Ark City, North District - University

[ShadowWolfSBI]

While the outward appearance might suggest otherwise, with brick buildings and large windows on the lobbies, the class buildings at the Ark City University are highly modern. The dorms, however, more closely resemble apartment buildings.

As evening begins to turn to night, some classes are letting out. Others may just be starting. Thus, a flux of people, heading one way or the other. And for some of the students... Required work may be due in.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Freya Brandt, mild mannered grad student in the Ark City University's vaunted biology department, forgets her many woes by throwing herself into her work. She sits in her preferred environment - a laboratory with microscopes and fridge after fridge of petri dishes to examine under them. She dresses in loose, comfortable clothing, track pants, an ACU grey and blue sweater, a white lab coat, and goggles strapped to her blonde haired, blue eyed face. Beside her is a paper cup of coffee - proper coffee from Italy, not what Americans call coffee. And, as always, beneath her clothes, is her second skin - the Slath symbiote that had become one with her.

It didn't have a name. Slathi, being usually linked to one hive mind, have no need for names. This one is an anomaly: independent and extremely powerful compared to its average kin - and for this reason it is being hunted. But Freya Brandt is a part of the alien now as much as it is a part of her, and though it doesn't have a name for itself, by merging with her, it had created an identity.

Toxsyn.

In truth, the Danish-American woman who had been Freya Brandt is irrevocably gone. She had succumbed somewhere in the Arctic tundra. Now, the knowledge, the habits, the idiosyncracies of her human life are her cover story. She goes through the motions because they are what she and the symbiote knew will help them survive, help them stay a part of the Earth's ecosystem. But she knows, deep down, that her true self is the hybrid. She is Toxsyn now.

And Toxsyn enjoys Italian coffee. It also has conceded that ice cream is an acceptable excuse for why a human might forgo training her body into an exemplar of athletic prowess, and so it has adjusted Freya's metabolism accordingly. Before merging with the alien, the old Freya had been overweight, but comfortable in her own skin. The new Freya is much the opposite - the body of a sculpted amazonian goddess, the looks of a femme fatale right out of a steamy Bond film, and very much self-conscious about people looking at her 'skin.'

She can move her midnight-blue (with a touch of neon yellow) alien skin around her body, but she cannot detach it from herself any more than she can pull off her human arms and legs. And though she can twist it into various clothing styles, it is not the sort of material that could be mistaken for anything made on earth.

So as pretty as she now looked, it is impossible to take advantage of it without outing herself as something different - something not entirely human. It's an odd head space to be in.

Freya sips her coffee, finds that it's mostly drunk, and so tips her head back and drains the rest of the cup. Maybe she could use a walk? These slides could wait a while.

Taking her cup, she walks out of the lab, stepping outside the brick building and tossing her cup into a nearby trash bin. The frigid air doesn't bother her in the slightest. Toxsyn thrived in low temperatures.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Mozart Newgate, or, as his friends call him, Mozzie, one of the University's Performing Arts students, sits on the edge of a decorative planter nearby, an instrument case resting by his side, with his right leg resting atop his left knee, and several different papers and what appeared to be a Biology book sitting on the edge of the planter next to him, the black-haired sunglasses-wearing man seeming somewhat perplexed by them.

When the man looked up from what one could only assume was his own coursework, he found it rather difficult to take his eyes off the woman who had just left the nearby building, reaching up with a gloved hand to adjust his sunglasses. Well, partially gloved. The man only wore fingerless leather gloves, and was also dressed in a yellow wind breaker and regular old blue jeans.

When he finally came around to his senses, a low wolf whistle issued forth from his mouth, trying to keep his eyes on the rather attractive Freya, though he did not know her name yet, he was determined to find out, as he gathered up his things and leaped to his feet, working his way through the crowds towards her.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

The wind picked up slightly, suddenly blowing a number of discarded postcard-like sheets down the walkway. If inspected, the cards all seemed identical, and had apparently been soaked by puddles left over from yesterday's rain. While this left them illegible, what could be read of them made them appear to be some kind of mail-in fan club registration cards.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Freya draws in a few deep breaths of the crisp autumn air, feeling it tunnel down her windpipe and fill her lungs - augmented to extended capacity by Slathi liquid tissue. With no set destination in mind, she sets her feet in motion, walking along the sidewalk, pondering what further distraction she could get up to in her sudden mood for things non-biological.

A half-dampened flyer rustles in the wind and sticks to her track pants. Bending down to pick it up, she lets it flap in the wind to dry for a moment, before she examines it closer. As she reads the half-legible words, a low whistle alerts her to a presence behind her and she turns in an instant to come face to face with a young man in his early twenties. He is easily her junior by perhaps 7 or 8 years, but the detriments of her aging process had been dramatically slowed or even regressed by the addition of her Slath half's internal tempering, and so she now appears to be the same age as most grad students at the university.

Instinctively, she sizes the young man up, but a cursory review shows no signs of Slathi possession. Not really knowing then how to react to a catcall, and seeing him moving in her direction, she decides to redirect her eyes to the damp paper in her hands, continuing to read it while using her extraterrestrial senses to keep an eye on the man as he advanced in her direction. Around them, other students and residents of the area pass by, unheeded.

She keeps quiet as he approached, allowing him to make a first move, if such is his intention.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Mozzie stops in his tracks as an errant leaflet smacks him in the face, sticking to his sunglasses and forcing him to set his instrument case down to remove the blinding piece of paper, reading it as he approached the woman, though his eyes were concealed by his sunglasses. "Hey. Haven't seen you around before. And trust me, I'd have remembered a figure like that." he says, his eyes shifting beneath his sunglasses to look away from the leaflet and to the woman. "Feels like a crime to not know your name. Mine's Mozzie." he says, smirking as he stuffs the leaflet into a pocket on his windbreaker and picks his case back up.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Freya considered her figure, and wondered how much the man's imagination had to do with his view of her. Track pants and her sweater were not form fitting, though still, he was not the first man who had expressed interest in her, given her youthful, captivating face.

"Mozzie..." she said, rolling the name around on her tongue. It sounded like a slang term she'd heard once for mosquitoes, though she doubted he was aware of that by the way he seemed to take pride in his nickname. Definitely not going for the annoying, disease-carrying, blood-sucking insect responsible for more human deaths than any other species in the animal kingdom motif...

"Nice name," she said. "And thanks for the purely innocent compliment. I try to keep fit when I'm not hunched over looking at micro-organisms for hours on end. I'm... Cindy."

It was not a lie. Not entirely so.

Cindy McKinnon was her cover name. Freya Brandt had officially died in unknown (classified) circumstances along with the rest of her colleagues in the arctic last year. After her harrowing trek across the icy plains and wilderness, the first sign of civilization she stumbled across had been a headstone at a tiny gravesite in Canada, next to an abandoned cabin. She had taken the name on the gravestone as her own, at the behest of her alien instincts to avoid detection.

Of course, her good friend, Dr. Steven Hedrey who ran the lab she worked in now, knew her true identity. She had had to trust someone. And the genius girl who worked across town, Eliza, she had discovered Freya's secret purely by accident, but had proven so far to be able to keep a secret. Other than those two, as far as everyone else was concerned, she was Cindy.

Her identity was a rosebush, ever lie a thorn.

"So, is there an instrument in that case or is it just to show off for the girls? Or maybe it's a gun?"

 

[Caulder]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Mozzie smirks, hefting the case a little higher. "Lovely name you have there, Cindy. As for what's in the case...." he trails off as he sets the said case down on a nearby bench, flicking both locks open and revealing a pristine and rather beautiful violin. Inside the case was also what appeared to be a card stuck to the inside of the lid, saying "Donations Welcome". "You said you study micro-organisms. I'm a student of music. Doesn't exempt me from being horrible at biology, though." he says, closing the case and picking it back up. "In fact, I was about to get underway for one of my regular sessions at a pub downtown. The Broken Shillelagh, maybe you've heard of it?" he asks, his left eyebrow raising as he does so. His body language was starting to suggest he was interested in the woman, though his eyes being hidden behind sunglasses hid much of his facial expressions short of his smirk.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

She looked sidelong at him. Then at his violin. It looked like an impressive instrument, though quality woodcraft was not her area of expertise.

"You've got a gig tonight? humm... Well, I was just in need of an excuse to clear my head a little. Never been much for pubs or drinking, but..." She let herself smile. "I suppose hearing what a bold stranger can do on a violin would be interesting."

She gestured with her head to encourage him to walk with her. "Let's go then."

Freya was confident of her own safety in matters like this. If this guy had any ill intention towards her, he would be in for a frightful surprise. And if he was genuine, then a little music might be just what she needed right now.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Mozzie smiles as he leads the way, offering one of his arms in a rather archaic gesture of chivalry. "Trust me, once you've heard me at the Shillelagh, there'll be nothing on your mind but music and dancing." he says, rather confident in himself and his ability to perform. "There's a reason why I'm a regular performer. Well, either it's my skills or I'm one of the only musicians who doesn't turn tail and run when the brawls start." he says, leading the way to the public transit station, intent on getting to the pub as quickly as possible.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

"If there's a brawl, I'm not likely to stick around," Freya replied, wondering whether Mozzie was trying to imply he was brave or stupid. Considering that one needs their fingers to be unbruised and their instrument to not be smashed in order to play the violin, sticking around a place where the regulars usually fell into fighting seemed to her to be the opposite of intelligent. It also made her rethink visiting this particular bar. She preferred environments with clientele who were there to drink socially, not to get pissed.

"Are you saying this bar is unsafe?"

 

[Caulder]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

Mozzie shakes his head. "No, no. It's just.....It's an Irish pub. There are a few regulars who tend to get rowdy, but there's never been a fatality or any kind of major damage done beyond a few broken stools." he says, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "I've never been in any real danger, but most performers would pack up and leave if a fight broke out. They usually die down after a few minutes, and then everyone refills their glasses and life goes on." he says, nodding his head twice afterwards, as if confirming it for himself more than anything.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Ark City, North District - University

At this point, Freya felt a little bad for Mozzie. He certainly hadn't sold the place as an inviting environment to take a girl to. And she wasn't much for stereotyping Irish pubs. If anything, pubs in Ireland were incredibly civilized compared to American bars, from what friends of hers had told her. He human self was already thinking up ways to excuse herself from going to the bar, but her Slath half wouldn't allow for it. If this environment could produce a fight, perhaps she was better off honing her combat techniques by joining in?

That's not what we want, Freya thought. We want to blend in.

We want to survive, Toxsyn countered. We have redesigned our body, optimizing it despite a lifetime of inferior preparation, but fighting skills must be learned.

We are NOT looking for fights, Freya thought furiously. We are trying to RELAX.

Outwardly, she gave a tight-lipped smile and followed the musician as they headed for the pub.