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Post by hadopelagic on Jan 22, 2023 0:23:58 GMT -6
"I'd appreciate the help," she said. "I am a diligent student!"
Una grasped Agent Lucidus's hand. He was wearing dark leather gloves, the material soft. She could feel the irregularities of his fingers; breaks and cuts, poorly healed? There were so many of them. What had happened?
"I once saw a whale," Una said, "with a hundred white circles on her mouth. Scars from the sharp suckers of deep-water squid, her prey."
Una touched her lip, indicating the same place where Lucidus had his own scar.
"The ancient ones eat squid, too. They must. They are too large for other types of food. And although they could heal their injuries with song, they let the sucker wounds produce scars, as a tribute to the strongest whales. The deep divers."
She released Agent Lucidus's hand.
"Why do you wear gloves?"
It was, perhaps, a rude question to ask. She hoped he did not take it as a criticism.
"I am interested in hands," she helpfully explained, "because we do not have them, although our tentacles are nimble."
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Post by jarahamee on Jan 22, 2023 4:07:45 GMT -6
Cassius glanced over at Una across his desk and took her hand in his left. Though his fingers were mangled, the grip was strong and even, though controlled. “While I conduct my search, I will ask Social Services to appoint you an appropriate tutor.” And then her second question came, catching him off-guard. Again. He raised a brow, his head quirking a little to the opposite side. She was a very curious super, who asked some very unusual questions. He supposed he should have expected as much, given the alien environment and appearance of their kind, but as an agent focused primarily on land combat and strategy, he hadn’t needed to deal with many of the very exotic variety. And how was he going to answer her question? With his standard ‘motorcycle accident’ lie? He didn’t feel like there was any reason to lie to her, but the entire truth might be a little much for someone he had just met. Perhaps some kind of middle-ground. She did seem to like stories. “I wear gloves because otherwise people fixate on my hands. The gloves also protect them if I have to fight or defend myself.” He flexed his fingers into a fist, and then in the curling eagle claw of a defensive stance, before peeling off his gloves. “I am sure most human hands are ugly things to your people then, and mine, more than most.” And ugly they were. The left hand, which appeared to be his dominant hand, seemed somehow more aged than the right, matching the creasing of the rest of his body. The fingernails of several digits were missing. The knuckles of the left hand were scarred, and long, crooked scars traveled lengthwise up his left arm. The fingers appeared to have been broken at least once across each joint on several digits of the left and right hands, and then healed with close, but not perfect alignment. The right hand, which seemed a younger hand altogether, seemed to be missing the very end of the middle-finger, and had suspicious hole-like scars at the end of each finger. The second finger had a mark completely around its base, which seemed like a thick, discolored scar, like a ring. “I have lived a very long time. I found a way to make my body heal quickly, so I do not die of illness, or injury. My body can heal most minor wounds completely, with the help of this magic, but major wounds will leave a scar. And if I am unable to use my magic, my body will heal like any man’s…that is, imperfectly and slowly.” He traced his pointer finger around the deep scar on the right side of his jaw, as if making a point. “My hands.. most of this was from a single incident. In fact, a number of the scars on my body are from this singular incident.” Cassius took a deep breath. No lies, but not details either. There was no need to tell a perfect stranger all elements of his less than ideal life. He didn’t need to sound like a hero, but he also didn’t need to sound like the war criminal he was. “A long time ago, a knight came across a kingdom in conflict. The King had died, and his three sons were fighting for his throne. One Prince was a barbaric warlord, one was a philosopher and a scholar, and one was little more than a boy.” Cassius squeezed his eyes closed. Time to get incriminating. “The Scholar-Prince came to the Knight, and told him of his grand plan, to create a better kingdom, to treat his people fairly and with compassion and kindness. He would use his enlightenment to end the war that had plagued his country, both inside and outside, all he needed was the Knight’s support. The knight told him he would do anything to help him. The Scholar-Prince after all, was earnest and showed him how he had planned to solve all of the Kingdom’s problems. The Scholar-Prince also had many enemies inside of his own kingdom, and he could use the knight’s help to deal with them. He asked at first, to have the Knight just spread rumors about his enemies. They weren’t nice people, and it was not hurting them, so the Knight helped spread rumors.
Soon, support for these enemies faded. The Scholar-Prince’s power grew. He became the Knight’s friend.” The scarred man cringed. ‘Friend’ would be a very nice way of describing their relationship. “He then asked for even more. He asked for the Knight to help scare his enemies. The Knight was a powerful warrior and had a vast army. The Knight did as the Scholar-Prince asked, and frightened his enemies. They were intimidated, and withdrew, afraid for their own lives. The two became even better friends, but the Scholar-Prince had begun to change. He was happy that he had fewer enemies, and he was free to do as he wanted now. And what he wanted was the throne. The Scholar-Prince next asked the Knight to kill a man for him. Just one man, not a good man. He would be missed by no one. The knight did as he asked, and hid the crime away. This pleased the Scholar-Prince, who asked him to kill even more men. Then his own brother, and his family. The Knight slew the Barbarian-Prince, and his wife. Then he looked into the frightened eyes of the Scholar-Prince’s nephews, and decided he would not kill for him anymore. He told him that he would never kill for him ever again, and they were not friends anymore. The Scholar-Prince was very angry, and accused him of murdering a Prince, in front of everyone, and sentenced him to torture, and death. But he survived.” Cassius wiggled his fingers, though he couldn’t bring himself to smile. The story left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach still.
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Post by hadopelagic on Jan 24, 2023 0:31:16 GMT -6
Una's expression, as he spoke, was gentle but serious; even before Agent Lucidus told her about the Prince's betrayal, she sensed it coming, the corruption and the escalating tests of loyalty.
Agent Lucidus had given the prince so much of himself.
And he'd been exploited and abused, in return. Betrayed in the worst possible way.
"The strength of your story," she said. "Is the survival, not the betrayal."
Una spread her fingers, and then she hummed a tingly, bird-like tune; with a thought, she tweaked a couple notes, made them sharp and slow. Her fingers stretched and widened, becoming mirror images of Agent Lucidus's hands, without the presence of scars and signs of torture. Una gave herself sharp nails, befitting of a warrior. Then, she flexed her new fingers into soft fists.
"What did the knight love more?" she asked softly. "The prince? Or the idea of a peaceful kingdom?"
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Post by jarahamee on Jan 24, 2023 1:57:53 GMT -6
“I chose to learn from one, and laugh about the other.”
Cassius smiled half-heartedly, watching her fingers transform with abject fascination. His fingers were sinuous and calloused, with prominent knuckles when they lacked scarring. Long, but deceptively powerful. Or at least he thought so. He was not usually one to judge a man by his hands, except perhaps to guess his trade. It used to be one of his favorite things to do, back when tradecraft was a bigger part of culture. A much more useful skill than speculating on one’s favorite instrument.
And what a question. This mermaid was here to cut right to his heart wasn’t she? He caught himself flushing of all things. And he thought he had heard it all at this stage of life.
He blinked once, slowly, and then chuckled low in his chest, interlocking his fingers on the surface of the desk as he contemplated her question. Had he even thought about it before?
“He loved both. The vision he was given was beautiful, and tangible enough to touch. The man who spoke those words was wise, well beyond his years, and intelligent. It is rare to find a man who cares for all people as he did. Not just ideas, but execution. Brilliant. He just… didn’t stick the landing. Many of them don’t.”
Cassius’ smile became wistful again, before the expression faded back into focus. He was getting distracted. He shook his head once, as if to flick off a fly.
“Do you mind if I try scenting now? I want to see if there is anything distinct I pick up on before I start planning stages.”
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Post by hadopelagic on Jan 24, 2023 23:33:51 GMT -6
With a smile Una nodded, and then she looked between Agent Lucidus and Beast.
"Of course. Which one of you has the best nose?" She reached for Beast, but stopped, distracted by her transformed hands. They were extremely large for her body. Kind of like the paws on a lynx kitten. "Ah. wait. First, I should return these to average proportions."
With a similar trill, she shrunk her fingers to their previous shape. However, Una rather liked the pointy nails, so she let them be.
"If it helps, I can also give you part of me. Like my hair, or one of my toes. That would hurt, but to further your investigation, it's worth the pain. Plus, I have six toes on each foot. A small luxury. Ehe. Nobody can see them, anyway."
She lifted one of her legs to show them her boot.
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Post by jarahamee on Jan 25, 2023 1:41:15 GMT -6
“Both of ours.” Cassius rose from behind his desk, slinking to both Una and the Beast’s side. He admired her new sharp claws with a slight turn of his head, then reached out to pick the hide off of the chair. “Do not be alarmed.” As he grasped its ruff, Una could see the soft flesh of the open portion of the hide twist under its heavy pelt, like a decaying creature filled with maggots and ants might churn about when disturbed. It folded on itself, without the dead weight of any ordinary skin. Unperturbed, Cassius tugged the hide it over his shoulders and head, and it, in turn, slithered around him, crawling up his body and engulfing it like a snake devouring prey. There was soft popping and crunching as his head and shoulders, covered by the head of what had been the Beast, remolded under it. Oddly, he had only transformed his head and shoulders, and the rest of his body remained human. The remainder of the skin dangled loosely down his back and across his body, long limbs lifeless. The once dead and empty head of the beast skin blinked, and yawned with toothy jaws. Its bright yellow eyes were wide with excitement. A red tongue lolled from its pink mouth, standing out against the ragged dark fur of the rest of its body. One side of its mouth stretched wider than the other. The jagged scars that distorted the creature’s fur were familiar ones. The creature paused, and then inclined its head forward to sniff Una. The wet, dark nose worked itself with a soft whuff. The impressive canines of the creature protruded from its long muzzle as it wrinkled to sniff. Its triangular ears stood straight up on, alert.
An inhuman scent.
Just like he thought. He would not need hair or a toe after all. Perhaps a scrap of cloth to scent, just like any ordinary target.
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Post by hadopelagic on Jan 25, 2023 23:57:33 GMT -6
Una watched the change with rapt attention, bending to get a better look under his chin as Beast fused with Lucidus. She cringed at the cracking sounds; did it hurt when he stretched and squished? Her physical transformations were painless, unless something went wrong.
She leaned back slightly when the creature yawned. Then, Una felt herself yawning, too! Ah, so that's what they meant by "sympathetic yawn." How silly! She wasn't even tired.
After the creature had sniffed her a few times, she asked, "Are you still Agent Lucidus? Are you Beast? You resemble a wolf, but differ in small ways. I studied other land-based mammals, in my time as a student of mankind. Wolves, bison, grizzly bears." She waved her hand. "My instructors told me that their historical struggles with depopulation would be illuminating. I cannot help but fall in love with every species I meet. Even dangerous ones. Especially dangerous ones."
Especially in the case of humans.
"Well, how do I smell?"
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Post by jarahamee on Jan 26, 2023 1:55:55 GMT -6
Beast’s yellow eyes blinked back at her with unreadable animal expressions. They were empty and brilliant as yellow lanterns, without a shred of humanity. The pupils adjusted themselves as they watched her, the short eyebrow hairs and whiskers quivering as they moved and flickered and the creature blinked.
When it was satisfied, it relaxed, and shook its head and neck, the fur rippling with the graceful movement.
“I ahm bosh off dem.”
The creatures’ voice was a low growl, much more guttural than Cassius’ own voice. Perhaps, if she was not paying attention, it would not have sounded like words at all, but rather the visceral sounds of a wild animal.
“You shmell not-all-human. Thish ish goote.”
He stood back up straight, pausing to touch his face with his still-human arms. The animal skin almost seemed to deflate, writhing and crackling, slithering free of his neck and chin, and then gliding off his face, as if nothing had changed at all, and he definitely hadn’t committed some kind of unholy-looking transformation right in front of her.
Cassius placed Beast’s head on his shoulder, wrapping its arms around his shoulders, and smiled widely.
“I think I’ll need a piece of cloth to share the scent around with Agent Asher, and I’ll keep one for myself.”
He nodded, almost wisely, and then his expression became tired. Or maybe it was just the late hour he was still working.
“Depopulation. Is that what they call it these days? The decline of the great wilds and the creatures in it. Beast told me, a long time ago, there were many of their kind, and now there are none and have not been for two-thousand years.”
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Post by hadopelagic on Jan 27, 2023 1:35:08 GMT -6
"The declines," Una said softly, smiling sadly. "The deaths of the anthropocene."
She put a gentle hand on Beast's head.
"I think Killian sees our end, and believes that it's near. I wonder if his miracle song is just a delusion that we can escape, somehow. And I wonder if my hope for survival is also a delusion."
There must be a way to bring back their children. The world had changed, and would continue changing, but Una's people could adapt. They just had to learn how. Perhaps the humans could give her a few tips, with their technologies and magics. Anything was possible. And if not? At least she'd tried her best.
With a shrug, Una grabbed one of her sleeves and tugged! She'd expected the fabric to rip at its shoulder seams, but only succeeded in wrinkling it.
"You may have this," Una said, holding out her arm. "I don't usually wear sleeves. It's hot enough without them. Do you have a pair of scissors, Agent Lucidus?"
She grinned slyly.
"Or you could ask Beast to use her teeth."
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Post by jarahamee on Jan 28, 2023 2:12:30 GMT -6
Cassius considered her words. He was no scientist, how could he know what the end of the world was? And how close was the end that Una and Killian saw? He supposed the best he could do was ask their scientists to help look into it. After all, merfolk were people too, and deserved preservation.
“I will make sure that you are directed to the right department to look into this issue as well. Why do you feel your people’s survival is in jeopardy? Are they being threatened by human activity?”
His expression became one of greater concern and more intense concentration, furrowing his brows. He looked at Beast’s head, sitting on his shoulder, as if gathering consul from the creatures’ dead and immobile face. The head stared back, eyes forever unfocused, wordness as always. Clearly, the connection between the dead god, and the living merwoman was in his mind.
“Are your people being hunted?”
Cassius picked up a pair of scissors from the cup of pens on his desk, and made a few gestures on her sleeve, as if asking her where she wanted him to cut, before deciding on a spot. He held it between two fingers and then snipped two small squares off.
A shame he had to ruin her garment.
“That is all I need. I am sorry I had to ruin your shirt. I will start the investigation immediately.”
He once again glanced over at Beast meaningfully. He had everything he needed now. He could start scenting and crossing off possible locations right away. He just had to avoid getting caught by animal control.
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Post by hadopelagic on Feb 2, 2023 22:59:30 GMT -6
"Not hunted," she explained. "We live too deep, even for the trawlers. But every season, there are less babies, and our Old Ones do not understand why. It is more complex than the decrease in whales, which nurture our young. "
She could explain more, but Agent Lucidus wasn't here to solve all the problems of the deep ocean. He couldn't. Nobody could; it would take the work of many, and even that might not be enough.
"What do I smell like?" she wondered, and then, acting on a curious urge, Una leaned forward to sniff Beast's face. The living pelt had a strong animal scent, like dogs and ferrets.
"Mammal," she declared.
Then, she sniffed the air near Agent Lucidus. Una was shorter than him, by quite a lot. She was roughly the average height of an average female human, just over five feet tall. So her face barely reached his neck, when she stood on tip-toes.
"Oil and mammal. You smell like each other. I wish humans had keener noses. Although ... the world of light is overwhelming. So much to see."
She crossed over to his books and squinted at their titles.
"Have you really read them all? Your mind must feel heavy, after a lifetime of stories. If only we could connect the same way I connect with my sisters, or you connect with Beast. All I learn is shared, you know. For example, our meeting is known to those below. And they are pleased with your help."
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Post by jarahamee on Feb 3, 2023 4:19:57 GMT -6
Cassius’ eyes watched Una as she walked about the office, investigating various objects. The matter of her people sounded not unlike the fate of Beast’s people, and those of his Goddess, so many years ago.
The dwindling numbers. Their inability to produce offspring. The destruction of their habitat, and the loss of the things they once fed upon. To him, it seemed as if all of these matters were interlocked, and affected the survival of both mega-fauna, and supernatural denizens alike.
He decided not to elaborate further, and only nodded in agreement.
“One of our scientists does excellent work in reproductive science. I think Dr. Summers may be most helpful to that part of your case.”
Cassius watched her sniff the Beast with curiosity, and then was surprised when she walked over to sniff his neck! His eyes widened a little, but he wasn’t too put off.
He did just ask to scent her, so he supposed both Beast and himself were fair enough game. She was also a supernatural entity from the deep water, so he doubted that she would be familiar with human etiquette.
“You smell like…your kind, and the sea, and fish, very vaguely. All animals have their own smell, and you have yours, but you are also human too, because you are human-shaped.”
He winced and looked down to smell himself, wondering if he stunk. He hoped not. He had put on plenty of deodorant and some moisturizer, which he’d always thought had a pleasant smell.
“…I hopefully don’t smell quite as bad as Beast. I do wear deodorant, you know.”
The scarred man rubbed the side of his neck where the scar passed through. Admittedly, it itched sometimes and that drove him mad. He could deal with having a long, long life, but he didn’t like how annoying the pain from all of his old injuries were. Especially back pain and knee pain.
“I have read every one of those books, and I retain…most of the information. I am under the impression it helps keep me sharp, but I don’t know enough ancient beings to understand how loss of memory and mental sharpness corresponds with age.”
Cassius himself was grateful he could not communicate with Una directly by mind. While he was staying focused, there were plenty of bloody thoughts and feelings that always existed right below the surface. And beyond that, no one needed to know what sort of other things he fantasized about now and again.
He voiced none of that, and smiled instead, the expression crooked on his scarred and irregular mouth.
“I am always glad to help. And hunting down men is my specialty.”
Cassius thought about rewording that phrase, but it was fitting for his needs.
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Post by hadopelagic on Feb 10, 2023 0:28:36 GMT -6
"I would like to talk to her," Una said, when Cassius mentioned Sara. "Not long ago, I met a very romantic and powerful magician during karaoke, and he also wants to help. We travelled to the deep ocean together and observed a rare clutch of babies. Perhaps the magician will speak with your doctor Summers, too."
Vars was wary of the WDSA, but he'd surely make an exception if they promised not to track him.
"Thank you for the help. May I join you, when you begin tracking? I am just a scholar, but I can provide insight through my mental link with defenders like my sister."
Thinking about Cassius's comment about deodorant, Una reassured him, "By the way, you smell very pleasant! I was not repulsed at all. In your human opinion, should I wear deodorant as well? Or would perfume suffice?"
She thoughtfully sniffed her own elbow.
"My dream job is to be a lounge singer," she explained. "So I should have a good scent. Roses, or gardenias. Not fish. What is an average perfume?" August had helped Una be more fashionable, Agent Lucidus had a more powerful nose. She'd respect his judgment.
"In the morning," Una said, "on the cusp of dawn, I like to walk past the local bakery, just to smell the fresh bread. Wouldn't it be nice to live above a place like that?" She smiled at the thought, escaping into memories of pastries and sourdough loaves. "Does bread smell the same as it did when you were young, Agent Lucidus?"
Una met his eyes.
"I heard that scent is powerfully connected to memory. They're all new to me."
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Post by jarahamee on Feb 11, 2023 2:13:58 GMT -6
Cassius’ expression became more alert. A magician? If he traveled to the deep ocean, he was likely an actual powerful magus and not just an ordinary…well… street magician with mundane ‘magic.’ And from the sound of him, he was also unregistered, which would probably have to change. Not really his jurisdiction.
“I will ensure that she speaks to you, and your friend Vars, so that you can discuss the matter of your young. She will likely have to go investigate as well to gather more information.”
The agent took Una’s phone, and added a contact number for Dr. Summers with the note “Supernatural biologist” underneath. Hopefully she could look it up by both name and what she was looking for. When he was done, he handed it back to Una carefully.
“You may most definitely join me. If anything, you may be able to help identify this person, but whatever happens, we should not engage. I will bring ear protectors. Just in case.”
The scarred man knew they had discussed this objective, but it was best to make this clear before their mission started. After all, even with his fireteam, was he a match for someone with magical powers of song?
Cassius /had/ sniffed her with Beast’s nose, and while he was focused on her unique Deep Sea Mermaid scent, he admittedly could smell the pungent scent of Sweaty Human underneath it, mingled with other things and people. A hundred years ago, that would have been commonplace, especially in summer or in enclosed spaces, but now people were very sensitive to even the slightest whiff. Unfortunate.
“…Well… Only if you want to, but… you do produce human odor.”
Cassius himself preferred the scent of rosewater and pig oil, but knew that such a thing was frowned upon in modern times for various reasons. One of them being that rose water was considered a feminine scent now.
“I prefer more natural scents, like concentrations of floral oils, but you should go to a department store, and see what scents you enjoy.”
The agent seemed amused with the subject change. He supposed it made sense that there was no bread underwater. And bread truly was a pleasure.
“I would not mind living above a bakery. Or any place that serves food. My appetite is legendary.”
He puffed his chest out, without processing that this was a very strange thing to be proud of.
“The scent has changed. The breed of yeast is different, or so I hear. The yeast is a part of the way that the bread smells. The plants themselves are inbred, a small subset of the vast types we had once, a long time ago. It’s still nice and I enjoy warm bread. I am fairly good at making it myself now.”
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