Claude
As Claude stepped off the aircraft, a slight tremor in their step as they struggled to get used to normal altitudes again, they half-wondered if they should have just stayed back for this. There was a certain smell in the air that made their throat burn, their cane digging firmly into the earth for stability and leaving cracks in its wake. Their eyes flickered to each Splice in turn, figuring out who had the keycards. Ulrych and Maia. They kept those names in mind. The discussion currently was on tactics, and Claude decided to stand back and listen for a time, keeping an eye on the Catastrophes in the not-so-distant hallway.
When the oversized bat-thing with the green scales moved, its wings flapping slightly as it shifted positions, Claude’s eyes narrowed, the vice in their chest loosening as they realised it was simply moving in its sleep. The plan currently seemed to revolve around fire, and Eris had brought up an idea they found quite excellent. Seal them in, burn them to ash. That would work nicely, save us a lot of time. They nodded in silent approval.
The buzzing of wasp wings grew ever louder, and Claude watched the creatures hovering around the sleeping bat. They didn’t seem to be approaching it, rather choosing to keep a safe distance. Some of the insects seemed irritated, buzzing agitatedly around its head. That definitely wasn’t ideal, but perhaps could be used to the favour of the group. Leaning heavily against their cane when a sudden wave of weakness shook their legs, they drew a breath and coughed out the dust in their lungs. Maia had made a good suggestion too, something about smoke and fire. An idea crept into the fore of Claude’s mind, half-formed.
“Perhaps… perhaps we could use an explosive.” They dug through the pockets of their coat and found the battered metal of their lighter, fingers curling tightly around it. The cool material was soothing. “Throw it, then trap the catastrophes just before it goes off.” They looked up at the group, then hurriedly added, “It’s um. Yeah.” Their voice cracked slightly, a pain in their throat as they coughed to clear it. They could hear Eris whispering, but couldn’t make out the words.
Nikolai
(edited as I accidentally deleted half of it.)
The dream dissipated as quickly as it came, the sharp jolt of the landing bringing Nikolai back to his senses. He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. It was dry here. He could feel it on his skin, the uncomfortably stifling heat of the outside world. The aircraft was mostly empty now, and so he decided to go along as well. No point idling back here, dwelling on faded colours and scraps of memory. He gave the handler a nod as he walked past her, drawing a deep breath and immediately coughing on the dust.
The others had already begun gathering outside, it seemed. Discussing tactics to defeat… what? Oh. Nikolai blinked at the catastrophes in the distance, spotting the swarm of wasps buzzing around the scaled bat-thing. They were all highlighted in a dark red, with the wasps also having occasional flares of a bright orange. Aggression, he thought to himself. The wasps were definitely angry, more volatile enemies, and he’d have to take them out first if… no, no. Stick with the team.
He didn’t really know anyone’s name. Everyone was different, and that made them easier to remember. For example, the woman he was currently hovering awkwardly behind was the one with the cowboy boots and white hat. And the man nearby, that was the man who made the lights break once. Probably. It was a hazy memory, but such things were usually enough to mark people out to Nikolai as more than just a passing stranger. Names just didn’t stick in his head anymore, a cluster of letters with no real meaning that slipped easily into the fog, never to be seen again. So he didn’t try.
Nikolai remained quiet, glancing briefly towards the Catastrophes when they stirred. He could feel the wasps growing more irritated, the weight on his chest increasing slightly and an itch gnawing at the back of his mind. To buy some more time for planning, he quietly extended one hand in the direction of the insects, pressing the other to his shield. Just a little bit ought to be enough. The negative energy flowed into his palm and into his shield, and the buzzing of the wasps seemed to calm slightly, their dark red glows lightening. This usually wasn’t a visible process unless large amounts were being taken in, so this should be fine.
Lowering his hand and shaking off the ache in his knuckles, he focused back on the task at hand.
