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 Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:16 pm
 Welp, it had to happen at some point, it was just surprising who it happened to happen to.
Shah fought against the urge to sigh as she walked towards the Red Light District, a folder and papers in hand. Normally there'd be no reason for her to go herself - by this point, the village had grown large enough that she had more than a few subordinates that would have been eager for such a task. If it had been just about anyone else here, she probably would have let them have it, so to speak. But this particular individual presented a conflict of interests. The reason for that was that she and Shah had originated from the same land. It wasn't that they searched to return home or anything of the sort - nah, she'd become quite comfortable in her new life with her new lover and children and grandchildren - but rather they searched to bring a semblance of their home to the present. To develop local recreations of their homestyle cooking, their textiles, their architecture and language and arts and poetry and song.
That is, to bring the culture of their homeland to Telrunya.
So why was she off making such mistakes now? Surely she knew this would preclude them being able to continue their collaborations... This is why Shah wanted to sigh and stare listlessly at the dollop of clouds slowly passing overhead. To think near all of this land's residents could reach them if they so wished...
She paused for a moment as she reached the familiar address listed on her sheet - the sleepy streets around her a rather good foil for the energy that would come as the night fell - and glanced to to confirm the staircase on the side of the building that would lead to the residence above. She followed this to reach the exterior door and gave it two solid knocks.
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Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2021 8:41 am
Julinha had been preparing the midday meal (which would be the first meal of the day for her and her mother) when she heard the knock at the door. "Just one second!" she called gently. She gave one pot a quick stir, then banged the spoon on the rim to knock its contents back into the pot. She set the spoon on the counter and put the lid on the pot, then moved it a little further from the heat.
She hurried to the door and opened it, then smiled brightly. "Oh, Shah!" she exclaimed. "I'm just finishing lunch. Come and join us!" She opened the door further to permit her mother's friend to enter. "Mother's still sleeping," she clarified. "Extra late night and all."
Julinha's appearance couldn't be further from the last time Shah had seen her, when she was performing. On stage she was all harsh angles, come-hither eyes, with a bad-girl streak a mile wide. Today? She was wearing an apron with ruffled edges and a scarf, tied in a little bow, to keep her hair out of her face. She set their small table with three bowls and spoons, and three mugs of coffee. "What brings you around today?" she inquired pleasantly as she returned to the kitchen area to finish the meal.
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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 3:41 pm
Shah offered a warm smile - obviously less fake than the one she usually held when dealing with business matters - as she was welcomed in and she offered a thank you to Julinha. She raised her free hand to wave off the offer with a, "Oh no, I'm fine," mostly for politeness sake. There was little chance she'd be let out without grabbing something to eat... unless things soured from her questioning to come.
"No worries. Perhaps you could help me out instead of your mother then." She motioned to the papers in her hand. "Did your mom not receive notice that you two are several months behind on your property taxes?" She sat down at one the the nearby chairs.
"Cute apron by the way - suits you even better than your evening look."
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Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:13 pm
Menelie Julinha paused at that, and backed up to poke her head out of the kitchen. "There must be a mistake," she said, brow furrowed. "I've been giving Mother part of my wages each fortnight to take care of that." She glanced toward her mother's bedroom and cleared her throat. "The meal is about ready; I'll just go wake her." But there was no need. Either having heard Shah's knock or just generally being roused, Florzinha wandered into the dining area, yawning. She was wearing an open-front shirt made of a silky material with fringe at the hem, and her hair was still wild from sleep. "Oh!" she exclaimed at their guest. "Hey, Shah. You didn't say you were coming over, I'd've woken earlier if I knew." She plopped down at the table. Julinha stared at her mother, hands on her hips. "Shah says we're behind on our taxes?" she said expectantly. Daisicle Shah shrugged and offered the ledger in her hands to Julinha. "Have a look if you want. I personally would prefer if it was all a misunderstanding." She'd rather return with a mission to teach her subordinates the importance of proper documentation than with coin.
"Good afternoon - I heard it was busy night?" she commented as Flor entered. She then offered a smile and another shrug. "It's as Julinha says - I wasn't aware I was coming over until this morning." Never mind that she definitely had more important things that she needed to be doing than tax collection.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:17 pm
Menelie Florzinha did not super appreciate having to give up a portion of her hard-earned coin each month. And for what? The privilege of living? "Lemme see that," she said to her daughter, taking the ledger. She pored it over for a moment and sucked her teeth. This amount was different than the one she was paying. Shah was her friend, but if she thought Florzinha would be paying a red cent more than she already did...
"This amount must be wrong," she said, handing the ledger back to Shah. "We're to pay 325 each month, not 455. I can find our documents if you can wait until after I've had coffee and a bit to eat." Julinha let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. Her mother bitched about taxes enough to make her, for a moment there,, genuinely concerned that maybe Florzinha had just been pocketing their tax money. Daisicle Shah took the ledger back, a bit of a satisfied smile beginning to form on her lips. She'd much rather let those under her know of their incompetency than have to pull a hard one on a friend. "Please do - there should be a record number on it, so I can simply write that down and square everything away~"
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:49 pm
Menelie Florzinha nodded and stood up, then went to the kitchen for a cup of strong coffee that Julinha had kept warm for her. "Sit down, Shah, stay for lunch," she called from the other room. "There's plenty," reassured Julinha. "I made a big stew!"---
After lunch, Florzinha went back to her bedroom and dug around in her Important s**t box until she found the documents that would clear all this up. She presented it to Shah with a flourish. Daisicle Shah had raised her hand to politely refuse, but found herself stopping and offering a bit of a smile in turn - at first a little distressed, but it quickly grew playful. "Thank you. Just don't tell Laz, okay?" Her little hun boo boo could get a bit jealous about these things.
---
Post-meal, Shah readily received the document and nodded once as she made a couple of note. "It would seem those working under me are, in fact, quite the lot of dumbasses at times. Don't worry about a thing - I'll have it sorted out by end of day." She handed the original back to Flor with a bit of a smirk. Menelie Florzinha took the document and tucked it under her arm, leaning back in her chair with her own satisfied smile. "Stop by for coffee sometime, Shah, when you're not on the clock. You know we're up late here." Daisicle "Will do - you know how much nostalgia your coffee brings me for the Old World." Shah nodded once and offered a little wave before excusing herself and heading off to give some unsuspecting pae an earful.
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