Event - Quarter

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Quarter

➥ Quarter Dollar

There are many different departments at ADI, all of which seem to be vying for new potential arrivals to join their ranks. As the Quarterly Meeting begins, everyone is shown into the large gym below ADI where each of the departments has set up a booth. Some are more impressive than others with activities and native and off-worlders alike there to enthuse about joining up with them. Everyone is allowed to join up to two departments at ADI. Choose wisely!

Administration and Public Relations
These two departments appear to have joined forces and, as such, have gone all out for their booth. There are colors and informational signs all over the place, snacks, grinning people willing to tell you that it's great to be able to do your part away from some of the serious danger posed by fieldwork. They have set up a competitive game of Two Truths and a Lie. Everyone is given a card out with the names of people they play with. There's a place for them to sign off if a person successfully guesses their lie on the first go. There's a $100 gift card for the Castaways Vintage Cafe up for grabs to the person who can gather the most lies! Get to know each other and get some delicious (local) coffee and pastries!

Canteen and Facilities
The people in the Canteen know what will bring likely new arrivals into their fold: food. Food combined with… cleaning? Mostly, this means that they have some tasty snacks cooking on a few hot plates, or available in coolers set up in front of their booth, as well as a coffee dispenser. Their activity to get people interested is a 'consume the evil avatar' challenge. There are fruits, veggies, and other foods available to design a consumable creature. Those who participate are told that they will be given three free desserts at the Canteen. You might win a few extra if you can convince your fellow participants that your edible avatar is the best. Or… worst, as the case may be. Please remember to clean up when you're finished!

Equipment and Research
The R&D team, as it were. Although Research is a much broader department, they've teamed up with the Equipment folks to showcase their departments together as a place for nerds of all stripes. There are some interesting-looking gadgets for anyone who comes over that basically amount to very fancy fidget cubes and fidget spinners. The Research team also has a challenge for those who think they might be cut out for this department: Collect at least three pieces of information from or about people around the gym and report back. The cooler the info, the more (arbitrary) points you'll score. Everyone who participates and reaches a certain points threshold will be given one of the fidget cubes or spinners to take home with them.

Security and Investigations
The Security and Investigations departments have taken over nearly a quarter of the gym with their combined booth displays. It's a mini-obstacle course with nerf guns and targets set up. It's designed so that people have to work in teams to overcome some obstacles, the better to show that this is a team, whether you're working close to home for security or out in the field, relying on other people to have your back. Those who participate in the obstacle course will be timed. The team with the best time will be given bragging rights plus a $100 gift card (each) to the General's Store. Teams are allowed to run the course more than once or break apart to find more agreeable partners for runs.

Medical and Counseling
The combined Medical and Counseling departments have set up a very cozy looking booth area. They've got colorful standing screens that give the appearance and sense of a more intimate setting in front of their booths. The comfy bean bag seats they've scattered strategically with tables nearby to set down food or drinks only add to the ambiance. There's a gentle suggestion for a game where you find as many things in common with another person as possible, but everyone who can find even one thing in common with another person will win a prize. Said prizes are things like candy, stress balls, and handheld massage tools.

Information Technology
This particular department doesn't seem to think it needs to work to get people to join. There are some TVs set up with video game consoles that feature 2-player games exclusively. If anyone asks, they'll indicate a lot of their job is sitting around, waiting for things to break. The hacking only happens sometimes and it's really cool when it does, but they can't be breaking into things like the FBI constantly. That would be a bad look.

Staff Development
The booth here is one sad, long-suffering-looking person who's sat behind a folding table. They're handing out pamphlets. Just… so many pamphlets about potential skills you could learn. There's no game here, just pamphlets. A disturbing volume and variety of pamphlets. It's like this person seems to have become a living Craigslist, advertising every bizarre thing someone at ADI could potentially teach them, from alien languages to how to play the hurdy-gurdy.

➥ Fiscal Quarter

(cw: references to character deaths/disappearances, reference to animal attacks, mention of insects/centipedes)

Once 3 PM rolls around, everyone is herded into an exceptionally large conference room on the lower levels of ADI. People are allowed to bring their drinks and snacks, but are asked to be respectful with their volume. There's a raised stage at one end of the room, and it's onto this that Nia Lehrer steps. She is a short, dark-skinned woman with her hair styled into a tight and professional braided bun atop her head. She's in a striking scarlet pants suit and carrying a small remote that she uses to turn on a projector for a PowerPoint slide presentation titled: Third Quarter 2021. She is accompanied by another woman with a shock of bubblegum pink hair who stays to one side and proceeds to sign as Nia speaks.

"Thank you for coming, everyone." Nia directs a tight smile at the camera aimed at the stage. "And tuning in if you can't be with us today. It's been a hard year. We have new faces, but… a lot fewer old ones. I'd like to take a moment, please, a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us, whether their fates are known or not."

The slides shift and there is one titled 'In Memoriam.' It includes what may be many familiar names, but also the names of people native to this world or others from different worlds who arrived from earlier in time.

"Thank you. Now, I'd like to turn everyone's attention to our accomplishments..." Nia is a skilled public speaker, and it shows as she walks the room through two separate, major threats that ADI and its personnel have managed to contain: a ritual attempt by the Endless Sky Cult out in Montana, and an infestation of dog-sized centipedes that turned up in North Carolina. She also gives praise to those who fought against the kelpies and eradicated them closer to home. "We've identified the likely origin point for the kelpies as Bar Harbor in Maine. It seems strange animal sightings and 'shark' attacks dropped off when the population was relocated to Essex Bay. We're still looking into how they were transported and who brought them down. If anyone has any additional information, we welcome it.

"That brings me to the question of how we're obtaining our information, though." There's a pause as her gaze sweeps over the room. "Many of you are from worlds where you have magic, where you have extraordinary, superhuman abilities and there is no cost. It's just a natural part of who you are. That's no longer the case. While we appreciate efforts to gather information on our behalf, we do things the right way here. We don't feed off of other people and do exactly what's been done to so many of us. There are limited circumstances that ADI can authorize the use of the kinds of abilities some people have been discussing around here. Saving your life when you get here and keeping all of this a secret." She motions to the room at large. "I know many of you probably have an opinion on this, but I'll be blunt with you. If you have the ability to use whatever powers you possess, you are hurting or have hurt someone. You have made the conscious choice that someone else is going to suffer because you wanted or felt you needed that power. Justify it to yourself that 'they deserved it,' but that doesn't change what you are doing."

She takes a deep breath. "This is a difficult transition. We've allowed some things to slide because of that. Know that the longer you're here, the less leeway we're willing to grant you.

"Now, there are a few other threats we're tracking at the moment. Fenix Down is one of them. We have field operatives monitoring his performances and keeping track of his movements. As he seems to be in the early stages of accumulating power, he's not our highest priority. We're more concerned with reports coming out of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We're still gathering intel, but there may be a ritual in the works somewhere in that area. Until we have more information, we'd like to keep most of the people here, particularly our new arrivals, busy closer to home. The source of the singing around the city is a concern. We'd like to start sending out patrol teams for the graveyards to try to find the source. Similarly, the situation in Dogtown is becoming a problem. We've never seen anything quite as vicious as what's been happening there lately. Again, we'd like volunteers to assist in routing out whatever's hiding in there and putting an end to it before it hurts anyone else.

"If you're interested in that, Reyes will be organizing the patrols. And I'll be available for 10-minute discussion blocks after the next presentation. Please check in with Reyes to reserve some time."

And with that, she heads off the stage, leaving it to the CFO, a nervous-looking man who goes over the company finances at a high level for the next 20 minutes.

➥ Quarter Pounder

(cw: animal attack, consumption of human flesh, violence, gore, body horror, potential for severe injury, including puncture wounds and broken bones, potential for choking, potential for animal death)

Once you really start looking in Dogtown, it's almost… obvious. That's not water splashed across the path through the dirt, there's a rich iron scent to it. Blood. Blood is everywhere around Dogtown. It lingers in the air, but so many ordinary people seem to just… ignore it. They can't see it. Or maybe they don't want to. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

You are not ignorant. Make of that what you will. It's the reason why you'll be able to find your way, eventually, to a clearing where the scent of blood is the thickest. Or… almost make it there. There are no paths to this part of Dogtown and wandering, you could believe you're deep in the woods, well away from any civilization. It will take a keen eye to spot the traps set out all around the clearing. Snares hung on branches and hidden amongst leaves, bear trap-like devices made of sticks and pieces of twine, spike pits, small trenches you could break your ankle in. All manner of simple traps designed not to kill, but to wound.

If you do find yourself caught, you may be waiting a long time before anything comes to check on you. But perhaps you'll get lucky and someone else will be making an ill-advised trip out into the woods! When you do finally make it out and manage to get to the clearing, it may seem to be a deceptively uninteresting place. It's just a meadow with some wild boar turning over chunks of mud near some sort of drop off. A large hole?

The wind changes and you get a whiff of what's coming from that hole. Rotting, putrid meat, blood that's curdled and a body that's just gone off. Take an actual step into that field and the boars turn as one to look at you. And then the creatures actually stand up, revealing a collection of human arms and legs writhing along their bellies. The only sound is a squeal as they charge. Ready to gore, grab, and make you another piece of their collection.

➥ Quartermaster

(cw: flooding; damage to homes and possessions; drug paraphernalia; potential for memory loss or reference thereto)

It's two in the morning when disaster strikes at Bonnie's Flophouse. A few thunderstorms have rolled in over the past week, but they were nothing in comparison to the tempest that pelts the building tonight. While residents of the ADI apartment complex are warm and safe in their beds, residents of the Flophouse are liable to learn at the worst time that their windows are less than watertight. Thankfully, all it should take is a bit of elbow grease and/or improvised dam materials to stop up those minor leaks, so while it's not a particularly restful night, no one's out of a home.

No one, that is, apart from Bonnie and the Visionary. Their shared room in the basement of the Flophouse fares much worse, water from a stopped drain pouring down the inside of the unfinished foundation. In the hours directly after the storm hits, Bonnie can be found frantically ferrying their things upstairs (there are many potted plants and sodden wall tapestries--and yep, that's a bong) while the Visionary perches uneasily in a lumpy common room chair. Show up downstairs during the crisis and Bonnie will absolutely put you to work removing things from the flooded basement or trying to figure out how to stop more water from coming in. Show up the next morning and you'll find the two of them asleep on couches in the ground floor common area.

It takes days to dry out the mess in the basement. Bonnie is kept busy with that work, directing anyone who will help and doing what she can to correct the issue so it doesn't flood again the next time a storm rolls in. She's constantly on the move; conversations with her during this period will tend to be limited to Bonnie handing out instructions for repairs or for drying things out before rushing off to the next thing she has to get done. In the meantime, the Visionary spends most of his time in the common room, seeming overwhelmed by it all. She's a thin, sickly figure with a white walking cane and a blindfold they never remove, and up until now has only been a sporadic visitor to the building's shared spaces. Despite the blindfold, he always seems to know when someone has entered the room, head turned and tilted as she listens, a hungry twist to their mouth.

"Don't tell me where you come from," he'll warn you before you've even had a chance to say hello.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompt should be sufficient and you're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. For this event, the only NPCs that should not be controlled by players for threading are: Nia Lehrer and the Visionary. These NPCs will be played by mods and available for interaction.
  
  
• QUARTER DOLLAR (25 September) - For anyone who participates in the Administration and Public Relations or Security and Investigations booth events, there is a sign-up below. The ultimate winners for those booths will be RNG'd and announced on 9/30. Characters who are already part of a department are more than welcome to say that their character is manning the department booth for a portion of the meeting. Selecting a department is something that can be handwaved. There is no official sign-up sheet. Please just remember characters can only join two departments at a time. ADI is mindful of people trying to overwork themselves as a trauma-response and will actively prevent your character from trying to do so by keeping tabs on where they're working and what hours. They'll have to leave the building, at least to continue working after a max of 50 hours each week between their assigned departments.
  
  
• FISCAL QUARTER (25 September) - Nia will be available for conversations with characters after the presentation. You can handwave that Reyes set you up with a time to meet. Please simply tag into the NPC Top Level below with your character entering into an office where Nia will be seated and waiting for them. Characters may meet with Nia individually or in pairs. Characters who attempt to use supernatural abilities on Nia may experience extremely negative IC consequences, as a warning!
  
  
• QUARTER POUNDER (25-30 September) - Characters will be able to use mundane or supernatural senses to track the blood and bits of flesh they might find along the way to the meadow. The traps have no particular pattern to them. They're simply numerous and clearly hand-made from whatever could be scavenged in the forest. There is nothing supernatural about them, but they will hurt characters who aren't careful. They seem to be fairly well hidden. Even someone experienced might not notice them. The boars will attack and attempt to rip pieces out of characters if they see or smell them. They do not speak, but will squeal and attempt to rip people apart if they get ahold of them. The hands and legs on their torsos will assist with this. Once killed, the boars will simply separate from the human pieces that are attached to them leaving them looking like they were just ordinary boars. There are multiple groups of boars that may be found at different times in the meadows. Various groups will need to eradicate them over the course of the week to finish them all off. The hole filled with meat isn't actually that deep, but there's a good handful of body parts and just chunks of meat in there. No full bodies, though.
  
  
• QUARTERMASTER (26-30 September) - As far as anyone can tell, the flooding is just that: normal flooding and water damage. Bonnie will not be available for threads; it can be assumed that anyone trying to strike up a conversation with her will be given something helpful to do and not a lot else. The Visionary will not stray much from the common room until their shared room is habitable again, and will generally be available for conversation. The Visionary is nonbinary and uses he/she/they pronouns interchangeably. Mod narration will reflect this.

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Comments

i'm so sorry i disappeared for almost two weeks jfc

[lesbeau]

It works out if he's more ranged and she's more close-up, anyway. To be totally fair, she does love having someone else to brawl alongside her, but having someone in the background who picks off small game is always worth it's weight in gold.

"I mean, yeah, it's fucking everywhere." She offhandedly gestures around them as if it somehow needs more illustration than 'there's a lot of blood'. "I'm just saying, we're walking into some big shit from something that doesn't give a fuck about how it leaves it's last meal. Can't believe this place is just telling us to check it out like this isn't the biggest sign that says 'you're gonna die' with a massive arrow pointing to the ground."

It's okay, you came back!

[bloodalwaystells]

There's something to be said for having options, especially in circumstances where they aren't certain of the enemy or their capabilities. They can cover each others' weak spots, and that's an important part of being a team.

Jaeger appreciates that Beau seems solid and competent, and he nods quiet agreement with her observation.

"They seem to be very cavalier about sending us out into the woods to run into disturbing things," he agrees sourly. "It's not every time, but near enough to be worrying."

Sadly, he's rather used to being expendable. This is nothing new, it's just a bit more...rustic than the usual deathtraps.

"I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the hunting camps we discovered earlier this month. Lots of blood and pieces of things, but no sign of what made them that way."

He picks his way carefully through the next line of trees, pausing in the brush to take account of what's around him. Slowly and thoroughly, on the watch for any more of the makeshift traps scattered through the woods.

i always do eventually!!

[lesbeau]

"I mean, probably. From whatI can tell this place just morphs into different dumb shit to try and piss you off every month." Honestly, she hasn't thought a lot about it, but that's largely because she figures this is a 'go kill something and don't die' mission before it's a 'figure out what it is' mission. "I'm just saying if they think this place could kill us they should send more than two with an objective of 'I dunno'."

Beau sighs, stepping back and kicking up some dirt. "See anything? Dunno if any of these trees are tall enough but I can take a higher look if there's nothing on the ground."

Hooray!

[bloodalwaystells]

"It doesn't seem like there's enough staff to deal with everything that needs to be done, that certainly doesn't help. Especially if they're relying on those few of us who've been...transported here." His frown deepens, as he lets his camera back down to hang on its strap. "It's only been strange luck that most of seem to be competent in at least some capacity."

He gazes up the tree, following her attention, then gives a nod. Slowing to a stop to let her pick a viewpoint that appeals to her. "That might be a good idea, if you can do it safely." He has far more faith in her abilities to get up there than his own. At least he's wearing sensible boots for the woods, but it's not his specialty in any way, shape, or form.

The stink is pervasive, as are the drag and scuff marks on the forest floor. If there's anything to be seen around here, it's likely nearby and a higher vantage point will probably help.

[lesbeau]

Beau doesn't wait until he gives any follow up, and simply nods when he gives the affirmation and runs directly at the nearest tree. She looks like a gymnist on steroids and simply jumps into the air, branch to branch up to the top like it's very little effort. She grunts, moving to the next tree over with a leap, and gets a couple down before there's a few more scrambling noises, and finally words.

"There's a clearing not far from here! Everything dips down. I think there's a big hole in the middle for some reason." She is in fact just hanging off the top like some kind of pirate on a mast, one hand holding herself and the other over her eyes like a visor. "Might have some kind of answer. Or a big pit trap."

[bloodalwaystells]

It's a wonder to watch Beau do her thing, and Jaeger is transfixed at the way she makes her way up so swiftly and surely. He moves to shadow her on the ground, his boots scuffing lightly through trails of dried leaves as he follows to where he can keep her in sight.

At her indication, he squints in that direction, but there's no pit visible from this position. It's just as well: he trusts her eyes, and he can detect a slight thinning out of the tree cover.

"I'm sure it won't be anything pleasant," he observes, glancing up the tree at Beau's perch. Thrilled at the idea of checking out a possible trap? Not especially, but it's what they're being paid to do and Jaeger has always been thorough in his work. "But we should at least have a look. Carefully."

And maybe find the source of the blood-stink permeating the air, because won't that be fun and exciting.

[lesbeau]

"Yeah, can't do that from here." She swings down about the way she came, bouncing between branches to other tree trunks before she hits the ground. "Sucks my friend isn't here. He'd be great at this."

Not that, you know, her wizard friend that she's mentioning would be of a lot of help here, considering any of his magic would be absolutely screwed up. Still, she finds herself nostalgic for simpler times when they could fly an owl over something and Caleb could psychicly stare at stuff from afar. Oh well. She brushes off her hands and gestures a thumb in the direction she saw the dip in the treeline. "That way. C'mon. Probably better to stay off the path if we can."

Not that they're going to run into any trouble on the road, of course. But that's a problem for Future Beau.

[bloodalwaystells]

"We'll have to make do with what we've got, but I think we'll be alright," he offers. They seem to be a competent enough pair, and while Dogtown has its share of threats and uneasy discoveries, Jaeger has at least a little faith in them.

There's something to be said for professional confidence, even in unusual circumstances.

He watches her bounce her way back to the forest floor with the same sort of quiet appreciation, then nods at her gesture. His eyes scan the horizon, looking for more signs of whatever they're pursuing, before he glances at Beau again.

"Off the path is probably wise, but be careful. I've seen signs of a hunter's camp in the area last time I was here." If there's hunters, they aren't very careful, and that concerns the big mage.

And, as a small acknowledgement of her comment about her friend, he adds quietly, "I'm used to working alone. It has its good points, but having a partner is helpful. I'm still getting used to the idea of someone watching my back."

[lesbeau]

She shrugs in response, starting to work her way the direction she saw. "Sort of those lone wolf people, huh? Try not to die, then. Or let me die while my cleric is MIA." Damn, she should've taken Caduceus out here. Oh well. If anyone was gonna die today it's not gonna be her if she has anything to say about it, but that's not on the forefront of her mind right now.

"There's probably traps all over. Just keep an eye out and don't walk into anything pointy. Once we hit the clearing we should get a better look at whatever the fuck is happening." Even now, it doesn't seem like it's too far off, the light piercing through the trees maybe 50 meters ahead of them and she heads confidently towards that edge. "As long as we keep cover we can figure out what's up. Let me know if you see anything."

[bloodalwaystells]

"I'll do my best," he promises solemnly. He's actually not a bad healer, though he hopes it won't come to that. Depending on his magical abilities in this place is dangerous at best, and he's getting used to the idea of going without.

Magic isn't everything. And if nothing else, he has a brutal-looking .40 caliber pistol holstered at his side. Not helpless by any means.

Jaeger follows at a careful stride, picking his way through the leaves and debris of the forest floor. There's a moment when he has to detour around a tripwire, taking a few feet to avoid the line, but then he's back in step and heading toward...

Well. The carrion stench is only getting stronger, rotten blood and flesh, and that never means anything good. The tree cover thins, then breaks, revealing ground scuffed and scraped by regular passage. Dark, crusty red is smeared and packed into the dirt and forest floor, and scattered here and there are small piles of wood, stone, and other trap-setting materials.

Jaeger spits a thin curse in German, and gazes around warily. The edge of the pit is still a short distance away, but the scene explains itself just fine.

"Lots of tracks. Not shoes. Barefoot, maybe?" Which makes no sense, but it's Dogtown. There's a lot here that doesn't make sense.

[lesbeau]

Even she can smell it as they get in closer, wrinkling her nose and frowning as they hit the treeline. It's a little worrying if there's this much rotted anything, and she crouches down to touch at the blood. Too fresh for her liking.

"No. Beasts don't wear shoes." This is the kind of carnage she'd expect from a bugbear, not a human being, but even that just feels... odd. "But this shit stinks. Which means they're not hunting for food. It's for fun."

She gets up just in time to see some kind of movement across the field, squints, and takes her staff off her back. "Hey, does that look like a pig to you, or--"

And then it charges, and both of them have a moment to see that That Is No Ordinary Pig.

[bloodalwaystells]

Whatever is using this place as its stomping grounds, it's having a nice gruesome little party with it. Even the hunting camps were tidy compared to this.

"It's a charnel pit," he agrees wearily. He doesn't reach for his camera just yet, because the scene isn't secure, and that's a good thing because his hands are free when Beau points out...

He's not sure. It does look like a pig, a big one, but it moves with a weird, fast skittering-climbing-clawing movement that is highly unsettling. Pale, exposed flesh limbs against the dusky hide of the thing, operating as one weirdly seamless whole. Jaeger's gun is in his hands as quickly as Beau's weapon is in hers, but it's not a clear shot and he holds back, barrel pointed at the ground.

"It's fast," he observes curtly. keen grasp of the obvious, there. They aren't going to outrun it...which means fighting is the other alternative.

[lesbeau]

"Not a pig, not a pig, notapig--" Yeah, she sees that shit, and absolutely does not hesitate. Instead of waiting for it to come to her, she charges forward and meets it head-on, meeting hand-to-hand and delivering a number of quick punches right to it's chest. It's a good series of blows and the thing staggers back, seemingly dazed as Beau turns her head to look back at Jaeger in the momentary pause.

"This is probably why there are bits everywhere!" As if that one wasn't obvious. "Also pretty sure they don't like fire! If you have that!"

[bloodalwaystells]

"They're collecting," he observes shortly, pistol in hand. With the monstrosity knocked back by Beau's blows, he's got a viable shot, and there's no hesitation in his decision to take it.

It's not fire, but bullets are what he's got, so that's what he's going to use. It's too close and too fast to risk a fancy shot, so he aims for center mass and squeezes off two quick shots that blossom into bloody flowers on impact. The thing squeals in rage, staggering at the insult, but continues to flail menacingly. More intent on its ability to cause harm than its own well-being, it rights itself and readies for a charge.

[lesbeau]

She takes the opportunity to get a little distance before he takes his shots- her world might be more magic and knights, but it does have handguns and she knows how to get the hell out of the way. It swings wildly, and she's quickly learning that it cares so much less about living and so much more about making them dead.

"It's reckless!" Beau stands still as it comes forward, waiting for the right moment, and swivels in a low kick at it's ankle to trip it and skid into the dirt. "If we can get them into the pit they won't have anywhere to go!" She'll immediately start making a break that direction, unless Jaeger makes some indication that he's in trouble standing solo over there.

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger has the advantage of more distance, but he's not going to let Beau get too far out of his circle. Especially with the risk of something coming around behind them, separating them with greater numbers.

That would be bad, and Jaeger's got half an eye out for any additional monstrosities. And traps. Can't forget the traps, because the woods are littered with them and wouldn't it be a goddamn terrible time to step into a tripwire or snare. It's a lot to pay attention to, but there's adrenaline coursing through his system, giving him that peculiar hyper-awareness of mortal danger, and somehow he manages to pace Beau without breaking his neck on something.

When she's got enough of a lead, he pauses, raises his pistol again, aims a little higher and fires off another two shots. Fifteen rounds suddenly seems like a pathetically small clip, but it's what he's got.

Not all he's got, but it's what he has for now. After that, well? They'll see. And fortunately, he's got good aim. Even if they aren't killing shots, they'll slow the damn thing down, stagger it, and...

Well, make it even madder. There's that, too, as it shrieks a shrill, metallic cry of rage and flails at whatever it can reach.

[lesbeau]

At this point, Beau's focus is on getting this thing to chase her and make it stop paying attention to all the bullets going into it's hide. The real issue is that there just isn't a lot of change in it when it gets shot other than seeming to make it madder. Instead, she's just going to try a Whole plan right now and skids to a stop at the edge of the pit, cupping her hands around her mouth towards the beast.

"Hey! Pig arms! Over here, dipshit!" She stands until it has attention on her and begins the charge, but doesn't move. For a moment, it looks like she's just going to let it tackle her clear into the pit, until at almost the last second she... basically just leapfrogs right over it's head. It looks worse than Beau feels about it, but that doesn't make it good. Regardless, the beast slips, and she lands only slightly ungracefully as it falls screaming into the meat pit.

At that, her gaze goes back towards Jaeger. "Can you get a killshot if it's on the ground?? Because I think it's gonna take a minute or two to get the hell out!"

cw: gore

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger has other skills at his disposal, but none he can rely on here. Not unless he wants to fall a little further into the Hunt's influence, which is already thrumming in his veins. Prey to be conquered, blood to be shed. The itch is strong, but he pushes it back in favor of practical duty.

He creeps closer to the edge of the pit, pistol at the ready, and gives Beau a short, brisk nod. The stink is atrocious, but he's got better control than to recoil, especially with an enemy still active on the field.

"Easier shot," he agrees, sighting down the barrel. The thing is still flailing and squirming, but at least it's not charging right at them, and he pulls the trigger again, twice. This time, the shots catch the monstrosity in the throat and face, and there's a welter of blood and bone.

"That was an amazing jump." Even has he speaks, his eyes scan the clearing, because they've made a lot of noise. "Though we may want to leave before any others come back."

[lesbeau]

Beau doesn't flinch back at the dispay other than to bring her arm up to block her mouth, just in case any excess comes flying her way. She's had a lot of stuff in her mouth (and been the stuff in some other mouths), but when she can avoid it she'd like to.

Once it's apparent the splash zone is over, she gives him a bit of a grin.

"Thanks. 'Ss what I do. But uhh, yeah, if there's more they're gonna know." On the upside, they also know things now, and Beau pulls out her notepad to jot down a few words. "Might wanna do that thing you were doing before. With the pictures. People will want to see this."

[bloodalwaystells]

Bits of blood and other matter is definitely not a welcome taste, and he doesn't blame her in the least for covering her mouth. The angle makes it easier to avoid, at least, and Jaeger gives another quick look around before he holsters his pistol.

The song in his blood fades to a murmur with his prey dispensed with, and while it's not satisfied exactly, it's quieted to a low background roar. That's good enough, and Jaeger gives Beau a nod before taking up his camera again.

"Good idea, yes. This is a scene that the others should see. And will get us paid as well, I'm sure." This counts as proof of strange goings-on, Jaeger is positive, and more than enough to garner them that $100 payoff.

Even if the corpse of the pig-monstrosity is now just a pile of detached limbs around the body of a wild boar. The camera clicks away as Jaeger walks a slow half-circle around the pit, recording in stark detail the body parts and unidentifiable scraps of flesh that make up the "treasure".

"Human parts. But no heads and only partial bodies." He says it distantly, clinically- this is a man used to dealing with horrors. He glances over at Beau again between shots, checking his footing very carefully. Good, solid boots were an excellent investment after all.

[lesbeau]

This better count as "strange goings-on", because she didn't almost get clotheslined by a manbearpig for free. She does turn her nose up towards the corpse, squinting now that the arms have simply... left, and jots that down too.

"Killing it seems to have disrupted whatever enchantment was on it, if all the other parts came off. This must either be where they put the extras, or where they become those things. But I'm sure as shit not sticking around to find out." Beau closes her book with a snap, taking a quick survey around. "We should get out of here. That wasn't quiet."

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger takes a couple more quick photographs, before he nods at Beau and lets his camera drop to its strap around his neck again.

"Agreed." He doesn't have enough ammo left to deal with more of the damn things, and better safe than vivisected, in his opinion. "I think this is as much proof as we're going to get, short of dropping a bag of severed limbs on their desk."

Which he's not above doing, except that's sort of gross. And thankfully unnecessary, for the moment. Pictures will do.

He gives another last, long look around, then another nod to Beau. "Let's go, then. Just be careful: there's probably more traps."

[lesbeau]

"I mean, we could." She looks back at the hole, and then at him. "You think it would make a better impression? Because I'm all for it if you've got someone you're pissed at." Never let it be said she isn't a little shit even at the best of times, and that dangerous sort of grin is back.

"We don't have to or whatever. But it'd be pretty funny. And they couldn't say we aren't really thorough." At this rate, they're never going to be paired up on a mission again, but like-- who gives a shit, this is very worth it.

[bloodalwaystells]

That gets a short, surprised laugh out of Jaeger: it's as rough as the rest of his voice, but it's sincere, a momentary lightness in a man who seldom shows humor.

Gotta laugh about something, even if it's bags of severed limbs.

"I think whoever drives us home would object, nothing in that pit looks too fresh." Still chuckling quietly, shaking his head at his own warped humor. "We've mapped it pretty well, though, I expect if someone wants their own souvenirs, they can come get them."

He hopes to be paired with her again, honestly. She's attentive and skilled, and he appreciates that kind of professionalism.

[lesbeau]

She just shrugs in response, but doesn't push it. It's harder having to live in a society that doesn't appreciate bringing a bag of guts into a superior's office, but hey, he enjoyed the concept of it and that's what matters. Beau snickers herself, giving him a little nudge of 'we could though' before actually letting it go.

"Alright, alright, but keep it in mind in case someone pisses you off later. Don't think this is going away anytime soon." Not that she wants to have to fight more pigs, but sometimes you just need to know the location of some rotting meat you can toss at someone. It's fine. It's so fine. "C'mon, let's get the hell out of here before the pile animates into some kind of flesh bullshit horror that I have to fistfight."