Welcome to The Kind Hand
((A small RP oneshot with @stellaralchemist of my Breton OC Ahvir getting hired for The Kind Hand! I hope you guys enjoy it because I had fun playing with the mischievous entrepreneur that is Ahvir!))
The office of the Kind Hand was pleasant and warm, with windows open to catch the late-summer breeze and the sunshine. Ketzia sat behind a lovely carved wood desk, a little notebook out on the desk. She wore a fine teal dress that highlighted her handsome form and the spread of burns over her chest and face. A ruby glimmered on her forehead.
"Next," she called down the stairs, tapping a beautiful fountain pen against the parchment of the book.
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.
Ketzia watched him with narrowed eyes as he departed and then sat back in her chair. She could be heard calling for the next prospective employee as Ahvir departed.