Realistic or Modern SMITED [Mission Two] [Always Open]

[Noble Scion]

The ex-princess of the Red was about to retort to the snake-woman's words of hinted mockery before being interrupted by what was assumed to be the announcer system alerting them all that their attendance was to be required at brief-room 105, which Sang was not too sure where was, only to be notified by one of the other members in their little club-room that she knew the way. Sang grumpily nodded at her after having been unable to strike back at the Gorgon's insult on her manner of greeting and instead began making her way after the woman, sparing a moment to scowl at the one that had called her a mere "rookie", which was true, but Sang most definitely like the sound of such a tag, even if it was intended to be friendly.

To Sang's surprise, and furthermore, dismay, her very own fellow exiled cousin elected to show his face at her brand new job, and judging by his badge, he was a fellow recruit. "It's you." She said with a level of restraint that seemed to surpass anger itself and looped back down to an average tone. Her body tensed as she prepared to scold the demon that had insulted her very own father as her eyes widened in sheer anger, yet the little part of her that wanted her to keep a job for once lest she fall even further into the pits of poverty, wrestled control from her blinding rage at the mere sight of Rory, instead giving her cousin a rather ferocious "hmph" as she turned to follow the one that had offered to be their guide, walking close behind the woman in an effort to stay away from her relation

Sang kept pace with the woman, somewhat bothered by the fact that she wasn't at the front, but supposing that it couldn't be helped as they passed through corridor upon corridor, an endless maze of hallways that seemed like it would take forever to learn. Sanguine pondered the thought if she was going to be unable to keep this job like the rest of them, but quickly smited the thought, yet it still hung there in the air heavily around her like some sort of menacing star in the sky.

She entered the elevator amongst the first several that had been at the head of the group, scanned her badge as they had and made her way into briefing room 105 with the others, still sizzling. Today was not a good day in her mind, but at the very least she might be able to release some of this anger into whatever target-she-was-pointed-at's face. Sanguine Red folded her arms, crossed her legs and glared the black and yellow daggers that were her eyes at the projector screen, anxious to do anything that would allow her to relieve such stress and fury, choosing not to look at her family's face lest she do something she truly would regret.
Fable Epiphany June Verles

 

[DergTheDergon]

Xaira's friendly introduction to the new girl was interrupted right before she could respond, Xaira's eyes widening as she heard the speakers crackle to life. She found herself thinking "was it finally time?" The message, straight from boss-lady Reed, that then blared over the intercom made it clear as a freshly-cleaned windowpane that yes, yes it was. Excited curiosity as to what this sudden briefing, the first of its kind in a while, would bring filled her in an instant, accompanied by a bit of relief, as well as a smidgen of disappointment that she couldn't help the new girl feel welcome before she was unceremoniously thrust into the action. A bit unfortunate for the greyish-skinned girl, not to mention an oddity for this place to Xaira's experience. Although, to be fair, Xaira had been waiting for something like this for a long time, with rapidly decreasing patience as of late to boot. So, rather than complaining, she decided, after composing herself, to simply get with the program, as it were.

Issuing a smile toward Morrigan at Maia's prompting after giving the presently busy woman a nod and a smile of her very own, Xaira gently placed her hand upon the grey girl's shoulder. "You heard the lady, let's get going. I know the way." Xaira walked onward, ensuring that the leech girl was following, and speaking to her again once they'd traveled a decent distance down the hallway. "There's a security checkpoint ahead. makes sure you've got your ID handy and they won't hold you up for long," she said, smiling casually. "Nervous?" She casually asked, flashing a rather sheepish smile that wordlessly let her know that if so, the feeling was mutual. Zaxs

Her steps felt purposeful, if a bit nervously shook simultaneously, as Xaira headed up the back of the group. What would this mission bring them all, Xaira wondered? Her excitement was palpable, as well as her nerves. After all, she'd never even been able to go on a large mission like the one that she hoped and had a feeling they'd be called for, judging by what had been said.

Sitting down at the large conference table, Xaira stretched and almost propped her feet up on it before remembering the repercussions she'd received for doing that last time. Looking over everyone present, she flashed a reassuring smile over at Morrigan, more of a smirk toward Jasper, and a kind look over at Maia whenever she popped into the room. In order to curb her nerves for a moment, she found herself grabbing one of the cookies Maia'd placed upon the table, flashing a smile of thanks and an "okay" sign with her clawed hand toward the Gorgon after the first bite. "get 'em while they're hot folks. if you won't I will."
Epiphany (and anyone wanting to grab a cookie before the rest disappear down Xaira's gullet xD)

Taking a deep breath and letting it out while she relaxed her muscles in preparation for absorbing the incoming briefing, the carefree air she usually carried gradually fell utterly away in every sense from her posture and body language, as she knew that now was about time to get serious. She was now ready to give her full attention to all that was about to be spoken, as this was her chance; she could feel it in every part of her.

Looking around at the various states of the faces in the room, the nervousness, confusion and anticipation was palpable as likely every gaze in the room, and certainly Xaira's, turned toward Ms. Reed.
Fable

 

[Lexielai]

[div class=mainBackground] [div class="header headerCustom"] Yue [/div] [div class="info bottomBorder"] [div class=infoBox] [div class=infoLabel]Location:[/div] [div class=infoText]Conference Room[/div] [/div] [div class=infoBox] [div class=infoLabel]Interaction:[/div] [div class=infoText]Open[/div] [/div] [div class=infoBox] [div class=infoLabel]Tags:[/div] [div class=infoText]N/A[/div] [/div] [/div] [div style="font-family: 'Raleway', sansserif; font-size: 0.9em; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"][div style="margin: 0px; white-space: normal;"]

[/div]They seem to be enjoying themselves. This was what Yue thought to herself while quietly sipping her coffee. The jolt of the scalding hot fluid on her tongue and lips made her wince, but were bearable enough. In the meantime she followed the agents in the room with her eyes as they chatted and socialized, both making introductions and connections all at once. For some, their eyes were lit with upbeat cheer. Others were more reserved, yet seemed comfortable enough in their place. They were far more confident than she was. It felt like a whole different world that she, Yue, had no part in. At first, Yue had found it rather strange to no longer be the weirdest person around. Between the dragonkin, the lady with snakes for hair, and the various demons and magicians, Yue was rather mundane in comparison. Consequently they, for the most part, ignored or passed over her. She had given a small smile to the Gorgon who had been considerate of her because it was the one of the first times any of them had acknowledged her presence. After all, why would they? She was just a human. They were skilled and confident and sociable and...she was not. Still, acting like an outcast was nothing new. The kids at school bullied her when she was young, and then ignored her as they grew older. Once she had mused that the latter was more hurtful. At least when being bullied she could take solace in the fact that someone was paying attention to her. Being ignored, like she didn’t exist, was like saying she was less than nothing. It meant that her worth was so little that acknowledging her presence simply wasn’t worth it. When her parents had been around, they sometimes seemed like the only people who cared. Now they were gone, and Yue had no one left. Her mind continued spiraling down and down as time went on. Her feet and body were on autopilot, mutely responding to the orders of her superiors while her hands held the cup of coffee between them. Yue simply followed the crowd, neither stepping on anyone’s toes nor pointing her eyes at anywhere in particular. Eventually, she found a lone seat near the baked goods in the meeting hall. Her bright eyes glanced around to make sure that no one would object before she took a few of them into her hands, and Yue carried them back with her. She lounged back in the seat, quietly eating her breakfast. The taste rather surprised her after a few bites. It seemed that the Gorgon’s—Maia’s—foods were actually quite pleasantly made. [div class="mainText" style="width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 10px; font-size: 0.65em; text-align: center"]Like this code? Check out Lex's Codes to get your own![/div] [/div][/div] [class name=mainBackground] background: rgb(40, 40, 40); box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 10%; padding-right: 10%; padding-top: 5%; padding-bottom: 5px; [/class] [class name=header] display: block; postion: relative; box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 5px; font-family: 'Share', sansserif; font-size: 3em; text-align: left; [/class] [class name=headerCustom] background-color: DarkTurquoise; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); [/class] [class name=bottomBorder] margin-bottom: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5); [/class] [class name=info] display: flex; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-bottom: 5px; flex-flow: row wrap; justify-content: center; align-items: center; align-content: center; font-family: 'Raleway', sansserif; font-size: 0.9em; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify; margin-top: 5px; [/class] [class name="info" maxWidth=1000px] display: block; width: 100%;[/class] [class name=infoBox] display: flex; flex: 1 0 50%; width: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; flex-flow: row wrap; justify-content: center; align-items: center; align-content: center; overflow: hidden; [/class] [class name=infoBox maxWidth=1000px] display: block; width: 100%; margin: 5px; [/class] [class name=infoLabel] max-width: 80px; flex: 1 0 auto; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 3px; margin-right: 3px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(40, 40, 40); [/class] [class name=infoText] width: auto; flex: 5 0 auto; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); [/class]

 

[Zaxs]

Finishing her cookie and licking her lips with her weird leech tongue, she smiled wide and her eyes twinkled as the woman spoke, it was so sweet melodic to Morrigan. She was a bit surprised from the handshake for a second, jumping back a bit, but shook it with a firm grip. Seeing the snake coil around her arm, Morrigan's eyes lit up again as they followed the snake and her head motioned along with her. It was amazing to see someone that had something like her tail and tongue, though this woman could control her snakes much better than Morrigan could. Not to mention she had several, while Morrigan only had two.

Then there was a sudden announcement over the intercoms and Morrigan promptly turned around towards the rest of the people inside the communal area, to see them begin to pack up what they were doing and leave the room. A person by the name of Xaira was able to get her name out before the announcement interrupted the rest of her introduction and any response Morrigan had. Maia then prompted Morrigan to follow the scaley girl to the meeting place, Morrigan would've been lost on how to get there otherwise. "Okay Ms. Maia! Also hello there Xaira."She said happily, as she gave Maia a nod and let go of her hand before following slightly behind Xaira.

Morrigan's eyes wandered all around the rooms, hallways, and doors they went through. She didn't walk around the agency too much when she was here for training or paperwork, but she kind of new the layout. Xaira then mentioned ID's and Morrigan patted her dress searching for the one pocket where she kept her ID in. She forgot to put it on, so after showing it to the security checkpoint she pinned it to her chest. Xaira then asked her a rather odd question. Least Morrigan thought it to be odd. "No. I can't say I am nervous. More so worried about how I look, I got odd glances on my way to the communal. Though I know I was walking upright and proper, what could it be?" She looked confused, while she fiddled around with her fingers all the way over until she entered the conference room, where her worries disappeared and all she can do was looking around in awe at some of the new faces.

Morrigan then walked over with Xaira to the conference table and took a seat next to Xaira as she felt comfortable sitting next to her and waited for others to come in. She saw Maia come into the room and gave her a small wave. Maia had with her another plate of cookies and after she had placed it down Morrigan grabbed a few eating them with a satisfied smile across her face. She then faced toward the projector screen waiting.Location: Conference room
Interaction: Epiphany , DergTheDergon

 

[Fable]

DergTheDergon Birdsie Noble Scion Epiphany Ganymede Apathy r e i Tarmagon Zaxs Lexielai StoneWolf18 Phayne June Verles

“Seat yourselves and we will begin,” Talora stated without looking up from the podium. Mianan and Torqen were standing by as usual for the brief. There was a long moment of silence as Talora flipped through the file on the podium before she spoke again. “There have been a series of tremors in the Indian Ocean near Mauritius. It was assumed these tremors were a simple natural phenomenon, however that no longer appears to be the case. A support crew assisting the area reported an open chasm and a mundane expedition crew was sent. What was found there was unexpected.”

Talora used a remote to dim the lights of the room and an photograph was projected. It showed some strange stone ruins, some areas where there were cracks leaking water. The photo zoomed in on a particular mural that the paints had long since faded away from. This mural depicted a group of mermaids. The image changed to another mural with strange markings that seemed to be of some language.

“As much as this fable has been brought up, the mention of ‘Atlantis’ has been going around. The mysterious city that sank into the sea. This is just one version of a story that many cultures have, a lost civilization sunken into the ocean. Atlantis is just the most popular and well-known. These ruins that were discovered in this chasm are of interest to us because of a possible link to lost merolk lore. We have a team trying to work out the language, but further investigation is needed of these ruins. Your team will be conducting this investigation. You will be given cameras and other tools and are to bring back as much data as you can. You are to avoid disturbing the ruins. The tremors seem to have halted, for now, but they are still a concern. You are to as safely, quickly, and efficiently as possible to complete this task."

Talora looked up and paused as she spotted the two red demons, "Ah, both of you are here then, makes calling for you easier with the same last name. Please remember to keep any private issues separate from work business. I do not want to get a report that you two were responsible for the loss or destruction of priceless artifacts."

Talora motioned towards Maeralya, who took over at the podium after a quick adjustment of her glasses, and just as she went to open her mouth a late agent waltzed into the room casually as though they were perfectly punctual. "Seems Agent Bae decided to join us then," Maeralya commented before clearing her throat. "Each of you who are not an aquatic species will be provided with the equipment to dive and travel to the chasm that connects to these ruins. You'll each be outfitted with a body cam so that everything you see is recorded, though it is encouraged you capture photos and video of whatever you can. The more you manage to provide us, the better for the Shadow Archives to piece together the information. Any theft of artifacts with the intent sell in the Troll Market will result in termination and separation for those agents, as well as possible prison time and fines."

"Are there any questions?"

 

[Phayne]

Cain Hawkins
-The Scarecrow-
​

Entering as one of the last remaining few to have not already done so, Cain sauntered towards a vacant seat at the far end of the room, pushing past one of the agents who at that precise moment had had their hand outstretched to grab one of Maia's cookies. In the process of squeezing past the agent, Cain's knee had knocked into the seated mans hand; inadvertantly knocking the delectable treat out of its hand; the cookie shattering into an assortment of fragments on the floor. Accident or not, this did not stop the agent whose tasty snack was denied from him to stand up in annoyance, his sole intention to chastise the 'criminal' for his heinous act and he would have followed through with it had the fear of being reprimanded by Talora not caused him to stop in his tracks. Reluctantly the agent sat back in his seat, decided to endure the Though whether Cain noticed or even cared was debateable as the lack of reaction from the Scarecrow implied either possibility.

Reaching the seat amidst a few looks from others, Cain sat expressionless at the far end of the room; the aroma of freshly baked cookies doing nothing to draw his attention; instead Cain's gaze remained firmly fixed upon Talora waiting for the briefing to begin and soon enough it did; the audible sound of the door closing shut followed by Talora beginning her brief. As the lights dimmed and images were displayed, Cain alongside many of the others listened and watched as the outline of the mission was explained to them; the recovery of potentially new ancient information regarding the merfolk, however to say that Cain had a vested interest in such would be far from the truth. Cain didn't have any real interest in the priceless knowledge that could be gleamed from what they recovered, instead it was just a step towards his own personal goal.

....

"Are there any questions?"

A deep croaky voice emanated from the far corner where Cain sat, the raspy tone in which he spoke betraying his true age; simply a by-product of this bodies construct. Standing at full height, a faint orange glow could be seen shimmering from where his eyes were located, his gaze focused at Maeralya.
"Can we expect any interference from 3rd parties and if so, what are our orders?. Considering the physical properties of this body, a prolonged fight under water is not in my best interest with or without a waterproof suit"

Fable
​

 

[Epiphany]

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[/div][div class=statusText]Location: Briefing Room 105
Tags: No one specifically [/div][/div][div class=title]Maia Sarif[/div][div class=text]Settled in to her chair, Maia sat with her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap. From beneath the scarf shrouding her hair, a snake slipped out and took one of the cookies, though when it receded back towards the scarf, several other snakes also darted out and promptly fought over the cookie. Seemingly oblivious to the antics of her hair, Maia sat and listened attentively, taking notes on a smartphone she produced from a pocket of her dress.

Once the initial scope was presented, the Gorgon nodded approvingly to Cain's questions. To them, she added, "Where will we deploy from? I assume we're going to be brought down there by a submarine or some kind of underwater craft? Who will be coordinating us or running this mission?"[/div][div class=text][/div][/div][/div][/div] [class=wrapper] background-color:#5e757c; box-sizing:border-box; color:#FFFFFF; display:inline-block; position:relative; width:100%; text-align: justify; [/class] [class=title] color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size:3em; font-style:italic; padding:0; text-shadow:0 0 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; [/class] [class=box] margin:2em 1em; padding:2px 4px 0px; position:relative; [/class] [class=boxBg] box-sizing:content-box; height:100%; pointer-events:none; position:absolute; width:100%; [/class] [class=boxBgLarge] top:0; left:-5px; padding:0 4px; border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.35); [/class] [class=boxBgTall] top:-8px;left:3px; padding:8px 0; width:calc(100% - 8px); height:100%; border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25); [/class] [class=boxBgMedium] top:-4px; left:-1px; padding:4px 0; border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.4); [/class] [class=boxInner] background-color: #5e757c; overflow:hidden; margin:0.5em; [/class] [class=statusBox] box-sizing: border-box; border-right: 3px dotted white; padding: 15px; float: left; max-width: 250px; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px; [/class] [class=text] padding: 0px 15px 15px 15px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size:0.8em; [/class] [class=statusText] font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75em; margin-top: 5px; [/class] [class=characterPortrait] box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; border-radius: 20px; overflow: hidden; [/class] [class name=characterPortrait state=hover] opacity: 0.5 [/class]

 

[DergTheDergon]

When Morrigan said hello to her, Xaira smiled back sweetly. Seeing her meander down the hall looking at everything in sight with a wide-eyed look of wonder reminded the Dragoness of herself as a new recruit.

Morrigan's answer to her question caused her head to tilt sideways at first before she smiled kindly and laid a hand gently upon the leech girl's shoulder as she proceeded to inadvertently remind Xaira even more of herself. Specifically, her words reminded Xaira of the journey she took from her sheltered Dragon cloister many miles away to join SMITED. She found herself giggling a little as she shook her head at the girl, a wistful look in her eyes. "I know the feeling, girl, and I can tell you exactly what it is. You're just... unique, eye-catching, like me. These scales, horns, and tail turn lots of heads, but I take it in stride. All those looks people around here give you will fade away after a time, at least. We're all a little unique-looking here if you want to go so far as to compare us to humans. Either way, you ever need to talk, I'm your girl." Xaira smiled warmly, sensing an innocence and kindness in the leech girl that Xaira found was very refreshing. Zaxs

---​

Remaining attentive as the briefing began, the Dragoness's eyes widened as she recognized the name Mauritius from the breaking news spot that she'd sparked a conversation about earlier. She felt good about the fact that it seems that they were actually going to be doing something about that mess. She found her jaw dropping as she learned exactly why the agents were being, sent, however. As one who had always been a little interested in the workings of other cultures, seeing the remains of as Merfolk civilization, not to mention what some seem to think is Atlantis itself, was exciting. However, she found herself frowning a bit as she thought about where the mission would take place. She could swim fine, but being below ground always felt particularly restricting to her, perhaps due to her Race's tendency to reach for the skies in a literal sense. Besides, if someone or something unexpected was down there to put up a fight, she wouldn't be able to bring out her Dragon form when it's needed the most. Finding her mind wandering again, she brought it back and absorbed as much as she could from Maeraya speech. Plus, this wasn't a mission to directly take the fight to some city-wrecking evil or other, though she supposed she wouldn't be ready for a job of that caliber just yet,

Despite her misgivings, in the end, she was just relieved that she was finally able to do something, anything for the good of the world.

Nodding at the questions the other two had put forth, Xaira thought for a moment what question she could contribute for the good of the team as a whole. Looking around at all the others, the reactions were about as varied as she expected, though none particularly notable to her except regarding the cookie fiasco that was still occurring, one man dropping a cookie while earning a glare from another, and one of Maia's snakes trying to help themselves. Xaira supposed she would do the same too if she was constantly smelling and helping with Maia's immaculate baking. Shaking her head with a slight smile as she realized she'd been distracted by the display, Xaira then kept on listening. Her eyes were momentarily distracted once more by the Red Demons as they were rather bluntly warned not to bring some apparent bad blood between them into the mission, before she once more refocused her senses onto her higher-ups as they detailed the briefing, as well as the mysterious images they had so far of these newly discovered ruins.

The scenes before her were distracting, as well as the After a small deal of deliberation, she decided on one. "I assume we're expected to leave the ruins just as we found them? I ask because, well, structures as old as these might have valuable clues hidden behind fallen pillars, crumbled walls and the like. Basically, I'm wondering if we are allowed to move or perhaps even break parts of the ruin if it seems necessary. After all, let's be honest, there isn't too much else I'd be of particular use for on this mission unless we encounter baddies. I'll do what I can regardless, though."
Fable (and everyone else basically :3)

 

[Tarmagon]

Briefing Room 105 : Questioning Maeralya (NPC)

Jasper waited while the images displayed, noting the leaking cracks with concern. It was impossible to ascertain the actual scale of the place from the images, and that could become critical if things decided to go south. No one seemed to be thinking about the environment, so after a few questions by other agents, Jasper took advantage of a break in the questions to voice his own concerns.

"If I may inquire," he said politely. "Were air quality tests performed throughout the ruins? Approximate length of swim to access the ruins and their air pocket versus the capacity of the breathing units to be provided? Will we be positioning caches of emergency breathing gear for the non-aquatics in case of unexpected aftershocks widening the visible cracks and resulting in the cavern filling rapidly? Have there been calculations performed to determine how long we will have until rising water mandates retreat? If water is leaking in, air is leaking out, and I would not enjoy returning to our egress point to find it under several meters of water."

Fable

 

[Noble Scion]

Sang listened intently to briefing up until the point in which the ocean got involved, in which her face seemed to go a much lighter colour as her skin paled at the idea of entering the ocean. One thing that the princess of Red had held so close to her heart was that deep, internalised fear of swimming that had developed since she was a child after a near-death experience in a swimming pool. Unable to swim properly at the time, her arms increasing her weight, leading to her plummeting to the bottom, and her talons simply slashing through the water rather than allowing her to push up like all the other demons, the sole downside of having received such a gift from her house, as far as she knew.

Never since then had she set foot near water again, not even going to the beach out of the rather irrational fear that the enormous amount of H2O would somehow rise and attempt to kill her once more. Sang most certainly did not have any questions, mainly out of fear that the shakiness in her voice be heard and she be deemed a coward by her companions. The demon simply held eye contact and said nothing, not even wavering in the hopes that none of the others in the room noticed her somewhat paler skin.

Some of the other people asked rather sensible questions which helped put her fidgeting hands at ease as the others didn't seem very phased by the prospect of deep-sea diving, which was somewhat encouraging, yet also saddening, as she would most likely be the only one freaking out whilst the others simply stood by and laughed. Sang growled at the mere thought of it, as though it had already happened, and simply huffed as her signature atmosphere of mild passive-aggression returned to her while she continued her staring-contest with Talora.

Sang barely reacted to the mention of the small rivalry with her cousin, instead choosing to focus on not simply walking straight out of the room and actually breathing. It was at the moment that she's noticed that she'd completely forgotten to exhale, and released a rather shaky sigh, before quickly straightening up once more, sending a menacing glare throughout the entire room for simply hearing her breathe, and returning her sharp gaze to the woman at the front after realising that everyone probably heard her rather terrified tone. She was going to have to come up with an excuse, or simply get angry once more, which usually tended to get people to stay quiet about anything she didn't want them to talk about in her presence.

at everyone

 

[Fable]

DergTheDergon Birdsie Noble Scion Epiphany Ganymede Apathy r e i Tarmagon Zaxs Lexielai StoneWolf18 Phayne June Verles

"Can we expect any interference from 3rd parties and if so, what are our orders?. Considering the physical properties of this body, a prolonged fight under water is not in my best interest with or without a waterproof suit."

"We don't expect interference, though there is always that risk. We've already informed the local government there as well as those offering assistance in the disaster aftermath. They would rather keep us busy there than to have our agents assist in recovery efforts."

"Where will we deploy from? I assume we're going to be brought down there by a submarine or some kind of underwater craft? Who will be coordinating us or running this mission?"

"The teams will be transported first via aircraft and landing on the western coast of Madagscar. From there you'll be getting on a ship and taken directly to the chasm's location and diving from there. Agents Bae and Lufaren will be in charge and will be reporting to the ship which is being used as Base."

"I assume we're expected to leave the ruins just as we found them? I ask because, well, structures as old as these might have valuable clues hidden behind fallen pillars, crumbled walls and the like. Basically, I'm wondering if we are allowed to move or perhaps even break parts of the ruin if it seems necessary. After all, let's be honest, there isn't too much else I'd be of particular use for on this mission unless we encounter baddies. I'll do what I can regardless, though."

"You are to leave the ruins as undamaged as possible. Being there already risks the ruins to exposure to elements that is has been sealed off to for an unknown period of time. You are to not disturb the ruins unless it is absolutely necessary for your survival. As far as your use, I would assume you would be fine going on a mission for research rather than only fighting - as you put it - baddies."

"Were air quality tests performed throughout the ruins? Approximate length of swim to access the ruins and their air pocket versus the capacity of the breathing units to be provided? Will we be positioning caches of emergency breathing gear for the non-aquatics in case of unexpected aftershocks widening the visible cracks and resulting in the cavern filling rapidly? Have there been calculations performed to determine how long we will have until rising water mandates retreat? If water is leaking in, air is leaking out, and I would not enjoy returning to our egress point to find it under several meters of water."

"All necessary precautions were considered before determining to send a team to investigate further. The length of the swim is unknown as the initial team that was sent only went as far as the largest cavern, which gives us more than enough to investigate before considering going any further. This is a very deep rabbit hole and none of you should be wandering aimlessly through Wonderland. There is still a risk of an aftershock or worst case another earthquake. If you are unwilling to work with that risk, it is a simple matter to relegate you to staying on the ship and being useful there. The team will have 12 hours to get in and out before waters risk trapping you inside the cavern system. It is because of these leaks that we need to hurry and assess the ruins."

Maeralya answered the questions asked in order. She lifted up a delicate wrist to gaze at the analog watch wrapped around it to check the time. Once she lowered her wrist she regarded the agents in the room. "As it seems there are no other questions and time is ticking by. You are to report to the hangar prepared to depart. We are on a tight schedule. The flight will take 11 hours and will take a few hours to reach the chasm from there. By the time you arrive everything should be set up."

Talora stepped forward, "You have 10 minutes, Dismissed."

---​

The agents, should they choose to go on this mission with the risks, would be taking a direct flight from the SMITED HQ to Madagascar, followed by a trip on a ship that would take them to the location of the chasm. In total it was an eighteen hour trip and the agents would not get rest once they reached their destination. An agent quickly explains how to use the diving equipment, including the DPV and even encouraging using the diving buddy system for the less experienced to group with the more experienced.

Lacily, being a seasoned agent, easily got into the diving suits and gear and assisted others if needed. "If you're going to back out, now would be the chance. I would rather you stay here than risk the life of the others because you let your nerves get the best of you," Si-woo stated bluntly as he checked over Lacily's gear at her request. He himself was completely without gear, he didn't need it thanks to being merfolk. Water was his territory and it was part of the reason why he was being sent along. He didn't have to fuss over oxygen tanks, though neither did Agent Mara.

Once all agents were in the water, they would be directed to the chasm by another agent, with Lacily at the front of the team and Si-woo covering the rear to make sure no one drowned. The opening of the chasm was actually near a well known section of the island, an underwater waterfall. It wasn't really a waterfall, but the earth made it appear as such. There was a large rocky opening that led into a system of caverns. Their path was lighted by a long light-rope, which could also be used for someone to pull themselves by should their DPV battery die.

Every few meters there was a small pocket that contain a small cache. It was an hours swim with the use of the DPV before the team would reach the pocket that held the ruins that had been shown in the brief photos. Si-woo used a towel that he had packed in a waterproof bag to dry off, using it to also cover his lower region as he slipped on some pants from the same bag.

"Take off the diving gear and grab one of those breathing apparatuses," he directed with a nod of his head to a large plastic chest. "It has about 30 minutes worth of oxygen, so use it wisely if there is an emergency."

The room was as it was pictured, a strange written language and depictions of merfolk with what appeared to serve as some arched entrance that went somewhere. Lacily went to a different chest after she took off the burdensome diving gear, grabbing a breathing apparatus and shoving it into a waterpoorf backpack along with a flashlight, extra batteries, and a walkie talkie.

"What do you say Bae, split or stick?" Lacily asked as she grabbed more items.

"Stick. Spreading out increases separation risk, until the danger decreases we'll just get what we can and get out. You guys hear that? You aren't wandering off on your own. You need to be within someone's eyesight at all times."

 

[June Verles]

Location:
In the cavern
Interacting:
Epiphany Fable Noble Scion StoneWolf18
Inventory:
Bagpipe
Some kind of alcohol

Even with his somewhat rude awakening, Rory was doing alright, the previously tight trousers seemed to have loosened up and he was on the right track to the meeting room. That's why it was amazing how quickly his somewhat tired content mood turned into an angry surprise as he turned his back to see who was addressing him. Fortunately, the quick succession of emotions only allowed Rory to let out an instinctive response before Sang's lift went up.

("Ye whit?")

As he entered the conference room Rory made his mood clear, not happy. During the entire briefing, he proceeded to stare daggers at his cousin, the only break in the routine being when he went for a cookie, which he ate lots in order to appease his hunger. His sour mood was however diminished as he saw Sang go pale at the mention of water, where his frowning procedurally turned into a devious smile as he realized.

With a revitalized mood, he thanks Maia with a nod and a "Thank ye very much" for the service of providing breakfast. The entire way there Rory sat in close proximity to Sang on purpose humming ocean man with an idyllic smile, which he only paused when they had to dive to the cavern. The dive wasn't too difficult for him, unlike his cousin, the Satyr's lived on a secret island in the Shetland Archipelago, swimming didn't come as a second nature but definitely fourth, maybe even third.

As the ruins came into view he managed to get the similarity between the murals and the resident mermaids turning his head to ask Maia;

"Soo... ye got any insight on the scenery' ?"

 

[Epiphany]

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[/div][div class=statusText]Location: Briefing Room 105 -> Underwater Cavern
Tags: June Verles [/div][/div][div class=title]Maia Sarif[/div][div class=text]Maia did what any dutiful agent would probably do in this situation; she took notes on a notepad. With a glance, the Gorgon noticed no one else seemed to be but she didn't have any other questions or anything else to do with her hands so taking notes for later seemed useful enough.

Once Maeralya and Talora finished the briefing, Maia rose with the rest of the agents and gave their briefing officers a friendly smile, a quick curtsy and pushed the plate of cookies in their direction before promptly departing before they could be refused.

Ten minutes didn't allow for a lot of time but thankfully Maia had already packed a 'go-bag', which she promptly took from her barracks room before boarding the plane. The trip itself was exciting, with Maia looking out windows and in general being intrigued at flying to Madagascar, a country she'd never been to. The Gorgon did at last take advantage of the long transit to the diving spot to catch a solid nap, running down at last.

Lacily's advice and help was invaluable; Maia had never worn a diving suit in her life and gave that much water a look of distinct displeasure. Si-woo's cautionary warning stirred her nerves, though. Not because she was anxious about diving, exactly, but because water was such a foreign element for the Gorgon. Hopefully her oxygen tank filtered much of the humidity out or breathing could be a serious issue for her.

Upon actually arriving in the cavern, after hours of swimming, Maia fetched one of the breathing apparatuses as instructed but didn't remove her diving suit. Her eyes went immediately to studying the walls and their depictions of the merfolk, once clothes started coming off the other agents. A faint color to her cheeks suggested her scrutiny of the writing was borne more from modesty than from genuine comprehension of what it said.

The big demon's question surprised her, though. Maia turned and raised an eyebrow at him, and her diving hood undulated slightly as her snakes shifted uncomfortably in the tight confines, yearning to be free.

"Insight? Not exactly. My kind never had much in the way of dealings with Merfolk, to be honest. We're also rather far from where I grew up. I know several languages but this isn't one of them." Maia tapped her suit's camera, confirming it was on and broadcasting. After all, part of the reason they'd been sent was to survey and record as much of this place as possible in case it ended up swallowed up by the ocean.

Then she tilted her head towards the other end of the cavern before offering Rory a slight smile. "I wouldn't mind getting a closer look, though, and it's not wandering as long as I'm in eyesight of someone. Spot me?"[/div][div class=text][/div][/div][/div][/div] [class=wrapper] background-color:#5e757c; box-sizing:border-box; color:#FFFFFF; display:inline-block; position:relative; width:100%; text-align: justify; [/class] [class=title] color: #262626; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size:3em; font-style:italic; padding:0; text-shadow:0 0 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; [/class] [class=box] margin:2em 1em; padding:2px 4px 0px; position:relative; [/class] [class=boxBg] box-sizing:content-box; height:100%; pointer-events:none; position:absolute; width:100%; [/class] [class=boxBgLarge] top:0; left:-5px; padding:0 4px; border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.35); [/class] [class=boxBgTall] top:-8px;left:3px; padding:8px 0; width:calc(100% - 8px); height:100%; border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25); [/class] [class=boxBgMedium] top:-4px; left:-1px; padding:4px 0; border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.4); [/class] [class=boxInner] background-color: #5e757c; overflow:hidden; margin:0.5em; [/class] [class=statusBox] box-sizing: border-box; border-right: 3px dotted white; padding: 15px; float: left; max-width: 250px; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px; [/class] [class=text] padding: 0px 15px 15px 15px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size:0.8em; [/class] [class=statusText] font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75em; margin-top: 5px; [/class] [class=characterPortrait] box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; border-radius: 20px; overflow: hidden; [/class] [class name=characterPortrait state=hover] opacity: 0.5 [/class]

 

[Zaxs]

Finally the briefing was about to start, a woman that Morrigan somewhat recognized began the meeting by calming everyone down and making sure everyone was seated. Morrigan tried to desperately remember the girl's name, though she was drawing a blank and it was hard for her to see her tag because the lights were dimmed down. Oh well...guess she would have to look out for it after the light came back.

The briefing was interesting, to say the least, Morrigan was amazed at the images that showed up on the projector screen. The image also seemed to depict a mural that had pictures of what looked like to be mermaids and sea folk, her mind raced and her smile grew as she thought of the possible idea of meeting people more like her. Though they wouldn't be exactly like her they might be something similar, which made it easy for her to make friends. So far the only two she could call companions even where Xaira and Maia. At that thought, she turned slightly to Xaira and gave a smile before giving her attention back to the projector and the woman giving the briefing on their mission.

Morrigan's first mission was one of exploration, which she loved as she enjoyed wandering and finding new things. It was even better considering it would be in her element, she was a naturally good swimmer and she could breathe easily underwater and on land. Though she preferred the water. The meeting was paused for a bit and then the woman asked 'Are there any questions?' Morrigan was always somewhat slow when it came to coming up with questions. She was about to speak when one after another four different and great questions were asked and they all seemed to ask the same or something similar to what she was thinking, they were all answered and she was left without a question to ask. The meeting was over and Morrigan was now left with ten minutes to hurry towards the hangar to depart for her mission.
-
It was a long flight indeed, Morrigan felt her head bobbing up and down as she grew tired on the long flight towards Madagascar. She was able to get a few winks of sleep in, though it was not a comfortable ride and made napping somewhat difficult. The ship ride was much more relaxing and allowed her to get enough rest that she needed in order to not be tired for her mission, she had a few blood vials too so she wouldn't be hungry during the mission.

They had arrived, they were told about their diving suits once more and about the camera and recording that would be happening. Morrigan had a bit of trouble getting into hers, but Lacily assisted her and she was ready. Morrigan smiled at Si-woo seeing a merfolk was like seeing another family member, at least it kind of felt like that to Morrigan.

After a very long swim, the group had arrived in a small pocket. The ruins caught Morrigan's eyes immediately and she looked around taking a quick glance at every detail. Her gaze caught a familiar face, as it was Maia! Though Maia was in a diving suit still. Morrigan began to walk over towards her and saw a new face. Morrigan waited for them to finish and heard Maia talk about exploring the ruins. Morrigan quickly said, "Ms. Maia wait! I want to come exploring with you!" Morrigan was rushing over waving at Maia, and also gave a small wave and smile to the demon. "Oh pardon me, I should introduce myself. Hello there I am Morrigan, what is your name Sir?" She extend a hand out to shake the demons.
Location: Caverns
Interaction: Epiphany , June Verles

 

[Tarmagon]

Jasper, at the ruins jump-off point, speaking to Xaira.

"A whole ten minutes to make the transport," Jasper thought as he left the briefing room. "Talora is getting soft in her old age."

Fortunately, he had already changed out his crafting bag for his ready go bag, so Jasper made his unhurried way to the waiting transport. Knowing full well the first rule of operations, Jasper spent most of the flight asleep, rising only to use the head and grab an MRE from the spartan galley the transport boasted. Once they arrived and boarded the ship, he spent the first few hours checking over his assigned gear before catching another nap. On arrival his gear got a final check, double checked by the agent doubling as divemaster, and then into the water.

The DPV's and the light rope were nice touches he decided as he followed the marked path. Also the carefully positioned caches of emergency air. It seemed as though the agency had gotten one right for a change. Coming up into the cavern, Jasper quickly shed his gear, opting to keep the wetsuit on. It was light enough, would keep him warm in the damp air, and he wouldn't have to struggle into it in a hurry if things went sideways. Pulling his staff from its dry bag, he set the bag on his gear, then moved to claim his camera, emergency air supply, and large LED flashlight. Just as he completed his preparations, Si-woo spoke up.

"Stick. Spreading out increases separation risk, until the danger decreases we'll just get what we can and get out. You guys hear that? You aren't wandering off on your own. You need to be within someone's eyesight at all times."

"Makes good sense, tactically and for safety," Jasper thought, wondering who to partner with. A flash of red caught his eye, and he smiled to himself. Why not?

"Hey Red!" he called. "Want to go on a little hike with me? Ruins unseen for who knows how long, rising water, and the complete unknown await for our viewing pleasure. And besides, you can protect me if something turns, less than friendly."

DergTheDergon

 

[DergTheDergon]

Xaira looked to Jasper as he spoke, and gave him a nod as if to say 'good question'. The way he spoke it with such eloquence was impressive to her, mostly because her upbringing didn't exactly train in her an exceptional vocabulary or anything of the sort. She felt a little silly for being more concerned by whether or not she could wreck the place, in all honesty, having a feeling what the answer would be.
Tarmagon June Verles

Looking around the room as others spoke, Xaira couldn't help but notice a difference in the normally firmly stoic red demoness at the table. Her face had turned a paler, almost pinkish shade of red, accompanied by silence whilst most of the other agents present asked their questions. Xaira couldn't help but raise her eyebrow a bit at that. Was she afraid of water, maybe? Whatever reason Sang had, she certainly didn't seem to enjoy the idea of joining the mission, and not simply because she didn't want to go. She seemed almost afraid, even though Xaira had seen little besides anger in the Demoness’s visage before now. The Dragoness also noticed that the male Demon at the table, she believed his name was Rory, was looking over in Sang's direction with an expression Xaira found rather troubling. Deciding not to dwell on it or let her eyes linger for too long upon Sang lest she invites a Demoness's ire, Xaira returned her attention to the boss lady as she answered the questions being thrown at her in quick succession.
Noble Scion

As Maeralya answered Cain's question, she found herself shaking her head as she mentioned that the local authorities directly expressed no desire to have the agents assist in the recovery of their area. She found herself muttering, 'fine, let more people die. Speciest dolts,' under her breath at that. The nerve some humans had, when many of them were well aware that SMITED might well be the reason they're alive and haven't been killed by a supernatural. She absorbed the pertinent information in her other answers as best she could, Maeralya's snappy answers making sense and some even putting her at ease a little regarding her trepidation toward a water-based mission. She could swim, year, but being a fire dragon, and a creature naturally attuned to open air and high altitudes, it certainly didn't sound like this mission was going to be all that fun. Although granted, Xaira knew no field mission was going to be a walk in the park.

Maeralya''s answer to the Dragoness's question made her frown a bit, but quite frankly she wasn't sure what she was expecting. She knew that in a mission like this, one of the if not the number one highest concern would be keping the site intact. Xaira nodded curtly while listening to the rest of the questions be ing asked and absorbing all she could of what was said. Of course, she was fine going on a research mission with no fighting or heavy lifting to be done, and hell, she was honestly glad she was finally able to take a mission of any sort. However, every one of the higher-ups undoubtedly knew that Xaira's field-relevant strengths lay in brute force mostly, right? As much as she wanted to bring that up, she knew it would be futile, and that she was smart and adaptable enough to qualify as an agent. Plus, there was all the training she'd received, and what little she knew of magic. However, that didn't stop her from only having much confidence in her ability to fight and otherwise throw around her Draconic strength as of yet.

Morrigan turning toward Xaira and smiling at her caused Xaira to smile back, looking her over for a moment and nodding. The Dragoness couldn't help but wonder what had prompted that smile, but she was glad that Morrigan seemed to have taken a shine to her; after all, in a way, she did sort of remind Xaira of a younger version of herself. The leech girl's expression of sheer wonder that Xaira noticed after Morrigan then went back to paying attention to the briefing. bringing a deep warmth into the Dragoness's heart. She really was a sweetheart, Xaira could tell, and made a mental note to keep an eye on her down there, If she could protect the cheery disposition of the girl, and of course, Morrigan herself, Xaira found herself promising mentally in that moment that she'd do just that.
Zaxs

The plane ride was clearly rather enjoyable for Xaira once they'd all departed. It was likely clear to at least a few, if not all, of the others that she was itching to fly, in Dragon form or not, by the way she excitedly rushed out of the room, trying to more or less outrun the others in order to make sure she got a window seat on the ride over. Once in the plane, she was definitely preoccupied most of the way with seeing what she could see from up here. It was always interesting to do so when flying. After a certain point in the trip, however, she found herself settling into a sleep that might have perplexed the others if they realized how sound it was. Dragons had sleeping in uncomfortable places in thier blood, her grandfather had often told her, considering fullblooded Dragons usually sleep on bare cavern floors and the like. Once they landed and were onto the next leg of the journey, Xaira was raring to go and found herself taking in the unfamilliar surroundings they were being transporrted through until they'd arrived at the seafaring vessel set to take them to the mission's destination.

On the boat, Xaira found herself holding a bit more trepidation regarding the mission to come than she thought she'd have. She thought diving was going to be a sinch on the way, but something about being right there near the edge of the deep blue caused a bit more fear than she'd liked to admit she was struggling with at the time to wrack her. The others likely noticed, but like every other time she’d been afraid, Xaira closed her eyes for a moment, took a few deep breaths, felt out her surroundings and then opened her eyes. Ensuring to observe all that was going on around her above giving attention to the storm raging within her mind, Xaira calmed visibly within a couple of minutes. It was one of the tricks her grandfather had taught her when she was still a mere hatchling, and it served her very well decades later. In fact, she was certain his wisdom would never quite stop aiding her rather immensely throughout her life, whenever she had to face her fears.

Following the others into the ruin proper felt easier and easier to Xaira, to her relief, every step of the way down from putting on her gear to arriving safely at the entrance to the initial area of the ruin that had been found prior. Hearing the announcement loud and clear that they aren't to split up, Xaira observed the others to decide how best she might contribute in this situation. They only had around 12 hours to document as much of the contents of these ruins as possible, after all.

Smiling after Morrigan as the bubbly leech girl went to greet Maia and the male Demon that seemed to have paired up with her for the time being, she kept looking and thinking about what to do herself. Xaira was wondering just how to proceed, still getting her bearings when hearing Jasper’s nickname for her. Red, being called out to her brought to her attention an easy solution to her dilemma. She nodded at his statement as she approached the magician, grinning a bit as she nodded in answer to his offer of sorts.

“I’d be glad to. To tell you the truth, I’ve been hoping there’s something unfriendly down here. We Dragons have always had combat in our blood, after all. Besides, I've noticed you've quite a head for this stuff. Want to start heading deeper in? Looks like the others have this area covered." Xaira's fear and trepidation had fallen away now in favor of excitement, as all present could likely see. Ready to press on and see what the pair of them could discover, Xaira led the way, motioning for the mage to follow her. Tarmagon Fable (and everyone else to a degree, lel, you all see this happening I'd reckon.)

 

[Noble Scion]

It was made quite clear to Sang that, if she so wanted, she was allowed to refrain from participated in this specific mission, and while she'd strongly debated saying yes to the offer, she had declined and proceeded to enter the plane alongside everyone else, too stubborn to stay out of her first mission and possibly be seen as weak by the others, a thing that would insult her pride more than anything else due to the one thing she still had left after being exiled, her abilities. The princess of the Red did not care much for her anti-magic capabilities, they had only been learned to help her deal with those of house Soledad, which she did not want think about given how disastrously that had ended. Throughout the journey, her fellow exile from the family and most regrettably, a cousin of hers named Rory, spent his time bothering her throughout the journey, which surprisingly Sang refused to react to rather than her usual process of getting angry. This was mainly due to the fact that her mind was so clouded in the thoughts of actually entering the great abyss that had made an attempt on her life before, and how she'd much rather not go through that experience again if she could help it without appearing weak.

"Sh-shut up..." Was all the fellow demon got from a rather sickly looking Sang as they neared their destination from the company-owned plane, lacking either enthusiasm, anger, or energy. Once her feet were on solid ground once more, her severe sense of butterflies in the stomach faded away slightly, but not by too much, the general sense of breathlessness sticking with her despite not having arrived at their destination yet. The boat ride didn't help very much, and the red demoness sat alone as far inside the interior as she could during the journey, maintaining a stiff posture and a pale complexion throughout that journey as well. Sang barely paid attention to any of the others that appeared to be admiring the view of that disgusting ocean, or enjoying the gentle bob of the ship as it made its way to the start of the chasm.

Sang appeared heedless during the process of putting on the suit, as though her mind was elsewhere while her body put the suit on like some sort of death sentence, yet she nary said a word, maintaining a steely silence in comparison to her usual mildly-irritated grunts and mumbled. She didn't even care that people were seeing her sporting nothing but underwear, which in any other case she would've been yelling obscenities for peeking. She merely kept her breathing in check as the tight fabric of the diving gear was slipped onto her body, awaited the others, a slight twinge of fear that her claws might cut something they weren't supposed to, but thankfully they didn't. "My nerves won't get the best of me. Let's just get this over with." Sang grumbled grittily at the notion of simply not embarking on the expedition. She'd spent eighteen sleepless hours getting there, and was not about to show to the others that she was incapable of doing anything they could. Such a thing would simply not stand on her pride.

A brief look around at the others showed a mixture of excitement at the idea of the expedition, some bashfulness at the sight of their comrade's bodies, and a large amount of calm, leaving Sang as the only one that appeared to be rather unenthusiastic for her first mission. She made a mental note to act at least a bit more polite to the others if they chose not to mention this apparent fear of hers in the future, the only one exempt from this being her cousin, that had most certainly not done that lone perquisite and attempted to make the journey there worse than it already had been. She didn't particularly like travelling either, unless it was on land, but Sanguine Red could at least cope with that due to it being much less mortifying than the idea of being crushed underneath the weight of the infinite expanse of blue that was the ocean. Her vision, while not great without her glasses, would have to suffice for the mission.

She squealed upon entering the water, made a small fuss for about a minute before managing to calm her mind down once again and heading down alongside everyone else, looking particularly worse now that she'd actually entered the water, although it was difficult to tell as the demon appeared rather persistent at staring at her feet the entire journey, not seeming quite ready to look at the deep blue surrounding her as she trudged along the ocean floor. It was almost refreshing once they hit one of the pockets in the ruins as it wasn't quite so frightening to look around as she expected. The murals depicted a variety of the fish-folk, which didn't particularly interest her. She did, however, listen intently to the instructions of sticking together, and while she didn't say anything, the idea of someone watching her was strangely comforting and reassuring. Everyone appeared to be pairing up immediately, which put Sang herself in a rather bitter position. She wasn't the type that asked for help for anything, and doubted that, given her previous interactions with others, that anyone was planning on talking to her any time soon, and so, like some sort of introvert in a class room, she trudged over to one of the people she had spoken to the least, and probably had the best chance of grouping up with.

After claiming her gear, Lady Red decided to make her move in an attempt to get a partner for their journey under the sea. Seeming rather small and un-threatening to the two she approached, a rather high-pitched version of what had originally been the rather gruff womanly voice of Sang herself, rolled out of the suit. "I.. Excuse me, I don't suppose I could... You know.." She rumbled at the one named Xaira, and their already existing companion Jasper, the pressure from above seemingly squeezing the words out of her with how reluctant she was to ask for anything, her voice rather quiet and lacking the confidence that had become her signature. "I apologise for interrupting." she continued before what little courage she had managed to conjure up seemed to escape her body as she deflated even further and simply awaited a response from the dragonkin and the human, a pitiful lump of Red demon pride that had seemed to crumble underneath the weight of the ocean itself.
June Verles DergTheDergon Tarmagon Fable

 

[Phayne]

Cain Hawkins
-The Scarecrow-
​

Cain travelled lightly, taking only the bear essentials which for him was hardly anything. The only tool of note that he had chosen to leave behind was his Scythe, deciding that it was not the best weapon of choice if they were underwater; the weight and inability to use it efficiently beneath the waves made it more of a hindrance then a benefit. The journey was long and tedious for Cain, unable to shorten it through slumber nor distract it with reading material, Cain simply endured the boring 11 hour flight, his mind buried in the past as he recalled fragments of his father's tome. Since becoming what he was, the fear of opening the book has halted any attempts to reopen it; the fear of combusting into flames coupled with how vulnerable he was to fire in this body had ceased any desire to dig further into his fathers secrets. Instead, he tried to commit what he had already seen to memory; reciting what he had seen and read over and over in his own mind, looking for anything that he may have missed... though if he was being honest, it was merely a poor attempt to tear his mind away from how excruciatingly long this flight was.

....and if that wasn't bad enough; the wet suit he now found himself putting on was constricting and uncomfortable, yet vital for Cain if he was to proceed further into the mission. Understanding the instructions presented by the higher ranking Agents, Cain followed them below the oceans surface; the most 'enjoyable' part of their mission so far as he could not help but gawk at the sea life around them; a large Grouper swimming up to their group momentarily out of curiosity, only to dart away as Cain reached a hand out towards it; an act of which summoned a faint chuckle from the scarecrow.

The chasm however... whilst visually appealing with its underground waterfall at the entrance, was anything but enjoyable..the snakelike caverns and tight passageways that they had to traverse through were almost out of a nightmare. Those that suffered from claustrophobia would have had it the worst; the fear of getting trapped deep underwater.. Cain could only imagine. For the first time since transforming, Cain relished the fact that he had no bones, being able to make the sharp turns and narrow passageways with more ease then others in the group. It helped that he could bend himself backwards

........​

Finally at their destination, Cain opted to remain in the wet suit; the decision to do so largely influenced by his bodies construct. Despite being in a pocket of air, it was still largely possible for his body to get wet; leaks from the ceiling above or potential flooding the main concerns at this moment. While his body wouldn't have dispersed in water, the straw itself would have soaked into him; multiplying his weight several times more than it was now and that in itself was akin to being tortured. Have you ever tried moving when you weighed several times more?.. It was not pleasant.. add that to the fact that they were deep underwater, then you could understand why Cain chose to remain protected from the water.

As the others in their group gathered their breathing apparatus's, Cain instead went straight to the walkie talkies, batteries and flashlights. He didn't require the breathing apparatus; it was redundant since he didn't breath after all. Geared up and ready to proceed, Cain glanced around the room they were in; making his way to one of the walls with eyes fixated upon the faded etchings along them, hieroglyphs that wove a story of ancient merfolk lore recorded in these walls. Slowly Cain traced the markings as they led him to the archway that led somewhere beyond them.

Standing at the edge of where their light source ended, Cain stared forward; eyes transfixed on the black abyss before him; the darkness engulfing the pathway beyond the ruined archway he had just passed. The secrets that lingered and wallowed in the void beyond where the group where currently investigating inspired curiosity within the young man; the temptation and eagerness to venture deeper into the void in order to satiate the desire was gnawing away at him like a slow spreading poison; a sensation reminiscent of pins and needles slowly engulfing the majority of his strawed being, the hairs on his arms standing at full stretch if he had any.

"Go in..." whispered an the entity within him, the mere murmur of that croaked raspy voice enough to cause Cain to tense up immediately, his right hand rushing to the spot where his heart would have been located; hands clenching the bundle of straw weaved over his chest. Though from the outside looking in; this would have been the only visible sign of Cain's unease. Darkness was a fickle power, one that granted so much to its wielder yet came with a cost; a cost that often extorts much more than it gives in the long run. As Cain's powers as a mage grew, so too did this dark entity; an alter ego nurtured through the vigorous experience of the illegal fights Cain experienced; an existence whose base persona was forged and honed in battle. Only those whom have fought in such competitions where lives were bartered for entertainment could understand; the need to lose yourself, to forsake your humanity and to surrender yourself to something more savage and bestial just to survive another day. A mere teenager lacked such resolve, lacked the ability to find that power needed to go beyond what he was capable of at least consciously that is. What Cain lacked; the dark existence born from the darkness that promised him power had in spades, this entity capable of becoming the beast that was required just to survive in the arena.

Surrounded by darkness in an enclosed space, Cain couldn't help but feel anxious; whilst he had the power to manipulate the darkness himself; it was nothing compared to an existence who was born from it. Were it possible for him, he would have broken into a cold sweat by now; that lingering feeling that something inside of him was 'knocking on the door' getting ever stronger the closer he got to the abyss. Thankfully enough this body of his came with the ultimate poker face, the inability to showcase the plethora of symptoms he felt helping to hide the growing instability he felt.

Remaining visible to the others, Cain lowered himself down onto one knee, placing his right hand onto the shadows around him and focusing as he begun to channel mana from the ruby gem within him along his right arm and down to his fingertips. Within a minute or so, Cain had the vague outline of the pathway before him; fragments of his mana flowing through the darkness up to a maximum feet of 30 yards. The closest description of what he had just done would be echolocation; his mana and affinity for the darkness allowing him to use the existing shadows as a medium; his mana flowing weakly through the abyss until it either hits an end or reaches the end of his own range. "Cain Hawkins here" he paused. "The pathway beyond the arch extends further then 30 yards; gradually expanding the further you venture in. While I'm uncertain, it appears that either a column has collapse or its simply a natural rock formation about 13 yards in, blocking half the path", radioed Cain, his left hand grasping the device as he spoke to the group.

(basically @ everyone, since he is talking on the radio)​

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Lacily sat beside her, Mara glanced in her direction, appearing to be paying attention even though her typing hadn’t slowed. So things had happened without her knowledge...

The merwoman didn’t exactly fault Baosihr but herself for not adapting to the position and, well, her ‘special situation’ couldn’t exactly be worked around.

Mara, however, didn’t manage to respond before Talora began to call out their names, instructing them to report to a mission briefing. “There’s your answer.” She sighed, closing her laptop and holding it by her side as she started towards room 105, already being considerably familiar with the layout.

She didn’t wait to be told, already sitting when the words left Talora’s mouth. Listening she immediately raised an eyebrow, the specific subject catching her interest. There were various myths and legends tossed around about merfolk, but the majority of it was brushed off as mythology, at least by her. Because of it - it being not really having a solid cultural foundation at all - she tended to ignore history and focus on the present as a glorified human with a set of gills.

Yet… this was concrete evidence of something. What it was, she had no idea, but she was more than eager to find out.

Without any real questions, Mara had been the first one out of the room when dismissed.

Without having to struggle with diving gear, she was dressed in a slightly modified wet suit to accommodate for her tail when entering the water. Of course, she hadn’t considered that this wasn’t fresh water. Anyone looked over at Mara would’ve notice the discomfort in her expression though she didn’t explicitly state anything. There was little she was going to do that might potentially get her removed from the mission.

Soon she adjusted, easily swimming much more efficiently than the rest of the team. It was quite the sight, being within the ocean, although she didn’t have much time to savor it considering there was a very specific goal in mind.

While Lacily and Bae were speaking about sticking together, Mara was a little preoccupied. Taking in the runes and carved images with wide eyes. How she had been acting and continued to behave now was considerably different than normal, as she finally seemed genuinely interested and excited about something for once. Hopefully this change, while temporary, was for the better.

“Right, right, sticking together…” She mumbled in response, clearly only half present with the rest of the group.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Xaira then found herself turning her head toward a meek-sounding voice just as she was heading off with Jasper in tow to explore a nearby area. The apparent owner of said meek voice startled her, causing the Dragoness’s eyes to widen as they met with Sang’s unmistakable yellow-and-black peepers. The Demoness had definitely seemed to be acting more and more… different from her usual self as the trip to the mission destination continued. Every time Xaira had caught sight of the Demoness from the boat ride onwards, Xaira had noticed a gradual weakening of Sang’s usually quite strong “don’t mess with me” aura as if something was deflating her spirit; it seemed that whatever that was had finally struck the last blow upon arriving here, the way the was right now. Either that or, she simply was tired of the ‘I don’t need anyone’ act and what it got her; Xaira would certainly understand if that was the case, even though her sheer outgoingness in recent months had left very little trace of such an attitude, to Xara's great relief in all honesty.

Xaira didn’t know what to say at first, but after taking a moment to collect herself, she replied hastily, with a bit of a smile. “N-no, you aren’t interrupting! I don’t see the harm in you coming with us, anyway. We could probably use all the help we could get, too, so thanks, Sang. You don’t mind if she sticks with us, right Jasper?” Turning to the Mage in question, she verified that he was fine with the addition of the unexpected third member of their little search party. Smiling gratefully at him for seeming to share her inclination to humor the clearly frightened Demoness, Xairta nodded at both of them with a bit of a before calling out to the others. “Hey, just so you all know, we’ll be scouting ahead a bit and radio anything we find that stands out.” Once any of the other agents acknowledged that her message had been received, Xaira turned back toward the unknown expanse of ruin before them all and stepped forward, eager to see what lie beyond the already-mysterious entrance of the place.

Just as she surveyed the room one last time before heading onwards with her now three-agent team, Xaira noticed how intently Mara was studying the runes. She’d seemed more or less in her element down here, though when the Merwoman passed her earlier, Xaira had noticed that she looked a little… uncomfortable on the swim down. She certainly seemed to be doing fine now, though, which left Xaira quite relieved. She had a feeling that this could be the big break for Mara, who’d been relegated to a desk job for so long. Hoping all the best for her, Xaira found herself smiling, and hoping that she saw the girl put a few successful missions under her belt. Mara certainly seemed to have the head for it, from what Xaira had seen of her. StoneWolf18

Xaira took a deep breath as she kept onward, a bit worried about what might lie ahead. Sure, she’d been all gung-ho about fighting anything that could be waiting to ambush the trio down here before, but actually being faced with the reality of it in the moment was a bit more scary to her than she’d admit, and the way she slowed down and her breathing became a bit more ragged as she walked on, shining a light into the dark passage so she could see, showed that. However, Right now, keeping both Sang and Jasper safe while getting as much information and documentation out of their surroundings as the trio could were both crucial goals to focus on. She had always dreamt of being a frontline agent everyone could count on to be right in the face of the action, and now was the time for her to show that. She had no idea about Sang’s abilities, but in her state, it still seemed like Xaira was the best fit to lead the group should anything down here still live and have an inkling to kill. With that knowledge in mind, her steps grew more sure-footed and her breathing slowed gradually. “I don’t have to tell you two to keep alert but, you spot anything before me, lemme know,” she said, her voice quiet so as not to carry through the ruins. If anything, she knew that if and when any of the three of them were truly in danger, her Draconic instincts would kick in and overpower her fear with adrenaline, which was a comforting enough thought in its way. She refused to continue to feel weak.
Tarmagon Noble Scion

Xaira’s radio buzzing to life caused flinch slightly. She’d have to get used to that sound soon, she thought to herself. Cain’s voice didn’t exactly help her still rather wary state of mind, but his information was certainly useful. She wasn’t exactly sure how he knew that since she’d seen him still at the entrance before, but she had a feeling it had something to do with his magic abilities. Surely enough, she had already begun to see signs of the collapse he had felt. “Xaira Wereveyn responding. Roger that, Cain. Thank you.” She found herself thinking after releasing the button that she finally felt like a real agent. ‘The pillar and the area around it might be unstable the closer we get to it, so we should likely watch our footing,” she commented, looking back at the others before continuing onwards, already watching her footing a bit more after agent Hawkins’s helpful info. Phayne

 

[Fable]

DergTheDergon Birdsie Noble Scion Epiphany r e i Tarmagon Zaxs Lexielai StoneWolf18 Phayne June Verles

Lacily nodded her agreement with Si-woo, turning just in time to see Xaira begin to head off and earning a frustrated sigh. "Xaira, perhaps in your excitement you forgot something important," she began. "Have you grabbed a body cam, or any other devices? Also, are you one of the team leaders and should you be prompting others to leave before a plan of action has been made clear?" Lacily was frowning sternly at the dragonkin.

"All of you, before you go wandering off, secure the gear you need, partner up with at least one other person and at all time be within eyesight of someone, even someone who isn't your partner in this. The less we touch the better. If you think you've found an artifact of interest and it is small enough in size to not hinder your movement or prevent you from escaping in an emergency, you can ask to store it in your bags. However, before you take anything you are to document where you took it from using your cameras for research reference."

Cain's voice came over the radios as he informed them of a possible blockage further in. It was something they would have to check. Agent Bae went after the rogue Xaira and quite literally pulled her back to the rest of the group by her tail, much like one would pull someone by their ear when being naughty. Any agents who followed Xaira would be given a stern look and pointed to return to the others. "Honestly," he muttered under his breath, "Did the water clog your ears or are you just incapable of following orders? If you ignore orders again, you're going to be left here at the entrance to copy down every single marking on the ruins. Do you understand?"

Once everyone was back in the same spot, Si-woo crossed his arms over his chest. "We are here as a whole team. Sections of you wandering off on your own without orders or ignoring issued orders are going to be politely asked to stay here and document every pebble in this room. Clear? As Lacily already said, get your gear, pick a partner, stick together. No one is scouting ahead of the group. No one but myself and Lacily are the team leaders. You do not give the orders, we do."

"Jasper, please babysit the dragon. Cain, you'll be using your ability to give us an idea of the system. I will be at the head of the team and Lacily will be at the back to make sure no one goes stupidly wandering off. Got it?"

With that Si-woo gathered the rest of the gear he needed, secured the chest cam and turned on a bright LED lantern. He stepped past the threshhold of the stone archway and into the rocky tunnel where it turned out, it wasn't naturally formed stone, but crumbling carved stone that after an unknown amount of time had started to collapse. Just as Cain had stated there was a downed column, but nothing hindersome as a section of the column had separated and left a wide enough gap to allow passage.

After pressing on past the column which was actually covered in crumbling stone from a high ceiling, the team entered into a large expansive room with other columns that still were erect and holding up the cracked ceiling. Here the murals that had been painted on the stone were severely damaged, sections missing. From anyone who studied the murals, they would find these were merely decorative as they didn't see to try to display any sort of story, at least not really. It looked more like a scenery of the ocean.

There we no classic artifacts or treasure one would find normally in a large ruin. There were no old shattered pots or items. The entire area only contained the columns, but beyond this room was a large opened wall that revealed what appeared to be an entire lost city. Si-woo moved to stand at the opening in awe. There were odd sections that seemed to softly glow. "Bioluminescence?" he asked no one in particular. The glow lighted the dark city as though there was a soft, full blue moon.

 

[Tarmagon]

Jasper, exploring strange ruins with Xaira and Sanguine, et al.

As he and Xaira, or Red as he thought of her, were about to head off deeper into the ruins, Jasper was surprised when the duo was approached by the demoness he had noticed around headquarters. The quiet, almost meek way she haltingly asked to join them was definitely at odds with the aura of anger and the rather spectacular case of RBF that he had come to associate with her, and her body language had changed markedly as well. Jasper wasn't certain what had happened with the demoness, but she hadn't been overtly hostile to him, and everyone deserved a fair chance in his opinion, so when Xaira asked if he minded including her in their group, he had no objections. Giving the demoness a quick head to toe evaluation, he was pleased to see that she had already grabbed all of the appropriate gear, but before he could say a word of welcome, Xaira started to move out, her forward progress temporarily halted by a radio call from Cain about a downed pillar.

"Umm, Xaira," he started, only to be cut off as Agent Si-woo strode quickly forward and grabbed the impulsive dragonkin by the tail, hauling her bodily back to where the senior agents were clustered. "Never mind..."

Glancing at the demoness, he spoke in a quiet voice for her ears only.

"I think our scaly friend has impulse control issues. I'm JT. How would you prefer to be addressed?"

As he waited for the demoness's answer, Jasper made his unhurried way to the group where Xaira was being chastened by a visibly irritated Lacily and Si-woo. He kept his snort internal as the parameters of their search were laid out, along with a personal injunction to 'babysit the dragon.' None of his irritation made it to his face or voice however, no matter how irritated the attitude and strict micro-managing of the senior agents made him. He was a professional, and personal feelings had no place on a mission. He'd take Red out and get her drunk once they got back to base and had some time off, then they could commiserate and decide if Si-woo was being deliberately insulting or if he was just a controlling ass. He rather doubted that Si-woo would tolerate anyone grabbing him by the tail while he was in mere form unless his life was actively in danger, but he had done it without a second thought.

Finally the senior agents decided that their charges were sufficiently instructed, and the team began to move. As they came to the area of the collapsed column that Cain had predicted, Jasper made a snap decision.

"Mage-sight active for five minutes," he announced, then concentrated on the glyphs tattooed onto his body. Blue-white light flickered over his head and shoulders briefly before settling into a steady glow that lit his eyes from within. The world around him seemed to both fade and take on a sharp edged clarity at the same time. A red glow caused him to look up sharply, but it seemed to be coming from the animated scarecrow, Cain. Fascinating. Tearing his eyes away from the enigma that was his fellow agent, Jasper carefully scanned the area as they moved cautiously forward. Except for Cain, nothing showed to his enhanced vision, not even the faintly glowing sections of the ruins as the cavern opened up.

"Bioluminescence?"

"Most likely," Jasper replied. "The glow is not magical in nature. Approximately two minutes left on Mage-sight."

Fable DergTheDergon Noble Scion

 

[r e i]

Calliea was not ok. She wasn't ok when she heard the mission. She wasn't ok when she accepted the damn mission. All because of one thing....sea creatures. One of her powers is the ability to hear animals, any kind of animals and to be able to communicate with them. The side effect of that, is that she can't shut it off. She will always hear them without choice. So she tends to avoid the animals who talks a lot. Sea animals was gossipers and it got on her nerves. The first sign of trouble was when she was diving with the team. All she heard was the damn fishes and their gossip.

"Oh did you see her scales?"

"No what about them?"

"They are so last year. "

Calliea was going to explode by the time they got to where they were going. All she wanted to do is stuff tissue in her ears, and hope it drowns out the rest of the damn fishes. But no, they had to be alert and be allowed to hear all orders. She was given orders, the first part was the pair up. She scanned the options she was given. Mara didn't seem to be partnered up, and although her massive failing at being an leader, she was a good worker and would make an excellent partner. So after she grabbed her equipment, she made her way to Mara who looked stranded. She bowed as a sign of respect, it was taught to her that everyone aside from the jerks from her own species deserve respect. "Ms. Mara, I'm Calliea and I was wonder did you want to be partners?" She said kinda awkwardly as she wasn't quite used to speaking to others in her group yet.

Then it happen again...the damn fish. They must have seen them enter the cavern and was curious enough to swim near the cavern.

"I wonder what they are doing?"

"Probably something stupid."

She was groaning a bit quietly. Calliea was getting an headache. All she wanted them to do is shut the hell up. She couldn't scream it out because obviously nobody but her can hear them so screaming it out would make her look more then crazy. A little insane maybe. So she was trying to ignore them...failing at it hugely.

location: underwater cavern tags: StoneWolf18 inventory: bo staff, and her backpack. and the equipment given to her.

 

[Noble Scion]

Sang was rather surprised at the dragonkin's words. It felt strangely relieving hearing the sound of their agreement to watch over her, even if it was supposed to be a two way deal, although as much as Sang hated to even think such a thing, she wasn't exactly in a good state to be watching over anybody else. "Thanks." Sang said stiffly and somewhat wheezily, and although it wasn't a long apology, it was as much as she could give due to the combination of her current state of trembling fear and bitter attitude that still attempted to hold resolute, even in this scenario. Perhaps these people weren't so bad. She made a mental note to try to be at least a little bit more approachable, it was a bit rude of her to consider this job as nothing more than a job, and to try and distance herself from these people.

The orders seemed to pass through Sang's ears as nothing as a blur as most of her attention was focused primarily on not panicking at her current situation, what with the looming deep-blue void that surrounded them all, yet she did make note of something about "not running off", which had almost immediately been met with her partner dashing off to search for clues like some sort of comical TV show. Needless to say, they were swiftly wrestled back to the others as the hazy discussion of what their battle-plan was rumbled on through. All the while Sang could do not but internally complain to her own damn pride about how much of a terrible idea this was and how the likelihood of her death had significantly increased the moment she'd set foot in the liquid substance that, while it was pleasant to drink on hot days, had wanted to kill her since the day of her birth.

Her second partner in crime happened to be a mage which she vaguely knew as Jasper, soon giving her a name to use and expecting the same from her. Talking made ignoring the ocean easier, and so Sang felt very much inclined to respond. She could've listed off hundreds of titles, but something told her that she didn't have the confidence to rattle them off, nor that her wanted to hear them, so she simply told him the pet name her father had used since she'd been a little one, one which she hadn't heard in quite some while, mostly due to the fact that she drove every person she met away by glaring at them to leave her alone. It was almost comical how much a change in scenery had changed her position. "Call me Sang, JT." She said joylessly, continuing her awkward staring contest with the ground as it was about as close she could get to tricking her mind that she was on solid ground. "Nice to meet you." She continued, her blatant lack of self-dignity in her short sentence feeling insulting to herself and leaving a bitter taste in her mouth as all the sentences that could've been simply died in her mind.

The group set off walking, and the princess of Red followed suit, standing by near the centre of the group feeling small and grumpy. The looming presence of rage appeared to be waiting until she returned to land before possessing her once more. Until then, a gloomy young demon woman, terrorised by seemingly nothing to the rest, pondered her life decisions in a sombre walk through the history of the sea.
June Verles DergTheDergon Tarmagon Fable

 

[Fable]

DergTheDergon Birdsie Noble Scion Epiphany r e i Tarmagon Zaxs Lexielai StoneWolf18 Phayne June Verles

Si-woo had heard Jasper's response, "I'm not surprised considering us merfolk are one of the few fantastical races that aren't magically gifted. I was wondering how a city in a cavern worked without a light source. That wouldn't be enough to survive though. Without sunlight how exactly would they have farmed to have food supplied to a city this size?" Something in his gut felt off about this place, that it didn't make logical sense for a city to be able t survive like this. At one point it hadn't been cut off from the world, so did they leave and went to the surface for certain needs?

"Where to even begin," he sighed out. "This city probably housed thousands. Xaira, since you're the only one here who can fly right now, see how far back this place goes and anything that might be of interest." Should Xaira follow this order and ascend to get a better vantage point of the city to get a general grasp of the layout and point of any interest, she would spot a distinctive way that the city was sectioned. There was a district of the city that seemed to be housing, a market place, various open spots where it looked to have been some type of park perhaps, and further away from where they currently were, located at the very back and half-built into the cavern itself a large building. That build could have perhaps been a temple or a castle, it was too far to really tell what it was but it was clearly important from the size of the structure alone.

Where they were currently located seemed to be a market district. There were what seemed to be stalls a bit further into the city and a large open space with a huge statue of some male figure whose lower half wasn't a mer-tail, but normal human legs and he was holding a trident. It seemed a bit familiar, stylistically speaking, but they would have to get closer to really study it.

The plants that could be seen from here were also emitting a soft glow adding more light to certain areas. None of the buildings showed any signs of life. There were no lights, no shadowy movements, just darkness that could be seen through the open windows. The city wasn't perfectly preserved as there were random buildings here and there that had collapsed, some long ago others looked fresh; probably due to the recent tremors.

"We're barely going to scratch the surface of this place by the sheer size of it," Lacily commented. "Maybe we should rethink how we're going to do this and break into smaller teams, as much as splitting up is risky it would cover more ground."

"It's a weighty decision, increase the risk of loss of agents and increase ruin coverage," Si-woo sighed as he struggled with the decision to change the orders to fit the scenario. "Three teams max then. Same as before, you keep an eye on the people in your team and always know where each other are. Jasper, Xairi, and Sanguine since you three had been grouping up beforehand you can team up now along with Rory. Lacily, Maia, Mara, and Calleia will be another team. Myself, Morrigan, Cain and Yue."