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"Astra, just let me take them up the stairs."

"No, no, I've got this! It's okay."

Aurick closed his eyes on a sigh. On the upper level of the family bakery was a store room that held a variety of flour, supplies and general accounts. At one point the family had lived there but when it was deemed too small for a growing hoard they'd turned it into business space. That was all well and good when his sister wasn't trying to modernize it.

Astra had managed to get her hands on a mechanized lift system that was supposed to not only bring the flour sacks from the street up to the window, but also flip, drop it into the room and roll back down. To him it look like a water wheel with far more steps and she'd already managed to break it. Three bags were trapped on the machine, hovering over the side walk, while a few more remained next to their stoop. Thankfully it hadn't stalled business entirely, but Aurick really needed to get back to things.

"Is there at least someone we can send for? Or a book?"

"I'm reading it already!" She huffed. His hybrid sister flipped through the text, brow furrowed in irritation, as his cousins waited in the window for the next load.

Aurick too a few steps back and put his hands on his hips. He didn't understand why all of this was necessary in the first place. It wasn't as if he wasn't strong enough to take them all upstairs or that there weren't others in the family to do it when he wasn't here! All because a bakery in Valmon had it now they needed it and - Just let her try it; it might still work.

Heavy emphasis on the might.

He almost bumped into someone else and before he could get the apology out Aurick's eyes widened. "Oh, hi there! I remember you; from the star shower, right?" Grinning, Aurick turned back to look at the contraption but then the bakery, "Don't worry about this. We're still open if there's something I can get for you."

"Biscuits it is then." Aurick brushed his hands against a towel that hung off his apron and gave a pointed look to Astra. "If it's more than you can handle we'll send for someone, okay? Don't get hurt."

"I won't," She groused.

Reaching out as he passed, Aurick gave the girl a clap on the shoulder before walking into the bakery. While some of his cousins and siblings were helping Astra, the rest were busy milling about inside. Baskets were filled with fresh, warm bread and pastries were being decorated just beyond the counter. Shouts could be heard from the back about strawberries, but were quickly followed with laughter.

"Looks like we've got some biscuits here, but I can check it to see if there are any fresher ones coming out if you aren't in a hurry."

Aurick nodded. "Then I'd batter get on with it, shouldn't I?" He paused with a smile before shaking his head on a light laugh and moving toward the back. If he wasn't used to the hustle of a busy bakery he may have been overwhelmed, especially with his bulk, but the lightning moved around with ease.

It took him a little while longer than he would have liked, but he felt as if it was worth it. When Aurick made his appearance once again, tray of still steaming biscuits in hand, he presented them with a flourish, "Ta-da! Fresh pastries at your service. And you wanted some sweet jam with them? Would you like to have them here or take them to go?"

As she decided, Aurick settled the tray and started moving the biscuits onto a proper cooling rack. The gloves on his fingers kept him from burning at first touch, but if he kept contact for too long there was a bit of a sting, which was what he got for focusing on the question instead of working. "The woman trying to put it together is my sister, Astra. Ever since...well, ever since our mother died she's been trying to make things easier around here and in her eyes that could be the key. Doesn't like all the heavy lifting being left up to me."

Once the biscuits had been transferred, Aurick gingerly moved the still warm tray aside and took off his gloves. While she decided on whether to take them or eat here, he dolled one up on a plate for her, complete with sweet jam. "A trial run; just to make sure you like them." When he handed it to her it came with a little fork as well.

"It keeps getting jammed on her out there; no pun intended that time."

Aurick leaned across the counter and nodded toward it. "Go for it. Can't hurt, can it? If you manage to get it running your orders on me and I'll even toss in some extra jam." Things were already hard enough on the family with their recent loss so if he could get a smile out of Astra it would be worth it, right?

He let one of his cousins know he was taking a step out again and to man the counter before stepping around to grab a book off the side counter. "This is the same manual she's got out there. It's supposed to be just as easy as a water wheel, but as smart as she is Astra's no mechanic."

Aurick shrugged his shoulders with a hearty chuckle. "My mistake then. If it doesn't go in an oven or a pot I'm not much use." He handed the book over easily and moved back toward the open doorway so they could inspect Astra's progress. His sister seemed like she was concentrating again, despite the ever so 'helpful' suggestions being tossed down from the window by relatives. She would raise her hand, shoo them off and go back to tinkering.

Too bad he didn't know if she was actually doing good or harm.

"Hey, Astra?" When she turned his way, he motioned with a tilt of his head to Kokuai. "She knows a thing or two about gears. Care to tell her what's up?"

"It sounds like somethings slipping." Astra slipped around the contraption and looked toward the main gearbox. "When it first started it worked just fine then we heard a lot of grinding and it just stopped completely."

"Thanks. Honestly, anything you can find would be more than what I've got." Astra's shoulders drooped a little with a sigh, only for her smile to return when Aurick put a supportive hand on her shoulder. He pulled her close for a half hug and encouraged her to get closer so she could learn.

He didn't know a damn thing about contraptions like this, didn't have the mental power for it, but Astra could if she tried. She was alot like their mother in that respect whereas Aurick took after mama.

"I've got some tools here," Astra pulled over her small, basic tool bag. "When I bought the lift the salesman said this is all I would need, but now I'm starting to wonder."