[img] https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240721/045a1499395de24cb292afd3237addfd.png[/img]

Marsala woke suddenly to the sound of rust-gnats and shot up to see the damage they had been able to do. A [i]clang[/i] rang out as Marsala fell back on the ground clutching their head. 

[i][color=F2D885]Perhaps sleeping under the operating table was, in fact, not the smartest move. [/color][/i]

They rolled to one side through a sheet that was hanging to the floor and double checked that they were no longer at risk of colliding with anything before popping up. The room around them was surprisingly lacking in gnats compared to how many it sounded like were in the room with them. They had worried the gnats had somehow found a way under the fabrics Marsala had used to cover certain surfaces. The gnats were, thankfully, swarming the trash bin and a few sparsely populated shelves on the other side of the room. They had learned from their last ‘clinic’ to never leave the important surfaces, like the operating table, uncovered. You’d be quick to find yourself without a usable… anything really. 

Not wanting to risk the gnats finding a way through any fabric, Marsala made a clicking noise at the rat curled up on an old pillow tucked away into a nearby corner. The rat looked up with its blank stare and flicked its ear before Marsala motioned towards the rust-gnats. The rat stretched and began bounding in the direction of the gnats, jumping through the swarms to disperse them. Once done it sat in the middle of where they had been with an imitation of glee, an imitation of life. 
     
With that done, Marsala began tidying up the ‘clinic’ as best they could. The new resident would be arriving sometime this morning and Marsala wanted to leave the place in a better condition than when they were hired on. Once done, they scooped their belongings out from one of the cabinets, donned a pollution mask on themself and a little bucket hat on their rat, and made for their new life. 

[h3]Well, soon anyways...[/h3]

Marsala had been warned by their employer against getting to the job too early, so here they were strolling through the streets looking for a halfway decent market during the swarming. They had been told, once upon a time, about the importance of bringing something to a new job, but they were having a hard time thinking of what they should get. Food and clothing was out of the question, as was something too expensive - they had spent a pretty penny preparing for the new job and getting Alfredo (their rat) a cute hat fit for an adventurer. A lot of their clientele had been fans of candy or stickers, but would V.E.T.s? 
     
Mulling it over a bit, and checking their chips, they reasoned that anyone would be happy to receive [i]something[/i]. They had enough chips to get about ten or so pieces of candy and a couple sticker sheets without breaking the bank, now all they had to do was find a shop selling them…

[h3]Ten pieces of candy and two small sticker sheets later...[/h3]

The shop had taken some time to find, but find they did. Now they sat at the HQ in a room with a few other individuals, making note of small details about each of them. When the captain began speaking and mentioned sitting in her lap, Marsala tried their best to mask their grimace. 
     
[i][color=F2D885]It’s rude to grimace during the first meeting, right?[/color][/i]
     
The screech outside had Marsala looking at the door as the guard burst into the room and Marsala found themself nodding in response to the guard’s report and the captain’s initial order. Alfredo wriggled in Marsala’s arms at the excitement in the air as they stood to leave. The mention of touch again had Marsala openly grimacing despite their best efforts, but left to the location nevertheless. 
     
At the location, the stone-horn was becoming agitated but was ultimately focusing on the two guards and the weapons trying to keep it at bay. A flurry of shrapnel and other weaponry had Marsala acting. With a quick pat to Alfredo’s head, Marsala took his hat off and they were off toward the beast in two separate directions. Alfredo went towards its face and Marsala went to try to get in its blind spot behind it.