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 Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:43 pm
 With the arrival of winter, Christmas would soon follow and Lea was starting to grow a little anxious with each passing day. There would be a week dedicated solely to exams just before the winter break was supposed to start, but that wasn't exactly what he was concerned about. His academics were the least of his worries at the moment in fact. He was instead fretting over what kind of presents he could get for Kei and Lulu when he headed back to Clarus Arbor for his winter break subsequently.
It wasn't as if Lea hadn't been managing his finances all this while though. He was frugal and spent his allowance only on the bare essentials that he needed, allowing himself the occasional splurging whenever there was a worthy enough occasion. And the very recent Hallow's Eve Ball was part of the reason for his current predicament, given that he had to fork out a tidy sum for the outfit that he had settled on in the end since renting was not a viable option and there was absolutely no way that he was going to put up with his tail entirely or partially stuffed in his pants for an entire evening. Lea had already tried that once and it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience at all.
So here he was right now, standing right in front of what appeared to be a fresh produce store that had recently opened in Makai with a copy of the flyer in his right hand as he checked the address for good measure just to make sure that he was at the right place. This would be his first time applying for a job so to speak and while he wasn't really sure what kind of expertise was needed nor whether he was going to be a suitable candidate for the job, he really couldn't afford to be picky since he needed the money plus time was ticking. Taking a deep breath in and then exhaling as if to psyche himself, Lea gave the wooden door a good rap before making his entrance and stating the purpose of his visit. "Um... hello. My name's Lea and I'm here about the job..."
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 6:09 pm
Cedar heard the bell of the door and then the voice. It sounded familiar, even from the back room. She stood up from the box of vegetables, brushing her hands on the apron she wore. She had been hard at work that day, unpacking and doing some heavy lifting. She was covered in dirt and dust by the time Lea got there. The events of the Halloween ball were fresh in her mind still... Along with everyone else she assumed.
She came out from the back, still rubbing her hands, and looking down. She looked up and blinked seeing Lea. She stood there for a moment, her hands in mid rub.
"Ah..." She stuttered some. "O-oh! Welcome Lea. How are you? Oh! This is your first time here, isn't it? It's so nice to have you here~" She started to ramble with increasing nervousness. Why had he come to randomly..? Wait... He said something about a job. He must not have known this was her store.
She hadn't seen Lea, or even Xerxes and Kalypso since the Halloween ball. They had to go back to school, and she understood and remembered the studies too a lot of time... And she was busy anyways with the store... That's all.
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 6:51 am
Whoever the owner of the store was, it was taking him/her quite awhile to attend to him but Lea was more than alright with waiting for the time being, turning to ensure that the door was firmly shut before allowing his gaze to take in the store's layout as well as the produce that lined the shelves. The flyer hadn't been terribly specific about the nature of the job that he was applying for but if he were to hazard a guess, it would likely be something menial and involve lots of heavy lifting. Definitely not something that would suit a...
...
... girl. His mind filled in the last word for him as he did a double take at the figure who emerged from the back room and stood there blinking at him, apparently equally, if not more, surprised upon seeing him. Wavy shoulder length chocolate tresses. Big, expressive eyes that were the exact same colour of olives. Cedar. Lea remembered her from the recent Hallow's Eve Ball. How all 4 of them including Xerxes and Kalypso had come to an impromptu arrangement to go together. He could vaguely recall bits of the conversation they had when they first literally ran into each other in Lumena. Something about her moving to Makai to sell produce but never had it ever crossed his mind that they would once again meet under such circumstances.
"... Cedar." Emeralds couldn't help but notice the apron the young witch was wearing as well as the dirt streaks that had presumably been hurriedly wiped off her face as she put down whatever it was that she had been busy with awhile ago in order to come out and attend to him. "Good. Catch up classes were bad but I'm glad that the week's over and done with. How've you been?" Could it be... that he was a step too late and that the job position had already been filled in by her? His ears began to twitch a few times at that thought, a heavy feeling of disappointment beginning to form within his chest as he went through the remaining alternative job positions in his mind. He had spent hours scrutinizing each of them and found this to be the best in terms of distance from the academy as well as the flexible hours that could be adjusted accordingly to fit his class schedule.
"Um... you wouldn't happen to know if the owner of the store is in so that I can ask him/her about the job that was mentioned in this flyer..?" It was probably a very remote possibility at this point that the job position was still available but Lea figured that it was still worth a shot. Even if it was going to be a long shot.
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 2:38 pm
"Oh.. That's good to hear. If you ever need help, you can ask me." She flashed him a grin, but it quickly faded. She suddenly felt warm... She was blushing a bit. The Mononoke was only a year younger then her... And it was strange to think how different their stages of life were. She fell silent thinking about the the ball, and the things that happened, and how she had been thinking about it... Or rather him, almost daily. It wasn't like they would never see each other again, they lived in the same town. But she was very happy seeing him, and a content sigh escaped her lips having him standing there in front of her.
"The Owner... Oh!" She smiled, realizing he was talking about the job. "Ah.. yes, I'm the owner." She noticed that his body language had changed. And hoped that finding the position still open would cheer him up. She couldn't believe what was happening right now, he might be working there with her. "You're interested in working here?... With me? I mean.. Not with me but I mean here at the shop." Cedar was thrilled that not only did someone want the job but that someone was Lea.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 11:22 am
"I appreciate your offer and I'll be sure to keep that in mind whenever I run into problems with my academics in the future." Was Lea's polite and somewhat formal response as he directed a smile at Cedar to show his appreciation. As a full-fledged witch, he was pretty sure that she would be busy with many other things in life such as getting a job to make ends meet in addition to looking into avenues to further the mastery of her magic. When one put these other things into perspective, taking time out to help a witchling with his studies was certainly ranked nowhere near the top in one's list of priorities which was perfectly understandable in the first place. Still, he couldn't well ignore the fact that she had been kind enough to make that offer.
Memories of how the both of them had first met in the town of Lumena as well as the breath-taking sight she had been in that brightly coloured autumn-themed dress at the Hallow's Eve Ball came to the mind of the young mononoke at this instant and that put a smile on his face. Cedar had struck him as a free spirited and spunky young lady thus far and he really wouldn't be opposed to working with someone like herself so long as the owner of the shop was willing to employ him as well. Better someone he already knew somewhat than a total stranger whom he would have to get to know from scratch.
"... oh." Upon coming to the realization that Cedar was actually the owner of the store all along, Lea opened his mouth and gaped like a goldfish for a few seconds before quickly closing it lest he further made a fool of himself. He hadn't known but... that sort of meant that the job opening was still available right? He was happy... no, scratch that... more like elated at the prospect. Perhaps a little too happy but hey, this was going to be his first job plus it was his top choice among those he had shortlisted prior so that was to be expected.
"Mm... yes. If you'll take someone like me that is. I've never worked in a store before but I'll try to pick things up as fast as I can." He fell silent shortly after he had said his piece, his ears now perked up high on his head as he eagerly awaited her response with abated breath.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 7:22 pm
Cedar smiled at him and she waved a hand in the air. "Have you? Of course! I mean... That's not to say that... I haven't had tons of other applicants...Oh anything... " She mumbled a little.. She actually hadn't had much interested in the store. But Lea was someone she knew, for the most part, and she was just happy to see him again. She wondered how the others were doing. But first thing first.
"Can you start right away? I need all the help I can get. I'm trying to get everything stocked for he sale tomorrow. I've gotten a lot of good feed back, so I think that, it'll be big. Better safe then sorry. You know?" She wiped her face with a sniff, and ended up smearing more dirt on her face.
"You have no idea how grateful I am that you came. I had been wondering how you were... And the others of course." She smiled over at him, as she went behind the counter. She started digging around as she bent down, raising her voice so he could hear her. "Have you seen the others? You know... Since the ball and all?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 3:35 am
So that was it. Just like that and he was in... If Lea was a few years younger and a puppy mononoke, he probably would be all over Cedar right about now, slobbering all over her face as he wagged his tail vigorously in an outward display of pure, unadulterated joy. Which would probably surprise the young witch in a rather rude manner and make her seriously reconsider her earlier decision, so it was all in all a rather good thing that none of these took place save for the look of immense relief and gratitude that slowly began to spread across his face as he made known his appreciation.
"Thank you. This really means a lot to me and I give you my word that I'll try my utmost not to let you down or have you regret making this decision." It warmed Lea's heart to learn that Cedar had actually been thinking about them all along. By the time the Hallow's Eve Ball had come to a close the other night, he found himself lamenting at the fact that they would each be going their separate ways from then on and maybe never cross paths with one another once again. "I just ran into Xerxes in town yesterday and he seemed to be fine. I'm afraid I haven't seen Kalypso since the ball either but I'll be sure to give her your regards if I happen to run into her at the academy." First Xerxes and now Cedar. Perhaps he really had been wrong all along.
Blinking a few times at Cedar's question, Lea smiled and nodded a few times. Start right away? Of course. It wasn't as if he needed to be elsewhere right now so he might as well start showing her that he wasn't all talk nor the type that made empty promises that he couldn't keep. "I understand. So what can I help with?" Emeralds glanced down at his academy uniform for a few seconds before he gave an almost nonchalant shrug at the possibility of soiling it from the menial work that he was about to engage in. This would have to do for now. He would just have to make sure that he was dressed in a more appropriate attire in the future.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:02 pm
Cedar had been digging around under the counter and then finally found what she was looking for. "Ah.. Here we go." She pulled out an apron for him. "We don't want your uniform to get dirty." She smiled as she walked over to him, and extended her hand to offer it to him.
"Well I help getting the shelves stocked. Things need to be grouped together. I have all the crates out back. And then after all that, there's some cleaning to get done so the place looks nice for the opening." She smiled over at him. She wasn't going to go easy on him, and not with the sale tomorrow. "It's pretty straight forward, there's already a little bit of everything out, so just match it up, and make sure it looks neat."
She waved for him to follow her once he got the apron on. "Over here is the back room, everything is in here if you can't find it out there. Later if there's time, I can show you the register."
Having Lea there, it was like nothing skipped a beat and it felt natural. She was happy too, to just have someone else around. The store was a bit lonely with just herself there, a few customers throughout the day. She could feel herself, getting excited about the days to come.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 4:44 pm
Lea was in the midst of rolling up his sleeves in preparation for the tasks ahead and smiled as he took the proffered apron, holding it up with both hands and letting the material drop in mid-air so that he could figure out which way it should be worn. "Thank you... for this." He slipped the material over his head then picked up the 2 strips of cloth to draw them behind himself before tying a knot to secure it. Moving things around, making sure that they were arranged in an orderly manner and then cleaning up the place. It made him pause to think how Cedar would manage if she had to do all that on her own. And to think that she had mentioned that the sale was supposed to be tomorrow.
Lea took a moment to glance at the near empty shelves around them and nodded. It looked like he was going to be very busy for the next couple of hours. Which was fine by all means with him since he was supposed to earn his keep plus he always enjoyed ensuring that things around him were spruced up and tidy as far as he could. He followed her lead, emeralds silently taking in the layout of the shop as he tried to familiarize himself with his new workplace. "Got it. Um... is your body like um... back to its normal condition?"
Memories of how the night of the Hallow's Eve Ball had ended were still fresh in his mind and he had felt... compelled to pose that question to the young witch. After all, he had been the one to escort her home thereafter and could probably hazard a guess as to the extent of her injuries. Not that Cedar had put up much of a fight about it but he would have very likely tried to convince her otherwise had she chose not to take him up on that. "I mean... I can take care of all the heavier items if that's fine with you.." He offered sheepishly while he raised a hand to absently scratch the back of his head.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:04 pm
Cedar looked over at him. Her hand reaching to her ribs and she smiled. "Oh yes... My friend took care of it." She still felt a little tender but nothing that she wasn't able to work through. "She's the only one I'll let heal me. " She smiled. "We grew up together..." She shrugged lightly, and looked around.
"I know it's a lot of work, but I can certainly pull my own weight. I'm a farm girl after all." She pointed at him. "Can you?" Her lips curled into a small smirk. Luckily they would have all day. "I'll even feed you lunch." She brought her hand down, and she patted the skirt of her dress lightly.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:01 pm
Lea found his attention drawn to the spot where Cedar was reaching for with her hand, allowing his gaze to focus on it for an entire of 5 seconds before he averted it with a slight flush dusting his cheeks. That spot had been in very close proximity to her... breast and he didn't think that it would be a very good idea for her to misinterpret his action as one linked with indecent intentions. "That's good to know. Is she staying in this town as well?" The knowledge that her injuries from that night had already been taken care of was reassuring somewhat but that didn't mean that he was going to sit back and let her possibly overexert herself during the shifting process later on. That kind of job, in his humble opinion, was always more suited for a male.
"O-of course. It's always better to accept this kind of um... service from someone you trust after all." There was a tender expression on Cedar's face during the brief moment when she spoke of her friend and, maybe it was a figment of his imagination but, Lea thought that he felt something... twist within his chest at his observation. ... jealousy? Maybe. It wasn't as if he had any friends whom he could recount so fondly of had their current roles been reversed.
"With all due respect, I have never doubted in any way at all that you are capable of doing any of this on your own Cedar." He began, the edges of his lips curving up likewise in response to the smirk on her face. "I suppose I'll have to let my actions prove that to you, don't I? Lunch will be great... but only if it's not too much of a trouble to you. I can pop out real quick to pick up something... for us if you don't manage to find time to fix something up." He suggested gently next at her offer.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:54 pm
Cedar shook her head some. "The least I can do is cook for you. I mean look at everything I have at my disposal. So don't worry. I'll stop working and make it." She nodded at him, taking note of the time. "I enjoy cooking. And I will need to take a break anyways. " She smiled, as she then bent down and pulled open a crate. "Everything should be packed together. Some of it might need to be washed too." She nodded toward the sink and draining board that ran along the side wall.
Cedar hefted up her crate and she smiled some. "Lets go~ Time flies when you're having fun." Cedar slipped past him and out to the front of the store. She placed the crate down with a bit of a grunt, and started to place the stocks onto the shelves. "I think i got lucky, with this location. Students and adults alike, you know?" She called back at him.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:37 pm
That sounded pretty reasonable to him and as Lea weighed the options in his mind, he decided that this was probably the best course of action since the act of preparing a meal was beyond a shadow of a doubt much less physically demanding than moving crates of produce around in the store and he indicated his agreement with her proposal with a single nod. "Alright. We'll go with that then." It wasn't as if he would let Cedar have her way either if she had been the type who was so self absorbed with her work and wouldn't allow herself any time to rest in between. It had only been so many days since the Hallow's Eve Ball and given the extent of her injuries back then, no amount of healing could ensure her full recovery. There was only so much that magic could do after all, even if they had all grown to be dependent on it over the years.
Lifting the crate that had been next to Cedar's with a soft grunt, he allowed himself a few seconds to adapt to its weight before following her out to the front. It wasn't as heavy as he had thought it might be from the size of the crate and he was pretty confident at this point that he could probably handle everything on his own if the need ever arose in the future. "Lucky..?" He inquired with a quirk of his brow as he carefully set the crate down, sparing a moment to check its contents following which he started transferring the produce onto its designated shelf. "Does this look alright to you?" He asked after awhile just to be sure.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:30 pm
"Yeah, I mean... If I was any further out, I wouldn't get much business. My landlord was very generous with the rent too. And with my apartment a few blocks away it's pretty ideal." She fixed up her shelf, and then looked over at him when he asked her opinion. She placed a hand on her hip and nodded. "You're a fast learner. It looks good. It's better not to stack either, since if someone takes an unbalanced piece, the display will fall." She then went back to working on her crate.
The morning went by pretty quick. The two had some light conversation throughout the morning, and then Cedar glanced at the clock. It was almost lunch time. And at that, she dragged out her crates, putting them outside the front of the store for pick up, and she went about getting some produce, and then heading into the back.
She didn't have a full kitchen, but since she spent the entire day at the store, she had to be able to cook, and feed herself. She had a burner... She busied herself making omelets for the both of them. She chopped the ingredients, as she simmered the eggs in the pan. Adding the veggies in, she listened to the sizzling, and sprinkled some cheese...
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:36 pm
"That's good to hear then." Speaking of the future, it suddenly dawned upon Lea that he probably should start thinking about what he wanted to do upon his graduation from the academy. Most students usually required 2-3 years to complete the curriculum and pass the Grave of Fairies trial subsequently; and while a good number of his teachers had already deemed him ready since the past year and encouraged him to attempt the trial, he had been procrastinating and putting it off all this while. Not one to be pressured into doing anything unless it was a purely autonomous decision on his part. He would be completing his second year within the next few months so now was probably as good a time as any to start exploring his options. He would need to have a good chat with Kei and Lulu when he headed back home for the holiday season next month then.
"Alright, point taken." The brown-haired boy made a mental note of what he had been told and wasted no time in making the necessary correction to the display as advised to. If there was one thing that Lea could rattle off at the top of his head that life at the academy had taught him, it would have to be that time always seemed to pass by very quickly whenever he was busy with something. Much of the morning was spent on repetitive trips to and fro from the back room and stocking the shelves with the produce, only taking a break from this particular routine every so often whenever there was an occasional item that needed a couple of seconds under the running water to clean it up some.
It was only when his stomach started growling that Lea realized that it was lunch time and Cedar's absence. Presumably to fix up something for them both if the smell and the sound of something sizzling that were drifting in from the kitchen were anything to go by. With his ears twitching, Lea took a deep breath in and then exhaled. Just one more shelf to go and then they could start cleaning up the place after lunch. This would be his first home-cooked meal outside of home and he sure was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out.
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