The early afternoon is generally considered to be Abram's private time, when Beatrice and his children are busy with their own tasks. So the Snowshoe patriarch is understandably a bit put out when his only daughter intrudes upon his sanctum. "Yes, Christina?" he asks somberly as he sets aside his reading glasses and clasps his hands together atop the pile of papers on his desk.

Closing the door behind her by leaning discreetly on it, Anisa gives her father a mischievous yet sweet grin, her arms clasped behind her demurely. "Daddy, What would you say if I had a favor to ask you?"

Graying eyebrows arch as Abram gives his daughter a suspicious look. "Well, that would have to depend on the favor," he replies cautiously. "You aren't in any sort of trouble, are you?"

Crossing the room, the Snowshoe daughter takes a seat in her mother's rocking chair. "Trouble? Hardly!" Crossing her legs, the doe sits cross-legged on the chair, rocking slightly. "I just think I found a way to put all those business classes to good use, but I can't do it alone… " Her smile never fades as she waits for reply, her current demeanor more akin to that of an innocent young girl, as opposed to a young woman.

"Well, if you need me to put in a good word for you with another business, then I'm sure I can help you out," Abram says, beginning to smile a bit himself as he imagines Anisa taking on some position of responsibility.

"Actually, I was thinking of something more… involved." The white furred rabbit twirls an ear tip with her finger absentmindedly. "Like starting my own business."

Abram's ears splay back slightly, and even his nose stops twitching for a moment. Finally, he asks, "That fitness club notion of yours, you mean? Or something… smaller?"

Anisa frees her ear, and cocks her lobes sideways in determination. "What if I told you I know of a place that's perfect, and best of all, is dirt cheap?" Her grin widens. "I already have all the stuff for it, so we won't have any equipment to buy- just the building!"

"Just the building, you think?" Abram asks, leaning forward slightly. "And where is this supposedly perfect building?"

Avoiding her father's gaze, the doe looks at her nails nonchalantly. "The Nobles' Quarter, of course." She blows on her fingers, as if finishing up an inspection.

"Ah, of course," Abram says. "There are so many dirt cheap properties to be had there, I hear. And who is offering it?"

"It's dirt cheap when you have connections," Anisa replies, "and considering that the seller is Aaron's cousin, I'd say I have a few."

Abram's brow furrows for a moment in thought. "Lightfoot's cousin? Do you mean that little girl with the tigress handmaid?"

"That 'little girl' has access to some pretty affordable property," the doe says, leaning back in the rocking chair. "She's trying to sell it as a house, but no one's buying. I think I can make something of it, and I'm sure she'd be happy to get rid of it." Her grin returns. "That is, if I had the money."

Leaning back in his own chair, Abram taps a claw against his knee, and asks, "Have you spoken to your mother about any of this yet?"

Anisa lets one of her ears drop at this quizzically. "Not yet. You're the first person I've told." She sets her ears back. "Why?"

"Because I would need to discuss it with her before coming to any decisions," Abram explains, pointing upwards with the previously tapping finger in emphasis. "If she agrees, then we will look into this property further."

The young doe freezes, eyes wide. "R-really? You mean you'd consider it?" She gives a small laugh of surprise, since she had expected having to do a lot more work on him.

"I said we would consider looking into it further," Abram notes. "A proper appraisal would be needed, and the deed would have to be in order, at the very least, before we could really think about purchasing or leasing anything."

"But still," Anisa retorts, her ears perked forward hopefully, "it's not out of the realm of possibility?"

"No, it's not out of the realm of possibility," Abram concedes, steepling his fingers. "But even if everything is as ideal as you assert, I will expect a fully developed business plan from you before committing to anything."

No sooner has the old rabbit finished his sentence, than his daughter has bolted from her chair and anchored a huge squealing hug around his neck. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I'll give you business plans, financial plans, anything!" Despite her father's words of warning, the doe's face is lit up in pure joy.

After a big of struggle to keep both of them from toppling the chair over, Abram pats Anisa on the back and wheezes, "Well, you'll still need to be patient for now, as these sorts of decisions aren't made lightly. Your mother may have reservations, after all."

After planting a kiss on the patron Lapi's cheek, Anisa finally lets go of her hold. "I'll talk to her. I bet she'll be alright with it. After all, she's a bit of a businesswoman too!"

Abram straightens out his shirt and collar once freed, and nods to Anisa. "Why don't you go find her and let her know I'd like to talk to her then, Christina. She may be out bringing in the laundry from the lines."

"Okay, Daddy," the doe says with a smile, walking to the door. After opening it, she pauses. "Dad, what do you really think about it?"

"I think that it will probably not be as simple as you believe," Abram admits. "Both you and that young girl are inexperienced at this and will need quite a bit of handholding, I suspect."

The young woman's smile fades, but not to a frown. "I'll go get Mama." She exits the office, closing the door behind her with a sigh. Once in the hall, she heads to the back to look for her mother.

Finding Beatrice proves to be very easy. The matronly doe is standing in the middle of the dining area calling directions to Tyson and Quinn as they maneuver a brightly-colored tapestry to and fro against the wall. Many of the late-lunch crowd find this incredibly amusing, while Bessy and Calligenia stand by quietly and watch.

Anisa pauses as she watches, her ears splayed in curiosity. She steps up beside her mother. "What's going on here?"

The tapestry itself depicts various types of Lapis bringing in a harvest and participating in a great feast. The only hint to its Amazonian origins are the presence of antlers on some of the Lapis depicted. "Oh, Anisa! Isn't it just lovely? Dear Calligenia made a gift of it to us," Beatrice exclaims, then calls to Quinn, "You have to hold it up a little higher dear. Yes, that's… no that's too high now."

The white doe cracks a smirk, thankful that the tapestry is acceptable by Rephidim standards. She can only imagine what pandemonium would have been caused had it been one of the "typical" kind. "It's beautiful." She smiles at the young Amazonian. "It gives the tavern a more regal feel, if you ask me. A business needs the right kind of atmosphere."

Calligenia smiles, and says, "I am glad you like it. Rooli led your brother and me to several merchants which deal in such things, and while the Kavi was impressed by their offers, Benjamin said I could do better once I acquired sea-tickets of ox-scented cities. He and Rooli have gone to see about them for me. They are very good males."

Anisa gives Calligenia a puzzled look. "Sea-tickets of ox-scented… ? Oh!" She gives an uncontrolled giggle, but quickly suppresses it so as not to embarrass the younger doe. "You mean a 'certificate of authenticity'." She grins some more. "Yeah, Ben's a good kid. I'm glad he's looking out for you. Did you have a good time with him this afternoon?" She smiles warmly at the teenager, then suddenly perks her ears as she remembers her task at hand. "Oh! Mama- Daddy said he wanted to talk to you about something." She smiles at Beatrice. "And it's very important!"

"Oh my, is he in the office then?" Beatrice asks, sparing her attention now that the tapestry is in the ideal spot.

Anisa nods. "At his desk. I think you'll like what he has to say." She grins. "At least, I hope so."

Beatrice gives Anisa a look, noting the doe's happy demeanor, and a sudden sparkle comes to her eyes. "Oh, Anisa!" she says, gripping her daughter's shoulders. "Is this what I think it is? Did Mr. Lightfoot propose?"

Every head in hearing distance turns to watch the mother and daughter now.

The younger Lapi's ears shoot up at this. "Prop- what? Mama, no!" Anisa gives a moaning sigh, slumping her arms and looking to the heavens in exaggeration. When she looks down, she notices all the attention. "Er… no… he hasn't. It's something else. But still, something good!"

Beatrice actually folds her ears back to hide an embarrassed blush, then lets go of Anisa and pats her on the cheek. "Well, there's always tomorrow! I'm sure your father will have something just as good to tell me then," she says, and then strides off towards the office – leaving Anisa the center of attention still, with her brothers and Bessy visibly straining to keep from laughing.

Calligenia, on the other hand, is trying to keep from looking too bewildered about the whole thing.

As her mother leaves, Anisa's own ears set back in irritation, and she glares at the others after Beatrice is safely in the office. "Ha ha, laugh it up." She stomps to one of the empty tables, and plops down into a chair, setting her feet up on the tabletop. "You won't be laughing for long!"

Anisa never saw Beatrice leave the office, and only found out at dinner that her mother was out "calling on some friends," as her father put it. It made for a restless night's sleep for the doe, as she wondered just what her parents had decided to do – or not to do, as the case might be. Calligenia slept like a log though, despite Anisa's twitching through the night.

It wasn't until breakfast the next day that Anisa learned that her parents had made an appointment to see Aisha's villa later in the morning, and that Anisa was to come along.

This wasn't exactly what the doe had in mind, but nevertheless she remained excited. As far as she saw it, it was one more step towards securing the place, and much more than she had actually expected.

The trio left not long after, Abram and Beatrice chatting away with each other the whole time. It was almost enough of a distraction that Anisa didn't immediately realize they were heading the wrong way, into the Crafters' Quarter.

The young doe stops walking as she comes to reality, looking at the surroundings. "Hey, wait a minute… where in Dagh's name are we? We were supposed to go to the Nobles' Quarter!"

"Oh, we are, dear," Beatrice says, "but we have to pick up a few things first. You remember that nice boy, Brom Swifttail, that we set you up on a date with about ten years ago?" Without really waiting for a reply from Anisa, Beatrice goes on with, "Well, he's running the family business now, Swifttail Construction, and is loaning us two of his men to look over the property."

Anisa's face scrunches up in disgust at the memory. "Yeah, I remember him… ew. He couldn't even chew with his mouth closed because his incisors were so big, and that laugh of his… " The Lapi shudders. "I can't imagine him running a Construction business. Doesn't seem right for him."

"He has a wife and three children now, and is doing quite well for himself," Abram notes. The high fence of the construction yard appears as they turn the corner, with three figures in front. One is a short Skreek – or possibly a very lean Skeek – holding onto a pipe of some sort nearly as long as he is tall. Next to him, leaning casually against the wall, is a typically large and broad shouldered red-feathered Vartan. Both of them wear caps and overalls, and are talking to a brown Lapi. The Lapi turns to greet the Snowshoes, and it's obvious that Brom has had some corrective Life Magic at some point to fix his eyesight.

The white doe arches a brow at the buck sans his glasses, hardly recognizing him. She waits for her parents to make introductions, feeling somewhat awkward after having avoided contact for so long.

Abram and Brom shake hands, and Brom even gives Beatrice a peck on the cheek, before he introduces the others. "These are Ignatz and Ziggy," Brom says, indicating the Skreek and Vartan, respectively. Both men doff their caps and bow politely to Beatrice. "They're my best inspectors, and even did some of the work on the original renovations to the villa," he explains, then turns to smile at Anisa (with normal-sized incisors now) and says, "Wow, you've really grown up, Christina! We should all get together again sometime and let our kids meet."

Anisa smiles at the buck, her ears swiveled forward in genuine interest. Wow, she thinks, he's changed quite a bit! "You've grown up, I hardly recognized you! How long has it been?" The smile changes into a grimace. "Er, kids … yeah."

"Gosh, probably a decade now," Brom says, laughing. There's still a hint of twang in it though. "Time sure flies, eh? Well, I've got to get back to work, but it was great seeing you again. Try to have these jokers back before dinnertime though if you can," he says, then waves and jogs back through the gate to the construction yard.

"So long! Don't be a stranger!" Anisa looks at her mother with an amused expression. "He sure turned out different, didn't he?"

Ignatz slings his tube over a shoulder (although on closer inspection, it really appears to be some sort of large leather scroll case), and elbows his partner in the thigh, saying, "You're the joker, I bet, not me. Nosiree!"

"Oh, he doesn't seem so different to me," Beatrice says, and the group starts moving again – this time towards the Temple and the Government Quarter. "Still a nice young man."

"'Nice' is all relative," Anisa replies. "So, Ignatz and Ziggy, nice to meet you."

"You big joker," Ziggy counters to Ignatz. "I remember how you change my glass beads for sugar ones on rainy day! Melt all into my tail on way home." Noticing Anisa, the Vartan doffs his cap again and says, "Yah, nice meet you too miss. SCRAWK"

"Th'pleasure's all ours, ma'am," Ignatz chimes in, saluting with his free hand.

The doe gives a smile of courtesy to the duo, then furrows her brow at the group's new path. "Where are we going now?"

"Du Lac and Hauser," Abram replies. "A law firm. Always good to have legal advice on hand in any negotiation, Christina."

Anisa splays her ears. "It's just Aaron's cousin," she says. "Why do we have to get the blood-suckers involved? They'll probably cost more than the building will!"

The buildings become more impressive and the traffic thicker along Government Circle, where they all take a break while Beatrice goes into the law offices. "Now, now, you shouldn't call them bloodsuckers, Anisa," Abram chides.

The doe grimaces. "Does Mama know them or something? Why aren't we all going in?"

"Your mother made arrangements to pick up the granddaughter of a friend of hers," Abram says.

Not long after that, Beatrice returns with a young collie woman in a nice (but not too nice) business suit. "Everyone, this is Amelia du Lac, one of the senior paralegals with the firm," Beatrice says, introducing the girl – or young woman, really, close to Anisa's own age.

"A pleasure to meet you," Anisa says to the young canine. Looking her over, the doe squints, ears forward. "Du Lac… why does that name sound familiar? You don't have any relatives in the Women's Entrepreneurial Guild, do you?"

"Why yes, my Grandmother Hermoine in fact," Amelia says, smiling and offering her hand. "You must be Anisa. Grammy said you showed some promise."

The young doe gives the collie a firm handshake and a genuine smile. "Hermoine's your grandma? Good! She's a super nice lady, so I'm betting it runs in the family."

"I can only hope," Amelia says, and lets go of Anisa's hand to shake with Ignatz and Ziggy as they are introduced to her. "I've brought along the relevant contract information you asked for, Mrs. Snowshoe," she then tells Beatrice, patting the leather document pouch she's carrying.

It isn't much farther from this point to the edge of the Nobles Quarter where Aisha's little villa sets. The Himaatian doe smiles nervously at the large entourage, however, and invites them inside. "I'm sure we can do business," she says, sounding hopeful.

As Anisa disappears inside the house, she first eyes the newly accumulated crowd, then leans over to Aisha. "At this rate," she whispers, "so am I."