Clever Girl

[Cassandra Paige]

"What kind of a name is Cle-var-ri anyway?"

Cass was sitting in her office, going over her schedule for the day with her assistant.

"Um. I'm not sure Ma'am. There's no race notation like they usually put-"

Cass frowned.

"Find out who booked that appointment," she said with a sniff. While there was a small chance Cass wouldn't fire them for it, it would largely depend on just how this meeting went.

No, she would probably fire them.

It wasn't that Cass didn't accept appointments with aliens. Far from it! She was perfectly happy to do business with someone, regardless of their race. But she would rather know when it was going to happen. The name and lack of a notation told her that it was a non-human (likely anyway) but nothing about what kind. She made an irritated noise in her throat and mentally prepared herself for the worse.

"Send them in whenever they get here," she said dismissively.

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

Under most circumstances, if you gave a Tiss'sharl a small animal, you'd likely be given bones in return. If said Tiss'sharl was Cle-Var-Ri, that most became almost all. It was to be expected of the juvenile with a bottomless pit of a stomach. Any and all small creatures were to be kept far away from the acolyte, lest they meet unsavory ends.

Not even Sith Lords were safe from her appetite.

And yet the moment her eyes caught the advert for GenPals, her curiosity was piqued. Sure, the prospect of a constant supply of little snacks was incredibly appealing, but when you got down to it, she had snacks everywhere. They just didn't know their place yet. No, what got her interested was the prospect of more predatorial pets, a small army of little monsters. Not to mention, they'd be simply adorable.

So, in Cle-Var-Ri walked, scales freshly buffed, talons washed with extra care for this business meeting. Her father was a businessman and as much as the talking had bored the acolyte, she understood bits and pieces of it all. She had to make an impression, did she not?

[member="Cassandra Paige"]​

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Cass had come to expect a lot of things. Towering whipids. Garish bald women (a surprising number of them). Lords and Ladies of the Force.

The raptor was new.

For a moment, Cass almost slammed the alert buzzer on her desk. Surely some lab animal had escaped and somehow made its way into her office. Maybe not hiring [member="Itash Mecetti"]'s men had been a mistake- she'd call him as soon as this was sorted out. But something gave her pause.

The look in its eyes.

That was not an animal (well yes, it was, but that was irrelevant). And as far as Cass knew, GenPals was not currently working on anything sentient. Tilting her head slightly, she acted on a hunch.

A Tiss'sharl? Honestly Cass had never heard of them. She didn't pay attention to all of the jumped up aliens running around if she could avoid it after all.

"Cle-Var-Ri?" She asked, voice lilting up slightly at the end.

"My name is Cassandra Paige. Welcome to GenPals."

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

Cle-Var-Ri was oblivious to just how close she was to having the alarm activated by her presence. She had sensed something - surprise? Maybe a little panic? - but it was quieted soon enough that she didn't pay much mind.

It was to be expected, really. In fact, it was rare her presence didn't provoke some sort of reaction, often of the negative sort. Most sentients didn't take well to her kind. Why, many Sith had made the mistake of considering her more pet than acolyte. They learned to regret it, though.

"Yes, that's me, thank you." Her voice was raspy, as to be expected for a reptile. She stood proud and tall, demanding the respect she so obviously deserved. She stared the human down with slitted eyes, blinking once or twice slowly before saying any more.

"Are you the owner of this company?"

[member="Cassandra Paige"]​

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"Yes, quite," she responded, not really sure for a moment what else to say.

Cass was rarely speechless. But then, raptors didn't usually walk into her office.

She was about to motion them (he? she? it?) to a chair and thought better of it. She didn't think any of her chairs would accommodate this situation. She had gotten some larger, sturdier options since the Whipid, but this was different.

She didn't know what possible refreshment to offer either.

In a rare turn of events, Cass was stumped.

Well. One thing was always suitable.

"What can I do for you today then? Unfortunately my assistant didn't note down just what you wished to speak about."

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

Head cocking from one side to the other, Cle-Var-Ri waited semi-patiently for the woman to go on. She seemed at a loss for words for reasons the acolyte had no clue nor real care to find out. Perhaps she was just basking in the opportunity to even be in Clever's presence? She certainly couldn't be faulted for that, Clever was only a delight to know.

With a little nod to herself, she carried on, choosing not to comment on her hostess' apparent loss of words. Instead, she turned her attention to Cassandra's question, at first not quite certain how to bring about her case.

"Well, about your GenPals..." I love them an I want one of not five of each of them. The Sith wouldn't give Paige the pleasure of knowing just how much her company had monopolized the Tiss'sharl's attention, not yet anyway. "So far you've presented quite interesting merchandise particularly the small versions of pre-existing creatures. One has to wonder if..." A nervous flick of the tail. For a moment, Clever considers dropping the matter entirely.

"Have you ever ventured into doing that with sentient species?"

[member="Cassandra Paige"]​

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Well well.

Cass folded her hands together in front of her, head inclining slightly.

"You understand that there are laws concerning the..... sale of sentient creatures," she said carefully. "It is not illegal, depending on the system, but it is highly regulated, here in the Corporate Sector. A very long list of rules and requirements, to ensure that it is done responsibly."

She paused for a moment.

"Publicly," she continued, emphasizing the word slightly, "We do not offer, for sale, any sentient beings. It would involve a level of oversight that is not worth the potential. That being said....."

The red head trailed off.

"Without that increased scrutiny it makes it easier for us to offer..... special circumstances...... to those who place private, custom orders with us."

She arched an eyebrow, wondering if the raptor understood or if she was being too subtle.

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

For a moment disappointment and a teensy bit of annoyance washed over the raptor as it seemed she wouldn't be getting her way. Those pesky regulations and laws were always getting in the way of true progress. Be it for good reason or otherwise, the Tiss'sharl hardly enjoyed being told no.

Her head perked up as Cassandra went on, twitching from side to side as the woman went on about potential options. A toothy grin, the perfect display of those deadly pearly whites, found its way to the acolyte's features as the woman finished. So there was a chance she'd have her small army after all? Good.

"Then that's why I'm here. I'd like to place a private, custom order. I'm sure you can guess the rest of the details."

[member="Cassandra Paige"]​

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Cass inclined her head, glad it (he? she? Cass really wasn't certain) understood.

"Well in that case, let's get started, shall we?"

Settling behind her desk, she pulled up a holographic order form with a flick of one finger.

"With this be a custom creation or one based on an existing creature? What size? Any special features you require?"

It was the best place to start. While there was no place on the order form to technically indicate 'sentient', Cass simply left the box 'nonsentient' unchecked as she went along to other parts. This was not the first order she had taken where what was left off was just as important as what was put on.

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]