Solomon’s dreams still didn’t get better over the week, despite her efforts. She kept wondering if things would ever improve. She became increasingly grateful for her friends, however, having found another. Them being there for her certainly made dealing with the dreams a lot easier.

She started generally hanging out more and more after work, or training, depending on who was assigned to do what. She would even go and visit Thalia.

Magical blessing yielded one interesting result. Lisa discovered that she can only bless objects that are normally conductive, which made sense to her, they would remain electrified even after she stopped actively holding them. They have yet to hear back from Yaroslav or Thalia, regarding it. Solomon was sure they would get to it eventually.

The day has come, the day when they go to Lion’s Den Parlour and hopefully find out more about this organisation and magic as a whole… Without Solomon. Over the week, she regretted not telling any of them that she would have been happy to take their place or just go with them regardless, even though she was sure they could handle it by themselves.

But it was decided, she would stay there at the station, holding the front with Adelar. Who was she to change what was agreed upon?

“Alright, everyone ready?” Adelar asks, looking confident in his employees. Or disciples, depending on how one would look at it. The three assigned all nod.

“Stay safe out there.” He says, his look turning more serious. “We’re not sure what to expect from them. And whatever you do, don’t tell them what company you work for. The last thing we need is for them to know that.”

“You got it, boss.” Says Lisa, tipping her hat.

“Now then, I’ll stay here with Solomon.” He glanced at the cat, then back at the three others. “If things get out of hand, tell us and we’ll be on our way.”

With one more farewell from everyone, the three of them leave for Lion’s Den.

It’s a slow day at Bird’s Eye, no calls throughout most of it. Solomon is elated not having to deal with petty issues while her friends have a talk with alleged members of this mysterious organisation. Five hours into the shift, they finally get a call. Adelar sees that Solomon is less than happy about it.

“I’ll handle it.” He says with a smile. “You stay here. If it rings again, just say we don’t have anyone available currently.”

“If you say so, Adelar.” Solomon gives him an amused look.

“Shouldn’t take too long, I’ll be back very soon.” He then goes to the front door.

Truly, such a slow day at work… It’s as if people stopped calling a company meant to deal with serious matters, at least on paper, about the smallest of issues. If Solomon was in power, she would make it flat out illegal.

Two hours later, Adelar still isn’t back. Solomon writes him a message inquiring about his whereabouts. Just a couple minutes later, she gets a response.

“This has to be the most obnoxious person I have ever dealt with. Hold on for just a little longer.”

Solomon isn’t surprised per se, but the fact that these people can get under Adelar’s skin is something she finds impressive in an absurd sort of way.

No report back from her three colleagues either. Yes, the trip is long, but they must have not only arrived by now but have had a few words with them at least. She really wants to ask, but she decides against it, not wanting to risk doing that at the wrong time. She sure isn’t used to this, just spending her day chatting with Thalia. “Must be her day off.”

She looks out the window to see the beautiful orange hue of the sunset. She then looks back at her phone and then quickly looks out the window again. “Is that… A person? Floating in the distance?”

Solomon is sure she is seeing the black silhouette of a person just… Floating in the air. Surely, someone would have noticed that outside, but given the distance from the general public of Lanolow…

Her focus on it is broken by the sound of a car pulling up in front of the station. “Speak of the devil.”

Looking through the front window, she sees an unmarked, black car. She ducks down immediately

Choosing to remain hidden, she peeks through the window and sees four people exit the vehicle and start walking up to the door. A snow lynx, a raccoon, a buffalo and an owl, all in regular, street clothing. Solomon finds the contrast between clothing and vehicle style extremely suspicious. “Adelar didn’t say anything about visitors…” She hears a knock at the door.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Hiding under the window, she calls Adelar. He doesn’t pick up, so she writes him a message for good measure.

“Adelar, some strangers just stopped by and they want to get in. There’s something seriously off with them!”

Another knock at the door. She wonders if they know that she’s inside.

“They arrived in an unmarked car, what do I do, Adelar?” A short pause follows. Another knock, much louder this time. “Can’t you take a hint?!” Solomon goes to hide under the round table in the meeting hall, waiting, hoping for him to possibly respond.

She looks up from under and notices that the person she saw floating is no longer there. She wouldn’t be surprised if she was just seeing things, considering the things she went through. She hears quiet talking coming from outside. Needing to confirm what they’re saying, she slinks up to the door and holds an ear against it.

“Are you certain that this is the right place?” Asks a deep, masculine voice.

“This is the only place called Bird’s Eye Inc in the whole country. This is the place.” Says a more feminine voice.

“If no one comes out, I could pick the lock.” Says a different masculine voice. Solomon holds back a gasp.

“Let’s give them… Another minute. Then we do that.” She hears the feminine voice say.

Solomon takes a step back from the door. “Who are these people?” Either way, she can’t let them in… But they will come in after a minute. She could go down to the training room… No, she can’t just put the table back on top of the trapdoor if she goes down there. And then, they will find her easily. She could leave the trapdoor visible and hide somewhere else? No, she can’t let them find out about where she trained her magic with her colleagues. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Andreas, do you have visuals?” Solomon hears the feminine voice ask, followed by radio chatter she can’t quite make out. “Roger that.”

The cat can feel her anxiety build up inside. Another knock at the door. She has no choice, they are willing to break in, but she can do one thing to avoid further suspicion.

She opens the door.

“Sorry! I got a little busy with something. Good evening!” She says in the most natural voice she can muster, both of her hands are in her pockets as she greets them to appear more relaxed. Rather than the cold, unwavering expression she saw them have, the four now look to look decidedly more agreeable.

“Evening, madam.” Says the lynx. “Do you work here?”

Solomon pauses for a moment, wondering who exactly they are looking for.

“If you’re looking for an investigator, well, we are all occupied. Also closing soon.” She says, feeling that it was about the best thing she could have said.

“Are you their boss?” The lynx asks. Solomon could lie… But would it help her at all? Surely, they are more likely to have qualms with someone like Adelar, rather than her.

“No, I’m just… The secretary.” She manages to say.

The snow lynx pauses and touches her forehead, as if realising something.

“Please excuse my manners.” She then reaches out for a handshake. Solomon takes out one hand from a pocket and shakes her hand, keeping eye contact. The raccoon raises an eyebrow as she looks her up and down.

“Shaquia Shanley from Von Leue Finances.” Says the lynx with a jovial expression. “We would have liked to talk to Johannes Adelar, but if you’re the secretary, you’ll do as well.” Solomon feels at her wit’s end. “Why couldn’t I just say janitor?” The raccoon then whispers something to the lynx. She gives him an incredulous look.

“May we come in?” Now she’s done it. If there was a chance to resolve this easily… There still may be one yet.

“Of course! Feel free to check. I’ll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.” She says with a forced, cordial look. They all come into the station and sit down at the meeting hall, except for Shaquia, who stays outside to write a quick message. Solomon just realised that she never gave her name, but maybe that’s for the better. Shaquia soon comes inside as well.

“The place could use a renovation.” The lynx remarks. She walks over to the window in the meeting hall, Solomon sits down at the table as well.

“You don’t mind me letting some air in, do you?” Shaquia asks. Solomon shakes her head, urging them to sit down. She wants this to be over soon. The lynx opens the window, it opens fully with no resistance, but with a creak.

“So, we’re here to inquire about where exactly the company gets money from.” Says the raccoon. Solomon isn’t even sure what to say, she knows next to nothing about finances.

“Well, you see…” She begins.

All of a sudden, she feels a slight, but noticeable, sharp pain in the left side of her neck, from the direction of the open window. She quickly puts a hand on the source, and feels something. She pulls off whatever caused it and inspects it in her hand. It’s a dart.

She notices something that worries her much more, however, her glove slid off slightly. It must have happened when she pulled it out of that pocket, the part of the marking that wraps around her wrist is clearly showing.

Just then, the world starts spinning with her. She supports herself on a wall, looking out the window and sees it, the floating person, now much closer, and descending, walking down the air, seemingly.

She looks around the room, her vision blurring quickly. The four people are standing at different parts of the station, all to block any exit. “No… Not like this…” Her vision starts to fade as she hits the floor. She hears one last thing before going completely unconscious: “Sire, you are not going to believe this.”