~:A Day in the Bath House:~

[Tin]

Tin observed the workers below from where he was standing on the third floor balcony. The air felt electrified in anticipation; a mix of excitement and nervousness. Everyone working hard to appease Yu-Baaba.

As of today, Tin hadn't sensed her leave he chambers. This could either be a good sign that she was in a fair mood, or that she had some kind of punishment up her sleeve. He didn't like this feeling, but there was nothing more he could do.

Today will be interesting, he thought, continuing to watch all the workers scrub the floors, tubs, and other places.

[Yu-Baaba]

Yu-Baaba paced ceaselessly around her office.
She seemed to be deep in thought. Every so often she would pause, stare off absently, and mutter several inaudible words, then continue to pace. Her precious Yu-Bird squawked and flapped its wings uneasily from its perch next to her desk. It did not like to see its mistress so out of sorts. The witch's behavior made her pet very nervous.

Her Kashira Henchmen were nowhere in sight. When they entered Yu-Baaba's office that morning and saw her in this state, they immediately left her and hid away in some remote part of the Bath House. They knew better than to hang around when she was in this sort of mood. Any poor bystander could be burnt to a crisp if they so much as breathed within earshot and broke her concentration . . .

She halted with such sudden force that her entire office vibrated with a wave of energy. The Yu-Bird was so unprepared for this that it teetered, actually slipped backward off its perch, and had to flap furiously to catch itself before it hit the floor.

"It's really gone." she spoke to herself "I know I couldn't have placed it anywhere else." As these words sunk in, a seed of rage built up inside her and tremored just for a moment before it subsided. It was rare that Yu-Baaba let her emotions surface and get the better of her.
The Yu-Bird had experienced enough tension for one day. It soared out the window into the late afternoon sun and headed towards town.

It was only a few hours till sunset. Not much time left to prepare for the spirits.
I'll deal with the matter at hand soon enough. When I find out who is responsible...

But for now, she was content just to relieve some pent-up aggression. She exited her office to see who would be the unlucky recipient of her torment.

[Tin]

With his eyes downcast at the workers, Tin blinked, sensing a force. This aura was none other than their boss, Yu-Baaba. Expecting her to come down the elevator and glower around, he stood casually, waiting for her arrival.

There was no need for him to tense up despite the fact Yu-Baaba was definitely in one of her moods. It was something he feared would happen today. But alas, he couldn't sense 100% what the problem was, just that her aura today was filled with anger, frustration, and maybe just a smidge of worry.

Glancing over to the elevator, he bowed to her. "Is something amiss, Yu-Baaba-sama?"

[Yu-Baaba]

Yu-Baaba snorted contemptuously. "We'll discuss that matter shortly . . . I'll have an important task for you tonight. For the present: Status Report?"
She hoped Tin would tell her of even the most minor screw up from even the lowliest of workers. She was aching to relieve some of her tension. As she spoke, she conducted her own visual scan of the perimeters, checking if any of her workers were out of step. Her fingertips already twitched with a slight magic energy, ready to administer the first blow of discipline.

[Tin]

Tin nodded slightly at hearing her speak to him. "As of now, everyone is working diligently. I'm sure there is a lowly frog worker attempting to steal food somewhere near the kitchen. As I'm sure it would amuse you greatly to turn him from a frog to a pig," he said curtly, giving his boss a side-long glance. He could feel the tension in her aura radiating in what felt like anger and distress... or maybe it was irritation. Either way, Tin knew he didn't want to get in the way of this woman's wrath.

[Yu-Baaba]

Yu-Baaba grinned. Tin had become quite skillful at knowing exactly what his Mistress wanted. She snapped her fingers and instantly a frog worker with a greedy expression appeared before them. Just as he had been about to reach for a delectable salamander-cabob, crisp off the grill, he had been conjured up in front of none other than the top witch herself. His face instantly froze in a state of shock and fear. Normally Yu-Baaba would never get involved in a matter as trivial as food thievery – that would be left to her Foremen to handle. But tonight was this hungry Frog Worker’s most unlucky night.

“You.” Yu-Baaba sneered with disgust. “You are so gluttonous you are just like a little pig, aren’t you?”
“I, I, uh, mmmost honorable Mistress, uh, I” the trembling frog stammered, but before he could finish his plea, Yu-Baaba causally waved her hand and with one last terrified squeal, the little frog was transformed into a little piglet.

“Someone take this pig away to the stables.” the witch chuckled, “He’ll make a delightful meal in a couple of years, when he’s nice and fattened up.” She glanced around at the few bystanders, pretending to still do their job while quietly observing the horrific scene.
“Let that be a lesson to all of you. This is what comes from trying to steal from Yu-Baaba.” They all knew she had gone easy on him and his fate would have been much worse if she had caught him stealing gold. Still, she had relieved the stress she needed. She straightened out a few flyaway hairs and proceeded to head back to her office.
“Back to work all of you!! The guests will be arriving momentarily.” she motioned for Tin to follow. “We have matters to discuss”

[Tin]

Seeing her gesture to him, he nodded and turned following her up towards her office. He could see the other workers glance uneasily at him. They knew he could turn them in for the slightest offense if Yu-Baaba was in a bad mood. And right now, he was being careful with who he picked. So far he hadn't found anybody that was truly doing something wrong. The Foreman would have discovered food being stolen anyhow; there was no reason for Tin to get involved. But upon sensing her anger from her aura, he knew he had to do something in order to get her thoughts elsewhere.

The two of them quickly made it up to her office, since everyone of the workers was making a clear path for them. "Yes, Yu-Baaba-sama? Something amiss I assume. Your aura is a dark crimson radiating anger," he said, hands behind his back as he awaited her to fill him in.

[Yu-Baaba]

Yu-Baaba sat down at her desk. She folded her hands and stared thoughtfully for a moment. Taking out her anger on the unsuspecting frog had calmed her down somewhat. She looked Tin directly in the eye and spoke in a low, steady voice.

"Someone has stolen an artifact from my private collection."

She snapped her fingers to create a small flame and lit one of her long, slender cigarettes. She inhaled and slowly let out a dark grayish-green puff of smoke. She continued. "It is a talisman. I have searched every inch of my office and I know nothing else could have happened to it. It has strong magic properties, some of which even I am not aware of. I have been studying it over the past few months, and this morning I discovered it missing. The culprit is no ordinary thief. The talisman was strongly protected by my magic . . ." she paused for a moment. "I traded quite a large sum of gold for this artifact, and have great interest in the recovery of the talisman and the apprehension of its captor. Do you understand Tin?"

[Tin]

He listened to her explain of an artifact that was stolen from her office. They hadn't even been awake for more than an hour or two and already problems were starting to arise. Guests had not even arrived to the Bath House yet and here they were speaking about a theif. Nodding slightly, he thought of any suspicious activity he had viewed in the past few hours.

Unlike most of the workers, Tin didn't actually rest like the rest of them. He remained awake, keeping careful watch over the Bath House, it's occupants and most importantly, the gold. Yu-Baaba was very serious about making sure it was well protected--both the gold and her business--especially when she was away.

"I will begin my search for it immediately, Yu-Baaba-sama," he said, bowing deeply to her. This was going to take a great deal of searching. But he really just needed to sense where it could possibly be. If it had a strong aura of magic, than he might be able to find it quicker than she anticipated... but then again, Yu-Baaba would have sensed it just as well as he. "If I find the culprit, I will alert you and bring them to you."

[Yu-Baaba]

Yu-Baaba nodded approvingly. She pondered the many odious acts she would commit upon whatever wretched soul had dared to steal from her, and she grinned ever so slightly. She then brushed the whole matter aside for the time being and conjured up her papers so she could begin preparing for the night's work. With Tin on the job, she knew she could rest assured that the culprit would be found. Tin had not once failed her yet, and she trusted him above all her minions.

Just before he left the room she added one last bit of information:
"Oh Tin," she spoke casually without even glancing up from her papers. "You may want to begin your search with the Foreman called Rashi. He's far too stupid and weak to have done the deed himself, but I sense that he was wandering the corridors early this morning after most of the Bath House was in bed. He may know something."

She paused. "And of course I'd prefer to deal with this thief personally, but whatever we're dealing with . . . well, be prepared to use deadly force if necessary." And with that, her office door slammed shut behind him.

[Tin]

Most workers were afraid to work closely with Yu-Baaba. Many tried to keep their noses down and make sure to never do anything against her rules. Tin was so used to working around the witch, and knew what exactly to say and not to say. For years he watched his predecessors make the slightest mistake and get turned into a pig, or even get greedy and power crazed. This was delicate job he was in, which required him to always have a level head.

Leaving her office and chambers, he headed down a floor or two to where he could observe the Bath House. His eyes carefully scanned the surroundings, making sure he knew exactly what each person was doing, who they were helping, and what possessions they had. So far though, no one had an aura of any strong magic... At least until his eyes fell on Rashi. The lowly Foreman seemed awfully nervous, and would glance around every so often, appearing distracted as he handed out the bath tokens.

Moving from his spot, Tin started down towards the Foreman to ask him a few questions and to maybe... get a better view of his aura.

[Yu-Baaba]

OOC: Man this storyline would be really good if we could get some more members in on it . . . but I’m sure everyone will be busy this week with exams . . . Well, I love RPing w/ you anyway, so it’s fine!^^
I’ll NPC Rashi – Hehe. I always have to invent random characters since Yu-Baaba is kind of limited in what she can do in a storyline. It wouldn’t make sense for her to be running around the Bath House or adventuring with her workers! Oh well. I love playing her anyway!
Btw, I’m gonna try to get over to Haku’s Tears this week! :0




[NPC: Rashi]

Rashi distractedly handed out Bath Tokens. He didn’t even try to refuse a single worker (even when they asked for really good salts!). When his fellow Foremen tried to ask him why he was handing out tokens so carelessly today, he just mumbled something inaudible and stared off into space.

Then Rashi noticed Master Tin approaching and he snapped back to reality. He started sweating profusely and seemed to have a very guilty expression on his face. He tried to casually lean against the desk and clumsily knocked over a large pile of tokens. He turned a deep red, then a sort of green color. He quickly gained composure and tried to look nonchalant as if he meant to knock his work all over the floor . . . he wasn’t even fooling himself. The Foremen nearby eyed him suspiciously and began to whisper amongst themselves.

As Tin approached, with all the effort he could muster, Rashi attempted to even his voice, yet he still squeaked as he said. “Gggood evening Master Tin. Sssomething I can do for you?”

[Tin]

Nodding to the other Foremans, Tin looked at Rashi, stopping before him. "A word if you please, Foreman Rashi," he said. Just looking at the body language he could tell he was abnormally nervous. And not to mention his aura was giving him away.

"Sources tell me you were wandering around the Bath House early this morning," he said, looking down at the Foreman. "May I ask what the reason was for?" It was best to act calm and casual in questioning, while taking note of the body language and aura changes.

ooc| I know! I hope others join in! We need more people to have around. o.o You're going to make it over to Haku's Tears? Awesome! It's only myself and Stormchild rping right now. I"m really tempted to send her the link to here, because than at least she could have other people to roleplay Spirited Away with.

[Hin]

OOC: I joined but I don't think that I will be able to RP