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I shall be your escort for this thread

Strel had new duties now. And they were serious. And he had to be absolutely serious about them. So he took it all with a grave frame of mind. As much as he was not serious, he knew that he had to act in a way that was so different from before. First thing was first, patrol. He had done it before, often enough, and found his share of loners. Though now he was free to accept them into the lands if he found them fit for the job. It made it easier, and more efficient if he accepted the strangers on his own accord; he could get the hell out of there once he had set them loose on the kingdom, hopefully to blend in and behave.

He heard the howl in the distance and let out a long, drawn-out sigh. So the duties would begin sooner, rather than later. But this was his first test, to determine if he was suitable for this choice role. And he had better do it right.

The redheaded man came upon the younger woman on the borders, slightly in, but that was negligible. It was starting to feel like everyone was younger than him. Was that what getting old was about? Feeling as though everyone was younger and younger? Regardless of his emotions, Strelein approached the stranger with an air of confidence; again, not hard. He already was a cocky bastard at times. "Hello, stranger. What brings you to Cour des Miracles?" his voice rang out, his Midwest lilt slight. His expression was neutral, though he eyed her with curiosity.

The man gave her a blank look, rather surprised by how suddenly she simply answered questions he had not even thought about, as though her mouth did not stop. He was like that too, but never with a stranger nor someone who held power over him. Did she always prattle on like that, without a care as to what the other person wanted to hear and what they did not need to hear yet? Strel gave an absent look at her, nodding along, not deigning to really address any of those things, not even when she mentioned sewing. The redhead knew his duty but he had to be blunt about these things. They had taken on a rapist and another rapist. Care and caution were what everyone needed.

"Do you always talk so much? I really only asked what you were doing here," he said, his tone frank and plain. She spoke of coming here and it feeling right. He had never seen her at the borders or as a guest of another member. Perhaps at a time he was not aware? "Have you ever been here?" inquired the tailor, arms crossing over his chest as he let his lilting tone ring out. Her story was one he knew he would hear later, but he had not asked her who she was, what happened in her life, or her skills. He had only asked what she was doing here.

He waved her apology away, choosing to just keep this rolling so he could get back to doing what he loved doing more than patrol. His needles and thread were calling, as well as his desire to ruffle Noss's feathers. That man was so entertaining, especially when Strel played the charms and toyed with him a little. But it was all in good fun, good fun. "That's fine," he said, listening to the woman continue on about why she had felt at home. It was strange, but he himself had not felt truly at home until he had himself properly set up in the manor and living life as he wanted it. Maybe the territory was just something that attracted the stranger to it. That was understandable.

"No, that's fine." He was apprehensive about this, but she seemed innocent enough, even if she prattled when her nerves got the very best of her. "We can just sort of skip the formalities then, since you already pretty much answered everything there is to answer." He gave a weak grin, lopsided as it was. If she could cook, that was good. "I am Strel, the Dauphin here." He figured she would like some explanations or a tour. "I'm sure you'd be welcome here."

Eying the woman briefly, he tilted his head. "If I were to accept you, would you be seeking out one of our duties? We are in need of a chef; I don't think we've had one since the kingdom was formed." Obviously, it was just a suggestion.

Strel leaned against a tree with his arms still crossed. He sighed as he started to think, wondering where the woman would want to stay. Personally, he had wanted more folk to come live at the Hotel; it was more of a central location and it would make the pack seem less spread out. "We have plenty of places, but depends on where you want to stay. There's the hotel, with many rooms in a central place. Lunenburg with the small houses near the docks by the sea. Plenty of spread out little cottages in the woods and small, small clumps of towns." He looked at her after having stared at his arms while he thought. "Really a matter of personal preference."

Pearl seemed interested in the prospect of becoming a cook, and he was glad for that. Sometimes new folk never seemed to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. "There are plenty of other duties, of course, if you want something else." But he figured, from what she had said, cook might be the easiest to get. "If you think you'd like to be a chef, then the hotel would probably be better off; there is a large human kitchen left mostly intact on the first floor."

Straightening, Strel dropped his hands to his pockets and gave a grin at the woman. "So I take it you would still like to join?"

"Hotel it is then. Cuts out a lot of walking." Clearing his throat of a sudden hoarseness, the redheaded tailor waved his hands in the air as though to demonstrate the shape of the building. "In the hotel, we have four floors. First floor has the kitchen, ballroom, my studio, and some living rooms. There are wings with the rooms. You are free to take any room you want, so long as it is unclaimed. But we ask that you only take a single room unless you truly need the space." He himself had claimed two bedrooms for himself and Noss, though one was his closet space. The third was the former dining room that was now his private studio space.

He was glad she was still willing to join, even after his curt responses. "Well, good. Since you want to be a chef or something along those lines, you'll be progressing through the courtier ranks. We also have a cavalry rank set, for the warrior minded members." Nodding at the woman, the man began to turn toward the direction of the Hotel, eager to be back in his own home as well. Strel turned back to her, easy smile on his face. "Welcome to Cour des Miracles, Miss Pearl. I would encourage you to explore the kingdom after you've settled and claimed a room. If you need help, you can seek me, or an older member of the kingdom."