[Orual]

Bells jangling and thick layers of cheap, rustling fabric created an orchestral noise that warned all in the area of her coming. Kannah hiked up her skirts and stormed towards the door, where, unknowingly, a young man was about to face her wrath.

"Turn yourself around this instant, young master!" she shouted, and everyone in the common room except the object of her attention turned. The young man himself froze, and Kannah was fairly sure she heard him muttering prayers under his breath. Well, wise enough, she figured--he'd be getting the rough side of her tongue.

Kannah was twenty-two years old, and much fiercer than she looked. Her pretty, almond-shaped brown eyes and small stature belied her hot temper and sharp wit. She had a long, regal nose, and a full-lipped mouth that would have been pretty if she ever used it for smiling. Her dark complexion and long, raven hair told of her southern heritage, though she was a native of Dale. She draped herself in layers of fabric in rich jewel tones...but the fabric was always very cheap. For all of her show, Kannah was not a wealthy person, though she tried to pass as one.

"I believe you underpaid," she said harshly, gripping the young man by his upper arm. It was a humorous sight, as the young man was almost head and shoulders taller than Kannah.

"No, I don't think I--" the young man began, but Kannah cut him off by dragging him to the counter where he had paid.

"One, two, three gold pieces," she counted quickly. "You owed four."

"I'm sorry, I thought I'd--"

"What you thought is irrelevant," she said. "The fact remains that you didn't pay in full. Will you give me another gold piece, or would you prefer doing dishes?"

The young man fished a gold piece out of his pocket and handed it to Kannah, who accepted it without the least touch of graciousness.

She saw Finian shaking his head from the other side of the room, but paid him no heed. She had passed a difficult night--two young patrons had come down with violent chest colds, and their panic-stricken mother had come banging on Kannah's door at well past midnight but still well before dawn to have her administer appropriate treatment. She had gotten no sleep and still had some bruises on her ribs from small flailing arms. She was in no mood to be cheated out of her rightful dues. Now, she liked children--growing up with two brothers and one sister, all significantly older than Kannah, she had numerous nieces and nephews on whom to hone her maternal skills. Not that she planned on settling down any time soon...

She settled down in her office--that is, the side of her bedroom with a desk--and started going over the financial records. If they were going to drag her out of bed at ungodly hours of the morning, she was going to make sure they had enough money to pay for it!