"This is where your friend works?" Darius exclaimed, gaping at the tower of glass and concrete before them. Behind were the roars of cars and crowds passing by, and Akeidat tilted their ears forward to avoid hearing them.
"...I think so??" they replied, squinting down at the sticky-note in one paw, with a folder tucked under the other. They coiled their tail closely to avoid it being trampled over. The phone call from Fiera had been spoken methodically and slowly, her careful in ensuring that they had enough time to write everything down, and this was the exact spot where the taxi had spit them out, but the place itself seemed so... unreal.
Amongst all the people wearing fancy blouses and suits, Akeidat felt immensely like a fish out of water in their simple graphic tee and shorts.
"Are all offices this big?" Akeidat wondered aloud.
"Not... typically, unless the workforce's big, but..." Darius scrunched up his snout, "I've seen offices work fine with the size of a two-story flat. This building's just huge."
They stepped inside, and were greeted by walls of plain concrete and floors of tiled quartz, off-white yellow-ish light shooting down from the ceiling bulbs. By the corner was a circle of empty sofas and a glass table, while at the front, someone sat behind a desk, nestled between two elevators. Akeidat's ears relaxed, with the onslaught of noise outside being muffled by the walls.
They glanced at Darius, then pocketed the note to pull out their phone.
What do I do?
"Just ask them where to find her," Darius replied, nodding towards the receptionist, "Like, her office number, the floor, whatever. They'll give you a pass, and send you up."
With a thankful nod, and feeling braver with someone familiar by their side, Akeidat did as they were instructed. This eventually led them to the tenth and highest floor. As they stepped out, the walls were now covered in pristine, amber-coloured wood, and the floor was coated in a soft, black carpet.
They stared out the window, taking in the city view with awe. Woah. They could see even more than just the coastline, here. Akeidat swore they could make out the silhouettes of boats and cruises passing by, maybe even a nearby island. Idle embers of stories and level designs came to them in inspiration- floating islands, dragons, could they make something where players controlled a bird? It seemed almost a shame that such a sight was only reserved for such a limited range of people.
"It's quite the view, isn't it?"
"AH!" Akeidat yelped, whirling around to find themself face-to-face with the snakily-serene features of Ms. Forte.
"Well, there's no need to be so jumpy," she chuckled. Then her face grew serious, "So, what are you doing here? You should know only authorised personnel are allowed on this floor."
"I'd like to make it known that I am authorised personnel," Akeidat jeered, holding up their pass, "Fiera asked me to bring her a thing."
She inspected the pass speculatively, the sound of Darius' buzzing wings filling their ears, until she finally let it fall with a careless drop from her paws, the all-too-polite smile back on her face.
"Oh, Fiera didn't tell me she was going to invite her... friend," she tucked her paws behind her back, straightening her posture, "But it looks like all sorts of new boundaries are being pushed now, aren't there?"
"...Umm," Akeidat didn't know how to respond to that, nor did they particularly want to, "So... could I, perhaps, go give Fiera the thing, now, or...?"
"Hmph," Ms. Forte hummed, but beckoned them forwards, anyways, "But of course. I do apologise for her incompetence, she's been getting quite sloppy, lately, you know?"
Akeidat stared at her with discontent, and kept silent, unwilling to badmouth their friend. They took some satisfaction in seeing her frown, and carry on without another word.
"She looks like she's about to ask about my insurance policies," Darius noted, staring at her glitzy attire. Akeidat held back a massive snort, disguising it as a cough. They fluttered a dismissive paw at her, as she stared at them, before continuing on.
They all stopped in front of a door. Ms. Forte knocked on it, a short jingle that Akeidat faintly recognised, but couldn't place. There was the sound of rustling paper, the scraping of small wheels against the floor, hoofsteps, and then Fiera opened the door. She met her boss' gaze, then Akeidat's, and her mouth pursed into a thin line.
"Hi?" Akeidat greeted, shyly.
"H-"
"Ms. Byrde! Why didn't you tell me you were inviting your friend over?" Ms. Forte chirped, "You know I like to prepare myself for any guests that come by, don't you?"
"Y-you..." Fiera mumbled, then cleared her throat, speaking a little louder, "My- my sincerest apologies, Ms. Forte. Mx. Hart's just here to help me retrieve a folder I left at home, a-and I didn't want to trouble you, so-"
"Don't be this careless again," her boss chided, "I'll forgive you just this once, alright?"
"Right," Fiera nodded, "My apologies, Ms. Forte."
"Heh," quite suddenly, Ms. Forte reached a paw to pat her on the back. Fiera's shoulders hiked at her touch, "There's a good lass. It's good to see that you're taking my concerns to heart."
"You know," Ms. Forte leaned towards them both with a conspiratorial whisper, apparently still talking. Why was she still here? Didn't she have better things to do than to gossip with her secretary? "Earlier today, some lowlife singer from a completely podunk town tried to strike up a conversation with me to get published."
"Really?" The way Fiera nearly immediately straightened up her back, suddenly smiling with the grin not quite reaching her eyes, with her shoulders perfectly level, spread genuine shivers down Akeidat's spine, "That must've been difficult for you, Ms. Forte."
"Oh, it was, and I told the kid as such," Ms. Forte snorted, "It's not like someone like that will ever make it anywhere, anyways. I needn't associate myself with their kind."
"Maybe they're brave enough to know they don't need you to make it, then," snapped Akeidat, spitefully, drawing Ms. Forte's bored look and Fiera's wide-eyed panicked one, "Why don't you try putting yourself out there to create things and see how it feels?"
"Why ever would I waste my efforts on such an unwise use of my time?" She scoffed, her tail coiling with irritation, "Tick-tock, time is money. Besides, think of what it'd do to my reputation. It's unsightly and unprofessional- no-one would take me."
But just as Akeidat was about to argue further, Ms. Forte suddenly clapped her paws and sauntered towards the door.
"Don't take too long, yes? I don't pay her to dawdle around," she said, ignoring Akeidat's stare as she left, "And Ms. Byrde, don't forget that I want all my correspondences tended to before Thursday."
And with that, Ms. Forte was gone.
"...Well," Darius flapped his wings, "she seems, eh..."
"I still think you should quit," Akeidat said, after a while. They could still feel their fur, riling up with an annoyed fire.
"We are not having this argument again, I can't," Fiera sighed, taking the folder from under Akeidat's arm, "Thank you. Honestly, I'm lucky she even still keeps me around at all, after my performance as of late."
"You're lucky? What about her? Because it looks like she's just handing all her work to you," Akeidat questioned, following her inside the office, and- eugh. They looked around, at the walls, carpet, and floor. Everything was in shades of dreary grey.
"What's with the..."
"Sorry, the air-conditioning's quite old, and Ms. Forte says it'd be a waste of time and budget to replace it-"
"No, why's everything so... grey?" Akeidat asked, gesturing at the non-existent decor.
"Oh, that's just how Ms. Forte wanted it, her personal office is the same way," Fiera explained, "It's a sleek, modern look with neutral tones and minimal colours. Appeals to investors, and shows that we're on top of the trends, and all that. And, well, it's just cheaper, and there's resale value-"
"Pardon my crass language, but it looks like blooming Alcatraz."
Darius burst out laughing, and Akeidat grinned up at him. Fiera rolled her eyes and scoffed, "We're here to do work, not to have fun. Decorating would be a waste of time, and distract us."
"But you spend practically your whole day here," they retorted, "If this is basically going to be your second home, don't you deserve to be happy in it?"
Fiera didn't respond, instead electing to sift through the drawers and place the missing folder.
"So..." Akeidat queried, looking around, "Am I supposed to leave, now?"
"That would be ideal, yes," Fiera responded, dryly, "Ms. Forte doesn't take kindly to unexpected visitors, and certainly not ones that may distract staff from our work."
"But, why?" they challenged, "It isn't as though I'm going to steal something."
"Akeidat, maybe you should just leave this," Darius warned. They flicked their ear once. No.
"I don't know, that's just how it is," Fiera continued. Then the phone rang, and she strided over towards the desk to pick it up. In a voice that didn't sound like her own at all, "Good afternoon, this is-" a name they maybe sort of vaguely recognised but couldn't quite put a finger on, "Music Publishing Ltd, Gloomytown branch, Head Manager's office. I regret to say Ms. Forte isn't available at this time, but I can- no, if your appeal was denied, then that decision is final, and there is no undoing it, I'm very sorry. Unless you'd like to bring this up to court? Alright, then, best wishes, goodbye."
Akeidat watched as Fiera continued to answer call after call, and at the same time, answering email after email, on her own phone, all on top of looking over paper after paper. It would've made for an amusing balancing act of a sight, if it wasn't happening right in front of their eyes instead of behind a television screen like some sort of comedic sitcom.
"Is that what work's supposed to look like...?" Akeidat questioned, whispering to Darius.
Darius clicked his teeth into a grimace, "I... don't know. I don't think I'm really the best kind of judge for that sort of thing, hah-hah."
"Really helpful, thanks," they muttered. They stepped forwards to where Fiera was still frantically doing three things at once, and knocked on the table with the knuckles of their paw. Fiera's gaze briefly darted towards them before continuing, which they took as a sign that she was listening.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" they asked, tilting their head.
"Probably not?" Darius informed, "These kinds of documents likely hold some confidential stuff, so it'd be illegal to share that with anyone without the proper clearance."
"No, that's illegal," Fiera replied, verifying the angel's claim.
"Seriously?" Akeidat grumbled, "Is there nothing at all? I want to help!"
The angel's ears perked up at that, and he hovered closer in front of Akeidat.
"Kid, it's noble you want to help her, but are you sure you can handle that kind of thing?" stubbornly, they flicked their ear twice, "You can't just offer to do work for someone willy-nilly! If you're doing actual labour, then you deserve to ask to get paid, too."
The child groaned, exasperatedly, and trotted forwards, "It doesn't have to be anything major, just something to do."
"Akeidat!"
"Alright, fine!" Fiera replied. Tucking her mobile phone temporarily using her arm, with a paw, she pushed a stack of papers their way, "Everything in here's public record, and should be fine for you to look at. Sort them by date, newest on top, and put 'em in that drawer over there," she instructed, pointing at the cabinet by the wall, "Alright?"
"Ooh, cool!" Akeidat grinned, with genuine excitement. They took the papers in their paws and sat on the floor, by the corner. Fiera might have given them a strange look, but they ignored it, already focused on the task at hand.
Darius fluttered over, and sat by them, cross-legged. He regarded them with a worried look, and they returned it with a challenging one. What?
"You know you don't... have to do this, right?" the angel asked, "You have zero obligation to do anything for her. This isn't your job."
With a roll of their eyes, they plucked out their phone, and typed a reply.
But I want to help her. She's all alone and she shouldn't be.
"I know you want to. But- she's a full-grown, twenty-nine year old woman. You're an eleven year old child," the angel pointed out, "It's good you want to help her, but she's an adult. She can fight her own battles."
Akeidat typed furiously.
Well she doesn't know I'm eleven, so?
"That's not- that is not the point I'm trying to make, here," Darius grumbled, and Akeidat scoffed pointedly, "I just- You should not be dealing with an adult's problems."
Since when is sorting things by date an adult problem?
I promise I'm not gonna start asking to do her taxes or whatever.
The angel snorted, and let out a sigh. But, he relented, "As long it's because you want to. But remember it's okay to stop, when you get tired, okay?"
Akeidat rolled their eyes again, with a fond smile. They flicked an ear twice, and they and Fiera fell into routine, while Darius watched. The seconds ticked by, quickly, and before they realised it, it seemed an hour had passed. As they finished sorting the stack of paper, it seemed that the number of calls went down enough that Fiera was only doing two things at once, rather than three.
"Remember what you wanted to be when you were a kid?" quizzed Akeidat, curiously. Fiera paused.
"Erh. I dunno," Fiera answered, shrugging, "Whatever my parents said, probably. A lawyer, or doctor, or something close to it."
"You said you wanted to grow up to help lots and lots of people," supplied Akeidat, "What happened to that?"
Darius, who'd been lounging on a drawer handle half-asleep, sputtered awake, "Akeidat, you can't just ask that! That's rude!"
They flicked their ear once. Shut up. They wanted to know.
But rather than reply, Fiera went stock-still, as though frozen. Then, slowly, she stared at her paws, turning them over as if seeing them for the first time. Then she looked at the clock, suddenly alarmed, "I have to go. Ms. Forte's scheduled for a meeting in forty minutes, and-"
"But wait-!" Akeidat called, stretching a paw to grab hers. As soon as they made contact, she did a full-body flinch, yanking her paw back. Akeidat stared at her, flickers of hurt dancing in their lungs.
"S- My apologies," she stammered out. Then before they could react, she continued, "Just- could you let me work, please?"
Akeidat ducked their head, sheepishly, following her out of her office. She led them back to where the elevators were, pressing a number for them.
"Sorry," Akeidat murmured, as she saw them off. Fiera did not reply, quickly disappearing beyond the borders of the elevator windows.