The Furry Forums
Creative Arts and Media => Roleplay => Serious RP => Topic started by: Angder on September 17, 2015, 03:29:09 PM
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The Lizard taps his fingers on the desk as he reads the files in front of him. He looks up at the two scientists in front of him, they all looked a little nervous. That was to be expected, they were in his office after all.
The easiest way to describe the room was... clean. Aside from the papers and computer on the wooden desk there was no real clutter. There was a bookshelf, packed with books. A filing cabinet (The bottom section was open) the walls were whitewashed, unlike most offices there was nothing to suggest who actually worked here. Which in itself, said a lot.
Eventually the Lizard looks up from the final document he had been passed. "Your choice of agents I can not fault." He said, slowly. "And the choices of 3437, and 3060 I can fully understand. In fact NOT taking 3437 would be a mistake. The necessity of 3104 also makes perfect sense." The Lizard looks back at the most recent addition. "7296, is a risk. More so than the others. Virtually unkillable, and its motives are still a mystery." The lizard flips back through the files. "And yet its 3104 is the only one I can see obvious precautions against escape being taken."
One of the scientists, a grey wolf, starts to speak. "well... sir, surely sticking anything on the others could provok~" The lizard hisses. "If they are so easy to provoke. Why are they in Pandora's box?" The wolf looks at his feet. "however I do have some solutions..." The lizard continues "I recommend a simple shock collar for 7296 ((Alistair)), and as for 3060((Evna))... she could become violent under stress. I recommend packing tranquilizers. They could work on 7296 as well. Though simply putting electricity through him will probably be easier, and more reliable."
The Lizard seems to smile. "Escort them to the courtyard, the whole team. Assuming they are able to work together, which the preliminary tests is highly likely. They will go on active duty tomorrow."
The scientists nod, and hurry from the room. The lizard grins, and looks down at the papers again. It was a risk. the whole thing was a risk. It would pay off. He was sure of it.
~~~
--1 day later
Pandora's box gathers in a large meeting room. It was the first day of active duty. the group knew each other vaguely from the training yesterday. The SCPs had been considered for the role for some time and had all received individual training sessions. Usually without leaving their containment. now they are finally ready for an assignment.
Seats were available for those able to use them. At the front was a projector, and waiting patiently was a racoon. The meeting actually was not due to start for another 5 minutes. So for the moment he was happy to let those who have arrived chat among themselves. The first mission should be fairly tame. They needed to get to know each-other before anything more dangerous could be assigned.
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SCP-3104 looked at the seats. He had seen ones like it before in front of computers of people he would visit. He had always thought the padding looked soft but he had never had the time to actually sit in one. He was always too busy with work. Work, work, work. He hadn't done any real work for a while now. It was beginning to grate on him. Now he had an opportunity to do something at least. He had an old, familiar feeling in his stomach. The feeling he got whenever he found someone who seemed particularly interesting. It was excitement. He sat down in the seat and was quite pleased with the result, his hypothesis was correct, it was indeed very comfortable. He started to tap the plastic edges of the seat and make a soft clicking sound with his tongue, he was barely aware he was doing it, stopping clicking only for a moment to speak to the raccoon. His whispering was muffled slightly by the mask but was more than understandable in the quiet of the room. "Excuse me, friend, but may I inquire as to whether we will be waiting very long?"
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SCP-3060--or Ninna, as she preferred--was at first quite nervous as she entered the room, but upon seeing 3104, the tension began to melt away somewhat. The young chimera grinned and hobbled toward the Good Doctor, greeting him with a whispered "Hiiii!"
Ninna liked the Good Doctor. He was very friendly to her, and his voice was soothing. His mask also interested her, for it made him look weird, like her, and that made her happy.
She perched on the chair next to him with her taloned feet resting on the seat. She looked up at the raccoon and anxiously awaited instruction for their mission. Hopefully it won't be too hard.
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SCP-7296 looked about the room as he entered, still remembering the faces he saw before during training; but that didn't change his mute nature. Moving past the others the saber looked at the chair questioningly, it wasn't large enough to accommodate his size. With a sigh Subzero placed his front paws in the chair, thinking that this was better than not sitting in it at all. After a few solid minutes of thinking to himself he acknowledged the raccoon with a chuff, waiting a bit impatiently for the instructions to begin for their mission.
Subzero had very deceiving looks, appearing patient, but had little to none when it came to working. Lifting a hind paw to scratch at his mane, the shock collar was just a bit itchy; mostly due to it being a new thing the saber would have to adjust to. Giving little recognition to his team, making it clear that he was friendly toward them; although he could get a little out of hand if they happened to irritate him.
The large feline looked around the room with an exhale, then back to the raccoon; seeming a little unfocused since he had waited around for a bit of time.
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The tension melted more when Ninna spotted Subzero. She liked him too. While others saw a big powerful monster, she saw a big powerful fluffy feline. A pink striped lion, she believed. One of her kind. Or at least a third.
She greeted the saber cat and waved her paw-hand. "Hiii."
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SCP-3437 Galen sat at one of the middle chairs at the long wooden conference desk, dressed in a casual grey shirt and grey pants with his medallion around his neck, as always. His modified sidearm, reflecting the cool lighting of the conference room off its nickel-plated slide, was holstered at his side, and he was almost entirely human for the time being, save the golden slits of his eyes. He'd taken the time to get somewhat familiar with the backgrounds of all attending SCPs he would be working with, although he was still a bit unsure about their capabilities... or their loyalties.
He gave a curt nod to 3060 along with a short wave across the table.
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Nicholas and Romans enterance was a bit less subtle. To two walked into the room side by side in a fit of laughter, some of which could probably be heard down the hall before the brothers entered. They spoke to each other in Russian as the continued over to their seats, seemingly to ignore (or more not pay attention to) anybody else, as if they were the only ones in the room. With one final laugh they finally broke their conversation, each turning their and taking a moment to look over the Subjects at the table. "We are early?" Nicholas spoke up, cocking an eyebrow. "I told you we had time to grab a drink." He said, elbowing his brother. Roman just rolled his eyes, his gaze peering across the table to the Subjects infront of him, a smile coming to his face as he stopped on 3104. Leaning over, he mumbled something in Russian to Nicholas, causing both to look back over at the Good Doctor before erupting back up into laughter.
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Ninna grew even more excited once she realized the weird nodding human was actually Galen.
"Hiiii!"
Galen was nearly her kind, except he could change forms when he wanted and can fly with his wings. Her wings were too weak and couldn't move much. She grinned and stretched the miniature wings from her sides as far as they could manage. They seemed to reach further now, at least to her. If she continued to work the muscles, maybe she will be able to join him in the skies.
Indeed, she liked Galen, too. She liked all of her team already. Her fellow subjects, at least. She wasn't so sure about the agents, especially the giggling foxes. They were saying mean things about the Good Doctor, weren't they?
She wore a scowl as she eyed the two, her head resting on her hugged knees.
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The Good Doctor smiled behind his mask as the chimera -No. Ninna, she has a name, bad doctor- greeted him. At first her presence annoyed him, just a reminder of the things he could not do. He wanted to learn what she was and he couldn't use any of his usual methods. Thankfully, he had discovered he could just talk to her. It was interesting. He had learned to like her, talking to her was nice. 7296 had also grabbed his interest, he was certain it was some form of now extinct creature. That or it looked like one. Alas he wasn't interested enough in it at the moment to bother trying to find out. Maybe some other time. The other one was quite notable too, able to change shape, always wearing that medallion. The Good Doctor needed to get a handle on his curiosity, too many distractions, it would keep him from preforming well on the field.
As the sound of the laughter reached his ears, he rose and moved to between Nicholas and Roman. The beak of his mask poking out in the space between the two, he had a hand on each man's shoulder. "Well hello there, gentlemen. I would very much like if you were to share the joke with me. The Good Doctor likes a joke. It's all a part of a good bedside manner after all. Very important. Very important indeed." It was hard to tell if he was trying to be threatening or just wasn't aware of the situation. It didn't help that his voice didn't raise in the slightest, so he was practically whispering in their ears.
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Nicholas and Roman turned as they felt a hand on their shoulders, their ears perking to try and hear what 3104 had to say. Once he was done the brothers looked at each other, a shir eatting grin spreading onto Tomans face. "Dont, just shut up." Nicholas said, reaching past the Good Doctor to clamp his hand around Romans muzzle, but was swatted away. "The joke is his ability to fight." Roman stated. "We were training hand to hand yesterday, and Nick got destracted by your voice. So I used distraction to knock him on his ass!" The fox roared back in laughter, only getting a shaking head from his brother. Nicholas grinned though, and reached around 3104 to smack Roman in the back of the head. "Ya, the only way you can win against me is with distraction." He added with a snicker.
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A smile was detectable in The Good Doctor's voice. There was even a faint chuckle. "That's actually pretty funny. I shall make a note of that." He turned his head to look to Nicholas, the beak on his mask nearly poking him. "Do not take it personally. If you would like, I will try my best to stay silent in any combat future combat scenarios, as to avoid distracting you and accidentally causing you injury or worse."
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"No no, it is not you who is the one needing adapting, but me. Communication is important during combat, so it will be something I get used to." Nicholas gave the doctor a pat on the back. "Comes with working with new subjects yes?"
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Setcho stood near door way, stood up straight and facing the other side of the room. He held is arms behind his back lifting his blazer up that showed his side arms, holstered on a belt. He was very nervous as a small drip of sweat ran down at the back of his neck, but his face showed no expression what so ever. His eyes darted around the room looking over the group trying to way up who he would be working beside, he didn't like it one bit but this is what he signed up for and knew exactly what he'd be getting into. He looked at the raccoon waiting patiently for the meeting to start, hoping it would go smoothly or smooth enough at least.
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The Racoon Looks over to 'The good doctor', he was unhappy with how casual the agents were acting. Whatever the subjects were doing, inside or outside the foundation, an SCP was an SCP. Even Galan was ultimately a huge security risk if he ever went rogue. The agents would do well to remember that. "Now, will everyone please sit down so we may begin..." The Racoon turns off the lights, and turns on the projector. It was old fashioned technology, but why fix what isn't broken? On the whiteboard behind him, a map appeared, it showed a zoomed in section of the northern black forest. The Racoon then patiently waits for everyone to be quiet.
"2 weeks ago." The Racoon states. "The police were informed of 4 missing people in this region. a group of 5 people went camping, and after 3 days." The Racoon changes the image to show a white wolf. "Only he returned. We have what he told the police... Let me just..." The racoon reaches under the desk, and turns on the CD player.
"OK... explain what happened. Talk slowly. Take your time." "Well... Me... my dad.... and my friend with his family... we were camping you see... and... well..." There is a long pause "Well my friend decided to go exploring 2 days in... He said he found something... Naturally the rest of thee group ran after him, but I paused to tie my shoelaces... And then.... There was a like... roaring." "Like a bear?" "No... No much louder. more like... a sudden gust of wind, through a thin tunnel. I have never heard anything like it..." There is another pause, the wolf is obviously trying not to cry. "I charged after them, I heard one of them screaming in panic, there was some kind of light near them, it was like... It was like when you burn magnesium, a brilliant white glare through the trees... The roaring and screaming continued...." "And then?" "...I did the only sensible thing I could do. I ran. What else could I do? The screams were dying down, whatever was out there... Oh god..." There is a sound akin to a thud. "I... I ran... I am just some stinking coward, I watched my father get murdered, and I did nothing,"
...The Racoon stops the Audio. "We do not know for certain this is even an SCP at work. It could have been something completely natural, so your job is to investigate. Confirm where the group went missing, confirm if anything anomalous is happening, then return to safety. I am aware this might be a waste of your talents. The primary purpose of this is to see how you function as a team in a real situation. Get through this mission, and things will only get more interesting from here. IF you encounter the white light, or one of the creatures, whatever they are. Do not approach. This is strictly a scouting mission."
"Are there any questions at this stage?"
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Ninna's mouth hung agape during the recording's description. That description reminded her of something...
She shut her eyes tight with her hands on her head for a few moments and tried to not dwell on it. There was a job to do. This was no time to think about those things...
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The Good Doctor returned to his seat and payed close attention. He didn't even tap the plastic edges of the chair, he was completely focused on listening to the recording. After it finished he started to tap a finger against his beak. "Most interesting. So we don't even know what this thing looks like then? Just that it's roar sounds like wind going through a tunnel? We don't have much to work with."
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"No, no questions at all." responded Galen.
"Well, except one. When do we start?"
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SCP-7296 chuckled at the rather unfortunate incident that happened to the wolf, keeping his chuckle below earshot volume. It almost made him sound directly responsible for what happened, but that couldn't possibly be since he had been here at the foundation. Once he had caught sight of Setcho he emitted a friendly groan, the felid wished to work with the lion; And seemingly so that the massive feline would only work with Setcho.
After the briefing he appeared anxious and zealous to get to the mission as soon as possible.
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Setcho had seen many cases like this and the raccoon was right this was light work, it should be a breeze for them. The audio clip didn't effect him in anyway, the crying just seemed to go in one ear and out the other, with the same blank expression all the way through. Setcho turned to face SCP-7296 nodding slightly at the groan, however he did not choose favourites; this was his job and kept everything strictly professional. He adjusted his tie and places his sunglasses on his face, pushing them up with one finger, waiting for the racoon's signal to leaves.
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Nicholas and Roman quieted down when the slide show began, the smiles on their faces dissappearing and thier features turning solumn and focused. After the show ended they stayed silent, both deep in thought. Finally, Nicholas spoke up. "Just a recon mission with unknown enomily?" "One that stole five people?" Roman followed up. "With new SCPs on team?" Nick said. The brothers looked at each other and smiled, saying in unison. "Peice of cake."
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The racoon grins. "We leave in 10 minutes you will go in three unmarked vans. One is specially built for SCP_7296, a normal Van would collapse under your weight." The Racoon looks over to Alistair. then looks back to the rest of the group.
"Remember, minimize contact with the public. Do not be afraid to use amnesiacs to keep the SCPs undercover." The Racoon smiles pleasantly "Well. Looks like meeting is over. I will see you outside in about 600 seconds."
The Racoon turns off the projector, turns on the lights, and gets up to leave the room. He was heading straight for the van, the sooner this job was done the better.
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"And so we begin." said Galen, rising from the office chair to walk towards the armory. Upon arrival, he donned the reflectionless black plates of his armor, testing its fit with a shrug and a momentary flash of wings. He continued on to carry his M14 over his shoulder with a sling, as well as his medkits and bandolier. With a smooth jog towards the designated garage, he waited, checking his gear once again for any marks or wear.
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The Good Doctor rose from his seat and stretched his arms. The slight squeaking of his plague uniform was barely audible as he did so. He slowly paced his way to the garage, humming merrily to himself as he walked.
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The saber gave an audible growl at the raccoon, making sure to snort in his direction when he commented on the felid's weight. Plodding from the room, Alistair briskly moved past everyone else. Still growling as he tread down the hall, moving in that specific cat-like gait that meant he was frustrated; and possibly angry.
Alistair saw the van that waited for him, snarling at the handlers that were being a bit rough with him. He could get into the van on his own, it would just take a bit of time and effort; and it would go much faster without their prodding, grabbing, and jabbing.
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Vulki was already at the van, holding the door open for the SCP's looking slightly nervous. She was wearing a long white lab coat that reached down to her feet, slightly blowing in the wind. A pair googles hung from her neck that had been taped together multiple times and a watch hung from her top pocket.
Setcho decided to follow SCP-7296 into the van, giving Vulki a quick nod as he stepped in behind the saber. He closed the doors behind him tapping the side of the van to let the driver know they were ready to go.
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Ninna eagerly followed the Good Doctor to the garage. She was going to help people and explore a new location today, and with that, she will do good and gain more experience with her life. This made her happy. If only she remembered more of her past, aside from the scary bits; it was a lot of experience lost. But that was okay. The experience of now was more important.
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Nicholas and Roman also headed to the armory to collect their weapons before walking out to the vans, both getting in behind Ninna and the Good Doctor. They choose the back seat to reside, each looking over their gear to make sure everything was there before Toman looked up to the SPCs. "Alright, here is deal. Part of reason we are here to to make sure you all stay on our side. Make sure you dont run off." "You make our job easy we give you part of paycheck ya?" Nick finished, causing both twins to break into laughter.
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As soon as all the SCPs were aboard, and the agents were ready, the two vans set off. The journey was long, and it might be interesting to note that while the SCPs knew where they were going, they did not know where they were coming from. The location of the base was a mystery even to those inside.
A few hours later, the vans arrive, the small village of Torholz is close by, but the vans stop before then. Going off-road into a small wooded section of forest so that they can park without being noticed.
The drivers stop the engines, and leave the van opening the backs of them. "We're here." One of them says "With luck our agent on site should be here soonish."
The area is fairly muddy, its obviously been raining recently. Though now it is a fairly pleasant day. The area itself is fairly hilly, but not mountainous. It is fairly obvious why this general area would, under normal circumstances, be a pleasant camping ground.
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Stepping out of the van to set his boots down in the soggy grass, Galen looked out onto the landscape, the curved slopes of the hills perfectly completing the scenery. Despite his state of peace as he inhaled the cool countryside air, he knew there was a job to perform. Patting his armor and holster to check that everything was in order, he unslung his M14, chambering a round with the clean snap of the rifle's bolt assembly. He waited for further confirmation by the others present.
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The Good Doctor had been staring at Vulki the whole time during the drive to the destination, he had even let out a couple irritated groans. He stepped out of the van after Galen, noting the sound of the soggy grass beneath his feet. It was a sound he had missed whilst in containment, it was so pleasant. That was the other bonus of this arrangement, he was able to enjoy things he had missed with a new sense of appreciation and gratitude.
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Within seconds of being outside the van the felid looked around, his urge to run and be apart of the wilderness once more was calling out to him. Alistair made an audible groan, treading around the general area; but not going out of sight as he ignored the others. Sitting down after looking at the general area he gave a huff, staring off into the distance he could hear all the sounds of the forest.
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Setcho stepped out as well keeping his sun glasses secured on his muzzle, trudging in the grass making large squelching noises. He looked at the SCP's with the same blank expression keeping calm, and with a deep soothing voice he said "We're here to do a job, anyone caught sneaking off will be punished severely. Our mission are is just head lets get going" He folded his arms and waited for them to start walking, feeling the sweat drip of the palms of his paws.
Vulki came out of the van last, looking slightly disgruntled as she had a discomforting journey there. She walked up to Setcho's side, fiddling with her goggles as they swung, whispering to him "so far so good, lets hope it stays that way". About to start walking with the rest.
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Cradling his rifle in his arms, Galen looked back at the operative he'd heard speaking.
"I'll be doing the punishing, mind you."
He took a moment to unholster his 1911, racking the slide before stowing the sidearm once more.
As the pistol locked into place, he used the time to shift to a wingless midform, tendrils of bright fog emanating from the bronze medallion hanging from his neck to convert his human figure. Instantly his other senses improved, the shifting of the grasses in the breeze sounded closer, the smell of rain became stronger.
"Who's you friend?" he asked the lion.
"Didn't know she'd be joining us."
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Ninna cooed as the wet grass licked her feet. The sensation was cold and strange, but still pleasant. Rain fell here, and rain was drops of sky water. It was one of water's beautiful forms, and its beauty spreads to all it touches.
She stuck by Galen, but constantly gazed around in awe at the trees, breathing lungfuls of the refreshing air.
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Nicholas and Roman were, surprisingly, mostly quiet on the way there. They were getting into work mode, joking and messing around being put aside to concentrate on the mission at hand. When they arrived at the site, Nicholas was out before Roman looking over to Galen and Setcho. "Relax, both of you. When and if that time comes we will deal with it, together." Roman stood beside him, looking down at the soft ground underneath his boots. "Yeah, but hopefully that time dosent come eh?"
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After a short period, someone who seemed to be a member of the German police approaches, a tabby cat, fairly tall, he smiles as he sees the group, and the van driver looks over to him. Obviously this had been who they were waiting for, as there is no attempt to reach for their weaponry.
He turns to the team itself. "I hope I have not kept you waiting, we have just established a perimeter, and organized when you can enter the area." He passes a set of maps out to the non-SCP team, I have marked the security perimeter, and where the event happened according to what we can work out. My recommendation is to head straight there and only spread out if you can't find anything. I can monitor things from outside, I might even be able to send in some policemen if needed."
"Oh... forgive me, I am Agent Ziegler" The cat states. "I am the person who reported what happened here, feels good to finally be needed." He grins. "If you meet anyone else in there, send them to the perimeter, we will want to get what they have to say before administering amnesiacs."
...He looks at the group, looking slightly uncomfortably at the SCP side of the team. "Well... when your ready... erm... your here so go in that direction, and then follow the path south." He points into the woods. "Go slowly, and keep your eyes open."
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Setcho ignored anything said to him, he wanted to make little interaction with the SCP's as possible. As he approached the perimeter entrance, he took off his glasses and unbuttoned his gun holster resting a paw on it. He walked up to the tabby cat, listening for what he had to say paying close attention to him. "we'll take it from here, nice job on securing the place up. *whispering* If anyone one of these comes back with out me, close the entrance...." He marches on, breathing lightly as his heart race quickened slightly.
Vulki followed setcho, her lab coat trailed in the mud creating stains at the bottom. She looked at the perimeter shaking her head, sighing "You know this wont hold anything back......we best be lucky nothing comes back."
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The Good Doctor stared at the tabby as he spoke, paying close attention to what was being said before nodding once he had finished speaking. He stayed close to Vulki, well aware he was not meant to stray out of the sight of the agents. He glared at her again and grunted in annoyance. "I am so very jealous of you. I've always wanted to wear one of those, since I first laid eyes on one." He was referring to the lab coat.
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Ninna cocked her head and frowned as she looked at the cat. He was afraid of her, it seemed. If only she could let him know she wasn't a monster...
She continued on with the group, still following the footsteps of Galen. She felt safest around him.
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Looking over to the tabby cat, the saber looked uneasy. He knew he had a rather vocal nature with other cats, but would his bellows be acceptable at this point in time? Snorting, Alistair decided to trudge over and say hello with an all familiar tiger sound; the chuff. The large felid looked a bit more uncomfortable than the tabby did, since he was a solitary animal, and working in groups wasn't something he was exactly thrilled about.
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Listening to Agent Ziegler's wrods of caution, Galen gave a curt nod.
"Thanks for the heads-up. We'll make sure to stay alert."
Looking back at the patchwork team assembled around him, he added "Let's keep moving."
He took the time to look back at the other lion and his... acquaintance. He still had no idea why the female agent had been included. She was not part of the briefing.
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Nicholas and Roman listened to the officer before accepting the maps and opening them up, mumbling to wach other in Russian before both walking up along Setcho, putting him between them. "We have agreed that middle is good place to start." Nicholas said, pointing to the middle of the police perimeter. "And if we dont find anything there, then proceed north and make our way around. What do you think?" Roman finished.
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The forest is... quiet... its even more obvious as the group gets moving, there are few birds... and very few animals or insects... the plants seem fairly healthy, which is surprising given the previous 2 points. The place feels still... Those out in the open (not under a tree) feels a small amount of water land on their heads, it was not really raining, not yet.
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The Good Doctor had noticed the lack of insects and animals. It was quite peculiar. Even more peculiar though was that the plants seemed perfectly healthy. He crouched down to a flower, just under the shade of a tree. "It seems to be perfectly fine." He mused to himself aloud. "And there are plenty of others about. This leaves us with two options from my point of view. Option one: The disappearance of animals and insects is very recent. Option two: Whatever we are looking for sustains plant life. It will be interesting to see which of these turns out to be the truth, if either of them." He slowly stood up and realised he had fallen behind slightly whilst checking the flower.
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Following closely with the group the saber noticed the good doctor looking at a flower, shuffling over the felid bowed his head and ate the flower in one fell swoop. Chewing it with a bit of thought as he took in his surroundings, watching the tree branches slowly sway with the wind. Alistair started to feel in-tune with nature again, clenching his paws a bit at the damp ground beneath him as his ears faced forward.
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Setcho and Vulki remained slowly at the back, keeping sight of the SCP's letting them start to investigate. It was up to them now how they handled the situation and they we're there to babysit them while they did it. A simple task if it all goes to plan, however other times it can get messy if they dont co-operate.
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Roman raised an eyebrow at Nicolas as Setcho ignored them, the brothers simply shrugging it off and moving forward. They were on point now, Nicolas with his nose in the map and Roman figiting with a peice of handheld equipment. "Come on, how does stupid thing work?" He asked himself, giving it a few smacks. "Gah this new technology is garb... opp wait... it working now." The screen on his device lit up and showed a jagged line in the middle, slowly moving up and down as if full of static. "There, now we can read if anomaly is in area yes?"
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The device picks up... something... almost directly South east. There can be no doubt, there is an anomaly here. but its faint.
Somewhere to the right, a set of bushes rustle slightly, as if something is moving through them.
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"Anybody else hear that?" asked Galen, ears perking slightly in the direction of the rustling leaves.
He brought his rifle to a readied position, flicking the safety off with a slight nudge of his left finger.