[color=f7941d][center][h1]Setepenre[/h1][/center][/color] [color=f7941d][center][h2]Lesser Pride[/h2][/center][/color] "CANDY! Caaandy NOOOW!" The child's wails were, perhaps mercifully, muffled by the kitchen floor as she lay face-down in half of her jammies. Setepenre stood up from her kneeling position beside her daughter and allowed one moment to inwardly scream. On top of everything else going on this day, it seemed she had committed the cardinal sin of running out of Aliyah's potty training rewards. The woman rubbed her furred temples for a second and then picked up her phone. [color=f7941d]"Sorry about that,"[/color] Setepenre continued, holding the phone with one hand while reaching for the beeping microwave with the other. [color=f7941d]"Yes, we'll be over in about half an hour. Thanks for watching her on such short notice, that day care lady was being [i]such[/i] a bitch you wouldn't believe! She actually had the [b]nerve[/b] to say-"[/color] The lion-headed woman reacted quickly to right the plate as she realized she had almost unconsciously poured the defrosted steak into the frying pan with all the breakfast potatoes. A couple drops of cow blood managed to drip off into the pan. Eh... a little more iron in one's diet wouldn't hurt. [color=f7941d]"...Thanks sweetie, we'll talk later, loveyoubye."[/color] Setepenre hastily finished the call and hung up. She scooped the potatoes onto a plate, gingerly stepped around her sniffling toddler, and placed the breakfast in front of a teenager dressed in the uniform of a nearby grocery store and looking remarkably not thrilled about it. [color=f7941d]"Good luck on your first day, Marwa,"[/color] Setepenre commented in the cheeriest warm tone she could muster. [color=f7941d]"I am so proud of you."[/color] "Okay," the teen mumbled, eyes on her phone. That was one more word than Setepenre expected to hear out of her. Success! The woman smiled and scooped up Aliyah into a hug. The girl hung limply like a ragdoll. That was fine, it was much easier to dress a child in a ragdoll tantrum than a flailing tantrum. Several minutes later, Setepenre was speed-walking to the backyard, exhausted post-tantrum girl in one arm and a plate of bloody mostly raw steak in the other. The divinely blessed being arrived at a metal fenced-in enclosure and slid the steak plate over a rail, letting the meat plop onto the ground. She let loose a series of growls. [color=f7941d]""[/color] After a few moments, a pair of golden eyes emerged from the large roofed hut near the center of the enclosure, followed by a massive maned head. The lion gazed up at the encroaching rain clouds with a slight frown. [color=f7941d]""[/color] John replied. The big cat let out a lazy yawn. [color=f7941d]""[/color] Setepenre waved goodbye with the bloody plate and headed toward her car. As she walked, her muzzle shortened into a human visage. The hair shrunk from her face and sprouted thick black coils on the top of her head. Her eyes shrunk and dilated to a human look, though they maintained their golden color, an unchangeable hint of the supernatural. 'Penny' pulled open the side door of the old mini van. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penny power-walked through the hotel, umbrella-less and halfway soaked, determined to beat the clock. It was... kind of a rough morning, but miraculously she found a parking spot not too far away, and that combined with her lead foot and her technically not needing to eat may just allow her to get to this meeting on- Penny stopped on a dime, then back-tracked a few paces to a large set of doors. She double checked the room number written on the post-it note stained with who-knows-what in her hand. Penny stared at the door for a second and then closed her eyes. She took five deep breaths and counted slowly backward from twenty. Cheesy as it felt, she [i]did[/i] take her own advice occasionally, and she really needed to go into this meeting of the supernatural with a cool head if she wanted to make a decent first impression. Penny put on a friendly smile and pushed through the doors. As expected, she saw several people had arrived before her. Most of the people looked... fairly normal, like herself at the moment, not quickly distinguishable as powerful dangerous beings to the untrained eye. Good. At least these supernaturals weren't the total idiot kind. The divinely blessed woman made a beeline for the coffee. She took a couple big glorious gulps before searching for someone to get to know. Perhaps someone who looked shy, she loved bringing the quiet ones into the group. A quick scan showed the presence of a man both quiet AND handsome - perhaps this day would turn a corner, after all. [color=f7941d]"It's been days since I had a hot cup of coffee that hasn't been forgotten in the microwave multiple times,"[/color] Penny remarked with a smile as she slid into a chair next to the donut-eating succubus, plopping her massive mom purse on the table. [color=f7941d]"I am Setepenre... ha, it feels weird to say that in this form. And who are you? Are you from around here? I suppose that might be a complicated question around this crowd."[/color] Penny looked over the handsome man's shoulder and squinted as she caught sight of a person at the head of the table. She had only met The Detective once in the flesh, briefly, and the sight of this person rung a vague bell but she couldn't be sure. Penny gave the person a polite wave just in case.