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Post by THANE VALENTINE on May 22, 2012 2:28:45 GMT -5
It was true when they said that rarely anyone's ever seen Thane wearing anything other than his uniform. Technically speaking, he wore his uniform because he was working and naturally, if they saw him at work, what else would they expect to see? And technically speaking again, he wasn't exactly working now so it was justifiable that the exorcist was wearing a white tee shirt, jeans and a deep blue jacket. Orders had been released for Thane and two other exorcists investigate True Cross West. The scheduled date had yet to arrive for the formal start of the mission but Thane figured that it would be wise to gain a... preview of sorts of the island of Santa Prospera. He had been here once long ago during the opening of the academy but not since then. And even then, his role had been minor: to make sure the opening ceremony ran out smoothly.
Thane was slightly grateful that he decided to come relatively empty handed. Heaven forbid if he needed to lug bags for a sightseeing occasion. He brought only the bare essentials: a few dollar bills in his pocket, his cellphone in his jacket and, perhaps the most important one, folded pieces of paper with Helios' summoning circle drawn on. The last item, along with the trinket that proved he was an exorcist, was neatly tucked away in a pocket within his jacket, sealed with a zipper.
He supposed this mission wouldn't be bad. Compared to some of the places the Order had arranged for him to appear in, Santa Prospera could practically be called heaven. He gave the sky a meaningful look. The morning sky promised clear weather that would hold out, he thought rather gratefully... or rather, hopefully, he corrected himself. His eyes then fell on a forlorn looking island off the coast, he raised a brow. So that was Aeternum Prison? He had heard some disturbing rumors about that place and its sister prison. In any case, he should consider going there to have a look if nothing else. If there was anything he hated, it was being caught in surprise.
Giving the prison one last look, Thane continued his way down the harbor.
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Post by acheron thastos on May 22, 2012 21:22:19 GMT -5
 Acheron wasn't exactly pleased that he had to leave Greece, in fact he had barely kept himself from chucking his phone against the wall. He would go though, it was his job and it was better than other things he could be doing for a career. Hunting demons was a good way to release built up tension, and kept gave him money. It worked out in the end.
So in the end Acheron ended up on the ship headed for Santa Prospera, a little island near California. It had been awhile since he had last been to the States and he hadn't stayed for long. This mission seemed like it would be taking a lot longer than a few days though. It was an important mission, he was lucky that he had been chosen to be a part of it. Two other honorary knights were being sent to the island as well, which meant something was up.
When the ship landed he jumped off the boat and onto the docks. He slung a black bag that carried his trident over his shoulder and a briefcase that carried his medical supplies, the rest of his things would be sent to the apartment he would be staying at. His long hair was pulled back in a low ponytail as it always was and he was wearing a black suit. Glancing around his eyes landed on a familiar face, it was one of the other inspectors. "Valentine." He said smoothly to the other, they must have both arrived at the same time, or he was hoping that was case, it wouldn't be proper if he was late.
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Post by THANE VALENTINE on May 22, 2012 21:48:30 GMT -5
Before he had made it very far down the harbor, a voice called his name, making him look up. His first thought must have been 'Oh darn, and I wanted to be a tourist today'. Since he wasn't really one to socialize with people outside his work, it was safe to say anyone who could recognize him by face was an exorcist from the Order. But a moment later, he realized that he found the voice distantly familiar. Only when he saw the face in the crowd did he match the voice to a name though. Of course, there really weren't that many exorcists around who chose to have a ponytail or had dual colored eyes.
The corners of his lips pulled into a small smirk. "Thastos," he called back in greeting. So it would appear that he wasn't the only inspector on the island. Seeing the bag and briefcase, Thane could see that Acheron, much like himself, had just arrived on the island. Waiting to walk a bit closer before continuing the conversation, he held out his hand for a handshake. "You're early," Thane noted, coming to stand before the doctor. "If you're here, I don't suppose I'd be surprised to see Kovel today as well."
With the sighting of another inspector, the mission got slightly realer for the tamer. For three Honorary Knights of no meager reputation and skill to gather in a single place, just how bad was this mission expected to be?
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Post by acheron thastos on May 23, 2012 18:56:00 GMT -5
Acheron watched as the other approached, last he had seen of him he had been healing a nearly fatal wound to the chest on the male. Being impaled by a demon horn must have hurt like hell, probably more so that it was his own summon. Apparently he had recovered from the incident enough to be sent on another mission and an important one at that. Three inspectors was a lot to be sent to one school. So he was going to have to take things more seriously then.
Grasping the other male's hand in a quick shake. "As always." He smirked lightly, late wasn't his thing. "And I haven't seen Kovel but the day is still young." He shrugged lightly not really caring. "You ready for this?" Part of him was wondering if he was mentally prepared for another mission, and he didn't want to repair another chest wound like the one before. Personally he was prepared for this, he was going to do his best like he always did. Not to mention that after hours of travel he was ready to relax for a bit.
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Post by THANE VALENTINE on May 23, 2012 21:16:08 GMT -5
Grinning lightheartedly at Acheron's comment about being always early, he said, "Thank goodness for that. I'd suspect that there would be fewer of us still walking if you were ever late." The curse of doctors, perhaps. Indeed, for Thane alone, had Acheron started working on his wound a few minutes later than he did, he would very well have met his end, and not just as an exorcist. Of course, that was what he was told when he woke up. He was very much unconscious or, at least, delusional during the aftermath of losing control of his demon. He had long since recovered from the event. It was, after all, something that happened some nine years ago when he was still unarguably green. He had no intentions of letting it happen again. Ever.
Thane shrugged in reply to the question. "It's our job to be constantly ready," he stated. Whether or not they truly were was another question entirely. For them, it was compulsory to be. "I was just about to familiarize myself with our new surroundings. Judging by the mission brief, it's going to take a while longer than usual. You're welcomed to join me if you like." He wasn't sure which one of them had it better. Thane had arrived over land and Acheron over sea.
He nudged his head in one direction, gesturing for the second inspector to accompany him on the walk down the harbor. If he wasn't mistaken, the apartments they had arranged to stay in was also in that direction. "So," he said, starting up a conversation again. "What do you make of this mission?"
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Post by acheron thastos on May 24, 2012 12:57:38 GMT -5
His smirk only grew at the others comment. Of course he was important to have around, he was a doctor and a skilled one. People relied on him all the time. Even as a young doctor he was talented, and that was what saved Thane's life that day. "I try my best." He said modestly even though his ego was inflated.
Acheron nodded his head at the other. He was still smart that was good, he wasn't going to save just anyone. Though he was slightly upset that he hadn't thought of familiarizing himself with the area first, not that this showed on his face at all. "That's a great idea." He said though. "It wouldn't be good if we were not prepared." In fact now that he thought about it he would probably pull up a detailed map on his phone and study it intensely.
Ash started to follow the other, curious as to what he thought about the mission as well. "At first I thought they were just being cautious." He stated with a slight shrug. "I will decide more after I take a look at the school." He wouldn't know how bad the situation was until after he had seen it for himself, but it was looking worse if there was three inspectors.
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Post by THANE VALENTINE on May 24, 2012 20:40:03 GMT -5
"Always the careful one, aren't we?" Thane's lips said as they hinted a smile at the corners. And by 'we', he meant Acheron. To a certain extent, all of them were. From the meticulous doctor to even Kovel, the knight among the inspectors. If one thought about it logically, they wouldn't have made it as far as they did without being cautious to a certain extent. Either that, or they were just lucky. Likely both. Subconsciously, he wondered which one he personally leaned towards. Remembering the incident from nine years ago, it was a rather close call...
"I suppose that's true," the tamer agreed. "We wouldn't be sent here if we knew what we were up against. Rumor might not always be true but they rarely contain no truths at all. Although, in the end, it hardly matters what we think. It's up to the Vatican to make the decisions."
"In any case, I suppose both Kovel and I will be depending on you again." Thane kept his tone light despite the fact that that sentence couldn't mean anything good. If Thane ended up depending on Acheron again, it could only mean he was hovering between the line of life and death again. And really, as much a reliable comrade he could Acheron to be, Thane would like to avoid such a situation from occurring if he could help it. "I hope you haven't gotten rusty with paperwork."
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Post by acheron thastos on May 24, 2012 20:56:09 GMT -5
"Someone has to be, can't have all the big bad exorcists dropping at once." He smirked and shrugged lightly. In all seriousness though they really couldn't have Thane or Anka falling anytime in the near future, he was going to have to stay on his toes, always alert, not a problem. Ash was almost always alert, only time he wasn't was when he was asleep, and even then he had his trident close.
He nodded his head as he walked. "The Royal See are very interested in the rumors coming from this school." He shook his head lightly. "This school's reputation is on the line, think of the professionals that came out of that school." He shrugged again. "I don't think the Royal See would be using them again anytime soon if we discover something... wrong." He chose his words carefully, as always but the words were true.
"Hopefully it we won't need me too much." He said though he wasn't being completely truthful, he would be bored if they didn't need him too much. He was a doctor, he could fight but not as well as the others, especially Anka. "Well if I am I won't be anymore. God knows there will be plenty for this mission." And he wasn't wrong there probably would be tons, he could already imagine the loss of focus in his good eye.
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Post by THANE VALENTINE on May 24, 2012 21:30:35 GMT -5
An abashed chortle left his throat at the mention of the load in paperwork. "Don't remind me," the blue hair-ed exorcist said, resisting an urge to sigh. After all, he wasn't an exwire anymore so he had to be mature about these things. It seemed to Thane that the higher in rank you were, the less actual field work you were assigned. In short, his responsibilities as an exorcist for the Vatican had quickly shifted from being ordered on a mission to directing a mission to direction a mission from the headquarters. He didn't particularly enjoy that -- sitting behind a desk. But then, he supposed he was less annoyed by it than the other restless meisters. He definitely wasn't someone who was used to running around endlessly. It was Helios who did that part for him on most occasions.
With that said, in terms of fighting power, Thane held the worst stats among the three inspectors -- that was, if one were to look at Thane as a person without his summon. It made him inescapably vulnerable in certain situations. And perhaps, this missions was a semi-god-sent opportunity. Thane hadn't been a liability -- quite the contrary, actually -- save that one time during the 2012 incident, but to reduce the risks, maybe he should consider getting an... upgrade.
"I, unfortunately, lack a sense of empathy for that," Thane noted rather insensitively but truthfully nonetheless. He personally graduated from True Cross Central, as did Acheron, if he wasn't mistaken. "Well then, I hope for their sake that there isn't." He paused for a bit, as if weighing his words and generally wondering if he should ask the question at all. He sidestepped closer to the street to allow another person to walk past the two without stopping. "How familiar are you with Fauste and Marlowe?" Thane asked finally when they were out of earshot from the stranger they passed.
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Post by acheron thastos on May 24, 2012 22:24:15 GMT -5
Ash kept walking. "Well maybe we can find an underling to do it for us." Unlike Thane he did sigh, he didn't like paperwork, his handwriting was horrible, didn't people know all doctors had their own fonts? He almost always hired someone else to do his paperwork so people could read it, or he would do it on a computer, computers at least didn't cause pain.
He didn't have empathy for the other professionals either but he was trying to appear so. Not many people liked to have apathetic doctors. He didn't care most of the time, ok all of the time really. Not to mention he didn't think any of them were doctors, so his position was safe. "I did a little research on them on the way here." He wanted to know as much as he could about the headmistress and principle as he could. He wanted to know their lives inside and out, that way nothing would sneak up on them.
Acheron was intelligent, he didn't let many people get to know him but he sure as hell tried to know as much about them. Everyone had their own agenda. He had his, he liked his position, the power available to him, not the mention that thrill of holding someone's life in your hands. He was controlling, he could be manipulative, and he didn't care about others. He saved them but they weren't worth anything to him, he was just doing his job. Ash had even made sure that while they were walking that Thane had stayed to his left side, the side of his good eye. He was that kind of person.
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Post by THANE VALENTINE on May 25, 2012 4:57:27 GMT -5
"Underlings?" Thane echoed in mock shock with a mild but still teasing smirk on his face. "Is that what you use your rank for?" Personally, he didn't see anything particularly wrong with getting a scribe to help with paperwork. It was just that Thane was far too... responsible? Work-addicted? Mistrusting? In any case, he didn't delegate work often to others. Not that he had much paperwork to deal with until recently. And with field work not happening at the same time, well it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He was still occasionally sent out but not as much as he would have liked.
Thane nodded in acknowledgement of Acheron's response to his question. "I suppose that means that you haven't met them in person either," the tamer mused aloud, casually looking around as he continued the conversation with the doctor. His eyes, though, were very alert, registering every detail that he was capable of remembering at one glance. "Hardly surprising, I suppose," Thane continued. "I believe they were stationed at headquarters more often than on the field." And really, how useful were doctors if they were all cooped up in the offices? "I haven't either. Not in person anyways."
Marlowe was someone he had conversed with often at one point of time. He hardly knew the fellow, of course, but they knew of each other's existence. It was Fauste who was the unidentified variable. That was something that had to, of course, be fixed as quickly as possible.
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Post by acheron thastos on Jun 8, 2012 17:35:41 GMT -5
Acheron shrugged his shoulders, he wasn't afraid to admit that he had others do more trivial tasks for him. It didn't make him a bad guy, just a somewhat lazy one. "I don't use my rank for that." He said casually. "I scare the hell out of them for that." He shrugged yet again. He could be scary, at least he thought so. If he lost his temper things flew, and most often they were aimed at the person who caused him to lose him temper. Not to mention some thought his eye was just creepy.
He shook his head lightly. "Not as of yet, as far as I know they were both in offices for the most part, as you said." He didn't spend time in offices, that wasn't where he was needed. He was much more use to the Royal See in the field, and he was quite ok with that. Not that he was being helpful mind you, that he was out doing something more exciting.
With a slight stretch of his arms he peered at Thane. "I guess meeting them is added to our to do list." He didn't sound too thrilled, but he didn't consider himself much of a people person anyways. If anything Thane was more personable than he. "So that's exploring the town until we can walk it with out eyes closed, and meet two people that might be harboring half demons." He held back a sigh. "Sounds like an interesting start to the mission."
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