[PCA] UNIVERSAL CONSTANTS

[skinstealer]

[image description: charon glancing back at the camera, his no-entry sign pupil looking particularly freaked as he's face to face with a grimy, tiled cell- with a pile of cardboard in the corner, covered in feline teeth.]

Charon turns toward Maes.

CHARON: Doctor, what are some of the subtleties to look for on this job?
CHARON: Assume there's specifics in mind.
MAES: Things left behind by the cells' past inhabitants is the big one, though I wouldn't call that subtle.
MAES: They didn't tend to have possessions, but there were exceptions, and there are the occasional...remains.
MAES: Do you need gloves?
CHARON: I should be fine with what I have, can sanitize just fine.
MAES: Very well.
 

She starts walking ahead, only to stop herself with a huff.

MAES: ...Please lead the way to cell 120, there should be a sign on the wall.
MAES: Ruby always gets me lost in these hallways, no goddamn respect, and the guidance system isn’t installed down here yet...
CHARON: Certainly.

 

He starts walking up ahead.

CHARON: Doesn’t seem like you two get along much...
MAES: Mmm.

 

She grumbles, tail still twitching in agitation.

MAES: They...do a good job down here, otherwise.
CHARON: That much is certainly good to hear.
CHARON: I’ve heard you were the one in charge of launching the rehabilitation project?
CHARON: Wouldn’t mind a little bit of your perspective on it…
CHARON: On your left, careful.

 

He turns a corner, careful not to go too far ahead. Her ears perks up slightly, her pace quickening as she’s able to keep closer to his side.

MAES: My perspective? In what sense?
CHARON: What it means to you, long term goals. Clearly you're putting a lot of work into this.
MAES: Like I said before, I have personal investment in this project and making sure it goes well.
MAES: What that personal investment is and how deep it goes is private, but know that I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goals here.
MAES: As for what said goals are...I'd like it so that the residents here are able to rejoin society- well, no.
MAES: Join society, more like it.
CHARON: They've never really had the chance to begin with.
MAES: Mmm.
CHARON: Hope it works out for them. Everyone deserves that chance.
CHARON: Right turn here.
MAES: Thank you.
MAES: We've been able to start releasing people in the past few years- generally people from the middle range age groups.
MAES: The older groups have too many health issues to be safely released above ground, though some are pending regardless...I'm not going to prevent someone from trying if they want to risk their last few years on the surface.
CHARON: Mm... ever been outside yourself?
MAES: ...No.
CHARON: Any reason?
MAES: None that I'm willing to share with someone I just hired.
CHARON: That's fair… we’re here. We should get to taking notes.
MAES: Cell 120, then.

 

She steps forward, pulling a clearance card out of her pocket and opening the first cell.

The interior is clean for the most part, some dull, near completely faded stains on the far wall.

MAES: How does it look, visually?
MAES: I can keep track of certain things that you'll almost definitely miss and wouldn't know to look for in the first place, but I'll need you to be my eyes.
CHARON: It looks mostly fine... can't tell if that's minor water damage or something else though.
CHARON: Either way, nothing that's a big issue from the exterior view of things.
MAES: Most likely blood, and if you’re not freaking out, likely fairly minor. We can get someone to get that out.
MAES: Nothing left behind, no cracks in the walls or tile?

 

Charon takes a thorough look around, finding nothing of importance.

CHARON: It seems fine.
MAES: Next cell, then.




 

The next cell, unfortunately, has the distinct presence of feline teeth piled up in the corner, almost as if someone had hoarded them there.

CHARON: There's... teeth?
CHARON: There's just teeth here.

 

Maes doesn't seem concerned in the slightest, letting her cane hang from her wrist strap while tapping her stylus against the corner of her clipboard.

MAES: What condition, how many, describe how they're arranged.

 

He walks on over and took a closer look. There have to be at least a mouth and a half's worth of teeth over there, and they’re definitely bigger than normal- and while still looking grimy, they’re meticulously piled, consciously so.

CHARON: They're organized, like someone's been collecting them for a while. Large, a mouthful of them.
CHARON: They've got a bit of...grime.
MAES: Mmm.

 

She takes down her notes, thinking it over.

MAES: Going to have to see if that lines up with any of the residents.
MAES: They're old, I'm guessing?
CHARON: Mm. That phrasing concerns me, but they are certainly not fresh.
MAES: You'll have to get over that if you want to keep up.
MAES: We'll clean these up after our run through. Next cell.





 

The next cell is completely clean, not a stain on it.

The one after, however, has scratch marks all along the walls, deep and left behind by something far larger than either of them.

MAES: Is it clean?
CHARON: Seems to be, a little scraped but otherwise good.
MAES: How scraped are we talking? Is the damage repairable, and where is it?
CHARON: Scratch marks on the wall all around.
 

She walks forward and traces her hands along them, feeling the grooves.

MAES: It'll take some work, but we've worked with worse.
CHARON: Are you going to smooth them out or just have to add a new layer over it?
MAES: Smoothing them out should do the trick...and that's everything? No stains?
CHARON: None to speak of as far as I can tell.
MAES: These are going easier than usual.
CHARON: What's the usual like?

Maes leaves him hanging in the moment, but his question is answered soon enough.

 

The next cell has an unidentifiable red mass growing from the ceiling, dripping an equally distressing liquid into a large pool on the floor.

MAES: ...Judging from your stunned silence, this one's a bit more standard.
CHARON: What am I even looking at?
CHARON: It's like a weird lump leaking everywhere.
MAES: Does it look organic?
CHARON: It might be. Likely. Not sure entirely what it is though.
MAES: My best guess is the remains of what would have ideally been a resident.
MAES: Stand back.

 

Charon steps back, letting her take the lead here. Maes reaches up with her cane, giving it a poke. The mass doesn't budge, only dripping a bit more fluid. The karacel makes a face, her muzzle crumpling up slightly under her mask.

MAES: Mmmrgh.
MAES: Well, whatever it is, it doesn't appear alive, or at the very least, responsive.
CHARON: It's hard to believe it was ever a person in the state it's in.
MAES: Any features at all? Limbs, anything?
CHARON: It's kind of just a gore mass.
MAES: I'll have to go back in the records to see if there's anything that lines up with this...
CHARON: Let’s pray it's not too much of a biohazard.
MAES: It's not good, that's for sure. We'll prioritize clearing that out.






 

The next cell has another mass, this time hunched in the corner, and distinctly more person-like. Maes steps inside and takes a moment to tap it with her cane before sighing, letting him by.

MAES: Please tell me that's not what I think it is, and that the cell is clean.
CHARON: It's terrible.

 

She makes a distinct growl of irritation, tail flicking from side to side.

MAES: Just my luck...I'm going to have to call some other staff in here, there's no way the two of us are going to be able to remove two of these in a timely manner.
CHARON: Is this what a more typical day of this tends to be?
MAES: More or less, though two masses this big is particularly unlucky.
MAES: Usually any remnants are properly decayed after a minimum of 7 years, but anomalies like this happen.
CHARON: I don't understand how a mass like that survives for over half a decade…
MAES: I'm a surgeon, and I'm just as out of the loop- but stranger things have happened.

 

She gives it another test poke with her cane, getting no response.

MAES: Good, this one's dead too.
MAES: I'd hate for it to have been someone left here, I'd have the people doing the initial sweeps for residents' hides over that.
CHARON: I really hope you're not implying there's people who've survived this long like this.

 

She tilts her head towards him slightly, her tone cold.

MAES: If someone was still out here, I would know about it by now, and if somehow, in any way, I didn't, I would find whoever was responsible for inspecting in my stead and have them held responsible.
MAES: I may not be able to look around by myself, but I see to it that this job gets done.
CHARON: ...Fair, I suppose.
CHARON: Should we call for assistance now or shall we wrap up documenting the cells first?
MAES: Finish documenting, just in case there's any more of these...







 

Thankfully, the next cell is clean.

MAES: Tell me some good news, Judgment.
CHARON: This one actually seems all fine. Dusty, but otherwise easy.
MAES: Mmm. Good.
MAES: You don't sound as scared off as I expected you to be after that.
CHARON: What do you mean?
MAES: Most new hires end up vomiting as soon as we get to any kind of gore, and we have to let them go.
CHARON: It's an occupational hazard that comes with knighthood, I'm prepared for it.
MAES: Not as many nosy questions out of you, either.
CHARON: Sounds like a common issue.
MAES: Common enough that I don't usually go out with anyone but JB as my eyes during inspections, but he's been needed for other tasks.
MAES: Synna insisted the job could use some fresh blood more suited to things than grunt work, both to help speed things along and to aid me in the duties I insist on handling personally...and now you're here.
CHARON: And what are your overall impressions so far?
MAES: You certainly left a distinct one at your interview.
 

She raises her brows a bit, keeping her voice even.

CHARON: Can't tell if that's a good distinct or a bad one.
MAES: You got the job, didn't you?
CHARON: I did.
MAES: Most people would take that as a success.
CHARON: I suppose I'll consider it that...
MAES: You don't sound all that convinced.
CHARON: I just wonder, that's really all.
 

Maes thinks it over for a moment.

MAES: I'm not used to people managing to pull off an interview while practically drooling over me at the same time.
MAES: The fact that you managed to prioritize conveying the information you needed to over whatever was going through your head shows that while you likely have some kind of perversion towards monstrous features, you cared more about the job and kept it from becoming a liability.
MAES: I'm hoping that's a trend that continues.
MAES: How is that for impressions?
CHARON: Quite the analysis, and a rather large confirmation that you noticed something I suspected you did.
CHARON: Surprised it didn't urge you to kick me out.
MAES: Are you going to give me reason to kick you out?
CHARON: As tempting as it would be to test you, I need the pay more.
MAES: Depending on your definition of "test", you might end up strung up like the corpse in the past cell.
 

She drums her claws on her cane, starting off towards the next cell.

MAES: You're best off doing the job you came here to do, and don't get your hopes up for anything more.

 

From the look on her face, it’s almost as if she’s reassuring herself of it too.

CHARON: I've survived much worse, though I do suppose we should save this sort of banter for after the job.
CHARON: How much more ground do we have left to cover?
MAES: Fourteen cells, by my count.
MAES: Then we report back and figure out the cleanup procedure from there- and we will be chipping in if possible.
MAES: I don't like leaving the crew by themselves...