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So this is a strip club, apparently.
It looks an awful lot like a tacky bar with ads of assorted people in heavy makeup all over its surface. Also, Isabella is getting the impression that witches must not be common patrons, even taking into account their absolute rarity - she'd be an uncommon sight at a pawn shop too but no one would be liable to look at her like so.
Oh well.
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truthwright
When they get inside, Petaal emerges from Kas's hood as a snake. He grins and pets her head as she coils loosely around his shoulders.
There is, indeed, music. And there are assorted people, and one of them is on a stage, dancing to the music. Removal of clothing is peripherally involved.
Kas has many things to say about the person's technique: this or that thing he can or cannot do himself, this or that thing done well, this or that thing done poorly. He delivers his commentary to Isabella in as much of an undertone as the music allows. He also produces a continual stream of cash with which to tip every dancer who passes by.
There is, indeed, music. And there are assorted people, and one of them is on a stage, dancing to the music. Removal of clothing is peripherally involved.
Kas has many things to say about the person's technique: this or that thing he can or cannot do himself, this or that thing done well, this or that thing done poorly. He delivers his commentary to Isabella in as much of an undertone as the music allows. He also produces a continual stream of cash with which to tip every dancer who passes by.
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Isabella readily concedes that this does not seem to be just about people taking off their clothes; it seems to be more about some combination of dancing and the employees pretending to find the customers fascinating, which she imagines might be a service some would pay for all by itself. She, of course, has no cash on her, and can produce no tips.
truthwright
Kas is adamant that there is artistry involved. He gets pretty eloquent about it, in fact.
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Of course dancing is an art form. Isabella admires it in general; she can't dance at all unless you count flying, she'd fall over.
truthwright
And then a woman comes on with a snake daemon, some brightly coloured venomous species, whom she incorporates flawlessly into her routine. Kas grins and kisses the top of Petaal's head; Petaal taps the very end of her tail against his arm in time to the music.
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Isabella takes a quick inventory of the dancers' daemon species, curious. They're more informative among humans than witches, as humans have more of a variety of possibilities.
truthwright
Apart from the venomous snake, there's two cats, a hare, a moth, a brown mouse, a long-tailed hummingbird, a gecko, and a ferret.
dark_light
Quite a cross-section.
"So," Isabella says, "it's a form of performance art that, because it involves nudity, people are culturally weird about, and yet for some reason this doesn't apply to performances of - I don't know, Equus. Did you know your species is strange?"
"So," Isabella says, "it's a form of performance art that, because it involves nudity, people are culturally weird about, and yet for some reason this doesn't apply to performances of - I don't know, Equus. Did you know your species is strange?"
truthwright
"A rosy boa," Petaal pipes up. "I was gorgeous. We can show you sometime if you want."
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Isabella shrugs. "Later, do you want to see if you can learn a spell when you're being a witch?" she asks.
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"Cool. How long were you planning on hanging out here, subtly directing all of the staff to sashay by our table because you're reliably handing out money?"
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"They're making sure their paths go by this table when they walk around," Isabella explains. "You're giving out cash more reliably than anybody else here."
truthwright
"Well, yeah, but that's not why I'm doing it," he says. "If you're bored, we can leave."