Open it kills the cat.

[Adrienna Lynint]

27th of Summer, 514 AV. When the sun had dawned upon Kenash, little gave sign that it would be one of the viciously sweltering days the season had threatened. It had been peaceful. The birds had been chirping, the slaves had been working, and Lucian was solemn. It had been normal. By the noon bell, Adrienna had to wash her face in order to alleviate some of the heat she imagined boiling in it, clearing off the sweat that had accumulated after hours of dealing with reptiles and people in the dark and often cool store. The slave handling a snake for a child seemed ready to faint; tired lines edged under his eyes and his colour was off, informing Adrienna that he felt the heat as much, if not more so, than she did. "Lucian," she had to call him away from the child. When he came to her, slowly for a change, she took the snake out of his hands. "I need you to bring fresh water for these ones." For a long moment, the slave regarded her with a flat stare. Oh, he knew what she was up to. He was not unintelligent and after a mishap involving a Freeborn youth and a particularly grumpy caiman, he was reluctant to leave her... if only because he wanted to see himself what a caiman could do to a Freeborn brat. "Fine," he said eventually. A faint smirk tugged the side of his mouth upward before fading into that surly scowl he typically wore. Water for the snakes. Water to cool down with. She'd given him that allowance, however small and masked with the command of master to slave. He was not to disobey. He'd gone and she gladly took over for him. The snake in her hands was not a feisty one as they were often; it curled around her hands and wove through her fingers in search of freedom. She stroked it and it flinched away briefly before coming to terms with it. "This little one is one of my oldest. She came from the grounds near Silverbite, hatched from an egg in my own care." With a low hiss to express her displeasure, the serpent extended her body and a dark tongue forked through the air. The child right there yelped as if expecting to be bitten and earned a few chuckles from the adults nearby. Adrienna tsked him. "She's just curious, see? You'll get her antsy if you let her know you're anxious. Taking care of a snake is not like taking care of a cat or dog." She quickly extended her hand to catch the snake as her extending threatened to let her fall, the second hand becoming a new playground for the scaly thing to explore. Honestly, the girl was a couple seasons old, a type of swamp-thumper that made itself abundant near the shores of Uvic Lake and enjoyed the heavy, humid weather before a storm. Therefore, this weather wasn't as hard on the girl, but she certainly wasn't enjoying it either. "Aren't snakes with colours venomous and dangerous?" Another customer escaping the heat in her store had the nerve to call out, a stupid question by Adrienna's accounts. She wouldn't be selling them if they were venomous. Of course, the child's parents quickly secured him to their side and eyed the poor girl enjoying winding through pale fingers with mild fear. "Of course not," she responded. "The only dangerous things in here are stupid people if they fail to use sense when around my goods." She gestured at him. He was leaning against the stall of a caiman. Frankly, Adrienna didn't want to have to kill another animal simply because some idiot wasn't paying attention. "No loitering," she eventually said before returning to the child and continuing her demonstration. She kept a wary eye on this other fellow; he seemed the troublemaking type.

[Garrett Skinner]

He hadn't stepped into the store to escape the blistering heat that had caused dirty droplets of sweat to meander down from his scalp, along the side of his face before hanging perilously off his chin until gravity finally did its job and it fell to the ground. No, if he had wanted to escape the heat he would be in the tavern. He had just been there, still leaving the faint , distasteful smell of ale on his breath. Making him much more talkative than usual because of it.

He did have a slightly strange request from the tattooed shopkeeper. It was one of those ideas you only ever got under the influence of alcohol. Ideas he encouraged. He was willing to wait though, letting her prattle on about the weird creatures she sold as he sobered up. It may have surprised most residents of Kenash but he had never laid eyes upon crocodile till a few days ago where he had dared to go out hunting to pass the time and earn a few Mizas until he stumble across the behemoths that patrolled the waterways of Kenash, nearly crapping himself at the sight of a Granidile.

It was their eyes that unnerved him the most, they seemed so cold and uncaring yet he had heard stories of the crying when they killed their prey, pitying them for what had to be done. He listened though to the words of the woman though as he watched the girl let the snake thread through her figures as adults shifted nervously around her. Let her get bitten, it'll teach her a bloody lesson after all Garrett thought rather ungenerously.

"They're bad for eatin' though" Garrett assured as he stepped up to the crowd, his eyes more fixed on the peculiar woman orchestrating this demonstration rather than the snake that they had all be assured was harmless "Well, guessin' anyway from experience of eatin' them. Don't have many snakes where I come from but they don't have an ounce of fat on 'em but I suppose if yer starvin' yer balls off then you gotta do whatever it takes" He mumbled, mostly to himself since he doubted anyone in this strange place would care to listen to what he had to say.

He gave her a few chimes to carry on with her presentation before eventually "Sorry to interrupt love..." He lied. He didn't want to spend another moment in this place, unable to ignore those reptilian eyes peering at him as he heard the loiter curse foul words under his fouler breath. He didn't want to be here if any trouble broke out, for now he wanted to slip under the radar at least. "I ain't in the market for pet, I'm wondering if you've got any sick or dying buggers I can take of your hands" He said before expanding on his request "I'm lookin' to set up some bait, figured a dying animal would be good as any." It was a sound principal at least, she wouldn't have to put up with a runt or risk her other creature's health and he could bag some real big game to tide him over till work came along. "I'm willing to pay..." He added, wondering how attached she was to her wares.

[Adrienna Lynint]

A new interruption had arrived, earning a brief and scouring glance from Adrienna. Now she wished she'd not sent away Lucian, but she trusted him to return shortly with the requested water. If this newcomer was any other person, a Freeborn she'd at least glanced upon while out on the city, she might have been more comfortable, but no. This scruffy outsider was not someone she recognised and she instinctively glanced for his hands to see if there was some sort of branding upon him. "I wouldn't eat any of these babies," Adrienna said. Her voice was a natural hush; it would not do to upset the animals. "Snakes do not provide the sustenance you'd want. I don't sell these guys for food, except for them." With a sharp nod she gestured to a tank of mice. They were scurrying about, doing mice things. She imagined that, in the hierarchy of things, Dynasty members were the lizards and Freeborn were the mice, simply waiting to be gobbled up. With that, the Lynint continued her presentation until the serpent in her hands began to get frustrated. In a smooth motion, she deposited the girl into her own tank, scooped up a wriggling mouse from the other, and promptly fed the creature. Another demonstration with a more subtle meaning. The tittering parents turned their child away but the boy craned his neck to see as the snake latched onto her prey, curled those magnificent muscles around it, and squeezed the life out of the rodent before beginning to eat while it was still warm. "I won't sell you folks her, as she's eating and would like a bit of a rest, but I do have a marvelous young lady you can take a look at," she offered a winning smile with her words. Child said yes, excited now that he'd seen the nature of a snake feeding. Of course, Adrienna was hesitant to sell to a family with a child if only because she expected most children to mistreat the animals and so earn themselves a good bite for their trouble. She'd had more than one dead snake nailed to her door. "If I sell you this girl, don't be mean to her." She said to the child. Because I'll get you. Innocence beamed at her, she smiled at him, and his parents eventually conceded. Through the whole transaction, Adrienna expected that snarky man or the one still hanging around her caiman to interrupt. Finally, when done and with the little family leaving her shop with the child holding a few mice in a cloth bag with his father carrying the snake. Honestly, Adrienna never enjoyed making a sale unless she was certain the buyers would not mistreat anything, including the feed, but it was necessary. She sighed and dusted off her hands before looking to the two who remained. At the loiterer, she pointed. Conveniently, Lucian returned and saw her gesture. He straightened and stepped towards the man, but Adrienna did not pay them much heed. This newcomer she couldn't remember, though, she eyed him dubiously after his request. "What exactly do you expect to catch with snakes?" There were more than enough snake-eating beasties out there, but one shouldn't blame a girl for testing. "Their meat is tough and they don't have fat on them, right?"

[Garrett Skinner]

Garrett had not been at the wrong end of the brand yet, that was to come later in his stay but it was apparent that he was no slave and that he was likely to be new to the city with his slightly dismissive attitude of the Dynasty member. Simply put, he was an outsider. He ignored her comment regarding the mice, he needed something a tad bigger than rats and mice to catch something even worth killing, let alone of any value though he felt his stomach turn as he saw the snake encircle the scared, jumpy mouse before snapping its ribs and. It was a foreboding sight.

As the little sales pitched went on and on Garret could only stand about, continuing to eye the merchandise warily as the man next to him ignored her and carried on loitering next to that bloody Caiman for no apparent reason. "If you're plannin' on nickin' mate..." He said, breaking the silence between them as he turned around to face him with a cocked, curious eyebrowb "I wouldn't try and smuggle it out yer trousers if I were you, no-one wants to see that snake" He quipped, followed by a sharp short as he was shot disapproving looks from the parents of the family as they left with their new pet.

"What exactly do you expect to catch with snakes?" She asked as Garrett simply shrugged, not expecting to be interrogated "Their meat is tough and they don't have fat on them, right?"

"It ain't tasty but animals don't give two shits about flavour, you think the fish finds that fat worm stuck on the hook tasty?" He explained as her assistant or whatever he was to her dealt with the loiterer "Hopefully, I can string up whatever you can give me live and it'll make enough of a fuss to attract some game, probably a few birds'll be interested in a free meal and I can stick a bolt in 'em" He said, reeling of his little plan that he had formulated in his head as he heard voices becoming raised next to him, whatever the loiterer had been asked to do he clearly disagreed and was quickly becoming irritated.

"Listen love, have you got somethin' I can use or not? As nice as this place is I'd rather not be burnin' daylight here" He said. By that he meant if he'd rather be getting pissed in the tavern then standing around here, constantly feeling hungry reptilian eyes locked on him at all times.

[Adrienna Lynint]

Adrienna scrutinised him, judged him, as he spoke to her. A lot about him grated upon her nerves, trampling her patience which had soured already in this forsaken heat. Syna must really love Kenash this season... "I do not-" Adrienna was interrupted when an altercation, albeit verbal, broke out between her slave and his current source of work. The caiman in the stall grinned up at the two beyond his reach expectantly, truthfully a tad comical with the way the wide mouth hung open. She gave a roll of her eyes; whatever this stranger whom referred to her as "love" wanted was not as important as some Freeborn trash getting a cooldown in her store without making a purchase. She gave this man another glance, expressing exasperation. "Please, excuse me for a moment." Whether or not he gave his assent, she stepped forward to solve the issue before something got broken. Lucian was glowering... but that was not much of a change. The man had no other expression to default to. The loiterer was also scowling, but that was to be expected. Currently, Lucian was telling the man to leave and the man was refusing, straight out. For this reason was Lucian slowly curling into a position to lunge and drag the unknown gentleman out himself. Adrienna couldn't have that, no matter what. "Lucian, stop." The slave was reluctant. Again, he'd become too bold. That would need correction. She placed a hand on him and nodded to the other who wished for bait. "Keep an eye on him for me." It was generally a rule of hers. Outsiders were watched. With a grudging nod, Lucian wheeled about and cast his scouring, silent gaze, upon the hunter. His arms crossed. He slouched. His slave tattoo was shown in sharp relief by the flickering light cast by the braziers. Adrienna returned her attention to this man before her who straightened. Slowly, she circled around him in order to gently lift a third serpent from his glass prison. One hand a third down, supporting his weight only after she'd let him know she was there with a touch of her finger to his side and a flick of his tongue in response. The other reached in and lifted the writhing creature delicately, letting him close his tail around her forearm before facing the loiterer. "You will leave my store, or I will make you." The threat was followed when the snake flicked his tongue and leaned towards the man curiously. He was a younger serpent and this was one of the few times Adrienna had handled him. He might lunge. The dubious glint in the loiterer's eyes intensified as he leaned back. He suddenly remembered the grinning caiman and stepped away from the stall as Adrienna approached him, daring him to draw a weapon or bear being approached by the scaly length of slowly tightening muscle. She tried not to flinch as his coils tightened upon her arms. Intimidation required a steady expression and a resolution to not bow down and this man... well, he wouldn't fall for it if she gave a sign of her discomfort. In her arms, the male swayed with her movements. Lucian looked away from the hunter long enough to ensure neither her nor the serpent came to harm. "Petch, cunt," The man spat at her. He had circled around a brazier, edging away from the lines of glass containers. Mice squeaked shrilly. He bolted. Finally, Adrienna hissed. She turned and gave a jerk of her chin. That was sign enough and the slave hurried forward. With both hands, he took the serpent by his tail and began to slowly unwind him from her arm. Under the scales, her pale skin was marked with red where he had constricted upon her. The blood returned quickly, making it ache, and Lucian returned the snake to his container as Adrienna sought out her kit. Cloth was wrapped around her arm enough to where she no longer hurt and she finally sighed relief. Now it was the two of them and the hunter. "Sorry about that. Now, business." Adrienna returned to him, offering a low inclination of her head. The apology was genuine. That was rude business, and painful. Hopefully he was pleased. "I would prefer my wares be dead before being used as bait. They are not meant to be fed to larger animals, see?" Despite her smile, her eyes narrowed. Did he see? "Give him a bit of movement and anything you hunt will be none the wiser. It's hot enough out. Does that sound agreeable?"

[Vice]

Adrienna Lynint :

Skills

• +2 Leadership
• +3 Rhetoric
• +1 Teaching
• +2 Observation
• +1 Medicine
• +1 Philosophy
• +1 Animal Husbandry

Lores

• Philosophy behind Intimidation
• Medicine: Wrapping an Aching Limb
• Teaching about the Merchandise

Garret :

If you come back, let me know

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please send me a PM, and we'll discuss my reasoning behind why the grade given was received. Please make sure to edit any posts in the grading queue to 'graded' and update your CS as soon as possible. Enjoy! ^.^