#stellaralchemist

Ahvir Beaumont hadn't even bothered knocking and strode in wearing his best evening regalia. The Breton folded a silken scarf over his shoulder as he regarded the orc up and down. His lips never changing from a bemused smile as he asked, "I assume it'll only be the two of us in this interview?" He barely gave the room a glance before he sat down, rubbing a piece of golden jewelry between his fingers as he crossed legs leisurely.

"Yes, I am Madam Ketzia, I will be overseeing the operations of the Kind Hand. And you are..." She trailed off as she consulted her notebook. "Ahvir Beaumont. So Ahvir, how long have you been working?"

Ahvir let out a small sigh as he placed his chin onto his palm, "Oh...Long enough? I'd guess a little over a year now, but I'm not one to fuss over time." He flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his lap.

"Hmm... And how did you get into the business?" Ketzia inquired, her pen still hovering over her book without touching the thick vellum of the page.

You'd think Ahvir wasn't paying attention with how hooded and disinterested his eyes looked, but his smile turned amused, as if Ketzia just told an inside joke, "Well it started when I started performing for some quick coins. Then..." He paused for a moment before he shrugged, "it just developed from there."

Ketzia didn't look particularly impressed as she wrote something down in elegant script in the book. She turned a page back and frowned over it for a moment before raising her dark eyes.

"I see. And is there anything you will not do?"

"Well that depends, you haven't exactly specified what kind of clients we are expecting here." Ahvir rebutted, his eyes inspecting the room as he rolled his hand. He inquired, "Is this, what, a general abode? Any specific customers I should be anticipating?"

Ketzia raised her eyebrows, stretching out the burn scars that marred half of her face. "No more unusual than any brothel, I suppose. We provide general services, or more if our employees are willing to do more."

He hummed noncommittedly, his eyes still staring out the window. Finally he popped his lips before finally answering with a flair of his hand, "Well, due to my magical abilities, I am fortunately skilled in more eccentric positions if that is what you're asking. Of course I've not been able to practice it recently since that rigorous experience with those four Argonians." His nonchalant gaze as he observed his fingers would imply he was completely serious. His slightly amused smile would imply otherwise

Ketzia glanced up at him, her eyebrows half-raised to indicate that she wasn't entirely amused by these asides. She wrote something else down.

"So you have no hard lines in terms of what you will do?" She asked again.

"Well perhaps a couple..." Ahvir sighed disappointedly when she didn't ask further about his intriguing story. He held up a finger with each request as he demanded, "No food-play; my room is a bedchamber, not a pig trough. My client must have a guarantee to be utterly healthy, I refuse to partake in any singing performances as I do not have the voice despite how talented I am, if I have to change out of my own clothing then I will charge extra for that as I am quite fond of my silks and any magical spells involved in foreplay I would rather do myself unless in the hands of someone adequate."

He leaned back with a cheery smile as he concluded, "But that is about it really. If you want to know any of my requests outside of my job, I already have a scroll for that, I will get it to you later." He waved a hand nonchalantly, as if his previous demands were not long at all.

Ketzia checked against a little list written in the margin of a vellum page, silent as he described everything. She finally looked up. "And what do these requests entail, in general?"

"Oh just the necessities; allergies, clothing storage, how much space am I allowed, what kind of bath do I have access to, those kinds of things." He started to look bored as his eyes started to wonder again, as if he was disappointed with having to explain it in the first place. This time his gaze blatantly fell to her scars.

If Ketzia noticed the staring she didn't indicate as much. "That's all fine, you will find a bath in your room, the rest of which you may furnish at your leisure. We provide an allowance for furniture but if your tastes exceed that feel free to spend more. You will naturally be expected to entertain in that space."

"Fair enough." His eyes rose slowly until they looked directly at Ketzia's. "Usually I haven't talked this much into an interview without my employer asking for a demonstrative performance." It sounded more like he was pondering aloud rather than suggesting anything.

"A demonstration will be unnecessary," Ketzia said, barely looking up. "You're not really my type."

She reached for a glass of wine nearby and took a brief sip. "So are there any questions you have for me?"

His eyes flashed briefly as if the very idea of not being appealing to the orc was offensive. Well he wasn't implying that he should in the first place but really! His arms leisurely laid against the desk as he leaned closer with an ingenuine smirk, "Yes; who pray tell is your type then Madam Ketzia?"

"I meant questions about the job," Ketzia clarified, ignoring the question deftly.

"Well I should think this relates most intricately to the job doesn't it?" His smirk if anything grew at the avoidance of his question

"Well you'd be wrong. So if you don't have any questions we can return to the meat of the process," Ketzia said and scrawled another note on the page. "Do you have any concerns for your safety?"

Ahvir pouted before he finally lifted himself off the table and mumbled, "In what way?"

"Do you feel that there is any danger to you in general?" Ketzia continued. "Something you feel guilty about, perhaps?"

"Ah well, there was that time I stole an armoire of golden bijouterie from a very glamorous Duchess who had her guards chase me all across Cyrodiil. Granted she hasn't caught me but alas!" He raised a finger warningly the nonchalant gaze returning as he remembered his fake tale, "I believe her grudge still resides."

"Mmm..." Ketzia hummed and wrote something else down. "So were you a thief prior to taking on the trade?"

"You could say that." He responded ominously. His eyes looked pensive as he twirled a golden ring between his fingers, "Being a Breton, you can understand our need to do whatever is necessary to ensure our survival; so if you are asking me if I have committed crimes recently, the answer is yes. Larceny, robbery, tresspassing, murder." His smirk turned dry as he regarded the orc with calculating eyes, "Or would you perhaps be the kind of establishment that would report such things to authorities."

"We don't acknowledge any outside authority within our property," Ketzia said calmly. Her dark eyes had risen again and now watched Ahvir intently for a moment. She only lowered them back down to her book a full, silent minute later and turned a page over. She nodded and produced from her desk drawer a small golden key.

"You will find your room upstairs, second on the left."

For the first time, Ahvir's eyes widened into genuine surprise.  His hand slowly reached for the key and scrutinized it. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at Ketzia, "...is that it?"

"Did you anticipate more?" Ketzia asked, handing him the key easily. Her hand was also covered in burn scars and her fingernails (painted an immaculate silver) looked false.

"Well perhaps a few more questions considering the list I have just described..." He muttered as he regarded the key again with surprise. After a moment he finally shrugged, "Ah well, who am I to complain about a free room. I'll just assume I can take all my bags up there now." Ahvir didn't even wait for an answer before he was already waving a hand over his shoulder and heading for the door.

Elenia finished her whiskey in one gulp and pointed to an expensive looking bottle on the top shelf “Make it a double, then we can talk.”

Jazz’s eyes widened when she noticed that the bottle would cost her every coin in all her pockets...literally. She just mainly lived on every wage she got along the way, so it didn’t surprise her that she was rather limited on funds now. But seeing as how she almost felt the footsteps of some people she dreaded coming in here any minute now, she shook her head and gave a thumbs up to the cloaked Mordesh “Ya got ya’self a deal gal!”

She quickly ordered the bot for the requested vintage and quickly went back to hunching over as if to hide behind Elenia and stage-whispered really close to her “Could ya real quick give a peep over to ya left an’ see if any shady fellas be here or lookin’ ta find somebody?”

The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes and gestured to the corner of the bar, indicating that Jazz should hide around there “I’ll snap my fingers when it’s clear. Go hide.”

“...What if dey see me headin’ over there?” Jazz whispered louder, getting quite worried to leave her already cleverly secluded spot behind a sour Mordesh “Jus’ sayin’, they ain’ gonna wanna go pokin’ ‘round a salty lookin’ Mordesh so mebbe I oughta stick ‘round here?”

The bot on the other side of the bar whirred to refill Elenia’s drink as she shrugged “Suit yourself. Who is after you, exactly?”

“Uuuhhhh…” Jazali let out a long awkward sound as she tried to think of an excuse to not tell until she heard a familiar voice coming from down the hallway. She let out a small ‘eep!’ and completely forgot the Mordesh’s advice to hide in the corner and instead ducked under the counter to hide behind the bar in a panic move.

Elenia sighed under her breath, lifting her new glass of whiskey and casting a look over to the door. A human man cloaked in dark black leather walked into the establishment, followed by a Grund in similar attire who stayed behind in the hallway, looking around with narrow eyes.

The human male was muttering something to his datachron as he looked around the entire area, only stopping once he reached Elenia. He leaned his elbows against the counter beside her giving his own attempt at a charming smile, which came off as a sleazy smirk “...Seen a girl come by here recently?”

His only response was Elenia staring him down “Who the fuck are you and why are you speaking to me?” She asked in a flat hiss.

“Someone with the freedom to ask a simple question aren’t I?” The unshaven man smirked and raised his hands up peacefully before narrowing his eyes “You’re the only one here o’course, so I figured I’d ask since we’re merely lookin’ for a poor misplaced soul…”

She turned away from the man and already looked bored of the conversation.

“Not feelin’ like talkin’ huh?”

It became extremely apparent that she was playing solitaire on her datachron.

“...Suit yerself then.” He shrugged before hacking and spitting to the side. He gave the area one last look before he walked off, waving the Grund to follow him out. Elenia tapped on the bar with a knuckle when the man was gone, still flipping over cards “That was easy.”

Jazz lifted her head up from under the counter when she heard the knock and stared at the woman playing in silence. Her lips slowly widened into a very big grin that stretched from ear to ear before she let out a loud bark of laughter and leapt onto the counter beaming “Hah! I figured dem boys ain’ gonna wanna mess with a scary lookin’ Mordy gal like ya’self!”

She crossed her legs and sat on the counter, not noticing the mud she was getting on the wood as she grinned “That sure was a mighty nice thing ya did for me lady, an’ they ain’ even put up a fuss! Boy I like you, what’s ya name?”

“Oh wait!” Jazz smacked a hand against her forehead with a chuckle and stuck out her other one in greeting “Heya! The name’s Jazz, friends call me Jazzy or Shorty, enemies call me Little Shit, but ya can take ya pick, I don’t mind!”

Elenia lightly moved her whiskey away from the woman, staring at her critically through the chatter and eventually extended a gloved hand “Dr. Volescu. Try to speak more quietly.”

The shorter human shook her hand eagerly “Dr. Volescoo? That’s a cool name! Mind if I call ya doc? Oh!”

Jazz snickered to herself and leaned over to speak more quietly as she winked “Sorry, forgot y’all Mordesh be more o’ da silent type, but thaz cool too! My friend Moki always be sayin’ dat ya can say a lot with a few words, I just usually have trouble with that, but it’s only ‘cause I got lotso’ emotions an’ I wanna express ‘em y’know?”

She bit her lip before she could continue and sheepishly chuckled “Oh yeah, quiet, sorry. Whatcha doin’ round these parts Doc? Here jus’ fo’ the fancy drinks lovely gals like me getcha?”

Jazz cheekily smirked at Elenia, who continued to stare very hard at her. In a slow, deliberate gesture she reached into a pocket and pulled out a little packet of nicotine gum. The pieces fell into her hand in a series of pops and she started chewing “I actually came here for the quiet. Is there an Off button on you somewhere?”

Her new companion blinked in a very confused manner, not really getting the hint as she looked about herself mumbling “Uuuhh...no? I don’t reckon I do? Figure it’d be cool way ta go to sleep though! Ya reckon that’s how the Mechari be takin; their naps? Pressin’ dat off button while listenin’ to their favourite tunes like...Heavy Metal?”

Jazz snorted loudly at her own little joke before leaping off the counter and taking a more comfortable seat beside Elenia.

The doctor continued to stare at Jazz and downed the glass of whiskey, dropping the glass upside down on the counter “Do you want a piece of advice?”

“...Sure! Figure I owe ya anyways, what wid ya savin’ my butt from those weirdos, an’ I ever so appreciate it ‘cause I would prefer ta keep mah booty.” She nodded and placed her chin onto her palms, waiting eagerly.

Elenia gestured for Jazz to lean in closer, making her scoot closer in her chair, and then leaned in forward. “You will be better at hiding if you don’t shout so much.” She hissed quietly and, with a quick scan of her datachron over the waiting bot, she paid her tab and walked out.