Among the Stars

Gray Clouds: Casey

Evo and his group never found Agony before calling it a night. They figured she would come back in her own time. Casey called it a night with the rest of them. It was understandable that Agony wanted some time to herself. She was stranded on this planet, surrounded by people who could be either friend or foe. There was nothing on this planet that could kill her, except maybe the cold.

"Hello? Is this Casey's room?" Tenebris asked from the other side of the door. Casey ran over to the door and took a pause not wanting to seem desperate, then he opened the door. "Sorry to bother you so late at night. I just came over to tell you that Agony is fine, she's just figuring some stuff out."

"No, it's fine. I get it." Casey replied, shrugging his shoulders every so slightly. Trying to play it cool for a reason he couldn't figure out.

"Well, have a good-night," Tenebris said.

"Hey, before you go, can I ask you about Agony?"

"You can ask but that doesn't mean I'll answer."

"That's fine. What is Agony?"

"What do you mean? Are you asking of her familial descent or her former job?"

"Her former job."

"She was a hunter," Tenebris replied. It was a short and simple answer but Casey guessed that was what her role was in whatever military she was serving before she got here. Casey got the full story from Evo and was surprised to hear she was a soldier. Casey didn't really know why he was surprised, where there is life there is conflict, but Agony seemed so nice when she landed. Was it all just a mask? Casey let his thoughts wonder and began to ponder if they were fighting the same or similar enemies on opposite sides of the galaxy. Casey had trouble sleeping that night, there were too many thoughts racing through his head.

Casey woke up to the sound of rain. It had been a while since this planet had seen any rain, the recruits would have one hell of a time training in the mud. Casey decided to take a quick run to Agony's ship to see if she was there. When Casey did arrive, he wasn't entirely surprised to find only Tenebris there.

"Still no Agony huh?" Casey asked as she shut the door behind himself.

"No, but she'll be coming back eventually. It's raining and she'll come back here for shelter" Tenebris said as he continued to scan the ship.

"What is a Hunter exactly?" Casey found himself asking the question before he could stop himself. Tenebris turned to look at Casey for a bit, then went back to scanning the ship.

"Hunters like being out in the field. Most hunters work in fireteams, one class of hunter works better alone. Hunters can be scouts or fighters, they're very versatile people." Tenebris explained, "even though certain classes of hunters are supposed to work in groups that doesn't always work out. Sometimes their personality clashes with the role they are supposed to play. So, it's not unusual to see a class that's supposed to be a team player flying solo."

"What class of hunter is she?"

"Agony? She's something special. Hunter can be a mix of classes but that is very rare, most hunters stick to the class they started out as or are most comfortable with. Agony is a mix, which is one of the reasons that she's one f the top Hunters back home."

"Did she have a team back home? A family?" Casey found himself prying more than he should be, but he couldn't stop. Something about Hunters and ghosts... it was like something out of a child's bedtime story.

"That's Agony's story to tell," Tenebris said before going silent.

Casey decided he had asked too many questions and left. Casey told himself he wouldn't pry but he knew that was a lie. Casey decided he would figure this all out before Agony left.