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[Aurick ll 1]

The past week had been relatively peaceful in the bakery. With his mama's due date quickly approaching Aurick had been doing more and more around the store front to take the stress of customer service off her shoulders. It was hard enough just getting around to baking with as much aches and pains as she had; dealing with picky customers just added to the stress! So, Aurick was shop front with a delicate apron tied around his thick chest and a smile on his face.

So far the day had gone off without a hitch. Fresh cakes and pies were being set up around the little bakery with the front door wide open in the hopes that the smell alone would attract customers. So far so good; business was steady without, thankfully, being too overwhelming!

Meetings upon meetings upon meetings. Needless to say it wasn't a surprise that Yunan was actually eager to go walking through the Belrean city in pursuit of some delicacies for the opening event. The hybrid had most of the plans laid out for the new pharmacy and while the physical aspects of the building and even hiring staff had gone smoothly there were still the pressures of attracting a crowd and keeping the investors happy. Business would not flourish without either and so Yunan found himself constantly gritting his teeth to flash a smile when he would rather stab a man instead. It was almost relaxing in a way to be able to spend an afternoon with Nicosia since he could easily be himself around the Matori bard. They could bicker over sweets as much as possible but even Yunan wouldn't feel burned out. It was rather exhilarating to actually express himself instead of keeping everything tightly sealed behind some cool exterior.

He was, however, finding himself rather pessimistic about the whole ordeal after the first few failed stops. Would it even be possible to find a bakery that could please the both of them? His golden gaze narrowed in frustration before some delightful aroma floated towards the pair and he found himself thinking the same thing as Nyko, "I think it's worth a try." He mused with a small nod before gesturing for Nyko to follow him inside of the small bakery. Certainly it wasn't extravagant like some of those along the main streets but the smells inside were divine and Yunan felt almost hopeful that their search was over.

[Yunan 1/7]

[Aurick ll 2]

To say Aurick was excited to see all three of his newest patrons was an understatement. Ever since meeting Chrys his interest in water earthlings had peeked. Of course they wouldn't all be as nice and strong and funny as Chrys....but at least they looked really cool! And knowing she'd been a hybrid just made him all the more curious as to what a pureblood looked like. He hadn't expected so much blue! Three blue faces, one very clearly unlike the rest, but from the way he was close to the other one made Aurick suspect...

"Welcome to Flour Shower. My name's Aurick; if there's anything I can help you folks out with just let me know." He beamed a smile their way, hoping to come off as pleasant as possible without being too aggressive. His mother had warned him not to scare off customers after all.

Yunan's golden gaze gleamed with amusement as he listened to Nyko, "You're not wrong." He replied quietly under his breath as he held back a laugh. Most of the bakers that they had seen today hadn't been quite so...built. It definitely was not something that Yunan had expected to see upon entering the little store. "A pleasure." Yunan nodded politely, his lips curving upwards into a small smile for pleasantry's sake while he listened to Nyko's response. It was a fair enough response and the hybrid gave a nod in agreement, "We would need a variety of things to please the different tastes of the crowd. As a warning it is not going to be a simple matter so would your bakery be up to the task? There's no need for us to waste time if you do not believe you can cater to so many people." There was no need to waste time with samples if they couldn't host an event like Yunan wanted after all. Though he was honestly hopeful that they could be up to the task because he did want to try whatever it was that smelled so delicious.

[Aurick ll 3]

Whatever they were saying to one another must have been nice because they little group seemed to be smiling an awful lot. Aurick couldn't help thinking how sweet it all was; for a family to come into a bakery together! It really warmed his heart to see it.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Aurick held up his arm and slapped his bicep. "This bakery is family run and we've got a lot of staff. If you pick us you won't regret it." Were they inviting family from overseas? From the way they were dressed Aurick assumed it must be so. Rich foreigners; Mama's going to love this! We'll be set for months!

"Let me go grab a sample platter." Two brothers and a fiance? The two water's looked like they might be related, but Aurick hoped he wasn't making that call based on looks alone! Frowning, he realized that maybe he shouldn't say anything, just incase and moved to the back to get the platter.

It didn't take him long; as soon as he mentioned it to his mother she prepared three servings of every cake they had, decorated the plates up as much as she could while still being 'simply elegant' and ushered her son back out the door.

"Alright, I've got one for each of you. Come on over and take a bite." He motioned to a little table by the window, clearly only set out for samplings, and set out the three platters.

Yunan opted to just ignore the newcomer with a shrug of his shoulders. If the other Matori had business here that was fine but it was not his role to play casual conversation with the other man. His focus was solely on the cakes and Nicosia's reaction to them. "Then I will hold you to such a promise." He replied while the lightning boy quickly disappeared towards the back of the bakery. Yunan took the moment to study the array of goods on display, the decorations decent enough and the smells tantalizingly good. Yunan simply raised a slight brow at the third platter but when Nyko proceeded to try the samples without another word the hybrid went along with it. What was the point of protesting when it was getting increasingly hard to focus on much other than the bard?

"I suppose if you've died then there's no need to try the rest." Yunan quipped lightly before plucking at a piece with his own fork. The darker piece was surely a bit more bitter as Yunan preferred but the icing was so light and sweet that it simply melted into the darker chocolate. Was that some sort of fruit inside as well to make it even more moist? Yunan's gaze lowered while he swallowed the piece before taking another bite. It truly was divine and he had to hold back a moan of his own at the extraordinary flavors. "This is...acceptable." He managed while keeping his poise unlike the man moaning next to him. He shifted to try a piece of the pink cake as well and as expected it also melted on his tongue. How did they manage to make such delicious cakes that seemed so light and fluffy and decadent all at once?

"I think we can safely assume that the flavors will be well received. How are the designs?" He mused quietly towards Nyko before glancing up towards the lightning boy again, "What would be your suggestions for ordering these cakes for our event? Do you think miniature cakes or something large and tiered would be best?" Or something else entirely. He was intrigued and curious to see what the bakery could offer them in terms of presentation for the actual event.

[Aurick ll 4]

"I'm glad you like it. That one's my mother's favorite; it's a strawberry base with a bit of mousse mixed in to make it fluffier." Two of the three seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and if Aurick had to guess the third was having a pretty good time as well, he just didn't show it. "I've also brought out a simple vanilla, a chocolate truffle, caramel apple drip, dark chocolate raspberry, orange chiffon, and a few others." It helped that the sample pieces were just that; samples. That meant his mother could lay out a little bit of everything.

"If you'll take a look at that case over there-" Aurick motioned towards the counter where a gilded glass case sat with a variety of cakes inside, "-you can see our predecorated cakes to get a general feel of my mother's designs. If you had another idea in mind just let me know and I can ask her to whip one up for you." After all, if they were going to land the wedding of a century, would his mother really object to a little extra work?

"I think it depends on the setting. If it's outdoors or during the day miniature cakes work best. They're lighter and can be paired with a variety of flavored drinks. If it's in the evening then a tiered cake works best for presentation purposes, mainly." Pausing a minute, Aurick clucked his tongue, "I'm sorry, I didn't even offer you anything to drink. What can I get you? We've got water, milk or I can brew up some tea."

"Fair enough." Yunan found himself walking over towards the display to study the designs as Aurick continued speaking. "I do see some elegant designs that I would like. Nothing too distracting yet regal enough to add some scenic appeal." He didn't want something overwhelmingly lavish but something pretty enough for the crowds to enjoy. Yunan tapped a finger against his chin before nodding. "Perhaps a medium sized cake decorated for display with miniatures around the base for the guests to take."

He drifted back towards the others and nodded towards Aurick. "Water is fine. We're just trying cake samples unless you also want to serve tea." Yunan paused thoughtfully before Nyko grabbed his attention again. "Hmm?" It was amusing enough to see how delighted Nyko was with the bakery but another thing entirely to have the other man offering him a piece of cake. "Really?" Yunan raised an eyebrow in protest and stared at Nyko for a good long moment before giving a sigh. Fine, why not? It was just to see how good this favorite flavor was after all. Moving closer Yunan took a bite from the fork, the back of his neck flushing at the silliness of his own actions, and once he swallowed the piece of cake he quickly took a step away again. "It is pretty good. I'm assuming you'll want that one for certain. Any others?" Even he didn't understand how another foreigner had gotten roped into trying out samples but if the other man had input then so be it.