"ORVILLE!"

The shout snapped the mink awake, jolting him out of bed. Shaking his head, he blearily tried to clear his head from the slight ringing and the sleep before another shout made him jump. Cursing, he struggled to put on clothes over his long johns, succeeding in managing a shirt and pants as he stumbled out of the door. A third cry, and the mink moved his laden legs faster, stumping across the hallway to the room where the cries came from.

As he presented his disheveled self, a much older mouse started down his muzzle and over his glasses at the unfortunate apprentice. There had been no move to preen his appearance, so his chocolate fur stuck out in all directions, bleary hazel eyes blinking. There hadn't been time. Sighing, the mouse shook his gray head. "What am I going to do with you, Orville? Yeesh... we have a client coming in an hour. Do try to make yourself at least somewhat presentable in the meantime?" He nodded to toward the small kitchen. "There's food in the pantry, make yourself something to eat."

Nodding, Orville didn't even bother to suppress the yawn that widened his jaws. "Mmrf. Yeah, Hodge."

"Orville!" cried the mouse sharply.

The mink stopped in his tracks, about to turn to walk away. He slumped again, wiping sleep from his eyes. "Yes, Master Hodges."

"That's better. Now run along, time is short! Shoo, shoo!" Nodding and trying to suppress another threatening yawn, the mink was soon off, back to his room. Orville was by no means a vain person, but at Master Hodges insistence, the small money he was given went toward purchasing a brush. After washing off his face and making sure he smelled okay, Orville considered himself ready for the day. Of course, his readiness was further tempered by the news he'd received.

Whenever Mistress Shiya came into the workman's shop, it was always an interesting affair. She had business more like than not, but had grown fond of Master Hodges, sometimes coming over simply to visit. Like many, Orville found the exotic beauty to be enchanting and alluring, though she always had a bit of a mystery to her.

Master Hodges soon had Orville fixing a few clocks on the workbench in the front of the store while he tinkered with something in the back. The door's chime announced a customer, and Orville was once again treated to the sight of Mistress Shiya's sensual gait. Though, it fit that she seemed to exude a certain amount of sexuality; she did, after all, own a brothel. Nor did it help that she very often went against the fashion norms, clad this day in some sand-colored pants that, like usual, had a way of molding to her form, showing off her legs. She complimented that with a sheer top of gauze and silk, a white shirt underneath preventing her from being too much more scandalous, with her arm tattoos only somewhat exposed.

"Hello, Mistress," Orville said, hopping from behind the work bench and grabbing a towel to wipe off his paws. "How are you doing?"

"Outside of having to deal with Bailey working overtime with the amount of rowdy soldiers coming to sample the wares of my house, I am rather well. And you?"

The mink blinked. "Soldiers? What do you mean?"

"The city guard is under more pressure, my boy. Have you not seen the signs of it?" When Orville shook his head, the lizard smiled to him. "You should get out more. There have been more arrests, and some aggressive tendencies toward the least fortunate who are 'clogging up the streets' as it is said. And all the pressure from the Duke means irritated soldiers, who sometimes try to take it out on my girls." Tilting her head, she regarded him. "You should visit us sometime, Orville. You look like you could use some sort of break."

Orville was about to reply when he heard Master Hodges clear his throat. His ears splaying, he gave a quick little smile to her. "But, uh, I'm sure you're here for the Master clockworkman." He, then went back behind the workbench.

However, Shiya instead leaned over the workbench, dropping her voice. "Do consider visiting me, Orville. For business or for pleasure." That said, she straighted up and walked toward Master Hodges. "Now I don't plan on spending much time here, trusting in your expertise..." and gradually, her words faded away as they went around back to address Bailey.

Sighing, Orville leaned on an elbow. Master Hodges wasn't necessarily a BAD person, but he was very demanding, and ever since he was essentially dumped here by his father's will, most of his time not sleeping was taken up by working on whatever was around the shop. Still, it seemed somewhat unfair that he was more or less trapped here, though he was busy doing good work for many people around the city.

In the meantime, he did still have plenty of work to do. He quickly recognized what he was working on as a clock owned by a neighbor, Mr. Nevre. He came by fairly often with something as simple as clocks to some more complicated as his grandmother's music box. And despite that he did it very often, he enjoyed figuring out how things worked and how to make them work better, or fix them if they broke... which was part of the reason why he wanted most to be with Master Hodges right now, fixing on Bailey even though the golem itself scared him.

The ringing bell announcing somebody coming in startled Orville from his thoughts. He knew that Mistress Shiya usually took the back way out. He looked up, and seeing the newcomer wore the uniform not of a soldier of the city guard, but of an officer. The badger nodded, and Orville nodded back. "Good morning," he said. "Can I help you?"

"Yes." The one word was gruff, almost spat out as if the owner wanted to get it over with. He walked in, his paws behind his back, studying the shop. "I'm looking for Master Tomille Hodges." The badger officer seemed to mull over these words, but his voice was no less gruff or gravelly.

Orville felt slightly unsettled by the officer's appearance, but he strove to keep a smile on his face. "The Master is busy right now, perhaps I can help you?"

The badger's wandering stare fixated on Orville, and inwardly the mink quailed. "I need to speak with him. Immediately."

~

What should Orville do?
1. Ask further of the officer's intention.
2. Rebuff the officer.
3. Give in to the officer.