Fantasy Oracle Hill: Main Thread (Accepting)

[Yatasal]

Caring for Monster Immigrants Since 1823.

Here at Oracle Hill, we try to ensure that your monster experience goes as smoothly as possible. We provide workshops, classes, group sessions, and other educational and therapeutic opportunities for new and born monsters and associated creatures. Our mission is to provide a safe environment that doesn't limit your life--merely gives you strategies to deal with the less-than-human aspects of it.​

 

[Yatasal]

Erin tapped her fingers on the wooden desk, listening to the four clacking sounds her nails made on the mahogany surface. She stared at the documents spread out before her, and took a deep sigh. All of them were reports from a paranormal house, normally of no consequence other than a careful watchful eye. The Bellaire House in Bellaire, Ohio had been built in the 1900s by a coal miner named Jacob Heatherington. Strange activity had been reported in the house for years, and finally Kristin Lee, the current owner of the home, turned the house into a paranormal attraction for those who could be fooled by such a thing.

And yet, on a vacation, one of her agents had come back from the Bellaire House shaken and reported it immediately. "There's somethin' unnatural there, ma'am," Agent Tolliver told her. Tolliver was a fairy, but unlike most of his kin he wasn't a "gigglewort" as the other races called fairies. He also wasn't prone to getting scared. The fairy had faced down monsters four times his size and had always come out on top and unafraid. Seeing him scared enough to make his voice shake was worrisome, to say the least.

"Just drink your tea and calm down, Sheji," Erin had told him. "Tell me what you saw."

Tolliver took a small sip, and sat cross-legged on the edge of Erin's desk. He set the cup down, and flapped his wings to get some dust off of them. "I went through with my invisibility, you know. Took my boy there, kid's got an interest in these sorta things. I couldn't even get in the house before I felt it. That place's not right. It feels evil... And ancient. My kid nearly fainted, I tell ya. I got him back to his uncles and went back to get a good handle on it. I went through the house, and I tell ya Erin... It's got a demon. Sure as I beat dust."

"You... you think it's a portal?"

"Gotta be," Tolliver replied, chugging the rest of his tea. "Ain't nothing feel like that except a demon."

Now, six months later, Erin stood in front of half a dozen documents, all telling her various things. The portal had become too toxic for most humans to go to, and it being a well-known paranormal hotspot only increased the problems. People still flocked to it, only to be unable to stand it for very long. They had only confirmed this demon portal four months ago, and since then the guard had doubled around it. She had sent tieflings and fairies, although the fairies had to stay on the borders because the "Hell Fumes" as they were called were too insufferable for anyone who didn't have demonic blood.

Reports of unearthly growls, strange lights, and silhouettes in the house had made Erin send new shifts of tieflings and fairies because the previous agents had gotten too unnerved. The newest shift has lasted for the past two months, and sent in reports of all being quiet except for the occasional spooky light flickering or a door slamming on its own. But all of them reported a sense of waiting. An eerie sense that something was keeping patient.

And then November 2nd happened.

You've all been gathered in the office of Erin Legion, Director of Investigation at Oracle Hill. A picture of her office is posted along with her bio.You don't know exactly why you're here, but you've heard of the Bellaire House Incident. Something about a few agents getting killed, a few getting maimed, and the rest had shut up. The monster world was in shock, but for the most part the news hasn't spread beyond New York and Ohio. If your character doesn't or hasn't lived in either of these places, you might have heard rumors but nothing concrete. Also in attendance is Jack Nimble.

sly-eyed-lyra Peaceful-Crow BlueJay1403 Kazig Shame Spazzycat101

 

[BlueJay1403]

The little Tiefling, after a day of rushing and travel from the orphanage, was thoroughly confused as to what was going on.

Jason Riviera just stands with everyone else and does what he's told. He's heard about the 'haunted house story' as he calls it, but is wholly reluctant to go near a Hell Portal.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Avaline​

Avaline was almost shaking in her sandals. An actual house with actual demons. Sure, she was accustomed to dealing with some deep sea deformities, but those could always be outswam, or hidden from. This house of horrors could not be avoided like that; Oracle Hill was here to seek it out.

And yes, she had gone through their immigration program, but Ava wasn’t really sure why she was here. She didn’t have demonic resistance, going near the place would make her sick. And if their tiefling agents had been killed, there’s no knowing what would happen to those who weren’t. But anxiety kept her from asking, she simply shifted her weight back and forth from one foot to the other.

Yatasal

 

[sly-eyed-lyra]

Yana was no one special at Oracle Hill, but here she stood in special people central, in the company of some folks like (though probably cooler than) her strewn about the director's office waiting for the hammer to drop. She knew she wasn't like anyone else in the room; they were themselves 24/7, whereas Yana was human, only most of the time; she wasn't normal, but you'd just have to check back in a few weeks for her to prove it. She sat on the edge of an upholstered sofa hunched with her elbows propped on her thighs, staring at her antsy right foot tapping lightly on the taupe carpet; she was wearing her heavy work boots, and knew she was probably being a nuisance. Yana tried to distract herself from the hammer hanging above them all by observing her company, but her thoughts kept bringing her back to the rumor about the room.

"He looks cool." She thought, peering at a composed guy with golden eyes and neat dreads tucked behind an ear; she couldn't tell what he was, but it didn't matter to Yana - he just seemed like the kinda guy to walk out of a bad situation smiling. "Bet he eats spooky hell demons for breakfast."

Yana had Captain Crunch in a bowl of coffee creamer that morning, and eventually, a stale leftover bagel.

There was also a Tiefling in the room, standing short with a lavender complexion.

"He's adorable. But probably eats demons for dessert too. He just has to chop them up into little pieces first." Yana sighed turning to see a someone in a tank top advertising a band that was probably too old and too metal for them, but Yana knew not to assume, especially here. They were pale but a bluish hue with dark navy hair. Yana changed her mind about the hardcore metal fan assumption when she made out some tattoos; they looked like tell-tale Celtic knots.

"Maybe they're a banshee? I dunno. Probably something cool and dangerous and ready to fight demons." There were more people in the room, but Yana knew she was just going to relate everything to the anxiety she had about the vague situation they were all in. Instead, she just let her head hang over her lap as she groaned quietly. "I'm hopeless."

She had heard some rumors about the Hell House situation, but nothing outside of Tiefling casualties. The tension and grim behaviors of some of the company in the room made her think it was more serious. Maybe she just didn't listen enough, because she thought it would never have to apply to her.

Yana tried to rationalize the situation.

"Maybe I'm about to get fired." She propped her chin in her palm. "Yeah, that's probably it."

Yana knew she was more a liability to Oracle Hill than an effective agent. She was still a newbie, for one, and more significantly, everything she did for the agency was outweighed by everything the agency did for her; it was going to stay that way too, until Yana got her shifts together and could learn more control. It had been about a year since the agency contacted her, and since then, she had probably been blacklisted for any consideration of employee of the month because all it took was one messy night a month to ruin her good track record. She knew she was being ridiculous for feeling like a burden on the agency because they were all she could turn to, but she couldn't help it. She hated the feeling.

She sat up a little, with the resolve, regardless of whether she was fired or not, to do all she could. "They do a big thing for you, you do a big thing for them, like wandering around a haunted house with demons running around willy-nilly. Then we're even. Tada."

Yana rationalized some more and smiled to herself as if she were the funniest person she knew; it was a joke, but it could've been true.

"Maybe it's because I'm expendable."

Yatasal Spazzycat101 BlueJay1403

 

[Kazig]

Harry shifted about nervously as he eyed the others who had been called into Officer Erin's office. They also seemed normal enough, well by monster standards of course. A couple tieflings and other assorted monsters, though he couldn't quite place down what the person who looked identical to an average human women was. A really good disguise maybe? Regardless of that though, he felt tremendously out of place.

Harry scanned his memories, searching for an moment he could think of when he had ever met any of the others in here before. Try as he might however, he only drew a blank. There was nothing he could think of that linked him to these individuals and there were no missions that fit his particular skill set out at the moment. Except... there was The Bellaire House Incident... he shuddered just thinking about it. He didn't know the details, but that almost made the whole thing more worrying. And it was so close too... No, that couldn't be it. Harry knew he wasn't qualified for any mission like that, he must just be in trouble for some reason or another.

 

[Yatasal]

Erin leaned on her desk. She was wearing a grey suit tailored exactly for her, and her hair was pinned up. She scanned all of the monsters that had been chosen by people who supposedly knew better than she did. They all shared a single common trait that somehow made them qualified for a damn demon portal.

Tough boss, kind but firm, so many options... And Erin chose to go with her standard personality. "Alright, listen, yes? I don't believe any of you have talent, skill, or requisite ability to do this. But I am out of options, as they say. Alright. Sita, przekaż dokumenty tym idiotom, proszę."

Sita, who had until this point been standing quietly by the door, ushering people in, gave a quick nod and stepped out of the room to her desk just outside of Erin's office. She brought back a stack of papers and began handing them out. She glanced at Erin and said, "Madame Smith chce z tobą godzinę po skończeniu z tymi idiotami. I masz lunch z dyrektorem zarządzania parkami o czwartej."

"W porządku. Zamknij drzwi i zamów lunch. Cokolwiek chcesz, dobrze? Proszę i dziękuję." Erin told her, and Sita gave a short nod before walking away. Erin folded her arms and walked over to a wall with a giant whiteboard over it. There was a faint, greyed-out world map, but she went ahead and wrote over it.

Bellaire House

Six months before portal opens

Plan?
​

Erin turned back to them. "The documents before you summarize reports given in past six month. We caught this one late, yes. Why you have been chosen is on page two. Suffice it to say, you have the gene necessary based on genetic testing. The portal will affect you, but not nearly as strongly as it will others. Because of that, Oracle Hill need you to travel to Bellaire House and conduct research. Our current researchers say that this is not possible, a portal can not form and destabilize within a matter of months. However, this is fact. No one except tieflings can get close enough, and my tieflings are needed to guard this damn thing. So, we are training and sending you. Any questions?"

The documents will be posted shortly, to this post. They give varying reports of strange paranormal activity, some redacted information, and the entirety of November 2nd has been redacted. The reasons you have been chosen are given in varying scientific reports that have a lot of graphs and large words, many of which sound made up.

Spoiler: BELH Reports

 

[BlueJay1403]

Jason simply stares down at the documents, noticeably confused and understanding none of it. If he had to go to a scary as hell haunted house (the only sensible interpretation he could come up with), then that's all the more adventure. Jason started subconsciously fidgeting, first with a pen, then with his shirt buttons.

 

[Shame]

"-Hill need you to travel to Bellaire House and conduct research." The door to Erin Black's office slowly creaked open. "Our current researchers say that this is not possible, a portal can not form and destabilize within a matter of months." Maggie Wood slunk into the room as if she wasn't so incredibly conspicuous with her vibrant green hair, bright yellow hoodie, and impossibly tall height made even taller by heeled boots. "However, this is fact." The Dryad tried her best to move quietly on the outside of the group and find her spot next to a fern plant and a window. "No one except tieflings can get close enough, and my tieflings are needed to guard this damn thing." Maggie's hazel eyes remained on the wilting plant at her side. She reached out to it and gently touched the leaf and the plant sprang up again as though standing at attention for her."So, we are training and sending you. Any questions?"
For a moment, it felt as though no one was breathing. They were all taking the moment to let the director's disconcerting words sink in. Maggie took the moment to final pay attention to who was in the room. She had seen the others before maybe, but could not recall their names. Though, that really was not particularly surprising.
Maggie broke this contemplative moment to raise her hand. Her sleeve fell down her arm to reveal the words "Black Office Meet" smeared across her wrist in blue ink with some of the ink staining the yellow cuffs of her sleeve.
"Could someone please share their paper with me?" The Dryad asked, cutting through the silence. She paused for a moment before she continued, "And maybe give me a real quick summary of everything that was just said?"

 

[Yatasal]

"Could someone please share their paper with me?" The Dryad asked, cutting through the silence. She paused for a moment before she continued, "And maybe give me a real quick summary of everything that was just said?"

Erin shot a cold stare at the latecomer, but said nothing else in reply. She turned back to the whiteboard and circled Bellaire House. "Bellaire House was identified as Demon Portal six month ago. It is not acting like normal portal. We need to know why. None of you have research experience. But all of you have monster experience. We will use whatever we can to get this job done. The goal is to find what is going on in Bellaire House, and to shut it down. Now. I will not permit shy gooses. You ask questions, stupid, dumb, or otherwise. If you go to Bellaire House having one shred of doubt, I will personally pull you back here and teach until you doubt no more. Now. Ask."

One of the tieflings raised his hand. He wasn't wearing any illusion magic today, and looked as tiefling-ish as he could. "Yeah, quick ask. The hell's a demon portal?"

Erin's eyes narrowed, but she did ask for stupid questions. She didn't think they'd be that stupid. "Demon portal is how demons come to our plane of existence from theirs. Their plane is called the Abyss. They come here to conquer, to gain pleasure, to explore. But remember: demons and devils are only interested in themselves. They will never choose anything else."

"So... Lawful evil then." The tiefling concluded. When he got no response, he glanced around the room. "Eh? DND? Anyone? Come on, I can't be the only nerd in the room."

Erin took a minute but deep breath. "Any other questions?"

 

[Spazzycat101]

Avaline​

At the tiefling’s dungeons and dragons reference, Avaline whispered ‘nice!’ She then borrowed the confidence to start speaking for herself, but sounded rather grim.

‘With… with all due respect, ma’am, I don’t see what I could do in this situation. Water can’t put out hellfire.’ She held her hands out, palms up.

‘What could I do? I have no resistance to demon… energy, and if tiefling agents have died there, I really don’t understand what I could do better than them.’ Avaline spoke slowly because she was reading the documents simultaneously. Her tone was of both confusion and fear. She didn't want to ruin the very nice accommodations that Oracle Hill had provided for her, but she had no intentions of being tossed compliantly to her death.

Yatasal

 

[Yatasal]

‘With… with all due respect, ma’am, I don’t see what I could do in this situation. Water can’t put out hellfire. What could I do? I have no resistance to demon… energy, and if tiefling agents have died there, I really don’t understand what I could do better than them.’

Erin clicked the cap of the marker off, and turned back to the board. These weren't the hardened, battle-ready and intelligent agents she was used to dealing with. They would need a gentler approach then the one she had been taking. They needed these people, and Erin knew that the situation was far more dire than the reports let on. They just didn't know how dire it was, hence the reason they were sending these people at all.

She began to write on the board.

Weretiger

Tiefling (2)

Toy Monster

Dryad

Mermaid
​

Erin recapped the marker. "Each of you have skills that the others do not. Each of you have proven genetic marker to withstand the "demon energy". We will test this on all of you to be sure. You are not trained agents. You did not volunteer, you were chosen. I understand if you want to leave. But we need you to stay. This portal is dangerous and barely in our control. We know little of demon portals, and we need you to go and learn what is going on. You will be given all the training you need. Right now, the portal has calmed down. We have time, time we will need. If no one has further questions, I'll have Sita show you to your rooms. You will stay here, at our facility, and learn."

Erin glanced around the room. Each face had a mixed set of emotions, but they all wore fear in their eyes. It was her hope that they would be able to replace that fear with realistic confidence. Heaven help us all...

 

[Kazig]

Harry stared at the Officer with his wide, glassy eyes. An actual demon portal, oh dear lord. He had handled his fair share of monsters and other dangerous situations before, but actual Hell? This was far beyond his abilities. While he had difficulty following Erin after the reveal of what their mission was, he was pretty sure he was only here by some random genetic chance, not because he was the right being for the job. He didn't even know he had genes! Everything in him told him that he should drop out while he still can... he recognized that this was not an option. Looking around, everyone here looked more or less about as prepared as he felt right now. If this was the first pick of agents for a mission this serious, he didn't want to see the alternatives. He silently cursed himself for ever moving to this doomed city.

He raised one of his felt arms, "I'm sorry, but what exactly is the situation with the portal? You say it's calmed, but how long do we have?"
Yatasal

 

[Yatasal]

"I'm sorry, but what exactly is the situation with the portal? You say it's calmed, but how long do we have?"

The toy monster spoke up. His name, for the moment, escaped Erin. "The situation is dire, and we are withholding detail from public. Details are classified, until you agree and sign papers. Suffice it to say we have at least one year before the portal collapses."

"Wait, collapses? Like, comes apart? Explodes? That sort of thing?" The tiefling, Jack Nimble, asked. "Cause that would be sick."

Erin scowled. "No. Collapses means it kill everyone in surrounding area. Collapses means it becomes gaping hole for demons to flow into our world. Collapses means the portals around it will weaken, might set off chain reaction. Collapses means we lose."

The air had a noticeable tension before, but now an icy chill rang throughout the room. Erin hoped it would cement an image in all of their brains that they would keep throughout the mission. Nimble had shut his mouth and was now examining the floor. Erin looked to all of them. "If you agree, stop by Sita and ask for paperwork and return it tomorrow afternoon by noon. If not, you are free to leave. Nothing said here should be repeated to anyone. Make your choice."

Erin stepped behind her desk and sat down at her computer. She typed in her password, and set to work, not watching any of them leave. Time would tell if they'd agree to join the mission. If they didn't... Erin paused in her typing. She took a breath, and continued. If they didn't, she'd move on to plan G. She would never allow that portal to collapse.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Avaline​

The weight of the situation settled a pall over the room. Immediate death of everyone nearby, the invasion of the world by demons,

‘That’s… not ideal.’

Avaline didn’t know what to do. To her, the ‘infernal resistance’ this document went on about sounded like absolute bullshit. She didn’t trust it in the least. But if they were calling upon her, they were getting desperate. And it was either die at the portal at the hands of demons, or die later at the hands of demons in the midst of Armageddon.

‘Okay,’ She said slowly. ‘I’ll try. So long as I’m not the only one on this team.’

 

[Kazig]

"Don't worry, you definitely won't." Harry said, more confidently than he felt, "I don't know how much help I'll actually be in this situation, but I can't exactly say 'no' here."

As stressful as the situation was, it would only be worse if he had no idea what was going on with the portal. What kind of Bed monster would he be if he left the fate of his protectee's home to chance? Once again, Harry found himself wishing Jeffrey lived anywhere else, preferably somewhere without a dormant demon portal.

"So, does anyone know where Sita is? I still need to fill out the paperwork..."

 

[sly-eyed-lyra]

The short period of relief Yana felt for keeping her job (despite the confirmation of her incompetence) was immediately dashed by the urgency and danger of the task that was shoved in her unqualified lap; not even the spunk from that one tiefling had lightened the mood. Only two things ceased; Yana's restless toe tapping and Erin's debriefing.

Yana recognized a duty set before her; it was the only compulsion stronger than anything she had felt, even after becoming a weretiger. Since then, she had long felt like a burden, constantly unsettled by her lack of control and the toll it took on others despite her efforts. This was daunting task ahead, but also an opportunity to make the best of her abilities. For once the agency needed her rather than offer her their pity (despite she being one of their only last resorts). Yana desperately wanted to be more than a mere burden. She was still biting her lip; she had so much she wanted to ask during the debriefing but kept herself from it; she wasn't guarding herself from the danger anymore, as she had already decided it was worth building a better reputation for herself. She had another thing to protect herself from.

What if I fail?

The consequences were greater than she was. But then again, so was the situation. It was made so she wouldn't face it alone.

The silence was as brief too, as it seemed two others had given in to the task; the navy haired girl Yana now knew was a mermaid, and a stuffed spider, the toy monster; and against all rationality, that compulsion to fulfill her duty prevailed. She finally spoke up, answering the toy monster's question.

"It was around the corner from the door. After you," she said, opening the door for the spider and the mermaid, and turned towards to the rest of the company who hadn't yet committed to the task. "You coming?"

Yatasal G Giznuk Spazzycat101 Shame BlueJay1403 Peaceful-Crow

 

[BlueJay1403]

Jason, not much of a talker and internally stunned into silence, just held his thumb up with a beaming smile. If he was in this situation and had a chance to be worth something for once, why let it slip?

So, walking with something of a spring in his step, Jason left the room at the older woman's signal to go fill... out... some paperwork... Did he have legal consent over himself? Oracle Hill technically acted as his guardian, so did he have a choice? Better to just leave that stuff for now, he barely understood what a contract was, let alone a waiver.

 

[Kazig]

Not waiting to see if the others would follow, Harry hopped off the table and scooted put the door. His movement was awkward, less like that of an actual spider and more like an invible child's hand was puppeteering him to look like a spider. He strutted around the corner, trying to psych himself up. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe he was about to get himself and others killed, but hey! At least... he was trying? Harry internally groaned, he was somehow less sure of himself after that disaster.
Approaching the desk, awkwardly stood out in front for a minute. He had forgotten she wouldn't be able to see him. "Umm, excuse me! I would like to file out my papers for the demon portal excursion."
Yatasal

 

[Yatasal]

Sita was sitting at her desk, her fingers working at lightning speed. Her desk was just outside Erin's office, and she glanced up at the three (no, four now--the tiefling Jack Nimble had joined them) standing before her desk. She raised her eyebrows, and reached down to pull out various packets of papers. Each were neatly stapled and contained a few security waivers, a few tax forms, a compensation agreement, a death clause (upon their death the rest of their remaining compensation would be sent to a charity or a person of their choice), and a non-disclosure agreement. "If you have any questions, just go ahead and ask!" She told them brightly. There was no trace of accent in her voice, and by the look of her blue-green skin and purple hair she appeared to be a dryad or a nymph. "After you're done, I'll call Liomsa to take you to some living quarters. He's a bit... shy, so I wouldn't try and talk to him. Oh and here--pens. You'll need those I guess!"
She held up a jar full of multi-colored pens and sharpies. "And don't mind Ms. Legion--she doesn't believe in sugarcoating anything."

 

[sly-eyed-lyra]

"She made that very clear. Thank you," Yana said smiling as the receptionist, Sita ,cheerfully offered the a jar of pens and markers, a stark difference in personality from the director herself. Yana selected a black gel pen, the most reliable in terms of not bleeding through or smudging and sat down in a waiting room chair to fill out the waivers.

Filling out the security and tax forms were easy enough, the compensation agreement a happy affair, but when Yana flipped to the death clause, she sighed and stared at for a while.

"Should your death occur, please identify the beneficiary of your choice to receive the remains of your compensation."

"What would they do if I died?" She thought to herself somberly, going down the small list of names she had to come back to. She knew she wouldn't be leaving them much, but at least it'd be something for someone. But who?

"1. My parents - not that they'd need it, but I doubt that I'll be coming back in one pretty piece, or even an urn for them to keep. But no - that just feels wrong. Mom would probably want to burn it on my altar, and dad would want to keep it safe somewhere. I don't want them fighting over my last check."

They would.

"2. My brothers - Lazaro could finally get a car and then he could use the rest for Raffy's drum lessons. Just by me dying, Tiago and Thao will finally have seperate rooms. You're welcome kids. My god, they're going to find all my old MCR stuff; well, only after they get through the PATD! and the SWS and the...jeez. That's how they're gonna get their money out of me - selling my stuff on eBay. Whatever, I'll be dead. It's fine."

It wasn't.

"3. The Precinct - Captain Sully can get the guys the Keurig K575 Single Serve Programmable K-Cup brewer, the Lamborghini of coffee machines they'd only dreamed of, but he'd wanna get me a plaque or something instead."

He would, as sad as they all would be, and the rest of the precinct would be disappointed they didn't get a coffee machine.

"The kids will probably need something to cheer up. Mom, Dad, and Cap are adults. They know I love them. Or loved them."

Yana sighed, sinking deeper into the cushion of her chair as she finished what sounded like her will. Planning the unfinished business of her death was an emotionally exhausting ordeal. With the last flourish of her neat signature on the non-disclosure clause, she had officially agreed on paper to endanger her life.

"Who knew all it took was a pen and piece of paper?"

"Here you go," Yana said, handing the sheaves of paper to Sita once again, dropping the pen back into the jar. She'd probably have to wait until the rest were done filling out their forms until their liason, Limosa? came to collect them. "Do you have any magazines?"

Yatasal Everyone

 

[Spazzycat101]

Avaline​

With an apprehensive sigh, Avaline followed the little toy spider.

What had she just agreed to?

By the time she approached the desk, her throat was too tight to speak, but her hands were shaking too much to communicate either. So Ava simply nodded as the stuffed spider in agreement.

When offered, she took the pen and documents and carefully went through them. She had to reassure herself with the fact that if she didn’t die there, then she would die anyway, and that she didn’t have any relatives who would miss her, nor many friends; the fish that she kept in her apartment were plenty company. It took a minute of this to calm herself enough to produce legible handwriting. For her ‘will’, she simply reiterated ‘Oracle Hill.’ Nobody she knew could make good use of a half-flooded apartment, so it might as well go back to them if she failed to come back herself. She answered each question to the best of her ability, and when Avaline was done, she slid the paper back across the desk and went to sit down in one of the nearby chairs. She hardly heard as one of the others asked if there were magazines available.

What had she just agreed to?

 

[Yatasal]

Sita smiled brightly and indicated to a low table nearby. A bunch of magazines and other articles--mostly news from the monster world, as well as a few publications with ads for monsters hidden inside them--lay scattered across the table. "Help yourself! I'll wait till everyone's done."

 

[SalemRPG]

Salem
​

Stalking the grounds of the rehabilitation wing was one of the daily routines that Salem did consistently. His fast paced gait was a bit too quick for anyone else to catch up to and chat with him at the same time, but to him, this was a calm pace. He would glance in the glass windows that lined the halls to see what was going on inside. Sometimes he would see therapy sessions going on, other times he would see some staff members administering medicine to the patients, and other times, he'd pass by windows where the curtains would be drawn. He knew that whatever was going on behind those thick, white curtains, was something you'd rather not see. Salem's experienced moments when he was at the other side of those curtains. It usually served as a "time out" for when you trespass one of the rules. The rehab wing did not believe in dark, sober rooms and strait jackets. The staff had other means of dealing with trespasses, and these proved, at least with a difficult personality as Salem's, to be effective and efficient.

Salem did his daily rounds in the wing, silently and swiftly. He passed by the nurse post, where the nurses and doctors would take their breaks, eat their lunch, regroup, etcetera. There was a glass window with a granite counter on its base next to the entrance of this room, where you can receive your medication from a nurse, through a little hole on the bottom of the window. He glanced quickly at the nurse at the other side as he passed by and heard her call out to him: "Salem! Doctor Morvay has to see another patient this afternoon, so you've got free time. Try not to get yourself into too much trouble!" His mouth formed a snarl that lasted half a second when he heard this. 'I can't believe they still don't trust me here...' Not breaking his pace, he walked to the end of the wing, where he met tall, wooden doors that also connected the wing to the heart of the building. Patients are usually granted access to other parts of the immigration center that are open to guests, as long as they pass a screening test that shows that they are safe and trustworthy enough in interaction with her variety of guests. He passed through the heavy doors and continued his rounds, reminiscing the amount of screening tests that he had to take yearly before he was finally granted the privilege to roam the facility. He smirked to himself at this thought as he wandered around and quietly observed the people he would pass by. He would sense different reactions from them, either fear or fascination, at his ominous presence.

He listlessly walked around until he heard the piercingly joyous sound of Sita's voice, talking about pens when he was in earshot: "...pens. You'll need those I guess!" Salem slowed his pace and looked on with his bright, blood coloured eyes at the woman at the desk. "And don't mind Ms. Legion--she doesn't believe in sugarcoating anything." He chuckled to himself at the comment about Erin. He personally liked and appreciated Erin's direct approach to things. He felt that the woman has seen a lot of things in her time, something that they've both had in common, but the 'no-bullshit' attitude that can sometimes cut a sensitive soul was to Salem, a comfort. She's got it made here at Oracle Hill, whilst he was still a patient. He shook his head at the thought, and stopped feeding into this comparison. He focused his attention to what was going on in front of him. He noticed the brunette take the papers from Sita and the gel pen in the jar that she held out. She seemed lost in thought as she made her way into the waiting room. His eyebrows knit together as he got closer to Sita's desk. The scent took him off guard and he stopped in his tracks. He didn`t think he would meet someone with tiger`s blood on this peaceful day. He's actually never met anyone with tiger's blood before and he felt his hunger slowly build as a scenario quickly flashed in his head of him just attacking the young woman right then and there, and feeling the panic rise up in the room as the others tried to contain him. The scene went as quickly as it came and he quickly pulled out an apple from the pockets inside his coat. He let his fangs show, in order to let a little bit of his urge to hunt subside, and he sunk his teeth into the fruit's juicy flesh, sucking at it slowly to stabilize the feeding urge. 'Shit...', he thought, '...it`s been a while since I`ve used one of my apples in need..'. He backed away and leaned on the wall as he focused on the apple. He was in a safe distance that he couldn't smell the tempting scent but was still in earshot to hear and also see what was going on outside Erin's office. He sighed as he felt his body calm down, feeling himself be replenished by the apple. He watched at a distance as the other creatures filed out one by one out of Erin's office to meet Sita, take a pen and paper that she handed out to them. He sensed that some of them were nervous. This piqued Salem's curiosity, 'What the hell is going on here...', he thought to himself.

 

[Yatasal]

Sita smoothed her hair, using the reflection of the computer screen. She was glancing at a variety of pages, multitasking as well as fixing her hair. A minute later, she glanced up towards the monsters in her lobby, and saw Salem standing there, looking rather confused. "Oh hiya Salem! You wanting to see Erin? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you..."

Without waiting for a response from Salem, Sita got on the phone intercom. "Madame Reagan, Salem chce minutę twojego czasu."

"Mam spotkanie z Madame Smith, czy może poczekać?" Was the response. Sita glanced at Salem, and frowned. He probably didn't need to see her... But even still. By the tone in Erin's voice, she probably needed to talk to someone a bit more her speed and temperment before she met with Mrs. Smith. Smith was a lovely fairy, but Erin had a hard time dealing with fairies who weren't afraid to exhibit the bubbly personalities they were stereotyped with, and she was under a lot of pressure with the Bellaire House.

Sita got back on the intercom. "Pozwolę madame Smith wiedzieć, że się spóźnisz. Będziesz chciał z nim porozmawiać przez kilka minut. To będzie dla ciebie dobre."

There was a sigh at the other end. Sita only heard it because she knew Erin well. And Erin knew herself well enough to know that a few minutes with one of her own kind would be helpful before she dealt with a overly joyous fairy. "W porządku. Niech on wejdzie."

Sita clicked off the intercom and smiled at Salem. "Go right on in."

She glanced around the room, and saw everyone still filling out their paperwork. "Any questions? If you're almost done, I'll call for Liomsa. You'll have to get a lot of rest before tomorrow!"

SalemRPG