Mark hated interviews. Back when he was in high school there had been many attempts to land a job for the summer or otherwise... during most of them he had been reduced to a stuttering mess, or shut up entirely when posed a question he thought to be difficult. And yet, here he was in the Seraphim lobby, a small file in one hand containing a letter of application and a CV. He'd heard that Seraphim provided accommodation for its heroes, so most of his possessions were packed up in suitcases in his car outside.
Talsper had talked him into coming: the mage wanted to see what Seraphim had to offer. "If I mess this up, it's on your head," the traceur muttered to no-one as he nervously approached the front desk, knowing Talsper would hear him.
The receptionist, a pretty redheaded woman a couple of years his senior with an earpiece in one ear, looked up as he neared the counter. "Hey there. Something I can help you with?" She sounded like the perky, carefree type. Mark could already tell this conversation wasn't going to end well.
"Um... yeah, I made a call a couple of days ago... scheduled an interview to work here. The name was Mark Robinson, and guest," he explained, a little haltingly.
"One moment..." The receptionist, whose name was Callista judging by her nameplate, quickly tapped out a command on her keyboard. "Yep, got you noted down here. I'll show you to Christopher's office... though is the interview for two people? Where's the other one?" Of course. She doesn't know the situation with Talsper. Mark cursed himself. "Um... yeah, he's here. Just not here. If that makes any sense." Dammit.
Callista gave a short laugh. "I've heard worse explanations. Right this way." She got up from her chair and stepped out from behind her desk, indicating a door leading deeper into the building. Mark followed. The two soon reached an office that looked rather spacious judging by what could be seen through the doorway.
"One moment," Callista requested when the two stood before the door. She reached up and tapped a button on the side of the earpiece she wore, turning away for a moment. "Excuse me, Christopher? You have a new applicant waiting at your office... Mark Robinson. Alright." She turned back to Mark. "Take a seat and he'll be with you shortly." She gave Mark a smile before walking away, presumably back to her desk at the lobby.
Not too long after that, Christopher came into the office to greet the new hero. "Good day to you, mister Robinson. I apologize for being away when you came, but sometimes I just need to stretch my legs and get social with the people I hire." He walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair. "You're here for an interview, I can presume. Tell me a bit about yourself."
Mark inwardly cringed in his chair. He never enjoyed that kind of question, particularly from potential employers. "Um... well, there's a couple of things I figure would be interesting to you." He took a moment to mentally get the words right before continuing. "I don't really have any powers or anything, unless you count constant parkour training. My friend here, though..." He pulled the glove off of his right hand, holding it up to show Christophe Talsper's ring.
"What would you say if I told you there was an extraplanar being trapped inside this ring? And that he and I can swap places?"
"I'd tell you that I've seen things that sound more unbelievable than that. I'm sure that you wouldn't believe that, but I also think you wouldn't dismiss it as the ravings of an old man." Christopher chuckled a little. "I would like to meet this friend of yours. After all, this interview is for two people. I only see one person sitting in front of me."
"Fair enough. Talsper, you're up." Mark replaced his glove, allowing Talsper to take over once it was in place. As per usual, the ring began to glow, the golden light soon enveloping his entire hand. Within a minute the man sitting before Christopher was sitting straighter, fingers steepled and gold eyes affixed on the Seraphim leader.
"Hail. I am the being my compatriot hast described. My name be'eth Talsper Rekuhai, Mage from the plane Eniadan," Talsper introduced himself. "Ask, and I shalt answer."
Christopher was impressed with the change between the two. It was obvious to him who was the one in control when they changed, even if he wouldn't have seen the exchange itself. "I'd also like to know more about you, Talsper, if you wouldn't mind telling me. I respect privacy, but I'd like you to be honest with me if you two are to join Seraphim. I'm interested in where you're originally from."
Talsper was more than happy to oblige. "Eniadan is a realm many gates from this one, in which magic is in as much abundance as that which we breathe. Before I was cast out, I was a master of the Aura, bending it to my will with mere thought. I was severed from my talent in a foul parody of the law... who can say what events hath transpired in my absence..." He trailed off temporarily, before remembering where he was at a light mental poke from Mark.
"I hath strayed off-track. As I said, I was cast out from Eniadan, mind and soul trapped in a golden band, and sent here as punishment for crimes that are not on my hands," he continued. "'Tis not to say, however, that I am without capability. Fragments of my power remaineth with me, as does the Aura bound into my ring. I hath taught Mark the use of basic shardwalking, thus." To demonstrate, he raised one hand, rerouting a portion of the Aura within himself into conjuring a small silver orb. The sphere gave off thin wisps of smoke due to its below-freezing temperature compared to the air in the office, which was warmer by comparison.
"Very interesting." Christopher said as Talsper stopped and procured an orb of sorts, presumably ice, Christopher thought. "It sounds like Eniadan would be pretty interesting to explore, but I'm guessing that if you knew how to get back, you might be back there already. Either way, my main concern is Earth and its inhabitants. Tell me, what more can you do? How would you and Mark be of assistance to Seraphim?"
Talsper did not answer immediately. Instead he turned his thoughts inward. Hm. 'Tis an interesting question. How dost thou suggest we proceed?
Mark, too, was unsure of how to answer this one. Ehh... I'm not sure. Maybe... maybe tell him we can serve in some sort of fast-moving reconnaissance, or as a team scout. That might work.
Thou art sure? We saw Justicar in action. She is likely a runner herself. Or, more accurately, a flier.
Still. We don't normally take people on head-to-head. Our thing is for me to chase them down and you to ensure they don't escape.
Very well. Talsper refocused his attention on Christopher. "Apologies for the delay. I was conferring with Mark on this matter. We believeth that we wouldst be suited to a scouting role, or... reconnaissance, he said. Mayhap there is a team that could benefit from this?"
"Perhaps. I merely posed the question to see what abilities it was you possessed. I am glad to see that the two of you seem to talk to each other about matters, although I hope that it won't happen too often on the battlefield. It wouldn't do good for you two to get attacked at a vulnerable time such as right now when you two were talking to each other." Christopher took a look at Talsper for a moment, viewing how different he really was in posture from Mark, before continuing. "If there are any questions you two have for me, you're welcome to ask. I'm certain that you've got some for me."
Again the two spoke mentally, for only a few seconds this time. Mark and Talsper exchanged places a second time: once Mark's eyes changed back to their usual green, and he relaxed backwards in his chair, he spoke up again. "We only have a couple of questions. First, do you have medical staff on the premises? I ask out of curiosity and interest in not losing any limbs." It stood to reason that Seraphim would have medical equipment and personnel, but Mark just wanted to check.
"Secondly, we would both need places to exercise our abilities. Um... for myself, some form of physical assault course or other place to practice parkour. And for Talsper, a room that can be damaged without consequence or repaired easily."
"We've got plenty of medical staff you can contact if you need anything. They've got a cure for almost anything and are equipped with advanced medical technology to get our heroes out on the field as soon as possible. I would advise going to see them after a particularly dangerous mission." Christopher answered his first question. "As for a place to exercise your abilities, both are available. You'll be able to find them pretty quickly when you take a look at which floors they're on. There are several floors in a row exclusively for practicing abilities. They're specifically labelled as training floors so you'll find them easily."
Christopher decided it was enough sitting for now for him, so he stood up and walked towards the window in his office and motioned for Mark to come by his side as he faced the window. "I should let you know that being a hero is never easy, no matter how much you might think it is. You need to be ready for danger. Your parkour skills might work in the right environment, but if you get caught off guard or are put in an environment where you can't use your parkour, you're going to be in trouble unless Talsper saves you with his powers. Once we're done here, I'd advise you to go to our armoury and find yourself a set of armour you'd like. I'm not talking about the kind knights of old used to wear. It's more of a special armour you can put on, wouldn't be noticed, still gives you room for enough movement and protects you from most things. It's not without flaws, but it's better than getting caught out in the open without means to protect yourself from a surprise attack."
"I'll look into it when I get the chance," Mark noted. "And... well, yeah, I figured this kind of thing wasn't all smiles, waves and celebrity appearances. We can fight, but it's not my forte. That's what the six-hundred-year-old mage in the ring is for."
Christopher chuckled at that response. "It seems you're ready, then. Welcome to Seraphim, Mark and Talsper. You'll find a staff member outside the office who'll show you to your apartment. She'll have the keys to it and will hand them to you." He walked over to Mark with his hand out to shake Mark's.
[hr]
A handshake later, Mark had spoken with the staff member in question, and received keys and a map of the Seraphim building. Now came the process of moving in. The suitcases were hoisted out of his car, and promptly loaded into... an elevator. Another thing Mark disliked, due to its small interior. The map he'd received detailed each floor, so he hit the button to take him to the apartment level.
Thankfully, the lift ride was faster than the interview. Upon stepping out into the hall, Talsper recalled the instructions the staff member had given. Left, then third on the right.
"Yes, thank you. Had that covered," Mark noted aloud as he approached the door in question. There was a name-plate on the door: empty, with a slot to fit a piece of paper inside. He opened the door with his key and began hauling his possessions just inside the door. Proper unpacking would be dealt to later.
