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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 15:05:17 GMT -6
Catherine stifled another yawn as she looked at the yet to be emptied boxes of stock. "Geeze.. all out for the holidays aren't we?" She muttered as she checked the inventory list a second time. There was the normal paints, canvases, and other assorted supplies that still had to be put out in addition to what her nephew had ordered for the holiday season. Apparently he was trying to have someone come in and teach a few art classes in the shop as well. This of course only added to the piles of inventory that had to be put up, and the kid who normally helped out had called in sick with the flu. This meant of course that Brandon had called his aunt begging her to come help, if only because out of the two she was the only one actually to halfway function this early in the day.
Scowling at the time on her watch, she grumbled a few curse words under her breath. While being awake this early was possible, it didn't mean she liked it. Even when she had worked for MCU in her position as warden, it had taken extraordinary amounts of caffeine and sometimes other things to keep her awake at 6am for her shift to begin. Today she had only had to get up at 10:00am, but that still didn't make it any better. Just because the line Catherine descended from had the ability to function during the day, didn't always mean she wanted to. "Fucking hell... could you possibly order more clay Brandon?" She asked the empty shop before going to work hefting the boxes one by one onto the shelf.
What he did with all of it, she didn't know. As it seemed to her that it just sat with the other ceramics supplies that never seemed to go anywhere. "One down... too many more to go." Catherine thought aloud. Putting up inventory and minding the shop may have not been ideal, but it was better than trying to teach Tyrus the finer points of control and psionics. The man was stubborn and insistent on doing things his way, so she had left him alone for the better part of the last 2 weeks. He hadn't reached out to her, and therefore she hadn't felt it necessary to reach out to him.
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 15:15:56 GMT -6
The answer as to what he did with all the clay was use it, but right now, Brandon couldn't answer if he tried, safe asleep in his home. Scotty was hiding from Catherine having gone out the minute she realized the other was going to be there. She tried to avoid Catherine and everything to do with the court. This meant that Catherine was functionally on her own. Unfortunately for her, much of the unseen was well aware that it was a vampire run shop and that one or two could be found there nightly, spending time together and getting chased out by an annoyed Brandon. It was not a coffee shop and he did not like people using it to hang out in and not buy anything.
The Cedar Ridge pack tended to avoid it for that and for several other reasons, but this time they had a complaint, and this was the easiest way to get a hold of anyone from the court. It was also possibly the lowest risk way as Brandon didn't have a policy of shoot first, ask later. He was also high ranked enough that to his annoyance, people came to try and petition him. He was not known for granting a single one.
A trio of familiar werewolves walked in like they owned the place and headed to the front. "Hey! Come out, where ever you are. We need to speak to you vampire." The last word was said like it was a slur. The lead fo the three was missing much of his hair, having been the one who caught the blast of flame from Catherine.
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 15:30:20 GMT -6
'Oh for fuck's sake...' Catherine thought to herself as walked up towards the counter. Seeing three somewhat familiar faces standing at the counter from the back of the shop, she rolled her eyes and already found herself not looking forward to this. Usually a day at the shop was a day without politics, but it was also a day dealing with her half sister Scotty. For once she was glad to not have to deal with the other, and had mostly had a peaceful day.
Business was usually slow when she was there, art wasn't something she knew about in much depth. But most of the regulars that came in on Wednesdays were there to pick up orders that had already been filled or knew what they wanted. They were perfectly happy to deal with Catherine for the most part, but if it came down to a special order they would ask when Brandon would be back.
"How can I help you gentlemen?" She asked the three mildly as she went to stand behind the counter. Catherine mostly recognized them from the bar she had taken Tyrus to, but didn't acknowledge it. Reaching for a shop towel, she started to calmly and slowly remove ink from her hands. An order had broken in shipment and she had just spent the last thirty minutes cleaning it up. It was still a mess, but at least it wasn't leaking all over the floor still.
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 15:34:55 GMT -6
The three didn't recognize her, which just served to keep the peace. But they also didn't recognize her, which meant they didn't realize who she was to the court. "Yeah. We want to know when Tyrus Rahal was turned. Last we checked, he was still human and planned on staying that way." It was said as a challenge and it was clear they weren't happy. "We caught him feeding on some poor girl at our bar the other day and we want something done about it. He can't just come to our bar, feed on our humans, and then pick fights." They were banking on him not having told the court what had happened.
They were obviously not happy and the one who had been electrocuted spoke next. "He shouldn't have been turned to begin with. It was one thing when he was allied with the court. It's another entirely a mage of his strength becoming a member." It upset the balance as far as they were concerned.
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 15:44:39 GMT -6
Catherine sighed, glad they didn't recognize her or her position within the court. They hadn't even recognized her as a warden with MCU, which meant these three were fairly new to the politics of everything. That could be both good and bad. "Last I knew based on the territorial laws established by the Council, ratified by your pack and the Courts, establishments open to the public were fair game." She monotoned, clearly unamused by these three. Tossing the rag into a nearby waste bin, she considered the rest of their compliant. It was all largely invalid, and just looking for trouble.
"Vampires are allowed to feed as long as the victim isn't killed in the process." Catherine remarked as she inspected her hands for anymore of the ink. Frowning she grabbed another wipe, if anything it was keeping her hands busy so she didn't reach out across the counter and strangle them.
"As for Tyrus Rahal being turned.. what do you expect me to do about it?"
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 15:51:05 GMT -6
"He can't continue to be a vampire. It's not right. And since he can't continue, we want him to stop living at all. The vampire court doesn't get to hoard power like that." They weren't going to stand for it, even if there was little that they could do about the situation at all. They planned on at minimum kicking up a fuss. "And he nearly did kill the human girl. She was unconscious!" She'd live, but no doubt felt like she had a hell of a hangover the next day and her body would force her to take it easy.
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 16:02:00 GMT -6
Catherine raised an eyebrow at all the fuss. "I'm sorry... what?" She asked, clearly unamused by this turn of events. Unfortunate for them, she had both sides of the story and sadly could read her fledgling like an open book. He hadn't intended to ever kill the girl, just take enough to satisfy him. If anything, moderation was the story of Tyrus's life and seemed to continue as a vampire.
"So.. let me get this straight," Catherine puzzled, trying to understand the logic presented to her. "You believe my knowledge of our laws is wrong, that Tyrus Rahal killed a girl last night who in all likelihood just has a hang over, the Dragon Court is hording power... and I should or can do something about this?" The logic was baffling to try to wrap her mind around. Once more, this was not something she recalled signing up for when she told Brandon she would help with the shop. These three were up to no good and needed to leave the shop before she lost her patience and temper.
"More importantly.." She continued in utter disbelief. Catherine was more than willing to play stupid if it got them out of the shop. "It's broad daylight you absolute fucking walnuts! Who the hell do you even think I am?"
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 16:06:12 GMT -6
"The shop girl." The third answered. "Look, we all know this shop is just a front for the court. Everyone knows the owner is some kind of prince." Even if he didn't act it. They knew perfectly well that he was, in fact, a prince and they planned on making their opinion on what happened clear. "Look bitch. Tell the owner to do something about it, or we'll make you hurt." Cedar Ridge was not known for its intelligence. These three in particular didn't speak for the pack but definitely thought they did.
The alpha of the pack was entirely too cowed by Catherine to have signed off on any of this.
The one who had been electrocuted scoffed. "I told you we should have come at night. She's just a cashier. She can't do anything."
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 16:16:11 GMT -6
Catherine just stared at the three absolutely dumbfounded, they really were as stupid as they looked. "You gentlemen.. are proof that evolution can go in reverse," She insulted the trio. At that moment she was very tempted to pull out her phone and call their pack leader, asking why three of his members where standing in her shop. "This shop has been here before the owner ever had ties to the court, that hardly qualifies as a front." She added tossing the second rag into the waste bin. Placing her hands, palm down, and flat onto the counter she took a deep breath. Not that it was something she really needed to do much anymore, but the action was soothing and gave her a moment to calm down.
"Look.. go fuck a fire hydrant, chase a car, or whatever it is you werewolves do. I have inventory to put away and customers to help." Catherine had no love or tolerance for werewolves, and that much was especially apparent right then and there.
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 16:18:41 GMT -6
That was beyond what they could handle and the leader of the trip threw a fist. "Shut up, girl." They would teach her a lesson about disrespecting Cedar Ridge. About disrespecting them! Didn't she know that werewolves were ten times better than vampires? It didn't matter what she thought, but clearly she was too stupid to go unpunished.
The second of the three snarled and knocked over a display, largely to give her more work. "Let's trash the place. That'll show her." What it would show her went unanswered.
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 16:30:02 GMT -6
She had been trying to avoid a confrontation, and usher them out of the shop without using magic or tipping them off to her actual identity. With any luck, all she had had to do was listen to their complaint and then leave. They weren't the smartest, but most of the time Cedar Ridge wasn't a problem. Unfortunately, these three had taken it upon themselves to cause a problem and they had bitten off more than they could chew.
Catherine scowled as two knocked over the display, that would be yet another hour to fix unless she cheated; and she really didn't like cheating. Then the leader decided to throw a punch at her, which she easily blocked; something that no human should have ever been able to do. "I told you to get out or I will call O'Hara and let him know three of his boys are wrecking my shop." She reiterated.
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 16:49:30 GMT -6
That caught their attention and the least vocal of the three shrunk back. "Come on guys. Let's leave." He didn't want to get in trouble with O'Hara again. And he had no reason to believe that she didn't have the pack leaders number, cashier or not. It was perfectly possible to have it written in the back after all, just in case something like this happened. And anyway, she shouldn't have been able to stop that at all, not without something breaking.
The second one scowled. "O'Hara won't like it if we get in trouble with the vampires." He admitted. "Come on." Bringing their pack leader into this was dirty pool as far as they were concerned. It wasn't the sort of thing they wanted to deal with at all.
The first one snorted. "She doesn't have his number. Just because she can block a punch doesn't mean she had any power. She's just some kind of vampire flunky."
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 16:58:45 GMT -6
Catherine bristled at their disbelief, "Flunky? Really now?" That was an insult as far as she was concerned. Two of the three seemed to be allowing themselves to get sucked into their so called leader's arrogance and aggression. She was doing her best to follow what few rules Brandon had had for the shop, to appear human, remain neutral in politics, and not allow any fights. But these three were sniffing around and tossing the shop.
Pointing at the knocked over displays, she didn't even have to utter a word to see them put to rights. All Catherine needed to do was imagine how they should have looked before the trio ran through trashing the place. "This is your final warning, get out or take this outside."
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Post by demikara on Nov 10, 2019 17:04:43 GMT -6
"Let's just leave." The second one tugged on the first's arm. He was thoroughly cowed now, and their leader was getting there as well, he could tell. "This isn't worth it. We'll come back tonight." When there would actually be a vampire there.
The third hesitated. "Maybe we should just talk to O'Hara first. Just in case." He was definitely cowed by the display.
The first snarled. "Let's take this outside-" before he could finish that statement the second slapped a hand over his mouth and began hauling him out.
"Shut up before we get our asses kicked again."
As they were leaving, Tyrus walked in and watched them go curiously. Weren't those the three from the other night? They looked it. What were they doing here? Grabbing a cart, Tyrus headed to the craft section, and began to gather supplies. He had seen Catherine of course, but she was working and frankly, despite what it looked like so was he. Still, it was rude to not even acknowledge her, he reached out and gently knocked on her shield. 'Hey, What was that about?'
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Post by Circe on Nov 10, 2019 17:16:55 GMT -6
"So you've changed your minds, do these work any better?" She provoked, daring them to come back. Catherine knew that they were dumb enough to try it, and she was eager to put an end to their trouble making. A sound beating and being hauled in front of O'Hara would be the best solution to put an end to their madness. Maybe a sound beating of what the treaties actually allowed the pack to do and not do would be necessary as well. "Why don't you try your luck again tonight if you're so brave?"
Watching the two haul the ring leader out of the shop with a smug, self satisfied, expression, Catherine turned her attention back to Tyrus. 'Someone has an axe to grind, nothing else. This is pretty normal for Cedar Ridge.'
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