melpomene

"But Butterfly," you were probably thinking, "aren't you a bioweapon? Why would you be scared of anything?"

Yes, yes, you are technically correct. One missing word there, though: a failed bioweapon. She was not strong enough to take on one man, let alone some- what had they stated in the report, again? -super-powered-teenager. Mouthful of words, but alright. Her powers were practically useless! 

And she had no fighting skills, either! Not a single one.  Why exactly the higher-ups had deemed her the best person to go on this mission was beyond her, because if shit went south, she was quite literally screwed over. Just some bullshit revolver on her left hip to help her out, and she tended to have shaky hands in the heat of the moment. 

"Er- hello? Hello-hello?" 

The English was... not the greatest, and she had a moderately thick accent, but it was understandable. At least, she hoped. 

{{ehehe, sorry this took so long!! it's me @mold-infected-bug from before... ALSO SORRY ITS SO LONG I TEND TO DO LONGER RPS IM SO SORRY}}

"...Hmmmm...? I never understood why they called it ammo. There's only one 'M' in ammunition...Wait, no, two...Anyways-"

She revolver was snatched up by a ribbon across the hall, yanked right into her hands as she inspected it.

Nervously chuckling, Butterfly sputtered for a moment.

"I- A- Heh- yeah. I'm uh- pretty aware! Don't- I just- Uhm. Ss." For a moment, she dragged a gloved hand down her face and furrowed her brows, letting out a long exhale. It's fine. You can talk your way out of it. "Listen- listen- I uh- I... I- shit. I don't mean to like- cause any harm! I- honestly, I can't cause much harm- but that's beside the point. Just-"

Gesturing to the gun that was floating in mid-air, she made an expression torn between exhaustion and disbelief.

"boot me? You do realize there's an entire shadow entity morph into a dragon around here, right? You need to do your job? Me too! You act like I wanna be here ..."

She shook her head, suddenly pushed upa against her, staring her down.

"Oh...I see what you are."

She smiled.

"What?"

That's not concerning at all. Honestly- she shouldn't listen to this kid! They're just a kid. Probably trying to freak her out and whatnot, maybe scare her off? Luckily for everyone, she was already terrified.

A short snort escapes her- some odd cross between a laugh and a sputter -as she attempts to shake the chilling feeling crawling down her spine.

"I- what? I- listen, dude, I don't know. Just- I guess you can do your job, I just gotta..." Babysit. "Tag along, I guess. That's my job."

Raising her hands in an act of placation, she decides to run with it. If the kid says they can see into her skull, then sure they can. Yeah! Just run with it. Easier for everyone in the long run, right?

"Just- listen, man. Don't go rooting around in my skull- that's all. Private. Highly private. Y'know?"

She stared at her for a moment.

".....No."

Shifting from foot-to-foot, she adjusted the lapels of her suit coat and smoothed back the frizzy curls that seemed to halo around her head even despite the tight bun her hair was pulled into. Despite that, they sprung back into place and it made Butterfly’s frown deeper, more tired. 

“If—if you really want, I could like… I dunno, stay back while you— do whatever it is you’re… doing? Getting a dragon, right? Something like that? I… yeah, whatever.” 

She stuck her tongue out at him, before sprinting off, fast, happy , giggling-

"play with me!!!"

For a moment, Butterfly just stood there in mild shock, a confused grin curling at her lips as she watched this kid run off. As her mind reeled and whorled with countless warring thoughts, she latched herself to one.

This was a kid. She needed to be nice, because this was a kid and she was being unreasonable.

The thought seemed to sober her, and she dragged a hand down her face before deciding to indulge Renny. Did they particularly want to? Not really. Did they run after her anyway? Yup!

The sound of their heels clicked against the linoleum floors, and they seemed to skitter about in search of the kid. Unfortunately, Butterfly found herself grinning giddily as the lanyard around her neck clattered, letting out a sharp laugh when she almost rolled her ankle.

God, she hadn't actually run about in... so long. When was the last time? Three years ago? Maybe more, considering the now-abandoned college degree she'd been working on... huh.

She continued laughing, hopping over and crawling under wreckage, smiling. She seemed to be actually enjoying herself.

The whole building rumbled.

"What was that?"

Eyes wide, she shrunk back, accented words short and clipped as she tried to figure out what was going on. Watery eyes landed on the sword in Renny's hand, and their eyebrows shot up.

"But Butterfly," you were probably thinking, "aren't you a bioweapon? Why would you be scared of anything?"

Yes, yes, you are technically correct. One missing word there, though: a failed bioweapon. She was not strong enough to take on one man, let alone some- what had they stated in the report, again? -super-powered-teenager. Mouthful of words, but alright. Her powers were practically useless! 

And she had no fighting skills, either! Not a single one.  Why exactly the higher-ups had deemed her the best person to go on this mission was beyond her, because if shit went south, she was quite literally screwed over. Just some bullshit revolver on her left hip to help her out, and she tended to have shaky hands in the heat of the moment. 

"Er- hello? Hello-hello?" 

The English was... not the greatest, and she had a moderately thick accent, but it was understandable. At least, she hoped. 

{{ehehe, sorry this took so long!! it's me @mold-infected-bug from before... ALSO SORRY ITS SO LONG I TEND TO DO LONGER RPS IM SO SORRY}}

"...Hmmmm...? I never understood why they called it ammo. There's only one 'M' in ammunition...Wait, no, two...Anyways-"

She revolver was snatched up by a ribbon across the hall, yanked right into her hands as she inspected it.

Nervously chuckling, Butterfly sputtered for a moment.

"I- A- Heh- yeah. I'm uh- pretty aware! Don't- I just- Uhm. Ss." For a moment, she dragged a gloved hand down her face and furrowed her brows, letting out a long exhale. It's fine. You can talk your way out of it. "Listen- listen- I uh- I... I- shit. I don't mean to like- cause any harm! I- honestly, I can't cause much harm- but that's beside the point. Just-"

Gesturing to the gun that was floating in mid-air, she made an expression torn between exhaustion and disbelief.

"boot me? You do realize there's an entire shadow entity morph into a dragon around here, right? You need to do your job? Me too! You act like I wanna be here ..."

She shook her head, suddenly pushed upa against her, staring her down.

"Oh...I see what you are."

She smiled.

"What?"

That's not concerning at all. Honestly- she shouldn't listen to this kid! They're just a kid. Probably trying to freak her out and whatnot, maybe scare her off? Luckily for everyone, she was already terrified.

A short snort escapes her- some odd cross between a laugh and a sputter -as she attempts to shake the chilling feeling crawling down her spine.

"I- what? I- listen, dude, I don't know. Just- I guess you can do your job, I just gotta..." Babysit. "Tag along, I guess. That's my job."

Raising her hands in an act of placation, she decides to run with it. If the kid says they can see into her skull, then sure they can. Yeah! Just run with it. Easier for everyone in the long run, right?

"Just- listen, man. Don't go rooting around in my skull- that's all. Private. Highly private. Y'know?"

She stared at her for a moment.

".....No."

Shifting from foot-to-foot, she adjusted the lapels of her suit coat and smoothed back the frizzy curls that seemed to halo around her head even despite the tight bun her hair was pulled into. Despite that, they sprung back into place and it made Butterfly’s frown deeper, more tired. 

“If—if you really want, I could like… I dunno, stay back while you— do whatever it is you’re… doing? Getting a dragon, right? Something like that? I… yeah, whatever.” 

She stuck her tongue out at him, before sprinting off, fast, happy , giggling-

"play with me!!!"

For a moment, Butterfly just stood there in mild shock, a confused grin curling at her lips as she watched this kid run off. As her mind reeled and whorled with countless warring thoughts, she latched herself to one.

This was a kid. She needed to be nice, because this was a kid and she was being unreasonable.

The thought seemed to sober her, and she dragged a hand down her face before deciding to indulge Renny. Did they particularly want to? Not really. Did they run after her anyway? Yup!

The sound of their heels clicked against the linoleum floors, and they seemed to skitter about in search of the kid. Unfortunately, Butterfly found herself grinning giddily as the lanyard around her neck clattered, letting out a sharp laugh when she almost rolled her ankle.

God, she hadn't actually run about in... so long. When was the last time? Three years ago? Maybe more, considering the now-abandoned college degree she'd been working on... huh.

[i'm bi 😛]

BTW

I saw a woman in the supermarket who looked like Ada and I felt my heart beating faster lol

And then MY crush walked into the same supermarket as well

hai guys !!!! :P

nonbinary (they/it/she, fem-presenting for the most part), aroacespec (not sure where exactly under this bigass umbrella i fall, bear with me), and also fweakin bisexual to some extent maybe. we figurin it out we got that

Something about a mercenary who was to be hired for the disposal of some escaped bioweapon? Butterfly shuddered at the thought. 

Poor thing. She sympathized all too well with that poor escapee. But, her job was her job, and this is what she'd have to do for her next paycheck. So do it she would. 

Crossing their legs and shifting slightly, Butterfly wrinkled her nose at the bright white lights in the room. Way too bright for her- and she'd forgotten those prescription sunglasses, so she would have to wait here for the mercenary to show, and deal with it. Story of her life, it seemed.

Adrian had been wandering this facility for what felt like hours.

Submachine Gun raised and ready around every corner, watching, waiting, for something to leap out at them. So far, they hadnt spotted any signs of the B.O.W. except for the blood stains. But really, those could be anything! Maybe the workers here got into a little skirmish that dragged through the entire place.

Adrian smiled, finding their own joke a little too funny. They paused for a second when approaching another closed door, glancing down at their weapon, and double checked that it was working right. Just in case.

They paused to listen for a moment, then turned the door handle and walked in with their gun raised. Everything seemed clear. Adrian closed the door behind them and continued to look around.

Wasnt much, just a few scattered papers, some desks, some chairs. All your mundane stuff. Perhaps it wouldnt hurt to snoop through some of the pages, just for a little bit.

This was taking too long. Her patience was dwindling, and while she could walk about the halls without worrying her head about the bioweapon- because it truly posed... a slightly less threat to her -she didn't want to smell that metallic tang of blood.

It was gross! It was.

Repulsive, at times, even. But like every single other thing, she'd pack it up and deal with it. Whatever! Guess she had to go hunting for the mercenary herself.

With the sharp click of her heeled dress shoes echoing across the empty, locked room, Butterfly made her way to the door and swiped some inane keycard into the scanner beside it, watching the light turn green and listening to the pneumatic hiss of the door as it slid open.

Adrian was very glad that those probably werent real. Whatever, they had a job to do, whether the monster wears heels or not.

They shoved the door open and raised their weapon, hoping to startle the B.O.W. Instead, they saw a pleasant-looking person standing in the hallway the mercenary had just come through.

This person was completely normal looking (so far) except for something on its head. Was that antenna? Could this be the B.O.W? Maybe they could just check first.

Adrian had learned many things from missions. One big thing was that holding people at gunpoint can usually make them talk. They knew this because it seemed to happen to them very often.

They took a few steps toward the person, taking an offensive. Their submachine gun was loaded and ready, and Adrian was hoping that meant something to this person.

Butterfly held her hands up, brows pinching together as a slightly nervous smile grew on her face. It was a little difficult to keep it small, keep herself looking as perfectly human as she was supposed to be. That was her goal. 

“I’m uh— well, I’m Butterfly… It—it’s a nickname, kind of, but— I’m not the bioweapon you’re looking for. A bioweapon, sure, but not the right one.” 

The joke didn’t land. It was a moment of awkward silence before she sighed and tried again. 

“Listen, I work here. Connections? See—” she slowly moved a hand to jingle the lanyard around her neck, outfitted with a keycard and an I.D. on the classic Connections cards. Her smiling face peered up from both. “—I’m just supposed to meet you. Y’know. Supervisor role and everything. Weren’t you told about that?” 

“A.. supervisor.” That felt a little insulting.

They thought for a moment. It’d be better to get on this strangers good side. Adrian had never shied away from a potential ally before. “Well, dont worry, i’m not afraid of bugs.” They smirked. Hopefully that was funny, and not offensive.

“So you’re here to help me get rid of this thing?” They asked, taking a few caution steps closer to Butterfly. Upon closer inspection, she didnt seem to have any visible weapons, and was dressed like, i dont know, an officeworker? A secretary? Thats what Adrian guessed. They’d been lucky enough to never have to work in an office.

Finally lowering her arms- because they'd started to hurt a little -Butterfly looked over this... mercenary. Alright. Not the most shabby looking, thankfully, because half of the people they sent nowadays... well. Let's just say she's glad that they broke the NDA.

"That's my official job title, yeah. Supervisor. I just uh- work with people when the higher ups don't want to. Like a uh- a designated socialite." Shrugging, she twisted her head to look down the halls, wary for anything that might appear. "Kinda?"

Sighing a little, she waved a hand in the air as she tried to recall the english words for it.

"I- I deal with people. Basically. I dispose of useless contacts, I meet new hires, all the people-person stuff."

Butterfly had a semi-thick accent- slavic, it was clear, but of what kind was hard to tell. It was mixed in with a medley of other kinds of accents she no doubt picked up from folks around here. So many great minds from everywhere across the globe makes for an interesting english-learning experience.

Moving to stand beside Butterfly, Adrian nodded at them to lead the way. It was easier to attack someone in front of you rather than behind, and they still didn’t fully trust this ‘supervisor.’

“So.. i heard butterflies can predict the weather with their antennae. Can you like, do that?” Adrian remembered the little butterfly raising experiment they did in elementary school. Lots of little fun facts. It was one of the more enjoyable parts of school, the ‘labs’, they called them. Adrian would much rather dissect a frog than do calculus.

Walking forwards with the sharp click of heels, Butterfly hummed, brows furrowed as she searched for the correct words.

"I don't have too much butterfly DNA- despite what the name suggests, I know! Butterfly, how come you don't have butterfly DNA, it's in the name!" Kissing her teeth, she continued. "Well. That's because that is not where the name came from! Fun fact. It's actually because my for real, government, actual name is Butterfly. In a different language. And NOBODY knew how to pronounce it."

As she walks, she's gesturing wildly with her hands, peering around doorways and occasionally pausing to look for the bioweapon they were hunting.

"My real name is Motyłku, which... nobody can pronounce. Sorry- off track. Anyhow."

It was only a moment of silence in which she scanned another keycard and opened a door into a particularly bloody room.

Adrian turned their focus to the room they just walked in. “Looks like this thing did a number on the place. Hopefully that means we’re getting closer to it.”

They realized that it was probably a bit rude that Butterfly had told them two of her names, and Adrian hadnt even said their own. But it was risky, to give out a name. But also, it makes you more trustworthy.

“Hey, i should mention, my names Ian.” There we go. Couldnt be accused of lying, because it could just be played off as a nickname.

“Hm, well, it was worth a try. Ive worked for plenty very rich and very scary companies before.” Adrian wondered if they were perhaps even scarier and richer than Umbrella, but that was hard to beat.

Then, they paused for a moment.

“Hey— do you hear that?”

Butterfly went silent as she twisted her head slightly, brows furrowing. Then her head twisted the other way, and she frowned.

"Yeah, I hear it. You pronounced my name wrong- close though!"

Clasping her hands together she inhale and then exhaled, steeling her nerves. In her head, she was praying and hoping that this was one of the mindless bioweapons- a Licker, maybe -and not one of the human ones.

If it was... well, the mercenary can do their job on their own. It should be fine.

Adrian checked their gun again, a nervous habit. Everything was there, and intact. Taking a few steps forward, to move infront of Butterfly, they turned back to look at her. “You gonna stay and watch or something?”

Moving forward, past more bloodstained marble floors and broken objects, Adrian took note of the fact that they werent any average B.O.W’s around. Usually in places like these, there’d be average infected people wandering around. It was probably cleared out a while ago.

The sounds grew louder the more rooms the two of them walked through. They approached a big, fancy door, that looked like it led into a larger area. They tested the knob to see if it was locked, which it wasnt, thankfully.

The door made a small creek when it opened. Hopefully not to noticeable. Adrian stepped in the large room, gun raised, tense. Peering down a pair of staircases, stood the bioweapon, bent over a corpse. It was tall, and bloated, with a gash in its side spilling some of its intestines. One of its arms was hanging on by the bone. The eyes looked to be covered up by red, inflamed mounds of flesh.

Knitting her fingers together, Butterfly watched Adrian move about, swallowing thickly as she attempted to follow behind. Upon seeing the bioweapon, however, she recoils back and shivers, dragging a hand down her face. For a moment, she seems to regard the door with this uneasy apprehension, as if debating whether or not it was worth it to even attempt to watch what was happening. 

But she needed to. 

That was her job, even if it sickened her to think about the fact that this was once a person like her, that this was a person. But it was easy to swallow, despite its sour, vile taste. She had a job. She would do it. 

“Alright. Should I stay back– do— uh… do I need to do something?” 

"But Butterfly," you were probably thinking, "aren't you a bioweapon? Why would you be scared of anything?"

Yes, yes, you are technically correct. One missing word there, though: a failed bioweapon. She was not strong enough to take on one man, let alone some- what had they stated in the report, again? -super-powered-teenager. Mouthful of words, but alright. Her powers were practically useless! 

And she had no fighting skills, either! Not a single one.  Why exactly the higher-ups had deemed her the best person to go on this mission was beyond her, because if shit went south, she was quite literally screwed over. Just some bullshit revolver on her left hip to help her out, and she tended to have shaky hands in the heat of the moment. 

"Er- hello? Hello-hello?" 

The English was... not the greatest, and she had a moderately thick accent, but it was understandable. At least, she hoped. 

{{ehehe, sorry this took so long!! it's me @mold-infected-bug from before... ALSO SORRY ITS SO LONG I TEND TO DO LONGER RPS IM SO SORRY}}

"...Hmmmm...? I never understood why they called it ammo. There's only one 'M' in ammunition...Wait, no, two...Anyways-"

She revolver was snatched up by a ribbon across the hall, yanked right into her hands as she inspected it.

Nervously chuckling, Butterfly sputtered for a moment.

"I- A- Heh- yeah. I'm uh- pretty aware! Don't- I just- Uhm. Ss." For a moment, she dragged a gloved hand down her face and furrowed her brows, letting out a long exhale. It's fine. You can talk your way out of it. "Listen- listen- I uh- I... I- shit. I don't mean to like- cause any harm! I- honestly, I can't cause much harm- but that's beside the point. Just-"

Gesturing to the gun that was floating in mid-air, she made an expression torn between exhaustion and disbelief.

"boot me? You do realize there's an entire shadow entity morph into a dragon around here, right? You need to do your job? Me too! You act like I wanna be here ..."

She shook her head, suddenly pushed upa against her, staring her down.

"Oh...I see what you are."

She smiled.

"What?"

That's not concerning at all. Honestly- she shouldn't listen to this kid! They're just a kid. Probably trying to freak her out and whatnot, maybe scare her off? Luckily for everyone, she was already terrified.

A short snort escapes her- some odd cross between a laugh and a sputter -as she attempts to shake the chilling feeling crawling down her spine.

"I- what? I- listen, dude, I don't know. Just- I guess you can do your job, I just gotta..." Babysit. "Tag along, I guess. That's my job."

Raising her hands in an act of placation, she decides to run with it. If the kid says they can see into her skull, then sure they can. Yeah! Just run with it. Easier for everyone in the long run, right?

"Just- listen, man. Don't go rooting around in my skull- that's all. Private. Highly private. Y'know?"

She stared at her for a moment.

".....No."

Shifting from foot-to-foot, she adjusted the lapels of her suit coat and smoothed back the frizzy curls that seemed to halo around her head even despite the tight bun her hair was pulled into. Despite that, they sprung back into place and it made Butterfly’s frown deeper, more tired. 

“If—if you really want, I could like… I dunno, stay back while you— do whatever it is you’re… doing? Getting a dragon, right? Something like that? I… yeah, whatever.” 

~ 🦋