Board Thread:What Would You Do?/@comment-34251796-20180821062847/@comment-36835899-20180908060855

As I get closer, I assess the situation. The hellhound and wight are arguing with a red-haired, rather busty elf, who I recognize as the president's second in command. The lamia is watching the other three intensely, the end of her tail twitching in anticipation. Less than ten feet away, I've still gone unnoticed. I take a breath and mentally prepare myself; I'm only going to have one shot at controlling the situation.

A-HEM!

My loud throat-clearing causes the four to jump. I don't react but make a mental note of how the elf's chest bounces. I stand there with my hands folded behind me, a look of severe irritation on my frowning face, my eyes cold. I alow my glare to slide over each of them, causing them all to shift backward slightly, uncertain.

My eyes lock on the hellhound's. She returns my glare, he lip curling as she gives a soft, halfhearted growl, the presence of the others holding her back. As much as she'd like to get into things with me, she clearly doesn't want the headache of dealing with witnesses.

I shift my focus over her shoulder, locking onto the glassy-eyed lamia who had shifted to a position behind the hellhound. My eyes narrow slightly and I give a tiny shake of my head. It doesn't take a genius to figure out she would see the hellhound as the most immediate threat needing to be eliminated. She freezes in place under my gaze, basking for the moment in my attention.

To my left, I hear the elf quietly clear her throat. Without breaking my gaze on the lamia, I point at the elf, causing her to reflexively flinch backward. I hold my position a moment longer before turning and stepping up to the elf, leaning in close. "We will discuss your invasion of my privacy in a more discrete setting," I whisper in her ear. I see her gulp nervously out of the corner of my eye. "Perhaps you can give me reason not to report your overreach to the president." I step back, noting the color in her cheeks. She's doing a decent job controlling herself, but she's clearly terrified.

Three down, one to go. I turn to face the wight. She folds her hands in front of her, raising her chin slightly, playing it cool. She's not fooling me though, and she knows it. I may be a mere human, but she knows she's grossly underestimated me. I step a little closer, looking her up and down, clearly unimpressed by her beauty or her designer clothes. She blinks in shock as I turn away from her dismissively, moving to stand back where I was originally when I'd gotten their attention.

I fold my hands behind my back again, giving them all another cold look. "I have obligations to deal with right now," I tell them, taking care to lock eyes with each of them for a moment. "I'll be in touch with each of you later, in my own time." I turn and walk away, forcing myself to keep my movements relaxed and even. Either I've just nipped four potential problems in the bud, or I've lit the metaphorical fuses on four serarate bombs.

Only time would tell...