Cynthia's Song
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Cynthia's Song
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:10, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1225
Surprisingly – or maybe not? – Cynthia didn’t look all that convinced. Oh, that some people would like it here… Maybe. Ok, sure. If it was the only thing you ever knew and didn’t really want to see what was beyond. And in a sense, life was simple here. Not easy, what with the alligators, snakes and whatnot, but simple. There probably was some attraction to it. For herself though… She’d be bored out of her mind alarmingly fast.
“Well, the guys in town have a saying… What was it again…” Cynthia thought about it for a second then snapped her fingers. “Oh, right: ‘Il faut de tout pour faire un monde.‘ I suppose it’s fitting. And as long as you’re happy…” She shrugged.
Cynthia seemed about to answer to something Peter had just said, but nodded to Magwen. “I see.” In a very different tone, she repeated an “I see…” when pointed at a gator. She wanted to ask if they ever tried to snack on the people in the boats, but decided she didn’t want to know.
At some point, she came back to a point she had wanted to talk about. “You know, you don’t have to be useful to me. If you want to live here and never see my face or have anything to do with the house in general, that’s fine by me. So do not feel like you absolutely have to do something. If you want to be left alone, I’m happy to go with that. If on the contrary you want more I’m not unwilling to hear about it. Will I be able to actually do what you’d want or need is another problem entirely of course, but… Well, I guess what I’ saying is that my door is open. Sort of…”
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08:10, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Magwen gives Cynthia a strange look then nods her head slowly. “I was told that you are not like the previous owner. Are you co-owners of the same mind?”
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:10, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1226
“Uh… Probably?” Cynthia shrugged. “You’d have to ask them. But…” The girl looked away for a second or two. Finally, she simply smiled wryly. “Consider things like this: first, Claudia is nineteen and she has two years on Sandy and I. Being responsible of anyone is not really the kind of things we want, especially on top of everything else we have to deal with. And believe me, there’s a lot, quite a bit major than being a teenage girl or deciding what to wear in the morning.” Considering that some whose name she wouldn’t disclose would be fine answering ‘nothing‘ it wasn’t saying much though. “So if you want to be left alone, that’s fine by us.” She cocked her head to the side, frowning. “Well, unless it goes against the house and all, I suppose we can’t have that.”
A second later, she shook her head. “Anyway. If, on the other hand, you want us to do something for you, or help, or… If you want anything from us in general… We’ve learned yesterday we were responsible for a cotton and sugar cane industry, what’s a little village more? That’s not to say that we’re going to agree to everything – or anything really – but listening doesn’t hurt anyone.”
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08:15, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Magwen nods and remains silent for a couple of minutes then points off to where a large alligator is laying on the bank under a huge mangrove tree. “That there is Old Seth. He is probably the second largest of his kind in these parts, although there are rumors of some even larger than him out in the deep groves, where only the foolhardy or desperate go wandering.” She waits until the boat glides past the sleeping gator then looks back at Cynthia. “We don’t need much, Miss. It is more what we can do for you that the last three owners decided was not worth the effort. The first is the creatures here abouts; the gators, snakes, fish, birds, and even some deer. Besides some really tasty meat, there is a good bit of hides we can provide you. Second, there are springs at the village and near to it that provide some of the best drinking water you will ever taste. Third, we can whip up some shine that will rival anything store bought. And we hold no care as to your ages. The House accepted you and that is enough for us. What you need to decide is if we are good enough for you or if you will leave us isolated in the groves, like your predecessors did.”
“What we can use is more of the common supplies for living, along with what it will take to get any water and whiskey ready to ship to markets. That will be up to you and the other owners.”
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:15, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1227
Cynthia watched Old Seth with some trepidation. The beast was huge. Thankfully, the beast appeared lazy, or at least satiated for now, and didn’t move an eye. “There are some even larger? Uh…” Those people were definitely crazy…
Once Magwen has explained what they’d like to her, Cynthia nodded. “Oh that… Well, I already had an idea of creating a small corporation to sell the products derived from the cotton and sugar cane fields, like candies, clothes, etc. I don’t see anything wrong with adding meat, water., whiskey, hides, etc.” She sounded a bit doubtful there, but maybe the rich would find appealing to drink some fresh water, straight from the source. Unpolluted source. “The more we have, the better diversity we have, the easier it’ll be to find a market and more importantly, the more robust it will make the whole enterprise.”
She’d really need to get more business lessons though. She knew a thing or two but managing a corporation, even a small one, was way out of her depth. For the moment at least. “But if we want to do this, I will need hard numbers. That you could, right now, provide x bottles of whiskey and water, that you’d need that list of supply a month, that you have those kind of medical needs, etc. You can include what you hope to be able to produce in the right circumstances, or with this or that investments – again, numbers for the investments – and it will be really useful, but what I really need is to know what you can do right now. Oh and samples I suppose. Once I have all that, I can start formulating a business plan, decide how to go about it.” And hopefully, that would give her time to figure things out… “And don’t be over-optimistic with the figures. Do not try to oversell it, it’d be the best way to sink everything. What we need is a strong foundation. Once we have that, we’ll be able to build on it, but if the foundations are shaky…”
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08:15, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Magwen nods to herself and Cynthia sees a slight smile cross her lips. “I will get you a list of these things you have asked about. As it is, though, we are pretty small, since we have had no real reason to produce a lot of extra. I will keep the projections realistic. Thank you, Miss.”
Peter chuckles but does not say anything. Before too long, the small flotilla passes another boat with three men fishing. Waves are exchanged and Cynthia can see them pulling in their rods and preparing to follow her boats. Soon, they come upon two more boats that stop what they are doing and follow along.
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:15, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1228
Cynthia wasn’t concerned there wouldn’t be much to sell just yet. “It’s fine if you don’t have a lot. In fact, it would probably be best if you didn’t ramp production up just yet. A small production is more than enough to sell a bit and see how it goes. What kind of people are interested, for how much we could sell it, etc.“ She paused briefly. “And that would give me the time to think about how to distribute the products. Given that it’s traditional products, it would be best I think to avoid common networks, maybe a couple of small shops would be best.” She grimaced slightly. “Problem is, I’m pretty sure we could sell everything to the rich, but that means we can’t exactly expect them to come to the suburbs to buy. Which means a high rental cost.” She thought about it for a moment more, then shook her head. Now was probably not the time to think too much about all of that.
When she noticed everyone starting to follow, she asked “Is there a reason everyone is coming with us?”
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08:15, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Magwen nods. “We can keep the production low if you like. That would let us expand slowly and get things right.” As the other boats begin to follow them, she nods at Cynthia’s question. “Yes, Miss. You and your fellow owners are something unusual and there is a lot of interest in you. I imagine that the men in the boats do not want to miss out on anything. Remember, we have not had an owner here for a long time. We should be at the village in a few minutes, now, provided Peter does not ram us into one of these trees.”
The last comment gets a chuckle from Peter as he expertly guides the boat past trees that appear to be getting larger and closer together, sometimes almost seeming to form a wall in front except for a narrow channel of water.
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:15, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1229
“Mmmh.” Cynthia glanced back at the group of boats they were collecting, but didn’t comment more on that. While she wasn’t particularly happy about it, she could understand curiosity, and she supposed it made sense for them to want to know her. Or Claudia, Sandy and her.
“As long as the tree doesn’t have teeth. Though, uh…” She looked a bit embarrassed. “I should probably mention that I don’t know how to swim…” She didn’t pay that a lot of attention though, focused on the trees. “It feels like another world…” And for all she knew… Well, with all the oddities surrounding the house and the town in general, would she really be surprised?
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08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
The boat passes the first houses without Cynthia even being aware of them. It is only when she sees movement above her that she realizes that the houses are all built as tree houses, hanging from the tree branches. The dwellings are built to take advantage of natural camouflage and would be difficult to spot if you is not looking for them. Small boats bob in the water beneath the trees, but even these are mostly hidden among the roots and hanging moss. Many of the trees are connected by hanging walkways that cross the waterways.
As the boat nears a particularly large grouping of trees, Cynthia spots several hanging houses and a group of people who seem to be waiting for her. Magwen points to three men and a women standing apart from the others. “Our leader and his family. He is a bit rough, but can be friendly. He is waiting to see what you will do with us, as is everyone else. Remember, though, that you are among friends here, if you want it that way.”
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1230
When she first saw the houses, Cynthia started. “Uh… You must not have visitors particularly often…” Though it probably was the point after all. Or it had been at any rate. She didn’t want to think about the size of the mosquitoes in summer, but maybe they were too big to even be able to fly around the trees?
She nodded noncommittally when Magwen described their leader. She didn’t really care if he was rough. Her mom… her adoptive mom had wanted her to be a princess but she had been less than successful. As long as he wasn’t aggressive she’d manage. Plus, at the end of the day… While it wouldn’t be a bad thing to part as friends, it wasn’t like she had much of anything at risk if it weren’t the case: they needed her, not really the other way around. “I’ll remember that.”
As Peter took their boat in, Cynthia stayed in until it was safely secure: it wasn’t that she wanted to wait until the last moment to meet those people, more that she really – as in really – didn’t want to fall in the water. Once on safe ground – more or less anyway – she waited for Claudia and Sandy before they went to meet the locals.
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08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Once the small boat is tied up at the dock, a young boy scampers from the crond and ties it off to a piling. Peter casually steps from it and holds out a hand to assist Cynthia then Magwen, who nods before going up to the small group standing apart and embraces first the older woman then the oldest of the men. She turns and nods back towards Cynthia, talking rapidly in her local dialect. The older man nods and steps forward as Sandy’s boat pulls up to the dock.
Claudia is grinning widely as she steps from her boat. “Did you see that huge gator? I bet it could have eaten any of us in one swallow. And I saw some very large snakes…………” She realizes that she is babbling and goes quiet as the older man steps forward with Magwen at his side.
The man nods his head at the three women and holds out a rough hand. “Welcome, Misses. We are glad to meet you. I am named Jacques Montard and am the leader of this village.”
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1231
Cynthia nodded emphatically. “He’s huge right? I’m so glad he didn’t stir at all, I bet he could flip the boats without even trying!”
When Jacques approached, Cynthia turned to him. “Good morning, thank you.” She looked at the offered hand and took it, albeit with her usual discomfort: she didn’t have small hands per se just…well, girly ones. Feeling it being completely engulfed in a man’s paw always felt weird. She waved at the two girls with her. “This is Claudia, and this is Sandy. I’m Cynthia.”
After a second, with a cheeky smile, she asked. “So, business first or you want to take us on a tour to make your own ideas about what you heard about us and whatever Magwen reported to you?”
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08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Jacques nods again as the introductions are made. He looks around at the several women standing near him. “It would be worth my continued health if I were to discuss business before showing you about and feeding you. If you have the time, that is? I know that you are probably very busy.”
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1232
Cynthia nodded. “I have an appointment in a few hours, but it should be enough for what we need to talk about.” The girl took a few seconds to look around as she thought about what she wanted to say, then continued. “I’ll start by saying that we’re not here to decide anything for you one way or another, so if you want to be left alone, we’ll leave you alone. You don’t have to be useful to us. From what Magwen told me though, you’d wish for something else. I understand that there are a few things you could produce, such as bottled water and alcohol. Or products made of croc meat and hides?” She didn’t seem all that sure about the latter part though: the idea of a creating a business whose sole purpose would be to kill beasts who hadn’t asked anything to anyone…
After a slight grimace, Cynthia continued. “Like I told her, we already are considering creating a small corporation to sell other products from the region, related to sugar cane or cotton, so there probably aren’t any problem with adding what you want to sell. Understand however that at this point, all we have are ideas, there is nothing definite about any of that. We could just be middle-men handling the distribution to stores in Seattle, or maybe we’ll create a whole brand with some associated products – and it looks like there’d be a lot of advantages going with the latter – but at this time we still need to study…well, everything. All of that is very new to us, not at all expected, and we need to make sure that we have at least some idea of how we’re going to proceed. Business and finance had never been anything any of us had ever expected to have to care about. I’m taking some lessons for that, but…”
The redhead girl paused, giving Jacques the time to think about that before continuing. “Of course, none of that means that you’ll just have to wait while we examine the problem, on the contrary. I’ll require two things of you: first, that you give me, as soon as possible, some hard numbers on everything you can produce: both in terms of quantity, and on what you need in terms of resources to get there, on a monthly basis. You can of course include long terms plans, but right now, I want to know what I have to work with at the beginning, and don’t be over-optimistic, that’d kill us far more quickly than under-estimating things. Of course, that should include the logistic aspect of things: I’m assuming the meat will need to be frozen, so we’ll need to see about a warehouse outside of the swamp for that.”
After a small pause, Cynthia obviously considering that particular aspect of things for a moment, she continued. “The second thing is that I’ll need samples of everything. I’ve no doubt everything can be sold, but how is very much up in the air. Having some samples and being able to get some expert opinion will be important. Again, don’t hesitate to be over-cautious: we want to have solid foundations we can build on and expand later on. If we start shaky…” She shook her head.
She seemed to stop there, but as she recalled something added. “Oh and Magwen mentioned you needed some medical supplies or stuff like that? Give me a list of everything you need when you can and we’ll see what we can do.” Cynthia frowned, glancing at the other two girls. “Maybe we should consider hiring a doctor full time, it’d be a lot easier for everyone.”
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08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle
Jacques holds up his hands in surrender and grins. “Whoa, Mistress. And here you are all about the business first, trying to get me in trouble with the womenfolk here. Let us commence the tour and some eats, then back to the business.”
He does give Cynthia a wink and whispers to her. “Thanks for the heads up on what you need, though. I will think on it and try to have some answers for you after the eats.” He raises his voice back to normal as he leads the tour of the small community nestled among the huge Cyprus trees. There are perhaps fifty or so huts suspended among the branches of the trees, some appearing to be partially inside the massive trees. Catwalks and suspension bridges link the various structures and many have stairways circling the trees that end up on small docks and piers, each with their own small bayeau boats tied up to them.
Claudia nudges Cynthia as she stares in wonder at the small town. “Did you mean like a clinic with a doctor and some nurses? Maybe a dentist or OB-GYN as well?”
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1233
Cynthia nodded to Jacques, reassuring him that there was nothing urgent: she certainly wouldn’t deal with all of that before the end of the day after all. “And please, just call me Cynthia. Or Miss if you really want to be all formal for some reason. Mistress is a bit…” The girl shook her head.
When Claudia asked her question, Cynthia seemed surprised for a moment. “Uh… Well… I wasn’t planning on going that far just yet to be honest, but…” She shrugged. “Sure, why not? Not just for here of course, but for the people at the plantations too. Assuming we can afford all of that. Paying a doctor for a few months before the whole thing is up, sure, I can do that. I think. But a whole clinic… The equipment alone would probably bankrupt me. So to speak anyway. Much like everything else though I suppose we can start small with just a doctor and see how where we go from there.”
She rubbed her lips for a second, “I have no idea how any of that would cost though. Nor where we’ll be able to find a decent doctor and invite him or her to come settle nearby…” She cocked an eyebrow, and with a teasing smile asked “But maybe since you suggested you already have a solution?”
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Jacques nods. “As you wish, Miss.”
Claudia frowns and shakes her head a bit. “Not really……well, maybe. There was a guy I used to know. He was a nurse, though, not a doctor. I could contact him and see if he is interested or has any recommendations.”
Jacques takes the time to introduce the three mistresses to the people that congregate along the tour, which is just about everyone in the small village. The tour itself is pretty short and ends in the Jacques’ house, where a small repast has been prepared.
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[Cynthia Rawson – 08:20, Sunday June 16th, Swamp, Serenity, Cajun Town, Seattle] #1234
“It’d be a start.” Cynthia nodded, agreeing about Claudia contacting that nurse she used to know. “Worst case scenario I’m sure we can find someone another way. There’s a doctor in town already anyway.” The girl frowned as she tried to remember. “Doc Winston I think is his name. He’s probably busy enough as it is, but maybe he’ll have some ideas on what to do.” She shrugged. “It can’t hurt to ask at any rate.”
Cynthia took the time to exchange a few words with everyone she was introduced to, but didn’t spend too long doing so: she had a few appointments coming up for one, and she was going to have many more occasions to do so in the future anyway. She declined the repast however, and did so sadly, “I have a clinic appointment in a few hours, I can’t eat anything before that. Though that doesn’t apply to those two.” Cynthia indicated Claudia and Sandy a bit grudgingly. She sighed, then added, “I’ll be fine with a juice if you have? And I’m sure we’ll have lots of opportunities to do more in the future. And don’t hesitate to come by the House of course, especially when you have those lists I mentioned before.”
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Magwen and the other women from the village seem disappointed that Cynthia is not allowed to partake of the feast, but Claudia and Sandy try to make up for it. There is a lot of talk and Cynthia is given all the juice she wants. Claudia nods when Cynthia mentions Doc Winston. “Sure thing. I can ask him about adding to his staff or if he has other ideas. It would not hurt to have some sort of medical person at each of our major sites, right?”
Jacques nods sympathetically. “We will do all we can to get you out of here on time. It might take a day or two to get those lists to you, if that is alright?”
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