Seven Clouds wandered into the back room, pushing back a row of beads. The stench of incense and cloves gets stronger as he walks into the heavily plush area. There's a low set table with cushions for seating, piles of pillows and thin, sheer drapes against the wall.

Further into the back room, the clouds coalesced into plumes of smoke. Seven Clouds could see little of the person beyond the cloud of smoke, beyond a vague and womanly figure and a pair of colorful eyes. The eyes were of different colors, one pink and one blue, and they seemed to fix on Seven Clouds as he took a seat.

The source of the smoke could be attributed to a long-stemmed pipe of porcelain held by two gray fingers. Seven Clouds could see the wisps of smoke pouring out of the cloud as the woman within pulled the pipe back to take another breath. "You want a job? Why?"

"Yes, ma'am. I am confident in my abilities. I used to work the till at this very pawn shop, before the previous owner's death." Seven Clouds absentmindedly stared at the colorful eyes. They were an inhuman color. She must use some kind of contacts.

"Confident in your abilities?" The owner's eyes turned into small crescents. "You? Ha! Confident in his abilities, he says." She pulls back and takes a deep breath, before breathing out. "You know nothing. But consider me amused. What are you doing for a living right now?"

"I work as a software engineer at Zen Electronics." Seven Clouds lowered his head. "I'm skilled at my job, but I've been working long hours for very little pay. But your clerk mentioned I could earn more money here?"

"(Zen Electronics...? Isn't that one of the Red Dragon's? Oh. Ohoho. This could be fun,)" the woman in the smoke muttered to herself, audibly plotting. "...say I bring you on board. Your salary would be guaranteed, of course. But I want to know what you are capable of before I make any decisions. What skills are you bringing to the table, Seven Clouds?"

Seven Clouds isn't quite sure when he said his own name. Perhaps he missed it? In either case, the woman in the smoke has the better of him. "I'm an engineer. Well, I don't have a degree, but I know how to build and program machines. I can cook, clean--"

"--housewife things, yes. You'll make a man very happy one day." A gray hand waves and silences him. "I understand enough. You are unskilled. A dropout. You've chanced into a career that uses a skill that you've only picked up as a hobby. Not altogether worthless, but rough and unpolished. If I were an evil woman, I'd banish you from this room for daring to come here without the qualifications to do so. But I am not simply evil, no."

An unsettling chill ran up Seven Clouds' spine, and he was paralyzed. Rooted to the spot, he could only watch as the smoke woman's face drew closer. Her cap was a blue, wide-brimmed witch hat with a gray fur trim, and she seemed to be wearing heavy makeup to match her eyes. Her skin was a pure and natural gray. Her multicolored eyes sized Seven Clouds up and down, treating him like a slab of meat.

"I am maleficent. And it is for that reason that you will suffer, child of Clouds, and your life's direction will change. You have asked for the job? You will have it. And you will be mine." One hand extended from the mist, holding out a sheet of parchment.

"Take your time to sign this document." The hand places it on the table in front of me. "But you should read it thoroughly. You won't have time to think when the Tempering begins, child of Clouds. You will want to do nothing but scream."

Seven Clouds tried to run though this logically. Gray skin could be explained. Skin makeup, maybe some grease paint. The eyes could be faked too. Contacts. He'd felt sufficiently freaked out by her display, and his desire to work had faded the longer she had spoken. Jumping from one awful company to another didn't make sense, logically.

"I'm very sorry, but I'm beginning to rethink my offer." Seven Clouds gave the boss a bow, and turned towards the exit, only to find that it had vanished. There was only a wall with a series of beads stapled to the wood where the door once was.

This, too, could be explained. Maybe the wall was on some kind of wheel, and could be slid in and out of place. Seven Clouds explored the surface with his fingers, searching for a crack to slip his nails through and roll the entrance back into place. He searched, desperately, for an exit, clawing at the wall in his haste.

"I should mention, since you are trying to leave, that there are only two ways in and out of this room. Sign the contract, or be devoured." The witch in the smoke took another deep breath. "I don't play around. Not like my poppets. Will you sign the form or submit?"

"Madam, in no uncertain terms, I am not interested in being undressed by your eyes." Not by a woman, anyhow. Seven Clouds' blunt refusal seemed to earn another laugh from the witch.

"Foolish Cloud. I mean to say that if you wish to leave? I will dine on your flesh." The witch leveled her gaze on the struggling man. "Sign the contract. Then you will have a chance at life."

Seven Clouds began to pound and kick at the wall. Maybe he could break through! The wall wasn't that thick, was it? His efforts were rewarded as his fist punched through the wood, and was swallowed by darkness.

He lowered his head to look for a doorknob, and stopped.

Seven Clouds gazed out into an empty abyss.