A Kavi woman in an obviously custom-fit blue business suit steps onto the stage. The black bandit-mask of fur in her otherwise snow-white face emphasizes her sharp, icy blue eyes as they pan across the students. "My name is Nyssa Fallon, and I will be teaching tonight's class in Business Etiquette. I'm sure your other instructors have told you how important it is know the various laws and tax rules of Rephidim, and of keeping good records, and so forth," she says in a lilting voice that still manages to carry well in the open hall.

"Well, that's all bunk," the Kavi asserts. "There are plenty of qualified lawyers, clerks and accountants you could hire to take care of that. But as the owner, only you can properly represent your business to others. How you comport yourself and interact with your investors, partners and competitors will be the single most important factor in the success or failure of your venture."

Standing in a relaxed pose before the class, Nyssa asks, "Before we start, are there any questions?"

Anisa fidgets in her chair, which was obviously made for a species much taller than her as her feet dangle a few inches off the floor. The Lapi isn't one to usually be nervous, but nevertheless the atmosphere of the Merchant School is new to her, making her slightly unnerved. She perks her ears up, giving her attention to the Kavi.

The big Rhian straining the chair to Anisa's left raises a hand and asks, "What does 'comport' mean, miss, and do you spell it with two 'P's or three?"

"It means to conduct yourself in a particular manner," Nyssa explains. "Specifically, in a professional manner. And it only has one 'P' in it."

The Lapi can't help but stifle a small giggle … even though she herself didn't know what the word meant either.

One of the downsides of being a Lapi in a crowd is that you can't help but overhear what goes on next to you. As the Rhian carefully mutters each syllable in "professional" while writing it, the Skreek on Anisa's right nervously gnaws on her pencil. Behind her, two Kavis whisper back and forth about how much the instructor's suit probably cost, where she got the fabric, and how fast someone could possibly run in it.

Anisa bites her lip as the sounds invade her ears from all sides, making her even more nervous than before. Her ears swivel about madly as she pretends to scribble on her notepad.

"Are there any other questions?" the Nyssa asks, then nods to a Khatta in the back row with his paw raised. "Yes?"

"Will the definition of 'comport' be on the test?" the rather squeaky-voiced feline asks.

Nyssa stares over Anisa's head towards the back row for a moment, and then says, "Probably not, but now that you mention it, I may add it." This statement is followed by a flurry of note-taking noises from the students.

The rabbit swivels her ears back to the Khatta, and grimaces a bit at the questions. Just to be safe, she writes "comport" down on the pad, then underlines it at Nyssa's words.

"No other questions?" the Kavi asks as she looks over the crowd once more.

Anisa fidgets in her chair some more, her brain racing as she tries to think of a question to ask to break the silence. She almost raises her paw a couple of times, but decides to keep it down to avoid possible embarrassment.

Nyssa nods at the silence, and then says, "In that case, I have a question for all of you. What do you suppose the most important part of maintaining good professional etiquette is?"

"Brushing your teeth!" offers a feline voice from the crowd. "Wear lots of shinies!" scrawks another. "Carry a concealed weapon," barks a Jupani.

The white Lapi listens to the other students shout out their answers, and shakes her head. Shyly, she raises her own paw, "Um … 'The Customer is Always Right?'"

"All wrong," the Kavi says, once the creative answers die down. Looking over the first two rows, Nyssa spots the shy Lapi. "You there… uh, Mrs. Lightfoot isn't it? Please come up here onto the stage."

Anisa blinks is sudden surprise, her ears shooting up in alarm. Taking a nervous swallow, the rabbit slips free of her chair, and hastily makes her way on stage. "It's, uh, Miss Snowshoe, ma'am." The Lapi's ears burn red in embarrassment as she realizes where the connection must have come from.

Nyssa doesn't show any surprise at the correction. "Ah, Abrahm's daughter? Right." Turning to the class, she says, "Miss Snowshoe here is illustrating here the exact opposite of the most important thing about behaving professionally. Can anyone spot it now?"

Anisa blinks at the teacher, furrowing her brow in confusion since she seems to be the night's unwitting exhibit.

"She's wearing pants?" "Is it something to do with shoes?" "She's got something in her pocket?"

"No!" Nyssa says, cutting off the flow of silly suggestions. "She is nervous, which is the opposite of being relaxed. Being relaxed is the most important thing about acting professional."

Great, the first day of class, and already I'm messing up. The Lapi grins sheepishly, smoothing her ears back. "I'm… not usually like this, ma'am."

"Yeah, she's usually taller!" a Kavi jokes, causing a few snickers in the crowd.

Anisa scowls at the weasel, her timid manner being momentarily replaced as her ears set back in anger. Just as she's about to shout a retort, she closes her mouth, remembering where she is. "I'm not used to such a large class, is all."

Waving a hand for silence, Nyssa says, "Yes, Miss Snowshoe is usually quite relaxed when she's behind the bar, or doing some other chore around the restaurant, I imagine. But in business you don't have the luxury of staying on your own turf for every meeting. You'll need to learn how to at least act relaxed in odd situations."

There's a CRACK from where Anisa was sitting earlier, and the Skreek replaces her chewed-through pencil with a fresh one.

The white Lapi blinks in surprise at the Kavi's knowledge of her workplace, but merely nods along at the woman's words. "M-may I take my seat, ma'am?"

"A relaxed person is a confident person," Nyssa says, and reaches out to touch Anisa's arm. "Not just yet, Miss Snowshoe. Since you're up here, I'd like you to show us how to act confident. Please go to the end of the stage, then walk back here and give me a greeting as you think a professional businessperson should."

Inwardly, Anisa's stomach ties itself in a knot. She's used to having eyes stare at her, but not an entire crowd from up on a stage. "Uh, alright. I guess I can do that." Walking to the end of the stage, the rabbit gnaws her lip rapidly, trying to get in a calm state of mind – "in the zone" like she is at work. When she reaches the end, the doe makes an about face, taking a deep breath. Swiveling her ears forward in what she hopes is a confident look, the rabbit walks towards Nyssa in a relaxed stride, ignoring the audience and focusing only on her teacher. "Good evening, ma'am! How are you tonight?"

Nyssa's face lights up with a smile. "Ah, very good!" Turning to the class, she says, "You'll note that Miss Snowshoe kept her ears forward at all times. This is something you should all practice if you have a mirror, or a friend to help you. Do not let your body language betray you! The more you put on a confident front, the more confident you will actually feel."

"Also, note that she did not bow, curtsey, or offer her paw," the Kavi continues. "A professional treats everyone as an equal, and doesn't come off as dominant or subservient or overly-friendly."

The Lapi's lips spread into a small smile as Nyssa's praise makes her visibly more relaxed. As the rabbit looks out to the class, the smile turns into a small smirk of triumph which she hopes her heckler sees.

"Don't get cocky though, Miss Snowshoe," Nyssa says, obviously catching the smirk of triumph. "That is a trap which leads to overconfidence. You may take your seat now."

The smirk quickly fades, replaced by another look of embarrassment. The doe starts to set her ears back, but catches herself, putting them back in the confident pose lest she get reprimanded. "Yes, ma'am." Quickly, the rabbit jumps down off the stage and leaps back into her high seat, hunkering low in the hopes she doesn't get stared at.

"Teacher's pet!" snickers the Kavi in the seat behind Anisa, while the Skreek smiles politely to her – revealing graphite-stained teeth.

"Oh… ver… con… fee… ," mutters the Rhian as he hunches over to write on his notepad.

Anisa looks back at the Kavi quickly, setting her ears back with a glare that visibly means 'back off.' She turns back to the front, grins sheepishly to the Skreek, and winches at the Rhian. The doe decides to keep her ears focused on the teacher only, otherwise all these distractions will keep her from learning a thing.

"Tonight, I'd like to focus on keeping calm and relaxed in awkward situations," Nyssa says. She points to the Rhian next to Anisa, and calls him up. "Brom, isn't it? You clean out the Dromodon pens near the Farmers' Market, right?"

Turning to the Rhian, the Lapi focuses her ears on him. And she thought her job stank!

"Hurr?" the Rhian says, and then jumps to his hooves. If Anisa's feet had actually been on the floor, she'd probably have a few flattened toes by now. "Yeah. That's me," the Rhian says, and starts down the aisle. All those in his path pulls their knees up to their chests just to be safe.

Anisa curls her own toes in reflex, deciding to pull her legs up into the seat and sit cross-legged. Taking her notepad, she jots down a note: "Wear shoes next time."

It looks odd, once Brom makes it to the stage, since Nyssa is close to four-foot-nothing and Brom easily hits seven feet. "Now Brom, I want you to go to the edge of the stage and walk back here like Miss Snowshoe did, and give me a professional greeting."

Anisa underlines her note, and returns her gaze to the stage, following the Skreek's lead and tucking her pencil behind her incisors.

The big horse clomps to the edge of the stage, then turns around and seems unsure of how to proceed. He cants his ears forward, finally, and clomps back to Nyssa, where he stoops down and says, "Hi, I'm Brom. Uhh… can I buy you a drink?"

The small rabbit watches the scene, and giggles before Nyssa makes a reply. She may not be quite the businesswoman yet, but even she know that's not a move to make.

The Kavi pats Brom on the nose, sighs, and turns the class. "Alright, who can tell me what Brom's first mistake was?"

"He should have offered you a candied bug," offers one of the Kavi's behind Anisa, who then turns to his neighbor and whispers, "A high-maintenance lady like that would go for a bug, I bet. Bugs is classy."

"He shouldn't have stooped down like that," adds Anisa, fighting not to roll her eyes at the Kavi. "It's like he's talking down to you, and that would insult the customer?"

Nyssa grins and nods to Anisa. "Yes, that's it exactly. You're bound to run into people that are either taller or shorter than you," the Kavi explains, then glances at the stooped-over Rhian. "Mostly shorter in your case, Brom."

"Now, how do you maintain eye-contact and show interest, or generally just feel relaxed, when you need to talk to someone that differs in height to an uncomfortable degree?" Nyssa asks.

To this, the rabbit has no reply. Being only four and a half feet tall herself, it's extremely rare that she ever looks down on anyone.

"Sit down!" scrawks a Vartan.

"Yes," Nyssa says. "When you're sitting down, it's easier to face someone vastly shorter or taller than yourself." On hearing this, Brom sits on the floor of the stage, much to the amusement of many.

"You can return to your seat now, Brom," Nyssa tells the Rhian.

Anisa grins as well. If the stooping was an insult, sitting like that is the equivalent of a social Boomer.

"Oh, right," Brom says, and gets up again to clomp back to his seat, which welcomes him with a groan of strained wood.

As the horse takes his seat, Anisa pats him on the arm and gives him a smile. "Good job," she whispers, trying to make the Rhian feel better.

Brom nods to Anisa and smiles, then laboriously writes down "Good job" on his notepad.

"When sitting isn't an option, try standing or walking beside the person, where eye-contact is not an issue," Nyssa says. "The next thing that is likely to cause awkwardness or discomfort is that of personal space. What is the proper distance to put between yourself and the person you are talking to, to maintain a professional attitude without seeming distant or too friendly?"

"Three feet!" guesses someone from the crowd.

"That was a rhetorical question," Nyssa responds, raising an eyebrow at the student.

The small rabbit hesitates for a bit, then raises her own paw. "Doesn't it depend on the species?" Suddenly feeling that all eyes are on her, the doe pulls her hand back down quickly.

"It does vary from species to species, but there is a general rule you can follow," the Kavi goes on. "Basically, you stand as close as you feel comfortable with while still commanding the person's attention. Let them draw you in, don't try to intrude on them."

This causes a bit of muttering from the class. "How do they draw you in? I ain't never seen that," asks a Jupani.

Anisa's embarrassment deepens as she realizes her answer was wrong, and she makes a mental note to quit spouting out so many random thoughts.

"Please try not to use double negatives," Nyssa replies. "But that's a different lesson. Keep in mind that a business gathering is not like going to a singles bar. The people are there for the purpose of meeting you, and you them."

The doe scribbles this last sentence down into her notes, then replaces the pencil behind her front teeth. Scratching an itch in her ear, she uses it as an opportunity to scan the class.

From the seats, the class appears more crowded than it does from the stage, but it's probably just due to the way the seats are arranged. Various races look around in confusion, while a few just nod as if the instructor is making perfect sense.

"I don't get it, teach," says the Kavi behind Anisa. "How does this actually work?"

For once, the little twerp asks a relevant question. Anisa points her ears towards Nyssa, also curious about the answer.

"I suppose it's time for a class exercise," the Kavi on stage says. "Most of you have already chatted with your neighbors, even though you probably don't know them personally. You're even sitting closer to them than you would feel comfortable with under other circumstances. And it is the circumstances that are the key here." Pointing to the Kavi who asked the question, she asks, "How did you know it was all right to talk to the Kavi next to you?"

"What?" the seated Kavi says. "Uhmm… you know… I just looked at 'im like, and he looked back like it was okay."

Anisa swivels her ears back to the Kavi, choosing to keep her eyes fixed on her notepad should she need to write anything down. Plus, the Kavi annoys her.

"Well, there you go," Nyssa says. "We all use our eyes and ears to let someone know that we're interested in them for some reason. In a social setting, that interest usually means you'd like to talk to them, or approach them, or otherwise just get their attention. And we all know when we've gone too far. At least, those of us who haven't gotten punched in the face or kneed in the groin know."

There is a ripple of polite laughter from the group.

The doe smirks, still keeping her attention on her pad as she scribbles – or rather, doodles – onto her pad. The scene in question is a group of fingers, laughing and pointing at an embarrassed weaselly-looking thing.

"In business, the key is staying relaxed," Nyssa explains. "And that means only getting as close as you're comfortable with, even if the person you are dealing with still seems to be inviting you closer. Likewise, let the other person know, subtly, when they've gotten close enough. The way to formalize that both people have reached the best point is to offer to shake hands. You should at least get close enough for that."

Anisa places the pencil back in her mouth, and looks up, taking great interest in the teacher's words this time. Nibbling on the pencil for a bit, she pulls it from her mouth, and raises her hand. "How can you tell if the other person is uncomfortable?" the Lapi blurts out, then inwardly winces, remembering she had promised herself to stay quiet. "Er, that is to say … Lapi usually don't mind being close to each other, but what about others?"

"I'll say they don't mind being close," the Kavi behind Anisa snickers in a whisper.

"A good question, Miss Snowshoe, and one you are all about to learn the answer to," Nyssa says, and makes a sweeping gesture with her arm. "I want you all to stand up and mingle. Make a point to trying to get someone's attention just by being near and showing them attention. Go up to people of different species and figure out how close you can comfortably get to each other before shaking hands."

"And remember, act professional!" the Kavi on stage warns. "No silliness. I don't want to see anyone ending up in another person's lap, or sending semaphore signals across the room."

The doe furrows her brow, trying to keep the look from altering into a scowl on the Kavi's behalf. While the teacher speaks, Anisa takes her pencil, and while still watching the teachers, sneaks it behind her back into the seated Kavi's view. Grasping it with her thumb, she snaps it in half, hoping the mouthy little runt behind her saw. Taking the pencil, she places it into her pocket, and changes her expression to a smile. The small Lapi slides from her seat onto the floor, and looks around for someone to chat with.

As the rest of the class stands up and moves to a more open part of the hall, the Skreek next to her busily tries to clear her mouth of splinters, having chewed through another pencil already. Brom stays seated for the moment, and smiles to Anisa. Sitting down, he's the right height for eye-contact at least.

Anisa takes advantage of this fact, and walks up to the horse. "Good job up there on stage. I guess we're both part of the Picked-On Club now." She offers her paw as soon as she's close enough. "My name's Anisa Snowshoe, and yours is Brom, right?"

"Uh-huh," the Rhian says, and clasps Anisa's hand briefly with his larger one. "I'm here because I want to start my own business. You too?"

"Oh really? Same for me." The doe tries to start the handshake, but feels slightly awkward next to the huge Rhian; she feels like a child in comparison. "Daddy thought it would be good for me to take classes, and I figured it couldn't hurt. I'm thinking of starting up a gym, how about yourself?"

"Manure delivery," the big Rhian says, smiling brightly. "Your Daddy's name is Jim?"

"Manure… delivery?" Anisa blinks at this, but then shakes it off. "Er, no, his name is Abram. Why do you ask?"

Rubbing the tip of his pencil against his cheek, the Rhian asks, "Uhh… then who is Jim? He must be very lazy if you can have a business just for getting him up and started."

The rabbit stares in complete confusion at Brom, then it dawns on her what he means. "Oh! No no, not that kind of Jim!" The bunny giggles, trying not to embarrass the Rhian too much however. "A 'gym', like a place you go and exercise at. You know, keeps you fit and in shape." The doe flexes her arm in demonstration. "You look like you're doing okay without one, yourself." She smiles.

The Rhian starts to imitate the flexing, but stops when his shirt threatens to tear. "Oh. People pay to do that?"

Wow, the doe thinks, inwardly envious of the Rhian. "Well, er, a lot of people, yeah. Most people don't get as much physical labor as we do, and it helps to have a place to go."

The Rhian purses his lips and chews over this new information. "I could get them to pay me to let them shovel manure for me?"

"Um, I don't think people would be to keen on that," Anisa fights to keep herself from cracking up. "They'd probably expect you to pay them." The doe grins, and shakes the horse's hand one last time. "Anyway, we'd better switch off with others. Nice meeting you!"

The Rhian nods, distractedly. "Maybe a Kavi could figure out a way… ," he mutters to himself.

Covering her mouth with a paw as she giggles uncontrollably, the rabbit turns the other direction, looking for the Skreek. She seemed interesting.

The Skreek in question is part of a small group trying to get the attention of a colorful Vartan … a particular challenge when you don't have a gem embedded in your forehead.

Anisa walks over to the group, and curiously looks up to the Vartan. "Why's everyone so interested in the bird?" she whispers to the Skreek from behind. "Is he someone important?"

"No," the Skreek whispers back. "It's just that it's hard to get him to notice you without cheating." The person who currently holds the Vartan's attention happens to be a Khatta with a glass eye.

The doe hmmms. "Would this count as cheating?" Reaching into her collar, the Lapi pulls out her prism pendant just enough for the rat to see, a huge grin on her face.

The Skreek raises her eyebrows. "Hmmmm, well, probably… I mean, we're supposed to do this with body-language… but it's worth a try."

"Luckily, I'm not a cheater." Anisa slips her pendant back into her shirt with a grin, and offers her paw to the rodent. "Not yet, anyway. Anisa Snowshoe. It's nice to meet you."

The Skreek smiles and actually steps back a bit before taking Anisa's paw. "Pleased to meet you too. I'm Magratitia Bonham Zephyrbrush. Most people call me Maggie, though."

"If we're going for full names, mine's Christina Anisa Snowshoe," the Lapi says, smiling while she takes the Skreek's paw. "'Maggie', I like that name. It's good to see more businesswomen out there. What are you planning on?"

"Oh, I want to open a bakery," the Skreek woman says, smiling. "I love to bake, and everyone says my rice-bread-puddings are the best. That, and I don't want to work the rest of my life at my father's pencil factory."

Anisa smiles, keeping quiet on the subject of pencils. "A bakery? That's neat. I work at my father's tavern, so I know how you feel." She winks. "The food industry's pretty hectic though; I hope you enjoy it. I want to open a gym myself – already have the stuff for it."

The Skreek's eyes go wide. "A gym? Full of big hunky guys in shorts?" she asks in a whisper.

The Lapi laughs, clapping a paw to her mouth. "Well, if things go according to plan, I guess so." She grins to the rat. "I take it I should make that a selling point, an added perk for the ladies."

Maggie nods and grins, saying, "Yeah … at least if you can cover up the smell some way. If you need a snack-bar, remember me!"

Pulling a fresh pencil from her pocket, Anisa uses it to scratch her ear tip. "You know, that's not a bad idea." Taking her notepad, she scribbles her chicken scratch writing onto it. "'Magratitia Bonham Zephyrbrush, Re: Snack Bar.' There! Maybe we can do more business some day." She smiles.

"Wow!" Maggie says, and then quickly writes down in her own notebook, "Hunks. See Anisa Snowshoe." "I never thought doing business would be this much fun!"

There is a brief smattering of applause as a Kavi manages to steal the Vartan's attention away from the Khatta by feigning a heart attack.

"That is not professional behavior!" Nyssa complains. "But thinking creatively is also a good skill."

The doe laughs, placing her paw on Maggie's forearm. "Neither did I! Looks like we're learning something from this after all!" Placing the pencil and pad back into her pockets, the rabbit smoothes back her ears, looking to the Kavi. "What a showoff, and a loudmouth too. Maybe I should cheat now?"

"Nah," Maggie says, watching. "I want to see if the Vartan tries to use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him again."

Anisa laughs harder, and nods to the rat. "You're right, let him get his just desserts." The doe pats her pendant. "I can always get the bird's attention later." Looking around, she watches Nyssa. "I wonder if this is it for the day? Seemed kinda short."

The Kavi instructor looks a bit flustered at the small pools of chaos that erupted during her class exercise. Finally, she claps her hands for attention. "All right people, I think that's enough mingling. And someone get a damp rag for Mr. Estherbrook's eye would you? Everyone take note, and remember to be mindful of antlers in the future."

"If you'll all return to your seats, we can go on with the rest of the lesson," Nyssa adds, once things begin to calm down. "And make sure all of your pencils are sharpened, because the rest of the night will mostly be taking notes."

The doe sticks her tongue out at the mention of antlers, and for once is glad that she's too small for that to worry her. Quickly, she hurries back to her place and leaps up into her chair, not wanting to be trampled by any of the larger classmates.

"Yes, it's vocabulary time!" the blue-suited Kavi says, going up to the chalkboard. "Please copy down all of these words and definitions… and yes, they will all be on the test." There is a collective groan from most of the class.

Anisa joins in that groan, slumping her shoulders. She takes her pencil, and using her incisors gnaws more wood from the tip, exposing more lead. With a sigh, she begins to write the definitions down. Looks like no knowledge comes without a price.