An autumn breeze rustled through the open windows of the bakery and Chrysanthe had to suppress a shiver. It had been a long summer but before she knew it autumn had made its presence quickly known to those living in the city. Chrysanthe couldn’t help but to tug at the shawl covering her shoulders as she started sorting through the baked goods for the day. They had apple fritters and jelly danishes along with freshly baked breads for their patrons. The cakes were already sitting in neat little rows in the glass display at the front of the shop and she could smell the lovely aroma of spiced tea floating in from the main cafe. The autumn flavors were some of her favorite things about the season change but there were other things that Chrysanthe wasn’t quite so fond of like the colder winds and the pranks. The pranks. Her lips pursed in frustration at the reminder of the popularity of pulling tricks on each other during these times. After the harvest was over many enjoyed pulling a good prank here and there on each other before winter completely took over. Tyri especially was fond of pulling tricks about the bakery and Chrysanthe had to be on full alert to avoid any potential dangers. One day it could be as simple as a bag of flour nestled above the doorway to catch the first person in the kitchen that morning while another day it could be a tripwire somewhere. Needless to say Chrysanthe was very wary especially after she had to deal with syrup sticking to her clothes for a full afternoon. Never again.

She had taken to waking up even earlier than Tyri so that she could prep everything in the kitchens well in the early hours before the sun was even starting to rise for the day. Chrysanthe was finishing up one such morning now, her apron covered in flour and her hair tied back in a short bun. Dusting her fingers free of the flour, she made certain to check everything once more before heading towards the washing basin. Removing her apron and hanging it on a nearby rack, the hybrid grabbed a bar of ivory soap and started to scrub at her hands, arms and then face. Making certain that nothing else was on her face by checking the brass mirror, Chrys almost let out a small yelp of surprise. “Really?” She groaned and rolled her eyes as she removed the parchment paper that was secretly covering the mirror’s surface. Tyri had taken charcoal to it and drawn a ghost in the upper left corner so that whoever was checking their face in the mirror would be startled by it. Even when Chrysanthe was doing her best to avoid the tricks by waking up super early it seemed that Tyri was finding other ways to mess with her. “I should take a few days off so that she can find more productive ways to fill her time.” If Chrysanthe wasn’t in the kitchens baking every morning then Tyri would have to be doing more work instead. Grinning with amusement at the thought, Chrysanthe could only shake her head before backing away from the mirror. Now that the morning prep was finished she could go to the cafe and start getting ready to serve customers. Their part timer was off today so Chrysanthe had volunteered to pick up the work even though she wasn’t in the cafe as much due to her actual work in the kitchens. Who knew that she would become so fond of baking? Perhaps Chrys was not so fond of Tyri’s tricks but the older geian definitely knew how to bake some delicious foods. Chrysanthe was thankful for the opportunity to learn from the experienced baker and that she had also given Chrysanthe a place to live and work while she was staying in Belrea. A small smile crossed her features as she thought about the warm hearted woman. Perhaps she wasn’t so bad even with the tricks - a thought which was quickly pushed aside whenever Chrysanthe found that her sweetloaf was not quite so sweet and instead full of chilli powder. “Tyri!” Chrysanthe cursed softly under her breath before pouring herself a large glass of juice to try and help drown out the overwhelming spices. Her employer would have to start looking over her shoulder because it was about time that Chrysanthe started doing some tricks of her own! After all she was not the type to go down without a fight and it was the season of trickery for sure.

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