4. Talon
TALON
This doesn’t bode well for a good start to the day. I wipe my hand through my beard before giving it a quick rinse with the kitchen sprayer.
Once I’ve coughed out all the coffee I swallowed, I take another drink. This time the bitter brew goes down much better.
Birds chirp loudly outside and, combined with the gentle wind chimes, I find myself more awake. The birds always cheer me up, probably because I’m a griffin. And the wind chimes always bring peace in my world. Maybe today will be a good one, not that I really have bad days.
No, most days are pretty great. I just get in my own way.
Which is frustrating, because I’ve been in Hex for over a decade, and I should know more people, but I stick to myself.
Mostly because of what happened in the Fae realm when I was younger.
No one really took a liking to me. They thought I was too feminine, that I should just stay in the kitchen if that’s where I really wanted to be.
And I mean, it is where I wanted to be. I love baking.
My grandmother is the one who showed me how to get the dough to do what I want.
She instilled within me passion and fire and drive to make the best baked goods I can make.
The other griffins didn’t understand. I still don’t think they understand.
But it doesn’t matter. I chose to leave the Fae lands to live my truth.
Before joining Warwick’s Wicked Bakery, I worked at Hex Grocer, but as soon as Wick put out his help wanted sign, I practically demanded to be given an interview.
I brought my special creamsicle swirl sugar cookies and I think I had him floored with the first bite.
He gave me a recipe to test on my own. Of course, I did it, but I made it my own.
I also improved it just a little bit, which made Wick change his recipe to mine. Well, to my grandmother’s.
I’ve quite enjoyed working for Warwick. He’s a good boss, and I love watching his and Ethan’s love blossom over the years.
Magic tore them apart years ago, and I can’t imagine having to go through life knowing you have someone, but you can’t see them.
Warwick fought for years to find Ethan, and finally, they could be together.
I don’t know when they’re getting married.
I don’t know that they’re in a rush or anything. And I don’t really ask.
That’s the problem with me. I don’t really talk to many people.
I find people fascinating. And I love going to the community gardens to just sit and people watch.
But I much prefer the music productions.
The wood nymph is a musical genius, and any time I can catch a show, I do.
Last night was one of the best ones in many months.
Though I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad show.
I usually go and sit in the very back and just listen.
Most of the time there’s a visual show going on with the music, but I just need to feel the sound move through me. It does something for my inner griffin. I don’t know if it’s the eagle part or the lion part, but it settles the beast inside. It doesn’t even matter what kind of music.
Well, metal or rock music doesn’t really settle, but it does help with the anxiety in my head. Sometimes I fall asleep at the community gardens because I get so relaxed, but then I get so embarrassed I rush home.
I’m a griffin, and griffins are born to protect not run away.
But I never thought of myself as a guardian.
Which is why I had to leave the Fae lands.
I just want to bake. I don’t want to have to watch Fae nobles.
It’s just not my calling. But tell that to my family.
You’d think I’d murdered someone. But no.
I just want to be myself. And I can be myself in Hex.
No one bothers me and I don’t bother them, but some days I’m incredibly lonely.
I just want someone to talk to. But I’ve built myself into this hole of just being a grumpy baker behind a wall.
I don’t interact because I don’t trust people not to tear me apart.
That’s all I knew before moving to Hex. I know I should probably try to trust the people of Hex.
I’ve never truly had a bad experience here, but it’s difficult to shed this shell built from heartache and ridicule from my past. So I don’t think about it.
I don’t acknowledge that it’s still there packed away.
Not unless it picks at me like a certain flirty Fae.
Fae used to flirt with me all the time back home.
They’d laugh. They’d talk about how I was too shy for anyone to want me.
It hurt back then. Now I don’t want to think about that hurt.
I just want to live my life. And I should probably give Wren a chance, but he’s Fae and a courtesan.
All he knows how to do is flirt and fuck, but he sure is pretty.
I need to shake this melancholy and get ready for the rest of the day. Today we’re focusing on a new flavor of sugar cookie for the Summer Festival.
Wick said that I could come up with something on my own, and we could tweak it together.
I’m thinking something fresh and lemony would be nice, but also safe.
So, I’m trying to come up with other food combinations that would taste good together.
Something like my creamsicle cookies would be sublime.
But, I still haven’t decided if I want to try raspberry or blueberries as well.
I have so many ideas swirling in my head as I get dressed.
I try to decide if I want to go back to the community garden just to grab some fresh ingredients, but choose to head on to the bakery.
There’s always so much to look at on my path.
I’m not in Hex proper, like a lot of residents.
I live out in the woods, nestled between trees and an open field because that’s where I feel most at home.
I like all the critters in the trees and tunneled in the ground.
I feel a sense of kinship with them. I may have a huge lion body with eagle wings and head when I shift, but we all play in the open fields.
The air is soupy and warm and I tend not to care, but today feels extra humid and I swear my hair and beard frizz out more than I’d like it to.
My skin’s a bit itchy because I forgot to oil the beard today.
I’ve contemplated shaving my face, but then I’m left with a sweet baby face, and that just doesn’t go well with my grumpy exterior.
The birds twitter loudly, and I whistle a happy little tune with them, but don’t let anyone hear it, because I will deny that I was this chipper.
It’s 4am and the rest of Hex’s residents are still asleep and will be for several, several more hours. This is the best time of the day, if you ask me, when nothing but the birds are awake, unless you have a job like mine that requires you to wake up early. I do so enjoy the mornings.
My path switches from dirt to gravel to finally pavement as I make my way to Wick’s. I unlock the door and something isn’t quite right. There’s a wintery honey scent.
And I know exactly who that is. Wick smells like toasted marshmallows and it always makes me hungry, but that’s Wick’s scent.
Everybody has their own interesting signature scent.
I don’t know if I notice because I have griffin senses or if it’s just how everybody is.
In the Fae lands, everyone usually smells sweet.
But in Hex, everyone has an interesting scent.
I like to figure out whose scent is whose.
I get two steps into the building and Wick comes in from the back room with none other than Wren trailing behind him. It’s still a shock to see Wren with such short hair but I think the look suits him much better than the long hair ever did. He’s already wearing a hairnet and I give Wick a glare.
“What’s going on?”
Wick grins that mischievous, demonic smile of his. “Meet your new co-worker. Wren.”
“What do you mean, my new co-worker Wren?”
Wick waves a hand towards Wren. “I’ve hired him. Since we’re gonna be working on new flavors for the Summer Festival, I want to have someone on the front end while you and I work on creating our new masterpieces. I thought Wren would be the perfect candidate.”
I bite back an unnecessary for the situation growl and just watch Wren as he does a ridiculous bow.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
Wren grins and flourishes a hand. “Bowing to you, oh kitchen lord.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Master baker, then?”
“Certainly not that either.” My face goes hot and I know my cheeks are red all over even though it’d be hard to see through my beard.
“Sounds too close to masturbator?”
“Exactly.”
“Well,” Wick injects himself back into the conversation. “I’ve been showing Wren the ropes up at the register, and he’s pretty much an expert. I’m quite happy with how he understands our system.”
“How long have you two been here?”
“Not very long,” Wren says. “But it’s a pretty straightforward system.”
I give Wick a glare and nod towards the corner, because we need to talk. Like right fucking now.
Wick shrugs, and there’s that annoying smirk on his lips.
Before he follows me to the corner, he tells Wren to get more familiar with the baked goods we have available, and the prices.
Tells him to play with the register because you can’t break it and to learn how to make change with all the different types of money that we take here in Hex.
I know it’s a pretty straightforward system.
It’s pretty hard to fuck up. I mean, I can figure it out, so it’s not that hard.
And I’m not that smart with numbers unless it has to do with baking.
“So,” Wick starts. “You’re mad.”
“I’m pretty furious.”
“Well, here’s the thing.” Wick waffles around, and his tail wiggles behind him before he grabs the end and holds it.
“So, this is my bakery, and you are a genius. But we do need someone to watch the front end while we work on goodies for the festival. I want the festival to go on without a hitch. I need you focused. And if we have someone up front, I think we can have the best treats for the festival. With your mind and my mind together, we’ll be unstoppable.
But after the festival, I’d like Wren to stay on.
I want to teach him how to do the baking, how to do all of it.
I love you, Talon, but you’re not willing to learn the entire shop. ”
I open my mouth to say something, but he lifts a hand to stop me.
“And there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not angry about it.
You’re amazing at what you do, and I want you to keep doing exactly what you’re doing.
And expand if you want. You know how I feel about you trying new recipes.
I’m here for it, and I want you here. I want to take the burden of the front end away from you for those few days Ethan and I usually leave for. I did this for you.”
“You did this to watch me get red around Wren. You did this for your own entertainment.” My hands fist. Open, close.
Wick’s shoulders drop. “I wish you didn’t feel like that. I genuinely want you to be happy here, but we need more help. And I trust Wren. He’s a good guy. He and the gang have been here from the beginning. And he’s in a bad place right now.”
That has me take notice. “What do you mean, he’s in a bad place?”
“It’s not my place to say. But be nice to him. He could use a little kindness.”
“Well, as long as he doesn’t make fun of me. Or flirt too much.”
Wren drops his hand on my forearm. “I let him know that flirting makes you uncomfortable. If he starts up again, I’ll talk to him again. I think he had to get it out of his system upon seeing you.”
I scratch the back of my neck and look away. “You did that?” For me?
“Yes. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable in your place of work. You’re a friend, Talon. I want you to know that.”
“A friend?” I have a friend?
“Yeah, friends. I wish you’d open up a little. You’d find you have a lot more friends than you realized.”