It was quiet outside of the civilian housing, and considering how early it was in the morning still, Cheng wasn’t surprised. The only other agent close by was Echo, someone he had consistently greeted with a wave every time they ran into one another in the agency or on missions.
He would have wanted a conversation with the fellow demon agent, so they could share some experiences and explore the concept of demonkind, except with people like Agent Echo, one must be patient. In a way, the other reminded Cheng of the small animals that used to run by his farm - cautious, discreet and fearful. Even back then, Cheng had gentleness to spare, offering grains and slivers of food, soft spoken words and attention. Though it took a while, some of the skittish strays did warm up to him and would come when he called, bringing their family with them.
This was perhaps an opportunity.
“Good morning,” he said, gaze brushing past the multiple pebbles on the ground. Clearly, agent Echo had been training. It was a useful gift, telekinesis, and one agent Castle did not manifest. Cheng crouched down, touching a finger to the cool surface of one of the rocks, and just for fun willed it to move. Of course nothing happened, and the stubborn little nugget remained perfectly stationary.
“May I join you?” He stood up again and asked, keeping his body language open. “Don’t feel any pressure to say yes. I know what it is like to want to be alone and would understand.”
Many deaths, and even more injuries. Needless to say, what happened during the emergency mission dealt a blow to MEIA and its agents. Cheng had not a moment to himself - no time to think as he attempted to make himself useful whenever possible, helping with relocating those injured and the clean up. Now, as the dust somewhat settled and they were all assigned civilian housing as a team, he finally found the opportunity to reflect on the past.
Why three separate attacks? What was Kaiser’s purpose? Did he get everything that he wanted, and if not, then how much did he get? The techniques the rogue agent employed, from the glimpses Cheng saw, were quite unique. Was that technology advancement or simply his ability? He could easily come up with more questions but finding an answer...well, that was the difficult part.
Cheng’s stepdad called, just to make sure he was still okay, and the relief in his voice when they spoke made Cheng glad that unlike many others, he walked out of the emergency mission practically unscathed. Same cannot be said for their head medic, who was supposedly alive, but beyond that not much can be said.
Frauds. Kaiser called the head agents that. What did he mean?
He wished he could remember more about Seaside and its history but Cheng supposed he was too distracted at the time to gather any intel. He spent most of his first days trying to get accustomed to being a demon and restraining bloodlust. Though he heard rumors through the grapevine, there was no official statements from anyone.
So focused on his own thoughts, he nearly bumped into agent @mia-zer0, who was quietly sitting in a corner, hugging his rifle. That’s right...that was one of Sero’s first missions, wasn’t it?
“You okay?” He asked, crouching down next to the other agent. “Did you get hurt?” If Sero wasn’t at the civilian hospital, then chances are, if he was hurt it would only be minor injuries. “Quite a difficult first mission,” he commented while giving the baby agent an onceover. “Do you want to talk about it?”
–––––––––––––– « upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand
miaxseb:
(...)
“i think that’s all we can do. do our best to make the good we do outweigh the bad. hope we make this world a little better in the process.”
Another bloody battle done, another difficult conversation had. When would life become less of a struggle, Cheng really didn’t know.
On the positive side, at least he got the I believe you this time. As much as he doubted that he fully convinced Agent Sebastian of anything, at least he got those words. During moments of pressure and distrust, hearing something like that helped.
“I am sorry for your loss,” he offered. “I know you cared about that agent greatly, the way you do many others.” Just like him, agent Sebastian had chosen a path of suffering. The more you allow yourself to love and care for others in this world, the greater the agony you will suffer when you lose them. “I didn’t kill him. I honestly didn’t.” Cheng said this already, but saw no harm in hammering in the point again. He was, after all, certain.
...
Yes, certain.
Because he would know if he killed someone. Something so significant (and damaging to his humanity) would not have possibly slipped his mind and there were no gaps in his memories during the entire battle, except for the minute or two he blacked out from being thrown into a building.
It was a minute or two, right?
Certainty existed in lack of doubt, and with that question he had just asked himself, Cheng shattered that. A brief wave of panic pushed up his chest, and blood rushed through his brain searching every corner, gathering every ounce of memories he could from the scene. While on a rampage internally, on the outside Cheng probably looked quite normal. He was good at this, compartmentalizing.
“I...I think I should go see a medic,” he said, part of his mind still preoccupied with his own internal verification process. “Still haven’t gotten the chance to deal with my injuries. Do you think I can go by myself or should I find some people to escort me.” Cheng didn’t think those two junior agents were hovering by earlier just to grate on his nerves with their accusations. “Am I demon agent Castle right now or still murder suspect Castle?” Oh, he was still armed. The two junior agents earlier, if they were meant to keep an eye on him and make sure he wasn’t going to be a threat, they didn’t do the greatest job.
He unstrapped his remaining dagger (because the other one they took with the body) and laid it on the table, then pulled his pistol from its hidden holster. “Here.” He pushed both of the items across the space, closer to agent Sebastian than to himself.
“What exactly are you doing here, Agent Castle?” She questions, her suspicions of him still there. Sena was always cautious around others, never once one to let her guard down around them, however, with her having woken up from the sort of nightmare that she had, she was even more cautious than usual. She especially didn’t trust agents like him, demon agents being the top of her list of those not to trust.
Touchy.
You would think that agent Sena was the one who nearly got knifed.
Cheng sighed, wishing he could claim this never happened before, but eh, as a demon agent you need to learn to get used to a knife or two coming your way at all times. On the positive side, after getting hit a few times, he developed relatively good reflexes.
“This is a public space, Agent Sena.” He answered, putting emphasis on her title the way she did with his, except making his voice softer. It was too early in the day to get in an argument, after all. “I was reading.” To prove his words he lifted the book in his hand - a terrible romance novel that he’d picked up upon the suggestion of someone else, but once he started a book he must see it to the end. Misplaced determination, but he couldn’t help himself.
“You sounded distressed in your sleep, so I thought I’d wake you up.” Cheng further explained, even though he highly doubted that anything he said would make a difference. What he should do now would be to go back to his book, pretend nothing happened, and carry on. However, there was something strange about the way agent Sena behaved.
He fell silent for a moment, but the contemplation was clear in his eyes. In the end, against his better judgement, he decided to speak. “You didn’t know it was me when you attacked earlier. Even before your eyes opened you reached for the knife.” He didn’t frame his words like a question, because that was a fact. Cheng spoke slowly, his gaze fixated on Agent Sena to gauge her reaction. “You could have hurt someone.” That knife had a good swing, with intent behind it. “What nightmare did you have, if you don’t mind me asking, that got you this riled up?” To the point of nearly injuring someone.
And more importantly, did she have these sort of dreams often? Because if so, she may need to consider a visit with Lerissa for some high quality sleep aid.
the background isn’t that necessary. he talks a lot; people complain about it all the time. whatever. “so i guess my question for you is, what did it feel like when you turned into a demon, and what do you think made you keep some of your humanity?”
tw: mention of death in the past, thoughts of violence
Believe it or not, Cheng did know quite a few things about agent Remy. Humans were social creatures and naturally, they conversed. While Cheng was certainly no longer human, he still operated as one and thus found himself...part of the grapevine. Now, Cheng must assert that he was no gossip! Just...news sometimes found him and he couldn’t help but actually wanting to keep listening to the information he was offered.
“I am really sorry about what happened to your dad.” No doubt something the baby agent already heard a million times, but Cheng still felt the need to say it. “As for what I felt when I turned into a demon...” He reached into the past, trying to search his memory bank for his exact feelings. “It’s hard to pinpoint.”
He had always been a calm guy who handled all unexpected farm occurrences relatively relaxed. Whether that was a giant spider found by his sister, a pipe bursting or an earthquake making its presence known. It was safe to say that he never experience an emotional rollercoaster, until that fateful day.
While fighting the demons he experienced panic, also fear whenever there was a close call with death. When his mother passed, the sadness was overwhelming, but in the same moment he felt a glimmer of joy from being protected. Up to that point he thought he had meant nothing to her, but if she was willing to give up her life for a chance for him to live, then surely she loved him at least a little. The fact he lost her made him so angry, and he wanted to get up and fight - to protect the rest of his family.
But at the same time he had no strength left. The poison was setting in, and the pool of blood underneath him was ever expanding. Everything told him that he was out of time and he felt so helpless...restless.
“When I opened my eyes for the first time as a demon, I felt anger like I’ve never felt it in my life. It felt hot, like a fire, and it wanted to burn its way out of me.” At the same time, he felt strength. Enough to allow him easily shatter boulders and no doubt also to tear his way through his enemies. “People were talking, but their words almost didn’t make sense. Or maybe they just felt unimportant.” The same way you wouldn’t care why or what the mosquitoes were humming about, you would simply want them swatted and dead.
“I don’t know what drew me back,” he admitted, apologetic because that was likely what JJ wanted to know more about. “At some point people’s voices started to make sense again, and I could see that my sister was scared of me. I saw the negative energy oozing out of me and realized that I had...succumbed to the poison.” That was a terrible moment of clarity. “After that, it gets complicated. I felt the desire to kill but I also felt concern towards those around me.” Junghwa tackled him to the ground and he felt the familiar texture of soil underneath his back. He looked at the sky and saw it was still the same shade of blue. Nothing else changed except for him, and he could never go back.
“Bloodlust is really difficult to resist, especially in those moments when you first turn. Your dad must love you very much, so that he managed to protect you for some time even after he became a demon.” Cheng nodded. “I think maybe I just got lucky, and by some miracle the poison didn’t eat away my heart.” Because let’s be honest, when it came to determination and motivation, what JJ’s father had surely exceeded him. There were so many incredibly strong people that were lost to negative energy and Cheng did not think of himself as better than any of them, so yeah, until research reveal something further, he shall assume it was the whim of whatever deity still out there.
Now, there were a few things he was curious about agent Remy as well. “I heard that you...lost your memories. Have you managed to recall anything?” He asked. “Do you think you were...attacked by a demon?”
“staying alive seems the best solution to that problem. she won’t have to cry then. nor would i, goes unspoken. he’d only just arrived and although he knew the realities of the world they currently lived in, he’d just reconnected with the few friends he’d been able to make years ago– he didn’t want to think of the possibility of death and losing them all over so soon.
"i know i don’t really know who she’s become, or how she thinks anymore, but i’m hopeful you can work things out.” he rubs his arm and moves to lean against the wall closest to them. “do you think we could visit her in the future?”
Staying alive would be the best solution indeed, except who can make such a promise? It was a miracle that he managed to stay alive for so long already without losing his mind, and sooner or later, his luck would run out.
In a way, that was the only certainty life offered - that one day it would end.
He reached across the distance, fingers tucked gently but also firmly underneath Insoo’s chin. A little pressure was applied, just enough to guide the other’s eyes up so they could briefly lock gaze for what he had every intention to be a serious conversation full of warnings. He was going to say that he will die, possibly not even killed by a demon. That he thought about killing humans way too often for his own comfort and if he should slip up one day then one of the people he fought alongside, possibly even agent Silk himself, would have to put him out of his misery. He wanted Insoo to prepare himself mentally of that happening one day. Just in case.
But why?
Why was he so intent on saying those things to Insoo? Let’s be perfectly honest here - they might not even be assigned to the same team in the future. Even if they do there would be others with them and surely one of the senior agents would be ready to fire a shot or two or six at the feralised demon agent to protect those around him. This wasn’t a necessary talk.
Yao Cheng, you are a coward. So full of fear that he dared not to allow himself complete joy, even over something as precious and rare as a reunion in this world. He should be happy, and his heart should be full from the fact that someone was glad to see him. Someone wanted him to live and believed that he could. Pushing people away all the time, nobody is ever actually allowed to be close. You have to scare people, remind them that you are dangerous. God forbid they start to care like the way you want them to, deep down inside. That’s why Nini never left her room.
Since he became a demon he had always played it safe, but could he do better than just that? Should he try? If he was better at communicating could he have helped his sister?
In the moment their eyes actually met, the speech Cheng had prepared was on the tip of his tongue. There it stayed, for several long seconds of contemplation, before he swallowed the words back down. “Yeah, we can visit.” He turned his hand and gave Insoo’s cheeks a squish, the way he did when they were younger. They’d both outgrown the gesture by now, but Cheng figured it wouldn’t hurt. “I doubt she will let me in,” he admitted. “But you, she would have no problem with.” Friends were invaluable, especially the ones carrying memories of the innocent past. “You’ll put in a good word for me, won’t you?” He grinned. “I suck at apologizing, and don’t know how to beg for forgiveness.” Considering how much he screwed up, little princess might actually need him grovel, just a little bit.
“drift towards people…right,” he sounds disbelieving. “and why is that?” to harm them? of course it would be.
tw: tight, confined space. asphyxiation risk.
There was a lot of unknown territories when it came to demons and the fact they all seem to have manifested the poison differently didn’t make things easier. Some demon agents had brightly colored eyes, others had physical characteristics like claws. For Cheng, he just constantly oozed this ominous dark energy that had a natural tendency to drift towards humans. He didn’t want to lie, so he told agent Vox what he truly thought. “It is probably what you are thinking.” This energy was likely acting on the demonic instincts he was suppressing. Wanting to surround the human the way he wouldn’t allow his arms to, desiring to touch the skin he wouldn’t allow himself to break.
“I am sorry, this is an uncomfortable situation.” Nobody wanted it, but that was precisely why fate was often called cruel. “I could stay quiet,” he said. “But some people likes it when I...keep talking.” Because humans talked and demons didn’t really. Some agents he had worked with in the past felt somewhat reassured whenever his lips moved, because that was a sign he was in control of himself and capable of communication. That was one of the reasons that Cheng, the quiet farm guy who used to share his thoughts only with the stars, trained himself to be more social.
There was sound of subtle movement above their heads. For a moment Cheng’s heart lifted with relief, only for the universe to shove down his throat another fist full of lemons.
Whatever happened up there caused a further collapse, and their already small safe zone became even tinier. With debris pushing against his back, Cheng couldn’t find his balance fast enough to counter the pressure. All he managed to do was to plant both of his hands on the wall on either side of Agent Vox’s head, just so they didn’t have to physically collide.
“Shit.”
He had to use his injured arm, and while the pain radiating up his shoulder was a concern, it was hardly the most pressing one. The air was thinning out, and what remained of their oxygen supply was heavily tainted by the scent of blood. If unaddressed soon, this would kill them. What could also kill them would be if debris kept on moving around and ultimately crush them. Between those two potential methods of death, Cheng didn’t know which one was worse.
“I should have recorded a message for my family,” he mumbled. “My father...my sister.” No, he shouldn’t think like that. If nothing else, his family deserved to hear a goodbye message and if one cannot be recorded, then he simply must not submit to his fate. Cheng’s eyes scanned their surroundings, because somehow the feeble light source survived. There has to be something they could do...something they could use.
He kept his eyes on the ladies until they disappeared among the trees, a hint of relief in the sigh he allowed loose. Negative energy flooded Cheng’s surrounding environment like an ominous black cloud as his eyes hardened. With the humans on their way to safety, he could focus solely on the destruction and in a way, he supposed that was what he became good at. This, while difficult, was the best decision for all of them.
Now, back to the situation at hand.
One versus one.
Normally with a tricky battle like this he would leave a voice recording for his family, then delete it after everything was done and he was safe. Just so if something unfortunate happened, his family wouldn’t be left with nothing. For today, he shall not allow that, because this wasn’t a fight he could afford to lose. The last thing he needed was for his death to become a source of guilt and weigh down on another person’s heart.
Besides, he just received additional ammo from Junghwa and that brief rest earlier was enough to restore some of his energy. Two beasts were about to enter the ring, and there was no reason for the smarter one (hopefully) to come out on the losing side.
tw: blood & violence
“Here we go.” Cheng’s eyes followed the demon’s movements, hands firm and steady on the rifle. He aimed, waited and pulled the trigger when the timing was right.
Click, crack, bang.
Solid shot, and one that was quickly followed by another. He was aiming for the eyes, and while his first shot took down one as expected, the other took three more bullets. Once hit, the demon’s movements became less predictable, as it shook wildly in agony, looking for the enemy. Cheng supposed he had that advantage, because if he was still human, the demon would have immediately latched onto his presence and lunged over.
Another factor that granted him a slight upper hand was the slant of this slope. Cheng was at the top of the hill while the other demon was at the bottom, which meant he had the higher ground and gravity would assist him later when he would try to drop down on the enemy. For now, he took one final shot before finally closing the gap between them. Cheng had dropped almost everything he was carrying before this battle started and as he ran, he felt the difference in the lightness of his steps as the result of that good decision. Tossing his rifle to the side where it collided with a boulder and made a loud clanging sound, Cheng used the demon’s temporary distraction by the sound to jump on it.
The dagger in his right hand was plunged into the demon’s neck, and blood splashed warm and sticky over his curled fingers. Cheng’s heart raced, for a moment, from sheer excitement. The sensation of a demon’s blood on his hands didn’t necessarily feel that different in comparison to a human’s. He loved it, so much so that he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his lips. See, Junghwa. He thought, shutting his eyes briefly as a wave of guilt fought against the sickening joy he felt. It is good that you left.
The dagger was buried so deep in demon flesh that he had some trouble retracting it, but in the end managed after nearly getting bit. The rest of the battle was straight forward and all about holding on and just keep stabbing until the demon stopped moving. Since he needed the extra strength, Cheng pushed back his guilt for a second and allowed himself to pretend that it really was a human that was underneath his hands. The rightful prey.
When silence returned to the field, Cheng went back to his things and picked up his water bottle first. He poured the water down his face, over his arms and across his chest. He wiped himself clean with a towel and discarded his blood-drenched gloves. Once he was content he no longer looked like some feral being, he washed his hands a second time and packed himself back up. He didn’t rush himself through this process, and picked up one thing at a time. The excitement of the battle was still running through his veins, and even as he caught up to Junghwa and Jay it still was.
“How is she?” Was the first thing he asked when he was back at their side. “I think we are almost back to the safe zone.” He popped a vitamin pill into his mouth and ran it down with some water. “Didn’t die on you as promised. See, I am always good on my word.”
OUT OF CLEMENTINES: Hello all, it’s been a while since my last group rp but i like to do a thread clean up/summary after every major event. I think MEIA’s first event will be done next Tuesday, so this is a good opportunity.
Threads I would like to reply to:
Fortune with @miaxjunghwa
Rise & Shine with @miaxsena
Too Many Questions with @miaremy
Ragtag Team with @miajiwon
The Innocent Past with @miaxsilk
Upon Pillars of Salt and Pillars of Sand with @miaxseb
Threads that are finished:
Or ones I think are good enough to be considered finished since we have established what we wanted to establish.
Bedtime & Intro with @mia-zer0: we have established that Sero hates DEMON agent Castle’s guts hahahhaa. And Cheng finds Sero to be a super entertaining kid with lots of attitude. I have no doubt they will continue to enjoy each other’s company on future missions.
Tempting Fate with @epsilonmia: we have established that agent Castle has a weakness and his bloodlust is extra strong around Seoyun. They sometimes engaged in questionable exposure therapy lunch sessions. Cheng wishes Seoyun would take better care of himself.
Waves with @miahelios: we have established Daesu & Cheng worked together in the past where Daesu caught Cheng in a moment of temptation. I think overall Cheng respects Daesu as a senior agent and believes the other will have no trouble eliminating him should he become a threat for the agency.
Whirlwind with @miaxjunghwa: Junghwa and Cheng knew each other from the past and she was there on the day he turned. This was major character development for me, thank you so much. Cheng trusts Junghwa and respects her for her resilience. Teenage human Cheng also thought she was quite pretty.
One Sunny Afternoon with @miayejin: Our characters have a good relationship - chill-vibed plant loving duo. Cheng thinks Yejin is a pleasant person to be around and has a calming effect.
Apartment Mates with @johanmia: We have established that Cheng and Johan live together and they drink - hopefully they both never get caught. Cheng thinks senior agent Janus is pretty funny and easy to get along with.
Once a connection is established I am happy to have as many threads as we want about whatever. For example if our characters are friends and you want to have a thread about training/eating together/sharing feelings I dunno then I am telling you, we can genuinely just do it. Hit me up with whatever ideas you got, I am pretty open about anything.
If you see a thread in the ‘I like to reply’ section and feel like we can actually drop it, please dm me. If you see a thread in the finished section and don’t feel like it should be, same thing.
Thanks to everyone for being a part of Cheng’s journey thus far. I just need to do clean ups so I don’t end up with 20 threads and start forgetting what connections I’ve already made!
“How many demons have you faced so far? If the bleeding is too severe, I’ll have to bring her back to the agency before it kills her.”
"More than I expected, that’s for sure.” At the moment it was difficult to recall. For some time they had two demons on them and during the combat there might have been a third, or more likely, it could have been the second one just coming back for a few last swipes when they thought it was already dead. Battles could get confusing, once it involved multiple targets. The fact that they went two versus two and didn’t come out with someone dead was already a small miracle, and then they ran into the weaker one that ended up doing the most damage.
Glancing over to his injured teammate, Cheng’s brows furrowed. “You are right, I think we should head back.” Now that there was an additional person, travel would be safer. One could keep an eye out for any signs of danger while the other focused on carrying and taking care of Agent Jay. “Let me just call it in, I think we have scouted far enough anyway.” He clicked on his communication device to report on the situation, only to find it not working.
“Strange.” He motioned for Junghwa to check hers. “This had never happened before.” Technology hadn’t usually been an issue. “Distance shouldn’t be a problem and we haven’t gone that far.” Cheng had a bad feeling about this.
Picking up the unconscious agent, and making sure she was positioned as comfortably as she could be on his back considering the rifle holster, he turned to Puresnow once more. “Let’s go-” He barely had the time to finish his sentence before an unwanted visitor decided to make its presence known.
Really?
“My apologies, today is truly a day of misfortune.” The only great thing that happened so far on this mission was the fact Junghwa showed up. “Do you want to go ahead with her? I can take care of this.” One should not abandon their teammate, but considering the current circumstances, it was a perfectly viable option. Besides, walking away from a demon agent with his consent and encouragement was hardly going to be frowned upon.
His thoughts screech to a halt when Agent Castle actually starts ringing their leader. His instinctive reaction is to run up and grab the watch away from him–somehow–but he stops himself the second his hand brushes negative energy, jerking back.
“Fine! What the fuck ever! I’ll go to fucking bed! Christ.”
Ha, sweet success. Agent Castle felt slightly smug, though he knew he shouldn’t.
Clicking off the communication device before it could hit the third ring, he let a pleased smile spread across his lips before giving two light claps of appreciation. “Excellent choice.” One tiny improvement in mind for the future - dear Sero could do with less crude language.
As the other drew back his hand, the negative energy around Cheng reached forward, not wanting to loose the contact. It liked drifting towards people - call it a demon instinct.
“Good night,” he said, taking a step back towards the meeting room. The emergency mission preparation continued into the night and now that he had sent the baby on his way, he should go back to listening to the details. The step he took backwards was enough to deprive the dark energy drifting towards Sero from getting the touch it wanted. It coiled on itself before retreating back to Cheng’s side, traveling up from the palm of his hands, over his arms, finally tucking into his sleeves.
“You know...” Cheng suddenly decided to add more. “Miracles can happen. Perhaps they’ll find a cure before my sanity runs out and I can be human again.” A little optimism didn’t hurt every so often in this place. Nothing was impossible in this world after all. “And if not, then I am sure one of my fellow agents can put a few bullets in my head and make sure I don’t kill people.” He flashed a smile. “Then I would have just saved people for five years, harmed none and really profited from this whole demon business.”
Pros versus cons. Cheng wondered who will be the one to kill him one day. Maybe it would be this stubborn kid here. Good, at least this one won’t end up carrying too much guilt and cry over his grave.
“Remember to burn some incense for me then. Maybe offer a prayer for my demonic spirit to watch over you.” He waved. “Now good night for real, Sero, sweet dreams and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
Nightmares, disturbing dreams filled with negativity. Those used to be Cheng’s faithful companions, but as time passed and he learned to manage his expectations of the world, they’d distanced themselves and found other people to prey upon. For example, Agent Sena.
Brows furrowed, lips trembling with words too quiet for him to hear, Cheng watched as cold sweat gathered on the woman’s forehead. Should he wake her? He deliberated, putting aside the novel he was reading to study her expression. Cheng preferred to not get too close to people when they were sleeping because there was always a chance they’d see his negative energy first and move before their brains had a chance to fully recognize him as an ally.
“Go away...” Muttered the young woman. Her fingers had curled into fists and she was clenching them tight until her knuckles turned white.
Cheng sighed, his mind made up. “Hey,” he called out quietly, planting a hand on Agent Sena’s shoulder and giving it a light shake. “Wake up, you-”
Annnnnnd then she tried to knife him.
The fact he was fully expecting the attack due to past experiences meant he dodged back with ease, and her knife sliced through cold air instead of his neck. “It’s me,” he said, keeping his voice level and non-threatening. “Agent Castle. Demon, but not a threat. You are at the agency, and all is well.” Other than capturing her knife wielding hand by the wrist to prevent further accidental attacks, Cheng did not risk further movements. “If you are awake enough, I can let go.”
It sounded like a whole fight had broken out. The individuals involved clearly had a lot of energy and were going at it with the incredibly intensity of a thousand suns. Cheng picked up his pace, wanting to get to the scene of the incident before there would be bodies on the ground.
When he swung the door open, instead of a brawl between people, he was presented with the battle between a single person and...the coffee table.
My goodness.
He chuckled lightly, unable to hold himself back. A little comedy in the afternoon went a long way and truly, he was appreciative. Rearranging his features to look more serious, he turned his gaze towards Agent Asa. “Come now, fellow agents.” He nodded towards her first, then at the coffee table. “I am sure whatever happened, we can sort it out. Please allow me to act as the mediator.”
Cheng shut the door behind him and walked towards the coffee table. He crouched down and touched a gentle hand to its smooth wooden surface. “There, there, Agent CT. I am sure Agent Asa did not intend to call you a ****, ***** or a ******* ***.” He wondered what the coffee table did. From the way Agent Asa was yelling, one would have thought she had been mortally injured.
“You okay, Hyeri?” Jokes aside, something clearly put our lady in a terrible mood. “Anything I can help with?”
His face twists at the threat of their senior agent, heat rising in his face at the embarrassing idea of being scolded by Agent Johan. He crosses his arms, doing his best to look imposing to the much taller demon. “You wouldn’t dare. Like I wouldn’t just tell him the resident demonic threat is keeping me awake by acting like some worried parent. Do you even feel that kind of emotion or are you just trying to torture me?” He rolls his eyes. “You know what? I don’t want to know! I’d be more worried about whoever you’re going with tomorrow. Did you make sure they packed their aether weapon? Just to make sure you don’t rip them to shreds, y’know, just for fun.”
Such an attitude.
Fortunately for them both, Cheng had a good amount of experience dealing with petulant kids, having already half raised one. The key was patience.
“You have a lot of energy for someone who should be going to bed.” Cheng gave snappy agent Sero a wary look, the one he used to give his little sister when the toddler was running about and yelling about wanting to stay up another hour. How he dealt with those situations were simple - chase down the little gremlin and throw her over his shoulder. After a little cooing she would calm down and accept her fate. Otherwise, he’d summon the tickle monster until she promise to behave. None of those options were going to be useful against the big toddler here, though. If he touched agent Sero, the kid might scream bloody murder.
“I do feel concern,” he said, in a matter-of-fact voice. “While negative energy did a pretty thorough job of infecting my body on the day my family was attacked by demons, it left my heart and mind mostly intact.” They still didn’t know why some people were able to keep their sanity while others who might have even more reason not to succumbed. “The thought of ripping people to shreds doesn’t appeal to me, and in fact cause me great distress, when I am not overwhelmed by bloodlust.”
Since they were going to be on the same team, Cheng decided he might as well share more information about himself with this new agent in an attempt to get along better. Animosity was something he was used to and accepted, but on the same team it could make things difficult. “Bloodlust for me is like anger for kids with a short fuse - something that they have to deal with often and must learn to control. Except for a human, I suppose they are more likely to throw a punch in rage while a demon could do far worse due to bloodlust.” He lowered his eyes. “And that’s why some people think demon agents cannot be trusted and should just die. While I understand where they are coming from, if I had died in the farm field that day, I would not have provided the agency with five years of service.” Cheng stretched lazily. “I know my life is of no value to you, Agent Zer0, but to those I saved in the years that I’ve worked, I don’t know, maybe it does.”
Now, back to the topic at hand. Cheng pressed down on his communication device with a smile and let it ring once. “I am calling him.” Twice. “I wonder if there will be other senior agents with him, who can also get a earful about this new agent Zer0.” Johan didn’t typically pick up until the fourth ring, and Cheng highly doubted Sero would allow it to go that far. The kid had a lot of pride, it was cute really.
“if you’re dying and i can’t protect myself while you’re down, i deserve to be put out of my misery,” he rolls his eyes, obviously dismissive of the hypothetical situation. “if i’m the first medic who can get to you and you’re going into the light, or wherever it is demons go, i’ll pull you back. that’s my job. you’re not gonna kill me in that state.” sometimes seoyun wonders if everyone has forgotten that he was a perfectly capable senior field agent once upon a time. he knows what demon is safe to approach and which is not; he knows how to defend himself in hairy situations. he doesn’t need protecting or someone telling him to run away from a fight he knows he can win.
Of course he couldn’t have just said sure, Agent Castle, whatever.
“Awfully confident, aren’t you?” He sighed. There were many things Cheng wanted to say, for example, we are assigned teams to go after demons for a reason. How many people go on missions and expect to win against a demon battle solo? A half-dead demon didn’t mean it was necessarily an easier kill - wasn’t there a saying about how the wounded lion being more dangerous? If wild animals could become more fatal for humanity injured, then wild demon agents may be even more so. Also, this particular beast, if it ever came down to that, would be very much focused, so don’t think half-dead lion with eyes shut, readying for a peaceful after life, think half-dead lion wanting to go down after a final delicious meal.
In the end he didn’t say any of that. Why? Because it might lead into an argument and Cheng was actually terrible at those. Confrontations, the verbal ones, actually gave him a lot of anxiety and he preferred to just...not. “I just, don’t want you to take any risks. It is not just because I want to protect my reputation.” Though that was certainly part of it.
“Your life is valuable to people, not just because you are a medic and needed by the agency. You could afford to care more.” He selected the words carefully and spoke in a softer voice. “At this point I feel like I am more concerned for your life than...” His voice trailed off, because he had a feeling continuing the sentence might push them down the squabble route that he was trying to avoid. Maybe he should run off to the mission now and let Agent Epsilon reflect on things himself.
Right. That seemed like a good plan.
“I will see you around, Agent Epsilon.” He paused, before adding more. “Good luck with the emergency mission.”
Another day of exposure therapy completed. No blood under his finger nails so far. It didn’t feel like it was getting easier, but Cheng was an optimist. Perhaps one day he could conquer this mysterious affliction and actually speak to Seoyun without thinking about ending his life. Maybe then...they could try to be friends.
“i will take care of lucky, but you are still its dad right now.”, she said, leaning back against the chair, closing her eyes at the feeling of sunshine hitting her skin. “do your best taking care of it and i am sure it will give you some joy back in return. plus, don’t be so negative, it probably doesn’t help.”, she said in a lighthearted tone, opening one eye to glare at him. “maybe the solution to everything is being nice and tame, have you considered that?”, she had tried to hold back a chuckle, but it finally escaped her lips.
Nice and tame.
Cheng chuckled at that. “I am already extremely well behaved, Agent Lurker. Safe as a puppy, as someone once commented.” One that occasionally had a urge to go feral and start attacking those nearby, but was friendly otherwise.
As for negativity.
“I do agree that demon agents should try to remain positive.” He nodded with a serious expression. “Which is why the agency needs to host some games/joke nights. Or maybe a movie. A little laughter should improve everyone’s moods.” It was a nice thought, but only a joke. Such a thing might not be permitted until the world became a safer place. With dangers still lurking around every corner, having fun came with a twinge of guilt, at least for him.
Cheng patted on Lucky the succulent, and thought of Plenty the aloe vera - his supposed children. The only ones he would likely have in this life time. It was a shame really, had life turned out differently, Cheng was fairly certain he would have got married early and started a family either by birth or adopting the orphans on the streets - there always seemed to be a plentitude of those. By now, he would perhaps have toddlers running about his knees, wanting to be carried on his back or in his arms.
“Have you considered having an actual family before?” He looked up from his plant child. It was too late for him as a demon, but there was nothing stopping Agent Lurker from trying to find love. Though the circumstances were difficult, there were agents who found each other amongst all the chaos. “I do know one eligible bachelor...” He lifted his brows, a hint of rare mischief in his smile. “If you are interested.”
when he walks into the library he spots cheng. “cheng!” he exclaims. “i’ve been looking for you everywhere!” he hasn’t, but maybe cheng has some of his answers. he makes his way over to him and sits down across from him at his table, uninvited. “i have some questions for you, actually, if you don’t mind. just like– demon stuff.”
The library was typically filled with three types of people - the intelligent, the bored and the desperate. Those who were actually here in pursuit of knowledge sat near the shelves, where they could browse and read to their heart’s content. For the ones desperate for some peace and quiet, some desks were set up near the back where they could nap and no one would ever disturb them. As for Cheng, well, he fell into the bored category.
What was he reading? A typical romance novel about two people who were destined to kill each other but also really wanted to fuck each other, so they did, at least seven different times. At least because Cheng was only about 200 pages in and only on chapter five. He read with furrowed brows and with each page he flipped past, the knot between his brows grew. About ten pages ago he had lost track of the actual plot, or perhaps that was intentional. We’ve gotten to the part of the book where there were lots of descriptions and only that. The author was trying to convince the readers how absolutely stunning the male lead was and how good a mate he would make if only gosh darn it he wasn’t so dangerous. Oh, they also focused solely on the man’s looks too. Personality, clearly, had no importance in a book like this.
That was when agent Remy joined him at the table. How wonderful, now Cheng could actually be entertained.
“You’ve come to the right person - who better to talk about demon stuff than an actual demon.” Cheng shut the book and slid it aside, making room on the table for this conversation because he knew this kid would want to take notes. “Real talk though, I probably don’t have all the answers - the people actually studying this topic in the labs might know more.” Still, he supposed it was different hearing from an actual live source than people who studied the live source.
“So, what can I help you with? Bodily function? Diet?” He tapped on the table thoughtfully. “Bloodlust?” Those were the top three areas of interest most people inquired about.
