"You know your orders, captain?" the man sitting next to him said through his headset.
"Yeah, sent from Verthaven. I know what I'm here for. More than likely nothing's gonna go down, but play security guard. Be there as psychiatric assistance for students. Reassure them by being there. Shit like that." was the short response.
"That it?"
"Well, I have to lead an investigation of sorts. I had Barney prepare the critter's body for overview. Nothing we didn't do in ninth grade biology."
"How come you always get the easy missions?"
"I'm a lizard in Alaska, Agent Barr."
There was a bout of laughter from the man, and a serious silence once again regained it's hold of the interior of the helicopter.
"And... if something does happen?"
There was a silence.
"From the pictures I've seen, this thing is child's play. In Black Fall, things actually get strange."
There was another bout of laughter, but it was soon cut off as the Armored vehicle came to a stop. Agent Olin, Spec Ops Captain of the Black Fall Division Of NEST was what could possibly be the most intimidating individual to ever live if you didn't know him. Most men and women, even meta humans, rarely reached past seven feet tall. Agent Olin stood head, shoulders, and chest above most people and just above every meta humans. To back this up, he was one of the most powerful meta humans in NEST's disposal.
He stepped out of the Helicopter as it landed on the school's helipad. He stepped off of the lift along with two other Academy officials who were in sorts, his escorts. His large suitcase looking comedically small in his hands, which he could more than likely wrap around most of a basketball. His escorts looking comedically small next to HIM. Along his visible body was a slick, black, technical, and expensive looking power amor. It clung to his body like a speed suit, leaving only his hands, feet, and head just below the jawline exposed. His skin was white, and his build was powerful, but he was distinctly nonhuman. More so than most other animal meats at least. Behind him, hovering over the ground by powerful muscles was a thick and long tail. His feet were concealed in specialized shoes and over his torso he wore a thick brown wooly hoodie, with a hole cut into the left arm. Over his legs, long and custom made cargo pants. The pockets seemed full of various materials and around his belt several tools were present. Ranging from a rather large pistol, to a taser and other law enforcement necessities. On his left forearm in place of where the hole was, was a large control device that currently displayed a map of the school in 3D. Heat emanated from his body, but he still shivered. He was relearning why he hated Alaska already.
"This way, Agent Olin." one of the officials said, motioning for the much larger meta human to follow him. Henry reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses built for his head and put them on to keep the strong sunlight out of his eyes. There wasn't much daylight in Alaska, but when it was out, it was powerful. He was very quickly learning this.
"Lead the way."
"Right this way, Agent. Blackmore has been expecting you." his escort said, opening the door for Henry , who strode through the door- giving his escort a nod in thanks, and then stood in his past teacher's presence.
"God damn, long time no see." Henry said, setting his briefcase down and offering his hand to his old mentor. " 'wish we were meeting under better circumstances," he continued, trailing off to allow Adam to speak.
The door had opened... Adam knew exactly who. His only scheduled meeting after his brief conversation with Michelle. Agent Henry Olin. A member of NEST that was briefly at the Academy - also spent some time at a location Adam knows called the Ivory Deer Community. When Henry walked in, Adam got up from off his desk, and looked at him. He took Henry's hand. "Mr. Olin, it is great to see you back at the Academy." He looked Henry in the eye, with no fear at the Lizardman's intimidating form. Adam has seen worse. "What... brings you to the Academy?"
"Well," Henry began, retracting his hand. He had seen some tackle the poor man, so knew Adam wasn't one for physical contact of any kind. Keep the reunion professional. "I guess I'll have to get right to it then. No bull. Just like old times." the reptilian man said, picking his suitcase up and placing it on Adam's desk, being sure to avoid misplacing or knocking over paperwork of any kind of course. He pressed the pad of his index finger, just before the claw, and unlocked the suitcase. As he opened it up, a portfolio, among other things were near the top. It was very obvious that something very solid and heavy was below the official paperwork though.
"I'm here mainly because of this." Henry declared, placing the portfolio down and opening it up, revealing pictures taken of Casper's body, with information on the boy himself. "NEST sent me in because this caught their attention. Because I'm on vacation time, I decided to take the case." He explained. "My job is to figure out," he said, placing his index-claw on the cause of death bar. "What 'Unidentified Dog-like Creature' means, where it came from, and why it's attacking humans and meta humans." He said, pulling up a chair and sitting down, careful as to not break it under his weight. "Because as you can imagine, we want to know if there are any other creatures like this out there capable of killing meta humans. Because that's a bad thing. A very. Bad. Thing."
Ah, yes. Adam had the feeling it was because of the recent student deaths. Adam sighed, and tilted his head downwards. He took in a deep breath, and let it all out a few seconds later. He didn't have to look at the files, he just knew what were on them. "... It deeply hurts me knowing that a student died here." Adam said. "I have little to no idea where the creature came from. There were mentions of "monsters" from the students every now and then, but I always thought they were simply just students in their transformed state. Not... anything like this." He finished explaining. "I will help you in any way I can... but I should tell you that heard from other staff members that another group of students fought the creature... Plus, another student, Michelle engaged the creature in an attempt to save Casper."
Henry nodded. He'd have to speak to this... Michelle in the future. NEST could use someone like that. But that was a matter for another time. He sighed. "My next question is, Casper is the first case I've had in thus far. Black Fall headquarters hasn't gotten anything and I've yet to receive an update from Vethaven. Are there any other victims you are aware of that I should know about?"
"Well," Adam turned his head to the side, before he centered his gaze onto Henry. "When we cut the beast open, we... found the remains of two other students. It was hard to identify them as they were partially digested, but we were able to conclude that they were Piper and Sawyer Babinski."
Henry's eyeridge furrowed and he sighed. He brought his arm up closer to his body and tapped a few buttons on his PIP, as if taking a few notes. He seemed to realize something, based on the sudden jolt of energy. "I have to legally state that this conversation is being recorded for official use, and none will be accessible to the public. Everything will remain in this room." he stated. "But on another note, Vethaven is notified. I'll be receiving information on the two of them shortly. Regarding the creature itself. I had a member of your staff prep the creature's body somewhat a few days ago. Do you by chance still have it's corpse in your facility?"
"In fact, yes, we do." Adam answered Henry's question. "It is currently being stored in the Science Wing for future study and dissection. You may take a look at it yourself."
"I'll take you up on that." Henry replied. He took the several papers off of the top of the briefcase's interior, revealing layered foam and several parts colored white. But of all of them, the thick stock and lenses that were organized nearly in certain spots carved out for their placement was telling enough what the parts were in a whole.
"This here," Henry began, pointing to the various parts inside the briefcase. "Is an unassembled .577 Tyrannosaur Elephant gun. Specially built to blend in with the terrain found in Alaska," he stated. "If you couldn't guess, this weapon was built to hunt elephants." he said. "My initial purpose in being sent here was is to figure out what these things are and where they're coming from. My secondary purpose is to provide security to students who aren't content with the security provided until the issue is resolved. My third, should we need to... well, my third purpose is to make sure these things never bother any of us again. But legally, I am required to ask your permission to own, carry, and operate this weapon should I feel that a student or staff member's safety is in danger."
Henry was asking Adam for a lot. Both of them had experience with the NEST organization. Adam trusted Henry. And that is all that mattered. "You have my permission long as it isn't used against the students."
Henry had to fight himself to keep from referring to making a joke about his taser. He was being recorded too, he couldn't say that stuff officially. Henry placed his documents back into his briefcase and closed it. "Alright then, that will conclude this meeting for the time being." he said, then tapped his PIP, ending the recording session. "I'll be doing a biopsy later today of the creature itself to get an idea of what I'm up against. If all goes well I shouldn't be here more than a few weeks tops." he said, "I'll send you a call or message if there are any issues and I'll keep you updated on anything I find or come across. If there any information you'd like me to withhold from the students should they or I ask?"
Adam moved his hand to his glasses, and tilted them, giving Henry a narrow look, ".... Withhold as much information about the deaths of the aforementioned students as possible. I would rather not deal with a crisis."
Henry looked over Adam for the time being and nodded. "I'll do what I can."
Henry was, much to his chagrin, beyond frustrated with the staff's abilities in the non-academic sector. They were often disorganized and by the looks of it, not used to having much responsibility.
But how...
HOW
...did one manage to lose a carcass the size of a tiger? Bodies like that dont just disappear. There were signs that the body was very well disposed of. Whoever removed it's body was careful about it to mask the scent once it had removed the body from the dissecting table. Everything was neat, almost as if it had never been there.
However, they had missed pictures of the creature's body itself. It wasn't hard for him to get somewhat of an idea of what he was up against here. The creatures were large. Much larger than the average man, but at the same time smaller than him. Black, xenomorphic creatures unlike anything he had seen before.
"Sorry sir, I assure you it's-"
"It's not here. Go and do your job. I have some business to attend to."
The man scurried off having been told, with no further questions. Henry sighed and stood alone in the dimly lit room, among several bodies of various creatures and animals. It was... Disheartening, this setting. But he knew who to talk to that would be able to help him in both situations. Henry lifted his PIP closer to his face and spoke.
"Dial Selena."
He stood in the dark again for a few moments until his call was picked up however, instead of Serena, Eva picked up. "Henry!" she said- genuinely surprised. "Eva! Good to hear from you! You mind if I get your sister's help with something?" Henry inquired. Eva nodded and yelled to Selena, who was apparently skinning something in the kitchen of their apartment. There was some ruckus, but eventually the woman came onto the camera. Just looking at her gave him chills down his spine because of her power, but he had grown used to it by now.
"Good to hear you're still alive, Goji." was her reply. Henry did not react, instead he angled his arm and held up a picture of the creature's body. "I need you to break this thing down for me." There was a pause as she got to work, with the occasional flick of her hand motioning for him to cycle through the pictures he had.
"Alright, what I'm getting at is a very canine like creature in basic shape. Exterior is armored and tough like that of an insects. The tail is segmented and flexible in those areas. More than likely venomous as well. If it's anything like dogs or cats, it could have a pack or a pride. If you break through the armor you should be able to mess it's body up pretty badly." Henry was silent for a moment pondering over what he knew. It was resilient of course, based off of how much punishment it had take from the other meta humans. Coupled with the idea that there could be more of them... not good. "...Thanks Selena. I'll be in touch. Don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm gone." Selena rolled her eyes, the call ended.
"Call Adam Blackmore."
There was another pause.
"Hey, Adam. I have bad news and... more bad news. The first being that, the body is completely gone. Meaning this thing is either still alive somehow, or someone doesn't want me looking at it." Henry said, taking another breath. "The other bit of bad news is that I contacted my... animal control advisor and they taxonomized it as being canine or feline. Meaning it more than likely has a pride or pack out there in the surrounding woods."
Reagan groaned and took out her phone, ignoring the texts from various males and turning on the flashlight, and shined it onto Maurice, who was struggling in his attempt to get his own phone out of his pocket. When he did so, he found Reagan's amused face. Eyebrow raised and arms crossed. He rolled his eyes and began to pick up the checker pieces, turning to shine the flashlight on his backpack and taking out his box to put the various pieces and board away, as to not lose them.
When he looked up, Reagan was right in front of him, standing up. He began to speak, but was cut off by her leaning down and planing a peck on the top of his nose. His eyes shot up from the sudden and very close proximity, but he remained silent. He shined the light at the other two who had joined them, who looked genuinely alert, and in Fiona's case, somewhat upset. His eyes trailed back to Reagan's and he stood up. "We should probably get going," he finally said out loud. Something was giving him the heebie jeebies and it worried him. "Well, I think it's about time we got going. Goodnight, Fiona. Goodnight Michelle. It was nice meeting you... Stay safe tonight." he finally stated. He nodded to them both and then grabbed Reagan's hand pulling her along out the door, walking a bit too quickly. Reagan wrenched her arms out of Maurice's grasp and stopped.
"What the hell was that?" She questioned, gesturing to the cafeteria. "You never just... walk out on people like that! They probably think us rude now, Maurice, why-"
"I dont know. Ever since I got your power a few years ago I've always felt things a little bit differently. I noticed their sudden attention being drawn away, almost in unison, and I got a sinking feeling and I-" he began to explain, his arms gesturing rapidly back and fourth, only for Reagan to finish his sentence for him. "You wanted to get out of there, right? You felt like something was happening and you wanted to get out." she said, crossing her arms. Maurice's hand went over his forehead as if he were whipping sweat away. "How did you know?" he questioned, as Reagan uncrossed her arms and grabbed his hand, leading them back to their dorm. "Because now that you're pointing it out I'm feeling it too." she said bluntly, ending the conversation.
They walked briskly in the dark, Reagan, just about ready to begin her transformation at any given moment. Both replicator and demon were on edge and, as they walked, they could hear yelling and other, inhumane noises not too far away as they got to the dorms. Maurice could feel the hair on his neck stand on edge and wrapped and arm around Reagan's shoulders, who was hunched over, having cramps and in some pain as her transformation began. He could feel her muscles flexing and growing taught under her clothes. She was resisting the instinctual urge, he knew it. He had done it himself. She was much better at it than he was. She groaned some, and leaned against Maurice for support. He looked around nervously and hugged her closer, walking them both to their dorms.
They reached their room safely, and Maurice struggled against the door lock int he dark, eventually getting it in and getting the two of them inside. As they stepped in the lights turned on automatically sensing movement and lit apartment like living space, revealing nothing, thankfully. He turned around to shut and lock the door behind them, grabbing the nearest desk chair and put it up against the doorknob for extra support. Now that their security was ensured, he turned to Reagan, who had collapsed on the couch, groaning louder now. She was sweating, her hair clung to her head and her skin was tight and the tones of her muscles were more visible, as if she had just been to the gym on a heavy workout. Her skin was turning red and her forehead began to bleed some. Panicking, Maurice ran to the bathroom and quickly took the rag he used to wash his face in the morning and doused it in water from the sink. Running back over, he pressed the wet towelette onto Reagan's forehead, creating a hissing sound. Reagan's eyes shot open, revealing her still blue irises, but elliptical pupils. Maurice, removing one hand from the towel, opened her eye wider with his fingers to inspect her eye for any trace of yellow.
He released a sign seeing none. Good. The transformation had yet to proceed too far to be reversed.
He wrapped a blanket around the woman, and slid his hands under her body as to avoid being burned by her incredibly unnatural heat. He set her down onto the cool tiles in the bathroom and, cradling her head with one hand, turned on the water with the other, running a cold bath. He knelt down, holding her head carefully as she whimpered quietly in pain. They remained this way for a minute or so, Maurice removing her clothing meticulously and carefully as he did so. She was nothing new to him, and there was nothing sexy about seeing her like this. His mind was on her health. As the tub filled up he, being unable to touch her skin, was forced to place her and the towel into the tub of cold water. There was an audible hissing noise and steam rose from the surface as she settled into the tub, and even more rose up as he removed the towel from the water, wringing it out above the parts of he body that were not in the shallow water to try and cool down any skin she could.
"Thank you..." she said quietly. Just above a whisper. "Thank you... thank you... thank you..."
She was much more in tune with her more... demonic self, and he wasn't sure why he himself hadn't begun the transformation. Maybe it was because he wasn't as scared as she was, or maybe it was because he was so focused on her. But he didn't care. His eyes remained on her the whole time and his mouth remained quiet, and he held her still warm hand for several minutes into the night in the dim light of the restroom, dabbing her head to remove the pinpricks of blood that had begun to leak ever so slightly from two specific points on the sides of her forehead. When he deemed her safe to remove, he drained the water around her, and then helped her out. She had stood on shaky legs as she held his hand stepping out onto the slippery tile floor. He held her tightly to ensure she didn't fall and helped her dress herself, and got her to bed. She was out like a light before she hit the pillow.
After a few minutes and a change into some sleep clothes himself, he joined her to do the same. But after the light of his bedside lamp was turned off his eyes remained on the window, as if waiting for something to peak in at them. Nothing would come, that night. He sighed, and eventually closed his eyes to sleep. This had happened a few times in their relationship. The first time it had happened to him, she had nearly been too late reversing the transformation. It had been very... very painful. The muscle cramps had left him aching for a week. This would be one of those few nights that she would probably not remember, but either way, it would be a night they would both choose to forget.
Classes had, for the most part, been a drag. They had spent most of the previous few days to themselves, relaxing and acclimating to their new home, keeping each other... company.
They were both intelligent, they had come from some of the best schools in the country. While they were here for entirely different purposes, as freshmen they were required to go through the basic math, science, english, etc classes that were required of college students int he first two years before they began specializing. This was... a benefit for her at least, as she didn't know what she wanted to do as of yet. However, her boyfriend, in all of his wisdom, had set a plan for himself already. Something to do with international relations, he had told her. She couldn't help but feel that it was fitting. At least for him.
"That's a king." the male said from across from her, movint the checker over and placing it on top of hers, creating a beige and brown stack. This was bad. She was at a disadvantage in this position. She looked up at him, and as she did so his concentration broke from the checker piece to her. The man gave a small smile, the left side of his lip curving upwards first like they always did. He didn't give many open smiles anymore since he got braces, she noticed. Chocolate met icy blue, and she broke out into a grin herself. She looked down at the board again, and grabbed a checker piece from her side and jumped one of his own. "Ha!" she exclaimed, grabbing the now moot piece of his and relaxing back into her chair, feeling satisfied by putting him on the defensive. He frowned, scratching the short rough hairs that were growing on his chin. It had been a day or two since he had shaved. She watched him for a moment more, a grin plastering her face, only for it to melt off as he slowly and calmly picked up a piece close by and jumping her piece back, and then jumping around piece right next to it in a terribly, perfectly legal move. With his free hand he grabbed the lost pieces and moved them to his side. She fumed, shooting forwards to the board and eyeing the pieces as if doing so would reveal a game changing move. Her concentration was at it's peak and her frustration was quickly rising.
"You're cute when you're mad, Reagan."
She looked up, to see Maurice watching her, reclined in his chair, glasses on, wiggling his eyebrows like an idiot. She grabbed the closest checkerpiece and threw it at him. He threw his arms up to block the piece, laughing. "I wouldn't be so mad if it wasn't for you, you idiot!", she raged, crossing her arms under her breast and huffing, turning to face anything but him. She knew that if she looked at him, she wouldn't be able to stay mad. However, as she looked at anything but him, she noticed a very... insect like woman enter and sit down not too far away from them. Mutated to a degree she could relate similarly too at times. She felt somewhat bad for the poor woman, but knew full well she wasn't a threat. At least not to her. She cleared her throat and looked over to Maurice, who met her eyes and looked over to the direction Reagan motioned to with her own blue orbs. A... meta human, but a very... effected meta human.
He looked back over to her and she rolled her eyes, taking over her both hands and, with her pointer and index finger, did the finger walk on the table over to an imaginary object, and with her thumb invited said imaginary object over to another imaginary object. What that f...
Oh.
OH.
"... M-Miss Barret!" One woman (Likely a staff member) on the boat said, as he rushed over to the side of the railing, and gazed upon Fiona's stunt.
"Yahoo!" All that could be seen was Fiona flying through the air, holding a large luggage bag over her shoulder. She hit the wooden docks with a loud thump, and in a squatting position. She literally jumped up to her feet, and turned towards the boat. "Oh..." She said, trailing off. Her antennae drooped, and her shoulders slumped. "...You guys didn't dock yet... My bad!" She shrugged.
"W-wait next time! You could have been hurt!" She replied.
Hurt? Fiona's gaze looked downwards - which allowed her to get a good look at her outfit. A simple T-shirt and black athletic shorts. Nothing else - Fiona almost never wore shoes! That wasn't the point, there was not one scratch or dent on her exoskeleton. If there was, she could just molt and be all good a few minutes later! Fiona smiled wide, and put the ridge of her hand to her forehead. "Thanks for your concern, ma'am," Fiona started off, "But there isn't a scratch on me!" She said, laughing. She turned down the docks, and bent her legs, and forcibly shooting them so that she would hop. She repeated this again and again, jumping merely to the beat of her hard shell impacting the wooden docks.
Up until the Cricket passed through the front doors of the Academy. She turned her hop into a walk, and stepped through the doors - right when she opened the door, some Spanish kid rushed past her. Her eyes opened, and she looked at the boy. She watched him pant for a second, and she creeked open the door behind her for a second. Peaking out to see that the boat just finished docking, and the late students just started pouring off. Unless this kid... Fiona noticed that the boy's scent had disappeared. That meant he's gone. Fiona casually turned her head back towards him just to make sure. But yeah, he was long gone. Fiona shrugged - she wondered what his problem was. Whatever, he must not want to talk about it.
Fiona walked up to the front desk, and dropped her heavy bag, leaning up on the desk. "Sorry, I arrived late - but I need my sleeping arrangements. My name is Fiona Barret" It was an interesting story as to why she hadn't arrived yet. Something came up at the Ivory Deer Community, and she was a little late. Fortunately for her, this happens often, so she arrived with the second batch.
Fiona nodded her head as the woman told her, "Your roomate is Cassidy Lynn Daniels. Here is your key." The woman handed Fiona a key, and nodded her head. "Your room mate will come up any minute now."
The Cricket clicked her mandibles together, creating a noise. "Sure thing, ma'am!" This was interesting, she never had a room mate before. Though, she wondered what her roomie's reaction would be to sharing a room with a Cricket. She hoped they wouldn't freak out too much. She was human like them, after all... Just a little different. Either way, Fiona turned away and walked off. Her business here was over, fortunately. She made her way through the halls - until her antennas had directed her to the scent of a vibrant forest. In here? Seemed unlikely. Fiona, eager to see what she was smelling, quickened her pace - until she had began hopping. The artifical lights overwhelmed her sense of vision for a second, but after it settled, Fiona realized that she was in the middle of a beautiful garden. Breathtaking... for a few seconds. This garden was nothing she had seen before.
Now, where are the dorms? Fiona wishes to retire to them. She hopped around the garden for a little bit longer - until another smell got picked up. The smell of coffee and other pastries. Smelled like fun! Fiona changed course to that scent - quickly hopping towards it. Until she came across a small building, in the garden. With a neon sign that said "CAFE". She smirked - the place looked like fun! She stopped hopping and walked inside. It seemed kind of active. Fiona was certain the place was more active earlier in the day. She picked up some more scents. She ignored them for a moment, and sat down in a chair, and rested her luggage bag on the ground at her feet.
Maurice slowly and purposefully stood up, walking over to the woman's table and stopping about six inches away from it. "Uh, ma'am," he said, trying to get her attention. "I noticed you looked kinda alone, do you... maybe want to join us for tea and get some some help with that luggage?" he questioned, motioning over to the table Reagan was at. The woman he motioned to, slapped her head to her forehead. Way to go and say they were watching her, jarhead.
Huh? Fiona's antennas perked up, as her head turned towards them. There was some guy and girl at a table - they were both muscular, and that was somewhat intimidating for Fiona. However, she realized that she was a tall mix between girl and grasshopper, and all that intimidation factor evaporated. They were inviting her to drink some tea? That was an odd request, but Fiona was certainly one to take it. "Oh this?" She slapped her shelled hand onto the luggage bag. "I carried this thing all the way from Black Fall! It won't bother me!" She said, in the chippiest tone she could muster. The bag didn't concern her at all, her shell didn't exactly have nerves like flesh did. So it was fine. Fiona pushed the chair back, and stood straight up. She bent her knees a bit, and hopped right over to their table - Over some other tables. Landng right at their table. She dropped the bag of luggage by their table.
Nailed it.
"And tea? I'd love some tea!" Fiona tried to be happy as possible - to hide that concern she had deep down. She was before two... normals, as some of the people at the Community put it. They didn't like freaks like her. Fiona pulled out a table, and sat down. Sliding herself in. There was a brief silence. And in that silence, Fiona was waiting for the moment they explode at her and call her freak and other slurs. Her fears weren't realized. "... Oh, um... I'm Fiona! Nice to meet you two!"
Maurice looked down at the spot where the luggage bag had been and kinda stared at it, as the woman he had just spoken to had so casually jumped over all the other tables to their own. He didn't know how to react to that, and he didn't know if he ever would. He shook his head and composed himself, walking back over to his table where Reagn sat, holding herself as far away as possible while still gripping the table and her eyes wide and staring directly at the newcomer. She looked to Maurice for a moment, who shrugged, and then back to... Fiona.
"Pretty name." Reagan finally commented, relaxing into the newcomer's presence. "My name's Reagan, and this is my boyfriend, Maurice.' she said, motioning over to the man who had invited her over. "Jersey Devil, and power replicator, respectively." she finished. Maurice, as if to testify to this, held up his hand to displace the blace leather gloves that covered the skin. "I take it you dont talk to people much based on... whatever that was." Reagan finished her eyes flicking to the table Fionna had just... jumped from.
Oh! They were lovers!? How sweet! Fiona was going to congratulate them, but she kept her mouth shut. Offering to provide a sweet smile instead. So, they were Reagan and Maurice? Names sounded exotic. Or at least to her. She spent awhile in the Ivory Deer Community, and that place had some weirdly named people. Then she randomly said "Jersey Devil" and "Power Replicator"... It took Fiona a moment to figure out that she was talking about powers. Fiona would be lying if she said she knew what a "Jersey Devil" is - but the thought of a Power Replicator intrigued her... and frightened her. She wondered what he was capable of. Would he want her power?
However. the conversation took a turn for the uncomfortable once Reagan mentioned how "she didn't talk to people much". Once again, Fiona's antenna's drooped, and she looked at the foot for a second. "Um... I, uh..." Come on, Cricket, you knew this was coming. They were looking down on her because of her appearance. She shouldn't have walked up to begin with! She started breathing a bit heavier, wondering the way out. Her eyes quickly shot around - looking for that escape.
"Hey now..." A voice came from a woman approaching, Fiona looked up at her.
Well, this day kinda sucked. Michelle started to play pool, and fucked that up. Then she tried to head out to have some adventure, and that went no where. So, for the rest of Michelle's day, she spent it in the woods. By herself. Relaxing. Fortunately, nothing in there was ballsy enough to mess with her - an Apex Predator among the savage beasts. However, when night started to fall... that's when things that frightened even her started coming out. It'd be dumb to stick around. So Michelle left the woods, and retired to the Academy. Right now, she's exploring the place. And her explorations lead her straight to the Cafe. Putting herself in a small-ass chair was awkward. She looked at the menu, with her legs crossed. Her senses were being barraged in this small ass cafe. Sounds! Smells! Sights! They were almost too much for Michelle....
"I take it you dont talk to people much based on... whatever that was."
Michelle heard it vibrate through her ears. Now, now? She turned her head to the table, and saw a group of three people. Two girls, and one cu- guy - she couldn't give a fuck about him. Her attention was on the ladies. One was perfectly normal, redhaired, yadda, yadda, yadda... but when it came to the other lass, that's where Michelle got heated. The girl looked... inhuman. A green exoskeleton, with buggish traits - good thing god let her keep her hair. She was just a big old bug! Still, Michelle wasn't the type to sit by and let her become this chick's verbal punching bag.
So, Michelle slid the chair back a bit, and stood straight up. She stretched her back, and let out a yawn as she walked over to them. She stepped up to the table, casually saying, "Hey now..." She said with a grin. "You pickin' on the Cricket here?" She said pretty playfully. "Mind if I have a seat, then?"
Maurice looked up to the new person in surprise, and Reagan remained relatively unfazed. She had been at a position to see the woman come over. She raised an eyebrow at the remark that the new woman made? Picking on her? Oh, no.
"Less of... Picking on, and more of pointing out an abnormal social cue..." Reagan explained. "Nothing we can't work on. I've seen worse be made into better. Like Black Fall's lizard-cop." she said, reaching forward and taking a sip of her tea. She had initially disliked tea. She still did somewhat. Green tea was the only kind she had really come to like of the many different variations. Maurice, leaned back, grabbing a chair behind them and pulling it over to the table for huge woman after acknowledging her question for her to sit in. "Maurice," he said, offering a gloved hand. "This here is Reagan. And... Cricket is Fiona."'
Hmph... that's what I thought. Michelle thought to herself with a smirk etching it's way across her lips. She probably intimidated the lass into shutting up. Michelle just has that effect! Still, she was going to stick around. She inserted herself into this conversation, and she's going to stay for the conversation. She grabbed the chair, and planted her behind down into it. "Oh?" She said as she descended, "My bad. I just got the wrong idea... Didn't know you were givin' her a bit of constructive criticism." The chick mentioned Black Fall - Michelle heard a lot about that place. She wondered if she should give it a visit at some point. That means this chick must be from there. Michelle thought to herself again. Didn't matter honestly.
They started throwing introductions around. Muscle-guy was Maurice. From Russia with Love was Reagan. And the Cricket-girl was Fiona. Noted, noted, and noted. It only seemed fair to give out her name too. "Well, since we're giving out names here, I'm Michelle. Nice to meet each and every one of ya'." She said with a smile on her face.
While this conversation was on-going, Fiona remained quiet. Very quiet. She observed for a bit - choosing to focus the various scents given off by the group. The perfumes wore by Reagan, the raw... masculinity given off by Michelle. Something's wrong with me...? Fiona asked herself, as she raised a hand to her chin. Is that what Reagan is saying? She... didn't know. Maybe there was. Maybe it was because Fiona wasn't normal. Still, what Reagan is saying is rather concerning... Maybe she should just go. "Um, hi." Fiona weakly said right after Michelle sat down. Gently waving at her.
The gears in Reagan's mind began turning as Michelle sat down, analyzing the woman very meticulously and carefully. She was heavily built, more muscular than anything else, but at the same time more bulky than Maurice. This was compounded by her height. She had yet to stand up next to her, but she was obviously incredibly tall, enough to play basketball with no trouble by the looks of it. She was African American, strong chin, bob haircut. Lots of scars. She was obviously someone she wouldn't be able to intimidate out with sheer appearance like she could others, should she need to. Creativity however, was intelligence having fun.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Reagan said only a second or so after Maurice spoke. "You seem like you'll have a lot of stories to tell, based on those scars."
Hmph. What does this girl think she is? A soap opera? Her business was her business, she wasn't going to start spilling her life story just yet. "Now, now, Reagan... Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?" Michelle put a hand on her chest as she said with an idle smile. "We just met."
"I didn't ask," Reagan began, only for Maurice to give her a look that caused her to second guess continuing the rebuttal. As if to say that it wasnt worth it. "So, what do you do?" Maurice questioned, leaning back in his seat. "And Fiona, where are you from? You never said.".
Sure sounded like it. She thought to herself - very close to saying it outloud. Michelle's face turned into a grimace, and she glared at Reagan. Before she rolled her eyes and let it go. No point in keeping this going - since even if Reagan was asking, Michelle's lips are sealed. However, Reagan decided on a simple question - where did Michelle come from? Well, that was pretty simple, actually. The most she would tell about her past is that she lived in Florida, and worked in a circus. "Well, I came from Flordia... did a lil' bit of work in a circus for a few years, before they sent me here to get my cerifications...." Michelle shrugged. That was all she was going to say.
The answer came harder to Fiona to Michelle - mostly out of uncertainy to say. Should she tell them everything? Or just the important stuff. Fiona clicked her mandibles together as her antennae arced upwards. "Um, I drifted from city to city, until I settled in Black Fall... where I lived for the last couple of years."
Maurice nodded, and met eyes with Reagan, who looked back to him with blank eyes. She was silent for a moment, before she blinked and shrugged. She had once again, not asked Michelle, who answered anyways... an arrogant gesture, but she would look past it for now. Maurice, on the other hand was completely unaware of the situation Reagan was analyzing in her head. "Immigrated from Russia to DC. Now I'm here." was her initial response. "You can probably tell where I'm from." Maurice added in, shrugging. He was severly british and he knew it.
Maurice yawned and pulled out his phone to check the time. 7:41 PM. Not too late, but they were still acclimating to the new time zone. They were up at 2AM the night before, before they forced themselves to sleep. He was hopng to get to bed at a more reasonable time. He was impressed that these people were dealing with the jetlag so well themselves. He looked back to the game they had been playing before the other two had decided to join him, and seeing as Reagan had forgotten her turn, slid another piece forward, jumping another one of Reagan's pieces. Seeing this, the woman who commanded the small checker army coughed on her drink and grabbed another checked piece of hers, and promptly threw it at Maurice. He laughed again, throwing up his arms, but was too slow and the piece bounced off his glasses.
[center]I've been told that my username sounds like a new brand of women's perfume, whatever the hell that means.
[img]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m842wbilU21qhnlrc.jpg[/img]
My main fuccbois:
[@Dragonbud]
[@Spoopy Scary]
[@Maxx]
[@Mr Allen J]
[@He Who Walks Behind]
[@SepticGentleman][/center]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center">I've been told that my username sounds like a new brand of women's perfume, whatever the hell that means.<br><br><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m842wbilU21qhnlrc.jpg" /><br><br>My main fuccbois:<br><a class="bb-mention" href="/users/dragonbud">@Dragonbud</a><br><a class="bb-mention" href="/users/spoopy-scary">@Spoopy Scary</a><br><a class="bb-mention" href="/users/maxx">@Maxx</a><br><a class="bb-mention" href="/users/mr-allen-j">@Mr Allen J</a><br><a class="bb-mention" href="/users/he-who-walks-behind">@He Who Walks Behind</a><br><a class="bb-mention" href="/users/septicgentleman">@SepticGentleman</a></div></div>
