Between a rock and a...nother rock

[Aldon Huang]

It really seemed as if no one in Hazleton wanted to buy tickets to the Social Committee's latest planned event and Aldon, totally dispirited and disheartened by all of the doors that had slammed in his face that night, needed a quick pick-me-up. The quickest thing he could think of was something sugary and sweet, so he turned his steps from the residential area and towards his favorite bakery downtown. One of the nicer things about living in a tiny place like Hazleton was that he was never too far away from any part of town!

Unfortunately, that meant making a longer trek through the dense fog that had enveloped the town. Shivering, he pulled his down jacket closer around his body and flipped up the fur-lined hood to keep warm. It worked; for the outside. Inside, he still shivered but for a completely different reason.

Something about the fog made his hackles rise. As a wolf, he was sensitive to magic and the fog crackled with some indefinable, vague, dark energy. Aldon didn't want to speculate too much--and freak himself out--but he thought that somebody was behind this strange weather. Who? Heck if he knew! Besides, Aldon was a wolf, not a cat; curiosity wouldn't be the death of him anytime soon!

It was a little while before he made it to the downtown area, and he burst into the bakery, with all of its welcoming warmth and lights and scents. Vanilla, butter, cream, sugar--all of it assailed Aldon's senses. He sniffed the air appreciatively, glad for his enhanced sense of smell now. At this hour the bakery was busy, which didn't surprise him given how popular the place was. Hazleton only had a few bakeries anyway, so people tended to flock to one or the other.

He slid up to the counter and ordered a hot beverage and some fluffy pastries, which he gleefully carried with him. Aldon glanced around; there didn't seem to be any open tables that he could appropriate for himself. Damn! He wandered around with his cup in one hand and his plate in the other, until he sighted a woman sitting alone near the window. Aldon slid up, never shy about approaching strangers.

"Hi!" he said brightly, "Mind if I sit here? There's no other free seat." But he was already setting his drink and pastries down as he spoke, and had his butt firmly planted on the seat even before he finished asking. Clearly, whether she wanted or not, the woman was getting a companion--one who smiled winningly across the table at her, the picture of friendliness. "I'm Aldon, by the way! That looks tasty." He pointed to her plate. "Is that new?"

Jay?  Abigail Thames?

[Abigail Thames]

Abigail was having a nice day, as usual. It might be her disposition and nature, but most of Abigail's days were nice ones. Life since she had moved to Hazleton had been better than the previous years, she had to admit. Life in her home town had become boring and stale after she had lost her parents, and moving across the country had been a great idea.

While she hadn't been here for that long, the place felt really nice. The community seemed strong, and she was finding it easier than she had expected to simply slip into it and help out where she could.

Working wasn't a financial need, as Abigail was pretty much set for life with dad's inheritance. Still, it was a social and creative need. Baking satisfied both her craving for keeping busy and her knack for making something that could make people happier and offer some comfort. And working with the public gave her the chance to meet new people every day.

Today, she had been playing with a new recipe. Nothing too complicated, just a cupcake filled with melted mint chocolate chips. It did seem like a nice idea in theory, but she'd have to try it out in practice.

That was exactly what she had just sat down to do when someone approached her. "Oh. I don't mind at all", she replied right away to the man, with a smile. "I'm Abigail, but hey, feel free to call me Abby if you'd like". His comment about her plate made her smile and nod. "Oh, yes, it's an experiment. I'm actually a baker, and decided to try something new. Would you like to be a Guinea pig?".

Blue Aldon Huang

[Aldon Huang]

"Abby. Cool!" Aldon pulled his drink closer and cradled it between his hands, glad for the warmth. Brrrr--it was freezing outside! He should have grabbed a thicker jacket before he left, but he sorta did flee his own apartment--and from Gregg--all in a hurry. Didn't help that he had an impatient fox waiting to see him earlier either!

Then, somehow, he ended up trying to sell tickets. There was never a dull day in Aldon's life, that was for damn sure.

He looked curiously at the cupcake sitting on Abby's plate, then up at her. "Guinea pig?" Aldon blinked. Shouldn't that have been... guinea wolf? His expression brightened a moment later and he nodded. "Sure!" Must be some interesting flavors in there, he thought. Plus now that he thought about it, she did seem familiar. One of the bakers huh? Obviously then she didn't work out front but maybe he caught glimpses of her before, and just didn't pay much attention. Aldon was hardly what one called "observant."

"Don't tell me what it is though! I want to find out for myself."

[Abigail Thames]

Abigail laughed discreetly when Aldon replied to  her in that way. It was funny to see anyone react like this, but it wasn't anything upsetting at all. She watched him cradled his drink between his hands, concluding that it should be pretty cold outside. Not that it was surprising. It had been pretty cold early in the morning, when Abby had made the walk from home to work. Lucky for everyone, the bakery was pretty warm.

Once her offer was made, Abby waited for Aldon to answer her question. She wouldn't have minded if he had said no. Not everyone was willing to be a test subject for new recipes, after all.

When Aldon said yes to her question, Abby smiled brightly. "Great, thank you!", she replied, cutting the cupcake in half carefully, the melted chocolate making a bit of a mess. "Here, let me put it on your plate", she carried on, picking up the half she had just cut and placing it carefully on her new acquaintance's plate.

"Okay, I won't tell  you what it is. I want an honest opinion, though", Abby stated after the cupcake transfer was finished.

Blue  Aldon Huang

[Aldon Huang]

Aldon peered intently at the cupcake, noting the gooey filling as it spilled over and out onto the plate. Looked like chocolate. He liked chocolate...

Probing it cautiously--in case there were weird flavors waiting to jump out at him from inside the cupcake--he turned the plate this way and that. Abby didn't have to ask for an honest opinion, though; Aldon was pretty much an open book to anyone who knew him. And to anyone who didn't know him. His face was incapable of lying and his honesty... perhaps not so much 'refreshing' as 'different.'

Finally, after taking a deep breath, he went in for the kill. Loading his fork with some cupcake and some filling, he popped it into his mouth. He chewed. His face convulsed, worked hard not to show disgust. Chocolate... and mint. It was a combination that Aldon didn't like, mostly because his extra-sharp werewolf sense of taste was overwhelmed by the mint. Maybe to the ordinary human, it would have been fine; for Aldon it was like a peppermint bomb exploded in his mouth and between his ears.

"'s.... it's..." He swallowed, his entire body tense. He wanted to spit it out but he didn't want to hurt Abby's feelings, so he swallowed it with great effort. "Good," he said, in a voice several octaves higher than usual.

"It's. Good."

[Abigail Thames]

Abigail really hoped the cupcake was good. She trusted her own taste buds, but, at the same time, it was good to  have someone else's input. Otherwise, she might let herself be driven by bias - as she had baked it herself.

Once Aldon decided he would help her with that, Abby was happy to accept the help. It wasn't like she had put a gun to his head, after all.

As soon as she put half the cupcake on Aldon's plate, Abby tasted her own half. She was considering whether or not the flavor was too overpowering - and considering adding more chocolate and less mint to the next attempt at the recipe, when she noticed Aldon's expression.

"Oh, my God", she replied to his comment about it being good. "No, it's not, I'm so sorry", she carried on, her face the perfect expression of regret. "I... probably... I'm so, so sorry. Would you like some water?", she offered, already jumping out of her seat, ready to go get him water if he wanted to. "I'm really sorry", she still repeated before Aldon could even answer her question.

Blue Aldon Huang

[Aldon Huang]

"Yes," Aldon gasped, breathing hard through the mouth--it didn't help the minty flavor or the burn go away. He tried to keep his eyes from watering in vain, and had to quickly turn his face into his shoulder. "Water," he wheezed. "Please."

There was a hot drink in front of him but something hot was the last thing he needed! Aldon tried to grab a bite of his own pastry--a flaky piece of pie--in the hopes that the sweetness would take away the mint, but it didn't do much for him. Under the table, he dug his heels in against the floor, toes curling in.

If he didn't like mint before, he hated it now!

[Abigail Thames]

Abigail felt like she had just tried to kill someone. The sorrow in her expression would probably be comic if this wasn't tragic. All she could do, now, was to do her best to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.

When Aldon answered that he would like some water, Abigail nodded and rushed away from the table to go get it. Deciding that one glass might not be enough, she came back as quickly as her feet could carry her, glass and a full bottle at hand, and filled the glass before handing it to Aldon.

"I'm deeply sorry", the woman nearly whimpered after handing the man the glass of water. "I swear on my life, I... was not... I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry!".

Once she was done apologizing, Abigail just waited, still standing by the table. The idea of sitting back down hadn't really occurred to her right now.

[Aldon Huang]

"Guh," was Aldon's response as he guzzled the water as fast as it would go down. Faster, probably, as he choked on the water and coughed, doubling over with spasms. "It's... fine..." He waved off her effusive apologies with an eloquent bat of the hand, which then came down slapping the top of the table. One last violent burst of coughing later--face redder than tomatoes--and he felt... better.

"That." He swallowed back another round of coughing. "Was exciting..."

[Abigail Thames]

Abigail took a deep breath when Aldon seemed to be feeling a bit better. Well, at least well enough to speak again. With a sigh, Abby sat back down, her eyes still paying attention to Aldon's expression.

"That's a generous expression", she replied to his words about the experience having been exciting.

Letting out another sigh, Abigail shot Aldon a sheepish look. "Er... How can I make it up to you?", she asked, hoping there was something she could do. "Don't tell me you don't want anything - I won't sleep soundly tonight if I can't do anything for you".

[Aldon Huang]

"No," Aldon coughed, "I'm fine. You don't have to." Really... she had done enough. He sipped the water again, but sparingly. No sense choking on a mouthful of mint AND on a whole glass of water while he was at it! Besides, it was an accident. She couldn't have known that Aldon was so... ah... sensitive to strong scents and flavors.

"I'm good. Doesn't even hurt anymore," he added in what he assumed was a reassuring tone. "Anyway, I really should go." More neighborhoods to canvass! (More doors to get slammed in his face.) Hastily, Aldon gulped down the last of the water and stood up.

"Thanks for the..." He paused. "Water," he finished weakly, before darting for the door. Before she could offer any new creations for him to sample!