Closed [Job Thread] Raining Cats and Dogs

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

3rd of Spring, 515 AV

Jessor leaned across the desk and placed her hands on her chin with a slight huff.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't know if we have your dog or not. I'll have Hannah check as soon as she gets back. For now, could you please step off to the side so I can attend to the next customer?"

It had been too long of a day for Jessor. Hannah had gone out in search of animals that had been taken from their homes during the storm, and now Jessor had to man the desk. It wasn't her favorite part of the job- not by a long shot- and the people were less than happy with Jessor's service quality, but Jess was getting paid, and right now, that was all that mattered. She was holding on to the idea of her Gold Mizas at the end of the day just to help her get through.

"Yes, I'll remember it. Black dog, white muzzle, very friendly, goes by the name of Alkien. I promise I'll let you know if I see anything. Thank you."

Jessor finally, successfully waved the woman on, smiling a large, clearly fake smile as the next customer stepped up.

"Welcome to Killroy's Kennels, how may I help you?"

OOCI have marked this as open, but should no one respond within 5 days, I will put up a second post to keep the thread moving and get it finished before the season's end.

[Vairial Blackhand]

This was quite an unusual place for a character like Vairial to be. After the storm, there was no doubt that many people had lost their beloved pets in the heavy flooding and rain. The anxiety of a lost pet seemed to permeate the room, a worried face not uncommon. Vairial could sort of see why they would be worried, but could not relate. Many saw these animals as somewhat akin to family or close friends, but the Symenestra had never felt this connection with an animal. The lives of animals were secondary in his mind to the lives of higher beings, namely those of his family he did not have anymore. It was for this reason he found grieving for the life of a dog to be somewhat pathetic, and it rubbed him the wrong way.

For this reason, he decided he would have a little fun with the situation, perhaps a little social experiment. Once it was his turn to come up to the desk he already had the piece of paper out as the young lady behind the counter prompted him. "Good evening, I believe I have some information that would be helpful to the owners of this dog?" He laid the piece of parchment on the table, a description was written on it, a black dog with a white muzzle apparently named Alkien. "I know where to find a dog matching this description." he said, a smile spreading across his lips, fangs glinting in the low-light.

[Shakune]

Dogs are man's best friend.

Shakune thought she believed this statement, but tentatively at best. She already had one pet dog, a Sykanis terrier called Squidgle. He was incredibly lively, loyal and affectionate. But as adorable as the little ankle-nipper was, he served very little purpose other than chasing away rats. And with the eminent opening No Questions Couriers Shakune was in need of a guard dog.

It was this reason that she'd come to the Kennels. A dog bought there was likely to have an original 'proper' owner who no doubt was searching for his or her stolen canine. But choices were limited in Sunberth. A dog bought from a stranger on the street probably had mange or some other life-shortening disease. At least if she purchased a hound from the Kennels, Shakune would know where to go to complain if the same thing happened.

The establishment was busier than Shakune had expected upon her entering. She raised her voice to speak above the barking and meows that seemed to greet her and the other customers. "I'm looking for a guard dog. I'd appreciate any advice you could give on the breed."

Dogs were not her speciality. Beyond knowing what they ate (everything) and what they rolled in (anything), she knew little about the different types of hound, or their function or roles. "Nothing too large or aggressive. The dog needs to be able to abide people and other dogs, but also to know when to bite someone's head off." Perhaps it was a tall order, but nevertheless Shakune gave a brief smile and awaited a response from the woman behind the counter.

oocI hope you don't mind me butting in! Feel free to suggest any of the guarding-type dogs, but I'd really like Shakune to come away with a Bozderon Shadow Dog. They're ability to blend into shadows suits Shakune's worshipping of Akija.

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

Jessor nodded to the man gently. Although his features were light, his eyes sparkled with a darkness that could not be named. His fangs glinted menacingly and his long fingers drew Jessor's eyes to his nails, clasped tightly around a sheet of paper.

"Perfect." Murmured the Drykas, as she shifted on her sore feet. "If you'd like to write down the information, we can come find poor Alkien later. Thank you."

Absent-mindedly looking past the man, Jessor was instantly met with another eager customer- this one in search of a guard dog.

"A guard dog? Absolutely. Let me take you back to the Kennels and you can have a look at our current stock. We've got a few wilder ones in, just recently, that Hannah is still training. Like here."

Jessor nodded to the first dog cage, where a large, thin, chocolate brown dog was barking its head off.

"Sit!", Jessor commanded in loud, booming Common. It was a strange feeling to her, to give commands in Common, but she was getting used to it, working in the Kennels.

The dog in the cage sat for a brief moment, then jumped up onto his feet to bark again.

"Well, he'll be trained soon anyway. Feel free to have a look around. We've got all kinds of dogs here that are suited for guarding. In fact, we just got in a Shadow Dog this week that might be of interest to you. He's in the far back if you wanna check 'em out."

Jessor shouted the last words over her shoulder as she returned to the front desk, eyeballing the customers to make sure none of them had stolen anything obvious.

[Vairial Blackhand]

Nodding in compliance, Vairial wrote down the information of where the dog would be, or at least where he wanted them to think it would be. He had had more devious reasons for being here, obviously. Hope was a powerful motivator for people, shine a glint of it even in even the darkest alley and they will come flocking to it like flies to honey.

He said a quiet word of thanks to the women then handing her the paper of the location before strolling out of the kennel.

[Shakune]

Shakune followed the woman to the back of the shop, into a room that was full of dogs. They barked loudly, they whined, they absolutely stank[i]. Shakune spluttered and tried to look enthusiastic as the shopkeeper hurried back to the front of the shop. But Shakune knew little about canines, and it was all a a bit overwhelming for her.

The huge dappled dog to her left threw itself against its cage, growling throatily as it stared up at her through orange-tinted eyes. [i]Certainly a guard dog mentality, she considered with a tilt of her head, but also likely to feast on my bones if I sleep too heavily. She was not looking for such an animal.

She drifted past the cages, absently glancing into some but ignoring most. Shakune had no idea what constituted as a good guard dog, besides a bulky body and a sharp bite.

We just got in a Shadow Dog...

The kennel assistant's word rung in the back of Shakune's mind. She'd no idea what a shadow dog was, but it sounded... interesting.

"At the far back..." She followed the assistant's guide and came to the end of the kennels. Glancing to her right, Shakune looked down upon a jet-black dog, with red eyes and a steady gaze. Unlike the others around her, this dog was not barking or growling, but simply sitting there, lookng up at her. Finally, it gave a flop of its black tail and the courier found herself smiling.

The dog crept towards the front of the cage. It turned to show Shakune it's side and the courier slipped her fingers through the gaps of the wiring to touch the animal. Another wag of a tail and the dog pranced in a circle to face her with a smiling, expression. With a final nod, Shakune's mind was made.

She strode back to the front of the shop and located the kennel hand. "I'll take the Shadow dog. Ur--" as if her lack of expertise wasn't obvious enough, Shakune bombarded the other woman with a lungful of questions. "What is a shadow dog, though?"

[Jessor Yellowmoss]

Jessor leaned back with her elbows resting on the hard countertop as she explained to the woman.

"A Shadow Dog, err, Bozerdon Shadow Dog, if you wanna be technical, is a special breed of dog known for their exceptional skill in guarding. They can slip into the shadows until you can barely see 'em. Some say it's just because of their color, but if you ask me, it's more than that. They're also known to see in infrared, making them amazing at guarding through the night, as I assume you'll need.

Jessor nodded at the dog in the back corner, who was sitting and swishing his tail, waiting patiently for the interested woman to return to his side.

"Plus, those red eyes oughta scare off anyone in their right mind, y'know?

"I do have to warn you, though. They are expensive creatures. In pretty high demand around here, since they're so valuable as guard dogs. Since this one's trained, it'll be even more. Say, 55 Mizas, and, whenever I'm not too busy, I'll teach you all of his commands too, yeah? That way you'll know exactly what to say and do to get the best use outta him."

Jessor had never been good at bargaining, especially not in Sunberth, where it was obvious that most had neither the time, money, nor effort to put into fighting back. But she also knew in the back of her mind that Hannah would not be happy if she didn't weasel at least a little extra cash out of the dog. After all, she wasn't lying when she said they weren't cheap.

And with the way they blended in with the shadows, they weren't the easiest dogs to steal back either.

[Shakune]

Shakune nodded as the other woman explained the dog breed in more detail. It sounded intriguing, to say the least, and incredibly helpful for what the courier needed. "I see." She murmured quietly, frowning as she considered the red eyes that stared up at her. Us lot with strange coloured eyes had better stick together, she thought. And with that, her decision was made.

But the courier held back from letting the saleswoman know this. Keeping one's imaginary cards close to one's chest was key when negotiating a deal of any kind. Instead, Shakune tilted her head and pursed her lips in mock thought. "Still, this particular dog might be as soft as butter. He certainly doesn't seem to be protective or threatening." She raised a hand to the wires of the dog's pen, sticking her fingers briefly through the gaps before retracting it away quickly and holding her hand up, "See? All ten fingers perfectly intact. I'd have expected a good guard dog to at least have a go at snapping one off."

She wandered away from the pen, black eyes checking out the other canines that lined the room. Eventually, she returned to the Shadow dog and clicked her tongue, deciding on a price. "I'm happy training him myself. So, let's say thirty-five. He seems pretty soft to me, so he might be nothing more than a lapdog."

Start low, build the price up slow. Shakune repeated the mantra silently in the back of her head whilst she waited for the saleswoman's reply. Should the offer be rejected, Shakune would increase her offer to thirty-eight, then to forty, and so on.