Crouching Tiger, Running Fox [Fae!]

[Zane]

Alucard quickly finished scratching out a note, a summons, to one of the newer fledglings. The child was an outsider. Normally, Alucard would personally meet with outsiders, get to know them, introduce himself, ask their life story. From there he would help outsiders come to a decision about what would be best for them concerning their future. However, he had been so busy of late, and this Dagrun, as the child called themself, seemed very keen on staying, so they were enrolled in the Fledgeling classes.

The Summons complete, he sent it on it's way with Nex, the Master Shadow's Shadow Spirit. Eight months wasn't too late to play catch up, was it? Alucard shrugged, the real reason that he was summoning the child was because their assessments were consistently above what was demanded of first year Fledgelings, and so Alucard wanted to move the child up a year, hopefully improving their room to grow. He already had another fledgeling in mind to pair them with, as both their scores were well matched.

That done, the Master Shadow went back to reviewing mission reports and scouring over information collected by his network of spies across the land.

[GoblinFae]

Dagrun was under her bunk in the barracks discussing her day with her "friends" when the summons came. Nex appeared so quietly and so swiftly at her side that the young teen started, banging her head sharply on the underside of her cot, while the little mice she had been feeding and chatting with, scurried off to better hiding places.

The summons itself though caused her heart to plummet three stories straight down to her toes. With great resignation and trepidation, she slid out from under the bed and began the slow trudge to the Shadow Master's door in the clockwork tower. The pair arrived far too soon for Dagrun's liking and while the familiar continued onwards into the room, she continued to hang back, her hand poised to knock though she could not manage to bring herself to follow-through with the motion.

[Zane]

"Come on in, Dagrun." He said casually as his falcon returned to his perch on the desk. He motioned to the table nearby, a platter of food laid out, while he finished making a note on one of the mission reports on his desk. Routine stuff. Little did he know, but the food set out was something that Dagrun had prepared a day earlier, then persevered and reheated today in the ovens for him.

Setting the report in the Completed pile in the organized chaos that was the Master Shadows desk, he looked up and offered the child a smile. "A much belated welcome to you, Dagrun. I hope you are enjoying the Clockwork City."

[GoblinFae]

Dagrun entered the room uneasily, moving to stand by the directed table while trying from not fidget as much as possible. While Alucard worked, she allowed her eyes to wander covertly until they came to rest upon the tray of food at which point they bulged comically large.

Cold sweats prickled along her spine as she fought the urge to run with staying calm. For though the Shadow Master did not recognize the food, the Fledgling most certainly remembered the lumpy and lopsided savory pastries she had been making and accidentally dropped on the dirty kitchen floor before brushing off and sneaking back onto the serving platter when she thought no one was looking.

It was only the room's other occupant's voice that startled her back into wide-eyed attention. Dagrun hurried to respond with vigorous head nodding as she did not trust herself to speak above the mental mantra ringing repetively through her head. 'I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead.'

[Zane]

He went to grab for the report that he had received from Zander about the Fledgeling Classes, only to find that it has been misplaced. "Go ahead and help yourself Dagrun, I will be another moment." He stated, shifting through the mass of papers on the desk.

[GoblinFae]

The moment she realized she was not there regarding her failure at pastry-making, her shoulders slumped in relief. The tension quickly returned though as she knew she was not out of the clear yet. Dagrun did not need to be told twice to eat as soon as she was offered she made a dive for the pastries. As quickly, quietly, and effectively as she could, the young Fledgling proceeded to wolf down the large array of pastries in hopes of completely obliterating any incriminating evidence. She barely even tasted them as her eyes kept a hawk-like gaze on Alucard's movements and her hands shoveled the food into her mouth like an unending wheel, her cheeks puffing under the strain of holding pastries in reserve before being minimally chewed and gulped down.

[Zane]

"Ah! Here it is. Now we can g-" He cut himself off when he viewed the now empty platter. "Well now, I guess you were hungry. Just a common courtesy that you should probably know in the future, if there is platter set out, try not to eat the entire platter. Anyway, no big deal." Alucard shifted the papers in his hands.

"Anyway, I called you in here because I receive reports on the progress of fledgelings, you have been consistently scoring above and beyond what we expect and demand of first year fledgeling this late into the year. So, effective immediately, you are being moved into the next Fledgeling Class above yours." He said with a congratulating nod. "Also, because ranger life is so dependent on teamwork and trust, you will be sharing a small flat with another Fledgeling. Her name is Shula Ashia. You two will be flat mates until one of you takes the Rites. Now, Unless you have any questions for me, I will escort you to your new living space. Do you need to pick up anything from your old room before we head over?"

[GoblinFae]

She winced as she forced herself to swallow the last bite and hang her head with shame. 'It was necessary,' she consoled herself. Returning her attention back to Alucard, Dagrun could not believe her ears, her eyes widening further in surprise. Automatically, her head began to nod before she realized that she could not allow him to see what she wanted to get and Dagrun switched to vehemently shaking her head towards the negative. The fact that she was being promoted was completely lost on her as she continued to worry about being kicked to the roadside.

[Zane]

The Shadow Master scrunched his eyebrows at Dagrun, "I'm sorry, I am afraid that I am not all to fluent in nodding. You'll have to speak up. Do you have any questions for me?" He asked with a friendly smirk. Always friendly with Fledgelings, that was Alucard. Stern? Perhaps at times, but encouraging. He had learned long ago that if you encourage the young, they have a much higher chance of achieving their full potentail then if you are hard on them.

[GoblinFae]

Again, Dagrun shook her head fiercely before it registered with her that Alucard wanted her to speak. A quick, nervous lick of her lips and then she was opening her mouth to answer respectfully when the most disrespectful thing possible slipped out instead.

The Fledgling belched for all she was worth, loudly and fully from deep within her diaphragm. Completely mortified though she clapped her hands over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut in fear. 'World's shortest promotion,' her mind quipped remorsefully.

[Zane]

A short laugh escaped the Master Shadow lips, "Feel better?" he asked while rising from the desk, "I have some other things I need to get to soon, so lets walk and talk. If you need to get things from you old place, simply head there." Walking to the door, he held it open for Dagrun, "After you."

He could, very simply, teleport the both of them there, but most fledgelings didn't learn about teleportation until their 3rd year and the first few teleportations were always very disorienting.

[GoblinFae]

Horrified, Dagrun only shook her head, her hand over her eyes as she marched herself around and through the door, instinctively heading towards her cot. She had no idea what to say the Shadow Master and wondered if she walked fast enough she could either leave him behind or keep him from asking too many questions. What the Fledgling did not consider though was the fact that Alucard was so much taller than her and could most likely out-walk her any day.

[Zane]

Alucard had to remind himself to walk at a casual pace, his long strides could easily overtake the fledgeling if he wasn't careful. "Now, just to let you know, the flat you are being moved into has shared space and private space. The Shared space is the frontroom, the dinning room, and the kitchen. The latter two are conjoined as one room, you'll see when we get there. The private space is your room and her room. Under no circumstances are you to enter her room. Only accessible from your room is your personal bathing and hygiene room, I will show you in greater detail once we get there."

[GoblinFae]

Dagrun nodded her head in understand but her eyes were widening with so many thoughts racing through her head. The idea of so much space was amazing to her and she simply could not believe it. It was a pleasant thought though as the idea of sharing with someone given her secret was enough to make her head spin. Hearing though that her roommate was going to be another girl did nothing to put her mind at ease. From her experience boys were lazy and oblivious but girls were the nosy, social ones and if she was not careful, it would not be long before Dagrun's secret was found out for good. Then she would have to explain herself before being unceremoniously kicked out of the Vigilant Shadows for good. The very thought left a stone in her belly and ice in her heart. 'I'm dooooooomed,' was her only thought.

[Zane]

"Lastly, Your Flatmate goes by her last name, Ashia. Her Shadow Spirit has already manifested. He is a tiger. It shouldn't be an issue as Shadow Spirits will only really attack if their master is in danger. Now, do you have any questions for me?" Alucard explained as they approached Dagrun's small loft.

[GoblinFae]

The Fledgling quickly shook her head as she all but ran into her loft and dived under her bed to retrieve her small chest of personal property. She thanked every single one of her stars that her bed was made for once and she would not be further embarrassed by her poor habits and behavior.

With a bit of wiggling and two thumps to her head for trying to sit up too soon, Dagrun finally escaped the clutches of the space beneath her cot before slowly trudging to stand in front of Alucard, box in hand, and no idea what else she should be doing or saying.

[Zane]

Alucard looked at the fledgeling with a somewhat quizzical look. "You don't talk much do you?" Not waiting for a reply that he knew was going to be a nod, one way or another. "Anyway, lets see you to your new living quarters."

It was a quick walk across the Shade District, where all Fledgelings live and learn, that took them to a relatively large building several stories tall. Alucard had long since taken her box under his arm to save on time. "There is one flat per level, You and Ashia the third floor." He led her into the building, a small receiving room before a series of stair cases going all the way up, doors on every level heading to the various flats. Rising to the third floor, The Master Shadow opened the door with his key and walked into the frontroom of the small flat. A girl in her early teens quickly appeared in the doorway leading to the rest of the flat. "So my new roommate is a guy? Are you sure that's wise Master Shadow?"

"You know good and well that you are in no danger, what with my own precautions and that spirit of yours, Shula Ashia. You two should greet one another while I prepare the barrier over his room." With that Alucard walked out into the flat and out of sight.

Ashia looked over Dagrun for a moment, "Name's Ashia, call me Shula and I will hurt you. Get it, got it, good. Now come check out the flat." With that, she stopped baring the entrance to the flat and walked into the conjoined kitchen, dining, and sitting room.

[GoblinFae]

Dagrun shook her head while wishing that she still got to carry her box. She did not feel safe or secure without her possessions remaining close and still in her grasp. The fact that it was the Shadow Master only made her more uncomfortable as she was sure something in the chest would give away her identity to one as intelligent as him.

However, the arrival of her new flatmate left her only staring in wide-eyed wonder and fear. It seemed that Shula was going to be a force to be reckoned with and Dagrun already felt like her days among the Vigilant were quickly becoming numbered.

Her head nodded wildly in understanding as she feared opening her mouth would make her squeak like her only friends and in no time at all she was trailing the older girl about the place like a little lost puppy, the Shadow Master momentarily forgotten in the face of this far scarier adversary.

[Zane]

The flat was of a fairly simple layout, one large room, on one half was a kitchen and dining area, on the other half was a sitting area with a hearth in the center of that half of the room. At the top of the room, near the ceiling, were small vents too small for anyone to get more than an arm through. They were meant to vent any smoke produced by the kitchen or hearth. Ashia quickly pointed out a few key things. "Kitchen, larder, table, couches" she quickly ratted off the names of things as her sweeping pointed finger came to face each item in turn. "The hearth is great for making tea or, if you're weird, coffee. Disgusting stuff, that is. Also great for warning up after a long day of training. Quite the step up for the shared Barracks the first years get. In the larder is a selection of dried meats as well as cheeses I have gotten from my kitchen duties, nothing stolen of course, but once you are past the first year, they let you take extras home with you. You are welcome to it, but you gotta add to it here on out." Ashia went to sit on one of the hard wood couches by the hearth, picking up a book that had been discarded onto the dark cushion that helped to soften the seating.

Alucard walked out of one of the rooms, having just set Dagrun's box on her bed. "Now Dagrun, your room has a barrier over the doorway, no females can pass this barrier without alerting me. Shula h-"

"Not my name!"

"-as one over her doorway that prevents males from entering without my notice. Any before I go?"

[GoblinFae]

The young fledgling nodded her head in understanding as each thing was pointed out to her, doing her best to take it all in and remember lest she have a question later because of her own forgetfulness. It was however, only when he spoke that Dagrun remembered Alucard's presence in the room and flinched slightly as he described the protection over her door. She could already imagine the havoc that was going to cause her now that she was forever cut off from her sole belongings. As if her day was not trying enough, the young woman was already beginning to imagine what life would be like cat-napping on the couch, hiding out in the library, and bathing in the bath house when no one would be around to see her at the most incredibly painful hours of the morning. It seemed that life was about to become an absolute misery.

Mournfully she shook her head sadly in response to the Shadow Master's question, not even looking at him as she wallowed in her own mental self-pity. It did not help that it seemed her new flatmate was as terrifying as the Shadow Master himself. 'I'm doomed! Might as well buy my gravestone now and save myself the trouble.'