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 Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:20 pm
C'per hadn't really gotten anything done.
By Watch standards, at least. By C'per's standards, he was right on track. But there had been a progress meeting with J'car, and it had let C'per know that he was, by Watch standards, completely unprepared. Which meant that he really ought t
So he headed for people who would probably know. C'per didn't go directly to folks he considered to be the 'source.' He knew M'onk had a hand in it, of course. And there was a brownrider named C'ross. There were the young dragons - and the unique colors in particular, they were invaluable. But all of those were the obvious people to talk to. C'per wasn't interested in the obvious people to talk to. They would be talked to quickly and readily, and their interviewers would take that information back to the people who wanted it.
But C'per wasn't satisfied with the obvious. The obvious was exactly that - obvious.
So he was, instead, going in the direction . As inane and uninteresting as his ventures into the kitchens might have seemed, those who served food often knew the most about goings-on. Food service workers heard everything in passing. Food service workers, and those who did comfortable, intimate tasks that required closeness with people.
In the case of Warden's, it was the barber. Fascinating little gig unique to the prison, and C'per was determined to visit him. He had asked a few questions and gotten the low-down on exactly where the barber worked. And had gone straight for him.
So he strolled into the room where Raolan worked, whistling cheerfully and making no secret of the knots on his shoulder. The man's reaction to him would be just as telling as anything else.
"Afternoon!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:07 am
Raolan was grumpy.
He was always grumpy. He wasn't even particularly grumpy today.
But it still bore noting that he was grumpy.
Things were... HAPPENING. It was aggravating.
Good news, though. He'd managed to get more of his stomach drink after the Hatching.
He'd foregone it for tea because he needed a drink and tea sometimes helped too.
So he was a medium-Grumpy. Not so grumpy that he wanted to just SOD EVERYTHING, nor so not-grumpy that he could actually crack a smile.
He was sweeping up his workspace, cleaning it up. When someone entered, he grunted a greeting, busy sweeping a particularly annoying patch of floor. Then something caught his eye and he looked up, pausing.
Watchrider.
A look between pain and interest flashed over his face. Watchriders were anything but uneventful.
Yet, they were also new, and for all he knew this one would like a haircut.
He looked at C'per a moment more, then went back to sweeping.
"What can I do for you, Watchrider?" he said in a not-unfriendly grumble.
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Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:10 am
C'per sized Raolan up in exactly the way the barber sized him up, expression cheerful and surprisingly open. C'per had plenty of things to hide, but those had nothing to do with his business at Warden's Weyr. If Raolan had asked him anything, he would have answered it quickly and honestly.
But what Raolan had asked him was what he could do for C'per. A question that had a number of interesting potential outcomes. C'per could corner him and demand an interview. He could do the same thing his wingmates were no doubt doing and start asking questions immediately. He could do all of those things.
But instead, he found an empty stretch of counter to lean on and crossed one ankle over the other, giving Raolan a pleasant smile. "Do you do shaves as well as hair?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:23 pm
Raolan stared at him.
A shave, eh?
He reappraised the man. He did pride himself on his abilities. He wasn't limited to the variety of things one could do with the hair on top of the head, oh no. There was an ART to shaving someone, one he was sure he had down.
"Sure do" he grunted with a nod as he finished sweeping.
He certainly got a lot of practice. Prisoners weren't allowed sharp objects, so if they were well behaved, they were allowed to come to him for a shave. Under watch, of course. CLOSE watch.
"If you're after one, sit down, and I'll be right there." he said, gesturing to one of the seats- not one of the ones with shackles.
He'd show these watchriders, coming in and making things eventful, he'd show them an excellent shave. And he meant it literally. Like, a shave.
Like, a nice shave.
He slipped his straight razor and its sheath from it's secure hiding place (gotta hide it from these criminals who'd use his precious special razor for bloody ends. DEFILE it... grump grump grumble) and some of the shaving lotion he'd had made up special when he had been able to get the ingredients for his mentor's secret recipe (He liked the smell, okay, and he had a quality to keep up) as well as other equipment.
He scrutinized C'per in the mirror as he sharpened the razor carefully- NEVER trust an edge to keep, his mentor had always said, with scissors and doubly so with razors- a dull razor was a terrible travesty of a thing.
"How do you want it?" Clean shaven was what people mostly asked for, and Raolan himself preferred usually, but Raolan longed to try to cultivate something creative on another man's face.
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Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:03 pm
"Sorry to support monotony - I imagine normal shaves must get boring for you - but I'm a clean-shaven kind of man. I find a tidy exterior keeps the mind and the emotions in check." C'per smiled brightly as he settled into the chair. The other seats, the ones with shackles, were taken in thoughtfully. So he trimmed the criminals as well. C'per wondered how frequently they were allowed shaves. He had heard the phrase 'annual hair cut' tossed around (and C'per thought that was a bit silly. What if a prisoner got lice? Keeping them regularly trimmed would maintain sanitation) but nobody had mentioned shaves.
"How long have you been barbering here, sir?" he asked, still the ray of sunshine. Not an interview, just a genuinely curious query. C'per liked knowing these kinds of things. What sort of man devoted himself to cutting hair at a prison? Inquiring minds wanted to know.
Outside the shop, Denith curled herself into a knot and rested her head on her tail. Try not to get your throat cut, C'per, she requested mildly. C'per sent her a wave of optimistic acknowledgment, and the dragon snorted amusement. He would probably do all right. Maybe even learn something.
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Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 8:44 pm
Sigh.
Cleanshaven it was then.
Not that Raolan could fault the man's logic. People often said it was what was inside that mattered and sure, that was true. But the outside reflected the inside and the inside reflected the outside. It was a matter of how you saw yourself. That was his job.
People shaving on their own didn't have the training he had or the nice stuff he had. His shaves were professional. The razor he had out was freshly stropped- he had lots of lull moments and it was something to do. So he just needed to prepare this watchrider's face. Preparation was important to a nice, smooth shave.
Oh, a question. He'd heard these watch people were asking questions everywhere.
"Five turns now." he said shortly, dabbing the mans face with a warm towel- it wasn't hard to make things warm in this heat. It would relax the skin and keep the man in the chair relaxed. He let the towel rest at the mans neck as he started to use the special oils and lotions.
"If you mark it by the Hatching that is."
((Apparently C'per is DA MAN I am so sorry))
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