From My WIPs Folder (Selume Proferre)

An-An Li-Johnson lives an easy-going, quiet life. She works part time at her friend's bookstore, is active in the local LGBTQ scene, manages to avoid the occasional crazy ex, and also does some temp work on occasion for a big name spell-craft firm, Simon and Davidson.

Then she's hired to work with an up and coming exorcist at Simon and Davidson, M.C. Andersen. At first An-An doesn't know what to make of her, ambitious and prickly, new boss. M.C. is deeply involved in the world of high stakes spell-craft, determined to carve out a place for herself among the extremely heretical and old fashioned world of professional exorcists. Although she can be demanding and abrasive at times M.C. treats An-An with respect, despite An-An position as an inscriber without any aptitude for spell casting. As they work together on a high stakes case of demonic possession, An-An finds herself becoming more and more attracted to M.C. Just as their relationship looks like it might be deepening into something more though, the case suddenly takes a turn for the worse.  

Much, much worse. 

Someone cleared their throat in an annoyed way and An-An turned to the left and then blinked.

The person who stood a little to the left of them, back to the windows, arms crossed over their chest, was extremely small. Dressed in an expensive suit very similar to Donald’s but black, with a crisp white shirt and blue silk tie with small gold cranes embroidered on it. Mahogany colored hair was cut so short it was almost a buzz cut, An-An was fixed with a look from bright green eyes.  

"Ah yes." Donald stood and faced the tiny person before smiling back at An-An. "Ms. Li-Johnson this is M.C. Andersen." He turned back to the aforementioned M.C. Andersen. "This is Yihua Li-Johnson, the inscriber I was telling you about."

M.C. stared at him for a long moment, during which An-An was willing to bet M.C.’s specialty was not curse work because if it had been, Donald would have been dead on the ground.

M.C. turned to An-An -- finally -- and extended a hand on which a heavy gold ring flashed baring some sort of insignia that An-An wasn't familiar with. "It’s a pleasure to meet you," -- eyes swept up and down An-An’s body and there was a notable pause -- "Ms. Li-Johnson?" M.C.’s inflection made it sound like a question with emphasis on the honorific and An-An grinned.

"Just An-An. I don't generally usually bother with formality."

M.C. only nodded still looking serious and released An-An’s hand. "I'm sorry Donald had to trouble you. I do not generally use inscribers."

"Which is a problem," -- Donald cut in -- "and Ms. Li-Johnson . . .err. . . An-An is the best."

M.C. fixed Donald with a very frosty glare before turning back to An-An. For a moment, An-An watched some sort of inward struggle going on behind M.C.’s startlingly green eyes. Finally M.C. nodded once.

"All right then." M.C. gestured to the door. "Come through to my office and we can discuss the job in more detail."

An-An nodded and then followed M.C. out of Donald's office and down the hall to another, glass enclosed, window filled office. M.C.’s office wasn't particularly neat; it was lined with bookcases and every other available surface held artifacts. All of them were extremely old -- An-An discovered upon examination -- of a spell-craft background and most of them having something or another to do with spirits of the dead.

So M.C. was either a necromancer of some sort or an exorcist. An-An was going to guess exorcist based on the fact that most necromancer spell-craft was forbidden by almost every origination, coven, guild, community committee, secret organization, gated community, firm and agency in the country.