Handling Inter-Realm Travel At Peak

20260304

Prompt from DailyPrompt.com

Maggy strode into the Cross-Vale checkpoint with the confident swagger of the most senior employee present. After all, she’d been here nearly eight years, and had by far the most certificates for performance. She knew every rule, regulation, and regular, and was viewed as the backbone of the team. She was a bone-fide Good Dog.
By contrast Paul, her current handler, had only been at the company six months. But Maggy felt he was shaping up very well. He’d probably move to a solo station soon.
“Morning, Mag. Morning, Paul.” Shaun said without looking up from his terminal. “Hope you’re ready for a busy day.”
“Of course!” Maggy scoffed.
Paul added “I haven’t had a day here that wasn’t busy.”
“Ooh, you say that now, but you don’t know ‘busy’ until you’ve had to deal with Inter-Realm traffic right before a solstice.”
“We’ll be fine.” Maggy said reassuringly. “C’mon.”
“Right…” Paul trailed along behind her to the locker room.
First he helped her put her “Security” vest on, then he let her out to go investigate their station while he got changed. Maggy did feel sorry for fur-less species. So much extra hassle! You always ended up waiting for them. But they couldn’t help it, could they?
A careful circuit around the booth deasil, then widdershins. Everything smelled to be in order. So Maggy settled herself on her cushioned pad and waited for Paul to finally be presentable and ready for work.
Queues were already stretching down the terminal and the Doors hadn’t even been opened yet.
Once Paul arrived, with a steaming cup of coffee for him and a fresh bowl of cucumber water for Maggy, they were able to lift the barrier and wave the first person forward.
Thankfully those queuing now, before opening, tended to be experienced travellers, and had their papers ready to show Paul while Maggy gave them a careful sniff. By now they were a well-oiled team and achieved a good flow.
It took almost ten minutes for their first problem customer. Today was going to be a good day!
“Excuse me!” Maggy barked authoritatively as a gnome tried to stride past after flashing his passport at Paul. “You need to be inspected.”
“By you?” The gnome looked down his nose at her.
“Yes. You need to be sniffed.”
“How invasive!” The gnome turned to Paul. “I thought you humans were all about those electrical non-magic solutions, these days? Why haven’t you come up with something so we don’t have to get dog hair on us?”
“Well, you see, electrical systems are very susceptible to interference, particularly by knowledgable magic users. Scanners can be easily blocked by shielding, and visual analysis can’t detect illusions. So we rely on trained personnel to carry out manual checks.”
“Speaking of which,” Maggy said, “you can go now.”
“Ah! Decided I don’t need ‘sniffing’ after all?”
The gnome puffed himself up - then deflated as Maggy looked down her nose at him (taking advantage of the fact she had a far better quality of nose) and loftily informed him “Actually, the ‘invasive’ procedure happened while you were listening to my colleague. Now please get moving, valued customer. You’re holding up the line.”
Away he stomped, flushing an angry mortified crimson visible even through his cotton-candy beard, and up stepped a brownie with passport ready.
“Soz. I’m gonna smell like the back of a radiator.”
“Ooh!” Maggy’s tail wagged and she set to. “So you do. And your house has a mould problem.”
“That’s why I’m away for a fortnight while the humans get the place fumigated.”
“Very wise. I hope you manage alright.”
“Oh, I’ll be a wreck by the time I can go home, but at least I’ve got understanding friends to stay with. Far better than a hotel.”
Maggy nodded sympathetically, which Paul echoed, and they waved the brownie on.
The line stretched the length of the terminal. Even with there being three other booths active (and, having trained every dog present, Maggy could confidently say they were skilled professionals) the place would be bursting until long after the usual closing time.
However, while Paul seemed to find it daunting, Maggy had enough years of experience under her collar to accept the crush like the beach accepts the latest wave. And to enjoy the quiet beauty of seeing all these different kind of fey in close proximity, not only not sliding into petty bickering or jostling or violence (there were days where it happened), but in fact finding unity in the shared exasperations of inter-realm travel.
Her ears could pick out grumbled conversations about the wait. Gossip being traded - and sometimes sold. Even friendly idle chitchat.
Good. That was the sort of familiarity the terminals were meant to foster. Another reason - besides security - to have all the Doors in clumps like this.
Maggy nodded the latest traveller on, paused long enough to take a drink of water and nibble a bracing bit of cucumber, then barked “Next!”, tail gently wagging.

Prompt was “Write a story, from any character's perspective, which centres on the life of a working dog.”