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Post by Nako on Dec 6, 2008 21:09:43 GMT -5
"But there were flyers all about town! You see? I'm holding one right here? And you can't tell me where I'm supposed to go?" Long, spindly fingers held the paper up in front of the bipedal canine's face. Confused, the guard merely frowned and shook his head, eliciting a frustrated sigh from the bog hybrid. Everyone seemed confused.. tense.. unsure. It certainly didn't make for a comfortable atmosphere for Mikael's first day at the court of spades. He uttered a most miserable sigh and turned away, tucking the flyer back into his satchel and walking away. Well, this certainly wasn't getting him anywhere; the halls were almost completely deserted. The few people that were around seemed to hardly know what was going on. And to think of all the trouble he'd went through to prepare for this day! He'd brought his school grades, the documents of his extracurricular activities, and even his acceptance letter to Esterberry.. everything he thought he'd need to procure himself a job. That wasn't the half of it; he'd groomed and primped and primed for this interview. He'd even soaked for a good hour in the bath to loosen the oils from his fur and infuse himself with the scent of things more pleasant than the bog. When he could afford to do so, he'd really need to go and visit Mr. Todd to do something about that particular trait he'd inherited. Oversized ears pinning back against his skull, the lad sat down in the hallway and stared at the floor. What was he going to do with himself?
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Post by Greenie on Dec 6, 2008 21:30:03 GMT -5
 One loud, frustrated female voice filtered through the nearby walls. "What do you MEAN, you don't know where all the coffee beans are? A supply to last us several months was just brought in and was in the kitchens, and you DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS?!" The voice paused, and a low murmur of responded. "NO, I DID NOT LOSE THEM YOU NINCOMPOOP! You better go find them NOW, or it's going to be coming out of YOUR pay! GO!"A large midori badger flew out of a doorway and down the hall. Not even a moment later Vessatha strode out, her expression speaking volumes about her mood; she stopped dead in her tracks at Mikael and rose an eyebrow. "Who are you, why do you stink, what's with the mask and why are you sitting on my floor?" She asked, much more calmly than her previous bout of yelling, though not particularly politely. |
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Post by Nako on Dec 6, 2008 21:44:05 GMT -5
The sound of a strong feminine voice made Mikael all but jump out of his own skin, attempting to scramble to his feet but finding himself slipping on the stone floor. His hind legs slipped right from under him and planted his tail end firmly on the ground. Bemused, he met the gaze of the biped with much hesitance.
He actually could do little but stare at her for a moment. Did that much rudeness really come out of her mouth? If he hadn't been raised by parents with equally abrasive personalities, he might have actually been insulted. His gaze sharpened though, at the questions about his bog specific ailments... but he ignored them. If she knew nothing about the bog, he wasn't about to try to explain it to her.
"I'm sitting on this floor because I've got nothing else to do while waiting for -someone- of some level of competence to come down this hallway. Every guard I've stopped can tell me absolutely -nothing- about where I should go or who I should see to apply for a job" he all but snatched the paper out of his satchel, holding it out. "Now. My name is Mikael, and I need to speak to a competent individual of the court." That comment was followed with a pause. A short pause, but one nonetheless, to let this woman absorb his words. Ballsy of him; if only his father could see him now! If he hadn't been in such a sour mood from the general turmoi of applying for a job he didn't want in the first place, he might have been more contrite. "Now... M'am.. could you -please- direct me to where I need to go?"
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Post by Greenie on Dec 7, 2008 0:24:07 GMT -5
Vessatha eyed him a bit more closely as he seemed to stumble, then refocused and shot a load of mouthblabber back at him. The mask was very, very, odd - could he be from the Bog? Wasn't there a huge family of them over in Hearts? What was one doing over here? Well, duh Vessie, he was a spade. He probably had felt a bit uncomfortable over in Hearts. One had gone and titled himself as a Club, if she remembered right. Whatever. Big families were just obnoxious.
"Well Mikael, get off your ass and follow me. As an individual obviously far more competant than the nonexistant guards - we don't have any guards, so you couldn't have been talking to one - I know where to take you. Next time you waltz into a Court demanding to speak to someone, make sure you're not talking to the bellhop." She stated flatly, with a flair of annoyance, then did a 180 and began stalking off in the other direction, expecting him to follow her.
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Post by Nako on Dec 7, 2008 0:35:26 GMT -5
"None?! No guards.. Bellhop?" Almost lost for words, he had to scramble to his feet to go after her, claws slip-sliding a bit before gaining purchase on the floor.
"I'd heard the Court was understaffed, but..."He shook his head with disbelief. He'd heard things were bad.. but were they really in such disrepair that they'd not have a single guard at the door? "Then again.. why wouldn't even a bellhop know how to direct someone to the right place? You'd think the man at the -entrance- would have some idea.." He was scrambling for -some- sort of justification now for his lack of knowledge in these things. Really, the Court was in a sorry state compared to the Court of Hearts.
He was insulted, annoyed.. and he generally just didn't want to be where he was at. Even as his mouth prattled on, he probably was ruining his chances of getting hired. This woman seemed patient enough even in her impatience, and her general air of confidence made him pause and consider her. Goodness knows, he'd been mouthing off to a Jack of unknown importance... and with the tyrannical impression the new Queen had left. Hell, if it wasn't for his father's insidious ultimatum, he'd have happily never stepped foot on the Spade Court doorstep. His mind was racing with thoughts of indecision and general unhappiness at the situation, so he muttered the first thing that came to mind.. something to alter the tone of his earlier complaints. "It's really that bad here right now?"
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Post by Greenie on Dec 7, 2008 0:47:27 GMT -5
"Nope," She replied flippantly, not bothering to slow down for his interestingly-shaped limbs.
"They're new, that's why." She replied with a snort. "I imagine you scared them, asking them lots of questions and yelling at them when they couldn't answer. Most of the old staff works in the kitchens or as maids, servants, etcetera; our old 'outer' staff was pretty much obliterated with the change of leadership." Vessatha explained, then shrugged.
"It's not. We're doing a huge ongoing hiring process at the moment. It will be bad for the next week or so, but as we get everyone trained and placed it will begin to improve dramatically."
She stopped at her office doorway, opened it, and went and sat at her desk. "Now, what did you want again?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Had he even noticed her rank?
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Post by Nako on Dec 7, 2008 1:05:41 GMT -5
He had to admit, he was surprised when she opened the door and walked right in. Mikael certainly hadn't expected to run into the very person he was looking for.. whoever she was. For her to have her own office though... she had to be important.
Stopping, he looked at the door as she opened it, noticing the nameplate. He'd nearly missed it. Vessatha. Was this her name? Well, he'd only assume.. but then again what if she was using the office and it was someone else's? His ears gave the slightest of flicks on top of his head, a moment's hesitance showing before he forced himself back into stride. It was probably one of the few times he was glad his mask could hide the expression on his face, which was somewhat anxious when he realized he had snapped off to someone important.
He couldn't show weakness. That was one thing he'd learned from his father and it was one of the few times he could apply it into his lifestyle. Slowly, he took a calming breath and jumped up into the seat that was across from her. Taking it upon himself to sit down would be a bold move, but he also made it a motion of necessity to sit down in order to remove his satchel. "Well, to look for a job... M'am With nothing other than a name at his disposal, he'd hardly be able to call her by her first name. He'd learned early on that such informality could get one in trouble.
Despite himself, his gaze flicked around the room, looking for clues as to exactly -who- this woman was. And by who she was, Mikael didn't mean her name. What was her title? What was she like? These were things one could take in by the personal surroundings. If the top of her desk was anything to go by though... yikes. Quickly, he found his voice again. "I mean... I'm looking for something small.. something that would get me a bit of pay, but something somewhat part time. My scribing is surprisingly neat, regardless of circumstances. You see, I'm in need of a bit of income for my tuition."
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Post by Greenie on Dec 7, 2008 13:57:26 GMT -5
"Obviously," She drolled sarcastically. There were many jobs she could hand them, several of which were less than pleasant; he seemed like too nice a boy to be relegated to scrubbing latrines.
His scribing was neat? How was it even possible for him to write with those freaky fingers of him? Whatever, if he said he could, she'd take his word for it. If it turned out he couldn't write for beans she could always stick him in the kitchens or something. "We have a part-time scriviner position open in the library, but we do have two full-time scriviners, so you'd be getting last pick of hours. If you're looking for something more in-contact with people, we also have a part-time personal secretary position open. Which would be more to your tastes?"
Vessatha elected not to mention that the personal secretary was for Donnie, mostly out of her own morbid sense of humor.
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Post by Nako on Dec 7, 2008 21:24:52 GMT -5
Her sudden scrutiny when he mentioned his scribing did not escape him, and a single ear swivelled back unsurely for just a moment. He'd thought that perhaps she'd not believe him and send him out; Mikael was used to it, after all. People hardly believed he could paint either, until they saw his work.
What surprised him more than anything, was how she continued on quite calmly about his career options. What? He was getting hired? His breath hitched for just a moment, as if he didn't believe her at first. The lad had hardly expected to get hired after how he'd acted in the hallway. He had sat there dumbfounded for a moment, but her level stare made him come back to reality.
The scrivener job sounded.. horrid. He'd need a slightly more malleable schedule if he was to work at the Courts. A secretary job didn't sound terrible at all, especially if he took some of his classes in the evening, or very early morning and worked during the typical hours. Then again, he'd just be sure to move his school schedule around to compensate. "I'd believe that a job as a secretary would be more rewarding and educational, M'am." The hybrid's voice quavered just a bit, having to force himself to calm down and took a foot and brought it down on his own tail to keep it from thumping obnoxiously on the seat. He clambered for his satchel. "Do you need to see any of my papers? I brought along anything I could think of that would need to be filed... Birth certificate, things of the sort..."
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Post by Greenie on Dec 7, 2008 21:40:52 GMT -5
"Do you?" She asked drolly. "Writing down memos and writing fluffy, useless thank you letters in someone else's name is more educational than learning our Suit's policies and laws?" The ferret asked in rhetoric, smiling to herself. Someone didn't want to do excessive paperwork, but she doubted he really understood what he was walking into.
"Suit yourself. Yes, I need your birth certificate to verify you are over sixteen. Any letters of recommendation or anything of the like would be welcome as well." The ferret requested, then watched to see what he had brought. It always entertained her that over-eager school boys thought it necessary to flood her with paperwork on what good, dedicated workers they were when they both knew they were going to do half-assed jobs simply because they were teenagers.
She waited to see his papers before digging out a contract - and decided she wouldn't actually tell him who he was to be a secretary for, but instead lead him up to Donnie's office and leave him there to flounder.
It was always fun to watch perfectly well-behaved mammals act like fish.
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