The Yharnamite squinted at Balyn from beneath heavy brows. Of course, it was hard to tell, sometimes, if the locals were really bristling aggressively at him, since they all tended to be a bit hirsute, even the ones who weren't actively turning into werewolves due to the scourge of the beast.
They usually were, though. Yharnamites didn't much like foreigners, and frankly Balyn tended to get that response even from people who weren't part of an insular, almost inbred culture that considered a hearty swig of fresh blood as a proper after-work drink down at the pub.
"You ever done laundry before, offcomer?" she said, dubiously. "You look kinda fancy for this kinda work."
Balyn glanced down at himself. He was wearing his hunter's garb, which did involve a fair amount of neat black cloth and leather, with ornamental buckles and bracers.
"Well, I did use a service up until just recently," he admitted. That was as good a way as any, he supposed, to describe the way that moving in and out of an eldritch dream caused his clothing to be miraculously cleaned of blood, ichor, and whatever else might have been sprayed across him in the course of taking a large saw to Things Man Was Not Meant to Know.
Come to think of it, the Messengers could probably make a pretty good living in the laundry business. It would probably have been a more stable career than looking after hunters. Or if they needed a few extra echoes on the side, maybe Flora would let them…moonlight?
He chuckled to himself, and the laundress gave him an even squintier and more suspicious look. Which was probably what he deserved for being the kind of person who laughed at his own jokes.
"Something funny, fancy boy?" she asked.
"Um, no, not at all," Balyn answered hurriedly. He definitely didn't need to be sent home without even starting the job. The thought of the Yharnam Employment Agency clerk's response to him not even getting a chance to begin the latest fiasco—er, temporary placement, that is—was chilling. "Ready and willing to apply suds, ma'am!"
"Suds? You think you're going to start off with soap, outsider? That's a rookie mistake and you haven't even started. First, you pre-soak the stains and break them down! You just start in with the soap and you'll end up having to start all over from scratch. These stains have history to 'em, young feller. People think they're not so bad, or worse yet they just pull off their clothes, toss 'em in a corner, and leave 'em for three weeks 'till they've got a whole bagful to bring to us, then expect us to come up with some kind of miracle to get the stains out."
"That sounds pretty harsh," Balyn said. "I guess those must be the worst kind of clients to deal with."
Oh, yes, we've got an adage in the laundry business, boy. When it comes to stains, fear the old blood!"