Her hands came down with a casual slap on the counter, breaking me from my thoughts as she spoke up. "Why hello there ELDER Monroe." Her voice held a bit of a sultry tone that included a somewhat sarcastic twist to his title. I could hear his wince behind me as he then joined me in directly facing this woman. *sigh* "Hello Victoria. I come here on counsel business." I watched as her right brow arched in question. "Oh? Did a . . ." Looking upward as if trying to remember something. ". . . Lenard Sanders come to complain about his recent experience at my shop?" A pregnant pause filled the air. . .. "Good grief Victoria, did you injure another one of your patrons?!" The exasperation could be clearly heard in his voice, and yet to me it felt like this was a familiar dance between these two. Stepping up closer to him, with only the small counter between them, she responded, "He wasn't a patron, or at least that which he was looking for, was not sold here. He got a bit handsy and wasn't taking no for an answer. I really didn't want to have to clean up blood and ice chunks from my floor again, so I simply used some of my special rash powder, and that was good enough." A reminiscing smile crossed her face as she continued. "Ha! I would have loved to have been there when he tried to explain to his Wife, how he got such a swollen face and hands." Placing her own right hand on Monroe's left that was resting on the counter, she leaned even closer to him, almost as if to blow into his ear. "You know that there is only one man, that I am interested in." That last was said with a husky breathy voice and lowered eyelashes. The image of an innocent maiden in need of protection that I had made up in my mind, had fractured beyond repair. Watching her speak of blood and ice, as well as poisoning someone, all in one sentence; this done while flirting with a councilman, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Dust it all! This was dangerous seduction on a whole new level. This guy was owned, or she was one very talented player of men. If I wasn't feeling a bit scared myself due to my close proximity to this dangerous elven beauty, then I'd have loved to be snacking on some popcorn and drooling while watching their interactions. Monroe jumped a bit in response to her advance, as if he had been shocked by a powerful static discharge. Clearing his throat, he attempted to carefully divest his hand from her grip, which pressed his hand to the counter. "We have not heard anything as of yet in regards to any complaint from this Mr. Sanders person. However, I am still here on something else council related." Looking reluctant as she released his trapped arm, she stood up fully, appearing to take what he was saying more seriously. "Oh, do tell?" Stepping back after recovering his arm from her grasp, he moved a bit towards and behind me in a way to be using my body as a buffer between himself and Victoria. "This here is Andrew Storm. He is the first of whom we assume to be many Travelers that will soon be arriving in our city. He has asked to apprentice under the best apothecary that we have." Victoria's eyes widened at that reveal, then narrowed in unconcealed vicious delight. "Hah! I'll bet the council threw a fit at that! Aside from present company excluded, I feel that your counsel is mostly a bunch of old dodders trying to find purpose in their aging lives. They spend far too much time telling others what to do, instead of out adventuring themselves." *Humph! * "Most of our problems at the northern border would be resolved, if the entire group went up there to assist every rare once in a while." Watching her lean forward, my eyes were unwittingly drawn to her possibly intentional reveal of deeper cleavage, allowing me a better glimpse at forbidden creamy white mounds. She reached beyond and brushed past me to tap Monroe on his nose causing him to flinch again. "You know that I am right." The smug and playfulness that oozed off of her left my own head feeling a bit dizzy and my whole body uncomfortably aroused. I swallowed my growing saliva that eased the dry knot in my throat. I wondered if at any moment I, with my involuntarily wandering eyes might meet a similar fate as the previous Mr. Sanders. Thankfully it appeared that such was not in the making, as the awkward moment and her close proximity to me ended just as quickly as it came. Pulling her leaning form back, the scary seductress, I mean Victoria, turned to face me more fully, and her eyes appeared to be taking me apart piece by piece as if to study under a microscope. I wanted to fidget or wring my hands reflexively at the scrutiny, but I stood my ground as I was visually dissected by a gorgeous crazy woman. Maybe I imagined it, but faint disdain appeared to ooze from her eyes as she took in my body, but I believe she startled, appearing slightly taken aback as she met my eyes more fully. After a pause, as if to consider her findings, she finally spoke. "I like his eyes, but his hands and body don't seem like they've seen much work. Are you sure that he is up to the tasks that I require? You know that I've never succeeded in retaining any prospective apprentices once they learned of their expected responsibilities or the training methods. And none of them ever passed my test either." *Tisk* Monroe released a sigh. "I still don't know what kind of test it is that you put those poor souls through, but none of them say a thing, except that you are very scary. . ." 'And crazy' The last word wasn't spoken, but I felt it none the less. Giving her a sidelong glance, he continued. "Look, I won't ask you to train him any differently, since I know that you are training your past prospective apprentices just like you were trained. . ." He quirked his eyebrow at her as if questioning if that was actually the truth. ". . . but I will ask that you be as patient as you can be, since being here is likely to be a culture shock to him coming from a different world and time, before the magic returned." Taking on a more cultured yet fervent tone he continued. "From what we have researched in ancient records, our ancestors then, didn't have the struggles we deal with on a regular basis here and now. Maybe all they need is a chance to prove themselves." A pensive look formed on Victoria's face as she truly appeared to contemplate what Monroe was saying. "Alright. . .. I will give him a chance and take things slower to begin with. That's all that I can promise." She then gave him a wicked smile. "Consider it a favor to you that I expect to be returned someday." Monroe released a weary chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind." Too soon, as he appeared very ready to leave the store and Victoria's presence, he said his farewells before leaving me at the mercy of this woman. I watched worriedly as the door tone chimed again with him leaving through the front entrance. Then I turned to see Victoria, as she continued to watch as his figure disappeared outside of the store window view. A short moment after he disappeared from sight, she let out a quiet sigh and turned back towards me. "Well, let's get you settled in then." The initial playful tone had given way to a much more neutral and reserved one. Seeing as the only familiarity points between us, was Monroe and my interest in learning her profession, I didn't blame her. Incognizant of my inner observations, Victoria triggered a hidden latch that allowed a portion of the front counter to swing upward, and give way to accessing behind it. Motioning for me to come through, I followed after her as she took me past the front counter and through the potion filled doorway, deeper into the building. As I followed behind her, my eyes were unwisely drawn to her backside as she led me further in. Forcing myself to look away from the not so hidden danger, I cast my eyes about instead. My eyes cast about, taking in the furniture and decorations that populated the room behind the front store. I felt confused at what I saw. Further in, her building looked nothing like a store, but more like a living space. Without turning back, as if sensing my curiosity or maybe she had just had other visitors frequently ask, Victoria answered my unspoken question. "My store doubles as my home, and as a place of cultivation for some of my more precious ingredients. You will be welcome to the dining area and you will have access to your own bedroom, washroom, and obviously the store, to go outside. However, all other areas will be off limits unless I give my express permission." Her tone brooked no nonsense. Just a couple meters past the back of the store lay a large and sturdy looking wooden table, with several chairs. Still not turning to look at me, she continued to speak while gesturing at the table. "This is the dining room that we will be sharing our meals in. You may enjoy various foods and snacks found in the marketplace outside, however, you are required as part of your training to join me for every meal." I stopped in my tracks when I heard that. *Cough* I had to clear my throat as my mind worried about the implications. Then a concern rose that I recalled about the capsule usage. "Um, Victoria." Turning back to more fully face me, her hair swished about her face and shoulders with the momentum, causing me to momentarily freeze. "Is there a problem with this setup?" She asked. Faced with her frontal profile, I huffed in awkward mirth as something below stirred to attention. What was wrong with me? I hadn't felt or acted this way since I was a young teenager, being this horny around an attractive woman. I leaned heavily against the edge of the table which was perfectly positioned to discreetly push back down at the offending appendage. Looking at me expectantly, Victoria waited for me to explain my concern, amidst the awkward silence. Closing my eyes for a moment, I forced my thoughts back under control and spoke. "I'm sure you are not aware of my time constraints in my world but . . ." I explained how there was a time flow difference between my world and hers, as well as my work responsibilities that I had to adhere to. She listened patiently and asked some questions about what I did for work, as well as if there were any other time restrictions. After the explanation, she settled on only requiring me to work and train with her a minimum of 2 days a week with the option for more. My only responsibility in relation to time, was to notify her in reasonable advance if there was to be a change to my days available each week. Following that discussion, she led me up a short flight of stairs leading to a landing of sorts. From there she showed me to my room and the adjoining washroom. She explained that this is the room that all of her apprentices had used, as her training requires strict compliance with living arrangements. It looked like my room was directly over the front shop, taking up maybe a quarter of the space available. Other than explaining the situation, before leaving me to settle down, there was another room across from mine, accessible by stairs and the landing that she addressed. "That is my personal processing room, for my more expensive and exotic potions. It has several fragile and volatile ingredients and tools in there. You are Never to attempt to enter that room or even knock on the door." Pointing at the runes and letters scattered across the surface, she continued. "Those are protection and warding runes that both muffle exterior noise, and warn off unwelcome intruders with great prejudice." Her beautiful eyes took on a dark look as she bore into my own eyes. "You won't survive the experience if you test it." A small shudder passed through my body at her tone, as I hurriedly nodded and vocalized my Very Clear understanding. "Very well." She stated as if satisfied with my level of understanding her rules. "As I said, let's get you settled in your room."