Okeen's Kitchen Nightmares

[Graze]

Shaking the dust from his boots, Graze stepped through the front doors of Darkwater Security. The cool air of the interior washed over his sweat-soaked skin. He’d been in the heat for too many hours to count, re-analyzing the perimeter and ensuring the safety of their establishment. The sheer magnitude of client details alone warranted the building’s heightened security, not to mention their files on past and future targets. Graze would do everything in his power to prevent the theft of such information.

Looking around, he was struck by the unnatural silence that pervaded the front room. The men of his crew were typically found relaxing near the entryway in the hopes of frightening an unsuspecting client. He couldn’t imagine where they might have gone.

The sound of raucous laughter made its way to his ears. Turning to follow it, he sniffed. The smell of food seemed to permeate the air, and his stomach let out a loud rumble. Laughter again drew his attention, the noise growing louder as he continued down the hallway until coming to a stop at the closed door of the kitchen.

He opened it and stepped through. A faint sense of surprise froze Graze as he examined his men. Their voices were filled with excitement as they watched Okeene’s attempts in the kitchen. His every move seemed hindered, however, as every movement was tense with fear and reticence. The Kadrillian had apparently decided to again try his hand at cooking, but each time he drew closer to the counter, Sobek’s bared teeth caused him to cringe. Graze wondered if the resulting fire would be as bad as the last time.

“I hope you’re not planning to blow this place up,” he rasped as he walked to a nearby chair and kicked his feet onto the wooden table beside it. “The boss wouldn’t take kindly to another unexplained explosion.”

[member="Sobek"]

 

[Sieb Tevv]

"No," growled Sobek, "But fried terrapin would taste...." he hissed long and slow, "delicious."

The crocodilian crossed his arms, yellow-green eyes fixing [member="Graze"] with a treacherous stare. The karkarodon was always too soft on Okeen, the weakest and often most useless member of their specialized team. Dead weight. A term Sobek thought would be better literal. The Saurton took in a breath, the scent of Okeen's terror wafting into scaled nostrils. Mmm.

Usar stood in the corner, looking absurdly large and stupid. Sobek ignored him, or her, or whatever the hell Usar really was. He'd never bothered to ask. Didn't seem a point to it.

"What do you want, Graze?"

 

[Graze]

Eyes cold with derision flicked toward the growling crocodilian, their icy depths cutting in their disregard. Sobek was always seeking to evoke anger from his foreman, but Graze grew tired of humoring the stinking male whose stench threatened to overwhelm the faint whispers of decently cooking food that Okeen had coaxed from the pan. Graze’s stomach clenched, dreading the possibility of consuming food that had been burnt for fear of nearing row upon row of reeking razor-edged teeth.

“Well Sobek,” Graze answered calmly, his demeanor doing nothing to betray the wariness with which he watched his homicidal ally. “I was unaware that I required your permission to enter this kitchen. I’ll be sure to remedy my actions for the next time I seek sustenance.”

Leaning back, he awaited Sobek’s response. The admonishment was small, but it would hopefully stem the tide of violence that rampaged within the crocodilian’s eyes, which glowed yellow-green with the vomit of violence and the virus of blood-thirstiness. His hunger for the pain of others was something that Graze had no qualms of corralling. Sobek must practice restraint.

[member="Sobek"]