[TOI] Soul Searching: Business as Usual (prologue)

    Four imps made their way through a long, clean hall. The place was ornate, but not quite extravagant, with a collection of paintings on the walls, and simple light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Overall, though, it was clearly built for the comfort of creatures just a bit larger than the imps. Remembering who they were here to meet, one of the imps paused. The other three stopped as well, looking back at her, and the purple one spoke.

    “Ah, c’mon Itzel! What’re you all nervous about?”

    Itzel, the brown-pink imp, looked down at her claws, fidgeting. “He’s s-still a bit scary…”

    The green imp stepped forward. “Ah, dontcha worry, Itzel.” She put an arm around her, guiding her forward. “We’re stickin’ together, aye? He don’ bite.” The pink imp nodded, and resumed walking.

    Their leader, a red imp, nodded, and walked once more at the front, remaining silent, and watching the way ahead with a steady eye. Jaiden, the purple one, grinned at the two girls. “Well, he doesn’t bite us, Cecilia. Probably bites all sorts of other folks tho- oof!” He was interrupted by a light slap to the back of his head from the red one. Rubbing his head, Jaiden scowled at him. “Whaat, Richard, I’m just sayin’! You’ve seen the guy!”
Richard frowned back at him. “Yeah, and I know better than to talk like this about him in his own place. Stop messing with Itzel, you remember why we’re here, right?”

    Jaiden rolled his eyes, but fell back into line. “Yeah, yeah, alright, alright. Sorry, Itzel.”

    Cecilia patted the pink imp’s shoulder. Itzel took a deep breath, and nodded, falling back into line as well. Cecilia smiled, and walked behind her.

    The imps walked together, silent once more, as they passed doors and intersections in the hallway. Before too long, the sound of whistling faded slowly into hearing. Jaiden groaned. “Ugh, this guy.” Richard shot the purple imp a look, but didn’t speak, as they rounded a corner, revealing a dusty grey faux, who whistled as he swept the tiled floors. As he worked, the faux occasionally adjusted his flatcap and scarf. Once the imps were close to passing him by, he paused, and turned to look at them, before grinning widely.

    “Aah, if it isn’t the imps o’ Bellowmere! What brings the lot o’ you ‘ere, then? Bossman’s not expectin’ visitors, if I’m rememberin’ rightly.”

    Itzel peeked out from behind Jaiden, as Richard spoke. “We’re on business, Toby. Important business. With any luck, this is probably the last time we’re going to talk.”

    Toby raised his eyebrows. “Oh, is that so? You’re poppin’ out then, are ya? Well, guess I oughta do this now, ‘fore I’m outta time!” With a single fluid motion, he stood by Itzel, leaning on his broom, and raised his cap. “Been meanin’ to ask, love. I’ve found this real nice place in town, serves some o’ the best food I’ve ‘ad in a long time. Maybe you’d be up for a lil’ date sometime?”

    Itzel blushed slightly under her fur, but Jaiden stepped in front of her, speaking before she could respond. “Oh, I’d love it! We’ll talk scheduling after the meeting with Bossman, alright?” He moved an arm around Itzel, guiding her off as he gave a salute to Toby, grinning widely. The faux shrugged, and looked at Cecilia. “Ah, they wouldn’ call it courtin’ if it wasn’t a trial, would they? Be a dear an’ tell me if she decides, would you?” He moved off down the hallway, swinging the broom onto his shoulder. Cecilia frowned at him as he moved off, before walking to rejoin the rest of the imps.

    After slipping out of his grip, Itzel shoved Jaiden. “I c-can talk for myself, you know!” Jaiden grinned at her. “Maybe, but talking right is the problem, isn’t it? You always get all fussy around the guy, don’t you?”

    The pink imp scowled at him, blushing furiously. “That’s n-not the point!” Richard frowned back at the group. “Hey! Focus, will you?” He unhooked a pouch of coins from his belt, shaking it in front of them. “Don’t forget, this is serious! Come on, let’s move!” Not bothering to look back at them, he started forward again.

    Jaiden shrugged, and followed after. Itzel fell into line once more, scowling at his back. After a second, Cecilia sighed, and walked behind Itzel. “Ack, if it’s not one thing, ‘tis another, aye?”

    Before much longer, the group reached a pair of doors, built much taller than any of them. Forgetting any of their previous attitudes, the imps stared at it for a while, before Richard took a deep breath, and knocked. They waited for a second or two, before a calm voice sounded.

    “Come in, then.”

    Richard hesitated for a fraction of a second, then reached for the doorknob, turning it and opening the door slowly, before walking in. The other three imps stared after him for a bit, and followed. As the door closed again behind them, they looked around the room. Just like the hall, it was ornate, but not overly so. There was a soft rug on the floor, a fireplace with a slow, flickering flame, and a number of paintings and various decorative items on the walls. At the far end of the room, there was a large desk. The imps knew from previous visits that they’d barely be able to see over it if they walked close, so they stepped forward, but kept just a bit clear of it, standing near the cushioned chairs that were on their side. On the other side of the desk, there was a larger chair, and sitting there, was a Grun.

    As his kind went, he wasn’t quite a giant, but he was still notably tall. The imps themselves barely stood higher than his waist when he wasn’t sitting down. Even in the seat, he was naturally imposing, with a scar over on eye, and a tailored suit covering most of his fur. He set down a glass cup, which was a quarter full of some reddish liquid. While they’d learned already that it was just a type of juice their boss was fond of, the imps still couldn’t help imagining it as something a bit more morbid.

    After a few seconds of looking at them, the grun cleared his throat. “So… the Bellowmere imps. We didn’t have an appointment, but I’m not too busy just now… take a seat, tell me what’s so urgent that you couldn’t write ahead?”
The imps look at each other, but none sat. Itzel moved a bit behind Jaiden, watching the grun with wide eyes. Richard stepped forward, and swung the pouch up, tossing it onto the desk. “This, Mister Edwards.” With a jingling of coins, the pouch rolled over, and spilled some of its contents onto the wood, in front of the grun. Edwards raised an eyebrow, and reached a paw over, grabbing the pouch and dumping the rest of the coins onto the desk. “…I take it this isn’t a donation. What is it, then?”

    The other three remained silent, even Jaiden, who’d dropped all of his attitude the second they’d opened the doors. Richard spoke once more. “We want out, sir. We’re done.”

    Edwards lowered his eyebrows, and looked intently at the four of them. There wasn’t any particular malice in his gaze, but as usual, it made them all nervous. However much the grun tried to look refined, the reputation of his species still held, and he still had the eyes of a predator. The kind of eyes that always look like they’re wondering how you’d taste. Before too long, however, he spoke. “Well… this is enough to pay off your debt… but it doesn’t exactly leave you with a lot of spending tokens. What’s your plan once you’ve left?”

    Richard hesitated, looking back at the imps. None of them had actually dared to think past this point, they’d been too worried of what could go wrong. Slowly, the red imp turned back to Edwards. “Well, uh… we’re going to stick to what we know, just… on our own.”

    Edwards raised his eyebrow again. “You mean, exactly what you’ve been doing under my employment, but without room, board, or the support of the team?”

    Richard paled slightly, but then reddened even more. “Yes, but also free!” He did his best not to look mad, but he couldn’t help sounding a little defensive.

    “Free? You’re not enslaved, you’re employed. Granted, you did owe me for past services rendered, but you’ve paid those off. I won’t keep you if you want to go, but I have to say, I don’t see what you gain from this. You’ve done very well working in Bellowmere, and-“

    Richard snapped, interrupting the grun. “That’s exactly it! We’re DONE with Bellowmere! THAT is what we have to gain, the freedom to work anywhere BUT in that damned city!”

    “Bellowmere? It’s not that bad, I’ve been there. A bit smoky, maybe, but-“

    “Smoky, yes! Fires, and stone, and all that stuff! We hate it! It’s…” He pauses, rubbing his head, and sighs. “It’s just...”
He falls silent, as Edwards tilts his head slightly.

    After a second, Itzel peeks out from behind Jaiden. “...i-it’s a little… a little like home, s-sir.”

    The grun frowned softly, and slowly leaned back in his chair. “I see… why didn’t you bring this up before? I’d have transferred you.”

    The imps looked at each other. They’d definitely considered it in the past, but had been a bit too afraid to try. Despite everything, they couldn’t put the stories of grun savagery out of their minds. Edwards' frown deepened. Clearly, he’d seen that look before. “…right. How about this, then: you stay in my employ, and I’ll find jobs that are in places a bit less… familiar.” He paused, tapping his claws together. “In fact… I may have something just right for you. From what I gather, the job’s out on the road. Nice, open, plenty of fresh air.”

    The imps stared at him for a moment, then turned and huddled together, debating softly among themselves. Edwards’ ears twitched, but he ignored the conversation, taking a sip from his glass and starting to gather the tokens on the desk back up in the pouch. As if on cue, as he sets the full pouch aside, the imps turn back, with new determination in their eyes. Richard grinned. “Alright, what do you want us to do?”

    Edwards smiled, but was careful not to show his teeth – he’d learned that it didn’t quite look as friendly for him as it did for most other creatures. “Ah, there you go! Now, for the details. See, there’s an old… friend, of mine…” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. Too caught up in the moment to be afraid now, the imps stepped closer, and listened to his words.

    Out in the hall, Toby whistled to himself, sweeping dust from one of the fireplaces into a pouch. As he stood up, tying the bag off, he heard the doors of the office swing open. He turned just in time to see the imps dashing out, looking quite a bit more enthusiastic than when they had gone in. As they moved by, the faux grinned, tipping his cap and winking at them. By the time he returned to sweeping, the imps were out of the hall, and on their way.