Where the Wyld Things Are (Seva)

Having finished vetting a particularly ornery Runespoor that they had just rescued from it's previous owner, Jonathon simply watched as it slithered within it's new habitat "looks like your back with us little one, at least until I find a more reputable owner." Mentally kicking himself for not coming sooner, he couldn't help but curse the Ministry under his breath Obligated to give twenty-four hour notice prior to inspection... I wonder if I could work around that somehow, otherwise it's useless. It was a very rare occurrence when he actually had to call upon that particular clause in the contract, but when he did there was generally a reason for it "Lets ignore the fact that the serpent originates in a warmer climate and just expect it to survive on it's own after bred in captivity... " Shutting his mouth after noticing that he was getting worked up and the agitation was affecting his patient, he simply wheeled the terrarium out onto the main floor; might as well show off the specimen, she was quite lovely after all, and maybe she would even find a proper owner this time.

Checking the temperature and regulating it with a simple incantation muttered under his breath, his gaze extended towards the various terrariums before hearing a nerve rattling shriek. Making a beeline towards the far end of the aisle, what he saw there would have been hilarious if it hadn't been life endangering; poor Paul was backed into a corner as the Acanthophis sat there hissing in an agitated state "Paul I know this sounds idiotic right now but you need to calm down, all your doing is adding fuel to the fire as it were okay, just stay calm and you'll get through this just fine." Withdrawing his wand, twin summoning charms first brought his Gauntlets and then the snake hook he usually used when looking for specimens in the wild If that thing strikes, he is going to be in a world of hurt, I have the anti-venom on hand but he is going to be sicker than a dog Slowly using the stick to tap against the floor, the serpent that had seemed poised to strike at the younger man, now turned it's attentions towards a new source of irritation"That's it... look at me you brute... the big bad man with the hook..."  Edging closer with his eyes focused on the serpent, his directions to Paul were simple "Alright Paulie-boy, I want you to make your way to the right, go on; if this one strikes, I can hopefully take it on the gauntlets where it won't penetrate."

Bringing the hook closer and closer, he had managed to come in contact with the thickest part of the serpent's body and slowly guided it up towards the head I hate doing this as it may hurt the snake... What was it doing out of it's cage? Focusing on the task at hand, one quick movement later and it was finished; the head of the snake was pinned down and then quickly picked up by protected hands "You okay Paul?" Hearing a squeak in affirmation, he wasted no time in returning the Death Adder to it's tank Did I leave it open... No I wasn't on feeding detail today as I was in the clinic and Paul isn't so rash... Checking for a name on the cleaning/feeding sheet, an ingenuous device that recorded when ever the lids were opened and by whom, his facial expression turned thunderous "That lazy good for nothing WHORE!" Stomping into their main offices, he didn't wait for the usual smart alek comment from his General Manager "I want the entirety of Sarah's pay docked and added unto Paul's, she's done here and she can say goodbye to her severance, send her a letter to that effect and inform her that she is no longer welcome in this establishment!"

Storming out onto the main floor, his voice seemed to reverberate through the shop "Paul!" Forcing himself to take a breath and respond in a more even keel he continued gently "Paul I want you to head home for the day with pay alright?" Watching the now paling young man, a flash of concern seemed to overlap the anger in his eyes "Take two days off with pay Paul, and I have added a bonus to your paycheck at the end of the month; you did nothing wrong and everything right, I'll see you in two days okay?" Helping the young man with his coat, he held the door open for him before stepping outside himself. Lighting a cigarette, he just shook his head "No more charity cases, someone wants to work here they are going to have to prove it to me." Exhaling a series of smoke rings, he continued to puff away like an overworked chimney stack

“Ouch! Bloody hell! Ow.”

Seva swiftly withdrew her hand and sprang back just as the angry bowtruckle shook its fist at her. She let the loose branch fall to the bottom of the terrarium, cursing at the tiny creature who was disconcerted that she’d had the audacity to prune his home. This particular bowtruckle always seemed to have it out for her and it was always her job to clean out their tanks as if the universe was throwing some cosmic joke or Hugo and Elaine simply were too lazy to do it themselves. Either way, she accepted it as her lot in life and did it with a smile on her face. She was happy to have the chance to work with the creatures, even if it meant that every now and then she left with miniscule pieces of her missing. So far, she’d been lucky to never lose a large chunk. With that in mind, she looked down at her fingers and was not surprised to see that her middle finger and pointer on her right hand were dripping with blood. The wounds weren’t deep, but he’d gotten her twice and they stung.

“You’re lucky you’re cute in your own weird way or I’d squash you.” She said smugly, shaking her head as it blew her a raspberry. “Yeah, yeah…”

Seva looked down at her watch and took note of the time; she only had fifteen minutes left of her shift and there was still no sign of Hugo. If he didn’t show up in that time, she was going to lock up. Should he be late, that would make it the fifth time in a row and Elaine had already called out. It was getting frustrating always having to pick up everyone else’s slack. Until now she’d taken it like a trooper but now that school was getting more intense, she needed more and more time to study; working extra hours was not conducive to getting good grades. In fact, she got home and it took her so long to unwind sometimes that she didn’t get to her schoolwork until too late at night and was getting very little sleep. It was all very exhausting. She heaved a sigh and got up, her hands instinctively going into her the pocket of her sweater where she always kept gauze when she knew she was working with something particularly moody. It always helped to plan ahead with animals; they were more unpredictable than people in that respect.

After wrapping up her fingers, she began the work of sweeping up the leaves and loose branches that she’d thrown on the floor and looked at her watch again. Two minutes to spare and no Hugo yet? Bugger it. I’m gone. Seva left the broom propped up in the corner where there was no glass and strode to the back to grab her coat, scrawled a note to Hugo and then walked out the door, flipping the closed sign on her way out and locking up. She wasn’t going home, not just yet. She was actually looking for work, she needed to; her situation was beginning to frustrate her to the point where she wasn’t enjoying working with animals anymore and that was almost as alien to Seva as not wanting to work in medicine. It was integral to who she was as a person, the love of caring for all things was ingrained in her, and she didn’t feel complete otherwise. Perhaps she could work in a café, but then life wouldn’t be as enjoyable, it would be more filling yes but not as fulfilling.

Her feet were taking her in the direction of the new shop that she saw just the other day, it was brand new in fact and she was pretty sure it had only opened up recently. Well, that would make things a whole lot easier if they were hiring. Just as she thought that, a rather gruff looking man literally erupted out of the building and immediately lit up a cigarette, puffing it like a chimney. Seva blinked curiously and stopped in her tracks, taking in the stern looking man. She caught the tail end of his speech and cocked her head to the side. Charity case? Wonder what he thinks that would be… Seva smiled up at him, her neck craning as far as it could go. He was rather handsome in a rugged kind of way and she found herself staring a little too long. She blinked and looked away, her toe scuffing the ground.

“Afternoon,” She began, looking back up at him. “You wouldn’t happen to know if you’re hiring by any chance, would you? Seva Montressor at your service.”

Smirking faintly as smoke escaped his mouth like steam from a dragons maw, he replied in rather officious tones"Jonathon Grimwise at yours and your families.... Not a Tolkien fan I suppose?" Butting out the cigarette on his heel, he simply motioned for her to come inside "I don't have much time to waste here so I will be frank with you; I have three questions for you that I need honest answers to and then I'll test your knowledge, we deal with the exotic and the dangerous here... I can't afford to coddle..." Pausing for a moment as he stared at Paul "Yes is there something you need Paulie-boy, I thought you were heading home?" Watching his apprentice blush and shake his head in the negative, he continued his brisk walk towards the counter and then took a seat on the chair behind it.

Not bothering to wait for her to actually think of an answer, the questions were shot in a rapid fire motion "Where was your last place of employment and why did you leave, do you have any issues with individuals of a different Blood status or even race, and can I rely on you to show up fifteen minutes early to your shift every time your slated to?"

From the back offices, a gravelly voice could be heard "If she turns out like Sarah I am going to joint her and feed the little princess to those... What are they called, oh yes that mated pair of wolverines you got in for that client of yours..." A series of less than polite words, well she could assume they were impolite if she didn't speak Gobbledegook, seemed to round off the rant.

"Pay no attention to him Miss Montressor and answer the questions, time is running out." Turning his head back towards the offices, what he shouted back was filled with an equal measure of venom in his voice but with underlying tones of amusement. Directing his attention back towards his prospective employee, he nodded faintly towards Paul as he brought him a long Dragonhide gauntlet and what looked to be two small terrariums that had both been covered with what appeared to be sackcloth. Quirking his brow, the only words out of his mouth were "I'm waiting..."   

“Oh, hello…”

Seva offered to the young man who appeared outside the shop in front of them, watching as he looked at Jonathon as if he were quite lost.  He returned her greeting then fell silent. Seva directed her attention to Jon who was making his way toward the back of the shop and followed him dutifully, her pace half that of his given the difference in their heights. The walk gave her time to mull over what questions he might have for her since she hadn’t had time to react to him when he first made that comment. His attention was pulled away and she was left to wonder what he had in store for her, hoping it wasn’t going to be another inquisition like the one she’d received at the hands of Healer Montgomery just last week. Ideally, it would go a lot better at the hands of this new stranger but given how brusque he already appeared to be, Seva wasn’t so sure. Her footsteps halted in front of the counter and she smiled over the granite counter top at him, her eyes almost level with his now that he was sitting.

Well, that’s not so bad, she thought to herself as he shot his questions out in rapid fire and weighing her answers before she spoke. “I technically still have yet to resign from Weird or Wonderful down the alley a ways – I left because I was under appreciated and recently underpaid as business has dropped in the last few days.” She paused then and looked around the new shop, thoroughly impressed and suddenly understanding why that predicament befell her former employer.  She’d noticed the cleanliness and order of the place shortly after stepping in and after her nose was first assaulted and then caressed by the strong smell of cedar. The aquariums, terrariums and all other enclosures were well maintained and housed creatures whose contentment was visible even just in passing. Having taken a peek into the other partitions, she found them to be clean and orderly as well, the office giving off a sense of comfort yet still maintaining its purpose for business. Overall, she was very impressed, if not a little jealous of the establishment.

“To your second question,” Seva almost had to laugh at the second question, yet only she would understand why. For anyone close to her to even harbor an inkling that Seva had any prejudice was laughable, yet this person was not her friend and she had to remind herself of that. To a stranger, she could have any opinion in the world. “I don’t hold any prejudices against anyone of another blood status and that extends to race and color as well, I couldn’t and still practice medicine. And it’s because I’m a healer that, to answer your third question, you can most certainly rely on me to be here more than fifteen minutes early if need be.”

Seva couldn’t help but cross her arms over her chest and square her feet, throwing her weight on her back leg so her stance became a little defensive. She hated when her knowledge, or integrity or just about anything about her was questioned. She could not take criticism very well, which made her profession difficult sometimes and was possibly going to get in the way of her landing this job. Her discomfort was making her bold and she sometimes lost control over her tongue in situations such as this. Luckily, she didn’t have a terrible amount to lose if she failed this pop quiz, except maybe she’d have to cross of another pet shop off the list of places she could go to get food for her pets.

“I apologize for being pert, I just wasn’t expecting such…probing questions. I have questions of my own for you, but I think I’ll hold off on them for the time being. I feel in the mood to be a little kinder to you than you were to me.”  Seva’s eyes widened and she bit down on her tongue, but she made no move to apologize again. All she could do was wait to get her head handed to her and most likely kicked out of the shop. Either way, she was curious about the consequences.

Listening as she gave back as well as she got, that quirky smile of his threatened to peak out from underneath the thundercloud that had seemed to settle on his facial features; maybe, just maybe, the day wouldn’t be a total loss “Miss Montressor… I don’t know if you have noticed this…” Leaning in close, he put a finger to the side of his nose “My General Manager is a Goblin and as such, being pert doesn’t even begin to offend me as much as some might think.” Leaning back in his chair, he was about to comment further when a stream of nonsensical vocalizations, at least it sounded as such to the untrained ear, erupted from the back office. Looking a tad embarrassed, he commented lightly “He broke a quill”

His questions had served a dual purpose; it showed her ability to formulate answers without prepping, her low tolerance for criticism and a certain amount of honesty as she refrained from stalling before giving her answers She will have to curb her hackles though, this is a place that requires one to take instruction… Resting his hands, one gloved and one bare on top of either of the small terrariums that Paul had brought, he was silent for an almost impossibly long time before finally speaking his mind further “You will not be handling fluffy kittens or pixies here Miss Montressor; oh yes I know of the great varieties of creatures that the Menagerie holds.” So alright, there was a tad bit of sarcasm there, he had a right given how he had actually entered the establishment once to determine their stock “As such, you need to take instruction well, otherwise there is no place for you here.”

Lifting the small covers from the two terrariums, their contents were at once beautiful and deadly; both were scorpions, with one being of the Hadrurus arizonensis variety while the other being a Hadrurus spadix “Your almost to the finish, but there is one last thing…” Motioning towards the two containers, he simply tossed her the Dragonhide gauntlet “We deal with the exotic and sometimes dangerous here, and I need to see how strong your nerve is, so pick one; I should warn you that one of these two little beauties is extremely venomous while the other benign.” Watching her for a moment, he simply glanced at the watch on his wrist “You have five minutes to decide which one to choose and then you will pick it up… No questions or commentary required or allowed.” Watching for her reaction, Jonathon fell silent.

“I may have,” Seva began, shrugging her petite shoulders. “I don’t see why that’s pertinent, I was apologizing for my own rudeness out of habit and out of politeness. How was I to know how you’d react?” She jumped at the smattering of gobbledegook and closed her eyes, opening them when Jonathon spoke again. “Of course.”

Seva watched with unbridled curiosity as he moved his attention to the two terrariums that the other employee brought over as they were conversing. She swallowed hard, not because of the creature they housed but because of his long silence – it was obvious that he was planning something. Seva’s mind wandered to all of the possibilities, among them Seva putting them in her pockets or down her shirt. She laughed off the thought, her laughter manifesting in two brief, low snorts under her breath. She didn’t want him to think her cocky. When he spoke next, she tried not to bristle when he insulted her former employer, having to admit that the wares and creatures that they peddled were indeed far less dangerous or exotic than three quarters, if not more, of what this shop housed. She had to admit that. Instead of being insulted, she was more concerned with the challenge she knew was waiting for her.

When it finally came, after Seva had listened on tenterhooks for him to finish, she opened her mouth to speak and immediately closed it. No questions or commentary required or allowed. In other words, don’t speak at all or I’ll be very cross with you. Right. She swallowed harder this time, her palms beginning to sweat. Even before he finished speaking, Seva was going over the species in her mind. While they didn’t carry many scorpions, only having them in stock when another terrarium opened and Nathaniel ordered them specifically for a client. However, she always read up on them before they arrived to find out more about them and to make sure that they had the proper markings on the outside of their tanks.

Let’s see…which one is shorter, if it’s less than 10cm then it’s venomous That one’s pincers are thinner and it’s shorter , plus its tail is very thick. Check, check and check. If I’m right and I get stung  it’ll be uncomfortable for a second, if it’s not then I’ll get a lovely dose of neurotoxins. Yummy…well, here goes.

Seva looked down at the counter at the dragonhide gauntlet, pondering over what the man meant by benign? Benign as in not dangerous to humans, but still poisonous or benign as in its sacs have been removed. She shook her head in uncertainty while picking up the glove and putting it on her right hand, sliding it over the bandaged fingers of her right hand. Luckily, he hadn’t noticed her wounds which were already almost closed by now. Otherwise, she would have wanted to crawl in a corner. But now, to the task at hand, shush. Seva centered herself in front of the rightmost tank and with her left hand, lifted the lid. The scorpion instinctively lowered and raised its tail, poising to strike at her if she got too close. She gulped, hoping she was right and reached in to scoop it up in her dragonhide clad hand.

The arachnid struck at her hand, but there was a faint ding as bounced off the dragonhide, although she thought she felt pressure underneath where stinger impacted. She lifted the scorpion to the top of the tank and kept it there, not wanting chaos to ensue if she took it out completely and dropped it accidentally. Then she really might have a scorpion down her shirt, striking away, benign or not. She heaved a sigh of relief that the worst part was over and lifted her eyes to him, wanting very badly to ask what he wanted her to do next, but remember he’d told her not to utter a word. Instead, she squared her shoulders and stiffened her jaw in defiance, inwardly still shocked by her impertinence. She was still upset about the day she’d had at WoW and still didn’t accept that she might not have a job tomorrow. Basically, Seva was pissed and was notpleased that this man thought he could mess with her. Her eyes became flinty and she stared him down, her head cocking to the side in a wordless challenge to discredit her.

"Just for your peace of mind, both of them were venomous... You can put it back in the terrarium now Miss Montressor." He may have been fairly oblivious to certain aspects of social interaction, but he wasn't blind to her obvious irritation At least she isn't acting like a spoiled dilettante, learned that lesson the hard way with Sarah... as he cracked his neck before continuing on "I can teach someone how to handle these creatures properly, I have the knack or so I am told... But I can't teach them the confidence, and without that, you'd be useless here." If she wanted to get upset over his need for quality control when it came to his employees, then she could do it on her own time; no one here could afford that kind of distraction when working in such close proximity with creatures that were, or potentially were, dangerous to those handling them.

Motioning towards the rest of the shop, he proceeded to give her the same spiel that he always gave his employees "As you can see, there is a limited variety of creatures here in the shop as we..." Looking towards the scorpion still in her hand, he simply motioned for Paul to approach"Go ahead and put them back once Seva here has kindly returned our friend to his habitat would you Paul?" Watching Paul nod whilst still hiding his smirk from view He must be remembering when he had to do this, did surprisingly well all things considered Jonathon simply returned to the conversation at hand "I would suggest some sturdier clothing when you start here; alot of the creatures that we currently possess are not actually on the premises and one of your tasks will be to assist me in securing them for transport as well as vetting them... Thick fabrics, leathers, denim etc. It might not prevent you from being attacked, but it could possibly prevent something from becoming fatal." 

Reaching for and  placing a small manilla folder upon the counter-top alongside what appeared to be a quill nearly ravaged with age, he actually became serious for the briefest of moments "As soon as were finished discussing your salary, contract provisions, and the contribution to be  made monthly for our emergency fund, I'll begin your tour of our little operation." Quirking an eyebrow, he simply leaned back in his chair "That's if you still want the job of course?"

Several things happened at once then. Seva’s face fell, color rose to her cheeks and she felt her body completely deflate, her strong stance turning into a loose jelloid one, complete with shaking knees. She was completely deflated at first. Not only did she feel as if she’d made a huge fool out of herself, he also gave her the impression that he though she lacked the confidence to work there. Had she hesitated too long, was it because she was wrong? One corner of her mouth feebly curling up into a dissatisfied smirk, she lowered the creature back down to the floor of the terrarium and slid her hand out of the top. Seva frowned and slid off the gauntlet, setting it slowly down on the counter in front of her and sliding it across to Jonathon.

As Paul came up behind her, she stepped out of the way, letting him remove the offending object as quickly as possible. Suddenly, her attention was turned back to Jonathon and she raised one eyebrow, then another, her mouth opening and closing in disbelief. Instead of crossing her arms in front of her chest in a defensive posture, she leaned forward and propped herself up on the counter with her forearms, one leg comfortably crossing behind the other. Seva’s interest was piqued and she was intrigued if not very, very confused. After being so brazen and prickly before, she suddenly felt herself being quite receptive.

“When I start here?” Seva said incredulously

. She gathered that from her performance, she would most certainly not get the job and yet there he was offering it to her. All the other details about the clothes to wear and the tasks involved seemed unimportant at least for the time being as she was very in the moment. Things never quite worked out this way for Seva, she usually had to work very hard for something before succeeding and at first she thought of finding a job as something that would be a challenge. Granted, there was the whole almost getting stung by a venomous scorpion challenge, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. Seva watched as the folder was slid across to her and out of habit opened it and began to flip through the pages, barely skimming them, her eyes flitting back up to Jonathon every so often.

“Of course I still want the job,” Seva began, her voice confident at first, but quavering on the last word, “but did you say emergency fund?”

"We deal with venomous creatures, both the magical and mundane have their dangers as I am sure you know; the emergency fund is meant primarily for when one of us... Potentially have an accident." Standing from behind the counter, the faintest of hand gestures motioned for her to join him as he toured the aisles "Of course we have more traditional pets as well, but they aren't as popular with our current clientele as you can see."  Wandering down the regimented aisles, he would pause every so often to point out the various species "Most of the larger creatures that are available for purchase are kept off-site Seva, I prefer to keep them in an area as close to their natural habitat as possible, it makes the transition that much easier."

Pausing in front of the bearded dragon terrariums, a slight smile seemed to escape as he watched one tenacious specimen began showing signs of aggression "It seems that were within his territory, I suppose we should cut the tour short." Making his way towards the back offices, he simply motioned for her to sit down in one of the plush chairs available close to the fireplace "Normally an employee comes in here for three things Seva, orientation, assessment or when it's time for them to move on... So lets just say that this isn't a usual occurrence." Lighting a cigarette as he sat down in the chair opposite, he merely motioned towards his general manager "Fellclaw here will assist you with the applicable forms; terms of confidentiality, personal information, the employee orientation and your account information." Murmuring something in Gobbledegook, he slowly stood "You start tomorrow morning at seven a.m, our dress code is one based off of common sense; if your clothing is ripped or torn because its too flimsy or unable to withstand the rigors here then that's your problem." Smiling faintly, he simply butted out the cigarette "I look forward to you working with us Seva, but I have a prior appointment that needs keeping... Welcome aboard." Making his way towards the front of the shop, a quick conversation with Paul was all it took before he headed off for parts unknown.

"Alright..." Fellclaw's voice was gruff and held undertones of ; apparently her employment had come as a shock "Sign here, here, and here." Shuffling the papers, another stack seemingly appeared out of nowhere as he muttered under his breath "I swear if this one messes up like the last one.." Pushing the papers towards her, there was a disgruntled look on his face "Are you going to need an advance for clothing and equipment? If so, sign these..."