[u][b]Ike & Zelda[/b][/u]
[b]Location:[/b] Catalyst Headquarters, Black Market
[b]Mentions:[/b] None
[b]Interactions:[/b] Open

Ike found himself in Cedar’s- or his office. It was his now, and it’d been his for almost a month now. He had just woken up, bleary-eyed and seated at a handsome wooden desk. Ah, he must’ve passed out here last night. A half-empty bottle of alcohol sat  dangerously close to the edge. The humans grabbed and shook it, swirling the contents before setting it back down. It was too early to drink, even for somebody like Ike. Instead, he stood up and stretched. His arms seemed to be slightly too long for his body, and his legs even more so. He ran his hands through his messy black hair and then tied it back in a low ponytail. He paused when a knock on the door interrupted what slow, morning thoughts he was having.

“Who is it?” Ike asked gruffly.

“Zelda,” answered a familiar voice.

“Come in,” he yawned. Seating himself back on the chair.

A tall, burly figure opened the door and ducked her large head into the room. Zelda was a  bearded vulture. She had ferocious looks but carried herself timidly. She avoided eye contact with Ike. The human seemed rather uninterested with her as he spoke. “Whaddya want?”

“I…” The bird seemed unable to gather her words. She tapped her talons against the floor apprehensively, and they clicked loudly. “I would like to take the day off,” She finally admitted.

Ike, who was rather engrossed with a fountain pen on the desk- it had once belonged to Cedar, raised his eyebrows and glanced up at Zelda. “It ain’t the weekend, sweetheart. Why?”

“Christ,” Zelda huffed, “Maybe because I wanna go spend some time to myself and have some fun once in a while! Guard duty is boring as fuck-”

Ike raised a finger to silence her, shaking his head a bit. “Don’t ruffle your feathers,” he grumbled, “Just tell me where the fuck you plan on going, will you?”

Zelda was growing irritated with Ike, but she didn’t dare get any snappier than she already did. “There’s this festival, by the college...I thought it looked fun,” she explained.

The human’s brow scrunched up in confusion. “Oh, I thought you were gonna go clubbing or somethin’.”

“Why the hell would I want to go do that? That’s where you spend all your fucking time, and then you drag me along to be your bodyguard!” If she could do so, her nose would’ve been wrinkled in disgust. Furrowed brows would have to do.

“That’s where the market’s at!” He lied. “You can go, but I ain’t paying for shit- It’s all rigged, anyway.”

“I don’t care, and I’m not asking for an allowance!” Zelda screeched while slamming the door shut as she left.

Ike muttered to himself, shaking his head. Zelda was a goddamn fool, but he knew he couldn't stop her. Instead of complaining more, he reached into the pocket of his bomber jacket and pulled out a cigarette. He had just lit it when there was another knock at the door.

“What the fuck do you want?” He snapped.

A wolf cautiously opened the door, sticking their snout through. “Uh-” They barely got a word out before Ike exploded on them.

“If you’ve come to ask for time off, I’ll turn you into a goddamn rug!”

The wolf whined at the harsh words, knowing their leader wasn’t one to make false threats. “No, no, no- uh, sir… There’s been another delay. Another attack.”

Ike almost dropped his cigarette. “When?- By who?!”

The wolf now had their ears pinned back and was vigorously shaking their head. “We...don’t know who did it. Stole a shipment off of a barge at around four in the morning...”

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ with me,” he hissed, pinching is crooked nose bridge with his free hand. “Anyone dead?”

“No, the crew didn’t notice anything until around six,” the canine answered.

Ike didn’t say anything for a bit and instead took a long drag from his smoke. He scratched a stubbled cheek before responding. “Bring whatever you can here and to the warehouse. No more shipments go in or out, we’re on lockdown. I want a search of the whole market- beat the shit out of anybody selling who isn’t one of us.”

With that, the wolf ducked out of the office. What a MORNING- Ike wanted some breakfast. He soon left the office, too, locking the door behind him with a key on his neck. It was 9 AM and he was worrying about stolen narcotics. He should be worrying about what to eat instead. One thing he did know was that whoever was messing with them wasn't a group of pansies. This was a threat. What would Cedar do? He had no idea because nobody ever messed with Cedar.

(just a big exposition dump-)