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 Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:31 am
It had been a long long time. Too long. Nuru had left him without anything but a note, a note that no matter how many times he read it, wouldn't bring the boil back. It made him hate his natural affinity for paper, the way he could read the words just by running his fingers across the letter, the way he could hear the canine boil's voice in his head as if he was there reading it out to him.
He couldn't touch it any more, and so it sat in a frame on his desk, a harrowing reminder of how long it had been. Beside it was a neat perfect origami dog. His memory was almost photographic. It was supposed to be an advantage.
Everything his father sent him he had completed in impeccable time, stacked high on the out tray. There was nothing left to do. It was terrifying.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:42 am
An otherwise bland and depressing afternoon was about to be invaded. Nahm had ulterior motives for coming here; what they truly were were anyone's guess. He stopped outside the door, glanced at the note in his hand, then rapped sharply three times.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:46 am
Zar thought he imagined the knocks at first, but when he checked and double checked his thoughts, they remained and he was nothing if not punctual. He'd stopped answering the door with restrained excitement as if he expected to see Nuru there, that was frivolous and ridiculous hope. Instead he opened the door with a look of cool aloofness.
"Can I help you?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:48 am
The robed and hooded individual who stood outside flashed a remarkably pointy, toothy grin from the shadows of the hood. "I hear you are an individual who does a great deal of paperwork," he said.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:01 pm
Zar crossed his arms and raised a brow, rustling his wings, the last vestiges of their paper notes clinging to the exposed bones. "One could say that, certainly." His tail curled at his hooves with just an edge of curiosity, it wasn't every day he received visitors, and even more infrequently visitors who seemed aware of his inclinations.
"One might even say that is an understatement."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:03 pm
"I would imagine," the grue went on, "that from time to time, you handle sensitive paperwork. Paperwork with personal details and the like. Information that shouldn't be released or carelessly left about."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:07 pm
"You would be surprised how much paperwork is of that nature." he said with an offhand wave of razor sharp talons. "Even the most astute and paranoid individual is inclined to textually spill their innermost when presented with a sufficiently official slice of bureaucracy. I handle a variety of confidential documents." It felt good to be speaking about something he felt strongly about - in as far as he felt strongly about anything - privacy was power.
"I am a professional."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:12 pm
Nahm grinned widely, displaying the gleam of an impossibly wide row of sharp teeth. "I am here to offer, shall we say, services. Surely a professional who handles confidential documents with discretion could use the services of a shredder."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:16 pm
Zar's expression shifted from one of subtle pride to a curious interest. Most of his unneeded documents were sent back to his father for due destruction. It would be far more travel and cost efficient to dispatch of them in situ than to go through the complications of the former. But there was always a catch. "Perhaps." He gave Nahm a critical look over the rim of his glasses, eyes narrowing down to slits the more acutely he focused. "The question at this moment in time would be what manner of payment would you expect for said services?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:20 pm
Nahm folded his hands into his sleeves. "I'm given to understand that your family has dealings with all kinds of folk at all levels of society," he said. "Aside the personal benefit of a snack, I would consider it - mm - an exercise in networking. I would imagine that your parents expect you to make contacts while you attend school; my clan, likewise, expects the same of me and my brother. We are of Clan DeVarr. You may recognize the name," he added, a small note of pride sneaking into his voice.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:25 pm
Zar was momentarily self concious. His family certainly had dealings with individuals from all walks of society, it was a decidedly service-orientated sector they hailed from. He wasn't sure that set them on the same level and his father's monetary obsessions resonated with that insecurity. "I'm expected to seek patrons or social links, but there are a great number of things that they expect of me that have never quite come to fruition." His mind skipped over innumerable documents, seeking out DeVarr in the deluge. It cropped up a few times, a legitimate social claim.
"I accept for a probationary duration. I expect perfection and efficiency at all stages of the process. What is a snack to you is a matter of pride for me."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:04 pm
Nahm nodded. "One makes one's own path, even while one's family imposes expectations," he said. "I understand and accept your terms; I respect pride in one's work." He unfolded one hand from his sleeve and offered it for a handshake. "I don't believe I've introduced myself properly. Nahm en-Arhahnn deVarr. What do you prefer to be called?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:10 pm
Zar's slitted gaze flicked down to the offered handshake and the faintest curl of a smile revealed razor sharp fangs. "If you do not mind I'll skip the perfunctory handshake until the official business is dealt with. There is the small matter of confidentiality. An agreement is in order, officially and in writing, lest there be any cause for litigation at a later date." He turned and strolled into the meticulously neat room.
"Do come in."
Retrieving a piece of paper from the desk he sat down, picking up a pen in each hand, his tail nimbly curling around to retrieve a third. "This won't take a moment." he purred as he got to work, writing with all three implements simultaneously at different points on the document.
"I go simply by Zar."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:21 pm
Nahm chuckled and retracted his hand, folding it back into his sleeve and following Zar into his room. "Mind if I sit down? I have a feeling that reading this agreement may take me a few minutes. I never sign anything I haven't read carefully in advance. I'm sure you understand."
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:28 pm
Zar twitched one of his goat-like ears slightly at the mention of actually reading the agreement, but didn't stop his writing for an instant. "Of course, make yourself comfortable." It was evident from the thin layer of dust on most surfaces - even the bedsheets - that Zar didn't often make himself comfortable in the tidy room.
It didn't take Zar too long at all to write out three pages worth of print, some of the text incredibly small. The agreement was written in the most convoluted terms, Nahm and Zar named only once and thereafter given terms such as Subject A and B which were fluidly interchanged throughout the sections like a con artist with a ball under a cup trick. The terms, initially fair and clear seemed, on closer inspection to have hidden teeth, loopholes for further control at a later date. It was a work of craftsmanship by a demon who specialised in just that sort of trickery. But it had been a long time since he had written anything of the sort, it was doubtful it would evade Nahm's notice.
He handed it over regardless.
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