Connal Avrid's Story

Connal was not happy. This was the ONE day of the week where he did not have any classes at his college, and he was not able to sleep in. Instead, he had to wait here in a grimy alley waiting for his client. His father received the message that someone had a sensitive item that they desired to be placed in a griffin's care the night before. However, his father had other priorities in place, so he passed the job to Connal. This was not the first time that such an event had taken place, but it certainly was the most unexpected. He was awoken less than an hour ago and commanded by his father to get dressed, and come to this particularly miserable location. Why did clients never want to meet in coffee shops, or in nice parks? Why did it always have to be in these strange locations that screamed, "Suspicious!" It was even raining earlier, but thankfully it had since stopped around a quarter of an hour ago.

The client was a half hour late, and Connal was just about to call his father to ask permission to leave when he was approached by a shorter man with pale, unhealthy skin. He wore a squashed hat and a long scarf that he must have thought covered his face, although due to Connal's height, he could easily see the man's features. There was no doubt that this man was the client. They always looked like they were trying to hide. It made Connal think sometimes that the transactions were not always legal, but there were points in the contract that protected him against that. Pushing these thoughts to the back of his head, Connal smiled and greeted him. "Hello sir, I understand that you are in need of my service."

Giving his a dirty look, he replied, "You are not Fiachra."

"I am his son, my father had other appointments scheduled today so he sent me in his stead."

"I thought that a man of Fiachra's fame would do better to his clients than to send a child to do his work."

Losing his smile, Connal replied a bit too icily, "I thought that anyone who knew of my Father's reputation would have faith in his judgment of his own son's skills." He hated it when anyone insulted his father. Especially clients.

"Do you even have proof that you are not an imposter, trying to steal from me?"

Sighing, Connal pulled a thick buff envelope out of his breast pocket. Opening it, he showed the man the paperwork. "Here are my Guardian Certificates, signed by three witnesses, all of who's signatures I am sure you recognize, one of which belongs to my father. Notice my signature and the surname 'Avrid,' the same as my Father's. And here is my driver's license if you would like a picture identification. I apologize, but this is the best I can do for you right now."

Scoffing, the man gave him another look that Connal was sure would have killed him if the man had the power. It looked as thought the man would leave, but glancing behind him, the man let out a breath of frustration and looked back to Connal. "It seems as though I don't have a choice. I just hope that you don't screw this up."

Forcing himself to smile, Connal pulled more papers out of the envelope, and they began to fill them out. providing all of the details for Connal's service. Including the value of the item, The length of time that he would guard the item, who would retrieve the item, proof of identity, and more. Everything in the contract was custom tailored to fit the client's need. When the man finished the papers, Connal looked over the details. He valued the item rather high, and requested infinite service. This hinted toward a more difficult job, however it would also pay more -fortunately for Connal. "I will require $1,000 upfront, and then a monthly fee of $500. In the event that I cease to receive payments, I will continue to guard the item, but the full price must be paid before the recipient may claim it. While he spoke, he placed a blank sheet beneath the filled contract, and wrote out the terms he just spoke on a blank section beneath the text the man filled out with a regular pen. He then pulled out a fountain penfrom his sleeve, and drew a large runic symbol on the original contract which quickly disappeared, copying everything to the bottom sheet. Handing both sheets to the man , he said, "Please initial next to the space with my terms, and sign at the bottom." Doing so, the man handed both sheets back to Connal, who added his signature beneath the Man's. "Now the item."

Looking around with an expression the seemed to be fear, the man pulled a small wooden box that looked about the size of a ring case from his coat pocket and handed it to Connal. Examining it, Connal found that it was locked with weak magic that most people who knew anything about magic could break through with very little effort. "Did you seal this yourself?"

"Yeah, why?"

Sighing, Connal took out his fountain pen, and drew a small rune on the face of the box, then flicked the cover open to look inside, ignoring the man's look of shock. "For someone willing to pay such a high price to ensure the safety of this, you sure don't go very far to protect it yourself." Inside the box, was a thin -but long- silver chain. "Interesting." He muttered to himself closing the box. He then drew much more powerful runes on each face of the box, sealing it to a near permanent degree. He cut the same symbol on his thumb, and pressed it to the face of the box so that only he could open it. "And lastly, the one grand you owe me."

Grumbling, the man handed Connal a large yellow envelope bulging to the breaking point. "There's your thousand, and four months payment in advance."

"Very good. The contract has the payment details on the backside. Do not worry, it is a Swiss account which you can deposit into either electronically, or through mail. Whichever you prefer. And if that is all, sir, then have a nice day." Turning to leave, Connal had to hold himself back from running. He was anxious to get back to his house, and still needed to add the box to his hoard. Although it sounded simple, that task would take quite some time. The sooner he could get all of this over with, the sooner he could spend time with his friends.

Getting back to his house, Connal went straight to his room, already pulling out a small knife, and cutting a complex, but detailed rune on the pad of his thumb. Entering his closet, he cleared a few boxes from the back to reveal a cellar doorway. Through the hole, he climbed a ladder several feet beneath the house to a small, clean, concrete room. As Connal entered the room through the ceiling, twenty one candle-lit lamps all lit up simultaneously, allowing him to see clearly. The lamps only covered three wall, all in a perfect line, seven on each wall. The fourth wall was completely bare save for one difference. there was a black rectangle the same size and position as a doorway pained in the middle of it. Upon closer inspection, one would find that the line was actually tightly packed script that looked somewhat like cursive, and never broke. Approaching the rectangle, Connal wiped his bleeding thumb on a handkerchief, cleaning the pad, and pressed his thumb to the center of the Rectangle. As soon as his skin parted from the wall leaving the blood stamp in place, the strange script started to swirl around the wall inside the rectangle in a spiral pattern with the Blood stamp at the center. When the script touched the blood, the black, flowing letters turned the same crimson color. The spiral twisted tighter and tighter until the while doorway looked like a scarlet sheet, hanging from the wall. Connal placed his hand on the rectangle, and gently pushed. The concrete wall swung free as if it were a doorway, and revealed a short passage.

Walking to the end of the hallway, Connal came to another doorway. This one, however, looked normal. pulled a crass-shaped necklace from under his shirt. Tugging on the bottom, the bottom quarter of the cross came free, revealing a small blade hidden inside the length of the cross. the blade was small, but was shaped the same as a claymore, and had tiny runes inscribed along the blade. He inserted the blade into the keyhole for the door, unlocking it, and turned the handle. Inside was his hoard. He was not very old, so it was quite small by Griffin standards, however, most other creatures would think it to be an amazing treasure. He had three chests full of gold and silver, five bags of precious gems, jade carvings from Asia, antique jewelry from Europe, tribal masks from Africa, Books of magic and secrets, antique weapons and armor from almost all over the world, and much more. Most of these items were magical in one way or another, and were given to him to either hide from thieves who sought after them, or in a few cases, to keep their actual owners from the temptation of using them. The gold was his payment for his services. he was usually paid in paper money, however a few of his clients knew that griffins prefer metal and gems to cash.

The room he used to store his hoard was lined with boxed shelves, many held small trinkets or books that he was given. finding an empty one, he opened the wooden box the man gave him, and draped the chain in and out of it, making it look appealing. He always placed the items on display, even if he was the only one that would ever see them like this. Finished arranging it, he retrieved an index card from the hundreds he kept on a shelf next to the doorway, and filled out the item's details. What it was, when he got it, and the stated value as written in the contract, and the owner's name. Placing the card in a slot beneath the shelf that the box was displayed, he then went to catalog the item in a very large book on a desk he kept in the back of the room. it was already open to the newest page, ready for the next entry. he filled out the basic information easily as it was the same as the card, but then came the details. It was required for the client to divulge all the details of the item to the guardian in employment. But as many items were of suspicion, few clients wished to speak the information aloud. Thus, it was customary to include the information in the contract. Connal had not checked it before, as he was in a hurry, but reading it now he arched an eyebrow. "Interesting." he muttered to himself. "You don't see that every day."

Normaly, he would spend more time learning about the item, seeing if he could find more about it in his library, which was another room all its own, joined to his hoard. However, today he was anxious to be finished, and spend time with his friends. He finished the catalog, and left the room. He was sure to lock the door, and removed the blade -replacing it in the necklace- The in the concrete room, he shut the red door, and wiped the center of the door with his handkerchief. There was a thin white rune, the same as the blood stamp he made, left when he finished cleaning it. then slowly, the red ebbed away leaving the white concrete in its place, until there was only the rectangle on the wall. Climbing up the ladder, the lamps extinguished themselves.

Once his closet was back in order, he checked the time. Seeing as how the highschool was finally out, he decided to call one of his friends to see if anyone was doing anything today. Looking though the incredibly few contacts on his phone, he decided to call Yuuki. She most likely skipped school, and on the strange off chance that everyone was still in class, she would most likely not be. Hitting the Call button, Connal listened to the ringtone and waited for the reply.

Yuuki A. Nirvana
Yuuki had just reached Jack and Christia when her phone began to ring. It was a small, cheap flip phone that even lacked caller ID. Because of this, she rarely received calls. She looked down at it and blinked once before answering.
"H-hello?" She asked in a shy voice.

Hearing her answer, he smiled happily, "Hey there, Girly! Have a nice time sleeping in this morning?" he teased. "Hey I just called to see if you knew whether anyone was doing anything. I just finished a rather unexpected job and need some cheering up." It was true that he enjoyed his job, as any of his kind was want to do, but the fact that he had to start his day two hours sooner than planned was not sitting well with him, and the entire time from leaving his house to returning had left a bad taste in his mouth. Right now he wanted nothing more than to forget about the whole ordeal.

Yuuki A. Nirvana
Upon hearing the voice and the teasing, she blushed. "Co... Connal-kun. I.. I just met up with Jack and Christia." She said looking up at the two.
"I don't know what anyone's doing yet." She said. "But..." She hesitated. "Why do you need cheering up?"

"Oh, just had a less than pleasant morning is all." He replied. "Thanks for asking, by the way." It did not seem like her to ask such a question, but it made him happy that she did. It was always good to do and say things out of one's own character every once in a while. "Well is there a place I can meet you guys and whoever else is planning on being there?" He was already locking the house up, and headed to his car as he spoke to her. He did nothing to hide his eagerness.

Yuuki A. Nirvana
"Iiyo." She said when he thanked her. "And... I... I don't know, actually. Like I said, I just met up with Jack and Christia..." Asking about that wouldn't have been the abnormal thing in this conversation. She was half angel, after all. The surprising thing was she was talking this much. She had talked more in this conversation than she did in a week sometimes.
"I'll ask where we're going..." She said as she looked up at Christia. "Christia! Where are we heading?"

Yuuki A. Nirvana
"I could... Um..." She started but paused. "Connal-kun, how far are you from the school?" She asked. She sighed, took the phone from her ear and covered it so Connal couldn't hear what she was about to say. She looked at Jack. "I'm going to, um... I'm going to go find Connal and walk with him... You know, keep him company until he reaches the rest of us." She glared at Christia. "If you say anything about that I'll chop you to pieces." Then she giggled, obviously joking.
She started to walk away from Jack and Christia, putting the phone back to her ear.
"Connal-kun... We're going to Dairy Queen and then the mall... Or that's what Christia says... I could meet up with you and walk with you... If you want..."

By the time Yuuki answered him, he was already sitting in his car, engine running. "Oh. Well I was going to drive, but I can pick you up if you would like." He answered as he pulled out of the driveway. "You are at the school, I am assuming?" It had been a while since he had been to his old school, but he remembered that the route took less than five minutes if he was driving. "I will be there in just a few minutes."

He quickly drove to the school, speeding on the straight ways. True to his word, he was there in just under three minutes. He spotted her and pulled up and leaned over to open the door. "What's goin' on? he smiled.

"Ooooh, Ice cream sounds fantastic! And a hamburger would be quite nice as well." He had not noticed before, but now talking about food, he realized that he was quite hungry. "Actually, food in general sounds good."

"Nice Volkswagen."

"Hmm? Oh, thank you. I lover her so. I got her out of a Junkyard and had her rebuilt. It was more expensive than buying one already in good condition, but this way I could have it customized for what my job requires." Sometimes he had to transport his items, and they needed to be just as well protected as they would be beneath his closet. He had even gone on a few road trips that might legally be classified as smuggling, but that was debatable.

Yuuki A. Nirvana
She nodded knowingly and jumped in the passenger's seat with a smile on her face. "So, uh... How's the job?" She asked. Yuuki also had a supernatural job, but she didn't have to go every day. It was an on-call job and sometimes she got weeks off.
(Wow. I really didn't have much to post, I guess... :/ )

"My job? I suppose you could call it that." He often referred to picking up and dropping off items as jobs, but the whole service he provided was more of a lifestyle to him.

"It was less than pleasant. My father awoke me two hours before I had planned to wake up. I then had to make a hour and a half drive in 45 minutes so that I could wait another hour -mostly in the rain- since the client was late. When he did show up, he was not happy that I was not my Father. I suppose he assumed that my father is so unemployed that he can run off to every phone call he receives at the drop of a hat. Although I am interested in the item I received." Although it would be a breach of contract to tell anyone what the item was, he was interested to see if she had heard of anything similar to it before.

"Do you know much about Cursed items?" He asked "Specifically items cursed by the death of a powerful individual?"

Yuuki A. Nirvana
Yuuki listened as he talked, but when he finished she thought for a few seconds. "I know a little about that. I've definitely heard of it. Though the only cursed items I've even come into indirect contact with were cursed due to another's actions, not the ending of their lives." She thought some more and wondered if it could be similar to how, when Nephilim die, their weapons can become some of the most unusually dangerous things you can find as, when it's owner dies, the weapons becomes rogue in a sense. The weapon will slowly sap away at anyone's life force that isn't the owners if it dies.

Connal really wanted to talk about the particular item he received earlier, but he restrained himself. "Well I suppose that I will do some more research later. I did not check my library before I called. I was a bit anxious to get out of the house." at this point, they had arrived at Dairy Queen, and he found a good spot. "I won't ask you to look into the subject or anything, but if you come across any stories or the like I would appreciate it if you would convey the information. But as of right now, let us feast upon the dairy that is fit for queens." He joked as he stepped out of his bus.

Yuuki A. Nirvana
Yuuki raised an eyebrow at the joke but said nothing as she stepped out too. When she saw all of the people, she immediately became a different person. She looked down, as if keeping her face out of sight. She had her hands balled together right under her chin, her arms covering most of her chest, and she let her short hair cover what it could. She was antisocial to those she didn't know, and even to some she knew. It would probably be better to say she was shy. This was also part of the reason she rarely attended school.

Violet growled loudly in the large confines of her empty cafe. It was the middle of the day but she couldnt open because her last two workers quit because they were going to college and didnt need the money anymore. Probably because Violet spoiled them in their pay quite a bit.

"Miss. Bloodsbaine? Are you alright" she heard the deep mono-toned voice of her guardian, Xavier, whom she had thought had left for the day.

"I'm fine" Violet's voice was almost a snarl as she stormed upstairs and into the bright green room she called her office.

"You dont sound fine" Xavier said as he came into view. His tall, lean build was leaning against the bright ocean blue door frame of her office, his height making him barely fit.

"I'm just frustrated cause now i need to hire new workers AND my father shipped me a artifact that he wants me to give to this guy to keep safe" she snapped, annoyed at the smirk plastered on his face.

"Well have fun with that I'm going home" Xavier said as he waved off and left. The dinging of the front door signaled his leave and Violet sighed in frustration as she typed up a 'Workers Needed' sign. How embarrassing. Her cafe was one of the most popular places to go to in the area she lived in yet she had no workers to serve the food. Her amazing food. The thought was enough to make her stomach growl in hunger as she printed off the sheet and grabbed some tape. Turning off the computer she exited her office and looked around the upstairs room which she had converted into a living area for when she or her workers stayed to late. The area was big in size with bright citrus colors. The walls were painted white but Violet had painted bright designs everywhere making the room pop with warm. She had added some bright furniture with black pillows. The big flat screen tv was an eye sore in Violets eyes but her workers had wanted it. The kitchen was a mixture of red's and whites giving off a 50's dinner feeling but Violet enjoyed her stain-less steel kitchen down stairs. There were three bedrooms each having its own color, ocean blue, vibrant purple or forest green. Sighing, Violet started feeling to lonely aura around her, even though she was a quiet person she liked seeing people have fun. With that thought she headed down the stairs into the light wood and white cafe below, the bright pink paper in her hand. Some of Violet's paintings hung on the light wood paneled walls, they were all sceneries. Violets black pumps clanked loudly on the white and little gray stone floors, only quieting when she walked over the beige carpet. The soft bell noise sung as she opened the door, the wind blowing her pale curls around her face as she taped the 'wanted' poster on the window. Sighing she re-entered the cafe and sat at one of the comfy cushioned white booths, drumming her deep red painted finger nails against the polished light wood table. Then she remembered what her father had told her and she pulled out her sleek touch screen phone and dialed the number she was given. The deep voice that answered surprised her but she continued in her calm self.

"Yes hello this is Princess Violet Bloodsbaine of the Dragon Kingdom, my father King Onyx has informed me i am to have one of your workers pick up an item from me, I have the item in my possession and i would like someone to come and get it soon" she replied stoically, showing her years of training with her father. The deep voiced man replied that he would send someone and she thanked him them hung up. Her blazing fire eye looked down at the silver bracelet that adored her right wrist. The deep blue stone seemed to glow and she wondered what was so important about it.

Waking in to the restaraunt, Connal was a little surprised to see how busy it was. There were at least three times as many customers than there normally were. He looked at Yuuki, knowing that she would not like this. The immediate change in his friend was a bit more severe than he expected, but there was not very much he could do to change the situation. Connal put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Relax. We can just get our food and go out to my car while we wait for the others to arrive." He smiled at her as warmly as he could.

But as soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang. He smiled apologetically at Yuuki as he pulled it out of his pocket. He was hoping it would be Christia or someone checking to make sure if he was coming or not, but alas. It was for naught. Frowning, he apologized. "I am terribly sorry, Yuuki, but it is my father. I am probably going to need to leave."

Answering the phone, he spoke. "Hello, Father, is there something you need me to do for you?"

"I apologize for bothering you again, Connal, but yes, I have another job for you."

Silently groaning, he replied, "Always a pleasure, Father."

"I hear people, are you busy?"

"No, I am at Dairy Queen, and they are Strangely crowded in here. I was just getting some food with Yuuki while we wait for some of our friends."

"The Demon/Angel girl?"

"Yes, Sir. That's her."

"Well, I hate to cut into your personal life, but this takes precedence. I need you to retrieve an item from Princess Violet Bloodsbaine."

His eyes widened, and he quickly walked to an empty corner of the room. Whispering, he replied quite surprised, "The Dragon Princess? Daughter of King Onyx? I thought that Dragons guarded their own hoards?"

"Yes, that is her. And I do not know the circumstances. Only that Onyx sent a particular item to his Violet, and told her to contact me."

"How strange."

"Very."

"Well where can I find her, and may I at least eat first? I have not had anything all day."

"You can find her at the Fiery Grace Cafe. And seeing as how it is a cafe, you can probably eat there."

"Yes, Sir. I'll leave immediately." Hanging up his phone, he walked back to Yuuki. "Well I was right I do need to leave. My Father has another job lined up for me." he felt terrible about leaving her there, so hesitating for a moment, he continued. "I am not supposed to do this, but if you would like you can come along. I am meeting my client at a cafe, so we should be able to get some food there. and hopefully, it will be less crowded. However -if do do choose to come- I would have to ask you to respect my and my client's privacy, when she and I fill out the contract. Other than that, it is up to you."

Violet sighed heavily as she played with her phone, boredom overtaking her as she clicked off the device. Thoughts of why her father wanted a griffin to protect the item she wore invaded her mind. Dragons had always protected their own, it was rare to put it under someone else's keep. Curiosity getting the best of her she took out her phone again and called her dad. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello Violet darling how may i help you" her father's deep mono-toned voice flowed into her ears. She always liked the sound of her father's voice, it calmed her, made her feel relaxed and comforted.

"Hello father I have phoned the guardian and he is sending someone but....." Violet stopped unsure how to form her thoughts into words.

"What is it dear?" concern lay thick in her father's voice, warming Violet's heart. Dragon's were very loving and protective creature's to those they care about but it always made Violet happy to know that her father cared.

"Its just.....why? we Dragons have always protected what was ours why give this to the griffins? whats going on?" she questioned, now wondering if there truly was a reason.

"Vi......we have a intruder" her father said bluntly. The news made Violet growl. Dragons were loyal to one another so whatever this creature was he was no dragon.

"do you know what he is?" Violet all but snarled into the receiver, the room around her began to heat up, the temperature rising with her anger.

"From what our tracker's can tell it is a shadow beast, that's how it was able to penetrate the vault, your mother and some of my knights have already taken our other item's to other Griffin locations, for they are the only ones we can trust, for their security is as great as ours" her father didn't sound happy about giving away all the godly and powerful items the dragons had possessed in their vault but she knew he didn't have a choice and the Griffins were one of the best. Shadow beast's were a high form of devil, which are cousin's in species to demons, usually working for Satan. Satan is a long term enemy of her father and her species for Satan had fallen in love with her mother, whom rejected him.

"Yes i agree Griffins are the best alternative" Violet growled into the phone. She said goodbye to her father and then hung up. Her growling stomach interrupted her anger making the heat of the room fade. Sighing she got up out of the booth and made her way into her stainless steel heaven. She decided to make something quick so she rounded up her ingredients and started making an assortment of mini quiches, ranging from bacon cheddar to spinach parmesan. The scent of them cooking was incredible. When the oven ding she rushed over to them and pulled them out with her bare hands the heat not troubling her. Licking her plump soft pink lips Violet put the assortment of quiches on a rectangular white china plate, cleaned up and exited the kitchen and sat at the booth she had left. Steam rolled off the small piece of heaven as Violet grabbed a chicken and spinach quiche and popped it into her mouth. The flavor's seemed to explode on her taste buds and she moaned from the delicious taste.

"Damn I'm a good cook" she grinned as she shoved another into her watering mouth.

Yuuki A. Nirvana
Yuuki looked up at Connal's face and attempted a weak smile.
"I'm not human." She said, as if it was a joke. "I have a job of my own, I hope you know... But if I can't go, I'll understand... And you don't have to worry about leaving me here, I could always just phase into limbo or something, sore wa mondai wo hikiokosudearou..." She sighed. She was nervous, so she began to blabber. Then speak japanese. Then fall silent.
"I... It's up to you." She said quickly and quietly.

"It has nothing to do with being a human or not." Connal answered. "It has to do with client confidentiality. Even my father is not allowed to know what items I protect." Thinking a moment, he hesitated. Normally he would not have a problem taking off, but she had already gone out of her way to spend a little bit of time with him. eventually, his loyalty to his friends won out. "I am technically not allowed to bring people with me to My jobs, but if I were to take you to a cafe my father suggested I try out, and I conducted my business with the client in private at the same location, then there should be no issue. However, making me decide whether you should come along or not would force me compromise my integrity as a Guardian. I am going to leave, and I won't stop you from entering the van if you so choose." Without saying another word, he walked out of the establishment and to his vehicle, not checking to see if Yuuki was following. Getting in his van, he found the cafe on his GPS and drove off.