Position Vacant: Soul Reaping - Graveyard Shift | IC/CLOSED

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Sigmund Brandt

"If you have some better eyes than I do, then you can probably deduce that we are indeed drinking from those prepared pots. Is there something that we should be worried about?"

“La vie est un fils de pute. Just my luck.”

Silvia Cole

"If it wasn't intended for us to drink from either pot, then perhaps you should not have set them out on the counter along with their associated sets,"

The rainbow-haired Italian-American was clearly not pleased with the other bespectacled man in the diner, the one with purple hair. Tucking away his glasses, the cook looked at him with a judging expression. "Hey, amico. Don't you think you should be at least respectful to someone who's trying to give you a job?"

The manager, however, just shook his head and put a hand on the cook's shoulder. "That's enough, Giorno.", he said. "I'm sure they're just irritated from their day of failed applications, having to go through the cold night air to get here, and many other reasons." He looked back towards the candidates. "Well, whatever. I'll just call it early contract signing."

Name: Lawrence Sinclair
Age: 16

The manager looked at the youth that was seemingly looking down at his attire. He didn't get why. It wasn't like he wore something like tattered rags. His brief musings were soon distracted by the sound of more people coming in.

Jonathon Creed,
Glutton's Diner, Hunter's Woods

Valeria Ardenus"Greetings, I don't suppose I'm interrupting anything am I?"

"I am Valeria Ardenus, Charmed. I don't suppose this is where the new applicants are gathering? I know the signed said closed but..." Valeria trailed off and looked on expectantly.

"You don't all look like employees, but then again neither do I." The robed girl thought to herself.

"If I'm correct, I do hope to get along splendidly with each of you." Valeria outstretched her hand in greeting for each person to shake. No need for bad blood after all.

Nagasaki "Naga" WarrenHe knocked a few knocks on the door, before opened it and went inside. There are already several others, including two older men.

"Sorry, hi, yes! I'm Nagasaki Warren, Naga for short. New employee here, sorry for the lateness..." said with much nervousness.

"Ah, yes. Good timing. We were just about to get started.", the manager greeted the three newcomers. "Well, Mister... Creed, if I'm not mistaken? I'd say both are good for this cold night air. Choose whichever you want, but I'd recommend the coffee. Giorno here made the best Italian mix of coffee.", he suggested, patting the cook on the back, which made the rainbow-haired teen grinning proudly. "And welcome.. Miss Ardenus, Mister Warren, nice to meet you both. Please take a seat, or anything, as long as you are comfortable. Because it seems that all the applicants are here.", he concluded.

"Giorno, why don't you go call Arlan and Amelia? I'm sure they want to meet the candidates for their juniors as well."

"Si, padrone.", the cook responded. As he turned, he took a brief lingering gaze at the "ice-cold beauty". Noticing this, the manager coughed to catch his attention, making him go double on his task. However, just before he closed the kitchen door, the manager added. "Oh, and please bring 'that thing' as well."

"Will do, padrone.", Giorno responded.

After a few minutes, Giorno came back, pushing something vaguely block-shaped, covered in a tattered olive cloak, by his foot. The manager just looked at him strangely, to which the half-Italian responded "I'm not touching that thing with my hands." He wiped his forehead with his forearm, before looking back and noticing there was still nobody behind him. "Hey, you two! Come on, padrone and everyone is waiting!", he called towards the other two seniors.

Jonathon Creed,
Glutton'a Diner, Hunter's Woods

Seeing that apparently it was time to start to act professional, Creed sighed and stood, throwing his jacket on over his shoulders before shaking his head and grabbing a cup of coffee. "I guess I'll have a cup then..." he muttered under his breath.

He disliked coffee, not for any physical reason but for the fact that its what entitled rich people drank. Though, at this moment, he though that looking a bit more like an entitled rich person would be in his best interest...

[New Antonalia]

Arlan Risto,
Senior Reaper and Treasurer,
Glutton's Diner

Arlan heard the chatter in the diner grow and grinned slightly. "All these new faces, all filled with ignorance of what really goes on here." He thought tossing Lady Luck in the air and watching it hit the desk. "Lucky seven, well, tonight is going to be a good night." He finished getting the payroll in order anticipating more than 10 new employees, and he'd be the one training them. He had been living on the streets for his whole live, whether it had been physically or metaphorically would have depended on the time of his life. He also knew almost everything there is to know about reaping and how to keep it secret. "Time to greet the new recruits." He told himself with a sigh.

He didn't bother prettying himself up and put on his tattered overcoat and walked into the Diner. "Welcome, welcome, welcome, my new "students". Welcome to the Glutton's Diner, I am one of your instructor's Arlan Risto, card shark, crap game aficionado, and Senior Reaper. These other two are your other instructors, though I think you'll find your time with me more fun than either of these two."

[Kazarogkai]

Arlan Risto,
Senior Reaper and Treasurer,
Glutton's Diner

Arlan heard the chatter in the diner grow and grinned slightly. "All these new faces, all filled with ignorance of what really goes on here." He thought tossing Lady Luck in the air and watching it hit the desk. "Lucky seven, well, tonight is going to be a good night." He finished getting the payroll in order anticipating more than 10 new employees, and he'd be the one training them. He had been living on the streets for his whole live, whether it had been physically or metaphorically would have depended on the time of his life. He also knew almost everything there is to know about reaping and how to keep it secret. "Time to greet the new recruits." He told himself with a sigh.

He didn't bother prettying himself up and put on his tattered overcoat and walked into the Diner. "Welcome, welcome, welcome, my new "students". Welcome to the Glutton's Diner, I am one of your instructor's Arlan Risto, card shark, crap game aficionado, and Senior Reaper. These other two are your other instructors, though I think you'll find your time with me more fun than either of these two."

Name: Lawrence Sinclair
Age: 16

I stood at attention watching and waiting and listening to the various characters who entered and made their peace. A ditzy blonde, the aforementioned suit man and rainbow italian. They all came in to party and I did a simple nod acknowledging them with the hope being I would be able to at the very least maintain a semblance of professionality. But something caught my eye one rather interesting cat in fact. Arlan, along with many other titles, he introduced himself with came jaunting in claiming to be another one of our instructors. I myself admittedly was a gambling man though by this point I had tried to swear off it and go clean cold turkey was rough and I couldn't help but once in awhile roll a dice or count some cards when the opportunity came up. This was an interesting cat in fact one who I knew I probably would just have to get to know better. If I ended winning something nice and shiny I would just consider that dandy.

For now though I kept my cool staying back away from the general crowd as a quiet observer checking the waters. An ice queen in a booth, a bum or two here and there, some brother named Naga, a girl of purple, some stuttering blondy, and some foul mouth Mr.fantastic. These were my potential co-workers/competition so an argument could be made that I should get to know them. Test the waters so to speak. Still I've never been one to run my mouth off choosing instead to be a wallflower watching others engage in the general banter. This a fault of mine undeniably. Never been the type to break the ice I guess. Holding a long conversation has always just come off as exhausting for me. An argument could be made that maybe I should try to work on that. But you know what? I'm too lazy. Meh.

[The Land of Golden Blobfish]

John Arlington: First Day on the Job

The diner’s front door swung open, revealing a rather annoyed looking teenager. He took a swig from the bottle of cola he hung in his left hand and eyed each person in turn, figuring out on what he was going to have to deal with for the next little while.

“Hey,” he let out rather awkwardly considering his rather rude first impressions, “Names John. Nice prank flyer you guys got going. So what is this, some sort of janitorial positi-... Eh?.” Something… different caught his attention. One of the adults seemed to be surrounded by some... kind of aura. Stop being stupid John, you're not making sense. “H-hey what exactly is going on here?”

[Atlannia]

Eden Forester

It's probably fine Eden told herself, sliding her phone out of her pocket and checking the time. I'm really only a few minutes late and anyways it's not like I need this job even if it turns out be legit.

Up ahead Eden heard a sift bell and saw someone open a door and step into the building and brightened. Oh that's it up there she realised, quickening her pace to a job so that she could grab the door before it closed so that she could sneak in without announcing herself.

“Hey,” he let out rather awkwardly considering his rather rude first impressions, “Names John. Nice prank flyer you guys got going. So what is this, some sort of janitorial positi-... Eh?.” Something… different caught his attention. One of the adults seemed to be surrounded by some... kind of aura. Stop being stupid John, you're not making sense. “H-hey what exactly is going on here?”

While the dude ahead of her was bungling his self introduction Eden sidled around him and slid into a nearby empty seat, doing her best to look like she had been present the whole time.

There sure are a lot of people here Eden thought, glancing around curiously. Mostly it was teenagers but there a couple of people in their early twenties as well. Eden had sort of assumed not many people would take the bait maybe the job market in Hunter's Woods was really as bad as everyone said and these people were all desperate enough to bite at something like "Soul Reaping"

Wait what if this is one of those LARP things? thought Eden, suddenly nervous. I might have just stumbled into a whole pack of weirdos! she had already gotten a reputation as a loner, if people realised she was LARPing or something in her spare time Eden was confident she'd go from non entity to target pretty quickly.

These people loook fairly normal though the girl mused, narrowing her eyes as she noticed the rainbow haired older dude up the back. Well most of them anyway.

Eden decided her best move for the time being would be to wait it out and see how things went. Seeing that most people had a drink of some kind Eden leaned over and snagged the coffee pot, pouring herself a cup as she studied the cube shaped thing covered in cloth. Wonder what's under there she thought, taking a sip of coffee.

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

Thomas Peterson
Tom hurried himself toward the diner at the corner of the street. Earlier during that day, he had applied for a job as the 'Soul Reaper'. He had no idea what that supposed to mean, but he needed some money and this job was the only one he could get. His new employers asked him to return at eight, and here he was. He peeked at the windows and saw that a group of people had arrived in the place. Look at yourself Tom, you haven't got the job but yet you already late for work. The train he took had arrived just on time, but the distance between 13 Grim Place and the nearest tram stop was a bit far, and Tom had lost his way to the diner. He finally found the place not long after the watch in his hand told him that the time is 20:06 PM. Better late than never.. Slowly, he opened the door and stepped into the Glutton's Diner.

He looked around and quietly observed everyone in the room. There were some people that seemed to greet themselves to the other applicants. Tom was sure that they were the employer, or maybe some senior staffs here. There was a young man with rainbow hair that had just came into the room holding a box. Another person was wearing a suit and Tom could see that he is the boss here. There were also some other people, and most of them were drinking from the pots. After some internal consideration, Thomas decided to take the drink after the briefing is finished and seated himself on one of the stool.

[Sindrya]

Amelia Soleil

"I din't miss any of the fun stuff right?" she demanded. "You guys weren't supposed to start without me!"

"We barely even started.", Giorno stated. The cook was busy trying his best to look inconspicuous while ogling the "ice-cold beauty". However, his ogling was interrupted when the employer called his name.

"Giorno?", he asked.

"Si, padrone?"

"What is this?", the employer gestured towards the box.

The rainbow-haired cook looked at him incredulously. "The 'thing' you asked me to brought, what else?"

The employer tried his best to not facepalm right then and there. "You brought the wrong thing."

"Huh?"

"It was at the back of the storage, about the same size as you."

The cook went silent. "Oh.", he said, before going back to push the box back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, he returned, pushing a human-sized block-shaped thing covered in a black tarpaulin. "Sorry for that, padrone."

Arlan Risto,
Senior Reaper and Treasurer,
Glutton's Diner

"Welcome, welcome, welcome, my new "students". Welcome to the Glutton's Diner, I am one of your instructor's Arlan Risto, card shark, crap game aficionado, and Senior Reaper. These other two are your other instructors, though I think you'll find your time with me more fun than either of these two."

Giorno guffawed mockingly. "Pfff, hah! Yeah, well I bet the signorine will find my 'lesson time' more interesting than yours.", the cook said to his colleague. He meant nothing by that, of course. Between these three, friendly spats for bolstering their own characteristics were usual occurrences. For him, he was trying to bolster his "ladies' man" image.

"Thank you for introducing yourself, Arlan.", the employer said. "Just like what he said, him and these two will act as not only your seniors, but also mentors and team leaders, should all of you pass."

John Arlington: First Day on the Job

“Names John. Nice prank flyer you guys got going. So what is this, some sort of janitorial positi-... Eh?.” Something… different caught his attention. One of the adults seemed to be surrounded by some... kind of aura. Stop being stupid John, you're not making sense. “H-hey what exactly is going on here?”

Eden Forester

Thomas Peterson

The employer sighed. I knew they would react like this. 'Soul Reaping' does sound like a joke all around. "I can assure you, Mr. Arlington, and everyone else, that this is not a joke.", he spoke with the same air of seriousness. He turned towards the covered block, before gripping the black sheet with both hands. Instantaneously, as soon as he touched the tarpaulin, a lowly growl emanated from whatever it was inside it, followed by a rattling "clang" and another growl, followed by a low roar.

The employer smirked.

"Now, make sure to watch this with both of your eyes.", he said towards the everyone. "Because this is real, and you will see a lot of this in this line of work."

The employer pulled away the sheet quickly, revealing a human-sized cage that was containing a furry, wiry, feral-looking human. That is, if you can call it "human" anymore. Coarse furs, like those of a wild animal's, grew on every stretch of its fur. Sharp canines replaced the teeth, and the eyes didn't even look remotely human anymore. At the sudden rush of light coming inside its cage, the bestial-looking thing growled and roared inhumanly. Looking at the sight of so many human flesh, potential victims for a feast of his own, made him growl and roar again, followed by pounding at the bars on his cage, though this time was more of a hunger than being annoyed by the light.

"Now", the employer said loudly, to make sure his voice was heard over the beast's now incessant growls and roars. "Let's start with the introduction. My name is Kenneth Moria. I am.. a demon, let's say. A Reaper at that. Tasked with recollection of dead humans' souls."

He gestured towards Giorno. "This is Giorno Arcobaleno. Aside from a cook at the diner, he was also a Senior-Ranked Part-Time Reaper. He will be the one you go to, should you want a physical training."

Giorno made a two-fingered salute and a wink, aimed more at the ladies than the gentlemen.

"And this", he gestured towards the female senior. "Is Amelia Soleil. Like Giorno and Arlan, she's also a Senior. She will be the one you go to, should you want to train your magic, which we will get into at another time."

He made another gesture towards Arlan. "And just like he said, his name is Arlan Risto. Aside from the things he said before, he'll be the one you go to, should you feel the need to train your scouting skills."

Finally, he gestured towards the caged man-beast, who was still growling and pounding at its cage. "And this", he said. "is a beast, the enemy of Reapers, part-time or not."

Kenneth folded both of his arms in front of his chest. "Reapers, like I said before, are low-ranked demons tasked with recollection of a dead human's soul. A dead human's soul, unlike what your religious texts or whatever beliefs you hold taught you, did immediately go to heaven or hell. No, sorry, but this world doesn't have afterlife. When a human being is dead, their soul will float freely for some time period, colloquially known as 'The Drift', before trying to find a new host. However, a dead human's soul reattaching itself to a new body will only resulted in the creation of a Monster, aberrant things that will feed on other souls, to the point that they would endanger another living being, such as humans. A Reaper should try to recover the souls before they reattach themselves, but should they already find a new host, then a Reaper must 'reap' the souls from the Monster. Therefore, by extension, you can pretty much say that us Reapers were actually protecting your kind."

Kenneth paused, to drink on their expressions, before continuing. "To perform their duties, Reapers are equipped with certain abilities, mainly combative focused. Our main ability is the 'Scythe', a basic ability to all kinds of demons for use of combat, created by crystallizing some of our soul energies and transform it into physical form. A Scythe's form is a manifestation of how much souls has a Reaper consumed, and the more the consumed, the freer they are to shape their Scythe into many other forms. Do keep in mind, however, that I am talking about demonic Reapers. A Part-Time Reaper, unlike a demonic Reaper, can only have one form of 'Scythe'. Usually, they are shaped to fit their user's capabilities. So it is in some way a reflection of said Part-Time Reaper."

He took another pause, to make sure everyone was still looking at him, not at the beast that was busy growling and banging beside him. "Now you might ask, 'if the demonic Reapers are so powerful than the Part-Time ones, why would they need the Part-Time Reapers?'." Kenneth broke the fold of his arms, and now shoved them inside his pants' pockets.

"Lately, a soul's 'Drift' had decreased, to the point it only took four days for some souls to start looking for a new host. Keep in mind that they don't need a specifically living host. Even a column of brick could be a host. This means that there will be more Monsters created for each time we spent not reaping. At first, the more 'battle-crazed' Reapers were excited, since this means they would get more fights. But the higher-ups thought this is getting out of hand, and after a particular discovery, issued a mandate to recruit 'Part-Time Reapers'. Part-Time Reapers are created by making a human consume a specified amount of demon blood. Enough to give them partial demonic capabilities, but not enough to turn them into a demon. And those drinks you've consumed," he pointed towards one of the pots. "have already been spiked with that amount of demon blood."

Kenneth grinned. Seeing their reactions will be amusing.

"Congratulations. All of you are now Part-Time Reapers."

[Finsternia]

Sigmund Brandt

Sigmund panicked and fell of his chair, trying to get away from the lycanthropic looking creature. "What the FUCK is THAT?!" He slowly looked at it with horror and then to Kenneth, who's explaining the basics of the Reaping business. The mumbo jumbo of it evaded his mind, with the sudden terror of the horrible creature before him still shook his bones. The only things that stick with him is that these people are demons and Sigmund's job, and his new colleagues, are to hunt these things using scythes that they can use. And the blood. It stuck with him the most. He then slowly peeled his eyes off the beast and then towards his employer. "A-are you saying that w-we need to kill these fucking things?! A-and you fed us your blood?!" His sight slowly felt shaky and disoriented, like as if he was about to throw up or something. "Wh-what would be our reward? I-Is there something that we should pay for this? Will you take our souls too?" He's still sitting on the floor, still panicking and afraid of what's happening.

[Imperial--japan]

Valeria Ardenus

Valeria listened intently on the explanation of their job and the lore behind it. The arrival of the man-beast was enough to take her for a series of mental gymnastics. Unlike one of her co-workers her sought to vocally voice his displeasure at witnessing the existence of such a monstrosity, Valeria bit her tongue to hide her surprise. She would maintain her composure as she was taught, though she didn't judge Sigmund for his rather brazen response. Internally, she felt the same way. The Church and her father had told her stories about demons and the monsters that lurked in the night. Hell, Valeria had even had access to Church texts to read about the varieties of monsters that made their home in the dark, but she had assumed most of the stories were exaggerated. Clearly, they weren't.

"This is...". Valeria was at a sudden loss for words on what to make of the beast.

"Disgusting..." was the only word that came to mind to appropriately express her utter disdain for the monster in front of her. Her mouth curled into a snarl at the thought that some being such as this could of been responsible for Father's death. Valeria shook her head at the thought. No, this ugly monstrosity wouldn't of been able to lay a finger on Father. He was invincible in her eyes. It must of been a foe of epic proportions to have bested him, not this sad excuse for an existence.

"And those drinks you've consumed," he pointed towards one of the pots. "have already been spiked with that amount of demon blood."

Valeria's mouth hung open for all of a few seconds, her brown scrunching up and her entire body visibly tensing up at the mention of drinking demonic blood. This sounded absolutely abhorrent. What mattered more though, what would Father think about what she was doing? His daughter and only progeny forgoing the tenents he had taught her, and the wisdom of the Church to fall in line with demons. Even though they didn't seem like those she had read about in the Church texts, she knew by their description that they were supposed to be deceptive beings out for themselves. However...Valeria thought back to what she had told herself earlier. The one that killed Father was no doubt strong, and she was merely an ex-scholar in over her head. Valeria felt the bile begin to rise and an incredible sense of nausea wash over her.

"Am I actually trying to justify this? Father wouldn't want this...the Church said that..." and she cut off that line of thought the moment the Church became a factor in her decision making.

"They let him die...fuck the Church." Even if it would be seen as tainting her soul, even if Father cursed her name from the afterlife, Valeria would see this through to the end. True, nothing was stopping her from leaving now, except for the possible death at the hands of demons, but she wouldn't anyways. She had come this far, and wouldn't go back to being clueless in her search.

Still, Valeria couldn't shake the uneasiness and sense of nausea that remained ever prevalent. Every point of logic she could come up with told her not to, but to her this was the only way. There didn't seem to be many more options before her. So in the end, the bookish girl would resolve to do whatever it took for her to do what she'd been seeking to do for three years now.

[Atlannia]

Amelia Soleil

From her seat on top of the table Amelia scrunched up her face, looking at the creature in the cage with an unimpressed expression.

"Ehhhh, Boss you got a weak one!!" She complained, swinging her legs underneath her. "How are they going to take this seriously if you only show them the small fries?" then she looked around and took in the general mood of unease and nausea colouring the expressions of the new employees and giggled lightly.

"Oh come on, it was a few drops, you couldn't even taste it right? Listen it's not like you check the ingredients of everything you eat right? Corporations can put crushed beetles in your candy but you freak out at a little blood? Get a grip. Besides unlike crushed beetles demon blood can actually do something for you." Amelia reached up to tuck a strand of wavy hair behind her ear and her eyes seemed to take on a strange light as her expression grew more excited.

"Demon blood doesn't do much on it's own it really just makes you more... reactive. Compared to humans demons are much more fluid creatures, they can alter themselves to adapt to new situations and overcome new enemies, the blood you ingested will make you somewhat like that.You can just leave now and it won't really 'take'. You might notice that you have a bit more stamina or you get over injuries quicker but that'll be it. On the other hand If you put yourself in extreme situations than the blood will help you rapidly adapt to them. It's possible to very quickly become a lot stronger... If you survive obviously."

Amelia giggled again and crossed her legs. "You'll have us to look after you though so don't freak out too much. I want to see what kind of potential you all have so I won't let anyone die too easily."

Eden Forester

Eden felt her heart thumping in her throat as she stared bug eyed at the slavering creature in the cage, trying in vain to tear her gaze from it as it snarled at them.

Calm down, it could still be a fake, some latex and make up, a good actor Eden stared with sick fascination as the beast seemed to catch the scent of a nearby person and with a snarl began slamming its head repeatedly into the bars of cage in an attempt to close the gap.

ITSNOTFAKEITSNOTFAKEITSNOTFAKEITSNOTFAKE Eden scremeade internall, realising only after a few seconds that she had screwed her eyes shut tightly out of instinct.

THis is insane, this is crazy! Even if eveyrthing they're saying is true why would they advertise for a job like this with a FLYER! I'm just a random teenager! How would I have something like "latent potential"?

[North Arkana]

Silvia Cole

In response to the arrival of the... thing, Silvia tried to tuck herself deeper inside the booth, attempting to put distance, and objects, between herself and the creature. Even so, she tried her best to still observe the creature from her seat. While doing so, her response to the reveal regarding the blood in her drink was both more and less subtle. She slowly pushed the cup and its saucer away from her, while if one looked closely enough, an expression akin to someone debating whether they should try to make themselves throw up or not was on her face. Still even with everything else, and everyone else's responses, she was one of the more calm.

[WaRtArIa]

Dropping the cocoa out of her hands and falling off her chair, Renee had a disgusted look on her face, and she wrinkled her nose. Renee just drank demon blood. It belonged to demons, and demons are evil, but it’s still blood. She is not the type to drink the blood of her enemies, that is for sure. For whatever reason, Renee felt the smallest bit more invigorated and energetic. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and wracked up some courage to look above her.

Oh, merde. Is her boss really supposed to be like this?! Why would her boss bring shit like this here?!

Renee would have done a spit-take, but there wasn’t any drink in her mouth at the moment. Well, she’s definitely not going to drink anymore of the demented garbage in a cup. Narrowing her eyes, she pushed the half-empty cup away from herself. There was a caged monster in front of her. She believed that thing in front of her was a lycanthrope, but still. There needed to be a bit of humor in a situation like this. Renee needed to feel better.

Whisper-shouting, Renee had a scared expression on her face. The situation really was scary, still. She wanted to run away, scream, throw stuff, or cry. But for some reason, she couldn't. “Oh god, is that a demented wookie?!”

She wasn’t lying, it really did look like a demented or doped-up wookie. Anyways, at least she knew that the soul-reaping job wasn’t some hoax. This better pay good. Or else she’ll sic the IRS on these people. Nobody messes with the IRS. Not even the Joker.

[The Land of Golden Blobfish]

John Arlington: Demons and Diners

John never thought, in his wildest dreams, that he'd be lucky by turning down free food but there he was. Having arrived later than most everyone else, he didn't get a chance to get something to drink and was more than thankful for the delay. No way was he going to drink some spiked crap. And blood of all things!? What kind of sick fetish did these people have? Not to mention that he was left staring at a poor, deprived man in a cage.

“You guys are fucked,” John growled as he backed up, “I'm calling the cops and having you lunatics arrested!” With that, he made a bolt for the door.

[Altito Asmoro]

Nagasaki "Naga" Warren

As the senior 'employees' went out, since he assumed that the older ones are indeed the senior ones, and started some introductions, he sipped his coffee more. Wow, this coffee is different from what he tasted before, for he tried instant coffees and bean-grounded coffees. But none of them tasted as delicious as this coffee, which was why when he tried to went for the next cup of coffee (Despite another cup of coffee being a bad thing for his health), that's when things...get a little bit more interesting, to say at the very least.

"Now", the employer said loudly, to make sure his voice was heard over the beast's now incessant growls and roars. "Let's start with the introduction. My name is Kenneth Moria. I am.. a demon, let's say. A Reaper at that. Tasked with recollection of dead humans' souls."

...what?

A demon? Even a reaper, at that? Recollection of dead humans' souls? At this point he didn't know whether he should be laughed or went out and called the police. With the accusations of a bunch of robbers, obviously. No one's gonna believe there is a human here who is a demon, right?

But he waited for some more explanations. He didn't though that much at first about the introductions of the others, but he assumed before that it was all for training employees, terms. Different meanings, even.

"Therefore, by extension, you can pretty much say that us Reapers were actually protecting your kind."

Sounds like he's just been involved in a Japanese-esque anime. Sort like Beezelbub, except he has no baby at the moment.

He took another pause, to make sure everyone was still looking at him, not at the beast that was busy growling and banging beside him. "Now you might ask, 'if the demonic Reapers are so powerful than the Part-Time ones, why would they need the Part-Time Reapers?'." Kenneth broke the fold of his arms, and now shoved them inside his pants' pockets.

They are here as part-time Reapers? Sure, sounds nice. But does it pays well? Or is it another good samaritan's job?

Part-Time Reapers are created by making a human consume a specified amount of demon blood. Enough to give them partial demonic capabilities, but not enough to turn them into a demon. And those drinks you've consumed," he pointed towards one of the pots. "have already been spiked with that amount of demon blood."

Fuck. FUCK. FUCK indeed.

He dropped his cup of coffee at the very second he heard the word of it being spiked. The sound of the cup crashing to the floor was loud enough.

"PRAANG...!"

He...doesn't knows what to do now. It means he's been partially forced into as a part-time Reaper. Shouldn't he took this more personally? He took a sit at one of the diner's chair, and then he asked something, "Excuse...excuse me, Sir. Is there anything we should know about now that we are Part-Timers? Like, what will happen to us if one of us, say, him," as he pointed to Sigmund, who Naga didn't know about his name at that time, "doesn't want to do this job?"

"And...and, will there be some sort of real money as a reward? I'm sorry...but I do want to make my parents happy with a real income, though if there isn't, I would not forced to have one."

[North Arkana]

John Arlington: Demons and Diners

John never thought, in his wildest dreams, that he'd be lucky by turning down free food but there he was. Having arrived later than most everyone else, he didn't get a chance to get something to drink and was more than thankful for the delay. No way was he going to drink some spiked crap. And blood of all things!? What kind of sick fetish did these people have? Not to mention that he was left staring at a poor, deprived man in a cage.

“You guys are fucked,” John growled as he backed up, “I'm calling the cops and having you lunatics arrested!” With that, he made a bolt for the door.

Silvia Cole

"Don't bother," Silvia calls out, still tucked away back inside the booth. "If these people are serious, or crazy, it doesn't matter, they wouldn't want someone running off and calling the police."

According to all the usual rules of hostage survival, which this might end up being if one looked at it a certain way, you don't bolting for it when things get bad, such as when everything starts, people tend to die when that happens.

"If they know what they're doing, you won't make it very far trying to get help."

[Atlannia]

John Arlington: Demons and Diners

John never thought, in his wildest dreams, that he'd be lucky by turning down free food but there he was. Having arrived later than most everyone else, he didn't get a chance to get something to drink and was more than thankful for the delay. No way was he going to drink some spiked crap. And blood of all things!? What kind of sick fetish did these people have? Not to mention that he was left staring at a poor, deprived man in a cage.

“You guys are fucked,” John growled as he backed up, “I'm calling the cops and having you lunatics arrested!” With that, he made a bolt for the door.

Silvia Cole

"Don't bother," Silvia calls out, still tucked away back inside the booth. "If these people are serious, or crazy, it doesn't matter, they wouldn't want someone running off and calling the police."

According to all the usual rules of hostage survival, which this might end up being if one looked at it a certain way, you don't bolting for it when things get bad, such as when everything starts, people tend to die when that happens.

"If they know what they're doing, you won't make it very far trying to get help."

Amelia Soleil

Amelia laughed again. "You're a scary girl you know?" she said, studying Silvia from underneath her eyelashes, "If they know what they're doing, you wont make it very far," she mimicked, doing a rather inaccurate impersonation of Silvia's serious tone.

"Nobody's going to stop you if really want to leave," she called out to John. "really we're trying to hire you not kidnap you." Amelia's hand went to her side to dig through her pocket, coming up with the bright, pink phone she had used earlier which she held out to the panicked teenager. "You can call the police right now if you really want to, you have to promise you'll let me listen in though, that conversation will be hilarious. 'Excuse me officer? a certain local diner is keeping a hairy monster in a cage on their premises, can you go and arrest them?' You're free to go and say something like that but you're the one who will come out of it looking shady."

Amelia sighed happily and locked eyes with John, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Before you do that though ask yourself honestly why you came here tonight. Whatever it is you won't find it by handing this off to the authorities."

[Kazarogkai]

Name: Lawrence Sinclair
Age: 16

I was in a mild state of shock to say the least. It wasn't the monster that stood before me. It wasn't the existence of the supernatural. No it was the fact that hey put blood in those drinks. All I could think upon hearing that told was how disgusting that was. They tried to downplay it a little but were rather unsuccessful in my eyes. I looked around and saw the rather panicky expressions on the faces of those around me and even saw man try to bucky it out the front. It was kinda funny in a way. I know under most circumstances I would probably do the same, the coward lives the hero dies, but these were not usual circumstances. I'm under desperate straights and honestly need the money badly. If it pays well then heck why not. I'm probably already going to hell for the things I've involved myself in so ya. Still despite all the something still irked me. I grimaced at the drinks that had been offered unto us and stated in a rather flat tone:

"Do I have to drink from that, some tea would be much prefered, that crap just looks vile as hell. I hate coffee so i'm biased I guess but still."

[Imperial--japan]

Valeria Ardenus

Just as Valeria had anticipated, there seemed to be a few who didn't appreciate the idea of consuming the blood of demons, and more who felt unease at the presence of the beastman in the cage. Valeria was a bit taken aback by the man who bolted for the door and threatened exposure by the police. She wouldn't pay him too much mind since the one woman, Amelia, mocked how the conversation would go. Indeed, Valeria could likely think of a few well placed words to tell the police, but then she wouldn't be entirely truthful in her statement.

"If they know what they're doing, you won't make it very far trying to get help.

A grim thought to process indeed, but not entirely untrue. If these folks really are demons, trying to merely run from them would likely prove a fatal mistake. Ending up a fatality was not something that Valeria would be willing to accept, as she still had unfinished business to take care of. Moving over to one of the pitchers, she didn't see any harm in doing what the others had already done, and given that most were distracted, it put her at ease to do this on her own.

"Nobody's going to stop you if really want to leave."

Was this woman being truthful? Something felt different about the fact that Valeria might actually be doing this of her own free will, rather than under the possible threat of death. She'd been justifying doing this under multiple pretenses, but if there was nothing stopping her from leaving and never returning, why was she still here?

"Because you'll go back to a life of uncertainty and purposelessness." She told herself. Valeria stared down into the cup of hot chocolate she had poured herself a few booths away, as to not crowed around everyone as she did this. Knowing what was in this beverage, another wave of nausea hit the girl. Biting her lower lip she muttered to herself. Not particularly caring who heard her, but not exactly exclaiming it for all to here. Unless one actually paid her mind that is.

"Lord, witness my trials and tribulations, for what I do, I do not do for joy, but for necessity. Perhaps if you would of done something in my hour of need, I would resolve myself against this. If you do exist, it is an existence of sadism and retribution. You are indeed a vengeful God." With those words uttered to dispel any hesitation, Valeria did her best to drink her beverage as quickly as possible.

"I....I'm fine with this. There's no time to be picky. I need this." Valeria spoke to assure herself, but oddly enough, she couldn't help but feel she had made a life changing. Gone from being the vengeful scholar, now the part-time soul reaper.

[Altito Asmoro]

Name: Lawrence Sinclair
Age: 16

I was in a mild state of shock to say the least. It wasn't the monster that stood before me. It wasn't the existence of the supernatural. No it was the fact that hey put blood in those drinks. All I could think upon hearing that told was how disgusting that was. They tried to downplay it a little but were rather unsuccessful in my eyes. I looked around and saw the rather panicky expressions on the faces of those around me and even saw man try to bucky it out the front. It was kinda funny in a way. I know under most circumstances I would probably do the same, the coward lives the hero dies, but these were not usual circumstances. I'm under desperate straights and honestly need the money badly. If it pays well then heck why not. I'm probably already going to hell for the things I've involved myself in so ya. Still despite all the something still irked me. I grimaced at the drinks that had been offered unto us and stated in a rather flat tone:

"Do I have to drink from that, some tea would be much prefered, that crap just looks vile as hell. I hate coffee so i'm biased I guess but still."

Nagasaki "Naga" Warren

Well, that was rather unsettling, given the tone. According to the other person who said the tea and coffee and preference, all sorts of that things are not going to be useful here. It's not the different, there will be same thing that affected them all! And this person here though tea is more of the preference than coffee.

"Well, hello there person. You probably didn't realize that your statement is just rather useless at the moment. I might as well forced this coffee to your throat, if you so very much wish for it," said Naga in a sort of devilish sarcastic tone. He took a cup of coffee, no sugar, no milk, no cream. He looked at Lawrence with pointed look.

"Wanna try some? Or should I get there?"

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

Thomas Peterson
When the younger man returned with a bigger box, Tom curiously moved closer to take a better look. It was covered by a black piece of cloth. His new employer assured the crowd that this 'Soul-Reaping' business is real, and once the box was uncovered Thomas knew he was saying the truth. The creature trapped within the cage looked like the monsters from the movies. The brown fur, sharp claws, and feral eyes, the creature was nothing human. Yet, the inhuman creature was donning a shirt and pants, and if one choose to ignore the furs and claws, it could pass for a human. A barking, psychotic human, but still. Tom heard someone said that it looked like a demented wookie, and to be fair she wasn't stretching her comparison too far.

The employer then continued to introduce the staffs and trainers, some basic information on soul-reaping, and other usual introductory stuffs, or at least what is usual in this soul-reaping business. While Tom is a rational man, he was and still an open-minded man. And for some reason, he could feel that this was not a joke. Of course, the caged wookie could be just an actor with costumes and make-ups, but there were other things that convinced Tom that this is the real deal. So he wasn't so surprised by the next surprise.

He hadn't drunk anything yet, and he was grateful for it. While he had eaten some of the most disgusting things on this planet (like goat's brain and fried cricket), he had never dare to eat blood. Maybe it because normal human bleeds when they are harmed, but Tom had always treat blood as something sacred, the life-essence of all living being. They are demons though. Tom spoke to himself. I don't think they will have the same common sense as mortal human.

One of the applicants asked Kenneth for their payment, which was not very important to Tom since he hadn't drink anything yet, it wasn't very important to him, But he must choose now, to drink or not to drink. And if you could have some badass job and good paycheck, of course he would take it. All he had to do now was drink, and drink he was.

"Well, for a demon-blood-infused coffee, this tastes nice." Commented Thomas.

[New Antonalia]

Robert Blair

"Wait, what?" Robert said, trying to process what he had been told. He listened to everything that was said and starred at disbelief in the creature sitting in the cage. "Oh come now darling. You know what's going on, you sold your soul, you're damned to hell now." He heard someone say in a woman's voice. "She's right you know, you're right fucked, hehe, an' we're gonna be watchin' ya the entire time." Another voice said, this time in a gruff British accent. He looked down and found two books in front of him, one was pitched black and Noir scratched onto the hardened leather, the other, a pure white book had Weiss painted ornately on it's smooth cover. "Wait, soul reaper. My brother... was a soul reaper. Back in Sunset Gates. He worked at a place called the Sinner's Rest, are, you *ahem* do you know the owner of that place?" He asked, looking the owner right in the eyes. "He disappeared a few months ago and the Sinner's Rest closed right after. What happened there?"

Arlan Risto

Arlan was amused at the varied expressions but he was slightly unnerved by one of the new employees, though he didn't show it. But when the Sinner's Rest came up, he couldn't help but cringe. "Nothing happened that you need to know." He said immediately. "It's a shame what happened to your brother, but the best thing for you to do is put that whole even as far from your mind as possible, or better yet, just forget you had a brother and that thee was a place called the Sinner's Rest." He didn't mean to come off as callous, but not even he knew what happened there, and he constantly kept one ear to the underground. "As for the rest of you, ignore what that Spaghetti slinger said, his lessons are just as bland and tasteless as his food."

[Finsternia]

Sigmund Brandt

Sigmund looked around and saw that all of them are in a state of shock, but lesser than what he is in right now. His pride swell inside him and he clenched his fists as he stood up. "How much will we be earning on this? If it is a quite hefty sum of bucks, I'm in. Teach me how to summon that scythe you said and I'll be doing it." That's what he's good at, violence. Whatever form his scythe would take, he would easily learn how to. Stabbing is quite an easy thing to do. When he heard about Renee's exclamation, he narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Really, sister? Star Wars? What the hell is in that head of yours?" He then took a double take at the still salivatating beast and turned back at Renee. "I take back what I said. That looks like Chewbacca on crack."

[WaRtArIa]

Sigmund Brandt

Sigmund looked around and saw that all of them are in a state of shock, but lesser than what he is in right now. His pride swell inside him and he clenched his fists as he stood up. "How much will we be earning on this? If it is a quite hefty sum of bucks, I'm in. Teach me how to summon that scythe you said and I'll be doing it." That's what he's good at, violence. Whatever form his scythe would take, he would easily learn how to. Stabbing is quite an easy thing to do. When he heard about Renee's exclamation, he narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Really, sister? Star Wars? What the hell is in that head of yours?" He then took a double take at the still salivatating beast and turned back at Renee. "I take back what I said. That looks like Chewbacca on crack."

Renee Reyer

To be honest, Renee looked like she was going to cry from fear any moment now. Renee, despite giggling a bit at her own comment, was still rather scared. But the demon blood and the cool-sounding scythe seemed to seal the deal. Who knew what would happen to her under the state of demon blood? Perhaps Renee would be able to see the spirits and monsters, but it was more likely than not that she would be helpless to them if she did not take the job. Even though the crack-addled demented wookie could be just a man in a costume, there was just something about it that made it just seemed real. It was uncanny, really. It was as if Renee was just forced to take the job. Well, she needed the money anyways. Being somewhat of a coward, Renee stepped far back away from the monster right in front of her, and behind the nearest person, Sigmund. It was too bad, because he just seemed even more scared than her earlier. “E-even if it does look like a crack-addled wookie—which i-it does, by the way—what are we going to d-d-do about this thing? C-can we just kill it right now? M-m-maybe get it away? It’s looking at me strangely, and I don’t like it...” Her voice became a small bit quieter. “...it’s still kinda scary...”

[Kazarogkai]

Nagasaki "Naga" Warren

Well, that was rather unsettling, given the tone. According to the other person who said the tea and coffee and preference, all sorts of that things are not going to be useful here. It's not the different, there will be same thing that affected them all! And this person here though tea is more of the preference than coffee.

"Well, hello there person. You probably didn't realize that your statement is just rather useless at the moment. I might as well forced this coffee to your throat, if you so very much wish for it," said Naga in a sort of devilish sarcastic tone. He took a cup of coffee, no sugar, no milk, no cream. He looked at Lawrence with pointed look.

"Wanna try some? Or should I get there?"

Name: Lawrence Sinclair
Age: 16

"Take it easy Bruce Lee, we got other cats to skin at the moment."

I took a look right at the monstrous creature who had earned the rather flowery name of 'Chewbacca on Crack' which I couldn't help but chuckle to internally upon hearing. Sure growing up like I did and the experiences that I have had one would think I'd be somewhat sensitive to such things but i'm not. And won't. Get over it. Back to the issue of the beverages: I knew full that I was desperate for cash and the kid did have a bit of a point. Now was the time to decide, was the potential pay worth it?

I quietly took a cup of what appeared to be hot chocolate, closed my eyes, and chugged trying my best not to taste the crap. The money was worth it I guess. My stomach felt a little nauseous and I couldn't escape the rather bad taste that appeared at the back of my mouth but I was otherwise Ok I guess. I spoke aloud in a curt tone:

"Tasted like your mamas pussy naga. Heh, I rhymed a little."

A mild belch emitted from me causing me to wince a little. When the ordeal was over and I was able to regain some of my composure I went back to looking at what were to be my teachers I guess waiting for them to continue.

[The Land of Golden Blobfish]

John Arlington

John stopped just as he took a step outside when he heard the last thing Amelia said. He hadn't thought about it much, truthfully. He wanted a job so, maybe, he could brag to his parents. How he didn't need them or their money but was that it? If it was as simple as that, why wasn't he gone already? Maybe there was something else. It frustrated John that even he himself did not fully understand why he was drawn there. But there he was, and he was about to make a decision that would change his life forever. Would he leave and put all this insane business behind him, a safe choice he surely wouldn't regret. Or would he eat up all this batshit nonsense he was being fed and become a "reaper" or whatever it was?

"Oh, fuck it all honestly. Alright. I'll stay. Not because of anything y'all said, this was my decision." He closed the door and walked back to the group, "But this doesn't mean I'm just jumping into your little cult like the rest of these sheep. I'm not drinking any of that shit until I know what I'm dealing with. I'll hang around and see what ya'll do before I decide. You got that?"