Snippet #1658769

If the young girl found this unsettling, she said nothing, but smiled sweetly.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Elsten Stephen Phallis," she said, descending the stairs and giving a small curtsy once upon the last. "Father is always looking for those with special talents to employ. By the sound of your own words, you would be an excellent choice for a Grounds Keeper or Gardener."
She didn't say monsters, nor did she say special talents with an infliction, as if it were a secret. Her tone said that this was, to her, normal.
She looked at him carefully, coming somewhat closer.
"May I ask what you are?" she said boldly. There was no insult there, no sneer. Her tone was so normal that she might have been asking what the weather was like. "You are humanoid, and none of our staff who appear human are, in fact, human. I suppose it is better to have the human skin to protect you from the cruelties of others, but here we allow staff to take whichever form they please, whichever suits their needs better and makes them most comfortable."