[Gallagher]

"Mousse!" The click of the lock, a clink of dishes, and the clack of heels against wood were the only sounds in the room. "Où es-tu?" Lucienne took delicate steps around her work space, an atrocious plastic tarp covering the floor where the Savonnerie replica had lain, to set a tray of tea and snacks down on the circular table in the corner of the room. Silverplated, she had noted with disdain. Real silver was nowhere to be found, despite the neatly marbled washroom and ample toile de Jouy fabrics all across the suite. As charming as the city of Avignon was, the La Mirande had not reached Lucienne's expectations in the least. The only benefits thusfar were the size of the suite, which was absolutely necessary if she was going to spend more than a single day there, and that the cathedral was a mere three minutes away.

A rustle of cloth led Luci into the bedroom, where a mountain of blankets squirmed, some already halfway onto the floor. She huffed a little laugh as a black nose poked out from one of the folds. "Pardon, am I interrupting?" she asked, pulling a blanket away from her dog's face. A tilt of his head was the only answer. She arched a delicately plucked eyebrow and lifted him from the bed, then turned back to the sitting room, the dog's tail beating against her arm. "I remember giving you a job to do. If you could try to stay focused, s'il te plaît, I'll try not to lose my patience." The dog whined as she set him down on the floor. Lucienne tugged his heavy, patterned sweater off with care, one long ear flipped inside out. He spread his dark wings, wings attached to the thin body by a map of scars stretched over his spine and ribs. "Finish the circle before I've made myself presentable, Mousse. There's a long day ahead."

Ever dutiful, the dog only took another moment of coaxing and the promise of a nice walk afterwards to get to work. And, as her familiar set to painting their circle on the smoothed tarp, Luci dressed herself for the first meeting with her undoubtedly powerful servant. It had taken no small effort to acquire the papers she would need. Papers that held the signature of one of the most well known writers of history. Certainly, her servant would hardly be Christ himself walking the Earth once more, but there were no doubts in her mind that she and her servant would win her dream. This summoning was only the first step.