Thoth Law Firm Episode 1

Foster Hawking sat in his office, speaking to a mimic sitting across from him. She lacked a treasure chest, and thus looked like an ordinary woman. She peered around nervously as she spoke, as is typical of a mimic who has lost her box.
"I'm sorry," Foster told her, looking over his papers, "There's no form of alimony or compensation you can seek against your ex-lover. You were never formally married to him, as far as the law is concerned, you are just a spurned lover."
"But, he unlocked my chest! I'm homeless, I have no more magic, I've developed this facial tic!" she pointed at her face. Her left eye twitched wildly, "This isn't fair! He just turns around and abandons me after destroying my life!"
Foster sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry, Miss Tandry, but sticking one's penis into the keyhole of a treasure chest is neither illegal nor a legally-binding marriage. I feel for you, I really do…but the law is on his side, this would be a losing case. You are already in a financially precarious position, our legal fees here at Thoth will more than bankrupt you…how much did you say you had in the bank again?"
"I have some veneer and gold paneling in a safe deposit box…" she said, looking ashamed.
Foster reached across the table and took the woman's hands, "Take that gold paneling, sell it, and use the money to get back on your feet. What he did was cruel, but unfortunately he broke no laws. Understand?"
She sighed, "Yeah…thanks for nothing."
She stood up and opened Foster's office door. She slammed it behind her. Foster sighed. He straightened out Ms. Tandry's papers and moved his wheeled office chair to file them.
The door to his office suddenly slammed back open. It was so loud, he dropped his papers all over the floor. It was his boss, Abasi, an anubis. Abbey for short. She was a bitch, speaking both figuratively and literally. Harsh, demanding, and had an issue with micromanaging. She owned the law firm. Her skin was lighter than the average anubis, probably because of her professional lifestyle. She also wore business attire but nonetheless adorned herself with gaudy gold jewelry.
"Hawking!" she demanded his attention, he looked up at her, "What is this mess on your floor? Keep it clean, we're a company, look professional."
Foster kneeled to pick up the papers.
"I'm speaking, Hawking! Look at me when I'm speaking to you!" she demanded.
Foster looked at her, frustrated at her contradictory orders.
"We've got another case, I need you to cover it," she threw a file on Foster's desk.
Foster rolled over and flipped it open, "A dryad??"
The first picture in the folder was of a dryad, lazily sitting up in her tree, looking irritated at the photographer.
"Riverflight Freesister," Abbey explained, "She's your average dryad. Lives in a tree, likes her solitude, wildly attacks anyone who threatens the forest."
"Charming," Foster snarked.
"Not at all, dryads are dirty hippies and need to crawl down off their high horse."
"High tree."
"Not this one, she's only a few feet off the ground," she clearly missed Foster's sarcasm, "She's been squatting a large chunk of land that has been legally purchased by a housing company who wants to pave it for development. She attacks anyone who even comes close."
Foster flipped the page to see several pages of her victims. Most of them were children with red welts on their behinds. Yikes.
"So, this seems like a open and shut case, we get her for assault and trespassing," Foster closed the file confidently.
"Wrong again, Hawking," the anubis crossed her arms, "We're defending her."
"Fu--damn, that's not going to be easy," Foster placed a palm on the side of his head with worry.
"Not at all," Abbey looked at Foster with a stern look, "The forest in question is absolutely lousy with hippies protesting the prosecution. There's definitely some support for the tree-hugger. You just need to appeal to the jury's emotional side, which is why I chose you."
"What?"
"The jury eats up emotional pleas when they're made by men," Abbey said fiendishly.
"Great, I'm a mascot," Foster groaned.
"Yep, now get out there and look pretty," Abbey told him as she turned and left his office.
"I can sue for sexual harassment, you know," Foster called out after her.
Her voice faded as she walked away, "Good luck finding another employer!"
Foster sighed, this was his life. Sweeping legal changes made recently to promote 'equality between humans and mamono' meant that a lot of positions in law opened up. It was only after he went to college and passed the bar that he realized that most of these positions were for monster firms. It took him forever to find one that did not focus exclusively on rape defense cases and was also willing to hire a human. So she had a point. He was stuck there. But Thoth Law Firm was also known for taking a number of human cases as well, so at least he was actually promoting the equality thing.
He flipped open the folder again, reading up on the details. Assault, assault, assault, public nudity, assault. This dryad…
Foster lowered the folder, jumping in surprise when he saw a member of the undead staring at him with a heavily-bandaged face.
"Holy shit!" he shouted before thinking.
It was only Akila. She moved so silently, as she always did, that Foster did not hear her enter his office.
"She might not say this to your face, but she thinks you did a great job letting that mimic down," Akila stated, a single pink eye peering out of her bandages. Long blue hair protruded wildly out of her head bandages. She was Abasi's gofer, but was several times nicer than Abbey.
"Does anyone know how to knock??" Foster demanded, straightening out his papers.
"S-sorry," she stuttered, "I just thought you'd want to know."
She turned to leave.
"Akila!" he protested, "Don't get so touchy. I'm just having one of those days. Did you get new bandages?"
She turned back to Foster, "Y-yes…I think the faded gray color compliments my eyes better than my yellow and white bandages, don't you think?"
Those damn yellow bandages gave Foster a headache, but he would not exactly say gray compliments anyone's features.
"Sure," he nonetheless told her, "It's good to see you coming out of your shell."
Her social awkwardness meant any attempt on her part to seem appealing should be encouraged. She blushed at his words.
"By the way, I think Abasi was serious about picking up those papers…" Akila pointed out the Tandry papers Foster had left on the floor. Foster had forgotten completely. He sighed.

Foster stepped out of his car, pulling his briefcase out of the passenger seat. He looked at the large span of forest land before him. There were a number of dirty protesters standing out front. Barefoot, bearded, and indistinguishable from the homeless. Many of them were insect girls as well.
He approached, a hornet girl shot out of the crowd and landed in front of him. She slammed an open palm onto his chest to prevent his approach. In spite of the force she put into the palm, it seemed she was trying her best to be gentle.
"What are you doing here, suit?" she asked him, surface bubbling with aggression.
"It's good to see that they've got you trained," Foster told her with a smile. It took her a second, but she eventually processed what he meant and looked very pissed. Before she could react, he pushed forward a bunch of papers he had been digging in his briefcase for, "As you can see here, I am Freesister's lawyer. I must speak to my client immediately."
"Listen here, smart guy…" she began.
"It is critical that I speak with her before the hordes of construction workers appear on her front door and you fine people are pepper-sprayed by law enforcement…"
She suddenly looked very concerned.
"Alright! That's enough Juniper," an ant girl approached the hornet and patted her abdomen, "This is the lawyer, he's on our side."
"He's got a smart mouth," Juniper said.
"Yes, that's what lawyers do, Juni," she assured the angry hornet, "If we're lucky, his mouth will be smart enough to protect our forest."
The hornet buzzed off. The ant girl turned towards Foster, "Mr. Hawking!"
"Foster."
"Foster, such a pretty surname. My name is Sunny," she gave him a curtsy and a few playful bats of her eyelashes, "Pardon the unwashed masses, not all of the denizens of the forest are of the highest quality such as myself. I'll show you the way to Riverflight."
She turned and skittered away past the crowd, which parted before her. Foster followed.
"My surname is actually Hawking…" Foster tried to explain, "I was offering to keep the conversation more casual…"
"Mr. Foster, have you ever bedded an alraune?" Sunny asked suddenly.
"W-what? No…" Foster replied, "Is that the proper word? Bedded?"
"Have you ever watched as a colony of ants worked day and night to build a grand and beautiful city underneath the soil made only of materials salvaged from the womb of mother Earth?" she followed up.
"I'm sorry, Miss Sunny," Foster ducked under a hanging spider web, watching the Arachne staring down at him with hungry eyes, "I'm afraid I don't know what point you're trying to illustrate for me."
She stopped and suddenly turned around to face Foster, "There was a certain lifestyle upheld in forests like these, all over the world. One by one they get struck down, and the natives are sent to distant, unfamiliar lands, or forced to…"
She shivered visibly, this next line apparently has some unpleasant connotation with her, "…assimilate."
"Spooky," Foster said sarcastically.
"Every single person you see living in this forest is the proud follower of a lifestyle that's been around since the dawn of history," she explained with passion in her little black eyes, "From the hardworking honey bee to the men who come here looking for an escape from your so-called 'civilized' world."
"We call them hippies, and they're kinda like worker ants that sleep all day instead of finding food…" Foster explained to her.
She gave him a long look, suddenly looking distasteful, "Ugh, really? We thought they were on some kind of spiritual quest…but them being lazy, that explains a lot. Oh my queen…"
She looked as if she was having a severe existential crisis, "Our colony is getting the laziest of your human men?"
"Oh, yes, absolutely," Foster nodded vigorously, "Lust for freedom is largely just an excuse they use to get out of earning their keep. You've probably greatly watered down your gene pool with their sedentary traits…are we going to continue to Mrs. Freesister?"
Sunny looked very concerned, as if some great responsibility had been suddenly thrust upon her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Foster--
"Hawking."
"Mr. Hawking, I must go, my people need me. We are currently standing underneath the canopy of Riverflight's mighty tree. Please just rap upon the trunk and she will lift you to her," she scuttled away.
Foster watched after her as she left him in the middle of a mamono-infested forest. He turned to the wide trunk of the tree. He knocked on it a few times with a knuckle. A number of vines suddenly snaked down from above and pulled him into a strong bind. They lifted him into the air, far faster than he was comfortable with.
He was held before an angry, homeless-looking old Dryad. She glared at him expectantly, "What?!"
"I am Mr. Foster Hawking…" Foster introduced himself, "I am your lawyer…"
"Hmph," she scoffed, "I didn't want a lawyer. That bossy ant queen raised the money to hire you."
"Please, I'm only here to protect you from the outside world," Foster explained, "I speak their language, I'll be the one who talks to them so you don't…"
She looked unsatisfied with him, but nonetheless continued to listen.
"Well…as you know, very soon the housing development company is going to be busting down your door to claim the land they've purchased legally according to modern law…"
"There are no laws, only nature. They want to take this forest, they'll have to do it without hiding behind their precious laws. Laws have no power here!"
"Perhaps you are correct…but by your implication, they would have to take it from you by force…"
"Absolutely. They'll have to pry this forest from my cold, dead--
"During World War 2, a weapon referred to as a flamethrower saw heavy use in trench warfare. As the name implies, it was a device that literally threw flames over a distance. The weapon has since fallen into disuse, but the design could no doubt be improved and optimized to be far more effective than it was," Foster spoke quickly.
"I…uh…" the dryad looked very concerned but was unable to conjure the words.
"In the next big war, a powerful defoliant known as 'Agent Orange' was used heavily in Vietnam to kill entire swaths of forested land…" Foster continued, "It, again, has fallen into disuse. There are no doubt much stronger versions out there now…"
The dryad was rendered completely speechless.
"I don't mean to be impudent, Mrs. Freesister. But I want to make quite clear that you are most certainly playing by their rules…lest you face the scourge of vicious chemical agents and long-range fire-based weaponry. Neither of which anyone is fond of, particularly you."
The vines binding Foster grew tighter. Nobody likes being driven into a corner.
"I am, of course, here to protect you! The American legal system is pretty mellow! You just need to give it a chance!" he protested as he gasped for air, "Listen! Put me down, and I'll discuss with you our plea!"
The vines suddenly came undone, Foster landed clumsily onto a large branch perpendicular to the one she was straddling. He straightened and began preening his attire.
"Is the outside world really so barbaric?!" she demanded.
"Do not lecture me on barbarism, Mrs. Freesister," Foster told her as he checked his suit for rips, "There was a time when this same forest was no doubt the site of a roving band of orcs who took up camp here and proceeded to violently rape the men they had captured…"
"Simpler times," she groaned.
"Given," Foster conceded, "But also keep in mind that the housing company that wishes to claim this land is owned and run by a family of Inari. So humans are not your enemy here…"
Foster popped open his briefcase, "Now, I've written up a plea that I believe will be effective in convincing the court of your right to this land. As I'm sure you're unaware of modern law, I will explain the best I can."
He pulls out a series of papers, "Land claimed by mamono natives is considered to be their property and can only be purchased with their consent. This law is as old as sin. However, once purchased for whatever fee the natives consider to be fair, the land is transferred to the purchaser, and is taxed and regulated like any normal plot of land."
Foster flipped open one of the papers, "However, it says here that the Inari family purchased this land for a pittance from a tribe of orcs who had claim over the land. They had, of course, conquered the land and had been living on it for generations. Once purchased, the money was distributed, and the orcs given a five-year period to vacate it. Five years passed, the orcs were gone. The Inari family, however generous as their five-year time limit was, had completely forgotten about the land, having moved onto other investments. The land went ignored, though still legally the property of the Inari family, for a century…"
"What does this have to do with us? You snooze you lose!"
"Your familiarity with that modern proverb aside, that is not the case," Foster explained calmly, "You see, the land ''still'' belongs to the Inari family. They purchased it after all. It might seem incomprehensible that someone may reclaim something they forgot they had for generations from a group of people who are currently using it, but that's the way it is unfortunately…"
"And if we refuse to give up our home?" she asked, having apparently forgotten.
"They will send in any forces necessary to ''take'' it from you," Foster reminded her, "But, there is good news, the Inari family cares very deeply about its public image. They would like to resolve this peacefully, with everyone being happy if possible."
"They've burned that choice."
"They'll burn more than that," Foster stated, "Anyway, I will be your legal representative, and all I really came here for was to get your signature that I represent your interests and my actions are taken on your behalf."
"I refuse…"
"Just sign he--you refuse?" Foster looked about ready to pack up and get the hell out of there.
"I will be sending my husband to represent me, he knows me better than anyone else," she explained.
"Oh, well, that's actually better," Foster smiled at her. At least it meant that if her husband majorly screwed up, he would be responsible, not Foster.
Riverflight pushed away from the tree, exposing a large, deep knot underneath her. A crazed, half-starved man peeked out from the knot.
"Deejee markey, fleener??" the man asked. At least Foster assumed he was asking a question. His inflection was definitely that of a question.
He hoisted himself out of the tree. His orange hair was wild and dirty as hell, forming natural dreadlocks. His eyes sparkled with a youthful blue color, but he nonetheless looked like he just came back from a long night of biting the heads off of squirrels. Also, he was completely nude. The rest of his body looked absolutely disgusting, matted with dirt and grime. Except his groin area, which was suspiciously clean.
He walked over and clutched Foster's hand with his and shook it vigorously, "Baiyo, janmar, ferny fern."
"He doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on English," Foster pointed out.
"He speaks with his heart, you must listen with yours to hear him," she explained.
"Wart wart wart wart," he said.
"I think he wants an energy sword…" Foster guessed.

Foster returned to the office, greeting the Sphinx receptionist. Actually, given that she did not wear any traditional Egyptian garb or jewelry, she was indistinguishable from a werecat. Her hair was golden and, unlike Abbey, she maintained her tan.
"Have you got an appointment?" she asked reflexively.
"Dalila, it's me…" Foster said with exasperation, "If you actually looked up from your computer every now and then…"
"Uh-huh…" she acknowledged him loosely.
"Hawking!" Abbey called out, coming from inside the office building, "Have you made any progress on the dryad case??"
"She refused to sign me as her legal representative," Foster broke the news.
"You what?!" she stomped forward, "You couldn't even get that far?!"
"She insisted someone else represent her…her husband."
Abbey's anger faded, "Well, that's even better, where the hell is he?"
The crazed man smashed through the outer doors and began knocking over potted plants and office supplies.
"Do you have an appointment?" Dalila asked casually.
The man continued to gnaw on the Dalila's desk lamp as Abbey turned back to Foster.
"He have a name?" she asked.
"Whenever I ask his name, he says 'Pig click,'" Foster explained.
"Mr. Click, I order you to stop destroying our office," Abbey told the wild man.
He obviously paid her no mind, rubbing his genitalia upon Dalila's chair.
"I think the decades spent locked in a tree having wild sex with one woman has had deleterious effects on his mental capacities," Foster pointed out.
Pig Click orgasmed from his chair frottage, spraying Dalila's head with semen. She seemed to snap out of her bored reverie to look around curiously for the source of a smell.

Foster sat in the meeting room preparing to meet the prosecution. Pig Click drummed his hands wildly on the table. Akila spoke casually to Foster, sitting next to him. She wore those headache-inducing yellow bandages.
"And then she spilled coffee on them, and I had to go home and get my yellow ones…" Akila explained.
"Shanna Shanna! Baba! Gendarme dickstitch!" PC shouted excitedly in tune with his music.
"That's a new record," Foster pointed out, "I think he said something at the end there…wasn't pleasant, but it's something."
The prosecution stepped inside around that moment. It was a weresheep, Foster did not recognize her. Her eyes were a shimmering green, cute. She had her client with her, an Inari. The Inari had light green hair and brown eyes. Goddamn technicolor monsters.
They both sat across from the Thoth crew.
"Glad you could make it. My name is Michelle Dabney. This is Aina Yoshida," the weresheep said in a surprisingly sultry voice, "My client was hoping to settle out of court, if that sits well with you."
"That is absolutely bearable," Foster assured her, "I've already read through the case, and fully grasp the situation. We are prepared to call upon adverse possession laws to defend the property from seizure."
"Squatter's rights?" Michelle raised an eyebrow, "That's bold."
"Bold is what we're calling it?" Aina looked displeased, "I would have gone with entitled."
"No no, there are reasons behind squatter's rights Aina," Michelle pointed out, "It promotes productive use of the land by taking it from those who would neglect it, which the Yoshida family has been doing, without a doubt."
"Miss Dabney, you are on my side…"
"But, in order to call for adverse possession, the land would have to have been under exclusive ownership by the person claiming the property…" Michelle continued, ignoring her client.
"Wopper yams, killopillow sharkdyne!" PC slammed a fist on the table passionately.
"Who is this?" Michelle asked with concern.
"It's…err," Foster tripped over his words, "It's Riverflight's husband, he represents her interests. But Mrs. Freesister has been living on the property for several decades, and has been doing so openly. She protects the property, and uses it effectively."
"That is where you're wrong, Mr. Hawking," Michelle corrected him. So she knew his name, but he did not originally know hers. "The property is communal. A number of individuals live on that property. Riverflight is the only one who seems to claim openly that it is her land. People have come and gone, and it's only rather recently that she's begun this rather offensive display of possessiveness."
"Tell him about the ants," the Aina demanded with excitement.
"The colony of ants that are also squatting the land, also demanded squatter's rights," Michelle stated.
Foster slammed his hands on the table, "What?!"
"Their queen sent a representative to get legal representation for their area of land…they wish to sell," Michelle revealed with a serious face. In fact, the look on her face was one of…pity. Foster's case was slowly falling apart in his hands, and she did not like being the one to do it.
"In fact…the Yoshida family is very wealthy."
"And generous," Aina added, or perhaps corrected.
"And they've extended offers to a number of different residents of the forest, and less than ten percent are unwilling to part with their share of the land," Michelle continued, "At this rate, Riverflight is going to be a small dot, surrounded by land owned by Yoshida."
"It's a small price to pay to have this resolved peacefully," Aina grinned maliciously, "But we have an offer that is quite generous…"
Michelle slid Foster a sheet of paper turned upside-down. He lifted it and gave it a look. It was almost $100,000. Foster calmly placed the sheet back down.
"I will need to speak with Riverflight's representative about this…" he said calmly.
He whipped Pig Click quickly to the side, "Listen, guy, you probably don't understand me, but you have to say yes…can you do that?"
"Greenjop haberclikk," he muttered silently.
"If we sign right here, you can pocket enough money to buy a nice plot of land, raise a few kids, send them to college…" Foster realized how silly he was being, "Forget all that, just say yes…"
"Weeb."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," Foster repeated, hoping the man would say it simply out of mimicry.
"Yes," he finally repeated.
Foster pumped a fist before turning back to the prosecution.
"My client has reached a conclusion…" Foster stated, elbowing PC once.
"Gofuckahorse!" he said quickly.
Foster's face completely drained of color, but he kept his composure and kept the smile pasted on his face, "He has issues with English, sorry, could you tell them what you actually think?"
"Nevah!"
That sounded exceedingly close to 'never.' Aina stood and lifted the paper from the table.
"I can see we're going to have to drag you through the courts for this…" she said vindictively, "I hope you enjoy your last night in that tree, because we're going to make this as painful as possible."
She stomped out of the room. Michelle turned to Foster with a sad look in her eye, "The court date is set for tomorrow…she pulled a lot of strings. She wants this resolved as quickly as possible."
She stood and held out her hand. Foster shook it.
"Sorry it had to be this way, we'll see you in court."
After she left, Foster collapsed back into his chair, holding his head with his hand. Akila looked at him with concern, "You couldn't have known that was happening…that Yoshida family is quick to throw money at all of their problems…"
"We almost settled…that was the best we could hope for…"
"Why didn't you just accept on her behalf?"
"Goddammit, Akila, she didn't give me that right…" Foster snapped, "And now you get to go back to Abbey and tell her how I completely flubbed this case. I know that's why she sent you here…"
Akila looked hurt. Foster sighed, "Dammit…"

Foster returned to the forest and was lifted into Riverflight's tree.
"I have bad news," Foster began.
"Save it…my children have betrayed me, they all sold out," she growled.
"Oh, you already know…tell me, what would you say if I told you that you were offered almost $100,000 in exchange for your portion of the land?"
"I'd say turn it down, I'm not a whore," she retorted.
"Well, that was a freebie," Foster muttered, "You have no choice, it seems. You either have to sell, or we're going to court tomorrow and they're going to take it from you."
"What's the point? Everyone else has sold out…why did I even bother protecting them?"
Foster sighed, sitting down on his branch and leaning against the tree trunk, "If you want, we can try to settle…have them cover your legal fees and pay to have your tree safely uprooted and moved to another location…they'll definitely take it, it'll make them look good.
"I don't want them to look good," she hissed, "They'll have to pry my ass screaming from this land, and I want everyone to see it…"
"What about your husband?" Foster reminded her.
"Oh yes, where is he, by the way?"
"He's in jail, I forgot to put the child safety locks on. He dove out of my car, broke into a bakery, and started eating all the cupcakes…"
"He always had a sweet tooth…"
The two of them sighed, distraught.
"How would you like to become a children's park?" they heard a voice call out to them. Foster leaned over and peered over the side of the tree. It was Michelle, she was standing at the base of the tree.
"What?" Foster questioned her presence.
"I said, how would she li--
"I heard you, I meant what are you doing here?"
"My client had a change of heart. She's willing to include a rather large park in her housing development for children and dogs…" she explained, "Mrs. Freesister happens to be exactly where that park is. I've come here to offer you one last bargain."
Freesister looked at Foster expectantly.
"She's good, bring her up…" Foster told her.
The dryad hoisted the weresheep up and plopped her unceremoniously next to Foster. She stood and brushed herself off.
"Not exactly a warm welcome," she pointed out.
"What's your offer now?" Freesister demanded.
"You will sign the land over to her, she will have rights to develop it. In exchange, you will be safe, she will forfeit any right to make you leave," she stated, speaking directly to Riverflight, "You will be treated like a regular resident in one of her houses, but you will not be charged."
"That sounds awfully generous," Foster pointed out partially to Riverflight, partially because he had his suspicions.
"I won't have to move? I can stay here? My tree is safe?" the dryad asked.
"Yes, you can have Mr. Hawking here review the exact terms of the contract and search it for loopholes…" she held out a folder for Foster. He snapped it up and began to read through it.
"It's almost airtight, but you didn't mention this…says she will act as security…" Foster pointed out.
"There was some talk of Mrs. Freesister acting as a deterrent to hooligans and serving as a night watch…she would like to put you to ''some'' use, but in all honesty, this is a negligible trade…since you were already doing that," Michelle explained.
"So I get to whack anyone trying to cause trouble in my forest?"
"It won't be a forest anymore…it'll be a neighborhood. With children and pets and families…but yes, if anyone were to try and lower the property values of this area, you would be in charge of delivering a swift dose of justice to their hindquarters…" Michelle seemed to have a sense of humor. That sense of humor was deadpan.
Riverflight grinned maliciously, "Can I do this now? If I sign that paper or whatever, it's done? No take backs?"
"This contract is legally binding and you're surrounded by notaries," Foster pointed out, "Sign the damn thing before some squirrel takes it or lightning strikes!""
He offered her a pen and she signed it quickly in all the places he pointed. He sighed with relief, returning his pen to his pocket. He had been having a long string of bad luck lately.
"It's done…our legal discourse is now concluded," Michelle nodded at them, "I'll be taking our copy back to our legal offices now…"
Foster handed her the copy. She let her hand linger on his as she accepted it. He looked up at her curiously, she gave him a warm smile. She pulled the papers from his hand.
"I'll see you around, Foster," she said as the vines lowered her to the ground.
Foster brushed the fingers of the hand she touched together curiously, looking after her as she exited the forest. He turned to the dryad, holding out some papers to her, "This is your copy…keep it somewhere safe."
"You going to tap that, or what?" she asked as she took the papers and placed them in her knothole.
He cleared his throat, "What? Michelle? She is a fine woman, any romantic energy you sensed was just kind professionalism…anyway! Mrs. Freesister, our business is concluded," he gave her a nod, "I would like to be lowered now so that I may follow up on the arrest of your husband…"

The next week, Foster wrapped up his paperwork for the day. He filed them and gave himself a nice, long stretch. It had been a full day, he stepped out of his office and walked down and out the front door of Thoth Law Firm. He made his way over to the parking lot, only to see a familiar face.
Michelle looked at at him. She had been leaning casually against his car, apparently waiting for him to exit.
"You look exhausted," she pointed out.
"Miss…Dabney…" he barely remembered, "What brings you here?"
"You never called…" she said, looking serious.
"Umm…I'm afraid I don't know your number," he told her.
"You…" she slapped her forehead, "Dammit, I knew I was being too subtle…it was written on the back of…you know what. Nevermind. I just needed to know why, now I know. You have any idea how much I over thought this??"
Foster looked all-around confused. He knew what this was, he was just in denial.
Michelle strode over to him and stood very close. She looked him square in the eyes with her twinkling emeralds, "Now that I know why you never called. Tell me this, if you had known about the phone number, would you have?"
Foster reached up and scratched his neck nervously, laughing a bit.
"Well, I mean…you're very beautiful, a good lawyer…I mean, I guess I would have…thought about it…" he sputtered.
She moved in for a forceful kiss, it hit Foster like a ton of bricks. After the initial surprise faded, he went with it, accepting it.
When she pulled back from it, she spoke, "Make of that what you want…I think you're an attractive, passionate, caring man. At least judging from the way you handled that case. I'd like to see more of you."
She held up a slip of paper under her nose, it was her business card. She peered over it at him, her eyes sparkling.
"Don't lose this one, promise?" she told him with a grin.
He nodded, dumbstruck. She reached down with both hands and lifted his arm. She clutched the card in his hand and gave it a firm shake.
"I'll see you around, Foster," she reiterated, this time abundantly more clear with her intentions.
Foster watched her hips sway as she returned to her car and left.
He stood there for a while before his phone rang. He answered it.
"Grannerfleeb pocketjeeb!" the voice on the other end demanded. At least it sounded demanding.
"Yes, yes. Pig, we've managed to get them to drop the charges, calm down. How did you get my number?!" Foster shouted into the phone.