Hazel followed Brit out of the dragon cage and over to the gryphon area. This one she didn't get too close to; she had a deep (if irrational) sort of fear-inspired respect for any creature that big with claws that sharp. She really didn't like the idea of getting torn to ribbons if one of the gryphons got upset for any reason.

Still. They were magnificent creatures, and exactly the kind of thing she knew her grandfather had liked.

When Brit was sure Hazel was going to stay back, she moved over to the male, smoothing a hand down his neck. He let her, allowing the touch, and nudged her shoulder with the curved side of his beak.

Brit moved back after a few moments and stood next to Hazel, letting her take her time watching. The gryphons could be very scary, and she had the feeling that Hazel wouldn't be coming out to spend much time with them.

Hazel just watched. There was no way she was going near them, not until she was sure they wouldn't try to hurt her for it. They might let Brit close, but there was no guarantee they would do the same for Hazel. So for now, looking was good.

Brit waited until she was sure Hazel was satisfied with her look at the gryphons before she started walking, leading the way over to another cage. This one had half a dozen winged snakes in it. They all had bat-like wings, and they were all different colors and patterns.

Hazel, surprisingly, didn't have as much trouble with the winged snakes. They were smaller than even the dragons, and some of them were very pretty, despite the bat-like wings. She would have personally preferred feathered wings, but she knew her grandfather wouldn't have wanted them. However, she was in charge now, so she would have to see about getting winged snakes with feathers. Still... the one with the rainbow-shimmering scales was pretty.

Brit didn't bother going into that one. The snakes were all like normal snakes; they liked heat, and they were lazy, and they liked food. So unless Hazel wanted to go pick one up she wasn't going to go in and bother them at the moment. They only had one more corral to go visit, so Brit wasn't in any hurry.

Hazel watched the snakes for a few minutes before she nodded to Brit. Time to see the last enclosure before she left. She could always come back later to spend more time there and really get to know the place.

Brit moved on to the last corral, which held the ceryneians. The deer roamed around idly, horns and hooves gleaming in the light. They all looked up when the two approached, moving nervously. They were all shy.

Oh yes. This corral had her grandfather's influence written all over it. Hazel didn't get too close, though. Even she could see the creatures were skittish, and she didn't want to scare them.

"I'll bet Grandpap handpicked these," she said softly. "The most unusual of anything else here, so he had to have chosen these himself."

Brit nodded. Those he had picked and brought home himself, one at a time.

Although she had done all the care since for them. THey'd gotten used to her, slowly, but they were still more comfortable when she didn't get too close.

"Grandpap liked unusual things," Hazel commented. None of the menagerie really surprised her, but she knew without a doubt that her grandfather had been the most fond of these creatures in front of her. After a moment, she stepped back more. "Alright, I think I've seen everything I need to," she said. She would sleep on it, and come to a decision tomorrow.

Brit nodded and led the way back to the main house, nodding once to Hazel before she went back to her work. She still had a lot to do, and she'd lost almost an hour escorting Hazel around the property.

Hazel nodded back, giving a few distracted words of thanks as she turned to go into the main building. Time to face the ass-kissers again. They all grated on her nerves, and a few of them rubbed her completely the wrong way, and she was seriously thinking about replacing them all. Well, all of them except Brit. She seemed to be the only one Hazel could stand.

Brit finished her work for the day and went back to her "apartment", a small room attached to the barn so she'd be close to the animals if any of them needed her.

The next day she ignored the main house completely, going back to her chores. She didn't know what Hazel was going to do, and she figured she'd find out in due time, so there was no real point in fluttering about making everyone else nervous.

The next day, Hazel strode purposefully out to the main building of the ranch. Her decision hadn't taken all that much thought.

"Ahh, welcome back, Ms. d'Loncré--" one of the handlers simpered.

"You," Hazel said, gesturing to him. She gestured to a couple more. "You, and you. What, exactly, are you being paid for here?"

The handlers blinked, as if never asked the question before, and started to give her some overly-flowery responses.

"So you're all basically paid to do nothing," Hazel cut in. She held up a hand to stop and protests. "Well, I hate to disappoint you all, but I'm keeping the menagerie. It's mine, and so are all of the animals in it. And I won't be paying anyone who isn't earning their pay. So either figure out a way to earn your money, or get me your resignations by the end of the week."

The handlers all looked gobsmacked.

Brit looked up from rubbing down one of the mares when she heard the commotion inside, but she didn't actually say anything. Or sign anything. Basically nothing.

Snorting, she went back to rubbing down the mare, figuring she'd hear something sooner or later.

After verbally manhandling the paperwork out of the handlers, Hazel went over the payroll list. The only names she saw were the ones of the handlers in front of her, and they all seemed to be getting paid much more than they were worth. Well, that would have to change.

"That girl, the one who works outside with the animals," she said. "What's her name?"

"Brit?" one of the handlers asked.

"If that's her name," Hazel replied. "I'm adding her to the payroll."

"You can't do that!" one of the handlers blurted out. Hazel raised an eyebrow.

"I own the menagerie," she said, "I can do what I want."

It took the better part of a few hours, but Hazel finally managed to get the paperwork to look the way she wanted it to, or similar, at least. Then she went outside to try to unwind for a bit.

Brit looked over and saw that Hazel looked kind of tense. So she went over and picked out the friendliest, laziest snake of the bunch and picked him up. She carried him over to Hazel. He flicked his tongue out at both of them, his wings fluttering a little.

Hazel blinked when the snake was handed to her, but settled him loosely around her shoulders. He was too big to let him wind around her arm, and she wanted her hands free, so her shoulders were the best choice. She couldn't help but giggle a bit when his tongue tickled her ear.

Brit smiled, pleased with her choice, and nodded her satisfaction before she went to go get the unicorn stallion out. He liked to go for rides, and it kept him relatively friendly towards people. It also kept him from getting spooky, which was good. She slid up onto his back bareback, just walking him around for now to make sure he was well warmed up.

Hazel was perfectly fine getting used to the one snake, she had no desire to see the unicorns at the moment as well. Absently, she stroked the snake's scales, watching the light play off of them a little. Hopefully, she would have the administrative things straightened out soon... Her grandfather certainly left a mess for her.

Brit left Hazel to her own devices, just doing her normal chores for the day. She wasn't too concerned with anything else, and she never had been. The other people who worked there had mostly been slacking off letting her do the majoritory of the work. She didn't care either way; that just meant that the animals liked her better.

"I talked to the other handlers," Hazel commented when Brit walked by again. "Started straightening some things out. Grandpap let too much slide around here, before. I'm trying to fix what I can."

Brit paused to consider that before she nodded her satisfaction. That was good to hear. The old man had sort of turned a blind eye to his employees' actions... or inactions, as it was.

"I took a look at the payroll list," Hazel continued. "That got fixed first." And hopefully, Brit would catch the implications there before Hazel had to spell it all out.