The dull, amber radiance of the great ball of flame known by humans as 'the sun' seemed to burn ever so mercilessly through the comforting haze of unconsciousness that blanketed his indolent cognizance. Reflexively, his five-fingered appendage moved to cover his visage from the vexing flecks of bright gold that sneaked through the thick folds of velvet curtains that draped the generously glassed windows. A groan slipped through his mouth unbidden as the man known as Darius Blackwood clammed his eyes shut and stirred in the cozy confines of his Queen-sized bed, shifting his body ever so slightly as to evade the probing beams of sunlight, but to no avail as the brightness only grew in brilliance and warmth. With a languorous sigh, Darius propped himself up, his hands and elbows sinking deeply into the liberally cushioned bed underneath him, as if it was seducing him back into their soft embrace. He closed his eyes again, soaking in the ambiance of his surroundings: the well-furnished room, still chilly from the night, lightly lit by the yellow spears of light that stabbed through the gaps between the curtains which was growing warmer by the second. For a moment, he seemed to have fallen asleep again, his features so serene and peaceful but then his eyes suddenly snapped open, any and all traces of sleepiness gone.
The well-toned muscles in his svelte body rippling, he slipped out of and made his bed, his movements smooth and fluid despite the lack of proper illumination, the result of habitual practice. A frown framed his regal face as he stood back to consider his handiwork; the uneven slice of sunlight that splayed out on his bedsheet seeming to mock his effort, its very presence an incongruous element that marred the perfection that he covets. Grumbling in his mind, he grimly took note to fire whoever it was responsible for their incompetence. A soft knock at the door announced that arrival of the housemaid and as he shot a glance at the brass grandfather clock that continued to tick time away, the man was late by 3 minutes. "Come in." His voice came out as a rich baritone with a hard edge that brooked no disobedience as he slowly turned to greet the housemaid.
The housemaid, a well-dressed Caucasian male well into his mid-thirties, stepped in, a tray of food expertly balanced in his right hand with a stack of papers clutched in his left. Darius cast a cursory eye over the other male whilst scouring his mind to match a name with the face, noting the slight dampness accumulated at the base of his neck and around the edges of his cufflinks as well as the rise and fall of his chest. Without a word, Darius pointed to a table, wrought from solid oak and beautifully carved to depict a quadruplet of serpentine creatures as each of the legs with their backs as the tabletop. The faint smell of burnt tobacco tickled his nose as the other man went past him to set the things on the small table. "These are —" Darius interrupted the man before he could complete his sentence. "I know what those are. I was the only who asked for them yesterday. And I also know what breakfast is. No need for you to tell me. I've yet to lose my sense of smell, despite being stuck in this backwater hovel. Oh, and by the way..." Darius clapped the older man on his shoulder and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "You're fired."
The housemaid's look of indignation and surprise was expected and so was his voiced disapproval. Darius merely ignored the fool as he eased himself into a chair. "Hey, you can't just fire people like that, what did I —" Darius cut him off with a raise of his hand and ticked off his fingers as he spoke. "Firstly...you are late. 3 minutes late." "But—" Cutting off any interruptions from the man with a glare, Darius continued. "Secondly, this is not the first time you are late, and I doubt allowing you to stay on would have any effect on your tardy behavior." The man seemed like he wanted to object but Darius only ignored him and continued on. "Thirdly, you reek of sweat and tobacco and no doubt have been thoroughly wasted on alcohol the night before in some seedy, disreputable bar. Your horrid breath gives it away. The fourth..." Darius pointed to the man's shoes, one of which the laces had come undone and both seemed to need some slight polishing. "Well, I doubt I need to say it as I'm pretty sure you can see for yourself. So, thank you for your services thus far and good bye."
The man was livid. "You can't fire people just for that! And what I do with my time off is none of your concern!" In contrast to the man's fiery anger, Darius was impeccably calm as he spoke whilst leafing through the stack of papers, blatantly disregarding the seething older man before him. "Au contraire, I can and I will. Will you comply or do I need to get security to escort you out?" The man swore out loud and swung at him. Darius, unperturbed, merely tilted the chair slightly back and watched as the man's swing went wide, losing his balance in the process. A light push to the man's shoulder sent him crashing into the wooden frame of his bedpost, a dull thunk indicating the impact of head against sturdy wood. With a dramatic sigh, Darius rose from his seat. "Now, I'm sure that wasn't necessary at all. After all, you can't blame your employer for your inefficiencies." The man only replied with a frustrated roar before charging at him again. Darius stood still, his eyes staring coldly at the rampaging ex-employee. "Seems like you need to be taught your place."
Side-stepping the man at the last moment, Darius kicked out his foot and tripped him but not before grabbing ahold of one his arms. With the momentum from the man's charge, Darius swung him towards the bedpost which he crashed into again. Flipping the groaning man over with his foot, he stared at the man until he caught his eye. Releasing the reigns on the spellwork which he was crafting, it blossomed outwards and encompassed the whole room, its energies unseen by those without magical powers. It was a simple illusion spell, weaved by intertwining and manipulating the shadows which would would allow normal mortals to see some part of his true, draconic form. Darius smiled and imagined how he must've looked like from the poor man's perspective. It would be as if his employer was cloaked in the shadows...no, had merged and became one with the shadows himself, growing larger yet becoming more indistinct and insubstantial. Darius could almost see it reflected from the man's dilated pupils. A smile that was all too wide and not at all human split his once-handsome face, the formerly orderly teeth now sharp and pointed, his humanoid body murkily fused with the faint shadow of a reptilian skin and form, a melding and undulating amalgam of ebony scales and bronze skin.
Suddenly, it clicked in his mind. He remembered the man's name and the edges of his lips curled up in another smile, causing the pitiful victim to cringe and whimper. When he spoke, it wasn't with his human voice but with the guttural growl of a large beast. "You are inapt in fulfilling the responsibilities given to you, Mr Greene. Therefore, you are fired. Now do I make myself clear?" The man nodded furiously, his face pale and sweaty from the dreadful sight he beheld before him. A wave of nausea flooded over Darius as the strain of maintaining the spell caught up to him. With his goal of scaring the daylights out of the obstinate ex-employee accomplished, he released the spell and the man gasped audibly as Darius's human form greeted his eyes once more. He had started to feel rather lightheaded from the depletion of magic and the sensation of nausea threatened to buckle his knees and drop him to the floor and destroy the feeling of fear he had so carefully planted and nourished in Mr Greene. Gritting his teeth through it all, he spoke, his returned human voice filling the silence in the room. "You're dismissed now, Mr. Greene. I trust you can see yourself out the door?" The man never answered and bolted out of the room instead.
Darius waited until he could no longer hear the muffled thumps of hurried footsteps on the carpet before he collapsed into the chair, the effort of putting up such a show for less than 3 minutes taking a toll on his body and mind. He chided himself for his weakness, making mental note to train up his magical abilities as well as maintaining his bodily strength before he turned to his breakfast and wolfed it down, caring little for the chill that had set in the food during the little 'incident' that had occurred. Darius worried little about the stories the man would tell. After all, the Blackwood family was famous was being unnatural and even if something big did happen out of it, such things can be easily covered up by the company's influence and money. Finishing the last of the bacon strips, he breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly sipped his morning cup of coffee whilst carefully going though the papers brought in.