Do vaporwave kitsune count technicolor sheep? - 7. Chapter 7

They give me a cursory glance before moving over to Kemuri and sliding up and down his person. With a heavy and very put upon sigh, the door slides further open to allow us entry.

“Good morning! Welcome to Top Notch Loans, my name is Faes. Please come in.”

His smile has become positively dazzling and the small points of his teeth are shining and white against his dark skin. Light caramel blonde hair dances around his shoulders, tousling to caress his sharp cheekbones like the inner heart of a shuddering flame. Slightly pointed ears peek out through the strands, hinting at some sort of elfin heritage.

“Please have a seat at my desk there and I’ll be right over.”

I pause in my steps as he gives a little bow towards the chair at a rich cherry wood desk. Faes’ body is encased in a lavishly and intricately hematite sequined raven black bodysuit that Yuri would be proud to hit the ice in. The tented bulge gracing the front of his pants manages a state of understated grace as though to say ‘Ah ha, I see you are staring but who is really in the wrong here?’

Averting my eyes with a quickness I go to sit beside where Kemuri is already comfortably situated before the desk.

“What can I do for you on this lovely morning?”

The dark elf strides up to pause besides Kemuri’s shoulder as he places a mug of what smells like coffee on the leather topped desk before him. His gaze wanders over to me once more, lingering on my curving black horns.

“Exotic pet you have there. Can’t say I’ve seen anything similar before.”

“Moon is of rare breeding. She’s exceedingly well trained.”

His own cup of coffee still in hand, Faes walks around to stand before me with hand outstretched.

“Does she bite?”

I bare my sharp canines at him before snapping at the air beside his hand.

“Been known to.”

With a quickness, he pulls his hand back before nonchalantly walking around to seat himself opposite Kemuri behind the large desk.

“To business!”, he takes a moment to add cream from a small silver decanter and two cubes of sugar from a pot, “I presume you have come for a loan, after all it’s in the name.”

Kemuri picks up his own coffee, drinking it black.

“I've recently moved to the area and find myself unable to get a hold of my funds. So I’m hoping you, my good man, might be able to help me with setting myself up in town.”

Faes sits back with a smile, his hands steepled before him.

“Understandable. I have no doubt we can come to an amicable agreement. May I ask where it is you’ve moved here from?”

“I am not at liberty to say. Business, you know.”

If anything Faes' toothy smile grows wider.

“I understand completely. Now I must tell you that any inability to be forthcoming with certain standard information could result in the incurrence of expected caveats in the contract, for our own security in taking a calculated risk. Now, that being said...is there anything that you would freely like to disclose that might help your case?”

Kemuri smiles and takes another sip of the still steaming coffee, one finger dipping into the drink he stirs almost absentmindedly.

“I do possess a certain set of skills with years of experience and training that could be a great asset to the right task. Are there any hard set rules in the contract that I should be aware of?”

“Give me just a moment and I’ll draw up something for you to look over.”

Placing his dark long fingered hand over the bottom right corner of his desk I feel the air grow just a little warmer. Kemuri’s face betrays nothing of what is happening and continues idly stirring his piping hot coffee with his fingertip.

My ears prick as I hear a very soft click followed by silence. In front of Faes a large clear square glass rises up from within the wooden desk. With a few flicks of his wrist the dark elf rolls back the sleeves of his bodysuit, business mode initiating. With his right hand remaining on the desk corner, a flowy script of words began to appear upon the clear glass.

“Standard terms here really...I’m even sweetening it up since I have a good feeling about you. Lower interest rate since I have the feeling that we have a beautiful working relationship ahead of us. How is this?”

With a little twirl of his fingers over the desk the square of glass spun about to face Kemuri, showing him the details of the contract.

“I’m afraid I’m not fluent in this particular language. Care to spell it out for me?”

“But of course! This is a really good introductory rate. 3000 Koil is enough to find adequate living quarters for you and your...pet,” he glances at me before continuing, “and we can negotiate a manageable system of return.”

Something about him and the ways he looks at Kemuri and oh so smoothly laying out a convenient contract rubs me the wrong way. It feels like making a contract with the devil and I look up at my cousin, eyes glaring daggers. Which he absolutely ignores. Behind me I can feel my tails igniting with irritation.

“Is she..okay?”

Faes gestures at me vaguely as though I’m an afterthought only just coming back to his notice. I feel anger bubbling inside me and a growl starts deep in my belly.

“Moon.”

Kemuri is looking down at me with a private look of panic and I bare a tooth at him.

No. Too late, Cuz.

I feel it burning a path up from my stomach.

Without a second's hesitation I open my gaping toothy maw and hack a noxious black ball up upon the plush carpet beneath me, which promptly begins to bubble and spit from the acid. I didn’t know much of my father, but he was a black dragon.

Sorry Kemuri.

“MOON! No…”

He jumps out of his chair stopping just moments from trying to move the nauseating upheaval with his hand, which would have burned terribly. Instead he takes my muzzle in his hand and looks me in the eye.

“You are supposed to be a good girl.”

My chin stings where he squeezes it and I look up at him with blatant defiance and tell him with a gaze that he’s an idiot who needs to pay attention to what he’s agreeing to. Abruptly releasing me, he turns back to face Faes.

“I’m so embarrassed. Please forgive me, I have no idea what’s gotten into the little bitch.”

The dark elf stares at the burnt black hole where the now slowly fizzling ball is slowly quieting.

“Well...that’s the first time I believe I’ve seen that happen. Nothing that can’t be repaired, we’ll just factor the estimate in so don’t worry. I have a pet myself.”

Although he is speaking to Kemuri, Faes’ eyes continue to dart from me to the hole in the floor. I let my tongue loll as I lay idly with paws crossed beside my handiwork as though to say ‘I’ll do it again.’ If looks could kill, I’d be dead on the spot as Kemuri sits once more.

“Before we were rudely interrupted...you were saying?”

“I can see now that you are indeed in need of my help so I will maintain the deal as presented here, and we’ll just say the floor is ‘no hard feelings.’”

“Very well. How do we proceed?”

My growling is met with a swift kick to my side.

Faes continues on, completely unfazed by my antics. With another artful little twirl the glass screen returns to facing him once more.

“I’ll just convert this into a personal copy for you which will not only testify as an enactment of our contract but this also counts as your mode of spending and is thereby tied to your specific biometrics.”

At the very bottom center of the glass screen a glowing box appears.

“Your blood is required.”

Faes moves back from the desk to open a drawer off to the side when Kemuri halts him.

“No need, I carry my own.”

Pulling a jade inlaid handle butterfly knife from his chained pockets, he fancily flicks it open before pricking the pad of his right thumb just enough to draw a droplet of blood forth. My dark growling is met with another kick as he presses a crimson thumbprint across the glowing glass. Suckling the wound upon his thumb, he sits back.

After a moment the glowing intensifies and the bloody thumbprint begins to disappear as though it is being eaten by the glass. In shining rows the words on the screen begin to disappear. I can feel my jaw going slack as what appears to be a black key card melts into existence beneath the square glass. Once all the words have disappeared and the screen goes dim and blank, Faes grabs the card with his left hand while spreading his right palm flat against the desk once more and the glass descends back to the depths from when it came.

“It’s a pleasure doing business, Mister…?”

“Kemuri. Likewise.”

Standing up, Faes gives me a much wider berth than before as he crosses around to shake Kemuri’s hand.

“Good luck in finding suitable lodgings, I’m certain that you’ll find something to accommodate you. Once you’ve settled in, come back and see me...perhaps alone next time.”

Kemuri accepts the dark elf’s hand with alacrity, smiling up at the taller man.

“My thanks for your help, Mr. Faes.”

“Oh no, simply Faes will do. I look forward to our next meeting, Kemuri.”

The way my cousin’s name falls from his slim grinning lips like a slow exhalation of rich cigar smoke makes my skin prickle with unease. Faes places his hand at the small of Kemuri’s back as he escorts us leisurely back to the front door.

“And honestly don’t worry about the rug...or my hardwood floors. It’s not every day I am surprised and trust me when I say that was a first. Until next time.”