Jake just sighed as she spoke to him.

"Good to see you." he said.

"Glad to see you... uh... well, appear to be okay..." he mumbled.

"I don't know. That disguise is REALLY good." he commented.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"The creep hurt you yet?"

Jake buzzed her in, and she quickly made her way to Sharp's office, where he was waiting for her with the door open.

"Come in." he said when she arrived.

She stepped in, closed the door, and got up into one of the chair, and Hal sighed.

"All right." he said.

"Tell me what you've learned." he told her.

"And how's this guy looking so far?" he asked further.

".......hm." Sharp mumbled.

"Well, that can just be explained by an artist's preferences, or just their little idiosyncrasies." he said.

"But he seems above-board, eh?" he asked.

She nodded.

"All right, tell me everything." he told her. "What you discussed, how he acted, everything." he said further.

She took a deep breath and explained EVERYTHING, handing him the contract at the end. Hal looked it over, and raised an eyebrow.

"...either he has a REAL hidden dark side, or these reports are people ganging up to try and ruin him for... reasons." he said.

"Because the stories they're putting forth are in complete contrast to all this."

Hal shook his head.

"Not much of it." he said.

"He hasn't released anything to the public as of yet, and the Council and Triad only have access to a few photos, unless they have reason to demand them." he told her.

"Most I've seen is a shot of a... dryad, I believe." he continued.

"I admit, it WAS very good." he then said.

"He seems to know what he's doing."

"You do that." Hal replied.

"We'll discuss further strategy on Monday." he told her.

"For now, good work." he said.

"Hopefully this will all end up being for nothing." he went on.

"...that would be optimal." he sighed.

"But all we can do is wait and see."

Hal chuckled when she said that.

"Glamours have come a long way." he told her.

"In the past, when an actual spell was used to disguise the individual, yes, an itching sensation was common, over the whole body." he said.

"However, with advancements in both technology AND mana, we can now have things like... well, the ring." he went on.

"It's a perfect disguise." he proclaimed.

"...except for... when one may accidentally and legitimately lose it." he then admitted.

"See you!" Hal responded as she left.

When she did, he looked at the contract again, scanning everything.

"...this seems on board." he said.

"It's all proper... no way to weasel out of it..." he mumbled.

He then looked at it more closely, and something caught his eyes. He read it over, before scratching at his chin.

"...hmmm... so his models essentially have to agree that he calls all the shots during each session... with their limits into consideration of course..." he muttered to himself.

Something about that didn't sit right with him.

"...noted." the agent on the other side replied.

"You remember the word in case you need immediate backup?" they asked.

"Legend." she replied.

"Good." the agent responded.

"...and good luck." they finished, as the door opened, revealing Val.

He looked around, saw Izea, and gestured for her to come inside... looking rather insistent, this time.

"Quite." he responded.

"We have a full day ahead of it." he then told her, gesturing to the rack of outfits, as well as a circular curtain for a changing room.

"First things first." he said.

"I want you to change into the skinny jeans and tank top." he went on.

"The first photoshoot will be urban-themed."

"Clearly!" he called back.

"I'm photographing a goblin, NOT a pre-teen girl!" he shouted.

He then sighed, and shook his head.

"Right." he mumbled, as he finished setting up the area.

He put a backdrop of an alley as the background, and made sure the lights were pointed where they should be, and he would adjust them as needed.

"All right..." he then said.

"Urban... then beach... then pool... then lavish.." he listed to himself, going over what they would be going through, and then turning and waiting for Izea, tapping his foot as he did so.