Just getting this handled in advance

[itbelongsinamuseum]

1
[Somebody new has taken over one of the shooting ranges at base. A fairly small girl who looks to be in her mid to late teens wearing her hair in a pair of long braids and observing proper safety protocols by wearing earmuffs to block the sound is practicing shooting with handguns She's pretty clearly a complete beginner, though, not only firing does she have bad accuracy even at the short range she's shooting at, she's observing all proper stances with the kind of uncertain focus common to people who have only just had how to do something explained. Disturb her to give advice, figure out who she is or something else?]

2

[Using the tv in one of the common rooms, Alex is watching the World Cup. One of the teams just scored and from her reaction, it's pretty clearly not the one she was rooting for.]

What was he thinking? Leaving an opening like that?

3

[One of the tables in the cafeteria has been taken over for what looks like a major research project including a big, heavy and above all dry scholarly book in German, a notepad for writing down information that's so far conspicuously empty except for various random doodles, a phone, possibly used to look up dictionaries and an empty mug with dried coffee stains at the bottom. Alex is bent over it, starting to look rather tired of the whole thing.]

Why am I even trying?

Comments

3)

[in_over_his_head]

... Because whatever it is, you just feel compelled to figure it out? Just a stab in the dark here.

[Calvin sits opposite of Alex, looking over the mess... including the book. He felt a sudden tic forming at his eye but supresses it as hard as he could. Just because it was really OLD looking doesn't mean its some kind of crazy mystical tome that's probably going to cause him hell over the next few days! The fact that the person researching it doesn't look at all insane kind of helped that reasoning out.]

Just what is that book anyway?

Re: 3)

[itbelongsinamuseum]

It's an old, German Assyriology book focusing on the mythology of the Sumerian city states and the period of the first Assyrian empire. All other books on the topic refers to this as the book to read.

...But I can barely read it. I haven't had German since high school and this is really dense, academic writing.

[in_over_his_head]

[INTERNALLY SCREAMING]

I... see...

[He flinches lowers his head.]

No no... Calm down Calvin... its just a book on mythology... there's no way any of the stuff there could possibly cause me any problems-

...I said that all out loud didn't I?

[itbelongsinamuseum]

Yes, you did.

And it's a serious scholarly work. Half of all articles and books on Assyriology cites it. I'd be very surprised if it caused insanity or summoned demons...Even if some of these frontloaded sentences with a dozen nested conditional clauses suggest otherwise.

[in_over_his_head]

Aha.. ahaha... I've had bad experiences with anything even remotely related to supernatural things. Just... being a little cautious.

[Calvin lets out a heavy breath he didn't even knew he was holding and nearly felt like he was going to be knocked over by a breeze.]

Wait...

[He was trying to work his brain here.]

So it implies those things could happen, but there's been nothing so far?

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I was just joking about how it was written.

[in_over_his_head]

Oh... right... a joke.. ha.. Hahahaha. That was very funny.

[His smile feels a little tense... yeah he's had one or two jokes like that before. But Alex didn't really know just how badly his reputation as an investigator was tarnished by this whole 'supernatural' thing... so he'd just take it as something though annoying was meant without malice.]

[itbelongsinamuseum]

But you're right, I'm trying to learn about the supernatural. I apparently have the power of the Sumerian god Enki in this pendant. [She gestured towards the snake double helix she was wearing around her neck.] And other beings that I think are Sumerians gods or monsters don't like that.

[in_over_his_head]

[This promptly sent Calvin into that same stricken expression he had on his face before, lips drawn into a very thin line like he was doing his very best not to scream out loud.]

That... wasn't a joke was it.

[Because the way she said it definitely felt like it wasn't.]

When you say beings that are gods or monsters... just how 'godly' and 'monstrous' are we talking about here?

Like roughly humanoid? Twisted, animalesque beings? A horrific mess of unconnected, twisted things or some variation of all of them?

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I wish it was and that I was still an ordinary student.

And what I've seen so far has been twisted, animalesque beings. Mostly lionish to be specific.