Sime~Gen Roleplaying: Householding Naros Scenario
Episode #185: No Problem at All (12/8/99)
Mullie signals at the door to Riyyh's hotel room.
Riyyh looks up with a splash.
Riyyh: Oh dear. I wonder who that could be?
Riyyh happens to be in the middle of what was originally intended to be a 1 hour bath.
Riyyh climbs out and dries off hastily, wraps his hair in a towel and his body in a bathrobe.
Riyyh leaves the water in the bathtub in the hopes it will be only a temporary interruption.
Riyyh goes to the door and opens it.
Riyyh: I'm terribly sorry, I was....
Mullie wears a coverall with utility belt and carries a tool box.
Riyyh: Oh, my.
Mullie: Oh, I don't mind.
Mullie: ~~ cheerful ~~
Riyyh thinks this does not look like a temporary interruption at all!
Mullie: The maids said that your bathtub was draining slowly, so I thought I'd come and check it out.
Mullie: That is, if you're not terribly busy?
Riyyh: Draining slowly? ~~ bewildered ~~
Riyyh has noticed that the tub is always completely drained by the time he has finished dressing, although come to think of it that doesn't really say much.
Mullie: Oh, it's not serious yet, but I thought I'd get to it before there's a problem.
Riyyh look as if he very much would like to send her away, except that he would be painfully afraid of causing her any inconvenience or frustration.
Riyyh's tentacles wave about accordingly.
Mullie takes that as a "yes", and enters the room with a peculiarly lurching gait.
Mullie: It won't take long at all, you'll see.
Riyyh: Well, I suppose the good news is that the bath tub is full, which may make it easier to test.... [turns to follow as Mullie brushes past him]
Riyyh's tentacles flutter about in Mullie's wake.
Riyyh hovers indecisively near the door, and then closes it.
Mullie: I don't suppose you've noticed a leaky hot water faucet, have you?
Riyyh: No, I had thought everything was in perfect order, to be honest. It's a delightfully kept Inn in every way.
Riyyh wishes he'd had a chance to rinse his hair.
Mullie perambulates towards the bathroom.
Mullie: We try to please.
Mullie smiles at Riyyh in a friendly fashion.
Riyyh thinks they rather overshot the mark in this case.
Riyyh sits sadly at his dressing-table.
Mullie surveys the bathroom with professional zeal.
Riyyh looks at his reflection and wonders if he can get away with wearing the towel on his head throughout his meeting at the printers'.
Mullie: No, these faucets are tight enough. The hot water leak must be somewhere else.
Mullie might not have reached that conclusion if she'd been better acquainted with Riyyh's excessive bathing habits.
Mullie's training, after all, assumes that hotel patrons use a certain amount of hot water daily, with only minor variations.
Mullie pulls the plug on the tub and watches the water for signs that it is draining.
Mullie glances at Riyyh after a moment.
Mullie: You look down. Is something wrong?
Mullie is, of course, ~~ sympathetic ~~, as well as ~~ cheerfully optimistic ~~
Riyyh smiles apologetically.
Riyyh: Well I was in the middle of a bit of a bath, as you can see, but I can resume it later I am sure. [kindly]
Mullie: It'll be a much better bath, with the plumbing working properly. Which it's not, right now.
Riyyh is actually much more interested in the bath before the plug is pulled, than after the plug is pulled.
Riyyh sighs.
Riyyh: Well, thank you very much for all of your efforts.
Riyyh smiles.
Mullie lays out wrenches and other plumber-type tools in a convenient array.
Mullie finds Riyyh's smile quite charming, even with the wet hair.
Mullie: You're quite welcome.
Mullie likes being able to help such a distinguished guest of the hotel.
Mullie picks up a wrench and waves it around, so as to look mysteriously busy.
Mullie: The front desk said you had a Companion around?
Mullie is well aware of all the other things the staff have been saying about the said Companion, and Riyyh, and a bestselling book.
Mullie would never dream of imposing on a hotel guest (for nonprofessional things, at least) but is undeniably curious.
Riyyh, who is almost (but not quite) completely helpless with regards to mechanical things, winces as the wrench comes perilously close to the tub itself.
Riyyh: Oh yes. Nick. He's off having breakfast, I think.
Riyyh thinks but doesn't know for sure, because Nick left for breakfast over 2 hours ago.
Mullie: Yes, cook makes the most delightful biscuits.
Mullie: Still, it must be lonely for you, to be separated from him.
Mullie uses the wrench to gain access to the drain, then sorts through her tool bag in search of a snake.
Riyyh has removed the towel and is now using a coarse toothed brush to try to sort out the worst of his hair.
Riyyh supposes it could be worse... he could have been caught with a head full of shampoo instead of a head full of conditioner.
Mullie: Does your Donor leave you alone often?
Riyyh: Nick is a very attentive and caring Donor.
Riyyh: However, I don't wish to impose and he does have his own personal requirements, which I respect.
Riyyh thinks, for example Nick has this inexplicable desire to flee the scene of any sort of grooming, beyond the first 5 minutes or so.
Mullie: With looks like that, he must have a lot of demands on his time.
Mullie: Still, I suppose you're both used to it by now, right?
Riyyh beams at the compliment.
Riyyh isn't sure what else was in that sentence, but he'll take the compliment part at face value.
Mullie threads the snake into the drain, and starts feeding it in.
Mullie: It's like plumbing: Things run smoothly most of the time, even if you do have the clear the detritus every once in a while.
Mullie: Speaking of which....
Mullie starts to screw the snake into the obstruction she's found.
Riyyh examines his look in the mirror and sighs to himself.
Riyyh decides to his chagrin he's going to have no choice but to go with a braided or ponytailed look today.
Mullie pulls, working the snake back out of the drain.
Mullie: Here it comes.
Riyyh resignedly starts braiding.
Mullie leans over the tub like an angler reeling in prize trout.
Mullie is starting to catch on that the blocked plumbing isn't the sole cause of Riyyh's less-than-cheerful mood, strange as that seems to her.
Mullie: You know, if you don't want your Companion to leave you, room service can send him up as nice a tray as you ever saw.
Riyyh: Why, that's very helpful. Thank you.
Riyyh is trying to be as kind as possible.
Mullie: Glad to be of service.
Mullie: ~~ beaming ~~
Riyyh is glad Mullie is enjoying herself.
Mullie looks at her catch: a hairball with a suspiciously silvery cast.
Riyyh is rather nimble at this sort of thing, and with ten fingers and 8 tentacles has made quite a number of small slinky silvery braids.
Mullie: There, the tub's draining nicely.
Mullie cleans her snake off, flushing the obstruction down the toilet.
Riyyh tries a scarlet bow to hold them together, shakes his head, then tries out a blue one.
Mullie is well-trained in luxury hotel work, and takes an additional moment to make sure that the tub is at least moderately clean.
Riyyh supposes Ozzie will hardly notice in any case, but he does like to look his best for his people because he believes they can pick up on it subliminally as respect for them.
Mullie admires the effect of Riyyh's effort.
Riyyh zlins her admiration and perks up somewhat.
Riyyh turns to smile at her, holding the pale blue ribbon in place.
Riyyh nearly gasps when he sees the state of the bathtub, but fortunately manages to keep his composure.
Riyyh crosses the notion of getting right back in the tub again entirely off his list... at least until the maid's been by.
Mullie: That's pretty, that is.
Riyyh: You like it? Well then I shall use this one.
Riyyh is pleased by the input, but then he's always been terribly vain.
Riyyh seems genuinely grateful for the advice.
Mullie beams at the gesture.
Mullie: Well, I guess I'm finished here.
Mullie moves slowly towards the door, ~~ reluctant ~~
Mullie's clients are usually too upset at non-working plumbing to be very polite.
Mullie therefore would have found Riyyh a welcome change, even if he weren't good looking.
Riyyh: Thank you so much for all of your help.
Mullie: Any time.
Mullie doesn't limit the promise to plumbing difficulties.
Riyyh also seems a bit wistful. It's because he can't bear to lose such quality attention.
Riyyh smiles, in apparent reciprocal promise to provide any sort of difficulties Mullie may care to look into.
Mullie leaves, wondering what it would take to bribe the housecleaning staff to drop a little something down the sink for her.
Riyyh sighs, thinking that Mullie was certainly a delightfully nice young lady, and then forgets her as he turns to his closet in search of something to wear that will go well with the powder blue ribbon.