10 Oix 4385: I Hate Investigating

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Still More Questions

Flowering Beauty was easy to spot: it had a fresh-cast sign of a lilrose bud that would open enough to reveal eight-ninths of an impeccably groomed Cani boy, before folding modestly back up around him. Scarletbloom wasn't in the front room but Blushvine was there with a customer. Her hands were busy styling the tail of a Rassimel, but she waved her antenna merrily to me when she spotted me. "Dee! I'll be free in a third of an hour if you want to wait."

So I waited until Blushvine was done with her customer. She gave me a big four-armed hug (Herethroy give the best hugs apart from Khtsoyis).

"How've you been, Dee? I haven't seen you in months! Did you get your license reinstated?"

"I spent alllllll Chirreb on an endless neverending adventure which FINALLY ended in Surprise but now I have lots of money and don't need to work so it was worth it."

"Aww, so you're not here to ask for a job?"

"Nooooo I don't want a job I already turned down Abssers. Did you know that the guild invited me to stand for master?"

Blushvine's truehands flew to her mouth. "Seven and twelve! Oh Dee, did they truly? How exciting! Are you going to start your own shop?"

"Noooooooo I don't even know that I'm going to stand the test."

Blushvine's mandibles clicked in amazement. "But -- after they invited you? How could you not?"

"By not making an appointment and doing it? Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"But, Dee, it's such a great honor! You must want to be a master!"

I wrinkled my nose at her. "Not really? It seems like a lot of work and politics and trouble the way Sythyrs talks about it and zie should know zie's THREE masters."

She clicked at me a few more times, speechless, then giggled. "It sure would show Chenthery if you were master, though. After the way she treated you!"

"I guess it would show Abbsers too but I'm not sure why I'd want to and I'm not sure why the guild is doing this just after suspending me and it all seems kinda ... weird. Doesn't it? Do you know what's going on?"

Blushvine shrugged with all four arms. "Not really. I did hear some of Absweth's customers were upset that you weren't working there. Even a noble! Maybe that's why she wanted to hire you back?"

"Ohhhhh which noble?"

She curled her antenna in thought. "Lady ... Vina de la Grasse, I think."

"VINSY? But she HATES me! She was my last customer!"

"She was? But I heard she loved your work. It was just what she asked for. Didn't you get fired for not doing what the customer wanted?"

"Yesssssssss are we talking about the same Lady Vina who told you this?"

"Scarletbloom?"

"Is she here?"

"No, she's talking to a supplier. She'll be in tomorrow, though."

So I have to go back tomorrow blaaaaah investigating is ANNOYING. No one's ever around when you want them. I'm going back to swimming it's too hot for this.