The July morning was warm and sun uncharacteristically shone on Seattle after months of dreary skies and light rain long after summer approached.
Imani laid in their queen-sized bed and scrolled on their phone.

They attempted to act oblivious to the fact that they were already running late for their job at a small and local discount book store that went by the name of Tilian's.

They still in their oversized t-shirt of a gothic rock band they purchasing towards the end of the band's concert when they were still a baby bat in high school.

Like most adults, high school to them was like a vague memory far enough out of reach to forget basic details and what they learned in the classes they attended, though simultaneously the most vivid era of their younger years that left an undeniable mark on who they were now.

Regardless, Imani knew they were no teenager anymore. In fact, as soon as they reached eighteen (two years prior to current events), they no longer harboured a desire to understand and study necromancy or cartomancy.

They finally stopped mindlessly scrolling on their phone and began their routine for the day.

They stood in front of the mirror and washed their handsome face and made sure not to get water on their black curls before beginning to do their makeup.

Imani put on mascara before applying a shiny red eyeshadow that popped on their dark skin and brought out the red hues of their deep brown eyes, attempting to match it with a dark brown lip liner and crimson lipstick.

They put on their outfit for the day, only a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jeans that reached just above their ankles seeing as they would have to put an apron on as the bare minimum requirement for their job.

Being as tall and thin as they were, it was hard to find clothing that fit them-- everything was either too big for their skinny frame, or too small for their lanky body type.

Pushing back their mild frustrations for the minor inconveniences they'd experienced, Imani sat at their small white table in the kitchen of the small yet miraculously expensive apartment and drank a cup of coffee, making sure to crack open a window for the stray cat that would visit them at least once a day.

The small stray cat gracefully made his way from the alleyway to the hardwood floors of the kitchen by entering through the aforementioned window, meowing at them for food.

The feline was fluffy with white and black spots decorating his soft fur, and his eyes were a green, reminiscent of an evergreen tree.
Pitifully, there was no collar present on his body and even with the fluffy nature ofhiss fur, it was evident that the cat was growing thinner by the day.
It could've easily made Imani cry (and most things did), though they knew their landlord wouldn't allow such a creature to reside in the complex.

Fighting the human urge to weep, they had gingerly pet the cat before giving him plain toast; They were gonna be late regardless, so they didn't mind the extra effort-- especially if it was such a sweet and gentle animal.

When he was satisfied with what he was given and left, they grabbed their things and headed to Tillian's via public transportation.
It was a mundane commute, and they felt like they were going to drift off to sleep as their hand clutched the metal pole of the bus.

Stepping off the bus, they walked in a silence. This had been their daily routine for a year now, and they were growing miserable from it.

Imani felt privileged to be able to afford an apartment by themself, though that didn't negate the dread they possessed from almost everyday being the same.

If they weren't at work, they were at the store, and if they weren't at the store, they were at home either on their phone or watching movies on the television.

Needless to say, they didn't have that many friends outside of their place of work-- Though, they didn't mind that as they were particularly introverted.

They entered the establishment as the door dinged in their wake.

They trekked past the newly disorganized array of books on the oak shelves and sat on the metal chair that overlooked the cash register, anticipating customers. It was still only morning on a weekday, so they wouldn't get many visitors of the shop besides students.

Imani began to mindlessly scroll on their phone once more, hoping their boss wouldn't scold them for doing such a thing-- or being late, for that matter.

While scrolling, they didn't notice the youthful and petite woman creeping up to the counter. "Boo!" She exclaimed.

They flinched before looking up and recognizing their coworker, Robin Anastasia Fernandez in her glory.

"Hi, Robin." They said, attempting to act composed as if they weren't startled just a second prior.

She was only a year their junior, though the height difference between six foot Imani and five foot Robin made it seem significantly larger to those that didn't know either of them.

She could only be described as beautiful, with brown eyes that had a crimson tint and long curly black hair that reached her wide hips.
Robin possessed a ghostly pale complexion, to which Imani jokingly (and to some extent, affectionately) accused her of being a vampire from time to time.

"Good morning," She smiled.
Despite her exhaustion presenting itself on her eyebags, her demeanor was somewhat peppy; Robin was almost always peppy.

"Mister Bendle said he wants to speak with you after work."

Imani sighed. "Lame. Is it 'cause I was late?"
"I can't imagine it'd be for any other reason."



Their mundane morning quickly turned into evening.

Imani had successfully gone through the day only helping customers and reorganizing books without a sight of their boss.

Just before closing time, Robin exited the premises with a black cloak covering her figure and left Imani to be the only worker there.

They sighed, checking their phone and scrolling through social media apps while they procrastinated properly cleaning up the place and locking the doors.

The only sounds that could be heard was their slender finger tapping on the glass screen of their device and the sound of tree leaves swaying in the wind. Even though it was summer, Seattle had very strange weather when it got dark-- it was either sweltering, or chilly and windy, and there was hardly ever an in-between.

Lost in their mind and dwelling on the past, they quickly broke out of the daze when they heard the sound of the front glass door opening and making a dinging noise.

"We're closed!" Imani said, putting down their phone and making their way towards the presumed customer.

To their shock, it was no customer at all-- hell, it wasn't even human! They'd seen a few monsters in their life when they were still practicing witchcraft, but none quite like this one.

It was bipedal and about seven feet tall with a body similar to a bulldog, though its face was adjacent to a dragon pictured in a fantasy novel.
The skin of the creature wasn't scaly, nor did it have any fur-- It looked like slimy deep violet skin, or just pure slime that children enjoyed.

It stared at Imani with three big blue eyes (one on its forehead to form somewhat of a triangle formation) that felt inhospitable. They were stagnant with horror and unsure of what to do next.

After a couple of seconds, they attempted to swallow their consternation and gathered the gall to utter the phrase, "How may I help you?"

It didn't know how to respond initially, only blinking as they maintained a perplexed gaze.

Before they could exhale a sigh of relief and release the tension growing in their shoulders, the monster let out a booming bellow that shook the ground they stood on and resounded down the block.

It began to spin around, building a shield of magic around itself.


Imani knew the move too well; It was building up its power, getting ready to attack--- and they got ready to do the same, though they didn't spin around.

They stood there, muttering the words that would aide them in combat before the two got ready for a fight.

There was a stillness in the air-- everything felt like it had gone slow as the creature attempted to hit Imani, both with its own body and with magic.

They ended up being pinned against a sturdy bookshelf that was propped up against one of the walls, books falling to the ground upon impact while the creature kept them up by the throat, unable to strangle them with its paws.

Interrupting the scene, Robin barged into the store once again with a fluffy black and white cat in tow.

"Imani?!" She yelled, her eyes widening with shock as she walked closer and observed the colossal assailant.

They couldn't respond as they managed to slip out of its grasp, skeletons now entering the premises through the door and attacking the monster.
For reasons Imani was fully aware of, the undead bodies they resurrected to aide in the stressful battle were simply not powerful enough to withstand the fight, and easily became a pile of bones on the floor within a couple of minutes of fighting.

Robin looked confused, dazed even, though she could not say anymore. Instead, she sat back at the counter and put her hands over her head to avoid getting hurt.
To her surprise, the cat following her made his way towards the fight. Imani began using the bones on the floor to throw at the creature.

They looked at the feline and quickly realized he was the stray from their neighbourhood and couldn't help but ask out loud, "Why are you here, little munchkin?" That was the unusual nickname they'd given him

Being an animal, he only meowed in response, though his eyes began to glow orange and a massive ball of light of the same colour began to form in the center of Tilian's.

The creature, as well as Imani and Robin, couldn't help but gape at the light, unable to comprehend what its origin was, why it was happening, or what would happen next.

Robin covered her ears and eyes before the creature-- as heavy as it was-- got sucked into the ball, disappearing into nothing as the noise and the ball of light died down into nothingness.

There was a ringing in Imani's ears as they felt like they were going to throw up any minute.

The cat sat down against one of the bookshelves, feigning innocence while Robin slowly removed her hands from over her ears and eyes.

"What happened here?" Was her first question, and her next was, "Are you a sorcerer?"
They turned to look at her, their heart still palpitating with the adrenaline and horror. "I..."

They pursed their lips and shortly parted them, continuing their sentence. "don't know... and no, not anymore."

Robin gently scooped the cat in her arms before walking over to them, changing the topic. "Is he yours?"

"I wish he was."
"You should take him home." She said, handing him over to Imani.

They smiled as the cat purred, finding comfort in them. "Do you do sorcerery, Robin?"
"Never," Robin confessed before a lighthearted grin lined her lips. "I DJ at clubs every once in a while, though."

"Maybe I can teach you." They offered, petting the soft animal.
They wondered if that was their purpose, to teach the wonderful art and science that was magic.

Regardless, they still had a lot to clean up; Tilian's was in almost complete disarray.