David fluttered out of the lobby, calling over his shoulder, "Hey guys, I'm gonna take a quick breather and check something. Back in a jiffy, I promise!”
Kozlov paused for a moment as he waddled in a small circle, dragging a crate that rattled almost musically against the floor as its contents vibrated with the motion, and nodded with a slight shrug. He slipped a beefy paw under the crate and simply lifted it off the ground like as if it weighed no more than a dinner plate and carefully set it on top of the growing stack behind him. David was oddly sad to see the metal desk he’d rummaged through when he’d entered had been rudely shoved into the corner as if it was garbage, and a strange wave of sadness washed over him as he remembered the personal effects still contained within. It had been a tiny reminder that everywhere he looked there were still signs of all the people that hadn’t hatched into the first Wave, that they had been real, lived real lives, and had existed without all this insanity that they now dealt with daily.
It passed quickly, but still bothered him a bit, and he quickly hopped outside as the sound of everyone dragging and hauling the telescope out of storage faded into the sound of wind as he made his way out onto the cracked patio. Claire sat a few yards away in the small pool of shade cast by the Observatory building, cocking her head curiously as he emerged again sooner than she'd expected. She clacked her jaws softly, rumbling a wordless greeting at him with only a hint of confusion.
“Did ‘ya miss me or something?”
“Wanted to take a minute and go over my Status”, David chittered, spreading his wings and letting the cooling mountain air fill his wings like sails as he spoke. “You know…I didn’t mean for the whole thing with the Shard to happen, I just wanted to get a better look at it, so I hit it with an Echolocation. Which woke it up, or something. I dunno.” He flattened his ears and made no attempts to hide how uncomfortable he was. “Not gonna lie, it basically forced me to accept when the notification for it popped up. It was really hard to think, and it just kept popping up over and over and changing colors. The extra slots are nice, but that shit was scary in retrospect.”
Claire hissed quietly and thumped her tail against the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dirt. “Yeah, I’ve known you long enough now to tell when you’re upset about something, you’re usually not so chipper all the time. I was hoping it wasn’t an act though, you never know. Wanna talk about it?”
“Actually…yeah. And some other stuff.” David agreed to Claire’s surprise, and her eyes widened a bit before he finished, “But not right now, still gonna do a once-over of my Status and think about some stuff. Maybe tonight?”
“Sure, anytime. I mean that.” Claire rumbled with a firm nod. David gave her a toothy grin before acting on impulse and darting over to her, patting her on the snout thankfully as she booped him back more gently than before.
David took a few loping strides before launching himself into the air with a powerful leap. He angled his body into the wind, unfurling his wings to their full impressive span and flapping hard to gain altitude. As always, the moment he left the ground, his anxiety began to dull, replaced by the exhilarating sensation of weightlessness that never failed to calm his nerves.
He let out a long breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding as he slowly circled higher into the sky. Angling himself towards the observatory building, David's keen eyes quickly spotted a protruding ledge near the roof that was conveniently facing away from the sun's harsh illumination. He drifted closer, the scent of sun-baked brick wafting up to his sensitive nose as he approached, and with a quick adjustment of his wings, David braked hard in the air, talons outstretched to snatch at the ledge. His razor-sharp claws easily found purchase on the weathered stonework, and he allowed himself to flip backward, hanging upside down like the bat he now was. Wrapping his wings around his body like a leathery cloak, David cocooned himself in comforting darkness. He took a moment to simply relax and clear his head, enjoying a brief break from the chaos he seemed to generate these days. With a small grin, he pulled up his Status screen, his eyes eagerly taking in the improvements he'd managed to hammer into it after fiddling with the 'Advanced' information settings.
As the glowing panel materialized before him, David's eyes immediately darted to his Ability slots. He had a rare opportunity here, a chance to add something new to his arsenal without the pressure of imminent danger breathing down his neck.
"Alright, let's see what we're working with," he muttered to himself as he scrolled through his Status. David glanced at the tiny Omega dozing in the bottom corner of his Status, and the tiny caricature opened a single eye along its side to stare back at him as if to say it knew he was looking at it before it slowly closed and the beast ignored him.
Yeah, I’m looking. I can’t help but wonder if that’s actually Omega somehow. Avatar vs avatar, right? Maybe it is them, and the wording was deliberate. I should try talking to it sometime, but then again what if it actually talks back? Fuck that, at least right now, I’m not sure I could handle that without freaking out after everything today. Feeling a little…stressed, I guess. Been sticking to the whole ‘just don’t think about it’ thing for a few days, but…Don’t think about your family, don’t think about how many times you’ve almost died, don’t think about how bad it hurt, don’t think about Viktor, don’t think about how you can’t even remember the other guy's name anymore, don’t think about Mom and Dad, don’t think about not thinking about it… I feel like I’m running out of something, and it can’t be healthy to just ignore this much stuff to carry on. That’s how people actually go crazy, right? I mean shit, I literally named my intrusive thoughts, right Spooky?
His mind drifted back to the Shard and the unsettling way it had forced itself upon him as Spooky preened at the memory, and David wasn’t sure which part of his subconscious would be happy with something like that happening. The extra slots were certainly welcome, but the experience had left him shaken. He couldn't afford to be reckless, not when there was so much at stake.
His gaze lingered on his Echolocation and Flight abilities, the cornerstones of the fighting style he’d developed. They allowed him to navigate with unparalleled agility, striking from unexpected angles, and allowing him to stay mostly out of harm's way. Screech and Nocturnal Strike provided offensive options, while Moonsong and Gloom offered utility and control. It was a well-rounded kit, but there was always room for improvement when the alternative was being messily devoured by some random Boss or creature.
"Mutagens are pretty solid too," he noted, examining each one in turn. Ancestral Terror and Apical enhanced his control and body, Soporalytic, and Corrosive bolstered his offense directly, and Secretive provided general utility for approaching his prey. It was a balanced spread, but he couldn't help but feel like something was missing.
Maybe something that could amplify my Control abilities again? Honestly, I think I might have enough Control effects at the moment. Offense is solid too, I think I might actually be able to trigger an Offense Combo now between Corruptor's Touch, Screech and Nocturnal strike. Then there's Pack Abilities, I could swap two slots out every few days if I needed to, I’m positive most people can’t do that. Might be really strong. Hrmm.
The more he considered it, the more the idea appealed to him. It wasn't about brute force or raw power, that was Claire’s undisputed domain, and he knew that unless he got offered a much larger Evolution next time around he’d have to be a little more careful than most people with his build.
Well, I might as well use these Tokens first, see what I get, and sell them if they suck. Maybe I can just outright buy bigger size next time with enough points. I’m not sure I wanna be as big as Claire, but some extra heft wouldn’t hurt the old Health pool. Definitely gonna have to submit a report about the Evolution Menu before I actually evolve, worst-case scenario they just tell me ‘No, perish mortal’ then vaporize me for asking, right? …Nah that’d be too easy, they’ll probably give me something hellishly complex to see what I do with it. Ah well, fuck it, let's use these tokens.
I would like to use my Random Ability Token.
RNG (ReaderNumberGenerator)
