TEA and Crumpets Please

[KASPAR MADDOX DIEDERICH]

I hate those good for nothing Hunters. I swear they try to make my life as difficult as they possibly can like its a sport for them. Do you have any idea how hard it is to cover up a hunter charging into a super market, guns blazing, with a whole pack a werewolves on his ass? Well that was my evening. I was suck in my office for hours doing paper work, making phone calls. Just a side note, it is mother fucking expensive to have a dozen repair men come in and fix up the place and to make it like nothing had ever happened.

I hate paper work.

I hate paper work so much I walked right up to that good for nothing Hunter and clocked him a good on me right in the face. Yeah, that certainly wasn't the protocol for handling that kind of situation but this Hunter does this kind of shit every time he is sent out.

Note to self, fill out more god damn paper work for that good for nothing Hunter to get a look in his noggin. I think one too many hits from the werewolves scrambled the eggs a little too much.

If you haven't been able to figure out my occupation by now, I am a Handler. My job is to baby sit, and occasionally (and off the record) beat the tar out of, Hunters. Werewolves do what ever it is that werewolves do. Hunters kill werewolves. I clean up after hunter and file that god damn paper work. Werewolf infects Hunter. I kill Hunter. It's all a very basic hunt and hunted sort of gig. But certainly not my speed. Too much god damn paper work that's for sure.

I go out of town a lot with the Hunters that I'm in charge of. Going out of state, hell sometimes even going to the next town, is like going to a different country. You need to make sure all your ducks are in a row, strait jacket on your Hunter with a muzzle and in a cage, blah blah blah. Pretty straight forward shit. But on the job I've seen some freaky shit. I've been around my fair share of the normal run of the mill werewolves. Big scary beasties and all. Ahh to grandmothers house we go and all that bull shit. Finding out they existed was a big shock, and even bigger one to know that not only am I next to impossible to kill but I'm immune to their disease.

That is why I am a handler, I won't be cannon fodder. Werewolves can't really kill me, short of chopping off my head or something. When the Hunters go and get themselves turned its my job as clean up crew and "eliminate" them. Hunters turned into werewolves... That's some freaky shit right there let me tell you. I've seen them do things that no normal werewolf can do. Of course when I brought it to my superiors they said I was just seeing things, that Hunters turned into werewolves are just like any other werewolf. Right.

I can never have normal mornings it seems. Every Hunter I am charged with time and time again always has to do something to get themselves hurt or into trouble which awards me with a phone call at some ungodly hour in the middle of the night, dragging me from my bed to deal with business and some god damn paper work. Today was one of those nights where I was roused out of bed by an urgent phone call. I tend to get one of those phone calls every night.

I am a right foul git when I am woken up in the middle of the night to deal with stupidity so no one within the company or my Hunters complain when I come to this little coffee shop every morning at nine to sit quietly with my laptop to tend business without someone pissing me off and drink a cup of tea or two. I don't really care for coffee, it's too bitter for my tastes. But tea, any kind is good for me.

My usual morning tea - green tea to be exact - is what called me to this trendy little shop this morning. I didn't even have to tell the girl working the counter what I wanted, after being in here nearly every day for the three months I have lived here has ground it into her memory. She normally had it ready for me too since I come in at the same time every day. Today she had added her number to the paper cup holding my tea, written in black sharpie on the greenish brown of their "recycled" cups. This caused me to give a sharp "tisk" and earned me a bright red flush across her face. I found it amusing that she would give me her number. I think the most I have ever said to her was "large green tea please."

I handed her the amount my tea cost and moved to the little island that held the honey, sugar, the little creamers, and other things for your tea and coffee needs. I grabbed a large handful of sugar, the whole jar of honey they have sitting there, and a couple of those useless stirrers that every coffee shop has and moved to my usual table by the window.

I set up my laptop on the table and pulled out sever Manila folders and placed them on the table as well. With my laptop starting up I set to work on adding enough sugar and honey to my tea to put the healthiest person into a diabetic coma. Bring the sugar rush on baby.

[NIKA ADALI VOLKOLV]

The night at the factory had been fast paced to say the least and Nika had yet to make her way home, as a matter of fact Nika had just set foot outside the dark abandoned building and had been surprised to find the blinding morning sun greeting her showing her that obviously the night had no intentions of waiting on her children. The woman cursed not having brought a pair of sunglasses, though it would have done nothing for her as she would have more than likely lost them within stepping foot into the arena. Either way the woman had had her fun and was now going to enjoy her way back into her nice comfortable bed where she would sleep the day away until nightfall where she'd see just what it was the moon beckoned her to do.

Nika's stomach was growling something fierce and the woman could only think about tearing her teeth into something nice and meaty; deer, a bear, a nice family pet perhaps. The thoughts made Nika's mouth water as well as amused her more cynical side as she headed into the town, walking through the town shopping center and buying herself a cheap pair of black tinted, black framed glasses that to no surprise matched her dark apparel and as she continued walking she was pleased to catch the faint hint of fear from passerbys at her appearance, if only the poor saps knew.

She'd caught the whiff of lust from her cashier at the small store she had entered for all of two seconds and that was enough to make the woman gag not only because what did this mere human think he could do for a woman of Nika's caliber when he couldn't even keep from tripping over his words long enough to give her the grand damn total of some cheap knockoff glasses. Needless to say Nika's wolf was more interested in eating his beating heart while Nika herself was more interested in tearing off his manhood and letting the younger pack members have a new chew toy... Right now just wasn't the time to irritate her.

She'd had her fun of course but it was almost without fail that someone would try to push her limits and who else would that have to have been yesterday, why no other than 'Death' himself mister Viktor Alsvik. There interactions had been cut short but Nika could already tell that if run ins with the hunter turned fluffy were going to become more frequent her mood was going to take a damn turn for the worse and she wouldn't wait around to be pulled off or away from anybody, if she stumbled upon Viktor one more time things weren't going to turn out so amicable.

It wasn't just the fact that this man had killed countless of her species with no thought as to who they were or what they had done, they were simply a nuisance a pest, to be taken out and fumigated, retreated every couple of weeks to make sure there was nothing left. That made her blood boil there was no doubt and even the thought of it had the woman clench her teeth as she scowled noticeably, lost in her thoughts no regard to the world surrounding her. Viktor hadn't been the first hunter to get turned, but he had been the first hunter to still be alive and though Nika was sure he deserved credit for that she wouldn't be the one to give him it. In fact she'd be more prone to telling the government just where the hell he was, if it didn't mean turning herself over to them which wouldn't happen even on a cold day in hell.

As Nika found herself wandering into the coffee shop that sat on the corner at the end of the main street the werewolf figured what would a cup of coffee hurt now? She was a mere few blocks away from the forest and her home where she'd be able to forget about her encounter with Viktor and all thoughts of the man who had thoroughly done a good job of overshadowing the fun she'd had last night, something the young Russian just wasn't used to and didn't like one bit.

Stepping into the oh so chic cafe, Nika felt more than a few eyes land on her looming figure and though she didn't scowl, the woman didn't smirk, finding that it took more effort for her after the night she'd had all Nika wanted was a coffee, some food and a long nap.

"Can I take your order?" Nika's eyes landed on the far shorter girl behind the counter, she couldn't have been a day over 18 and because of that when she caught the faintest hint of envy it made the woman smirk even if the taste of bitterness seemed to overrule it just a touch. Lifting a hand to her face Nika lifted the dark glasses to the top of her head, the accessory instantly loss in the mass mane of unruly black waves as she looked up at the menu taking her time because she had never been here, reading slowly because she could and relishing every damn second of it because the bitch behind the counter couldn't stand to even look at her the longer Nika stood there. It was definitely a boost to the woman's ego even if this was merely a human girl who would have never stood a chance in any competition with Nika and because of that she looked down at the girl, smirk back in place as she finally answered.

"Why I suppose you can, it is your job after all isn't it? Take care of my needs, make my coffee, fetch my breakfast?" Nika hadn't missed the utterance of bitch from the girl's mouth, so soft that not even the girl who uttered it had been sure it was said aloud but it had, and the word made Nika laugh because yes, yes she was a bitch, by all definitions of the word. "Very well, I won't keep you from your piles of work." Nika's voice was thickly laced with not only her accent but amusement and she was sure that by now the girl's face was so red she'd explode with just a few more jabs... What a pity she couldn't stand her ground.

"One large coffee and your meatiest, fattiest sandwich, a girl's gotta watch her figure after all." Nika winked as she pulled money out of her bra with no care as to who was watching and as Nika was handing the girl a ten dollar bill she made sure to tug the money back getting the attention of the obviously frustrated girl.

"If anything happens to my food - on secondhand just don't, my night was long and you're in over your head." With one final intent stare it seemed that all the anger had dissipated and the small scent of fear started creeping up on Nika and she watched with nothing short of amusement as her breakfast biscuit was prepared, the sausage, bacon, and Canadian bacon though not raw smelled like heaven for the woman and her wolf and the scent of her hazelnut coffee made her eyes flutter close for a brief second before she was handed a tray with her meal and a grumbled thank you that made the woman smirk before she took her mid morning meal and found a spot at the end of the small room, by a window looking out towards the woods and before sitting herself down Nika made sure to grab the small pitcher of creamer and a handful of sugar for her coffee because if there was one thing Nika couldn't stand it was bitter coffee.

Finally taking a seat and looking at the monstrous breakfast treat waiting for her Nika took her time to disassemble the mess of meat, egg and cheese nestled between a home cooked biscuit and even though this wasn't her normal eats or even preferred eats Nika couldn't deny how delicious the entire thing smelled. Picking up a piece of thick, crisply cooked bacon Nika took a bite of the piece of fried pig and cherished the food as well as the view, she couldn't wait to get back home and before she realized what she was doing, Nika let her guard dropped not focusing on anything but her bacon and coffee.