OOC: So, Jane desperately needs more history (I'm redoing her wiki page in the very near future), and I need to get back into writing. Here's my attempt at killing two birds with one stone: I'll be posting further (longer) sections over the next few days. Any major errors/grammatical issues/etc? Just point them out to me. Any feedback is appreciated.
---
[u]Spiders and Flies[u]
"It's certainly been a while, Lundgren."
Thomas was still as she remembered, even if he'd let himself go over the last few months.
Where a lean, muscular Huntsman would have stood was, instead, someone getting on in years. A once handsome face heavily lined with age and receding hair, most of the colour long since faded to a dull, whispy grey. As he shifted his weight from one boot-clad foot to the other, red and black uniform straining against a rotund stomach, his eyes moved to the large window set into one side of his office - untouched glass giving a perfect view of Aeon City. If it wasn't for that exuberantly trimmed moustache and the piercing gaze that somehow filtered through his visor, Jane most likely wouldn't have recognised the man stood in front of her now. Not that she was one to talk.
Even without the Longfang claws twitching and unfurling themselves, Jane would have still towered over him in height and breadth. An assortment of electronics and prosthetic muscles ran the length of her body, jutting against clothing or glimpsed beneath steel plating. Even her lower jaw, as heavy-set as it was even without robotics, had been crudely reinforced: she very much had the feel of an unfinished project, as if someone had grown bored with her halfway through and simply abandoned their ideas. Following the movement of Thomas' head, she too looked out across the city; a subtle whir heard behind the slivers of green goggles that passed for eyes.
"The quality of our equipment has gone down in recent years, Lundgren?"
"S'not theirs, really. One of the boss' friends hooked me up with this stuff. Hurts like a slag, but does the job good, heh."
"Quite."
Thomas forced a grin but made no attempt at making it look genuine. He stared at Jane for a time, unashamedly appraising her, before waving his hand irritably and seating himself before a large, excessively tidy desk. Monitor terminals buzzed with activity, decrypting and re-encrypting information about this and that. Jane couldn't make any sense of it, but the Huntsman switched them off nonetheless, shooting the woman a vindictive look for her moment of curiosity. Shuffling several loose files together, Thomas pressed his fingertips together, lips thin and white - a gesture that, electronic nerves or not, still managed to unsettle Jane after twenty years.
"Your...'boss'. Varrick, I presume?"
"Yeah, hey, that's the guy! How'd ya-...?"
"An astonishing reputation for failure and harbouring those responsible."
His tone was casual, but the atmosphere in the room changed almost immediately. Jane hesitated before she spoke again.
"Not really summat I like hearing about him, with respect."
A claw drew up sharply, stopping itself mid-lunge, but Thomas still caught the movement. Allowing himself a smirk, he leant back in his chair, both boots slamming down against the top of his desk. Stretching dramatically, the Huntsman yawned loudly and placed both hands against a chunk of armour plating stretched over his chest. Jane was quite certain the 'accidental' reveal of a large sidearm was nothing of the sort.
"You are, of course, not bound by the same rules as the rest of the grunts Lundgren, but it would be my reputation against yours if things were to become unpleasant. I don't think you're stupid enough to let your temper get in the way of an otherwise civil discussion. Imagine how further your Commander's reputation would be tarnished."
"Varrick ain't a failure."
"You're a mechanised abomination that would most likely explode if immersed in anything larger than a puddle, Lundgren. Recruiting you was one thing, but he went so far as to make you his bodyguard. Even you can't deny the stupidity there, surely?"
"He's taking...y'know...he's playing it safe with the tech stuff..."
"Of course. I've also heard Lord Nemesis is - in fact - the reason my morning coffee is never quite warm enough. Let's face facts: Varrick is a failure of a man, acting as a beacon of hope for all those who believe their own lot in life is poor. Thanks to him, we can all rise in the morning and say 'it could be worse'."
An actuator purred in Jane's left arm, her entire fist clenching with barely contained anger. Thomas clearly knew what she was thinking, and just continued to smirk in that playfully arrogant way of his. Huntsman and Crab Spider stared at one another, not a word between them, before Jane sighed and shook her head, the tension ebbing out of her in an instant. He was just trying to rile her up, get an excuse to throw her out. There was no point in flaring up and getting physical, regardless of how annoyingly tempting it was to do so.
"You just don't know him..."
"Oh, I certainly know about, but let's move along shall we? Pleasantries aside, I'm quite curious as to why, exactly, you're here. I made no requests to transfer you away from the Dusk Spiders, nor have I been informed of any change in personnel. This can't be a meeting for old time's sake either, as I'm sure you're aware. Why then, do you waste my time?"
"Just need to take care of summat with your lot. Leaking info, y'know?"
"Yes, I know. This...'summat'. You are aware of how long I have served Recluse and Arachnos, yes? Far in excess of your own years here, Lundgren. Do you think I would allow betrayal to take place if I had heard even the slightest amount about it? Do you genuinely believe that I would have missed something you, YOU, have discovered?"
"Got our reasons. Seen folk yell about being faithful before, and then it goes right up, don't it? Can't stand traitors. Can't stand 'em at all. That's been smacked into me since day one of joinin' Arachnos."
"Of course. It was...'smacked in' to you quite well, wasn't it? How long ago, Lundgren? Eight years now, if I'm not mistaken..."
OOC: So, Jane desperately needs more history (I'm redoing her wiki page in the very near future), and I need to get back into writing. Here's my attempt at killing two birds with one stone: I'll be posting further (longer) sections over the next few days. Any major errors/grammatical issues/etc? Just point them out to me. Any feedback is appreciated.
---
[u]Spiders and Flies[u]
"It's certainly been a while, Lundgren."
Thomas was still as she remembered, even if he'd let himself go over the last few months.
Where a lean, muscular Huntsman would have stood was, instead, someone getting on in years. A once handsome face heavily lined with age and receding hair, most of the colour long since faded to a dull, whispy grey. As he shifted his weight from one boot-clad foot to the other, red and black uniform straining against a rotund stomach, his eyes moved to the large window set into one side of his office - untouched glass giving a perfect view of Aeon City. If it wasn't for that exuberantly trimmed moustache and the piercing gaze that somehow filtered through his visor, Jane most likely wouldn't have recognised the man stood in front of her now. Not that she was one to talk.
Even without the Longfang claws twitching and unfurling themselves, Jane would have still towered over him in height and breadth. An assortment of electronics and prosthetic muscles ran the length of her body, jutting against clothing or glimpsed beneath steel plating. Even her lower jaw, as heavy-set as it was even without robotics, had been crudely reinforced: she very much had the feel of an unfinished project, as if someone had grown bored with her halfway through and simply abandoned their ideas. Following the movement of Thomas' head, she too looked out across the city; a subtle whir heard behind the slivers of green goggles that passed for eyes.
"The quality of our equipment has gone down in recent years, Lundgren?"
"S'not theirs, really. One of the boss' friends hooked me up with this stuff. Hurts like a slag, but does the job good, heh."
"Quite."
Thomas forced a grin but made no attempt at making it look genuine. He stared at Jane for a time, unashamedly appraising her, before waving his hand irritably and seating himself before a large, excessively tidy desk. Monitor terminals buzzed with activity, decrypting and re-encrypting information about this and that. Jane couldn't make any sense of it, but the Huntsman switched them off nonetheless, shooting the woman a vindictive look for her moment of curiosity. Shuffling several loose files together, Thomas pressed his fingertips together, lips thin and white - a gesture that, electronic nerves or not, still managed to unsettle Jane after twenty years.
"Your...'boss'. Varrick, I presume?"
"Yeah, hey, that's the guy! How'd ya-...?"
"An astonishing reputation for failure and harbouring those responsible."
His tone was casual, but the atmosphere in the room changed almost immediately. Jane hesitated before she spoke again.
"Not really summat I like hearing about him, with respect."
A claw drew up sharply, stopping itself mid-lunge, but Thomas still caught the movement. Allowing himself a smirk, he leant back in his chair, both boots slamming down against the top of his desk. Stretching dramatically, the Huntsman yawned loudly and placed both hands against a chunk of armour plating stretched over his chest. Jane was quite certain the 'accidental' reveal of a large sidearm was nothing of the sort.
"You are, of course, not bound by the same rules as the rest of the grunts Lundgren, but it would be my reputation against yours if things were to become unpleasant. I don't think you're stupid enough to let your temper get in the way of an otherwise civil discussion. Imagine how further your Commander's reputation would be tarnished."
"Varrick ain't a failure."
"You're a mechanised abomination that would most likely explode if immersed in anything larger than a puddle, Lundgren. Recruiting you was one thing, but he went so far as to make you his bodyguard. Even you can't deny the stupidity there, surely?"
"He's taking...y'know...he's playing it safe with the tech stuff..."
"Of course. I've also heard Lord Nemesis is - in fact - the reason my morning coffee is never quite warm enough. Let's face facts: Varrick is a failure of a man, acting as a beacon of hope for all those who believe their own lot in life is poor. Thanks to him, we can all rise in the morning and say 'it could be worse'."
An actuator purred in Jane's left arm, her entire fist clenching with barely contained anger. Thomas clearly knew what she was thinking, and just continued to smirk in that playfully arrogant way of his. Huntsman and Crab Spider stared at one another, not a word between them, before Jane sighed and shook her head, the tension ebbing out of her in an instant. He was just trying to rile her up, get an excuse to throw her out. There was no point in flaring up and getting physical, regardless of how annoyingly tempting it was to do so.
"You just don't know him..."
"Oh, I certainly know about, but let's move along shall we? Pleasantries aside, I'm quite curious as to why, exactly, you're here. I made no requests to transfer you away from the Dusk Spiders, nor have I been informed of any change in personnel. This can't be a meeting for old time's sake either, as I'm sure you're aware. Why then, do you waste my time?"
"Just need to take care of summat with your lot. Leaking info, y'know?"
"Yes, I know. This...'summat'. You are aware of how long I have served Recluse and Arachnos, yes? Far in excess of your own years here, Lundgren. Do you think I would allow betrayal to take place if I had heard even the slightest amount about it? Do you genuinely believe that I would have missed something you, YOU, have discovered?"
"Got our reasons. Seen folk yell about being faithful before, and then it goes right up, don't it? Can't stand traitors. Can't stand 'em at all. That's been smacked into me since day one of joinin' Arachnos."
"Of course. It was...'smacked in' to you quite well, wasn't it? How long ago, Lundgren? Eight years now, if I'm not mistaken..."