"Walter, what is this?" Integra asked. She had left the room for a moment in search of a rubber band to tie her unruly hair back with as she did papers. When she returned, she found a small rubber balloon on her desk, filled with sand. There were two little cartoon men on it. One seemed rather happy and had his arms outstretched. Beneath him, the words "Hug Me" were written. The other had his arms crossed on his chest and a scowl on his face. He was standing on the words, "Leave Me Alone".
"It appears to be a stress ball." Walter said with a smile. He turned back to the shelves and resumed dusting.
"What is it doing on my desk?"
"It seems to be a gift."
"From who?"
"I would suspect one of the vampires, Sir Integra."
She hefted the small orb in her hand for a minute. Then squeezed it firmly. The characters distorted as the rubber stretched and the sand shifted. She released the tension in her hand and the orb reformed, the characters becoming normal again. She tossed it in the air a time or two, a smile slowly forming on her face.
Alucard smiled from the chair across from her.
"What an amusing choice for stress relief, Master. I know much more effective ways of relieving excess tension if you will but allow it." He said with a smirk.
She tossed it in the air again, quickly figuring the force needed to do what she was contemplating. Alucard raised an eyebrow at her expression. Her thoughts were veiled to him at the moment.
And then the stress ball collided with his nose.
"I think I will keep it." She said evenly, sitting behind her desk as if nothing had happened. Alucard looked to Walter like he had been seriously wounded and all Walter could do was laugh.