Cannibal Town seemed downright picturesque compared to the rest of Hell, in an old-fashioned way. Even the colors in this area of the city seemed muted to go with all the long dresses, big hats, and tailcoats of the people walking about. While heads certainly turned as Claire made her way down the street with her small companion, most of the citizens appeared to be smiling and happy—perhaps especially the ones on the edges of town that were covered in viscera, tearing into people who presumably got too close to the town border.

The boy, who cheerfully pointed out various iconic spots as they passed, led her towards the grandest building in the square and up some stairs, politely skipping a few steps ahead to hold the door open for her so she could enter first, the string of his balloon still held tightly in his other hand.

"Wow, you were right, RJ," Claire commented as she stepped inside, both looking and sounding impressed as she looked around. "There is a little bit of everything in here."

The store was packed with both people and products, with display cases set up to form aisles here and there, herding customers towards tastefully decorated walls lined with pristinely hemmed skirts and tailored blouses. A man wearing a striped vest tapped out a jaunty tune on an upright piano nearby, filling the large, open area with music over the constant murmur of the crowd. If one ignored the blood dripping from the deranged smiles of some of the shoppers it might just be the—

Claire ducked out of the way of a swiping cane just before it hit her arm, putting her hand out protectively to keep RJ back.

"Do you not see the line!? There's a line here!" The voice of the woman was almost as sharp as the crack her cane made when she placed it back against the floor. She glared up at Claire from behind a pair of large, round glasses, and appeared to be being strangled by a dead fox wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

"Sorry," Claire replied immediately, giving a disarming smile, "RJ here was just giving me a tour."

Entirely unmollified and seeming even more enraged by Claire's politeness, the woman raised both her arms, waving her cane around again and turning her rage on the young boy who cowered behind Claire, " You can't just bring an outsider in here!" she groused, "It's anarchy! It's bad taste! It's chaos! It's—"

"—not his fault," Claire interrupted firmly as RJ retreated further into the crowd, looking for a way to disarm the situation. "I apologize for not knowing there was a line here or that you were in it. If there's anything I can do—"

"You can fuck right off is what you can do!" The woman railed, pointing her cane at Claire in an aggressively threatening manner, "Don't try to sweet talk me! I don't care if your tongue is coated in silver, I'll still rip it out of your mouth with my bare hands!"

Claire blinked against the eloquent threats, sounding a little impressed. "Wow."

But the woman, wound up and clearly looking for a fight, turned her glaring attention to the piano player who had continued to play his upbeat melody throughout the heated exchange, "And you! You talentless hack! Stop clanking on those keys, Karl!" she sneered, "Don't you know any of the classics!?"

He shrank back from the keys with hunched shoulders, looking down to avoid eye contact at the public shaming. Seeming satisfied with that reaction at least, the woman looked back to Claire, "Now, where were we?"

Sensing an opportunity for de-escalation, Claire held up one finger while sliding several steps towards the piano, "I'm actually extremely interested in hearing more eloquent threats but hold that thought for just a moment."

She turned to the dismayed piano player and gestured to the keys, "May I?"

He hesitated for a moment, daring a brief look to the angry woman then nodded and skittered off to the side. Claire slid into the seat he vacated, flexed her fingers, then set them down on the smooth ivory keys.

The opening tones were slow and melodious, causing a few customers to pause and turn to look towards the piano. Soon enough they became longer and more dramatic, then faster and more complicated even as the melody remained airy. Claire's fingers slid deftly over the keys, feet working the pedals to keep the time; eyes closed as she played it from memory.

More and more customers stopped to listen, forming a small crowd around her. Some left the line to move closer to watch as Claire played, something not overlooked by the angry woman who without a hint of shame moved up to claim a higher spot. As the last light notes lingered in the air there was a brief moment of silence before the audience burst into vigorous applause.

The angry woman, who now stood at the front of the line in front of an empty counter, gave an unimpressed shrug, "Eh. Passable."

Claire smiled and waved to the crowd, relinquishing the piano bench back to Karl as she stood and turned to look for RJ. Instead of the short youngster she came face to face with a very tall woman wearing a wide smile and an even wider hat.

"Clair de lune, one of my favorites," The woman's voice was warm as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, "Is this who you were telling me about, RJ?" The boy appeared from behind the woman's skirt and nodded enthusiastically, balloon bobbing above his head. "Why don't you go pick something out by the register and let us girls talk, go on now."

RJ wasted no time in running to claim his prize and the woman turned her full attention on Claire. The way she carried herself and the reverential looks the crowd gave her belied her importance. Whoever Claire was now speaking to, it was someone of note.

"What a nice boy," the woman's voice, while still warm and conversational, seemed a little more pointed as she gave Claire a not so subtle once-over. "I'm Rosie, the owner of this grand establishment and that piano you were just playing. And you are?"

"Claire. I hope it was okay for me to play," She began, with a gesture to the current piano player, "I did ask Karl—"

"Oh, we're a musical bunch and you kept Susan from starting a riot so there's another punch in your card." Rosie winked, waving a hand at her attempted explanation. Claire glanced over to the angry woman who stood by the still empty counter watching their exchange with narrowed eyes. Now she had a name to the terrifying face.

Rosie turned and gestured for Claire to follow her, the crowd parting like the sea as she headed towards a velvet curtain behind the counter. "You did a favor for one of my people so come, come, let's get to know each other."

"If I cut the line, Susan will literally bite my head off." Claire pointed out.

Rosie stopped and laughed, "Oh she's not that—" she paused then, tapping a finger to her lips, "Well, she'd probably try. But don't worry, I'll make sure she's well taken care of."

Even with the assurances, Claire could swear she felt Susan's eyes boring a hole into the back of her head as she followed Rosie behind that curtain to a somewhat secluded sitting room in the back. A couple of high backed chairs upholstered in comfortable, upscale fabrics were placed strategically around a round tea table adorned with cups and saucers.

Taking a seat in the furthest chair, Rosie once again waved at Claire, "Sit, sit! Tell me how you got here. It's not often we get outsiders this far into Cannibal Town. Well," she amended, picking up a cup and having a small sip "Not whole."

The setting was so cozy and intimate it would be easy for a person to sit back and let down their guard. It felt downright normal if one disregarded the meticulously arranged pinky fingers laying in box off to the side.

"I just did what any decent person would've and helped." Claire replied, sitting up straight in her chair and folding her gloved hands in her lap.

"HA, listen to you! Decent!" Rosie guffawed, nearly spilling her tea. She set it down with a dainty clink against the saucer, leaning to one side with a grin, "You don't find many people like that in Hell, Missy. Much less someone that would help one of my cannibals."

"To be fair, I didn't realize the risk at the time," Claire explained, giving those pinky fingers a long look, "But it wouldn't have mattered either way. It really was nothing."

"Honest, modest and brave? Are you sure you're in the right place?" Rosie grinned at the stricken look on Claire's face, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, but tell me more—pretty, talented thing like you, how have we never met before?"

"I haven't been here that long," Claire ventured, "Still just figuring things out."

Rosie nodded a few times, "That would explain it! And with Orkas out of the picture, no one's snagged you with a contract yet, lucky girl!"

"It's less luck and more me not being interested in backing myself into a corner before I know where all the exits are," Claire corrected pointedly. Rosie's charming patter was intended to be disarming, but she recognized it and wasn't about to be taken for a fool.

That answer clearly pleased Rosie, who leaned forward just a bit, dark eyes glinting. "Listen to you, sharp as a tack. Smarts like that will take you far here, so long as you're careful. Favors too." She picked up her cup and saucer again, continuing in a more business-like tone, "So, what can I do for you? Do you need a safe place to stay? I have some ideas; some leads I could get you."

Claire's shoulders relaxed just a touch. It would be a mistake to think they were on even footing here, but Rosie seemed like she might just be a powerful ally in the making. "I could use some information," she was all business now too, giving a faint smile, "It's hard to know how to move forward without knowing where forward is."

"Oh, sweetie, how much time do you have and what do you want to know?" Rosie's smile this time was all teeth, "If there's one thing I deal in, it's information."

"Apparently I've got the expanse of eternity ahead of me," Claire was the one leaning forward now, "And I want to know everything."