(The Madam, Belle, had hired Jerry and Jim 3 monsoon periods ago. They had shown up on her door step in the midst of a down pour. Bedraggled, wet, and hungry.)
The sight of a forlornly soaked Gorilla and Satanic faced, four armed, Centaur caused Belle to step back away from the door. It was an involuntary move, more from surprise than fear. Belle had seen it all. So she had thought.
Jerry spoke first, "Good evening Madam." The words were distorted because of the long canines which were made more visible when he talked. "My name is Jerry and this handsome devil to my left is Jim. I am xhuman and Jim is off world from a place that is not pronounceable by human or xhuman throat. Actually Jim is not his real name but the name that I have given him. But I digress. We are both strong and willing to work. We are also hungry. Would you have something that we could do that would earn us a meal?"
Belle had intuitively known that she was going to be touched upon for food at the minimum. While Jerry was explaining his and Jims presence on her doorstep, she was tallying up the To-Do's that had piled up since the last bouncer/handyman had mysteriously disappeared. She smiled, "I do have some things that need repair, but by the looks of both of you I can see that food should first be offered. The first meal is on the house as should be to troubled travelers. Then we will see what you can do to earn a dry place to sleep and more meals. Tell me, what are you able to eat?"
She stepped aside and motioned the odd couple to enter....
