Tiny Tales Tuesday: The Hunt

So, once again, I am posting my entry into the 5MinuteFiction contest, this week hosted by R.B. Wood on his blog. The prompt today was Pub, and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!

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The Hunt


The sounds and smells of the pub wafted on the breeze to Jin’s ears and nose. People chatting and laughing, corned beef and bitter, and a slight undercurrent of tension. It made her sigh. She hated going into public places like this to get her job done. These were just folk, trying to unwind after a day’s hard work. The clacking of billiards struck her next. She paused. That might make a good cover. She nodded, and concentrated.

She checked herself in the reflection of the darkened window. The disguise spell wasn’t perfect, but it hid her sharp elf ears enough. She never did understand the human fascination with denim. It was nowhere near as comfortable as soft leather, she though. Still, it did allow her to fit in, and the human males always liked to see her in it. She nodded again, then entered the pub.

The few patrons by the door stopped their conversations briefly to look at her, then quickly returned to them. Just another thirsty worker on her way home. She headed to the bar to order a pint, then acted surprised as she saw the billiards table. She took a subtle breath in, and could smell what she was looking for in here, but couldn’t see it anywhere. Hopefully, the overwhelming smells of the place that prevented her from getting a good read would disguise her as well.

She took her pint, headed over to the table, and threw a twenty pound note into the middle of it, causing the two men playing to stop and look up at her.

“Can a lady join in?” she asked.

For a brief second, one of the men’s eye’s flashed a deep purple, then returned to the blue they were before. He smiled at her, his canine teeth prominent and glinting. A hound. Her target was here, and this man was it’s bodyguard. And no doubt he now had her sent and knew who she was.

“Of course,” the hound said, pushing the human he had been playing with aside.

He started to rack the balls. This game was going to be interesting, she thought.