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 Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 6:10 pm
 Gwendolyn's layered skirts billowed in the blustery winds. Things were slowly starting to warm up as the spring season was soon upon them, but the demon was still rather under dressed for the cool weather. The temple was well insulated and heated, the inside gardens well maintained year-round. It was not often that Gwen wandered outside of temple she lived in, but on this particular day, the demon's curiosity had gotten the better of her. For some time now the demoness had heard about a flower shop that had opened up that made the most beautiful of fresh arrangements. While Gwendolyn could easily make her own arrangements herself, the gardens at the temple were sacred and were only allowed to be pruned, never cut or plucked. Holding her cloak closed over her small frame, Gwendolyn had high hopes for this new shop. One of the frequent patrons of the temple had highly recommended the store and said the energy was as good and pure as it was at the temple. After hearing this, Gwendolyn just had to check it out for herself. The demon's curly pink locks were quite the mess by the time she reached the front door of the store. With a push of her hip, Gwendolyn nudged the door open enough to scoot through, mindful of her long flowing dress beneath her circle cape. The biting cold had turned the tip of Gwendolyn's nose red and her eyes water. The winter jasmine in her hair had held up quite well despite the wind, much to Gwendolyn's relief. The sound of the chiming bell as the door opened and closed was quaint and charming. Gwendolyn could tell already that she was going to love this place. What impressed her above all else was that infamous energy that the patron had mentioned. The spirit of the store in contrast to the world outside was stark. Outdoors the animus of others and all their emotions -- for better or worse -- mingled and was at times overwhelming. But here, in this quiet little store, Gwendolyn felt at ease. Gwendolyn let the front of her cloak fall open, still held close at the front by the clasp thanks to the weight of the fabric. There were so many beautiful things to look at the instant you walked in that Gwendolyn had to catch her breath. From the first moment her eyes were met with the room, Gwendolyn had to know who was responsible for growing the beautiful plant life. There was so much to look at -- the hanging vines, the beautiful baskets and potted plants, and even the freshly cut flowers on display were enchanting. The demon even noticed the flowers that were not native to the season. Gwendolyn was practically gushing! It was so difficult to grow flowers out of season. The demoness' heels clicked across the floor as she started to walk deeper in to the store, her wine coloured eyes glittering with adoration. "Beautiful ... "
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:09 pm
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-As always, the day had started out completely normal. Opening the store, waiting for his employees to show up, and looking over the orders that had come in overnight. When Khadia called in sick, that wasn't a big deal.
It was when Zaakir came in sniffling and almost choking on his breaths that she day became just a little bit weird. Aden wasn't one to try and get people to work beyond their capabilities, and having a sick Zaakir around wasn't going to help business, or keep his own health intact. A quick talk withe chimera, and a promise that he was using sick time and would still get paid, and suddenly Aden was left running his store alone.
Watering what needed to water, checking the greenhouse, tending to walk-in customers and arranging orders all fell onto his shoulders. This had happened before, and though he was able to deal with it, it meant that some things were a little unkempt; the floor wasn't swept every hour, so it was littered with leaves and petals, and some people came in early for their ordered arrangements, only to have to wait. thankfully, he took his tome to talk to them, and tried hard to keep the atmosphere of the shop at a decently positive level.
A break was welcome at any time, and he was taking the downtime to sit at the service desk and work on a special arrangement featuring spider lilies. Not for anyone in particular really, but it was something to work on when the shop was, for lack of a better word, dead.
When the bells above the entrance jingled their pleasant little tune, he looked around the rather large arrangement to welcome his customer.
"Hello there! Welcome to the Secret Garden." Joyful as ever, he stuttered ever so slightly. 'Beautiful' didn't even cover it, but he wasn't about to say that out loud to a customer! "How may I help you today?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:32 pm
Gwendolyn had been completely lost in thought, observing as many of the wonderfully kept specimens as she could before her attention was called away by a rather soothing voice. Gwendolyn turned and saw an imp behind the service counter working on the beginnings of a rather lavish looking arrangement. A rather dainty smile parted Gwen's lips as she spoke up towards the stop attendant, the subtle stutter seemingly unnoticed. "Good afternoon!" Gwendolyn curtsied politely before stepping closer towards the desk. "I'm actually looking to place a rather large order, and your shop was suggested to me." Gwendolyn cast a sideways glance across the room, listening for the sounds of any other employees. Was the imp alone? "Would the owner or manager be in? I was hoping to maybe work out a deal with them after seeing some of their work. But if this is their handiwork all around the shop, then I don't think I need to view a portfolio! I'd like to discuss specifics with them, if they're in? Or perhaps book a consultation if needed instead. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?" Gwendolyn unclasped her cloak while she spoke to the imp, revealing the gossamer dress beneath. The demoness draped her circle cloak over her arm, enjoying the change in temperature a Gwendolyn started to warm up a bit. "Or ... is now not a good time ... ?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 11:06 pm
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-He couldn't be more flattered if one of the nine themselves was speaking to him. Having people come in and gush over his shop was relatively rare, as most time they were just stopping in. Granted, he'd been open for a little while now, and it was about time that word started getting around. This was great for business! Not so great for a shop who was understaffed.
Still, he continued to smile, stepping out and around the service desk, adjusting his glasses as he approached his customer. "You, uh...Well, you flatter me for one! My name's Aden. It's not the busy right now, and my other employees are out sick, so I can at least help you with getting an arrangement arranged." Heh. That was a good one. "Appointments are um...Well, I'm not a big fan of them since things like...sick employees happen and I can't honor 'em. So...Yanno. Walk-ins are fine by me."
"In fact, it's the perfect time. Like I said, it's slowed down and my next rush isn't for another...Eh...Two hours?" He adjusted his glasses again. "So no real rush!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 9:25 am
Gwendolyn's long lashes blinked in rapid succession as she absorbed the imp's answer. Oh! So he was the one who was the mastermind behind all the beautiful flora! He was a he, wasn't he? How charming! Gwen was sure she would find out soon enough their gender preferences, but for now, there were far more important things to discuss. "You're so young ... !" this was not one of those important things. Gwendolyn blushed in harassment at her slip up with a timid laugh. That was not at all what she wanted to say. "Rather, I had expected this quality to come form an elderly master who had been honing his craft for a lifetime ... I am very impressed!" Gwendolyn very delicately reached out careful fingers to touch one of the small flowers of the sweet alyssums nearest her, a soft breath of air from her lungs as she sighed wistfully. "Well, if you are sure ... " The demoness waited a few short moments, waiting for Aden to object or to change their mind. It was always fair to give someone that chance to say no. Gwendolyn decided to start with, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aden!" and curtsied once more. "My name is Gwendolyn, but many just call me Gwen. I've travelled from the Temple District to see if you would be interested in being our supplier? We would be placing weekly orders for new arrangements. Is that something you would be able to do? Or do you think that the under-staffing would be an issue? They'll be smaller arrangements, mostly corsages, wrist, ankle and headbands, but there would be a great deal of them. I wanted to discuss pricing and payment options. What are your thoughts? Is that too much? I can give you a rough number ... ? And of course I would be willing to pay for enchantments if that's something you can do to keep flowers lasting longer ... ?" There was a lot to consider, and Gwen hoped she wasn't overwhelming the poor imp, all alone in his shop by himself. Poor darling ...
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:36 pm
It was almost impossible to insult Aden, years of such having hardened him a bit to what was a harmless slip-up, and what was an actual insult. Besides, he worked in customer service. That usually let people know all they needed. Staying quiet as his new customer let her wishes be known, he slid back around the counter, ducked under quickly, and came back up with a small...ish stack of books, notebooks, binders and magazines. The binder was jam-packed full of loose papers, clippings, all of which were arranged a certain way so he could find them, and everything else just looked tattered, if not organized.
As Gwen spoke, he wrote. Every so often he flipped back a few pages, checked something, then went back to writing. When wearables were mentioned, he pulled out what looked like a home-made catalogue full of polaroids and written descriptions, setting it aside for now. He was vigilant, his ears perking every now again to signal that he was, indeed, listening, and once Gwen had finished speaking, he took only a few more moments to scribble, then, apparently finished, looked up.
"Enchantments are free whenever we make orders for anything that can be worn!" He smiled, coming back around the counter with the catalogue, thumbing through it. "No need to worry about the staff, er, Gwen? It's nothing I can't handle. In any case, we have a lot of pre-made designs..." And a thought crossed his mind, causing him to chuckle a bit. "But...uh...For a Temple? I think we can come up with something more original. Unique for you, you know? And...Well, considering this'd be for Temple usage...I'm assuming here...I'd be down to giving you a discount on bulk orders."
Phew, that was a lot to get through. Usually Zaakir was the one doing all the talking.
"If you want, you can have pick of what's in the greenhouses, too."
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