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Post by FlyLu on Apr 5, 2018 21:20:49 GMT 1
"Interested, huh?" The receptionist said and smiled at Quán. If it was a fake or real smile, however, was hard to tell. "I will send a raccardi to the one you want to talk with about that, please wait," she said. She wrote a little note and gave it to a raccardi that flew away immediately.
~
The sun had yet to set, but it still gave the sky a pretty golden color. Satomi was standing on the balcony to her room enjoying the view over the city. Being on the third floor, it was quite the view she had. She breathed in and out slowly, just for the sake of breathing.
"Ta...k-ka...ko..... ran... af-ter..." she could hear Yin say from her room. Satomi decided she had had enough of the view and went inside.
Yin and her mother Miyu was both with their head deep into a book way to big for their size. Yin was learning to read, which not only Satomi wanted ger to, but also needed her to. She wanted Yin to be able to write at some point. One step at the time, she thought. Some 2-year-olds could already read, but it was limited how much Satomi could take Miyu away from her actual work. She did still have things to do after all. Satomi smiled at them, though they had not seen her. She knew that Miyu loved these days. The days she could get away from the kitchen, the tunnels, and the people, and just do something so simple as reading a book with her daughter. Satomi remembered that she had similar days with her mother back at the mansion where she grew up. Some things are just the same no matter where in sociaty you are, she thought.
"How is it going with the reading?" Satomi asked finally. The mother looked up, while Yin still looked at the same word she had trouble pronouncing as if simply looking at it helped. "Slow, but she will get there," she said. "No need to hesitate, take your time, we want to do it right," Satomi replied. Miyu nooded and returned to the book.
"Ms. Mio?" someone asked. Satomi went to the raccardi-opening where the voice came from. "Yes, what is it?"
"I have a note to you from the reception," the raccardi said and handed her the note. Satomi read it.
Someone in the lower reception is asking about a avaible job at the hotel. Do you want to take care of it, or should I ask your brother?
The note did not say who wrote it, but Satomi was aware of who was in the reception at this time. Having nothing else to do with the note, she burned it before her. She quickly wrote:
I am comming right away, tell them to wait for me. And please do not tell my brother just yet, I will do that myself.
Satomi handed the raccardi the new note and sendt him away. "When you are done, please get some food for Miyu and Yin in here," was her last words, and the raccardi flew away.
~
"Someone is on their way, please wait just a moment," the receptionist said to Quán.
It did not take long, and Satomi stepped into the reception. She was wearing the same blue and black hanfu she had did this morning, though over the day she had set up her hair. She took a look at the room, and then walked over to Quán, being the only one in the room besides the receptionist, Satomi simply assumed she was theone who had asked for her.
"Well isn't that a surprise?" she said, with a genuinely friendly voice. "Are you the one who have asked for the job position here at the hotel?"
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe 
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112 
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 15, 2018 0:21:22 GMT 1
"I am," Quán said and straightened her posture. She hadn't bothered redoing her bun and her dress had gotten just a little dirty during the course of the day, though it was nothing too noticable. Looking at the black mare though, she wished she would have at least redone her bun or let her mane down. In contrary to her, she looked absolutely horrible. Not really the best impression someone can give when asking for a job, really. Anyway, she couldn't change that now anyway, so there was no reason to worrying about it. "And since I'm having the opportunity to speak to you personally, I also wanted to inquire about the paying situation. The room you gave us is quite formidable, but I cannot keep paying for it for long while I'm unemployed." She mimicked her best Eriwonese accent while speaking, being conscious about letting nothing of her natural accent slip through. It tended to do that when she was tired after all. As far as she could tell, she did an excellent job on switching the "R"s with "L"s and adapting the smooth way of the local way of speaking.
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 15, 2018 23:25:37 GMT 1
She is cutting tight to the case, Satomi thought, but not in a bad way. She was only observing the guest's behavior. "I am happy that you and your son is enjoying your room, I simply could not let such a sweet and tired boy as your son sleep in so poor conditions as our cheapest rooms provide," Satomi said. Though there were other reasons, what she said was not false. "Hopefully your unemployment will not be a problem much longer, for the both of you." Satomi took a quick moment to look at the woman. Compared to the many dresses she had seen in her life, this one was nothing out of the ordinary, she tried to remember if it was the same as the one from yesterday, but she could not remember. She noticed slight dirt on it, but even Satomi had that after a day in the big beautiful city, so it was nothing to judge.
"Do you want to talk about possible employment now or tomorrow, Miss...?" she said, implying
Quán to finish the sentence by introducing herself, but nowhere near a rude or commanding way.
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 15, 2018 23:51:00 GMT 1
"Shui. Shui Quán," she completed without hesitation, the name running off her tongue easily by now. "And I would like to talk about the job offer as soon as possible if you don't mind. It has been a long day so Yun is already asleep. He'd be all over the place tomorrow, so it'll be easier to talk now." Even though it had been the mare asking, Quán was unsure if she was asking for too much or not. After all, she obviously had an administratory position - just as suspected - and therefore held a high standing. No need to upset her by being too forward. Therefore she didn't ask for her name in return either, hoping that she would introduce herself eventually and therefore avoiding a possible act of rudeness.
[132 words]
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 16, 2018 14:07:34 GMT 1
Quán, Satomi thought. It ringed a bell somewhere, but then again, Satomi had heard just about any Eriwonese name to exist, and if that was not the case, she must have stumbled upon it in a book of names. However, she could not remember the meaning behind the name. I will have to look that up later, she thought. "What a pretty name. I am Mio Satomi, a pleasure meeting you," She said and made a quick polite bow. "Even though it might not be very busy here now at this time of day, we should not be disturbed by people when they come and go. I have a more quiet room where we can talk," she said and started leaving the room at the lower entrance. She was on her way to the hotels garden, where a bridge would lead them over a small lake and then there would be a locked entrance to the Mio's personal home. Satomi turned her head around shortly to look at Quán. "Oh, and Yun is a very nice name. Good choice."
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 16, 2018 15:21:03 GMT 1
Quán who had almost forgotten to bow, hurriedly did so when the mare introduced herself. So she was part of the Mio family that owned the hotel then. She had never gone in-depth when it came to the nobility in Eriwon, but from when she had studied Wonsu in particular, she remembered to have heard the name "Mio" in passing. They were not the richest of the rich, but still high up there. Ms Mio therefore would be a formidable ally and a horrible enemy to have. Quán decided to just go for the middle route for the moment with Ms Mio as her possible employer.
She followed the mare outside of the atrium into the garden, over a small lake. She took a small moment to appreciate the presence of a larger water body. Even though she didn't touch it, it still helped her clear her senses and make her somewhat more awake and attentive. It was only a short relief though, for they soon arrived at what Quán suspected to be the private quarters of the Mio family.
"Oh, and Yun is a very nice name. Good choice." Quán was momentarily surprised, but then just nodded. "Yun" hadn't been her first choice for a name though. She just chose it to fit to her own Eriwonese one so that they wouldn't draw attention. Not that her son's real name would have told anyone anything, but it would still potentially give clues to her northern heritage.
With a deep, silent breath she collected her thoughts for the conversation that she was about to have. She knew the ins and outs of the noble Eriwonese society. It was common to mistreat employees, especially when they were of a much lower social rank, and just demand for work without any breakdor other kinds of relief. She knew that this was probably her last shot at getting a job at all, but she still had to stay firm when it came to her conditions concerning Yun. He might be curious and he was a child - and therefore far from flawless - but he was a good boy. He would behave when she told him to, most of the time at least. She braced herself for the suggestion of a daycare mother or even marriage, so that she could shoot those ideas down. Stubbornness was counter-productive in her case, but giving in would just make everything much worse.
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 16, 2018 16:00:18 GMT 1
The door was locked, but Satomi had locked it herself when she came down to the entrance in the first place, so it was no problem locking it up it up again. Before going in, she looked around and spotted one of the bigger slaves on the other side of the lake. "This is Miss. Mio speaking. Hopefully not, but I might have to call for your immediate help very soon at the Mio's private home," she said to him telepathically. It took him by surprise and he almost dropped what he was holding. She took a moment to let him come to himself and let him make eye contact with her, to make sure he understood what she had said.
She opened the door and looked in first, and made sure that no one was in there, even though if there was someone it would be to her surprise. She then held the door open for Quán before stepping in herself.
The room was big, and whoever was in here was glad for their space, for there was not much furniture in the room. There was a desk to the side of a wall with a chair for equines, and a big double door behind it, while in front of the desk a chair that seemed to be more "species-friendly". There was not much to see of the wall itself. There were a lot of windows that pointed out to the lake just outside, and there were paintings and even a bookcase with books. Satomi had never been a fan of the bookcase. They already had one upstairs in their living room, there was no reason to show off how wealthy they were by placing one here.
"Please take a seat," Satomi said and pointed at the chair that seemed to be the one for guests, while she herself went over to a tea-set. "Just a moment, and I will be right with you." Satomi took the tea out of the box and made sure to be careful when heating up the tea with fire magic.
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 16, 2018 16:35:53 GMT 1
Quán wore a look of indifference when Ms Mio glanced over the lake to what was obviously a slave and a quite large one at that. Other people might have missed the signs, but as someone who had not just grown up among telepaths but had also excessively been taught how to practice telepathy inconspiciously, Quán noticed the mute order the black mare was giving. She could have intercepted without trouble or even easily found out what the conversationw as about, but the timing of it was already enough to let her get the gist of it. The slave was backup for a possible assault. Had Mio Satomi been the target of an investigation or even a threat to be eliminated, then her suspicion would have been a just one. For once, though, Quán was not within the ranks of those to cause harm within the city population, though harm was relative. She still was of the opinion that the Mio family, or more especially Satomi, was hiding something, but she could worry about that later.
When the two mares entered the room, she subtly eyed everything in it. A double-door, abookcase, a desk with two chairs, a wall of windows and a few portraits were all there was to it. No swords, rapiers or skeans mounted to the walls to be used as possible weapons in case of emergency. That was both a relief and a bummer. Then again, those things tended to be made out of iron, so that was a clear no-go.
Quán sat down as asked and patiently waited for the mare to brew the tea. She faked an interest in the bookcase while actually keeping a close eye on what Ms Mio was doing. If there was one thing Quán knew not to trust, then it was offered food by someone who might have just called for backup. Distrust, high society and poison all went hand in hand out of her experience and she couldn't risk falling for an easy trick like that. And as long as there was no St. John's wort in the tea she also wouldn't be accidentally poisoned. If she would have been in a regular household, in a regular situation, she would have made small-talk. Pointing out how impressive the book collection was or complimenting the nice garden they had just passed through, were good conversation starters. Conversation meant information and the more of that she had, the better a judge she could be of what this mare was after. With things as they were though, society and general manners demanded of her to be quiet and wait in silence until she was spoken to. It irritated her just a little, but it was an irritation she was used to by now.
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 16, 2018 23:06:37 GMT 1
Satomi carefully for not spilling, took the teapot and two endearing eriwonese teacups on a tray, and took it with her over to the table, making sure to smile friendly to Quán on the way. When finally getting to the table, she put down the empty cup in front of Quán and poured tea to her, and in the other cup for herself. Though she doubted poison was anything for this lady to worry or even think about, it had gotten to the point for Satomi that it was just a habit to pour of the tea to someone in front of them and to drink from the same teapot. And then again, it was the easiest.
"You might want to let it cool of first, it is very hot," Satomi said, and made her way around the table to her own chair. "So...!" she said, with a jumping voice, sounding almost enthusiastic. "As far as I remember, I have not exactly told you about our situation, how did you come to know of it?"
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 16, 2018 23:36:24 GMT 1
Quán took Ms Mio's advice and refrained drinking the tea for the moment. It didn't seem to be poisoned, but then again, what was poisonous to her mightnot be poisonous to the mare in front of her. Still, she took her worries aside and concentrated on the question at hand, already a hard one. There was no safe way to talk herself out of it, so the truth was probably the best way to go. "Oh, I just happened to hear you talk about it with someone at breakfast. It seemed rude for me to intrude at this time, so I didn't mention it then, even though I was looking for employment. To be honest, this is probably my last shot. I was turned down everywhere else because of my son, saying an unmarried mare with a child, such as myself, was a filthy thing," she shook her head. Even though she had literally been told that a couple of times, it was not the right thing to bring up when she wanted to make a good impression. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. Could you maybe tell me some details about the job? I have to admit that working at a hotel is not something I have ever done before." She couldn't exactly tell Ms Mio that she has been a mage and a spy, so this would be good enough for the moment. If she'd ask, she'd just say to have been a housewife before. That was believable in her situation.
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 17, 2018 0:09:15 GMT 1
"I must have been speaking loud! Then again, the poor man's ears are not the best at this age. And you do not have to apologize, people can be so old-minded, especially here in the city," Satomi said, and this time genuinely was not trying to acting, she could only imagine all the troubles that a single mother was to face. She looked down at the tea. She had chosen a good one this time. "The position here is quite... flexible. You see, the former worker, she was talented in magic, so she stepped up wherever her help was needed. Which quite frankly, showed up to be almost only at special occasions. Now, we are looking for someone to help with the cleaning and preparing. Both at our public places and the guest rooms. You know, all the predictable things. Clean sheets, sweeping and washing the floor, prepare the bathhouses... stuff like that. When it comes to eating time, it get's busy also. Everything that has been prepared in the kitchen has to be served and put up neatly at the table in the two eating halls. You will not be working directly with the guest, not to begin with that is. We like to get to know someone before we can allow that after all. Do you have any further questions to any of this?"
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 17, 2018 0:29:12 GMT 1
She took a sip of the tea and was glad to find out that it had indeed not been poisoned. The warm beverage helped her calm her nerves to get out what she had wanted to say the entire time already.
"Yes, actually there is one thing. My son is too young to be left alone for a long period of time and I have heard quite a few things about daycare mothers which I don't agree with. It might be the big city's different take on raising children and for all means, other mothers can do as they please with their own kids. I'd still rather have full control over what values and morals my child learns. I might be a little paranoid with that, but I think it's important to raise him to be a friendly and reliable gentleman, not some brute that puts his wife in her place and hits her. Therefore it must be possible for Yun to accompany me while I do my job. At least until I can find someone I trust with watching him for the day. Would that be a possibility?"
There, she had said it. This was the thing that was either going to make or break this opportunity. She didn't get her hopes up since she had already had several promising offers only to be turned down on that exact condition. Why would an established mare such as Ms Mio even consider such a hassle? For all she knew, a kid could wreck havoc in the hotel, even though Quán was quite sure that this was not going to happen. Yun would be where she could see him at all times and she'd be able to keep him from doing anything troublesome. But employers never believed such things, no matter how true they were, so she didn't even bother bringing it up. Instead she was preparing herself for a rejection. [320 words] |
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 17, 2018 14:56:46 GMT 1
Satomi kept quiet for a moment, but not in a rude or threatening way. She was choosing her words. "That is quite a thing to ask for, but I am sure you are aware of that. I can only imagine how many times you have been told that today," she finally said, and she took a sip of her tea. "Truth to be told: I like you, and your son as well, and I would hate to be the one to send you both away, especially
since this might be your last chance as you said. But my conscience does not keep this business going, does it?" Satomi took another sip of her tea. "However, you do seem like you are able to keep from trouble, but that is just a feeling I have. Do you truly think you are able to do that? And even if so, do you have anything to contribute with that others do not, that would make me choose you over someone without a child to bring along?" She said. She did not want to come out as rude or threatening, but she had to keep some kind of professional facade up, which she hated. She sincerely hoped that Miss. Shui had something that could allow Satomi to hire her.
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Lilafly
Cat Sidhe
conviction is the first step to victory
Posts: 112
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Post by Lilafly on Jun 17, 2018 16:05:21 GMT 1
Quán took another sip of her tea while contemplating what exactly to say. It wasn't for a lack of qualities to mention, but rather a contemplation of what to mention. She couldn't go too much into detail and in no case mention that she was capable of magic. Saying something about her spying skills was out of the question too. Luckily, those were by far not her only qualities. "I come from a place where emergency situations became part of the everyday life. Wild beasts and demons attacking or even floods were things I had to deal with a lot." It was not fully true, but came as close to the truth as she could allow it to get. "Therefore, I am quite practised with keeping my cool in a chaotic and stressful situation and consider my options. While I cannot imagine any major catastrophes happening here at the hotel, there still often are situations that are chaotic in a similar way. Short deadlines and all that. Once a room is empty it has to be cleaned in haste or once a guest orders something, it should be delivered as soon as possible. A lot of people tend to crack under such pressure, while I do not." She took another sip of her tea while contemplating what to add to that. That she could use levitation spells was clear already since she was using one to hold her tea cup at that exact moment. Any more emphasis on her magical abilities would just lead to further questions she was not willing to answer.
"Also, while growing up in Eriwon, I am still familiar with quite a lot of cultures due to a lot of merchants passing my old home. It is important to know of every customer's needs and wishes, or at least to anticipate those. Informing a Korunian where the nearest temple or the best view of the stars is, or pointing a person from Nordberg to the ideal place to get in touch with all the elements. Those, among other things, are important parts of the daily lives of these cultures, just as the local gods are to us. There also might be local specialties that some might not agree with. The consumption of whale blubber would be blasphemous for people from the Korunian coast for example, so such things should be kept away from them." Quán shook her head with a grin. "But of course you already know all these things." She sat her tea cup down and fixed Ms Mio with a pleasant smile. "I can tell you now are words. People tend to talk a lot, especially in such situations where it comes to present themselves in a good way. I could go on and on with telling you about my good qualities and how they will benefit your establishment, but in the end it's actions that tell what is really true. Therefore I also have to admit some flaws of mine. I am, for example, not the common obedient kind of mare you come across on the street. When someone tries to force me into something I do not consent to, I will not hesitate to deny them and get out of the situation - even with force if necessary. Some of the more rude and pushy guests might dislike a woman that denies their advances, so this might be a risk to take if you hire me." Quán then bowed her head respectfully. "That is all. I apologize for talking for so long."
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Post by FlyLu on Jun 17, 2018 16:47:44 GMT 1
Satomi calmy took another sip of her tea. Grew up in Eriwon, she noted down in her imaginary notebook in her head. "I have to say, you are quite an impressive lady. You knowing so much about different cultures does sound very handy, especially here at a hotel. You said that you can handle emergency situations, which surprisingly you might actually need. I should inform you, that death is not a completely uncommon thing to stumble upon when working here, or any hotels to be fair. You'd be surprised by how much can happen inside walls like these." She took another sip of her tea, like what she had just said was nothing. "And speaking of... 'female staff and guests', that is not something we provide here. If guests want needs like that fulfilled, they are to find someone to bring themselves, and not take advantage of the employers, so you will not have to worry of that. However, if someone tries, you have every right to.. how was it you put it, 'deny' them. I will personally handle it afterward." Satomi drank more of her tea and was slightly disappointed that that showed to be the last of it. "If you are still willing to work after what I have said just now, I will give you a chance. It might show up to be troublesome for you to bring your son with you, but I will not send you away without giving you a fair chance for proving that it will not be a problem. Let us say a week for now, and see what happens after that. Does that sound good?"
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