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 Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:44 pm
Chance meetings with her own side were, as far as Marialite was concerned, just the absolute best thing.
She'd felt the Lieutenant aura from a ways away, and had immediately pivoted, heading towards it with the eagerness of a puppy that hoped to make a new friend. Which, in many ways...well, Martialite certainly had the enthusiasm of the average puppy.
She finally laid eyes on the other Lieutenant--it had to be, all in black and dark blue like that--and bounced over, waving cheerily.
"Hi!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:17 pm
If there was ever a way to spook her prey, it was to have a rather enthusiastic individual flounce towards her with about as much subtlety as a rhino. While she had managed to render several of those at her feet unconscious, or dead, she hadn't ascertained which yet, that didn't mean that she had necessarily finished for the evening. Unsurprisingly her hand clenched slightly and after a small, measured breath she turned to face her intruder.
...And intruder, who was one of her 'own' as it were.
"Good evening," she replied smoothly, schooling her hand to relax and uncoil from it's tightened fist. She certainly didn't appreciate the interruption, but she could be thankful that those who had fled were unlikely to cause a stir. After all, the undesirables of this world were rarely taken seriously or they had something of their own to hide and requesting help posed too great a risk.
"And who might you be, hm?" she asked.
"You're certainly enthusiastic despite the weather."
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:41 pm
Marialite glanced down at the bodies at the other Lieutenant's feet, and winced faintly. "Ah, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt while you were working," she said, "I just get...enthusiastic. All the time." Her expression reflected her embarrassment, a sheepish smile and a guilty aversion of her eyes.
"I'm Lt. Marialite, and I've gotta admit that I don't know many people on our side? Just, uh. The two officers who helped me corrupt, and the General-Queen who did it. So it's nice to meet you!" She extended a hand, hoping that her misstep in intruding hadn't put the other Lieutenant off too much. That would definitely put a damper on her first real interaction with another officer that wasn't Cale or Gala or Hess.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:38 am
"I can see that," The woman acknowledged. Oddly she didn't seem particularly irritated by the display. What was done had been done and in the grand scheme of things she could always prowl after her missing targets and deal with them later. They wouldn't have gone far, particularly when they had nowhere to go. In the end she'd work out where they were and once she did she would finish what she had started.
...There were still plenty of hours in the evening.
"A little like a puppy, but enthusiasm has its place," she added and held out her hand, taking Marialite's in her own to give a firm shake. Perhaps Marialite was destined for a different role than Cris was otherwise inclined to pursue and her personality therefore suited her. Nevertheless, her remarks did cause her to lift a brow... It was a valid remark, had Cris met anyone as of late that she was allied to?
Beyond her 'Recruitment Officer', she could safely say she wasn't aware of many at all, though she had read through a considerable amount of intel since she'd been introduced to her newfound allies.
"I believe I was assigned the name Cristobalite," she added. "Though I will accept a shortened variant for the sake of convenience."
"You can't be out here for the same reasons as me, surely?" she asked after a moment of thought. "This really doesn't seem like it would be your type of place if you don't mind me saying."
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:21 pm
Marialite let out a breath, and relaxed, as it became obvious that the other Lieutenant wasn't frustrated or upset. She instead perked up a little more, and was glad for the firm handshake.
"Yeah, I guess the puppy comparison isn't unfair," she laughed. "I dunno, I'm just....having a much better time these days than I was before? So it's easy to be all upbeat and enthusiastic because I feel way better about everything." Which was probably more than Cristobalite wanted to know, but Marialite sometimes found that having a filter was...not something she was good at.So, best to just keep going and pretend she hadn't potentially said way, way too much.
"Cristobalite. I'm glad we had the chance to run into each other," she said, and she considered, briefly. "Would you mind Cris?" It seemed easy enough to remember, at the least. "Anyway, just aobut anywhere can be my type of place, but I get what you're saying." Marialite laughed. "It's just...easier to drain people or take their starseeds if you know they're awful, right? So these types of places...they're good hunting grounds."
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:45 pm
Was it worth her time to pry, or better to let sleeping dogs lie? More importantly, would prying result in more idle chatter that she couldn't necessarily extract herself from in a timely manner? While there were some who enjoyed gossip this woman wasn't particularly interested unless it had some sort of use. It was for this reason that she didn't choose to pry, it was too early to ascertain if it was worth prying and time was 'money' in a way.
"Cris will be fine," she accepted with a small nod.
The explanation she was given for Mari's reason for being here though? That one did lift a brow ever so slightly. So this particular Agent happened to be selective about her targets in regard to the victim's morality? Cris couldn't help but cluck her tongue at this, if she had elected to follow this particular rule she'd never get anything done.
"And what constitutes 'awful' to you?" she asked after a moment, at least hoping to understand some of the young woman's logic.
Given something had captured her attention out of the corner of her eye though she did motion for Mari to follow her. Suffice to say that Cris had no doubt that this one could definitely walk and talk at the same time!
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:59 pm
Marialite gave a brief nod to acknowledge the acceptance of the nickname. The longer they talked the more she relaxed--this was, at least, going well so far, and it was nice to not be working entirely alone. The long stretches seeking targets got boring fast, and it wasn't like Marialite could pull out her phone and check Twitter while she waited.
Well, she could, but it would be a whole Thing, and she'd rather not.
With the question, she made a thoughtful noise, and turned to follow the other Lieutenant--yes, walking and talking was definitely on her list of skills.
"Mostly, like...people who are out to hurt other people, you know? Which is ironic of me to say, and I get that, I promise, like. Rich of the person who's pulled a starseed to judge other people's morality, but..." She shrugged. "To most people, I look like a lost, vulnerable girl. If they think to take advantage of that, I've got the ability to make them regret it. A lot of girls don't."
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:14 pm
She paused mid step at that; so was it safe to say that if given a choice this one would leave others alone?
"And what if you run out of 'bad' people?" she asked after a few moments. She swept down a side street, heels clipping delicately along the untended cement underfoot. "How are you going to make sure you can do your job if you manage to get rid of your usual targets?" she pressed. Evidently her parameters for what warranted hunting were a touch different from Mari's but she didn't seem overly inclined to lecture.
...Suffice to say that she was new, and given she was new, she had little 'experience' in terms of this job even if she was decent at her other one.
The woman knew her way around these parts well at least, and she unceremoniously came to a halt outside a deserted doorway and slammed her palm against the door. It gave way with little fight, as such things tended to do when they had been left derelict for so long. Something or someone scattered inside and with a raise of both eyebrows she slipped inside.
Was she testing the girl? Potentially, but it was more probable that she was simply intend on finishing her job for the evening.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:31 pm
Marialite was actually silent for a moment, giving the question genuine thought.
"I mean, I can'[t pretend I've carefully scoped out everyone I've ever drained energy from. I'm sure I've already drained perfectly decent people--but the thing is?" She let out a soft "hm". "The Negaverse has given me so much. So if I have to compromise on what I'd like to do in order to better serve, then I'll do that. It's easier to target bad people--or, well, people I think are bad, I can't exactly judge someone's whole life," she shrugged it off, like it was only a mildly relevant point, "but that doesn't mean I'd whine and cry if I had to break that little restriction."
She could think of plenty of times recently that she'd broken it, even, though unfortunately for her, she kept being thwarted in those sorts of situations. The redhead girl, the office worker--and they weren't the only ones.
She didn't jolt or jump at the door being kicked in, and as they stepped inside, she was dead silent, the endless chatter finally ended. This was the interesting part. And, very much so, the part where she shut the ******** up and let Cris hunt.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:44 pm
"An acceptable answer," Cris replied smoothly.
Gliding across the empty floor of what she knew to be a goldmine for squatters, she paused momentarily in the middle and opened her arms wide in welcome. Truth be told, she knew what this organization was and she knew what she had signed up for when she agreed to take the mantle. If there were those who sought to make themselves feel better by justifying their actions with logic even she could dispute, then so be it.
In the grand scheme of things she knew she was the 'questionable' one to many and her actions would cause several objections, but as with everything she did in life she always did things for a reason whether people understood it or not. In the end this was for the City's own good, and quite frankly, if there was someone prepared to provide her with additional resources to achieve her aims then by all means, she would return the favour.
"I will not bore you with patronising lessons about how best to find your resources," she continued and slipped her hand in to her pocket. "But I will leave you with food for thought," she pulled the silver coin out from within and lazily tossed it into the darkness. It bounced several times, clinking a little further down a hall before something stopped it abruptly. A hand slap perhaps, or had a foot sought to step on it?
"If you are in this area then no one is without sin," she warned. "Just because they haven't touched you yet, doesn't mean they will not be driven to when desperate enough," she followed her coin into the darkness and after a moment, and the sounds of a scuffle, the woman soon reappeared and tossed the still very much awake teenager on to the ground; a young one at that.
"And desperation leads to violence, so do not let their demure act fool you," she stated. She cast her gaze down at that and raised both eyebrows, holding out her hand expectantly for what belonged to her.
The coin was soon forthcoming.
Clemency was not.
She was still growing accustomed to this particular ability, but she did seem to have found a knack to it as she thrust her hand into the boy's breast and pulled the seed out from within.
"In the grand scheme of things, this will be a mercy to them," she finished and slipped her coin into her pocket. The star seed though, she held on to for now as she hadn't quite mastered the art of that 'pocket' thing that she had been advised of.
"With that in mind, there is plenty to harvest here."
She paused.
"If you are willing, of course," she finished. She wouldn't force anyone to do as she did, particularly one who did seem to want to try to look for the worst of the bunch first, but Cris failed to see the different between either type to begin with!
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:01 pm
Not that Marialite was much searching for approval--or, she liked to pretend she wasn't--but to have her answer accepted was nice. She knew what she believed, and whose lives she was willing to lay at Metallia's feet in thanks for the gift she had been given. Of freedom from the binding obligations of Pagehood, and from whatever misery had clung to her before, that had made her so eager to leave the person she was behind.
She was also willing to listen to Cris's bit of food for thought, and she glanced around the miserable, rotting warehouse with its miserable, rotting inhabitants, and she wondered if perhaps Cristobalite wasn't right. If, in the circumstances they were in, it wasn't a kindness, to steal a starseed and let them slip into eternal oblivion, never to wake again.
So as the teenager slumped over, with Cristobalite's hand extracting his cvery soul from his body, she stepped over to a collapsed lump of blankets, kneeling down next to him.
"You know," she acknowledged, "you're probably right, in a lot of ways. That in a sense, we're doing these people a kindness." She shifted the lump of blankets, revealing the sleeping man underneath--thin, haggard, and shivering, even under all of those blankets. He stirred, and she shook her head. "Ssh," she said, softly, as she slipped her hand into his chest. "It'll all be over soon."
He didn't have time to react. Marilaite ripped his starseed from his chest and stood up in one smooth, casual motion.
"As you said, you've found a find field to harvest, here. So I suppose that makes us the reapers."
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:08 pm
"If I have a job to do, I ensure it is done well," Cris replied simply. Marialite had proven herself, unintentionally of course as it hadn't really been a test to begin with... But she had seen the logic in Cris's remarks and she had made use of it. More interestingly, she hadn't even seemed to hesitate in the process and had merely assisted in the removal of one more 'problem' from the city.
"There is very little point in rationalising who does or does not deserve something when the there are statistics that answer the question for you," she added. She was at least tasteful enough not to chuckle, but now that Mari had acknowledged that they were in a rather bountiful spot it was safe to say that Cris was confident that it wouldn't go to waste.
"I'm sure you will make your superiors proud this evening," She finished and it was with another flick of her coin that she slipped back into the shadows and into the depths of another delipidated corridor. The click of her heels could be heard echoing as she ascended a stairwell and from there? Well, it was safe to assume that she was introducing herself to the 'locals'.
By the time they were both finished this place would be clean and her quota? More than filled.
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