OBJECTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Chapter 1
Lakh Suzerain strode through the cramped dingy circle daybreak HQ. Crowds of people of various different species littered the corridors but that posed no problem for him. He smirked when he saw those directly in his path scramble to get out of his way. He was not in a good mood. When he was not in a good mood he made sure people knew about it, no point suffering in silence now was there? After a few.unfortunate accidents, people tended to be a lot more considerate, and understanding when he wasn't exactly feeling his best.
He growled again under his breath when he thought of how early he had been made to get up this morning. Emergency meetings his ass, nobody messed with his sleep without good reason. This better be good. Pausing at the receptionist's desk he smiled sweetly at the woman behind the computer screen. Without saying a word she grinned back and handed him the largest chocolate bar available in the area. An expression of ecstasy crossed Lakh's face as he shredded the foil covering and demolished the chocolate bar faster than was humanly possible- but that was okay, 'cause he wasn't human.
After satisfying his addiction he paused to fish around in his coat pockets before producing a neatly wrapped parcel that he placed carefully on Mrs Rosewood's desk before proceeding into the office at the end of the corridor, flashing his appointment card at the stammering clerk who bravely tried to bar his way. Well, looked like daybreak was finally trying to tighten up security a bit, about time as well. He himself had proved on numerous occasions how many places a little inspired shape shifting could gain you access to. Smiling at the remembered pleasure of being a fly on the wall in certain changing rooms he sat himself down in the only free available chair in the room and arranged his long limbs until he was comfortable, waiting for the woman sitting before him to speak.
Falcon Stechpalme carefully tried to analyse Lakh's frame of mind before she said anything. After a moments consideration she decided he was just about calm enough not to break anything when she told him about his latest little field trip. It had cost her quite a lot the last time he stopped by for a visit- Ming vases just weren't all that common. Instantly knowing the reason for his unusual good mood she sniggered to herself. It had never failed to amuse her that a dragon, the most ancient species known to man, the most powerful, had an addiction to chocolate.
Clearing her throat she nevertheless tried to think of the best way to phrase what she had to say. 'Nice to see you again Lakh. Now the reason I called you in this morning is I have a very important mission for you, one that will need you to start immediately, today in fact. After long consideration we decided you were the only one suitable for the job, so we would really appreciate it if you didn't screw up.'
'You know, before you start debating my competency maybe you'd like to tell me exactly what this mission is first.' Lakh mumbled darkly from the other side of the table.
'If you'd give me a minute I was just getting to that,' she added with an impatient sigh, sliding the thick file in her hands across the sleek mahogany desk till it was resting directly in front of him.
'I'm very sorry to inform you that playtime's over. You've had a very generous amount of time off, and now it's time to get back to work.' Indicating that he should open the file she briskly continued, trying to outline what he would be doing in the simplest way possible.
'That file contains as much info we could get on Ally Tourmaline.the person we suspect is the fourth wild power.' Lakh's head whipped up from where he had been scanning the pages in front of him. Shock was evident on his face, not just because it was the last thing he expected to hear but because he had just read what her species was.
'But this girl is just a human, how could a human possibly hold that much power,' he demanded incredulously.
Falcon gave him a disbelieving look, 'You do realise that the whole idea of circle daybreak, the people I might add that you work for in case you had forgotten, is to promote equality between all species, all species INCLUDING humans.'
'Yes, yes, yes.' He muttered, tired of the old argument. On the whole he had nothing against humans, hence why he worked for daybreak and not the council. He'd met a few pretty tough individuals in his time and, he had to admit, quite a few of them had been humans. Underneath it all he had a grudging respect for the species, who despite their apparent weakness and vulnerability still managed to thrive in a world full of creatures far more powerful than them.
Accepting his answer Falcon continued, thankfully this time with fewer interruptions. 'We are, as of yet, not absolutely certain if she is the one we are looking for but we do have very strong suspicions. Due to the fact that she is a human and thus unaware of a threat from the NW and vulnerable we need to send someone in to watch her, tell us if she is what we believe, and make sure no NW ers who pose a threat get within spitting distance of her. Naturally we need all this to be done without arousing any suspicion on her part and without alerting her to the presence of the NW until we are certain. Because of your, unique, abilities you were deemed best for the job.' Suddenly she paused and fidgeted slightly in her seat. Lakh immediately recognised the habit and knew something very unpleasant was going to follow.
'Due to the circumstances we need to place you very close to her, introduce you into her intimate life. We though adding a new human to her life would simply be too risky, and would almost definitely not allow you the access you need.'
'Intel found out that she's headed to the dog sanctuary at four this afternoon to select a new pet dog after her last one tragically went missing, and a couple of the witches mixed up a little specialised potion that would draw special attention to you so , er, all you have to do is rub a little lotion on, decide what your favourite dog is and we'll grease the wheels from there.' She finished very uneasily, knowing full well the extent and implications of what she was asking him to do.
Lakh just sat there, frozen in shock, and utter disbelief. 'Wait just a second, are you trying to tell me you want me to become her new pet pooch? To spend an indefinite amount of time being taught how to beg for my food and going on walkies?'
'Well, that's not exactly the way I'd phrase it, but technically.yes.'
Chapter 1
Lakh Suzerain strode through the cramped dingy circle daybreak HQ. Crowds of people of various different species littered the corridors but that posed no problem for him. He smirked when he saw those directly in his path scramble to get out of his way. He was not in a good mood. When he was not in a good mood he made sure people knew about it, no point suffering in silence now was there? After a few.unfortunate accidents, people tended to be a lot more considerate, and understanding when he wasn't exactly feeling his best.
He growled again under his breath when he thought of how early he had been made to get up this morning. Emergency meetings his ass, nobody messed with his sleep without good reason. This better be good. Pausing at the receptionist's desk he smiled sweetly at the woman behind the computer screen. Without saying a word she grinned back and handed him the largest chocolate bar available in the area. An expression of ecstasy crossed Lakh's face as he shredded the foil covering and demolished the chocolate bar faster than was humanly possible- but that was okay, 'cause he wasn't human.
After satisfying his addiction he paused to fish around in his coat pockets before producing a neatly wrapped parcel that he placed carefully on Mrs Rosewood's desk before proceeding into the office at the end of the corridor, flashing his appointment card at the stammering clerk who bravely tried to bar his way. Well, looked like daybreak was finally trying to tighten up security a bit, about time as well. He himself had proved on numerous occasions how many places a little inspired shape shifting could gain you access to. Smiling at the remembered pleasure of being a fly on the wall in certain changing rooms he sat himself down in the only free available chair in the room and arranged his long limbs until he was comfortable, waiting for the woman sitting before him to speak.
Falcon Stechpalme carefully tried to analyse Lakh's frame of mind before she said anything. After a moments consideration she decided he was just about calm enough not to break anything when she told him about his latest little field trip. It had cost her quite a lot the last time he stopped by for a visit- Ming vases just weren't all that common. Instantly knowing the reason for his unusual good mood she sniggered to herself. It had never failed to amuse her that a dragon, the most ancient species known to man, the most powerful, had an addiction to chocolate.
Clearing her throat she nevertheless tried to think of the best way to phrase what she had to say. 'Nice to see you again Lakh. Now the reason I called you in this morning is I have a very important mission for you, one that will need you to start immediately, today in fact. After long consideration we decided you were the only one suitable for the job, so we would really appreciate it if you didn't screw up.'
'You know, before you start debating my competency maybe you'd like to tell me exactly what this mission is first.' Lakh mumbled darkly from the other side of the table.
'If you'd give me a minute I was just getting to that,' she added with an impatient sigh, sliding the thick file in her hands across the sleek mahogany desk till it was resting directly in front of him.
'I'm very sorry to inform you that playtime's over. You've had a very generous amount of time off, and now it's time to get back to work.' Indicating that he should open the file she briskly continued, trying to outline what he would be doing in the simplest way possible.
'That file contains as much info we could get on Ally Tourmaline.the person we suspect is the fourth wild power.' Lakh's head whipped up from where he had been scanning the pages in front of him. Shock was evident on his face, not just because it was the last thing he expected to hear but because he had just read what her species was.
'But this girl is just a human, how could a human possibly hold that much power,' he demanded incredulously.
Falcon gave him a disbelieving look, 'You do realise that the whole idea of circle daybreak, the people I might add that you work for in case you had forgotten, is to promote equality between all species, all species INCLUDING humans.'
'Yes, yes, yes.' He muttered, tired of the old argument. On the whole he had nothing against humans, hence why he worked for daybreak and not the council. He'd met a few pretty tough individuals in his time and, he had to admit, quite a few of them had been humans. Underneath it all he had a grudging respect for the species, who despite their apparent weakness and vulnerability still managed to thrive in a world full of creatures far more powerful than them.
Accepting his answer Falcon continued, thankfully this time with fewer interruptions. 'We are, as of yet, not absolutely certain if she is the one we are looking for but we do have very strong suspicions. Due to the fact that she is a human and thus unaware of a threat from the NW and vulnerable we need to send someone in to watch her, tell us if she is what we believe, and make sure no NW ers who pose a threat get within spitting distance of her. Naturally we need all this to be done without arousing any suspicion on her part and without alerting her to the presence of the NW until we are certain. Because of your, unique, abilities you were deemed best for the job.' Suddenly she paused and fidgeted slightly in her seat. Lakh immediately recognised the habit and knew something very unpleasant was going to follow.
'Due to the circumstances we need to place you very close to her, introduce you into her intimate life. We though adding a new human to her life would simply be too risky, and would almost definitely not allow you the access you need.'
'Intel found out that she's headed to the dog sanctuary at four this afternoon to select a new pet dog after her last one tragically went missing, and a couple of the witches mixed up a little specialised potion that would draw special attention to you so , er, all you have to do is rub a little lotion on, decide what your favourite dog is and we'll grease the wheels from there.' She finished very uneasily, knowing full well the extent and implications of what she was asking him to do.
Lakh just sat there, frozen in shock, and utter disbelief. 'Wait just a second, are you trying to tell me you want me to become her new pet pooch? To spend an indefinite amount of time being taught how to beg for my food and going on walkies?'
'Well, that's not exactly the way I'd phrase it, but technically.yes.'