Chapter 5 - Planning and Preparation

Azel woke early in the morning as usual, stretching as he rose from the couch. He slowly made his way to the corner kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee. As the machine brewed his usual morning beverage, he made his way back to the couch and pulled out his data-scroll. Setting it on its mount on the coffee table, he started looking through his research from the previous day to help him plan his next performance.

While looking through the scrolls he had scanned, he briefly glanced over at the door to his bedroom where Lucia was still sleeping. It felt surreal that not even a full day ago the two of them had been looking at those same scrolls, and now Azel had her as a guest in his home. Were chance meetings like this very common among more socially active dreamkeepers, or was it a stroke of pure chance that he had been able to find the one person that could end up in this sort of situation with him?

Pulling his thoughts away from his new friend, Azel returned to looking at the scanned scrolls. Gotta find something that'll work for the next show, something I can put together in just a week… After some time looking through his research, his eyes rested on a story that he could use, one dating back to the very dawn of history.

The scent of freshly-brewed coffee briefly distracted him from his thoughts. Heading back to the kitchen to pour himself a cup, Azel smiled as the script practically began to write itself in his mind. He could already see the scenes playing out and the message the entire act would tell the audience. The next show would be perfect, and he had the perfect idea for a costume to wear to incorporate himself into the act. As Azel sat back down at the couch, coffee mug in hand, he heard the door to the bedroom opening.

Lucia yawned as she came out of the bedroom. "Aaah, good morning, Azel. Is that coffee I'm smelling?"

"Good morning. Yeah, it just finished brewing. You can have some if you want."

"That sounds good, thanks. It's the only way to wake up, really." Lucia smiled as she made her way to the kitchen.

"I take it you're a big coffee drinker?"

"I prepare a pot every night, and my coffee maker's programmed to brew it in the morning. The smell's better than any alarm at waking me up. How'd you know?"

Azel responded after gulping down some of his coffee. "Guess I got lucky, really. I can hardly start the day without coffee either. I should probably get an automatic machine myself…"

Lucia walked over to the couch carrying her own mug and sat by Azel. "You should do it! I think it's the best investment I ever made, anyway."

"Well, with a glowing recommendation like that, I guess I have to now." The two of them shared a laugh. "So, how'd you sleep last night?"

"I slept well, the bed was nice and warm. I'm almost surprised you didn't try to sneak in to sleep in it with me."

"Already going for your free joke, I see. I must've shown some real restraint, right?"

Lucia playfully nudged Azel with her shoulder. "That wasn't a joke, the bed was really that comfortable. Besides, you can't tell me you haven't ever wanted to be snuggled up with someone on a cold night, just to share warmth with each other."

"T-the couch was perfectly fine, I didn't need to…" Azel started, his tail beginning to rattle.

"I'm just joking, Azel! Spirits, it's way too easy to push your buttons!"

"Ah, there's your joke then. I think I just have a hard time figuring out your sense of humor."

"It's not that hard, really. If I say something that gets you flustered, it's a joke!"

"For now, maybe, but we've only known each other for a day. I bet I'll get the hang of it sooner or later."

"Heh, I'll look forward to it, then!"

Lucia smiled and took a drink of her coffee. Azel returned his attention to the data-scroll, looking over the story he'd selected for his next show and occasionally drinking from his own mug. After a moment, he turned to Lucia again, rising from the couch as he did.

"I suppose we should get going soon, the telepad stations should be opening up in a little bit."

"We? You don't have to take me there, I think I can remember the way back to the district tower from here."

"It's not like I think you need a guide, I actually have some stuff to do in Sabbaton today, so I'll be headed to the telepads for my own business. And anyway, it's good to have company, right?"

"Oh, I guess you're right. What sort of business?"

"Getting a costume for my next show, some other stuff."

"You already have a plan for it? That was fast."

"It was pretty easy to think of, once I got a good look at my research." Azel said, walking toward the bedroom. "I'll just need to get changed before we go."

—

After Azel got changed into a more casual outfit, he and Lucia began making their way to the district tower. Lucia once again felt the cold getting to her, renewing her resolve to bring a thicker coat the next time she came up to Ruskol. As the two of them got into the thick of the crowd, she pulled closer to Azel so they wouldn't get separated.

As they headed for the tower, they were bumped into by someone from behind, causing them to stumble halfway to the ground. Turning around, Azel and Lucia saw who bumped into them: a tall, fairly muscular leopard man wearing a police uniform and carrying a briefcase.

"Oh, pardon me." The man quickly spoke, addressing them.

"Ah, um, i-it's no problem, we were moving a bit too slow anyway. Sorry for getting in your way." Azel replied, clearly shocked to see the officer.

"Yeah, we weren't paying much attention. Sorry about that, sir."

"No, no. I'm sorry. It's my fault for not paying attention, myself," the officer said in a gentler tone.

"I-it's fine. I'm sure you're busy, sir. You can go on ahead."

"Well, thank you young man. I'll try to be more careful next time."

As the officer passed by them, Azel breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment's rest, his tail stopped rattling. Lucia put an arm around Azel's shoulder to comfort him.

"Are you okay, Azel?"

"Ah, I think so. Spirits, he scared the shit out of me."

"You don't think he knows what we were doing last night, do you?"

"Probably not, but it's never pleasant running into a cop. Or having a cop run into you, I guess."

"Like whenever you have to talk to one, it feels like you did something wrong, right?"

"Yeah, exactly. Even before… last night," Azel censored himself, "I've always tried to avoid being near police whenever I could."

"Well, it's over now. I guess we should get moving."

"R-right. Places to be, and we wouldn't want to hold up the crowd any more…"

With that, the two started back on the way to the district tower, keeping a closer eye on their pace and surroundings to avoid any more interruptions. In time, they made their way into the tower and to the telepads. Azel and Lucia took a telepad for the Sabbaton Towers, with Lucia taking another pad to Theophanies from there after a brief exchange of goodbyes. After getting out of the telepad station at Sabbaton, Azel made his way to his first destination of the day - a venom and toxin clinic that he was a regular at.

Given the wide variety of dreamkeeper physiologies, it is unsurprising that a number of them would have some form of venom or toxin unique to them. Azel, being a rattlesnake, was one such dreamkeeper, bearing a venom that could be deadly if left untreated. The ever-present threat of accidental or even intentional poisoning called for medicines that would require the original poisonous substance to make.

Venom and toxin clinics filled the need for poisonous substances to make antivenom and other medicines from, collecting those substances from paid "donors" and selling them to pharmaceutical firms for a profit. However, since it was illegal for civilians to sell organs and bodily fluids, the clinics worked in a legal gray area. To get around the law, they would insistently refer to the process of their donors selling venoms and toxins as a "donation with a financial incentive."

Azel hadn't ever really cared about the legality of it, so long as he could get a little extra lucre from selling something his body naturally produced. The fact that it was going toward making life saving medicine was just a nice feel-good bonus as far as he was concerned. He made his way into the clinic, signed in, and sat down among the other donors in the lobby as he waited to go through the donation process.

After a period of several minutes waiting and looking at his data-scroll to pass the time, Azel finally heard something that nearly made him regret coming into the clinic. It was a shrill voice, calling out a name that was all too familiar and entirely wrong.

"Hazel, come on in, time to donaaate!"

Azel took a look around at the other donors and asked, "Is there anyone here actually named Hazel?" Heads shook around the room. Spirits damn it…

"Oh, come on, Hazel, silly! Of course I mean you!"

The shrill voice came from a small, rainbow-feathered hummingbird girl wearing medical scrubs and way more makeup, glitter, and jewelry on her face than should be allowed anywhere near a medical facility. Azel never bothered learning her name, since she clearly refused to do the same for him. He groaned as he rose to greet her.

"It's Azel. No 'H', it's on the donation forms for spirits' sake."

"Aww, but you look like a Hazel to me! Doesn't he?" She asked everyone in the lobby, receiving only vacant stares in response. "I'm not hearing any nos, so Hazel it is!"

"Can we just get this over with? I have other things to do today."

"Wooow, so impatient! Okay, come on back then, Hazel!"

Spirits… Azel thought as he followed the collector to the donation room in the back of the clinic. Other donors sat in chairs along the walls, being attended to by other collectors. Azel could hear the sound of some Tinsel song playing over the speakers in the room, and lamented that she of all people was the one who got to choose what got played in the clinic. The grating pop music only added to Azel's frustration as he sat down in the chair she pointed out for him, waiting for her to get the venom container ready.

Within minutes, the venom collector placed a clear container in front of Azel. It was about as wide as his head and had a thin plastic film over it. Eager to get out of the clinic as quickly as possible, he opened his mouth, let his hinged fangs extend out, and bit into the edge of the container so his fangs penetrated the film.

Azel released his venom, a sickly yellow substance that began to pour from his fangs into the container. As this was happening, the collector started talking to him. Azel tried to drown it out, but between her chatter and the droning of the music he could barely manage to hear himself think. Occasionally, she would push down on his head to help release more venom, which did nothing to improve Azel's mood.

Eventually, the collection was finished, and Azel was left to his own thoughts again as the collector went to store his venom and prepare the receipt for the donation. How did someone like her even get hired as a venom collector in the first place? He asked himself, punctuating the thought with a groan. In time, the girl returned, carrying two twenty lucre bills and a slip of paper. Azel took them as soon as they left her feathery hands and rushed for the exit.

—

Azel's next stop in Sabbaton was to find a clothing store to order a costume from. He pulled out his data-scroll to find a place, and settled on a well-rated custom boutique called "Head to Tail." Already excited for the day to get better, he headed to the tower's commercial level to find the shop.

The Head to Tail boutique was a privately owned shop, a rarity in Sabbaton where the cost of business licenses ended up favoring larger chain companies. The fact that it was able to stand alongside such competition was surely a testament to its quality, Azel reasoned. Upon entering the shop, he saw a number of beautifully handcrafted garments on display. Many customers browsed the clothing in the front of the store, and some were gathered in the back in a line up to a counter for placing custom orders. Azel made his way to the back and waited for the line to dwindle down.

When there were no more customers in front of Azel, he made his way up to the counter and was greeted by an attractive ribbon seal woman. She wore a form-fitting white dress cut in strategic areas to accentuate the appearance of her black fur lined with gold stripes. As he approached, she spoke to him with a soothing, slightly accented voice.

"Ah, a new customer? You don't look like the usual sort though."

"Um, ah, yes. I'd like to place a special order for a costume."

"A costume? Well, I can certainly oblige, love. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, can you make a Serapean style priest's robe? I'll need it to be cut for my body type."

"Serapean! It's a style over a millennium old! This is quite interesting. I suppose this is for historical purposes?"

"Something like that. Also, is it possible to have it done by this Saturday? I wish I didn't have to ask but it turns out my schedule is much tighter than I expected."

"Spirits, that's just under a week! I have quite the work cut out for me. I think I can manage it myself if I have my staff handle the other orders…"

"Oh, thank you! I was almost afraid that I was asking for too much."

"No trouble, love. A Serapean outfit… Truly a worthy test of my skills!" She announced with a flourish, before turning to face Azel with a serious look in her green eyes. "The price will likely run into the high hundreds of lucre. I trust you will be able to pay for the work?"

"It's the price of art, right? I should be able to manage."

"Ah, you're someone who understands the value of art, I knew you were a special sort! Follow me, I'll have to take your measurements to get the fit right."

Azel followed the woman into a room to the side of the counter. Inside, she took his measurements with careful precision, causing Azel's tail to briefly rattle as her body brushed close to his own. After the measurements were taken, they returned to the counter and negotiated the details of the order. With the details ironed out, the two exchanged a few final words.

"So, everything's settled, then, Mr. Atrox. I'll have your Serapean robe ready for you to pick up by the end of this week, or as close to ready as I can make it."

"Sounds good. Thank you again for agreeing to take the order, it means a lot."

"It's my pleasure, really." She handed Azel a business card. "And if you have any questions over the week, feel free to call the number on that card. Ask for Nadine, and I should get back to you at my earliest convenience."

"Ah, yes. Thanks. I suppose I'll see you this weekend, then."

"Indeed. Thank you for your business. Trust me, you will love the robe when you see it!"

With that, Azel left the boutique with a smile on his face. Nadine would have the robe ready by the end of the week, taking a major concern about his next show off of his mind. With one of the biggest hurdles out of the way, he concluded his trip to the tower, returning to the telepad station and then back to Ruskol. The day was still surprisingly young, with the day-moon overhead signaling that the afternoon was just arriving.

Suddenly feeling hungry, Azel thought about how best to spend the rest of the day. A trip to the Dry Vein could get him set up with a quick meal from the topside kitchen, and he'd be able to spend the rest of the day in the Mirage Bar preparing for his coming show. Getting the chance to actually talk to his coworkers would also be a nice benefit. With his mind made up, Azel went off in the direction of his workplace to make the most of the rest of his day.