puddingpunter

Rebirth

I SWEAR I'M ALIVE AND LOYAL, BUT AWFULLY LATE AS ALWAYS.

Rebirth

_{🇨​ 🇭​ 🇮​ 🇪​ 🇫​ 🇵​ 🇪​ 🇹​ 🇹​ 🇾​ 🇴​ 🇫​ 🇫​ 🇮​ 🇨​ 🇪​ 🇷​ 🇦​ 🇷​ 🇱​ 🇴​ 🇰​ 🇪​ 🇾​ 🇪​ 🇸​ 🇦​ 🇰​ 🇦​ ·· 🇴​ 🇿​ 🇾​ 🇲​ 🇦​ 🇳​ 🇩​ 🇮​ 🇦​ 🇸​ ··}

Twelve hostiles, six hostages. An unfavorable 2:1 ratio. Arlo mindlessly rubbed the side of his jaw as he poured over the facts bouncing around in his head. To some people six hostages meant six tries until you failed the mission but Arlo had a tendency to look at it from another perspective, slightly more pessimistic albeit also leaning closer towards realistic in his opinion; six extra ways to fuck up. He disliked the fact where the main objective seemed to be the elimination of the insurgents but rather than stand up and risk getting written up for insubordination by criticizing his superior, Arlo instead opted for exercising the benefit of the doubt and went with the interpretation; your priority is to terminate the threats, but captures are a bonus as opposed to terminate targets primary, hostage retrieval secondary. Ah yes, he adored his over-thinking brain.

Next thought, the breach. Arlo knew nearly nothing about his partner except that she was seated not far from himself. He could actually see her from here and could easily start a conversation, if he so chose, without the need to get up. Okay so there was his partner but... what about the plan? They'd been informed that their rendezvous point would be an oil refinery but without a blueprint map layout it would be difficult to gauge the structure's layout (thus openings to avoid or good spots to find cover). Where were the hostiles? Where were the hostages? Arlo thought back to Lieutenant Major McTavish's monologue, he's mentioned the structure's office block. Okay fine so that would likely be closer towards the center as opposed to the layout's outer perimeter. Should this be a stealth breach so they could focus on securing the hostages first or one meant to attract the hostiles and draw them away from the hostages while the team inevitably picked them off one by one? 'Screw this' he thought to himself. Arlo stood, stretched, and approached Ms. Carson AKA Outsider. He selected an empty seat right beside her and plopped himself down. "Ozymandias, at your service" he introduced, sticking out a hand to shake. "So, first impressions, what do you think? Of the scenario, not me." He added the clarification quickly in order to avoid an awkward assessment.

Name Change Request

May I please have my username changed to puddingpunter?

ᵐᵉᵐᵉᶰᵗᵒ ♱ ᵐᵒʳᶤ

He heard it before he saw them. He's been preparing to round the corner up ahead when there was the screech of tires, the stench of burnt rubber filling his nostrils. Then driver's side of his vehicle was suddenly caving in on him.

Icarus had known something bad was going to happen the moment they turned off the public streets and into the shadows of dimly lit neighborhood roads. The hairs along the back of his neck stood up. He knew -he knew!- he should have stopped right then and there. Turned the car around and gone with another plan. But it had taken him goddamned months to be able to get this close to Asimov's men, and he feared he'd lose all traces and be back to square one if he lost sight of them now. So he curled his fingers tighter onto the steering wheel and stubbornly pressed on. Look where that got him.

Hacking up a wet cough, Icarus assessed the situation. He was still in his seat, a good sign, but the pressure building in the front of his face and the acrid taste of blood in his mouth suggested he may have broken his nose. Seemed the airbags had failed him... He groaned and tried moving his head to look around. Crazy what sort of things an automobile accident can cause the human body. All that metal, all that leather. Tempered glass, reinforced seat belts. And for what? One would think that in this day and age, vehicles would be sturdy enough to protect their passengers but alas, it seemed mankind was evolving much too slowly to keep up with the advancement of their technology. Still moved around like beads in a tin can if jarred too much. More specifically he'd been t-boned and Icarus only knew this because the impact hadn't knocked him out. Yet. He felt he was on the verge of losing consciousness but stubbornly refused to go lax. Still slouched forward over the steering wheel, Icarus grunted and sat up. The obnoxious blaring finally stopped when he lifted his chest off the horn but there was still that aggravating bright light to his side. Squinting, he put his hand up to shield his eyes from the high-beams. The Hummer that had charged him backed up a few feet before it stopped once more. Doors on both sides opened up and out stepped three dark-clad figures. Icarus undid the seat belt and dove to floor space beneath the passenger seat, ducking just in time to avoid the rain of bullets piercing the thin metal barrier between him and them.

Icarus opened his door and fell out with a thud, clawing at the frost-hardened ground to put the car between himself and his assailants. Usually he enjoyed the cold but now the snow falling from the darkened sky above made it hard for him to see what he was doing. It make his breath form white puffs and his fingers tremble just a little too much. 'Shit.' He pulled out the Glock from his belt and peeked under the vehicle; one to his right and the other two on his left. Okay, this was doable. He decided to file out the single first and crawled closer, practically getting under his car. Icarus pointed the gun. 'One. Two. Three...' He squeezed the trigger and the second his quarry dropped, aimed the finishing shot at the man's head. The other two backed away from the car and attempted to split up. Icarus rolled out from beneath his car and got up into a crouch before moving closer to the front end. He popped up and quickly fired two more rounds, downing a second man. The third fired back but in that moment exposed himself, allowing Icarus to take his last shot.

He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until he was forced to cough. Icarus rose and sheathed his gun.

A forth figure approached from behind and pulled him into a headlock.

He threw his head back and was granted a satisfying crack as bone met bone but that did little to loosen the grip around his neck. Icarus tucked his chin in, leaned back, braced his hands, and dropped his weight to throw the other off-balance. His opponent countered with a kick to the bend of his leg and a tightened choke. Icarus gave a cry and was forced to kneel. His vision began to go black. Becoming more desperate with each passing second he risked grabbing for the knife sheathed at his ankle and slashed backwards. That momentarily won him his freedom before his head was promptly smashed into the car's headlight. Stunned, he slumped to the ground. Icarus could feel himself being hauled up and tossed over a shoulder but could do nothing about it. A few steps later and he was unceremoniously dropped into the boot of the Hummer before being tied up and locked in there.

Humiliating.

The rest of the hour -at least that's how long it felt- passed in a blur. Icarus floated between in and out of consciousness. The black pit swallowing him whole made it difficult to discern between the two but the occasional bump in the road (his driver seemed to specifically be swerving for those, the bastard) helped him differentiate. Finally it seemed they'd come to a stop. The trunk was popped open and a sack pulled over his head before he was yanked out and dragged along. He was moved indoors, somewhere below ground level past a labyrinth of doors and corridors. He knew they'd reached their destination when they eventually arrived at a room that stank of moldy air and death. Literally. Whether their were decomposing bodies or a waste bucket in here somewhere he was unsure but the stench was enough to make him gag. It was revolting. Icarus was pushed ahead and forced into a chair before being tied down. The sack was removed. He looked around and counted five angry strangers. Oh shit, when did she get here? Icarus quickly looked away, not wanting his captors to start jumping to conclusions. If they decided to try using her against him then things would get really ugly really fast.

Icarus cleared his throat before speaking in the mother tongue. "Thank you. Now I can look you in the eye before I spit." He did just that, blood and phlegm staining the front of his attire. He missed terribly and was rewarded with a strike to the gut but that was worth it, in his opinion. Another hit, this time from a figure to his side, before the one who'd brought him here spoke up.

"What is your name?"
"Some say I look like a 'Dorian'. I don't see it."
Another hit. He stifled a pained groan.
"Who sent you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." That earned him a meaty hand covering his nose and mouth. He struggled feebly but they didn't let up until tears started streaming down his cheeks.

Oh this was going to be fun.

ᵐᵉᵐᵉᶰᵗᵒ ♱ ᵐᵒʳᶤ

_{Ｄｅａｔｈ ｉｓ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｌｙ ｇｏｄ ｗｈｏ ｃｏｍｅｓ ｗｈｅｎ ｙｏｕ ｃａｌｌ．}

info.

_{• special agent #1863, "Icarus"
• born Sepehr Farshad سپهر فرشاد
• legally dead
• birthed Iran, raised England}

_{punctual, kempt, old-fashioned gentleman •
bronze skin, black hair, grey eyes •
tall, lithe, lean •
speaks 13 languages •}

_{references: x, x}

trivia.

_{• dislikes dogs}

_{listens to lofi music •}

_{• enjoys his coffee obscenely sweet}

_{favorite flower is the wall iris •}

_{• collects old books}

_{rides dressage •}

ᵐᵉᵐᵉᶰᵗᵒ ♱ ᵐᵒʳᶤ

<sub>❝I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.❞

❝I do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.❞</sub>

Rebirth

_{"I am literally the last thing standing between you and god so shut the fuck up and be a good patient or I'm giving you a fast pass."}

_{「arlo keyes」 「male」 「thirty-four」 「the doctor」}

𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙻 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴

_{‣ ⁝ ꜱ ᴛ ᴀ ᴛ ꜱ ⁝}

_{o c c u p a t i o n Field Medic
r a n k Chief Petty Officer
s p e c i a l t i e s medical treatment and hand-to-hand
y e a r s e n l i s t e d 6 years
c a l l s i g n Ozymandias}

_{‣ ⁝ ғ ɪ ᴇ ʟ ᴅ s ᴏ ғ ᴇ x ᴘ ᴇ ʀ ᴛ ɪ s ᴇ ⁝}

_{p i l o t i n g ☆☆☆☆☆
no formal training
m a r k s m a n s h i p ★★☆☆☆
passed basic training
s t r a t e g i s t ☆☆☆☆☆
no formal training
d e m o l i t i o n ☆☆☆☆☆
no formal training
c h e m i c a l w a r f a r e ☆☆☆☆☆
no formal training
w e a p o n s h a n d l i n g ★★☆☆☆
passed basic training
c l o s e c o m b a t ★★★★☆
passed basic training; educated in advanced self-defense prior to military training
n e g o t i a t i o n ★☆☆☆☆
no formal training; wields a natural talent for deescalation
f i r s t a i d ★★★★★
fully qualified emergency medical technician; knowledgeable in pharmaceutics}

_{‣ ⁝ ʙ ɪ ᴏ⁝}

_{Born on Milshin, Arlo was birthed by an underage mother who left him to be raised by someone more suitable for child-rearing (i.e. his aunt and uncle). He grew up alongside his cousin, Dorian. Arlo originally had no plans to join the army and worked numerous jobs throughout his teenage years, both for pocket money and in an attempt to figure out what he liked. During his second year in college Arlo discovered his love for medicine, health, and anything to do with the human body. Arlo graduated with a PhD in psychology but after a few months of work he decided he wanted more. Following a tentative trial-and-error period, Arlo finally enlisted with the RAS military on his 28th birthday.}

_{‣ ⁝ ᴍ ɪ ꜱ ᴄ ᴇ ʟ ʟ ᴀ ɴ ᴇ ᴏ ᴜ ꜱ⁝}

_{speaks in what can only be described as an archaic West-American dialect with an equally antiquated South-African accent}

_{‣ ⁝ ʀ ᴜ ᴍ ᴏ ʀ s⁝}

_{he's ambidextrous || he once worked as a bouncer and was thrown through a window || he used to be an infamous surgeon back in his home city || he's met numerous celebrities across the galaxy || he's allergic to seafood || he can play the piano || he had a speech impediment || he has a secret piercing || he was once homeless for a month}

_{‣ ⁝ ᴀ ᴘ ᴘ ᴇ ᴀ ʀ ᴀ ɴ ᴄ ᴇ ⁝}

_{dark green eyes || brown hair || cleft chin || 5'10" || 183 lbs}

_{references: x, x, x}

Exodus

Je'Nai bowed her head in respect to the prince. "Of course. I look forward to being able to serve you, your Highness. Until next time." She stood to leave but not before politely curtsying to General T'vor and General Azurael as well despite the former's obvious distaste towards her (he gave the pretense of seeing her career as practically useless but a teeny tiny part of her wondered if it was some inborn distaste to her bloodline). However just as Je'Nai was on her way her path was blocked by Asmod. She tried to side-step him when suddenly the demon began shouting and she twitched in start. It took a second for her to realize he wasn't yelling at her. Je'Nai followed Asmod's gaze to Azurael.

---

"No, they can't" Ma'ai confirmed. "At least not without the assistance of their technology. But it doesn't seem to bother them. They have other means of transportation and appear to be well off. Guess you can't miss what you never had." He had to shrug then. Before Ma'ai was sent off to spy on mankind, he wondered the same thing as Chrissa and even felt a little bad for the humans too. But not, seeing what they were capable of and how they survived, he didn't pity them so much anymore.

⁝ 🇵​🇦​🇱​🇦​🇨​🇪​ 🇦​🇹​ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇪​🇳​🇩​ 🇴​🇫​ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇷​🇴​🇦​🇩​​ ⁝

Cleyo was a no-nonsense kind of guy and he liked to keep it that way. Keep it simple. Made things a lot easier that way.

The hybrid prowled to the door with the liquid grace of a snake maneuvering though the water. A predator stalking after prey. He had one job and one job only; protect the Khyrsopos. Everything else came after, whether that be Auium's comfort or her happiness (unfortunate as that was). So when Cleyobanthal had opened the door it was with full intent on chasing off whoever it was standing behind the door at such an hour. Be it someone looking for trouble or someone looking for shelter, he couldn't care less -deal with them and send them on their way. Perhaps years ago he would have had the heart to consider taking in lost wanderers, stragglers, travelers who needed someplace to hold out for the night, that sort, but not anymore. He couldn't, wasn't permitted so. The sword at his belt was a heavy reminder of that.

Cleyo was a no-nonsense kind of guy and he liked to keep it that way. Tonight would not be one of those nights.

"Prince Alastor?" Eyes widened, the shock in his voice was evident. Otàe may be a land without rulership but that didn't mean its residents did not know king from peasant. Well, in this case, prince. Auium was Cleyo's ward and although her care was his primary concern, by law he was not permitted to harm any royalty on her behalf unless there was absolutely no other choice. As of this very second that was not the case. Turning a the visitor away suddenly no longer felt like an option; if Alastor froze to death or succumbed to some other fate on the land then part of the responsibility would be on him. Cleyo looked from the prince to the white-haired stranger standing behind him, and eyed her warily. "What are you doing here?" He'd barely finished the question when a familiar voice piped up from behind.

"Cleyo, let them in!"
He could hear her little hooves scraping against the castle's marble flooring. He didn't turn around and instead put am arm up against the frame of the threshold, effectively blocking any possibly entry or exit without his interference. "Auium, go back to bed" he warned, tail twitching in agitation. But the echoes of her footfalls continued on closer.
"I had another vision!"
The hairs along the back of his neck stood on end and Cleyo went rigid, but still refused to turn around. Auium came along and peeked out at their two new guests from under Cleyo's arm. He spared her a precursory glance, then resumed staring down the strangers.
"Well don't just keep them standing there! Quickly, before someone sees."
Cleyo didn't bother pointing out that aside from the occasional traveler, there wasn't supposed to be anybody on the island but them. He flicked an ear.
"Are you sure about this?" Her visions' uncanniness still unnerved him to this very day. They were rare, far and apart, but whenever they did make themselves known they were never wrong.
"Yes, now move aside before they both melt in the rain." If you didn't count her horns, Auium only came up to Cleyo's chest, yet she was trying to push him out of the way with all her small might. Cleyo relented and pulled the door open.

As much as he didn't like this, Cleyo knew he had to trust her judgement. Auium was no child and understood the importance of her duty, of her roll in the universe. He would go along with this for now but if either of the two threatened her in an way then he would halt this immediately and suffer the consequences of his own actions later. Auium moved out of the way with him, granting their guests entry, and Cleyo bowed at the hip in welcome. "Your highness."

𝔻🇷🇦🇬🇴🇳'🇸 ℂ🇷🇴🇼🇳