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 Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 10:46 am
"Again? He's over all the time, all you have to do is visit while he's around!" Dari said with a little laugh. He was more excited than nervous that Cody was coming to work, but there was always that under-strumming of anxiety. He had no idea how Cody might react to the less humanoid entities, and sharing a headquarters for something more than "top secret" was always a little nerve-wracking.
"Now, when we get inside the grove everyone's going to be acting like farmers. I mean, some of them are farmers, or scientists. Either way, we don't work in the grove."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:00 am
"I always seem to miss him!" Cody complained and shook his head, grinning. "So you have people posing as farmers?" He asked curiously. "Like agents?" He asked.
He was really looking forward to seeing the little dragon. "So how do we get into headquarters if it's not in the grove?" He asked.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:19 am
"It's more like the farmers needing federal clearance, and setting agents as management. It really is a working farm. They study orange genetics and such. Try to develop new strains, or fight existing diseases. It just happens to be a good front for us," Dari said with a nod, "and you'll see."
He parked his car and got out, waiting for Cody before locking teh door and heading toward the grove.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:33 am
Cody climbed out of the car and followed Dari, taking his hand. "Pretty clever. You guys have quite the operation," he smiled at Dari. "You know, when I said you worked under a field, I was joking," he teased.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:35 am
"If you'll remember, I told you I wasn't," Dari said, raising his brows for Cody and giving him a sideways smirk. He lowered his voice then. "Love, we shouldn't hold hands." It wasn't appropriate for work.
As they entered the building, they were greeted by various workers and could see into labs and growth stations. Of course they ended up in a storage room, as per usual.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:44 am
"I remember," Cody smiled at him. He paused and looked down at their hands. "Right," he said, and let go of Dari's. He hadn't really noticed he was doing it.
"A storage room?" He asked, baffled.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:45 am
Dari went through the usual process of typing his code into the hidden keypad and stepped back while the elevator began to move, leaving the supplies behind.
He turned and smiled at Cody.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:07 pm
An elevator?! Cody hadn't expected that. He blinked. And the supplies that'd been in the closet had been left behind. How in the world did they manage that? "Underground headquarters," he observed. "Fibber."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:09 pm
And you thought Area 51 was secretive," Dari mused. When the elevator hit the floor the doors dinged open into the brighly-lit office space inside. Dari greeted the receptionist and he greeted her back, and then just stood there.
Huh. Where should they go first?
"Is there anything you specifically want to see or do first?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:30 pm
"Can I meet the dragon?" Cody asked, hopefully. He'd been told about it a few times, and it was the thing he wanted to meet most. "Pixie, right?" He asked. "Then, Seamus, isn't it? The cat who can talk?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:31 pm
"Well, not talk, but sure. They have their usual haunts. Come on."
Dari motioned for Cody to follow, smiled, and headed off toward one of Pixie's quieter perches.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:44 pm
Cody followed. "The cat who likes cake," he amended, and grinned. He was taking in the hall carefully. This was exciting!
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 1:00 pm
People were watching as Cody and Dari passed, but the agent didn't pay them any mind. Some knew his fiance was trying to become allied. Some didn't. It didn't really matter.
They found Pixie chewing grapes from the small bunch in his bowl by the accounting department. Dari approached the little creature without hesitation and picked him up full-handed. He doubtlessly would be unable to chew and walk at the same time.
Dari cradled him in an arm upright, and the dragon's eyes searched Cody. Hello, new person! Dari had gained Pixie's trust early on, perhaps because his senses didn't detect the alien as a threat.
"So there you go. Your first dragon." He smiled to Cody. "You can touch him, you know."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 1:12 pm
Cody was in awe when they reached the dragon. A dragon that are fruit? He'd always imagined them as carnivores. "My first dragon," he echoed. He smiled at Pixie.
"Really?" He hesitated before reaching out and stroking Pixie's cheek. "He's beautiful."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 1:16 pm
"Yeah. I guess he could bite, but his aim's not so great," Dari said. "I've never seen him try, though. I guess he trusts us. They're intelligent creatures." As Pixie finished chewing, the dragon instinctively stepped up onto Dari's arm with a little trouble. Dari, of course, transferred Pixie from his own arm to Cody's. He was a little weighty, but nothing compared to most pet animals out there.
"We found him in the forest. We relocated a flock, but we knew he wouldn't make it in the wild, so we brought him back. There's a lot of restrictions about bringing non-assignment entities back with us, but it does happen from time to time. From what we can tell, he has an inner ear problem, probably due to an infection or maybe brain damage. Either way, he's been with us for years."
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