[OOC: The events of this thread are doubtless a few weeks in the future compared to Rose's adventure - and will not be interacting with it.]
Azaka's Exotic Experiences closed closer to dawn than midnight, but in the end it did close. Early-rising attendants moved through the bathing chambers, draining and cleaning, or through the bins near the massage tables, to gather discarded towels and stained sheets, to scrub, and later to scent. This haven of pleasure must feel fresh for the afternoon. No trace of the morning's weariness -- or the lifetime's weariness some here felt -- must be seen or smelled by the ones who came.
The young ladies who provided the heart of the entertainment gathered in a private tea room, as was their custom, to sip and talk before their morning bedtime. The "house mothers" left them alone at this juncture. This was their time. Only those with punishments to serve would be pulled away for duty. Anyone frozen out of the society of the Plum Room (for so that room was called) would soon know to seek work elsewhere. It was not a policy of the house. It was a silent understanding. None were frozen out now.
The girls were a varied assortment from many parts of the world. All were human and some were even Tsuirakuan. Some meant to live this way just a little while and some had found, or fallen into, their life's calling. But none were of the upper class of Tsuirakuan pleasure women. Those were invariably natives, talented in magic, the arts, and courtly graces, so that it seemed almost indelicate to mention why men really came to them. The "bath attendants" here were far-flung and far more forthright. A man needed only a few well-rehearsed euphemisms and the right coins to ask for just what he wanted, and if he behaved with a modicum of courtesy, he would not be refused.
Some Plum Room mornings, the girls would simply talk in small groups or play traditional games. Sometimes they'd entertain each other. While they were not uniformly trained in the skills of the upper class courtesans, they had brought various skills with them or learned new ones in their off time, and some of these could be diverting.
This particular morning one of the newest girls, the one they called Nika, had been invited to tell a story from the Northern Confederacy. Shyness was a vice she'd lost long ago, so she hugged her knees, spoke low, and drew them in with her eyes and her voice. When this girl told a story, be it silly or serious, for the youngest children or grown-ups only, she always showed her own fascination and absolute reverence for the story. Some would say she overacted, especially in recounting dialogue, but her enthusiasm usually kept the listeners interested. Tonight she began the Tale of the Contest of Miseries, guaranteed to entertain the others over several of these morning teas.
[OOC2: To be continued. I changed her new name from "Anna" to "Nika" - shortened from "Anika" - to avoid any confusion with Anna-Lisa, and because I like the sound of it better, esp. as she is using "Azaka" as a surname. I figure this is something an orphan working in a house like this would do.]