28 Bleach Vats Later

[subconmodo]

WHO: Avery Atchison (subconmodo), Imelda Rivera (no_dejare_de_quererte), Héctor (unpocoloco), Peter Parker (made_up_names), Souji Seta (punches_fog), Shuuji Miwa (willnotbeyourneighbour), Ellie Williams (elliexir), Fakir Ansel (schwanenritter), Bumblebee (thebreakfastbug), Orihime Inoue (leekspins)
WHERE: North Dakota
WHEN: January 18th, 2019
WHAT: Obtaining funding for the Academy at the cost of one's dignity. Unless you're in the cleanup group.
WARNINGS: None atm. Will update as they pop up.
Note: Full mission details/plotting can be found Here

To Avery's credit, he had tried to prepare his students for this. The zombies had been the easy part. The corpses were slow and weak and as long as none of them did anything stupid they wouldn't be in danger. Wouldn't help the smell or the grossout factor, but such was life, death, and undeath.

Their clients were another matter entirely.

"It's not death that's going to be our enemy here," Avery had said during the briefing. "It's customer service." And if he wasn't allowed to rip into this bunch of stuck up jerks (literally as well as figuratively), neither was anyone else. He'd let minor acts of passive aggression slide, but that was it. And maybe, just maybe if they were lucky enough, Avery might be able to convince the bigwigs to let one or two of them fire off something or another.

---

The cleanup crew is much luckier. The smell may be worse (rot and burning flesh and whatever scents habe wafted up in the wake of Coldsteel's blow-shit-up-themed office party. Avery looks to be just Abbott on his last legs as he suits up alongside everyone and hands out holy water and runecasters, all the while grumbling about how he needs a pay raise.

Comments

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[She gives him a Look before pointing out the obvious.]

Less satisfying when you have to apologize for it later.

[made_up_names]

Yeah, well - I'm apologizing to you, not him.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

Are you? [She lifts a brow at him. Her surprise is mostly feigned.]

That'll be a first.

[made_up_names]

[ Okay, well-played. He sighs a little, hanging his head. ]

Yeah. I definitely owe you, like, five at this point.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[She gives him a bit of a skeptical look, but ultimately turns back to the shrimp tray that she's perfecting.]

Well, I can't say that I've been keeping track, but I won't say no to fives apologies.

[made_up_names]

[ He's silent for a moment. Kind of futzing around in the prep area, not doing much of anything. ]

So ... I didn't realize what was going to happen with Maya. At all. I'm sorry it went that badly.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

I'm not sure what else you did expect. But... Apology accepted. [It's easier to brush off now, after the fact. Even easier when she doesn't want to think too hard on it in the first place.

After a few more seconds, she adds:]

I'm not trying to hurt anyone. You know that, don't you?

[made_up_names]

[ He's just glad he's not hurting her worse by trying to apologize. ]

Yeah. I know that now. Héctor told me a lot, and ...

[ Deep breaths. ]

I know he hurt you. Badly.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[Her expression curls a little when Peter brings up that name. She really... doesn't want to think about the hurt he's caused. Not right now.]

You shouldn't talk to that man. He runs his mouth off, but you can't trust a word that he says.

[made_up_names]

[ Look. He gets it. He'll try to keep it to a minimum, because this an apology and not an argument. But. ]

Yeah, he said you probably don't trust him. For good reason probably. But I really don't think he meant it.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

Peter. Don't add another apology to that list.

He didn't trip and land on a plane. He didn't catch a wrong turn and end up in Europe. He went there himself, and he left his family behind. He made his bed. Just because he's tired of lying in it doesn't mean he gets to come home.

[made_up_names]

[ He bows his head a little, shoulders scrunched up. ]

But - look, I know. He left, and that was his choice. But I don't think he meant to stay away that long.

[ This is a guess at this point, since he doesn't know all the details yet. But he knows something, and that seems to hang together. Héctor is a skeleton or a zombie or something weird, and he's willing to bet that's involved. ]

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

And so what? [She gestures with one hand, flipping it up towards the sky.] Does it matter how long he stayed away? I don't care if it was one year, ten, or a hundred. I don't want anything to do with him anymore.

[made_up_names]

[ He opens his mouth to say something else. Stops. For once in his goddamn life Peter is going to show some discretion here. ]

I guess I don't know the whole story yet.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[She shoots him a look, then picks up the shrimp plate.]

Stop digging, Peter. Go find something better to do with your time. I don't want to hear about that man again.

[made_up_names]

[ Sigh. Fine. He eyes the shrimp plate, spice and dirt and all. ]

Can I ask about you then? Later, I guess. After you stick it to those rich guys.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[She pauses, primed to walk away, but his question catches her off guard. She looks equal parts suspicious and confused.]

Why me?

[made_up_names]

[ A confused look back. ]

Why not you? I've got his side of the story, but not yours.

... Also you're about to borderline poison a bunch of assholes, which makes you like 300% more awesome than I thought you were.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[Is that what it takes to win teenage approval these days? Borderline poisoning a bunch of assholes? She gives him a dry look for that, but then her expression shifts as she thinks. She exhales, looking more tired than anything else.]

It's not just a story, Peter. It's my life. It's complicated and messy, and not some drama for a teenager to solve.

I just want it to stay in the past where it belongs.

[made_up_names]

[ He rubs at the back of his neck a little. Okay, yeah, he can't help but pick at this stuff. This is what he does. But. ]

Can I still ask if it's because I care?

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[She does at least look like she's considering it. He's not a bad kid, she knows that. But this is all so painfully personal, and being so vulnerable isn't something that she's willing to show anyone right now. He's already seen more of that than she wishes he did.

So ultimately, she shakes her head.]

No, Peter. If you care, you'll leave it alone.

[made_up_names]

[ He hopes you appreciate this monumental act of self-control here Imelda. Because it takes a hell of a lot to back down even with her specifically asking to. ]

... okay. I’ll drop it then.

[ For now. Until Héctor tells him more about being dead. ]

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[That's not the response that she expects, so when he gives it, she mostly just looks relieved and grateful.]

Thank you.

[Now excuse her, she has some assholes to give food poisoning to.]