| (Re)Introductions | ||
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Summary: Sam Walker meets with Louis to discuss the recent terrorist attack where he gets to meet Nina Flip in the social chaos that follows. Who: Louis, Sam_Walker, Nina_Flip When: June 17th, 2025 Where: Horns Conglomerate Head Office, Denko City |
Within the main entrance of the main office is a reception area, though this is clearly not designed for just anybody to walk in like a grocery or bakery. No, the place is about as serious as it gets. Busy. Very busy. Always busy during office hours. Sometimes busy after. It's not that people are walking around or the like. Every beast has their position and job and there is much focus. The receptionist is a deer. She types away at a computer while talking on a phone receiver cradled on her shoulder. A clock ticks away on the wall overhead. A path around the reception desk leads to a stairwell entryway and a double elevator. While this office is the main office for Horns, it's not the entire lifeblood of the massive financial institution, but the heartbeat is strong here. The richest and most powerful company in the beast nation and the CEO sits at the top somewhere. A large stag stands near the entryway, but he doesn't look like a paper-pusher. He looks like a person-pusher. Not a lion in sight, though. "Welcome to the Horns Conglomerate," the receptionist is proficient at saying. She probably knows most of what's up and is very keen at allowing appointees to take directions to the specific office, representative, or meeting room stationed far ahead of time. "How can I help you?" she questions of walk-ins and call-ins alike with a soft yet remarkably clear voice. Sam was out of place. All around him, people in dressed sharp suits hurried too and fro. They talked of shares and stock prices, carrying briefcases, rushing for meetings, while here he was. T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and sunnies. He'd made an effort of course, fur freshly combed, the bruises hidden best he could even if the soreness was still causing him to limp just a bit. He had passed a suit hire place on the way here, and although it was by now far too late for such second thoughts he couldn't help but wonder if that would have perhaps been a better bet. "Heya." Good start. Or at least as good as anything else he could think to say to the receptionist. "Not sure if I'm on the books, but, I'm here to see Louis? We ran into each other at the hybrid debacle." He was even trying to hide that drawl. Probably wasn't working. This was stupid. This was a bad idea. Although to be honest despite his instincts telling him otherwise an even worse one would be to just *leave* right now. What would they think? Hell what would they do? "Name's Sam. Sam Walker." The receptionist presses a button on the phone before hanging the receiver up, transferring the call, and turning her attention to the freshly-entered wolf. She listens earnestly, pulls her hands from the keyboard and folds them, blinking a few slow times as she takes in this stranger. "Right. Mister Sam...Walker? Do you have identification? I'll see what Mister Louis is expecting on his schedule today." Near the entrance, the stag straightens some of his posture and makes eye contact with the receptionist. She shakes her head a little. "He's such a busy deer, you know. Are you one of his university friends? A student ID would work, this time. We can add you to the system to make this a lot easier next time." This was going about as well as Sam expected, which is to say, not great. At least not so far. "I'm sure he is, it's just that- Ooo yeah. About that. See I do, but, I'm from out of town. Got me here but seems like y'all-" That drawl slipped out. Only a slight flub, sure, yet internally the wolf was kicking himself. Still he carried on. He came all this way after all. "-don't really recognise stuff from out in the boonies. Caused headaches already as you might imagine." It was a rather intentional choice by Citadel to copy something from one of the less developed settlements they saw. While such systems were relatively primitive by their standards, trying to crack into them to plant a false identity would be far more likely to get a Nomad rumbled than simply copying the more basic paper system of one of the far flung districts. "Not a student here neither no, just someone who got caught up in the mess at the hall. He uh, he at least made the implication he wanted to talk after. Look if you let him know I'm here and he let's you know that I got the wrong end of the stick, so be it. I'll stop bothering ya'." There of course was one more trick he could employ. He had his sunglasses on right now. They weren't exactly feature concealing as such, sure, though they still might have been covering enough that the receptionist didn't recognise him from the news broadcast. He took them off, making it as casual as he could despite the nerves. "So uh. ID. Right." It was a pretty darn good counterfeit he handed over. There was his name, his picture, copy protection, a seemingly valid number, everything would seem to be in perfect order for as far as district IDs went. "Seems to confuse the systems around here though." The lady deer doesn't show the least bit of disrespect as she listens to this explanation. She simply patiently waits until Sam is able to produce something to hand over. Does the removal of those sunglasses allow her to more easily recognize the wolf from that broadcast? Perhaps, yet she doesn't seem to really show it. It isn't that she's cold. She's simply the first line of defense against all manner of individuals that want to pay a visit to the cover boy of Safari Magazine that runs the one of the biggest companies on the island. Celebrity status doesn't sway her, but others nearby might pause or murmur and the stag security guard is certainly a bit more inclined to walk over only because he might now with fair certainty that the Carnivore in the building has precedent for violence. It doesn't matter the reason. The doe smiles professionally and takes the ID to look over. "Which District did you come from? I have a cousin in District 12." She pushes a button to perhaps interrupt any possible immediate response. "Mister Louis, pardon the intrusion, but are you expecting a wolf today?" "What does Legosi want this time? He knows not to bother me at work." "No, sir. It's a Sam Walker the Wolf." A pause follows, albeit brief. "Oh. I see. Fine, send him up. If Mason comes calling, let him know my last conference meeting is running over." Click. The doe offers the ID back. She didn't punch anything in. "Elevator up all the way, last door on the left. Do you...need an escort, Mister Sam Walker?" The stag nearby seems at attendance. She listens for an answer, but turns back to what she was typing. Sam's cover story said something about a district 9. Sparse rural population even before their war, then what little was there to begin with was knocked to the ground and mostly never got back up again. Naturally, Citadel's intel on it was rather limited though a wanderer looking to see more of the world than that little shell cratered slice of it tracked by their metric. Though, he didn't even have to use that story it seemed. The conversation moving on before he could even use it. He certainly took note of the security guard. Another deer. In fact, the staff pretty much all seemed to be that way. Tracked for a place called 'horns' though he couldn't help but wonder what happened to those lions from before. "Elevator all the way up, last door on the left." He repeated back, both to make sure it stuck firm in his head and just to confirm. "Naw I'm sure I can find my way. Thanks though." With that, he'd make his way over to the lift, checking over his shoulder quickly to see if that stag was going to do anything. Just in case. Button press. Lift call. All the way up, last on the left. He was repeating that in his head over and over. Getting himself lost in this building would be embarrassing at best, perhaps even potentially dangerous at worse. Nina had missed hearing about the things Louis was working on, as she'd been spending a lot more time around the beach just trying to enjoy some time being free before she had to start school again in this new place. It was nice to have a break for a bit but she was also excited to start at a new school that was full of a different sort of 'beastmen' that she was so far doing a pretty decent job blending in with, she thought. She did catch sight of Louis on the news though in the evening and got pretty worried after the news said he had been attacked but either didn't go into detail about it, or she had missed that part. So she decided to try and find him to check how he was doing, in person. She had been to his work before, but it had been a while, so she got a little lost but eventually found her way there and was standing before the same doe receptionist. "Hello, my name is Nina... a friend of Louis. Is he busy?" Maybe friend was stretching it a bit but he was one of the few in Denko City she knew more than a little and had helped her a lot. The smell of all the Herbivores in the building is almost deafening to a sensitive nose. Otherwise, it smells and sounds much like what you would expect from an executive office suite. For as much money as Horns has, though, the office doesn't really show much of it. Sure, the detailing and decorations are very nice, but nothing screams opulence. Perhaps that was a sign of money management priority. The elevator ride up is smooth and otherwise unoccupied, although when it reaches the top floor and dings, doors sliding open, a squirrel -- a quarter Sam's height -- and a mouse -- reaching Sam's ankles enter the elevator off to one side. They bow their heads and utter a polite greeting, then the mouse pushes buttons on a much smaller panel near the floor. It's a long hallway. It seems a long hallway, anyway. Only a few doors along the way and muffled talking can be heard behind closed thick wooden doors. No windows. There are benches and varied water fountains about hallway, at least, leaving some space before the final door. On the left. Absolutely silence from it, unlike the other rooms. Below, on the ground floor, the doe sits up in her chair and her professional image cracks just a bit in confusion. Thankfully, however, somebody walks in from the side to discuss security with the stag who also spots Nina. The stag points and the patrolling security guard leaves him at the door to walk over. His curly mane blows just a bit in the air flow of a ceiling vent and brilliantly soft light-colored eyes peer down at Nina. It's Hino. One of Louis' lion buddies and an absolute pretty boy for a security position. "It's okay. I know Nina." The lion absolutely towers over most smaller Herbivores. "She can come up with me. I'll keep an eye on her." The receptionist can't really argue with one of the heads of security, so it's no contest. "Hey, wanna take the elevator up all the way? You can see really far over the city from the boss's office, but he might be busy working." Nina is prompted to push the call button, or Hino can do it, lending a short wait before a squirrel and mouse step out and walk toward the back of the main floor. Nina was already feeling nervous and the reaction from the doe makes her fear that she may be in the wrong place and she gives the doe a worried look before Hino comes to the rescue, she recognizes him as well and greets him with a smile, her nervousness evaporating as she walks with him to toward the elevator. "Sure! I bet the view is amazing! I don't even get to go up to my dad's office much, he's always so busy." When they reach the elevator she pushes the button to call the elevator and steps inside when the door opens. Sam might have missed the both of them had not been for the smaller critters speaking up. Must have been a common enough problem here, though definitely not one he'd had to think about before. A brief flash of 'oh god what if I'd have accidentally stepped on them' flashed up in his mind for a second. Still, he gave the two of them a friendly enough smile and a nod in return. He quickly checked his phone. Just in case. Data was still there, along with a memory stick big enough to hold it, even in compressed form. Last door on the left. Good thing he had that so locked in, as his nose wasn't giving him any clues. About the most it could tell right now was that there were a lot of mostly deer people here, and at least a couple of them had absolutely awful taste in cologne. Though then again, it wasn't as though he got too good a read before, what with everything smelling like barbecue. He approached the door, pausing in front of it for a second. Sam took a deep breath. He wasn't quite sure why he was so nervous, after all he'd met this man before and under far worse circumstances. Then again he didn't really have time to think too much about it back then. Rat-tattattat-tat. The door opens before Sam. The biggest office in the building and all for just one deer. A cozy office decorated with enough to make it feel personal while remaining professional, it's overall size is tempered by the bookcases along the left wall, the standing clock ticking away to the left of the door, the unimaginably expensive rug leading from door to desk, and...the desk itself with such a large chair behind it. A lion's bandanna-covered face pulls back out of the way when the door opens to this. It's not a lion that Sam would recognize. Two more are in the room. One standing center and another sitting on a bench to the right where drapes are drawn shut behind him. The one on the right? That's Dolph. Wearing plain dayclothes instead of a suit and with a paper band around his wrist, he looks a bit worn down. The lion in the center almost cackles, one whose mane is styled into a pompadour, eagerly reenacts the stylish shot that Dolph took when the hare lunged at Sam and Pelan. However, this lion hams it up and holds up a hand in an absolutely gangster fashion and exaggerates, "-when he absolutely clapped him! It was on TV and everything. Just: BLAP! Dolph there didn't even BLINK. Stone cold crack shot. Absolutely crazy!" So energetic this one and not a word of this loud conversation could be heard until the door opened. Dolph laughs a bit at this and waves a hand. "Maybe not quite like that, but pretty close." "Close?!" argues Free. "I saw it on live televis..." The words quickly fade to silence as all eyes turn to look at the open door. From across the room, back-lit by the open blinds and the light of day, the chair jostles and antler silhouettes move. "Come in. Close the door, Sabu." Familiar voice, that. For Nina, the ride up the elevator with Hino takes a while, but only because a few others have to get on and off at a few floors. Nina does get compliments on being cute or having adorable clothes, though. Hino lifts a single brow in amusement. Usually he's the one getting compliments. On the last leg up, though, when alone, the lion asks Nina, "You heard the news and worried about Louis? I heard some animals say Louis was so scared that his antlers fell off and they had to replace them with breadsticks." Joking, the lion holds up his hands to mime breadstick antlers. The silliness is interrupted by the doors dinging and opening, though, revealing that selfsame long hallway of Serious Business. Nina smiles at the animals that get on the elevator and compliment her. Back home her dad was loaded and would often shower her with various things to make up for the fact he was never around. She would often do livestreams about new cosmetics or fashion she had recently gotten, and while she had to work for things on her own now, she had clearly been shopping for some cute clothes and new cosmetics, and is currently wearing a new cornflower blue dress, and has a pink ribbon tied around her ponytail. She does catch Hino's look and gives him a wink, he did look pretty handsome she had to admit, and she could tell his suit was high class. Once they're alone she nods at the question of coming because she heard the news, and blinks at the revelation that he lost his antlers, only to be unable to resist giggling at the image Hino gives her of Louis with breadsticks for antlers. "I feel like that would be more embarrassing than just not having antlers, but I didn't really know any deer very well, even back home." As she steps out of the elevator and into the long hallway, she's suddenly feeling glad she doesn't have any body parts that have any tendency to fall off. Sam flinched slightly as his knock seemingly made the door slide slowly open, though all the same he was quick enough to take note of the room's inhabitants. Lions, he noticed that much first of all, though only the one looked at all familiar at first glance. Or even if he were to take a second. Made sense that this man'd have more than just the crew at the hall under his employ. Of course, his vision wasn't the only thing scanning the room, good thing too, as he might have thought the antlers were a strange decorative piece of the chair with the way the light was hitting. That had to be the deer from before, just he didn't smell like he'd jumped in a vat of barbecue sauce this time. He felt the eyes turn to him. Silence. He had to break it somehow. "Yeah, his form was a whole lot better. Nice place." That'd probably work, right? That at least sounded smooth in his head. He tried to think of something else he should have added, something else to say. An introduction probably would be the safest bet given the unfamiliar faces here, at least before trying to talk to the deer. "Name's Sam. I was at the hall." "Ha hah haaah, you're right," responds Hino to Nina, hands in pockets, slowly walking his way toward the other end of the hall. "I think they had to hire a sculptor to make them look real until some artificial ones come in, so now he can't go outside if it rains or his antlers will get all soggy." Just because somebody is a former gang member doesn't mean they can't be silly with youths. The humor might just be really odd. "What kind of antlers would you have if you could have some? I've heard that some Seas have horns and stuff," he remarks concerning Sea Animals. While Hino is no huge hurry to get to the office, the pace really is set by Nina at this point. Big Carnivores get used to forcing themselves to walk slower. "I know who you are, Twofer," comes the voice from the chair just as the chair turns, the deer stands, and the light from behind glistens on his well-waxed antlers like some kind of heavenly image. "Twofer?" echoes Free. "This one and the other one? You got a thing for wolves, Boss?" The image is shattered. Sabu walks over and quietly punches Free in the shoulder in gesture for him to shut up. Louis merely sighs and ignores it. "All right, Sam. Come have a seat. Honestly, I'm surprised you actually showed up, though it all raises more questions than answers." He's not completely detached. The small deer walks around the desk to at least offer Sam a handshake near the seats. "I hope you aren't bothered by my security keeping present. I don't really know anything about you other than your quick action and flashy tech, so...let me prefix any conversation here with something you need to understand." Large eyes look to Sam's. He's tired and it shows. But one of his lions is back, at least. The other one, the one that let Sam out of that dangerous room back then, isn't here, though. "I travel for business. I've seen a lot. It takes more than pretty lights to impress me, Sam, so if this is some kind of con then I'm going to have our companions here escort you out." It isn't stated as a threat. It's stated as unchanging fact. "We at Horns make many investments in the technological sector and we might have things that would surprise even you going on in the heart of places like Gizou Medical, but we generally restrict production and development of many advanced technologies for public use. I have preliminary results from my own investigation into this, in cooperation with enforcement forensics and a few private investors, so I'm interested to see how it matches with what you have to show me. That is, if you're here on behalf of your offer from the other night still." A lot said, but it is equally punctuated with a silence just for Sam to reply and he has an audience. Dolph is paying extra attention, having experienced the attack firsthand. "Twofer. Yeah. Yup. I guess that still ain't going away anytime soon." Confidence. Sam was doing his best to project it no matter the nerves underneath, the black furred wolf's body language broad and ever so slightly flamboyant as he stepped inside proper, giving a shrug at the mention of already being known about. "Hey I know you know, just we got some new faces here compared to last time." He took a quick glance around the room, taking note of the various lions within. Most of them he didn't recognise save for one. "Hey, uh, did-" He stammered slightly, a few cracks showing. "Did everyone else make it out ok at least?" Sam accepted the handshake. It was firm, businesslike, and accompanied with a small nod. He was smiling too, though, that seemed to fade somewhat once the deer brought up the possibility of this being some sort of con. "If I was running some type of scam, I'd have asked for payment already. I'm doing this for free. Whoever deployed this, whatever the hell it is, they're a threat. We're just real lucky they were stupid about it. Imagine if they dump this crap into the water supply. Into the vents of a major public space. The fucking subway system." He paused to take a breath. To gather his thoughts as his own amber coloured eyes looked back into Louis'. That attempt at being suave, that bravado, it was gone by now. Replaced instead by a genuine concern. "I don't wanna see that, Louis. I don't wanna see this happen ever again." He sat down, pulling that same disguised phone that he had before out of the pocket of his jeans and placing it screen up on the table. Tap tap. The holodisplay sparked to life. He gave a sigh before continuing. Internally, he knew this wasn't the best. A small unspecialised scanner operated by someone who barely knew how to use it. Not exactly the best combination, yet, it at least yielded something when sent back to Citadel's labs. Even if wasn't as much as he'd hoped. "Well I got something here at least." The screen changed as he spoke. Data streamed past again, not dissimilar to when Sam had first shown him the device yet this time the results were sharper. Specific chemical compounds, protein strains, highlighted in molecular detail. It wasn't perfect of course, a good two thirds of the data still seemed to be garbled or otherwise incomplete. "Now this ain't the greatest reading-" He started off "so I reckon this is about the best I'm gonna get here. At least without an intact sample anyways." The display changed again. It displayed a brain before zooming in, picking out neurons, neurotransmitters, highlighting them against the backgrounds and showing how this strange bioweapon seemed to bind and interact with them all. "Mix of proteins, blood if I were to guess, and a real spicy mix of synthetic stimulants. Explains how it got me more buzzed than Aldrin, but not what it did to everyone else." He scratched his head, briefly glancing around the room to try and read the tone. To see if he was about to just be thrown out. Eventually the simulation seemed to come to a finish and the holoscreen flickered out leaving just the phone on the table. "I'm no scientist, but the working theory is that the protein strands may have allowed for a faster uptake somehow. Maybe, maybe if we combine this with what you got we can figure out how this damn thing works, and how to make a countermeasure of some type. I dunno. I hope this helps at least. As I said before, data'll be made available to you." Nina giggles a bit more as Hino agrees with her and explains how the breadstick antlers are meticulously carved but would become soggy if they got wet. "Well, I guess I won't invite him to a day at the beach." She says with a wink, then looks thoughtful at the question of what she would have for antlers. "Hmm, that's a really good question. Narwhals have a single long straight horn, which would be the closest for a dolphin-like animal, but... if I could choose? Coral antlers that branch out kind of like a deer's, would be really awesome and pretty!" She answers as she walks along towards Louis' office, not exactly rushing herself. Eventually, when they arrive at the door, she reaches out to knock firmly against it. The lions are silent and look mostly confused. The deer watched mostly with a frown. He walks over and sits back in his seat allowing a quick glance to pass over the photos of a stag and a lion, both wearing glasses, sitting there. Louis sighs. "Well, you're at least right about the blood. There was blood present in the damaged sample sent to the laboratory." The deer's gaze moves back to Sam where he can stare just as directly as he admits: "It was my blood." The lions fuss suddenly about they've not let anybody harm him, so there's no way anybody could get his blood, but the scrawny deer shakes his head. "Quiet. Not like that. The nation's authorities have a sample of my blood on file, same as the rest of you, just for different reasons." Another fuss from Dolph and Free, but Sabu is the one to speak up this time. "From Prison." Louis simply nods. "This isn't some street-level crude creation like Bloodbone," explains Louis. "This is confirmation enough that it was a targeted attack. Hopefully that means it's not viable to use for mass terrorism, as you fear, Sam, if it requires a target's blood to be active." The deer leans forward a bit and places a hand flat against the desk's surface. "This is all merely supposition, but I at least hope having a limited sample of blood means they can't risk using it whenever, though it probably means most any Herbivore is in danger. I'll need to have this confirmed. In the meanwhile, we'll need to be cautious while we work on this investigation." Free interjects, "Anybody could strike at any time!" The door responds with a knocking and the startled Free and Sabu draw their guns. The door opens... Hino watches Nina knock, then chuckles, "No need to be so polite. You're with security. The boss won't mind." He reaches out to open up the door himself and peeks inside to see guns pointed his way. The pretty boy's eyes shift from Sam, to Louis, to the other lions, and the door shuts again. "One moment, Nina, better let me go first. The others are playing a prank on me." The door bursts open as Hino rushes in, gun drawn and pointed right back, serious faces all around, tense moment shared between them, until they all break into fits of laughter. Nina is left with an open path forward and a deer and wolf at the desk. The deer looks annoyed, but not with Sam or Nina. Not thrown out. That was a good start. "Well I'll make this data available to ya all the same. Including those simulations. If we can figure exactly what it's doing, how it's doing it, that's step one to finding some way of neutralising whatever this is. Had a datastick made up. Should be compatible with your computers. It ain't too big a file neither, only a couple petabytes. I reckon someone who knows about all this chemistry'd be able to get a whole lot more out of it than me." Sam shifted a little, a jolt of pain registering on his face for a moment. He was still sore and visibly so, despite his best efforts. "So." He leaned forward a little. "Whoever this was, they must have had a way to get those samples. That's gotta mean government connections, or at least, connections as far as these authorities go. Either inserted a mole or got someone corrupted." He went silent for a moment after that, looking away as he tried to muddle it through. "Specifically targeted and ties to the powers that be." He looked back over towards Louis "If it weren't for this being specifically at a talk on hybrids, I'd be thinking you just got a particularly nasty business rival. This though, they were trying to make a point. Probably should come up with a list of who has the resources and the motivations for that." Sam flinched. The click of weapons being drawn. He almost reached for his own by instinct before he saw another lion defusing it. Nina is rather surprised when Hino opens the door to reveal a bunch of lions pointing guns in their direction. Her heart pounds and she looks like she's ready to scream before Hino comes to her rescue and rushes to enter ahead of her with his own gun drawn. She'd met Louis' lion guards before but didn't know them well enough to expect the playfulness behind the tense moment when they all looked like they were ready to break into a shootout. When they all suddenly burst into laughter, she just blinks a few times, then rolls her eyes and chuckles along with them. "You guys! For a moment there I really thought I should dive for cover or something." She shakes her head and looks towards Louis, trying but failing to stare at his makeshift antlers. "I'm glad you're okay! I didn't know what to think after I saw the news. Don't think they were telling the whole story, and I missed the beginning of it anyway." She says to Louis with a smile before finally looking toward Sam. "I hope I'm not interrupting some important meeting." Nina might be the very first full on human that Sam has seen since his arrival. It's not that they aren't around. They're just scarce and tend to blend in as apes. "Nina," says Louis more as a statement than of introduction, at least at first. "Maybe one of our housecats would care to shut the door so nobody can listen in?" asks he with a slightly raised voice. Sabu and Hino are busy trading fake blows and Dolph is too tired, so Free pulls away from the extremely Carnivore socializing circle to take care of the door. The deer waves Nina over. "Agreed. I plan to do just that, but somebody from one of the Districts isn't going to be allowed to go snooping around just anywhere, much less some animal pretending to be from one. This is all very interesting, Sam, but I don't exactly know which skill set you bring to the table. You aren't the only one from outside this nation to take an interest in things at the risk of an extended stay." Louis gestures, "Meet Nina Flip. She has an interesting story, but it's not mine to tell. Conversely, Nina, meet Sam Walker. You probably remember him from television if you saw any of that broadcast." Inwardly, Louis cringes, for have the other students of Cherryton been sparked with fear over the attack? Perhaps he should pay Headmaster Gon a visit, even if they haven't gotten along since Gon's cowardice at not backing up the promised Sublime Beastar in front of the All-Organism Council when Legosi fulfilled the requirements. "Sam is volunteering to help conduct an investigation into who is responsible for what happened." Free walks up behind Sam's position and puts his hand on the chair, leaning in, allowing Sam and Nina both to see his unique stare. "Should tell the girl about her buddy, boss," he remarks, inferring the connection Nina seems to have made with Miguel in past interactions. "Surprised the wolf hasn't asked about him yet, actually." The pompadour-maned lion almost exudes a bit of tension at the last statement, loyalties being what they are. A human. Or at least that's what this newcomer would seem to be as far as Sam could tell. It was true, he hadn't seen one in a while. It was almost strange seeing the familiar again, side by side with 'animals' that looked far closer to what he was. There was a slight raise of a brow when he spoke up next. "Skills? Well you saw some of 'em at the hall. I'm bringing that, a technological advantage, my dashing charm of course, and offsite support from a few of my friends. Not sure if I'm allowed to tell you much more than that, but, we got resources. You already saw some of those, it's how that scan got upscaled so much so fast and baked into neural simulations." Sam's internal monologue turned to bashing himself again. The nerves were back. He'd just said too much and he knew it. Still, wasn't like he could just hit rewind on that. He set those cards down, he'd just have to play them where they lay. Nina got a smile and a nod. "Pleased to meet ya'. I'm famous now apparently." Nina looks back as the door is closed, then back toward Louis as he waves her over, and she steps closer. Apparently, she did walk in on something important, but it appears she isn't unwelcome. She listens as Louis continues to speak to Sam, then nods as he introduces her, and Sam to her. "Oh, I thought I recognized him from that. Nice to meet you too!" She echoes back at him. "As for my story, well when Louis mentioned people from outside this nation, I'm from one that is kinda similar to this one, but also quite different in several ways. One of those is... well I'm not as human as I look." She would look toward Louis for a moment, her expression looking as if she was asking his permission to show Sam. If Louis doesn't tell her not to, she will focus for a moment, and suddenly her body begins to rapidly change shape, and after a moment, she will be standing on her tail in her dolphin form. Her hair stays, and the change isn't enough to affect her clothes, but her skin is much more slick and smooth and has taken on an aqua blue color, but white around her chest, underarms, and mouth. "I guess you could say this is the 'real me'." Louis simply isn't in the business of assuming anything. If Sam wants to get defensive about his skill set when pressed in an official fashion, then that's a him problem. The deer simply lets him talk, despite the fact that Free is leering over the wolf's position. His statement might be ignored for now, but his wild presence is at least maintained until such a time as the boss says otherwise. Sabu, Hino, and Dolph all begin to chatter and point, though, when Nina seems to be about to do that thing she does. The thing Louis mentioned she should be careful about doing around strangers. "She's gonna do that Seas thing again." "Check this out, Sabu." "What, really? You and Miguel mentioned it before." Louis simply waits to even attempt to continue the conversation, though. Nina's ability to change as she can will no doubt steal the show. It's fine. It gives him time to think. That was new. Sam let that projected mask of the cool suave Nomad drop for a moment. He couldn't help it. What just happened in front of his eyes was beyond any explanation he could muster up and was even enough to distract him from the lion looming over the chair. "Whoa." That was about as much as he could get out while he tried to think of something, anything, that might explain this. No xenotypes he'd encountered could do that. Not even the Sanguophages with their ability to turn others into more of themselves was this dramatic. He was speechless. Not a common occurrence for a wolf like Sam. Normally he'd have something to say, some slick comment or bad joke but this time he was coming up with nothing. In fact he was struggling to even think of how to word the next question. Does he ask what this person is? That would probably just be insensitive. A how could also come off just as badly. "Okay," he finally said, breaking his silence. "I ain't never seen anything like that before. If we're asking about skills still I don't got that one." Nina had picked up on a few clues in the conversation so far that hinted that Sam was not from the island. She knew that there were people like her who were from other places outside of the continents of this place, but it does occur to her when she sees Sam's reaction, that she isn't positive about any of that, and remembers Louis had warned her not to do this around strangers. She had felt safer since Louis was here, and even the lions who hadn't witnessed unsurprisingly had heard about it. "Um... surprise!" She says nervously now, her face turning red with embarrassment at her apparent faux pas. "A lot of people where I'm from have a much more impressive transformation, becoming big and strong, and getting big claws and teeth and that sort of thing. I.... get to swim faster and hold my breath longer, and see in the dark." She rambles on, trying to downplay things as if to cover up the mistake of showing this off to someone she had never met till now. At the very least, the lions cheer. All except Free. It's not that he isn't impressed, but he has more serious matters on his mind. Much like Louis. Still, at least Louis seems fine with letting them have their moment together. He picks up a pen and begins to write something down on a pad of paper. "As you can see, the world is never simple. Many things aren't what they seem. And...many animals here may have wildly different shapes or sizes than you might used to seeing. That said, I request that you keep Nina's identity a secret from the public. After all we've had to do, it would be a shame to let controversy negate her current scholarship." Louis doesn't even look up from his writing. "By the way, exactly how old are you, Sam? Can you guess Nina's age?" Sam held up a hand, both as a way to say 'don't worry about it' and to put a pause on things so Nina could at least take a breath. "Hey, that was cool. Just didn't expect it, is all." He was starting to get his composure back now, sending what he hoped was a reassuring smile Nina's way. "Wish I could do that. Dunno what problems it'd solve for me but I'm sure I could find some." His ear flicked a couple times when Louis spoke up next, the wolf shifting in his chair a little so he was pointed more towards him as to include the both of them in the conversation. "Sure, I knew that much getting in. Secret's safe, don't worry. Seen all sorts already, both here and elsewhere, just haven't seen someone who looks human shapeshift before. That right there's a new one." For a moment the wolf was tempted to make the old spacer joke about actually being over a thousand years old. Technically it wasn't a lie, though one could hardly count time in a cryptosleep casket. "I'm 17." Common sense won out. Just sounds weird when you're not around people already in the know. "aaaand.. Uh, couple years younger than me maybe? Mid teens-ish? Why?" The cheers from the lions help her feel better. Nina honestly wished she didn't have to hide this special ability that was just a factor of her genetic makeup, but she did understand that while Louis accepted her, Sam was just surprised, and both he and the lions seemed to think it was cool, everyone wouldn't be so positive. She nods and smiles, thankful he agreed to keep her secret. "Being that I'm a dolphin beastman, it certainly is useful for getting around, be it by land or sea. A little jealous of those like me who can fly though, that would be so awesome!" She admits and at least answers the question of what she is in name. She smiles and nods at Sam's guess about her age and though she normally didn't make a habit of telling strangers her age, and it would seem she hadn't even told Louis yet, compared to her shapeshifting secret this felt so tame it was silly. "I'm 14, think it was a few months past my birthday when I first arrived here." "I'd joke that you could help Nina with her studies, but going to school might be difficult if you're posing as somebody from the Districts. I hear it varies widely depending," admits Louis with a measured amount of humor. "Besides, after your television debut, any school's newspaper club would devour you alive. Trust me, I know a thing or two about that." ...about which thing? "I'd rather not disrupt Nina's schooling with this matter since we need to play things so close to the chest until we have a better idea of what to expect moving forward, but since it hasn't been said yet, I'll say it now." The deer stops writing, puts down his pen, and looks up. "Miguel is still in the hospital, mostly under observation. He placed himself between a crazed mob and the main exit, so...he took a bit of a beating. However, like Dolph here, everybody came to their senses within about two hours with no detected lingering effects. I've taken the liberty of contacting the families of our affected guests, both from the lone attacker and the..." Louis sighs. "...airborn agent so that they can attend a therapeutic support group. While physiological side effects may be nonexistent so far, losing control of your body in an attempt to devour somebody while remembering all of it can leave scars of its own." The Horns CEO briefly buries his face in his hands tiredly and Sam can no doubt feel the tension on the back of his chair as Free grips it tightly in anger. An anger not directed at Sam, but an anger he can't direct at all yet. "They're accepting visitors, right, boss?" Louis nods his head without removing his hands. If Nina plans a visit, it would be a great time to bring some taiyaki. The other lions would probably pitch in. As good a cover as it might have been, the idea of becoming a student again didn't appeal to Sam. He'd been through Citadel's education system up until this point naturally, though becoming a nomad had put that on pause at least for the time being. No doubt he'd be called to catch up afterwards, something he was rather dreading. "The districts thing wasn't meant to serve as long term cover, just enough to cover my ass for a couple days. Wasn't planning on bein' here long, but, situation's changed." He stopped short on mentioning the comms call he had with command, at least for now. He still wasn't exactly sure how he was able to talk his way out of being dragged back to Citadel early, let alone into being allowed to extend the mission duration. The idea of a newspaper club struck him as a little odd. Perhaps it was just a strange name for a journalism course? "Yeah I figure I'd just be saying 'no comment' a whole bunch 'till they left me alone." Miguel. That name was familiar. Sam started putting two and two together. That must have been the lion at the door. The one that let him through while everyone else was losing their mind. He tensed slightly at hearing the creaking of the chair behind him, didn't even need to turn around to tell what the lion holding onto it was probably feeling about it all right now. "Miguel. He was the guy who let me past. I would have been trapped in there if it weren't for him. Don't even want to think about what would have happened if I breathed more of that crap in. I uh, I heard gunshots after I left. Presumed the worst and figured asking about it might have been a bad idea. Glad he made it out." Nina blinked a couple of times at the implication that if it wasn't for current events making Sam a little famous, he might be going to the same school as her. She had to admit, being that she was going to a new school in a new land, that also happened to be leagues more prestigious than anything available in Anima City, even with her father's deep pockets, help with her studies would be appreciated. "Maybe I could call you or something if I get stuck on stuff?" She presents as an option. She was used to being fairly independent but certainly felt more alone now than ever. She falls quiet again as she listens to the rest of what Louis has to say, and winces at the mention of what happened with Miguel, and shudders at the thought of what might have happened to her if she was at this event. She looks up at Sam, seeing as Miguel pretty much saved his tail. "Maybe... we could go visit him... together?" The red deer slides his hands down and off his face, although they stay clasped together at first afterward. Those hands then spread apart. "Well. There you go, Sam. Your first friend in Denko." He smiled a little. It wasn't out of irony and it wasn't grand. Just a small smile, fleeting yet genuine. The chair makes a soft noise as the lightweight frame of the deer leans back into it and those hands find the end of the armrests. Free gives Sam's chair a bit of a shake. "He better. Eh, wolf boy? Go pay your respects." The anger-tinted side of these actions abates some at the notion of finally acknowledging Miguel and his situation and turns into some of Free's typical chaotic playfulness, tongue hanging out and all. Off to the side, Hino, Dolph, and Sabu chat concerning Dolph's health and the worries over Miguel's recovery. For as tough as the lions are, they're an emotional lot with the same fragility over a loved one's trauma, even if they would never admit it. Sam's response wasn't exactly enthusiastic. It measured lower on the priority list than the prospect of adventure, exploration and doing important work for Citadel, but the fact that it meant he didn't have to pen yet another damn essay on things he couldn't care less about was one of the reasons he signed on for the Nomad program in the first place. Still he didn't want to just leave Nina hanging, nor be rude enough to give an honest request like that a flat out no. "That all depends on what exactly yer stuck on. Reckon you've got a better shot at a lot of things than me." The idea of visiting Miguel got a nod from the wolf, after a brief pause to think it over. "Yeah sounds like a plan. Got to thank him for that at least. Makes me wonder, though." He turned in his chair slightly, now looking back towards the deer. "Why weren't you hit by it? Sure, nails carnivores and herbivores different I get that much, but you seemed absolutely fine even taking a direct hit. Meanwhile I was *really* high. Unless you're just good at pretending you're sober." There was a train of thought starting at perhaps an active element at play that deer were simply immune to, though nothing sprung to mind. At least, not anything that could be explained by the mundane sorts of creatures he'd seen before. Not that he was a zoologist mind. Probably even less of that than most other relevant disciplines. The shaking chair interrupted such things though. "Pay respects? Yer making it sound as if he died with that. Yeh, I will though." Nina was smart, but wasn't always the best student, often too busy socializing with her classmates and wondering what life was like in the human cities beyond the island, where she was forbidden by her father to go. She nods to Sam though. "Well, I may not have exactly been an excellent student before I came here, but I know I'm being given a rather special opportunity in going to Cherryton, so I'll try my best not to let that go to waste." She says before falling quiet to listen about the incident she saw on the news, as she still didn't have much detail about it. "I thought everyone looked funny in the clip I saw on the news. So it made you feel drunk, or drugged?" She asks curiously while not having a clue what that was actually like. "Hrr!" objects Free with another chair shake. "Miguel isn't dead." Louis holds up a hand and Free turns on his heels and walks away toward the other lions. "Just make sure that you do. I'll know." The deer listens, then visibly sighs. "It's a valid question, but speaks volumes on your being a stranger to this land and our peoples." Pushing the chair back a bit, it rolls some and he stands. "Nina gets a pass since she's attending as a...foreign exchange student. Sea Animal integration is very new and I'm all for it, but we don't understand our respective cultures and histories that well yet." Turning aside, the Horns CEO wanders over to the small wet bar nearby and takes the time to start pouring a glass of water from a clear pitcher. "Carnivores and Herbivores may seem very similar, but we are actually two different races entirely. I ask that any of this conversation not leave this room. This is all very much kept from general knowledge, but it might serve to answer your question about the attack." Cupping the short glass from underneath, Louis turns back to face Sam and Nina. His expression is neutral, yet professionally serious. "We react to different stimuli in different ways. The substance used in the attempted assassination was clearly targeted for Carnivore reaction. It even partially affected some of the Carni-Herbi hybrids present and we have a long way to go to understand it fully. Clearly, your physiology is closer to Carnivores than Herbivores, Sam, so it's interesting to see that overlap in you." Louis sips. "I've never done flake before, not that I was planning on it neither, but that might be what it feels like." Sam paused as he tried to find the words, though none seem to come save for a couple more obvious yet less useful ones. "I'm not too sure how to describe it. Wired, I guess. Yeah that's about it." He felt the chair shake again. "You really like rattling me around, huh? Yeah I figured he weren't, but the way you were talking just now. 'Pay my respects'. Kinda sounded like it." "Secret's safe, don't worry. Looking at the readings I got, I reckon what was in there'd send a human the exact same way as it did me. Though, maybe a bit less. Those guys are built different." He watched as Louis got up, still staying seated himself despite the lion. "They take things specifically evolved to kill things that try to take a nibble, and make delicacies out of it. Chocolate made from this real poisonous type of bean, or uh, things made with onions. You name it. Apparently their ancestors just thought that was fun or something. Lived around them all my life, frankly, almost odd to see people who look more like me after all this time. Even if there's still differences like we just saw. Frankly until that, I just reckoned that somehow y'all were a society that came about like I did." Nina nods as Louis explains how she is attending. She still felt a little strange representing the sea creatures of this land secretly as an outsider, and it also had some other implications she'd been thinking about. "I have been wondering how I'm going to get from class to class on time without revealing my secret. I mean, I can stand and walk on my tail, but... well maybe if I practice a lot I can get faster and won't get tired as much..." She frowns a bit at the mention of the attack targeting carnivores, and is glad she wasn't there. She would only eat fish and squid and doesn't have big sharp teeth or claws, but she's still a carnivore nonetheless. "This is pretty scary, I wonder if they're planning to attack again, somewhere, sometime where a lot of animals will be together. I'm not sure I want to find out how that stuff would affect me. I don't have the same genetic makeup as either the herbivores or the carnivores here, but I am a carnivore. As for humans, they are an interesting beast, yeah. I tried to learn as much about them as I could without attracting the ire of my dad... Though I did go to a human party once, that didn't end so great, and my dad grounded me for 3 months." "I've met such primates, yes. I've done business with them abroad." He was also hunted by one in another land once. "Nina's alternate, hmm, appearance isn't entirely odd here. They're looked at as any other primate by the general public, and seen as Carnivores, but mind that's it's Capital-C. It's a newer term and one that I'm not entirely endeared toward, but it's what you'll hear on the streets or in homes all the same." Louis walks toward the side of the desk, leans against it, and looks upon both Nina and Sam. "As for poisonous food ingredients, as a culture we're very aware of such things. Food science is highly advanced here. There's a great variety of supplies and shops to cater to each breed of Carnivore or Herbivore...and even hybrids to a degree, now. Surely you noticed the variety of foods and drinks at the event before things went sour? Any grocer with any worth will know to caution you if, as your example, you chose something with onions in it." Hip resting against the corner of the desk, the deer reaches over to place his glass down on a coaster. "As for your school concerns, I would hope that Headmaster Gon would have addressed them by now. That was, after all, part of the funding granted the school. I'd have figured an equivalent of a wheelchair, although that leaves worry over the use of the stairs. Gon is well-meaning, even if we don't get along that well anymore -- he and I -- so I'm sure arrangements can be made if you pressure him about it. If not, I can make a call, but I'd rather leave that as a last resort." The deer rests his hand on the desktop, his head tips lightly to one side, and he tries to offer a smile. "That's a lot said and more needed. There are many questions. Few answers. This will take time. So, earnestly, I suggest you take some time to visit Miguel while my team deals with the paperwork needed for the next step in our investigation. Later, though, Sam, you and me need to talk. Alone. If you and these outland backers intend to stick your noses into this, I'm going to need to know more before we truly work together." "See, we had it figured that y'all wouldn't have seen even a baseliner human before. Better to have me around than someone who looks like an alien from where you're sitting, right?" Sam looked like he was about to say something for a moment, a comment about humans and technically even himself being omnivores rather than strictly carnivores, though, clearly it was a different kind of classification here. Another mental note taken. That would have to be in the report. Something else already in it though was the food that was just brought up. He'd highlighted that one several times, circled it too, even wrote in big block letters *YOU NEED TO DO THIS* right next to it. "Yeah I noticed. I've gotten pretty decent at dodging culinary land mines and obviously people I'm around are well aware, but humans are, eh, humans. Sometimes they're hidden in there real good or it's something they just didn't think'd be a problem. Then it gets uncomfortable. Less said the better." He turned more serious at the next thing mentioned though, nodding. Rules as written, him and Louis shouldn't have even been talking in the first place really. He shouldn't have been at that talk, he shouldn't have intervened, but taking the situation as it was there wasn't much more point in the cloak and dagger at this stage. "I can arrange that." He said, pausing a little, mulling it over before continuing on. "Might even be able to get my CO on communicator for you. Now he ain't happy about the situation I've gotten myself into already" He actually gave a bit of a half laugh-half huff after saying that, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath to the tune of 'when is he ever', "but I'm sure given the circumstances he'd be fine talking. Not like you don't know we exist already. Sorta. He'll have the authorisation to either answer your questions properly, or, recall me back home and you won't have to deal with me or us no more." "Hmm, maybe it would be possible to find, or make a wheelchair that can climb stairs! That would be so cool actually!" Nina ponders out loud in response to Louis' comment about how Gon should have taken care of her school accommodations at this point. She listens to the talk about Louis and the people Sam works for talking. It affects her as much as the other residents of this island, but Louis doesn't seem to want her directly involved with it, and she isn't sure how she'd help anyway, probably best she focus on her school stuff. So she stays quiet and just leans back in her chair while she stretches a bit. Louis the Red Deer doesn't discount the ability or usefulness of anybody and he's no especially in the habit of trying to protect people through ignorance. While he needs to discuss things with Sam regarding Sam, how things continue past that point and what people or animals are able to do are entirely their own choices. Anybody wanting to fight the good fight shouldn't be denied, but all things in time. "I realize that this must all seem a bit frustrating. I think it is, for all of us, in a way. Nothing good is going to come of rushing into danger, though, and I need to be very clear about this: this IS a matter of danger." A finger points downward in emphasis. "All actions have consequences. I can only be so secretive. The party responsible behind this is aware of my reasonable resolve to investigate, as any beast might, and so I need to act accordingly. I have multiple suspects in mind. I trust you won't be alarmed, but you're also on that list, Sam." Louis picks up his glass of water and pushes from the end of the desk to walk a few steps away. Hino breaks from the pride and wanders past his boss to the bar, as well, but not for liquor. Not on the job. He kneels down and opens the side of the wooden panel cabinet to reveal a mini-fridge wherein he pulls a canned beverage out. Sam likely wouldn't care for a sip after having been sprayed in the face with one of that logo already not too long ago. "I have an appointment soon," states the deer. "We should wrap things up so that nothing looks out of the ordinary. Any last things to clear up for now?" Dolph speaks up, "Do you need a lift back to school? We'll have to wait for visiting hours to open tomorrow to see Miguel." Something within Sam wanted to brag about some of the dangers he'd seen, a mix of his own ego of course but then again perhaps as a little reassurance he could handle it. Mechanoids, insectoids, cannibal pirates and pirate cannibals to name a few. Had he still been under the influence of that chemical attack, he probably wouldn't have been able to stop himself. Fortunately he wasn't. He did look mildly offended at being on the suspect list though, frowning slightly. "Alarmed, no. Offended just a small bit, maybe. If I wanted you dead I could have just left yer ass in that supply closet." He gave a sigh. "I got more reasons for wanting to help, not that I wouldn't have anyway, but you'll see 'em when we talk next. People like that doing this? It ain't good for us neither." Sam took note of the can. Probably tasted better drunk rather than punctured and shot up his nose like he'd first encountered it. "Right, sure." His tone was back to neutral pretty fast, any offense seemingly sliding off pretty quick. "Just uh, let me know when you want to speak again. I'll see if I can't get someone from further up the chain of command on the line as well. Should be able to clear things up better than me." Of course, the potential for danger was another reason it was probably best Nina stayed out of this mess as much as possible, even if curiosity may make that challenging now that she knows more than the average citizen. Widened eyes show she was surprised to hear Louis say Sam was a suspect, but if she knew him a bit better she'd know he doesn't leave much to chance. Seeing Louis pick up a glass of water, she suddenly feels thirsty herself. She turns to Dolph as he asks about needing a lift to school, and nods. "Sure, maybe we can go see Miguel right after my classes are done tomorrow, assuming that works for you as well." She says with a glance towards Sam as she lays out that question. She then turns back to Dolph. "Think we could stop somewhere for a drink, maybe something fruity, starting to feel a bit parched." Dolph replies with a thumbs-up, but Free steps in front of Dolph with a shake of the head. "You aren't driving yet. I'll drive, or Hino can, or call Agata." Dolph sighs and dismissively waves his hand at Free, yet he doesn't argue. He was only just released from the hospital, after all. Hino walks over to Nina. "I'll do it, ha ha." The lion then pauses to look at Sam while mid-sip, then is caught off guard and coughs as silver vine soda goes down the wrong pipe. The other lions laugh, though Dolph winces a bit from the exertion of mirth. "Don't be offended, Sam. Ask your...commanding officer." There's a slick side-eye the deer gives the wolf as he turns away smugly. "They'd agree with me. After all, attempted assassination could be a cover story distraction to insert an agent near a powerful foreign figure to gain favor and information." His free hand lifts in a bit of a wave over his shoulder. "But that would be a bit too obvious, wouldn't it, Twofer? Leave your contact info on my desk or with my receptionist and I'll have somebody call you when I'm ready for that chat. That work for you?" | |
