THULWAR
The flickering currents blink a blue hue over the glossy walls that surround the heroes. The entire place has been encased in glass. Doors, walls, all is transparent, albeit covered in mold and dust, and some of its crystalline purity still remains. Thulwar doesn't see it, though, focused as he is on his own task. The admirable piece of machine has been crafted with dwarven precision, bearing a strange sign at the chest - a stylized left wing. The league used is of unknown origin, quite consistent and resilient, and the inner workings of the remnant are just as impressive. Testing it brings quite a few answers to Thulwar, as he manages to locate the energy source for the golem right below its chest plate and recognizes the moving mechanisms. He might even be able to put one of them to work, provided it is not damaged beyond use.
As the gnome sates his curiosity, he notices one of the Teraphim soldiers glancing over his shoulder.
"Hey, HEY! For the last time, PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE EXO!" - only after the snirfveblin finished his first analysis he did acknowledge the Teraphim's presence over his shoulder. The soldier doesn't seem distressed, but the frustration in his voice is clear. "This is delicate equipment, sir. The core is made of irradiated material, and any leaks could cause severe damage to your health." - he approaches, stretching his arm towards the chest piece. A strange clicking sound accompanies the movement, slow and paced. After that, his manners become more relaxed. "Safe levels here." - he turns to Thulwar. "Sir. Sir. SIR!" - he stabs again through Thulwar's curious and excited manners. "Have you had contact with equipment of this nature anywhere else?" - his manners are formal, following patterns and protocol. He doesn't allow time for the answer, following with another question. "How did you acquire the necessary engineering knowledge to manipulate the exo?" - Thulwar can't tell if he's being nice, polite or forceful. Perhaps he's all three things at once. And Tink can't decide either. The beast moves closer, claws menacingly risen, lying in wait just in case. The Teraphim glances at the beast, quite aware of the damage it might cause. "Sir, have the bot stand down." - he doesn't ask, his guard still up.
[We'll see how long it'll take you to understand all of this, hehehe. Oh, and Lyllie turned back already. She's humanoid once more, having leaped from Tink's back still at the elevator.]
AANZU
The captain moves a lot like a human would. Trained steps and a constant stance change show he's a learned soldier. Still, his habits are strange. He leans away, maintaining one leg constantly at the back. His balance tries to prevent someone from tripping him all of a sudden. His grip on the crossbow is also strange. Relaxed, but quite sure. As all the others, the captain keeps his hand outside the guard, delaying the shot for the time of the finger-slide he'd need. He also resents Aanzu's proximity, attempting to keep the prince always in front of himself and as many steps away as possible. Since the prince moves around to keep up, he doesn't stop as well, and it looks just as if both men were performing the war dance, even as they talk.
Aanzu also realizes that the soldier that fought him hand-to-hand studies him as well. He comes closer - sword-reach closer - and reaches for the base of his helmet. A short hissing sound breaks all of a sudden, affecting Aanzu's senses and combat stance, but as the sound dies out, he pulls off his helmet, showing his own face.
"Here, wyrm. Take a loooong look." - his voice is filled with latent rage and contempt. Underneath the helmet, a human face, perfect in all respects, smirks at the dragon. His skin is golden, as none Aanzu has seen before. The air flows down, a golden-rosed tone; his eyes are surrounded by a dark hue, almost black, where the gold of the skin turns to shadow and fades, and within a pair of all-white eyes, no irises or pupils, stare at him. His left hand holds the helmet, his right one rests at the vibroblade.
"How's the cut?" - he smiles cruelly, looking at Aanzu's flank.
HARFIK
The Captain falls right into Harfik's trap. He doesn't seem at all impressed by the title, but the word 'criminal' brings a shiver through the Captain's body, and both Harfik and Aanzu are able to recognize it. Certainly, the man has his pride.
"WE detected YOUR movement through the closed layers of the old terraforming complex and WE were dispatched by the TERAPHIM AUTHORITY, WHICH STILL HOLDS CLAIM OVER THESE AREAS, TO STOP YOU FROM ACTIVATING THE CTHON AWARENESS! Clearly, we arrived TOO LATE!" - he looks around and signals to the two remaining soldiers. "Sisyfus, recon and secure the room. Hermes, open channel to home base and inform that CTHON is active and going down." - his helmet opens as well. He didn't seem to notice Aanzu's body language reading just now, and completely ignored his subordinate's gesture, moments before. Still, he too removes his helmet, revealing a strong, silver-skinned face with no hair and similar, faint blue eyes.
"Captain Solon, Doomguard Division." - he salutes, not knowing how to act towards Aanzu. All too late he seems to realize the trouble he'd fetch, should he offend an emissary. He seems to assume that the prince leads the expedition, but directs his words to Harfik. "A prince, then. Right. This is not my day. Are you lost, then? How did you end up here?"
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION]