After Howl handed Trace her pilfered white coat, while he was slipping into his own disguise, he began to realize exactly what they were doing and he became a little nervous. He hid it well, but he was not great at acting. He was miserable at remembering things, and he was not a very eloquent speaker. When Trace said she needed him to just "play along", he tried to appear confident in his ability to do so. He would just have to do his best to stand there and look like he belonged. This should be interesting...
"Lead on, asteri," he said to her, the endearment popping out of his mouth before he'd had a chance to think it through, "I'll let you do most of the talking." He hoped she overlooked his slip up, but she didn't seem like the type to miss much.
The coat felt completely alien on Howl's body, and as he followed Trace into the lab corridor he knew he had to stop fidgeting. Looking uncomfortable was a sure way of getting them caught. He walked slightly behind her, marveling at how well Trace adapted to the task at hand. She acted for all the world that she was just another lab employee. He nodded and grunted in the correct places as she spoke to him as part of their charade, and tensed slightly when she approached another young lady to ask about where the medical supplies were stored.
"Hi," he said stupidly, trying not to let the alarm show on his face over how royally screwed he might have just made them with such a simple word, "We're new here." Oh, for crying out loud, he could feel himself just digging their grave deeper and deeper.
Truly, Howl didn't understand why he hadn't realized that this was going to be part of the plan, he wasn't stupid. However, his lack of social skills did sometimes come back to bite him in the rear. He could only hope and pray that Trace was clever enough to cover for his blunder. Her skills were remarkable, and even amidst the pounding of her hear he could still also feel admiration for his current partner in crime. She was seriously amazing in so many ways.
Creativity
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Posted: 10/20/2018 at 1:40 AM
Post #212
Okay, so Howl wasn't quite playing along the way that Trace had imagined, and after his first word, she already wished she had told him his character was mute. This was a high-octane situation, and Trace would do her best to keep things from catching fire. So, she just gave her most melodic, girly laugh, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, he's just excited about being at Pede," she explained.
"Where did you guys transfer from?" the other scientist asked curiously, a polite smile on her face.
"Just from Manibus," Trace answered. "Roskoff and I were recruited into Manibus straight after college. We've known each other for years beforehand, though."
Trace could handle herself pretty well when it came to lying. She had had to do a lot of it in her youth. At a certain point, you get good at something you've had to do continually in order to survive.
The woman's smile grew some. "I've heard of Manibus. I started here, though. I once knew a transfer from Capsule," she responded casually. At that last word, though, Trace felt her heart speed just a little, and she suddenly felt a little cold, a little empty. "The things he's described to me... The things they accomplish there. It's amazing! I wish I could work there."
Trace's mouth twitched, and it took real effort to grin in acknowledgment. Her left hand clenched tightly at her side. "I mean, from what I've heard, they treat the prisoners like animals there," Trace replied, trying her best to control the rage that flared up within her. Her voice had raised a little, but she hoped the stranger wouldn't notice.
"I know!" the woman exclaimed in delight. "The prisoners are completely submissive there. I hate most of the ones here; they're too rebellious. Just imagine being able to not have to deal with this little society - just the Ability, not the person."
Britters
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Posted: 10/20/2018 at 4:14 PM
Post #213
One thing Howl was not expecting, was his physical reaction to Trace's hand on his shoulder. Even though her hand was not pressed directly against his skin, he could only feel the pressure through the fabric, it was as though an electric jolt went through his entire body. He had no idea what had just happened, but he felt calmer after the shock faded, more focused. He had a hard time focusing normally, which is part of what had caused his flub earlier. Now his mind felt sharper.
Living on the streets, it was surprising how useful being able to read body language was. With the added addition of needing such a skill to understand certain animals, Howl had become rather adept and gathering a lot of information simply based on a person's body language. Therefore, when Trace began getting tense, balling her hand into a fist, and her voice which had gone up a few decibels, he understood that something besides the danger of their plan was bothering her. He decided he needed to try and give her some breathing room.
"I don't mean to interrupt, matia," he said, letting his greek accent become more prominent as he flashed the young scientist a dazzling smile, "We are, unfortunately, on a bit of a schedule. Our superiors wanted us to get a few things from the medical supply storage. You know, menial tasks since we're still new here." He continued smiling at the other woman, trying to let himself exude some of his masculinity.
This sort of farce made Howl uncomfortable, but he knew that this was a delicate situation and he would do what he had to do. He had never been a very flirtatious person, not because he was uncomfortable around women or had no interest in them, but because he was the type of guy that only wanted one woman in his life. Until he found "the one", he simply didn't see the need to lead others on and make them think he felt something he didn't. He was patient, he could wait until he found her...
"I am rather hungry, though," he said to the scientist, his smirkish smile still on his face, "Perhaps you could save me a seat in there?" This was at least not a lie. He was hungry.
Edited By Britters on 10/20/2018 at 8:25 PM.
Creativity
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Posted: 10/21/2018 at 1:01 AM
Post #214
Well, Howl had certainly lowered Trace's expectations with his first interaction with the scientist. He had portrayed himself then as socially awkward and altogether a pretty bad liar. She hadn't expected him to take much of a hold of the conversation. As always, she relied only upon herself, and wouldn't risk failure at the cause of Howl's own idiocy.
She wasn't aware of it at the time, but when the woman had mentioned Capsule, Trace's hold on Howl's shoulder tightened a bit. The woman then continued to talk about how great Capsule was, all the stories she'd heard, and Trace found herself almost seeing red. Her smile became strained and maybe just a touch murderous as she suddenly started imagining all the ways she could kill this wretch.
She didn't notice at first when Howl blossomed into the conversation, filling her lack of articulation flawlessly and beautifully. When she did notice, however, for a moment she was almost convinced she loved him. This was a fleeting fancy of a thought, though, probably brought on by her shaken reaction to hearing the word Capsule.
After all, when she had escaped Manibus, after residing there for months following Capsule, it was Erik that was seemingly waiting for her, meant only to piece her back together after her experiences. Maybe her flash reaction to Howl's rescuing was just a reminder that she now tended to associate rescue with Erik.
Britters
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Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posted: 10/22/2018 at 12:29 AM
Post #215
"Oh, just go down this hallway, take the second left, third right, and then the first door on your right."
The young female scientist seemed to get a bit of a dreamy look in her eyes as she answered Howl, and though he kept his dazzling smile on his face he barely noticed her at all. He still seemed to be focused mainly on Trace's hand on his shoulder. She had tightened her grip somewhat when the scientist began talking about Capsule, and it did not escape his notice. Something about Capsule, whatever or where ever that was, upset her, and he could feel himself almost wanting to bristle with protective energy.
"Thank you," he said, with a slight dip of his head before grabbing Trace by the arm and walking down the hall with her, "Come along...Angelis." He knew he should have come up with a better fake name than his own surname, but it gave him a sort of strange satisfaction referring to her by it.
They made their way down the halls without further incident, Howl following the direction the scientist had given him since he wasn't sure Trace had been paying enough attention to hear her. They didn't talk anymore the rest of the way, simply walked with purpose as though they belonged there. He couldn't help himself as his thoughts continued to wander to what he had felt when Trace grabbed his shoulder, and what had upset her so much about what the other woman had been talking about. He had questions, but he certainly wasn't about to try asking her any of them.
"Here is the door," he said to Trace, stopping at the door the scientist had told him contained the medical supplies, "Do we have any idea what exactly we're looking for?" He was fidgeting a little bit on his feet, trying not to make it obvious.
Now that they were here, Howl was feeling a little more nervous. Trace seemed to sure that it was something that could be dangerous to the people who ran this compound if they were to find it, but he still had his suspicions about whether it was also dangerous to them. There was no chance he was going to back out, but he just hoped that he was able to protect Trace from her own curiosity if it proved to be a problem in this situation. That was his only goal, to protect her.
Creativity
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Posted: 10/22/2018 at 8:48 AM
Post #216
As Howl tried to lead her away, Trace snapped out of her trance a little. All she felt now was rage and pure, unadulterated loathing for that other woman. She had a sickly sweet smile on her face as she thanked the scientist and then went to shake her hand. The woman was wearing at least ten rings on the same hand, and didn't even notice when Trace discreetly slipped one off and then into her own pocket.
She heard the name that Howl called her. It definitely sounded Greek, but she didn't really think much of it asides from the divine aspect it carried. She kept one hand on the ring in her pocket, not wanting to lose it by accident. For later, she told herself. She'd find the woman later.
Trace let herself be led down the directions that she missed, not bothering to say a single thing to him. She was cooling herself down, trying to focus on this wonderful mission at hand.
When they reached the door, Howl stopped and spoke. She cocked her head to the side a little bit confidently. "I imagine it's like Pandora's Box. We'll know it when we see it," she said, and then opened the door to the room.
Or, at least, she tried to. But it was locked. She spared a glance at Howl, smirked, and then roughly kicked it open. She wasted no time before waltzing in. And there it was. A heavy-duty box, the size of a DvD case, with five locks on it. That had to be it.
Trace searched around the room, eventually finding some cleaning spray that had been left out. She took it over to the box and pulled a cigarette lighter that she had lifted off a scientist a year ago from her pocket. "Let's light it," she grinned.
Britters
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Posted: 10/22/2018 at 6:23 PM
Post #217
There was definitely a certain level of resentment and anger they all felt towards the people who ran the compound, all of the doctors and scientists. Some people, like Trace, felt a good deal more violent towards them than others, but Howl was not like that. He was angry about the things they were subjected too, he was angry about the fact that sometimes the experiments proved fatal to the people being kept here like lab rats. However, he was not the type to express his anger, or to internalize it until it consumed him. He was simply...patient.
The reference that Trace used to describe the object they were looking for might have been amusing, if Howl wasn't intimately familiar with the details for Greek mythology stories. Pandora's story was a tragic one, though that was unsurprising as that is how most Greek tales were. She had been given as a gift to mankind, and the gods had in turn given her a gift but told her she was never to open it. Of course, her curiosity became too much for her to bear and she opened the gift, letting loose all of the illness and hardships the gods had hidden inside onto the world.
"It was actually a jar," he said quietly to Trace, trying not to draw comparisons between her curiosity and that of Pandora, "Pandora's Box was a jar." Not that that mattered at all, and he was sure Trace wouldn't care either way.
When the door proved locked, Howl began to reach into his pocket to grab his lockpicks, but of course he was proven to not need them as Trace simply kicked the door in. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and simply followed her inside. There were no alarms going off, but they could very well be silent, which meant their time might now be limited. The case in the middle of the room was obviously different from everything else, and he had to admit that looking it aroused his own curiosity ever so slightly. He opened his mouth again, to talk to Trace about what she wanted to do now, and that was when she began to suggest they simply use a homemade flamethrower on it.
"Hang on!" he said loudly and suddenly, reaching out a protective hand between the can of cleaning spray and the box, but careful not to touch the case with his hand, "Since we don't know what actually inside, perhaps just setting it on fire isn't the best idea. I can have all of the locks picked in no time." He eyed her, hoping his logic had worked on Trace, and then slipped his picks deftly from his pocket. With his nimble fingers and years of experience, the five locks all clicked loose what certainly seemed like no time at all.
Creativity
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Posted: 10/22/2018 at 10:23 PM
Post #218
Ever since she was a little kid, Trace had always been quick to anger. In general, she was a very angry person. But when she was little, she still practiced her Hinduism, and she went to chapel. She recited her disciplines, and she was learned of the fact that the main principle of Hinduism was nonviolence. It was through her faith that she learned not to hit the other five year olds and above that would make fun of her and her family for their chosen profession. But Trace had enjoyed working in the travelling show; even when she was little girl, she loved using her Ability. Showing it off to people. It wasn't as strong then, but at the age of five, it was pretty impressive.
As she had grown older, she had lost the morals of Hinduism that she had been raised with. It was one part because of the caravan's burning and one part because of the mess that had come after, the full, nineteen year mess until present day. But somewhere along the way, she had defied her faith, and that was something that she could never be forgiven for.
She rolled her eyes and shrugged as Howl corrected her on her mythology; she knew she wasn't the brightest bulb in the box all the time, and her memory was not something she prided herself on. She didn't quite care. Those who could not think, fought.
At Howl's second statement, though, Trace stared at him incredulously. "...Setting things on fire is always a good idea, Howl," she told him seriously. But she stood back as he unlocked them, her curiosity overcoming her. Wasting no time, she stepped forward and opened the chest.
There was a pop! and then an odd mechanism clicked inside. No sooner had that happened then approximately five scientists and twice as many guards rushed in. The guards were all donning helmets, and the scientists had surgeon masks covering their mouths.
Trace didn't even have time to fight back as guards seized her and Howl by the arms and began dragging them off frantically. The scientists were fiddling with the box and muttering urgently to each other, but Trace couldn't make out what they were saying aside from, "Contaminant showers! Get them in quarantine!"
Edited By Creativity on 10/22/2018 at 10:29 PM.
Britters
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Posted: 10/22/2018 at 11:13 PM
Post #219
In the back of his mind, Howl knew opening this box was a bad idea. Truthfully, he had probably known it back in the courtyard when Trace had approached him with this plan. For some reason he had still agreed to tag along, and he realized that it was because he knew that she would have gone anyway, by herself or with another companion. He had wanted to be the one by her side, the one protecting her from danger, regardless of whether he actually thought this was a good idea or not.
It, of course, turned out to be a very, very horrible idea to open this box...
Now there were alarms, and they were definitely not silent. Howl stood up straight, swiftly tucking his lockpicks back into his pocket, not that it would matter in a few moments, but he didn't know that. He and Trace were rushed from all sides by guards and scientists, all them dressed in gear meant to protect them from infection. He could feel his heart skip a beat in his chest, feel the color drain from his face as the horrible truth began to piece itself together in his mind. He had very little time to really think about it, however, as they were both grabbed roughly and dragged from the room in a hurry.
From that point on everything was a rush of motion and activity. There was shouting, and everything moved so fast that Howl could barely look at his surroundings. At some point he felt the familiar prick of a needle, right before he and Trace were tripped down to their undergarments and wrestled into showers. The water was scalding hot and the pressure made it feel like he was was being skinned. There were people in biohazard suits scrubbing him down mercilessly.
It was then that Howl made the realization that whatever they had injected he and Trace with was at least partially a sedative, because he had too little energy to try and fight back. Though, he didn't really see the point in fighting or struggling if his initial hypothesis was correct. There was no time to try and discern his accuracy, only brace himself against the unrelenting decontamination procedure. He glanced over at Trace, realizing they were in close proximity to one another. He could not even allow him to appreciate her physique, he only hope that she was alright.
Creativity
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Posted: 10/22/2018 at 11:34 PM
Post #220
Everything was a mess. A giant, beautiful, horrific, chaotic mess. Trace could hardly follow one thought through. There was too much happening around her too quickly, and added to that awful alarm, there was absolutely no way she could manage a singular train of thought. That is, until, in her wild glaring around at everything happening around her, she caught sight of a glint of silver, and saw an identical one being inserted into Howl right as its twin came for her. Her heart was going a mile a minute by now.
"No needles!" she screeched as she did her best to wriggle and squirm her way out of the three sets of arms holding her. She landed a well-aimed kick on one of the guards and sent him to the ground in pain, and then sunk her teeth into another guard's suit. She could not handle needles, but she was forced to submit when a guard elbow-slammed the back of her neck. Trace fell, coughing, but was quickly picked back up and then injected with the contents of the syringe.
She and Howl were rushed to some sort of containment shower and stripped, and she felt her skin burning all over from the intense heat of the water and the way that rough sponges were scored down across her body. She ground her teeth in pain, but didn't make any other movement against it, perhaps because she began to feel the effects of a mild sedative, likely within that syringe.
Helplessly, she glared back at Howl as her head was scraped with the sponges. She didn't make any attempt to talk, just tried to keep herself breathing. Her heart was going erratically, and the pain in her chest was almost debilitating in its intensity. She prayed that this was just an effect of the panic and not a heart attack of any degree. It didn't have the other symptoms she usually had for heart attacks, but the heart always was unpredictable.
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