Julian frowned when the boss didn’t answer his question. Instead, he was provided several contracts to read thoroughly, which he did. Admittedly, he might have spaced out once or twice (…or more) but there wasn’t anything outlandish or too unexpected in the contracts.
The blond assistant returned with a cartful of object, and Julian listlessly tracked the items on it. If they didn’t have anything to do with those creatures, he wasn’t interested – but he didn’t know yet whether they did or didn’t. The two carts with the henchmen duo received the same treatment.

Apparently, another demonstration was to follow. Upon the boss’s warning, Julian immediately covered his ears. Nonetheless, he promptly winced, shuddered, and grit his teeth at the resounding shot of the gun. He wished he had earplugs (as much as he despised them), because even a handgun this close to him was way, [i]way[/i] too loud. He remained grimacing even when Mr. Schoen formed crystals. The show of ability wasn’t enough of a recompense for his auditory suffering – he was sure the assistant could have formed those without being shot at. Admittedly, this was a demonstration of the supernatural power’s usefulness, but it didn’t make Julian any less disgruntled.

He frowned at Schoen’s grin, and when the conversation between the blond and his boss resumed, Julian carefully and with great hesitation removed his hands away from his head. He definitely had a headache forming, and felt greatly shaken. And…yeah, yeah, that was definitely tinnitus. [i]Note to self: get industrial grade noise cancelling headphones asap.[/i] It was a grim realization that [i]this[/i] workplace would most definitely require such a thing. If it hadn’t been for those creatures, he’d have promptly left.

Julian ignored the byplay between the assistant and the boss, engrossed in his own thoughts until the stag facsimile was manifested. He caught the stag pin from the corner of his eye, and had a realization. [i]So, that's what those items are for.[/i] He didn’t care for the chatting between man and creature. Once again, it reminded him of a staged play, and a very boring one at that. Why did these people insist on making everything so theatrical? It made no sense. Still, he did appreciate seeing another of those creatures, observing its behavior, and hearing it talk. As expected, these beings were capable of learning human language.

At the madame’s prompting, he signed the papers with a sigh of resignation – resignation at the sort of environment he’d subject himself to, not the opportunity in general. Then, he stood silently and approached the items. He let his gaze wander freely over them, not truly seeing them in full, just enough to get a vague impression. He definitely wanted something unassuming, functional, comfortable, and small. Something that would fit him. [i]Ah.[/i] 

He stopped at a particular item. A beautiful circular wristwatch, the casing a light gold, the strap a tough, black leather. Feeling some kind of draw to it, he reached out, and there was something like a hum of acceptance when he touched it. He shook the sleeve down his left hand to reveal a thin wrist, and hesitated. Upon it sat his old wristwatch, a more modern metallic silver one. Chewing on his lip as he pondered, he left it on, and simply put on the new one next to the old one. Then, he brushed a finger over the presumably creature-containing one, and thought, [i]Come out?[/i]

And come out they did. They were a vaguely reptilian creature, though somewhat humanoid in their musculature (those were definitely abs). They had a light grey belly, and were dark grey everywhere else, with some stripes of glowing light neon blue interspersed on their skin. They had a white mane of something resembling hair, and the inside of their mouth was turquoise. Even disregarding the tail, they were taller than any human – Julian could tell, even though they were [i]floating[/i], of all things. They seemed happy twirling and twisting around in the air as they scanned the room’s occupants, then ended up fixing their attention on Julian.

“Hey, hey-” they greeted enthusiastically.

Before they could get much farther, Julian raised his palm in the universal sign to stop. “Quieter, please,” he murmured, staring at the beast.

The thing clicked its maw shut and blinked. “Huh, not many a human who’d interrupt one of us like this,” they commented, but matched Julain’s volume.

After a moment of each staring at the other, Julian asked, “What’s your species’ name?”

“Hmm, humans call us Daemons, and most of us are fine with that designation. I’m sure you’ve noticed we’re a varied sort, so there’re several phenotypes we get classified into. For me, I was considered a Naga, a mythological Daemon for a while there, but given my, and I quote ‘nonstandard appearance, not in accordance with most myths’, they’ve reclassified me as a reptilian Shen. I honestly don’t care for the minute details of what category humans think I fit best. What really matters is our power, and whatever shape we take is just a convenient way to manifest. That answer your question?”

Julian nodded, and opened his mouth to ask another, but the Daemon interrupted him with a gesture that nearly perfectly copied Julian’s; raised paw facing forward, claws pointing straight up. The Daemon showed a hint of their teeth in what Julian recognized as a grin – though how he knew what the expression meant, he hadn’t a clue.

“Hey, now, let’s talk more later, yeah? For now, I’ll just need your name, and you mine, I suppose. Then, we should give the others a chance to show off if they want, and you’ll probably want some time to settle in. I sure know I need to get used to this whole ‘I got my own human’ thing. So, introductions – you may call me Inesh. What about you?”

“What about me? …Oh, right. My name. It’s Julian,” he answered, feeling rather overwhelmed. Honestly, the idea to let his mind get used to all this wasn’t a bad one, though he still felt more than eager to discover more – no matter that it’d overturned reality as he knew it several times so far.

Inesh hummed, and as he’d implied, disappeared back into his new watch, leaving behind a noticeable emptiness. Julian slumped into the chair he was still sitting in, exhausted from the brief conversation. He stared at Inesh’s holding place, questions whirring nearly out of control within his mind. From the watch, he felt an out-of-place calming, reassuring feeling. [i]Inesh?[/i] At his mental question, there was a brief reaffirming sensation. “Hn,” he uttered a nearly inaudible, wondering sound.