The Lioness' Mouth

Allison leisurely drank her coffee and looked out the window while she listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom. She kept track of what Jocelyn was doing in the back of her mind, and when it seemed like she might soon step out of the shower, she put her cup back on the table and went to her bedroom.

She had an outfit already picked out when Jocelyn came in. She figured that she wouldn't try something brash like parading herself naked in front of Allison, given the time she'd just spent naked and exposed. It made sense that she'd try to irk Allison by rifling through her stuff.

"These will fit, I'm sure." Allison said, indicating the stunning black asymetrical skirt on the bed and the white button-down blouse. "The extra slack on top will help conceal your deficiencies. It's a shame it won't be more form-fitting about the middle, but you will be elegant I assure you."

Without another word, she turned and left the room. "If you're quite done with your tantrum, perhaps we could move on to business?"

Jocelyn silently cursed herself when Allison was already waiting in the room. Se knew it wouldn't be that easy, but at least Jocelyn had something to wear. And even better they were Allison's. Jocelyn couldn't help but smile at the thought, though she tried to keep the smile as meek as she could, lest Allison was on to her. The blonde certainly wasn't getting them back, that was for sure. At least as long as Jocelyn had anything to say about it.

She dutifully began to put on the clothes she was offered and watched Allison leave. She furrowed her brow at the woman's words. Tantrum? No. She growled at Allison's back.

"No, Sarah..." He spat as she looked at the leaving girl coldly. "This is your tantrum! Do you understand? YOU! All this!" She waved her arms at the house. "It's YOUR tantrum! You were probably too drunk to remember anything, dish licker. But it's all yours. You own it!" Jocelyn adjusted her outfit and took a look in the mirror. She'd need some make up if she was going to go anywhere, but right now, she looked good and she beamed. She then went out of the bedroom, tempted to ransack it a bit but thinking otherwise of it.

She went to where Allison was and looked over the woman. "So, what job?" She asked. She was a little excited but also quite nervous. Doing anything for Allison was probably a bad idea but doing something for Allison meant she stayed close to the woman. So very close.

Allison dismissed Jocelyn's outburst with a wave of her hand. She returned to the kitchen where she put two slices of bread in her toaster and selected a pear from a hanging bowl of fruit above the counter. She leaned against the counter as she began paring off pieces of pear with a paring knife and placing each on her tongue while she pondered Jocelyn's current predicament. What an ugly attitude she had.

"I have someone I'd like you to meet." She said finally. "That's all. I think you may even get along with her, believe it or not." She said, and ate another slice of pear. After swallowing, she continued. "She may even have something for you to do, but I think it would be beneficial for you to become acquainted with her. She may be better equipped to deal with your more glaring shortcomings than I am."

Jocelyn listened curiously to Allison's words. So simple. So much unlike a job. That was the worst part. It was like she was just casually telling Jocelyn about a friend that she wanted the Chistralian to meet. But it wasn't that simple. It never was and Jocelyn became increasingly anxious. She opened and closed her fists as she chewed on her lower lip, trying to think of a response. She then looked at Allison and smiled rather keenly.

"Oh, Sarah..." She said in a friendly tone. "Only if she's like you. You know you're the only one I like..." She then narrowed her eyes and tightened her grin a little more before turning her head and letting out a sigh. "I guess that would be fine. When should we meet?"

Allison smiled. "She's nothing at all like me." She said, turning the knife around her middle finger using the fingers on either side.

She paused for a moment, and then put the knife down and walked to the adjacent dining room with it's large bay windows to clear the table of her coffee paraphernalia. "In fact, it's probably best that you don't mention me at all." She said, but offered no further explanation as to why. "However I happen to know that she will be at the AFW offices around noon today. She's trying to attract the attention of any of the management, though I don't know exactly why." She rinsed out her coffee cups and french press and put them neatly by the sink.

"Her name is Dinah Clarkson. She English, coarse and disagreeable like yourself, and she's tall and strong with prematurely gray hair, no doubt due to the excess of testosterone in her body." Allison said dryly. "I'm sure you'll be able to find her. Now please leave my home before I remember all the reasons I have to choke the life out of you."

"Shame..." Jocelyn said with a frown. "I was really hoping for some more of your wit and charm." Jocelyn turned to leave the room. "It was fun, Sarah. I really liked the part where you tied me up and locked me up in a closet. Or maybe it was when you didn't even have the decency to let me properly use the WC. You can keep those panties by the way. I'm definitely keeping these clothes. It's a fair trade, you sick cunt." Jocelyn snarled and turned to leave. "I'll get you back for that, Sarah!" She shouted as she threw the door open loudly. "Just keep at it. Keep fucking trying to break me and one day it will all come back around. You can't get rid of me Sarah! We're together forever now!" She spat sharply as she walked out of the apartment, not even bothering to close the door.

She would go meet this woman just to see why she made Allison seethe so badly. That in and of itself was a reason for her to be interested in this Dinah girl. But if she was as mean and brutish as Allison had said, she wondered if Allison wasn't just sending her to another beating or humiliation. One that Alllison could wash her hands of and yet, still thoroughly enjoy. Jocelyn sighed once she was out of the building. Really, she just wanted to go home and sleep but that would have to wait. Right now she had to hurry and get down to the AFW complex. She quickly hailed the taxi. Her first stop would still have to be back to her apartment to at least fix up her face and grab her effects.

Allison sighed, and walked to the door to close it. Jocelyn's petulance was certainly unpleasant, and she sometimes questioned whether any degree of control over the girl was worth the trouble. Then she reminded herself that that would be admitting defeat to the Aussie punk, and that was certainly not acceptable.

She sighed again when she remembered the mess in her bathroom. She had half a mind to just call a service to clean her house, but the more public humiliation of someone else finding her floor covered with urine was too much. She would clean it herself, if for no other reason than to stop Jocelyn from having even a small victory.

She stood in front of the bathroom and looked at the floor, at the puddles and wet towels on it. She'd have to throw those towels out, of course. It would give her an excuse to go shopping. She pulled a mop from her closet, filled the sink with soapy water, and sighed.

Jocelyn and Dinah deserved each other.

Jocelyn was quick when she got back to her apartment. Jocelyn ate a quick snack and brushed her teeth. She adjusted her outfit and threw on some make up. She had gotten good and fast with it ever since Allison had shown her how. (She had practiced quite obsessively over it.) She then grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

She quickly made her way to the AFW complex, just a little before noon. But this could be like finding a brutish needle in a haystack of freaks. How could she meet up with someone she barely even had a description of? Jocelyn sighed and clacked down the hallway.What was she even going to say? She thought she would start where Allison suggested and made her way towards the offices in the upper levels of the facility. It was a place she had never been to before. A place, really, that she tried to avoid. She'd heard the stories and seen the kinds of things the management did. She had it bad enough dealing with Sarah. She didn't need more gruff. The Chistralian was feeling a rare bit of nerves wash over her when she stepped out of the elevator. What, exactly, was she even supposed to do? She couldn't just poke her head into doors now could she? That was when she spotted a pink haired girl in a nice looking suit carrying a big stack of papers coming her way. She looked very unintimidating and seemed like she worked up here anyway. Jocelyn approached her.

***************

Mercedes Wrenn, or Mercy as she preferred had worn out a path in the posh carpets of the upper offices with her pacing. She had practically been doing laps for the last forty-five minutes as she seemed to have been doing more and more lately.

"No... no, this is good." Mercy said to herself. "It's like... I can work and workout at the same time. Lifting bulky documents and brisk pacing. I can call it the Paralegal Burn Workout!" Mercy stopped and sighed. It seemed as though the universe had been conspiring against her lately. She thought that she had a cushy gig working for Hilde Von Creuzfeldt and filing away legal documents after her old Boss was fired by, ultimately, her actual boss or boss' boss, Lukretia Von Creuzfeldt. A dreadful woman, Mercy thought, yet very keen and shrewd. The young paralegal was thankful for the buffer that existed between her and the fiery German. Hilde was probably the greatest and most easy going person she had ever met in her life. The girl had even given her a job after Margaret was fired and did so personally out of her own pocket.

But recently, Mercy had noticed a rather ugly and brutish woman stomping around like she owned the place. Her name was Dinah and the only encounter she had had with the woman involved being tied up and broken wine bottles. A single act of bravery, probably the biggest in her life, was the only thing that kept her from being a stain on the wall of a strange spa. When Dinah actually showed up at AFW, the first time Mercy saw her, she ran and hid in the bathroom for an hour. After informing Hilde, who said she was having her own issues with the woman, Mercy took to avoiding Dinah, and the square block around the woman, whenever she was in the building. Her visits seemed to become increasingly frequent which left Mercy to become derelict in her duties out of sheer fear.

Hilde, however nice she was, was starting to feel heat from Lukretia and had been actually getting on her case. She said she would have to let Mercy go if she couldn't finish the important work that Mercy was doing. Mercy dreaded this and so was conflicted between her seeming fait accompli of being forced into the life of a homeless bum and facing down a woman who had no issue with casually kidnapping strangers and probably doing horrible things to them.

She sighed as she looked at the nervous girl who was making disturbingly forced eye contact. Jocelyn was not so threatening to Mercy who adjusted her glasses and put on her "I'm better than you because I am a (future) lawyer" look. It would be nice to dress someone down for a change.

"You aren't supposed to be here." Mercy said matter-of-factly. "This is for employee's only."

"I work for the AFW." Jocelyn said straightening up her posture. She wasn't going to let some pencil push her rub at her.

Mercy was shocked by Jocelyn! She was so... Asian and yet... her voice was so... Australian! Mercy would have marveled if she wasn't so insistent with bossing the girl about. "I don't see you wearing a neon green onesie and I would recognize you if you were office staff. Show me your credentials."

Jocelyn had them. She really did, but at that moment, she just... snapped. Everything with Allison was too much for her and she wasn't going to be pushed around by this desk jockey. She reached out and grabbed a thick handful of Mercy's hair and yanked it hard. Mercy let out a loud, shriek and wriggled in spot, trying to keep the hair from being pulled any further.

"S-Stop! I'll ... this is assault! I'll have you arrested! T-Trespasser!"

"Stuff it!" Jocelyn growled. "You're going to tell me where Dinah Clarkson is. She's a big brut-"

"I know! I Know!"

Mercy frantically yelped out. That name. She'd never forget it as long as she lived. That woman stalked her like a ghost in her nightmares, even if Dinah herself probably never even remembered who Mercy was. Mercy frantically pointed down the hall.
"That way! That way! Arrrggh! D-dammit Let go! She's storming around in front of. Ms. Fortuna's office since Ms. Von Creuzfeldt has refused her!"

Jocelyn shoved Mercy and the paralegal adjusted her suit and ran her fingers through her frazzled hair. Jocelyn didn't even look back as she marched forward, with purpose in her eyes. Now that she had the name and whereabouts, she'd find this woman. That was for sure.

Mercy let out a deep sigh, thankful for not getting physically abused once more. It seemed like these days, life was really putting her in a position where the only relief in her day was good music and a still drink. As Jocelyn dipped out of sight, Mercy decided whether or not to follow her. She was certain there was about to be some level of destruction and witnessing it might brighten her day. But knowing her luck, she'd get caught up in it again. Mercy erred on the side of caution and continued the opposite way. After this, she'd definitely need to hit the bar...

*********

Jocelyn turned the corner. She hoped the pink haired girl's directions were right. Aurelia was someone she HAD had dealings with as the premiere talent developer in AFW. But she had still never been to the girl's office. Still, Jocelyn wasn't looking for her. She needed to speak to Dinah. After a few more tiwsts and turns, she came upon a large, hulking gray haired woman who seemed to be pacing in front of a closed door. This was it. This was her. Jocelyn swallowed hard. She was bigger than expected. Jocelyn took a deep breath and spoke. "Ms. Clarkson? Dinah Clarkson?" Jocelyn had to be quick. "I was told to come visit you. I know a woman named Sarah Watson." Quicker than that! "I don't like her! I thought we might have some things to chat about concerning her!"

"Yes, yes, and when will Ms Fortuna be back?" Asked the tall English woman. She was quite an imposing figure, six feet tall in heels with a sleek weight lifter's build and an utterly uncompromising attitude. Her annoyance with the woman's secretary was evident to anyone in earshot. "How could you not know? Isn't it your job to manage these things? Her schedule? Look, I don't know how things are done here, but it's rather impolite for you to shut me out in this way. Is there no one in this building of any importance who will speak to me?"

Finally her frustration got the better of her and she stomped out of the reception area and back into the hallway. She wasn't used to not getting what she wanted. She didn't like it at all. She hated it, actually, and that is why she always fully intended to get what she wanted.

She was stopped short by the little Chinese girl, almost running her over before she noticed her. She looked down at her and for a moment was confused by the gulf between the girl's appearance and her voice. "Yes..." She said, annoyed, and then she was surprised again by the mention of Sarah's name. She scrutinized Jocelyn suspiciously before cracking a friendly smile.

"You know Sarah, do you? Then you know why I'm not surprised that you don't like her. Who sent you to find me? Someone from the league?" She asked, assuming that finally some AFW management was coming to its senses. "And what exactly do we have to discuss about Sarah? If you've been in the same room with her for more than five minutes, you know everything you need to about her."

Dinah folded her arms and looked again at the little Aussie. She thought for a moment, and then placed her hand on top of Jocelyn's head and ruffled her short black hair. "Yes, actually, let's have ourselves a little chat, shall we? Do you drink coffee, love?" She put her hand on Jocelyn's back and began to guide her down the hall toward the cafe.

Jocelyn gulped as the imposing woman seemed to misunderstand her. Though not in a way, thankfully, that it seemed would earn Jocelyn this beast's ire. She tried to calm herself. She was more nervous than afraid. After what Allison had put her through there didn't seem like much in the way of physical torture that could sway her. But the thought of being physically assaulted like Dinah could snap into a steroid induced rage, as Allison seemed to hint at, was enough to make her throat a little dry.

Still, Dinah already seemed worlds friendlier than Allison. That fact alone made Jocelyn angry. Why couldn't she be infatuated with someone else? Was she still even infatuated? Jocelyn wanted to eagerly shake her head no at the thought.She hated that treacherous vixen. Hated her more than anything. All she wanted to do was destroy her. Erase her from existence. Or at least, that smug sense of self satisfaction she carried around with her. Jocelyn hated that the most. The thought that Allison believed she was better than her. She wasn't.

Jocelyn had almost lost herself in her thoughts until Dinah ruffled her already messy hair. She let out soft gasp and then lifted her eyes upward, giving Dinah an almost puppy dog look. The girl was so big and she was so tiny in comparison, it was undoubtedly cute even though she would have hated herself for doing it, even if by accident.

"I've spent a lot more time than five minutes with that old hag." Jocelyn muttered in as surly a tone as possible. "Yeah, thanks, mate." Jocelyn said to Dinah. A stiff coffee actually sounded pretty good right now. Dinah certainly seemed inviting... and friendly. What was Allison's game? Jocelyn screwed her eyebrows down as she tried to think. There was a catch. Something was wrong. It had to be. Allison wasn't so stupid to let this woman and her team up. She had to be on guard, but it was difficult.

"I... I want to destroy that woman. Utterly." Jocelyn said as she puffed out her small chest as best she could. Next to a behemoth like Dinah, hwoever, it wouldn't amount to much.