hadriel | 000 [ Video/Text ]

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[ It took Malkus ages to work what should be a simple function on the phone. But soon enough his picture flashed over the network... For just a second, before his thumb obscured the camera. Much like an old man, he gripped the device awkwardly in both hands. ]

It doesn't seem to work. If I broke this I'm going to have hell to pay, oh goodness.

[ Well at least his voice was pretty clear... muffled and barely audible through his mask and that thumb covering the mic. ]

Well. Hellfire. I was going to... Maybe I can type it.

[ His thumb moved and revealed a look of concentration in the doctor's eyes as he fumbled with the keyboard. Soon enough an accompanying text message appeared beside the oblivious man's active video feed. He spoke the words slowly to himself as he typed. ]

what do folks need around here ? what is a hot commodity that may serve as say currency or a bartering tool as i may also need assistance one of these days

send
send
send message

[ Action/Audio 2 ]

[ Later in the day, Malkus can be found hanging upside down from his robes in one of the few trees in Hadriel's park. He seemed tired by now, but periodically let out a yell.

And if the man weren't clogging up the network enough, his voice rang out over the audio feed. ]

Help! I need aid! Help!

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Wait, wait.

[an uncomfortable silence passes]

You actually lead other people? [what hell world is this where people actually depend on this goof?]

Lead is a bit strong. I try and guide them to be like the other flocks. It's hard to explain.

[ He watched that expression and a smile curled over his mouth. That stung, Lup, because he knew exactly what she was thinking. He may be a helpless fool here, and may seem dense as a rock, but he could sense how others thought of him. Sometimes. ]

Strange, isn't it? Being in your element is no small thing. A fisherman stuck in the woods doesn't last long, but on the river he... swims freely, or something. Whatever they do.

What I did do has no place here, so I'm left to figure things out myself.

[Lup may make friends with more ease than her brother, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. She's naturally gregarious and friendly, but ever since they were children, she's held others at a distance, refusing to let down her guard and let them close. That changed when she joined the IPRE. Suddenly the entire world was gone and all that was left was her and six other people. For the dozens of years they spent together, it only made sense they'd become close, become a family. So maybe Lup's a little more receptive to opening up to new friendships than before, but it's still very much a process.

So, she doesn't feel any shame for judging the man a little too soon than she should have, but Lup will keep the depth of his character in mind. People are, so rarely, just a walking joke and nothing more.]

Right. Guess you got a point there, my man. We're all kind of stuck figuring this shit out.

It is a comfort. 'Least some of us have friends and family here with them. As awful as it is to be in Hadriel, I'm sure company makes it marginally more tolerable.

[ Malkus didn't mind being alone. None of his friends made any effort to hold onto their civility like he did. Malkus was actually the least corrupt of his pack. Still, it'd be nice to have someone to help explain their plague. ]

I wonder what it is they'll do to me, should I fail to end their Hope.

[god, stop making lup feel bad for bullying you so much, nerd.]

I wouldn't worry about it, man. Like I said, we're all in this together and shit. You aren't the only one planning on taking them down. [it seemed like well over half the population was eager for weapons to start going wild on the gods.] There's no possible way we are going to fail. I've dealt with way worse than this.

To be honest, I was worried my actions may make me into a pariah of sorts. As incorrect as it sounds, it seems there are some here who sympathize with these parasitic beings. Parasites.

[ His train of thought was interrupted by the potential of hearing an interesting story. Malkus gained a sense of childlike wonder at her last message. ]

You have? Like what?

Sounds dumb. Anyone on the side of those assholes deserves to go down with them.

[And that's just the facts.

Lup hasn't really talked to anyone outside of her companions about their mission, not that it's ever been a real secret, even on the planes they did land on. Still, it feels weird to bring it up here in Hadriel, knowing their mission is slightly on hold back in their timeline.] We've been chased by an evil, sentient plane trying to consume us for the last fifty years, so, y'know, could be worse.

Miss Lup.

[ Her to-the-point personality had a habit of shocking the doctor pretty often. But at that latest shock, Malkus gave an abashed laugh. It was more amusing, and he didn't hide that he was happy that someone like her was on his side of the conflict. ]

...

I wouldn't have guessed you were fifty, pardon the crassness! You seem much younger is what I mean. A plane though? I... think that trying to imagine it is so beyond me that I can't picture... You mean just... like a realm of its own?

[ He was having a hard time trying to process it into something that made sense to the simple doctor. ]

[Malkus' exclamation is a surprise--who the hell has ever called her Miss Lup before?--but then the woman breaks out into a laugh when the topic shifts to her age. Humans are always so surprised. That one fact doesn't seem to change, no matter what planar system they are from.]

Yeah, add another century to that number, man, and you'd be at least a little closer. We elves keep our youthful appearance for a couple hundred years or so. [And for perhaps the first time, her answers are at least noticeably more straightforward than normal. Even now, it's hard to joke around about the Hunger, not when it's still chasing them in her timeline.] Yep, you got it. Sounds impossible, I know, but it's the truth. It's been following us from plane to plane, eating them whole.

It's not exactly the ideal scenario, but we're trying to fix it.

Elf elf. A-ah sorry- I suppose I could have- ah-

[ To be fair, Malkus had never actually asked! Sure the ears were a dead giveaway, but... Maybe she had a deformity? Well now that he had confirmation, a couple of things made sense. ]

At... any rate. I commend you for your dedication. This foe seems to be on a much larger scale than anything one could fathom. May I ask who "we" is er- are? In this case? Do you have colleagues as well?

[It's always surprising to be reminded that Hadriel's citizens come from world that don't contain elves. Lup forgets that sometimes she needs to remind others that she isn't just a super hot human with better ears.]

Got it in one. There are seven of us, all working for the Institute. [It's barely noticeable, but a touch of the brightness behind her smile dims. She misses her friends, hates that they are separated.] Only four of us here, but the rest'll probs get pulled in eventually. You already met my brother--[Did it count to have met him in that strange Pleasant Valley scenario? Maybe.], then there's Magnus--[She pulls the phone away to make the vague shape of someone much taller and broader than her]--and Merle. [Then the camera lowers to show a figure that maybe comes up to her hip. It finally returns to her eye level, where Lup is grinning.]

Seen 'em around?

Did I? I thought he was just part of that hallucination. Like they'd made two Lups, but one was more polite and didn't put me in the infirmary. And didn't wrestle control of my enterprise from me. And didn't drop bits of glass in my house. And didn't threaten to have a homeowners association burn my house down.

[ He could go on, but he laughed it off. Thank god that was just some weird dream-but-not-a-dream. Malkus visibly brightened as she mentioned some of the others. He shook his head at the mention of Magnus, making a note to introduce himself later, but when Merle was brought up the doctor piped back into the conversation. ]

I've met a Mister Merle! I almost attacked him in my panicked frenzy but in the end we talked and settled our differences. Fantastic man, I really must get in contact with him again.

[Lup full on snorts with laughter at hearing her twin being named the more polite one, even if in that very specific moment it may have been true. That's just not something she'd thought she'd ever hear. Despite her abrasiveness, Lup's always been a little easier to make friends with over her sometimes surly twin.]

As if this place could handle two Lups, it can barely contain itself around one Lup and one Taako, alright? Besides, you still love me, even if I maybe did do a few of those things. [Or all of them. In that exact order.]

Rad! Merle's a great guy, just keep him away from your plants and you'll get along just great. I'll introduce you to Mags sometime.

Well. You are someone I would still consider a friend in spite of that. You haven't stolen from me or anything, so that exceeds my Hadriel expectations!

[ Malkus took the phone from where he had set it and held it like an old man trying to take a selfie. His length mask obscured most of the view, but it seemed to be a trademark at this point. He whispered, muffling it further thanks to the mask. ]

Plants? Is it something to do with his arm? Is he cursed.

You have very low expectations set for your friends. But I guess I'll take it.

[Lup? Steal from him? Never.]

No, it has more to do with his creepy plant fetish we all pretend to ignore. Just, uh, a little quirk, but he's harmless.

Low expectations, high patience. It leaves one with a wide net for working. Also a necessity when your colleagues are a bit ghoul-ish. Your colleague-... has- a bit of a quirk! Hah!

[ It was a nervous laugh. Plant fetish? What the hell. Everyone had their kicks and kinks... But plants? ]

Harmless, indeed. But- I'll keep some of my herbiage up on a higher shelf.

[Low expectations, high patience! No wonder he can stand Lup and her shenanigans.

Malkus' nervous laugh draws a much more sincere laugh out of the elf, who looks terribly amused with his discomfort.]

Yep! That's our Merle. I mean, maybe it's offensive of me to assume he's into all of 'em. He probably has a few he prefers over the rest. I dunno, can't say I've ever asked.

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