"You shaved." James sounded disappointed, reaching up to touch his own patchy facial hair.
Marcus opened his locker, doing his best to hide his amusement on the other side of the locker door. "Yeah, it got itchy. What do we have today?"
"Nothing new. Grant wants us to go check on the virex first thing, though. Need to do some redecorating. He's in the default enclosure."
"Which means me and him get to dance." Marcus grinned ear to ear. The standard keeper uniform was not what he would call flattering. It was essentially a big charcoal colored spandex onesie with lines of pulsing runes extending through the torso and down the limbs that would glow different colors depending on the enchantments it was carrying at that moment.
They also got what amounted to a superhero utility belt, that most of the keepers didn't even bother with because it was so cumbersome. Luckily for him, he had James. His handy work turned the bulky belt into a fitted bandolier of sorts that could hold all his tools, and, more importantly, not get in the way when he was dodging blasts of fire.
"We've also got the new recruits today. Five of them, I think, including Ophelia," James reminded him while they got changed.
"Good thing we are keepers and not keeper trainers." Marcus muttered. Newbies meant more paperwork and fewer fireballs.
"Just telling you because you know Hernandez is going to bring them by to watch us. So I'd keep it by the book if I were you. We don't want another Howler incident."
"We didn't do anything wrong. Just a little improvising."
"You rode it like a rodeo bull until it tired itself out."
"Improvising, just like I said." Marcus grinned at him, adjusting the built in cup in the jumpsuit before pulling on his boots and outer pads.
"It took an hour and a half to get all of its spines out of your ass."
Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Little more of me than you wanted to see?"
"The image of your undercarriage was burned into my mind for weeks."
"Am I interrupting?" The smoky feminine voice came from the doorway, leading to a high-pitched squeak from Marcus' partner, who immediately covered his torso with his jumpsuit.
"Hernandez!" Marcus finished adjusting the pads to his thighs and stood up straight. "We were just singing your praises."
"Mhmm, sure you were." She wagged a finger between the two of them. "I've got new recruits today, so whenever you two get finished sucking each other off, let me know."
"Can't wait to show us off?" Marcus reached over and slapped his brother-in-law on the ass. Another loud squeak went off as James attempted to shove himself in his locker.
"I was actually going to give them my cautionary tale bit. What happens when a Mundane and a nerd walk into a dragon's lair? One gets barbequed while the other whines about his clipboard." Hernandez stared at Marcus, deadpan. "Think you could get yourself bit a couple times? Really hit the message home?"
"Only if you patch me up afterward. James is getting tired of looking at the goods." Marcus quipped.
Hernandez rolled her eyes, though the faintest curve from the corner of her full lips betrayed the lie of annoyance. "Don't keep me waiting, boys." She slapped the door frame she was leaning against a couple of times before turning to walk away.
Once she was cleared of the hallway, James finished dressing. "Is there weird sexual tension between you and every woman you interact with?"
"No." Marcus slapped him on the back as he started toward the door. "I've got three sisters and a mom. That's at least four."
The two of them stopped at the quartermaster on the way out of the building. It wasn't everyday Marcus got to tangle with an actually wild drake, so precautions had to be taken that he wasn't fond of. This early in the morning Shirley was still here, an older woman that had worked here for longer than he'd been alive. He always enjoyed the good natured back and forth flirting between the two of them.
Drake darts, stun gauntlets, and, as a last resort, Wyvernbane were loaded into a large duffel and his bandolier amongst the rest of the basics. Wyvernbane was a particularly disgusting tool in his opinion, but it was a favorite among some of the more risk averse keepers. Essentially a high dose poison, most times a dragon would have severe lethargy as the substance processed through its body, making it no more dangerous than an oversized gecko. However, in some instances, Wyvernbane could take hold for too long and essentially lobotomize the poor creature.
Most creatures within the reserve were allowed to roam freely through the Appalachian region. When they got beyond a certain point, keepers would be sent out to wrangle them back in. Some of the creatures that needed specific requirements, or were particularly dangerous, were held in magically created containment dimensions. These were accessed through a series of doors, one of which was already surrounded by a group of fresh recruits in khaki uniforms.
"Clear the door." Hernandez spoke, and the buzz of conversation amongst the recruits was silenced. She activated the monitors to the side, several large screens above the entrance humming to life with hovering drone views of the massive enclosure within. "This is a virex. He decided to make himself at home in an old mineshaft close to a heavily populated area. Who can tell me what our Keepers should be most concerned with?"
"Being eaten alive?" One of the young men piped up, drawing Hernandez's steely gaze.
"Thank you, Reynolds. Anybody else have anything less stupid to say?"
"Virex have a potent venom that allows them to paralyze their prey and keep it fresh over multiple days." Ophelia spoke up, drawing Marcus' gaze. "The slightest exposure to it could render them unable to function."
"Very good, Harris." Hernandez said, not breaking eye contact with Reynolds. "Some of us should learn to take these situations more seriously." The cold grip of her stare was finally broken when she turned to James and Marcus. "These are our Keepers for today. Kendrick and Tenneson."
"Good morning." Marcus gave a half wave before pulling on the gauntlets. Though the urge to continue poking the bear that was Victoria Hernandez was strong, he wouldn't undermine her authority in front of the newbies. "You guys ready for the show?"
"Can you explain your primary objective upon entering the enclosure?" Hernandez interrupted as Reynolds started to pipe in again.
Marcus gave a nod to James, who was currently filling out a form on a tablet near the door. James cleared his throat. "Each enclosure here is custom built for its inhabitants. Unfortunately, we can't be prepared for every creature that might need a safe habitat, so general spaces are made and once the creature is recovered, we go in and customize it to suit their particular needs."
"In other words, James is going to do some DIY while I make sure he doesn't get eaten." Marcus gave a little wink to James before walking over to the door. "Any questions before we head in?"
"James isn't going to help you with the Virex at all?" Ophelia asked, concern crossing her features for a moment.
Marcus grinned a little wider and glanced at Hernandez. He'd expected the immediate reprimand for using a superior's first name, but the look on her face read closer to confusion for a split second before it faded.
"Recruit Harris, you'll use the proper title and surname for your superiors when addressing them." The stern, ex-military expression returned as she looked back at him. "Keeper Tenneson is excellent at his job. Keep your eyes on the monitors and take notes. Maybe you'll learn something today."
Marcus gave her a warm smile as Ophelia ducked her head, then turned to James. "Ready?" James sat the tablet down on the stand beside the door and nodded. Marcus opened the door. The empty space behind it rippled gently, like the surface of a pond, and he vanished through it.
The cold white room shimmered out of view as Marcus stepped into magically constructed wilderness. Wildflowers grew around him for at least a hundred yards in any direction. Ahead of them, a heavily forested area lead up to a solitary mountain, and behind them a beach followed by endless water.
He shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand, the other waving up at the drone hovering well above their heads. James appeared in the space behind him, immediately dropping to a knee to start carving runes into the ground with a spike.
"Agility charm?" It was technically a question, but one that already had an answer.
"You know me so well." Marcus pulled a perforated rod from the dufflebag as the runes in his suit lit up a verdant green. "Ready when you are." James gave him a nod and Marcus set off at a brisk pace toward the edge of the forest. Trees vanished ahead of him, replaced by rocky outcroppings. His gauntleted hands cracked the rod like a glowstick, a pungent scent emanating from it.
While Ophelia was correct in her fear of the venom, that was not Marcus' immediate concern. The more immediate concern with predators like a virex was its ability to ambush. As James transformed the terrain, it became easier for the creature to blend in with the cool grays of the rocky cliffs. The songs of birds grew less frequent, and wind picked up in shifting gales. A blur of movement in his periphery caught his attention. He squeezed the gauntlets, activating their enchantment, and jammed the rod into the ground at his feet as he turned toward it.
Marcus was an athletic man, but without the enchantment, he would have been lunch the moment he turned. The virex struck like a rattlesnake, the twenty feet from the rock it hid behind and him covered in less than a second. The runes in the suit sent the agility enchantment into overdrive, making Marcus a human blur.
He slipped the first strike, pulling two spikes from his bandolier and driving one into the ground with the heel of his boot. It struck again, and he leapt, leaving the chainmail-like scales to collide and grind into earth. Even with the enhancements, it was far too big for Marcus to clear it in a single jump. He landed on its back, a flee on the back of the gray scaled behemoth, and took the opportunity while it was recovering from having rammed its face directly into a cliff side that had sprung up from nowhere to sling his unbreakable rope around its midsection.
In a single fluid motion, Marcus jumped off again and chucked the second spike into the ground below him. He landed directly on it, driving it in with his boot before anchoring the rope to it. The majestic beast roared in his direction, bracing itself as if to say it wasn't going to fall for that trick again.
Marcus bounced on his feet, sparks flickering off the gauntlets as his fists flexed. It struck again, this time anticipating his jump it angled much higher than it ordinarily would. Marcus ran forward, baseball sliding beneath its body. His electrified hand slid along the rough, scaled underbelly of the beast until his fingers caught rope. It heaved its heavy body into the air, but not fast enough. Enormous claws raked down, shredding rock and earth beneath the virex, but Marcus was already gone. He anchored the rope to the second spike, pulling it taught enough to keep the virex in place but not enough to hurt it when it inevitably struggled against it.
For the next few minutes, the drake tore at the rope to no avail. Neither claws nor teeth frayed the rope in the slightest, and with every jerking motion the rope caught on its fore or hind legs. Eventually, it gave a grumbling huff and dropped to the ground, staring directly at him just out of reach. Marcus crossed his legs and sat on the ground as he looked over the virex.
"Sorry buddy. Just trying to make the place suitable for you. Don't want you eating my partner while he fixes up the place." He tugged at errant strands of grass in the ground in front of him. "If it makes you feel any better though, we're going to be bringing some food next."
Marcus kept talking, knowing full well it didn't understand him. That wasn't the point.
"...that's just my mom, though, you know? Could you imagine if she saw me sitting here talking to a virex?" he laughed softly. "She'd probably kill me faster than you," the flare fired and popped in the air, sending bright red sparks in all directions and drawing the virex's attention away from him for the first time. "Alright, bud." He stood up slowly. The virex rose with him, but kept his head low to the ground. "I'm gonna let you go. If you could not try to eat me, that would be ideal."
Marcus walked casually over to the first spike, keeping the drake within his periphery. He twisted the mechanism at the top a few times to release the hooks that anchored it to the ground.
"Stay cool, my man."
He took one last look up at the majestic beast before releasing the spike and the rope. It took everything in him to keep all his muscles from tensing, struggling against his fight-or-flight response. It didn't move. Cool blue-gray eyes staring intently at him, the occasional heavy breath carried across the air in his direction.
He stood slowly, collecting the spike and leaving the rope loose on the ground. "Good, you're cool. I'm cool. Everybody is great friends here." He sidled along in a semi-circle to the other side, keeping a respectable distance, until he reached the second spike. Again he bent down, keeping one eye on the creature as he slowly released the spike from the ground.
Still no movement.
"Alright. Last thing. I'm gonna get this rope off you, alright?" Now that the spikes weren't holding it, the rope hung loosely along its back. He took the end nearest to him and steadily pulled. With every arm length, he coiled it shoulder to elbow. Aside from its head following his trek around the drake itself, still no movement.
Soon the last of the rope dropped off the back of the creature. Marcus continued to coil it onto his arm as if it were no big deal, though his mind raced with any number of scenarios that could make him the next meal.
With the coiled rope around his chest, Marcus collected the second spike and replaced it on his bandolier. He raised his hand in a wave. "I'll see you soon, with food next time." His breath caught as the virex finally raised its body to full height. It sniffed at the air in his direction, ginger locks tussled by the current. The virex turned and vanished into the treeline as silently as it arrived, leaving only his beating heart and a sudden pleading gasp for air as Marcus finally remembered to breathe.
The trek back to the portal was no longer open wildflower covered fields, but treacherous mountain terrain. Were it not for the smoke left from the flare, he doubted he'd be able to make it back with the amount of times he turned to check behind him. Even with the magical aid of the enchantment, it took much longer to get back than it had to get out there. Finally, the shimmering portal was in sight, and Marcus wasted no time sprinting straight through it.
The fading adrenaline had his heart pumping so hard he barely heard the roar of cheers and applause from the recruits on the other side. Even Victoria gave him a soft clap, though the smirk on her face said she hadn't expected anything less from him. Marcus gave a half-hearted bow, pulling the gauntlets off and tossing them into the bag.
"That was the coolest shit I've ever seen in my life." Reynolds pushed his way to the front of the group and grabbed his hand to shake it. "You didn't use any spells or anything. Just stood in front of that beast and faced it down. Wouldn't it have been easier if you used magic?"
Marcus finally regained his hand from the eager young man and shook his head. "Yeah, probably would have been. James gave me the boost I needed, though."
"Yeah, but why didn't you use it? You wouldn't have had to jump the dragon or anything."
"Reynolds, that's enough. Don't interrogate your superiors." Hernandez cut in.
Marcus shook his head and held a hand up to Victoria. "It's alright, ma'am." Using the term of endearment specifically to toy with her before looking back to Reynolds. "First, virex are drakes, not dragons." He corrected him and added. "Second, I'm Mundane. I can't use magic." He always hated putting voice to being mundane, not out of shame, but because it changed people's view of him. Reynolds stared at him, mouth agape in confusion. Marcus glanced back at James, "They don't tell kids about mundanes anymore?"
James shook his head and shrugged. "You having a stroke, newbie?"
"You're full of shit." The confusion left Reynolds' face, replaced by amusement. "You're just messing with us, right? Hazing the new guys?"
Marcus stared at him silently, his expression blank before shaking his head and looking to Hernandez. "Maybe this one should just be silent." A quiet buzz suddenly shifted through the recruits, though Ophelia batted away the one that tried to whisper in her ear.
"Alright, form up behind me. Now that the excitement is over, let's get you acquainted with the place." Hernandez spoke to the recruits, though her gaze lingered on him longer than she'd probably meant it to.
"How do you do that?" James spoke up after they'd packed up their gear and were on their way back to the quartermaster.
"Do what?"
"Connect to the animals like that? You make the rest of us look like amateurs. If I wasn't your partner, I'd be pretty pissed about it." James pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and grinned over at him.
Marcus just shrugged. "Don't know, really. Just kinda happens sometimes. And sometimes it doesn't."
"Seems to happen more often than not. You waved a stinky meat stick at a drake that's notorious for being a man eater, and then it just walked off after you manhandled it? Somebody is looking out for you."
It wasn't like Marcus had never considered it, but there was really nothing extraordinary about it. He just treated the creatures with the respect that he wanted from them, and most of the time, he got it back. There was nothing spiritual or magical about it as far as he was concerned. "What do we have next?"
The remainder of their day was relatively uneventful. Most of it was completing the paperwork and requisitions to make sure the virex was fed properly, but he did get to spend a little time with his favorite glimmerfang. Kane's favorite game was hide and seek, which Marcus was woefully mismatched at. Marcus had even gotten to the point where he'd tried to mask his scent from the hound, but no matter how far he got from him or how well he hid, the massive dog always found him. Today was no different, excited barks first that told Marcus the excellent nose had caught onto him. Then the shimmering air and pink puff of smoke when the dog disappeared from the spot where it was and appeared again a foot from him with all the same momentum.
"You've got a visitor." James said coyly as they gave their goodbye hugs on the way out of the reserve.
Marcus looked over his shoulder. Leaning against his beat up old Ford was Victoria Hernandez, one foot up on the bumper and a cigarette hanging from her lips. Marcus patted his back a couple times, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'll see you tomorrow, Brother."
"Mhmm. Don't stay up too late."
Marcus approached his truck, sticking one of his own cigarettes into his mouth. "Hernandez?" He said, walking past her to toss his bag into the cab.
"That was a hell of a performance today." She turned, leaning against the hood. Smoke billowed from her lips as she spoke, briefly veiling her dark eyes.
"Yeah? Sorry, I thought better of taking a couple bites like you asked. Seemed like the recovery time from something like that might not be too enjoyable."
"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad." She shifted slightly to face him, the loose tank top beneath the leather jacket leaving little to the imagination. "I'd bet there would be a line of beautiful women looking to help take care of you."
"Well, If I thought you were volunteering, maybe I'd have given it a second thought." Marcus gave her a half grin.
"Me? In your dreams, pretty boy." She said, bottomless brown almond-shaped eyes gave him an assessing gaze that pushed against the boundary line between intimate and judgmental. "What are you? 6'2? I don't get out of bed for less than 6'4."
"Well, assuming we were in a reality where I was interested in something like that? I certainly wouldn't bother myself with what got you out of bed, would I?"
One of her eyebrows raised, a slight flush emerging in her cheeks. "And what is it you would be..."
"Marcus!" Ophelia's voice sounded from the front door of the reserve, the young woman waving toward him.
He looked up as she started to run in their direction.
Victoria cocked her head slightly, examining his face before glancing over her shoulder for a moment, then looking back at him. "I'll be at McGinty's tonight if you wanna continue our conversation." She straightened up, looking him over like someone about to purchase a horse, causing his stomach to roil with nerves. Then she winked, turned on a heel, and walked off.
Halfway across the parking lot, Ophelia stopped and shook Hernandez' hand. What appeared to be a brief but cordial conversation occurred before Ophelia jogged over to his truck, where he was still leaning with his forearms on the hood. He was still trying to process what had just happened when Ophelia started talking.
"Oh my gosh, I'm glad I caught you before you left." She set her bag on the hood, and it crossed his mind for a moment that the purse was likely worth more than he paid for the truck. "What you did today," she paused, the soft curls of her hair bouncing slightly as she shook her head. "It was absolutely mental, and maybe one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. Why didn't you just use the wyvernbane?"
"It was no big deal," Marcus shrugged a shoulder, smiling at her. "Would have been a risk to his health and only slightly less risky for me. I just prefer not to use the stuff."
"Well, either way, it was a sight to see. I can't wait to tell your brothers about it. You do this kind of thing every day? Were you chatting with it? The drone was pretty high, so I don't think anyone noticed, but I thought I saw your lips moving. What were you saying?"
"No, most days are pretty laid back." In an ordinary situation, being peppered with questions would have irritated him, but her genuine curiosity and his passion for the subject nullified that feeling. "The talking is kind of a trade secret, so keep it to yourself, alright?"
"Why though? None of the studies I read suggested that a virex could interpret human speech patterns."
Marcus smiled with his mouth, but the rest of his face didn't follow. "Research will get you a long way, Ophelia." He put out the cigarette on the bottom of his boot and stuck the butt into a bottle in the door of his truck. "And absolutely keep all that info in mind, but if you treat every one of these creatures like a threat, they'll never be anything else to you."
The bright, curious look she was giving him faded, replaced by a blank stare. Her lips parted just enough for him to see the perfectly straight, pearly whites beneath. After a few seconds, one corner of her mouth turned up into a sheepish smile. "I don't think I've ever heard you say anything so profound before."
He patted the hood of his truck, stretching out a little and grinning over at her. "I expect there's a lot about me you don't know, Ophelia Harris. But it's getting late, and I think I have a date?"
"You think?" She'd taken on a stance of faux-offense, showing she hadn't missed him turning around her phrasing on her.
"Its complicated. Maybe?" He looked down at his boots and shrugged before looking back at her. "Still a little confused about it. I'll see you tomorrow, though? Or Friday at my parents?"
"I'll be there." She backed up from the truck a few steps as he closed the door and started it up. "You didn't tell me what you talked to it about!" She called out from the other side of the glass.
Marcus rolled down his window with the hand crank inside, "One trade secret per conversation." He held up his index finger to her as he drove off. Through his rearview, Marcus caught her frozen in the center of the parking lot watching him drive away.