Colin's posts

"......" Ryker was silent, looking at the papers, and then to Eke.

"Or genuine interest." he said.

"Don't sell yourself short." he told Eke.

"For all you know, they all thought you were cute." he said further.

"Aly does, for sure." he then smirked.

Tannyll just shrugged.

"I don't... really make much of an effort to learn such things." he told her.

"However, if he ends up REEEEEALLY liking a personal maid, then yeah, she gets to bend the rules ever-so-slightly at times." he went on.

"Just... don't push your luck so early." he warned.

At that point, Carol returned with what looked like the most delicious cake Roxie had ever seen. It was a full cake, but a small one. Just large enough for one person. And it had a red glaze poured over it, with a cherry in the middle. It was on a small silver platter, with silver utensils next to it.

"Here you go, dear." she said, covering the cake with a glass cloche.

"Must not keep the Master waiting." she told her.

"Let's go." Tannyll said to Roxie.

"You can bring that to him, and I'll show you around the place, as I was told to."

"Oh, there's no need for YOU to do anything, dear." Carol replied.

"You just wait there and I'll get it for you." she told him.

"We have some ready right now." she finished, before heading off.

Tannyll just sighed.

"If the Master found out his personal maid was actually doing any of the cooking or prep work, then he would have a bit of a conniption fit." he told Roxie candidly.

"He's VERY strict about the roles of everyone in this place." he said.

"There's even night staff down here for if he gets midnight cravings." he went on.

"Which... well, they generally get paid to do nothing, but it can get creepy down here when it's all silent and stuff."

The woman nodded.

"Ahh, the Master's new attendant." she said.

"Nice to meet you, dear." she told her.

"I'm Carolina, but you can call me Carol if you like." she told her with a smile.

"Now, what brings you both down to the kitchen?" she asked.

"I'm supposed to give Roxie a tour of the place so she can familiarise herself with it." Tannyll responded.

"Roxie is... well, she'll tell you why SHE'S here." he then added.

"Basement?" Tannyll commented.

"Oh, no, there's another floor underneath that." he told her.

"But that's for Master's own private usage." he said further.

"Nobody's been there. But he says it's for his own personal museum of art." he went on with a shrug.

"But yes, a kitchen below ground IS a bit weird. But Master can do what he wants, I suppose." he added.

"And Greece? That's really cool." he then said with a small smile.

After a few more minutes, they arrived at a very large kitchen area, with several staff working there... and one of them, an older lady that looked to be in her late-50's...approached.

"Oh, hello, darling." she greeted the young male, a soft kindness and gentleness to her tone.

"Hey Carolina." Tannyll responded, as she looked to Roxie.

"And who might YOU be, dear?" she asked her.

Tannyll paused when she asked him that question.

"I... ah..." he stammered.

"Well, I'm from across the ocean." he said.

"It's... it's Irish." he told her. "But I know, I don't really look or sound it." he added, laughing slightly.

"But Roxie, huh? I like that name." he then said, quickly changing the subject.

"Where are YOU from?" he asked her.

As they talked, she noticed they had gone past ground level, and were going deeper.

"Oh, and yes, the kitchen is one floor down from ground level." he told her.

He just nodded in response to all she said.

"All right." he said.

"Fair enough reasons." he told her.

"And... me?" he asked.

"Oh, well... y'know... needed a place to live." he said with a chuckle. "And this qualifies." he added with another light laugh, though Roxie could see there was unease there.

"Oh, what's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Tannyll." he introduced himself.

Ryker stepped up again, and allowed Eke to partially hide himself behind him, if he chose to.

"Ladies." he addressed them.

"If you have something to say, I suggest you say it." he told them.

"Otherwise, skedaddle." he continued.

"You're makin' my brother nervous." he went on.

"Capiche?" he asked.

"Speak or shoo." he summarised.

The nodded in response, and started to lead her through the place, down some flights of stairs.

"...so." he said.

"What made you take this job?" he asked.

"Anything in specific?" he asked further.

"I mean, this IS a nice place, and the Master is VERY good to us, but why did YOU choose this?" he clarified.

"And how'd you find out about the job opening?"

He watched her head off, before smirking slightly.

'Heh.' he thought.

'She's perfect. Absolutely perfect.' he thought further.

About 10 minutes later, Roxie had finished organising the washroom, and had stepped out into the hallway, where she did, indeed, find someone waiting for her there.

It looked to be a younger male, possibly early 20's, and he looked a little on the restless side. He ran a hand through his light brown hair, before looking over towards her, his eyes also brown, but more hazel than anything else.

"Oh, hello." he greeted her.

"You're the Master's new maid, yes?" he asked.

"I was asked to escort you to the kitchen." he told her further.

"Indeed I do." he replied.

He then proceeded to give her a checklist.

"Use this as a guide." he told her.

"When you're done, someone will be outside your room waiting for you." he continued.

"They'll take you to the kitchen where you can fulfil the order." he went on.

"Afterwards, they will take you for a tour of the mansion."

The man crossed his arms over his chest when she said what she did, striking the pose she did. She could see he was a resolute man... but he was still just a man. A man with will... which could be broken... and desires... which needed fulfilling.

And she saw the subtle change in his expression. VERY subtle.

"Yes, well." he said.

"Your looks did not hurt your case, we shall say." he told her, approaching even closer and looking her over.

"Mmhmm... mmhmm." he mumbled.

"Excellent." he said.

"Your first task is to make sure my washroom is organized." he told her.

"After that, I'm feeling like having some cheesecake. Run down to the kitchen and get some." he went on.

"I'll have someone escort you there, as you're new here."

"Ah, yes." the man replied.

"Yes, that WAS a very big part of it." he told her.

"I work out. I push my body to its limits!" he declared, before pausing. "All right, perhaps not THAT drastic, but I do enjoy several sports, and wish to keep my body in shape for them." he clarified.

"And a good masseuse or masseur is worth their weight in gold after a hard workout." he reasoned.

"You were the only one to list and demonstrate such talents." he told her further.

"That put you MILES ahead of your competition, if I may be blunt." he admitted.

Ryker looked over towards Eke when he made his comment... and paused when he saw the girls gathering near him.

He narrowed his eyes, before walking closer.

"I appreciate a good sneaker." he said.

"And is there a problem?" he asked.

"Are these people bothering you?"