Elastic Heart;

Dakota Roscoe - 27 - Hunter "I don't need help. You need mine."✔ focused → tough → intelligent ✘ distant → haunted → hardened Gif by almostsleepy

[reinette-dartois]

"How polite of you," Reinette replies apathetically, raising a small brow as if the woman could’ve done more to appease her. Like close the wretched computer altogether, but humans are so absorbed into their virtual worlds, like that little brunette whose only value would be that she possibly tastes of sunshine and rainbows, considering she seemed to be made of just that.

Reinette doesn’t move, however. She keeps watching the woman’s stroke of the keys and the glaring light of the laptop screen and how garishly it beams towards their face. They must look incredibly unattractive under this lighting. “What are you doing?”

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota doesn't give her snide remark much of a response  beyond the simple "Mhm" hum and raising her eyes brows for a minute before she returns her eyes to the screen. Her finger glides over the track pad before she moves onto the next page. Her eyes light up slightly because this one seems much more promising than the last three she had been looking at perviously. 

A large part expects the vampire child to just beat it because she didn't look too fond about being here or listening to Dakota's occasional typing. But she doesn't. Instead she keeps watching her and that makes Dakota subconsciously put her guard up. She could only imagine what the scene might look like to someone watching. Hell, it makes her wonder what the hell her parents would say about something like this because she's not certain what their stance would be on her joining up with the Tenebrae and fighting alongside the things that she used to hunt. "Research," Dakota responds simple, finally taking a bite out of the pocky stick that had been dangling between her teeth. "Lookin' for shooting ranges in tha area."

[niko-kostas]

He gives a lazy wave and a laugh at what she calls him. It doesn’t seem fitting for him but if anything that just makes it funnier. Dramatic shit, like he said, because there’s no real connection between him, his heritage, or even his family at this point. They’re all dead, and if they’re not then they think he is, and for all intents and purposes it’s true.

"Yeah. Sure. That one," he says, because he doesn’t really know what that is, but it looks like a cookie stick and that’s good enough for him. He comes to stand next to her, bouncing a little on his feet, but he doesn’t move to steal the box. Someone else he might, but there’s the uncertainty still that Dakota won’t just take his hand off for it or something. Though he wonders if it wouldn’t just grow back, and if so, would he end up with a weird baby hand for a while? He doesn’t know the answer and he thinks that’s one of those things he should’ve found out before being left on his own. "You gonna share?"

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota's eyes momentarily drift back to the screen, catching another peek at another review of the next gun range patron before Niko makes her way over. But it's not until he start bouncing around does Dakota turn to look up at him. He looked like a little kid. A little pasty, scrawny,  kid with a punk rocker look to him. "Depends," she says, her voice taking on an almost sing-songy tone about it. Dakota finally takes a bite of the pocky stick she had been playing with between her teeth while her other hand goes for the box and covers it. Partly because she finally wanted to eat it, but a small part of her wanted to tease Niko.

A part of her does wonder why he would want one since most vampires couldn't taste shit once they were turned. Human food never satisfied them. Hell, Evelyn even told her that every thing for her just tasted like paper. So why did Niko want one or that slurpee she promised him? Or why did Ben want her chili cheese fries? Just eating for the sake of eating to fill some sort of hole inside of them? "Whatcha gonna give me for 'em?"

[reinette-dartois]

Reinette keeps to herself most days. While she’s mostly polite, to her standards at least, these people living in her new home are barely tolerable, more annoying nuisances and pests. Vermin even. And some are just food. Associating with them is usually done by force unless boredom has pushed her too social situations. Like this moment. She stops beside the woman tapping away at her computer, an annoying sound that’s usually accompanied by that smiling brunette that she’d promised herself she’d kill first so she doesn’t have to hear her fingers on the keys or that stupid giggle anymore.

She’s silent for a few moments, just staring at the harsh, bright glare of the screen. Modern technology is vulgar and ugly, casting unflattering lights into dark rooms. Reinette doesn’t approve. It’s never any masterpiece. Nothing about it is beautiful. Her face remains stoic, expressions blank of any emotions except a small hint of disdain. Her eyes divert to the small box of some snack the woman is consuming. “You own quarters couldn’t be a good space for you incessant tapping and garish lighting, étranger?” she poses the question, although her tone does not indicate any curiosity. It simply matches her expression.

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota is aware that someone is the room with her. How could she not? It was in her very nature to be aware of her surroundings at all times. But even moreso because of the company she was keeping. A small child. Or at least it looked like one, but Dakota new better. She had seen the kid, or what looked like a kid, around but never spoken to her. And when she first saw her, Dakota for a moment was wondering how in the fuck a kid managed to get on the property. But that passed because there's no way a random civilian let alone and actual kid would wander into a Tenebrae building.

It only meant one other thing, she was employed like the rest of them and with the way she looked, what with that child's body, it also meant she was a vampire. It's strange looking at an immortal trapped in a child's body. Not something she's seen all that often because even among their own kind, turning children into vampires was an understood taboo and  were destroyed. The moment she entered the room, she became very aware of the holy rosary beads in her pocket. "Change of scenery and livin' room's free game," Dakota explains plainly as her eyes peer of the edge of her laptop's screen at the vampire child. "And don't like the typin'? Then I will type quieter." She says with shrug because she could be civil. 

[niko-kostas]

Niko was humming quietly to himself as he walked by, all intentions of continuing down the hallway and out the door. He didn’t know, probably wouldn’t know until he go there, but all the same the sight of someone in the living room is enough to make him pause. It’s almost overdramatic the way he does, foot swinging before he tips his head back to peer in on them. It makes him smile to see Dakota, though to be fair he’d smile at just about anyone, whether he meant it or not. But she has a fun name, he thinks, and he’s pretty sure she promised him a slurpee. That’s good enough for him and he trots in without regard for whether he’s welcome or invited or not.

His mouth opens to ask what she’s doing, what she’s looking for, whether it’s pron, and if so, was it the weird stuff? All those things get derailed when he notices what she’s chewing on. It makes him pause, brow furrowing momentarily before a wide grin splits his face. “What is that? Is that a cookie? Can I have a cookie stick?”

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota places her head in her hand as her dark brown eyes continue to scan and look over the newest website she had pulled up. It seems promising, but it's not quite the place she's looking for. Seemed like it was too deep within the city for her liking- christ that sounded sketchy as hell. It being further away from the city was probably an impossible requirement seeing as how Los Angeles was so sprawled out. There's a twinge of something resembling homesickness for Mount Holly, that old sect, and her old stomping grounds and the shooting range she frequented just outside the city. 

However, she swallows any semblance of that homesick feeling when a somewhat familiar voice reaches her ears. Dakota finally tears her gaze away from the computer and turns her head almost lazily and sees Niko grinning down at her, his eyes on the pocky she's got. " 'Sup, 'Victory of the People'?" she greets, remembering the last time he had spoken he had mentioned that's what his name meant. "'Cookie stick?' What ya mean pocky?" she asks between clamped teeth as she wags the pocky stick between her lips up and down. 

[dakota-roscoe]

The living room is quiet save for the light hum of Dakota's laptop fan and the occasional sharp tapping noise that comes every time she starts typing. Off to the side is a box of pocky that she had picked up from the asian market a couple of miles away and one of pocky sticks dangles between her teeth swaying to and fro, up and down. Her dark eyes scan the search results and the map on the screen. 'Los Angeles shooting range' is typed into the search bar above the map for a moment before she clicks on the little link on the map that leads her to review of the place. 

Dakota had her old stomping grounds back when she was at Mount Holly, but things were different now. New place meant she had to find new places to eat, shop, get away from it all and while she found a good share of those things already, she still hadn't found a shooting range or at least gone out looking for one. She was a damn good shot with both her left and right hand, there was no denying that, but just because she was good didn't mean by any means that she wouldn't and shouldn't keep practicing. Thinking like that would get you fucking killed faster in this life. Dakota continues down the list of reviews for one particular shooting range before biting down on the pocky stick between her lips and muttering a quiet "Nah," before moving onto the next option. 

[the-tessacampbell]

There’s coughing that makes Ava look up. She looks somewhat concerned at the way Dakota has to pound on her chest to get a clean breath into her lungs. At first she just assumes she’s eaten too fast, because who hasn’t done that? But then she’s repeating the bit about kids and asking if she’s serious and Ava just rolls her eyes. “I was just askin’. Jesus. No reason to lose your shit. Lots of women have babies.” she says. It’s not the first time someone had reacted oddly to the question. Usually it was with laughter, or with disdain, because most hunters didn’t believe in having children. Sometimes it was met with sadness, and in those times Ava felt a very real fear grip her heart and squeeze. 

"So, what do you do, Dakota?" Ava asks, pushing the conversation away from thoughts that left her feeling scared for her children. They were in Florida with their very normal father and surrounded by normal, everyday issues for children. Hell, Dahlia was so desperate to avoid following in her mother’s footsteps she didn’t even read Harry Potter. "How’d you wind up here? What’s your story?" she asks with a smile before taking another large bite of burrito.

[dakota-roscoe]

"Yeah, they do. But I ain't one of those women." Dakota says with a slight shake of her head as she leans back into her chair. Her having kids just a big giant no. Her life was too erratic, tpo dangerous and she was too focused on the job. It was like that for a lot of women in their line of work. Not all, but a lot. Hell, for Dakota she can't even imagine someone falling for her and having a kid because Dakota wasn't dumb enough to suddenly get pregnant after a one night stand. And even if she did, she'd take care of it. But beyond that even if she did want a family, once you were in the world of the supernatural she'd either have to train the kid to be like her, a hunter, and she's not sure if that's something she'd want for a mother person even though she was perfectly fine with it growing up. She's not even sure how in the hell her parents managed to do it. Two hunters with an in tact marriage, managing to raise a kid while hunting and putting their lives on the line day after day and still find a great deal of happiness in that. Nothing short of a miracle and something that she would probably never see again. 

Now that Dakota's stopped nearly choking she reaches for another chip and pops it into her mouth. This time the question Ava asks is one that's less jarring and one that's she's expecting more or less whenever she meets someone knew here. Daktoa shrugs her shoulders and finishes chewing on the chip before she speaks. The events that took her to the Tenebrae still weigh on her mind, the image of her mother's throat getting ripped out in front of her along with her daddy's death long before then still, but she doesn't let it show on her face. "Born into it. Mama and daddy hunted an' taught me. Tenebrae found me 7 years ago an' been with 'em ever since." It's vague at best but that's how Dakota likes it. "What 'bout you?"

[the-tessacampbell]

Ava begins to unwrap the burrito and takes a large bite out of it. It’s not exactly what she would have gotten, but it’s not bad by any means. Reaching a hand into the bag of chips, she pops one into her mouth before she’s even finished swallowing her bite of burrito. The hunger is real. She had only had a poptart earlier on her way to catch her flight and then hadn’t eaten at either airport or during the flight, and even during the layover in Minneapolis she had been too busy running from one terminal to another to find something to eat. “Well, Dakota. Don’t fly Delta. That shit is ridiculous. I don’t even have a credit card. That’s just.. it’s classist is what it is. Like, oh, you don’t own a credit card so you can’t spend that cash because obviously, you suck.” she says, shaking her head.

Pushing the chips towards Dakota, she motions for the woman to have some. Nevermind that they weren’t truly hers to offer. “I’m Ava. Robinson. I mean Robinson was my ex-husband’s name, but I kept it for my ungrateful, asshole children, so…” she says with a tight smile. A sudden thought occurs to her and she puts down the burrito. “Ah, shit.” she says, searching in her pockets. “I was supposed to call them when i landed. Fuck.” she says, turning her phone back on to see the missed calls and texts, but there are none. She’s not sure if she’s grateful for avoiding another fight, or hurt that they hadn’t even tried to contact her. She could have been dead in a ditch. “It’s too late to call them now. I’ll do it in the morning.” she says, putting the phone down and taking another bite of the burrito. “You got kids, Dakota?”

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota watches out of the corner of her eye as the woman goes at the burrito and the bag of chips. Shit, Ava knew how to make herself right at home. Either that or she was just hungry as fuck. A definite possibility depending on how long the woman's flight was. She can relate to that hunger on some level, hell when Roy first showed her the kitchen and offered her pizza she devoured that slice like it was no one business after being stuck in traffic for almost half a day. "Uh, I'll be sure ta keep that in mind if I ever fly again," she says, her lips forming into pseudo smile.

The second that bag of chips is pushed her way, that pseudo smile turns into a more genuine one, even if it is a small, subtle thing. There's the idle thought that she probably shouldn't take them, but as she cranes and tilts her head to the side and can't find any trace of a name on it so she goes for it. She listens to how Ava goes on, but her mind latches onto the last name. There's a part of Dakota that's been trying to keep tabs on last names, mainly because she wants to call people by that but the fact that it's her ex-husband's name makes her hesitant. Guess she'll just stick to Ava. Dakota's munching on a chip when suddenly Ava's asking if she has kids. In an instant, Dakota's eyes widen and she inhales sharply and almost chokes on the chip in her mouth. She coughs and slams her fist against her chest until her windpipe is clear and she recovers. "Me? Kids? Are ya'll bein' serious?," she says quickly because imagining herself with kids, at her age, with the life she lived? No fucking way. 

[the-tessacampbell]

Ava hadn’t even realized someone else was in the kitchen until they spoke and she screeched and jumped, nearly into the fridge, before she turned around. When her eyes settle on the younger woman, she still has a hand pressed to her now racing heart, but a good natured smile comes over her face as she laughs quietly. “Hello. Hi. Yeah. Wow. You, uh… you’re a quiet one.” Ava says pointing to her and nodding as if impressed, though in this case she thinks it has more to do with her own obliviousness than any stealth abilities this woman may or may not possess.

Turning back to the fridge only partially, she continues to look for a moment before glancing back at the woman. “Is this your burrito?” she asks, holding up the foil wrapped thing. There’s no name on it, no way to identify who it belonged to, not that it would have stopped her normally but since she had a witness, she figured she’d ask. She pulls out a can of soda too and sets them on the table before walking over to the cabinets and pulling out a bag of chips. “You know planes only take credit cards now? What kind of bullshit is that? Couldn’t even get a bag of chips ‘cause they won’t take cash. How are you not going to accept money, actual money, but you’ll take a little plastic card that transfers numbers from one person to another?” Ava asks, not really expecting a response as she sits across from the woman and opens up the can of soda. “It’s ridiculous… what’s your name?” she says, shaking her head for a moment before taking a sip.

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota shrugs at the quiet comment. Yeah, she's quiet but what just happened was nothing having to do with her sneaking up on the woman. Just Dakota being in a certain place at a certain time. "Yeah, that's me," she says, tilting her head to the side slightly as if she were thinking it over because she guesses that she's probably one of the more quiet personalities in the house. Well, at least if she were to compare herself to people like Clara, Niko, Boyd, Ben or even Roy. Her eyes drift back to the laptop screen in front of her before the woman is suddenly holding up a wrapped up burrito.

Dakota idly wonders if it's her's, but ever since she entered this house and started up with the Tenebrae, she had taken to labeling everything she put in the fridge. "If it ain't got a name on it, it's free for tha takin'," Probably one of the first rules she got in the house along with the more official ones. Same rule they had at Mount Holly. Soon any talk about the burrito is cast aside and the woman is talking about planes and credit cards. "Uh, I wouldn't really know." Dakota shrugs seeing as how she drove virtually everywhere. She's pretty sure there were only a handful times when she actually hopped on a plane for a job that she needed to get over to asap. "Dakota Roscoe," she replies when prompted, even giving a slightly wave of her hand from her spot at the table. "How 'bout you? What's your name?"

[the-tessacampbell]

Ava climbed out of the cab with a groan before grabbing her bag and heading towards the front doors of the newest Tenebrae stronghold she would be staying at. When she had asked to be transferred back to California, she had been thinking palm trees and white sand beaches. Hopefully those things weren’t too far off. She hadn’t been this far west since she was young, twenty years ago at this point. 

It was late, and she wondered if people stayed up this late in this house. Maybe they went out and partied. Maybe they were quiet and in their rooms. New faces and personalities and name to be learned, but she had no doubt she eventually would. Walking up the pathway, she couldn’t help but hum to herself, which turned into singing lightly. “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray.” she mumbled to herself absentmindedly. Taking the few steps up, she reached the front door and knocked loudly, wondering if that was the right move. No one answered right away, at least not within the few seconds she allowed before she simply took the handle and pushed the door open. 

It was nice inside, nicer than it appeared from the street anyway. Wasn’t that just like the Tenebrae though. Deceptive to the core. It would have been a cynical way to look at things if she actually considered deception to be a negative trait. “Hello?” she calls out, but she doesn’t wait for someone to come find her. Instead she begins walking, poking her head into doorways as she passes, but she stops when she reaches the kitchen. Not because she’s found someone, but because she’s hungry. Dropping her bag beside the table, she opens the fridge and begins to look for something to ear. “I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.; California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.”

[dakota-roscoe]

It's late, or early depending if one wanted to get technical. Either way ti's dark outside and the manor is quiet. She's sitting in the kitchen at table by the window, browsing the internet and reading various crime blogs. Dakota had been with the Tenebrae for a decent stretch of time so that meant that she didn't have to go looking for cases anymore, but old habits ingrained into her from a life time of hunting were hard to break. Her eyes dart back and forth quickly between titles, not finding anything that screams of the tell tale 'Whoa, supernatural shit here' signs, mostly human crimes and actives. There's a piece of butter toast between her teeth as she continues to browse when she hears someone enter the manor.

Dakota doesn't look up from her computer. The house was filled with all types and they could come and go at all hours of the day or night. Wasn't her concern so long as no one was out there causing trouble that would draw attention to their world. She only looks up when she sees an unfamiliar woman enter, drop her bags and go for the fridge. "Well, hello ta ya too..." she says quietly as she watches the stranger enter and sing the old Mamas and Papas tune. Maybe at another time, she would have been on high alert and asked who the hell the woman was, how the hell she got in, but she knows that people don't enter a Tenebrae building unless they weren't meant to be here. Must be another new member to their ranks.

[beckettwoods-deactivated2014122]

"Ah. Another fucking night in another fucking shit hole." Mark leaned back in the armchair he was currently occupying, a sardonic smile on his face. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to leave-that was just the fact of the matter. He was stuck here for who fucking knew how long,and throughout all of this, he’s been feeling himself get stronger. Faster. Quieter. It was like he was turning into some sort of predatory animal, a tiger waiting to pounce, footsteps silent as death itself—which made sense, considering that he, himself, was dead.

That thought brought him up short for a moment. I’m dead. Whoop-dee-fucking-do.

Mark always had to pause for a moment when he remembered that fact. He was dead. He was no longer living. He wasn’t…human, anymore. A strange thought in a strange place—at least he had nowhere he had to be. He wasn’t all that hungry, and so, in one of his more peaceful and human states, he settled down to relax, plugging into his music and trying to drown out the world, still hoping in some corner of his mind that this was all just a nightmare.

Unfortunately for him, Alastair had made arrangements for him to stay here. Permanently.

[beckettwoods-deactivated2014122]

[dakota-roscoe]

Dakota's strolling through the house in relative silence. There's bottle of gatorade in one had while she's got her laptop under her other arm. Normally she would have gone to the library with it, but she wasn't planning on reading her daddy's journal, adding to it or reading from one books there and she didn't feel like staying in her room. She's making her way into the living room, her mind on setting up her laptop at the small table when she hears an unfamiliar voice and the comment that comes with it.

When she spots the stranger, there's a slight pause in her steps. She doesn't know what kind of life he had to deem Greystone a 'shit hole' but he must have been fucking well off before this if he meant it seriously. This place was a veritable palace compared to where the places she grew up, cheap motel room after cheap motel room, not that it was anything she mixed, plain and simple. There's an idle thought about how this guy might act if he got sent to on a mission and had to hunker down in a one star motel. She wonders if he'd complain the entire time or suck it up and deal with it like Boyd had (even if his discomfort was clear to see the entire job)

" 'Sup new guy," she greets as she walks past him, her eyes gauging him, wondering what he is before she goes for the small table located by the wall. Beyond that, her mind she's wondering if that's the Danny, Dex, or Dominic guy that Clara told her about when she got back from the mission. Could be either one of them or just a new person all together. With the number of people steadily streaming into this place she wouldn't put it past her.

[dakota-roscoe]

Who are your favorite people in Greystone so far?

Why? Ya hopin’ ta be my best friend?

I ain’t got any favorites. Clara seems like a sweet heart though, ain’t gonna deny that. 

[sqrrlbot]

[dakota-roscoe]

What is your biggest fear?

Furbys. 

[exorcistmitchell]

For the most part Mitchell remains quiet while she relays the information to him. He shifts in his chair when she mentions the sheriff and he can’t help the frown, but he’s aware it’s not necessarily her fault, same as the man at the bridge. It was their job to handle the supernatural and keep the civilians out of it, but it didn’t mean they were always so accommodating. It made him lucky to be alive, whether the banshee took care of him, or Holt did, and if he still doesn’t necessarily trust him, it’s some reassurance that he didn’t snap when put to the test.

"Thus the compulsion," he says. It’s calmer than he necessarily feels about it, because there’s still that lingering annoyance. Both because of the sheriff’s interference and because incidents like that are how hunters are born. And much as he is what he is, it’s not necessarily a life he wants other people diving in to. "What were the parameters?" It seems the most necessary question, what Holt told him and how much he took. 

He watches her for a moment and while his expectations make him wish it had been taken care of a little quicker, he can’t argue with the outcome or his impression of their performance. And those expectations are ones better set for himself, because he’s aware that hunts take time and energy, and no part of him believes any of them were purposefully dragging it out. He sits back, and the question’s something of a loaded one because most of them are. But it’s also because from all his dealings with her, he thinks she’ll give him an honest assessment. “Do you feel everyone on your team performed to the best of their abilities, including yourself?”

[dakota-roscoe]

"Yes," she affirms with a nod of her head as she sits back in her chair. The sheriff was probably the second biggest problem that they had while hunting the banshee and irritated Dakota on a very base level, but after the banshee's head was in the box and she saw the look on the poor man's face, she did feel bad for him. That look was a reminder of one of the aspects of their job. To protect normal humans from ever knowing about the supernatural. To keep them ignorant of the things that lurked in the shadows that could rip them apart and let them continue to think they were just stories to scare children into behaving or fabrications of Hollywood for their amusement. 

Sudden violent introductions into their world were how a lot of hunters were brought into their current line of work. And if they didn't become hunters, a lot of civilians just couldn't deal with the knowledge of their world existing. Having that information dropped on them would prove to be too much. The sheriff was one of those types. So wiping his memories was to protect the Tenebrae, but to protect the sheriff as well. "Holt made it so tha sheriff thinks he came ta investigate a disturbance he found nothing but two dogs screwin' each other. Made it so tha three of us were never there and he saw nothin' get killed..." she apsues for a moment before continuing.  "And that tha next five times he went ta go sleep with his wife he wouldn't be able to get it up," Dakota says, "Holt's words, not mine, sir. " Dakota shrugs. It feels odd to be saying that to Mitchell, seeing as how that's definitely not something she'd say to her boss, but he did ask and she was nothing if not thorough. 

At his next question she takes a moment of silence, thinking over and playing the mission back in her head very quickly before she looks up at him. "Ta be honest I feel that we probably could've worked a bit faster, but that wasn't necessarily anythin' we really could control. McIntire, while not versed on the subject, seemed eager ta learn an' took initiative when presented tha opportunity. Holt exhibited a great deal of control and self restraint during the mission and performed as I had hoped he would when the time came. Despite tha snags an' few of tha obstacles we hit, I feel our team adapted quickly an' made tha best of tha situations we found ourselves in. So I'd say 'yes,' I think we all performed ta the best of our abilities." 

[exorcistmitchell]

It makes sense to him, so he doesn’t push too much further into it. There are easier ways to gain access to a police station, but he can’t fault using the situation at hand to get what they needed. It bothers him on some small level that they were behind bars, but as long as everyone kept their calm and there’s no record he doesn’t see it becoming an issue. Flaunting civilian authority, if that’s how they want to look at it, isn’t a thing that bothers him anymore. They use what they have to and dodge around the laws as necessary because that’s what their job is. They deal with things the police aren’t equipped to.

"Good work," he says, accompanying that with a nod. He can’t argue with methodology or thought process, so he doesn’t. But there’s a quirk of his lips as he glances up at her because the only part that he can argue with is his ignorance of the situation while it was occurring. "But I’d appreciate you letting me know next time. If I have to bail someone out of prison I’d like a little forewarning first."

The words aren’t said harshly and he doubts she’ll take them as anything other than how they’re meant. And he’s aware that it’s probably his respect for her that keeps him from being more irritated by that then he should otherwise by. “Continue.”

[dakota-roscoe]

There's the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corner of Dakota's lips when Mitchell say 'good work'. She liked to think she a fairly humble individual, but it was always nice to have her work acknowledged even with just two words. That small smile grows a little bit when at Mitchell's next request and she nods. She never really thought to tell him seeing as how the boys getting arrested, her coming up with the plan to get them out, on top of investigating and working to take them out the banshee before it claimed anymore lives was at the forefront of her mind. But it's nothing she can't do and apparently this was nothing Clara needed to worry about. He was her boss so why wouldn't he want to know when something like this happened? It definitely made her feel better about letting that slip out when she promised Clara that she wouldn't say anything. 

"Thank ya sir, and I'll be sure ta message you next time if it happens." When he tells her to continue, she slips back into focus and her small smile fades as she continues the debriefing. "When they were out, Holt an' McIntire  said that they heard someone call 'bout some strange screamin' they heard at tha power plant so we headed straight over. Once we got there an' we got in after avoiding cameras, I performed a ritual ta draw tha banshee to us so we could deal with it accordingly. Ritual was a success but," she pauses for a moment, shoving down the minor bout of irritation she feels when she thinks of the sheriff and keeping her face neutral, "Tha local sheriff stumbled 'cross us right when tha banshee appeared. Holt went after the banshee straight away. In the process he managed ta injure it pretty severely, but it cut up the side of his face pretty badly. An' unfortunately, the sheriff wasn't tha type of civilian who would be too scared ta pull out a weapon. He shot Holt in the shoulder before I took his gun away." It's something that and she wasn't happy about in the slightest, but she was team leader, she should have taken his guns away or knocked him out and she wasn't going to shirk away from that. Besides, she wrote about it in her report, no reason in hiding it. 

"Much ta my surprise Holt exhibited great amounts of control an' didn't go after tha sheriff." She tacks on because she thinks it's something worth noting seeing as how Mitchell seemed to be apprehensive about sending him out in the field. "Boyd went after tha banshee an' wounded it's leg. slowin' it down before tha sheriff decided to interfere again and caught the banshee's attention." God, that stupid sheriff. "That's when I stepped in and diverted it towards me. I drew it away from tha sheriff an' took it's hands since the claws it had were givin' us the most trouble. From there Holt was able to attack and finish tha thing off." She had no problem letting Holt take the kill seeing as how she pretty much indirectly promised him that he could take the banshee out and was probably the best way to placate the violent Vampire. Besides, it didn't matter whether it was her, Ben or Boyd that delivered the final blow. So long as the job was completed in the end. Dakota takes a moment to pause because she imagines that Mitchell has something to say about the sheriff. 

[exorcistmitchell]

He sits back while she settles, though he’s never really casual. There’s a notepad on his desk he brings with him, and while he doesn’t know if she has anything to add that wasn’t already in her report, he’d like to be prepared for it all the same. 

When she mentions Ben he nods his head. “That doesn’t surprise me.” There was concern sending him out at all, but it seemed to him that right now he just needed something to focus on. If that was the monsters they sent him after, if it could be used for their cause, he’d do it. To some degree it was manipulative, but he didn’t make a secret of their intentions and the vampire knew full well where he stood. He couldn’t give him what he wanted, not according to policy, but that need for vengeance he understood better than most.

"They were arrested." That gives him pause for a moment, despite reading it in her report. The Tenebrae itself has a multitude of rules, but while they’re lax about some of them, exposure of the supernatural isn’t something they generally compromise on. That combined with the thought of Ben in a human jail cell doesn’t sit wholly comfortably, but she seems calm about it and last he checked the entire team had returned unharmed and without pending charges. "I’ll assume you had a plan for getting them out?"

[dakota-roscoe]

At Mitchell's question, she nods her head. She's headed more than her fair share of missions in the past seven years of being with the Tenebrae, but having 3/4ths of her team taken into police custody was definitely not the way she envisioned things going. Running into locals or the authorities was always a possibility, but it wasn't something she wanted really happening on her first mission as team leader in a new sect. Still she took care of it and she thinks that her teammates handled it well. Particularly Ben. Sure it was his idea to go and get taken back the station, but he could have easily torn those bars off the walls and taken out every officer in that station if he wanted to when they were done. 

"Yes sir," she says with a nod, "Like I said, I told Boyd I'd give 'em two an a half hours ta do what they needed ta do.  Told 'em ta sit tight an' not ta try an' break out, that was mostly for Holt. While they got taken in and listened for more suspicious calls that could point us in tha direction of the Banshee, I spent some time at tha crime scene. I waited a bit an' then I asked Clara ta help us out," Dakota states. It's only after the words leave her lips does she remember Clara's text that pretty much said 'Don't tell Mitchell.' Guess she let it slip her mind. 

But in Dakota's mind Clara's hacking skills, even if they were on the more illegal side of things, were useful. Not something she'd think Mitchell would get mad about. The Tenebrae had all manner of resources at their disposal and in Dakota's mind, Clara's hacking abilities were another resource. The Tenebrae wouldn't just hire a random hacker with seemingly little hunting experience for no reason, right? Besides the whole point of the Tenebrae was to keep things secret and wiping Ben and Boyd clean from the database and getting them out fell under that category. Calling on Clara and letting her do her thing was easier than going to her plan B, which would result in the same outcome, with just a lot more steps to get there. 

[exorcistmitchell]

He glances up when Dakota walks in, and while there’s some small irritation that the mission took too long, he can’t argue with the results. Banshee’s are difficult to handle but there was a box on his desk when he walked in, along with her report, and that says most of what he needs to know. They were right about her, and it leaves him with a sense of appreciation more than anything. The majority of independent hunters aren’t anything special. Unspectacular, is the term most frequently used. They’re humans with guns, usually ones they know how to use well, usually resourceful, but nothing the Tenebrae’s interested in. They have their own guns and their own resources. 

He thinks she’s proving herself more capable than most, and it solidifies his decision that she was the right one to send, even if there was some concern about letting Holt out of the house without him. “No. Now is fine.” He shakes his head, finishing what he’s doing before he shifts his attention to her. There’s an offered gesture at the chair on the other side of him, and while he has her report already he wants her assessment of it personally. “Talk to me about the mission.”

[dakota-roscoe]

She's not really surprised when Mitchell tells her that it's okay for her to come in. In the few times they've interacted he's come across as a man all about business and all about the job. Even now, with that slight tired post-mission air about him and the worn look on his face he was still working. But that came with the territory of being a liaison she supposed.  There's a stark difference between him and Josiah that Dakota can't help but think of every she sees him or during the few times she's stepped into his office. But that's a difference she's grateful for. Josiah was not only her boss but a friend and a beloved mentor, someone she had gotten close to and he wound up dead. With Mitchell, he'd be her boss and co-worker alone. 

When Mitchell tells her to take a seat in the chair just across from his desk, she does so, casually crossing her legs before he's telling her to recall the mission details. Yes, she wrote up the report on his request, but she has no problems with a verbal retelling. It's what Josiah requested of her during her seven years at Mounth Holly, said it helped him better recall details in his 'old age' as he liked to say. "Well, once we arrived in Seal Beach we checked into tha Oceanside Motel and I briefed tha boys in on tha mission. Ben seemed to really be interested in just killin' tha banshee, which was what I pretty much expected and Boyd, while he may be more used ta hunting spirits seemed eager to learn and asked plenty of questions and took some notes, so I'll give 'em that," Dakota starts as she recalls the mission in her mind. 

"Briefed 'em both on tha nature of the mission, tha victims, tha nature of their deaths, how ta kill and deal the banshee and what we were going to do and let 'em read over tha files. Once that was done, I sent Boyd an' Ben out to the crime scene ahead of me ta see if they could find anythin' that might point us in the direction of tha banshee and ta just further confirm what we already seemed ta know. I stayed behind for a lil bit ta see what I could dig up with research 'n see ifin I could find anythin' ta bring the banshee to us. Didn't take long, but by tha time I caught up with tha boys, the local PD caught up with them and was takin' 'em in when I arrived," Dakota explains, " 'Pparently, the officer that caught 'em spilled the beans about gettin' some phone calls back at the station about strange screamin'. So Ben figured that they could play along, get taken in an' gather some information while at tha station. Told 'em I'd give 'em two and a half hours 'fore I came ta get 'em."