forum Delve Too Deep (one on one) (closed)

Started December 06, 2022 by @Mojack group

tune

delve too deep and you’ll find something more.

It’s not like you’re doing anything illegal.

Okay.

Maybe this is illegal, but you’re not killing anyone over it. Just doing some investigation.
Whatever your history is with this topic - whether there’s something intertwined with you, or someone else introduced it to you, it’s…taken your life over. Even if somewhere in that mind of yours, you can hear the words, “This is a bad idea.”
What are you researching?

The Blood of Eorr.

It exists — it’s no government secret. In fact, the governments of the world put together an organization to try and contain the spread of the Blood - DAMD, Department of Anti-Mutant Defense, is the name.
One of the rare things where a good portion of humanity agreed on.

Except you’re not associated with DAMD. At all.
God knows what’ll happen to you if they learn just how you’ve been investigating. Could be hacking, could be listening in on certain radio frequencies, you could even taken a riskier approach and trespassed somewhere.
But you know that one of the other things DAMDs looks at is the spread of misinformation. You’re not trying to spread misinformation. But they won’t look at it that way, which is why…
you can’t be caught.

Why investigate the Blood of Eorr?

Well. You’ve figured out that there’s connections closer than you thought. Like how you watched those black helicopters fly in months and months ago, and then the local mountains became closed off - no one allowed on. Something real bad is going on in the mountains. It’s not just assumption. You research this topic - you’ve been listening, observing- they’re trying to contain something.

The Blood of Eorr is known for its mutating abilities on all lifeforms, and knowing about that…just what are they keeping up in that mountain?

Whatever it is, you decide to trespass a little bit tonight. Take some photos, maybe check on whatever systems you’ve got running up there to monitor things (run maintenance, etc). You typically don’t move too deeply into the forest of the mountain.
But something seems..off.

There’s goosebumps on the back of your neck, and you’re pretty sure they’re not from the chill.

A fiery explosion erupts in the distance - and you’re caught off guard. But it doesn’t take long for you to realize where that explosion happened.
The mountain.

Something went wrong, and you’re not supposed to be here. You’re too close to the mountain for comfort.
And your instincts are practically screaming at you to leave.

—-

I love body horror, and the universe/story this RP is based in (original creation) is full of it.
so about time I make a RP about it

You, the person joining this rp: play as some sort of individual who’s trying to investigate the strange secret plaguing the mountains outside of your city. You’re far from equipped to take on DAMD or any government organization though, so you usually try to lay as low as you can. Your character may own a gun (or may not, may have some training, may not), but you’re just a normal(ish) human. If DAMD caught wind of your activities…well, you can’t blame them, since enemy organizations could interrogate or torture you for your information. Which is why you’ve gotta stay as quiet as possible.

Big(ish) read. You don’t have to read all of it, but note that the strain that will be primarily explored in this RP is the E strain. All information in that document is from my own project, Hunters in Chains. It is also subject to further updates.

When an explosion happens at the mountain, you’re given two immediate choices - run back to your home or wherever you’re staying and hide, or investigate. Or you could hide in the forest where you are if you’re that scared.
But something escaped from that mountain.
Multiple things.
Luckily for you, you’ll only need to worry about one of those things. And it’s not really escaping if that thing (or person) wasn’t in containment to begin with, is it?
…but something might’ve hitched a ride in the process.
Remember what I mentioned before - body horror. Don’t join this rp if you’re not a fan of that stuff.
Maybe some good old normal horror too. After all, we can’t forget about the other things that may have gotten out of that mountain.

Rules

1. Ask before joining; I will ask for a sample of your writing with dialogue if I forget/don’t know your style. If I deny you, it’s nothing against you personally! Im just fairly selective with my one on one RPs, although not really other types.
2. Mature RPers preferred due to potential content of violence and whatnot.
3. Any sexual content will be a fade to black, as I’m not fond of writing it.
4. Swearing is allowed, as well as violence (duh). But as I’ve said once before, there’s a time and place for everything.
5. Good grammar is appreciated, but we’re a flawed species that makes mistakes sometimes. So it’s acceptable if it’s not a 100%; I’d just prefer proper punctuation.
6. In fights, play to your strengths, remember your weaknesses. Don’t autohit, don’t dodge everything, and we’re cool (I’ll do the same).
7. These last bits aren’t really rules. I can be very active. I can also be very inactive. Please note this if you want to join.
8. I really want any potential partners to know - if I appear to ‘ghost’ the RP, it is 100% not against you. I’m just a very awkward person overall and my thought process goes something like this once I come back from a long break “well I’m not sure if they’d want to continue this…” Again, I don’t really know how to explain this! But if you see me online, and want to continue the RP, feel free to send a message (either through pm or in the RP).

CHARACTER TEMPLATE (ask before joining. if it helps you any, my character will likely be panromantic, so no gender preference. additionally, he’ll be AMAB, likely considers himself a man but not too caring of what others call him)

Name:
Age: (20-26)
Gender:
Pronouns:
Orientation:

Appearance:
Clothing:
Personality:

Background: (write as little or as much as you want. not everything has to be decided upon immediately. also, a note; the one thing I’ll only predecide about your character is that they’re hunting for information on the Blood of Eorr and like I mentioned earlier, the strange happenings in the local mountain. how did they decide this was what they wanted to do? boredom? betrayal? an interested individual/group is paying them to find information on those topics? genuine concern? a hot media story? choose whatever! just note that third option might mix…interestingly with my character considering he is (or was?) associated with DAMD…the very organization you don’t want to be seen by)
Other: (finally, anything else goes here. current living situation, career if they have any besides investigating things they’re not supposed to. ailments, things they own that might be of note, fun facts, relationships etc. go crazy go stupid!!)

SAMPLE:

Every 12th of November, the government picked from a hat and rounded up 6 mutant kids and executed them in town square.

Every 12th of November, townspeople bought out seats to the slaughter, jeering at the executioner to make it gorier than last year.

Every 12th of November, another one of Kyra's friends died.

She stood at the edge of the square. It was Execution Day already. She'd already said her goodbyes in case she was picked. So had her friends and family. Her brother made tasteless jokes about the way they'd kill the kids this year.

'Hey, if I go, at least I'll go out with a bang! The rocket sounds just like fireworks, don't they?'

Kyra imagined the blast, the searing heat as commoners cheered and laughed at another 6 children dying. She could practically feel her skin melting off, revealing muscle and skeleton as she collapsed to the ground and was dragged off the stands.

She cried the whole way home.

But here she is, standing outside the square, flowers in one hand, knife in another. 'Yellow roses,' Mama had called them. 'betrayal and infidelity.' Their thorns dug into Kyra's pale skin, spilling her black blood like a tipped inkwell.

She was here to kill the mayor. Or at least that what she told herself walking over here. But now she wasn't so sure. What would one dead mayor mean in the grand scheme of things? They'd just kill her and elect a new one within the month. Sure, her name would be in the papers for a little bit, but after a few days nobody would remember. They never did, anyways.

Her brother had protested. He had caught her, taking one of the knives from Papa's old collection.

"What are you doing?" he'd questioned, eyes brimming with hurt. That look alone made Kyra want to drop the weapon, hug her brother, and never let go. But she steeled herself.

"I'm going to kill the Mayor." she had explained, tone even. Her heart twanged. Since when had she treated her brother so coldly?

"What the hell? What- Kyra! They'll kill you! They have guns, and- and launchers, and a hundred men who have been trained to snap necks of people just like you! Kyra, that's insane!" She remembers him grabbing her arms, trying to maneuver the knife out of her hand.

She remembers her jerking away, slicing open his cheek on instinct. She took a sharp breath in, and for the first time since Mama died, the house was silent. Kyra swore she didn't mean it. She must've said sorry a thousand times. He looked like a kicked puppy, eyes full of betrayal. He dropped her hands like a hot cast iron.

"Okay. If you want to go that bad, go. We'll look for your body."

Kyra turned from the square sharply, walking directly into the Feywild.

She wouldn't die to the hands of a corrupt government. She would die on her own terms.

Kyra took a deep breath , taking off her iron necklace and laying it at the edge of the glade before heading in. The trees loomed over her, greedy leaves blocking all sunlight from the forest floor. Animals stalked the forest, a pack of faraway wolves making her flinch. Kyra followed the tinkling laughter of pixies, leading her to a fresh mushroom circle. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Unseelie Lords of the Winter Court, please hear my plea. My people are routinely slaughtered by outlanders on this day. They have taken friends, family, but most importantly my mother, your daughter, Fawn Moore. They executed her in front of a laughing crowd, as if she were nothing more than a mill pig." Kyra laid down her emerald earrings and yellow roses into the circle. She sliced her forearm, hissing at the sting, dripping her blood onto the offerings. They caught alight almost instantly. "I, Kyra Moore, give my possessions, my name, and my life in offering. Please grant me my wish of killing the First Battalion, the wicked murderers of this sinful crime."

And with that, she plunged the knife into her heart, and did not scream or cry. She lived died on her own terms, just like her mother had wanted her to do. Kyra whispered a bloody apology to her brother, and slipped to the Underworld.

Name: Onyx (Venus)
Age: 26
Gender: Pangender
Pronouns: They/she (Onyx) It/they (Venus)
Orientation: Pansexual

Appearance: Onyx has dark brown skin and styles their hair in cropped locs with capped with golden cuffs. They have piercing amber, nearly golden eyes and are covered in tattoos, the most noticeable of which is the vulture on their back and the snake curled over their heart. When they were 19, they filed their canines to points for what they called "self-defense" and quite liked the style. The bottom left canine is capped in gold after breaking it in a fistfight. When Venus takes over, it likes to put its hair in twists or have it out in a frohawk. Both Venus and Onyx are often caught with at least 1 injury and have minor scars all over their body, particularly on the abdomen.

The easiest way to differentiate the two is the eyes and the way they hold themselves. Venus always has a crazed look in its eyes, and holds itself proudly, walking like they own the room and tend to captivate the people around them. Onyx, on the other hand, is quite shifty and stands like they're always expecting a fight.

Clothing: Onyx is comfortable in streetwear like cargo pants or graphic tees. They don't put a lot of effort into their appearance, but they take care into not looking wildly out of place. That'd ruin the investigation, wouldn't it? However, Venus likes to wear fancy clothes whenever they can. Blouses, blazers, turtlenecks, always looking clean and professional. They don't blend in as well as Onyx can, but they make up for it with charisma.

Personality: Onyx portrays themselves as outgoing and friendly, always a taking the chance up to hang out with someone, even if they're a stranger. They do good deeds, but not because they're a good person, but because they understand the human psyche and know they'll gain favor for seeming like a "good" or "trustworthy" person. They have a consistent need to pretend they have no deep connections to anything, that they do everything on their own agenda and their emotions have no effect on them. This consistent denial of emotions, along with being aware that what they're doing is wrong makes them insecure about their moral standing. They call themselves selfish, because they say that they don't care about a thing or person and they only hang out with them for kudos from the community but know deep down inside that they long for a real connection, a real friend that they can allow themself to care about. Every time they are by themselves, they think about this, so that's the real reason they're always out and about.

Venus, on the other hand, is almost everything Onyx is not. Honest, emotional, with a strong sense of moral value. It's not afraid to start a fight. It seems to be comfortable by itself but doesn't mind hanging out with others. They carry the skill of being able to easily detach themselves from a situation as to not be influenced by bias or emotions, and are levelheaded in most situations, unless they are those that concern itself or Onyx. Venus is the self-proclaimed protector of Onyx and would do almost anything to ensure their safety. Onyx is aware that Venus is simply another part of themselves, built up on denial and the need of safety and comfort. Thinking about it makes their head hurt, so they treat Venus like a separate person. Venus hasn't shown record of knowing about this, but you never know.

Background: Onyx had a pretty… unusual childhood. Her mother, a retired showgirl and con artist, had taught them everything there was to know about manipulation and the human mind. Her father, a fighter by blood and trade, had introduced her to combat from a young age, taking her to his fights at the White Tiger, the underground fight club. Onyx was raised swaddled in lies and violence and how to navigate it. But her father started to exercise his violence in unhealthy ways. Onyx was 7 when he started hitting their mother. They had seen him, savagely beating her, and decided that they want to see it. To experience such brutality. So they invented Venus. The smarter, cooler version of Onyx that could handle anything that was thrown at it.

Venus showed up whenever Onyx was scared, and due to her father's nature, it was often. So, Onyx is missing pretty large chunks of their life where Venus had taken over. Weeks, even months of lost time were common. Nobody wanted to talk to the girl ho acted like too different people. Nobody wanted to hire a walking liability. So, Onyx spent their teen years taking dirty jobs from scummy employers. From drug deals to hit jobs, Onyx did it all. It wasn't an easy life, but Onyx had gotten comfortable to never feeling safe. It was a nice balance, the relationship between Venus and Onyx too. Onyx started the mission, and whenever they were in danger (or were required to be a danger to someone else), Venus would take care of it. It all went smoothly until Onyx got caught. Sentenced for 10 years, they had told her. Onyx realized, for the first time since they started to freelance, that there were real consequences for their actions.

So they had served their sentence. And here they were, investigating another thing that would land them right back into prison. But if this is what it takes to get the past out of their mind? They'd do it.

Other: Onyx used to have a basic IT job, but they eventually got bored of being in a lifeless office workspace that gave them way too much time to think. So, they became a private investigator. It's long since devolved into a side job that keeps the bills paid.

Fun Facts:

• They used to freelance under the name "Jekyll & Hyde" (Hyde being Venus).

• They love gardening, but only poisonous and carnivorous plants. Venus makes fun of them being "emo" and "edgy" because of this.

• Unhealthy addiction to pastries. To combat (hah, get it?) this, they've been doing combat practice and training as a daily workout.

• Venus is a bit of a swinger due to Onyx repressing sexual feelings for better efficiency at work.

((Love them! I’ll work on a starter soon!))

Name: Vanja Jarek
Age: 23
Gender: AMAB. Although Vanja considers himself to be a man, he doesn’t care too much about what others may call him, and likely won’t rise to correct them (if for example, someone used they/them pronouns while referring to him, he likely wouldn’t say anything)
Pronouns: He/him. As mentioned prior, Vanja doesn’t care too much what others call him, as long as it’s in a respectful manner.
Orientation: Panromantic grey-asexual

Appearance: Vanja is about 6’2” in height, with a somewhat lanky build (not extremely skinny), light amounts of muscle. He’s not an immediately broad or imposing figure, but he is tall, so he’s got that going for him.
His eyes are a dark grey (actually blue, as one can see under certain lights, but primarily appear grey). He has chocolate brown hair with a very slight waviness to it, but nothing major. Additionally, he keeps his hair out of his face (usually), and at the longest, reaches a couple centimetres below his ears. Despite that, a strand of hair or two often finds itself hanging down onto his forehead. A slight stubble grows on his face; he doesn’t go clean shaven, but he doesn’t let it grow into a beard either, opting for a very careful balance.
Vanja has skin leaning on the pale side, but not extremely so. His years of outdoor work had done him good, and his skin is more of an ivory.
An odd scar sits on his lower abdomen. It appears to be from some sort of fair sized animal, like some sort of claw mark. The scar is about 2 years old, so it’s not faded or anything, but it’s not recent, either.

Clothing: Casual? What’s that?
Vanja can commonly be observed in the DAMD uniform for his specific duty, a sleek, tactical sort of look. On the back of the vest he wears, in big white letters, the acronym ‘DAMD’ is clearly visible, identifying him as a member of DAMD.
He also wears a specialized sort of mask - some sort of gas mask. The visor can be taken off (when he’s not in any danger, of course).
But when he’s not on active duty in DAMD, Vanja does have wear that could be considered normal. Commonly observed in a grey flannel, Vanja prefers clothing that’s easy to move around in, that doesn’t confine him.
He also sports noise cancelling headphones that he may or may not wear, and a black baseball cap. So maybe he has an idea of what casual is - just doesn’t go casual often.

Personality: Initially, when he was younger, Vanja was timid, non confrontational. He would pursue things but only when he was certain there were no watching eyes, no one to see him.
But at the age of 23 years old, Vanja is much more bold. Not boisterous by any means; he’s still fairly reserved. But if he notices that something is off, Vanja is likely to confront the wrongdoer. He’s been noted as a ‘stickler for the rules, but not the best when someone is far more bold than he is.’ Indeed, Vanja does not do well when someone he’s interrogating bites back. Thankfully, he’s not one to resort to violence, at least not immediately. If anything, he’d rather avoid a fight, though he does know how to defend himself.
Vanja is easily surprised by things - he’s one to show his emotion, not great at hiding things or lying. He’s relatively easy to fluster, and when receiving compliments, usually remains humble.
While he’s tried to remain detached about certain things, he generally has a habit of caring too much (or overthinking) about things.

Background: Vanja was born in a fairly large family, with many siblings - two brothers, three sisters, and another sibling that preferred just to be called a sibling. He had his mother and father, and his family was rather rich - an oil company that was more of a family business. He led a decent life, occasionally feeling like he didn’t ‘fit in’, but otherwise had a comfortable life.
One of his older sisters passed away in a gang related incident, and this set some exceptions that while weren’t said out loud, were certainly implied. They expected that all of their children would follow the lines that were set so far, that they would join the family business.
The remaining sisters and one of the brothers worked towards getting their position in the company. Vanja’s sibling and other brother did not. When it came time, they left the flock, and while their parents didn’t say much to them, Vanja was left behind and could hear their conversations - disappointment, mild worry. His parents weren’t bad people. They just…cared. A little about the children and the business, maybe leaning more in one direction.
Of course, adulthood was closing in fast, and Vanja still had little idea of what he was to do. He had friends, and he looked to see what they were doing. To be clear, he really didn’t want to work in an oil company. Nothing against his parents - he’s just not sure if that would last.

Vanja saw an opportunity (or heard about it) - DAMD was in the town, and was offering careers. It wouldn’t be a sudden thing, out of desperation; Vanja knew about DAMD and their work in controlling outbreaks around the world.
Out of everyone in the family, when Vanja told his parents about his goals, they were…aghast, about the idea of their youngest running off to be a soldier for DAMD.
But truly, Vanja wanted this work. He couldn’t see himself as average. He wanted to do something different, something special. Admittedly, his parents reactions had left a bad taste in his mouth. But Vanja was not one to give up so easily, and pursued the work.

To this day, Vanja works in DAMD. He’s not one of the active field workers - more so a guard. Working if anything needs transportation, or— well, guarding. He’s shown to be a skilled worker. Currently, Vanja has been moved to a mountain base.
Other: Vanja’s family is Croatian, although they didn’t reside there. He grew up speaking both Croatian and English.
Vanja’s still close with his sibling, Evan.
Vanja was likely going to be moved to a different role after his job at the mountain base was finished - he was noted to be an excellent sharpshooter.

The day had started out normally. Or as normal as one could be, in this line of work.
Except for that feeling. That damned feeling, in the back of his mind, creeping through his body. And it hadn’t gotten any better as the day progressed— no, it had only gotten worse.
To Vanja, it was a feeling of ominousness - like he was standing on the verge of something happening. A potential bad situation. And to feel stressed was not good for him, no. He needed to be of calm mind, so he tried his best that day, to keep himself as calm as possible.
But others had to feel it too, right?! That…stress. And things seemed quiet today. Oddly quiet. He didn’t know what was going on in the depths of the mountain, he didn’t have that sort of clearance. Instead, he was out with his fellow coworkers, in the entrance zone - ensuring things went smoothly out here. And so, he spent time with them, feeling better in a group.

why won’t that feeling go away?

It was about 7:00pm when the radio started acting up. Crackling to life, yet—
”-ergency…subject…containment.” Broken up, but the voice seemed like they were trying to hold the panic out of their tone. Vanja held still. It wasn’t his place to ask on these things. Yet…containment? He knew that DAMD did capture various things, but he didn’t realize they were keeping anything in this particular base.
Another voice popped up, this one far clearer. ”Where?”
”..Zone..X..”
And just after that, the power went out. Vanja turned all around, almost fearing that something was nearby, in this room— ready to jump out at him now that the lights were out. But there was nothing. A short few seconds later and the room glowed an eerie red as the emergency lights flicked on, and by this point, Vanja was well aware he couldn’t be standing around, waiting for orders. A potential emergency was ongoing. He needed to figure out where he was needed.
As he moved, there was plenty more radio chatter, all people trying to figure out what was going on. There were more people too; the building was no longer as quiet as earlier in the day - people moved in groups, all preparing to attend the situation. And Vanja moved up alongside a couple people he recognized, and he asked them — “What’s going on?”

“Not 100% sure. Something broke out in the deeper zones, and they’re apparently struggling down there.” She answered.
struggling? “Are we going to rendezvous with someone, then?”
“We are. Not sure about you.” She gestured to her group. “You should probably head outside,” she suggested, “carry the news outside and make sure things are running fine out there.”
Vanja felt a little guilty that he was relieved to not be going where the danger was. He nodded, slowing down, giving the departing group a slight wave. And then he turned around on his heels and marched down the hallway again, back to the entrance zone, and through - outside.

The sky was dark when he exited, the moon just visible through the clouds. “There’s an emergency situation,” he shouted, moving towards the people who had been stationed outside. “We haven’t been given clarification on what it is, just to be on guard!”
Could an enemy organization be breaking in? Vanja wondered; he’d heard of one in particular that had even managed to create its own strain of the Blood to use. But when he surveyed the outside of the base, there wasn’t any sort of panic, aside from the workers already out and about, who had entered a state of readiness. No - just endless amounts of trees descending the mountain, and in the distance, lights from the nearby city. He held his gaze on them. Interesting, to think of the situation here, and compare it with there.
As long as DAMD held strong tonight, they wouldn’t even know about the danger that lurked in the mountain.
A voice stood out in the radio, all of the sudden. A panicked one. Not even trying to keep an ounce of calmness in their voice, they shouted - ”Fire! Fire! Watch out!”
Fire? What type of fire were they-

A shattering boom erupted in the distance - closer than Vanja would like. He spun around— that came from the base, didn’t it? And almost moved to go in, when a particular hissing gave him pause.
He spotted the source. Pipes, exposed from the explosion. A strong one, if it affected the pipes all the way out here. His radio continued to crackle with activity, from people still in the base, but there were so many; he couldn’t discern any of what they were saying. And there was that pipe. Hissing, as gas leaked out of it. He gripped his rifle, pulling it closer to himself, and took a step back. Initially, he wanted to go back into the mountain, figure out what happened.

But that overwhelming feeling of fear and stress controlled him. That same feeling this morning- just stronger now, far stronger.
He backed up and turned away, his need for self preservation far more important than anything right now. He wasn’t worried about the gas. He had a mask. He was worried about the gas igniting.
“..where are you going?” He heard a voice behind him as he walked away.
“Um.” He mumbled out. “There’s…I’m not…” He had no clue what to say. His voice drifted off. “We should…wait for reinforcements,” Vanja said, trying to suggest an alternate solution. One that didn’t involve him going back in the mountain.
“Did anyone call for-“ Even as the stranger began, there was no time to finish.

Vanja was thankful he had walked away. But that thankfulness was quickly overpowered by a sense of horror, as a second, closer explosion occurred. Close enough to erupt out of the entrance zone, and into the open air. The fiery explosion flung Vanja away, as well as various other materials…and of course, people. He barely had time to react; his eyes briefly widening as he caught glimpse of the flames forcing their way out of the doors. An attempt was made, to turn around and gain some more distance, but the force of the explosion did it for him, moving him further away in a much shorter time.
He landed on the ground, rolled down the slope a little bit, but thankfully, didn’t have a long fall. Unfortunately, he was also knocked out shortly after - what did it for him was unknown. His last sight was only of the base, fire and smoke rising from it, his back against a tree.
and something emerging from the fire. help?
But Vanja couldn’t tell what it was, as unconsciousness claimed him quickly.

What Onyx had been expecting was a regular tune-in. Check radios, tune into frequencies for an hour, leave and pick up a donut from 7-11. When they'd jumped the fence, they couldn't shake this feeling of dread. Something was going to happen. Even Venus seemed to be expecting something bad to happen, not cracking any jokes or telling fun stories. That's when they should have left. Cut the power, pack up, and leave the facility.

But alas, Onyx was never known for making any particularly smart decisions.

The second red flag was when the radio started crackling back with barely restrained panic.

"..emergency…subject containment-" the radio had popped and fizzled out, flipping through channels before residing on static fizz. Containment? Onyx had done a lot of digging and didn't find anything about containment of subjects in the mountain base. She sighed and stared at the grey ceiling, stretching their back with a loud pop. Onyx cracked their neck, groaning, and shoved the old computer and radio into her backpack.

"Just what else are you hiding, DAMD?" she questioned. As always, nobody responded.
She was going to do a little more hands-on investigating than she planned, but it was nothing they couldn't handle.

"Venus, if shit goes down or you think I'm even in remote danger, get me- us out of here. Got it?"
Onyx got an idle 'mhmm' in the back of their head. Their face twitched into a scowl. If not immensely useful, Venus was a prick sometimes.

'Nothing seems strange,' they thought while patrolling the woods. They had a hand forged knife in their back pocket, but they were still underprepared if they were caught. And on top of that, they couldn't see anything beyond what the moonlight touched. 'Great job, Onyx. Nice time to leave your handgun at home. I'm screwed if something comes outta those mountains.' A herd of deer stopped grazing in front of Onyx, turning to look at the mountains. A stag, who’s impressive rack of horns glinting in the moonlight, snorted and lifted his tail, leading the rest of the herd away in a quick rush. Onyx trusted the deer could sense danger better than she could. Something was about to happen. Something bad.

"Shit."

Before they could turn away an explosion rocked through the mountains, echoing off the trees. The shockwave wasn't enough to knock them to their knees, but certainly enough to make Onyx stumble on a tree branch. Crap. What the hell was that? A breach? Wait, that woman was talking about an emergency in containment. Has someone broken out? A mutant? No. No matter how strong they were, they couldn't cause an explosion of that caliber. Multiple, then? Onyx shuddered. They didn't even want to think about having to deal with one hostile mutant, much less a group of them. They focused on their running, evening out their breathing. Only a little more and they'd be at the shed and-

A second explosion rocked the ground, rattling the trees as hundreds of birds took flight. They hit the ground hard, hitting their head on a rock. Blood dripped from their scalp as the vertigo kicked in. Little black dots spotted their vision. Was Venus taking over? Onyx felt themselves retreat back into their headspace. They were semi-confident that Venus could handle whatever the hell was going on, and they were downright exhausted. Surely Venus wouldn't mind if the just took a little nap…

Venus opened their eyes, rising up from the bloodstained rock. Venus' first plan of action was to get the hell out of here. Second, take care of their head. It took off, muscle memory locking into a sprint that was much faster than Onyx flailing run. Its eyes scanned the forest, looking for any potential threats. There was body slumped against a tree, no signs of any nearby wildlife, and the shed coming up in the distance.

Wait a damn minute. A body?

Venus closed in on the person, taking in their appearance. They wore a DAMD uniform and some sort of gas mask. Okay, fuck. If it hid all of the investigative stuff, it should be fine. One of Mother's lessons came to mind.

"Check the pulse first. If it's beating, but they are severely hurt, take them to the hospital. If it's beating and they are unconscious, or they have something you can fix by yourself, take care of them. Never leave an injured person alone and vulnerable." she had told them. Helping as many people as you can gets you friends, allies, and most importantly, connections. "Shit, shit, shit." Venus looked up at the mountain seeing murky figures emerge. "Shit!" They checked the pulse. Okay, it was beating, and he didn't seem awake. They whispered a quick apology under their breath and lifted the shirt of the uniform up. There's a scar, recent, but not new. It looks a bit like a claw mark. A small animal? Venus shook its head. No time to get distracted.
"Okay, not impaled. Good. Good. Uhm, there's no blood or anything so he should be fine?" they squeaked. Onyx would be pissed if they let a potential witness die.

Venus lifted the man up with a heave, booking it towards the fence. "Oh crap. Uh, he works here, he should have a key, right? Uh, yeah. Sorry guy." they rummaged through the man's pockets, finding a keycard to the gate. They looked back at the forest. The treeline was dotted with humanoids that did a scarily good job of avoiding the moonlight. Venus hissed through their nose and pressed the keycard towards the scanner. It flashed red, beeping an angry noise.

"Oh my god…work! Work!" they whisper-yelled at the scanner.

Venus pressed the card again and again, and on the 5th try, the stupid thing finally worked. Venus doesn't think they've ever ran so fast. They shoved the man into the passenger seat, his head lolling at an uncomfortable angle as they jumped into the pickup truck, revving the engine and driving at speeds that would definitely get it arrested. Should it take him to the house? No, they can't get rid of the investigative stuff in time. The motel suite? It still has medical stuff in there. There's only one bed, but Venus doesn't mind sleeping on a couch. They hoped Onyx doesn't too. They cursed at drivers under their breath, honking their horn at the sluggish pace the other cars took.

Soon enough, the truck pulled into the parking lot with a loud squeal and a rumble as Venus turned the engine off and carried the man bridal style into the motel, ignoring the strange looks from the receptionist. I mean, carrying an unconscious DAMD member and a suspiciously large backpack whilst covered in forest debris and bleeding from the head was certainly very concerning. They glared at her when she reached for the phone with the custom-tailored "you-call-the-police-i-bash-your-head-in" stare. She put her hand down almost as fast as it came up. Venus huffed a laugh through their nose and went up the stairs and into their room, laying the man on the bed as they rummaged in the bathroom for some pain meds, bandages, and antibiotics. They threw their knife onto the table.

The guy looked like he might've had a concussion, nothing that Venus could treat beyond having him rest for a few days. But this head wound needed to be taken care of now. But its hands were covered in dirt and leaves. It washed its hands, completely removing all the debris before they placed gauze on the wound to slow bleeding, wincing at the pressure. They washed their hands again, washing out the wound before placing the antibiotic cream and wrapping it up.

Venus gripped the sides of the sink tightly, the feeling of sharp ceramic digging into their skin grounding them. Taking a deep breath in, they let go and inspected the red marks on their hands.

"Christ, saving two lives in one day really takes a lot out of you, huh?" they chuckled.

They took their dirty clothes off, changing into a pair of sleep shorts and an old, faded shirt that was so small it was effectively a midriff, showcasing their abs. They collapsed onto the couch. If the guy had any problems with that in the morning, Onyx could take care of it. Right now, all they wanted was to sleep.

Alarms. Blaring alarms. Red lights. A long, dark hallway. Something reaching forward. Look down, at its hand. That’s not a human, is it?

Vanja’s eyes slowly opened, and he immediately felt sore. Everywhere. Like some sort of awful fall he had, except he couldn’t recall-
Wait.
He took caution, only looking around the room with his eyes, choosing not to move around just yet. This didn’t look like a room he recognized.
Yet looking around with one’s eyes could only provide so much context. Especially when said person was laying on a bed. Slowly and carefully, he sat up. He didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. There was the mystery of that person, however.
“Y…” he began, his voice initially coming out a bit quieter. “You there. Who are you, and where am I?” He questioned. He had to return to base. Finding out where he is, is the first step of that.

Onyx looked up from their phone on the couch, repressing a grimace when she saw the mystery man woke up. What the hell were they gonna say? 'Yeah, I found you while illegally investigating the Blood of Eorr.' That wouldn't slide. Maybe they could say they were hiking? Yeah. Hiking.

"Oh, you're awake. Uh, I'm Onyx. You're at Moonstar Motel. I found you in the forest when I was hiking. There was a massive boom and I saw you slumped up against a tree. Wanted to make sure you're alright. How's the head?" They tapped their own injury, internally cringing at the action. What the hell was that? Why wasn't Venus in charge?

Vanja looked around the room some more. An explosion? Slumped up against a tree?
At first, Vanja was a bit confused, and it showed in his silence, like he was computing the information he’d just been given. The Moonstar Motel. It wasn’t too far from the base, if he recalled, but…
…but something happened. Something had happened. He remembered parts of it; the explosion they’d just mentioned. He remembered feeling the heat radiating from it, the force— pushing him away.
“Jebati.” He swore. “It’s. Um. Fine,” he replied. Aside from the soreness, which he assumed was on the note of him quite literally getting thrown back by the explosion. Nothing that wouldn’t go away in a couple days or so. He brought his arms in front of himself, inspecting his hands, then putting them down again.
“Listen— My name is…” he paused, internally debating if he should give out his name. But he didn’t see any potential harm in it, and he didn’t plan to stay for long, either. “..My name is Vanja. You are aware that I am from DAMD, right?”

Onyx snorted, yawning as they stretched. "Kinda hard to miss when you got them printed in caps lock across your back, dude. Anyways, you should rest here for a couple of days. Wouldn't want you reopening that wound. Or at least that's what WebMD said." They shoved their phone in their pocket, tearing their eyes away from Vanja. Onyx shuffled around, finally laying eyes on a pile of clothes. They threw them on the bed by Vanja's feet. "Unless you plan on laying in bed all day, which honestly same, you should clean up. These should probably fit. If not, I'll figure it out. I'm gonna get breakfast. You want anything?"