Combatting boredom

Alana looked out over the tavern from behind the bar with a feeling of discontent. There were only two reasons why she would have this particular feeling, both were dangerous to the local population. As she was well fed, it was unlikely her hunger would be the downfall of those in the tavern. Unfortunately.

The reason Alana Keeper was feeling discontent was simply that she was bored. In general cases this would cause few problems. In a being with large amounts of power and few equals, as well as a skewed view of right and wrong, boredom took on an entirely different level of danger for those luckless enough to be around her.

Her mate could reach her in nearly an instant, but at least half the people currently in the tavern would be dead by then. Well, not likely dead, there was nothing interesting about death. Certainly nothing to combat boredom. They’d certainly be different. Likely unrecognizable.

Alana stood and turned to enter her office. The rewards were not worth the argument she would endure when her mated did return. Better to find other playthings. She slipped into her office and called for her oldest companion, a black panther with a Keeper’s sentience. If anyone could help eradicate boredom, this one could.

He slipped out of the Nexus and gave her a disapproving look. “You’ve waited too long this time, Alana.”

“It couldn’t be helped.” The look he gave her argued the point. She ignored it and secured the tavern. Or rather, the entry to the Nexus. With no one around to guard the entrance, there was no point in keeping it open. The twins could keep an eye on the tavern, but they weren’t trained to deal with portals. Aware of her responsibilities, she laid a few protections over Clara. Just enough to keep any wandering eyes from her direction and to seriously upset someone’s day if they chose to ignore those warnings.

She left a message on the wall of the office for her mate, encrypted so that it was extremely unlikely any one else would be capable of reading it. To spare his sensibilities, she closed their private channel before opening a portal to her side-space and entering, followed by Pryl. The portal closed behind her, leaving the tavern simply an unremarkable tavern not unlike thousands of others.