It took all of Katherine's restraint to not punch the alarm clock blaring on her nightstand. After a glorious two day weekend (with no monster attacks!) it was time for her to return to the Magicorp offices. She'd been particularly dreading this day because it was going to be time for the yearly performance reviews. While she normally relished the thought of going through the departments and finding every single thing that could be improved upon, the last year had been particularly brutal for the witches and wizards. The lycan outbreak in southern Italy alone was catastrophic for the three teams sent to manage the situation. There were going to be a LOT of new hires running around which of course meant she was going to be slammed with that much more paperwork.

"Ugh... I was having such a lovely dream too," Katherine muttered as she pulled herself from the bed and began her morning routine. Stepping into her kitchen, she began by preparing her coffee while planning her morning attack for the review. "Probably best to start with the HR Department. If I send everyone down there, we might get an early lead on where other groups may be falling short." One too many mornings by herself had lead the witch to hold entire conversations with herself. "I'll need to speak with Stella as well. Merlin knows I'll need her on my side if we're to get Cam to do anything this month. Then there's the new girl in sales. Lydia? Why would we bring Demon spawn into the company? That's just asking for trouble..."

Once the coffee was brewing she returned to her bedroom and pulled her work attire out of the closet. She quickly dressed before turning to look at herself in the mirror. The gray hairs and bags under her eyes seemed to get more noticeable with each passing day. With a sigh, she muttered an illusion incantation and traced her glowing fingers over the blemishes. In an instant, it looked as through her face was aging backwards. If one looked closely however, they could see the glimmer of Kath's true features just underneath the illusory skin.

"Another day... Another illusion," said the lady with a sigh as she slipped into her polished black stilettos. Taking a moment to compose herself, Katherine slipped into her 'stone cold boss' persona she used whenever she went to work. With one last sweep through the apartment, she grabbed her coffee, her bag, and set off to work. The commute was rather quick thanks to Kath's divination abilities. One cursory glance into the future as she left the parking garage allowed her to see every road and traffic jam in the city that morning.

As her car pulled into the Magicorp garage, she felt the familiar tingle as she passed through the wards that surrounded the building. A simple security measure, but it prevented anyone with evil intent from entering the premises. After taking a moment to find a spot, Katherine exited her car and began her day.

The Magicorp Office was an imposing structure. Fifty-five stories in downtown New York City housing what - to the rest of the world - appeared to be a massive tech firm that could rival the likes of Apple and Android. On the inside however, the world's largest collective of witches and wizards worked in secret to protect the mortal world from threats so ancient their stories were now considered 'mythology' by the general public. The large central atrium in the building dominated most of the space. Floating in midair was a massive globe which was enchanted to pinpoint where in the world an outbreak of rampaging Fey or Dark Wizards were detected. Large glass elevators on each corner of the atrium allowed for quick access to the various floors and departments. On top of the building, there was a rooftop garden that looked out over the New York cityscape, a (mostly) peaceful space where employees could relax or nature elementalists could re-connect with their hippie side.

Katherine sighed in relief as she managed to get an elevator for herself and rode it all the way to her office on floor fifty. Leaning against the wall of the elevator, she turned to look at the globe as she ascended. Attacks had been getting worse in recent years. Who knew what was coming next?

Kenji's eyes fluttered open as the beeping of his alarm broke the silence of the morning. He groaned slightly, as shut the noise off. He sat up in bed, and stretched out. Another day at Magicorp awaited him. This is not where he wanted to be. He wanted to be on the Broadway stage. The bright lights, the applause, that’s what he wanted. As much as he dreaded it, he knew he needed the job.

He moved to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face to wake up fully. Staring at his reflection, he took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Another day, another dollar…" He muttered to himself. Despite his frustrations, he tried to keep a positive outlook.

After a quick shower, Kenji meticulously groomed himself, making sure every hair was in place and his skin was smooth. Appearance mattered, even if his job didn't involve public performances. He chose a white dress shirt, a dark navy suit, and a matching tie. Even on the days he felt over it, he took pride in looking sharp.

In the kitchen, he prepared a simple breakfast—scrambled eggs and toast—while listening to his favorite musical playlist consisting of showtunes. The familiar tunes lifted his spirits a bit, reminding him of his true passion.

Once his breakfast was done, Kenji packed a few of his enchanted cookies into a small container. They were a hit with his coworkers and provided a little extra comfort during stressful days. He grabbed his bag, double-checked that he had everything, and headed out the door.

The walk to Magicorp was a familiar one. The bustling streets of New York were buzzing with activity, people hurrying to their destinations. Kenji blended into the crowd, his mind running through the tasks he had to handle today.

Arriving at the skyscraper that housed Magicorp, Kenji took a deep breath before stepping inside. "Just another day…" he reminded himself. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to the busy office floor. Stepping out, Kenji put on his best smile, ready to face whatever the day had in store.

Albrecht rushed to work, still hungover, but that didn't mean he had to look the way he felt. He'd gotten a ride from a friend in HR - they seemed to be full of the nicer sort - and made it just in time, before the clock managed to mark him as late. This was a good thing, as he wasn't quite known for his punctuality, but he was known for doing all he could to get the job done. Case in point, his right arm was still sore from that fall he'd taken, leaping off a building and into some dumpster. Nothing a nip of good whiskey couldn't fix, after work.

As he made his way onto the floor, he high-fived some of those he'd passed and talked shop. In other words, people inflated their stories about the creatures they'd faced off, and he joined right in. Everyone knew that everyone was talking themselves up, of course, but Albrecht understood not all of it was meant in malice. It was a good thing, to have won, and if not, to have survived.

"What's the next target?" he asked, lazily glancing about as he propped his feet up on his desk. "Ophelia, if we get paired up again, do you think you could do that thing with the vortex?" The man gestured with his hands, speaking as much with them as with his mouth. "I don't know how it worked, but it made quick work of the horde we chased down. I'll have to buy you a drink sometime. Because of you, I managed to get a table at ST4T1C."

So it went, with the wizard's voice mixing with the rest of the so-called Marketing and Sales team, all of them dressed to kill. Of them, Albrecht liked to think he was the best, at both.

The morning train was crowded. The subway was always a delight of mingling personalities in the big city, and the sour, hectic mood of many was temporarily forced to ride-share and experience the harsh reality that was other people. Gray personalities in gray coats with gray expressions. At least, that’s how Lydia saw it, leaned forward on a seat and taking up two spaces, apparently blissfully ignorant of the irritated glares she was attracting. ”Come on, dude! Why even play if you’re gonna bet that low?” she exclaimed loudly, tapping away at her phone as it blared obscure mobile game sounds at near-full volume. Fully consumed by her phone, it took an angry tap on her shoulder by an older woman standing nearby with her son for Lydia to look up. The woman started talking - berating her for both taking up seats and having no respect for others. Lydia raised her eyebrows, looked at the kid, then up at the windows and rolling screens. ”Hm? Oh! This is my stop! Thanks, granny.” she exclaimed with vigor and shot up, pushing past two others to guard the door as it opened. Before anyone could finish a thought, the doors opened, and she was free from the subway hell.

A few minutes later, the door to the ‘Sales’ department at the less-than-public company shot open, and the new hire trampled in with her gaze gliding over the room and the assembled personnel. She waved to the mage who’d struck up a conversation last time, but otherwise made no attempt at real greetings. Instead she sank down into her chair at what passed for her station. She adjusted her work uniform, somehow managing to look like she was two hours into an afterwork party rather than primly ready for work early in the day. The hints of her infernal heritage were hard to hide even with a glamor; most who knew what to look for could see her real features in the corner of their eyes, or while scanning the room, a few moments as the illusions took hold. Content to people-watch, she simply sat back in silence, and eventually pulled out her phone to do both things at once.

He looked up, eyes quickly flicking towards the one other person that he saw as something approximating competition. The strange flicker, as well as the almost unreal symmetry of the woman's features only made his curiosity deepen. Albrecht felt a need to poke, to mingle, to sniff her out. Sure, she looked busy on her phone, but he was the sort of person who could talk at people, instead of talking with them.

"You're new too, aren't you," he asked, rather loudly, from his messy desk. "What's your name? I'm Albrecht. Albrecht Rose. Al, for short." The man introduced himself, eyes wide with an almost child-like inquisitiveness, though his grin had a manic sort of energy, not too different from how dogs accidentally bared their fangs as they played with their favorite stick. "You're dressed really nice. You don't look like you need to work here at all."

Albrecht had an eye for clothes, and while he dressed as well as he could, he still had to pay the rent. By his estimates, her whole outfit alone seemed like it could pay his entire bar tab twice over. It was a very large tab, kept afloat only by the fact that Albrecht's antics kept people coming into the bar, too.

"Hey, in case we ever work together, I'm going to tell you ahead of time - I hope there's no hard feelings if I end up... burning a blazer or something of yours. Trying to keep it to a minimum, but fire's a wild thing, you know? Almost like it has its own mind."

It was a warning, a subtle signifier of how relatively new Albrecht was to all this proper wizarding, especially when compared to the others in the "company". Given how it was phrased, though, it was clear that Albrecht was also doing his best to balance this precaution with a clear statement of his abilities; however simplistic it was, even brute force could be effective, even if it wasn't the best tool for the job.

"But it doesn't happen often. Promise."

He raised his hand to swear, just as someone laughed in the background, clearly disagreeing with what he just said.

A silent alarm went off in Alarics room, his enchanted alarm clock awaking him without noise and more of a nudge in the morning. One of his more favourite enchantments, avoiding the loud ringing of hammer on bell. He lifted himself out of bed with ease and stretched his neck, rubbing his hand on the opposite side.

"Ugh.." was all he could mutter following his disturbed slumber before arising from the bed in need of a shower and coffee. He got himself dressed as nicely as he could be bothered, this still resulted in a crisp white shirt adorned with a dark green tie, tailored black slacks, and black shoes, but he had rolled the sleeves to his elbows.

He made his way through his apartment and grabbed his messenger bag, not the most professional look but one that felt comfortable hanging from his shoulder. As he made his way to the door, he grabbed his skateboard, one enchanted to move without pushing. Another "why use effort when you've got magic" that he was quietly proud of. It helped that non-magic folk wouldn't think twice about someone travelling on a skateboard.

As he arrived, quickly flicking between pedestrians, at the towering structure which was the MagiCorp building, he let out a small sigh, not one of dismissal or disbelief but one of quiet introspection. This was the company that wanted his parents to join them so badly, and maybe if they had, they'd still be alive. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a breathe before stepping into the building. He made his way to one of the many elevators and crammed in with the others that seemed to arrive a little closer to late like he had.

He walked into the sales floor, brushing by two talking, one that for just a second Alaric thought had horns, he locked his eyes on her and expected to take it in but like it was there before it wasn't anymore. He looked away and raised an eyebrow. He attributed it to his imagination and made his way to his desk in the "customer service" department.

---

A digital bird song rang out in the darkened office room, rousing Cam in a wave of fresh adrenaline. Desperate she swung her hands and arms clumsily, managing to send her smartphone sailing into the door to her office.

"Ugh…I’m awake! I’m awake!" she said, falling out of her office chair. Clutching her head in her hands she tried to remember the last twenty four hours. Several empty bottles surround her in an unfamiliar celestial pattern. A poor attempt at a summoning spell. She'd been out late. She remembered several thin glasses of delicious Prosecco. A pretty face. A pretty girl. Her clothes were rumbled. And worse. She had no idea how she had ended up in the black gothic floor length dress that she was wearing.

"What year is it?"she muttered, rolling over onto her back, and staring at the florescent light that beamed down on her.

"It is the year 2024," a voice cheerfully replied from atop Cam’s desk.

"Stella! What the fuck!? I mean…good morning?"

"I’m disappointed in you, Cam. What sort of greeting is that? And last night? Tsk tsk. What a way to spend a Sunday night..."

Robed in blue, Stella sat with her bare feet dangling over the edge of the desk. The hint of a smile played over her lips, but her voice was serious, and Cam felt a growing panic deep in the pit of her stomach.

"Uh…Sorry?"

"I extend to you my merciful forgiveness," the mysterious woman replied, performing a strange gesture with her right hand. Light blinded Cam for a moment, before Stella extended the very same hand and held out a gently steaming cup of coffee. Cam couldn't place the logo emblazoned on the tastefully decorated disposable cup. And she couldn't read the letters.

"Here, have this, it will help perk you up! It's good, very good, I promise!"

"What if I just go back to sleep?"

"Unacceptable, Miss Fairfax!" Stella replied in an instant, her voice full of passion. "There is work to be done and your duty demands more of you. I would see you do better! You must! Please, for me. And most of all, for yourself."

"Fine, fine, just please, stop with the puppy eyes, I’ll get to work. I'll save the fucking world, if it makes you stop nagging me."

"Wonderful," Stella said, jumping from her perch on top of the desk and clapping her hands together with unrestrained glee. "Dear Cam, your company is so pleasant, as always. However, I am afraid I must leave you for now. Regrettably, other matters require my immediate attention."

"Busy day?" Cam asked thoughtlessly, unsuccessfully trying to place the flavors of the coffee that Stella had given her.
"Mondays," Stella said with a shake of her head, appearing for a moment almost human.

"No rest for the wicked," Cam offered with a shrug.

Soft laughter echoed through the room as Stella vanished in a burst of bright light. The smile on Stella’s face filled Cam with a warmth she grudgingly accepted as she turned on her computer, adding a pinch of pixie dust to her coffee.