morethanprices

[morethanprices]

Taking Inventory (Open)

“So that’s how it is, huh? Interesting...”

Clicks and scribbles, the sound of paper folding, and heavy footsteps echo through the hallway. They stop shortly, and a door creaks open - into Rhea’s main chamber. No one seems to pay any heed as Anna steps inside, eyes sweeping across the grandiose hall as she lets out a whistle.

“Askr’s castle is huge, to be sure, but I thought this place was supposed to be a monastery. This is one of the fanciest monasteries I’ve ever seen!” 

Another few scribbles on her paper, a click, and the pen finds its place hooked behind Anna’s ear. She can’t help but grin as she retreats the way she came, surveying the upper floor for perfectly legitimate reasons. Though the rest of the area isn’t nearly as grandiose, there’s enough information to take several pages worth of notes. 

“Fancy place, strong heroes and students... heck, with the amount of people here, this place is starting to look like the Order!”

Chuckling to herself as she contemplates her findings, Anna made one fatal flaw - descending the stairs while distracted. Turning a corner, she managed to collide shoulders directly with someone, and though she didn’t see quite who it was, she had a bigger issue. Her clipboard and many forms dropped to the floor, breaking apart and splitting everywhere. 

Anna quickly dropped to her knees, fumbling as she swiftly swiped at each parchments, trying to collect her belongings once more.

“Hey! Sorry about that, but do you think you could help me?”

#;𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠! (starter) #;𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑒! (open) #;𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔! (threads)

[morethanprices]

“Oooh, an interview! I love interviews - they’re a great chance to show off- I mean, to introduce myself and talk about the Order! Well, let’s see - I was born on the 9th of the Garland Moon, Imperial year 1155-”

“We have a predetermined set of questions, miss Anna.”

Clearing her throat, Anna picked up the papers in front of her, taking a moment to tap them against the table to align the stack better. She only needed a moment, her quick eyes glancing and taking in the interviewer’s questions, flicking through each page every so often.

“Is this it? I thought this was going to be a real interview - you know, people to watch and talk to, an auditorium, guest speakers, the works. I guess I can work with this, though.”

“All right! Question number one: ’What has led you to where you are today?’”

The merchant leaned back in her seat a bit, eyes closed. She didn’t bother to keep eye contact - from the looks of it, her interviewer would have rather been anywhere else themselves.

“My family. I come from a long, proud line of merchants, and while I wanted to keep that line going - tradition is really big in my family, you see - I always felt like my calling was different from my sisters. Still, my mother made sure to instill the same sense of values in me as the rest of my sisters. She taught me how to make my first sale, how to market, incentivise, haggle - basic things everyone should know.”

“Still, something was always missing. It wasn’t until I met Zacharias, and by extension Alphonse and Sharena, that I realized just what that calling was. My mother was horrified, at first - I would be too, truth be told. But my job as the Commander of the Order of Heroes entails being their Treasurer as well, and that provides a very unique opportunity in our line. I’m still a damn good merchant - if you need a treasurer or someone to manage your assets, I’m your girl!”

“Okay, that leads us into question number two: What do you believe are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I just told you my strengths. I’m the best merchant there is - aside from my sisters, of course, but I’m the best merchant here, and that’s what counts! I’m a good negotiator, good at talking to people - though I guess if I had to pick a weakness, I’d say that I’m not as lithe as my sisters. They’re a lot faster than me, so they’re better at their rogue-ish fighting style. I’m pretty good with an axe, though!”

A yawn escaped the commander, and she leaned forward, elbow on the table and hand on her cheek. “I guess that just leaves one last question, doesn’t it? If a story were to be written about my life, what role would I play?”

“That’s a tricky question. While I’d like to say I’d be the main character, truth be told, my family has always had more of a supporting role. My role as the Commander of Heroes is a unique one, so maybe I’d be more… maybe not the main character, but not just some off character - maybe the main character's best friend, or one of the main trio.”

Another yawn - what a snorefest that interview was. However, now that the three main questions were over…

The slam of a large stack of papers on the table served to sufficiently wake up her interviewer. Anna slid the stack over - making sure they were nice and neat first.

“Now, I have some questions for you. What are your policies on faculty and selling wares to students?”

#𝑇𝘩𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑! ... 𝑁𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 (drabble)