Brit blinked. If that meant what she thought it meant... She stopped herself before she could get carried away and start hoping for things, so she just shot Hazel a smile and nodded once.

"I told the other handlers to either start working for their keep, or to get lost," Hazel continued. She shrugged. It made sense to her. "I'd rather pay people who actually do the work." She paused. "And I noticed that the payroll list wasn't complete, so I took care of that, too."

Brit grinned outright at that and nodded. Okay, yeah, she'd been right. That was cool. Now she would actually have a salary and she'd be able to get what she wanted, as opposed to having to wait for someone else's cast offs.

Hazel stretched a bit and adjusted the snake still lounging about on her shoulders.

"Since I don't trust those monkeys up at the main building," she said after a moment, "could you make a list of anything that needs attention around here? Repairs and such? I don't know if Grandpap kept up with such things, but I don't intend on letting them lapse."

Brit nodded after a moment. Yeah, she could do that. She paused for a moment before she mimed writing. She'd need pen and paper to make that list.

Hazel nodded. There was no way to misinterpret that gesture.

"I'll find you something," she said. "Until I manage to get proper supplies here, just try to keep a mental list."

Brit nodded at that. She could think of a few things already, so it shouldn't be too hard to wait and make a list later.

She looked at the snake and then raised an eyebrow, wondering if Hazel wanted her to put the snake back or not yet.

Hazel blinked. The thought hadn't occurred to her yet that the snake had to be put away.

"What?" she asked. Hey, the snake was comfortable, she was comfortable, things were great for the moment.

Brit shrugged. She didn't have to put the snake away right now. Just sometime before dark. She looked around, doing a quick visual check on everything to make sure she didn't need to do anything.

Hazel relaxed for a little while longer before sighing and lifting the snake off her shoulders. The creature's wings fluttered for a moment, but when it wasn't dropped, it settled down again. She held the creature out to Brit.

"I have to head back," she said. "Still sorting through everything Grandpap left behind and all that." Being the only grandchild, Hazel had essentially inherited everything, and 'everything' was a lot.

Brit nodded and took the snake, draping him around her shoulders. It was easier to carry him that way. She nodded to Hazel and moved off, walking at a sedate pace as she made her way to go put the snake back. Already she was trying to figure out if there might be any pregnancies already among the animals.

Hazel wasn't able to stop by the ranch for a few more days. There were more things than she thought that needed her attention, and they kept her busy for a while. She made sure to make it back out before the end of the week, though. She was quickly forming the belief that the place would run smoother if its owner actually showed up more than once or twice a year.

Brit was in the middle of cleaning out the gryphon cage. She patted one of the gryphons and moved out of the cage once she was done. She noticed that basically the rest of the group who was employed there were all rather upset, milling about the house.

Hazel noticed them milling about when she arrived and narrowed her eyes slightly. None of them had handed in a resignation, and it seemed like it was time to check to see who had started to actually work for their pay.

"What's going on?" she asked as she got closer.

"Nothing that concerns you," one of them replied dismissively. It seemed like the ass-kissing phase was over, and they weren't even going to give her the courtesy of using her name.

"I think it concerns me, considering the menagerie is mine," Hazel retorted.

One of them shrugged. "The previous owner didn't care. Why should you?" He looked her over before dismissing her, moving over to find a nice spot to lean against the wall. This was what they normally did most days.

Brit snorted at them and shook her head. They were still all fools. Now to see if Hazel would actually change anything.

"I'm not my grandfather," Hazel retorted. She looked at them all, making note of names and faces. Then she shrugged. "Fine. If you don't want to work, that's your choice. Not paying you is mine." Hey, she didn't have to waste the money on them, and if they weren't going to work, she didn't have to keep them around. She would give them one more day to prove that they wanted the work. If they didn't start really working by the next day, she was going to fire them all. Not that she would say so. She needed to see what they would do if they didn't think she would really cut them loose.

"You can't do that. We're employees here!" The one against the wall protested, echoed in murmurs by the others. But none of them actually made a move to get up or go work.

"And I'm the owner," Hazel pointed out. "I can do whatever I want." She looked at them all. "Like I said, it's your choice not to work, and my choice not to pay you. I'm only paying the people who put in the effort." Like Brit did. Brit was the only one who did anything around the ranch, it seemed, and Hazel made a mental note to promote the girl once the others were fired. Because she was fairly sure they would get themselves fired in the near future.

The employees all grumbled but got up and moved around, starting to pretend to do stuff. One of them actually went into a shed to check on supplies, although he didn't actually know how much they were supposed to have. But he did a better job pretending to something than the rest of them, who just kind of milled around uselessly.

Hazel watched, making mental notes. After having watched Brit go about her work, she figured she knew what real working looked like, and what she was seeing wasn't it. She didn't call them on it, though; she'd given them their chance. Instead, she went inside to modify some paperwork.

It seemed that she would need some new employees to run the ranch.

The day passed quickly, and the next day the employees all showed up again, settling in to do their normal milling around pretending to work but not actually do anything. Hey, it was good pay for doing basically nothing all day.

Brit had managed to get hold of pen and paper and wrote down everything she could think of, including the semi-annual expo for ranchers that was coming up. It was the place to find new animals and new workers if you needed them. She went up to the house and knocked on the back door quietly, making sure her shoes were clean so she could go see Hazel.

Hazel was in the process of sealing the former-employee files. The only file left in the active-worker box was Brit's. Then she went outside, where she knew the handlers would all be milling about.

"Give me one second," she said to Brit as she passed the other girl on her way out. She turned to the others. "As of right now, consider your employments terminated," she told them. "You will receive your pay up until the day I took over the menagerie. Now get off my property, or I'll contact the authorities and make you leave."

The employees all started talking or yelling, outraged. "You can't do this to us!" one of them complained. "Do you know how hard it is to get another job without moving to the city?!" Not to mention they'd no longer be able to laze about.

Brit blinked when she heard that, watching them all with a faint smirk.

"What part of 'I own the ranch' is unclear?" Hazel asked, looking at them all. She wasn't cowed in the slightest by their outrage. Her grandfather might have let things slide, but she wasn't going to do the same. "I am Hazel d'Loncré, heiress to Nicholas d'Loncré, and I can do what I want with the inheritance my grandfather left me." She stared them down, every inch the rich noble she was. "Now get off my ranch or I will have you escorted off."

They all grumbled and muttered, moving off the property. But they were still grumbling more like an angry mob than simply disgruntled people. They were definitely planning to do something about this indignancy.