Morning After ✨ Lovers 13- 14

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13 Reconnaissance

The female chase wolfe was being held in a kennel in the Joanne borough. Lucas and I gave the grall horse to a member of the Rejude Brigade we happened to run into on the way, and walked to kennel in Joanne. We chatted as we walked like close friends.

‘Mira, you know Cranbert Company specialises in breeding and beast sales?’

‘Yes, though I am not in charge of Joanne, I do inspect a few knights that have been raised by Cranbert.’

‘They dabble in the black market.’

I stopped short in shock, ‘No way! Cranbert Company?’

He nodded and guided my shocked self to a side of the pedestrian walk.

‘But they are such a big company.’

We carried on walking, ‘It takes time, money and effort to produce great knights. Above all, the beasts are creatures, you can’t guarantee the best results every time. It is not convenient.’

This was the downside to the beast breeding industry. A disciplined young adult beast is the most appropriate for knights, but this takes labour and money to raise. In order to have a steady source of income, a lot of companies may have a sideline in breeding popular beasts as pets. But some companies might deal in black market items like rare beasts or poaching beasts for their horns, fangs, fur or internal organs, for instance the Chase Wolfe estrus fluid. The processed and purified secretions was a potent aphrodisiac that was highly sought after in the black market.

‘What can we do?’

Shouldn’t this be left to the Contraband inspectors? If Cranbert was completely dealing in the black market, what could I do about it.

‘I should try to report this to the appropriate department.’ I said.

‘If you do that, Geist’s mate will be taken into custody and will likely be lost forever.’

‘That’s true, it would not be good for Geist and the other chase wolf to lose each other.’

‘Cranbert want to negotiate, but I need information to have the upper hand. Therefore, we need to infiltrate and spy.’

‘How can I help?’

‘I need to find a weakness. Look for anything that seems odd or out of place.’

As we got lost in the flow of pedestrians on our way to Cranbert, I wondered if Lucas was overestimating my abilities. I was happy to be acknowledged but I was worried I would not meet expectations. I was just an inspector.

‘But Lucas,’

‘It will be fine.’

‘If you say that, of course, I will do my best. But I feel as though you have picked the wrong person for the job.’

Lucas stopped and put an arm around my waist.

‘I’m not a brilliant inspector.’

‘I am not trying to date you to use you in your role as inspector or your abilities or anything else.’ Lucas said in a grave tone.

I actually hadn’t thought of that, and suddenly realised the possibility. But then I also thought Lucas seemed to be the kind of person that forged his own path. And besides, even if he wanted to be corner cutting, there were more capable people than I.

‘Well, I was trying to recommend another inspector.’

‘If that can be done, thanks.’

‘If you wanted to use me for my job, you didn’t have go about it this way.’

‘That is truly not the case,’

‘Lucas…’

‘I think I understand.’ Lucas looked at me gravely as he took my hand. I didn’t dislike the way he was caring about me, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.

‘Mira,’

‘I know, you said we’re dating.’

‘I have no plans to let you go.’

‘I am sorry that I am talking of breaking up just when we started dating.’

‘It’s natural that you’re apprehensive. I will never do anything dishonest.’

‘But I believe I have become a little attached…’

‘Is that true?’ he asked in elated astonishment. His expressions changed so quickly, one moment he was glum, the next moment he was too happy.

I did think that falling for him was a bit too fast, and I could hardly believe myself. Almost an hour ago, I had been fluttering about what to wear on this outing, and how to do my make-up. There was no question that I had fallen for him, it was just that Lucas was a bit mysterious.

Lucas was grinning from ear to ear, if he had a tail he would be wagging it right now. He was so childishly cute.  I wondered if he had acquired beast like traits from spending so much time with beasts.

‘Mira…’ he called, making my knees week. He must know that I was weak to his voice.

‘What is it?’

‘I am glad to know that I am one step close to getting your heart.’

‘You don’t have to make a big to-do about it.’ I said turning my head away from him.

‘Are you shy?’

‘I’m not shy!’ I said as I walked ahead of him.

He followed a smile. I could see other passers-by and on-lookers smile as they looked at us going by, I suppose from their view we looked like lovers. From the way he was holding my hand, it could only look that way.

✨

At first glance, the Cranbert company looked like a normal breeding and sales kennel. The first space one entered on visiting was the pet shop. Docile beasts suitable as pets were exhibited and sold. Cute beast cubs were partitioned by type.  Their holding pens and the pets themselves were clean nothing seemed out of place. Most of the customers were families on a day out for the spring festival.

A smiling salesperson bounded up to us, ‘What kind of pet are you looking for today?’

‘Hmm, I think I would like a fluffy one.’

‘Those are popular right now; how about a Clot rabbit or a Melf cat?’

Clots and Melfs were small beasts that were quiet and easy to keep; it was reasonable to recommend such pets to beginners. The clot rabbit had a feathery ruff that made it popular with young women.

‘I have big lizards and birds, but I would totally adore a fluffy beast. They are so cute!’ I was with saccharine sweetness. I was playing a spoilt young lady who collected rare beasts with my over indulgent boyfriend, Ludwig Trautner.

‘Lou, you have a big lizard, don’t you?’

‘It’s a dragon, not a lizard.’ He replied dotingly.

I found this play rather embarrassing, I sounded insipid.

‘Dragons are noisy, and not fluffy. I want a big and fluffy one.’

‘Didn’t you say you wanted a dragon like mine?’

I turned to the salesperson and asked innocently, ‘Do you stock dragons?’

The salesperson had been listening to us, and seemed to have concluded we had the financial resources to keep a dragon. She had been caught well I noted as she gave us a meaningful smile.

An individual couldn’t just walk up to a sales kennel to buy a knight beast. We could have used the Rejude Brigade, but we were undercover. Hence, a rich man and his girlfriend who came in on a whim.

‘So, you would not like a rabbit or a cat?’

‘They’re passe. The other evening, I saw this big beast in the city, it was big enough to ride.’ I said, but turned down my mouth, ‘It doesn’t look like that type is here.’

I pulled at Lucas’ sleeve, ‘I thought you said this place would have everything.’ I pouted.

Lucas patted my hand, ‘Shall we go elsewhere?’

‘Please wait, sir and miss. If you would like a knight, I’ll lead you to the other section.’

‘Oh? Do you have beasts that could be ridden?’ Lucas asked arrogantly.

‘You have discerning taste, sir. We have many knights that are as good as dragons.’

Seeing Lucas’ lofty attitude, the assistant’s face changed. She must be thinking that she was going to facilitate a large sale. Alas, Lucas isn’t that rich. (Zuben: Babes, how do you know?). He was the brigade leader, so he was probably one of the top tier knights.

‘What’s he saying, Lou?’

‘He wants to show us a beast that he thinks is the one you want. I promised you whatever you like, so let’s go and see it.’

‘Really?! I’m looking forward to it.’ I said hopping in feigned excitement. (Zuben: Sister, you don’t need to go so far.)

Though it wasn’t a large movement, it hurt. I shouldn’t be jumping like this at my age. Plus, there were aching muscles from last night.

Our self-designated sales assistant led us deeper into the bowels of Cambert Company. We came out into normal grazing land, and there were quite a few cows and horses, more than there should be, I thought.

There were many old beasts mixed with juveniles. They may be food for dragons, but dragons should not be bred here. Cranbert Company did not have permission to sell dragons as far as I was aware.

‘Lou, it stinks…’

‘The large beast you want is mostly carnivorous. You will have to put up with odour.’ The assistant replied ahead of us.

Was the chase wolfe being bred somewhere around here? I wondered as I looked about in bright eyed curiosity. I was cautiously observing if there was anything not above board.

 

14 Reconnaissance 2

‘This way, sir and miss.’

The assistant had led us to a kennel that was a large cage, with wire mesh covering it. This was where the dangerous beasts were held. According to the assistant, this kennel had been renovated in the past year with the latest model of kennel.

We were given a cloth face mask coated in fragrance, perhaps to alleviate the odour.

‘This has a deodorant effect, please use it to cover your nose and mouth.’

It seemed a little ridiculous, and I was used to smelling these odours from my job, but as I was pretending to be a delicate young lady, I covered my nose and mouth with the mask and entered.

‘Wow! There is a black tiger.’

‘That is a Yaja Black Tiger.’

It was a pet that rich people like. Most tigers were white, the black ones were rare and therefore, expensive. But there was no problem with them having it, it wasn’t banned. It was carnivorous, so it wasn’t allowed to move freely.

‘Does it bite?’

‘It’s well disciplined, but it is safer to keep a muzzle on.’

‘Its claws look sharp.’

‘Yes, it is more suitable as a guard than a pet.’ The assistance said.

I nodded. I personally hated muzzles, but sometimes they were necessary to prevent accidents. Some poor beasts had their claws removed, but this tiger seemed to be well cared for.

‘I would like a tamer beast.’ I said.

‘If so, how about a grassland wolf, or a scarlet bear? They are more affordable.’

The cages held rare but legal to hold beasts. Lucas squeezed my arm gently to continue my charade, while he kept up the indulgent look.

‘I saw a big white dog in the city a few weeks ago, do you have the like?’

‘Darling, don’t trouble the staff.’

‘But Lou, I want that big white dog. Its two tails were so fluffy and cute.’ I said while looking at the assistant from the corner of my eye. However, there was no reaction from her.

‘I really want that white dog. If you don’t want to buy it, I’ll ask my dad.’

‘Your father? Isn’t the chairman too busy?’ My father was the chairman of the Mills district, but he didn’t have the land or money to keep a knight.

‘You’re mean!’ I pouted.

I was kind of tired now. Calling “Lou” in that sickly sweet voice all day was embarrassing.

‘Sir,’ the assistant called.

‘Yes?’ Lucas answered looking away from me.’

‘If you want something more specific, we can acquire it for you.’ The assistant said holding out a business card.

Lucas took the card, and nodded.

‘I would like to discuss that then.’

‘Don’t take too long this time. You always take too long.’ I said sullenly.

He nodded and began to speak to the assistant. I looked bored and decided to take a walk with the reason that my head hurt from the odours.

I went scouting.

I walked around the parkland surveying the kennels. Beyond a fence that had an “off limits” sign, I noted a pipe coming out of the ground along the wall of the kennel beyond fence. I didn’t understand why that would be there, was it part of the latest equipment that the assistant had been speaking of? In the distance, I could see workers loading feed onto a large loading platform after another lot of workers and moved faeces off.

I decided to ask a keeper I saw working nearby.

‘Hello. May I ask a question?’

He doffed his hat and nodded.

‘Why are there so much faeces over there?’

‘It’s fertilizer.’

‘Oh, you have to many cows and horses to make fertilizer?’

‘Are you stupid? They are feed.’

‘Feed? It is ea…ten?’

‘No, no one eats such aged animals; they are for the carnivorous beasts. They swallow them whole from the head.’ He said exaggeratedly.

‘Ew…’ I replied with a frown, and the keeper laughed before walking away.

So, the animals were feed. They were too many. Were there more carnivorous beasts than shown to us? As an inspector, there wasn’t much issue with the Cranbert set up. I would prefer that the feed animals had more space, but that was it.

The chase wolfe was sensitive to odours and sound, it was unlikely to be kept in a kennel that had other beasts. It was likely that it was being kept in a place with deodorising and soundproof magic, away from the other beasts. But it would be difficult on a site like this.

And I wondered, were other not so legal beasts being bred here as well?

I couldn’t see any evidence to that, so I had no choice but to return to Lucas. But as I turned, I stopped in surprise at a figure that I saw at the edge of my vision.

‘Was that Chris?’

On the other side of the fence, I saw my ex-boyfriend, Chris. There was no mistaking his slender figure in a sleek suit and his well-groomed brown hair. But why was he here? More importantly, I shouldn’t let him see me.

Was Chris also wanting a beast? He was getting married to that girl, perhaps he wanted a beast as a wedding present for his wife. I found a corner to hide behind but could still spy from. He was alone, which made me relieved. I didn’t want to meet some woman and have to have words.

A fat man came forward to greet Chris.

‘Welcome, Mr Danning.’

‘Mr Cranbert, I’ve been looking forward to this day.’

‘I hope everything meets your satisfaction. Come this way.’

The short fat man must be a Cranbert, but why was he flattering Chris? I wanted to know more, but the two men, and a few workers went into the building through a door beyond the fence. One worker stood before the door looking left and right. Was he a lookout?’

There must be something going on there, but what?

I couldn’t get closer because to the guard. I continued to watch until I heard Lucas call me. He must have finished his discussion with the sales assistant.

‘Mira, where are you?’

‘I’ll be right there, Lou!’

Though I would have liked to watch more, I didn’t want to raise suspicion. I returned to Lucas and tried to look bored.

‘Have you finished?’

‘Were you bored? I was inquiring about your beast.’

‘Can you get it? I really want that one!’

‘I know. It’s in hand.’ Lucas said turning to look at the sales assistant, who bowed deeply.

‘The beast you mentioned is a chase wolfe. It’s quite rare; but have one in the pipeline. We well contact you when we have it in stock.’

‘Really? Please so.’

‘We’ll deliver results by the end of the month.’

The assistant saw us out, looking puffed up. We left the store and merged with the crowd. Once we were a distance from Cranbert Company, I began to tell Lucas what I had seen.

‘The cows and horses seemed to be kept for feed.’

‘It is likely that the beast is there. It is quicker to breed a beast once you have one in hand, than try to capture it.’

Chase wolves inhabited the northern forests, and capture needed an experienced hunter. It took too much time, hence, we wouldn’t be contacted within the month.

‘There was something else…’

‘Hmm?’

I didn’t know whether is meant anything or not, but I thought it was best to tell Lucas of the suspicious meeting between Chris and Cranbert.

‘I saw…Chris there.’

‘What? That bastard?’

‘Yes. He was greeted by a Mr Cranbert, and they went into a building beyond a fence.’

Lucas was frowning.

Chris’ family owned a bottling factory, there was no obvious reason why he would be meeting a beast breeding and sales company like Cranbert. There was something dubious about the whole thing.

‘It all seemed a bit hinky, there was a man guarding the door of the building they went into.’

‘Hmm, lets discuss this somewhere more private.’

‘Good idea.’

One could never know who was listening to your conversation in public. Lucas took my hand and started walking. I wonder if he had figured something out. I’m surprised he could from this little information. My head couldn’t deduce that quickly. (Zuben: Aren’t you selling yourself too short?)

Now that we were done with our enemy territory reconnaissance, I could relax. I also found that I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten since morning. I could see lots of pubs and restaurants selling yummy looking food. I wanted us to stop.

‘Luca…s?’

I tried to call Lucas but his face was still dark; was he angry?

I had no choice but to follow silently. (Zuben: Lucas, have you forgotten about the pikanic?!)

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