Realistic or Modern SMITED Slice

[Fable]

( Epiphany StoneWolf18 r e i Phayne baddervibes Tarmagon Birdsie Noble Scion DergTheDergon Thatguynameded )

Agents have returned to SMITED HQ to debrief, recover, relax, and dare we even say bond with each other. Agents can freely explore the HQ for the most part, which you can read more about what there is here. (For sanity's sake, you will all be started within the barracks common area.)

 

[Noble Scion]

"Mm..." a rather unhappy sounding groan emanated from a furious demon with crossed arms resting on the chair, glaring daggers into a wall that looked like it was about to crumble from the pressure of her gaze.

"Mmm." she continued, growling with the most intense amount of frustration as her talons gently scratched her resilient biceps, occasionally tapping with impatience.

"Mmmmmmm…." impatiently went the demoness, a crutch resting against the side of the couch she was resting on with a leg that was bare, excluding the large cast around it as the stitches of her calf healed up.

She was incredibly unhappy and dissatisfied. She had been shown up on her first mission and even became a detriment for falling unconscious. She was angry, upset but most of all disappointed in herself. Even with the mission being a success, she had failed in her own eyes and she had no one to blame but herself for failing to avoid the creature that had attacked her.

She could almost hear the mocking tones of her siblings, hell, even her teammates probably thought the same. "Some princess, couldn't even fight some dog!" "And she thinks she's sooo strong" "Couldn't even stay awake after a scratch!" "No wonder she was exiled.."

Her face was a constant scowl and her eyes refused to turn to look at anything other than the poor wall that had become her outlet. An unhappy, wounded demon ex-princess.

The only consolation she had was her determination to carry the next mission, if she was allowed to participate at all.

 

[Birdsie]

Noble Scion

Sang's vision suddenly became obscured, the wall being swapped for a face. Too pale of skin and hair to be human, eyes a brown so deep it was unnatural and set aside too far from each other not to provoke daunting thoughts. The face of Agent Quinn Johnson smiled widely at her, for several empty seconds, until Quinn said, in a long drawl, "Heeey, buddy! You feelin' okaaay?"

Quinn stepped aside, hands behind its back, as it said, "You look really, really - what do humans call it... oh - Down!?" Quinn's eyes darted to the side, as it muttered, most likely only to itself, "I don't understand how the down direction correlates to being sad; humans are weird... Eh."

 

[DapperCat]

location: kitchen
addresses: sanguine & quinn
music: x

There was a loud smack of wood hitting plaster. As the echo faded, it was accompanied by dragging footsteps. Around the corner appeared a sweaty demoness; donned in a set of black sportspants and a tanktop that was marked with the same sweat shining on her forehead. Her hair was short, like an overgrown pixie cut; messily falling across her forehead. A hide that held a soft, merlot hue and was littered with battleworn scars. An imposing presence perhaps-... until she opened her gob.

"I did it baby! Whoe-hoeh!"

The woman was a little over average height for a human woman, her body a strong bulk mixture of large muscle and chubby fat. She leant her weight onto one of her thick legs as she cast her white-pupiled eyes around, whistling.

"Whoah. Fancy. I wonder if there's spiffy human stuff here--."
Her fingers shifted, a small bag thrown over a broad shoulder. After speaking to herself up until now, she finally noticed she was in the presence of two others. Her bushy brows lifted and her plump lips formed a warm and energetic smirk.

"Oh- evenin'! Sorry about that. Y'must be my new work-mates... or my superiors? Please don't be my superiors."
An expression of a sad puppy slipped across her face. She wanted to explore it here, and find out every corner and every fun thing present. If there were superiors already, well, she had to behave at least somewhat. She ran a finger under her nose as she dropped her bag beside her worn black boots.

 

[Tarmagon]

"Okay, the x-rays look good," Dr. Nyra said with a smile. "You were lucky that you were able to reduce that shoulder in the field. If you had waited, it could have been a lot worse. For now, stay on those muscle relaxers and follow the exercise routine I laid out for you. The minor healing we used on you will reduce the chances of that happening again, but it won't prevent it if you don't slowly strengthen yourself. Now shoo! I've got other patients with serious problems."

"Yes doctor," Jasper replied, breathing a sigh of relief. He wasn't a big fan of the infirmary, and was just as happy to make his escape as Dr. Nyra was to be rid of him. Jasper sketched a bow to the elf, then made his way outside, basking in the bright sunlight. There wasn't really anyplace he had to be, so he took his time heading back towards the barracks. Maybe he'd change and go for a run. He had already done his grip and arm exercises, and until he was fully healed, staff practice was not going to happen. Yes. A run would be good. Whistling to himself, Jasper made his way to the barracks, opening the door to the common room and stepping inside, pausing to give his eyes time to adjust.

 

[Xemanorth]

Kirill was passed out, lazily splayed out over the back seat of a car. Being from a relatively small town, unknown even to most demons, his trip had been a long one to say the least. Eventually he was jolted awake however, if only because of his ride pulling to a somewhat abrupt stop just outside of SMITED HQ.

"Ugh, another piss break?" The half-demon questioned, stretching his burly arms out as best as he was able within the confines of the, to him, small car. "Your stop, actually." The driver retorted, casting a brief glance in Kirill's direction by way of the rear-view mirror. "Oh shit! We're here?!" "Yup, and seeing as how you were passed out for pretty much the whole trip, I'm guessing security won't have to worry about you shutting you up. You know, just in case you end up sharing our location with those that have no business knowing it.".

The driver leaned back in his seat, turning his gaze over his shoulder now to look at Kirill as he dragged his thumb across the underside of his throat in a slitting motion. A heavy silence fell between the two of them as they stared back at one another wordless, only for the driver to break said silence with a belated: "Just kidding. Run off now, I've got places to be.". The half-demon rolled his eyes with a relieved sigh before shoving one of his large seats into the back of the driver's seat "Yeah, real funny... dick.".

With that Kirill made his way out of the vehicle, duffel bag in tow. "Barracks, right." The half-demon mumbled to himself before turning in place, opting to ask the driver for directions, only to be met with the sight of the car peeling out and racing off into the distance. With another brief sigh, Kirill shook his head before proceeding to wander off in search of his destination.

After a while of aimless meandering, he found his way to the correct building and into the barracks, his arrival announced by the sound of heavy foot steps, as well as the somewhat forceful opening and closure of the door behind him. A short while later, he entered the common room and pulled to a slow stop, greeting all those present with a simple: "'Sup?" far, faaar from formal.

For those that cared to notice, Kirill stood at a height of 6'6" or 198 centimeters tall, just shy of reaching that nice, round 200 centimeter mark. His physical build was burly, a set of thickly muscled treetrunk limbs sprouted from his equally built core. That's not to say he was all muscle, however, a decent amount of fat layered his build from top to bottom, giving his musculature a rounded appearance and somewhat detracting from its definition, where such was visible.

Furthermore he was clothed in a black tank top, dark green cargo pants and a pair of dark brown leather boots. The package overall was rough to say the least, and the tusks jutting from his bottom jaw seemed to only add to the seemingly presistent disgruntled frown on his features. His skin was an earthy tan in tone and his hair jet black.

 

[DergTheDergon]

As Jasper assured her that he could make it to the infirmary by himself, Xaira had, upon arrival back from the mission, first freshened up and got dressed again and was now heading to the common room first, mostly to ensure that Jasper hadn't already finished up in the infirmary. Upon stepping into the commons area, she was greeted by a rather distressing sight; Sang, being sulky, understandably, after the mission, and surrounding her, two others who seemed to be oblivious to the aura of 'don't bother me' Sang seemed to be putting out to Xaira's perceptions. The sort of aura the Demoness always had, more or less. Then again, Quinn was, well, Quinn, and the other, rather jacked-looking demon woman was definitely a new recruit and thus maybe didn't know about Sang's... demeanor, yet, but boy was she likely about to find out or what, the Dragoness thought. She decided to let Quinn engage with her, for now, as she found herself a bit afraid to interrupt the creature after seeing what they can become during the fight out of the Merfolk ruins.

Feeling as though, at least, introducing herself to the new girl was probably in order at the moment, she stepped forward, casting a bit of an apologetic glance over at Sang with no clue about what she could really do for the woman though she wanted to do something, before she turned toward the new Demoness in town and gave her a nod. "You're new here, I see. Name's Xaira. Welcome to the team."

She was about to see how she'd fare shaking the beefy woman's hand, not exactly being a slouch herself in the strength department, but a distraction came in the form of agent Tiegs stepping through the door, her head turning toward him and a smile spreading across her visage afterwards.
"Hey JT, I thought you'd still be at the nurse's office. We all barely got out of there, after all," She said, clearly very happy to see the man, smiling as she walked up to him. "Looks like your shoulder's doing better, you aren't favoring the arm much, that's great to see. Where ya heading?"

When a brand new male demon walked in and gave a very informal "sup", she nodded and waved in greeting, still remaining attentive to Jasper while ensuring to acknowledge the others as well. She wanted to arrange a bit of time alone with Jasper with this conversation if she could, however. She'd have more time to engage with the others later.

 

[Thatguynameded]

Scavenging through the fridge, Brass sticks his snout into multiple items covered in plastic and foil to figure out which food items contained meat. The mission had him push himself to his limit and at a very foolish moment. He wanted to show the new pack that he was reliable but in the end he was a hindrance, he got two members to safety but he forgot the rest of the tunnel was a long swim. His cocky nature got the best of him and he knew he didint win points with any member.

A scent peaks his interest. He shoves his hand into the back of the fridge and pulls out some old tupperware. The slightest removal of the lid filled the air with a very pungent smell of ham, its old but its still safe enough for brass to eat. He could eat something uncooked and fresher but in his pack the oldest meat needs to be eaten before it becomes too toxic to eat.

With his tail wagging he takes a seat near everyone and opens the container. Enjoying his meal he watches the members of his new pack converse with each other. He watches the interactions before trying to speak. Not being the most intelligent of the group, he is somewhat timid to speak to the others unless its during combat. Brass sits quietly and watches while he eats his scavenged meal.

 

[VioletShadow]

Aquielle Pearla

Mood: Curious
Location: SMITED HQ - Common room
Mentions: Thatguynameded ​

A strange seahorse-like creature could be seen swimming laps within the outdoor pool, its size far too great for that of a mundane creature. Shimmering aquamarine scales danced reflectively as they moved fluidly through the water, with mixed hues of ruby embedded within. If one looked closely enough, they would notice its clear crystal irises were the same hue as its scales. Quite suddenly, the creature leaped out of its natural habit, landing sturdily on its front legs. Well to be honest, they were the creatures only legs. Such ligaments were rather useless and unneccessary on the Kelpie, seeing as it could barely take a few steps forward before falling over. Slowly, the Kelpie began to morph back into a more humane appearance, more specifically that of Aquielle.

With a sigh, Aqua strolled back on over to the gym to get changed. She had spent far longer than she had anticipated in the pool: it always felt like she was pulled in captivatingly by its ebbing waves. Nonetheless, she was a fully fledged agent now: she needed to get ahold of herself. Later, perhaps I should run a few more laps. She pondered in a determined fashion, whilst taking constant small sips of water as she rested her legs momentarily.

With a towel wrapped around her neck, and her dark teal locks rolled up neatly in a bun, Aquielle strolled towards the kitchen to grab a snack, just looking for something small to revitalise herself. As she turned the corner, she stopped in her tracks in surprise. It was someone she hadn't seen before, not to mention a Bestial of some sort. Wait, now that I think about it, weren't there agents reported to be returning today? As she recalled the memory, the agent left in the blink of an eye towards the common room, something with an absolutely horrid scent in their hands. As much as she was concerned by the choice of food, she was far more worried about his wellbeing after eating something like that. Humans wouldn't be able to- wait they weren't human. After realizing her idiocy with a slight chuckle, she calmly grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and headed towards the common room. She should still introduce herself to a fellow agent, she thought to herself, looking out for the telltale signs of grey fur in her peripheral vision.

There were far more people than she expected in the common room, not to mention a very intense looking demon seated cross-legged on a chair. Not particularly intimidated, although a little worried about further angering the woman, she decided to say something short and simple to who she assumed were the returning agents. "Congratulations on a mission success." She smiled politely yet genuinely, before making her way over to her target. To be honest, perhaps it wasn't the best occasion to talk to the bestial on, seeing as she had to keep a short distance away from that stench. Yet she was curious; they were the first bestial she had ever met. "Hiya." She greeted with a small wave, still managing to nom on her apple. "Did you just return from a mission?" She inquired, sitting on a chair not too far from the bestial.

​

 

[Xemanorth]

Kirill allowed his gaze to wander from one person to the other, brows rising to a somewhat expectant quirk in a wordless inquisition as to whether anyone seemed to deem his presence necessary or no. For the moment, everyone seemed busy either engaging with others or stuffing their snout into a tupperware container.

The half-demon rolled his burly shoulders in a careless shrug, opting to make himself scarce. Well, as scarce as a creature his size and weight could at any rate. Kirill slipped his thumb beneath the strap of his duffel bag, adjusting its position on his shoulder with a brief sigh before setting into motion once more and making his way further into the barracks, heavy steps announcing his departure from the group's immediate vicinity.

He pulled to a stop in front of one of the many lockers and closets, finding one that was yet unclaimed before proceeding to claim it for his own, should it be possible he opted to choose one toward the back, presumably an attempt at a vague sense of privacy. That or he was simply used to being placed at the back of the class, so to speak.

Kirill pulled open the doors to his newfound locker and closet alike, opting to make himself home right off the bat. He then proceeded to unpack, or at least go about his own version of such an act. The half-demon unzipped his duffel bag, the largest pocket of it anyway and flipped it open before simply hefting it into the air and shaking out the piles of clothing within into a messy heap at the bottom of his closet.

He then allowed the duffel bag to drop to the floor beside him, staring long into his now messy closet, as if in pensive thought before simply nodding to himself. "Yup, done." The half-demon mumbled to himself before shutting the door to his closet in his usual firm manner, it seemed that had been the extent of the half-demon's belongings. The last thing left to clear up was his duffel bag, something he opted to casually throw into his locker for the moment, if only to place it out of sight and by extension out of his mind, and pathway for that matter.

Dubbing this a job well done, the half-demon broke out in a loud yawn before beginning to stretch his limbs, his long nap in the car having left his physique stiff and uncomfortable. Next thing for him to do was to loosen up at the gym, or so he supposed, after all, the layout of SMITED HQ was still very much foreign to him. With that in mind, the half-demon ducks back into the common room, his gaze beginning to drift around in search of a volunteer to act as his guide.

 

[Noble Scion]

Sang didn't like children at the best of times, and Quinn's beady little lifeless eyes were reminding her of her dear younger siblings back at her ex-home, which just seemed to accentuate the annoyance the kid-monster-thing was causing her.

"Child, I appreciate your efforts in saving my life, but if you do not move away from my face in the next five seconds, I fear as to what I might do to your throat." Sang growled, her eyes narrowing after the brief appearance of surprise at Quinn's face materialising centimetres away from hers, going on to say "The term annoyed is more apt, but yes, I agree, the correlation between sadness and the downward direction is rather strange. Perhaps you should try staring at the floor for an hour and checking your emotional state afterwards?", and half-expecting him to actually do it, what with his rather apparent failure to understand the social norms.
( Birdsie )

Perhaps it was taking advantage of the being's naivety, but if it got the thing to stop pestering on the off-chance that they took her suggestion, it wouldn't weigh much on her conscience.

Several others began making their appearance in the common room that had been beautifully quiet mere moments, which while normally would've been fine as long as they didn't bother her, but she'd never been good at making friends, and being annoyed by her self-perceived mission failure didn't make her feel particularly sociable. Some could even call her shy, and perhaps she was to an extent, not that she'd admit it.

"Workmate." she frowned flatly, her gaze only flickering to the fellow demon and giving them a brief runover with her eyes before returning her sharp yellow eyes back to the wall, her arms remaining crossed, yet squeezing slightly more stiffly than before, uneased by the presence of another of her kind, particularly one that bore her same distinctive skin colour, yet she didn't recognise from her clan.
( DapperCat )

The appearance of both Xaira and Jasper made Sang cringe internally. They'd seen her fall unconscious during the mission, and unlike Quinn who didn't seemed to know what that represented,, they probably did.

She tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible, fearful that they might bring it up and remind her of the almost fatal mess-up she'd made and hurt what little of her already defeated pride she had left some more.
( DergTheDergon & Tarmagon )

She still wasn't feeling particularly well energy-wise and had to keep up her attitude of stoic coldness lest someone tried to talk to her, which would no doubt lead to the cast around her leg which in-turn would lead to her being forced to explain her short-comings in her duty.

Needless to say, Sanguine Red didn't want that.

Her tail flicked around beside her nervously in the fear that it did.

 

[Tarmagon]

"Hey Red," Jasper said with a smile. "Docs giving me time off for good behavior. She says I can't do any staff practice or heavy lifting, but everything is intact."

Jasper's gaze swept the room note that his eyes had adjusted. The were some familiar faces, and some new ones, but he have time to sort that all out later. For now, he just had too much energy to burn off.

"As for where I'm going," he said, his gaze returning to Xaira, "I'm off to my room to change into something more comfortable. After that, no idea. Gym, track, I don't know. I've got a ton of energy to burn off, but no combat practice allowed. And I can't drink on these damned medications, so hitting the bar is out. Got any ideas?"

DergTheDergon

 

[Fable]

( Epiphany StoneWolf18 r e i Phayne baddervibes Tarmagon Birdsie Noble Scion DergTheDergon Thatguynameded )

A strange elderly man wandered into the common area of the barracks. He held an old wooden staff that was taller than he was with a small white crystal embedded at the top. He shuffled into the kitchen area and began to grumble as he dig around the contents, searching for something. "Someone stole my ham. Poor soul, I was experimenting on that still." He closed the door, turned around and cleared his throat before very loudly making an announcement.

"If someone begins to hiccup followed by exhaling blue smoke, please take them to the infirmary."

Satisfied with that he turned to leave, but not before taking notice of Quinn. The old man shuffled eagerly over to Quinn and pinched their cheeks eagerly. "My my, I had heard, but indeed here you are! Tell me, do you gain more tentacles as you age? I'm not too familiar with your biology, though if you don't mind losing a tentacle, for research of course, it would greatly help our understanding. Yes, yes, it would be most helpful. Stop by the medical wing and let them know I sent you."

He then took notice of Sang's cast and tapped his index finger on it, "Hm, you should come by too. I have a cordial that can do wonders for injuries like this, Knocks you flat out until you're healed!" He gave her a toothy grin and then began to make his way out the way he came in, but not before pausing, take a step backwards and then walking over to Jasper, whispering lowly, "Girl's got it bad for ya boy. Careful though, dragonkin can be erratic when it comes to lovers, might get a few burns, ba-ha!" He gives a friendly pat on Jasper's back along with a wink.

 

[Birdsie]

"Am I a child really, thooough? I've hit four-hundred years old like... twelve years ago. I'd say I'm at least a teenager!" Quinn argued, pointing a finger into the air in triumph. The creature shrugged, saying, "Though, I guess by my race's standards, I'm a tadpole of little significance."

Soon after, a gray-skinned tattooed man entered the room and pinched Quinn's cheeks. The eldritch horror shrieked. As soon as it was let go, its body seemed to compress like a spring, as it made a rapid dash towards the nearest table, before crawling under it to hide. "I'll give you as many tentacles as you want, just don't pinch my cheeks!"

The old one curled up into a fetal position, hands on its knees as it trembled under the table.

Vengeful for the pain it had been dealt, Quinn made a note to eat any ham it saw.

Fable Noble Scion

 

[DapperCat]

location: bunks
addresses: sanguine, xaira, brass, kirill, jasper
music: x

Q's eyes were focused on Sanguine, but fleeted a moment at a casual greeting to her side. She didn't know if it were a newcomer or not, so for now she decided to play it smooth and lift her hand in a response.

Another man and woman entered her field of vision. She let them engage with one another politely, before giving a broad smirk and nod to Xaira.

"I am! Pleased t' meet you luv." She had a rare moment of silence as a bestial entered. She'd seen many creatures in her time, but her experienced with his kind were few and far between. Most of all, they were usually negative. She tried to give him a wave in greeting nonetheless, her fingers wiggling in the newly arrived Aquielle's direction as well.

"Workmate."
Her easily distracted mind shifted back to whom she'd spoken to to begin with. Her lips parted to reveal a sharp-fanged grin. "Workmate, good!" She snickered. "Nice t' meet you too, sunshine." A comment likely to be taken as an insult, but by her expression seemed to be just the way she socialized.

Though as the group was busy interacting amongst one another, she decided to put her small bag of necessities away. Giving a confused look towards the old bearded man. She didn't want to get in trouble if he turned out to be a superior, so she decided to keep her gob shut for once.

With a hum the buff woman paced off, her boots squeaking on the floors as she found herself a bed. She didn't pay much mind where it was, just plucking up the first one she'd spotted. Zip. She opened the bag and began pulling out a few pieces of clothing. Messily, she stuffed them piece by piece into the small compartment below the lower bunk, followed by a few glass bottles.

 

[Xemanorth]

Kirill continues to allow his gaze to slowly trail the crowd back and forth, newcomer included. It seemed that most everyone was busy to one degree or another. Well, that suited him just fine, it was not as if he had not prepared a plan B if he were to fail in spotting a willing guide to show him around the facilities, or at the very least to the gym.

All that was left now, was to put his master plan into action. The half-demon's nostrils flared, his chest expanded and his shoulders rolled back as he pulled in a deep breath. The deepest he could muster, which given his size, as well as his tendency to raise his voice, was quite an impressive quantity to say the least.

Then came the bellowing. "HELLO EVERYONE! MY NAME IS KIRILL! I AM NEW HERE AT THE SMITED ORGANIZATION AND NEED SOMEONE TO SHOW ME AROUND THE FACILITY, OR AT LEAST TO THE GYM SO I CAN GET MY PUMP ON!" The sound was well, terrible, threatening to trample over and drown out any competitors in the near vicinity, or at least within the confines of the common room.

Almost as soon as the bout of overwhelming shouting started, it fell dead silent once more. The expression of the half-demon had understandably contorted in the process, struggling to contain the full extent of his loud mouth before settling right back down to its neutral expression which rested somewhere between mild annoyance and seemingly perpetual disgruntlement.

Acting more out of obligation than actual manners, and assuming that someone would heed his call for assistance, Kirill followed this display of seemingly endless lung capacity with a casual: "Thanks." accompanied by a brief, lazy wave of one of his arms. Afterward, the heavy arm that he had only barely bothered to bring up in a seemingly uninterested wave dropped to hang at his sides before slipping into one of his pockets, a motion that its twin mirrored.

 

[Thatguynameded]

VioletShadow
Each slab of meat was very delicious, the flavor was muddied by age but was very similar to something like honey glazed ham or maybe something else?
Almost finishing all the meat a blue haired woman congratulates us for the job. His ears perk up and tail wags harder, Brass had thought he failed his mission. He had brought nothing back from the mission except for some blood and guts he scooped up when he was escaping with his 2 team mates on his back. He didn't know if they discovered the container or not because he pushed past his limit.

Finishing the last slab of meat he picks at his teeth in hopes of cleaning up. Looking up he sees the same woman who congratulated the team heading towards him, he quickly puts the lid back onto the container containing the juices of the of the meat. His stomach started to twist a little, hes surprised a small woman could do this to him. He had herd about this feeling from his older brother, something about about a feeling in his stomach caused him to find a mate. Brass was not ready for this let alone it be a human.

He mimics her wave and says "hello blue haired woman, yes we come back from mission." His stomach turns harder making him a little more nervous "yes, mission finished, not sure if goal finished". His stomach begins to bubble up and he could feel a burping coming up. Before he left he was told about something called manors. He wasn't sure what a large building has to do with talking to people but he was told to cover his mouth when he felt the bubbles in his stomach. He puts his hand over his jaw and a man shouted about blue smoke. Making eye contact with Aquiella he burps up blue smoke and it begins to fly above his head. He stands up with his mouth still covered and with his other hand he shakes her hand.

"nice meet blue hair, i am Brass". He quickly walks away to the infirmary with a thick trail of blue smoke behind him.

 

[DergTheDergon]

View attachment 556111Xaira regarded the muscled Demoness with a returned smile. She seemed nice, and a good potential training and workout partner seeing as one glance at the woman was all one needed to deduce that she was serious about fitness just as Xaira was.

Meeting Jasper's eyes with her own and matching the magician's smile to boot, Xaira nodded as she heard the good news, her smile widening a bit as he confirmed that he was feeling better today. "Good to hear. I suppose I'll have to thank her for freeing you up for me so soon," she said with an accompanying smirk.

As a woman with rather vibrant blue-green hair entered the room, another new recruit, Xaira found her eyes settling on the aqua-haired woman for a moment as she congratulated them on their mission, earning a smile from the dragoness. "Thanks, welcome to the team. I'm about to go on a da- er, meet up with my colleague here but I'll introduce myself to ya formally when I can." Smiling at the woman, she then moved her gaze to lock with Jasper's again, continuing their conversation hurriedly and hoping to not allow anyone to comment on her Freudian slip of sorts.
VioletShadow

The young lady seemed to be some sort of sea creature, Xaira reckoned; not quite a Mer, but something similar, maybe? The Dragoness certainly hadn't seen anyone quite like her in her experiences thus far. The Dragoness found herself thinking that she would've likely been very handy to have around during the last mission considering. either way, she was excited to have a chat with the girl when she didn't have... other things on her mind. As she saw the Kelpiekin approach and converse with Brass, seeing him respond amiably, grateful for the company, the Dragoness smiled again and returned her attention to Jasper, glad that the aquatic newcomer and the seemingly socially stunted werewolf both had someone

Things like how she was going to turn her little rendevouz with Jasper into a confession. Wait, was a confession even needed? Even she knew she was being the most obvious possible about her attraction to the man. She'd never been one of those women who dropped hints in hopes the guy could decipher them. Direct tended to be her approach to everything, it was a common trait of dragons, especially in her bloodline. So why the hell was she so nervous about this? The dragoness willed herself to focus on responding to Jasper after realizing she'd spent the last few seconds staring blankly in his general direction as all of this went through her head.

"Weeeelll, let's see here... Wanna go for a run? I'm warning you, I'll be in front of you the entire time but at least you'll get a nice view," the Dragoness said, winking to accentuate her flirtatiously competitive quip with a hand on her hip, tail swaying behind her in excitement, similarly to how it had been in the library within the Merfolk ruin as the two had explored the place together. However, this time, her excitement was of a vastly different nature, a nature that she wouldn't be surprised if he already understood loud and clear. "Get yourself changed, then we'll get going."

Suddenly, a bearded man made his way through the room with a figurative whirlwind of words and movement, making rather crass and concerning comments everywhere he went, which, in her Jasper-induced fit of giddiness, the Dragoness found herself only half-cognizant of until the the older wizard, or who seemed like ony anyway, leaned down and whispered somet hing into Jasper's ear. With her keen dragon's hearing, she made out just enough of the man's words to make it clear the man was speaking of her and her kind's less-than-stellar steriotypical reputation for relationships.

"Hey! I'm not like that, old man! I'll have you know that my mother stayed with my father for three friggin' centuries. faithfulness is in my blood." Thoroughly red-faced, she looked back to Jasper. "U-um, sorry about that. G-go ahead and get changed, I'll be waiting for ya." The human-like skin on her face a rather deep shade of red at the moment, and her scales even showing a slight change in coloration themselves if one was looking for it, the Dragoness beckoned him to go get changed wit her arms, watching him go toward the dormitories for a moment before composing herself a little more.

Looking back over toward Sang as she now ignored the old man, she found herself glad that, even though it didn't seem to have been her choice, she was engaging with the others at the moment. Tapping her foot nervously as she waited for Jasper, she stayed where she was until he rejoined her, and then she'd begin to lead him to the gym. Having heard the outburst of the new male Demon, she decided to humor him as well.' "Hey, I'll show you where the gym is, new guy, we're about to head over that way."
Tarmagon Fable VioletShadow Xemanorth DapperCat

 

[Xemanorth]

The half-demon was impatient to say the least and had already drawn another large lungful of air, presumably to repeat his call for assistance. Thankfully Xaira steps up to the plate and offers the newcomer some assistance however. Half-disappointed Kirill's lungs slowly empty themselves by way of his nostrils, his drawn back, burly shoulders slumping forth once more.

"Oh? Sweet." He simply retorted, after all, he'd already given thanks in advance. "And it's Kirill." He added moments later, though he'd made that plenty clear just moments earlier with his wanton shouting, it was something the half-demon regarded as important, wishing to leave an impression on those he met, at least to the point where they'd recall his name. Recognition was something slaves were rarely given, after all.

With that the half-demon set into motion once more, hulking frame closing the distance between himself and Xaira, as well as Jasper, joining the pair by the doorway. He regarded the both of them with his trademark greeting shortly after. That is to say, his head dipped with acknowledgement, if only briefly as another low but nonetheless clear "Sup?" escaped past his lips. His presence was far from a comforting one, sporting a rather wild and thuggish appearance.

Only adding to any awkwardness present in the half-demon's third-wheeling ordeal was the fact that his bright golden eyes scanned each of the people present, moving up and down one figure, then the other. His appraisal of the two could be taken any number of ways, the foremost purpose of it in Kirill's own mind however, was to size the pair up. While these were people he was supposed to work with, he came from a life that was most primarily involved with gangs and not only gangs but gang violence in specific.

As a result, he was paying particular attention to the pair's apparent physical capacity and capabilities, what he could garner of them with a thorough, albeit quick eyeing over from head to toe anyway. This may not have been a house of demons, but being bounced around was nonetheless something he despised and was on a constant lookout for. "Alright." He finally spoke.

Kirill then went onto fluff his proverbial feathers. The half-demon's burly shoulders rolling to and fro with an accompanying motion from his treetrunk limbs, as well as his neck. His joints popped audibly and repeatedly in a rather grotesque cacophony of cracks and snaps, still yet to shake off the stiffness present in his body he'd accumulated over the length of the ride over to HQ.

To say that the half-demon brawler was intense about his approach was an understatement and given such a display it was little wonder why he'd struggled with making friends or even acquaintances earlier on in life.

 

[Tarmagon]

"I dunno Red," Jasper called over his shoulder as he headed to his room to change. "Remember what happened the last time I spent any length of time behind you."

As he moved through the room, a strange old man whispered in his ear, which Xaira obviously overheard by the blush on her cheeks. It looked like even her emerald scales were turning pink. Jasper just winked at the oldster, then waved at Xaira.

"Be right back," he called, then whispered to the old man. "Eh, some like it hot."

Jasper move quickly to his room, shedding his long pants and boots one the door was shut behind him. Hmm. Running sorts, under armor t-shirt, and his favorite running shoes. He usually wore long sleeves and pants to cover the glyphs tattooed on his body, but today he didn't feel like it. They were a part of him, weaving across his chest and flowing fluidly down both arms and legs in intricate patterns. He started to leave, then paused. After a moment he slipped a combat harness over his shirt, securing a couple of collapsed batons in their holders.

"Never be without a weapon,"echoed through his mind. "Especially where you don't think you need weapons."

Returning to the common room, he saw Xaira practically dancing with impatience and grinned. She was mercurial, that was for sure. Cute too, in form fitted shorts and a similarly fitted shirt. Huh. How did she?

"Ready to run Red?" he asked as he ambled up to the dragoness. "And forgive me, but I've got to ask. How in the netherworld did you get a shirt that, fitted, over those wings of yours?"

DergTheDergon , Fable

 

[DapperCat]

location: halls
addresses: Thatguynameded
music: x

Qerres had longingly stared at the bottle she'd stuffed between her clothes for what felt like just seconds, but was more likely to reach into minutes. But a booming shout jerked her right out of it.

She rubbed her palm over her face. No, she was still plenty buzzed. Not quite as drunk as she'd like to be, but at least a little fuzzy at the edges.

Two hands pressed against the drawer to shut it. She lazily kicked the empty bag against the wood, stuffing her hands into her pockets and sauntering off with a low whistled tune.

Her nostrils flared with a sniff as she reached the doorway to the halls. "What the-..." Where there was smoke, there was fire. Normally. But in this case, the large bestial walked past, blue smoke following like a second tail. Q's eyes widened a little, tiny white pupils focused on the spot she saw the wolfman before he got out of sight.

"...I... well- this will be an interesting job."

She couldn't help but snort. May as well follow, she figured. And so the troublemaker turned in the direction he'd left in, heading for the infirmary to see what the poor bestial was suffering from. Out of worry, of course. Not out of amusement. Never.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Xaira blushed at Jasper's clever quip regarding the last time she'd been behind him. Oh yeah, the library incident back in the now-flooded and monster-infested Mer ruins. His passing words to the wizard as the Dragoness watched him leave were even more embarrassing to the dragoness, but they excited her too. He liked it hot, huh? Taken a certain way, that seemed to be a sign that the two of them would get along even more swimmingly than she thought, especially if he kept responding so well to her advances. Trying not to keep her her head to in the clouds, Xaira latched onto Kiril's words as he approached and focused on responding to him as much as she could at the moment.

The dragoness found herself smiling and shaking her head at the Demon's rather sudden change in demeanor. He reminded her of herself, almost, in a way. Long as she gets what she wants, she's golden. "Kiril, gotcha. Didn't hear your name before, I've got, uh, other things on my mind. Once the guy I'm waiting for gets back, we'll head over there."

Almost as if on que, the subject of most of her mental wanderings ever since the mission had ended had returned. The portion of the man's legs that his shorts left bare causing a bit of a smirk to appear on her face as she admired them for a moment before raising her head toward his face.

The Dragoness blushed at Jasper's comment regarding her admittedly unusual top. "You're an observant one, JT. It's custom-cut to look like it fits like a normal top from the front, and a handful of sizes too big for my torso alone so I can keep my wings folded up comfortably underneath it. You can see the outline of 'em back there, but wear a jacket over 'em and it's almost like they're not there. I have wing-slits in most of my other tops but this makes sure they don't get in the way during exercise and training. Long story short, I met a very skilled tailor in this tiny shop that also happened to be a witch. She saw right through the bulky getup I was trying to conceal my wings under on the way here; I had to pass through some really heavily human-populated areas to get here. She decided to help me out for a huge discount since I was damn near broke at the time. I'm grateful as hell; I got a lot less glares and the like in cities after that, as long as I had my tail hidden in my pants too, as uncomfortable as that was. A-anyway, now that that mystery's solved, let's get going." Speaking of apperal-realted mysteries, she did raise an eyebrow as shenoticed he was wearing his battle harness, but diodn't question it as she figured running with it on might help ensure he could reliably gun it with the heavy-looking thing on when needed. Besides, just in case someone or something took the fight to the base, having his weapons on him was probably smart anyway. Xaira hadn't brought her own staff, though thankfully her claws definitely stood in for it well in a pinch.

"You too, Kiril. We're heading out." As she led the men toward the Gym area, she had half a mind to subtly try to hold Jasper's hand on the way, but with Kiril behind them, she felt a little self-conscious to do so. 'Wait until you're out on the track, Xaira, you're acting like some lovestruck teenager,' she thought. 'Although... he is one hell of a catch... I don't really blame me.' She found herself pausing in her mental chastising to look over at Jasper with a rather easily discernable desirous look before blushing yet again and keeping her eyes ahead of her.

They all soon arrived in the gym, and Xaira gestured around the gym to Kiril. "Here ya are, Kiril. We'll be heading to the track up on the second level." As she walked up there with Jasper, she looked over him and smiled, finding her heart pounding a little more. There didn't seem to be anyone else that'd be out on the track right now. That means they'd be alone. And being alone meant she'd get her chance.

Opening the door to the track, the took a deep breath of the crisp air surrounding them and looked over at Jasper with a smirk as he came out onto the track with her. "welp, try to keep up, JT," she said smugly, taking off in a dash from where she'd came out onto the track and began making her way around, her tail waving about behind her in sync with her movements, a Dragon's way of keeping balance. Once they'd both blown off a bit of steam, she'd decided, she'd use the current solitude the pair had available to make her feelings very clear to him.
Tarmagon Xemanorth

 

[Xemanorth]

Kirill tilted his head to the side, or rather, allowed it to lazily slump backward as he raised a single large, calloused palm into the air, wafting it in Xaira's vague direction in a dismissive fashion as his gaze rolled around the room, looking at nothing in particular really before settling on hers once more. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it. I sorta figured." The burly half-demon retorted. His statement was followed by a short, amused scoff and a shake of his head. Clearly Xaira's infatuation with Jasper was not as secretive as she may have wished.

He went onto follow the pair in silence, well as silent as a creature of his size could manage anyway, as always, his steps remained heavy and audible, acting as one hell of a squeaky third wheel. Kirill seemed somewhat used to this however, and did not seem one bit bothered. The half-demon busied himself with making mental notes on his surroundings, mentally mapping out the facility as the trio made their way toward the gym. He came off as rather anti-social with his fists stuffed into his pockets and his half-lidded gaze wandering around slowly as he marched ahead, one stomp at a time.

Finally, as they arrived at the gym, he regarded both Jasper and Xaira with a set of slow blinks, tongue briefly flicking along one of his tusks before the half-demon went onto out an amused snort. "I'll make myself at home here then. You guys have fun now." Kirill stated, waving the pair off with one hand as the other reached into one of his pockets once more in search of his phone and earbuds, allowing the pair to take their leave as he began navigating his way to his no doubt tasteful and highly intellectual library of music.

And then with a single tap of his thumb, the earbuds now lazily draped over his shoulders sprung to life, the room around him filled with that certain characteristic high-pitched rattling one heard when turning such devices up to heights of volume they were clearly not designed to accomodate. A sound that became gradually muffled almost as soon as it had started as the half-demon pushed his earbuds in, one at a time. With that out of the way and a brief set of warm-up stretches now behind him, it was time to get to work.

 

[Fable]

( Epiphany StoneWolf18 r e i Phayne baddervibes Tarmagon Birdsie Noble Scion DergTheDergon Thatguynameded DapperCat )

The old man didn't even twitch as Quinn bolted away from him to hide under a table, offering to give any amount of tentacles as a trade to not pinch their cheeks. He noted the interesting reaction to write down later in his notes and would most likely ask for a tentacle later to study. It wasn't every day you got to study such a species. He didn't pay too much mind to Kirill who loudly introduced himself to the other agents.

It was soon after this introduction that the one who ate the ham burped up blue smoke. He shook his head because he thought he had labeled it not for consumption. It wouldn't kill the creature, but it wasn't going to be an enjoyable experience. He observed the wolf greet the blue-haired girl before heading out, most likely towards the infirmary. At least he listened!

He had still be standing by Jasper as the female dragonkin eavesdropped on what he had said to her male love interest, who clearly didn't get the implication of what had been said. It was amusing to the old man to fluster the poor girl, he'd have to come back to tease her some more later. How red could a dragonkin blush? These were important questions! Thankfully Jasper understood what he had been hinting at and the wink caused the old name to laugh joyfully, "Ah to be young!"

Another strange being entered the room... a walking... dressed... owl? It waddled over to the old man and flapped to get his attention with a hoot. The old man looked down and grinned as the bird-creature hooted animatedly, wings flapping around as it seemed to be speaking to the old man. "Oh don't lecture me. I had to hide it here because they're no fun. I'd been working on that prank for weeks! It's gone anyway now."

The owl didn't seem happy as it listened, it fluffed up its feather and the hoot-squawk at the old man going into another hoot-filled rant. If Calliea was around, she'd basically hear the owl being very upset at the old man's antics and his avoidance of some important meeting.

"Fine, fine! I'll go to the meeting!" The old man hmphed and went to leave, the owl messenger still angrily hooting at him while it followed and the old man telling the bird that he was its master and if anyone was going to lecture it was him.

In the infirmary, once Brass arrives and is shown with blue smoking coming out of his mouth, the on-duty nurse sighs loudly. "Tha ol' mawn and 'is pranks! 'Ave a seet." She escorted him to what served as a small clinic room, quirking at brow at the one who was tagging along with the wolf folk. "Didja also eat ta food? I dun see no smoke from yer maw."

 

[Tarmagon]

Jasper watched as their third wheel peeled off and headed for the weight machines. Good. He didn't mind helping new recruits out, but he really wanted some alone time with Xaira. They headed towards the track, and once the door was open, Xaira took off with an admonishment for Jasper to try and keep up. Jasper didn't immediately take off, instead taking a moment to stretch a bit, then he set off after Xaira at an easy lope. She had acquired a bit of a lead, but his pace slowly ate into her head start. After a couple of laps around the track, Jasper was close behind Xaira, and he was indeed enjoying the view. Despite her obviously inhuman attributes, the dragoness was obviously female, and in good shape. Her tail swished back and forth as she ran, obviously helping her keep her balance, and it fit with her. The only thing missing were her wings, which were apparently tucked under her specially tailored shirt.

Several laps later, Jasper made his move. It wasn't that he minded the view in front of him, not in the slightest, but he wanted to be able to talk to Xaira as they jogged around the track. He was curious as to whether the flirting she had done in the cavern was actually a sign of interest, or just the way she had been dealing with the tension. Despite their differences, he kind of hoped the dragonkin had been serious. Of course there would be difficulties is she were serious, but he was quite willing to put forth the effort to try and find workarounds for their physical differences. Picking up his pace, Jasper began to pull up alongside the dragoness, but just as he was about to come even with her an unexpected blow to his legs threw him hard to the side. He had time to see green scales as he hurtled sideways, smashing into the wall with stunning force. Xaira's tail. She had swatted him with her tail.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "Xaira! What the hell was that? We were supposed to be running together, not in a damned race. Shit!'

The last exclamation was driven out of him as his shoulder protested its violent meeting with the wall in most emphatic terms. It wasn't dislocated again, but damn if it didn't hurt. His free hand came up to rub gently at his injured shoulder as Xaira turned to see what was going on.

Xaira ran giddily, her competitive nature kicking in a little as she looked back and sensed his approach, picking up speed a little and intending to slow down once Jasper caught up so they could talk some more just as Jasper had intended, just make him playfully work for that a little.

However, her tail had other ideas. Unbeknownst to the Dragoness it was attached to, the appendage became very excited indeed as Jasper drew near. Considering that Xaira was ramping up to confessing her very deep affection for the man, the moment he was close enough that he could easily touch her, her adrenaline mixed with her romantic feelings rising to the surface was enough for her tail to go truly haywire. Her first clue as to what had happened was the feeling of her tail slapping so hard against the man that the scaly appendage stung, followed by the sound of him colliding with the wall and the yell of pain that accompanied it.

Xaira spun around in an instant, still not fully cognizant of what had happened for a second or so before her eyes widened. As Jasper raised his voice, at her, she flinched, immediately looking down dejectedly before kneeling, nearly collapsing before him on the side of the track and looking up at him after a moment of silence with a deeply guilty look on her face.

"I-I'm really really sorry... my damned tail just... gah, I really can't control it sometimes! I just got carried away and..." the Dragoness then sighed deeply, looking down once more. "Do you need me to help you up? Or maybe get someone who can actually control their own damn body to help you instead? God, I'm so sorry..." She shook her head, taking a deep breath to steady herself, realizing she was shaking only now. Her face was only a couple of inches away from his. She felt so ashamed from what she had done that she couldn't bring herself to look at him, her gaze instead aimed directly at the floor.

Jasper's pain faded into the background as Xaira knelt before him, dejection written in her voice and her posture. Her words stumbled over each other, making her hard to understand, and he could see shudders wracking her body. She was close, so close, but her face was down, staring at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

"Red... Xaira," Jasper said, his voice gentle. He reached out, cupping Xaira's chin and lifting slowly, forcing the miserable dragoness to meet his eyes squarely. Her eyes darted about frantically, then finally settled on Jasper's, and he winced at the self-loathing he saw there. "It's alright. I forgive you. It's just in your nature to be competitive, but we're going to have to work on that. You're stronger than I am, faster, and tougher unless I trigger my gylphs. We're going to have to work together to figure out how things are going to go with us... at least, if you feel the same way I do."

Grasping his courage firmly, Jasper slowly leaned forward, giving Xaira every chance to pull away, before he kissed her. For a moment, her eyes were wide and wondering, then she was kissing him back, and Jasper ignored the pain in his shoulder, the ground beneath them, and devoted himself entirely to Xaira, letting her know without words that he forgave her completely, and that he wanted to explore where things might go between them. When they finally had to come up for air, he smiled shyly at her.

"So, the flirting in the face of danger was real?" he asked. "Good, mine was too."

DergTheDergon
(Xaira's response and reaction composed by Derg and used with permission in this post.)