“Hello?”, the man behind the desk asked again, with hints of a Polish heritage in his voice. Rising from the huge desk that engulfed and hid his frame, he leaned in, inspecting the new arrival.
“Oh, hi!”, Coal waved. ”You waved? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Look professional.", he screamed in his head as he strode forward, his curious eyes darting from every inch of the room. He was unsure if he felt underwhelmed, or relieved. But he definitely was surprised.
Coal was expecting extravagant large rooms, with rich decor placed elegantly everywhere. This rather small, and modest room was a sharp contrast to what he was expecting, but the rather homey nature of it really tied it together. Wood floors that creaked every so slightly, stairs and vast, yet empty, rooms off to the side, and a desk too large for this man. Breaking the monotone nature of most modern buildings, Coal was evidently pleased with this surprise.
The, what Coal guessed was the, secretary cleared his throat, snapping Coal back into reality. Coal realising he was smiling like an idiot to himself while his eyes wandered, let out a confused garble of “Oh”s and “Um”s before he regained himself and outstretched a hand, the secretary took it and shook it. His hand was comfortingly warm.
Everything about him seemed warm infact. He resembled someone's uncle. Khakis, a polo, messy chestnut hair, with hints of greying at his temples. Approachable, like someone who was willing to just sit down and listen. It made Coal almost feel silly for trying to act so professional. Almost. Still, there was nothing sinister about his nature at all, his eyes twinkled when he smiled, he was well-mannered, an absolute gentleman. A friendly guy you could trade secrets with. However, he didn't seem like the guy that would hide secrets. And he was, of course, warm. He felt warm, from his personality to his skin, he was radiating heat. Demon perhaps? Was all of these good manners just a clever trick, a glamour perhaps? Maybe he was fresh from a ritual? Whatever it was, Coal found it hard to distrust the man no matter the suspicious warmth.
“Ah, you must be the new recruit! It’s wonderful to have you here!”, he started to blabber on, “Coal is it? Yes, I’ve read so much about you! Witch, right? Right! Well, I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful recruit,” he was still firmly shaking Coal’s hand, going on about how happy he is to have Coal here.
”Christ,” Coal chuckled in his head, “He even sounds warm.
Opening his mouth for once, Coal laughed awkwardly. Completely unsure how to react to praise, he let out another flurry of “Uh”s before managed to get his words out. “Oh, well, thanks. Happy to be here, Mr. Uh. What was your name again?”
“Markiel Relovski!”, he said as if it was the most common and simple name there is.
“Markeel Reolovki”, Coal repeated, messing up God knows how many syllables. He can fluently speak over 5 languages, yet can’t say a name when under pressure. Yet, Markiel didn’t seem bothered. He smiled along and gave Coal a friendly pat on the back, “Ah, you look as if you’re meeting death face-to-face. Do not worry, we here at Wells and Rick are a friendly bunch! In fact, most of our members are up-stairs, why don’t you go meet them?”
Having his fill of human interaction for the day, Coal thanked Markiel (this time managing to get his name right), and went off towards the stairs. Markiel sat back down on the leather chair, and got back to whatever he was doing. Sparing him one last look before heading up the stairs, Coal could've sworn he saw a red owl giving him a disapproving gaze as he walked up, he increased his pace after that.
As he neared the stair landing, he could already hear a conversation. Too faint to make out the words, but he felt that there were a group of people up there. The fresh aroma of donuts wafted down the steps, and a grumble followed after Coal’s first whiff, remembering he didn’t have breakfast yet.
Reaching the door that stood ajar, he creaked it open, looking as disheveled as ever as the eyes of the occupants swiveled onto him. A nervous smirk broke on Coal’s face.
“Hello!”
