The corner of Lorette's mouth quirked in a smile as Julian was the first and most eager to seek an explanation for what he'd just seen. The smart ones were typically easy to hook. Knowledge was as good as gold to those people, and nothing got them excited more than the utterly incomprehensible. The other two displayed varying levels of interest, with Harper openly agreeing to sign on easily enough given her questions following her initial agreement.

"You will be supplied uniforms, and you may smoke outside during your breaks." She replied curtly.

Marshall was the most visibly relaxed. He'd said nothing indicating interest in employment, but he hadn't said no either. Based on his file, it was clear he needed some level of stimulation if he was to get invested in anything, and Apex had that in no short supply.

"Now before we go any further." She began airily. "I'll need you all to agree to a few stipulations. It's nothing too intensive, I promise. Just a few non disclosure agreements and Release of Liability forms. Magic toads aside, Apex is still and International Arms Dealer."

Lorette reached out a hand, and Brenda climbed into her palm readily. She briefly considered placing the toad back into her jacket, but the little amphibian gave her a look that could only be read as 'Do not.' as closely as possible on a Toad's face. She settled for holding the Daemon and stepped back and away from the table. A quick glance and a nod in his direction and Allister was gone in a flash without another word. He was not gone long, returning with a level of efficiency that bordered on the preternatural. He did not return empty handed, and moreover he did not return alone.

The service cart that he pushed was covered in all manner of objects. Small figurines and carvings, jewelry, glassware and porcelain teacups. A random piece of tooling could be found here or there as well. Behind him came two heavily armored guards. They were silent, with only the light sifting of metal to herald their coming and neither spared the people inside the room a glance. They only wheeled their carts in alongside Allister's, each covered in a mishmash of random objects. One seemed to favor antique weapons that looked as if they'd be more at home in a museum or a collector's display. The pair only spared Lorette the briefest of acknowledgement in the form of silent nods before taking vigil on either side of the door. Hands at the pommel of their matching swords and the stark wrongness of their appearance was offset by the presumed threat that they would pose. The armor that they both wore was well maintained, as any piece of equipment should be. But it was well worn. Scratches and superficial dents pitted the surface where one bothered to observe close enough and it left the impression that the metal saw a lot of use, and bore the brunt of many attacks. From who, or from what would not be said. The imagination could fill in those gaps, and in truth the imagination would soon prove to be far preferable to reality.

Setting Brenda on her shoulder, Lorette gestured grandly at the carts, as if they'd soon spring to life and explain their presence. They, along with the objects loaded onto them remained still and silent. The affair seemed more like a Thrift store offering than a legitimate business enterprise. But Lorette's body language and tone betrayed no farce. She'd been dead serious from the moment her guests had arrived and was no closer to breaking character than anyone was to figuring out what the hell was going on.

Allister, who'd taken a spot at Lorette's immediate left leaned over slightly to set several stack of forms onto the table. "I've also got those Healthcare Packets you asked for." He offered helpfully.


"Good. Now as you recall, I offered all of you power. I was being quite literal. Mr. Schoen will be giving you a demonstration. Hopefully it'll give you a little incentive to join us if you're on the fence. Oh, and you should cover your ears." 

In a single practiced motion, Lorette reached back into her jacket and pivoted on a heel to face her assistant. This time there were no toads to be seen. Nothing fantastical, or out of the ordinary. All that Lorette had in her hand was a completely normal 9mm handgun. She fired without hesitation. Which in itself was strange. Stranger still was the complete lack of reaction from either of the armed guards. It became abundantly clear that they'd seen this song and dance before.

Allister was not in the position to ignore being shot at, however. If his employer had fired on him before he did not show it on his face. Only responding in a manner that suddenly shifted the man from the realm of ordinary, to one slightly less.

The bullet should have struck the foppish man square in the chest. A bullet was too fast to dodge on the best of days, and most people hadn't the means to block one suddenly hurtling towards them. Allister did not dodge. Not from a lack of speed, so much as he didn't want the wall behind him to obtain a brand new hole. And so he blocked.

The crystal, if it even was that, gleamed brightly under the harsh florescent lighting. A pillar of unknown origin and obvious supernatural design had sprung from seemingly nowhere of its own accord. It wouldn't have been a stretch of the mind to think so. The structure suddenly there when it was wholly absent before. But all things, even the unnatural have a source. Allister stepped lightly from behind the pillar to stand before it. With a snap of his fingers, it suddenly collapsed, dissolving into glittering dust that slowly faded from view. He reached out a gloved hand to catch the bullet that had once been lodged in the crystalline structure before it hit the ground. Holding the warped projectile up between his thumb and index finger, the blonde haired man flashed the new hires a broad grin.

"Ta-da!"

"Impeccable reaction time as always." Lorette said evenly while stowing the handgun back into her jacket. Allister preened under the woman's praise, clearly very happy to have received it. She gave the waiting trio a long side eye, and smirked. "That, is power. And it is only scratching the surface of what we can do. Here, we can forge the most unassuming individuals into something quite dangerous. Much like my dear Assistant."

"Don't worry. I'm only dangerous if the Madame orders it. Which is often." He quipped earning a good natured scoff from Lorette.

"Yes. We're obviously not just a Private Security Firm. We've got a great deal of interests here. But none so pressing as the capture and containment of these entities. Not all of them are as friendly as Brenda."

Lorette canted her head back slightly to look at Allister. "Speaking of. Introduce the individual that allowed you to preform that little trick."

Allister straightened his back and practically clicked his heels together before reaching towards the lapel of his jacket. His gloved fingers brushed  a stag shaped pin and he murmured something incomprehensible.

Nothing happened and a frown marred his graceful features. Eyes darting up and towards the waiting group Allister tucked into himself slightly and whispered harshly. "Please don't do this right now." He  paused, seeming to listen to the other half of a conversation no one but he could hear before outright sighing in consternation. "I know what they look like, please just deal with it for now." Another pause. "No. No one is going to pet you, I promise." He hissed. 

Allister's words, for whatever they were worth seemed to hold some weight to whomever he was speaking to. And what followed once he removed his fingers from the stag pin was a clear indication of that. 

It was fog, borne from the silver gleam of the pin and as as luminous as if lit by inner moonlight. It came from nowhere, and it did not dissipate in the way it should have when meeting the warmth o its surroundings. The fog drew in on itself  in a spot near Allister and the cloud it birth took form as rapidly as it had appeared. Hooves clattered softly upon the tiled floor and the grand, reaching prongs  of a Stag's antlers swept the veil of fog aside as carelessly as they surely swept aside his foes. This creature did could not and would not hide its otherworldliness. He stood there cloaked in a pelt of silver and stared down his nose at the newcomers with an expression that only held the deepest possible disdain.

"Be nice."

The sound of Lorette's voice was enough to mar the cold austerity of the Stag's features with the barest shadow of  worry before he flicked his ears and affixed the new hires with an expression of boredom instead.

Allister chuckled and smiled in a way almost embarrassed. For his sake, or the Stag's it couldn't be said. 

"I'm sorry if he seems rude. He's very fussy." He reached out to pat the Stag's neck and the proud creature, one which surely hated the concept f being touched if his one sided conversation with Allister was any indication, leaned into the man's hand.

"I am not fussy." The Stag said in a voice as clear and strong as cut diamond before turning his nose up. Allister chuckled again and gently slapped the Stag's shoulder with the back of his hand. "Introduce yourself."

The Stag looked no more pleased to address the group than he did to even look at them, but complied. "I am Faendr."  Somehow he was able to dredge up enough manners to incline his antlered head in a facsimile of a bow, but it was all he'd give.

"Fussy." Allister mouthed at the group, and Faendr shot the man a glare that seemed a great deal softer than the one he'd given everyone else.

Lorette pressed both palms together and eyed the trio before her with growing intensity. "Tonight, I'm going to ask you to make two agreements. One to myself and one to whatever deems you worthy of its help. Power isn't free, but with the right connections you've a lot to gain."

Once more, she reached into her jacket. Fortunately for everyone in the room, there were no more toads or guns to be seen. All that Lorette withdrew from the inner pockets was a simple fountain pen. She set it carefully on the table before the three contracts. Three signatures were required. Three promises were to be made. And with them, three lives would be irreversibly changed.

"Join me and you'll receive all that I've offered you and more. Decline, and you are free to leave and return to your lives with no penalty. Under the stipulation that you'll be watched for a time, of course. The means by which we do this are not for you to know. But bear in mind that there's a reason nothing ever leaves this place unless we allow it to."

Lorette paused to gesture once more at the carts behind her, each loaded with a mish mash of items.

"Sign, and then you may approach. After that, we'll see who else has a contract for you."