What goes bump in the night

"I appreciate it. I admit, I'm still completely lost in this facility. It'll take some time to get used to it's layout." He wanted to inquire about her past and her mask, but he knew better. He's not the type to dig into people's business. If she wanted to share, she would. He wouldn't push her.
 
Geist with the three recruits following him wandered through yet another convoluted completely pointless route down to their destination. A huge vault door several feet thick and built of solid steel... and various other metals. To which he proceeded to knock on and yell as loud as his speakers would allow (which is pretty damn loud by the way) "open sesame!!!"
 
"One moment." Her mask kept shifting on her face and it was irritating her. Haiku turned away slightly for a single moment, lifting the mask off and then replacing it. What little could be seen of her skin beneath the mask in the moment between was twisted, blackish red visage. It was not even recognizable as skin. Haiku turned back. "My mask irritates me at times. All right, come with me." She began walking towards the steps in order to walk downstairs, putting a gentle hand on his arm to lead him.


Haiku got to the infirmary quickly using a shortcut. "Sarisa, Adrian needs more pain meds."
 
A soft crackling emerged from a console on the outside before a soft, mature voice came over from the other end.


"Give me a minute, Geist."


There were a few soft clicks from within, like taps on a touch screen. After about a minute or so, a hissing emanated from the door as it groaned open. Behind it was a man in his early thirties. He had long brown hair, and wore a purple robe over his entire form. The only odd thing about him was the massive cast that enclosed his entire left arm. He gave a small smile at the new arrivals.


"The new arrivals I assume? Please, come in."


The area inside was like a small library. There were shelves on every wall, even the one that held the massive vault door. On one side was a bed as well as a small kitchen, but the rest was a carpeted library. There was a table where about three dozen books had been pulled off from the shelf.


"I assume you have questions as to why you've been brought down here?"


----------------------------


The elven woman looked up from what she was working on


"Um . . . one minute please."


She reached behind her into a cabinet full of several dozen bottles. Some of them looked like ordinary bottles . . . others looked like something from a mad scientist's collection. She pulled a red bottle off the shelf, grabbing three pills from within and coming over with a glass of water.


"Here, these should last until you fall asleep."
 
Adrian gladly accepted the medicine and swallowed it. After a few moments, he seemed a bit less tense. These were some really fast acting meds!


"Thanks again, Sarisa," he said to the elf lady, and turned to Haiku. "Um..." He chuckled nervously, "could you lead me back to my room? I still have no bearings in this building...hahaha!" He seemed very amused at his lack of directional skills.
 
"It's to be expected. This building is large and quite confusing to navigate for a while." Haiku was starting to feel discomfort again. In the six months of being here, had she spent this much time with a single person ever? Nope. Never. Again, why was she spending so much time with this person? She did not know. While walking back, a thought crossed her mind. "You've been staring at my mask yet you do not ask about it?"


------------------


Neimi jumped on the statement. "Yeah definitely confused as to why I'm here right now." Her nose was beginning to really detest the smell of death coming off of Muerte. It was difficult for her, a werecat, to overlook.
 
Adrian shrugged. "I know it's rude of me, and I apologize, but as I said about my lack of arm, it's a natural reaction to look. As for how you got it, I figured it's none of my business. If you feel like sharing, however, I'm told that I'm a good listener!" He chuckled a bit.
 
A shadow crossed Haiku's face. "Again with the trust issues." Perhaps if it was in a different tone, it might have sounded like a joke. She shook off the darkness that had covered her. "You should probably rest so you have energy enough to train tomorrow. That is....if you feel like taking me on." She tried to make it sound it sound a bit more jokingly than it actually came across. Haiku sighed; she really sucked with communication skills. But, before, Minuet and her lilting Irish accent had been all the communication the two had needed. Haiku stared ahead of her as she walked, her eyes far away in a different time.
 
"It's because we're different from the others."


Meurte's deep voice broke through the werecat's, clear and focused. The man raised an eyebrow but continued to speak.


"Bluntly put, but you are correct Muerte. The three of you here are different from the other agents that have been brought in. My name is Leceel, and I am the closest thing to a doctor this organization has. I may not have any true medical schooling, but I have studied enough of the human body . . . as well as the inhuman. The three of you here hold differences in the core of your bodily structure, I need to examine you and see what materials are required in the event of an emergency. Or more importantly what should be avoided."


His voice was . . . pleasant. Not commanding like Shepard, not alien like Geist, and not harsh like Haiku. He almost seemed more personable . . . if it weren't for the massive cast on his arm and the fact that he lived in an underground vault
 
Adrian's smile widened at her closing statement, but he waited to respond: clearly Haiku's mind was somewhere else, and he decided to let her have her space for the moment. He said nothing until they reached his room once more.


"Dual scimitars, yes? That may be troublesome considering my one-armed status," he said and laughed. "Unless of course you wish to duel me unarmed, an act I must discourage. As for time...how about sundown tomorrow? That'll give me time to make sure my body won't fall apart on me, and it will give everyone time to settle in...and I'm sure some people will be bored and will want to watch."
 
"....sounds good." It was actually throwing her off how his smile looked like Minuet's smile. "And yes, dual scimitars. My fa-....my master said that he preferred my style using these than any other." Haiku stood resolutely, arms crossed. "I guess I should leave you to rest?"


-------------


".........examine?" Neimi instinctively shied away. This did not sound pleasant.
 
Leceel recognized the woman's nervousness and gave a reassuring smile


"It's nothing serious, think of it like a doctor's checkup. I'll simply be doing a few exercises so that I can help you should you need it."


He motioned around the room


"Does it look like I keep any advanced equipment in here?"
 
"....no." Neimi's voice was slightly squeaky. She was still not entirely comfortable. "It's nothing against you....it's just that tests and stuff make me....nervous."
 
"Indeed, I'll need my rest considering the trauma I've been through." His ability to smile while saying something like that is impressive to many. "Excellent...tomorrow at dusk...how dramatic." He looked her in the eye jovially as he opened his door. "It's a date then! hahaha! Good night, Haiku, and thanks for the help today," he said, and closed the door behind him.


His side of the room was the left, and it was...interesting. The front quarter resembled an artist's studio, with paint, pallets, and all other manner of painter's equipment. The rest appeared as a gym/dojo/training hall. Weight sets, a pullup bar, a treadmill, a section of tatami mats for sparring, gel torsos mounted to allow practicing hitting them, and more pieces of equipment were organized neatly. in the back was a dresser and a modest bed with a single pillow, more than enough for Adrian. Wonderful, he thought. Exactly everything I could need. It feels almost like I'm back at my KGB headquarters. He desperately wanted to break in his new equipment, but he resisted the urge and headed to the back. He undressed for bed and collapsed onto it, finding sleep almost immediately.
 
Red started in Haiku's showing cheek and spread into the rest of her face and body. She was frozen in the middle of the hallway like a statue. "....date....?" She blinked once, then twice, then three times. Okay this was either a nightmare she could not wake up from or this was reality. She turned even redder, unable to move for a few more seconds before bolting down the hallway into her room and locking the door behind her. "I am going to sleep....and tomorrow this will all be a dream." She dove into bed and grabbed her special sleeping pills. "Sleep is all I need. This will all be a dream tomorrow. No blushing....no embarrassed moments....no Adrian...." Haiku realized that she was not making sense but currently she did not care. The pills kicked in and she collapsed into a restless sleep.
 
"This isn't a test of any sort. Just an examination."


"Then lets get it over with."


Muerte spoke up once again, walking forward. To which Leceel raised an eyebrow.


"Then if you'll sit here--"


Muerte obliged and the next several minutes were doing a few different exercises. Some of them were normal for a simple doctor's checkup, though he did a few odd things. The oddest was probably when Leceel simply ran a hand over Meurte's forehead with a small bead in his hand. Leceel pulled back once he was finished, his arms crossed.


"Well . . . you're certainly an odd one. I don't know if there's anything I can do for you besides keep some extra parts on hand. Your already half-dead as it is."


"I am well aware. You were the one who said you needed the examination."


"I was, you may return to Geist."


He looked up at the werecat standing nervously at the side


"You can come over now, there wasn't anything that would bother you was there?"
 
"Yeah... this is fine, I will, no doubt, find further furnishings." turning to face him, he says, "Is there anything else? or can i go sleep? I've had quite a night"
 
"No, there is nothing else for now. I'll send someone for you in the morning for your first assignment. Make yourself at home."


Shepard closed the door behind him and started down the hallway, heading for his office. His let out a sigh as he walked down the victorian hall. Most of the new recruits seemed to be in good form, though a couple were worrisome. Samuel was unsure of his strengths, Tequoia was a loose cannon, and whatever powers that be were the only ones who could guess Lucky's use. Still, these were the tools that had been given to him, he would be grateful for them.


----------------------


"You don't have to be so nervous."


Leceel offerred a smile to the werecat before starting. He checked her pulse, her reflexes. He ran his hands along her arms legs. He also gave her ears a bit of a feel. He pulled a different bead than he had used with Muerte, and ran it over her forehead.


"Perfect physical condition. I just need to make sure there's no bronze, iron or silver around when I work correct?"


He offerred her a smile


"Was that really so bad?"
 
"....no." Neimi sighed. "There is one thing you should probably know though. The fuller the moon is, the more powerful the animalistic side of me grows. When I used to live in a werewolf colony, we all had iron cages around our beds to make sure nothing happened in the middle of the night. I've yet to find another solution. I'd appreciate another one of those cages, especially if I'm rooming with someone else. I don't want to hurt anyone on accident." Neimi shuddered; her odd mutation among the werewolves had gone unnoticed until that first night when she turned thirteen. Underneath a full moon, she had gone a rampage for the first time as a werecat. She never wanted that to happen again.
 
Samuel had finished his second cigarette when he felt he was calm enough to go to bed. He donned his gloves and headed downstairs, went down the hall until he found room 401, and entered.


His side of the room was on the right, and was looked like it could have come out of an old mansion. A turntable sat to the left of a lounge chair, alongside a cabinet that held dozens, if not hundreds, of vinyl records. To the chair's right was an end table, with a lamp and ash tray. In the table's drawer were cigarettes and matches. A dresser, bed, and nightstand sat in the back. He smiled to himself. This was the height of luxury to him. Granted, just about any living arrangement was better than curling up in an alley with a cardboard box as your matress. He decided to put on some music and relax, and wait for Muerte. He might as well greet his roomate, after all.


Samuel calmly filed through the cabinet. After almost a minute, he pulled out a record and put it on the turntable, and lowered the needle delicately. He sat in the lounge chair, and waited, as the sound of Bach's "Cello Suite No. 1" filled the room.
 
Leceel kept his smile, but something in his eyes shifted. Something . . . painful? Sad? It was difficult to read as he hid it fairly well.


"I understand that . . . more than you probably know. Thank you for telling me anyway, it's only been three days since the new moon, so I wasn't able to pick that up. I'm sure if you speak to Shepard that he will be able to accommodate such . . . preventative measures."
 
"I'll do that, thank you, Leceel." Neimi gave a shy smile; she was beginning to feel more comfortable. She had read the look in his eyes, fleeting though it had been. Neimi thought that he perhaps understood her pain. "I'm ready to go then, I guess? I want to go to my room and get some rest."
 
Standing outside, Tiki sang softly to the birds that had gathered around her. She had a lot of iformation thrown at her today, and she needed time to collect herself. Despite her bubbling exterior, she needed time to properly think about all the stuff she'd heard about in the last 24 hours. Still singing softly, she sat down on the sand, and doodled absentmindedly at the sand, her brain too active to sleep.
 
"I guess that just leaves me then," Vojta said shakily. "I just...is there a way for you to do this check-up without...physical contact? It was bad enough getting reacquainted to being near people during my training for the KGB, and even then only Adrian ever managed to come close enough to invade my personal space, and that was usually just to say hello, or pat me on the back. It's just one of those things which sets me off..." He sighed heavily.
 
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