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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:53:46 GMT -6
A sterling reputation was sometimes one of the only assets a man had to work with, and he wasn't about to tarnish his own in a fit of pique.
He didn't expect much in the way of things of interest. But as he approached the area where the Association had set up, he clocked a figure patrolling the perimeter, followed by a truly monstrous thing: a snake whose head was bigger than the entirety of the man leading it. The ridiculous beast had flowers growing from its back, but here, even those might be dangerous.
Right. He had forgotten where he was.
But on closer inspection, the head of red hair on the man was strikingly familiar. Malcolm paused, studying him for a moment... Then abruptly changed directions.
"Where are we going?" said Yoru, caught off guard by this and scrambling in the middle of his flight to catch up.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 23:02:50 GMT -6
Malcolm was trying to figure that out too. But no matter what, he knew he couldn't let the redhead see him. It wasn't time yet, and if he was discovered prematurely, then all his planning would be for naught.
Fortunately the short man in glasses spotted him then, and waved him impatiently over.
"Oh good, you're here. Well, let's get started then," he said, as though Malcolm hadn't shown up early at all. A notebook and pen were pressed into Malcolm's hands, and at once the man directed him over to another researcher, a much taller Ungulate who smiled more placidly at him.
The downside to this placidity, he found, was that the Ungulate talked incredibly slowly. But it was probably just as well; he wasn't familiar with much of the terminology being thrown around by these research types, so the slower pace gave him a better chance at noting it down correctly.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 23:05:40 GMT -6
All that aside though, it wasn't actually a difficult job once you got into the swing of it. It didn't give him room to think about much else, but it wasn't hard. About the worst part was the boredom, and Malcolm had dealt with so many worse gigs that this hardly seemed like a drop in the bucket in comparison.
Still not really worth the money or the time, but given that he was already committed, it was good that this wasn't as bad as it could be.
Yoru was hustled away almost immediately to do his own job, though as the evening went on, Malcolm saw him from time to time, zipping about here and there. The boy actually seemed to be enjoying himself, and if Malcolm was reading him right, this was as much of a surprise to Yoru as anything else. Maybe he had found his calling in life.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 23:08:25 GMT -6
But even if he had, well, Malcolm had other plans for him. So it was best if the boy didn't enjoy himself so much that he got attached to the idea.
As the night wore on and things got darker, the job became more trying. No, they couldn't set up lights, because that would interfere with the equipment; they had come out here to get away from the light pollution, after all. Couldn't Malcolm see in the dark? No? Then could he try writing by feel? Surely he could manage that much.
Malcolm had to squint a lot, and his lines were no longer as straight as they were when he had light enough to see by, but he managed. At least, he thought he did, anyway; it was now too dark for him to be able to tell, or else he wouldn't have had the issue in the first place.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 23:13:27 GMT -6
It went on much longer than what he would have liked, but eventually the event wound down to an end. Or maybe he was simply dismissed because his shift had ended; by that point Malcolm himself wasn't really sure anymore. Whatever it was, he was being allowed to go home, and he would take it.
He was too tired to pay Yoru much mind, though the Harachiu did try to strike up some conversation on the way home, apparently not nearly as tired as Malcolm felt.
"We are going to vet our jobs before we take them from now on," he announced to Yoru as soon as they got home and the door closed behind them.
"Oh, er, right. Absolutely," Yoru said.
From there, Malcolm went slowly through his usual bedtime preparations, then sank wearily into his own bed, and thought fixedly of nothing until sleep claimed him at last.
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Post by NPC on Sept 30, 2020 15:46:46 GMT -6
Congratulations, you have successfully completed the quest! Your QP will be added to the bank and your reward sent out shortly.
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