Sweet Tooth Demands [FIN]

[Vyn]

Hatter, with Kaden at his side, strolled happily down the streets of the Capital's shopping district. He had a list in hand of what he was supposed to pick up and was making mental notes of where he could fetch everything when a small, overly sweet voice disrupted his thoughts.

"Daaad~" Hatter's gaze dropped onto Kaden and he grimaced a little, though he also arched a brow to encourage the boy to continue. Tones like that could only mean trouble, or that Kaden was attempting to butter him up to get something. "I'm hungry~"

The boy's words were accompanied by a soft breeze and, not to Hatter's surprise, the smell of fresh pastries. Of course. Hatter sighed slowly, trying to figure out which was worse: a hyperactive Kaden for the remainder of the afternoon, or an angry Kaden who would spend the rest of the afternoon begging and plotting Hatter's demise.

"Alright, Alright." Hyper was better than Vengeance. "Let's stop in and get something."

"YAY!" The muttbird let out a delighted cheer and bolted forward toward the door of the pastry shop only to slam suddenly into someone exiting the shop. "O! Err, sorry?!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

A muffin had fallen out of the basket, and dark blue paws pushed it aside as they hurried out of the shoppe, shoulders rounded against the glare of the people inside.

She couldn't see their expressions and their hatred, but she could feel it, like needles sinking into her back, as real as the heat of the blood that was trickling through her fur. Her nose stung from the slap, her eyes stung from her tears, but that was nothing compared to her pride, which was left in the shop on the floor, along with the muffin. She knew she was lucky. What she had done was incredibly bold - an Ace?! Looking for a job at an establishment like that?! - but she had hoped against herself that just this once, her experience with baking would speak more than the marking on her chest.

She let out a quiet yelp as she collided with someone on her way out, fumbling with her basket and finally dropping it, the remainder of the muffins scattering across the pavement. The skunk dropped to the ground, eyes averted from the mutt-bird and his parent though it would make no difference, her entire body quaking. Shoulder-length red hair covered her face, helping to mask both her tears and the blood that was still dripping from her injured nose. "I'm so sorry, sir! I-I should pay more attention to where I'm going...[/b]" she said quickly and quietly, not willing to rise from the submissive stance she'd aquired.

[Vyn]

Kaden yelped too, leaping back and throwing up his small magic which would've caused him to blur before her eyes...except that she didn't look at him or attempt to scold him or anything at all like he was used to. Instead she fell to her knees and...cried?

Kaden didn't know what to do with that. He hadn't meant to hurt the lady, he hadn't known she was coming out just then... It was an accident, for once. "I..." Kaden sunk down a little, skittering quickly to hide behind his father's legs.

Hatter was quiet for a long moment, but he moved forward suddenly once Kaden darted behind him. Quietly he crouched down and held a hand out for the distraught skunk. The black A upon her breast caught his eye quickly and caused a clench of frustration to fill his mind. She'd stepped out of the bakery distraught and injured, it hadn't been Kaden's doing.

"Don't worry yourself over this, miss. My boy's just overly excitable sometimes, it was no fault of your own. Let me help you up..."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The woman slowly raised her head, round ears pinned backwards and milky eyes wide. She had no way to tell who it was that she had collided with, and with the luck that she'd been having as of late... She was half-expecting them to be a Face Card. What she was not expecting was the kind words of the man who was before her. She had collided into a child, then?

In a movement that seemed almost reluctant or at least quite nervous, she reached out quite blindly and slowly, and it was only by chance that her hand found his on the first reach. What she felt made her ears stand up, and she raised blind eyes as if in a hopeless attempt to see his face. Someone with a human form was helping her? That just... didn't seem possible, not now, not ever. "T-thank you,[/b]" she said as she found her footing once more, averting her gaze once more. She knew that there were people who were somehow unnerved by her blank stare. "But there's no need to apologise. I shouldn't have raced out like that... Are you alright, sir?[/b]"

The last three words were directed not at Hatter, but at the muttbird that was currently hiding behind his father. Her eyebrows furrowed with concern. If she had hurt him, that wouldn't be good at all. As if on cue, a bipedal Highland cow came out, her face bright with displeasure.

"Sir, I'm sorry that this Ace is bothering you, I told her to get away from my establishment. Don't worry, we don't serve her kind here.[/b]" she turned to the skunk, who cringed away, hands instinctively rising to cover her face. One slap was enough for the day. "Get the hell off of my property, Ace.[/b]" she spat.

[Vyn]

Hatter was quick to see the loss of direction in her reach and in her eyes. His brows furrowed but he caught her hand on the first grasp, gently easing her up to her feet. Once she was up, he smiled although she couldn't see it, and turned to glimpse at the little muttbird that had stepped out from behind him again.

"I was racin' faster than you, miss." Kaden chirped and then cocked his head, hopping a little closer. "I'm fine, miss...but you're bleedin', did I ---" He was about to say more when the cow came out, burning with displeasure, and he hopped back a pace. "Dad!" He squeaked, but he didn't have to say a word for Hatter to step in.

The Joker was abruptly between Asha and the Highlander, his feathers bristling in his hair and his eyes sparking dangerously. "That is quite enough, ma'am." His eyes narrow sharply and then his body relaxed into a charming but a little twisted smile. "She's with me and if she's not welcome in your establishment, then it's no place I want to take my business." He twisted on his heel, suddenly facing the young 3 of clubs who had been standing behind him. The little bird had his tongue out and was sneering at the bull before catching Hatter's gaze.

"Heh." He chirped and then spun around, brushing along Asha's side. "It's alright now, miss! We were gonna get lunch there, but we can go somewhere else. We'll replace your muffins too, cause I spilled 'em."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The bovine's eyes narrowed slightly as the man forced his way into her line of sight, placing hands on her rather round hips as she looked from man to Ace to child and back again, then shook her head and shrugged, turning back to her bakery. Her words were muttered, but would quite clearly be heard. "Fine by me. Rather lose a customer like you than ruin my business with an Ace.[/b]"

The skunk cringed slightly, wringing her hands even as the door slammed behind the woman, flushing with embarassment and dismay. Oh, no, she'd gone and messed everything up again, and for such a nice man at that! Wide and silvery eyes blinked as a feathery bundle brushed against her, and her hand went back to her nose, pressing it firmly to help staunch the bleeding. Why were these strangers treating her with such kindness?

"Please, don't worry about the muffins. I can always bake some more.[/b]" she said, smiling a little shyly in the general direction of the boy. "But... Thank you for that, sirs. I-I should be more aware of my place. I just... wanted things to change.[/b]" her voice went soft as she looked downward, shoulder-length hair falling over her face again.

[Vyn]

Hatter laughed, the sound mocking and flippant. He truly hated people like that bovine, but he wasn't anywhere near letting ignorance ruin his afternoon. The young skunk was kind, well-mannered, spoke well, and possessed her bipedal form. Really now, how anyone could mistake her for anything but a person was just idiocy.

Once the cow was gone, he pivoted on his heel and turned to face the woman with a brilliant smile. They were both on opposite ends of the rank spectrum, as equally at odds with the world. Just in different ways.

"You're welcome, love. You're not the only one who wants things to change." Once he ascertained that everything was well, he'd move them all away from the bakery and the obnoxious bovine.


Kaden was a flailing ball of trouble in almost every situation, but he honestly didn't like to see people upset. The pretty Ace was hurt and crying and that just didn't sit well with the younger male. You hurt people when they deserved it, not when they baked you muffins or that sort of thing.

He wiggled a little. "You bake muffins?! Can you make us muffins???"


Hatter laughed as Kaden spoke up, batting briefly at the boy. "Perhaps we should get the nice girl's name first, yeah? Perhaps then begging would work a little better."

[carcinoGeneticist]

At Hatter's words, Asha could feel, out of seemingly nowhere, a hot blush spreading across her cheeks like flame. For what was not the first time in her life, and would certainly not be the last, she wished that she could see and know what this wonderful man looked like. His words and the soft way that he'd spoken them had impacted her deeply - after all, it had been quite some time since she had met a perfect stranger who was so willing to stand up for her like this.

When she pulled her hands away from her muzzle, the bleeding had stopped and there was a small smile teasing at the corners of her mouth. It was a small change, but the expression completely brightened the girl's features, and she turned in the man's general direction. "Maybe they can,[/b]" she said softly, voice barely audible but full of hope.

Her attention was pulled away, however, by Kaden's excited exclamation, and she couldn't help but laugh softly, her smile only growing as she turned back towards the younger man. Her ears perked forward, and she tucked a strand of her mane back, bringing her face into the light again.

A little support could go a long way towards changing someone's appearance.

"Sir, I would be more than happy to bake you muffins.[/b]" she said, milky eyes shining slightly. "Please forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I'm Asha... Might I ask for your names, sirs?[/b]"

[Vyn]

Unaware of the depth of the exchange that had passed near-silently between his father and the pretty Ace lady, Kaden's thoughts were filled with nothing more than muffins and sweet things. He'd thought all of his hope for getting something sweet had been ruined by the mean bull tossing the nice lady out but things were turning out even better than before.

"You don't have call me sir, Asha! That's silly: I'm younger than you are." The bird stuck his tongue out, though this effect would be lost on the skunk. "I'm Kaden!"

Hatter chuckled, ever amused by the energetic boy. At least, amused while Kaden was behaving himself... the little club could honestly be as terrifying as his mother when he was in the right moods.

Catching a look from Kaden, Hatter shook off his thoughts and turned his attention back to Asha. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Asha. You can call me Hatter."


Once introductions and all that boring formal stuff was finished with, Kaden bumped his head against Asha's leg. "When can we have muffins, Asha?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

Asha couldn't believe her luck. Today had started out rather unpleasantly, but things were very quickly improving now that the bovine was gone and she found herself in the company of the extremely charming father and son duo. Hatter and Kaden. For today, they were heroes in the mind of the Ace, and she decided then and there that she would be happy to entertain them for the rest of the day, if that was something they'd be interested in. A smile began to work its way onto her short muzzle as she bowed slightly.

"Thank you both so much,[/b]" the woman said softly, feeling her blush creeping back. She knew she was babbling, but the whole event had her feeling hopeful again. "...Again. I'm terribly sorry, I must sound like a broken record.[/b]" she really needed to get out and socialize more... Hah. Funny thought, Asha.

Luckily, Kaden was there to break her away from her thoughts, and she glanced in his general direction, smile dancing across her features. Was that a beak she felt? Possibly some feathers? Avian, then... She felt much more comfortable with avians, but one look at her family would explain why that was the case. "As soon as I make you a fresh batch. My home isn't far from here, and everyone will be at work... It would be an honor and a privilege to have your company there.[/b]"