datadiving | lobcorp/ruina AU catchall

[ He just 'hmms' at that. You never know! And at L Corp, your future is even less assured. ]

Well, it's a mark of our time together as roommates coming to an end! Seeing you once in a while isn't the same as seeing you every day.

[ He raises an eyebrow as he sets out the plates. He huffs a little. ]

At least eat first. Don't waste all my hard work!

[Avery raids one of the drawers for a couple of forks and knives, giving a dismissive little wave as he takes them back to the table]

Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Like I'm really going to let an opportunity like this go to waste. It feels like forever since I got to sit down and have a good steak.

[He sets the silverware where it needs to be and all but flops down into his seat.]

Thanks by the way.

I should be thanking you. [ He smiles at him warmly, beginning to eat. He speaks politely between bites. ] You're the one who even gave me an option to room with you. It's the least I can do.

[ It certainly cuts down the commute time. ]

Hey, if it was up to me, I'd drag you along with.

[he takes a moment to chew, gesturing vaguely with the knife.]

Not that Vanessa would mind too much, but I can't imagine the transfer paperwork you'd have to go through would be much fun.

I don't mind paperwork. It's peaceful, actually. [ He shrugs. ] You'd be surprised how little I do - I'm an agent, not a clerk. It's not my job.

[ Avery can keep a secret, right? You are gonna get some TOP L CORP SECRETS. Or at least things that aren't known to the general public. ]

[Avery cocks his head to the side]

Agent? Like security?

Um...you could say that. [ He takes another bite of steak and chews thoroughly before he continues. ] We're kind of like security, but our main job is to work with what produces L Corp's energy.

[ He glances at him. ]
You've heard of the areas beyond the City, right? The outskirts and the ruins?

Yeah, who hasn't?

[He takes a bite of his steak and nearly chokes on it as it finally sinks in, and for a moment he completely forgets all sense of politeness, speaking without finishing his food.]

No... You're kidding.

Working for L Corp means you don't have to. [ His tone is a bit apologetic. ] Sorry. I didn't mean to make you choke.

But, uh. Sometimes they find...creatures, you know? All the way out there. They call them Abnormalities in the facility. They capture them and transport them back to the corporation.

From there, it's the job of agents to work with those abnormalities. Keeping them happy and indulged means they don't break out...well, usually...and, well, they give us energy, which powers other Corporations! And the City, of course.

Edited 2021-06-03 17:15 (UTC)

Yeesh...

[Avery slowly shakes his head]

The ability to harvest energy from creatures from the Ruins and Outskirts... That's one hell of a Singularity L Corp's got there.

And the equipment you mentioned--that's for dealing with them?

Some of the equipment helps with the usual work. They're, sort of made from the Abnormalities, I guess. The tech staff manufacture them from the Abnormalities themselves - I'm not really sure how. We get, um...suits, and weapons. I can show you those later, when we've finished eating.

There's gifts, though...like accessories. They're given by the Abnormalities themselves. Those feathers I gave you are one of those. [ He smiles a little honestly. It's tired, but there. ] I had to work a few extra shifts, but the Firebird's not too bad, so I didn't mind. They're actually pretty manageable if you're used to them.

[Gifts from creatures from the Outskirts and Ruins--Abnormalitiies... A part of Avery wonders if they might be cursed somehow, but if they were Ekkehardt wouldn't feel comfortable giving Avery something like this, right?

He wasn't like most of the people who lived in the City, after all. There was still something of a heart left under all that sometimes-too-serious exterior]

Heh. Firebird, eh? Should be useful once Winter rolls around. Better than a pair of earmuffs.

[Not that he can remember the last time he actually wore earmuffs]

[ Well, some of them are definitely cursed. But he wouldn't give anything like that to a *civilian*. An agent who knew the risks, sure...but not Avery. ]

I can only hope it'll be that helpful. [ His smile brightens a little as he looks at him, in reflection of that hope.

He continues to eat. He slows down as he gets close to finishing his meal, aware of how it's marking their time together coming to an end. ] So, where are you going to live? You're moving to a different Nest, aren't you?

[Avery nods and gives the district's info. It's not W Corp or J Corp's district, thank goodness. Just your average, run-of-the-mill Nest.]

Not too far from here, thank goodness. And hey, if it turns out L Corp has a branch there, I can put in a good word for you and see if they can move you over.

Oh, you really don't have to do that...I'll be fine, don't worry. [ He's got something picked out. Not another Nest, though; he feels more comfortable in the Backstreets, somehow, even after all this time. ] You've been more than generous enough, with offering me space as your roommate and everything.

[ ...All done. He puts his utensils down with a clink, feeling an odd sense of finality. ]

[The clink of silverware echoes in his mind, and a sense of loss grows, weighing heavily in his chest. Still, Avery wears his smile. It would be harder to leave if he said anything, after all, and acknowledging it aloud at all just makes it feel too real.]

Just keep it in mind. Someday you might want a change in scenery, you know.

Okay, okay. I'll try not to forget. [ He pushes his chair back to rise, picking up his empty plate. ]

Do you want a look at my gear now? It's not like we've got much to do after dinner. [ Except washing up, but he can handle that. ]

[Avery nearly drops his plate into the sink in his excitement.]

Ha! Do you really need to ask? Just show me where it's at! I want to see what those babies look like!

[ Ekkehardt laughs a little, putting his plate in the sink and beckoning to Avery. ]

All right, all right. Come on. [ He opens the closet inside his strangely sparse room and drags out a large case stamped with L Corp's logo, which he takes several minutes to get open. ]

I don't want anyone else to get their hands on these, [ he explains, as he unlocks it. ] They'd be hard to replace.

[ The case pops open to reveal a set of funereal clothing in black and white. It smells faintly like dust and moths; even looking at it feels heavy and sad. Ekkehardt carefully folds it up and puts it aside, revealing a case with miscellaneous trinkets underneath; a purple and yellow heart badge, a set of bandages, a match, a gold and blue smoking pipe, a curled flower. These, he unlatches the tray for and similarly puts aside.

Waiting almost ominously underneath are two weapons; a thin sword with a blackened hilt, and an innocuous looking rifle in the same blue and gold as the pipe. ]

I don't use the rifle a lot...I guess he'd be a little miffed about it, but it's too powerful to use carelessly. [ What he means by that is hard to discern. ]

Edited 2021-06-08 14:06 (UTC)

[Avery's mouth drops open at it all. Some of them look so innocuous, even ridiculous, but others, such as the strange, heavy funeral attire and the weapons practically have his head spinning.]

Wait. That's a gun.

[He shakes his head.]

Those things can even produce a gun of all things... No wonder L Corp's Singularity is so tightly under wraps.

I'd, ah...demonstrate what it can do, but that would be a bad idea. [ He lifts the gun from its casing; it seems to visibly shiver in his hands, a silent complaint. I'm getting dusty in here; don't you want to see what I can shoot for you? it might say, if it could speak (and maybe it does, though he doesn't dare to think of it - when he raises the gun in proper form, finger on the trigger guard, stock pressed against his shoulder, a dry, low voice speaks to him; darkness crowds his vision, until he can only see what he wants to fire at.

Is it the voice of the Abnormality he hears? Or maybe, like in the story - the home or world it, he, came from - the voice of the devil still echoes inside even a mere copy of the rifle that held bullets powerful enough to cross any distance, pierce any heart.

"I don't think you're a devil," he had said once, bold enough to say it to der Freischutz's face. The Abnormality had merely laughed, soft, the only time it had ever done so.) ]

It doesn't use ammunition either. [ His smile is small and regretful. ] It's, sort of, based on a story, you know? A hunter made a deal with the devil for bullets that could pierce anything...

I don't know if you know that one, though. [ Did the people in the Nests bother with tales of that sort any more? ] Do you?

[Avery hums to himself and then shakes his head]

No, I don't think I know that one.

[He's more familiar with the tale of the three birds and Little Red Riding Hood. And even then he'd spent more time with children's mystery novels than he had with books of fairy tales.]

But I get the feeling it's one of those stories with a bad end. Wanting bullets to pierce anything is just asking for trouble.

I'll spare you the details, then. But you're right. It doesn't end happily.

[ He'd always wondered why, the reasons for making such a deal in the first place, but he's not sure the Abnormality would tell him. He's not sure he even knows, or remembers, or finds it important.

He places the gun down again, fitting it safely back in the case. ]

The bullets from this gun pierce through anything, like the story says...They stop at walls - they're not as powerful - but they go right through people. It doesn't discriminate.

The sword hasn't got anything very frightening to it, though.[ Well, apart from the fact it makes you a better swordsman just by sheer rate of blows. ] So I use that one more, for work.

[Avery can't help but shudder.]

That's one hell of a gun. Glad you have it under lock and key there.

[The thought of a Syndicate or one of the Fingers getting their hands on something like that is almost too much to bear. Even the most cowardly of the dregs in their midst could easily be emboldened to storm any Nest they pleased armed with a weapon like that.]

Well. Here's hoping you don't ever have to use it anywhere, eh?

It's my hope that I don't have to use it. At least, not too much.

[ The sword has less of a tendency to creep into his mind, or perhaps they're already similar enough that he doesn't feel it. It speaks with the voice of the Abnormality it was forged from, a despairing lament about the sacrifice of protecting others. ]

...Did you want to ask anything else? I mean, it could be the last time you get to ask me anything! [ There's a mild sort of humor to his voice, even if the implications are morbid. ]

lobcorp/ruina AU catchall

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