"Maybe you'll inherit the same mercy this place has given me."

MARCH 30th, 2018
Did something he normally wouldn't do for the Bas Monde, a seedy organization of the Stratos underworld he can't help but find himself increasingly tied to. Although Rocha has never done any work that'd ever confuse him for an actual agent of the organization, there were personal reasons for him to take on such a significant job.

Anything regarding the Coalition naturally fascinates Rocha, as it's shrouded and secrecy. Questions about it are discouraged, and those that ask too many either learn not to or disappear. Rocha has uncovered enough of his father's trails in Stratos to connect him to the organization, making his curiosity only grow. Any dirt on Andras is welcome, considering the demon was absent for the vast majority of Rocha's life.

Challenges to its authority were quickly sniffed out and crushed, making the operation delicate--information on the Coalition had to be gathered without any knowledge that such a thing had occurred. A wealthy aristocrat in the Othella district, Caíque Hevel, apparently contained data connected to the Coalition in one of his private labs. It was a once in a lifetime lead, considering how airtight the Coalition's affiliates are.

Once the right lab was located, all that was needed was someone adept at trespassing and scaling large obstacles--Rocha was a perfect fit. Jump the fences, disable the security systems and the backup alarms for them, sneak past the night guards and into the storage room--find the right hard drive and copy its contents, destroy any trace of foul play, then leave. The job was cut out for him. Rocha thought it to be child's play.

If only it were that easy.

For the most part, it was that easy. Everything went without a hitch. Rocha's curiosity got the better of him, of course. He had plenty of time to look over the lab's layout, and one peculiarity he had noticed was that the data storage unit was right next to the classified studies. Classified in Stratos meant highly interesting things. Aided with a key he had pickpocketed off of an unwary guard, he opened one of the vaults, only to find...something he wished he hadn't.

A shivering boy, with a mop of hair so matted it formed into one mass--pockmarks and bites covering his skin, paper white skin stretched thin over sharp bones. Parasitic creatures lined his ears, nose, eyes--it was enough to make even Rocha wretch, someone used to the depravity of street life. But what really sent a chill through his spine was the teeth.

It was truly something out of a horror movie, the way he lifted his head up and bared them at Rocha pitifully, blood oozing from his gums. They barely managed to fit his mouth, the toddler having to constantly gnash his teeth to keep them from jutting out. Something for an animal, not for a human.

Whatever reason a Coalition-affiliated man had to keep a young child under containment, Rocha didn't need to know, for once in his life. He considered many things, none of which included leaving the poor kid there. He was a witness, after all, and witnesses talk. The obvious thought was to put the urchin out of his misery, eliminating both a potential witness and a pathetic excuse for life. Rocha couldn't help but see a fraction of himself in that shivering, helpless mess though, couldn't help but think of when he was shown a different mercy.

So...he did the absolute worst thing he could do, take the thing with him. By some miracle, Rocha avoided detection, although passing over the fence had many close calls. Right as a man leaving his shift caught site of them, Rocha and the child were well on their way out of sight. Then he did the only thing that came to mind. He could hardly take care of himself, and the thought of caring for such a grotesque abomination was nauseating. If he couldn't, perhaps someone in the forest could.

Disappointingly, the boy's health didn't seem to show any differences in the forest, although he was exposed to a far kinder temperature than he was probably used to. Rocha cast him aside somewhere that a creature was bound to notice and went on his way to deliver the information.

Eventually meandered back to the forest after it was all said and done, a nice sack of lith to show for his hard work. Immediately beelined for the ruins and was satisfied to find his rescue gone. Caught site of a very appealing creature--Ractera. Rocha wasted no time with a compliment, introducing himself when instructed and having a somewhat philosophical conversation on the topic of bravery and death.

Mental
Faltering.

Physical
Healthy.


Emotional
Shaken.