April Rosevolt
Her lips drew back into the visage of a snarl as their two opposing forces clashed violently in the clearing. There was a resounding clang as two blades collided, one human, one therian. Val’s impetuous ease at deflecting her only fuelled the ambers of her rage, causing her to press in with all of her might. It was his smug manner that lit the match and bristled every fiber of her body however. She wanted to kill to him, to wipe of that conceited grin from his noble features and repay the debt of her comrades and Touya.
For a moment she forgets where they were, their cause, and abandons all reason. That single compulsion, combined with whatever the scientists had done to her, was slowly consuming her mind. Engulfed by a tsunami of hate and abject despair, April almost erupted there and then. Vying for control, their two blades trembled against one another, but it was Val who struck the first fatal blow.
"You're from that time before...First you take him hostage, then dessert him, now what? Because you've become something... else you've run back to him?"
And just like that, his words rattled her harder than warhammer. She let out a cry of anguish and sliced her arms forwards, ready to kill or die trying. “It’s not like that,” she hissed.
"That's enough," Touya interrupted. He moved forwards to physically restrain her, clearly concerned about her declining mental condition. The therian’s hand around her arm was enough to placate the hybrid, and all of a sudden her anger fell apart. "Come. You can kill him later. But right now, she's right. We need all the help we can get if we want to take down the facility."
In the wake of her outburst, April’s shoulders slackened in defeat. The wrist blades receded with a life of their own, disappearing as quickly as all of her hate. She allowed herself to be ushered away silently, unwilling to say or do anything of her own conviction for fear of her own lack of control. Neither could she fully refute the claims of therian terrorist. She’d felt like a burden ever since she returned, and everything, all the gains she’d achieved so far in recovering wouldn’t have been possible without Touya.
The soft touch of his lips against her cheek broke her trance and she looked up as Touya began to pull them away from the retreating parties. It was a tentative truce at best, and ultimately unsustainable given all of the bad air between them. April questioned if allowing Val to take part in the attack of the facility was a good idea at all. Assuming they succeeded in halting the production of hybrids, surely the terrorist would seize that chance to attack Altheim.
“She tried to kill you. Val almost did also and he killed all of my men,” April said once they were out of earshot. The thought made some of her anger return, causing her fingers open and close on nothing. “How can you be so calm?
It was an honest question, and her eyes betrayed her disbelief as she directed her mind to more immediate concerns. There was no point in dwelling over ‘what ifs’, at least not yet.
Dean ‘Havoc’ Reginald
“What’s the news?” Abigail asked upon entering conference room.
Reginald looked up from his papers, as did Miles as the abrasive woman barged through the doors. Surprisingly, Damea followed close after and the two men shared a brief moment of wonderment at the coincidence. Inside, the room was sizable, warm, cozy and well lit. A giant rectangular table inhabited the center of the room, surrounded by a perimeter of comfortable desk chairs. By the east side of the room was a row of side tables, and on top of them, some trays of finger food. Apart from Miles and Reginald, there were also several other individuals who waited. Most notable of them was the Captain of the Jaeger Guard, Kim Castern, a dour faced individual who sported a stylized moustache.
“Our faceless friend sends his regards,” Reginald responded, smirking slightly as he glanced towards Damea, “Both of them safely arrived at a therian camp. A rather large one as well going by his description.”
Abigail nodded and immediately strode towards the closest available chair, which happened to be at the head of the table. She waited until she was well seated before speaking again. “The situation?”
Given that Reginald had gathered just about everyone, it wasn’t hard to guess that something important had almost been included in the message.
“The therians plan to attack the hybrid facility,” Reginald stated, “And Touya was kind enough to disclose the information of its whereabouts to us.”
“So April did know the location,” Abigail murmured, “Where? When? How?”
Reginald’s face scrunched up in a way which suggested that the message had been frustratingly vague. “Close to Glendale prison, unsurprisingly. They move out in two days. Which means they’ll likely arrive at here within the week or more, depending on how many people he brings. He didn’t mention how.”
Abigail’s eyes narrowed as she grimaced at the horribly blatant lack of information, “I knew I didn’t like where this was going. Vague as ever that therian is.”
“Which probably means he wants us to meet them,” Kim said, filling in the blanks.