EVENT: HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: October 24 - October 31
Location: Throughout Exsilium
Characters: ALL; tag yourselves in
Summary: The Transports return from their mission to find the island crawling with monsters.
Warnings: Violence, possibly injuries (notify a mod if there's cause to add a particular warning!)

The Transports return from their mission to Medieval Russia, but the Initiative Hold is eerily deserted. Normally, their would be a number of Initiative personnel prepared to meet the Transports at the end of their mission for debriefing.

Instead, there is only silence.

That is, until a distant thumping sound can be heard. It is growing closer, and suddenly the beast is bursting into the room. It lets out a roar and charges. Within minutes, it is easily defeated, but damage has already been done -- it collided with the Transporter machine, which is now making a low fizzling sound and lets off a couple sparks. The commotion is enough to draw the attention of the few remaining Initiative personnel who still inhabit the Hold, who arrive immediately afterwards. They are able to tell the Transports two things: that the machine is broken and currently unable to sent anyone back in time, and that the island has been overrun with aggressive, mutated beasts sent by the United Earth. They have been under siege for months, with the island's population reduced to a mere fraction of what it had once been.

Comments

[onblackwings]

[ Oh, whew. This cat's brain is just entranced by movement like that, and that finger was getting a little hard to disdainfully ignore. ]

Maybe you'd better assume I could at any moment and we'll go from there.

[strategic_guile]

[Don't get too relieved, he's picking up some random thing, a stray stick or something, and he's slowly flipping it around between his fingers, letting it dangle back and forth like a pendulum, just so~]

Oh, so maybe a shapeshifter or maybe not. Hmmmm.

[onblackwings]

[ Okay, not cool. Her eyes focus on the stick immediately, but she's just a little tired of being antagonized by this guy. She liked him way more when he was being pleasant.

So she reaches out, but quite suddenly it's not a cat paw doing the reaching. It's Dagger's hand, long, dark fingers replacing the cat's claws, and she settles her hand over his with the stick, looking distinctly annoyed. Also, distinctly naked. ]

Stop that.

[strategic_guile]

[Oh holy shit he jumps back a bit. He was expecting a swipe of claws not a human hand. If he looks startled well she should feel damn proud. His hand is halfway to the gun under his jacket out of habit, but he didn't draw it.

His eyes sweep over her, like he was making sure it wasn't just some random hand with no body. It was a familiar face he saw, and he focused on it rather than the naked part. Even if the naked part was very pleasant.]

...not how I like my surprises...

[onblackwings]

[ Okay, yeah, she's gotta feel a little smug after that. She plucks the stick up, calmly snapping it into a few smaller pieces. ]

Not how I like my companions, either.

[strategic_guile]

[Now that he is breathing again he kinda gives a laugh. Yes, he's calm, totally calm.] Oh, don't you look so damn smug.

[Lets his hands drop and lets out a breath, shaking his head. He's amused, really. And still secretly freaked out.] Guess that's why I decided to try to pet the cat.

[onblackwings]

Good taste.

[ She's still looking pretty pleased with herself, and that's out in what could safely be called the human version of a purr. ...All that right up until she realizes it's actually pretty cold out here, anyway. She wraps both arms around herself and takes to eying whatever outer layer of clothing he has on, debating asking for it. ]

[strategic_guile]

Excellent taste. [Gotta correct that, first. He eyes her right back and then sighs. He shrugs his jacket off and moves to hold it up for her to slide her arms into the sleeves. He's 6'2" and it comes to his waist, so who knows how big it might be on her. It was also holding his gun and holster under his left arm.] Alright, come on.

[onblackwings]

[ She's only a few inches shorter herself, so it's a pretty decent fit. She looks pleased as she accepts the offer and pulls it on. And she's just beginning to toy with the idea of thanking him when the gun catches her eye. She stares, suddenly far more interested in that than she is in warmth. ]

Is that a gun?

[strategic_guile]

[He's going to reach forward and try to button up said jacket. At her question he doesn't even pause in his attempts while he answers simply.] Yes.

[onblackwings]

[ Oh. Buttons. Right. Man, human clothing is so complicated. She leans back just a little impatiently to allow that, alternating between watching him and watching his gun. ]

Are you good with it?

[strategic_guile]

[Good, she isn't wriggling like a cat child that doesn't want to be held, so he does it pretty quickly. He takes a half step back when he's finished and he's wearing his slightly amused lip quirk that qualifies as his blank face.] Yes, why?

[onblackwings]

[ She brushes the coat straight when he's done, taking a few seconds to judge it. It's not bad, she supposes. For human clothing. It would be much nicer with a few jewels sewn into it, but in that case she wouldn't be giving it back any time soon. She glances up again. ]

I want to learn how to use one.

[strategic_guile]

[Yeah, you are not allowed to sew jewels into his kevlar lined jacket. He is also keeping his mind off of how much he likes it when beautiful women wear his clothes.]

So you want me to teach you? [Lifting an eyebrow skeptically at her.]

[onblackwings]

If you're willing to.

[ Which sounds nice, like maybe she wouldn't want to impose if he doesn't want to— but really is just meant to begin negotiations. Everyone wants something from someone else, she fulls expects this to be just yet another trade. ]

[strategic_guile]

[He gives a slight shrug with a shoulder, a noncommittal gesture.] What weapon do you normally use?

[onblackwings]

Magic. I had a blade, but— [ It ended up being used to stab out her own eye on day one. She frowns. ] ...It didn't work out.

[ Kinda regretting the name choice of "Dagger" now, seriously. ]

[strategic_guile]

[Looks at her with that slight eyebrow lift, like he knows she's probably keeping something embarrassing out of that sentence.] What can you do with magic?

[onblackwings]

[ ...man she really hates that knowing look. But annoyance is fleeting, because hey, this looks like a good chance to brag! ]

It would be easier to ask what I can't do.

[ So not even true, not yet, but it sounds nice. ]

[strategic_guile]

Then why do you need a gun? Magic runs out fast? [Lip quirk]

[onblackwings]

[ Because if she'd had a gun and the ability to use it, she probably wouldn't have ended up with a spear in her shoulder. (Man this body is obnoxiously fragile.) But none of that gets said, of course, she only quirks a brow of her own. ]

Who says I can't have both?

[strategic_guile]

[Sly grin.] Me, if I end up on the other end of your dual wielding skills.

[onblackwings]

[ That gets a smile, and she leans in a little closer. ]

If I had any interest in killing you, it would already have happened.

[strategic_guile]

[He just smiles at her, though his eyes are narrower than they had been. A touch cooler perhaps, but not unfriendly.] Maybe not, chica, but that doesn't make me want to teach you, now does it?

[onblackwings]

[ She spends a couple seconds looking irritated, but — well, that won't do her any good, will it? She could walk away from the conversation, or kill him, but then she wouldn't have what she wants. So she takes a breath, eases back into neutral. ]

What do you want in exchange?