Thursday, February 9, 2017

Hunt 1: Psychological Report

HUNTER SOCIETY PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS





Initial Hunt Psychological Report
Applicant Name: Jason A. Hale
Alias: Kei
Examiner: Dr. Shimura


Over a week had passed since... yet once again Jason had taken a seat begrudgingly in the waiting room chairs of the lobby. After a hard fought hunt and a less than enjoyable plane ride home he now found himself sitting patiently in the room. ​Home..?​ Was that what he called the Society now? The thought lingered long enough until his name was called and he sat up systematically from the chair. He was the only one in the room at least, this time around. The door to the office opened. In walked a not as surprised, but still non-enthused Kei. He walked slowly towards the center of the room where the other man's desk resided. He took a seat in the chair. Once again he was dressed cleaner than Seth had ever seen him, minor scrapes and cuts visible, the hinting of bandages under a gray thermal long sleeve he wore.




Seth had been organizing the files of other clients, until he heard the door open. A seemingly familiar Doberman who was curled up in his bed, lifted his head and perked his ears at the sound. There was a fine line between ‘tranquility’ and ‘laziness.’ The canine lounged on the bed was nestled neatly between both ends of the spectrum. Erect ears perked, and his head rose at the sound of the door. With a single twitch of his nose, the large Doberman recognized exactly who this newcomer was. ​If dogs could smirk, Creo damn well may have.​ Rather than making an approach, he lowered his head back down onto his paws. His eyes flicked between Jason and Seth, yet he calmly waited for Seth to move or speak first. Seth confronted Jason with a smile, something he had probably never seen Seth do, but the past was behind him and Jason was now his client.

"Jason, good to see you. You look well, it's come to my knowledge that you have recently done a hunt with your partner, as you call her." He spoke as Seth walked around his desk to grab a cold soda from the small fridge. He placed it on the edge of the desk for Jason to grab whenever he wished. "So, why don't you tell me everything? From the very beginning, in as much detail as you can." Seth spoke in that professional bedside manner he used to comfort clients.




As soon as they could, blue hues were trained upon the psychiatrist behind the desk. Still a surreal sight in his head. When the dog moved it caught him by surprise... when he truly noticed ​which​ dog it was, a pit formed in his stomach. His eye stared intently at Creo in the corner of the room as if it'd speak volumes for him. The bottom line? ​You stay the fuck over there, I'll stay over here.​ He cleared his throat rather shakily afterward. Assuming he'd at least be spared the harm of the canine he glanced back to Seth... 'good to see you?' He didn't buy it. ​"...pleasure."​ He muttered. He didn't know how much he felt like playing along, either. Eyes followed as the can of soda was left on the table. Once more he made no intentions on reaching for it.
"You want... the whole story?" He questioned with a slight tilt on his head. His expression was stoic as ever and he'd try and hold to it.



"Everything." Seth replied quietly. He looked over to Creo shortly, seeing him still laying down. Everyone in the room shared a bad history together, but that was all set aside in this room.




A look was cast around the room once more before silence took over. He was thinking. Figuring out even where to begin. When he did, a civil tone was given, even. ​Funny how that happens when your future is dangled over your head.​ "Started in Louisiana. New Orleans. Me, Alice, a hunter named Neseva, the boss' kid at that. A witch in the city had hired us to check out some... suspicious activity in the city. It concerned the city's ​dogs​... going crazy and biting people at night. People getting a fever when they did. So we got off the plane... went to go see the woman who called. A lady named Andi. A witch, she was nervous as hell... but she gave us the word and we headed off from the hotel to the coven that night to go check things out." Jason started. Pausing he cast a glance to Seth, wondering whether he was to keep going or not.




"Then what happened? These dogs...what exactly were they?" Seth added for Jason to keep going. He didn't really want Jason to think what he was saying, more to just speak in a flow.




"Spirits... agitated ones. More harsh than what I knew in the theatre." Jason explained. His eyes wandered momentarily as he continued. "Finding where the center of the energy was, Alice and I snuck a peek, the head pup was home. Had to make a run for it and O'Malley nearly knocked a witch out escaping. We ran until the damn thing wasn't nipping at our necks any longer." A slight glance to Creo, yet again. Then back. "So we hulled up at Andi's. Figured it was the witches' doing all along, I heard 'em speaking that night. When she filled us in we had a culprit in the head witch. Woman named Suzan, Andi said she was bitter about another one. We figured something was being planned in that building." Another to pause to think. A shoe tapped absently on the floor beneath him. "So all of a sudden we're kidnapping Suzan's target. A woman named Devina... Neseva got in, got her talking, and managed to knock her out for us. Then we hauled her back to Andi's. She wasn't too happy about that." He mused.

..."When Devina woke up she wasn't too happy either, but we managed to explain. Seemed it was this Suzan woman all along that was after her, trying to get a better hold on the city. We slept it off a night, made a plan in the morning. Neseva and I would head to the coven. to the room where the dog had come out of, try and break whatever spell was causing the spirits to fuss. Alice stayed behind meanwhile and held up the fort." His brow furrowed momentarily. Eyes had cast to the floor. "The city was busy enough, coven had people in it... so we slipped in and got to the room to get to work. The further we went, Nes did her job, I did mine. The dog showed up and put up a fight... should've made some better decisions in looking back but I held it off at least. Got bit in the process, I was left with the fever affecting my head the rest of the night is still a blur from that. We got it handled... Neseva had to drag me through the streets by the time we were out, I felt sick as hell, things wouldn't stop spinning."




Creo's head remained stationary between his paws while the two conversed. His eyes remained stationary on Kei whole his explanation came to pass. Russet orbs locked onto Kei's when momentary glance was thrown, yet the gaze drifted along the interior of the room once that moment had passed. The Doberman drew in a breath and released it in a lengthy exhale.




 ..."We got there so Alice could quit her worrying finally. Got things patched up, laid down for a while... it'll leave one hell of a scar in a week or so. When it got darker I was up and moving at least, and in good time. They were coming. She brought a handful of witches with her that came in first, fixing to burn the place down but it didn't happen. Nes stayed in the back in the kitchen, using her talent. The girl can read minds, for better or for worse I don't know. Sure as hell don't want anybody poking around in ​my​ head... but here we are aren't we." With the shot taken at Seth he would look him in the eye for a moment. Sitting up from his slumped position he sighed. "We took care of 'em. When Suzan came things got a little sideways. Next thing you know Nes was knocked out. Devina faced her best she could but Alice and I had to scramble to get on our feet. Andi too, she told us to head to the kitchen so I did. ​Little did I know ​Alice had stayed back." He muttered. "Alice was knocked out, Neseva said it's like the nerves in her head went lights out from it. When Suzan made it to the kitchen I did what I could from there." A small smirk appeared whether he realized it or not. "I caught on to what Andi was telling us then. She's got a plant in the kitchen, a big tall one. Called it a 'cowplant' and it was alive and moving. Almost nipped at Neseva on day one. Long story short... Suzan's resting at the bottom of the pot in two pieces."

"...Everybody was alright from then on. Nes woke up. Devina went back to the Coven, Andi cleaned up the blood. I got Alice off the floor and she woke up a while later... and there you have it."




 Seth didn't move, not even once did his gaze move away from Jason after he looked at Creo. After listening to Jason's entire story did he finally avert his eyes. "What I'm going to do now is follow up with some questions. How harsh I will be depends on your cooperation. Now, you spoke of a woman named Devina. What else can you tell me about her?"




Jason was listening afterwards. Leaning forward to let his elbows rest on his knees, hands over one another loosely in silence. The less than enthused expression hadn't left his face, but no witty snaps came from it at least. Given the question, begrudgingly he responded. "Devina was Suzan's mother... head of the coven before her. Only person that could have stopped her. If we didn't get to her first, odds are she'd be dead."




"I see, and what of this Neseva? You say she's the boss' kid, tell me more about her."




Neseva.​ ...was that a smirk at the corner of his mouth? Seen briefly before it was gone. Jason cleared his throat again and spoke. "Neseva's younger... hunter in training. She's got a gift in that head of hers, able to read others' thoughts at will. To be honest I don't know how much she knows about me. I'd be lying if I said she didn't test my patience... ​WHAT PATIENCE​ but she's a good kid. Smart as hell, and she saved my ass as much as I saved hers." There was a pause, thoughtfulness in his eyes. Sitting up, he eyed him straight on. "...I told you. I managed."




Seth couldn't help but chuckle as he casted a glance over at Creo once more. "Moving onto the topic of you. This hunt has given you experience on the field. Tell me, can you imagine yourself doing this for the rest of your life? Working in a team? Dealing with problems that aren't your own, let alone other people and creatures in general?" Seth inquired, his gaze returning to his client.




An immediate glare was given when the other man put forth the effort to laugh. Straight faced, he had the bare minimum restraint to not speak. If Nes were proctoring such an exam would she let him through? Odds were, maybe not. Silence filled the room yet again as the big ticket question came. His glare dissipated as his eyes fell ever so slightly, distant in thought. Feeling time drag on, he would give an answer. "I think I could."




"You think you could? Why not be more certain? Why not say you know you can? You give yourself little faith, this life offers you purpose. Is that not what you've wanted?" Seth met his glare, and kept it so even when Jason's eyes fell.




Blue hues were straight back up again, narrowed almost defensively. "Listen, what the hell do you want from me, then? You want my fucking certainty, well what if I can't give you that?" Jason snapped. His jaw tightened as he averted his eyes once more. Absently they settled on the bookshelves nearby. "I don't know about working on a ​team​, ain't one for company. But those two, it wasn't bad. Challenging. Beats the business on the streets I had been doing."




There was a pause, a long, thoughtful pause. Jason could have mistaken ed it for being judgmental. "...What did you actively contribute to the hunt?" Seth asked quietly.




The pause lingered with a tension in the air. Jason's brow knitted together as the question settled in his mind. By the look on his face he could have been waiting to get teeth pulled rather than in the room he was settled in. ​"Well... let's see."​ His voice was practically a low growl. "I snuck into a witch's den. I outran a goddamn dog, guarded Neseva's ass even if it meant staring the fucking thing in the face and nearly becoming dinner." Another brief and subconscious glance to Creo and back. "I knocked out a witch or two, and I personally fed Suzan to a ​carnivorous plant.​”




His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, so you did actually do something. Sometimes, clients will confuse presence with contribution." He remained calm and stoic, despite Jason's sarcastic behavior. "Have you had any trauma from the events you witnessed? Any nightmares?" Seth asked, taking a small, blue notepad that he would jot prescriptions just in case.




Jaw still clenched, the man's head had raised ever so slightly in that regard. Onwards to the next question he took little more than seconds. "Not from the hunt. No. Doesn't mean it was pleasant, but I've got worse things sitting in my head than that. Some recovery from injuries... but I'm no stranger to it. I'm fine."




Seth blinked, cleared his throat, then crossed his leg at his knee. "Care to elaborate on those worse things?"




The man's mouth was a thin line. Slowly he came to lean back yet again. ​He couldn't seem to keep himself still could he?​ "...No. I don't."




"You're here, you might as well. Or did you speak to a priest about it?" It was a guess, ​it was only a guess, how did it end up like this​. The timer on his desk rang to Jason's favor. "Well, our appointment has finished. Everything you have told me will have remained completely confidential." The coke still stood on his desk as an offering. Seth walked over to the door and held it open for him. "Next time, come to me, and spare the priest some time."






Jason's eyes shot wide open abruptly. The blood in his veins seemed to run a bit cold for the few seconds after his words. His mouth opened to speak and staggered a couple times before he'd even find words. "I-..." The timer rang and his mouth fell shut again. An unexplained relief washed over him momentarily. His head turned to watch Seth head to the door. Slowly he stood. A glance shifted from that to the desk. Once again, ​what the hell.​ The can of Coke was picked off the table as he left. Pausing near the door he glanced back to the other. "...You'll see me after the next hunt." He stated bluntly to the concept. Down the hall he went. A night in a confessional booth weighing a little to heavily on his mind.


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