Elite Mechanation Force [1] (#Wattys2015)

Changin' Of The Name

Jak walked with an arm around Serphinea's waist, and felt genuinely pleased that he had proven to be the better man to his father. It was relieving to be able to leave, without interference from the parental control. Yet, they wouldn't be able to stop him, because in all essences, he was an adult and moved out now, so those rules no longer applied. He was really his own man now.

She rubbed his side and looked up at him, realizing they'd kind of been walking aimlessly through what now appeared to be town. "Where are we headed, love?" Serphinea asked softly.

"The other destination. I need to change my name." He said and softly rubbed her shoulder and arm in return.

She nodded and they continued to walk. The town was a little busy as people moved around, and did their work. A metal smith's hammer made loud clangs as he must have been formatting new swords, or maybe even repairing Dragon metal. It was completely possible for that to be the case. Other shopkeepers opened their doors to let in the cross breeze that would help chase out the thick, hot desert air. One lady even smiled at them, and displayed a box she was holding; full of exquisite jewelry such as bracelets, rings and necklaces.

"Anything to interest you, dear Sir and Lady?" She asked in a lilting voice, and her smile seemed genuine.

Jakar shook his head at her, giving a soft smile. "No thanks." The lady nodded and went to the next person behind them.

Jak kept her close to avoid men from looking at her the wrong way, just as a male shopkeeper came forward and held a small treat bag. "Would fresh honey roasted nuts interest you, Sir? Lady?"

Serphinea smiled kindly, and took it from him, with a kind, "Thank you."

The man shook his head and gave a bow, "No, thank you." He said before he went back inside to appeal to another customer.

Jak kind of didn't always like town, yes, people were a bit old fashioned here but that wasn't the problem. Modern technology existed because of the Dragons, but these were a group of stubborn individuals who liked to keep the old fire alive, they said. Jak guessed that may be the problem, but then shook his head and snatched a few snack nuts from her. She glared as she ate them herself, half laughing at each other at her own defensiveness.

What irked Jak today, he realized, was the fact he had more people approach them than he ever had when he was alone. People left him alone; knowing he had a temper as was well known as 'Derjet's Son.' Today was different; and a glance at a newsboy's passing flyer told him why.

It was Jakar Vendretta, on the front page, and the paragraph went to describe his crash, and a new photo of the newly rebuilt Enstrali was by it. Except that seemed to be the minor story as he found out, the main story was Derjet's defeat by his prodigal son.

It barely happened an hour ago, and now everyone knew. Jak hissed softly at the next person who tried selling him rugs, and blankets. They backed away and left them alone.

He ran a hand through his hair just once before they reached their final destination; a Corporate's Office; like a modern's secretary of state.

The building was towards the center of town and was made entirely of brown and red brick. It originally had been one of the first buildings to be constructed of brick when the town had first been built.

Jak looked up at it, before he looked at her. "Going in with, or no?" He asked softly..

She glanced from the building to him and shook her head. "No one goes into the Corporate's Office without a need." She said and stretched on her toes to kiss him softly. He gladly returned the gesture, and then when they broke she went, perching herself on a bench after a little saunter in her walk for him, munching away on her nuts.

Jak watched her go before he took the necessary steps into the Office. It wasn't cold in there but the immediate temperature drop was noticeable. Of course, this would be the only building in town to be equipped with air conditioning.

A lady with long blonde hair sat at the main desk, her fingers filtering through a box of files. She didn't look up to him until he was right there. When she did, he saw the warm brown of her eyes meet his.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Vendretta. What brings you here? I'd figure you'd be off celebrating your victory." She said and gave a soft smile.

He shook his head, and shifted his weight slightly. "No, ma'am. I actually came to change my name."

She raised what looked to be a freshly plucked eyebrow. "Of course, Mr. Vendretta. One moment." She quietly muttered before her fingers abandoned the files in front of her and walked over to another file sector, her fingers running through them quickly until they pulled a file from there; the name 'Jakar Revaris Vendretta' clearly printed on it in black ink.

She walked back over and moved the other file box from her desk, before placing his file in front of her. She rifled through what was in it, before reaching over to another box containing blank forms and set that next to her; she then copied down the other necessary information to the blank form.

"And what will you be changing your name to?" She asked and looked up at him.

He pondered only a moment.

"Revar Coress Fravchii." He said, keeping his middle name, only a tad changed.

She nodded and wrote that down. He placed a small amount of money on her desk just as she stamped something over his old file.

"You're all set, Mr. Fravchii." She smiled and then put the files away.

Revar turned and left; the image of her stamping 'deceased' in bold black ink burned into his memory.

Jakar Vendretta was dead.
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