Brandon Answers

After a few short rings Brandon answered.

"Hello?" Brandon's voice was slightly breathless, a familiar, eager-to-please tone that sent a surprising thrill through Emi. "Emi? Is that you?" There was a frantic, shuffling sound in the background, like he was trying to simultaneously hide a body and answer the phone. "Sorry, it's... it's chaos here. Everyone's gone completely nuts." He paused, and Emi could practically hear him straightening his shirt, trying to compose himself. "But I'm... I'm okay. I'm good. Are you okay? You got out, right? I was worried."

"I'm fine, Brandon," Emi said, her voice a low, purring murmur that was a world away from the panicked fugitive she'd been an hour ago. She was in control now, her fear folded neatly away,. "Listen, I need to see you. Can you get away?"

Brandon hesitated, a beat of silence filled with the faint, muffled sounds of what could only be described as revelry in the background. "I... I don't know, Emi," he stammered, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's not really...a good time" Emi thought she could hear a squeal of lust i nthe background "And in here... well, things are...uh...happening."

Emi's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. He was a kid in a candy store, and he wasn't about to leave just because a random girl had called.

"Okay, Brandon, here's the deal," she purred, her voice dripping with a confidence she was only just be

"Okay, Brandon, here's the deal," Emi purred, her voice dripping with a confidence she was only just beginning to feel. "We don't meet in the mall. Too much... temptation. For both of us. But we meet on mall property. There's that little outdoor garden area behind the food court, the one with the ridiculous bronze statue of a dolphin. No one ever goes there. Meet me there in say an hour? 16:00?"

She let the offer hang in the air for a moment, a simple, logistical suggestion that any rational person would accept. Then, she leaned into the phone, her voice dropping to a husky, seductive whisper. "And Brandon?" she added, the final hook. "If you get there and you don't like what I have to say... if you think you're having more fun in there... then you can have me. Right there on the grass. Breeding Pass or not. My word."

There was a long pregnant pause.

"Ok deal."

****

16:00 Outside Sunny Day Mall. Garden Court

"I can't believe I'm voluntarily coming back to this place," Emi muttered, her fingers clutching the strap of her handbag like a lifeline. She'd changed into a simple blue sundress a welcome replacement for the soiled bikini. The dress was soft and loose, but she felt utterly exposed as she stepped through the wrought-iron gates into the Garden Court. Every rustle of leaves sounded like a footstep, every distant laugh seemed like a prelude to an ambush.

'Nervous, mistress?' Verdant Green's gravelly voice was a smug little tickle in her ear. The pink cloud was hovering just behind her shoulder, a discreet, wisp-like presence. 'Relax. You do realize you had to come back anyway, right? That's Keiko's car you're driving. We need to retrieve your own, and those spare keys you so sensibly grabbed from your apartment. This was always going to be a two-part excursion. Think of this as the scenic route. A scenic route in which you might end up misreading the situation and get utterly fertilised by horny co-worker. All part of the rich tapestry of life.'

Emi wondered over a nearby coffee stand. a temporary oasis of normalcy, the rich scent of roasted beans a welcome reprieve from the day's surrealism.

Before too long Brandon arrived, looking slightly flushed but with a determined glint in his eye. He clutched the Breeding Pass in his hand like a winning lottery ticket. For a heart jumping moment Emi thought he was going to pass o nthe preamble and screw her there and then.

"Get that away from me" she said stepping back, looking around she noticed Verdant Green was literally laying low, spread out and virtually invisible.

Emi didn't waste any time. She laid it all out, her voice a low, urgent murmur against the hiss of the espresso machine. She explained about magic, the Trickster path, the power, the danger, the Life Coven. She explained the role of a Custos, the need for a magical partner, and the 'maintenance' required, her wording deliberately clinical but with an unmistakable undercurrent of promise. She was braced for scepticism, for confusion, for fear.