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Post by KOMAU MADAKI on Dec 30, 2013 17:17:12 GMT -8
Today, Komau was getting another student. Or at least that's what he liked to call them. Some of them that came by were snotty-nosed kids that didn't fit into any of the other areas. To be honest, he wasn't sure that some of them were really Impedio Society material, but who was he to judge? But today he was promised someone that had a lot of potential, and for that he was excited! He even made sure to wear his second best suit, which was a solid black tuxedo with a bright red tie. Komau admired himself in the life-sized mirror that had recently made its way into his office. "Hmmm...yeah I think this will do." He straightened his tie and smiled, admiring his beautifully white teeth. He had also had his teeth whitened recently, which made them really really "out there". For someone who hardly left his office, he made sure that he looked his very best, especially when he had new recruits coming in!
All the information that he received was that her name was Anastasia and that she would be under his command for the time being. He had to wonder...once before he received a member that he had to babysit. It was bad enough that the other two consuls didn't take him seriously most days. Arc would be the one to advertise to the entire building that Komau opened up a new babysitting service. Komau sighed and hoped that whoever this was she would at least have some motivation. Certainly they wouldn't just send anyone...would they?
Their scheduled meting time was 2:00, and it was nearing that time now. In order to keep himself occupied, he walked around his office taking inventory for the third time today. Yeah - he was that excited.
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Post by ANASTASIA SOKOLOV on Dec 31, 2013 12:37:48 GMT -8
When you grew up in a military family, you got used to doing things in the military way. There was no such thing as fashionably late or fashionably early--only being exactly on time. If your orders said you were supposed to show up at 2PM, you showed up at exactly 2, not 1:55, and god help you if you showed up actually late. Anastasia had been raised like that, and just because she was technically no longer going into the military didn't mean anything. She was still sticking to the rules she had been raised by, and that was why she knocked on Madaki's office door at precisely two pm. She was dressed as formally as one could expect, in an outfit that was vaguely reminiscent of a military uniform without actually being one. It gave her full range of movement, and was the sort of thing she could spar in.
Because she was, simply put, expecting to spar. In hindsight it would turn out to be a fairly stupid assumption, but at that point she was still a bit addled. Her, chosen to be apprenticed to one of the big three, the leaders of the Society? She'd assumed that at least part of it was because of Pasha's relatively high position within the society, but that could really only account for so much. Obviously her combat assessment had come back with flying colors, and that was why she'd been placed with someone so high up the ladder.
It almost went without saying that she knew very little about the leaders of the society. She knew a bit about Arcturus (she was supposedly scary), and a little bit about Giovanni, but she knew nothing about Madaki beyond his name. Even that she wasn't entirely clear on--Was Madaki a first name, or a last name? She was guessing last name, but it was impossible for her to tell, which meant that 'Sir' was going to have to do.
She straightened up waiting outside the door, trying not to look nervous.
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Post by KOMAU MADAKI on Jan 1, 2014 9:27:04 GMT -8
tagged: ANASTASIA SOKOLOV time:May 17th, 2pm. speech: komau. notes: This will be fun hehe The sound of a knock at his door sent waves of excitement through Komau's body. He quickly ran to the door, put on the best grin that he could possibly muster, and dramatically opened it to see that his 2:00 appointment had arrived on time. Without even acknowledging her, Komau threw his arms around Anastasia and cried out "Welcome! We are going to have so much fun today!!" He rocked back and forth with her before stepping back, looking her up and down. She looked like she was ready for battle...uh oh. She wasn't going to like what she had to do today! Komau's goofy grin stayed tight as he allowed Anastasia to come in, closing the door softly behind her.
His office wasn't quite as big as it was previously. Most of it was now storage for more things, like all of the fun reports that he had yet to read. It was also a home to many coffee cups and Little Debbie wrappers. Well, nobody prided him on being the most professional of the three certainly. But he was also the one that probably had the most humanity and was the easiest to get along with. "Please, please, have a seat!" The consul pointed to one of the expensive leather chairs and quickly rounded the table to sit on the other side. "There's coffee on that table. Please, help yourself - courtesy of Giovanni himself." Yes, he had managed to get more coffee. No, he would never tell Giovanni that it was him. Yes, he would eventually pay for it, but he wanted the man to be confused for a while.
Komau took a seat on the opposite side of where he pointed Anastasia too. Another quick glance at Anastasia told Komau many things. She was quite athletic, which meant she was probably good with close quarter combat. She'd be an excellent candidate out in the field dealing with those nasty monsters. He paused for a moment, wondering why she had been sent to him instead of to Arc. Well, she was young, so there was always time to reevaluate her abilities. She was no earlier and no later than 2:00, which meant she was very punctual. That, or either she got there early and waited until time to knock. Komau already knew that she was Russian, and if he hadn't then it would show quite easily through her complexion and hair. She was fresh and new to the Impedio Society, so that meant she would be getting a crash course in how things worked. That and her parents would probably have educated her by now on most of the basic workings. The consul knew that she was being groomed well by her parents just by looking at her, which was a fantastic thing. All of these things, combined with the information he already had on Anastasia, gave Komau a good picture of how things were going to go when she got her first assignment.
"Please, tell me about yourself! Opening up with that would be much easier than saying "Here's a stack of paperwork and orientation materials - read them, sign them, and have fun!"
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Post by ANASTASIA SOKOLOV on Jan 3, 2014 9:46:22 GMT -8
If you had asked Anastasia when she'd last been hugged, she'd have been forced to stop and think about it. Eventually she'd have said that her best guess was when she was fourteen or so, and her mother had come home upset because someone close to her had died. The two had hugged briefly in comfort, and that had been that. Her family had always been loving and devoted, but they had never been particularly affectionate. They showed their affection in other ways, by working hard and doing their best. They didn't hug, didn't kiss, and they rarely said I love you. Anastasia had never minded it all, but all of a sudden, with arms around her, she found herself terribly alarmed. She went stiff, entire body rigid under his arms as she told herself that it was simply a cultural thing. Some cultures hugged strangers. Some cultures kissed even, although if he went in for a kiss Anastasia was probably going to fall over.
Her first impression of him was that he was definitely not American. Anastasia knew little about America before her arrival, and for the most part tended to group people in generally inaccurate and fairly racist terms. People who weren't white were obviously not American, and white people were American until they started speaking with an accent. Komau was definitely not American, as far as Anastasia was concerned, and she made a rough guess that he was from somewhere in the Caucasus, or perhaps the middle east. Not that it mattered--Anastasia was largely impassive on such issues.
She was, to say the least, caught off guard by his explanation of how much 'fun' they were having. Really, that should have been her first clue to turn and run far, far away. But he was one of the big three--he was one of the leaders, and she was going to do her best to impress him. She stepped inside as he closed the door, moving over to sit where indicated as she tried not to peer around the room. It was messy. Very messy. It was the sort of messy that would have made her mother pass out if she'd come home to it, and she found herself profoundly uncomfortable. She just wasn't used to the mess, and she ignored the coffee. "No thank you." She did drink coffee--she'd just already had some and didn't feel the need for another cup so soon after noon.
All things equal, Anastasia probably would have done better if Madaki had dumped paperwork on her. As it was, she was left staring blankly for a moment as she tried to work out what to say. What information did he want? What could she possibly tell him? He probably already had her file. Maybe he hadn't had time to read it? She opted to go for the basics, clearing her throat before launching into a heavily accented explanation.
"My name is Anastasia Yurievna Sokolov. My mother was a master hunter in the society, and my father was a patrician vault guard. I was born and raised in Russia, and I practice combat sambo. I completed highschool in Russia, but my new guardian--Pasha Illyich--insists that I go back and finish the twelfth year here, so that my English can improve." What else? Oh right--things he'd probably care about. "I practice combat Sambo, and was originally on track for the Russian military next year." She left out any mention of what had happen to her parents, entirely confident (rather rightfully or not) that Madaki must already knew about that. It still felt new and raw, and even as impassive as she was, she didn't have it in her to flat out say 'my parents are dead' to a stranger she'd only just met.
KOMAU MADAKI | MAY 17TH, 2 PM |
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Post by KOMAU MADAKI on Jan 7, 2014 18:28:36 GMT -8
tagged: ANASTASIA SOKOLOV time:May 17th, 2:00 pm. speech: komau. notes: This will be fun hehe
Komau listened intently to Anastasia's introduction, nodding appropriately and making eye contact on occasion only to smile and look away for a moment. It was easy to do since she was only repeating things he had read about her before. She was a very promising individual, which was always something Komau got excited about, but like everyone else, she had to start at the bottom. Well, most everyone else. There were a few lucky people born into a family that earned them their position, but that was another story altogether. It appeared that this lovely blonde was raised properly and she was ready and raring. Unfortunately, Komau's division wasn't exactly the band of people that went trouncing into trouble. Since he received her orders, she would be working under him for the time being doing things that would probably drive anyone up the wall. Fortunate for her, Komau was going to try to make it a bit easier...but there's only so much one can do with paperwork to keep it lively.
After the introduction, he gave another "smile and nod" reaction before picking up a file on the table and handing it over to her. She was such a lovely person, it seemed, and he almost felt bad for doing this to her. But he had to be the bearer of bad news. "Well...it appears that you have combat prepared for combat. I am unfortunately unable to train you in anything that could be especially beneficial. As you know, I'm the Artifact and Descendant Analyst, so most of my division is about intelligence. For now, I'm afraid we're going to have to give you a very small assignment." Komau looked distraught as he handed her the paper, unsure of how she was going to react. He knew this was always the hardest part of bringing in new people that seemed to have so much promise.
Just before she was able to grasp it, he hesitated for a moment. He wasn't playing dirty or being inappropriate by this, was he? Nah. Later on perhaps the two would laugh about it, but right now...well, she needed a good laugh. "I included eight different tools that will assist you with this assignment." Komau finally passed along the folder and pulled out a small, brown opaque box that looked as though it would hold a deck of cards. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep the horrible grin from appearing on his face. Komau just hoped that his new apprentice had a sense of humor.
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Post by ANASTASIA SOKOLOV on Jan 8, 2014 11:20:17 GMT -8
Madaki said 'as you know' as if she'd been given a full rundown of who did what within the organization. She definitely had not. Pasha believed in 'need to know' information providing. If you didn't need to know it then, he wasn't going to tell you until you did. He had let her go off to meet Madaki knowing nothing, simply because who he was didn't matter. In the grand scheme of interpersonal dynamics, Anastasia only needed to know that Madaki was her superior. He was going to be treated the same whether he was one level above her or ten.
She liked the sound of 'intelligence'--her parents, in their non-society jobs had technically worked in 'intelligence' at least some of the time, but she had a feeling that the sort of jobs that Madaki was behind had little to do with breaking into buildings and snapping the neck of anyone who might raise the alarm. No, probably he meant the paperwork side of things, which was nearly enough to make her groan out loud. She didn't though, because Anastasia had been raised with strict military discipline, and military discipline did not let you groan at the thought of doing work... at least not when a superior was right in front of you.
The folder was at least an upside. She was happy to start doing work, or at least she was until she opened the folder.
You could practically hear the record scratch, and Anastasia's first instinct was to go as blank as possible. No reaction. She wasn't quite fast enough to stop herself from cursing, muttering 'yób tvoyú mat' under her breath. Anastasia wasn't the type to swear, but when she did, she swore in Mat. Women weren't supposed to use mat, but Anastasia certainly did, because the military used it, and she wasn't going to go in and pretend to be some dainty little lady while learning to kick people in the throat. Technically she wasn't supposed to curse in front of her superior either, but the situation was very trying.
It was obviously a test. The question was what he was testing. Was he trying to see if she'd speak up? Was he testing to see if she'd follow orders, no matter how stupid? Or was he just screwing with her? The seconds ticked by and Anastasia stayed blank, still staring at the paper. She hadn't even opened the box. It was almost a minute before she responded, face still almost completely blank. "Is this... a joke?" She did her best to not sound insult, but there wasn't a lot of wiggle room. It was an insulting question if he wasn't trying to mess with her.
KOMAU MADAKI | MAY 17TH, 2 PM |
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Post by KOMAU MADAKI on Jan 8, 2014 19:05:49 GMT -8
tagged: ANASTASIA SOKOLOV time:May 17th, 2:00 pm. speech: komau. notes: This will be fun hehe
It was a beautiful, beautiful plan that would have both of them laughing. She had certainly heard about him and how lighthearted he was, right? Most people had. Or at least that's what Komau got the impression of. What he didn't know was that this young lady in front of him had no idea who he was or how he operated. Any antics were going to simply be ineffective.
And it all hit the fan. Komau waited to see a smile. A snicker. At least some amount of humor in the Russian's face. Instead, he was met with nothing but a confused, blank stare. Immediately his right hand flew to his face with a loud smack. He couldn't believe that she didn't get it. Oh well - being raised by strict parents in the line of work that the IS members were used to had its drawbacks sometimes. Now he had a headache. Wonderful.
There was no point in trying to explain it. But he was going to give it a stab anyway."Of course it is, my dear! Someone with your skills should not be subjected to such a childish project."
A little over the top due to having a few hurt feelings, but nothing major. He quickly snatched the folder and tossed it behind him as though it never happened. Since Anastasia was all-business, Komau figured he would get right down to the major details. No hoax or gimmick this time around. Komau stood and grabbed a file from his desk, returning to the giant table.
"This is your real assignment. I apologize if there was any misunderstanding between my previous attempt at humor." He politely bowed his head, hoping that she wouldn't be too upset with him. He never liked it when his recruits were upset with him. "You'll be working with the librarian in the historian section. You are to report each day to me promptly at 8;00 am, and at the end of the day you will submit a report to me documenting the tasks given to you that day and what you have learned or gained from it. For instance, your first day will get you acquainted with pulling documents from the shelves and learning our organizational structure. This library only contains only the most basic outlines of our history. I want you to become acquainted with our organization, what our purpose is here, and the importance of keeping all records up to date."
He finished his small spill, taking a deep breath and breaking eye contact for a moment. There was much more to say and discuss, but he would wait to see her response first. Being that she was raised in a military environment, there was no way she would turn down the order. It was more of a courtesy for her to officially accept the orders given to her.
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Post by ANASTASIA SOKOLOV on Jan 10, 2014 19:46:49 GMT -8
Anastasia had not been warned. That much went without saying. If she had been warned... well, she probably would have begged her way out of it rather then deal with the horrible situation that was almost inevitable. Either she'd miss a joke because she had the sense of humor of a mobile brick, or she'd laugh at something that wasn't funny, or he'd simply tell that she was faking a laugh because Anastasia's laugh was not particularly natural. Either way it was going to go badly, and Anastasia would have avoided it if she had known. Even if Madaki was a nice person, that didn't stop him from being her superior, and the sort of person she wasn't going to want to upset.
He actually facepalmed, and Anastasia winced. This was exactly what she'd hoped to avoid. He was... well, what, embarrassed. He simply carried on as if it never happened, carrying on about her skills and calling the project childish. He went so far as to toss the whole thing over his shoulder, and Anastasia let out a little sigh. She'd insulted him. Probably insulted him, hadn't she? Definitely so. There was no way around it. Only how was she supposed to apologize? She knew almost nothing about him, and any apology might only serve to make things worse.
As he explained her real task, Anastasia found herself wishing she'd just colored in the damn unicorn. This task, at least, was serious--and had Pasha's fingerprints all over it. She knew how to fight, but she knew next to nothing about the history or policies of the society. She didn't know how it was founded, and the only thing she knew about the kingdoms was that they existed and had some kind of bizarre magic powers. It was going to be the sort of task that was dreadfully boring, but also important, and she could practically hear her mother announcing in her head that it would be good for her to learn to work in a command structure.
Which was the only reason she didn't groan out loud, nodding carefully. "I understand." Because she did. She didn't like the idea, but she was at least warming up to it. It would help her patch up the gaps in her knowledge, and let her move through the ranks of the society faster. After all, it didn't matter how physically capable she was--if she didn't know anything, she wasn't going to go anywhere. She paused, trying to come up with the best thing to say before giving up, nodding once, and continuing. "I'll do my best."
KOMAU MADAKI | MAY 17TH, 2 PM |
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Post by KOMAU MADAKI on Jan 12, 2014 13:53:46 GMT -8
tagged: ANASTASIA SOKOLOV time:May 17th, 2:00 pm. speech: komau. notes: This will be fun hehe
Despite the whole "not getting any jokes" and the embarrassed look Komau gave Anastasia, things were going a bit better than they probably could have. It was good to know that, despite not having the most exciting job, she gave it her best acknowledgement and would be trying as hard as she could. Which really meant that she was probably prepared for something more exciting and that she was extremely let down, but would not show it to her superior. The consul admired that quality about her, but he wouldn't bring it up for fear of making her feel any worse than she might already be feeling.
"And I'm sure you will. I know it's not something in the field, but your profile contains much information about how you excel at combat. I want you to be well-rounded, and so that's why we're placing you in a library. But you do have access to one of the best gyms that money can buy, and we encourage you to continue using it weekly so that when you are called to arms you will be ready." Honestly he felt a little bad about giving her an assignment that she wouldn't really like, but he had to place her where she could learn more about the Society. Otherwise she'd be lost, and those that did not know what they were fighting for tended to not fight nearly as hard. So Komau's intentions were definitely good, or at least he thought so.
"You'll start with working Monday through Thursday from 8:00 to 5:00 and then we'll let you go at lunch on Friday. There's no need to start tomorrow, so just report to my office on Monday and I'll walk you through the building. Be sure to arrive a few minutes early as sometimes security can be difficult to get through." He let his eyes roll for just a moment, hoping to catch a small smile from the Russian. Chances were slim, but he needed to see that she wasn't just a walking robot with no emoitions. "You'll be assigned to this task for the first few months, and afterward we will give you a test so that we can find out what all you have learned from your position. If everything goes well, we will be sure to promote you to another duty that you might find more interesting. I'll be sure to introdue you to Arcturus Dia, the Consul and combat specialist, and see if you make the cut." He gave her a knowing smile, but she probably had no idea what that would mean. For Komau, it would be entertainment, but for Anastasia it would be hell.
Then she would probably would want to do more research.
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Post by ANASTASIA SOKOLOV on Jan 12, 2014 18:41:25 GMT -8
The thought of a gym was appealing. She doubted she'd have anyone to spar with, and sandbags made bad company, but specialized workout equipment would be a boon in keeping herself in shape. Maybe she could convince Pasha to spar with her every so often, or perhaps there was some kind of training matchmaking service or something. She honestly couldn't be the only one in the society looking for a sparring partner, could she? No, surely not. There were plenty of other children her age who were still without formal work assignments--or there seemed to be, because Kellan was definitely an apprentice or whatever her rank was formally called.
She was going to be working hours close to a full time job, and her first thought was how she'd get there. She doubted that would be a problem though. Pasha worked there as well, and he got to work every morning and came every night. Probably she'd be able to simply tag along with him, and he didn't live far even if not.
She nodded once, but she didn't show much emotion beyond that until he talked about introducing her to Arcturus. It wasn't the first time the name had been mentioned. Kellan had spoke of her, describing her as 'the terrifying one', of all things. Really, Anastasia didn't think she sounded that scary. She only sounded scary if you were lazy. She alarmed Kellan because he didn't like the idea of fighting, while Anastasia relished the thought. She found herself smiling at the idea, fairly confident that she'd get along with the 'scariest' of the big three. "Yes sir. I'm looking forward to it." She was confident she'd make the cut--especially after who knew how long of extra training with Pasha.
KOMAU MADAKI | MAY 17TH, 2 PM |
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Post by KOMAU MADAKI on Jan 18, 2014 11:43:15 GMT -8
tagged: ANASTASIA SOKOLOV time:May 17th, 2:00 pm. speech: komau. notes: This will be fun hehe
As soon as the words left her mouth, Komau knew that Anastasia had yet to meet Arc. In fact, she welcomed their first encounter. Anyone that liked that kind of abuse had to be a little on the psychotic side, but who was the South African Consul to argue with that? He simply nodded in acknowledgement, wondering how their first meeting would turn out. He would have to spy on them later...
All of their business seemed to be taken care of, but Anastasia still didn't have any questions. It bugged Komau since she seemed to be let down with her assignment; he assumed that she would want to know more details or talk about the pay or to ask about the other amenities at the HQ or any other number of questions. But nothing. She accepted what she was told and left that as it was. But he wasn't going to give her everything on day one anyway, so he figured he would leave it alone.
Somewhat."So...any questions?" He leaned forward, hoping that their meeting wasn't already over with. If so, he would need to give her something to do. Maybe he would give her a tour of the building...or maybe he would show her to her assigned library! Yeah that would be good! After all of the basics were discussed, Komau would take her on down and introduce her to some of the staff. It's not like he was really busy right now anyway, so why not?
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Post by ANASTASIA SOKOLOV on Jan 20, 2014 17:09:56 GMT -8
Anastasia had been born and raised military. You didn't quibble over hours or pay with your commander in chief--you brought that up with someone else. To your commander in chief, you simply nodded and did as you were told. Komau was not the person she thought of as her boss--he was the commander in chief, the head of the proverbial army. She wasn't going to squabble with him about pay (did she get paid?) or hours (he'd sort of already told her them). questions... well, she considered that for a moment, unsure of what to say. "I don't believe so, no." She'd already had a tour of the building, so that was unnecessary, but she had yet to be shown the library itself.
She paused, then corrected herself. Pasha had probably twitched somewhere at how informal she was.
"No, sir." She corrected herself, giving a little shake of the head. She knew all that she needed to, and she was nothing but polite as he guided her to the library in order to show her where she was working.
KOMAU MADAKI | MAY 17TH, 2 PM |
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Post by MIKE on Jan 24, 2014 13:18:09 GMT -8
| | | Finished Thread
This thread has now been marked as completed. It has been placed in the archives under the 'finished' sub-board. You are more than welcome to PM fate if this thread is not finished or if you are unhappy/unsatisfied with the amount of residue that has been rewarded. Keep up the great work and keep posting with other members.
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