Inn Time 3

[22:13]	Keesh	[Early the next morning, Mr. Shate has already beat a heated retreat after somehow getting out-haggled by Keesh for Glider's price.]
[22:15]	Keesh	[It is the crack of dawn, but no sun is on the horizon: lingering drizzles still prevail.  Considering their distance to civilization, it'll be a while before any travelers might even happen to come by.]
[22:15]	Keesh	is busy looking up at the great room's ceiling and wondering how that chandelier got hung.
[22:17]	Tarathiel	[Just then, a sharp trio of knocks sound off the front door.]
[22:20]	Keesh	wonders what sort of person would KNOCK on an inn door...?
[22:20]	Keesh	goes to answer it.
[22:21]	Tarathiel	's form fills the frame as he opens the door, arms folded under her chest.
[22:22]	Tarathiel	"I figured I'd try being polite this time," she remarks. Not a second later, she barges in.
[22:22]	Keesh	shuts the door.  Nope.
[22:23]	Tarathiel	simply pushes it open as easy as walking.
[22:25]	Keesh	skip-stumbles backwards, hand still on the latch of the door.  We are not amused.
[22:26]	Keesh	"I resherve the right to refushe sherviche to ANYONE!"
[22:27]	Tarathiel	"Too bad. I'm here now," she drones as she looks the place over.
[22:27]	Tarathiel	"What needs doing?"
[22:29]	Keesh	flings the door open even wider, and glares at Tara with those red beady eyes.  They seem to have healed up perfectly since last night.
[22:30]	Keesh	"I have a dragonoid who won't take a hint that needsh ejecting from my eshtablishment!"
[22:31]	Tarathiel	glares right back, casting a shadow over the innkeeper.
[22:32]	Tarathiel	"And I need to eat, and you need work. Shut up already."
[22:32]	Tarathiel	walks further inside, looking for messes, dust, disorganization- anything that might be a start to righteous work.
[22:35]	Keesh	goes >:T and slams the door shut, proceeding to ignore Tara completely for the moment.
[22:37]	Keesh	[There is a fair bit of dry mud on the floor from Mr. Shate and Glider the previous night.  Various plates of crumbs and uneaten food, courtesy of an over-zealous Hypathia, are also scattered about the tables and counters.]
[22:38]	Keesh	[Otherwise, there's no mess to speak of as the inn hasn't really had much, if any, patronage yet.]
[22:39]	Tarathiel	"Hey, where are the rags?"
[22:41]	Gilder	awakens and dresses in Hypathia's clothes, then heads out to ask what exactly she is supposed to be doing as Keesh's slave.
[22:42]	Keesh	continues to ignore Tara, but notices the same mess as her and frowns.
[22:43]	Keesh	"HYPATHIA!  Thish ish not how you sherve gueshtsh!  Clean theshe dishesh up!"
[22:44]	Keesh	shouts vaguely at Glider's direction, noticing the clothes and assuming Glider is Hypathia.
[22:45]	Tarathiel	looks over at the quirky-clumsy one. But... she was an elf? No? She stops in her tracks, surprised to find another of her kind.
[22:47]	Tarathiel	"... Hello?"
[22:47]	Tarathiel	Suddenly, her calm fire is replaced with confusion.
[22:53]	Gilder	looks over at Tarathiel. "Oh? Um... greetings!"
[22:54]	Tarathiel	stands heads taller than most elven warriors, and with the physique to boot, one wonders why she's looking to mop up mud.
[22:59]	Keesh	walks over to light the fireplace back up, casting another glance at the chandelier.
[23:00]	Tarathiel	walks over to the skeleton of an elf and offers a large, clawed hand.
[23:00]	Tarathiel	"I am Tarathiel Ae-"
[23:00]	Tarathiel	She quickly cuts herself off.
[23:00]	Tarathiel	"Er, just call me Tarathiel."
[23:02]	Gilder	"I am Gilder." She clasps Tarathiel's hand.
[23:03]	Tarathiel	cocks her head and narrows her deep blue eyes.
[23:03]	Tarathiel	"... How did you get all the way out here?"
[23:05]	Keesh	looks back at the pair.  Hang on...
[23:06]	Keesh	dashes over to Glider and slaps Tara's hand away.
[23:06]	Tarathiel	Inwardly, she processes some intuition nagging at her mind. What is it that's of-
[23:06]	Keesh	"Hey, keep your clawsh off-a her, she'sh mine!"
[23:06]	Tarathiel	whirls to face Keesh, yelling.
[23:06]	Keesh	stands in between the two, hands on hips.
[23:07]	Gilder	"Um, sir, we were just having a conversation."
[23:07]	Tarathiel	"I am a person, 0x1dnot0x1d some fairy-tale villain!"
[23:09]	Keesh	"Do you shee me trying to kill you like a villain, NO, you shee me trying to tell you to get OUT!"
[23:10]	Keesh	turns back to Glider, smiling quite sincerely.
[23:10]	Tarathiel	"If you ever saw a play, you'd know villains do more than just stab people."
[23:11]	Keesh	"I'm terribly shorry about all thish, dear, eshpeshially last night!  I had to put on a good show for Mr. Shlate, you see?  Couldn't come acrossh like a shoftie~"
[23:11]	Keesh	pats Glider's hand comfortingly.
[23:12]	Keesh	"Nomally I wouldn't deal with shlavesh, but I ran into shome, ahh... trouble, in finding help, you shee, and...  Well, never mind that!"
[23:13]	Gilder	"Tarathiel seems to want to help."
[23:13]	Keesh	"Ehh?  Who now?"
[23:13]	Tarathiel	firmly digs a hand onto Keesh's shoulder.
[23:13]	Tarathiel	"0x1dYou would resort to slavers before me?0x1d"
[23:15]	Keesh	gives more of a fake smile.
[23:15]	Keesh	"Oh, uhh...  Her."
[23:15]	Tarathiel	picks Keesh up by the hips and rests him over her shoulder.
[23:16]	Tarathiel	"Perhaps some rain will wash those 0x1ddisgusting0x1d morals of yours."
[23:19]	Keesh	scrabbles puny claws against Tarathiel's back.
[23:21]	Tarathiel	strides over to the door, opens it, and deposits Keesh outside. Afterwards, she simply leans against the door.
[23:22]	Tarathiel	"... At least he's better to you, the insufferable bastard."
[23:22]	Tarathiel	facepalms, sighing.
[23:22]	Gilder	"I don't know how he is to me. He just bought me yesterday."
[23:25]	Gilder	"There's a human lady who's a witch, and she seemed nice enough, but she was gone by the time I woke up."
[23:27]	Tarathiel	"I never did get magic much, myself. Don't need it."
[23:27]	Tarathiel	The dragoness tenses an arm, showing even more muscle.
[23:27]	Tarathiel	0x1dNot like I had the chance to learn0x1d, she considers.
[23:28]	Gilder	"That's impressive. Even when I was free and healthy, I was never built like that."
[23:31]	Tarathiel	Tarathiel smirks.
[23:32]	Keesh	[Tarathiel feels a bump on her back.  Looks like someone's trying to force the door open~]
[23:32]	Tarathiel	"I... got lucky, I guess. The reason for it isn't anywhere near as easy to hide as your burn, though."
[23:33]	Tarathiel	Moderately happy for the first time in a while, she eases her weight off the door just enough to let it crack open and butt-slams it back. Hopefully the hatchling lands on his ass.
[23:33]	Gilder	looks up at her. "I can imagine. Me, I think you look beautiful the way you are."
[23:33]	Gilder	then blushes deeply.
[23:36]	Tarathiel	stares at Gilder, wide-eyed. The clock of her brain stops ticking for a long instant before shakily continuing. o O ( ... 0x1dWhat?0x1d)
[23:37]	Tarathiel	"... Uhm, thanks."
[23:38]	Gilder	<She didn't pound me flat. That's good news.> he thinks, still blushing.
[23:38]	Tarathiel	doesn't realize it, but her ruddy skin does well to hide what would otherwise be an unmistakable blush, or pale shock, or some combination of the two.
[23:39]	Tarathiel	She then drops her eyes to the floor, her usual confidence and bravado gone. So too, follows tact and finesse when she speaks again, low:
[23:40]	Tarathiel	"... Uh, you're not a guy, are you?"
[23:41]	Tarathiel	Vivid recollections of gaggles of boys flash through her mind. "Monster!", "Bitch!", and other more inventive phrases a chorus on their tongues.
[23:42]	Gilder	"I am. None of the humans have realized it yet, though." He sighs. "Some don't even think male elves exist."
[23:43]	Gilder	"The guy who orignally took me as a slave stripped me naked to make sure I didn't have any hidden weapons, and even he still thought I was a girl."
[23:46]	Tarathiel	's mind is set yet further awhirl.
[23:46]	Tarathiel	"How is that even possib-"
[23:47]	Tarathiel	quickly shakes her head.
[23:47]	Tarathiel	"No, no, forget I asked. Uh..."
[23:47]	Tarathiel	And her mind grinds to a halt again.
[23:48]	Gilder	"I think it's like some kind of cultural blind spot humans have, or something. It baffles me too. But yes, I am a guy, and yes, I think you look lovely." He's feeling slightly emboldened now, though he still feels rather awkward with the ladies' dress and the big bronze collar on him.
[23:51]	Tarathiel	wrings her hands over her chest, letting out a nervous chuckle.
[23:52]	Tarathiel	"Uhheheh, hey, um..."
[23:52]	Tarathiel	To say this is uncharted territory is to things exist.
[23:52]	Tarathiel	"Uh, should I let him back in, now? We should probably get to work."
[23:56]	Gilder	"Sure. We can talk more about it later."
[23:57]	Tarathiel	silently turns and opens the door, immediately ignoring Keesh.
[23:57]	Tarathiel	"Uh, where are the mops? Or rags? Or something?"
[23:57]	Keesh	[Keesh is so ignorable the kobold isn't even there to ignore!]
[23:58]	Tarathiel	[True to form, Tarathiel doesn't even notice.]
[00:00]	Gilder	"I don't know. I only just now got here."
[00:00]	Tarathiel	"I'll go look," Tara comments as she strides past Gilder into the back-rooms. The door remains open and empty.
[00:01]	Keesh	[Keesh's voice suddenly emanates from... somewhere?  Both Glider and Tarathiel can hear it clearly but the direction is not very perceptible.]
[00:02]	Keesh	"Ash long ash you two ushurpersh sheem intent on running my inn, clean up the common room already!  Brushesh are in the kitchen."
[00:03]	Keesh	"And don't you dare think about burning the plashe down or I'll stab you!"
[00:04]	Keesh	's voice seems remarkably less than threatening.  Maybe if it sounded less like a yappy dog?
[00:06]	Tarathiel	Heckling helps bring Tarathiel back to earth. It's her life, after all.
[00:07]	Tarathiel	"Ah, so you 0x1dare0x1d a villain!" she shouts to no direction in particular.
[00:10]	Tarathiel	finds the brushes without too much more delay, brings one out for herself, and sets to work away from Gilder.
[00:11]	Gilder	gets out a brush, and starts cleaning the opposite end of the common room, feeling kind of awkward.
[00:11]	Keesh	"Nope, jusht the manager~"
[00:16]	Tarathiel	has calmed down some, but her mind is still abuzz. Certain cruelties start with kindness. It couldn't be a trap, could it?
[00:18]	Gilder	, meanwhile, is thinking of the fact that this lady he's exceptionally attracted to could break him in half if he made a single wrong step.