Chapter 3 – How Its Gonna Be

  “From the informants we have in their community, we can confidently say all our preconceived notions about paranormal beings in popur media are almost all inaccurate.” – Deputy director of the FBI to a congressional subcommittee.

  “Monday seems a little quick.” Kurt said, giving Jay a hard stare with a raised eyebrow.

  “Its fine. You’re an American so you have access to most of the tools you could need. We also pulled your 4473’s, NFA forms and your carry permit so we know you are well equipped.” He was ticking off his fingers like he was keeping a list.

  Val looked between Kurt and Jay with a confused expression. It wasn’t clear if her confusion was from the references to the forms and permits or something else. She looked to Penny but didn’t find any help there either.

  Just as Kurt was about to bring up the constitution, another figure appeared in the portal. This one looked like a human, for all that he could tell, and was carrying a backpack, briefcase and duffle bag. The man set both down once he cleared the edge of the portal and immediately returned through it.

  “What’s that?” Kurt asked.

  Jay smirked. “That would be some of Val’s personal effects and your new tech. We are giving you the test in computer, tablet and phone that are all written with our code so you don’t need burners and proxy servers anymore.” He turned to look at the stunned kitsune. “The rest of your belongings will be sent with the equipment and should be there tomorrow. His house has plenty of room so you should be comfortable.”

  “Wait what?” Kurt said. “What do you mean my house?” He gnced to Val who looked shocked by the development as well.

  “It clearly stated in the job description that you will house any team members that might join you. Val is your first team member.” Jay said with his stupid smirk growing bigger. “Good luck and we will be in touch. Look out for the delivery and the install team.”

  He continued talking as he stood and dragged Penny up with him. “Listen, it’s been a bst, but I have pces to do and wives to sleep with.” He then shoved Penny through the portal. “Talk to you soon. All your documentation is on the table. Bye. See ya. Adios.” Then he stepped through the portal, and it snapped shut, leaving Kurt and Val sitting at the table.

  “Well… shit.” Val said.

  Snorting, Kurt couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah, that was a dick move.” He said in a half-hearted way. He felt like he had been put through the ringer. It was a series of ups and downs, one high anxiety moment after another. He couldn’t imagine how Val was feeling.

  “I can’t believe he did that.” She said. “I was just supposed to meet you today.” Her voice was small, just above a whisper as all her previous confidence seemed to drain away as reality set in.

  “What do you mean?”

  She flinched a little but still responded. “You are the seventh person I have met that had a team just starting.” She stood up and moved over to her bags. “But you are also the first half breed. The others were polite enough, but it was clear that they didn’t want much to do with me. Even the one kitsune I met with wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

  “What a bitch.” Kurt said, trying to be supportive. He didn’t know what she was going through but was trying to not be an ass.

  “It was a guy, so…”

  “Statement stands.” Kurt said with a shrug. “Got everything you need in there?”

  Val pulled a paper out of the side pocket on the duffle bag and began to read it. “Yeah, I think sooo… Hmm.” Then she moved to the backpack and pulled out another paper. “Ah, ok then. Yeah, I think I am good to go.”

  “Welp. Let’s get going. It’s a long drive and I would like to get there before dark.” He said as he grabbed the duffel bag, briefcase and envelope before making his way to the door. He stopped just a moment ter and turned to Val, looking her up and down. “Do you have a way to blend in?”

  Just then the kitsune seemed to realize that she looked very much like she had just walked out of a convention. “Oh, yeah. How is this?” She began to morph, her tail and ears disappearing while her feet changed to normal human feet and the fur disappeared. She then pulled out a pair of socks and sneakers from the backpack, slipping them on before following him out the door.

  They made their way back down the still vacant halls to the elevator bank and took the lift down to the lobby. Now that they were in an enclosed space, he got a nose full of his new partner. She smelled faintly of ozone but also had a pleasant, scent of freshly cleaned linen. He honestly didn’t mind the smell and didn’t feel guilty about scenting her since he saw her nose fre after the doors closed.

  “So wha…” Val began but stopped when Kurt raised his hand.

  “Not here. Wait till we get to the car. Just follow me and look confident.”

  “I know how to blend in and go unnoticed.” She huffed.

  Kurt didn’t respond as the elevator stopped and the doors opened into a busy lobby. They walked with a purpose but not so fast as to draw attention, headed right for the exits. Kurt had one moment of concern when a guard moved into their path and stopped but rexed after he spotted something and walked off again.

  A few yards ter and they were out the doors and on the steps of the federal building. They crossed the open area and the street, making a beeline for the public parking across the street. Val saw him gesture to the grey SUV that was only a couple years old. Not a word was spoken until they reached Kurt’s car and he unlocked it with the keypad. They put the bags in the backseat and climbed in.

  “Just a minute longer.” Kurt said as he pulled up camera feeds of the car on his phone to see if anyone had tampered with it. He then cast a rune spell that Val couldn’t quite see. After a moment he sighed in relief and unlocked the center console. “Sorry, had to be sure. They have messed with my vehicle in the past.”

  “Well, that expins the paranoia.” Val commented and watched as he pulled a gun and holster out of the center console. “Gods, your loaded for bear.” She commented after seeing him shove the full-size pistol into his waistband, noting he appendix carried.

  Kurt ughed a little. “Yeah, bear is the least of it.” He started the car and started to make his way out of the parking lot. He had to pay the parking meter after skipping the validation at the desk.

  “What did they do to your car that made you go to such lengths?” She was curious about the experiences that made him act this way.

  “Oh, they are always up to something. If I park on their property they will search the car, looking for ‘contraband’. They have also tried to put trackers and listening devices in the car too. Also, there are a few court cases they are fighting because they vioted people’s rights.”

  Stunned, Val barely could barely begin to form a sentence and only managed after stopping at a red light. “They do that here?” She hissed.

  Looking over, Kurt raised an eyebrow. “Where are you from that they don’t?”

  “Oh, umm.” She tried to think of a way to expin then figured that she should just go for it and talk through any confusion. “I wasn’t really raised in this realm. I hail from my father’s home realm but have always been a part of the order.”

  Kurt gnced at her after he finished merging onto the freeway. “That sounds like there is a story there.”

  Val shrugged. “It’s all in my file.”

  “I don’t have your file. Besides that, it’s just information, there isn’t any context or emotion to it. I want to get to know you not read a book report.” Kurt said. He honestly was curious about her and wanted to get to know her. Part of him looked at it in a practical sense of them being teammates while the other part felt a sort of kinship with his fellow half breed. He wasn’t even going to acknowledge what his wolf wanted him to do.

  “Well, it is because of my parents. They met while working with the order and one thing led to another. They ended up together and after a couple decades, along came me.” The tone of her voice hinted at her thinking it was funny. “Seeing as I never really fit in with other kitsune and dark elf society was… harsh, I was pretty much raised within the order.”

  “Is this your first time outside for a prolonged time?”

  She shook her head. “No, I have visited my ancestral homes with my parents and have had training outside the orders pocket dimension. I have had time in a few Earth cultures, so I know the basics. I also have identification.” She waved a folder that she pulled out of her backpack.

  Kurt thought that was good information to know and felt a little relieved that she wasn’t completely sheltered. “What’s the difference between the order and the company? They weren’t exactly clear on that one.”

  Val expined that the order is what insiders call it when talking to each other. The term company is how they referred to it when talking with outside vendors or regur civilians. She also let him know that they should only refer to it as the company when talking with government officials.

  She seemed to be reciting the orders history when she suddenly stopped. “Didn’t they tell you anything about us?”

  “Huh? Oh, no I was talking with them for about 15 minutes before you showed up. You know how the rest went. Jay pretty much had me zeroed in from the start and honestly, he was right. I have been going from one dead end job to another, barely staying afloat. He came along at the right time with the right offer, it was an easy sell.” Kurt decided to be honest and just tell her exactly how things were.

  “I see.” She then looked out the window as they psed into silence for a few minutes. “Umm. This might be a strange question. Where are we and where are we going?”

  Laughing a little, Kurt expined that they were going north towards Petoskey where he lived. There was some expnation via pointing at his hand, but he gave up on that endeavor. He then asked if she had been to Michigan before and wasn’t surprised when she said no. It turned out that she had only been to a couple closed training facilities and her mother’s home in Japan.

  “What are the other realms like?”

  Val sighed. “It’s hard to expin. Everything feels different in the dark elf realm of At’valheim. The mana is different, the light, smells, people and culture are all just… off.”

  “Why does it feel so off?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m only half? It’s not like I am very used to earth or anything. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s bad but it’s hard to describe. The other realms are simir, almost like they are pying by different rules.”

  This was interesting to Kurt since he hadn’t been to another realm. His parents had left Earth just before the veil was broken, getting out before the travel lockdowns and other craziness. While they did call, it was hard to not see them in person for years. “Where are your parents now?”

  “Currently in Japan, I think. How about you?” She said with a smile and that same cute head tilt.

  Kurt floundered for a minute, not sure how to answer the question. “Umm, they are off world in another realm. It’s one of the ones that’s better for regur humans.”

  “Oh, right!” Val said, turning in her seat to face him as much as possible. “You are half human. What is that like? How does the whole elf and human thing work?”

  “I literally have no idea how to answer that. Is there a specific thing you want to know?” Seriously, who knows how to describe what it’s like to be something they have always been.

  “Umm, what kind of magic do you do? You do have magic, right?”

  Letting out another chuckle at the excitable fox, Kurt answered. “Rune casting and enchanting. I guess those are the same thing just on different scales and with different mediums.” He responded, seeing her eyes sparkle. “How about you?”

  “I have a bit of the shadow magic like my dad and a lot of the illusion magic like mom. Well, I think I’ll get even more as my tails come in and I get older. By the way, how old are you? What does a half elf lifespan look like?”

  “I am 31 and a normal half elf lifespan is something like 5 to 6 hundred years or so. Nice and long but not so long that you become a jaded old husk of a person by the time you kick it. Only one little hiccup…”

  “The lycanthropy?”

  “Got it in one.” Kurt let out a hollow ugh. “Seeing as that normally quadruples a human lifespan, and I am the first as far as I am aware, it’s hard to say. how about you?”

  “I am 35 but I think I’ll live a few thousand years between my two bloodlines.” She paused and thought for a second. “Maybe you can ask the order? They might have some information on how long your kind live. I mean, you can’t be the first one ever.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Kurt said with a shrug.

  “Soooo…” Val started, drawing out the word. “What is your home like? I think I heard mention of a cabin. What is that?”

  Kurt then expined how he had purchased the property a while ago as a vacant lot, intending to build a house at some point. After the paranormal were outed a few years ago, he began saving up enough to buy what was essentially a house kit.

  That had been st spring and he ended up splitting his time between working in one of the rger cities and building his house on the weekends. There was a brief break as winter set in and pretty much everything shut down, but he kept busy with working overtime and saving up some more to move.

  After over a year and a half, Kurt had himself a nice 2 bed and 2 bath ranch style houses with a pole barn on 20 acres outside town and backing up to state nd. It was dirt roads to get where he lived but that didn’t bother him much. In his opinion, the harder it was to get to him, the better.

  “I just moved in on Monday. All my stuff is there but I need to finish hooking up the sor and battery banks.” He was expining. He then thought of something that had slipped his mind. “By the way, did you have any furniture? Like a bed, dressers or anything?”

  Val hummed and thought for a moment before responding. “Hmm, I had a room in the training halls, but I don’t think they will let me keep that furniture since its technically part of the room. Is that a problem?” She looked over at him, curious to the answer.

  “Um, no? Well, it might be.” Kurt had to think about it for a minute. “I have a room for you but its empty, I was using it as storage while I moved in. I can clear it out pretty easily but there isn’t a bed or anything. Are you ok with sleeping on a couch for the night? I guess we can run out and get you furniture tomorrow since it will be pretty te when we get home.” He was starting to panic a little. He wanted to be a good host but also didn’t have much in the way of accommodation at the moment.

  “Oh, I guess that’s fine.” Something in her voice sounding different. Kurt couldn’t pin it down, but it was slightly different than her normal tone. It sounded a little relieved maybe.

  He decided to just take the plunge and ask. “Something wrong?” He took a sip from his water, all the talking was making him a little thirsty.

  “Hmm? Oh, nothing.” She replied but then gnced over at him and smirked a little. “The couch is fine unless you want to cuddle in the cold of night?” Her voice was back to its normal tone and the glint in her eye was back as she slightly squinted.

  Kurt nearly choked on his water, trying to swallow at just the wrong time. He felt like that might have been on purpose but had a feeling she would never admit it. Ugly coughing followed as he split his attention between the road and clearing his lungs. “Akah. Umm…” He trailed off, feeling his cheeks and ears go a little red.

  A tinkling ugh let him know what his companion thought. “I am just teasing.” She smiled at him, looking more intense than before. “But yes, the couch is fine for tonight. And you don’t have to worry about cost since I have my own funds.”

  After getting his breathing under control except for the occasional cough, Kurt asked the question that had suddenly come to mind. “Are you normally like that? I figured a half kitsune would y off the tricks.”

  “Oh, that’s more nurture than nature.” She said with a ugh. “It drove my cousins crazy when I first learned how to do illusions.”

  “I bet it did.” Kurt muttered. They had made it to Gaylord and Kurt was starting to get hungry. “You about ready for dinner? This is a good pce to stop before we cut over to 131.”

  “Sounds like a great idea.”

  “Ok with drive through? I would like to get home with some daylight to spare.” That was part of it, the other part was that he wanted to finish up the electrical panel and get lights in the house. It wouldn’t take long since the conduit was already run from the sor on the garage to the main house.

  “Afraid of the dark?” She asked with a sly smile.

  “Nope but I have things to do unless we want to live in it for another night.” He gnced her way after pulling into a drive through and rolling down the window. “I want to finish the electrical panel going to the house so there is hot water and lights. Heat isn’t really a problem yet but it’s nice to get it taken care of.”

  The speaker outside crackled to life with the customary unenthusiastic greeting and before Kurt could order, Val leaned over to yell her order. “Hi, I’ll have a rge number 8 with coke and an extra order of fries. What do you want, sweetie?” Her face all smiles as she pulled him into some sort of game.

  Kurt sighed heavily. It was looking like his new life was going to be an interesting one.