Unwinding the Immortal Coil

"She typically comes whether I wish her to or not," he murmured as he accepted the paper and read it. "You are welcome to join me, if you wish. I can't promise I'll be good company."

His eyes slowly trailed along the mission brief. "As far as helping goes, I don't mind if you do or if you don't, but the thought is appreciated, strange as it seems to me to say it."

The mission itself didn't look like anything special until he spotted the environmental notes. "Hn. It's a simple mission on paper, but the environment is the problem. Knowing it's a hot desert, do you still want to tag along? I do have spare hot weather gear."

He started to reach into a pocket for a pen, but the paper disappeared suddenly from his hand.

"Sorry, Drake. Find another one," a feminine voice said from one side. "This is right up my alley." She stuck out her forked tongue, then winked.

Drake raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "Fair."

With that, he returned to the search as the female departed. Finally, he found another skull and crossbones underneath a few other papers, and tore it carefully away.

This... this was more his style, anyway. Rampaging giants that poisoned the air and terrorized the settlers of a newly-terraformed world. The environment seemed pleasant enough.

"This has a better environment. Mild. The difficulty will be the 60-foot giants that spew poison gas. I assume it's powerful poison, to have this rating."

He offered the paper to Feng to read, but his summary pretty much had the gist of it. "I think you'll see a sky different than you've seen before."
 
"I haven't had good company in years, so it won't bother me." Honest as always. "And I can't promise I'll be any better."

Feng was not too fond of going into a desert. His years in Egypt had not been the best. Even so he would have said yes if a girl hadn't snatched the mission away from the suicidal little hunter.

"Guess I won't get to see what that hot weather gear looks like this time." Feng chuckled. While he wouldn't have enjoyed a desert too much, it probably would have been decent considering it seemed like they had equipment for hot weather conditions. This new mission though involved giants that breathed poisoned.

Feng took a look at the paper, which said pretty much exactly what Drake had already explained. "Wow.. So this is what would have happened if Jack hadn't cut down the beanstalk, huh. I wonder if it's strong enough to get me down." It was a rather morbid thought, but then again, after having died as many times as he had while simultaneously not dying, you did eventually become morbidly curious over things you'd never tested before. For example, Feng once let a number of cobras bite him on purpose just to see if it actually would hurt him. He did die, then his body purged the poison very fast, and eventually he woke up again. One cobra wasn't enough to kill him, but he was in great pain for half an hour.

"When do you want to leave?" Feng asked, more curious about that poison rather than the sky, but who knew, maybe he would be pleasantly surprised by the new environment.
 
"The sooner the better," Drake grunted as he took back the paper and set the beads on his portable portal. With a toss, it latched to the wall. "I'll alert Lady Jade to our going after arrival."

With that, he stepped through, offering Feng just enough time to pass through before he closed the portal almost around the other man.

"And if we're lucky, Kina won't show up."

With that, he pulled his phone and sent a text to Jade—"On a mission. Will send details later."

The response came before very long, "You should not avoid your partner like this."

He ignored it and stuffed the phone into his pocket. "We should be just out of the known range of the giants now. Would you like an air mask?" He pulled one from a pocket, then secured it over his mouth and nose. There were no straps—it simply attached to his face and moved as he spoke, like it was little more than stretchy cloth. "I have a spare."
 
Feng was very content with the other man's answer. The faster they disappeared the better, then Kina would have less chance of coming after them. Though with his luck, maybe she would just be waiting right there on the other side of the portal.

"I'd rather wait with that. I'm rather curious how my body will react to the poison. Always try everything at least once." Feng replied. Yes, he did hate pain, but he also did have a bit of morbid curiosity, probably stemming from his desire to die. He always wanted to try every deadly thing once, just to see if it would actually kill him, and if it didn't, see if he would feel something he had never felt before. Poison was always the most interesting things to test if he could get a big enough dose of it, as poison could have vastly different effects. "If I pass out and don't wake up, just leave me with the mask on and I'll find you eventually." Of course, he wouldn't be so inconsiderate to slow the man down.

"So, how often are you lucky enough to not have her show up?" Feng then checked curiously. The chance was probably low.
 
Drake raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. He instead simply nodded. "Alright. I may toss you out of the way if it comes to that. The masks are effective, but can be damaged, and they are expensive."

He didn't imagine Feng would take offense. He seemed to favor practicality over protection, after all.

The question of Kina brought a downward twitch to his lips. "I have yet to avoid her unless the mission is an easy one," he answered. Likely not the answer Feng wanted to hear, but it was the truth. Why bother with dishonesty? There was no gain in it.

"If you need it, and I'm not conscious to give it to you, the mask is in this pocket." He pulled open his jacket and pointed to a breast pocket. "Just stick your hand in and think about the mask. You'll find it quickly."

His eyes darted about as he realized Kina usually wasn't this late. Her absence felt suspicious. Was this mission an easy one mislabeled? Was Kina going to show up later and embarrass him? Was she planning some prank?
 
"Practical thinking? If you continue like this I might actually miss you if you die." Feng joked though it was the truth none the less. If he was going to stay among these crazy people, he'd be thankful to have someone around with some common sense. Abandoning the immortal was just the sanest thing to do, considering he was the one that could get the least hurt.

Instinctively, Feng did take a quick look around as Drake mentioned Kina always showing up. He didn't turn his head, only his eyes made the round as far as they could go. Just this once, could she stay away? One hour of peace was all he asked for. Well, as peaceful as meeting a poisonous giant could be.

Feng nodded as Drake continued to speak about the mask. "Got it." He confirmed.

"You know Kina pretty well I assume." Probably better than the people talking about her temper behind her back. "Is it true that she never gets mad? Because in that case I might have made history." He didn't sound the least apologetic about it. Making her mad actually felt like a win at this point. She didn't have any right to be mad at him after what she did, but anger was a quite uncomfortable feeling, and he certainly didn't mind making her feel bad things mentally right now. At least his anger had ceased to the point that he didn't feel like physically doing anything to her, so the hair threat was currently off the table.
 
Drake huffed through his nose in a brief, quiet laugh at Feng's joke about missing him. When it came to the subject of Kina and knowing her, Drake raised an eyebrow.

"Never is an exaggeration, but it is extremely rare. Making history with her would be the lack of a disappearance after your threat to her hair. It's the only tie she has to her past." He closed his eyes briefly, then sighed. "She doesn't even remember her native language of Younuo anymore."

He was glad Feng only asked something most Hunters close to Kina might know, rather than information about her that nobody knew for certain. Hell, he was pretty sure he only survived knowing as much as he did about her because she let him and wanted him to remain alive for whatever reason.

"Was there anything else?"
 
Oh, so they knew about the hair threat as well. Feng just shrugged. "Getting angry over empty threats made by a newly awoken and angry drunk is rather pointless. If I truly meant what I said I would have done it right then and there without giving her the knowledge of such plans." He said matter of factly, indicating strongly that she was but a child to him, not being able to understand when to take people seriously and when not to. Women were too emotional, too irrational. There were exceptions sure, but this one certainly didn't seem to be one. Quite frankly, he did expect more from these people whom apparently had lived for thousands of years. The only reason he had let go of his emotions was because a certain someone had gotten him drunk. He had an excuse.

"People are way too attached to things that don't last." Feng murmured, too quietly for normal human ears to hear. There were cultures, people and customs he had gotten attached to throughout the years, but once they were gone he had let it go sooner rather than later. Living for so long, you should get used to losing things and embracing the knowledge of new things. Staying cooped up in the old ways would only alienate you from the new.

"No, I suppose not. Nothing you could answer me at least. That is if you haven't read her mind for the last year and knows how that irrational brain of her works. If she isn't so pissed that she'll break our deal, I'll probably get a chance to ask her in fifty years or so once she's calmed down." The years was an exaggeration of course, but he doubted she'd want to casually talk to him for the next few weeks at the very least. Heck, he had known normal humans who wasted years ignoring him because of some stupid pride that forced them to continue being angry at him long after the steam had disappeared.
 
Drake grunted and raised a brow at the comment of things that don't last, but let it drop as he began to walk towards the scent of a small city. He didn't wait for Feng to follow. If he came, he came.

"She's not entirely irrational," he stated. It wasn't a defense, either. "What she does makes sense, if you know her or figure out her reasons. She is..."

He trailed off and fell silent for several moments as he walked, leaving it to quiet as he thought.

How much to say? How much to keep to himself? Feng was stuck with Kina for a hundred years. Best to warn him now.

"She is a private person. Sometimes her actions seem boneheaded, but..." He was losing track of where he was going with this already. He forced himself to gather his thoughts before he tried again, "Anyway, she means well, but she does things strangely. Half the time, I think she doesn't even trust herself. Kina isn't even—"

A tingle at the back of his neck silenced him, and he reached up to rub at it. "I think she was trying to meet the 'you' that is... unfiltered?"

The tingling faded, and with just that, he became fairly certain Kina was there, watching them.
 
"Being drunk is not the same as being unfiltered. Sure, you're much more unfiltered than normal, but you also loose your common sense which means you'd act much worse than if you just were unfiltered. Just because you loose your filter doesn't mean people will see who you are, it just gives them a new problem where they still can't see exactly who the person is because their true personality is buried underneath a lack of dignity and common sense. She'd get a more unfiltered version just by playing twenty questions with me." The last sentence sounded like a long sigh.

Feng did pick up on Drake's rather odd habit of suddenly quitting in the middle of his sentences just to continue on another train of thought. Weird. He hadn't done that at any other point.

"Well, whatever her reasoning, it's best the explanation comes from her if there will ever be one. The only one whom can truly know yourself is you, because none other can read your mind. Well, maybe no one is up for debate, but generally, you are the only person able to see your own mind." Feng then said, clearly ready to change the topic or just walk in silence if Drake would prefer that. He didn't mind either.
 
The man shrugged. It wasn't really his own business, but Kina was his partner, and he felt it his duty to try to explain. He did try. That was enough. Any more, and he didn't doubt it'd turn into a pain for both of them. Maybe literal.

"Not really my business, anyway. She's my partner. I try to be... optimistic about what drives her, since I'm stuck with her. Makes it easier to put up with her behavior."

Another shrug, this time dismissing it from his mind more. He let the silence reign for nearly a half hour before he spoke again. The scents of the city were stronger now. "Things may be strange to you. This is not an Earth."

With that, the trees gave way to a large dome. The top and one side were caved in to reveal it was filled with structures. Large arcs of electricity traveled between jutting pieces of the broken dome, and it occasionally became clear, or turned black, red, orange, yellow, or green in flickers.
 
Feng was slightly tempted to ask if they couldn't change their partners, but knowing that woman, she would probably find a way to stop it somehow.

They walked in silence, which was preferred if the choices was between that and talking about Kina. Soon they seemed to have arrived at their destination, or at least some destination. "Things have been strange to me since I met you two. I'm getting used to it." Feng looked up at the dome as it came into view. "I don't know anything about these people or their taste, but I'm guessing, that's not an esthetical architecture choice." At least they knew that they were at the right place. There were few things that could massacre a structure of that size in that way. Well, maybe their weather was a bit more hardcore than on earth, or maybe their every day animals just liked to chomp on concrete. What did he know?

"Got any plan in mind?"
 
Drake shrugged. "I figured we could start by going in and looking around, since it's not currently under attack. If there's anyone still here, we might be able to figure out where the giants come from and where they go when they're done being pests."

The man sounded bored more than anything as he spoke. "Plus, if there's poison gas inside, that will mean it's heavier than the air."

He hoped it wasn't, but if the poison was that dangerous, it almost had to be heavier than the air, otherwise it wouldn't affect anyone at all. Still, verification wouldn't hurt, and with Feng around, he wouldn't have to sniff up the poison himself...

Realizing he thought that, he felt brief guilt. "You don't mind acting as my canary in there, do you?"

May as well be up front about it.
 
Feng raised an eyebrow at Drake. "Canary? How would a bird help? A dog seems better suited if you're searching for poison." He didn't seem the least offended, just very confused.

"I already said I wanted to take a sniff. Whether you're there or not doesn't matter to me." He then added.
 
Drake blinked the reference was missed, but Feng seemed to get it, anyway. He pushed his hair from his face. "Canaries were used for a time in several worlds as indicators of dangerous gasses underground."

Feng didn't seem to mind, so Drake went ahead and led the way around. "Entrance has to be somewhere..."

Just as he finished saying it, a structure flush to the dome appeared around the edge.

"Oh." Maybe it was that. He approached to discover a large gate left open, with a few people standing guard. Unfortunately, it seemed the gate wasn't left open by choice—rather, it was unable to close, based on the visible debris. Drake waved as he approached.

"Hello!" he called, and the guards turned to look at him. A moment passed before they waved back, and Drake trotted forward, considering that a decent enough welcome given their exhausted body language.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to be with the merc army we sent out to hire, would you?" one of the guards, a young woman with a strange, white-colored gun asked. The gun took both her hands to hold, and her posture indicated she was letting much of its weight rest against her hipbones.

"Sorry, no." Drake shook his head. "Sent by someone else to run an errand out here. I'm Drake, and my assistant is Feng. A young lady may join us—name of Kina. She's my work partner. What's going on here?" He let his gaze travel purposefully upward, as though taking in the damage for the first time.

"Gasants. New clan settled in nearby, and the usual ways to drive them out aren't working."

"Gasants... Damn. That explains the orders to mask up." He sighed. "Don't suppose you know which direction they settled in from here?"

"Not me, no," the woman shook her head. "I'm only here to let my husband get some rest. Most of watching here is just waiting and keeping my lungs full so I can scream if I see something coming."

"And the others?" Drake raised a brow and looked to the other two guards, who remained silent.

She offered a brief smile of apology.

"Ah." Drake nodded. "Well. Are we allowed to enter, ma'am?"

"Oh, yeah. Go on in. Fair warning, everyone's armed. No funny business. Nerves are high."

Drake touched his head as he nodded, as though tipping an unseen hat. "Thank you. Here's hoping the rest of your watches are quiet."

"Ha! For sure!" The woman laughed, brief but real. "Keep saying nice things, you'll soon be popular in times like these."

Drake simply smirked and winked, then nodded to both of the other guard as he stepped past some rubble. His casual, jovial manner faded as he came fully into the city.

From here, he could see that there were homes built into the wall—including where it'd been broken. The lives lost, he assumed, were many. Still, in the parts of the city that were intact, he could see greenery, works of art, parks, street lights, and more that spoke to him of better times.

He glanced back toward Feng. It seemed that if there was poison, and it was heavier than the air, it had cleared out since the last attack.
 
Why would anyone even want to be underground? It was just dark, not enough air and too many animals you can't see that might or might not be poisonous. Feng was not very fond of any underground place after his hundred year honeymoon with king Tut. The sewers were a slightly different matter since there was very little chance of actually getting trapped in there as long as you kept track of where you were going. Though the stench was still horid.

Feng just followed Drake in silence, waiting for his body to react to the poisoned air, but so far, nothing happened. Would he smell it before it came, or would it be silently sneaking up on him?

Soon they found an open gate, or rather a destroyed one, and the people inhabiting the place. Feng didn't even bother pretending to be surprised over the destruction or the information about the gasants.

Finally they could go in. For a few moments, he was actually rather impressed with the city, but not enough to get a feeling of aaw or wonder. It was more of an 'hey, they actually put some effort into this place.'

"Five minutes and fortysix seconds, and I'm still not dead. Either this poison sucks or it clears out pretty easily." He mumbled. Of course he counted the minutes from the moment they found the dome and not from when they stepped inside. Logically speaking, the outside should also have signs of poison if it still was there.

"So, you know what the usual way of driving them out is?" Feng asked Drake. No matter if he ended up only being a poison taster or if he'd actually contribute something, he preferred to be on the same page as everyone else when it came to the knowledge of the situation. If the old way wasn't working even though it always had before, it was important to know exactly what that way was and what could have changed to make it ineffective so that you could come up with a new way of attacking the problem.

Feng did take a slight glance behind himself as he spoke, not so much because they had armed people all around them, but because he started to suspect that Kina might jump out at any moment. Who really knew what that woman was planning if she found out where they were.
 
"The usual way," Drake started thoughtfully as he led the way through the streets, "I'm not sure how the locals go about it, but every time I've had to kill a giant, it's been a matter of climbing and struggling to make them die before they can swat you. Easiest method is to get their artery on the inner thigh, but nobody likes going that close to a giant's... parts."

A brief, but visible shudder ran up Drake's spine. "It's the sofest place to go after, and the blood's closest to the surface. Other options are armpit, wrist, and neck, but those tend to be the places they're more willing to slap."

"Gasants, as the locals call them... I've not dealt with them before, but I can't imagine it's too much different, aside from need for a gas mask."

A few children playing in the street stopped and gawked at the pair as they walked by, then began to follow, curious. Drake didn't complain about them, though—only offered a small smile through his mask and waved.
 
"Hmm... How well do they feel a human? Are they big enough for you to feel more like a fly which they might ignore if they were distracted by something else?" It was just a thought. Depending on the size they might not notice a human climbing on them for as long as they don't see them. It also depends on how thick the skin is and their sensitivity. "With the right distraction, they might not even notice you climbing on top of them. That would make things rather easy. Though I'm probably overestimating their height and skin sensitivity since I have yet to see one."

Feng noticed the children and Drake's reaction. "Don't pay attention to them, otherwise they'll get attached and you won't get rid of them." He warned with a slightly joking tone, though it was clear he meant every word.
 
Drake nodded with a small half-smile at comment of the children getting attached. "I know. Hard to resist saying hello, even knowing that." A bit of fondness bled into his tone as he shrugged. Drake, if he could deny anything about himself, could never deny that he loved children.

He'd not had his own, but the instincts bred into him by his former masters were strong. There wasn't a single Hunter in existence that didn't love children or wouldn't put their life on the line to save one.

"As far as if they'll notice being crawled on, we'll have to find out. I know their approximate size, their apparent local name, and one ability."

"Are you talkin about the gasants?" one child asked suddenly as she grabbed Drake by the sleeve and trotted to keep up.

Just as predicted, Drake realized, but instead of being upset, he stopped and knelt. "Yes. We are here to study them and try to make them go away."

Yellow eyes stared at her face as he used this opportunity to check for signs of long-term damage from toxins. Her hair looked rough and thinner than it should have been, and pupil dilation seemed off. "Can you answer a few questions for me, young lady?"

She nodded.

"Do things look blurry to you sometimes?"

Another nod. "How'd you know?"

"Just a guess. Do you remember when that started?"

She shook her head.

"It wasn't always blurry?"

Again, she shook her head.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Do your other friends say they see things blurry sometimes?"

"Uh huh. My brother, he has a hard time reading, too."

"Does it get better sometimes?"

"Sometimes!"

Drake nodded and patted her head with his free hand. "Thank you very much. My name is Drake. What's yours?"

"Noa!"

"That's a pretty name. Thank you for your help, Noa. You should be more careful about approaching strangers, though. Not everyone is nice." He started to stand, but she didn't release her grip on him, and he knelt back down. "Was there something else, Noa?"

She remained quiet for several moments. "Um..."

He waited.

"Why are you wearing a mask?"

"My boss told me I had to, so I have to."

The girl nodded. "Where are you going now? I know everywhere in town."

"We're going to find somewhere to spend the night. There's somewhere like that on this street, isn't there?"

"Yes! My uncle's hotel. Come on!" She continued to grip his sleeve as she darted ahead, prompting the tall Hunter to stumble upright and follow after with a laugh.

"Coming, Feng?" he called, seeming to have more life to him than usual.
 
"Hard saying hello if you just ignore them." Feng mumbled a comment that Drake probably would hear but the children would completely miss. He was just teasing of course, if Drake was foolish enough to let them get attached, it was his choice.

Feng waited patiently as Drake spoke with the girl. If their poison mainly gave a long term effect, he would probably be completely safe, though maybe it did depend on how close they got to it.

"What else would I be doing? Sightseeing?" He asked as Drake gave him the most ridiculous question. He started to follow the two, only speeding as fast as he was forced to do to not lose sight of them. No reason to bother wasting too much energy to catch up to them.

As he caught up to them after they had stopped, he whispered. "Someone's getting attached. Be careful, otherwise she might follow you around like a dog. Try doing giant hunting then." He gave Drake a pat on the shoulder and a teasing smile. Of course he wouldn't speak so loud that the kid would hear. He was considerate of children. Mostly because they so easily started crying and that was just annoying.
 
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