Crunching Numbers [Nako]

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Marsallo Binx scurried along cobblestone streets, passing tall, ancient oaks as he searched for the address he'd been given. Giving little pause to consult passersby for the time, he knew he was already late. He cursed his foul luck as he propped himself up against one of the grand oaks to catch his breath, while scanning the fancy houses for the appropriate number. At last he'd spotted it! And with a sudden cheer that startled everyone around him, Binx raced down the path, completely oblivious of his own outburst.

Instead, Binx was focused on the path to the door. There were fifty-seven stones in the path, and three times he tripped by letting one of his hindpaws slip between the cracks. In sum this amounted to fourteen complete tumbles today, only two of which had resulted in the young mouse being back on his feet at the end. All in all, by the time he knocked on the door (four times), he was a haggard, and unkempt mess.

[Nako]

Merlin was not one to obsess over time, but even he found himself looking to the clock on the wall. Normally those accountant types were quite prompt, especially it would mean a check in their pocket. Perhaps he'd lost his way?

Archimedes gave a warning hiss from her perch in the corner, leering at the door just before four tiny knocks were placed upon the wooden door. Standing up from his seat, his wings stretched out to allow all the bone and muscle to fall into place. It felt like he'd been sitting down for too long already, and had hours more of it upon him.

"In a moment!" He called out, dipping into the kitchen just long enough to put the water back on the boiler. His suit materialized on a chest that was blank just moments ago. A Seven of Hearts.. a modest rank yet worthy of some respect if only because of its crimson hue. It was a mark he'd been placing upon his chest for a long time.

Finally, his tall, brooding frame would make its way to the door, pulling it open to look outside. For a moment he blinked, staring out into the open air before his gaze traveled downward. A quadruped... he hadn't entirely expected that. When he'd been told of this man who was so good with numbers he'd expected someone with a more.. distinguished appearance. This man was disheveled, his mane tussled oddly atop his head and his fur a mess.

"Ah... hello. May I help you? He wasn't entirely convinced that this was the man he was waiting for. So unkempt and out of breath.

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Binx tilted his head back and gazed up at the tall wolfish looking heart. Suddenly becoming aware of how out of sorts he looked, Binx rose clumsily onto his hindlegs and scrambled to try to straighten his fur with a series of motions he'd seen humanoids do in order to set their hair in order. This, of course, did not go nearly half as well as he'd planned (closer to about 17% as well as he'd planned he'd later note) and the end result was the young mouse toppling over backward and nearly falling down the stairs.

"Eh heh, sorry," he chirped. "Marsallo Binx, at your service sir," he said, lowering his head, not bothering to attempt the farce of a bipedal stance again.

"They uh, said you called for an accountant...?" he asked, fidgeting uncontrollably.

[Nako]

Merlin gave a soft, near derisive sniff, thumbing the end of his nose. "Ah... well, yes then. Come in." He gestured with a flick of his claw for the mouse to follow him in. No more than half a second after the mouse scurried in, Merlin shut the door behind him, bolting each of the five locks that ran down the length of the door. He did so without much suspicion to his action, but rather a practiced habit that the Avington did so with little thought.

The Jubjub jeered from her perch, flaring her wings and snaking her mostly bald head in a menacing manner. The chain, so obviously latching her to her perch, rattled ominously.

"Archimedes, be polite. This is a guest." Though it was doubtful the beast actually understood the words coming from its master, the wave of his hand stilled it for the most part even though it turned a constant baleful eye on what she had deemed an intruder in her domicile.

"Ah... aherm.. I hadn't known the path from the Accounting Firm was so.. ah.. treacherous. Aha.. a-hoot!" Despite himself, the tall biped gave way to a small bout of owlish amusement, of which he hastily cleared his throat of. "Perhaps you'd like to clean yourself up a bit? The washroom is down the hall. Do you like tea, Mr. Binx?"

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Binx looked timid for a moment. He was being offered tea? After arriving late and in such a poor state? In the past few days such circumstances typically resulted in him being put out the front door without payment and definitely without snacks. Still, it was quite a tempting offer...

"Uh, yes, tea would be quite nice sir," Binx said. He glanced up at Archimedes with curiosity, but did not comment on it's presence. "If you'll just excuse me for a few moments..." he said, and scurried down the hall to the washroom. He returned very quickly, eager to appear prompt and attentive, despite his lateness.

"Now, Sir," Binx said, sitting on his haunches. "What sort of accounting services do you require? I assure you I am quite well versed and well experienced despite my size. I'm a bit of a natural with numbers you see."

[Nako]

Well, at least with the worst of the carriage dust out of his fur, Mr. Binx now looked slightly more presentable. Merlin poured both himself and his guest a cup before settling down in a seat next to the great pile of papers before them. Well, at least they were neat enough piles. Their orderliness though seemed to only get worse every time he went through them.

"Ah well my friend, I've never known size to matter in accounting! That is, unless it represents the size of my bank account! Aha, hoo-hoot!" Fully pleased with his own lame joke, he gestured to the stack of papers.

"I've thrice went through these papers myself, and each time these numbers have not added up. For all I know, I'm not carrying the 'one' or some other such nonsense. Either way, they are all accounted for. I've been rather meticulous on keeping dates on all paperwork I keep. But you see, I know for a fact that I've made a particular amount of profit, as I've received that much money over the year, and have accounted for the bills I've paid... but the number that I've supposedly made is larger than what was put down into my bank account. So before I go pointing fingers at any of my associates in business, I need to quadruple check to make sure this is not an error on my part."

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Marsallo listened intently as Merlin explained the situation, flinching visibly at the hooting sound he made when he laughed. In fact he nearly jumped out of his skin. Fortunately the other card seemed to attribute the jumpy motion with Marsallo's already neurotic behavior.

"Yes yes, very well then, a total you wish, a total you shall have sir!" he beamed, then hopped up onto the desk and began rapidly searching through the stack of papers.

First he produced twelve stacks of documents, one for each month, then placed each of these in order by date, and with practiced ease, the little rodent finally showed the true nature of his skill. In a little under an hour he'd produced a fine graph. One line showed the gross take each week, the other the total expenses, and a third line in the backdrop showed the steady rise of the total profit over time. At last he presented the graph to Merlin.

"Your results, sir," he said, grinning cheerfully.

[Nako]

Merlin gingerly accepted the paperwork, scouring over the numbers. "Hm. This is what I was afraid of. You of course, probably knows what this means."

With a heavy sigh, picked up a paperclip and fastened the works together, setting them back down upon a clear spot on the table. The thought of having to deal with the authorities was... unpleasant, but this was one of the few legitimate businesses he ran, and under his true name. There was no way he was going to risk his reputation by doing things 'under the table'.

"Taking this to the authorities is obviously the next step. Would you be willing to testify for me when this is evaluated? Considering you are a licensed for this sort of work, your validation is near priceless in an investigation, which is certainly will become. I cannot allow this to continue under my nose any longer." Nor could he let the person who was ripping him off get away scott free. He grimaced at the thought. Yes.. He'd have to tread carefully let the person catch wind of his suspicion.