, when Melvin offered a sudden invitation to patrol.
"What," he deadpanned. "So zat's it, huh? Just 'you get to go on a patrol wis' me', no names, no explanations." He sighed. "Andere Länder, andere Sitten. Fine. Let's go." He tured from the fire with little more regard for it and started down the deep path indicated.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 5:26 pm
"You don't seem to be doing much else. What's a little patrol work anyways?" He said as he walked alongside him on the path, feeling rather impressed with himself that he managed to just get a stranger to go along with him. Cause, well, it's not like he couldn't get like a friend to go with him. Yeah. Ha. :I
"Don't need to explain what's part of our jobs anyways. The names Melvin Wood. Life." He added since that seemed part of what made the man upset. "A walk might help take off the bite of going cold turkey, or maybe I can give you the name of a trainee here who has some cigarettes that I saw him pulling out earlier after we are done with this patrol. Up to you."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 5:22 pm
Lex shot him a pointed glance. "I don't know. What is a little patrol work going to do for us? It's not like zere's much going on out zere." While huffy about it, Lex consented to Melvin's lead. He knew very little of these forest trails, and assumed the more experienced hunter understood where he was going. Likely they bothered with maps of the area.
Melvin Wood, huh? "Melvin Wood if he could," Lex mumbled mostly to himself. After a moment, he gave his full name to match the introduction process. "Lexington Vondrasek-Laurent. Mist, I guess. I hear it's where all ze 'bitches' congregate. Courtesy of Rep." He reched for his pocket and found no telltale sign of a pack there. Inwardly he cursed. "While it might do me some good to quit, now isn't ze time." Melvin had a point, however; a brisk walk would at least stifle some of the nic fits.
"What's it like in Life?" He asked, though his gaze traveled more to the trees than to his superior. "Or anywhere, for zat matter."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:01 pm
Melvin smiled at Rep's categorization of the Mist department. "Rep has his own views on what each department represents. I would decide for yourself." Hopefully the tech didn't think "bitches" meant he would be getting laid a lot in that department.
"Well we are here to make sure the camp is safe while it's being repaired and in the meantime patrolling to escort whoever needs back to the patrols back to their home. So yes, patrolling is part of why we are here and part of our actual jobs. They are something you'll do from time to time elsewhere.Also, appreciate that there doesn't seem to be much going on. It's not pretty when there is things going on, and since you're right out of the oven, you might find it lucky that you are getting a bit more time to bond with your partner before being thrown into the coals."
He turned down the path, honestly just following what he could see and keeping an idea of how to get back. It was relatively simple though he hoped that the forest didn't shift like the haunted woods back in Halloween. It was probably good to just keep his attention focused on the sun then as a general marker of direction.
"I enjoy it. There are many people working on various research projects. Different areas focus more on whatever they are tasked to do. Tough terrains. Medicine. Surveillance. I work in the runic department, which is something necessary in making anything work on the island. Whatever you want to focus into, there is probably some aspect of some division who has a place for it. Mist is more jack of all trades so they lend their help to every department. Some stick with it so they can build up a wide range of skills in various areas instead of one strict focus and wind up well rounded and quick to adapt." He grabbed a tree branch and pushed it aside for Lex to walk past.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 5:35 am
Lex reached out for the branch that Melvin held; too often he got whipped at the last minute, courtesy of disgruntled peers. He followed the path with the Lifer, tamping down the slush of old snow and practicing careful footing. People keep saying I'm lucky to have this camp as a starting point. But if the other missions are genuinely that bad, then why is there anyone left in Deus ex? Would they not have turned traitor or left?
"Those questions are better asked to your new friend." Malicious sounded exasperated, as if he interrupted her personal time. "The amount of time you spend in your head astonishes me, Hunter. Get some friends to chat at."
"My partner and I are at odds wis' each other most of the time. I'm quessing zat's supposed to subside." They had to find some common ground eventually by probability alone; while they didn't have to like each other, Lex knew they needed to coordinate in the heat of battle. Deus ex would not remain idle like this - he might even find himself thrust into a batlte while here - so he didn't have a great span of time to keep ignoring the issue. He wondered how Melvin managed it, or if he found his partner agreeable from the start. He wondered if Rep's advice about it might hold true for him, too - if he simply needed to slacken his control. Or, perhaps more maddeningly, the cliché of 'every situation is unique' applied here, too, and no strain of advice would prove perfect for him.
"So it's all primarily research? Hmm." Lex ducked beneath another branch. "It sounds like Mist is ideal for now. I'll just count myself as one of ze 'bitches' for ze time being." It sounded like an ideal fallback for its promise of a wide task array. He wouldn't be pigeonholed into dull research projects like Melvin. Granted, if Rep was correct about most looking down on Mist, then he never stood to make many friends that way - despite his weapon's urgings.
"Friends are how you stay alive," she hissed. "If you want to die, that's your business. I'll just find myself a better partner next time.
"So, tell me about it. Is zere somesing you're researching right now? Or are you not at liberty to say?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 7:46 am
"For life, yes. We're basically the science department and deal with the infirmary. So doctors and nurses as well. Death is intelligence. Getting information and preserving our own. Sun is combat primarily. Moon is about healing on the field and defending other hunters so you see them with Suns a lot. Mist is all of these. I don't know about the specifics of the areas other than my own. I haven't transferred out before."
"Devices can't work where we live. Fear affects it too much. Runices are the language used to program anything to be functional. Do anything that works on the island with a power source needs runic batteries and runics on or in it. I also do a lot of diving for runic materials that are under the island." He fished into his pouch and presented a simple stone with a glowing blue symbol on ignore and gestured forbid him to take it.
"I keep a supply for charging my weapon."
"I'm working on mapping the underwater tunnels."
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 7:35 pm
"I notized zat unfortunate fact wis' my iPod." No longer could he listen to music, and it left him sore and irritable most days. Life without a soundtrack amounted to a dull movie, and Lex knew he made a poor protagonist in his own life story. "How is zere so much Fear around here? Is it because of our weapons? Or us, in some way?" Lex did not recall any genetic modifications to his person upon entering into Deus ex, though he supposed Zeke might've tried something funny while Lex was still stuck in a pod. He knew not how long he remained there.
"So if I come wis' you and help dif'e for runic materials, would zat net me a working iPod? I don't care if I haf' to do it multiple times to equal any potential costs. Just don't tell me your price is a handjob or bust." He never encountered anyone who demanded sexual favors for that much, but Zeke and Harley's relationship set a tone for the interpersonal affairs among the hunters. Especially Harley's case, he supposed - having many lovers carried an impact over the rest of the island, and he wondered if she acquired them through normal flirting or through convenient machination.
He wondered too hard, perhaps, for he tripped over a root and nearly stumbled into another tree.
Lexington said nothing of his stumble and hoped that, by pretending it never happened, the memory of it would vanish from Melvin's mind. "So why do you need to charge your weapon? Am I supposed to do zat? I don't sink blades need charging… Seems a little counterintuitif'."
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:05 am
"We have Fear inside of us because we have bonded to our weapon. That's how we can be affected in some ways to our benefit, like having a shield to protect us. We are still human though and cants be in a place thick with it, like Halloween. If we stay there too long, we die. Our island is in a place that is in a hot spot like the camp. We are somewhere that allows Halloween activity in some way and that leaks into our world. It's why you won't see animals or pets on the island. They die, because they don't have a weapon bond like us to survive even in low levels like we can live in."
He stepped down a few stones and gestured for them to take the left fork in the path.
"Diving doesn't get you things runiced. It just gets you stoned. You then need to carve the stone and depending I'd you do it well or not you have a runic battery or a weapon charge. You can sell them for cheap so you could pay for something to be runiced if you have enough but don't try passing them on me. People who runic want cash. I have a kit full of runic stones. And no - no handjobs, though I'm sure someone will pay you for em and you can get money to runic something that way." Up to how Lex operated.
"Weapons get a charge once they get interact with something made of fear. If you're enemy hits you while you are protecting someone or when you are attacking them, they take a bite so-to-speak of that fear in the exchange. After a bit they glow with excess energy for a charge. You're weapon will probably get crazy to release it so expect that. It depends how your weapon uses their charge. Ihave a healing charge but also a smaller attack better than my normal rounds. My main one is healing though. You can get more familiar on how it works if you want to train with someone and use your weapon. Runic charges give you a charge but it's a one time use thing but could mean life and death. I keep a few on me to hand out before a fight. There are also runic weapons too but they are one time use and not as good as your own weapon."
He took a breath. "I hope that explained everything." It was a lot to go over.
"Now since I've done so much talking. What about you? Tell me something about yourself."
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:47 pm
"So you mean I can't slap a runic collar on a dog and haf' some animal companionship? Zat's s**t." He supposed there wasn't much point in teaching a dog to wield a weapon, either; if the lot of their bonds went the same way, then the weapon would want something with an actual mind to interact with, and a dog never met that requirement. Lex considered it a terrible shame; animals often fulfilled tasks with better loyalty than humans ever did. Deus ex was missing out on some decent soldiers there.
As Lex wove down the path with Melvin, he considered that Melvin missed the entirety of his joke. Calling it out now seemed a moot point, however; the conversation already passed such needs. Melvin could think he was interested in giving handjobs if that's what the Life wanted to think. The Mist cared little about accidental hiccups surrounding his burgeoning reputation. He did care about making money, however, and the information Melvin gave about that interested him. He never went diving before, but couldn't imagine a great difficulty about it; many people learned and certified to dive around the world without great harm. He would just need to avoid airplanes afterward, and since Deus ex sported a marked dearth of those, he figured himself safe. "Alright, so find e stones and sell zem off for someone else to scrimshaw. Simple enough."
Further explanations connected the abstract information of a 'weapon charge' with the FEAR attack Gretchen use at their first spar. Lex was less interested in the charge runics than in the runic weapons, which sounded like a much safer alternative to his own weapon. Mentally he noted to see a Life hunter and investigate these runic weapons alongside their costs.
"Already out to replace me, are you? Listen carefully to your new friend, Hunter. You'll learn that I'm quite irreplaceable."
Lex cleared his throat. "It explains a lot." Between the pamphlets, oral explanations, and practice sessions he assumed the information would beat itself into his mind eventually. He also considered seeking out a member of Sun to investigate some kind of combat training - his weapon simply proved too unwieldy for his inexperienced hand. And that, he decided, wasn't exactly a compliment to Malicious.
Why do you have to ask the a*****e questions. 'Tell me about yourself' is such a nondescript cop-out. "Zere isn't much to tell. I'm from Germany, which you can probably tell. Family ran a bookstore. I tried to lif' on my own for a while, got into debt, and found it lacking. I figured zat going wis' Deus ex sounded a little more acceptable zan paying out. So, I'm broke and still dissatisfied wis' life. It's not exactly ze tale of Jacques Cousteau here." Lex ducked a branch, and lined up behind Melvin on one of the narrow paths.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 4:21 pm
"No. You dive down for them. You get them, You get back out while trying not to get destroyed by mermaids or whatever else the ocean decides to throw at you. Then you have to carve runics into those stones to see how much of a charge they get. Better ones make weapon charges. Not so pristine make batteries. You screw up and then you just have a rock no one wants. After you carve one that works, then you can sell them." He clarified.
"Hmmm. Well I hope things get better for you here." Though he didn't have much faith in that. "Have you done any weapon training yet?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:19 am
"Glad to know ze ocean didn't change much." It still tried to kill every human that crossed its path, just with different creatures this time. He got the impression that one must pick up scrimshaw to make decent money in Deus, or cozy up to one of the Lifers.
"I haven't, no. I'f trained once wis' someone, and ze rest of ze time it's been sings like zis." He gestured outward. "Doing hikes. Cleaning toilets. Nossing so fancy as weapon training."
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