The Brittle House » Places

         

Rie

The customers were far more rowdy than usual, their antics driving the blond Huldra to wish that somehow, just somehow, her tail was long enough to clobber her own ears. She had no such luck whatsoever. What made the attention of them even worse was the fact that one of the more visible sources eye candy, Gwen, that grumpy and all-too serious silver-haired kitsune, was missing from his usual rounds. Without his powers of distraction, the customers were far more… interested in bothering the others, such as herself. When dealing with them was irritating even in the best of times, this just made it worse. Catching sight of a less-than polite wave from an otherworldly spirit, which she vaguely recognized as a Nyx, Rie sighed, and made her way towards the customer.

“Dearest Sir, is there anything that I may do to aid you?” she asked, keeping her eyes focused on the space between his eyebrows. The smell of fish pervaded the air this close to the water-dwelling male, and quite frankly, Rie was having a difficult time breathing. Not that her own personal comfort could be placed above that of the more esteemed clients. She recognized this brand of customer. They would normally be the ones chasing after the silver-tailed waiter, for purposes were more disturbing… than not. Their almost unsettling behavior ranged from simple desire to something a little stronger. At the very least, it was Gwen on the receiving end, not her. Heh, there was no wonder why he was always so irritated.

“Huh,” came the less than understandable reply. “I’d like some of that and maybe this and - yes, that’ll be all.” Seeing as the customer was not really referring to anything in particular, Rie attempted to convey her confusion through a quick double-blink and tilt of the head. The smile remained. She was ignored, before the customer turned back to sharing his highly improbable exploits to his partner.

Rie almost opened her mouth to speak, before remembering that a customer was not to be disturbed in any state - other than outright emergencies. Taking that as her cue to leave, she, carrying a silver tray in one hand, strode, almost glided off. Plus, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with them at the moment. Caught up in her own thoughts, the huldra was unable to place that calm smile over her own countenance, and therefore, was unable to remain the perfect waitress that she almost prided herself on. It wasn’t like Gwen to be missing from his duties, as he was type that spent all his life doing his job. Neither could she spot that red-haired vampire, Ren, who, while being a boring type of spirit, was far too happy about everything for his own good. He was also the source of plenty of problems. The two of them, fitting their rhyming names, tended to be seen together, although their personalities clashed.

It seemed as though while debating such issues, there was no way that she would be able to concentrate. Perhaps it was time to find that kitsune. Just for her own mental comfort.

All she’d do is somehow get the uptight waiter to wander around the area, drawing all attention, and taking that chance, she would be able to… pick the better customers for her own attention. The huldra wandered off, ignoring a customer’s call for aid, pretending as though she hadn’t seen it. Anyways, there was another waiter heading in that relative direction. It quite wouldn’t do for her to steal a tip, would it?

Scanning the crowd with her blue eyes, she caught a glimpse of Gwen’s blue fox-fire, brighter than anything else in the nearby area. Ah, he was there, was he? Rie quickened her step, before the Huldra caught sight of the distinctive of both males - Gwen’s silver mane and Ren’s crimson. ‘I wonder what in the world they’re doing?’ Half in her mind to chastise them for doing nothing of worth, continued to observe from afar. She wouldn’t involve herself, until she realized if there was a prank worth doing. The things you do for boredom.

Behind the two, there seemed to be movement, and Rie changed her viewing position to take a better look at them. Customers were the best beings to play with - their irritating features making such actions akin to revenge. There were a few upright customers, and two were even lying on the floor. With a frown, she looked at the prone bodies more closely - it was still early in the night, and usually people did not pass out until… hours later. But that wasn’t the most important thing. To the best of her knowledge, they lacked even the more normal of otherwordly characteristics. No strange body parts, nothing really that set them off from the rest. “What is this place? Is this some sort of cosplay shop? Did you all drag us here?” Watching the girl closely, there was not even the telltale glimpse of saliva-drenching, blood-yearning fangs.

Pranks momentarily forgotten, she continued to stand there, unable to bring herself to making the next step forward. Could they perhaps be…

It couldn’t be possible. Humans did not enter the Brittle House. It just couldn’t be…

Brittle wouldn’t have…

From her confused eyes, she watched as the other two prone bodies straightened upright, albeit not at the same time, each of them spouting words from their mouth. “W-what...I mean,w-who are you?…” If it made her happier somehow, it seemed as though they, too, had no idea what they were doing here.

“[b]What the hell? came the other, more abrasive tone. This was a true enigma. Finally unable to hold back her interest in the current proceedings, she finally made the last steps necessary to stand by the side of the male waiters. She made sure to keep her tone and words light, but… “Most Esteemed Guests,” she blinked, before continuing, “is there a reason why you’re here of all places?”

A black-haired child, really, spoke up, with a voice filled with indignation. “We’ve been adopted by Mister Brittle, ma’am. We’re going to be part of the family and everything. And we’ll have fun, every single day. And we’ll have a perfect life, I’m telling you!”

W-what was going on?