[center][color=Firebrick][h1]Argus[/h1][/color][/center][hr][hr] [color=Firebrick]"I don't need 'watching', shooter boy,"[/color] Argus muttered, casting an irritated glance in Sara's direction at her remark. [color=Firebrick][i]Has the girl never heard of tempting fate?[/i][/color] With a sigh of resignation to his own fate, he waited for the others to clear out before sparing a few words with his sister. Once they said their good-byes, Argus caught up with the rest. A low whistle escaped him as he took a look at Sara's ride. [color=Firebrick]"I guess I should have expected an heiress to ride around in style."[/color] Taking a few of the cookies hostage, the red-haired mage claimed a window seat for himself, summoning his chameleon cloak to wrap up in so he could get in some sleep while they traveled. Hopefully, that also discouraged anyone from trying to strike up any conversation with him as they drove to Mill Valley. Just because his sister forced him to come on this mission didn't mean he'd do anything more than what the situation required. If the rest want to chit-chat and all that, they were free to do so amongst themselves. [hr] Unfortunately for Argus, Sara's driving skills weren't exactly conducive to his plans to rest, as she seemed to have quite the bad case of lead-foot. He was certain that the car had been nearly flipped on its side no less than 5 separate times throughout the whole ordeal, and made a mental note to make sure that anyone but Sara drove on the ride back. He wasn't sure they'd survive otherwise. He grumpily stepped out at her insistence, gaze fixed on the carriages. While he agreed that this did look like their probable quarry . . . [color=Firebrick]"Not to rain on your parade, sunshine, but this is way too convenient. The request said that we were to meet the guy in town, yet we just happen to run into the suspects when we're right about to get there? Call me a cynic, but this feels like a set-up."[/color] Argus unbuckled his cloak as he spoke, inspecting the fabric a little before tossing it over to Vali. [color=Firebrick]"Here. It's a chameleon Cloak and we're around the same size so u should be able to wear it no problem. If you wouldn't mind staying back, keeping low, and keeping alert for any possible surprises that'd be great for easing my nerves. If it were just me, I'd want to find a way around these fucks, but they've likely spotted us by now."[/color] Argus took a few steps forward before stopping, almost as if considering something else, before turning back around to toss a rather worn looking ring to the sniper. [color=Firebrick]"Take that too. It'll let you tell us if something's up. It's a bit tricky, but I'm sure you can get the hang of it. If not, then just shoot a flare or something. . . also, lose or break either of those trinkets and you owe me big money, shooter boy."[/color] Argus held the masked man's gaze for a moment so as to pass on the seriousness of his words before facing the group as a whole. [color=Firebrick]"Aside from that, rest of you guys have any ideas about how to deal with these fucks? I know that most people in the guild seem to think that just blowing up the bad guys is considered a plan, but I'm going to assume at least one of you possibly has something more tactical in mind."[/color] [color=Firebrick][i]A rather big assumption, all things considered.[/i][/color] The Requip mage thought with a groan, turning his gaze to look out over the field. In that instant, his eyes widened as his entire body went stock still, so much so that not even his chest seemed to move. For a few moments, he'd remain like this, unresponsive to any words sent his way, before suddenly coming back to reality with a short gasp as he started to breathe again. Shutting his eyes for a moment as if to block out further stimulus, the red-haired mage took a deep breath and held it for a moment longer than needed before letting it out shakily. As he his eyes slid open, he chose to focus on some distant point in the horizon, hands slipping into his pockets as they began to shake. [@Hitman][@Quincy][@Esran][@pkken] [hr] [hider=A Chat with my Sister] Argus watched the group leave with a huff, a hand running through his hair as he seemed to contemplate something for a moment. Juno, meanwhile, gave a small wave to them all as they passed, before turning to her brother with a soft smile. [color=Dodgerblue]"See, that wasn't so bad. That one girl seemed a little put off, but that happens when people see families fi-"[/color] [color=Firebrick]"You didn't see the doctor, did you?"[/color] The silence that followed was all the answer he needed, and he couldn't help the sigh that came out of him as he turned to face Juno. [color=Firebrick]"You can't just skip out on your treatments, okay? Not only do I still have to pay, but you . . . you're not going to get better if you-"[/color] [color=Dodgerblue]"I keep telling you, they don't know anything. They never find anything, just keep repeating the same things over and over while giving me new medicines to try, suggesting new techniques, again and again, and again!!"[/color] Now it was Juno's turn to cut him off, her eyes facing downward as her grip around her cane tightened. [color=Dodgerblue]"I was sick of it, so I didn't go today, and I lied because I knew you would get like this. You worry so much, you'd think that I was the younger sibling."[/color] [color=Firebrick]"AND YOU-"[/color] Argus started, stopping himself in order to get a better handle on his voice. Already he could feel a few people looking in their direction on account of his outbursts. [color=Firebrick]"And you don't worry enough! I wish I could do more for you, I really do, but this is it. I'm working hard taking requests so that we can both live the life we dreamed of when we were kids."[/color] [color=Dodgerblue]"And when are you ever going to be a kid, Argus? When are you going to stop working yourself into the ground and isolating yourself from everyone? Huh?!?!"[/color] Juno's head whipped around to glare into his own, dull red clashing with green and blue as she showed that she wasn't going to be so easily cowed. [color=Dodgerblue]"Do you think I want to live a comfortable life knowing that you're working yourself to death for it?!?! Hell, you don't need to take even a 3rd of the jobs you do to do that!! You keep acting like I'm the only one who needs help, but when are you going to get the help [i]you[/i] need! I . . . I hate watching you suffer like this."[/color] The sibling' stared each other down for a moment longer, but this time, it was Juno who finally caved. With a dejected look to the side, she wiped away a few tears before waving him off. [color=Dodgerblue]"If you don't have anything to say then. . . then just be safe. . . okay?"[/color] [color=Firebrick]". . . Okay. See you when I get back then."[/color] Argus hefted his pack onto his shoulder and walked away without another word. [/hider] [hider=What Argus saw] As he turned away from the group in slight exasperation, Argus suddenly found his senses assaulted from all directions. [color=Firebrick][i]Shit. . . Why did it have to be now!?!?[/i][/color] He cursed as his gaze found not the wide plains of wheat that had been surrounding the crew before. Instead, the world before him was a desolate waste, filled to the brim with craters and gigantic cracks in the ground, as if it were the site of a climactic battle between gods. The smell on the wind was that like sulfur, thick and choking, the sky a darkened ash grey that matched that of the land it hung over and as he remained frozen in place, a figure appeared before him. It was tall. . . taller than any living being had a right to be, with 3 sets of arms and a short mane of wild red locks to match the blood-red tone of its skin. Clawed hands smelling of blood and ash closed in around the young mage's throat, cutting off his breath as he stared helplessly into the dull red eyes staring down at him. Even as the ash-laden clouds passed over the dim light of the sun, the red of those eyes didn't change, nor did the burning hatred at within them change, even as the face that held them smiled, even as the hands around his throat grew ever tighter. Voices flittered on the edges of his hearing, a cacophony of whispering voices speaking in tongues that he couldn't even begin to comprehend, and beyond them laughter. Cold, distant, but deeply amused. [color=Firebrick][i]It's not real!![/i][/color] He thought frantically even as he felt his mind start to grow hazy from the lack of air. Again and again, he told himself this, but the edges of black around his sight only grew larger, the sound of his spinal cord cracking only became more pronounced, and in what felt like his final moments, he saw the red of the creature's eyes staring deep into his soul. A demon's eyes. . . A monster's eyes. . . [i]His eyes. . .[/i] And then, he was back. The sky had gone from dark and dreary to bright and sunny, the ground was a mix of green grass and golden wheat stalks, and he. . . he was still here. Still alive. . . Still himself. [/hider]