Victory R. Herts's Story

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J U N E

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Tattered black sneakers pound the gravel and dirt mixture that was probably at some point in the past green grass and exotic plants. Junsoo's legs carry him across the empty space as fast as they can physically go in a desperate effort to find shelter behind something. Anything. The heavy sack of wood over his shoulder makes staying alive a little harder than it should be and his only form of weapon at the moment is a small pocket knife the boss always makes him carry around and the gathered wood. He can almost hear her scolding him for not having taken something bigger and more practical, or for managing to be separated from Bryant when they're supposed to travel in no less than twos at all times, precisely because of situations like these. It really is a wonder how the twenty-two year old has managed not to get himself killed for this long, what with being one of the most reckless of the bunch. Not that he intended on being separated from him, but they also hadn't intended on being attacked. Seraphs never hint at this time of day, so the pale and slender figure that showed up almost out of the blue had definitely caught them off guard.

What was supposed to be a simple mission to retrieve firewood turned into a race for survival. Now he's backed against the wall of an abandoned building, chest quickly rising and falling and heart on overdrive while he attempts to devise an escape strategy. Unfortunately, that's never been his string suit. Which is probably the main reason Bryant was sent with him. The older has always been best at planning. But he's not with him now, and June hopes he doesn't come looking for him either and opts for heading back to the group instead. This is something he'll have to handle on his own. He can almost smell the seraph closing in on him while his eyes search for some kind of small opening which he can slip through, but there's nothing. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, this may be his last day in No Man's Land.

Arabelle can feel the fear emanating from her prey. He's still close. She's not meant to be hunting right now. She hadn't even thought of coming here to do so. Her intentions were purely to get some fresh air, to get away from the stuffy mansion she was assigned to live in. But she also did not intend on running into such a fascinating target. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights the moment he'd spotted her. Eyes large, terrified and innocent. And she was pleasantly surprised to find he's much more agile than he appears. She's never liked easy targets. After a while it becomes much too tedious. Too boring. But this one, she decides, is worth keeping. There had been another outcast with him, but the two ended up splitting ways and Arabelle's interest was fixed on the smaller of the two from the very beginning. A refreshing change from her usual targets.

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S I R E N

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June's round eyes zero in on his attacker the moment her pale looks come into view and her thin lips twist into a pleased glim. She takes calculated steps towards him, cornering his body between a rusted old car and the decaying cement wall. "You're quite the fighter, I see." He knows reaching for the pocket knife at this point is useless. A slash of the small blade would be like a minor paper cut to a hunter seraph. His fists tighten around the knot of the sack, more than prepared to aim a swing at her head. If he can't use offense, he'll have to settle for defense. But of course it's never that simple. The moment their skin comes in contact, everything is forgotten. Including the fact that he's in deep shit if he doesn't move. His entire body is paralyzed down to the smallest muscle, eyes focused on her face. That's his first mistake. Never look a Seraph in the eyes. "Such a pretty face..." She coos. her voice is soft and soothing, very fitting to the way she looks, while her fingers brush against the side of his face. "I'm definitely keeping you."

One index finger slides under his chin while she carefully studies his face, smiling in satisfaction. As much as he wants to argue that there are much more handsome men in no man's land that she can "keep", his tongue much like every other part of him, is numb. He can't feel or hear a single thing, and all he can see is her face, lips poised and ready to attack.

N I K ANika should've known it was a bad idea, a very bad idea but yet no one expected that the
simplest mission of retrieving firewood would turn out so incredibly wrong. When the boss
told her Jun-Soo would go with Bryant, Dominika tried to talk them out of it, and obviously
her attempts failed dramatically. Now she was the one in charge to find June, as they had
been communicated.

"Oh, of course! I'm the Tracker so I'm the one who must go save the lady in danger." The girl
rolled her her eyes and sighed. That was no sacrifice for her, Nika did her job very well done
and she would never complain about it, but that was just her using the natural sarcasm that she so loved. Putting a black jacket on, Nika walked out of their base and started looking for June. After what seemed to be a decade but was actually just twenty minutes, Nika noticed a change in the environment - an ability that not even herself could understand, a mix of intuition and observation skills. The silence started to be broken by almost unhearable whispers. In the exact minute the Seraph attacked June. Sneaking through the abandoned building, Nika slowly moved closer and closer to them.
Finally, once she reached a good distance, the woman grabbed a brick and hit it hard on the Seraph's head. Not even having time to look back to check on the girl, Nika grabbed June's hand and ran inside the building, towards the opposite exit so they could escape and mislead her. She quickly entered another abandoned building a little further and once they could finally breath calmly, Dominika stared at the boy, with intimidating and angry eyes. "What the hell were you thinking?!'

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J U N S O O. P A R K
June || "The Vitamin"
Dialogue: #e6e600

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Junsoo knows all too well the constant tension between Nika and Cat as he's usually playing mediator when their boss Victory isn't around, so he's not even remotely surprised by the stiffness between the two. Still, even clueless June knows it's neither the time nor place to argue. Nika's sarcasm is expected, but June can't help but chuckle quietly at Bryant's response. Having him with them is a huge relief. "You two should try to loosen up and smile a bit more" the boy says pointedly as he picks up the sack of wood he had set down. His attention directed to the two girls on either side of him as they follow Bryant back to safety. "You're both too pretty to have premature wrinkles". To an outsider it may sound like flirting, but the two should know June well enough to know that he doesn't say anything he doesn't mean. Any flirting is purely unintentional.

"I found what was left of an old library. I found a few books! A math book, Hamlet, and a sewing book for beginners. Maybe I'll be the new and improved tracker!" June stifles a laugh at idea of Bryant learning how to sew. His sudden announcement of the library is random and out of context, but June can tell what he's trying to do. Not to mention that the idea of an old library really intrigues him. The last time he held and read an actual book was in his last years of high school. "Good! If we ever need to track down new recipes or DIYs for dummies i'll be the first to nominate you for the search!" he says, gently elbowing the man's side. Now that they're further from the danger zone and closer to the base, the air around them feels much lighter. As expected, Bryant gets them all to the safety of their "home" in record time with everyone in one piece. Junsoo lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and sets down some of the wood they collected. The main room is empty,
meaning the others are probably elsewhere in the shelter busied with their own thing. "An old library does sound kind of cool." June panders, taking a seat in one of the old couches. "Do you think the boss will ever let me leave the base again, cause if so, I'd love to see it."

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J U N S O O. P A R K
June || "The Vitamin"
Dialogue: #e6e600

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Junsoo smiled in amusement at Cat's response. It's true he often got away with things others may not be able to, but he wouldn't call it "worming" his way out of things as she put. Still, Jun knows the intention behind her statement, or at least he likes to think that he does. "Thanks Cat, you sure have a way with words!" he teases in the most lighthearted way possible before taking a quick survey of the room. Victory, or anyone else for that matter, don't seem to be anywhere within earshot. Jun takes into consideration Cat and Nika's suggestions, but he has a better one. One that doesn't involve getting the boss' permission.

"We could talk to the boss..." he says as if actually thinking about it, but has no intentions of doing so. "Or...we could just go right now!" He gets to his feet, immediately locking eyes with Bryant and giving him that innocent puppy look that's worked many times before. After all, he's the one that knows where the library is. If he doesn't agree to take Jun then there's no point in attempting to go. Of course he could go and try to find it on his own, but he's one-hundred and ten percent that not one of the three in the room with him would allow it. "We can leave the others the firewood and a note so they know we're okay and will be back soon." he adds cheerfully, switching his gaze over to Cat and Nika in an effort to get some form of agreement. Though they don't have to go, Junsoo would like it if they tagged along. Maybe even just one of them since they're most likely not too keen on being near one another.

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A R A B E L L E. D U B O I S
Siren || Hypnosis + Sensory control
Dialogue: #00ff00

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Even if Arabelle needed Valentina to act like a mother sometimes, that doesn't necessarily mean that she enjoys it. Quite the contrary. Arabelle hates being told what to do. The only reason she follows orders is because she's smart, and she knows what would happen if she didn't. Not because she's particularly a good, obedient seraph. In fact, it's probably quite the opposite. She sighed wearily as she watched Nathaniel and Valentina go their own ways before she did the same herself.

A hot shower does sound nice at a time like this. Arabelle isn't feeling the best, to say the least, especially after her new fixation slipped right through her fingers. Just another inch and she would have made that boy hers, marking him for life. She grunted in frustration as the thought of the brick slamming against her head came back to her. Such an amateur move. After she secures her new toy, she'll have to make sure to get a little taste of revenge.

The shower ended up taking longer than she anticipated, but the hot water against her cold skin felt too amazing to leave. Eventually though, she did finish up and get dressed in her usual simple yet classy attire. The chief is expecting them soon, for whatever reason he's managed to cook up this time, but Arabelle isn't the type to be early to things. They're all supposed to meet up in ten minutes, which means she has nine minutes to spare. After making herself comfortable on the lavish bed, she takes a book from the nightstand, opening it to where she last was. She can at least get a few pages in before having to go back to work.

N I K ANika shrugged with a careless expression. That she'd make sure to keep them safe if Jun
decided to go find the library, it was quite obvious. But she didn't really like the thought of
walking around without consentiment, althought she was used to running away during quiet
and endless nights. The boss would be so fucking pissed off if she noticed that Nika and Cat
were irresponsible enought to let Jun sneak out of the base. Grabbing a cigarette out of the
pack and lighting it, Dominika looked at him for a second before turning her sight back to
the small objects between her fingertips. "Sorry, kiddo. Not gonna happen, at least not for
now. I'm not really in the mood for that at the moment."
The brunette kept walking towards their main construction, in which the boss used to be found coordinating things. Before she'd reached the building, though, Nika deviated her way and entered the small messy caban that she used to spend most part of the time, that also seemed more like a bunker, but it was her favorite place to be: very quiet and cozy. As the woman kept smoking her cigarette and observing the movement over her balcon's view, she noticed a familiar figure approaching. Nika couldn't tell who was it at first, but it endeed disturbed her for a moment, as she clearly loved to be by herself. "Hello?" She asked a bit confused, as she finally recognized Bryant's face.