The Negotiating Party

There was much consternation and not a little bit of excitement as Shadow rowed the negotiating team out to meet the stranger. Gliding steadily through the fog, they chewed on fearful bits of imagination and cast nervous little jokes to the fish. Cramped quarters made it all but impossible to keep thoughts from going overboard. As the various trickles of association splashed into a sweaty puddle of shared concern, the team was utterly convinced they were surrounded by a many tentacled metaphorium of anxietos. By the time the fog lifted on their intended destination, eyes had fallen far from their original perch on the upper deck of hope. Ears too, were firmly anchored in the abysmal trench of low expectations. It was now certain that even a well lit negotiation would inevitably be conducted in the dark. After all, the team had never actually negotiated, and no one could remember meeting a genuine stranger to negotiate with. Felinus P. Snifter considered the scene, straightened a whisker, and consoled himself, "The important thing," he affirmed, "is to really look the part."