Snippet #2656637

On cue, it seemed that all of the strangers had, one by one, began to wake- starting with one of the more humanoid ones, and only climbing up the ladder of curiosity from there. Both men and creatures alike of draconic appearance; several covered or made up of metal; another masked figure...It certainly was a mixed bag they had so, and it was easy enough to predict that it would only grow stranger as the others awoke.

While others in such a circumstance might have found themselves alarmed, or wary of the various company they kept, one Dr. Lovette remained remarkably composed. He sat placidly beside his coworker, legs tucked beneath his body, hands folded in his lap. By all means, he appeared little more than a mildly confused, if not curious, captive of the games. Even when one of the others awoke- a young woman by the looks of it, with some sort of...dragon? at her side- Madison did little more than watch her for a few moments before greeting her with a raised hand. There was no reason not to show kindness in such a situation, really, especially when one so (seemingly. He had good reason not to assume just yet) young seemed so uneasy. The quickening of her pulse was a clear enough indicator of some distress, and Madison did his best to appear welcoming.

Before the vampire could beckon her over, however, Madison soon noticed that someone else had begun to approach in her stead; one of the more bestial-appearing members of the gathering. Once again, Madison put on an open look, giving the other a warm smile- although, in spite of himself, he couldn’t help but look over the man (or so Madison guessed. Had to assume in certain situations so as to avoid calling people “it”) with obvious intrigue and fascination. He held his tongue, however, waiting as the creature first spoke in some unknown language, and then plain English. Madison visibly brightened as the first comprehensible words left the person’s lips, and was quick to respond in turn.

“Well, hello to you, too,” he said softly, giving a brief nod along with the words. “I’m actually afraid that we’re...well, we’re just as lost as you are, my friend. My coworker and I,” a absentminded gesture in the direction of the aforementioned hybrid, who was currently distracting herself with something else, “were discussing that, actually.” Then, a bit brightly, “But, anyway, I suppose greetings are customary even in situations like this. My name is Madison- and you are?” Of course, the vampire had no idea whether such “how-do-you-do’s” were customary in the being’s culture, but it was always a good thought to extend an olive branch.Courtesy was essential…

Out of the corner of his eye, Madison caught sight of one of the metal-coated ones stalking about with a rifle-

...even when others were a bit less easygoing regarding the circumstances than others.

And, besides, Madison was quite curious about the creature standing before him. While he had seen a few draconic species in research, not once had he met anything like them in person. However, before he could release a flow of questions, his attention was once again pulled back into focus at the sound of yelping. Immediately concerned, he found himself watching a rather...uniquely dressed man rapidly hopping from one foot to the next, gesturing at the little gathering and pleading for shade. In a very brief gesture, Madison’s gaze flicked up- there was an umbrella there that he had not noticed before- before returning to the masked stranger and beaming once again.

“The more the merrier,” he chirped, voice not at all helping with any thoughts on his gender. “Go ahead and come on under; we won’t bite.” At his own words, Madison had to supress a small chuckle, opting to simply pat a space nearby instead of anything that could potentially be deemed suspicious.

The meet-and-greet didn’t seemed to end there, of course; shortly after the words had left his lips, another of the metallic men had suddenly begun to wave and greet them all with great cheer. Not one to be outdone, Madison returned the wave for a moment or two before his hand dropped back into his skirts.

“Hello, Mr. Armory; I’m Madison.” Then, to all who could hear, “I would say it’s nice to meet you all, but I would have preferred our meetings to have been under...different circumstances.” A laugh, soft, gentle.

Composed, composing, composure. It was better to make allies over enemies in such times, or such went his logic.