Scientist to Scientist

[Zephyr]

The scientist was interested in the boy too. Seemed everyone wanted their hands on the traitorous god. It still spurned her. "He cuts off his own arm but he doesn't off himself when he finds out he's a god. A bit hypocritical if you ask me. Why do you want him? He's a nuisance and should be eradicated." She realized she had changed her tune on this one god. She still wanted a pet, but this one was too much trouble. He needed to be dead. "And the Inquisitor is one of them. Another god and another traitor to the order of things. He will be dead too soon, if I have anything to say about it."

[Angelika]

Angelika looked up at the animosity towards young Durante from the fearsome one. She looked like she was Atharim for life one of those born and raised, like her, to do this very job. Knows nothing else. What would she say if she knew Durante was just like her -- Atharim to the day he dies. Which was proving to be a lot longer than his file suggests as empty as the American records were.

"He didn't cut off his own arm. His paperwork suggests another reborn god used a fire blade to slice and cauterize the wound at the same time immediately after the creature bit him. Saved his life." She didn't reveal the other bits that were left behind. Angelika wanted to study the boy not kill him, and if there were any remnants of the creatures in his system she was 1000% certain Zephyr would kill him -- or at least try to.

"As to his failure to off himself." Angelika smirked. "There is a difference between saving ones life and ending your own for the possibility you might be a bad egg. I imagine he's a better Atharim than most. No offense intended. He is still hunting despite his lack of Atharim resources. Quite capable to elude not one, but at least three attempts on his life. He's rivaling the Ascendancy as one of the hardest reborn gods to take down, and he's what twenty-two?"

But the news of the Inquisitor that was new. "The inquisitor was one of these numerous gods you and Zephyr found with this biter?" She directed the question at Grym who seemed less likely to bite their heads off for existing. "Any idea who the others were?"

[Grym]

Thinking that the god they chased was only 22 made her want to shake her head. She was more than twice his age and he was a thousand times more dangerous. The gods were really back, and it seemed like a losing fight every day. How were they even driven to the brink of extinction the first place made Grym want to throw her hands up and walk away.

The scientist’s question made Grym glance worriedly at Zephyr. They’d seen things in the tunnels that made them both anxious to get out of there, and the monsters were only part of the problem.

“There were a bunch I didn’t recognize,” she started to say, but there was one obvious face she knew everyone knew. “and…” but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. It was like he’d know when someone talked about him. And fuck that. Grym wasn’t going anywhere near that god. She shook her head 'no' and looked at her partner to see how she would go about explaining it. If she did at all.

[Zephyr]

Zef wasn’t sure what to think of the assessment of the boy god. Sure he was young, and powerful. And he was Atharim, but he should have done the right thing…

She was interested in who was there. Zef shrugged. ”The Ascendancy was there. The others worked for him. Two were dressed in the silly outfits of the new police force he created. And the other was the consul of channeling or whatever the fuck it is called.”

”The little bitters attacked and they started flinging fireballs and shit around. One of them made this grate thing and the critters pushed their way through killing themselves. What the fuck are these things?” Zef tapped on the glass cage and it lunged at the glass after her finger smashing it’s skull into the glass with little care.

[Angelika]

The Ascendancy himself. How very interesting. The boy had connections, she was already aware of that when he sent her to the bowels of the Kremlin to meet with doctors there. ”He’s well connected. I never expected the Ascendancy to get his hands dirty. Interesting.”

But the questions returned to the creature in the glass box. ”That is what we are going to find out.”

She rolled the creature into an even more secure room and beckoned the women to follow if they wished. ”Durante suspects they are a genetically modified chupacabra based on the transmission of the parasite. And his report states he caught scientists capturing chupacabra. And his assessment seems accurate when taken into account with his blood work after severing his arm.”

She turned to the women. ”I doubt my work interests either of you. I will issue a reward to your accounts and relieve you of any further responsibility for this creature. But if you encounter the boy again I’d like him alive, and as for the Inquisitor, it might be fun to study someone so new to his power in comparison to the boy.”

[Grym]

Zephyr was fine to talk about Ascendancy. It made Grym want to check over her shoulder like the man might spontaneously appear. She’d been right to be afraid to encounter a group of gods in the tunnels. 
“One of them was told to kill us,” she added to the story. “But he led us out of sight and told us to run. Why would he do that?” she explained with a frown. Grym had no illusion that the fakery was in the goodness of his heart, but she didn’t understand the motivation.

The scientist had a lot of information about the creatures. Chupacabra weren’t common in this part of the world. Grym hadn’t killed one in ages. “Does that mean Durante is still submitting reports to the Atharim?”

And she insisted on getting Nox in alive. Grym shook her head. “Thanks for the payment, but no can do on the boy. They’re too dangerous to keep alive. If you’d seen what we have seen, you’d agree.”

[Angelika]

Angelika shrugged at the motives of the gods. "Maybe he isn't a killer? Maybe he didn't want to bring the wrath of other Atharim down upon him. No telling what the gods think of themselves this early in the game." It didn't matter why he sparred them. "The boy ordered your deaths? I find that against his MO."

There were lots of questions by the bag holder. The other seemed to scowl and frown alot. She seemed full of her self too, but most born Atharim were. Angelika felt the same way. "Durante is not submitting to the Atharim. The reports were given to me by his contacts at the Kremlin. Seems he has a motive to get the science communities together who study monsters and things." She smirked. They didn't know about his affliction and she intended it to stay that way. She wanted to study him.

Angelika laughed when Grym wanted to go after the boy. "Three teams now have gone after him. The first lost two, the second lost him in the tunnels, and you were turned away by other gods he's partnered with. I wish you good luck. But what I'd like to know is why would you want to stop a god who is hunting monsters? He's killed his partner for inappropriate actions. And he's cut off his own arm to stem an infection that could compromise him. Seems to me, he has a pretty good idea about what he's capable of. We once worked with the gods... but by all means kill the boy... Or try anyway."

[Grym]

Scientist lady was starting to piss her off. We once worked with the gods?  They’d not busted their asses going after Nox only to hand-wave away the fact that maybe he wasn’t a killer. Grym hadn’t been so black and white on the gods before this. The ones she heard about before were all deranged and dangerous. They needed put down like rabid animals for everyone’s sakes. The rest, well, she had been ready to withhold judgement until they gave a reason to put them down.

Now, though, she was starting to change her mind. Zephyr was of the same mindset. Grym found herself standing nearer the other hunter.
“Today he hunts monsters, but their power is growing out of control. It’s only a matter of time before he turns it on people. It’ll corrupt his head like it does for everyone. Let me ask you this, doc. When was the last time you were confirmed to be mortal? Maybe we should do an interrogation to make sure you’re not one of the gods yourself.”

She glanced at Z, arms crossed.

[Zephyr]

This turned dark quickly. Grym wasn't wrong about the boy needing to die. But the doctor wasn't wrong either. The gods had helped them eradicate the bad ones. The boy was hunting monsters. But he was working for the Ascendancy. Zef sighed. "You're both right ya know. And I don't think we should go around accusing the scientist of being a god. She could do the very same thing to us, and her pull is a bit better than ours probably." She pointed around do the digs.

[Angelika]

There was no point getting angry. "Thank you for your assistance in obtaining my guest. You can go now." She said waving her hand and rolling the creature into another enclosed area and closing herself in behind the sealed door.