Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pulling the door open, Lorcan stepped out instead of letting his cousin in. Tonight he would skip the chess game in favor of a a walk. “Good, you dressed warm.” Throwing the edge of his scarf back and behind, he turned and locked the door. “To be safe I recommend we go towards the east, there are a few parks as well as a lot of trees for coverage. I also figure it would be far enough away not to lead anyone to my home or clinic.”

Walking past Alexandre, he kept to his standard pace as he pocketed his keys. “Come along, I want to put some distance between us and my home before we start talking of things.”

“A bit of both, I looked into that so and so of yours. Seems like he’s gotten around a bit.” There was a bit of disgust in his voice as he slowed just enough for them to not have to jog. “I hope you’ve been getting tested.” That was about as far as he wanted to pry though, the details of things like that were not something he was really interested in outside of making sure his cousin didn’t take any unnecessary risks.

Sighing and switching to a different, more pleasant topic, he focused on the treeline as they got closer. “As for business, I would like to know a bit more about the hands-on aspects of what the quota entails. I read through the provided guide and some of the information but theory and actuality are two separate things.” He’d quite liked the tablet, it was convenient and held a lot of useful information due to its access to the database that was maintained by the Negaverse.

Dragging his hand down his face again he groaned. “Safety means nothing if one of the people involved gets around more than the Spanish flu.” All he could do was shake his head, he knew his cousin had avoided a lot of the topics around this just as he had but it was no excuse. “I’ll get a draw done from you after this outing and check things. For christ’s sake Alexandre you’re really not the brightest at times, I may not be involved in things such as that but at least I know the risks.” Leaning back against another tree, he thumped the back of his head against it for a moment to clear his thoughts.

Sighing, he powered up. His uniform was warm against the cold winter wind. “Draining at first though I would like to see how far things go. I assume if we target those without connections it would be easier to manage a clean up afterwards. As for coming across an enemy, I would like to avoid them at first if at all possible. These keys really aren’t an ideal weapon as you can tell and I haven’t taken the time just yet to work on my ability to fight hand to hand as it were. That can be something for our next outing or maybe in one of the training rooms that exist in the Castle.” Jingling the set of rusty keys, he found they could come off of the ring with a bit of force. They felt heavy but otherwise, they weren’t much use unless…. Shifting some of the keys between his fingers, he made a fist around them. It would work a bit, especially since the rust didn’t seem to come off in flakes like a normal rust-covered object.

Taking in the information, he figured the matter closed on that front. “At least once a week, we can make it part of the schedule alongside draining and patrolling.” He’d wait until after they were out and about so that the other didn’t have to deal with a sore arm while working on things.

“I would prefer to learn in a more controlled environment like the training rooms for that. You may have been in school when you joined so it was easier to manage an injury but I can’t really allow for something unplanned to affect my ability to practice medicine. So yes, ideally I would like to avoid things tonight.”

Keeping up beside them, he went down the list of questions in his head. Most of them had been answered between the training guide and the past few visits from his cousin but some of those answers had led to more questions. “I assume most civilians don’t have the pain tolerance I do so how does one keep them quiet when reaching in for a starseed. Is it preferable to drain them until they pass out and then go for their core, in order to keep the noise to a minimum?”

“Makes sense, though I would prefer to avoid any additional attention being drawn to me for now. It doesn’t seem very difficult to access one, given how easily you shoved your hand into my chest.” It had been something quite interesting and very uncomfortable, too invasive. “I assume it would be preferable to hit the homeless population, so working through the alleyways we can find a few that way and you can show me the ropes as it were.”

The thought of eating one left a bad taste in his mouth, not because they were supposed to be a soul but more so because of the inherent magicalness of the things. The risks were also outlined in the guide he had read through, giving him an idea that they were similar to other addictive items like opioids and nicotine. The side effects lead to youmafication but it seems to vary on a lot of factors. “Subspace it is then. I can maybe test a few theories out with them as I go as well. They could be a good bit of bait in a pinch if I cross the right type of senshi that would react to seeing one as you say.” The more tools he had, the better he could plan and that was something he preferred to do. Risks were measured and taken very carefully for Lorcan, something he realized was not the case for his cousin.

Reaching the alleyway with his cousin, he saw a few people huddled and sleeping in bags near small fires. Motioning for them to lead, he stayed close and felt around to see if there were any signatures. Everything seemed clear but he knew that it also didn’t mean the cost was clear, just that he couldn’t sense anything with his limited capabilities.

“I agree with that notion, it would help with my actual work to be honest by thinning out some of the overall problems of the city.” Laughing a bit as he followed along, taking note to get an extra phone that wasn’t linked to his work one for use while he was out. The last thing he needed was someone connecting the dots and enemies from here following back to his clinic. “She really seems useful, though I am not really a fan of pets or aliens. They’re at least more palatable than magic.”

The smell hit him but didn’t phase him much, it wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the chemicals he had used in his clinic or what the mortician in the connecting building used. At least these smells weren’t chemical or toxic like those others were. Watching as the orb of energy swirled in Benitoite’s palm, his jaw tensed a bit at it. The method made sense and he’d have to accept this bit of magic just as he had the uniform and weapon he had been provided. They were all tools to be used and could be managed.

Moving in closer to one of the ones that had already been drained a bit, he knelt down and put a hand on their shoulder, focusing on drawing out their energy as he watched them carefully. They were already pretty out of it between the alcohol and the draining from his cousin. They hadn’t looked good to begin with, the telltale signs of drug use were scattered over their face and arms.

“This will be a nicer end I think.” Once they passed out, Lorcan moved his hand from their shoulder to their chest. It felt solid at first but as he focused on the idea that he could in fact reach in, it happened. His face was serious as he rooted around and wrapped his fingers around their core and pulled it out slowly. The man’s whole body tensed but no sound came, there wasn’t enough energy left for them to make any noise. A small little smile started at the corner of his mouth as he hid the thing in subspace, away from prying eyes, before standing up and following along.

“Ah then yes you’ll have to provide me her number as well as let me know what sort of compensation she usually requests.” He’d figure out a way to pay Katya for their time if anything managed to break because he’d prefer to have an in-house repair person, or in this case a repair cat, to fix things instead of relying on separate ones from each different company that made his equipment.

Wiping his hands off with a bit of sanitizer from his subspace he made a noncommittal gesture. Not quite a shrug but not accepting things either. “They had early signs of jaundice and I doubt they would have gone to the hospital for treatment. Also, bleach isn’t good for direct contact with the skin. I prefer lye soap in small doses if I really need a good clean.” Smiling a bit as he moved on and drained another of the downed men, the little orb of energy growing larger as he went from person to person while watching his cousin. It was easy, methodical, and something he could get used to. There was a process and order to things which made it acceptable even if it was some sort of magic. “Just one for now, I will test a few things with it. I know for a quota it focuses on energy so I think it would be fine if I hold on to just the one for now to see how much it can handle.” He’d take a scientific approach to mess with the thing, much more cautious and monitored, unlike the alchemists of ancient times.