Mystery Thread #19 | Dusk & Appletree

[Manna Beast]

@Dusk and @Appletree
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Gender Preference: AxA
Post Length: 2-3 Paragraphs

Prompt: The pollution in the city is getting really bad and there starts to be reports of creatures in the smog that are not happy with the factories! Rather than send out any actual police force, the city council reaches out to the Detective Agency for the investigative duo Character A (Dusk, any gender) and Character B (Appletree, any gender). Time to do some sleuthing for creatures and perhaps a fix to said pollution!

Time Limit: 10 posts each (20 in total) or July 24th

 

[Appletree]

Milo yawned as he wandered into the office, giving a sleepy wave to the guards manning the front desk as he passed. Why did mornings start so damn early? Even with two coffees in his system he could almost hear his bed still calling to him, back in his flat several miles away.

Stepping out of the elevator, he slouched down the hall to the large open space that filled most of this floor, where the junior members of the detective agency had their cubicles. True offices were reserved for the higher ups, those that had served long enough or done good enough work to commend them to whoever dacided the seating arangements. Despite generally liking the open plan office, on mornings like this Milo did envy them somewhat. Surrepticious sleeping was a lot easier in a space with real walls and a door.

Flopping into his chair, he was very tempted to try to use the papers littering his desk as a pillow anyway, but the sight of a bright purple sticky note on his keyboard brought him up short. Snatching it up, he squinted at it, then lurched to his feet with a little cry of elation. Several heads poked up out of neighbouring cubicles and Milo ducked his head with a short "Sorry!"

Not currently having an active partner had sidelined him into tedious office duty for the last several weeks after his old partner had moved to another city to live with a sweetheart. Milo hadn't seen a breifing summons like this one in so long he had almost forgotten what they looked like. Turning on his heel, he almost bounced back towards the elevator to head up to the chiefs office. He didn't care what case or who his new partner was going to be, anything was better than more paperwork.

 

[Dusk]

Things had gotten bad, David thought, as if things hadn't been bad for a long time. Years of increasing factory emissions had done a number on the world and it was near impossible to see through the thick smog that constantly clotted the air. On wistful days, David ruminated on the clear blue of a lost sky. But it wasn't a day for wistfulness. David had a job to do. And as a chronic insomniac, he was excellent at functioning on the small amount of sleep he got without putting up a fuss.

David Shaw was a tall burly man with wide shoulders and dusty hair that had greyed in several places, and along with a prematurely wrinkled brow, he appeared significantly older than his thirty years of age. The large man was always seen in a long thick grey coat which only served to further bulk up his frame. His narrow blue eyes were framed by sharp rectangular glasses. By all accounts, David was a dour man with few friends and fewer days off. Arguably, he liked it that way. He put a lot into his job and he got a lot out of it.

David waited pressed against the wall outside of the briefing room in anticipation of his new partner. He wasn't eager for a new partner, he'd liked his old one, but the ancient man had finally called it quits and taken his retirement. At least he hadn't had to wait long for this new assignment. He'd known people who got stuck in the bureaucracy for months and damn would he have hated for that to be him.

The large man checked his watch, gave a sigh, and waited.

 

[Appletree]

Milo bounced on his feet impatiently as the elevator crawled upwards. Before the doors were even opening he was craning his neck for a glimpse of the corridor beyond. Would his new partner already be there? Who were they? What would they be like? What would working with them be like? Milo had gone through several partners since joining the agency, none of which had been overwhelmingly positive experiences. But perhaps seventh time was the charm?

The doors creaked open and Milo immediately spotted him. At least he assumed this would be him. There was noone else loitering around. Trying to stay outwardly calm and collected, he walked forwards, studying the man standing outside the briefing room as he did so. Milos first impression was that his new partner was his opposite in almost everything. He looked quite a bit older than Milos 27 years, though still fit, if the broad shoulders were anything to go by. Lighter colouring in comparison to his own dark curls and brown eyes and if the slight scowl and fashion choices were anything to go by, also rather less good humoured then he generally was. Hopefully that wouldn't be lasting. He didn't think he would last long with a partner that sucked all the fun out of their job.

As he drew level with the man, he realised they were almost the same height, though the other mans bulk made him seem quite a bit larger than Milos slighter gangly frame could do. Despite the slight trepidations that were bubbling up inside him, he stuck out a hand to greet the man
"Hi, Milo Sotores. You're here for the briefing right? Man I'm glad to back up here, feels like forever since I was allowed to get out."

 

[Manna Beast]

Mystery Thread has been concluded due to the arrival of July 24th. If you both enjoyed rping with another; then I highly encourage you both to continue to converse via PM or Discord if you are comfortable as such! If you wish to use the prompt given, please feel free to do so!

If you wish to participate in another Mystery Thread, just reply to your PM'd Application and request Manna Beast to set you up for another one!

Thank you for participating; it was a joy to read along!