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Post by Greenie on Feb 12, 2008 20:15:10 GMT -5
Pascha was very, very bored, but thankfully not an obnoxious bored--though all that really meant was he was going to go more politely bother Anoushka instead of actually bothering her, which could get his head ripped off, he'd learned. That never stopped him from doing it, simply because it was fun, but he'd learned to be a bit more cautious and to read her moods as best as he was able before he started getting annoying. She'd pulled out a few feathers once, and that had hurt like a bitch. The bird was stuck with her for quite some time, though, while Aderlass went to give birth to the child that didn't exist. (Pfah, right, was what he said to that--how do you make a child disappear without killing it, which Ader said he wasn't going to do?) Two months was an awfully long time to leave for an event that only took a few hours, so Pascha had no idea why he was stuck here by himself for so long.. or, more accurately, with Anoushka, which sometimes meant he was by himself regardless because she was so busy. The owl had that to look forward to once he reached and gained his Jack, but until then.. he was stuck being very, very bored. Pascha traipsed as quietly as he was able to down the hallway to Anoushka's office, but paused before he entered to listen. He heard no voices so she was most likely alone--interrupting something generally meant bad things--so knocked on the door. " 'Noushy? I'm bored, do you need any help?"Calling her 'Noushy was enough to set her off some days, but he was in the mood to risk it. |
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 12, 2008 20:28:42 GMT -5
 The canine was seated behind her desk, scribbling glumly on a piece of paper that was one of many missives that needed a reply - and yesterday, of course, since they were all utterly urgent and could only go through the royal channels. It annoyed her to no end. She was beginning to hate this office even more than she already did. The more time she spent in here, the less time she got to spend outside, which always put her in a poor mood to begin with. Add to that the nearly two months of running the Court alone that she had to look forward to - Aderlass would help long-distance, but it was nowhere near the same level of involvement as actually being in the palace - and people were lucky that she didn't just greet them in the mornings with a snarl and a bite to the face. Not that she was randomly vicious. She was just overworked and cranky. Very cranky. ...and someone just knocked on her door and called her by an obnoxious nickname that only one creature in the palace, one bird, had yet dared to call her. She bared her teeth and growled, "No. I do not." |
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Post by Greenie on Feb 12, 2008 20:56:38 GMT -5
Pascha was glad that he hadn't opened the door, given her response and his reaction, which was to cringe a bit. Perhaps using her nickname hadn't been the best idea, but how was he to know she was peeved? He spent a few moments pondering over whether or not it was worth it to continue in his efforts to find something to do. If he continued bothering her, she might do something painful which would a) hurt and b) still leave him with nothing to do, but if he left, he'd have to find something himself, which would be difficult. The owl had been a the Court for a number of months now but still knew very few people, and was on speaking terms with less than five, which sadly included Aderlass and Anoushka. Pascha generally did not like people, and most agreed with his sentiment. Anoushka didn't exactly fall under the category of people that he liked or was liked in return, but she almost tolerated him, so it was close enough.
So he chose to continue pestering Anoushka for something to do, though he went with a much politer route the second time around. "Please, Highness? I really have nothing to do and I know you have a lot of paperwork.."
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 14, 2008 19:20:50 GMT -5
Anoushka looked for something to grab and bite, but she'd left her rope in her room after she started sharing the office with Aderlass as she 'trained' and explained things to him. She wasn't quite ready to explain the chew-worry-rope to him yet. That one always took non-canines a little while to understand and was vaguely embarrassing with certain people.
She wanted to chew it to pieces...
Instead she sighed, took a deep breath, and went to open the door for His Majesty's little 'pet'. It sent unpleasant tingles up and down her spine that he kept a bird, a crazy little bird, as a pet. Or a son. Or an assistant. Or whatever the creature was. But she tolerated it because it was her Queen's wish, and who was she to deny the eccentricities of Queens?
"I do not trust you to handle papervork. Vhat is it you need, owl? Food? Are you hungry? Or just bored and pestering people vith better things to do?"
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Post by Greenie on Feb 18, 2008 16:14:18 GMT -5
Pascha instinctively took a few steps back as he heard the thump of her approach and tried not to cringe when the door flew open. This was rapidly becoming one of his less-pleasant days with Aderlass gone, and he had the feeling that Anoushka would not be 'available' to him for much longer if this persisted.
"Your Highness, Aderlass allows me to do some of the paperwork," He started, doing his best to be polite without sounding annoying. He certainly could get food for himself, he had legs, didn't he? Occasionally Pascha was offended that she seemed to regard him as something less than a person, but then he remembered that she was Anoushka, and she really didn't like him, period. Perhaps it had something to do with him being a bird, he really didn't know. So Pascha remained where he was and tried not to sigh or twiddle his thumbs.
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 19, 2008 10:43:32 GMT -5
Anoushka had a rather hard time believing that Aderlass did anything of the sort. She wasn't sure if the creature had the gumption to claim something so ridiculous unless it was true, however. Her tail stayed still behind her as she eyed him. Feathers just made her angry...
Finally she sniffed. "If you're going to make claims like that about His Majesty Aderlass, you had best prove them to me. If you are telling the truth, you vill be able to fill out several documents. If you are not, I vill ban you from this ving of the palace until your master returns. Vould you still like to try?" She arched an eyebrow at the owl. That seemed a rather satisfactory statement to her. If he wasn't telling the truth, she got him out of her hair for a month or two, which would be lovely.
And if he was... the paperwork was killing her by herself. Ataxia was a help, but she had the girl off doing other things today, more active things that better suited her connections with the guard and the army, and was slowly drowning herself in all the paper.
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Post by Greenie on Feb 19, 2008 16:09:10 GMT -5
[[Feathers! *amused*]]
Pascha paused to consider her.. offer, for lack of a better term. What did he have to lose, really? If he managed to fill out paperwork to her satisfaction he'd have something to do, and if he didn't he'd merely have to stay away from her.. which he would have done after this point anyways, given her current state of mind. It was a win-win, really--he had no occasion to come through this wing other than to bother her with Aderlass gone anyways.
"Yes, I would, your Highness." The owl almost added a disclaimer on what kind of paperwork he was able to do, but had a feeling it wouldn't be a good idea--either he could do paperwork, or he couldn't. So he remained silent and hoped that it was paperwork he could do, though the possibility of him making a mistake remained regardless.
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 20, 2008 13:22:56 GMT -5
Anoushka nodded once, shortly, at his agreement. "Very vell then, come inside. I vill let you see vhat I am vorking on at present and you can tell me if you are familiar vith it. Then ve can see if you know vhat you claim to know." And she could see just how much Aderlass had been trusting the young man with. That would be an important consideration as well. How much of the Court was he coming to know?
She led him over to the desk, deceptively neat with only a few short stacks of papers and several implements of office destruction - a stamp, paperweights, a lamp, etcetera. The real dangers were the cabinets against the wall, filled to the brim with both current work that needed handling and past issues that might come up again. And this was only the 'immediate' matters at hand. It was enough to make her fur stand on end when she allowed herself to take in the enormity of what they were attempting to accomplish with so few people.
It was almost enough to make her envy the Hearts and their currently well-staffed roster. Until she remembered what utter dicks most of them were and what a snooty, erudite git of a scholar their current King was. And a bird on top of it. Rawr.
"Do you recognize this format?" she asked him, holding up the sheet of paper she had been contemplating before his arrival.
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Post by Greenie on Feb 21, 2008 16:05:00 GMT -5
Pascha nodded and made his way into her office. He was careful not to bump into anything or step on anything that may or may not be on the floor--and didn't sit down, as he wasn't invited to. The owl was allowed to disregard some protocol around Aderlass, but that was certainly not the case here. He glanced over her desk and wondered where she kept all the paperwork she had to have. Aderlass had his neatly hidden in a closet, but perhaps hers were elsewhere.. there had to be several giant stacks of it.
The owl quickly brought his attention out of his thoughts when she held up the paper and asked him about it. He stepped forward to read it better, then nodded. "Yes, it's the confirmation for payroll form." He replied. He'd filled out the basics on a few once or twice, though why Anoushka had one was beyond him, as they were fairly uncomplicated to work out.
Vaguely he wondered if the King knew he was intending to go for his Jack soon, but decided not to mention it. As far as he knew she would be giving him his Jack quest--and this was not her best frame of mind, so not the best time to bring it up.
[[Uh, yeah, totally made up paperwork there. .___. I have no earthly idea what Anoushka would be working on.. XD]]
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 21, 2008 16:11:16 GMT -5
Anoushka inclined her head when the owl identified the form and handed the sheet of paper over to him. It was an uncomplicated form in and of itself, but this particular sheet of paper had been brought to her attention because something wasn't evening out and the treasurer was concerned that a larger error was at work - accidental or deliberate, the woman wasn't sure.
"Tell me, bird, if you are so familiar vith this form... vhat looks unusual? Out of the ordinary? Vhy is the treasurer's signature not affixed to the bottom as it vould normally be, and instead there is a note to bring it to the attention of a superior?"
She watched him closely, on the lookout for any strangeness or bizarre behavior. He appeared to be more stable today, which was welcome. If he'd been in one of his fits or moods, she would have handed him off for someone else to deal with immediately. She was more than willing to tend to her Queen in illness, but not to this boy.
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