(no subject)

[hellburger]

Kazuhira Miller leans against a brick wall covered in the illegible remains of old wheatpaste posters, layered with a smattering of graffiti. With the exception of his bright yellow scarf, his uniform looks entirely at home among the coveralls and drab work clothes of the Industrial District's labor force. Workers representing various species wander past on the way to work sites and factories while others huddle together to eat lunch or enjoy a smoke break.

Miller looks down at his watch compulsively, only to be reminded once again that it stopped the moment he set foot in the Nexus. He sighs, pulls a Rite in the Rain notebook out of his breast pocket, and flips through pages covered in copious notes while he waits for a certain Mobian magus to appear.

Comments

[hellburger]

"The knowledge that things like you exist is more than enough punishment, Naugus." Miller clamps a hand on Naugus' shoulder -- the one that isn't covered in gore -- and steers him to the portal. He turns to address his underlings, "Wait for me here. No radio contact with Mother Base until you've been debriefed."

The MSF unit responds affirmatively, even as they continue to wear expressions of mixed confusion and curiosity. There comes a murmur of hushed expletives as their commander and the mage pass between the trees and blink out of existence.

[ixis]

"Thing! Always thing! Can't even give me the dignity of calling me a person or a man, can you?" Yeah, he's definitely stuck on this particular point. "Next thing I hear, you'll be instructing your bloodthirsty soldiers to shoot anything that steps through that portal that doesn't wear dark glasses and an unfortunate haircut."

Back in the Nexus once again, Naugus continues to grump as he peeks at his wound, lifting his hand to do so, then pressing it back down. "Are we quite done here?"

[hellburger]

"Chalk it up to a flaw in our language. 'Person' and 'man' usually imply 'human' to us Overlanders. Come up with a more comfortable word, and maybe I'll use it."

Passing through the portal drops them back into the Nexus' bitter chill and Miller can't stifle a sharp inhale. Fucking winter. "We're done. You don't want my help and I don't feel guilty enough to keep insisting. Besides, I've got to get back ASAP and do some damage control. Thanks for that."

[ixis]

"Comfortable w-...Just say person! I'm a person! I'm a sentient creature with ideas and ambitions! I'm no beast! Agh, we are quite through, you and I! Here. One last courtesy and only because I said I would."

A stomp of one foot and the circle of conjuration crunches downwards a good several inches into the concrete. A swipe of the hand and it's covered by a sheet of stone, smooth and imperceptible as an interruption to the flooring other than the grain of it going a different direction than the rest. And that's only if you look close.

"I'll find someone else to take these little bits of death out of my hide, don't worry your head over it." Naugus snorts and stalks back towards the door leading out of this warehouse. Hopefully not to dig at the wound himself some more.

[hellburger]

Miller drags the sole of his boot over the stone to inspect Naugus' handiwork. It seems to pass muster, but he doesn't show it. Instead, he adopts a mockingly cheerful tone and gives a short, choppy wave. "See you around, then. Take care not to fall into any other tricky human traps!"

With that, Kaz turns on his heel and strides back through the portal to address his baffled soldiers.