"Your name is…"
"Octavia Aldark, sir," the young woman answered. Her icy eyes held firm on the person before her.
The interview room of the Zuheimer police department was a tired beige tone that the yellowed fluorescent lights above failed to complement. She could smell cigarette smoke, no doubt embedded into every fiber of the hardwood floor her feet laid upon and the chair she sat. It proved difficult to maintain her look of business without so much as looking down at her feet or coughing but she pushed through.
The man behind the desk looked over her resume. She could sense him scanning every bit of minutia, looking for even the smallest flaw. It was all for naught. There were no mistakes, she had assured as much.
"From Morning Grove, huh? You're out far," he said, putting down her resume. "This isn't exactly the suburbs, kid. What brings you to the city?"
"This opportunity, sir." She was conscious of her speech and made sure it remained unwavering. "I'm here for this internship because it will help me get into college. That, and I have some interest in joining the force itself."
That elicited a small chuckle from the interviewer. "'Help me get into college'. I'm honestly not sure how much more help you can give yourself, miss valedictorian." He picked up her resume and turned it towards her, "That says top of the class, 2071, right?"
Octavia kept her steadfast expression, "It does. That doesn't mean I don't want to give myself experience in a field I'm interested in."
"That's… understandable," said the interviewer, putting her resume back on his desk. She could feel it. Victory was hers.
"Well," said the interviewer, leaning back in his chair, "I see no reason why we need to continue this any further. You've got a spot kid, congrats."
Alleviation flushed through her body but she didn't allow herself to show it, keeping a professional manner. "Thank you, sir," she said, allowing a small smile to come through.
The interviewer grabbed a pencil and began writing something down on a notepad. "You'll be meeting with Mr. Rexus tomorrow at 7:30 am. Should you pass the test tomorrow, he'll be your boss for your internship." He ripped off the paper with the information on it from the notepad and handed it to her.
Octavia took the paper and folded it in half neatly before putting it in her pocket. "Alright, I'll see you later, kid. You can go now," he said.
"Yes, sir," she replied, bowing her head slightly before standing up and walking out. The moment she closed the door behind her, she let out a sigh and felt her smile grow.
As she stepped outside the Zuheimer police department, light shined brightly into her eyes. Her blonde hair lightly blew in the spring zephyr and her bronze skin looked beautiful in the afternoon sun. She reached down to her belt and took off the only pokeball that was attached.
Flicking the ball forward, it burst open with a flash of light and the small figure of a Pawniard now stood before her. Seemingly on instinct, the Pawniard brought his legs together and arms to his sides, like a soldier at attention. Then, raising one of the little knives he had for hands, saluted Octavia.
"Hey there, Ace," she said, kneeling down to his level. "Guess who just got a shot at the internship they wanted?"
The Pawniard broke his salute and began clicking his knives together above his head in excitement. Octavia felt herself drop the serious expression and just smiled.
"Yep, but don't get careless yet, soldier," she said, regaining some seriousness in her demeanor. "There might be bad guys on our way back, can you protect me from them?" While it was hyperbole on her part, it was spending time with Ace like this that gave her the fuel to keep going.
Again, the Pawniard snapped to attention and saluted his commander. He turned on a dime and began scouting out the area ahead of him. She followed behind, keeping an eye on Ace so that he wouldn't get himself into trouble.
As the pair walked through Zuheimer's empire district, skyscrapers loomed above them. The size of them ranged widely from ones barely clearing one hundred feet to some stretching to thousands. They were peppered with brand logos and advertisements, each one desperately grappling for the attention of passersby.
The sidewalk traffic was somewhat low, much to Octavia's relief. To the few that did walk alongside her and Ace, the Pawniard would dart around between them, giving a brief look before going to the next unsuspecting walker.
Suddenly a person's shoulder pushed itself against Octavia and she stumbled. "Watch it," a voice grumbled.
Octavia turned and tried to find the source of the voice but came up blank. Whoever had pushed her, they were already lost in the crowd of people.
There were a number of reasons why she had a dislike of people. How their greed drove them to warring with others over small plots of land, how they felt taking a life was a justifiable cost for any miniscule amount of progress, it was all horrible. She didn't consider herself as misanthropic, but events of the nature she had just encountered did not push her away from the idea.
A sudden clicking brought her attention forward again. Ace clicked his knives frantically in front of her, a fearful expression painted on his face.
"Easy, soldier," she said, kneeling. "No casualties here, just a brief misstep in hostile territory."
The Pawniard stopped making noise and hung his head in shame. Octavia was quick to act.
"Hey, Ace," she whispered, "Would you like an apple juice to celebrate my interview?"
Her soldier sprang to life again and clicked his knives together, causing a small giggle from Octavia. She patted him on the side of his helmet, wary of the large blade in the middle.
She looked upwards, about to stand again, and saw the tallest structure in Zuheimer: Eclipse Tower.
If the buildings around it were skyscrapers, Eclipse Tower was a sky piercer. The tower was completely black, untouched by the plague of commercialism that had consumed the other buildings. The tower's spire was slicing through the clouds like a scalpel with a surgeon's precision.
Octavia recalled what she had read about the tower. It was among the oldest in not just Zuheimer, but all of Nivalheim. It had been constructed when the country was still a growing empire and had been reconstructed and renovated over many years until it was the behemoth it was today. And now, the current count of Zuheimer, Joseph Cambridge, resided in its highest floor.
She was brought back down to reality by a familiar clicking. She nodded to Ace. "Let's march on, soldier."
Octavia landed on her couch, letting herself sink into its cushions. Trailing behind was Ace who was desperate for one of the two apple juice boxes in her hand.
She bent down to pick up the Pawniard. One too many times had he attempted to come onto the couch, only to gore its cottony entrails with his knives. Expertly navigating around the two pairs of blades on his torso, Octavia picked Ace up and placed him beside her.
The ritual familiar to her, she deftly took the straws off both juice boxes and relieved them of their plastic wrapping. With elegance, she stabbed the straws into the boxes' chink in the armor, allowing the juices to flow forth.
She raised both boxes, one in each hand. "To me getting past the interview," she toasted.
With one hand, she held a juice box out to Ace, who was quick to down the sweet nectar. Much like with the couch, Ace had one too many times simply stabbed the box in an attempt to hold it. The leaking contents from such an action resulted in stained furniture and sticky floors. But most consequentially, it resulted in sadness for the soldier.
She raised her own apple juice to her mouth and began drinking. The glorious liquid aroused all her taste buds. Dopamine filled her system. Heaven had touched the Earth and left behind the gift of apple juice. She hadn't realized how intensely she had been enjoying her drink until the straw finally gave its last contents.
Displeased with her lack of beverage, she sat the container down on the coffee table in front of her and looked at Ace. It appeared she had been more eager for the drink than he was; his box was still half full. His eyes were closed with content. He too was experiencing the gift of the gods.
Octavia put her hand in her pocket. Feeling the note that the interviewer gave her, she pulled it out and unfolded it. In big block letters it said: TOMORROW 7:30 AM MR. REXUS.
She held the note to her chest. Time for the big leagues, kid, she thought.
A light click brought her attention over to Ace. He too had finished the apple juice and looked disappointed that there was no more.
"Sorry, Ace," said Octavia, taking away the empty juice box and setting it next to hers on the table. "Can't get too sugar'd up. We've got a big day tomorrow."
Ace nodded and gave her a salute. She felt lucky to have such a loyal partner by her side. Through thick and thin, they had stuck right by each other. A soldier and his commander.
The Pawniard eased himself to the edge of the couch and jumped down to the floor. He marched onwards, like a soldier on patrol, to the radiator where he laid down and fell victim to the sandman.
Octavia looked longingly at Ace and reflected on how cute her soldier was. She would do anything for him, and she knew that he would do the same.
She looked at the note again. Her mind wandered into the hypotheticals of what would transpire the following day.
Tomorrow, she thought, Tomorrow can't come fast enough.
Weekly updates until the first arc finishes :) !