Reliable Blessing

“Hey kid," came a gruff voice from behind Iro. “Is that your letter?"

The voice belonged to a tall, white-furred arden. He was wearing a black pin-striped business suit, complete with a baby blue tie that matched his eyes. He was gazing at the piece of paper that Iro was holding firmly in his hands.

 

“I'm Vythe Vidallyn, Head of Security for the Graders," he named himself flatly. “I make it my business to know who I'm talking to. You're Iro Blindhan, and this," he snatched the letter out of Iro's hands as he spoke, “Is a summons from Ms. Grader'ba."

With the letter now in his hands, Vythe looked it over momentarily. It was written in a vague sort of way, naming a time and a place, as was Koani's tendency. It also bore the bright mark of her insignia. Vythe folded the letter, creating a sharp crease, then slipped it into his left pocket. He looked back at Iro, his eyes not saying much.

“I'd like you to know first off that this is not standard hiring procedure. Generally potential employees are contacted via our pendragon resources division. However, you had the audacity to address Ms. Grader'ba herself. She must be in a good mood, because instead of flat out turning you down, she's decided to humour you." Vythe looked mildly perturbed. He didn't much like running silly errands like this. They were well below him, and leagues below Koani. Why Koani had decided to waste her time on this guy was beyond him. She had much better things to do than interview pendragons for jobs.

“Now, if you'd please be so kind as to come with me..."

 

Maybe this guy wasn't as bullheaded as he had first sounded. Whatever the case, he was being compliant now. “Good." Without any further words, Vythe led Iro through to the back of the restaurant. Like many of the other finer dining joints, it had several privately partitioned off rooms. Sitting beside a tawny coloured arden with savagely black and pink hair was Koani Grader. She looked to be lost in thought, but when Vythe entered ushering in their guest, her brain snapped to attention. “Ms. Grader'ba," Vythe addressed her. “Here's one Mr. Iro Blindhan to speak with you."

“Ah, excellent." Koani said as she slid out of her chair and got to her feet. She was dressed in a long dark grey skirt adorned with black floral patterning. Her accompanying top was of a rich burnt orange and dark red. Black patterns similar to those of her skirt decorated the shirt's trim. Koani gestured to a vacant seat. “Do sit down Mr. Blindhan. I understand that we have things to discuss. May I order you a drink of some sort?"

 

“Alright then, Iro," Koani said as she sat back down in her seat and deftly crossed her legs. “You may call me Koani for now, but in mixed company I'd prefer to be called Ms. Grader. It doesn't sit too well with some folk to appear to be too friendly, if you understand what I mean."

“If you wish to disarm yourself, you may. Though, if you're comfortable as is, then it's not entirely necessary. I suppose before we start, I'd like to introduce you to my comrades. As I understand you've already met Mr. Vythe Vidallyn. This arden to my right is Codat, one of Vythe's associates."

With that introduction, Codat smiled plainly at Iro. He didn't speak though, as it was understood that Koani was to be chairing this meeting.

“Now, to start. Iro, I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about yourself."

 

Koani nodded as Iro spoke. “I understand. It's unfortunate though that such discrimination still exists. It's one thing to discriminate someone due to race, it's another thing to discriminate simply because of a presumed disability. Unfortunately in some work places, the definition of being “fit and able" differs for a reason. As you can imagine, the U.S.R. has some pretty high standards. Even pendragons who felt themselves to be completely fit have been denied service."

She slipped her right hand into her pocket and pulled out a small, flat silver device. It was a simple electronic day planner. Koani set this down on the table in front of her, but left it closed and turned off.

“Now, I know I've got the general gist of what you want. A job is a rather vague term though. What are you interested in? How do you think you can contribute this organization?"

 

“I see. Well Iro, what I'd first like you to know is that we've already run a background check on you. From what I understand, everything was clear...?" Koani cast a glance at Codat who smiled and nodded in response. Everything had checked out.

“So you wish to protect others. I find this quite admirable. However, protection is an extremely dangerous profession. Even more so when the persons you are protecting deliberately walk into danger. What you're seeking from me, Iro, is a very dangerous position. Fatality rates are high. I won't lie to you. I need you to understand the risks. Death is a high probability."

 

“All right. Now that that disclaimer is out of the way, I suppose we can get down to the nitty-gritty details." Koani smiled genuinely. She still wasn't all that fond of holding hiring sessions. Her secretaries seemed to be able to do a much more efficient job. However, she figured it didn't hurt to at least know some of the newly hired faces. Establishing and keeping relationships was sometimes a very integral part of the job.

“What I first need you to sign is a non-disclosure agreement. It's a pretty standard document. All it really lists are things that you're not allowed to talk about with the public – financial jargon, schema, business policies, that sort of thing. We require a certain amount of confidentiality, you see. Any violations, whether they be big, or small, can and will result in a termination of service." Koani said as she looked over to Codat. Codat pulled a briefcase onto his lap and clicked it open. Without saying a word to Koani, he pulled out a thin sheet of paper and handed it to her.

Koani placed the sheet of paper – which wasn't even a sheet of paper at all, but a very thin and flexible sort of computer screen – in front of Iro. It gave off a muted white glow. At the top of the screen were both the Grader's and Koani's own insignia. The document on the screen was scrollable as the agreement itself was quite lengthy.

“I suggest you read that over... ask any questions if you have them. Then I'll give you a pen to sign. If you wish."

 

Koani rose an eyebrow. Iro seemed completly complacent with the agreement. It was a straight forward document after all, however she'd been expecting just the slightest bit of hesitation from him. Instead he'd just plainly read through it and pushed right on back into the interview.

She pulled a deep purple pen out of her pocket. It was an expensive looking thing with gold coloured trimmings and Koani's own insignia blazoned upon the top. She handed it over to Iro. “Just sign at the bottom there. Then we can open the floor to questions. That is, if you happen to have any."

 

“Azkallams," Koani said with a highly professional smile. It'd been a rather smooth screening. Of course, Iro's full interview would come at a later date. One involving psychologists and a wide variety of other specialists. Of course, that sort of thing was standard procedure and Koani had no real doubt in her mind that Iro would have any failings.

The Grader then took the document and glanced over it before passing it off to Codat. Codat tucked the form carefully away. Once that was done and over with, Koani's attention turned back to Iro.

“Keep the pen, Iro. Let this be our beginning." Koani brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder. “I think you can do good things. There will be one more interview after this, but you won't have a problem with it. As for when you start – I'm glad that you're eager. You can start almost immediately. In three or possibly four days, actually. There are training sessions of course, and at the beginning there will be a lot of errand-type missions... mundane jobs for the most part. Did you have any other questions?"

 

Koani laughed politely, it wasn't a forced sound, yet it wasn't as completely genuine as it could have been. “I'm sure that you'll find working for us a little bit different than patrolling the forests. Though perhaps not too dissimilar. The wild beasts here just come in different forms."

When Iro slid her the coin, Koani picked it up with her right hand and looked it over. “Shumc iyo, Iro. It's quite pretty. I'm actually hoping that this relationship will be mutually beneficial. I'm sure that we still have much to learn and gain from each other."