Aseroe’s horns had never bothered her. Nor had the red pigment of her skin. Her fangs had caused some discomfort when they’d come in after her baby teeth had fallen out at the age of seven. They took a bit of getting used to, but she had managed to shake off her lisp and stop biting her tongue when she chewed. Her appearance bothered others though, like the man currently opposite her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She sat in an overly stuffed office, brimming with trinkets and certificates, as the subject of, not participate in, conversation between the two men in the room. The elder one, on the far side of the desk, was named Mr Huskwidth. He wore a waist coat with fine embroidery, a fob watch chain, and a crushed cream shirt. His waxed moustache tips scratched against his rum-darkened cheeks as he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not putting that thing on my roster. It’s bad enough you brought it into my office.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The thing in question, Aseroe, thinned her lips, but a gentle hand on her forearm settled her before she got too honest and blew the whole plan. The hand belonged to Fiallete, the younger of the two men, who sat beside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Mr Huskwidth,” Fiallete began. His voice, soft and earnest, drifted from beneath his own waxed moustache. Though not as long as Huskwidth\u2019s, it stood much firmer. “I recognise my proposal as unorthodox. But I truly believe Aseroe to be a fine asset to the Company. In fact, maybe even the finest.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huskwidth laughed. “If I wanted the place reeking of sulphur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aseroe didn’t smell of sulphur, that was a misconception. But you couldn’t convince people otherwise. If it looked like a demon, so too then must it smell of hell. She wouldn’t waste breath correcting him. Instead, she circled one fang with her tongue, lips still pressed together. Doing so kept her from speaking her thoughts out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one is suggesting you put her in with the cabin crew,\u201d Fiallete replied. \u201cShe\u2019s purely built for down below. Out of the public eye. I respect the Company\u2019s reputation. And its investors most of all. You\u2019re doing great things here; I don\u2019t want to jeopardise any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Huskwidth couldn\u2019t smell the smoke blowing up his arse, surely he\u2019d feel it. But that was Fiallete\u2019s strength; candour. He had a way of keeping anyone\u2019s attention and respect, even when he was walking his compliments right up to the point of parody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huskwidth leant forward in his chair, his heated breath steaming the edge of his glasses. \u201cSo you say, but you didn\u2019t enter the Company\u2019s compound through the back door. You chose to walk right through the front gate. With the company\u2019s integrity stitched on your sleeve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gestured to the company\u2019s logo on Fiallete\u2019s suit jacket. A stylised cog ornamented with curly lettering sat on the upper arm of each sleeve; Wooldridge & Co. Est. 1818.<\/em> Or to those more familiar, which was damn near everyone on the east coast, just saying \u2018The Company\u2019 was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI put a hat on her head, didn\u2019t I?\u201d Fiallete said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA leather<\/em> top hat,\u201d Huskwidth replied, disapprovingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiallete twitched, just briefly. \u201cOnly to match her cape. Mis-attiring her would have only garnered more attention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBoth of which it is still wearing,\u201d Huskwidth huffed. \u201cDoesn\u2019t it have any manner of etiquette at all?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiallete\u2019s top hat, silk with a ribbon trim and flat crown, sat in his lap; a sign of respect and courtesy. One always removed one\u2019s hat when indoors. Aseroe\u2019s hat, conversely, remained squarely in line with her eyebrows, covering her horns. Given the choice, Aseroe would rather use the hat to carry water or store berries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWould you rather see what\u2019s underneath?\u201d Aseroe said plainly through her teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her voice, not loud in any way, had a quiet rasp to it, like the sound of bullrushes caught in a breeze. It sent a visible discomfort up Huskwidth\u2019s spine. He shivered at the sound of it, and at once his pompous demeanour dropped, if only briefly. It seemed that by speaking, she\u2019d reminded him she wasn\u2019t some thoughtless creature dragged out its forest hovel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiallete held out a calming hand. \u201cLook, Mr Huskwidth, how many crew have you lost overboard in the trial runs of The Dauntless?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNone. The Company has ensured all safety measures are held. Officially\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnofficially,\u201d Fiallete said, lowering his voice. \u201cThere\u2019s been five. Now, no one is blaming the Company. I\u2019m entirely sure all pay-outs to the grieving families are sorted and squared away. But Mr Huskwidth, consider the optics moving forward. The Dauntless<\/em> makes its first commercial flight in two weeks. And, regardless of the stringent safety standards set by the Company, it\u2019ll only take one afternoonified worker with a skinful of slosh to ruin it. They don\u2019t bother to tie down their harness while making a repair and they take a long drop. And if someone comes across 180 pounds of raspberry jam wrapped up in The Company\u2019s uniform and logo splattered along the road between here and Luton, the whole floating dirigible enterprise will be sunk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huskwidth shifted uncomfortably in his chair and a smile crept across Aseroe\u2019s lips. Threats to life didn\u2019t matter to Company men, only appearances. And money. Now, Huskwidth was stuck in the unenviable position of gambling the Company\u2019s standing on a bunch of drunken repair crew or finally indulging Fiallete\u2019s alternative solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think yours is a better option?\u201d Huskwidth grimaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn what capacity?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, sir. In order to answer, I\u2019m afraid I need to admit to a little white lie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiallete leant back in his chair, exchanging a look with Aseroe. She nodded; it was time to show their trump card. She stood up and took a few steps backwards, to ensure Fiallete wouldn\u2019t get caught in the reveal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLie?\u201d Huskwidth asked. \u201cWhat lie?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStrictly speaking, Aseroe isn\u2019t wearing a cape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On cue, Aseroe shook her shoulders and a leathery snap cut through the room. Shadows spread across Huskwidth\u2019s desk, face, darkening his glasses enough for them to act like mirrors. Aseroe could see herself in them. She could see her unfurled, outstretched wings. They spanned nearly the entire room, blocking out all the lantern lights. She sighed with comfortable relief, it felt good to stretch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huskwidth stammered something of a reply, though no words made it past his surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo raspberry jam with this one,\u201d Fiallete said. \u201cNo unpleasant accidents. And no need to waste money on damage control. Best of all, she\u2019ll work for food and board. We both will, if you let us crew The Dauntless<\/em>. Best deal you\u2019ll find. I guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat right?\u201d Huskwidth asked warily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll have to \u2026 run it by the board,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore I can say yes or no to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Fiallete said, standing up and donning his hat. \u201cYou know where to find me. Us. I\u2019ll look forward to the good news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiallete extended his hand and shook Huskwidth\u2019s. Aseroe extended hers as well, quietly appreciating the discomfort Huskwidth broadcast in accepting it. \u201cA pleasure,\u201d she said, baring her fangs with a wide smile. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see your wonderful airship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wasn\u2019t lying, she never lied. She was genuinely excited to board The Dauntless<\/em>. It would make crashing the thing so much easier from the inside than the outside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Aseroe’s horns had never bothered her. Nor had the red pigment of her skin. Her fangs had caused some discomfort when they’d come in after …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[423,424,425,152,426,151,422],"class_list":["post-3731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-demon","tag-dirigible","tag-fangs","tag-fantasy","tag-horns","tag-kel-white","tag-sci-fi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-Yb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1350,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=1350","url_meta":{"origin":3731,"position":0},"title":"Oz ComicCon 2022","author":"Morte Oakley","date":"June 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For our family, ComicCon has been a tradition for six years now. 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