AN: One more update after this before we're done for the week. It'll either be released today or tomorrow. :)

Anyway, this one has a bit of interaction added, and a few minor things changed in the wording of some sentences. As before, I think the changes are good as they show more personality of the characters involved, as well as how some breeds of Demi-Human have similar thought processes, but are till different people.

Enjoy.

Chapter 1.6: You Suck

The intolerable wait for progress grated upon John's nerves. Come tomorrow his choice must be made, for good or for ill. The march of time seemed to grind to a halt, until he remembered the old idioms such as, a watched pot never boils. Technically, it would always boil as long as the heat source was sufficiently hot.

The true meaning of that common statement was that everything seemed to take longer when said thing was the object of focus. In order to combat that issues, John found other things to do. At first it was difficult, but eventually time started to move once more.

Evening came, dinner passed, and once again the morning was upon him. He returned to the reserve filled with a strange hopeful sensation. The anticipation was nearly palpable. Today was the day! However, upon arrival he despaired that once again no truly viable options were presented to him.

"Sir, if you don't want any of the girls in the register you can always visit a ranch or dealership." The office girl quirked her eyebrow. This guy was nice enough, but he was far too picky. Several of the girls he'd turned his nose up at were quite rare or formidable, often both. What exactly was he looking for that a nice well-trained Generica could not do?

"The problem is that I'm not exactly certain what I want," replied John. A truer statement could not have been said at the moment. His list of necessary criteria was not exhaustive, but few of the offerings in the list met more than one of his standards. He must to pick a girl soon, though. His sponsorship depended on it.

The receptionist nodded at him. "If you wouldn't mind a few suggestions I might be able to help you out."

"At this point I'd take anything useful, and you seem more competent than I had expected," he said. "I'll rely upon your expert opinion."

She nodded at him in a professional manner, and then decided that he might just be anti-social. He didn't seem to be blatantly insulting at least. Plus, there was a certain something about him that made her want to help him. Was it the hair? The curve of his brow? The slightly arrogant expression that made her want to fetch him coffee, and perhaps, a blow job? It could be any of those things, really.

"Where do you plan to travel?" she asked him in a tone of mild interest.

John considered her question for a moment. "I will head south toward the Southern March. I hear the Florida Preserve is nice and temperate in the winter. It would be a good place to catch wild demi-humans without freezing myself half to death."

She nodded. It was an uncommon, but still frequently chosen, route this time of year. "I'd suggest a fighter, or some type of ranged demi-human. The wild girls get nasty in the denser forests, which would require a strong front-line battler."

A dainty finger rose to her lips and she shifter her weight forward slightly. "The open fields would be easier to traverse with a ranged attacker as well. If you have a vehicle the latter could also be used as a gunner to protect the vehicle in transit."

John considered that for a moment. Her words did sound like good advice. He wasn't planning on traveling south until he'd acquired at least three girls that he intended to keep, but she'd given him a surprisingly good strategy for an animal.

He'd probably snag a front-line fighter, a ranged battler, and perhaps a demi-human with healing capacity. One that had transportation abilities would be nice as well. A magic user would be good in general since he wanted to continue his magical studies. There were many options, but a ranged attacker who was also a bit sturdy would be best for now.

"We have several front-line battlers but honestly, if you're traveling south you'll probably want to find someone who has more experience than any of these girls. That sort of competence isn't cheap, though."

John nodded. "You're talking contract, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir. One of the mercenary companies or a dealership might be able to find you a girl that you might like," she said with a smile.

Another moment was spent in consideration, it would be a big deviation from his original plans. After coming to terms with the new proposal, he nodded slowly and asked, "Any suggestions on a good place to start?"

"Honestly?" she asked. She presented another curious quirk of her well sculpted eyebrow.

"I'd appreciate it," he replied candidly. She might only be a well-trained animal, but she did seem rather competent at her work. Her advice had a ring of truth to it so far.

"There are several companies in town, and a few pet shops. I wouldn't contract with anyone other than Hara-dynamic. They train their girls well, make sure their paperwork is right, and they only sell contracts for domestic born free demi-girls," she said. "That's important for a variety of reasons."

She took a breath then continued, "A lot of other companies sell contracts to free demi-human, but they were actually born in the wild and captured recently. It's a mess working with such people, as it is legal to set a formerly wild demi-human free after minimal education."

Her exposition continued unabated via a final bit of advice, "The contracts are practically the only chance they have, however, since they barely even speak the language most of the time. It is easy to teach basic skills to a wild demi-human using the special learning tools, but it costs money to rent the rooms and equipment."

John nodded to her and thanked her for the advice. The discussed methods of properly working on his plans for his upcoming trip. Eventually, she pointed out that he would be well-served by having someone along on his trip to help out with the paperwork, and keeping schedules.

He missed the simple signals that she gave off that would have made her interest in him obvious to most men, and was more than a little saddened by the fact that he did not take her delightful bait. He did admit that a personal secretary would be a good idea, however.

Afterward he asked her to cash-out his demi-human claim chit for real money then bid her farewell. He headed off to locate the Hara-dynamics office. They were a multi-state corporation with an office in many larger towns and cities.

He was glad the helpful creature at the reserve office gave him the proper directions, as he found the building readily. It was a simple office space located at the local strip mall. It was not like he could miss that. In fact, he was certain he'd seen the place at least once or twice before.

John rarely went into town throughout his life, but he'd gone to the mall during several of those trips. He was home schooled prior to high school. Afterward, he went to technical school. Each of those schools were located occurred outside of town, and all of his primary needs were met without setting foot inside of the town proper.

When he entered the chamber of the local Hara-dynamics field office he was greeted to the sight of yet another demi-human working the desk, another Generica. From that moment onward, he began to wonder if there was some sort of demi-human secretarial union in place.

In many ways it made sense. Genericas were one of the demi-humans who had an appearance remarkably similar to a human woman. Albeit their statuesque appearance and overly erotic nature were easy clues to analyze if one had to determine human from demi-human in the dark.

"Hello, sir. Welcome to Hara-dynamics. My name is Jill. How may I help you?" She spoke in a bright and crisp professional manner. For what amounted to a shaved monkey with proper home training, she exuded a clinical form of perkiness that put him both at ease, and retained a business like demeanor.

"Yes, Jill. I was interested in asking about contracting with a girl from your establishment?" he asked while attempting a pleasant smile. Several of his teeth were shown in an effort to appear interested in speaking with her.

"Of course, sir. Do you have a specific girl in mind, or did you wish to look over a catalog of current applicants?" she asked, a slight smile appearing upon her soft pink lips. This fellow seemed friendly.

"The latter I think. I have a general preference, but I do not know exactly what I am looking for yet." admitted John. He attempted to widen his smile for maximum pleasantness. The result was mildly disturbing, in all honesty.

However, she was a professional. His mildly disturbing smile was overlooked in favor of the business at hand. "I understand. We get that a lot."

She bent down a little, exposing her delectable cleavage while doing so, and then pulled out a thin item reminiscent of a high school year book. "This catalog has every demi-human who we currently have applications for at this location. If none of them meet your approval we can ship one in from another location. Please be advised that shipment services will cost extra."

John accepted the catalog from Jill with a smile then moved over to a viewing table. Not long after sitting down he stood back up, and asked the receptionist if she had any paper and something to write with. She handed him the requested items and he sat back down to begin taking notes.

An hour passed as he looked through the contracts offered in the catalog. He jotted down the application number of each girl that interested him on every page. Once the book was leafed through he began to cut down the list one by one until he had five candidates.

One of those candidates stood out in his mind more than any other, though. The only problem was her price. She would cost twenty-two thousand dollars to contract after all the fees were paid. He could afford her, but his budget would be exhausted through that acquisition.

It was a difficult decision to make. Did he spend the vast majority of his remaining funds on a single contract in the hopes that the demi-human would prove as useful as she seemed, or did he purchase a lesser creature and save funds for the future? Either way, he'd reached the next critical decision of his tamer career.