While the Cat's Away

[Cassandra Paige]

"Miss Paige? Your three o'clock is here?"

Cassandra looked up from the holodisplay hovering over her desk. With a few swipes of her hand, the necessary orders were confirmed and she flicked down, sending the blue lights disappearing into the desk. The sun was starting to shine through the large windows at the far side of the office, and she make a dismissive action in the air in that direction- the windows themselves dimmed slightly, cutting down the glare.

As GenPals continued to grow, she was no shy about setting up the little things that made spending the majority of her days in this office bearable.

"Send her in."

Standing up and brushing a single wrinkle out of her suit, she came around the desk, hand extended as her appointment was ushered in. Anastasia King, human. The fact that she shared a name with her least favorite sister (not that she liked either of them much), well, Cass would try not to hold it against her.

"Welcome to GenPals," she said with a smile. "I'm Cassandra Paige."

@Anastasia King

 

[Darth Morrow]

Stepping into the room Anastasia King possessed a certain feel to her, a not very friendly one at that, her outfit was dark leathers and faded pants, really the opposite of what one would expect from a CEO.

Shaking Cassandra's hand with a light grip, her blue eyes peered over the woman. "Anastasia King, pleasure." The tone was clearly not very impressed, however it seemed just as though it was her, not necessarily disappointment or ill manner towards Cassandra.

"While I'm sure there would be nothing more pleasant than having a nice conversation, you likely have more meetings after I, and I do as well. So lets cut to the chase shall we?"

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Oh, Cass didn't necessarily *like* her. She didn't play the game. She looked like she walked out of a mid-level bar to hang out around the back door and wait for the band.

"Charmed," came the reply, smooth and cool with only a hint of the same disinterest. Saying that, no, Cass wasn't particularly charmed herself. But it was difficult to call her on, easy to deny.

She did appreciate that the woman got straight to the point.

She didn't even need to offer refreshment and truth be told, she'd be perfectly happy to not linger over a cup of caf.

"Yes, to business," she said briskly, settling back down behind her desk and gesturing to one of the plush chairs across from her.

"You have a special order you would like to place. A known creature? Or something custom?"

[member="Anastasia King"]

 

[Darth Morrow]

Plopping herself down in a chair across from her, Anastasia swung one leg over the other and leaned back slightly.

"Something custom. To be honest I just want something that seems harmless but could rip an eye out or claw someone to death. In short term, I need an innocent looking guard that listens, but isn't always aggressive." She shrugged.

"Appearance is everything. I trust you could find something to fit with my look from samples you keep of the creatures. Nothing too big that it would have troubles being obedient yet big enough to be useful, I don't want a kitten or something that needs a cage the size of a room."

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Cass pursed her lips, looking thoughtful for a moment to cover her actual calculations.

She had no doubt they could arrange what she wanted. But there was no way in the Maw she was going to allow this woman to leaf their their research projects like it was a catalog. That was simply not feasible.

"Unfortunately, I do not have anything on hand, beyond the standard product catalog, to offer you to look through," she said finally, an apologetic smile on her face.

"However," she pulled up a hologram, fingers drawing it out of the top of her desk. She started checking off boxes. "What we can do is list your ideal qualities. Let's see, list the size as medium to start, there's some lee way in there but it's a good beginning. Cute/Adorable, obviously," she continued, using her index finger to highlight that box with a check. "Trainable, check. Combat capable, not a box I often get to mark off, but check."

She looked up at the other woman with a smile.

"Animal type? Reptilian? Mammal? Avian? A chimera species with traits of multiple?"

If Cass picked something that fit this woman's 'look' she's end up likely unhappy with the result. Best to have her choose.

[member="Anastasia King"]

 

[Darth Morrow]

Continuing to lean back she thought over the questions. What would be cute but fierce?

"How about a mixture. Perhaps avian and feline? Still cute of course."

She picked up the standard product catalog and began to peer through it, waiting for more questions to follow.

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"Hmm yes, that could be arranged. Wings I assume?"

She ticked off a box and mulled over the options.

"Beak or mouth? Talons or paws? More fur or more feathers?"

As the other woman answer Cass input the information, one check mark at a time appearing on the holographic display. Once they had gone through the necessary details, Cass hit a button and the data started compiling. This was a new feature, one they had recently implemented as a way to get an idea of what a particular creature might look like, based on the information input into the program. A theoretical version of a creature, based on the desired features.

After a moment, an image popped up- a 3-D hologram of what, based on what she had requested, a creature of this sort might look like.

"It is of course a rough estimate," Cass informed. "But is that to your liking?"

[member="Anastasia King"]

 

[Darth Morrow]

She replied to each question as it came, mulling over the ideas in her head for mere seconds before firing back.

"Wings, Beak, Talons, Fur."

When the display popped up of the creature, Anastasia looked it over quietly, viewing small details and aspects of the general design before nodding. "This will work. Though perhaps extend the tail. Make it a bit larger, and make the front legs talons, the back legs paw like however still with sharp claws. Id like for the wings to be functional, so any adjustments necessary for that can be made as well."

She rested back slightly, waiting for the finalization of the deal. She was picky, however this was quite a bit of coin to part with.

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Box after box marked off. Honestly, it was mostly a relief that this one wasn't going to be a tiny, horrifying monster. Hmmm, possibly even something worth changing just enough to sell to the general public. Smaller and less dangerous. GenPals didn't offer personal security animals for general sale.....

Hmmm, an interesting thought, but one for later.

"There," she said with a small nod. "Yes, this can be arranged. It will take several weeks. Would you like to be kept updated weekly on our progress? Of course you can inspect the animal before final payment is made and delivery is accepted- if there are any problems we will of course remedy them, but a non-refundable deposit is required before we can start the work, you understand."

[member="Anastasia King"]

 

[Darth Morrow]

"An update with any major development will be alright. And credit will be no issue, I can have it transferred after our meeting concludes."

She continued looking at the model floating above the table for a moment before it dissipated, a few thoughts running through her mind on how this future possible mess she was creating would play out, could be a disaster, or it could be the best thing she ever purchased. Regardless, there was little left to do besides closing formality.

"I appreciate the time you've taken for this meeting, thank you." She began to stand, outreaching a hand for a shake before she left running for another meeting.

[member="Cassandra Paige"]