[center][h1][color=0072bc]Salem Vicarious, Lord of Lost Things[/color][/h1][/center]
[@The Irish Tree] [@Lugubrious] [@IceHeart] [@Inkarnate]

As Salem hovered by Graft, waiting in the foyer for Rodias to arrive, Salem was glad to see Graft excited, having not taken any disagreements to heart. In that way, Director Graft was predictably dependable, being impartial and utilitarian under most circumstances, admirable traits Salem did not possess.

As Rodias arrived and laid out his plan, Salem nodded along, listening. Flan came by to serve tea but Salem merely looked down his nose at the stuff. Nutrition was a weakness of living things, so Salem ignored the maid for the most part, having no use for someone with her function. When Rodias expressed the assumption that Salem might prefer not to be privy to the things rats see, Salem let out a laugh. [color=0072bc]"The world of the living is covered in filth, so birds or vermin matter little. Besides, birds finding their way indoors is an anomaly, while vermin being indoors is a given. Birds are fine for seeing what happens on the streets, but we'll need vermin to see what goes on people's houses."[/color] A sinister grin crossed Salem's face as the doll reveled in the idea of violating people's privacy, not for lewd reasons, but just because Salem liked the idea of seeing people's true selves against their will or knowledge. But as Rodias left to attend to other matters, Graft brought up a good point. Unless they knew what the local fauna looked like, they had nothing for their infiltrating puppets to mimic. Graft instead offered a tour of the Factory, and seeing nothing better to do, Salem agreed to follow along. Flying into the elevator after Graft, Salem said with a huff, [color=0072bc]"Geez, Graft, don't rush me like that!"[/color] It wasn't that the doll hated to be rushed, Salem simply hated being compelled to do anything, even it it was simply being compelled to hurry up. Despite being a puppet, Salem hated dancing to anyone else's tune. But Salem knew that 'time is money' was probably an adage that Graft followed, and wasn't going to start a fight over it; pouting and sulking for a bit was enough for Salem.

[hr]
[@Archmage MC]

Salem followed Graft, taking in the scenery, such as it was, of the Factory. However, as Graft communicated with his subordinates, something in his speech indicated something was...off, piquing Salem's interest. [color=0072bc]"Is something interesting going on?"[/color] Salem asked, fully intending to follow Graft to Production. As they were intercepted by Light, Salem greeted the Vault Keeper, [color=0072bc]"Sister Light! The Director isn't making anything for me currently, so feel free to cut in line."[/color] Salem offered, cheekily making Light's request seem more imposing than it really was.