She was good to her word. The next day, same time, Naddia and Shade sauntered in.
Shade slid into a seat by the entrance not allowing her attention on Naddia to waver. Naddia continued forward. It was busier today, there already were a few men and women at the bar to keep me busy. She passed by each in turn, placing her hand on their shoulders, and spoke in hushed tones that I could not process into words. Amazingly, each person she encountered stood up and relocated without an ounce of resistance.
"Well then...that is disconcerting."
I smiled warmly as she finally reached me, determined to not show an ounce of my current consternation. "I believe you have something for me, yes?"
"Of course." She stated with a grin as she placed a small black box in front of me. I reached out for it in politeness but then abruptly stopped as the thing moved slightly.
"Shit."
"Ah...Madam, is there something alive in there? You are not permitted to-"
"Oh for heaven's sake." she scoffed as she unlatched the lid and then pulled out a miniature lion by the scruff of its mane.
Until it was revealed I would not think such a thing that was held before me could be plausible.
A coat that glittered as pure as gold, eyes and teeth like cut rubies. And beneath these things I could see the anatomy maneuver under the skin, twisting and moving it's ornamental form.
My demeanor collapsed. "What in the-"
"Right?! It's absolutely impossible. And yet here it is."
My mind had screeched to a halt and it took a moment before I could assemble my thoughts enough to form a coherent sentence.
"First of all," I began, "how in God's name did you come into possession of something like this? Secondly...why on earth would you be handing over such a creature to me?"
Mable interjected with a gasp, her eyes locked onto by the tiny beast. I suddenly became keenly aware of the public eye that surrounded us. My eyes scoured the room to find that most everyone was minding their own affairs and had yet to notice us; the exception to this was naturally Naddia's companion, Shade. In my exploration of external events I realized that everyone Naddia convinced to relocate had their backs to the bar. I started to feel alarmingly unsettled, as if I were being played the fool in some elaborate farce.
Naddia blinked slowly and then turned her gaze to Mable, "Hello there, I don't think you are seeing anything particularly noteworthy, are you love?"
"Oh..." Mable's gaze had shifted focus to Naddia. She looked positively hypnotized, "No. I presume not." and with that she turned away and continued her work as if a permanent blind spot had formed over our conversation.
Naddia turned back to me, "I weaved it into existence. As to your second question...it's a very good question."
I stood there silently staring at her, forcing her to continue.
"...Um...yep. Weaved it into existence." she flourished the thing as it growled in frustration. "Oh, come ooon Alaric, I know you want to know how I did it right?"
Her tone of familiarity caused my jaw to clench. "Yes, sure I do." My eyes flicked downward to where her Guild pin should be, and then narrowed considerably.
"What is this really? Some kind of ploy? I won't be toyed with jus-"
"W-wait, no!"
Her smile fell and her tone immediately shifted, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that." she pleaded, "This really is yours. No strings attached." she lowered the lion and secured the box, pushing it towards me. "And it really is real. I want to show you how I did this, if you're willing. But, it takes time and I'll need somewhere private and quiet."
"Do you know how that sounds? How can I trust that this isn't stolen property? And again, why are you entrusting this...lion to me?"
"It's not stolen. I made it, and...well...I want to show you how I created it first, before I tell you why I gave it to you specifically. This whole situation may seem really strange but I promise that this will be worth your time."
"Fine. We will meet for dinner at the restaurant down this road when I leave work at 8 o'clock. Then we can use my van for privacy." I grabbed the box and put it below the counter.
"Great!" she clasped her hands in joy.
"Y-yes." I displayed a rather strained smile, "Ah, I need to get back to work, you understand."
"Oh right, of course." She backed away and winked, "Till later then, Alaric." She walked off to reunite with Shade, and then they both took their leave.