The Aristocrats of Evil (Arthur Randall and Acacia)

Lord Arthur Randall had to pause and steel himself before stepping into the dimly lit room. At his side waited Acacia, his gray-whiskered german shepherd daemon, and the two of them swept a swift glance over the room's occupants. Most of the faces were familiar from his association with the previous head of the Phantomhive family, though there were a few notable exceptions; it seemed that Ciel Phantomhive had already been busy during his short time as the queen's watchdog.

In one corner a tall oriental man lounged across an armchair, his huge python daemon draped over his shoulders and a girl draped over his lap. As they watched, the serpent bowed her head to his ear and whispered something, her tongue flickering between her fangs, and the man smiled slightly. Lord Randall could not see the daemon of the young woman who straddled his knees, but Acacia whispered, "It must be something small," and he gave a slight nod.

In the back of the room, a billiards cue stick balanced against his chair, sat the little Earl Phantomhive himself. His daemon was perched still and dark above him, majestic in a way that the thin-shouldered boy was not. At his side was another new addition: the Earl's maternal aunt, the Baroness Burnett. Her daemon sat at her feet, poised and elegant as if he was posing for a portrait. The Siamese cat daemon flicked his thin tail around his paws, and his ears twitched as he followed the conversation between the woman and the boy.

Lord Randall's gaze skimmed over the familiar figures of Chlaus, Diedrich, the photographer, and the man and woman who were conversing with bowed heads in one corner. It settled briefly on the Undertaker, who stood to the side of the room and watched them all with an inscrutable intensity. As he looked away, the mortician turned his head towards them, and Randall's scowl firmed. Acacia had never liked the man, saying that he constantly smelled of death, and some of his daemon's discomfort had rubbed off on him.

Finally, his gaze landed on the last new addition. Young and fair-haired, the man had a scar that cut across the bridge of his nose and brow and caught the light as he leaned over the billiard table. His yellow and black wall lizard daemon dug her claws into his shoulder and clung to his jacket on as he made his shot.

The police commissioner was jolted out of his observations, and Acacia growled as someone called out:

"Lord Randall!" It was the Earl's high, smooth voice that broke through the hazy silence of the room, drawing the attention of all present.

"We've been waiting for you," he continued, "Please, come join us. This is Lau, the manager of the Shanghai trading company Kong-Rong, and Azzurro Vanel of the Ferro Company, who's proving his skill at billiards. I'm sure you recognize my aunt, Angelina Burnett, and the others."

"I do," he said gruffly.

"Good," said the Earl, "The purpose of this gathering is simply to familiarize ourselves with our number. I know that many of you worked with my predecessor, but for those of you who have not, please...acquaint yourselves with your colleagues. We have some time before dinner, but refreshments will arrive shortly." That said, the Earl settled back and turned his head to murmur something to his aunt.

Lord Randall found himself irritated; if he had his way, he would rarely ever cross paths with the Phantomhive's Aristocrats of Evil, let alone socialize with them. At his waist, though, Acacia woofed out a laugh.

"I never thought we'd be doing this again," she said, "after the fire destroyed everything. It's strange…almost eerie, being here with these people. It's uncomfortably familiar, and yet…"

"Yet everything has changed," a scratchy voice interrupted from over Randall's shoulder. Both Lord Randall and Acacia jumped.

"Undertaker!" he exclaimed as he spun around, "I didn't notice you come up."

Almost perfunctorily, the Lord and daemon scanned the Undertaker's form in an unconscious habit formed over their association; in all the years they had known him, neither of them had ever once managed to catch a glimpse of his daemon. They didn't see it now, either.

The mortician chuckled, apparently oblivious.

"Looks like you're out of practice," he said blithely, "though if you thought that you could let your guard down now that Vincent's no longer here, you'd be wrong."

Lord Randall scowled at the dig, and Acacia shifted on her paws.

"It's more likely that you enjoy startling people, Undertaker," said Randall, "The idea that I would ever become complacent in the home of a Phantomhive…it's not just unbelievable, it's…." he gritted his teeth, and the Undertaker laughed, flapping a dismissive hand.

"You should loosen up, Commissioner," he said, "This is a party amongst friends. No need to be so mean."

"He's one to talk," Acacia grumbled at his side, though the mortician tactfully ignored her. Instead he turned to face the door.

"It looks like that butler is here…" he murmured, and that moment the door was pushed open by a tall man in black carrying trays of sandwiches and tea.

"I'll talk to you later, Lord Randall," the Undertaker said. He tossed the words over his shoulder as he strode over to hover near the Earl and the Baroness, saying something that inspired truly comical expressions to cross their faces. Randall scrubbed a hand over his face, and withheld a sigh with enormous effort. His attention was drawn down as Acacia's ears perked, and she sniffed the air.

"What is it?" he asked, and his daemon looked up at him, her dark eyes bemused.

"I don't know. For a moment, I thought I smelled something very strange…. I didn't manage to place it…but you know, Arthur, I think that I cannot wait to go home."

He gave her a tired smile.

"I believe we can both agree on that."

A/N: Muuurgh. Tendonitis freaking sucks. Ration your time on technology kids, the repetitive motions of typing or swiping on your phone are bad for your hands.
Um. Anyways. I actually finished this last night, but I was too tired to trust my proofreading ability, so here it is today. This chapter's a little more broad; I hope you don't mind the slightly different feel.

DAEMONS:
rCiel: Kamalani; unsettled
oCiel: Noelani; raven
Lizzie: Eramun; unsettled
Frances: Asra; panther
Edward: Eimear; serval
Alexis: Amista; wolfdog
Arthur Randall: Acacia; German shepherd
Lau: python
Azzurro Vanel: wall lizard
Madam Red: Siamese cat