A World No Longer Ours (Scrypt)

[EdithSpeaks]

But at it's most basic form the idea is that it's a futuristic world at war, so around 2055 let's say


And they've been warring for over thirty years, so most developments have been in weaponry and things such as that


But there is one island in the middle of the Pacific that has managed to keep itself conflict free, by marketing human weapons to both sides secretly


Instead of focusing on improving that actual weapons, they focused on their wielders and have since become the most advanced country in terms of genetic research and military training. The only reason their system still works is they don't allow immigration, keep this trade very hush-hush (even to their own citizens), and don't share their secrets with anyone outside of their own production system. Of course other countries have attempted to make these super-humans but none have been as successful. The only human weapons that are actually traded outside of their own country are the ones from this island, which I call Brier for some reason. And what makes them identifiable is the fact that they're barcoded. The more advanced, the more obvious the placement of the barcode. And these are people who are secretly modified in the womb and then supposedly 'kidnapped' once they are developed enough to begin training. So most of these people have been able to kill since age three. Some of them are even mutants, such as having scales or fox ears or being so mentally advanced they are essentially telepathic.


And that's kind of it


As for why the world is at war, well that's one of the things I'm stuck on. I think at it's very basis it's a power war, where both sides are fighting for control over the other. But obviously the war isn't the real basis of the setting. The real basis is Brier.


And that's about it...I think.


Oh WAIT


I forgot to say why I even had this idea in the first place


I wanted to look into the flaws of these human weapons that I have yet to title


Their emotional flaws, because despite being categorized as killing machines, they're still humans


They can't help but feel guilt and conflict and yet they want to survive and to do so, they have to continue killing


The fact that they have no real motivation to fight for either side than their own life makes them feel even worse, since they can't help but feel remarkably selfish and disgusting


Some ignore it, some accept it, and some tear themselves down, so you'd end up with a load of very conflicted characters


I had an intriguing idea for a male character who had already torn himself down, and had since then become fully acceptant of the fact that he was a despicable human being, so yeah he was one idea for a character


The other character was the 'dream' girl who was freshly bought, and her guide through the entire mess of it all was going to be this male character, who was a mess himself.


Name:


Age:


Gender:


Personality:


History:


Appearance:


Other: 
Name: Reese


Age: 23


Gender: Male


Personality: Reese is a very quiet but pained person. After being just a weapon all his life, he's just gotten tired of everything and resigned to it all. It was easier to rationalize doing anything to live when he was a child, because it was all he knew, but as time went on he started to hate himself for what he'd done. Eventually he settled on the notion that the pain of continued living was his punishment for the actions he continued to take, following orders from his owners. He's quiet and doesn't speak unnecessarily, but when he speaks he says whatever he pleases. If it gets him beaten, he just takes it. More punishment, he reasons. He's taken to wearing a mask, to frighten those he's faced against and to keep himself from being able to connect with anyone the way all humans and even experiments do, through facial expressions and eye contact. Punishment he can take, but making and losing connections like that he can't stand anymore.


History: Reese was stolen from the hospital as a baby, raised to strength quickly and efficiently, and sold at the age of six. By then, he'd already taken his first few lives - and by age ten he'd slaughtered a whole platoon all by himself, without so much as a scratch to show for it. By his teenage years, he was virtually unstoppable and beginning to be well known, enough that others could prepare for him. He started wearing the mask then, to hide his identity as best he could, and for psychological warfare. He's being taken away from direct warfare, for now, because his owners fear their most valuable weapon breaking down to pieces too soon, and is being used to train a new one. A future replacement, perhaps.


Appearance:


<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/57a8bdd9f3416_Jafar_full_1417187.jpg.82f2e94e082e0b245c8331559905a719.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="3098" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/57a8bdd9f3416_Jafar_full_1417187.jpg.82f2e94e082e0b245c8331559905a719.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>


<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/Iya-chen_full_1529730.jpg.97abc31a860adf00c46664f77fec30af.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="3099" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/Iya-chen_full_1529730.jpg.97abc31a860adf00c46664f77fec30af.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>


(Mask)


<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/4336362924_1a1ed522a5.jpg.85a6239ae435de9de51a0288ef3a539c.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="3100" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/4336362924_1a1ed522a5.jpg.85a6239ae435de9de51a0288ef3a539c.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>


He has cheetah spots in a long triangle down his back, the widest part on his shoulders, and the thinnest at the base of his spine. His eyes are yellow, with the pupils of a cat or lizard, but at times its difficult to see them through the mask. His incisors are also longer than humans'.


Other: He was given the numbered designation of 325, but picked the name 'Reese' for himself when he was young, after deciding which of the names he'd heard around him he liked best. He's not a newer model, given his age, but he's impossibly strong and fast, and continues to best even the newer projects that come out. No one knows why he continues to be one of the best, but he's kept around for that purpose. 
((Oh, hey, maybe later we can have a younger character/child come into play to help them learn compassion/morality? . . . Mostly because I found this picture, and he's so adorable I want to use him somewhere :3 It's just, he's bandaged up and bleeding a little, but his expression's all serene and he's just like "Look - life," and it's adorbs X3)


<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/Naegi_Makoto_full_1546939.jpg.831d938a40d31b5ecc2189a89d38aa60.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="3103" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_07/Naegi_Makoto_full_1546939.jpg.831d938a40d31b5ecc2189a89d38aa60.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[Scrypt]

Name: Kyoko Meigui by birth, but now goes by Ki (like Key)


Age: 21


Gender: Female


Personality: Ki isn't really the talkative type. She prefers to keep to herself and has a very hard time trusting others. But nonetheless, she will follow orders that she doesn't feel are completely idiotic. She often has a laid back attitude and only really pays attention to people she feels have something worthwhile to say. Chitchat isn't her thing, unless of course she truly likes the person. Then she might sustain a decent yet pointless conversation. Despite being remarkably lax in her training and practice, she has to be one of the better weapons cranked out of Brier. After all, the true test of strength among their products is their genes. And she happens to have a very nice set. She doesn't have anything particularly in-human about her like animal characteristics. But by no means is she inferior. She learns remarkably fast, to the point where to win, all she has to know is the rules. Once she knows what she has to do, her opponents rarely have a chance. But that's the way it is with most of Brier's weapons. Their only competition is each other. Ki is also a very good judge of character, something that comes with the learning. But that doesn't means she's afraid of people she knows aren't particularly good. She just likes people who are interesting.


History: Ki was born to a family in the marshland of Brier. Her father was Chinese, hence her surname, and her mother Japanese, hence her first name. They weren't poor, they just preferred the sort of self-sufficient lifestyle. In fact, her father worked as a geneticist for the weapon program on Brier. He even designed her very genes, though unknowingly. He would never have wished his own daughter to be a subject to the program. I fact he hated the program, but it was either work for them or die alongside his wife. So he had to give in of course. Once Ki was born, he was very suspicious of her genetic makeup. All children on Brier were genetically perfected in the womb to some extent, to the point where they would be fairly normal in growth, intelligence, and physicality. But their appearance was entirely up to the parents. So it wasn't the varying shades of purple hair or eyes that faded from blue to pale gray that put him off. He'd expected that. It was that fact that she spoke her first word right out of the womb. That she could beat most of the people in his chess club at a game by the time she was one. And the fact that when she was one, she looked as physically developed as a five-year old. He only absolutely knew she was a part of the weapon program when she turned three and there was talk of a new purely human weapon being brought into training. But he was at work. There was no way he could have stopped her from being snatched right off of the riverbank outside of their home. But Ki was never told that her father didn't support the program. That he didn't want her to be what she was. She resents him. But anyways, she has never been out on the battlefield before. She's been trained for a whole of nineteen years, and over that time she's been taught pretty much anything that can be taught. She's even been taught the arts such as music and drawing and painting. Her only inexperience is in emotion. Never has she felt anything like caring or love or joy or sadness. Sure she may resent her father but she doesn't get angry at him or get sad because of his choices. She simply dislikes him...strongly. As for happiness from praise and such, she's never had much difficulty learning anything. Why should she feel like it's an accomplishment to learn? But now that she's been bought, she's had her first taste of a thing called curiosity. She can't imagine what it feels like out in the real world. Sure she remembers what it was like with her parents, but she can't even imagine a battlefield. She can tell you everything about war history, but she can't comprehend what it would feel like to actually be a part of it.


Appearance:

except her eyes fade from blue to gray and she has varying colors of purple hair that grow incredibly fast, so she just let's it grow out to her mid-thigh after she cuts it to a bob. So usually over the course of a week, she'll have a new hairstyle for every day. As for clothes, she prefers to wear sound-blocking white headphones, which due to her impeccable hearing only really muffle things, and a skintight, white, diner style dress that falls mid-thigh. And what would she do without her thigh-high white combat boots and white fingerless gloves. Oh and she is not pale as a ghost as in the picture. She has some peachy color to her.


Other: Ki's capabilities lie in her ability to learn anything on the spot. She has all the other perks that come with being a weapon, like almost super-human strength, speed, and senses. But her learning sets her apart. As for weapon preferences, she doesn't really have one. If it's there and she's seen it before, she can use it and usually pretty well. Despite her usual obedience, she will not hesitate to lash out against idiocy that is forced upon her and has harmed a few of her trainers because of this. She's considered dangerous among the officials of the weapon program and that's why they placed her barcode right over her right eye. It's hard to ignore. And her owner's know exactly what that means.


(I knew making her was going to take me an eternity .~.


But yeah we could totally have another character)

 

[EdithSpeaks]

((Oh I forgot. I meant to say Reese's barcode's on the left side of his neck. Maybe we'll bring the little guy in later, unless you wanted him now? Anywho, could you start us off? I gotta go shower)) 
((Oh, dang it! I forgot to say I can't see the pic ))

 

[Scrypt]

(Alright. And we can bring him in whenever. Probably after these characters have adjusted to each other. And yes, I can start.


Oh erm, I shall go attempt to fix that.


I was thinking that the inside of the base could be fairly luxurious. This is a holding area for some none-too-cheap weaponry after all.)


Ki:


I couldn't say my owner's base wasn't what I had expected. A large, bland building surrounded by a pretty much insurmountable wall. That was how plenty of private properties were built nowadays. The world couldn't afford to flaunt it's extravagance. But I was fairly certain the inside would show more promise. Adjusting the very bland army green backpack on my shoulders as I unloaded from the very covert looking jeep, I noticed the few windows lining the box-like structure. Bulletproof I was sure. But quite a few for a housing structure. Very promising. I heard my escort unloading behind me and an arm slung around my shoulder. I knew it was Tic, my combat trainer. He had known me for pretty much my entire life. And if I could name a single person I was closed to attached to, it was him. His warm brown eyes peered over my shoulder, scanning the premises. "Not really exciting is it," he sighed, shrugging his arm off of me. I could hear the disappointment in his voice. But it wasn't because of our bleak surroundings. He'd sounded a little off-put ever since we left Brier this morning. I didn't want to think it was because of my leaving. I certainly wasn't particularly sad about his departure from my life. But it certainly threw me for a loop to think he was sad about mine. "I guess I'll be seeing you," he said, offering me a smile that contrasted the watery look in his eyes as the telescoping steel gates to the base slowly slid open.


I returned the look as best I could, only able to think of it as a sad smile. "Let's hope not," I replied. Not because I didn't like seeing him. Only because if I ever did see him again, I would probably be in the after-life if such a thing existed for people like me. He blinked a few times, thinking the answer over for a second before nodding.


"I suppose so," he said, his expression saddening even more by some miracle. As an instinctual guess, I hugged him as a way of comfort. He looked on the verge of tears. And I knew he'd be embarrassed to cry in front of his cohorts. He returned the gesture and for a split second, I thought I might cry myself. I didn't know why. It was sudden, but I tamed it and broke off, fearful that I might lose it. I gave him one last smile, and also a look that said he should go. And he obeyed, ruffling my short hair before trudging back to the truck. The gates finished opening with a decisive clang and I walked through them, hearing the machinery within the steel wall begin to work again as soon as I passed. I was surprised to see the building had a very noticeable double door entrance. Not some secretive cellar door or something like that. I approached it, glancing at both sides and noting a simple black pad. I placed my hand on it, the substance immediately absorbing the form of my hand. The doors slowly began to slide open, telescoping just like the gates. I hesitantly stepped inside, observing the rich black and white furnishings of the building. I was right. It was luxurious. A perfect replica of a modern show house in Brier.


(Picture should be fixed now


maybe .~.)

 

[EdithSpeaks]

((Oh, gosh, it's going to feel weird doing first person again O_O So many people do Third on this site that I've just followed suit lol))


Reese


It felt strange, sitting in a room filled with silence when I'd grown so used to the sound of repeater fire and the machines of war. Of voices shouting orders, triumph or death. The room was large and filled with extravagant things I had no interest in, and I had to move the bed - too large, large enough for six people, at least - to the wall so that if need be I wouldn't have to sleep with my back to any part of the room. When everything was how I wanted it, I simply sat at a chair next to the window, and watched for the right vehicle to arrive.


Without equipment, it was still easy to see down the walk to the gates where the newcomer arrived, the female I would be training. She and a man talked, embraced, and separated, and I stood to walk away from the window as she approached the front doors. I made it to the main entryway before she opened the doors, was sitting on the rather large staircase and just waiting with my head resting on folded arms as the door slowly swung open - I never tried to look intimidating; there was no purpose to it and being unassuming always gave one the advantage. The mask pressed against my skin in unpleasant ways, but I was used to it.


I waited until she'd spotted me, waited longer until the doors had closed behind her, and sighed quietly. "I'll show you where you're sleeping." It was going to be strange getting used to the tedious pace of life here. I could hardly sleep in the quiet.


((Oooo, we should have the little kid be modified in a way that makes him more sensitive to emotions, so he's basically an empath. Like he was supposed to be a politician or a negotiator or something and somehow escaped. Maybe whatever was transporting him exploded or something. Just throwing out ideas lol))

 

[Scrypt]

(I know, it's kinda disappointing because I love the characterization you can accomplish with first person.)


I nodded silently, trotting up the steps. The emptiness of the building could only be described as creepy. I assumed there weren't too many more bedrooms beside ours, since we were expensive. You couldn't have an army of Brier weapons because no one could pay for such a thing. But supposedly this owner had a number of them, but they were all on duty at the moment. Sure this was their base, but they were never here. And so there didn't need to be a room for every single one of them. But the place was pretty big anyways, likely filled with training gyms, maybe a music room, an armory, and a number of other things. One thing I couldn't help but hope for was a library. Where I could seclude myself, even if there was only one other person here. Books were the only things that came close to fulfilling me. In a sense they were my only 'friends', companions that followed me everywhere. In fact, most of my backpack was filled with my favorite books. Not much fiction, besides perhaps 1984 and Brave New World simply because those books amazed me with their ability to predict our present from the past. Most of these books were either history books or sheet music compilations. I expected plenty of free time. Even if this Reese fellow was supposed to train me, I suspected he wouldn't be able to teach me much. Nineteen years of training had left few gaps in my knowledge. So as I followed him, I asked, not because I was put off by our silence (chatting wouldn't cure the ominous lack of sound in the house) but because I simply needed to know, "Is there a library in the house?"


(Yeah that sounds good /nods)

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


I stood when she came closer, stuffed my hands in my jacket's pockets and just trudged up the stairs to the floor where the bedrooms were located. "Downstairs." I said, shrugging a little in response to her question. "You won't be needing books for what we'll be doing." Solo missions would be good enough to start with. I had been told about her, of course. She was a Sponge, someone whose modification was to learn quickly and remember everything. She was strong as well, trained in combat with her own body and with weapons. That wouldn't be what we were learning. There wasn't much I could teach her about that, without putting her in a field with forty people surrounding her, all trying to kill her at once. No, what I would teach her was just what it took to take so many lives, to watch the light fade from someone's eyes.


I would teach her how to be a monster like me.

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


"Oh? And what exactly will we be doing?" I inquired. I didn't expect them to throw me on the field immediately. You tested a product before you used it. Sure I might come with all the certification, but that didn't mean I worked. This guy was a sort of veteran among us. If I was to be trained anymore, I was glad it was by someone who had experienced what I was soon to. I couldn't help but wonder what made him particularly special. Not new, rather old in fact. Most of his training was from experience, which was great just a little too untamed for my taste maybe. Then again I'd always lived very in a very orderly way. He came from an older generation, even if he was around my age. I had no doubt he was good in his own way, but I had yet to wonder what that way was. And the mask made it all the more mysterious. Even if it made him impossible to read or judge of first sight, I liked it. He seemed interesting enough. Hopefully he'd be able to keep me intrigued.

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


I glanced back at her over my shoulder when I had a hand on the large door to her room, watching her a moment. ". . . I would prefer it be a surprise." One could never be prepared for every eventuality in the field, and she had to learn that first or she would be useless. War wasn't fair, nor was it patient or timely. Anything could happen, at any time, with any odds. She could be safely secured after capturing a town, only to have it bombed a moment later by silent aircraft. Surprise would be her life from the moment she stepped onto the battlefield, so she would start learning it now. I wanted to see how well and how quickly she could adapt.


Turning back forward, I pushed open the door and preceded her inside, gesturing to the inside of the room. "You may arrange it how you like, and your . . . needs will be provided for." It was strange still, thinking that any sort of clothing or food or item was at our beck and call. I was used to having to fight for every resource. I was used to having nothing.

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


I shrugged, despite the fact that I felt almost desperately curious. I had been ever since I'd been purchased. And even if I lay awake thinking about what in the world I would be facing, I could never reach a sure conclusion. It was maddening. The room distracted me for a moment though, simply in it's grandeur. I wouldn't call it my taste really. Despite whatever I had been through, some part of me was still my parent's daughter and luxury was something I had a hard time appreciating. It wasn't unlikable, but it was preferable. I'd be happiest living in a shack out in the middle of nowhere most likely. But this room was gorgeous, I couldn't deny it. All black and white like the rest of the house, but the patterns and textures are what really brought it to life. I stood in the doorway, blinking away my surprise and slowly stepping inside, exploring the room to temporarily quell my curiosity. "Is the entire house this fancy?" I asked, trying to picture a training area decked out in decorative wallpaper. I smirked a little, amused by the image.

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


I nodded and just stood still a moment, then began wandering the room because inaction without a reason made me feel uncomfortable. "I suppose." I said, simply, and looked out the window to be sure all traces of the vehicle and people that had brought her were gone. They had left tidily as told, and beyond deliveries for supplies or other wants, she and I would be left alone. Those that wished to see her trained had no need of physical visits to check on her progress, not unless they felt I was doing such a poor job I needed to be punished for it. 
((Oh, also I still can't see the picture ))

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


I moved to the bed, dropping my bag on it and unloading it's contents. My books, a few changes of clothes at were exact replicas of what I was already wearing. I liked wearing the same thing. It was one less decision to make. And then the one item I wasn't sure why I'd packed. A picture of my father I'd stolen out of the employee records. I knew it was him. Not many people have the last name Meigui. But instead of with fondness, I gave the picture a small glare, dropping it on the ebony nightstand. Something about seeing his face spurned a desire to chat within me. But who said it had to be useless? I just needed a distraction. I removed my headphones, trying to ignore the fact that the shocking sound of silence became even more prominent, and dropped then on the small pile of my clothes. "So, since we have to be around each other for a while, I figure we might as well get to know each other a little better. Anything I should remember about you? Favorite color? Cat allergy? Fear of bees? Or are you like me and you don't really want to tell me anything about yourself?" I asked, looking at him as I took a cross-legged seat on the massive bed. I couldn't remember the last time someone had just talked to me for the sake of talking. But I was in the mood, a little anxious and plenty tired which for some reason made me quite the Chatty Cathy.


(/grumbles


well...I'll try to fix it again


tell me if you can ever see it)

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


I turned slowly, after my inspection of the ground, and leaned against the window frame to look at her through my mask, silent for a minute or so. "If you're as intuitive as claimed," I said, finally, "You won't need me to speak to learn about me." I gave her a moment to think about it, and shrugged afterwards. "Call it a field exercise." That was something else she would need to learn. I wasn't like humans, like 'normal' people, but if she could read me then she could read any of them. It was important to know a person's 'type' at a glance in battle, to anticipate their actions.

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


I sighed, resting my elbow on my knee and my head on my hand in turn. "Alright then...you're definitely not insecure, but you aren't confident. Or at least in a particularly nice way. You know that you know what you're doing, you accept it, you don't like it, but you still continue doing it. You aren't really a Renaissance man when it comes to experience. In other words, you've always done what you're supposed to do, it's what you know. You don't seem particularly emotional, but your mask makes it hard to tell. At the same time, your mask says that you don't want me to know about you. You don't want me to connect to you on a human level of emotion or feeling. But...you're confusing. I don't understand you. I don't know why you do something you don't like, or why your confident about your ability to do it. And I don't know what that something is. But that's about all I can get without a face. Just the way you walk and stand and talk can say something about your character," I list off, my brow furrowing as I study him, trying to understand. He doesn't make any sense. His body language contradicts itself in a way I haven't seen before. And I can't pin it to a reason. "So really I can't tell anything about you in the end, at least more than the basics to predict your way of thought. I don't know your motivation, but I suppose 80% of the time I could guess what your next move would be if we were fighting," I shrug, "But that is the point of how you act isn't it? I shouldn't be able to."

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


I stayed still, listened to her analyze me and didn't nod nor shake my head, though mentally I ticked off points for accuracy or inaccuracy. "Very good." I said, when she was finished, and neither confirmed or denied anything at all. "You show reasoning skills that will be useful, but seem to know your limitations. If you must know anything about me, you may know that I am just as likely to kill you as I am to instruct you. As I suppose you are as likely to kill me as be instructed." What I did depended only on what new orders came to me. If they told me to kill her, I would. "As of now, you are only here to be trained." Still, at any point in time I could turn on her, and I had plans to test her on this in the future, to see how well she reacted to someone who was supposed to 'be on her side' trying to kill her. It would be a learning experience.

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


I nodded, already having acknowledged the fact. It was something I was used to. If I had been defective back on Brier, I would have been terminated, which is a nice way of saying that would have shot my brains out. I suspected in his case though, he'd use anything on hand to kill me if he got the order. But he'd still do it act cleanly as possible. I imagined he'd probably just snap my neck, the image of it popping into my head. I'd fight it, but he'd win. Because for now he had the upper hand in every way. I was doing nothing to hide my personality, and I was painfully inexperienced. If he decided to kill me, I'd be dead in a second. As for any sort of advantage I'd hold, it would be in having a wider variety of skills. But those wouldn't help when it came to life or death. And yet both of us were always in a life or death situation. I small smile crept over my face. It sounded like maybe he could teach me a few things now that I thought about it. And he did not lack in intrigue. But there was still something itching in my thoughts that said this wouldn't be fun. That this would end up wrecking me. I could not ignore the fact that war was traumatic to some. I'd read about it. I couldn't imagine being among those effected, but sometimes fate played nasty tricks.

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


She smiled. We spoke of death and she smiled. She was either a very, very collected person, lost in her own thoughts, or just psychotic. But then, who was I to judge someone on their mental health? "In any case," I pushed away from the window and just walked towards the door, hands still tucked in my pockets, posture as horrible as I wanted it to be because there was nothing and no one here to stop me, "You may wash and feed and do such things to 'settle in'. We start tomorrow." So far as she knew. "Fend for yourself for meals." There was food but I would not cook for her, nor did I really ever cook for myself, or expect her to do it for me. I ate what was there, and if it was something raw that needed to not be so, I put it in a pan and fixed that. That was the extent of my cooking knowledge beyond roasting over open fires.

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


"Alright," I nodded, standing and stretching my arms over my head, snatching my one varying piece of clothing from my backpack. It was my pajamas, an over-sized army green t-shirt that blended very well with my bag. I didn't know why my favorite color was that odd green, but it was. Maybe it had something to do with my childhood and how much time I spent in the marshes. Oh well. Only a psychologist could ever know. I glanced at him once more. "See you whenever," I shrugged, and then headed to the door I knew led to my own bathroom, taking care to close it behind me. I'd never seen such a fancy tub, and so I couldn't help but use it to wash, even though the shower would have been much quicker. I pressed every button I could see on the waterproof remote I assumed controlled the bath. It worked, doing a varying number of things to the bathwater. It made it hot, it made it freezing cold, it turned it pink with the smell of tulips or green with the smell of pines. But what really surprised me was the jets, which sent me flying out of the water and falling flat on my face when I slipped over my own feet. I had a good laugh at myself, grabbed the towel I had left on the towel rack, and after drying and draining the tub I slipped on my underwear and t-shirt. My hair was still a little damp, but when it was short it dried fast enough that I didn't have to blow dry to avoid walking around with wet hair all day. After I'd finished with that, I noticed how hungry I was so I ran down the grand staircase and searched the lower floor for the kitchen, finding it straight to my right. And also noticing the library was just down the hall. I was eager to explore those books, so I didn't fix anything special even though i knew how to cook fairly well. Just some lemon-pepper chicken and asparagus. The advanced utensils in the kitchen made it a simple task. After taking my serving, there was a little leftover so I left it in the fridge, my nature telling me not to waste it even if it was a minuscule amount. I took my food to the library, very happy with the selection of books. It was large enough to have two windows to light it and two stories tall so there was a little mechanism on a track that could b directed to grab books for you based on your commands from a touch screen at the base of the shelves. I easily selected a number of books I hadn't read and sat with them as I ate, reading two by the time I was done with the asparagus.


(I think Imma go to bed. G'night.)

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


By the time Ki came down, Reese had already eaten and taken to settling in the large living room. He turned the television on to a setting that popped up no screen but played music into the room, because he had learned to hate quiet and rarely ever indulged in music before coming here. He lay in a careless, undignified sprawl on the largest of the couches, stretched out with limbs here and there, and considered just sleeping there because there wasn't much else to do. He ended up just debating with himself, though, on whether or not he should let her get the layout before surprise-attacking her. He decided to just let her be, as he would have plenty of settings unfamiliar to her to use later on. For now he could take a rare chance to relax, regroup, and plan. He had all his orders in his head to go over again, just to be sure.


((Night ))

 

[Scrypt]

Ki:


Having had my share of African Tribal history, I returned the books to the library's device and made my way back to the kitchen to clean off my empty plate. When I noticed the fading sunlight outside, I wondered if I'd even be able to sleep tonight. I was more anxious than ever before. Tomorrow was the day my questions would start to be answered. This was what I had been living for these past nineteen years. I couldn't help but pause for a moment, staring at the water gently flowing from the sink as I slipped into my own thoughts again. I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow like I had been when I was much younger. If you'd asked me what I wanted when I was ten, I would have easily answered that I wanted to be bought. But it had made sense then. Now I had more of an understanding of danger, and no matter how much I had been trained I didn't feel like I was entirely safe. Even if they had taught me everything they considered worth learning, I felt empty. In an almost literal sense. I could sense this sort of abyss in the middle of my torso, leaving me feeling sick. I still had a purpose now, right? Why was a I so worried? I'd never worried before. I'd never come close. Because there was no need to. I knew exactly what was going to happen to me. After placing the dishes back in their cabinets I made my way back to the staircase, noting the music pouring from the other side of the house. It was probably Reese, perhaps trying to escape the silence that filled all the spaces of this home. I didn't feel up to talking really, just moving upstairs and flopping down on my bed as the door slammed pronouncedly behind me. And as I could have guessed, even after closing the curtains and removing all light from the space, I couldn't sleep. I was exhausted, that was for sure, but that sick emptiness in my chest remained. I flipped onto my back, throwing both arms over my eyes and prayed that some sort of rest would come to me, even if it would quickly be interrupted by my restlessness.


(So time-skip to the next day maybe?)

 

[EdithSpeaks]

((Yep yep))


That night, Reese did not - could not - sleep in the living room where he'd laid down his head. He turned off the music when it was late, went to his own bedroom and slept with the door open. He knew that the door held no illusion of safety, as flimsy as it was, and he simply slept in a way that left him able to see the door and the window should he open his eyes. It was only by sheer force of will that he finally fell asleep.


In the morning, a delivery was made, a man left sedated on the doorstep, and Reese was up very early to receive it, as planned. He carried the man out into the very, very large back property, and set him down in a chair left there for other purposes but that would do for now. Reese bound the man there, his restraints humming softly to show they were active, and went inside again to eat. Once Ki had woken and eaten some food for herself, the first test would begin - starting with the prisoner of war tied up outside.

 

[Scrypt]

Ki didn't really sleep, unless drifting in and out of consciousness counted as anything. More or less, she'd drift off and then be awoken when she moved or mumbled in her dreams. When she finally saw the light creeping through the blinds, she decided she might as well get up and stop torturing herself with the hope that she would sleep. Having bathed last night, she felt no need to this morning and instead slipped on her usual clothing, which felt like second nature by now. Fed up with the clarity of the empty silence surrounding her, she placed her headphones over her ears and found the muffled noises of her own footsteps as she made her way to the kitchen to be a small comfort. Ki was never much of a breakfast person and so she only grabbed a bowl of some generic cereal and went to eat in the library, finding herself in the mood for a distracting book. So what better than a few classic thriller novels on that early morning.

 

[EdithSpeaks]

((Oh gosh darn it! >_< I switched to Third!))


Reese


I had planted myself in the living room again, bored and just waiting, and slumped into the couch to wait. I listened as she came down the stairs, as she got something from the kitchen, then as she walked away. I gave her an hour, then got up and followed in the direction her footsteps had gone. At the library, as I'd suspected, I shoved open the door without knocking, glancing to where she was sitting and reading, an empty plate next to her. I compared us, briefly - her clothes neat and orderly, carefully planned, whereas mine were just a throw-on of whatever was left here for me. Looking 'nice' meant nothing, not when most of your clothes ended up torn and covered in blood anyway.


"Leisure time is over." I said firmly, leaning against the door frame and waiting to see how quickly she would close the book and obey. "Get up. Training starts now."

 

[Scrypt]

(I totally understand, I do that all the time .~.)


Ki:


I sighed, pursing my lips and quickly reading the last few pages of the chapter, which luckily took only a few seconds. I placed the book down, leaving it open to save my spot just in case I felt like finishing it, and didn't bother picking up my dishes. I was too nervous to care about much about anything besides getting to training anyway. I stood to follow him, suddenly annoyingly aware of my surroundings. The stark contrast of the black and white decor was almost painful, but I did my best to block it out, instead focusing inward. My thoughts were no more relaxing, all clashes of my past predictions and anticipation. But at least they weren't physically annoying. The only thing breaking through my thoughts was the sound of the thick rubber soles of my combat boots on the hardwood floor of the library for whatever reason.

 

[EdithSpeaks]

Reese


When she finished her book before coming after me, I sighed and huffed a quiet "Too slow," knowing she would hear it as much as I knew I didn't care if she heard it. She shouldn't have kept on doing as she pleased, no matter how short of a time it had taken. She was failing already.


I took her to the back door and stopped us there, not quite opening it yet because she could see quiet clearly through the glass. When she came to a stop with me, I pointed out to the man in the chair a good 500 feet away. "That is your first test." I said, resting my hands in my pockets again as I watched him, looking for signs of awareness though there was a black bag over his head. "Should be awake by now, if the squirming is anything to go by." With the dosage he'd been given, he should've been fully awake by now. "That's your first target. And I'm going to tell you exactly how to kill him."