Roulette of Recognition IC

[Trobby]

Connie perked up at this offer. She had been grumpily contemplating her spot as a lesser star of the evening, but his exact wordings had brought her back to attention.

"Ah, yes, that does sound rather wonderful. I would love to see how talented you are, Cecil. She says, still not used to calling people "master" or being a servant herself.

[Benson]

"Oooh...it would be so great..I mean.." Alex took a deep breath and kept her composure relaxed, and try not to look too overexcited. "I would love to see it, sir." This time more reserved and 'cool'.

[TheAmishPirate]

Cat twirled her feather duster in a robotic, stiff imitation of Cecil's excited gesture and thrust it away somewhere within the folds of her uniform. "Very good, sir. I will accompany you with company-appropriate levels of enthusiasm."

[Lycan 01]

Blushing, Victoria smiles meekly. "It's quite alright, sir," she quietly squeaks. "I should have been clearer. And yes," she grins a bit, "Science is rather interesting. Especially biology, alchemy, and-"

She pauses, before tilting her head slightly. "Oh, you want to show us what you do?" She gives an excited smile, and nods. "Sure! That would be lovely!" And it would also be a lovely distraction from the sort of science she does!

[Deme]

"Alrighty, then!"

With that he led them eagerly back into the hallway, and up two flights of stairs, taking them two at a time.

The third floor of the mansion is smaller than the other floors, which are built wide and sprawling. It opens first to a small hallway, which features three doors: two to the left, one to the right, and one dead ahead.

"Oh, the one to the right's a display room...Well, mostly. It does different things. The one in front leads to the conservatory. But these two... These two are my workrooms!"

Cecil led them up to the first door on the left...

Which was home to a flurry of chaos. There seemed to be fabric everywhere, not counting the wall that was bolts of fabric; a second wall was supplies of other sorts. There was, near the door, a rack with a variety of clothes, with a sort of bright, vintage aesthetic, in various stages of finish; a dress or two, a pant, a blouse that has sort of a sailor-girl look to the collar and puffed sleeves... Around the room were scraps of fabric and the remnants of pattern paper, over the large tables that dominated the room. It was designed to have a number of projects going at once, or, at least, to be able to hold a project while Cecil worked on a different projects-- which seemed to be the case, since there were a number of mannequins with less-completed works, including a cute little summer dress with a dipped back and a flaring skirt with a trail of what seemed to be some sort of pink fabric roses pinned near the shoulder straps, and one or two placed near the skirt's hem, tentatively, that was near the center. A few sketchbooks were strewn about, for reference. Outside of the actual objects of work themselves, there was also signs that, well, work had been done fervently: for one, there was a pile of mugs on one of the tables, and a number of plates. For another, the moment Cecil entered the room, he paused and considered the dress in the center with a serious expression, as if he'd forgotten his original intention for being in the room

[Trobby]

Connie, having straggled towards the back of the group, poked her head around the door frame to get a good look inside of Cecil's workroom.

She had seen workrooms before of course. Most often her father would take her to one to show her what it is that their servants would do all day, so that she could one day rule over them appropriately herself. It was always boring. Everything was always kept so clean and tidy for her visits that she couldn't really tell what they were up to at all.

She had never in her life seen a room in such working disarray as Cecil's. Half-finished projects, bits of fabric in ungainly places, an occasional finished piece here and there, and sketches all over.

It was a mess, it was deplorable working conditions.

And it was utterly fascinating.

It reminded her of her foray into the world of fine arts...at the age of eight. When her entire room was covered in a beautiful chaotic mess of paint. She had to sleep in a guest room for days as the servants cleaned it all up, but she remembered the gorgeous mess she had made of every inch of the walls, floors and ceilings.

And this, was definitely a gorgeous mess.

"Oh my, Cecil, is this the workshop of a true artiste?" She says, pushing her way in past the other girls with complete abandon, reaching for one of his completed works hanging on a mannequin.

"My goodness, such talent! And here I thought it was just throwing a bunch of fabric together with string!"

She danced the mannequin around the room, watching the dress hanging off it sway back and forth like a ballroom gown.

[Deme]

"Well, I, um... I'd hardly call it an artiste's workshop, I mean...I'm not exactly avante garde..." His golden-brown eyes shyly turned away. With a rosy smile, he watched the girl dancing with his dress, which was a wholly-completed dress with a handkerchief skirt that moved, he saw, like an absolute dream, twirling with Connie without missing a beat, the ragged edges like wearied flower petals in the light.

That last comment caught his attention, though, and distracted him both from the dance of his work and his own shyness about being complimented.
"Uh, you probably shouldn't say things like that bit around everyone else... I mean, everyone at the company, and all the designers and your fellow models all work very hard for this industry, so I don't think they'd forgive that sort of thing." He offered this as earnest advice.

[Trobby]

Connie paused in her little elegant mannequin dance, and the words seemed to hit her all at once as she set it down gently.

Yes. Right. She'd almost forgotten herself in the moment.

"Well...of course I realize it is quite a tiring and difficult field to work in, and of course I did not mean for a moment to undersell the hard work you've put into it, Cecil."

Of course she did want to say she loved the chaos he works in, and how completely untidy it was all over again, but refrained, not wanting to slip back into slander again.

Professional. You had to treat people like professionals.

[Lycan 01]

"Whoa..." Victoria observes, slowly looking around the room with awestruck eyes and a slightly slack jaw. She then notices the small collections of coffee mugs. The maid furrows her brow. She herself was all too familiar with spending sleepless nights slaving away at a workbench, plotting, planning, and working on projects with only coffee and inspiration to keep her going.

"Um, sir?" she meekly squeaks, raising a hand to get his attention. "Would you like me to get those before one gets spilled or broken?" she asks, pointing at the coffee mugs. "Also, would you like me to prepare you some coffee once we're done with the tour?" She flashes a perky, earnest smile. "Just let me know your preference for flavor and strength, and I'll brew it to your liking!"

[TheAmishPirate]

Cat seemed pleased by seeing her Master in his natural habitat. Or she seemed disheartened at the state the room was in. Or she seemed determined to help in any way she could. Or maybe she just kept the same stoic, flat expression, and let the onlookers guess for themselves.

"To what state of uncleanliness do you wish this room be kept?" She asked the Master. "What disorderly piles are to be used for inspiration, and what disorderly piles are to be picked up?"

[Benson]

It was so cute how enthusiastic he seemed to show them his workroom, Alex could not help but smile widely as he showed them in....

She immediately cringed at the messy sight and choked out a sputtering chokey noise. Oh gods...Alex stood there with a forced toothy smile as her eye twitched repeatedly. The mess...the chaotic mess....coffee mugs...plates...everywhere....one too many...needed washing, everything in disarray, nothing organized. For neat freak Alex, this kind of room was a worst case scenario.

"I-it's...lovely.." She said, as her eye twitched again. She glanced at Cat and nodded her head and then looked back at Cecil. "I would though be more than happy to organize and clean the room if that is something you desired, sir." She bowed her head.

[Deme]

Cecil shrugged off Connie's comment -- or, at least, her apology -- with one of his nervous little smiles, sort of pleading and wilting.

"Oh, well, I didn't mean it like that. I don't mind what anyone says... But, well, I know people who'd probably take offense... And I just don't want you to get shivved or anything!"

He...Well, he wouldn't say he knew people, but at the same time, he knew people. He'd met people who he would not be surprised if Connie didn't end up in an alley somewhere for implying their lives were less than the most important thing (they might, in fact, be people not unlike Connie).

Though this uneasy explanation would have to be interrupted by the other maids, who immediately wanted to fix the room. He turtled his head between his shoulders sheepishly, and grinned,

"Well, it's just sort of been a busy couple of... That is... It's not normally... Um, yes, I'd love some help with the plates. And coffee -- that'd be the greatest gift of all; I'll be up late tonight, I think."

Having seen how that one dress moved had fired him up, however the mood might be dampened.

"But the rest of it...Might want to wait for another day to organize. See, I've done all the work I need to do, in terms of actually using and making the patterns -- that's what this room is for, mostly -- but because these designs will see production, I can't throw any of it away until copies have been made, and the show's in a week..."

That sentence, on his lips, had a nearly electric effect. His eyes widened, his pupils dilated. He stood perfectly still for a moment, as if rooted to the spot by the hand of god.

"The show's in... a week."

He began to breathe quickly.

"That is not enough time oh goodness whatamIdoing? Wheredoyougetmoretimewhere'sthetimetimestore." He mumbled, clearly just to himself. His eyes swept the room at the clothes on the rack, and the two dresses still on the dummies, and at the doorway to the other workroom, which contained still other projects. He twirled his pencil for a minute, until he noticed one of the maids -- he was not, to be honest, sure which one's -- unease with the room.
Cecil was nothing if not desperate not to cause anyone anymore trouble, so the sight of a clear problem made life...simpler.
"...IIII will find time. I will find time. It will be OK. We'll organize this room...Tomorrow, maybe? And I'll log a few extra hours somewhere, to make up for it, yes."

[Lycan 01]

Victoria smiles meekly. "Would you like to cut the tour short so you can focus on your work, sir? We don't mind if you have other things you need to work on. I can see to preparing you some coffee, if it helps." Yay for being potentially helpful! She could also offer to make him some zombie henchmen to do much of the work for him, but that might not be as potentially helpful.

It'd be fun, though...

[Trobby]

Connie furrowed her brow at Cecil's words. He was...telling her not to worry?

She hadn't even realized she was worrying at that point. But she had...she'd let herself get carried away in something childish again, just like her father always chastised her about....and just like she always chastised herself about.

She was childish, impulsive, selfish, greedy, all the things a demon princess was expected to be, yet she wanted to be cool and collected like her father, to be a true heir to his throne.

But...to not worry about that...

"...I can take care of myself." She assured him dismissively. Even though his mind has traveled to an entirely different place in an instant, and she said it quietly enough that it was more of a mutter.

[Benson]

Alex was a little confuzzled though she kept her composure at Cecil's words, despite her current eye twitching surroundings. She wanly smiled and nodded her head.

"Very well sir, though I'll get those plates out for the time being, maidly duties and all," She then advanced towards the dirty plates and cups.

[Deme]

He took a step back from the mental edge of pure panic, not really noticing Connie's comment or reaction -- it took him a bit of effort to even notice the comments that were entreating him, though Victoria's reached him first.

"Ah...Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you, yes...Both of you,"

He added, glancing at Alex with a warm, somewhat apologetic smile. A hand ran through his hair, adjusting it back into something...Actually, more disheveled, but Cecil seemed to feel better about it.

"Though the coffee can wait until later; you'll all need to find Ms. Claire to finish the tour, though I guess you'll be on your own until then... Um, you guys won't mind me leaving you all to that, do you?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"If you wish us to find Ms. Claire, then we will find Ms. Claire. Your orders will be fulfilled, Master." Catherine bowed low, already running through her mental mapping of the building so far and retracing her steps.

[Lycan 01]

"Not at all, sir," Victoria smiles meekly. "We'll be fine. Thank you very much for the tour."

[Deme]

"Alright, thank you!"

With a flurry of concern, he dashed to the room attached to this one; it was likely a different workroom, though it'd take some sort of investigation to find out, leaving the maids to work out where to find Ms. Claire, or to explore the rest of the house themselves.

[TheAmishPirate]

Catherine kept her head bowed, only raising it when Cecil had left the room. "Come; the Master said we must find Miss Claire and complete our orientation." She turned and left, offering little room for debate. She navigated the maze of doors and hallways with unflinching precision, letting none of the mansion's distractions or diversions slow her down.

Either she'd slipped a tracking beacon on Miss Claire's person, or she was extremely lost.

[Rolling luck: (1d6*3)[3]]

[Trobby]

Connie folded her arms across one another and gave a little half-pout at Catherine's insistence. Who was she to tell her what to do?

Well, she wouldn't be doing it, that was for sure. The last thing she was going to do was let herself get ordered around by a maid...well, another maid besides herself.

So, after waiting a few moments until after Catherine had left, she slipped away from the other maids back down towards the kitchen where they'd revived Cecil.

He had made some mention of wanting coffee. That sounded easy enough to make. And it'd put her in good graces with him, which was a plus in and of itself as far as she was concerned.

Spoiler

Show

Cunning (to sneak away undetected): (1d6x4)[20]

[Lycan 01]

Victoria nods along as Catherine suggests they find Miss Claire. "Indeed. Orders are orders, and she may have even more orders for us. And if we take too long to find her, she may get irked and think we're lazy or something." She then slumps her shoulders a bit, and lets out a small sigh, her voice briefly slipping back into its natural Eastern European accent. "I vould razzer not be fired on ze first day of ze job..."

She shakes her a head a bit, and then saunters off in search of the boss-lady. Hopefully with (most of) the other maids following her.

Spoiler

Show

Luck: (1d6x3)[15]

Assisting Catherine's check to luckily notice Connie sneaking off, using Luck: (1d6x3)[6]

[Benson]

Alex stood in the hallway sort of just standing there for a moment trying to gain her bearings after exiting the young master's workroom. She closed her eyes for a moment while a soft sigh escaped her lips.

"That was admittedly a little overwheming.." She said with a small smile as she then straightened herself out and made sure everything was perfect. "Right, finding Miss Claire, maidly duties, yes." She said while pushing up her glasses on her nose.


Luck to notice Connie trying to sneak off, well assistance...I think, yea, luck assistance

(1d6x3)[18]

[Lycan 01]

Connie's escape is cut short by Victoria calling after her. "Er, Miss Connie?" the young scientist asks, tilting her head slightly in uncertain confusion. "You are going the wrong way. We're going this way," she says, pointing down the hall, rather than the convenient little passage the other maid was likely trying to sneak into.

[Benson]

Alexis spied the maid from the corner of her eyes seemingly trying to ditch the group or some such. She narrowed her eyes a little and placed her hands on her hips.


"Hey you, Miss Connie, you weren't thinking of shirking duties were you?" It was less a question and more an accusation. She shifted her glasses, adjusting them a little with a hand and raised a brow at the apparent maid.

[Trobby]

Halfway to escape, Connie froze in place.

She did not, she would make clear to anyone who asked, stomp her foot down in frustration. Stomping down in frustration was the sort of thing a petulant child would do, and as she would assure anyone who asked, she was not a petulant child. She was a full-grown woman.

She did however press her left foot down firmly and cross her arms, but of course neither of these had anything to do with frustration. Not at all.

Taking a deep breath and counting to three, she turned around to face the two maids, who she had to remind herself were her equals in rank in this world.

"I can find my way around this manor quite well on my own. I assure you, I have an impeccable sense of direction. However, there are four of us, and at least one of us four should be making life a bit easier for Cecil, which I think you will all agree is the duty of a maid." She glanced Catherine's way, daring her to flip her book open and say otherwise.

"So, I was simply heading back to the kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee for Cecil. Surely, this being a very stressful time for him, we can spare at least one person to perform this simple task for him, yes? It is, after all, our duty as maids to act upon his needs before he himself is aware of them, and I should hasten to think we do not wish for him to be worked to exhaustion. A pot of coffee is the least we could do for the poor soul."

[TheAmishPirate]

Catherine stiffened, her face hardening into a mask of concentrated fury. Escape? This maid nearly escaped her watch, after what she nearly did to Master?!

Inexcusable.

"Though the intentions you express are not against the Stitch Inc. employee handbook," she replied, forcing herself calm. "As his personal Maids, we are required to prevent any harm against Mister Cecil. Given his harsh reaction to your close proximity earlier, it would be unwise to leave this task in your hands. Were Miss Claire here, she would assign this task to another."

[Trobby]

...Well, that just about tears it.

This girl had been on her nerves since the moment the two of them met, and it had worn her patience down about as far as she could take it.

She turned on her heel, and walked up to Catherine with her hands on her hips, glaring at her like something that came out of the fires of hell itself.

"Ms. Claire is not here." She says very clearly. "But I happen to agree with you, that this task should not be done alone. Another maid shall accompany me to the kitchen, and we shall make coffee together for Master Cecil."

She paused for a moment to straighten herself up, though she had little actual height to look down upon Catherine, she did her best to look dignified.

"Might I recommend, since you are so keen on knowing the rules of this place so very thoroughly, that you and the other girls take a tour, whilst I and another volunteer perform this task? Oh, but don't tell me, is there a rule against that as well?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Catherine took the full brunt of the demon princess' wrath, standing against her fiery tirade like an icy, implacable fortress. Her only reaction was to calmly smooth out a crease on her otherwise-perfect uniform. "You are requesting that another maid be deprived of the training necessary to complete their assigned tasks." She replied coolly. "However, given that the objective of this new task is the well-being of the Master, the rules will only condone it. Were Miss Claire here, she would approve of such an initiative."

She paused, and turned the full force of her piercing gaze on the immature scamp before her.

"However, your influence on the Master can only be classified as harmful, destructive, and in conflict with the objectives of this coffee task. It would be advisable - if you actually wish to fulfill your job - that you refrain from touching, speaking excessively with, or approaching within a close range of the Master. Whomever accompanies you will ensure the Master's safety is not compromised, as per our duties."

"Do you wish me to repeat these instructions? Or do you comprehend your task?" She asked, seemingly without a trace of malice.

[Trobby]

Connie bit her lip. There was no escaping Catherine's assault - she had the book of rules memorized and used them like a suit of armor to defend her.

It was time to use a dirty tactic.

"Oh...of course, I hadn't realized..." She said, using her absolute best doe eyes she could manage. "You must think me so terrible, Miss Catherine, to have unknowingly caused such maladies to our master, and to ask to do him a favor, to atone for such ah..."

It was perhaps a bit too cruel, but she managed to even fake holding back a tear.

"Forgive me...this all would clearly be against the rules, as you have told me many a time. That, I can see, is far more important to you, than to help our Master in these very hard and trying times, in any small way that we can. And to ask to atone for my actions...you must think me so very selfish."