The sound of the morning crickets greeted Liro Vielle as he awoke in his plush bed. He stretched and groaned as he felt a soft breeze kiss his cheek. His eyes looked upon the gentle rustling curtains before his large bedroom windows. From his bed, he could see the expanse of his beloved Tequi, and the sight was the perfect way to greet the day.

The Vielle Estate sat high on a hill and allowed a sweeping view. From the balcony attached to his bedroom, he could see his family’s guild hall, located at the base of said hill, and could trace the sandstone paths before they disappeared into Tequi proper. A sea of tan grass treated the city’s borders as a shoreline and stretched to the horizon. Its opposite shoreline was found in the shadow of the mighty Witherfang mountains.

Today was the first day Liro enjoyed the luxury of waking up in his own bed in little over a month. The last month was spent on the other side of Aria in Maeros. While a majority of his time was spent on holiday on the beaches of Maeros’ capital, Heavenscall. The label “holiday” was a bit of a stretch. Most of the time, in the halls of power, he schmoozed and indirectly advertised the services of his family’s guild. A task that came with some ease to Liro. With a little honey wine, the wolf's charm could win even the most decerning client.

After a deep stretch, Liro slipped out of the bed and moved across the spacious bedroom. The warming sunlight shined on his nude form. His off-white fur shined as he passed by the window and slipped into a large, walk-in closet. The orbs of light sprung to life as he stepped inside. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave it a good shake. His hair was a deep red with a streak of white above his right eye. He came to a stop near the entrance of the closet at a cubby full of strips of silk. After a few seconds of thinking, Liro grabbed a black silk and tied his hair into a neat ponytail.

His hair now out of his face, Liro walked into a fittingly spacious bathroom. In the center of the room sat its main feature. Custom ordered by his uncle was a circular tub carved out of a near-perfect chunk of cultured marble. The only non-natural part of the installation was the polished brass fixtures connecting to unseen piping. Giving the dials a couple of turns, the wolf started a bath with copious amounts of rose oil. Liro closed his eyes and slipped into the sweet-smelling water up to his slender neck.

Once comfortable, Liro lifted his hand from under the water. Instead of flowing and falling from his open hand, the water gathered in his palm. It took on more gel-like properties as the wolf’s ruby-red eyes started to glow. It formed into a perfect sphere with a rune inside. Tapping it, the room filled with an echoing chime similar to a bell.

“Oh, Delilah,” Liro called after the sound, the orb of water falling back into the water below.

Darkness fell over the entrance of Liro’s closet. The bright orbs were snuffed out; the only thing left was a black, inky void. From the blackness stepped a well-dressed female rabbit. A black blouse and slacks with a green cape draped over her shoulder. Her fur was the same sandy brown as the desert grass The Shimmerglades were famous for. She pushed the small glasses up her nose with her uncovered hand before folding her arms behind her back.

“Yes, Master Vielle?” Delilah’s voice came out in a near whisper.

“Good morning, Delilah. Could you be a dear and fetch me today’s paper? I’m dying for some real culture.” Liro asked while resting on the edge of the tub.

The rabbit turned on her heel and walked back into the unbroken darkness that was once Liro’s closet. She returned with a rolled-up copy of the day’s newspaper. The wolf relaxed back into the tub as the rabbit approached. As Liro lifted his arm to retrieve the paper from Delilah’s hand, his ruby-red eyes glowed softly. The water soaking the fur on his hand and arm rapidly dripped into the massive bathtub. When the paper reached his hand, and the wolf’s eyes stopped glowing, it found not a drop of water there to greet it. Doing the same with his other hand, Liro unrolled the paper and read the day's news.

“Ugh, no good shows. Orchestra season starts soon, hmm? Wonder if they’ll have a good show this year.” Liro said to himself as his eyes ran down the page. As he went to turn the page, A buzzing could be heard from back inside his bedroom. “Delilah, fetch that for me, would you?”

Delilah, again, simply nodded and snapped her fingers. Holding open her palm, the buzzing phone appeared. With another thank you, Liro checked his phone and saw his uncle was calling. The wolf quickly waved off the rabbit and answered it once she was gone.

“Good morning,” Liro answered the phone with an overly cheery tone.

“And good morning to you too, Liro,” the breathy voice of Gartanian Vielle flowed through the phone, “I saw the request docket come through this last evening. I must say I am impressed. Your mother would be so proud of you.”

“Well, first, I have to offer an apology. You see, something has come up, and I need a favor.”

“Go on,” Liro asked, sitting up in the bath.

“It's not anything to fret over, but we got a request from the Solnuevos. Their heir’s birthday is coming up, and they would like a custom job done. As this is a personal request, I told them that you would oversee the project.”

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Liro leaned away from the phone and let out an annoyed groan. After clearing his throat, he returned with his pleasant tone, “I thought we agreed I was to get some time from my duties after dealing with the Maeros nobles. Are you sure Alexander can’t take this job?”

“You know your cousin doesn’t get on with the Solnuevos. One look at Miguel, and they start shouting at each other. If you do this for me, I’ll double your off time.”

Liro silently considered his uncle’s offer. While he didn’t know how long the job was going to take, six weeks all to himself sounded tempting. That sounded like enough time to tour the ski resorts along the Witherfang mountain range. Plus, the Solnuevos always paid well, even for small jobs. That meant a pretty juicy commission would finance the tour.

“Alright, uncle. I’ll take the project. Send any documentation for it to my computer, and I’ll be down there in a little while.”

“Splendid! It is a simple piece of jewelry for Miguel and should only require minor supervision. The Solnuevos will send over a box with their desired stones.”

“Hmm, to be honest, uncle, I wasn’t aware we had a team in the guild that could do jewelry. If there is nothing else, I fear I must end our call. Seems I have a day to prepare for.”

With that, the call came to a close, and Liro simply put his phone down on the side of the tub. His second sigh held more annoyance than relief. Closing his eyes once more, the wolf slid under the water. As large as the tub was, Liro found it easy to fully submerge his svelt form. To make sure he stayed under the water, Liro moved a hand to the surface of the water. The tips of his fingers glowed a soft red as the surface of the water grew tense against his touch. The surface of the bathwater shimmered and reflected the sun’s rays like it was hitting the glass of a window pane. Soon, the water around him grew still, and any upward movement was halted.

There, in the suspended liquid, the wolf found a bit of quiet. In the space, all external sound was muffled, and the only thing that could be heard within was the soft beating of his own heart. Soon, even that faded away, and he could think. There was nothing for the wolf to think about other than just his fatigue and slight disappointment. It was nice to be somewhere others couldn’t reach him. Being a member of the Vielle family came with some expectations in exchange for their position in society. Being in the public eye was a primary stressor, but keeping up with customs and formalities was a bit of a drag. Here, in this void, he could relax. For a little while, anyway. For a Highblood like Liro, there was hardly space for relaxation and personal time.

Eventually, the breath in Liro’s chest had enough of being in his chest. As expected, the urge to breathe grew stronger than the need for solitude and his hand slipped away from the surface. After taking a deep breath and a loud exhale, the wolf stared off into the middle distance.

“Well, For house and honor, I suppose,” Liro muttered before getting out of the tub and retrieving a fluffy towel from a freestanding towel rack.

*******

Liro rode a private trolley car from his family’s compound down to the Vielle’s private entrance into the guild. He stood near the driver seat and reveled in the sight of his beloved Tequi. His hair, now unbound, flowed gently in the morning breeze. He had left his family compound wearing a loose white long-sleeve shirt with a form-fitting black long-sleeve shirt underneath. Draped over his shoulder was a vibrant waist-length red cape. His left arm was tucked into a sewn-in pocket on the inside of the cape. On the right, there was a slit sporting a silver accent around the opening. From it, his right arm grabbed the safety bar on the side. Multiple rings ran up his right ear while his exposed wrist sported many bands of shimmering gold. Below the cape, the wolf also sported designer black slacks and a matching black belt with a simple gold buckle.

As soon as he stepped off the trolley and out onto the central courtyard, every person who laid eyes on Liro saluted him, as per custom. By laying their right arm across their chests and bowing their heads, they showed respect to not only Liro but the Vielle bloodline. The wolf would, in turn, nod his own to them before continuing on his way. The first few saw him stop and greet each new face, but, as he did most mornings, Liro found himself half-heartedly nodding while only slowing slightly.

Liro’s neck was already aching by the time he reached his office on the main plaza. Thankfully, he was able to slip up the stairs and inside without being seen by any of the artisans under his family’s employ. The inside was professional and stylish, with an unsurprising theme built around the family’s love of roses. Sitting at his desk, he booted up the computer and checked the files his uncle had sent.

“By the elders, all this, and those monsters want this done in a month?” Liro balked at the schematics on his screen. The job Gartanian sent across his desk was titled The Eternal Sun Pendant. The sun-centric theming was standard for the aristocratic house that put in the request. Liro’s protest was around the detail they were requesting. Their requirements were incredibly exact, down to a fraction of an inch in some cases. He knew that no one he would consider a slouch in his uncle’s employ, but the level required was undoubtedly high. Liro thought to add this to his uncle’s growling list of untruths for the day. He worried that if a close eye wasn’t kept on whatever poor soul saddled with this task, the guild could have an angry and possibly flame-slinging Highblood on their hands.

Liro slouched down in his chair as his eyes scanned the measurements and materials. As he pondered whether it was too late to talk his cousin into overseeing the job, one bit of information caused the wolf to spring upright. There, at the bottom of the document, was the amount this job was paying.

“A hundred thousand?!” Liro gasped. The excitement faded as he saw that particular total was for early completion. The slightly smaller sum for on-time completion lowered that impressive number by a fourth. After a moment of thought, he shrugged and thought aloud, “Even with that, that's still twelve thousand in my pocket.

As Liro thought about all the lovely places he could visit along his future trip to the snowy slopes, he turned his attention to the team his uncle had picked out for the team. Ocaña? That was a name he had heard around the halls of the guild, but from what he couldn’t remember, it wasn’t any of the recent names that had gained traction. He shrugged and made a note to check out their studio. That was after checking out some new skiing gear.