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Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/12/2016 10:13 AM

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A young man--- or what appeared to be a young man--- walked into the workshop. It was hard to tell with the Sentinels; they all stopped aging when they joined, so who was to say whether he was a raw recruit or some hardened veteran, at least at first glance. Of course, the hardened veterans tended to have an air about them, and the higher command even more so. There wasn't a soul who dared address Lady Rici with casual dismissal, whether they knew who she was or not, for all that she looked not a day over twenty--- and likely younger still.

She had planned on ignoring him entirely, really, until he leaned on the counter. Her eyes snapped up at that, irritably. He was smiling. "What have you got for me today, Jocasta? Something good, I take it."

Jocasta took her time finishing the runes on her current piece of work before even bothering to respond. "Being demoted, are we? Your department said they'd send a recruit to pick it up. I didn't think they'd send you."
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/12/2016 10:18 AM

The man's smile disappeared, his lips drawing into a thin line of disapproval at her comment. "The department," he said, "has decided that this is too important a matter to leave in inexperienced hands." His tone was harsher now, Jocasta noted with some satisfaction.

"Then they should have sent Torres," she replied evenly.

He bristled even more at that, but before he could make a retort, he seemed to guess at the nature of her game. Running one hand through his hair, he put on the smile again, though this time there was a forced quality to it, which she was sure he'd meant as threatening. It wasn't. "Our commander chose me. If you have any issues with his decision, you can take it up with him personally. Until then, I intend to fulfill the duty I've been given. Where is this new project of yours?"
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 12:29 AM

Jocasta considered the man before her, eyes narrowing. She didn't doubt that the command sent him; she just didn't care for his presence. Erett must not be running things closely anymore, if this had happened. It was a well known fact that Jocasta didn't get along with Aram. He'd pissed her off one time too many back in his trainee days, and now that he had a rank to back it up, his arrogance knew no bounds. She outranked him, of course, but it wasn't as if that had ever made a difference to him.

And yes, well, he was efficient at the job; and there was no rule, whatever the public may think, that the Sentinels had to be good people. Their only job was to kill demons. They had as many talented murderers as members of sound morals in their ranks. But that didn't mean Jocasta had to like them all, especially not this one.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 12:51 AM

She also didn't trust him with her new 'project', as he had so nicely put it. She had done her best work, as she always had--- Jocasta took pride in what she did--- but he had proven excessively difficult. They hadn't told her much about the true nature of the one she'd worked on, but after all this, she had a few guesses. And if he went rogue...

Well, that was Erett's fault then, for not keeping a closer watch on things.

... No, it wasn't. She knew full well he was too busy these days. But whoever was running the show in his stead evidently wasn't paying enough attention. She'd have to do something about it. Now just wasn't the time.

"Jackdaw," she said over her shoulder. Slowly, the curtain over the back door lifted, and a dark figure stepped out.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 12:54 AM

Aram's lips immediately curled into a sneer as he laid eyes on the figure, his eyes roving from the filed-off horns to the claws, visible even beneath the cloak. "A demon," he said with undisguised disgust.

Jocasta gave him a hard look. "You know as well as I do that this isn't the only one we employ. It's why I'm here." This wasn't exactly the truth, but there were very few creatures they had to subjugate using her methods, besides demons. "Have you forgotten your lessons already? They track their own kind better than---"

"--- anything we have, yes, yes. It doesn't change the fact that they're filth," Aram said, waving off her argument with a dismissive flick of the hand.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 3:14 AM

Jocasta sighed. This was exactly the kind of thing she wanted to stay out of as much as she could. She shouldn't have joined the Sentinels, really. It wasn't that she had any love of demons herself--- though of course people like Aram would have called her a demon sympathizer merely for telling them to cut the spiteful rhetoric. But this many people hopped up on the righteousness of their own cause was always a recipe for disaster.

What could anyone have said? They were sworn in by Eon himself, though these days it was mostly Inias who came in to check in on things, when any of the gods could be spared at all.

She fixed Jackdaw with her gaze, and he, noticing this, returned it. A furrow appeared between her brows, and she frowned slightly. She was... a little loath to let him go, and not only because she wasn't sure her work would hold. Somehow, she didn't think he belonged in the hands of someone like Aram.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 3:29 AM

It was a stupid thing to be saying. He was a demon. More than that, whatever of him still remained in there was... not gone, but suppressed, and likely never to see the light of day again. And she still remembered what he had told her, on the second day, for all appearances drugged but his eyes still clear and lucid: "I will kill you. I will kill you and all your soldiers, and then I will return to my realm. You cannot hold me." The calm, detached certainty in that voice had chilled her to the bone.

But past that... Especially once he was half gone already, there had been something good-natured, almost gentlemanly about him. If he had still been himself, she wouldn't have trusted it, but after a while there was no reason for him to deceive her. She'd dealt with demons before, but...

No, it was a foolish thought. She was growing soft. "Take him," she said to Aram, but her voice was tired. "If I find out you've been misusing him, your commander will get an earful from me."
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 3:34 AM

That was no idle threat either, and she meant it from a place not at all tied to idiotic sentimentality. Even without knowing what exactly he was, she could tell that this was a powerful demon. How they'd captured something of this magnitude... No, they wouldn't tell her, would they? Not even Erett, if she'd asked. Rici had probably told him not to. But Aram merely said, "Yes, yes. Well, come along, you cur." He beckoned Jackdaw like a dog, but the demon did not at first respond, looking instead to Jocasta.

"Jackdaw. Call him by his name, at least." She couldn't help feeling like this wasn't a good idea--- not Aram. But maybe that was just her own bias. The others would certainly read it as such. "Go," she said to Jackdaw, trying to sound anything other than weary and apprehensive. She didn't think she had much success.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/14/2016 10:18 PM

There was a pause, and for a moment she thought that perhaps her measures would fail to hold after all, despite everything. But then Jackdaw gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod, and stepped out from behind the counter. Jocasta had the absurd urge to tell him to be good, and to listen to Aram, even if the orders were stupid. Fortunately, she didn't act on it.

Aram grabbed Jackdaw by the chin, turning his head this way and that. "A face like this is wasted on a demon," he said. "Alright, come on then. We've got an assignment coming up, and I'll see what this cur can do." He walked briskly out the door, and Jackdaw followed. Jocasta watched them go, standing there unmoving long after they were out of sight.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 11/15/2016 10:14 PM

Well... That was that, she supposed. Another project wrapped up and sent on its way. She should have been used to it by now--- was, in fact. She didn't know why she was feeling like this now, when she knew from the beginning what was going to happen. The small spiteful voice in her head said that it was Aram, but even he never got under her skin to such an extent.

She remembered those sharp, strangely lucid eyes. There was something about Jackdaw that had been... Jocasta knew only enough about demons that she could do what the Sentinels wanted her to do with them, and no more. The Sentinels wouldn't have told her if she asked, and up until now, she hadn't had much of a desire to know either.
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Re: Scents on the Wind [self]

Postby crow » 09/10/2018 2:32 AM

But now perhaps she would do some research of her own, if only to allay the lingering uneasiness. What she had seen from 'Jackdaw', or whatever his name had been before he had been turned over to her, wasn't at all like what she had been led to believe. It wasn't even very much in line with what she had figured out for herself over the years, working on as many demons as she had done, and needing, by necessity, to operate off what was true and not simply what was convenient propaganda.

That was a thought for later, however. For the moment... other projects called.

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