We Are Bulletproof

Around 8?

There's a huge order for pick up and your decorating skills were top notch.
I could use the help.

Of course, you'll get overtime.

Pheonix, are you able to come in this weekend after hours?

@MinSquishy~  @Lee Pheonix

Wren crossed his arms, looking half annoyed but half earnestly listening to her. Not many could take criticism well and he thought his decorations were just fine, thank you. But the truth was, cooking and brewing were his line of expertise. Design, not as much. Also, he had a habit of growing impatient when it came to things like the little lines of icing she was talking about.

"Next batch," he said. "Decorate it."

He didn't care if he sounded gruff; if she had enough strength in her to criticize his work, she must have the skills to show him that she could do a better job. And Wren was much more about actual skill and not just people flapping their mouths as if they knew what they were talking about. Show, don't tell.

"And don't apologize until I've seen your work. You could be right."

[Edit: Closing this due to lost interest since there's been no response in almost a month. But to continue the story/plot, please PM me and we can move forward to something else.]

"Yes, thank you."

The gratitude was more to be polite; he obviously expected his employee to work while she was on the job, even if she had strange stipulations about hiding her face. Her voice sounded slightly muffled by the mask but before she placed it on, he didn't recall her seeming all that sick or sounding sick. But... who was he to judge? As long as she covered up if she was sick... They were taking the right precautions.

"What?" he asked, because she was eyeing his decorative pastries with a thoughtful expression. Did she find his skills lacking?

"Let's get the baked goods lined up back here," Wren said, pointing the clear glass display case where they would display all the baked goods that were worked on the evening before and this morning, before Pheonix came in.

"Are you any good at setting things decoratively?"

Wren was fine at it, but it wasn't his best trait, to arrange the muffins and cakes in such a way that they looked pretty and delectable, ready to be purchased. Normally, he was a no-frills type of person but he knew that a nice display could definitely sell more food.

Yikes.

"Don't remind me," he said, wondering how they were going to manage the place without another person. At least Pheonix was here this time. He nodded at her, then turned to pick up the work phone that hung from the wall behind them to give a couple of the others a call. It wasn't their shift but hopefully somebody would pick up for Callie, the girl who didn't show up. After a brief conversation, Wren hung up.

"James says he can make it but he won't be here for another half hour. We can manage that long alone, right?"

"Yes," he said, then looked over Pheonix. Hair up, apron on, mask ready to be worn around any customers.

"Are you ready?" he asked, since it was time to open up and take customers. It was just the two of them for the time being. As usual, the other barista was nowhere to be seen. Wren suppressed the urge to sigh over it. Oh well. He would just have to be more diligent in his hiring process in the future.

Oh? Wren took in the way Pheonix shifted her weight from one leg to the other, as if feeling awkward or uncomfortable. Was she going to be okay? Wren finished setting out various packages so they were within reach and he reached for one of the aprons with the Birdy Bee logo stitched into the pocket. He was wearing his, of course, but she needed one, too. He paused when she coughed, though.

"...You're sick?" he asked. It was a little late for him to find another barista to take over. That was the problem with being a new business owner in a new town. He didn't have a lot of people on speed dial. A mask could help... He eyed the street outside the window, almost as if he expected a line to be forming. (There was nobody out there... yet.)

"All right," he said, somewhat hesitant but willing to give it a shot. "But you'll need this apron, too."

Wren held it out to her.

Another day, another dollar, as they said. Wren unlocked the front door of the Birdy Bee Coffee Cafe, a cute little building with a cute little logo of a fat bumblebee twirling around a bird on the logo. After he checked everything over, made sure everything was clean, and all the machines were running, he checked the time. As per usual, he had two baristas opening this morning. Where were they?

Slipping on his apron and tying it carefully, he set about getting things set up for the morning rush. People would be coming by for their morning coffees before work. He found that they were busiest before and after work. Not all that much different from his time living in the Bay.

When the bell rang on the door signifying somebody was coming in, he knew it had to be one of the baristas since he hadn't turned the open sign on yet.

"Good morning," he said, when he saw that it was Pheonix. "Are you ready for the morning rush?"

Wren wanted to say back home, fog like this was nothing as well but... If there were stories of people vanishing amongst the fog because of monsters, it was possible somebody was summoning them. Luka didn't seem all that worried, though and Wren didn't really know him so he sighed and shrugged before he told Luka how much he owed him.

"Be careful out there," he said. "Ranchers or not, if you make enemies, you might vanish next."

"Monsters?" Wren said more skeptical than he meant to but... Of course, he knew magic was a thing. Witches were a thing. But monsters...? He let out a soft little scoffing sound at the idea of monsters coming through the fog for people. If that was the case, the bay where he'd grown up would have been full of those--the fog came out in full force some days!

And vampires? All of it sounded so far-fetched, even to a witch like Wren. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. Maybe it was witches, though. Witches messing with their perception. There were supposedly some covens here. His scoffing gave way to a thoughtful expression. His mother did say that some witches were summoners, summoning creatures from other realms. Maybe...

He looked back out into the fog but it was impossible to make out anything. He felt for any magic in the air. To his surprise... there actually was some kind of magic crackling in the air.

"Maybe we should stay inside until it passes."

"So you haven't tried."

If Luka tried talking, he might get somewhere. But standing around shouting with a sign seemed counter productive. Wren wondered how many people actually stopped to take Luka seriously like that or if he was just shooting his own foot. Then again, what did Wren know? He wasn't one of those protesting types.

Wren abandoned the topic when he looked out the window, too. Then he moved over to the window and peered out, getting a closer look down the street. The fog had rolled in pretty quickly and it was thick. It almost seemed to be getting thicker the longer Wren watched. He frowned.

"No, I moved here earlier this year..." He stared at the fog in distraction, then turned back to Luka. "Why? What happened last year?"

Wren didn't honestly know much about meat markets beyond buying from them. He had always been taught to buy local back in his hometown and it wasn't much different out here in this small town. Although local didn't necessarily mean Hazleton, it did mean the areas nearby. He decided not to get into that though. He still got the feeling this guy liked to argue when it came to... his passions.

"I can believe it." Wren busied himself cleaning up the area, just to have something to do with his downtime. If somebody came to his place of business and started protesting, Wren just might turn a hose on them, too.

"Have you even tried talking to any of these ranchers? Or are you just assuming they're like all the rest?" And by the rest, he merely meant the ones that Luka was really protesting. Who knew? Maybe he was right but he had to at least entertain the option he might be wrong.

Wren produced the paperwork and slid it over to Luka. It didn't matter where it was done. Wren could review it when it came back and make it all official. Other than that... Well, he only hoped that this worker actually worked, unlike the last few hires.

"Just bring it back when you come in tomorrow."

And he looked at the sign as it was lifted up. Meat wasn't murder in Wren's eyes. He didn't eat a lot of it, to be sure, but he wasn't a vegan or even a vegetarian. There were so many things going on that he didn't have the time to look into the meat industry.

"Don't you think it's a waste of time to protest against actual small town farmers?" Wren asked. "It's not them you should have a problem with. It's those big time meat farms."