CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

A SPONTANEOUS MEETING with fernando silph requires a good deal of patience. he’s mid-meeting when razz arrives but it ends within a reasonable time frame. undoubtedly due to his secretaries involvement.

fernando personally opens the door to his office to usher the ranger in. here, everything is personal. it’s not league headquarters where he’ll call out for them to enter.

it’s silph co.

“kingsman,” is his traditional greeting.

he closes the door behind them.

“how are you?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett

CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

“AH.”

that sentence alone tells him more than enough. there’s missing pieces, yes, but fernando has a good enough handle of who ‘razz kingsman’ is to strum up an idea what this meeting is about. nonetheless, he has a part to play to, so he continues the flow of their conversation without missing a beat.

“and how was that?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett

CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

“HM,” fernando hums aloud as he takes up the AQUA INITIATIVE CONTRACT. he reads over it again, skimming, and peeks at razz from behind the paper.

“so this is the standard contract,” he reveals, as if he hadn’t known all along. which, given the time since the last time he’s seen the default one, is understandable. but a shrewd business man like fernando never forgets such parameters. this proves too important—he plays dumb to give the proper impression, seamlessly, a skilled actor.

“well, what do you think about it, kingsman?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett

CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

“AH,” is fernando’s audible recognition when razz reiterates his biggest concern. the small detail was a pivotal factor in poaching the silph ranger away from the league in the first place. since then, his services have bene put to better use. much more efficient for someone of his skill when given the proper resources.

“an excuse is one way of looking at it,” fernando leads on, unwilling to dash his line of thinking from the get go. “but such damages will be reviewed for abuse. the idea is that we do not restrict or cause avatars to hesitate during stressful situations.”

he place the contract on his desk, a palm dead center over its body.

“the only person who can answer that is you, kingsman. financially, it is a generous contract. however, it is binding and restrictive should you choose to change your mind later.”

potentially, anyway.

“admittedly, kingsman, you don’t seem the type to care about compensation as long as you’re taken care of. however, you have a good heart and the sense of duty that will undoubtedly make you fulfill this contract’s intent of your own volition.”

he reaches for a pen from within his drawer.

“again, the only person who can make that choice is you. however, knowing you, a good deal would have to be rewritten to fit.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett

CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

“INDEED,” fernando defaults. “however, legal matters require a certain way with words. rest assured, as long as i retain my position of council, i will be vetting for abuse should it happen. not a perfect method but one that will have to due based on our current situation.”

eventually, fernando finishes his scrawl across the contract. his writing and scratch outs cover almost half of it.

“measures to keep your identify anonymous. clauses for protection, should you run into issues regarding it.”

he starts to review his notes as he skips around.

“more conditions on being summoned. leniency should your summons prove frequent and consuming.”

it’s more than he remembers.

“the hardest one to negotiate will be how long you are in service. committing to this means following it until completion, kingsman. several years is a lot of time.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett

CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

“ON PAPER,” fernando starts, “but you are only one person. who knows how frequent and how the timing will line up?”

he fiddles the pen between his fingers. rotates in on the axis of his knuckle. circles that represent the everchanging tide of league faculty and positions.

“there is always the chance goode or myself are incapacitated. would you be okay with serving on an aqua you disagree with? one that was helmed with a commissioner that goes against your principles?”

the problem with how malleable kingsman is, is that others can exploit him as well. and while fernando is happy with how the ranger has adjusted, he has no intentions of sharing. he belongs to him.

after all, fernando is the only one who knows why he wanted to become a ranger. in the sea-world, his counterpart has realized it into something physical.

“or if something similar to sootopolis happens against and instead of letting you be on the front lines, they ask you to stay behind for aqua related matters. something you find insignificant in comparison.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett

CONTRACT

THE FIRST TO SIGN

“THEN YOU WOULD BE BREACHING YOUR CONTRACT,” he explains. “that in itself is not too big an issue but loop that in with other circumstances and you could find yourself in quite the predicament, kingsman.”

he sits on his thoughts and mulls over decisions he has long considered. he just needs to act as if they weren’t lying in waiting. as if he hadn’t known this would happen all along.

“unfortunately, i do not know to what extent they would allow you to change their agreements. after all, why would you be the exception?”

a click of his tongue brings his focus back on razz.

“unless, you were to sign under me — not unlike your rangership.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Raziel Beckett