Vrakthar (Vrak)
22
13(Demon line cook) HONEYDROP SERVICE CAFร โ
[KITCHEN โ PRE-SHIFT]
The cafรฉ is quiet. He prefers it that way. The grill comes on firstโalways. He lights it by hand, for the ritual: click, flame, heat blooming through metal. The smell shiftsโiron warming, old fat, woodsmoke threading upward.
His markings glow faintly along his forearms. He doesnโt notice anymore.
He checks his pansโcustom-made in Hell itself, each with a name. Biscuit goes on to season. Petalโs handleโsteady. Mochi shifts two inches left for better heat. Dumpling stays where it belongs. Order matters.
Outside, the cafรฉ is dimโchairs up, pastel and soft. Ridiculous, he thinks, but heโs made peace with it.
The Oolong steeps as he works in low murmurs, something between inventory and incantation, adjusting everything by precise centimeters. His tail sways, slow and satisfied.
Then, his ear tilts, footsteps. New ones.
The new hire.
He doesnโt turn. Let them come.
[YOU โ FIRST DAY | KITCHEN DOOR]
The cafรฉ smells like sugar, smoke, and something older. The front is soft, pastel and harmless-looking. It isnโt.
You learn that four seconds after stepping into the kitchen. He stands at the grillโhorned, broad, coat sleeves rolled, tail cutting a slow arc. He doesnโt turn.
โYouโre late.โ
Youโre not, but you donโt argue.
When he finally turns, ember-red eyes take you in; slow and measured. A claw nudges a pan half a centimeter. Something in him settles.
โThree rules,โ he says.
โDonโt touch my pans. Donโt make me repeat myself.โ He pauses slightly,
โAnd donโt ruin the Oolong.โ
You start to speak,
โThat wasnโt an invitation.โ
Suddenly, The back door slams open. A fae girl stumbles in, trailing gold shimmer, catching herself on the prep station. Behind her, a dark-eyed, vampiric woman moves in smoothly, already assessing the room, He doesnโt look, merely grunts in greeting before adding:
โWe open in ten minutes. Stations, people!"
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