Snippet #2708377

Rick Brackwall

It was a long night. After finally managing to draw a spell upon a playing card he rested for the remainder of the night. He wanted to continue but without enough rest he would be exhausted for the trip tomorrow. Not that he was going to get much rest trying to sleep however. What few nights that went by without that same nightmare were a blessing. This was nothing new to him though. He was complacent in knowing that there was little reprieve from the nightmares. What he felt was not so much a sense of fear but a reluctance to live it all over again. Alas, he retired to his bed all the same.


Seven o'clock. The clock rang right on the minute, waking him by the same hour he had been awoken almost every night for many years now. Silencing the loud beeping box he arose, tired but for the most part rested. It was not the first time that night he had woken, the nightmare doing well in keeping him from sound sleep.

Out from his bed Rick went through the usual morning routines. Down in the cafeteria he had a bare bones breakfast, an assortment designed to give him an optimal amount of nutrients and proteins for the day. Back at his room he reviewed the notes he took the day before. It didn't fail to bother him, the arrangement he had made with Asmodeus. He did not fail to consider the fact that he couldn't trust that the death pact she placed upon him might work differently than she described. With the idea that someone else could pull the plug on him at any moment it certainly gave him a number of things to dwell upon.


He was checking over his inventory of spells when his phone gave a light beep. A text on his phone from the principle issuing the time their expected to show for preparations before they set off. Since he was for the most part prepared he was able to get ready at a comfortable pace. He donned his outdoor attire, a WDL uniform tailored for extensive travel and managing less than optimal weather. For scrolls he had twenty two various sheets of paper adhering to his body. They ranged from pamphlet sized to a regular scroll sheet size and they all simply clinged to him beneath his shirt and pants. A fair majority of them were attack spells since he figured there'd be little rush in the casting of utility spells in most foreseeable situations.

With his pack on his back, his pens in his pocket, his sword at his hip, his clip board with paper on his belt and his special magnifying glass in his other pocket he set out through the front door and on his way to the auditorium.


Rick arrived at the auditorium exactly on time, even taking the effort to wait outside a bit before entering when the clock hit twelve. He entered to see both Illusion and Chief Medical Officer Eine awaiting them.

"Good morning Ms. Illusion. Guten nachmittag Eine."

Rick bid good morning to each of them respectively.

Illusion, a wide smile on her face, gave Rick a cute bow and a wink. "Mornin', Ricky!". Standing beside her in her pristine white suit, Eine bowed at the waist, a small smile on her face. "Guten tag, Herr Rick. Wie geht's?" Straightening up, she spoke again. "I'll be accompanying you and the other to ze- to the Boot Camp." She went silent again, however, and awaited his response. Ever since that day, Eine had been much more relaxed around him. He defied her self loathing, after all.

"Mir geht es gut. Wie geht es dir?" He answered back to her question, a friendly greeting all the same.

"I'm honored to have you along for their initiation. I must say I'd hope none of them require any sort of medical attention before the end but with civilians taken in times of uncertainty the possibility of a mishap can't be underestimated."

Walking along further into the room Rick acknowledged Illusion's greeting with a slight nod as he'd already greeted her. As he stopped he looked around momentarily to see if any of the others were arriving yet before looking back to Eine.

"Ja, mir gehts gut. Danke schön." She smiled politely at Rick. "I do hope nobody is hurt too badly, however.." She paused, giving a worried look over to Illusion, who was busy conveniently looking the over in the other direction. Eine muttered something under her breath. It was obvious there had been some sort of conversation before Rick had arrived, and probably not a good one.

"In the case of an accidental injury, however, I'll be around to patch up anyone who's been hurt. Of course, I've been selected to come along, and viewed all of the files." She narrowed her eyes as Jojo and Dawn entered, whenever they did, a look of concern crossing her features. "However, I've been.. assured that there will be no bear traps this time around. We have other staff accompanying us, however they have not been briefed on your.. special circumstances, something we wish to cover before we head off. As always, keeping your secret is paramount- you're regular, albeit new, recruit Exorcists."

Illusion chimed in at this, her smile warm and kind. "Ah, but Lusy brought along a friend! Zadkiel will be there, too, to take the suspicion off of the newbies! Lusy did a smart thing, so nobody will know much!" She turned back, swaying side to side and humming quite loudly. Eine clenched her fists, very subtly, but she still clenched them.

She was withholding information.

Rick could tell something was on Eine's mind as she was normally less tense in general conversation, especially just between them. Of course he was wiser than to simply pry when there were ears nearby to overhear, specifically the ones of Jojo and Dawn in this case.

"That is quite good, as is bringing Zadkiel. As I'm attending as both a senior exorcist to them and as their leader I should be able to keep the other six along and sequestered to the best of my abilities."

He then turned to greet the other two who had arrived, along with anyone else who showed. "Ah, welcome. We'll be briefed on today's event when everyone is present."