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[oneirophiliac]

Sometimes Annie has to abandon battling pests to take care of her best workers. And that, Spade Castle, is why your exterminator has commandeered one of the communal bathing areas and all its bathtubs. It's okay. The door's open so she can bring snakes in and out. And she even put a sign outside the door if the tanks didn't clue you in. Maybe you

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[headfollowheart]

Zoe had curiously followed a pair of Twos with a tank, and is now leaning against the door, arms crossed. "How often do they make a run for it?" This is more interesting than accounting.

And she likes accounting.

[oneirophiliac]

"Around a quarter, last time," Annie says vaguely, rubbing down a snake the length of her arm. "Mostly they like the water, though. And it's really only a big worry if they're big enough to jump out or get onto the taps and escape from there." She smiles fondly. "Silly things."

[headfollowheart]

"They seem to like it." And for a second, Zoe looks like she might come forward, but then she stays where she is. "But it must be an interesting sight if any of them make it down the hall." She grins a little, imagining reactions.

[oneirophiliac]

"They're like lightning," Annie says, far too brightly for anyone else to be comfortable. "But don't worry, none of them make it that far. Right, Gene?" The poor Two standing just inside the door nods his head, waving the snake catcher stick a little. Annie stands, dropping the towel on the sink. "Come on, let's get you back home." She'll have to go past you to put this one back, Zoë.

[7waystobetray]

Delilah is curious, always. And well. How many times does one get the chance to watch a woman bathe forty snakes?

Probably more if Delilah starts making room in her schedule for it, like now.

[oneirophiliac]

Annie glances at the door after getting splashed spectacularly by one almost-successful escapee. "Hi, Miss Eight. Don't worry, we'll be done in..." She looks around at the bathtubs and Twos. "...a couple of hours?"

[7waystobetray]

She laughed a little at the splashing snake. Funny, she'd never thought of snakes as needing water.

"Oh, I'm not worried, I'm just watching. And I swear I've said it before, but call me Delilah."

[oneirophiliac]

Most snakes don't, but bathing is good for them once in a while. Annie won't mind the laugh, because it is funny when you take a step back and look at yourself. "Right, sorry, Delilah. Gotcha. 'D be happy to answer questions if you got any."

[aceofsorts]

Annie probably gets used to the rubbernecking on Bath Days. Either that or people steering very well clear of that entire wing of the castle. Oliver only means to pause in the bathroom doorway. He ends up watching a snake making a valiant bid for freedom. But not offering any assistance with the matter.

"Can't you just stick them in a dishwasher?" And Oliver actually likes the snakes.

[oneirophiliac]

"I could just drop you in a washing machine," she retorts, grabbing for the snake and almost colliding with a Two. It makes it to the curtain rod before clinging on rather pathetically. Annie makes a rather frustrated noise and sends the Two for a stool, glancing at her other snakes in the meantime.

[aceofsorts]

"I can clean myself," he says, still watching absolutely unhelpfully as Annie makes preperations for a snake retrieval. "See, this is why I don't bother with pets." That and experiencing the heartbreak of budgie death. He can't be dealing with that shit.

[oneirophiliac]

"Hey, they're kind of also my work." The Two holds the stool steady while she croons low in her throat, reaching for the snake to tickle gently under its chin. "Besides, you're just happy you don't have to remember to feed your swords."

[is_to_art]

"That time already?"

Nico has always been fairly ambivalent when it came to snakes, though he's always admired Annie's way with them.

[oneirophiliac]

"When I have to corral half a dozen snakes at once, yeah," Annie snaps before looking up and colouring. She can't jump to her feet, but she's itching to anyway. "I mean, uh, yes, Sir Nine, that's right. Snake bathing. Yes."

[is_to_art]

Oh, come now. If he were the sort to demand that kind of treatment he wouldn't be hanging around bathrooms, pestering Fives -- though, really, it's not every day one sees forty snakes being bathed.

One of the things that can be ticked off of his list of things to do before he dies.

"And none of the Twos could assist?"

Beyond, you know, the small matter that half of them look plainly terrified of the aforementioned reptiles.

[oneirophiliac]

"I'd train someone up if they were willing," Annie says plainly. "Beyond that, having them watch the non-venomous ones is the best I can manage. And I've an even division of venomous and non-venomous." She gestures to the Twos at the other tubs. That gesture encompasses the feeling of now, if only they were braver so I didn't have to split my focus too much...