Mika stares at his reflection as the elevator begins its ascent. Black hair cut short, hazel eyes poking out from behind square rims, a boyish countenance on a shorter than average frame. The oversized shirt and tie hanging loosely around his neck do very little to create the impression of adulthood or professionalism. He sweeps his hair into place, adjusts his tie and takes a deep breath. Then the elevator announces his arrival, and he steps out and through.
The thing that catches his attention first is the aquarium. It’s large and spans almost the entire office, forming the central pillar that separates various meeting rooms and offices. On closer examination he finds a single small goldfish, its bulbous eyes meeting his gaze and swimming towards the glass to greet him.
He smiles to it, whispering “Wow the owners really like fish huh,” He walks past, not noticing the fish tilt its head in response and following wordlessly along. He scans the various offices and meeting rooms, finding most of them empty but for stacks of paper and boxes. The office at the end of the corridor is occupied, and as his heart begins hammering in his chest, the figure in the office looks up.
He’s met with cold blue eyes. They get up, not breaking eye contact, and step through the door to address him. Mika feels a rush of cold air as the door opens, and they run their hand through their auburn brown hair cut into a pixie cut, exposing a streak of white.
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“Can I help you?” she asks, a voice equal parts courteous and annoyed.
Mika, panicking at the confrontation, just blurts out “The swordfish!”
Her eyes narrow at the mention, and she motions for him to join her in the office.
Once seated, the rest of the story tumbles out of his lips like a landslide. The hallucinations, the swordfish, and a lifetime of looking for answers as he keeps talking. Snow, as Mika is told to refer to her, does not interrupt much, only interjecting for clarification once or twice. When he finally runs out of steam and silence descends, Mika looks down to realise there’s a cat in his lap. A large black tabby has curled into a ball and as he finishes his story it opens its amber eyes, stares at him and then leaps onto Snow’s desk.
“Well, what do you think?” Snow asks. Before Mika can formulate a response, the cat has already answered.
“As far as I can tell, he’s not a mage and has no signs of magical interference or tampering on him. Although Madam Secretary would have a better idea if he means ill, I suspect his presence here strongly suggests that she does not believe that to be the case.”
“Well, at the end of the day the hiring decision comes down to us. Ajit won’t be awake for several hours and Mai is otherwise engaged,” Snow says, her eyes studying Mika’s reaction to the talking cat.
“And The Secretary?” the cat asks.
Snow shakes her head, “You know the fact that he’s here at all is proof she wants us to consider. But she never intervenes with decisions that must be made. I suppose we are in agreement then?”
The cat nods, then hops off the desk and smiles at Mika.
“Welcome to Nightwatch,” it says.