( cyril ) adstring application

[syrup]

Name: Harley

Personal Journal: syrup

Contact: walpurgisnacht

Other Characters Played: n/a!

Are you 18 or over? Yes.

Canon: Todd Allison and the Petunia Violet

Character: Cyril

Timeline: Post chapter 13.

Personality: Cyril's profile on the cast page on smackjeeves, the original host for the webcomic, reads as such, "A friendly tram conductor by day but at night, Cyril is your man for any variety of odd jobs. He can kill people for you, beat them up, throw them into ditches and steal their automobiles." It is who Cyril presents as, for the most part, but it isn't all of Cyril, of course.

Picture this: It's a bright, sunny day. Not too hot, not too cool, just the right temperature. Also, you're in 1920's Australia for some reason. Because it is 1920's Australia, you have to take the tram to get somewhere, if you don't want to walk. You run into a conductor, a very handsome conductor, and he's pretty nice, for the most part. Except he tells you to speed it on up so he can get the tram going, but that's pretty normal isn't it? He's polite, maybe he even helps you get onto the tram. He does his job well, drives well, and all in all it's a pleasant enough experience. You thank him and go about your day, not really thinking much of that tram conductor.

For the most part, that's what people think of Cyril. He's just Mr. Conductor, maybe a bit too friendly at times, but not exactly someone they're afraid of. Sure, he might call you "dollface" or "honey" or something like that, but if you'll pay attention, he uses pet names for everyone. Everyone gets a term of endearment, whether you're an attractive lady traveling alone, or a young man falling asleep in your seat. Or if you're Todd, you're Pumpkin, or if you're Petunia, Lady Petunia. My point is, you wouldn't think too much of Cyril on most days.

However, that is most days. Todd probably didn't think much of him, either, until Cyril duped him into walking right into certain death. But that's another story.

Let's just say you get to, for example, work with Cyril. Not too intimate, but you still get to know him pretty well. Your impression probably won't be too deep. Unless you work with Cyril -- directly with him, that is -- you'll still see him as the guy who's pretty friendly. He likes to talk and he's pretty relaxed. He's got no problem introducing himself and telling you about himself (or rather, his numerous girlfriends) and your impression is pretty good. He might be a womanizer, but when he's around, things aren't boring, and it's not like he's put a gun to your head or anything. Maybe he's an annoyance, but really. He's kind of got a shit-eating grin on his face all the time, too, but hey, who cares? He doesn't really have a problem with covering your shift and sometimes he does weird shit like fall asleep in the bathroom. It's entertaining and he pulls his weight. You can't complain, he's pretty professional with the customers, too. All in all, he's a pretty okay dude.

Let's make the hole a little deeper. Let's say you work directly with Cyril. You work the same shifts and are, more or less, partners at your little crappy transportation job. Then you'll know he's a little... too friendly. He likes to lean in, he likes to pick on you, he likes to flirt with everyone. And he likes to punish people a little bit too much -- for example, once he insisted you should buy him a drink as compensation for something and after you refused, he demanded a kiss. Regardless of your gender. Look, the point is, you'll soon figure out he's ... formidable. Formidably friendly.

Oh, but that's for another time. What's likely going to stick out to you, about Cyril, is his flirty nature. He likes to talk about his girls, he likes to hit on people, and he uses pet names like "dollface" or "dolly" or "love", and he doesn't necessarily use them ironically. Cyril is pretty aware he's attractive, and he likes to have fun with it. He's a narcissist, and even a conversation with him in it will likely turn into him talking about himself. But I digress -- again, what tends to stick out about Cyril is he's pretty fond of flirting. In fact, one of his appearances in chapter two is him jokingly saying, to his current employers, upon being spotted just... creepily staring at them as they conversed: "I was just taken aback by such... beautiful people." And while not a canon example, the author, Nozmo, draws quite a few extras on her blog. One of them was an office au, which was requested by someone who said Cyril would be that weird employee who played awful music instead of doing his job. Nozmo opted to draw him flirting with someone on the line, instead. While not canon, it's a pretty good example of how people expect Cyril to be and how he's... actually quite flirtatious, rather than silly.

That canon example, however, he follows it up with, "Just joking, fuckers!". That's Cyril for you. In fact, a lot of things are like that with him: he's pretty sarcastic. He laughs at Petunia's odd behavior, for example. When she refuses to look at him while he's looking at her, he bursts into maniacal laughter and states he'd hate to shoot her (But, it's not his choice to make, so, yanno, nothing personal.). He tends to take things rather good-naturedly... usually. Well, if it's not related to his job, that is. He likes to joke around, even if he's doing something serious like looking for Todd and Petunia so he can finish up business with Todd. He'll flirt with the waitress, goof off a bit and revel in the attention, even if it's negative. Even on the job, when he gets some free time with someone, he makes them pull up a seat so he can tell him about one of his numerous girlfriends. Cyril loves the attention he gets and it shows.

But let's cut the crap and get right to it: Cyril might be a tram conductor in the daytime but when the last pretty lady's made her way off the tram, he's on his other shift.

It's pretty much a fact that no one knows what Cyril is thinking at any time; chapter 3 is the best example of this. He displays a surprising amount of professionalism when he catches Petunia, especially when you remember in chapter ten, he has no problem attempting to kiss his co-worker in front of a customer. That doesn't keep him from flirting with her, saying he'd hate to shoot a "sweet little girl" like her, calling her "dollface" and threatening to blow her "pretty little face" to pieces. He bursts into laughter at her antics, too, asking her what the hell she's doing as she tries to avoid looking at him while he's looking at her. Their relationship, in truth, is a lot like that, she keeps trying to avoid him because he scares her and he keeps laughing in her face. Cyril brings Petunia directly to Elijah, though, and says he has no idea how he usually handles these "kinds of things" but he'll be right over there if you need him. He's professional and to the point, he doesn't bother beating around the bush. If something needs to be done, he'll do it. Then, he's left alone with Meredith, and he goes on and on about girls he'd been with. He tells Meredith about that one time he dated The Little Mermaid and Meredith isn't too into it but you know, as long as Cyril can hear his own voice he probably doesn't care. When Elijah comes back, he pouts and says, "Aw, they're back." He's then promptly right back to being professional, as though he didn't just recount a love affair to someone he doesn't even know moments ago, and had been about to tell them about the next girl he dated.

Considering how capricious Cyril seems to be, it might be a bit to surprising to know how how seriously he takes work. It's important to remember he is, in essence, a serial murderer for hire, who does robbery and blackmail for money, as well. Cyril himself isn't necessarily serious all the time, but he's also not silly all the time. It's more accurate and true to his personality to say he's someone who's looking for enjoy life for as long as he can, and considering his job occupation, that might not be very long at all. He notes as such in chapter thirteen, during his discussion with Elijah.

It is also noted on the author's blog that Cyril sleeps restlessly and when he does gets free time, he tries to sleep. She also notes that the cause of Cyril's restlessness is nightmares, which he deals with every time he dreams. They don't bother him anymore because he's used to them, having adjusted to them along time ago. Cyril seems to have adjusted to his way of life well, he sleeps through nightmares, carries out his job well, handles another well, and supposedly is capable of having a (temporary) romantic relationship at the same time. He does seem to crack, though, just a bit, in chapter five. Elijah, during their business discussion, had said that there was no fun in simply killing someone; you should torture them, too. Cyril's features sharpen, his eyes narrow, he stares Elijah down. He's clearly thinking about this, what he's saying, and it sticks with him, until he blindly begins stabbing that man in the aforementioned chapter five. "Slowly bleed to death.... isn't how I do things!," indeed.

Cyril keeps his life and work distinctly separate, and this is shown with his relationship with Landon. He lives with Landon, who lives in the Eighth Lagoon in return for housework. However, Landon doesn't really know much about Cyril. He keeps life and work separate even at home. Landon's just there to keep after The Eighth Lagoon, though he's seen Cyril coming back from work, of course. It's likely rarely a pretty sight, since people tend to fight back when someone is trying to kill them. Landon doesn't seem too bothered by it, but he does call Cyril an honest, hard-working man. How much of that is a joke seems to be up to us. In a word, Cyril's relationship with Landon is business, though they are shown, in extras on Nozmo's blog, to get along well. Of course, it's hard not to get along with Cyril, despite how abrasive he can be, he is very friendly and very much a people person.

It should be noted that Cyril even has a set of rules, that he explains to Elijah and Meredith in chapter three. "Rule number one: you don't know me. So don't try to know me, which leads to rule two. I'm not your mate nor do I ever want to be one so don't make any assumptions. I don't care what sort of shit happens outside of the job. And rule three, don't waste my fucking time. Capisci?" Cyril's pretty up front about those rules, the third one especially. More than that, though, he hates unfinished business. Elijah orders him to save Todd Allison, and Cyril does so, but it entails having to kill all the men he gathered for the purpose of killing Todd Allison. He picks them off pretty quickly, showing off just how efficient he is at his night job. Petunia, though, is pretty disturbed by this and asks Cyril why he had to kill them. Up until now, he's dodged or laughed at her questions, but this time: Cyril shrugs and says, "I hate unfinished business." This line comes into play again in chapters six and seven: his annoyance with Todd.

Cyril was hired to kill Todd Allison, but Todd Allison is alive so this is unfinished business. In order to fix this, Cyril invited Todd and Petunia over to his place. They have a few drinks, argue, get drunk and in general it's a pretty awful time because Todd and Cyril are abrasive in their own unique ways. However, Cyril is just that committed to his job. This leads up to Todd pissing Cyril off royally. He yells at Todd that there's "a fucking process" when it comes to hiring him.

During their fight, we witness a technique Cyril uses to calm himself when he's angry. It shows up again in chapter twelve, when Todd Allison infuriates Cyril again (he seems to be very good at this). Cyril takes a deep breath, cheeks flushed with anger, and inhales slow and deep. Cue pink background and sparkles as he smiles handsomely and/or laughs.

Cyril is also deeply conniving and that is, of course, not unexpected of a professional blackmailer. In chapter six, Cyril wants Todd Allison to visit the Eighth Lagoon so they can work out their unfinished business, but Todd tells Cyril he isn't coming and he doesn't trust him. Cyril's also dragged Petunia out back, so he takes advantage of her presence and corners Petunia into agreeing to come visit Cyril, alone, at the Eighth Lagoon. Todd recalls his co-worker, Hana, saying that Cyril is the kind of man who will "break any woman's heart" and out of concern for Petunia, he agrees to visit the Eighth Lagoon. Cyril then threatens the both of them should they not show up.

He is, in a few words, a menacing man with a friendly disposition. Cyril likes to enjoy himself, partakes in alcohol often, likes talking about his girlfriends and hits on everyone he can. However, not everything about Cyril is that simple; in addition to being secretive, genuinely unpleasant, and an all around awful person, Cyril has a deeply mysterious past and questionable morals.

During chapter thirteen, Cyril has a conversation his previous employer, Elijah Elkwood, about life and death. Cyril's view of death is morbid, and his view on life is equally morbid. Cyril believes that the things people think can save them -- money, friends, family -- are, in the end, useless. Death is all encompassing, and every dies. In the end, what's the point of any of those things? "We're all just skin, bones and meat. We'll bleed and we'll all rot!" Cyril follows it up with a cheeky grin and a rather hedonistic statement, "Why worry about it? Do whatever the fuck you want!", which also sums him up very well. Cyril is a womanizer, a hard drinker, a mercenary, and he lives in the moment. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to say Cyril's just trying to make the most of his life as it is. Why he made it the way it is, is unknown, but it is clearly his choice. Cyril's a lot darker than he lets on in casual conversation.

Cyril has a conversation with Petunia, just before they go out to save Todd. During this conversation, he clues in on Petunia not trusting him, and he leans in on her with a rather nasty expression and says, "I don't trust myself, either!" Cyril's wildly unpredictable, despite all this, so it isn't sure what the meaning of his words were. It could be very simple: He was messing with Petunia. Cyril's fond of getting reactions out of people, joking around, making them uncomfortable. He is also shown to have a keen interest in Petunia. However, it's entirely possible Cyril was being honest -- his nightly dream terrors implies he finds some horror in his day to day life, he sees the problem and he knows what he is, he knows that he is a terrible person. Perhaps Cyril really doesn't trust himself.

Cyril's past is, as previously noted, relatively unknown, but there's been implications and roads laid down for explaining it so far. More specifically, there is a scene in chapter seven, where Petunia enter's Cyril's room. On his otherwise empty dresser table is a picture. Cyril's room is glimpsed to be very bare, and the only bed he has in it is only big enough for himself. The fact he has kept a picture placed so it's the first thing he sees when he comes into his room, and is right there for him to see when he wakes up, makes an implication that the picture itself is important to Cyril.

You would think Cyril, a man who is a complete enigma, would do more than drag Petunia out and throw her into Todd Allison while chiding her for being a snoop, but Cyril's reaction was just that. In fact, he seemed angrier with Elijah for how he wanted the job done: slowly killing someone instead of doing it quickly. It says something that despite Petunia prying into his privacy, Cyril was content with dragging her away and tossing her into Todd after calling her a "bad girl".

He shouts easily and generally has a lot of energy, despite his sleeping schedule. The times we see Cyril genuinely angry are memorable because his anger always seems to come out when the topic is his job. Considering how Cyril seems to, in a word, sober up when he is working his night job, it does make sense. For example, he is genuinely angry when Elijah changes the job, cancelling it and instead of instructs Cyril to save Todd Allison. That same night, his anger and annoyance with Elijah shows more, when he stabs that man in chapter 5, right after he calls Cyril a rat. Then again, when Todd makes light of his job while drunk. Another instance of Cyril reacting in an angered manner would be chapter twelve, when he snaps at Todd for trying to help him. There is also chapter thirteen, where Elijah points out that Cyril answered a question in a personal tone, and Cyril removes himself from the conversation. Each of these happenings are instances in which Cyril was questioned, or felt his job was being questioned. On the other hand, in a flashback, when Todd insults him for how he does his day job, he merely cocks his head to the side and watches him walk away with a semi-intrigued expression. There are plenty of instances where Cyril was annoyed or frustrated, but genuine anger seems to be a bit rarer for him.

Cyril is self-preserving, someone who is only concerned with himself and has little concern for himself. How much of that is out of necessity, considering his job, has yet to be seen. He seems to be genuinely interested in Petunia, and has no reason to continuously play around with her, but he enjoys her presence all the same, still. Landon has inferred Cyril really likes Petunia, and he picks up calling her 'Lady Petunia' from Cyril. However, Cyril doesn't seem interested in being with Petunia, as he refers to Todd Allison as her 'pumpkin-headed boyfriend' and even jokingly calls Todd her 'beloved Todd Allison'.

In addition to being self-preserving, as he must be for his job, Cyril is incredibly efficient... for the most part. Cyril is capable of just about any kind of hitman behavior -- he can steal cars, he can rob people, he can beat them up, kill them or blackmail them all while stealing hearts easily... but he can't cook. In fact, Nozmo noted that his cooking skills are on par with Petunia's, who once tried to make oatmeal. Todd Allison thought she was burning her apartment down.


Background: Todd Allison and the Petunia Violet takes place in Australia. Specifically, it takes place in Melbourne, Victoria. It's set in the 1920's, and that's about as much as we know about Cyril's past at the moment. We know he's an adult male who lives at The Eighth Lagoon, and we know he has two jobs. His day job is pretty harmless on the whole, he works as a tram conductor. When the day's over with on the tracks, however, Cyril begins his job as a mercenary. At present, it is not known how he came to work in this line of work, and he has 'rules' in place to keep people at a distance. Cyril is an enigma, he's currently shrouded in mystery. Not much is known about him prior to his appearance in chapter two, but here's what is known:

Cyril's really good at his job. He's so good, that Elijah feels fine with contacting him with work. Cyril is contacted and they have a drink as they discuss business. This isn't the best drink with a client that Cyril has ever had -- actually, it leaves a rather bad taste in his mouth. Still, he takes the job. It's a hate experiment, Elijah says, and Cyril's like "well, whatever the fuck gets you to pay me," so he sets up this dude he sorta knows. Todd Allison. Cyril is aware that Todd works for the government and that's the job-- set up someone from the Violet Investigative Unit with people who hate the government. Really, it's pretty simple, he gives Todd a map that leads him straight to them. Todd falls for it because Cyril just seems like "your friendly neighborhood conductor."

Things get weird when Cyril's goes to make sure Todd's been caught.

Cyril discovers Petunia Elkwood, and hauls her off to Elijah. He has no idea what exactly is about to happen, but you know, he kind of likes Petunia Elkwood. Petunia is a bit different but she's kind of fun and she's pretty so Cyril doesn't have anything against her. It's up to Elijah, what happens to Petunia, but Elijah doesn't do anything to Petunia. Not really. There's no way an older brother would actually hurt his little sister. I mean, that just doesn't happen, right?

Well, Petunia spills the beans. The guy Cyril got is Todd Allison. Fortunately for Todd Allison, Elijah can't have Todd dying just yet, so after their short reunion, Elijah makes Cyril fix things. Cyril doesn't like it, but he has to go save Todd Allison and he has to take Petunia along with him. Of course, he does give Petunia a bit of protection -- he asks her if she can shoot a pistol. After she confirms she can, he gives her one.

So then the duo were off to save Todd Allison. It's a weird team, with Petunia shouting things like "Aren't they your friends?" when Cyril kills someone and Cyril fighting off laughter because she's just... so funny. They do the job, though, with a minor hiccup. Petunia runs out and makes herself known after Cyril quickly guns down four men on his own. This is a problem, of course, because Cyril wanted to do this simple and quick, but now he has to go down there and stab these guys himself. Thing is, Cyril isn't in the best mood, and what Elijah said is still pestering him.


"Isn't it better to watch them slowly bleed to death?"

That's not how Cyril does things, though.

So after that little debacle, short-lived and bloody as it were, Elijah and Meredith arrive on the scene. Petunia's run off to where Todd Allison is, and the problem is: There's someone else in that room. Someone with a gun. When Cyril says that, he also says he gave Petunia a pistol, and that he was hoping to see what happened. Spoiler: Petunia and Todd live. They get out scot-free and Cyril's pretty pleased with this, except Todd recognizes Cyril instantly. He's the guy who conducts the tram that Petunia and Todd take, so while Petunia didn't recognize him at first, now that she can place his face in the uniform... well.


The morning after is nowhere near as hectic. Cyril gets up, goes to work, but something is bothering him, so he goes over to Todd Allison's place of work and drags him and Petunia out behind the cafe. He invites them to his home because, in his own words, he doesn't like leaving things unfinished. Todd being alive is... well, not what the job was, originally, so it bothers him and he wants to conclude things.

Of course--that means Todd Allison and Petunia Elkwood visit Cyril's home, The Eighth Lagoon. It's underground and hidden behind a secret passage. Totally Cyril's obnoxious style. They enter and Cyril isn't there yet, so Petunia decides to take a pee break. Totally normal stuff so far.

But then Petunia's walking down the hall, making her way back from the bathroom. She notices a door is open and even though it's Cyril's house, and she's scared of him, she looks. Curiosity gets the better of her, and it isn't as thought Petunia isn't fearless to begin with. She opens the door, looks inside, and sees a photo. "...That's Cy--" And then she takes a step back, and bumps into Cyril.

Most people would be angry, finding someone in their personal space, but Cyril cracks a grin and calls Petunia a bad girl instead. It's probably enough she's already scared. He does chide her for snooping but it's nothing really terrible, since he's got things he wants to do.

So then, Cyril and Todd get to business.

Drinking business, that is.

They have a drink and start getting drunk. Well, Todd does, Cyril just kind of provokes him for a time, until Todd says something that stuns everyone in the room: "Work for me, Mr. Cyril."

Of course, Todd's drunk. This isn't any kind of serious discussion, so Cyril gets (understandably) angry. He tells Todd off and yells in his face. They fight for a time, and are interrupted with the phone rings. Landons pulls a string and a phone pops out, which Cyril answers. He gets called out for a job. Just before leaving, he approaches Todd, placing his hand on the table, and leans in.

"My job is not joke," he says, "so you better be fucking serious."

Then he leaves, pulling Petunia's hat down over her face on his way out. We don't see Cyril for a few more chapters, which translates to around two days in canon timeline. In chapter 9, Todd gives Petunia her hair clip back, and Petunia agonizes over this in her apartment. She decides to go to Todd's apartment, next door, and talk to him about it...

Except Todd Allison doesn't answer the door-- Cyril does. Cyril, having not finished his business with Todd Allison, has broken into Todd's apartment. After threatening Petunia, he makes her make him some tea and they talk in Petunia's apartment. Some wacky hijinks ensue, and we find out Cyril hasn't eaten for two days, after he gets sick off tea, of all things.

Todd returns from work and joins the two of them. Now back in Todd's apartment, they get to business. Cyril asks Todd a very simple, but serious, question: "If you meant what you said, I want to hear about it." Todd confirms he was serious about hiring Cyril and after a bit of back and forth, Cyril tells Todd that after he confirms other things with other clients, he'll let Todd know whether or not he's taking the job.

Todd then does something very simple that results in a big thing: He grabs Cyril's shoulder. Cyril reacts strongly, as though he's in pain, and Petunia says, "You know, he's been acting strange all day!," which prompts Todd Allison to open Cyril's shirt and inspect the damage.... which is pretty brutal. Cyril is bruised, badly, all across his chest, black and purple and painful.

Cyril gets upset, stands up and buttons and reties his tie as he announces his leave. Cyril is angry, but confirms he'll take "the fucking job" to shut Todd up. Of course, he calms himself down and teases Todd a bit, by gripping his hand to let him know he saw that Todd had slipped a small piece of paper under his wrist watch.

Cyril's most recent appearance is chapter 13, which focuses mostly on Elijah and Meredith. It takes place directly after the day Cyril breaks into Todd's apartment. Cyril appears to finish up his loose ends with Elijah, namely, the fee for the job. Cyril, in his usual flair, hops onto the building from a vantage point and meets Elijah on the rooftop. Elijah pays Cyril, giving him a little extra for his trouble ("Is this your way of apologizing, you little shit?"), and then Cyril gets up to go on his merry way.

Elijah, however, asks him to stay and talk, offering Cyril a cigarette. Cyril considers for a moment, not looking entirely convinced, but ultimately, he sits next to Elijah on the ground, and smokes with him. Elijah then asks Cyril a decidedly personal question, "Do you worry about dying?"

Cyril's reaction is, of course, "fuck no", paraphrased. Considering his job as a mercenary, he explains that he wouldn't be able to do anything if he worried about dying. He then asks Elijah if he's worried about dying, to which the other man says, "I thought I didn't care, but sometimes..." Cyril pauses, considers, and then expands on his statement.

"What a stupid thing to be worried about. Everyone dies."

Cyril believes that the things people place hope in, family, friends, money -- none of them are that important. "You can't take any of that to your grave," he says, a wicked smile on his face, "we're all just skin, bones and meat! We'll all bleed and we'll all rot!" Elijah disagrees with him, even as Cyril continues, "Why worry about it? Do whatever the fuck you want!"

Elijah doesn't agree, at all, and apologizes for asking Cyril the question in the first place. Elijah then does something that pisses Cyril off to no end-- he says, with a smirk, "I didn't think it was such a personal question for you." One of Cyril's rules is that the relationship is strictly business, nothing less and nothing more.

Cyril, clearly agitated, spits his cigarette out and bids Elijah good night.

Abilities/Additional Notes: Cyril is actually a mercenary in his canon, so the danger present in game and fighting for his life would be nothing new to him. Killing for money is mostly what he does, though he also does robbery and blackmail. He actually describes himself as a Jack-of-all-trades. His job has affected his abilities fairly well, and for good reason. Due to his line of work, he's a very skilled fighter, and he manages to take out a whole crowd of men on his own. I'll explain a little more on that later, but Cyril is, in general, strong enough to do his job. That in itself is note-worthy.

Cyril's a mercenary, and this is very important to remember because once you find out about his secret double life, you will see Cyril in a very, very different light. Cyril is adept at all of the things he's listed, which means he's capable of, in addition to murder, blackmailing and stealing. He is well-worked and rarely has time to sleep, which implies word of him has traveled far, and he is in high demand. The fact he is still alive despite this also implies he's very good at hiding. Cyril is so good at all the aforementioned things that he is comfortable demanding extra payment if he finds the job boring, which he probably isn't above doing often. The man is a sleaze, someone who you can't trust, unless you're the highest bidder, and he can afford to be that way. He backs up his terrible personality with, in addition to genuine professionalism, terrifying skills. He's a handsome devil and he'll prove it by stealing your stuff and killing you afterwards.

On the note of weapons, Cyril seems to favor guns to do the deed. In chapter five, Cyril takes out a group of four men on his own, at long distance, with a shotgun, or a modded rifle. He works without a scope, which implies good eyesight and one hell of a shot. He's quick, a sharp-eye in the scene and not a single man knows what hit him, even if he saw the guy next to him get shot. Cyril quickly fires off just four rounds, killing each man before he has a chance to retaliate. It is worth noting that the shotgun is not the most accurate gun in long range in Cyril's point of time, and Cyril likely had access to guns that would allow for more accuracy at this range. The only other weapon he picks up is a knife, so this says something about his comfort with using a shotgun at long range. It says volumes about what a sharp eye he is, too, if he's capable of taking down four men in mere seconds with a shotgun.

When he's cornered and attacked from behind, he easily turns it around with a hunting knife. Cyril handles being attacked well, and merely stands down the man while remembering what Elijah. In fact, that's what prompts him to stab him around eight times. Cyril is less concerned with being attacked, and more concerned with something someone said to him a few days earlier, which implies more that Cyril never felt he was in any kind of danger.

However, despite how capable he is, Cyril prefers to do things quick and easily.

And while it likely doesn't count for much, he's probably got one hell of a liver. Cyril is a heavy drinker. Not an alcoholic, no, but he enjoys a good whiskey.

First-Person Sample: So is that a common thing? [ Cyril's voice is strained and he wipes blood away from his nose with the back of his hand. The feed is shaky and his chest is heaving. ] Things just attack you when you got your guard down even in the supposed 'safe' spots, eh? No warning, no advice, no nothing from you lot?

[ Well, hey, that's fine. Can't say he'd have given out any advice or anything of the sort himself. ] Maybe next time throw me a knife for loanin' before letting me go by myself in dangerous zones. [ He holds up a pipe with an unpleasantly still wet blood splatter on it -- but whether that's his blood or whatever attacked him's blood isn't clear. ] Although, I think I'm good with good ol' Piper here.

Anything else I should know before I go scavenging by myself and get attacked by tiny children with no eyes, or is that just the basics? [ He barks out a laugh. His mannerisms imply he isn't that incapable of taking care of himself, but he still seems a little upset with the way things went. ]

Who's got the good booze and is willing to let me get the edge off this nasty headache with it?

Third-Person Sample: The taste of metal is in his mouth. Behind his teeth, on his tongue, spreading to the roof. He pauses and puts a hand to his nose, and pulls it away. Red on pale skin -- his eyes focus and it's blood. He spits.

For a moment, he feels the dark feeling in the pit of his belly again; a roaring forest fire forced to life from anger and determination to live. He focuses to remind himself he's here, not in a warehouse by the river in Melbourne. He catches a whiff of the air and feels the climate on his exposed skin and that's all he needs.

Cyril had made an attempt to scavenge, as many people would in a situation where they were stuck in a shitty waste of a city with no food or clothes or anything of the sort. He had made the assumption that places with less bodies going through would be a goldmine, and while part of him hoped for a gun or a good hunting knife, he knew when he walked in that if there had been one, it had been scavenged already. That didn't stop him from looking around, peeking through windows and kicking up dust and debris. It did not yield anything aside from a brick or two.

Of course, now he realized why no one bothered with these places.

It seemed like several minutes had passed by the time he looked up and saw the offenders approaching him quickly. He had stumbled back and took enough steps back to put enough distance between the group and him, almost falling backward. It wasn't that their right hook had been enough to knock him off his feet, but the surprise had. He was careless, and he realized with each heavy step they took what the reality of the situation was.

One of them tossed a rock at him, whirling and whizzing and hard. He side stepped it easily. Cyril gave them a wry smirk. They walked forward, the sound of their feet echoing eerily in the abandoned building.

"Shit throw, mate."

He took another step back, dipping down to balance a brick he had managed to find in his hand.

"My turn."

As it turns out, even when the job was personal, he was still capable of finishing it.