Phantomlink959

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@LightningMaiden

"The bridge between Djinn and the water spirits has long since been eroded by a river of blood. As a child I watched it be torn apart by war, and I've made it my life's work to rebuild it; no matter how long it takes me." Argus said bitterly, "This world, for all its chaos and hatred, is one worth caring about. One worth saving. It's taken as much from my people as from any other, but I've never lost faith that it can be made better."

He glanced over at Amaya, wearing a sympathetic smile, "Djinn are like chameleons. We can change ourselves to appear fully human, even alter our hair, eye, and skin color if we want. That ability is the one thing that has allowed us to survive. Even in our own city we wear human faces, so any who somehow finds their way to us will not know our true nature. You know the truth, though. A life in hiding is no life at all. It is an endless wait for someone to discover your secret."

The agent chuckled, "A memory thief in a car with an inheritor of memories. Our races really are polar opposites, aren't they?" Argus let out a contented sigh, "This agency is the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. It gives me opportunities to build bridges, new and old, that I never would have had if I'd been able to stay with my own kind. Give it time Amaya, you'll see. We have to make hard choices sometimes, but in the end we're really trying to make the world better -and safer- for everyone. So maybe one day we won't have to hide anymore. The world will be ready for us eventually. Just gotta give it time and keep fighting to achieve that dream."

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

While this is objectively true, I have a bad habit of getting way too into something and writing 3-4 times more than what I initially planned on writing.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

Fuck I monologued.

Why do I always end up writing a monologue........

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@LightningMaiden

"The world is a complicated place. When I was a kid there was a war, between my people and the Naiads. I'm not an expert on these things, but I think they're cousins to the water elementals?" Argus replied, "It was over some petty shit, neither side bothered to sit down and talk about it. They just started fighting." the Djinn gave a regretful sigh, "It was water vs fire, you can probably guess that my people didn't come out of it as the winners. So we hid. We found a place deep in the desert where nobody could find us, where our ancestral enemies couldn't reach us. About half a century ago, we started sending out agents disguised as humans; using our memory altering abilities to fabricate identities in the human world to learn more about the present age, in hopes of ending our exile." Argus didn't seem to stop and breathe as he talked, his attention split between the road and his own thoughts

"My father was one of our generals during the war, so I was selected to investigate the outside. I ended up attending a school here in New York. During the days I was attending classes, learning about this part of the world and what they'd been doing since we hid away; and at night I was seeking out other supernatural beings. Ran afoul of some rather unsavory types, a cult for some old god. Of all things, I was saved by a Naiad. Didn't care that I was a Djinn, just wanted to help me. We stuck together for awhile, me and her. Watching out for each-other. A few years later, a member of that cult turned up at our apartment looking to get payback"

The agent turned to look out the window, coughing slightly, "She didn't make it out that time. She would've been fine if she hadn't saved me. After that, I packed my bags and caught a ride on a smuggling ship to Egypt, walked my way home from there. Spent the next... 30 years? 40? trying to convince our king that the world was different now, that the Naiads had long since forgotten the war and that we could end our seclusion. I wasn't making any progress, so I decided to try and arrange a diplomatic meeting. When I tried to contact an emissary of their people, I was marked for death by my own kind, labelled a traitor to the Djinn."

Argus shook his head, instinctively reaching for the cigarettes in his pocket and stopping when he remembered he wasn't alone in the car, "I came back to the only other home I'd ever known, but things are a lot different now; I ended up living in the sewers, playing the street urchin until the agency picked me up and put me to work. And that's how I got here, given one more chance to make things right, to make sure my people can live peacefully with the other races without being mistrusted as parasites, beings who subsist by replacing other people's lives with lies. And the first time I meet another water spirit after all those years, I manage to insult her and piss her off when she's just trying to do the right thing."

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@LightningMaiden@KatherinWinter

"See you later Griff." Argus acknowledged before driving away from the sewers with Amaya in tow. "Sorry for how I was acting back there, Amaya. I've got a bad habit of losing my cool under pressure; come by it honestly, my dad's the same way." he explained sincerely, "If you don't mind me rambling a bit, I'd like to explain myself." he offered, keeping his eyes on the road, "Of course if you'd rather I just shut up and drive, that's fine too. I get it."

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@LightningMaiden Waiting on you to respond to my post. Argus wanted to have a chance to talk with Amaya and explain why he was being a dick now that he's calmed down.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@KatherinWinter@LightningMaiden I was hoping to get a chance for Argus to explain himself to Amaya now that he's had time to cool down, since she's riding back to HQ in his car.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Blueflame So did the beatdown we gave Shadow have a permanent effect on him?

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@LightningMaiden@Searat@KatherinWinter
"Alright Rich. Just get back to base safe." Argus responded plainly, a hint of concern in his voice, "And make sure you rest up properly after you clock out. It's been a long day." The Djinn waved Amaya over"Wait here, I'll go grab my car." He said before walking off. A few minutes later, he returned driving a large black SUV strongly resembling a police model sans lights and markings. "Hop in, you can sit wherever but be forewarned there's a bin of demon ink samples in the back seat that I confiscated from the cops." he stated through the rolled down driver side window, "Griff, you need a lift?"

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@LightningMaiden@KatherinWinter@Searat@Blueflame

"I played memory cleanup on my way here, so we're good on exposure control. Coverup teams should be on their way shortly after we leave to repair the damage to the sewers." Argus agreed, watching as the medics dealt with Mason, "Best we get back to base, debrief. Get some rest and stay out of the way so the repair crew can deal with the mess we're leaving behind." The Djinn swallowed his cigarette, sticking his hands in his pockets as he began to walk away, pausing briefly and turning to look at the others, "Anybody need a lift back to HQ? My car is right around the corner."