The USB drive was long forgotten by the time Iris made it back to Warren's office with his pain medicine. Iris knocked on Warren's closed door, only to find Lane and Javier occupying his guest chairs, arguing over something about deliveries and order fulfillment. The three men barely noticed her presence as she delicately placed the packet of pills on Warren's desk and made a discreet exit.
“How is that our fault?!” Lane screamed from inside the office. “Your team needs to get their heads on straight! We’re not responsible for order processing or fulfillment, so quit trying to pin deliverable failures on us!”
Iris winced from the discomfort of her antique, mesh-backed task chair as the intense arguments continued like that for some time. Harsh words, insults, and deflections continued unabated, and Iris found herself dissociating at her workstation to find any hope of relief. At times like this, Iris would much rather be back working on the phones or doing her old Order Entry duties.
A soft, gentle tap on her shoulder spooked Iris to life again, and she looked up with glazed over eyes at Evelyn’s smiling face.
“…Did you hear me calling you?” Evelyn asked with a curious tilt of her head. “I was asking if you needed a break from all that. The copier in the print room is out again, and I’m sure we’re out of toner too.”
“Oh, uh, sure.” Iris mirrored Evelyn’s grin and followed her lead to the dingy recess where the copier stood. “I know where they keep the extra cartridges in the supply room.” She waited until they were alone before asking Evelyn anything. “Say, Evee? Do you know what all the shouting is about?”
“I’m not entirely sure, honestly.” Evelyn confessed while snooping around for a few reams of letter-sized copier paper. “Javier said he’s been dealing with angry reps and salespeople about missing products. I guess they keep coming up short on orders. All I know is that we’ve been going through a ton of paper recently with change orders and whatever.”
“That’s strange.” Iris observed. “Did you ever figure out what those weird letters and numbers were on the printed pages?”
“No idea. I even asked the printer technician we rent the machines from.” Evelyn explained. “She didn’t know anything about it either. Apparently, it’s happened on a few of the newer printers across town, but they’re not sure what it’s about.”
“Hmm… Well, I do have a couple of friends who are good with technology.” Iris suggested. “I’ll ask about it next time we all get together.”
Iris toted the enormous toner cartridge to the printer while Evelyn trailed behind her with two reams of copy paper like a cheerful, fluffy gosling. Their journey back to the copier routed past Ryan Dämmerung’s office, causing Iris to flinch. There were only six more days left of his punishment, and she was not looking forward to seeing him around the office again.
Iris had considered asking Warren or Mr. Cavendish for protection from Ryan but she hesitated with bothering either of them for help. Everyone was so busy with the new product launch that it felt unfair of her to go crying to a supervisor with her hysterics. Remembering Ramona’s creatively colorful solution to the Dämmerung problem drew a little chuckle from Iris, though she didn’t think it would be “self defense” if she were to pursue it. Besides, who wore steel-toed boots to the office anyways?
A rhythmic vibration from Iris’s cellphone drew her attention. Evelyn busied herself with replacing the printer paper while Iris checked the incoming message from the familiar number.
“Mistress. We require the most recent tome for Player Characters and one for Monsters in order to proceed. Have you access to such things?”
Ah, it was Khazmine. Iris didn’t know much about the game they wanted to play, but she knew someone who might. She quickly replaced the spent toner cartridge in the printer before texting Lily for assistance.
“Hi Lily. I hope you are doing well. Do you still have those rule books for that adventure role-playing game? May I please borrow a few of them for a bit?”
Iris and Evelyn parted ways once they approached Evelyn’s workstation. She had a heap of data sheets that Iris wished she could help with. Warren took away the only other analytical task she had, and so she was left with little to do that day besides wait for his commands. The phone vibrated again once Iris sat back down at her modest workstation.
“150 for all of them. Send money and I’ll drop them off at your place. And don’t bother me with this sh*t again.”
Any response from Lily felt like more than she deserved, even if it stung to read her messages. These days, Lily only texted when she needed money for the mortgage on the house, so it was almost thrilling to receive a non-mortgage communication from her. At least they didn’t start fighting again.
Iris opened her accounting app and wired the sum to her sister. She lamented the meager remainder of her checking account but reasoned that it was to help prevent her roommates from succumbing to cabin fever. She sent a warning text to the group’s phone to let them know what to expect.
“FYI: my sister is dropping something off at the apartment. Don’t worry, this is expected. Home at the usual time.”
Back at the apartment, Khazmine and Zayzann continued their training in the living room in comfort without either of them hearing the phone notification. Now that Byxx knew about his shifting, there was little point in continuing to hide in the spare room, so they all congregated in the air-conditioned room together. Khazmine towered over a shirtless Zayzann, who was seated in a half-lotus position in his human form, sweating profusely while practicing his focus and concentration skills.
Byxx grunted in the background while swapping between doing push-ups and holding himself in various plank positions. He yearned for a way to stretch his legs and exert himself properly in the cramped apartment and began eyeing objects around the room for suitable weights to lift. His gaze drifted towards Zayzann and Khazmine, who had gone silent for some time now. A moment later, feathers erupted from Zayzann as he shifted back to normal.
“Excellent work.” Khazmine praised. “You have successfully added another twenty-two minutes to your maximum shift time.”
“Have I, really?” Zayzann wheezed. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but it is getting a little easier each time.”
“Indeed. We shall continue at this pace until your next milestone.” Khazmine coached. “I have calculated a program for sets at an acceptable frequency to maximize your progress. If this pace continues, I anticipate total control is within reach.”
“I can’t wait.” Zayzann flashed a toothy grin. “Do you think I should show Iris soon?”
“Perhaps, but only after you demonstrate more detailed control.” Khazmine advised. “Your eyes and brows modulated several times during your last set. Be mindful of your entire body during the shift and keep your mind from wandering.”
Byxx held a plank, silently surveying the two roommates, and evaluated which would be a more suitable exercise partner. Zayzann was certainly faster than Khazmine, and had better reflexes, but his attacks were wild, vicious, and undisciplined. Plus, his prospect was exhausted from another round of training, and was more likely to injure himself that way. Byxx dismissed the idea with a huff and moved on.
Khazmine might be a better sparring companion, as she was far more resilient to his strikes, but he also worried about injuring her. He remembered the crushing hold he had on her throat last week and thought that his vice grip had done considerable damage to her camouflage and motor control systems. Of the two options, she still was the better choice at present.
“Hey, Khaz.” Byxx righted himself into a squat. “You busy?”
“Not presently.”
“Come spar with me.” Byxx suggested. “I need a workout partner.”
“You can’t be serious.” Khazmine scoffed. “I would pulverize you.”
“Fat chance, Augment.” Byxx grinned mischievously. “Come on, there’s room on the balcony, and no one else is around right now. Just a few minutes, huh?”
“We could be seen.” Khazmine protested.
“Exactly! What a perfect opportunity to evaluate my new camouflage!” Byxx blurted excitedly while donning his “Crit Happens” shirt. “Look, it fits great. And without weapons, there’s little chance of it getting damaged. Come on, Khaz.”
His incessant bleating trod on the last of Khazmine’s patience. She tried to quiet his racket in her mind but ultimately gave in to the impassioned begging. At least she could take out her irritation out on him…
“Very well.” Khazmine relented. “Fifteen minutes, and no more. And as a reminder, you begged me for this.”
The two warriors departed for the balcony, which was obscured by fluffy, tall evergreens and shrouded by a single, titanic maple tree. Zayzann scoffed to himself as the grunts and slaps outside intensified. He was feeling gross from the smell of sweat on his feathers and opted to grab a luxurious shower in icy freezing water.
The glacially cold spray refreshed and invigorated Zayzann, who felt lighter and more energetic after dousing himself under a torrent from the frigid downpour. His human skin was much quicker to dry than feathers, so he shifted down to his smaller form before trudging half-naked to the living room to retrieve his admittedly skunky cargo pants.
Iris had taught them all how to use the small washer unit in the apartment, and so he washed all his clothing, save for the athletic shorts with the convenient hole in the back for his tail. He cinched the shorts tightly to his waist and waited around for the washer to finish its work. With his hair still damp, Zayzann towel-dried the locks until they were as soft as Iris’s. The ruffling of the towel against his scalp felt relaxing to Zayzann, like if someone was grooming his feathers back home. Calming sensations left his limbs and head feeling tingly and warm, at least until an unwelcome bashing sound interrupted his idle fancies.
An insistent banging on the front door drew his attention. Whoever it was, they were demanding that he open it and face them. Zayzann couldn’t make out who exactly was pounding on the door and imagined that the dreadful property manager had returned to harass Iris again. Mrs. Rozniak may have had Iris frightened, but she had little power over Zayzann, who would make her life a waking nightmare if she tried anything against him. Zayzann paused briefly before approaching and the pounding grew louder as he did so.
Why shouldn’t I try it? Byxx and Khazmine get to go outside, so it’s only fair that I should be able to. Besides, I’m not afraid of her. What’s the worst that can—
“Uh, hello?” A short, black-haired woman stared up at the still moderately damp Zayzann with a shocked face. “Who the hell are you?”
Zayzann stood tense and still as this shorter version of Iris stared up at him expectantly, waiting for a response.
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