Issac Schofield's Story

"Good morning agents of SCION, I do hope you're all well. A new case has come to our attention. Please will all field-cleared staff, medical dept, and research convene in the meeting room immediately."


Issac's eyes opened only after he was a stride out of his room, he had been resting in one of the many rooms in the building far away from all of the action. He was on auto pilot , his mind still lost the haze of sleep, but thankfully his feet knew where to walk. He wasn't exactly dressed for a meeting , let alone a briefing. Fatigues and a OD green tee made the combat veteran look like bum. His relatively short hair stuck up in that tell tale way while the glassed over look on his un-shaved-face completed the look, in fact aside from his pace , the knife riding scout carry and perhaps the dropleg holster his sidearm rested in, he looked out of place.

The field operative found the meeting room in decent time and managed to slide in among the growing crowd, he quickly claimed a corner covering the room as a whole and the door before crossing his arms and letting his chin sink to his chest , eyes falling shut.

' never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lay down, and never be awake when you can sleep....' His units old mantra floated about his mind. Even though his eyes where closed he'd be paying attention for the sounds of authority entering the room, only then would he pay more than half attention, shifting from the lazy guy in the corner to the soldier he was.

Kora was not exactly thrilled to be walking into a staff meeting wearing only a singular piece of fabric that was designed for adorning pieces of furniture, but if nothing else, a life of being known as part of the lycanthrope nobility had led to a sense of confidence in most situations, and the woman walked into the meeting room in a tablecloth with a total lack of concern.

She dropped into a seat and turned it in the direction of the head of the table, where three of the higher ranking officials within SCION were seated. She knew who they were. Pretty much everyone knew who they were, agents of SCION who had proved themselves sufficiently in the field that they were called upon to strategize instead of put their hides on the line in the field. You didn't get into a top spot just by showing up of course. All of them were pretty well-known and talked about, and, from at least Kora's point of view, envied just a bit. Of course, she was not about to admit such a thing because, if nothing else, two were vampires.


A neatly-dressed woman of japanese origin sat at one side, her hair tied back and a laptop sat in front of her. Aiko Wakahisa, also going by 'Yokai', a vampress originating from the Edo period, and one of SCION's most successful spies and intel gatherers. She had contacts, leads, and people to lean on for details almost everywhere, and any shady activity that was known about tended to reach her ears before most anyone else's. So the frown on her pallid face meant that things were going to get interesting.

Leofric Wyndham. What you might call and old fashioned fellow, in that he was in the 21st century still wearing a regimental jacket draped over his shoulders. Of course, he didn't look a day over thirty. Vampirism did that to you. Still, he had been leading armies before half those present had even been born so, you had to assume hat the dark-haired man knew what he was talking about to some degree, and his record as a commander spoke for itself. He cast a glance at Kora and smirked.
"Lovely dress Norrevinter. Very avaunt-garde."

Saffiya Elmessiri, 'Sekhmet'. A lore expert. A magic user, and a werecat. The egyptian woman non-chalantly toyed with one of the talismans that hung round her neck as she looked over a set of a few print-outs and scratched down a few notes, symbols and numbers, onto a notepad. Looking for a pattern, no doubt.

Behind them the blue moon of SCION was projeted up on the wall, along with the silent promise that they were being watched by the organization's enigmatic benefactor, and it was this disembodied voice that spoke up.

"Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming. I hope you're all well. I see we have a few new faces here, and would like to welcome our new trainees, Crystal, Jonah, and Liam. Welcome to SCION, the three of you.

Now, onto business. A matter has arisen that requires the organization's attention. Miss Wakahisa, I believe you've compiled a report?"


The vampress nodded and rose to her feet, pressing a key on her laptop that caused the moon projection to snap to the picture of a map, the twisted lines of roads and streets indicating some kind of built up area.
"A contact in the North Yorkshire constabulary contacted me yesterday about a string of brutal murders that have been taking place around York, England. And by brutal, I mean that half of the victims tend to be missing by the time they're actually found. The press have become aware of one or two, but the force are keeping the whole thing at a low level on account of the large number of visitors arriving for the city's viking festival."

Had Kora been a wolf at the time, her ears would have pricked up, and she sat forward in her seat. Aiko had little concern for that, spoke further.

"This was of little concern to us, until in the early hours of yesterday a body was reported in that our contact describes as an 'unknown creature'. My informant in the police is very familiar with most common cryptid species, but has no idea of the origin."

She cast her dark gaze upwards.
"Dr Kovalenko, have you gotten any data from the sample you received."

Oren had materialized in the doorway, some notes in one hand and what remained of the green vial in the other.
"It's blood." the hungarian biologist responded.
"But unlike any other sample I have examined before."

She walked over the table to roll the sealed vial into the middle.
"The colour is from biliverdin, a bile pigment in the plasma. This is similar to skinks of the genus prasinohaema. The blood cells inside it...the structure has almost entirely broken down...but what I have seen of it is...unusual, to say the least. It bears resemblance to no existing species." she paused a moment.
"Including all cryptid blood samples on record. This is...new."

Alexander glanced towards the speaker as the announcement came over, Such a broad request of personal had him wondering what the powers that be had in store for them. Draining the last drops of his meal he followed Kate out of the room and down the Hallways. As he entered the meeting room he found himself a seat, eyeing the room full of people. His interest was certainly peaking by now though no one would be able to tell. His gaze finally settled upon the three officials and the logo that hid their benefactor.

Upon hearing a voice of greeting he paid rather little attention only taking interest in the names of the three new recruits, two he had spotted earlier but had not said anything to. Still now would not be the time for introductions as he focused on the vampress that stood up. Mrs Wakahisa was your safe bet for having the most Intel when a new assignment was being handed out, her information network was vast.

Taking the information in keenly he began to make mental notes, as undoubtedly everyone else would. Drumming his fingers across across his leg he was impressed when he noticed Oren appear in room and present her findings. " Efficient as always Dr Kovalenko" he said more thinking out loud then anything else, a new species would certainly require attention and one with a growing kill count certainly could justify the level of response that could possibly be mustered just by the people in the room. The key word being could. " Forgive my interruption Mrs Wakahisa... but a string of murders with an unidentified corpse... there are a lot of us in here for just that?" It seemed to Alexander that Dr Kovalenko and couple of other boots on the ground could suffice for now to research what they had available and to keep on eye on the festival. His mind wondering what the three people and one unknown voice had in store for them

Unlike some of her company, Stride had chosen to sit in the near center of the room, blending within the crowd of her fellow recruits fairly comfortably. Allowed her to get a decent view, or so was her logic- and, besides, it wasn’t like she was stealing anyone’s claimed seat or anything like that. First come, first serve and all. The gorgon eyed the trio at the front for a few moments from her position, regarding them with interest, before slipping her hood smoothly off her head and beginning to hum a few bars of “Hotel California” under her breath as she waited.

A sign of Stride’s own respect, however unnoticable.

She spent a few minutes like this, occasionally glancing about to catch sight of any familiar faces. There were quite a few around her- one of which being a certain newly turned werewolf, much to her surprise- although, as the presentation began, the woman quickly halted in her actions. She rested her forearms upon the table before her, gaze turning towards the trio of speakers at the front of the room, and, quieting herself, began to listen with interest. The mention of the viking festival hardly caught any of her interest- although she was vaguely aware that Kora would certainly be eager about the mission now- but the topic of “brutal murders” and an “unknown creature” had drawn her attention soon enough.

While Stride’s scientific knowledge admittedly needed to be brushed up on, the idea of going on a hunt for an unidentified…thing was fascinating. Tracking it down...properly identifying it...Although Stride doubted that they would want for the thing to be killed rather than contained, it would certainly be an adventure.

Through the commentary that a few others provided, the fighter remained silent, fingers curled over her lips as she listened. The second speaker- the vampire, “Alexander”- was admittedly right, much to her chagrin. The entire base had gathered at the meeting, and Stride doubted that each one of SCION’s members would be sent away on the sole mission. Would leave things too open, and she doubted that the higher ups would be...less than wise about that fact.

Stride mulled about whether or not the opportunity of volunteering was to be offered or not, then pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She could only hope, really; after all, it was entirely up to the heads what happened next.

Once again, Stride found herself continuing her little song, only to stop shortly afterward.

"Well I'm glad the prospect of a human police force in possession of a non-human corpse is not a concern to you, Mr Wiseman." Leo remarked drily from where he was sat back in his chair.
"But that's not the concern. Saffiya has reviewed the crime scene photographs forwarded to us, and believes that there may be a sort of ritual aspect to the killings."

The egyptian woman cleared her throat, and nodded over to Aiko, who snapped the projection to a...rather gruesome scene.

"Two bodies, both young males, discovered in the foundations of the ancient roman baths beneath the streets of York. The area is beneath a public house, but no voices or stuggles were heard during the night, and the door was locked when the keeper opened up and discovered the scene.

The bodies had both had their throats cut and were laid out with several different items. Burned salt dough, the skull of a goat, and a knot of sheepskin soaked in something that's proved to be goat's milk. The previous bodies were discovered with bone amulets placed in their hands and red ochre on their arms and faces." she explained, at which point the werecat spoke up.

"None of this is an accident. These are all hallmarks of Lupercalia, and ancient roman, and pre-roman ceremony. 'The feast of the wolf' that takes place on the ides of February. It was originally to honour some kind of ancient wolf-deity, and came to represent the lupa, the wolf who raised Romulus and Remus in the name of the god Mars." Saffiya explained.
"It existed as some kind of animal cult in roman Britannia. The romans mostly did away with the human sacrifice aspect of the festival, but some of the occupying romans in the north of England continued to carry out the killings on the natives to honour the wolf-god. That and the state of the bodies seems to point to a werewolf-related killing, but the fact that it is not only continuing, but also becoming progressively more ritualistic in nature might point to something more widespread and dangerous taking place within the city. Black magic can't be ruled out at this point, which is why we're taking this extremely seriously. Large scale human sacrifice in the context of magic is...extremely dangerous."

Leo then began to explain the brief in itself.

"We need three teams to cover this little problem. We've established a property in the city to use as a base and from there you can cover your responsibilities. First, Oren, you will be visiting the local morgue where the bodies have been sent awaiting autopsy. Your name is Lauren Drake and you are a forensic pathologist sent by the coroner to conduct the autopsies and compile a report for the investigation. The official paperwork is going to get lost somewhere in transit so, once you have gotten the data on the unknown body, you are to write any anomalies off to a medical condition and ensure the body is improperly stored.

Two field operatives are to accompany Oren in the guise of her assistants to make sure this all goes ahead without a hitch.

The second team we need you to keep an eye on the festivities, try to blend in, and keep an eye out for any signs of cryptid activity there. You never know when a group may have some sort of nasty plan, especially when large numbers are gathered.

The third, we need you to start talking to the cryptid population of the city. Someone out there knows something. Start with the werewolf population and work your way out.

So."

He paused.

"Anyone here especially keen, or are we going to have to start telling you where to go?"

Issac watched the briefing quietly , after all as a boot he really didn't have a place in the conversation , but he did have his own list of questions to ask if he got assigned to the groups. To his surprise instead of having a more in-depth discussion on the plan everyone simply chose to start moving. The fact that they were going to be dealing with something not on record gave no one pause? Had Scions higher ups already checked the police records to see if there had been any other related crimes? He frowned and then spoke.

" So we are going in blind , against an unknown amount of mythical beings, of which we know nothing? " He aimed a glare at the three higher ups. "Pardon my ignorance if that is the case, but this plan seems like it's gonna get at least one of us killed. From what information it sounds like we are going to be dealing with a cult, and mass human sacrifice as you suggested is a bad thing, but requires a number of ''people'' to work ,if I read that section of the ops manual properly." He kept the irritation out of his voice , making it sound like general concern instead, a skill he had long since mastered. " I'd rather not had out a yellow letter to a new recruits family member first day out..." He added glassing over the few new recruits that were still sitting around.

As Jonah listened, he definitely got interested. Mass killings? Ritual Sacrifice? He could think of several various entities that could do something like this, and he also knew a large amount of things a ritual like this could do. And while yes, there were plenty of other suspects, his thoughts immediately fell onto the witch that cursed both him and Liam. It would not be the first time they heard of her doing something like this. Of course, it could be so many other things that he could be wrong, especially since she didn't usually do roman stuff or wolf god stuff, but maybe it was just to throw people off or was a coincidence after all.

He went over to the three SCION leaders immediately as Issac asked his questions. "Thanks for the warm introduction, and for the record, me and Liam don't have family, and despite our appearences due to this damn curse, we are probably older and more experienced then you. Anyways, while I cannot confirm this is her work, the witch that cursed us both has done stuff like or at least similar to this in the past. At the very least, you should have this. Its everything we know about this damn witch. She goes by many names, we put as many of them there as we knew, but we don't know what her real name is. Just that she originated from The Coven of the White Willow before killing them all and getting a demon benefactor. Additionally, I will be with group three. I have done a lot of research on magic and sacrifices and basically every ritual out there while looking for a way to break the curse, so I have made a lot of contacts all over the world and I have a lot of knowledge in this area. If we can find the site where the ritual is actually being done, I might be able to tell you a few specific possibilities for what ritual this is".

He then turned towards Issac. "So you should not judge people based on appearance, trust me, you wont last long. And thats not a threat, its a fact. Werewolves, when born into it, can sometimes be most lethal between ages five and ten. The next kid you see could be one, and if he is hungry....you get my point?"

Liam just looked towards Crystal, trying to avoid anyone's gaze right now in the progress. "Well, that figures. And he says I put on a show. Anyways, my name is Liam. Nice to meet you".

By this point, Stride was biting into her bottom lip to keep from laughing out, hands clasped against the sides of her head as she listened to the various commentary cropping up in the room. Her canines stabbed into the soft flesh of her mouth, but even then it was worth the cost of worsening the situation.

While a few participants of the meeting seemed relatively helpful, the others were...not so much. One had outright bailed in the middle of an important meeting, another was bitching about the possibility of agents getting killed, and another seemed happy to brag to the commanders about how he had much more experience than them.

All in all, it certainly made Stride glad she was there- this was priceless.

It took the woman a while to get a proper grip and compose herself, but eventually she managed, straightening up in her seat and rubbing at a spot directly beneath her goggles. “Ah, excuse me for the interruption, too, but,” Stride paused, attempting to patch together her words in such a way as to not offend the higher ups. “But, uh, I can’t really remember them saying anything about us fightin’ anyone? They said intel, so correct me if I’m wrong, but, I don’t think that means they want us to run into battles or anythin’.”

She blinked, then, taking a glance at the empty chair in the room, then added, “Also, uh, I didn’t imagine that one guy walkin’ out of a meetin’ like this, right?”

Stride didn’t comment on the-kids-who-weren’t-really-kids. There was nothing /to/ say about a rookie doing something like that, anyway. She merely gave a few last words of, “I’d like to join the second team, please, ‘scuse me again,” before settling back into her seat and placing a finger against her jawline.

Caught off guard by the seeming-youths demeanor, Issac's eye brow shot up in surprise, this might as well have been him screaming of surprise in any other man's case. The audacity in which they spoke to those higher on the food chain than them selves made the soldiers stomach knot, but that was only the beginning. The young man turned to him and only fueled his own fire.

As the youth went on about young were wolves ,his pupil's dilated. The voice conveyed less and less meaning as Issac faded from the room and found him self in a dark hut, the smell of burning flesh and carrion filled his nostrils as if he were standing there in Africa all over again. Panic and urgency stabbed at him anew at what he was witnessing for the hundredth time. What the hell is that?! He set his feet, as his finger tips grazed the checkered pattern on the grip of his side arm as he watched the child in front of him bend over backwards, his----it's spine giving way with a sickening crack as it transfo---.

"That gentlemen there."

Issac blinked, a cold bead of sweat slithered down the man's spine, The dark hut had faded back the dull cream colored meeting room, the youth that stood before him and the superiors of SCION were there... He was no longer in Africa. The Panic subsided, but the adrenaline stayed. He was acutely aware of his right-hand finger tips , he causally stretched his arms above his head,adding a yawn for good measure, taking his hand far away from his weapon to mask the fact he had almost drawn his weapon.

He looked calm through out the whole thing, aside from his thousand yard stare, he hopped the others would have taken it for shock rather than the P.T.S.D attack.

" As Mr. Montana said," He stated with a nod of thanks towards Montana," I ask my questions only to ensure our units survival and that we correctly conduct our selves. It's not wise to go gallivanting about Europe armed for battle in this day and age, as you're probably aware of , but it sounds like we might need more firepower than not at some point, so knowing what to pack would be very helpful. " Issac's voice had been matter-of-fact, but he paused before adding " Sir." With as little contempt as he could, which was very , very minor, but the boy would no doubt pick it up since it was aimed at him.

"As for the information on young werewolves, Thank you, I wasn't aware" He lied. So clearly that it could have been sarcasm.

Kora, who had been sat listening to all this, ended up speaking, mostly out of mild irritability about how quickly this was progressing.

"Don't be such a pussy, Schofield. This is investigating, not going to war." Kora remarked from where she was sat, twisting her mjolnir around between her fingers. Her tone suggested perhaps that the fact that it was not going to war was a bit of a disappointment, but by then she had half a mind on the viking festival.

"A bunch of us stand around trying not to get into fight with drunks, another bunch go see what cryptic shit the local vamps have to say, and Dr Death over there goes to spend time with corpses, her favourite kind of people. It's not exactly Thermopylae. If they were powerful enough to fuck us up, they wouldn't need all the roman voodoo."

Oren rolled her eyes, but decided not to comment upon the werewolf's remark, instead addressing Kate.
"No-one else seems to be rushing to join me. If you want to come along, then go ahead, though I'm prepared to do it by myself. Though if people are blowing off this important work for something frivolous then I'm ot exactly going to be pleased. "

And, admittedly, Oren was not above requisitioning people who she was not pleased with for weeks of dull or uncomfortable testing under the banner of the research department. She had that much authority within SCION, and Oren had not qualms about using it to make people's lives difficult.

It didn’t take long for Stride to realize that she had been disregarded, and even less for her usual scowl to knot her features at the fact. While she couldn’t exactly start giving out not-so-passive-aggressive comments given the situation- after all, a cut in her paycheck was one of the last things she wanted- so she merely settled herself for sulking somewhat at the lack of attention her words received.

Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for her to calm once again, listening to Kate and Kora’s comments respectively before chuckling appreciatively. “These chicks get it,” Stride called. “But, anyway, as much as I love watchin’ random rookies n’ sorcerer guys waltzin’ around, I got a few questions ‘bout the mission again.”

Taking a moment to dust her goggles clean with the end of her sleeve, Stride glanced up at the superiors once again, bobbing her head slightly in an odd attempt at courtesy. “Not to be rude, but, uh, d’you know how long we’ll be out on the mission? Just so we can bring the right stuff n’ all.”

Before Stride could take a moment to compose her next inquiry, however, a sudden voice sounded out in the room. She blinked in surprise for a moment, and then proceeded to glance over in the direction that it had came from- and then do a double-take, given the fact that the woman leaning against the wall hadn’t been there before.

The explanation given was enough to make sense of the event, however.

Invisibility stuff.

Definitely explained the stories about random things floating that she’d picked up on.

Casually, Stride gave a nod of acknowledgement, as well as a “Mornin’,” before turning back to the head of the table, as if the sudden appearance of one of her coworkers was simply a daily occurrence. “Uh, if you all don’t mind, ‘nother question; I know you all said ‘two for group one’ n’ all, but I can’t remember you sayin’ anythin’ about the other two. There any, uh, minimum for them, or just as many as possible?”

Better to ask just in case, Stride supposed. Didn’t want to end up missing any important details, and besides; she saw no real harm in asking a few questions here and there.

Alexander simply waved leo's comment off as he addressed the werecat " Saffiya my dear..why did you not tell them to let you lead with that... cults practicing magic is worrisome.. Human sacrifice magic even more so... and its linked with the wolves to add the proverbial cherry on top" he said for once addressing one of the leaders by her first name, more so in a sign that his words should not be taken all that seriously, though with the commotion that followed round him they probably wouldn't take much notice.

Along with most of the room his attention was brought to the new recruits, who had in spectacular fashion managed to garner more attention than they intended, however he stayed quite content in simply watching the situation unfold as various people chastised the recruits. Though soon he decided to speak up, towards now visible woman who had just appeared " That explains the wall seeming to give off body heat"

" Speak of team composition's as some have suggested" he motioned to Stride with his hand " I think the limits will be as needed... For example it would be Extremely useful if i could borrow Norrevinter for the first meeting with the wolves but then give her to team two to police the festival" he changed his focus onto Kora " Of course if that's acceptable to you.. it would only be for the wolves.... i will spare you from listening to cryptic shit when i go speak with the vampires"

Issac haddn't seen Fel's movement so he couldn't react to that.

"Don't be such a pussy, Schofield. This is investigation, not going to - " Issac listened to Kora with his moot face, He respected her as a co-worker but questioned her blood-lust since he had met her. He smirked at the Roman bit and Montana again, clarifying what Issac had meant. He'd have to thank the man later.

Issac found him self nodding to Strides comments, tossing those into his considerations as well.

Christina appeared as if from thin air, Issac seemed not to notice, he'd probably ask her about it later tho.

Liam had spoken to the group as a whole, the 10 year old side showed fairly well.
Issac gave an apologetic smile and shrugged his shoulders. " I''ve seen many FNGs with the same spark meet an early grave because of lack of planning, not just in this organization." Several faces skirted the edges of Issac vision, and he felt his stomach slither down through his bones and gather at his boots like sand. He'd rather not lose anymore comrades, egotistical or otherwise. " As for your liability, well we are a bit like the knights of the round table here now arnt we? Would you really be here ;if you were going to be a liability I mean?" he'd talk a bit more to the new recruits if they pressed for conversation but his attention would fade, politely, back to the groups discussion rather quickly.

Issac watched the rest of the group as the conversation went round and round, he'd wait to speak again until it was his time again.

" If the first group would like a little extra security I wouldn't mind going with them" He chimed in while the others requested positions, later when the conversation circled back he added " Assuming we do as Alex suggested and the plan works well, what are we gonna do if we do make contact? Less than lethal, or shall we burn that bridge when we cross it?"

Christina smiled a bit when several other reacted with shock to her reappearance to visibility. The young trainee's, Crystal's reaction, was especially amusing, though the girl played it cool pretty well after the initial shock.
"Yes, good morning everyone!" she greeted, looking around at those that had spoken specifically, then turned to address Montana and Alexander individually. "Technically, I was here from the start," -said cheekily, to Montana- and "So you could sense me but not see me, right?" -asked of Alexander, while she pulled out a small notepad, that was scribbled over with notes already, to record the vampire's information.
The goal had not been complete invisibility, only visual disappearance and Christina was sure she'd succeeded from the tests she'd done during the three days she'd waited for the capsule to wear off. First things, first, it was clear that she'd vastly overpowered the charm, which had been meant for 12 hours, not approximately...68. She jotted that down as well, after checking her watch twice to make sure. And the overpowered nature of the charm also meant that either her calculation had gone completely wrong Unlikely she thought, or she'd made a mistake in the etching More likely, or the two most likely, either that the material or shape had somehow amplified the power, or that it had somehow sucked in excess magic before affecting her. More notes were written down before she again looked up.
"All good questions," she chirped, flipping to a fresh page in her notepad. She fixed her eyes on the mission heads, waiting to hear their answers and then write down the responses.

"Technically you were my dear." He replied, shooting a playful wink back in her direction. "But regarding our current matters, Mr.Wiseman," He turned his head to face the Elder Vampire when he spoke. "Given the sordid history between Vampires and Werewolves they might not react well to your questioning."

His face grew thoughtful for a moment.

"Then again, that might work in our favour, a violent outburst, if maintained, can lead to useful information." "Possibly of course, it's always possible they know nothing, however unlikely. For that reason I second the idea to have rotating teams. Aside from those escorting Ms.Kovalenko of course. They will be working with her for hours at a time, and I'd rather not see their cover compromised. Or their train of thought disrupted."

"New recruits, I hail from a Cold War era of espionage. I will not be openly interacting with many of you. If I receive a message via earpiece, and it's not urgent, I will wait a minute or two to respond, or not respond at all. The same for messages received on our devices."

Also drop boxes, but he wouldn't mention that now. Some methods he'd prefer to keep to himself and one or two other people.

"Your cover is important. Practice it. Posing as lovers or friends is common, but it must be practiced. You must look and be comfortable around that person. It makes exchanging information and moving as partners much easier. If you have a skill, work it into your persona, be yourself. Or someone else, it's up to you."

After heeding a the words of his higher ups ,Issac's heels clicked together when he answered Oren, " As you command." It wasn't a sarcastic answer, just the one he had always used . " I'll go prepare then. " With that he did a well practiced about face and walked out the door to his room.

He felt un-easy walking out of the meeting with very little to go on, odds are this was going to turn into something heavy, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was just the unease that had vexed him as of late... He'd have to talk to Fel about his worsening Panic attacks. The thought of the Fallen had stirred an odd mixture of emotion in the man, namely embarrassment. Fel had a knack for cutting through his emotional wall, that alone unnerved him. He grumbled slightly at the thought of actually asking to be seen by her.

With a defiant snort he turned into his room and began to pack his belongings for the trip over there. A few pairs of civilian clothes, his covert body armor and his Fantasy book collection. His room had never looked very lived in , but taking what few personal touches he had from the place made it feel empty. frustrated for no determinable reason he huffed, they were to be leaving soon, he'd need to blow off what ever was causing this mood before they left. After making sure everything had been packed he left for the armory, requested his kit to be readied and made a phone call to one of his old friends who now owned a Private jet , after all that he'd be down at the indoor weapons range blowing off some steam with some well placed shots from his little .22 caliber target rifle. He always argued with some of the other boots that there was more to learn from a .22 than a '50cal'.

After a while he went back to the armory and picked up the things he had asked for, then back to his room to finish getting ready , He'd change into his Civilian clothing , tucking away his USP 45 and Sig 320 in their normal places before heading out. The other weapons, one in a suit case and one taken a apart and stuffed into a small backpack were his DTA SRS-A1 , A bullpup bolt action rifle that could be fitted with various parts to fit most military calibers, He brought a 6.5x47 Lapua for urban shooting, it would suppressed quietly enough to be fired and no one would really question a snap or two no louder than a book being dropped, and a .338 Lapua magnum for some heavy hitting ability, Even suppressed this might alert some , but it was better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. In the other backpack was his 6.8 x 39 Grendel Ar-15, another weapon that suppressed nicely but offered enough knock down power to be suitable for combat with the supernatural.

That with about 15 magazines for each one weights roughly 80 pounds, he signed out one of SCIONS cars and went to the airport where his friend was staying. After flashing some paperwork and a story about a hunting trip in Montana he was safely on his way.

During the flight which had been several hours , Issac went a head and made his personal cover , asking a favor of the CIA. They informed him that they would verify that he was working on a joint drug trafficking case if anything went down. On arrival Issac thanked his friend , went and rented a Black Chevy 2009 LT, and drove most of the way to the safehouse a few hours later. He parked a few blocks from the safehouse, and walked the rest of the way. He looked like any other American tourist, Lost and wandering , jeans and a old beat up Vietnam field jacket. Taking a not so direct path to make sure no one had fallowed him he finally came to the safehouse. On arrival he noticed a set of tracks and foot prints, someone had made it there before him, not to surprising.

He knocked a few times before turning the safehouse-key and poking his head in. " Hello, hello." He said in a cheery, don't-pay-attention-to-me-I'm-a-tourist tone. Just on the off chance it wasn't one of his comrades inside he might be able to play his being their off.

Stride was fairly satisfied with her cover story.

Mitzi Pond, aged 23, college student and aspiring cosplayer. Quite the fan of nordic culture, as well, providing a relatively simple backstory for the hybrid to fall on if need be. As was the norm with many college attendees, Mitzi had found herself low on funds and swamped with work, forced to scramble at the last minute in order to pull together a somewhat decent excuse for a costume. It would allow for her to wear something that wasn’t exactly impressive- making it easy for her to slip past the attention of eager photographers and tourists- and something that wouldn’t take her an unnecessary amount of time to get dressed in. It had the additional benefits of being far more comfortable than a fully fledged costume, and providing mobility where stiff joints and carefully molded fur lacked.

It had taken Stride a while to get ready, admittedly. She had taken more time than she would have liked to put on a wig and properly secure it, and find a wardrobe that allowed her to hide what was...necessary without being too bizarre when her mask and outfit were unavailable. Stride eventually settled for tossing in a few scarves and heavily tinted glasses into her luggage. It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to claim that she was from the desert, and that the chill of Europe was enough to make herself huddle up in such warm clothing.

Besides the basics of clothing and costume, Stride had also taken the time to pack away the necessities of hygiene, as well as a few manageable knick-knacks- namely, a pair of earbuds and a small music player- into a few other pockets of her suitcase. After all, while she had the blood of a supernatural flowing through her veins, there were still essentials, and leaving them before going on what could possibly be quite the lengthy trip was foolish.

Her beloved pair of MP7s, her old friends, had been lovingly stashed under her coat. SCION would allow for neat passage, giving her little to worry about. As such, she packed a fair amount of ammo as well, and placed the rest of her gadgets and tools in a separate case.

Instead of approaching Montana in hopes of obtaining a room- or anyone else, for that matter- the woman had set about checking her persona into a hotel. It wasn’t a particularly luxurious hotel, yes, but from the reviews it was hygienic, and somewhat roomy. It would give her enough space to put away her things and get ready each day, at least. Didn’t want to waste too much money than necessary.

Upon reaching the designated safe house through means of taxi, Stride adjusted the black locks upon her head, assuring herself that they were still securely in place before trotting up to the entrance. She was quite proud of her little ensemble, but damn was it uncomfortable.

It didn’t take long for her to catch sight of Issac in the doorway, and, rather casually, Stride walked up the dirt path and halted a few feet behind the man. “Didn’t know you were so happy about this,” she commented, eyeing him curiously. It was the truth; back at the base, he had appeared just as lethargic as ever.

Issac looked over his shoulder and cast a slide ways smirk to his co-worker, and long time friend. " Living the dream~" He said holding one finger up in the air and drawing a circle, in the stereotypical 'whoopie' gesture. " At least we are someplace nice, and it's not out of place for people to wear googles, what are you suppose to be again shorty ? " He asked giving he the classic up-down. Issac had always poked fun at Stride like that tho, nothing serious as far as he could tell. He went ahead and held the door open for her after poking his head in to see if anyone else was there, he waved to Fel who seemed to be lost in thought*.


* (ooc: Sorry for forced character actions , I figured it'd be better than Issac and Stride standing awkwardly out front with the door open.)