Chapter 3 - The Taylors

Today was a busy day for the Taylor family. All throughout the day, their shop was occupied with costumers. Their shop was quite known in Bastia, a stimulating enough town for its residents and the people who passed through. Decent inns and shops that have been past down through families. Patrols were always around but as of late not in high number. Problems in Bastia didn't surface often but when they did, the situation would be dealt with as soon as possible to keep the people safe. The Taylor family was known for their skills when it came to sewing, leather working, and how to match fabrics for peoples needs. However, their skills didn't keep them from the stress of busy days. During days like this it was the older son at the counter, completing people's purchases quickly to clear out the store. His younger sister helped the customers with questions of types of fabrics they should get. Their father did a little of everything from answering questions to restocking the store.

Their day finally came to an end, the money in the register was counted and locked away, everything was cleaned and restocked. Once they made sure that everything was locked on the ground floor, they went upstairs to their home. Their grandmother had dinner ready for them after they had changed their clothes. Before they began to eat they noticed the son was flustered and was hastily looking for something, "Hey shorty, have you seen my keys?" he asked.

"No, did ya check the store?"

He groaned, "Come help me look for'em." He certainly wasn't going to ask their grandmother and if he asked their father, he would just order his sister to help anyway. The young woman followed her brother downstairs with no complaints. As much as she didn't want to help him, she also didn't have the energy to bicker to make him look on his own.

After the two searched the shop for a few minutes, the sister decided to check the bin outside full of fabric scraps, thinking the keys could have ended up there when they cleaned earlier. The bin appeared to be untouched since she last saw it. She worried a little when she didn't immediately find them. Just as she had her grip on the keys, she was startled when she heard a woman say, "Excuse me." The woman who spoke was just behind the corner of the side of their building. She had long silver hair, silver eyes and was rather tall. She carried a sword on her back as well. The young woman kept looking at it. "Don't be frightened, I don't intend on using it. May I come inside to discuss business with you?"

Her voice was soft when she responded, "I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed."

"I won't be able to come during the day. I'd greatly appreciate your help." The young woman thought for a second and gestured for the woman to come in. Her brother was caught off guard when he saw someone follow his sister into the shop. He didn't want to deal with someone after hours and attempted to get the woman to leave.

His sister didn't see the problem, there was no harm in seeing what she needed at the very least. "She said she couldn't come during our open hours, so I thought it would be fine to at least get her information. Plus we'll be closed for the next two days." She yawned, making her way behind the counter to get their log book.

"So what Lynn! We're closed!" They began to get into a small argument when their father came down the stairs to see why they were taking so long. The more the silver haired woman looked at him the more she noticed the two young adults looked just like him. He stood behind his children waiting patiently until they gave him their attention. He apologized to the woman for their behavior. He didn't mind her presence as long as she had the money to pay for their service, he could care less if she showed up during closed hours. The father properly introduced himself, "I'm Allen Taylor and these two nuts are my kids, Terrence and Lynnette."

"Sorry for any inconvenience I cause."

"You ain't causin' any at all." He made the two head upstairs for the night while he dealt with the stranger. The silver haired woman placed all the money she had on the counter for Allen to count. As he counted her money, he recognized her as a Claymore but like everyone else he didn't know much about them. Just hearsay from travelers that came and went. This is had to have been her first time here in town. Thinking back on the past few weeks, he hadn't heard anything about Claymores being in the area or there being any strange attacks. So it seemed odd to him considering the rumors say Claymores never appear unless there was problem. He questioned her business there like he would with anyone who came around.

Her expression and voice were calm, "I just need a few supplies and something to replace my clothes. After that I'll no long be a bother." Given her situation it would only be appropriate to mention, "Also, I would need for you and your family to not mention that you saw me here to anyone."

"Hmm, what do I gain from that? I mean, there is no guarantee that if we did so we'd be safe."

"Depends on the people of the town." Claymores knew they weren't welcome among humans majority of the time so it was very likely that the townspeople would take issue with someone being associated with one. In this moment, the easiest thing would be keeping her situation hidden from Allen. The hardest was that they both needed to have some form of trust between them. "I can only promise that harm won't come to you by my hand."

He offered for her to stay the night. If she truly didn't intend on causing harm then there should be no problem with her giving up her sword in exchange for the night. With there being no sign or sense of yoma and especially other warriors, she gave him her sword. He offered to make a small futon on the floor of the shop but she declined. He yawned, "We'll pick this back up in the mornin'." Allen made sure the shop was locked up with the curtains closed before heading upstairs with her sword and money which was enough to request whatever she needed. Maybe in the morning they could make an arrangement.