The door swung into the tiny little room. Two burly tigers strode through it, taking up positions on either side of it. In their wake followed a much smaller man, a unicorn with pure white fur and blue eyes, in a fine white suit that was as distinct from the darker, simpler dress of the tigers as his body was from theirs.

The tigers glared at the room’s other occupant, a similarly large black dragon. The unicorn, on the other hand, seemed to hardly notice anybody else there at all, sauntering over the wooden floor with a light clatter of hooves. He ran a finger along the bare surface of a side table and held it up, as though inspecting for dust.

“I suppose,” he said at last, in a voice heavy with resignation, “you’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

(more…)