[from here]Left led outside, further down the hall at least. Callisto reminded herself absently of this as she went the opposite direction. In the future she might see what all the fuss was about, but not now. The announcements only made her current target all the more interesting.
[to here]
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"I can help," he said, not sounding very convinced. "I don't mind as long as it's not trying to eat me. You're a very strange man, Dr. Uzuki. Has anyone ever told you that?"
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"Am I?" He smiled. "I believe I may have heard that one or two times before, come to think of it."
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A reluctant smile returned to his lips. "You are, but I trust you. I'm not surprised that people that knew you better noticed as well."
[OOC: I still haven't heard from Lauren about TK. If she still wants him to join us, we can find a way for him to "accidentally" run into them later, can't we? If we're going actually to find a monster and kill it, they may need to head out very soon.]
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"I suppose I'm simply a strange man then." He chuckled, as though it were a very funny joke. "But there are much worse things to be!"
[OOC: Come to think of it, has Lauren come back from the Land of No Internet yet? I can't recall seeing an end-hiatus note from her since last week....]
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The smile grew more sure, though Armand didn't venture as far as to laugh, even nervously. "Yes, you're right about that. You usually are about most things."
[OOC: You know, that may be it. She was still around when I first told her we were set for her to join us, but she might have not come out because of going away right away. I didn't realize she'd be gone this long, but I haven't seen her on AIM at all.]
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"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he went on, in an effort to appear humble. "But there are some universe truths. And one of them is simply that there are worse things to be than eccentric. Especially around here."
[OOC: I checked the hiatus tags, and didn't see an off-hiatus post, so I think she's just not around yet.]
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"That is likely also true. I find it hard to think in absolutes anymore." Other than the absolute that anything he set his will to do would go horribly wrong. "I can't believe how much being here has destroyed my faith in almost everything."
[OOC: I must have misread it, because I thought she was only going to be gone a few days. Thanks for looking.]
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When Armand mentioned his lack of faith, Citan's eyebrows drew down some. "You shouldn't lose your faith, my young friend. Like hope, faith sustains the soul and mind in even the darkest of hours. And I fear that we haven't reached those even yet." He reached out to lay a hand on the younger man's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
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When he felt the hand on his shoulder, his other hand went immediately to try to cover it. Just to touch another person was a kind of hell because of all the memories that surfaced. He didn't think Citan was like Percy in any other way (other than they were both brilliant enough to frighten him), but the eternal optimism struck dangerous chords in Armand's heart, the kinds of chords that brought his shame far too close to the surface. "I lost my faith in God years ago. The rest has just crumbled away."
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Like all of the creatures that resembled animals and served as monsters here at the institute, the rodents were far larger than they should have been, and their eyes glowed in a way that would probably come across as exaggerated.
But it was all very real - their hunger was very real.
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"I believe we have company," he said, fighting the impulse to grin. Now this was more like it. Myriad eyes, glowing in the darkness. The thrill of the fight, the attack.
Citan dropped into a fighting stance, setting his flashlight on the ground to keep his hands free.
Perhaps he should have handed it off to Armand, but his mind was already three steps ahead, intent on the creatures coming for them.
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He wasn't skilled at all in this kind of fighting, but he was far better dressed in his woolen coat and trousers and knee-high leather boots to defend against smaller teeth and claws than Citan was. Against anything even a smidge more serious his clothes would mean nothing, even be a hindrance, but they gave him some confidence as he stepped up to Citan's side again. He swung the loaded pillowcase in one hand to get some momentum going and balled his free hand into a fist held slightly in front of his body as he somewhat copied Citan's low stance.
Against creatures so low to the ground, he wasn't sure the defensive blocks Alec and Morrison had shown him would be much help, but he tried to keep them in mind as well. So many things to keep track of when trying to fight. He hoped he could actually help this time.
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One rat went for Citan, tail swinging around as it jumped forward and aimed for his ankle. Another moved toward Armand, skirting around the pillowcase he was swinging in order to make an attempt to latch onto his leg as well.
The third started to circle around behind them, not wanting to give the two any chance of escape. The creatures didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that the things they were attacking were much larger than them.
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"Tenacious creatures, aren't they?" he called back to Armand, narrowing his eyes some at the animal going for his companion. He hated to turn his back on the one attack him, but...well...he knew Armand was no fighter.
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"Where did the other ones go?"
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The one targeting Armand was able to avoid his kick and then zone in on his leg, jumping up at it and then scratching down the man's shin.
The third one had managed to get around behind the two patients, and when it realized that one of its companions was having some success in its attack, it moved up behind Armand and made to nibble at his heel - but its teeth were by no means small.
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He brought a straight hand down on the thing's neck, lips set in a thin line. He was going to kill it. It and every foul creature this institute saw fit to release upon him.
"How are you faring, Armand?"
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"I found the other one," he said, not letting himself sink into worry yet.
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When the second rat's claws met the top of Armand's boot, it wasn't sure what to do. It didn't want to retreat without getting something for its efforts, and so it took a quick bite out of his leg before the man's hand threw it off.
The one that was biting at Armand's heel got two small chunks of flesh ripped out before it was kicked away, flying off of his foot and landing against the floor.
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And Armand seemed to be handling himself rather well. Perhaps he could learn a few simple moves.
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Though the two rats that had been after Armand had dispersed, that didn't mean they were ready to quit. When he didn't make any immediate attempt to attack them, the one that he wasn't facing jumped for his leg again, while the other remained where it was and tried to anticipate what would happen next.