[PCA] UNIVERSAL CONSTANTS

[skinstealer]

[image description: synna, a warm brown marsupial furry with floppy ears, stands in front of charon, a few feet shorter than him. she has darker markings on her muzzle and ears, wiry fluff for her hair and neck ruff, and a casual expression. her outfit is simple yet sporty- a pair of blue and white athletic shorts and a yellow and blue crop top revealing the top edge of a belly pouch. her eyes are a reddish pink, and have no pupils.

charon looks curious, but not sure what to make of this new figure. he has cute dot-styled eyes again, adding to the friendly-yet-cautious vibe of the scene.]

This is taking forever, and Synna feels like she’s about to go nuts from the waiting. She’d organized the files on her desktop already, watched a few episodes of her favorite cartoon, browsed the news at least three times over by now, and nobody had bothered to knock on the door or call her up. She shouldn’t have even taken a day off for this, but noooo, she wanted to make sure that Maes had someone on standby in case someone actually passed her ridiculous interviews. How many people even applied for this job? She had made it sound as scary as possible in order to weed out people who couldn’t hack it, but she wouldn’t be surprised if people tried to go for it anyway, with the kind of pay and housing the lab was offering.

Synna flops back into her chair, exhaling hard. When is Maes going to be done grilling people? She just wants to get it over with and hear the inevitable "no, they all sucked, why would you put me up to this Synna, I'm mad now."

Before she can get comfortable, there’s a knock on the door.  She nearly falls out of her chair, completely startled as she scrambles to her feet.

SYNNA: ‘Bout fucking time you got done, I was starting to think you'd actually consider someo-

 

She opens the door, only to reveal a dog she doesn’t recognize in the office doorway.

CHARON: It seems you were anticipating someone else.
SYNNA: ...looks like it.

 

She looks up at him with a squint.

SYNNA: Who the hell are you?
CHARON: Charon Judgment, traveling knight and engineer of oddities.
CHARON: I've just been contracted to work here and was given the suggestion to talk to you.

 

She stares at him for a moment before peeking around the doorway.

SYNNA: This isn't a prank? She actually picked somebody?
CHARON: Yes?
CHARON: That reaction has me a little concerned..
SYNNA: Yooou shooouldn't have a single worry about that!

She tries to correct her tone mid sentence, snapping back upright.

SYNNA: I'm just a little surprised. Maes has pretty high standards.
CHARON: Seemed rather intense, I'll take it as a compliment.
SYNNA: Yeah, well...we'll see whether you can hold up.

 

She opens the door and gestures for him to step inside.

SYNNA: I'm a little under-prepared, but I should be able to get you set up.

He walks into the office, taking a look around as subtly as he can.

CHARON: No pressure, I appreciate the assistance.

 

Her office is smaller than Maes' by a significant amount, stacks of folders, drink mugs, strange chunks of electronics, and CD cases piled up everywhere. The only chair available for him to sit in looks kind of rickety, swiveling around as Synna turns it to face him.

SYNNA: Take a seat. We'll go over your forms- I hope you filled those out in advance, or we'll be here for like, an hour- and then I'll show you around.
CHARON: Mm, I acquired everything required in advance.

 

He scoots into the chair and pulls out a couple of folders from his coat. Synna flops into her own chair, doing a lazy little spin before leaning forward onto her desk.

SYNNA: Hand 'em over, I'll skim and make sure it's all in order.

 

Charon slides them onto the desk.

CHARON: It should all be in there. Let me know if there’s any issue.

 

She picks up the first one carefully, flicking through the papers there.

SYNNA: So Charon Judgment, huh?
SYNNA: That's a hell of a name. People here just call me Synna.
CHARON: Any last name?
SYNNA: Nope. No family or organization ties, no need for it.
SYNNA: I mean, aside from the lab I guess, but I'd rather be my own person outside of that.
SYNNA: No offense to yourself intended.
CHARON: None taken. How's it all looking?
SYNNA: Looks like everything's in order at a glance- good, you included touch script.

 

She sighs in relief.

SYNNA: I can see how that got you points with her.
SYNNA: From what Maes has been telling me about the interviews so far, people haven’t been bothering to cover their bases- even though it’s in the fucking ad.
SYNNA: …pardon the language. Can’t help it.
CHARON: I try to do a little homework before applying for any job, long term or temporary.
SYNNA: And what drew you to this one in particular?
SYNNA: I mean, probably sounds pretty scary, right?
CHARON: I'm a knight and a little more, I'm about as equipped as it gets for this.
SYNNA: I thought knights were more a 'protect the town from devastation' kinda deal.
CHARON: This lab is big enough to qualify as a town as far as I've heard, and worker safety is a priority of its own.
SYNNA: Point taken, works for me...I'll try not to grill you too much.
SYNNA: Guessing she really tore into you, huh?
CHARON: Define.
SYNNA: If you actually got the job, that means she must have interrogated the hell out of you.
CHARON: Perhaps, but it seems I've passed unscathed.
SYNNA: You're setting my expectations high- do you prefer first name or last?
CHARON: Up to your preference, know some like to keep things formal.
SYNNA: We'll do Judgment for now, I'm not one of those stuffy types, but it'll make me feel cool to go around calling for some prestigious knight bloodline.

 

She can’t help but grin.

CHARON: A noble cause, I admire and approve of this.
SYNNA: Trust me, it should turn some heads.  

 

She goes for the next folder, skimming this one even faster.

SYNNA: We have a lot of high profile people both coming to us for work and working with us, but knights are definitely a new one.
CHARON: I imagine most of them are scared off by the stories.
SYNNA: Stories?

 

She raises a brow.

SYNNA: Tell me one.
SYNNA: Just one, and then we'll go look around, show you the sights.
CHARON: Hmm... there's quite the absurd one. Supposedly the lab is secretly run by a fire breathing dragon from the depths of hell.
SYNNA: Well, I can debunk that one- I've never seen Maes breathe fire, and as far as I know, she doesn't have any scales or wings to speak of.
SYNNA: The "from hell" part isn't too wrong, though.
CHARON: Is there some sort of truth to it…?

 

She holds her hands up.

SYNNA: That's all I can say, classified information.
CHARON: Noted. Mildly concerning, possibly important one day, but kept in mind nonetheless..
SYNNA: Don't think too much of it, yeah?
SYNNA: Just a little dark humor.

 

She shrugs, setting his folders down and getting up.

SYNNA: We have a lot to see, so let's get moving.

 

The dog follows suit.

CHARON: Of course.