Monkeying Around Under the Southern Sun!

[Jade]

The promise of good pay for easy work was, typically, too good to be true in Petra's estimation - but that didn't stop her from leaping at the opportunities life threw her way; she wasn't in a position where she could turn a deal down. If reality matched those pessimistic expectations, then she'd handle it, salvage what she could, and move on. She'd done it before, and she'd most certainly do it again.

Still, was it too much to ask that these rich assholes not leave her to bake under the sun for once?

The impressive figure of the Kiln Knight stuck out like a sore thumb among the hoity-toity population of Cuauhmaitl going about their days, even after she'd tried to retreat to a shaded spot still within the area her soon-to-be employer had asked her to wait. The blackened armor stood in sharp contrast with the clean stone and greenery of the plaza, in much the same way the noxious smoke lazily coiling up into the air out of vents and through cracks - a clear sign of the knight's mounting frustrations - did against the clear, fresh water spraying up into the air from a fountain in the plaza's center. It was like something out of hell plopped down into the middle of a well-off town, and Petra kept catching the sounds of confusion and, if not outright disgust then at least distaste in regards to her presence.

Well, at least the kids who thought they were being sneaky to admire her and kept squealing about the "super cool guy in black armor" were tolerable. So long as they actually kept their distance.

"Aha, there he is! My champion!"

Petra didn't react right away, but the voice of her employer clicked in her head and she suddenly stood up from the stone bench she'd been seated on. He was a... Well... Petra struggled to come up with any words to describe the man beyond "fat" and "dressed like a pretentious dick". Sure, at a glance his clothes seemed to fit the feel of the farming town, overalls worn over a button-up shirt, boots, but the little details were there that betrayed the man had likely never gotten his hands dirty personally. His clothes were too clean, the materials too delicate for work; he wore white gloves to match the white bowtie, laces of his boots, and the buttons of his purple satin shirt, as if to make a show of how not dirty he was. The dainty purple hat in danger of tipping off his round head at any moment, which he would reach up to adjust every few seconds, was just the cherry on top of his whole ensemble. At least his obsession with keeping his hands clean would serve to ensure he wouldn't come anywhere close to trying to lay a hand on her or her armor.

Sure enough, it was like Mr. Vinyerd suddenly ran into an invisible wall she was unaware of upon making it within five feet of her, his hand initially reaching out for a shake before diverting up toward his head to ensure his hat wouldn't slip off. "I do hope the wait was tolerable, my good sir! But do not fret - your waiting has come to an end!" Vinyerd turned to his companion - and the unusual, blue-haired man accompanying him - before she could respond, holding out a hand as if to put Petra on display. "I present to you both... The Kiln Knight!"

The thought of correcting her employer ('she', and most certainly not a sir) to embarrass him in front of his "friend" was tempting... But the thought of the kind of gross man getting any untoward ideas about what was under her armor was enough to dispel that fantasy. Instead, Petra raised a hand, her armor creaking as she moved. "Hm," was all she managed, a sound made deeper and more resonant as it rattled out of her suit. The thought that maybe she was supposed to say more flashed through her head alongside a bolt of panic, but then Vinyerd's showman's flourish dropped as he gave the floor to his friend for introductions on the other side of this competition. She quietly sighed in relief; leaning into the stoic act was less work, to be sure, even if it was a facade she wasn't great at keeping up when push came to shove...