Licia Ferri's Story

The bell above the front door rung, breaking the silence. He turned back fast "Morning Catherine! Enthusiastic as always!" Elias called with a grin. He turned to pick up a notebook and began scanning the down a list of duties and items that needed to be fulfilled. His tongue stuck out as he flipped through to find the days stock list. With a decisive 'mph' sound he moved towards Cat's desk

"Hate to interrupt you when you're halfway through making stuff, but i need to restock the charms for studying now, we're running low and we might need more good luck ones..." He said with his best attempt at an apologetic smile. He usually let Cat get her stuff done, he had learned that she worked best without his constant encouragement (On reflection, most of them got along fine without his special brand of company encouragement but he still did it anyway). He flipped the page and was just about to continue with his barrage of charm needs for the day when the door bell did that stupid jingle thing, interrupting his train of thought.

The shops newest employee, or rather employees if you counted the attachment, had arrived. The appearance of Justin and then Jason together still gave him chills. While he was used to spirits, the living twin followed by the... well other still remained sort of weird to him. He gave Justin a warm smile before turning his attention to the apparition, straining to catch what was said. He wasn't the most natural at hearing spirits, he usually just experienced what they felt so trying to communicate with Jason was tricky. "Morning to you as well Jason, hope you're not planning on getting in the way today"

The kid had showed up looking for an exorcism and Elias hadn't pried too deeply at the time, the energy the spirit gave off was enough to work it out. He had (Well, the staff had) convinced Justin to keep Jason around a little longer and besides, it would be nice to have someone who had just about a similar condition.

"Greetings nerds" came the voice of none other than the shops resident psychic. Elias spun around with a gasp doing his best to act hurt "Charming as usual, I'm truly hurt" He said melodramatically before just tearing the sheet of items from his notebook and passing it to Cat.

Catherine was almost through the batch of key chains when she spotted Elias checking through his lists. Not a good sign for her. Unlike the others who needed customers to do anything, her job was constant whether customers were in the store or not. In the back of her mind she silently hoped Elias would stay away just long enough for her to finish this batch. Unfortunately the Wheel of Fortune was not on her side today as he started walking towards her desk.

"Hate to interrupt you when you're halfway through making stuff, but i need to restock the charms for studying now, we're running low and we might need more good luck ones..." Elias smiled at her and her face deadpanned.

"Are you trying to get me eaten, Elias? I'm not quite finished with the last batch. I'll work on it though. I know management would probably be more upset about our popular items being out of stock than our less purchased items." But that wasn't the end of it from what she can tell. He flipped the page and was just about to give her more requests when Justin waltzed in along with his invisible half.

Cathy does not possess the ability to see apparitions, but she could feel the change in energy in the room. At first, it irritated her when Justin was first hired simply because his ghostly twin was throwing the whole energy of the shop out of whack making it difficult for her to do her job. She eventually got used to it, however, mostly due to fear of falling behind in her work. She nodded back to Justin. She smirked at Elias' reaction to Licia. She felt she had a love-hate relationship with Elias. He is super extra all the time and his positivity could be exhausting at times, but he is adorable and that's all that mattered.

"Nerds? Speak for yourself Licia," she threw back teasingly. Her attention was drawn downwards by the sound of Elias handing her a piece of paper with more charm requests. She gave Elias a very pointed look before taking a swig of coffee and setting about making more studying and luck charms.

Maybe just maybe if I keep at it I can finish all of this, she inwardly coaxed.

Jaede hummed quietly to the tune of a song she couldn't remember the name of, but had gotten stuck in her head a few days ago. Fingers meant to be curled around the steering wheel of her car were tapping along to the beat as she watched the road in front of her. A light and cheery melody, she felt her spirits lifting at the prospect of seeing everyone in the shop. She'd had to stay at home the previous day to catch up on work, and even with two bars of chocolate and four hours of "break time", it had been hellishly boring for her. She had gotten a fair bit of work done though. Not enough though, she inwardly groaned.

All Jay wanted today was to laze about at the shop and socialise, but she'd been forced to bring her laptop along, the evil machine currently residing in a bag on the seat next to her. She could feel it glaring at her, taunting her. No, she thought, determined. I'm gonna relax today. I'll work tonight.

…Maybe.

As she turned into a familar street, she looked down it for the neon signs, and to her delight they were lit up like always. She pulled over, leaving her car on the street as she got out, only taking her black handbag with her. Before heading to the shop, she ducked into a cafe sitting a few doors down, and picked out a muffin and coffee for her breakfast. Smiling cheerily at the barista, whose face she recognised from previous mornings, she exited the small building and headed down to the shop. Passing her car on the way, she felt a thread of guilt tug at her stomach. Jay stopped in her tracks, glancing apprehensively through the window to the laptop bag she had left behind. Giving into the guilt, she huffed and unlocked the door, and pulled her laptop out almost contemptuously. With it in hand, she continued down to the shop, and finally entered through its doors.

Immediately feeling calmer, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out, enjoying all the familiar smells that came with the quirky interior. Man, she adored this place. Her eyes flicked back open and scanned the room, recognizing the two women and the ever-prescent manager, Elias. She'd seen the blonde boy around, too, but didn't know him as well as the others.

"Hello, all!" she chirped, setting her laptop bag down in a small corner. "Have you guys managed to survive without me?" She grinned at the employees, and took a sip of her coffee.

It was less like work, more herding wild animals. Elias had attempted to describe his work to his mom once with the phrase. Everyone mostly preferred to do their own things but he had to coral everyone into a day to day routine, to keep things running smoothly. But in reality the store was an extension of his family, like he had 6 siblings instead of 3 plus a monstrous uncle who threatens to destroy the world, and no day was ever smooth or normal. He still liked having checklists, they kept him grounded and slightly on track and so, despite everyone sighing when he dramatically flipped open a notebook, he kept making them

"Look, if I have to calm down an eldritch abomination because you don't have enough time to make them all I will, there's barely enough time in the day for me to list all the things we need never mind you having to make them" He conceded before flipping his notebook closed with a snap. He was about to continue, but when Cat gave you that look, you made yourself scarce. He gazed towards the door labelled staff only which led to the backroom before shaking his head to clear it. Maybe one day store management wouldn't get on with him as well as they did now.

With light bouncy steps he made his way to Justin, giving the brother lazing in the air behind him a wave. With an apologetic smile he placed down a list of customers due today for Justin neatly on the desk, trying his best not to mess up the space. Elias's favourite customer due today had to be the woman with the childhood guinea pig she kept trying to get poor Justin to channel. Jason gave him a lazy wave as he leant down to speak with his brother. He still didn't get their whole story but eh, it was private, they all had reasons for turning up here. He spun to make his way over to Licia, already tearing a sheet of paper with her duties for the day.

"Your side of the room too bright or are the sunglasses a fashion statement?" He asked with a grin leaning on the desk. With careful hand he reached out to touch her tarot cards which were stacked remarkably neatly at the side. The pictures on the cards were his favourite. He was just about to flip the top card when the bell went off. He jumped slightly before turning.

"Hello, all! Have you guys managed to survive without me?" It was Jaede, of course it was Jaede, she's the only customer to ever appear this early.

"Ah, my favourite customer... we should charge you by the hour to sit in here, i swear Jay" Elias laughed "I swear, everyone brought coffee today and I'm stuck with the store brand tea!" He grins, noting the several cups and mugs poking out all over.

Justin turned as the door jingled its familiar jingle, he silently nodded to Licia at the behest of her greeting. He grabbed one of the many books neatly stacked on his desk, almost affirming the psychic's designation as a "nerd." He looked up at Elias as the man walked up to the desk, careful not to mess up Justine's pristine, orderly, work space. The general manager was nothing if not considerate of his staff. Without words Elias slid the medium's work duties for the day onto his desk. Without looking at Elias but being sure to utter a quiet thank you, he took the list and began his perusal of the list. most of the people on this list had set up an appointment to communicate with a lost loved one or some such business though his first appointment didn't seem to be due until about an hour into the day. He sighed as he noticed the guinea pig woman sitting there on the list.

With some time to kill Justine began going through one of his books describing all sorts of different forms of spirits and ghouls. As he read Jason moved to speak to his living doppelganger.

"You have some time to kill. Why don't you go talk to the rest of the staff? You've been here for three months and you've barely said a word to them if you didn't need to. Come out of your shell socialize a little!"
"No thanks. I'd rather read"
"Go talk to Cathy"
"No. She's busy.And she'd kill me."
"How bout Licia? She could teach you about tarot or something"
"I have books that can do that."
Go talk to Elias then. He's nice see if he needs any help or something.

Before Justin could utter a response the door once again released it's little jingle. He looked toward the door to see an already familiar face during his time here. Her name was Jaede, and she was a regular, coming in almost every day. What could she possibly need to get here so often? Putting down his book he approached curious. Jason smiled as he went, there wasn't much that could prompt Justin into an actual conversation aside of course from his rampant curiosity."You come in here a lot. Why would you possibly need to come in here so often?" He spoke as he always did, bluntly and without tact, though there was an obvious lack of malice in his voice.

Catherine set to work busting out good luck and studying charms as quickly as she could without messing them up. Thankfully, she already had a few made from her last request batch, so she had a head start. She had gotten into a steady rhythm when the Psychic Shop's most frequent customer made her entrance.

Just like clockwork, she smirked to herself. Cathy didn't bother giving her a formal greeting. The others were giving her plenty of attention for now. Besides, Jaede would find herself over to her desk eventually as soon as she had her fill of the other employees' work. Normally, Jaede would be the type of person Cathy would despise, but she couldn't bring herself to dislike her. She found her genuine curiosity and naivety endearing. Much like a puppy, and Catherine wasn't so cruel as to shun a puppy.

As conversation filled the room of cafes, coffee, and teasing banter, Cathy began to relax as the list was not quite as extensive as she had initially thought. She managed to finish up last week's batch of charms and had already sorted them out for Elias to put as he saw fit. Now that she could work at a more relaxed pace, she decided to take a small break and eat an early lunch. She was nibbling on a baby carrots when she decided to check her new list again and plan out which set of charms she'd tackle first. Cathy had another fresh set of trinkets that had been basking in the sunlight and moonlight and were ready to be channeled, but it was better to be safe than sorry and be prepared.

Everything on the list was pretty standard until- Cathy stopped dead and dropped her piece of celery back into her veggie tray. She continued to stare at the last item on her list hoping it would go away. Management was asking her to make another curse item. Probably some special request by a customer. The store charged almost triple for these items for those in the know how, but Cathy didn't care. This one in particular called for being a depression hex. Depression!

She pinpointed Elias and immediately flagged him down to come over to her desk. She pointed to the item in question and in hushed tones whispered her frustrations.

"Did you see this? Elias, this is dangerous to make. You know my enchantments already have bite. This would make even a happy person like Jaede so depressed she wouldn't want to crawl out of bed. If this was placed on an already unhappy person, this could make them suicidal. Please don't make me make this. I... I can't keep doing this. Even if I'm not the one using them, I can't keep living with the guilt that I brought such a wicked object into the world." She gave Elias a pleading look, but she already knew the answer. It was the same answer he gave her every time. She could already feel the life drain away from her at the prospect of making the hex. She loved the good charms. Cathy felt good making them because she knew they could help someone even in a small way, but this... this was just evil...

She remembered the first time the store management had discovered her "talent". Catherine had gotten side-tracked on her charm-making thinking thoughts about how her parents were bankrupt and on the verge of losing their home. Her negative feelings had accidentally poured into a piggy bank key chain; a charm she had meant to turn into a good fortune charm. She had gasped and tried to hide her mistake, but the management doesn't miss anything. She had been getting requests for hexes since.

"You know that I cant take it off the list, it's well... you know what it is. Please Cat, we have to take this order, store management-" Cathy watched Elias cut himself off with a grim expression. He didn't need to finish. She knew all too well. She watched him shake himself off and offer a solution.

"Just get these ones done and I'll see if we have something in stock from our last enchanter. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" That was a first. Catherine didn't even know there were leftover charms from the last enchanter. She nodded at Elias and watched him head off for the store room. She hoped the others didn't notice what was going on. The only other person who knew about the hexes was Licia, but that was to be expected. Nothing got by Licia. Justin... Well, he was new. The less he knew about the... darker side of the shop the better. Of course, Jaede was in the dark though. She was a regular customer, but there was no reason to get her involved. Catherine could only hope she stayed blissfully ignorant about the true nature of this shop... for her sake.

Catherine tried to stay calm and finish up the rest of her veggie tray while she waited for Elias. Even if he found something that they could sell instead, she still didn't like the idea of giving out. She didn't care how much the customer was paying for it. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Elias returned with a sinister looking box. Cathy could feel the hairs on the back of neck rise as he approached with Pandora's box. He dropped the box at her feet and she jumped.

"These are all unlabeled... is there anything at all you can use?" She glanced into the box and immediately regretted that she did. Evil auras were coming off the charms in waves. Just from a glance she could tell they were old and had since lost a decent portion of their power. But not all of it.

"I might be able to use one... They're unlabeled so I'll have to check them all individually for what they do... Cat began tenderly reaching for a handful of charms in the box, but before she made contact, she saw a very distinct black shape open its eye and blink at her. She immediately retracted her hand and yelped while leaping out of her chair.

"Oh my loving goddess! What the hell-" It wasn't till she was standing that she realized everyone was staring at her. Just great.

"Oh, uh sorry everyone. Spider. Big one. We got it. It's fine." She reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out four sheets of what seemed like colorful origami paper, but upon closer inspection, different symbols and characters were written all over the back of the papers. She taped one on each side of the box quickly before whispering to Elias.

"Sealing charms. One way. To keep whatever.... that is in the box," gesturing towards the one-eyed thing currently residing in the box. She stared into the box and locked eyes with the single eyeball. It didn't move. It just continued to... stare.

"Speaking of which, do you know what that is? Because I sure don't. It's definitely bigger than the tomb-bugs." She made sure to stand in front of the box so the others didn't have a clear view of the strange box.

"Us? Cool? You must have a really warped definition of cool" He could see Jason shake his head slightly. Perhaps it sounded rude but his tone was of the usual sort. Even, soft, and calm. Justin almost opened his mouth to say more until Licia had told him to shoo. He sighed slightly before shutting his mouth. The girl was a psychic and it would be a lie to say that it didn't make him paranoid. Would he do something embarrassing in the near future? Was he doing something embarrassing now? These thoughts continued to swirl around in the boys mind as he stood there, stone faced as usual.

Just as Justin was about to quietly take his leave and withdraw to his happy space between pages for the next thirty minutes he noticed Jason widely shaking for a moment as if an unpleasant chill ran up his spine two seconds too long to be natural. He looked at his brother floating just behind Jaede. "What is wrong with you?

Jason paused to look around the shop, sensing a strange energy eminanting from somewhere within the shop. The ghost looked at his brother who didn't seem to sense anything, evidently being dead he was far more sensitive to these strange energies than his brother medium or no medium. "What you don't feel that?"Without waiting for Justin to answer he noticed Cathy and Elias gathered around a box, certain that was the source of this weird feeling quickly flew over peering into the box along with Cathy. Deep in what seemed to be charms of some sort stared back a single eye which clearly was not supposed to be there."What the hell is that!" Floating back over to his brother, he saw Justin give him a curious look and simply nodded toward Catherine and her box filled with charms and mysterious eyeballs.

Justine looked over at Jason then to Elias and finally to Catherine, who seemed to be hiding something behind her. The boy walked over to them trying to peer behind Catherine's back."What are you hiding over there?"

"We have company, Cathy, our friendly neighbourhood ghost is around."

Oh come on... Could this get any worse? Hopefully, the little specter will keep his ghostly mouth shut- she ranted in her mind.

"What are you hiding over there?" Straight to the point. Of course. Why was she not surprised?

"Oh it's nothing Justin, just some old box of charms that I dug out, Cathy was only looking over it, right Cat?" Elias raised his eyebrows at her with an expression begging her for assistance. Catherine cringed slightly. She also noticed how he was leaning very close to her in order to help conceal the box.

Has he never lied before, or is he just panicking?

"Uh, yeah. Just doing some additional inventory. Say, Justin, isn't the guinea pig girl supposed to be coming in soon? You might want to prepare yourself for that..." Hopefully that would direct Justin's attention away from the box, but that blasted Casper wannabee could easily blow their cover. They needed to do something. Fast.

"How come you need a box of old charms, Elias? Cat's work isn't good enough?" What little Elias and Cat had managed to salvage of the situation quickly burst into flames at Licia's pointed jab. She was pissed. Retreat.

"Well, you see Licia, I'm running behind this month on my quota, and Elias, the sweet manager he is, thought he would help me by pulling out some old charms." As Catherine began to ramble she took a deep breath and without glancing into the Spider Box, picked it up and hugged it to her chest in order to conceal the top of it.

"But, we're being way too distracting. Oh look! There's another customer pulling into the lot right now! Come on Elias. Let's stop distracting our medium and fortune teller. They need to do their jobs... Excuse us." Without another word she slipped into the store room without considering that she had not once step foot back here before, but she felt Elias would forgive her since the situation demanded they get away. Cathy had almost completely forgotten the contents of the box when she heard a distinct rummaging sound coming from the box. She immediately dropped the box on the ground and stepped back five feet.

What she had initially mistaken for spider-like appendages were actually tentacles. The devil was writhing around in the box pressing its appendages to the seal on the box trying to get out.

"I just thought of a name for it Elias. I think I'll call it Fucker. Fuck for short." She continued to stare at the box and Fucker as it increased its efforts to escape.

"So, what are we going to do? It can't stay there. We need to look through those charms. It doesn't seem to be too dangerous... Do you think that witch might know what it is? We could shove it in a jar and take it to her."

"But, we're being way too distracting. Oh look! There's another customer pulling into the lot right now! Come on Elias. Let's stop distracting our medium and fortune teller. They need to do their jobs... Excuse us." Cat turned signalling for him to follow. He shot Licia a look that was a pleading one, mouthing 'tell you later'. He gave Justin a look before adding to Licia 'Keep an eye on him... please' Licia would need to know, but later, she just needed to keep Justin out of it for the moment. He turned on his heel, rushing after Cathy.

He pushed into the store room just in time to witness the box's contents attempt to break free. He slammed himself back against the door, making sure nobody would be able to get in. "THAT is NOT a normal spider" He observed, almost stupidly. He moved forward, grabbing Cat's arm and tugging her towards the box. He stared in at it with a disgusted expression. "I just thought of a name for it Elias. I think I'll call it Fucker. Fuck for short."

"Fucker is perfect, it looks just like a Fucker" Elias bent down slightly to look closer at the creature. The movement sent a shiver down his spine. He wasn't terrified of spiders, he just REALLY disliked them and when coupled with the look of a cyclops, he was really not a fan. He chewed his lip, deep in thought for a moment, trying to place what it was.

"So, what are we going to do? It can't stay there. We need to look through those charms. It doesn't seem to be too dangerous... Do you think that witch might know what it is? We could shove it in a jar and take it to her." That wasn't the worst idea Cat had ever proposed. Elias kicked at the box slightly, watching the Fuck skitter to the other side. It certainly didnt look as though it was going to kill anyone just yet.

"I doubt it... I mean last I heard she only really does nature magic and that thing is certainly not natural looking, I mean if anything its more up our alley" He frowned slightly. "It looks likes some sort of a lesser demon, not sure though... uh... it doesnt look like any that are detailed in the exorcist journals I have" He noted. It was the jet black tentacles had tipped him off, it was a trait that appeared in a couple of other demons, same with the eye. The size was pretty unusual however, even for a lesser demon he usually expected them to be larger maybe mouse sized. He inhaled before kneeling down next to the box. Gingerly he shoved his hand into the box, reaching for the creature with a pale face. He looked almost ill as he brushed against it gently. It skittered away quickly from his outstretched hand, making a bizarre clicking noise. "If it is... maybe I can exorcise it"

As Licia shooed Justin away Jaede went to protest, saying, "Oh it's alright, I don't—" before she heard the exclamation from the other side of the room. She hadn't noticed Elias and Cathy talking till she heard the shrill voice and seen Cathy jump. "Oh my loving goddess! What the hell-" Jaede's eyes immediately jumped to where Cathy was standing, and after hearing her explain it away as a spider, she became ready to jump back at the slightest mention that it had escaped. God, Jay hated spiders. She was still morbidly curious, however.

"Oh god. Really? How big is it?" And why the hell aren't they closing the box lid? she wondered. If it had been her, she would have been on the other side of the room in an instant. They were getting so close to it though! "Are you guys gonna let it go out…" her voice trailed off as she realised everyone was preoccupied with Elias and Cathy, so she fell silent. She watched quietly as Justin crossed to where they were standing and Licia blew up. "How come you need a box of old charms, Elias?"

Suddenly her interest shot through the roof. "Old charms? That's awesome, where'd they come from?" Questions ran through her head but before she could ask more than one, Cathy mentioned a customer and slipped into the storeroom with Elias. Huffing, Jay figured they probably were too busy to answer. It was fine, she figured. She could leave it till later. There would always be time to ask later. Plus… they were all sort of working. She really shouldn't bother them, she realised, and Cathy did seem particularly stressed out today, though Jaede hadn't noticed when she walked in. She considered keeping out of the way for a while, maybe setting up her laptop and chewing through some work. But I really don't feel like it… she silently bemoaned. Her eyes flicked to Licia. I wonder if she's busy… no, no, she probably is. But… maybe she's not. Trying to act casual and not like her mind was still buzzing with curiosity, she commented, "I feel like the storeroom maybe isn't the best place to get rid of a spider. Couldn't they have let it go outside?" It was a genuine question, since it did seem odd.

Ulterior motives? Jay would never.

As Elias began to speak Justine stood there expressionless as usual staring at the general manager, though notably averting eye contact, and listening intently. Clearly he was hiding something, placing his body awkwardly in front of whatever it was he was trying to sweep under the rug, the obvious attempts to distract him with the promise of books. People never made much sense to Justin, emotional, illogical things often doing whatever they pleased on nothing more than a whim. Lies however made perfect sense, they were a logical defense mechanism for most people. Though obviously some were better at it than others.

Just as he was about to speak Cathy chimed up with a reminder that a customer, specifically the annoying guinea pig girl was supposed to arrive later. He stood there for a moment and tried to resist peeking at his watch. It was later than he had thought and indeed she was due to arrive soon, and that was the only spark necessary to let his routine take over. He stood there for a bit more with a sigh, he had gone silent as the others conversed, Licia made some good points, just why did she need to go through the charms? But he didn't have the time for such thought he turned towards his desk but before returning he spoke up once more. "Fine I do have work to do. But one, its obvious you were lying and keeping something from me, and two I won't forget to ask about it later." With that he walked off.

As he went about properly organizing his desk for the inevitable arrivals Jason saw Cathy and Elias disappear into the store room."I'm going to follow them." As his brother spoke Justin had just finished putting a bottle of hand sanitizer in the center of his desk suggestively close to the customer, there was another bottle just under the desk for Justin's own use once the customer was gone."No you won't. Elias is there he'll see you. And besides I need you here"

Jason pouted for a moment but relented knowing all to well his brother really did need him. This medium job required more than just the ability to see and communicate with the dead, Justin was good at that. It was the social interaction often followed by awkward pauses, and the occasional physical contact as well as eye contact, things Justin was woefully unprepared for. The boys sat there waiting, silently hoping the guinea pig woman was late or even a no show just like she was the last three times she had arrived.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Cat said as she knelt beside him before slamming a jar over the Fuck. "Well, now that that is done, here." she dumped the now Fuck filled jar into Elias's hands with a relived look. Staring in at the now, thankfully, Fuck, Elias shivered slightly. It was strange to think that something like this had been back in the storeroom for so long and he hadn't even realised. He tapped the glass, watching it skitter back and forth in the jar, making its horrendous clicking noise.

He stood up carefully, shaking the jar slightly. "I'll dig through this box and hopefully find something we can use for the... you know what." He took that as a dismissal, wrapping his arms around the jar to protect it as he made his way back into the main store.

"Don't worry if you cant find it Cathy, there's probably a couple more boxes that I can find for you later" He called. Elias looked quickly around the room, catching sight of Licia returning to her table. He was about to go over and try to talk to her about the Fucker that Cathy and he had discovered when he noted the murderous look. Woe betide anyone who would try and get in Licia's way when she looked like that. Maybe he'd wait a bit till she settled down.

Instead he turned towards Justin and his ghostly companion, shielding the Fuck jar from the boy's sight "Hey, Justin! Do you mind helping me find something?" He asked quietly, eyeing the boy over a pile of books. "Remember that book on demonology I gave you last month? Uh, well... we need to look something up or rather I want you to look something up for me before your first customer comes in" He looked over his shoulder towards Jaede before gently placing the jar on Justin's desk "Find out what this is for me while i go look after the customers I'll get rid of it later, it's name is Fucker, play nice"

He turned without waiting for a reply, knowing that there'd just be a lot of questions to answer. Elias made the short walk over to Jaede quickly, dropping his arm over her shoulder with a lop sided grin "Jay can you do me a huge favour?" He asked, fluttering his lashes with a winning smile "can you cover the cash register while I run and get a coffee and have a smoke break?" He knew he was probably pushing his luck but he was just about ready to drop and he needed a way to vent "Oh and when you see Cat, could you please tell her the order's for the really tall guy with the bow tie if he comes in?" He added with raised eyebrows, knowing he was really pushing his luck now. Jaede probably wouldn't mind much, she knew most of the prices anyway. He glanced back towards the store room's entrance with a slightly worried look.

As Samuel was walking down the sidewalk towards the Psychic shop, the area of grass next to him was sprouting up flowers. He breathed in deeply and thought to himself What a wonderful morning. hope I can get a job at that shop. His walk down to the shop was coming to a close and he could feel the spiritual energy coming out of the shop in massive amounts.

He wondered for a second, what kind of shop has that much energy pouring off of it , before dismissing the thought as he knew the shop was one for psychics mediums and other supernatural things of the sort. As he got even closer to the shop he could make out several signatures. A few humans, a demon, a spirit, and something else that was very strange.

He walked up to the front of the store, and Samuel stopped for a second right outside of the shop composing himself before he walked in. He stood looking at the bright neon signs in the shops windows. He thought to himself nervously just breath Samuel you got this. He pushed open the door and the bell above it rung rather loudly. Samuel worked up his confidence for a few seconds just standing there looking around, fidgeting with his hands, and he then loudly spoke so everyone in the shop could hear it "who um could I uh speak to to get a job at this shop."

As Samuel was walking down the sidewalk towards the Psychic shop, the area of grass next to him was sprouting up flowers. He breathed in deeply and thought to himself What a wonderful morning. hope I can get a job at that shop. His walk down to the shop was coming to a close and he could feel the spiritual energy coming out of the shop in massive amounts.

He wondered for a second, what kind of shop has that much energy pouring off of it , before dismissing the thought as he knew the shop was one for psychics mediums and other supernatural things of the sort. As he got even closer to the shop he could make out several signatures. A few humans, a demon, a spirit, and something else that was very strange.

He walked up to the front of the store, and Samuel stopped for a second right outside of the shop composing himself before he walked in. He stood looking at the bright neon signs in the shops windows. He thought to himself nervously just breath Samuel you got this. He pushed open the door and the bell above it rung rather loudly. Samuel worked up his confidence for a few seconds just standing there looking around, fidgeting with his hands, and he then loudly spoke so everyone in the shop could hear it "who um could I uh speak to to get a job at this shop."

Catherine immediately dived back in to charm making. With only a few hours left before the shop closed up, she was determined to get at least somewhat ahead in her work with the disaster of last week looming over her head. She was making decent progress when the doorbell rang. Cathy glanced up and immediately buried her face in her hands. Bow-Tie Guy A.K.A Michael A.K.A creepy asshole who special orders weird hexes. Looking to make this as painless as possible, she stood up and gently nudged Jaede away from the counter.

"Let me handle this one, sweetheart. Pulling the hex out of a special box under the counter she braced herself for Ass-Tie as he approached her.

"Hello, Michael. What brings you in today?" she said with as much civility as possible. Michael proceeded to smirk looking down at her.

"Ah well, I came to see if that order I placed was ready. I know I said it didn't have to be done till next week, but knowing how on the ball you are about your work, I had a hunch it was done. Is it?" he leaned in closer with one arm propped on the counter as he spoke, and like an opposing magnet, Cat leaned back and away as much as her spine could bend.

"As it turns out, it is." Cat placed the velvet bag onto the counter top next to the cash register. "Allow me to ring that up real quick..." She pressed a few buttons before turning back to Ass-Tie. "$30.73 is your total."

"Aw, why so cold Cathy? Are you free after work? I can take you out my treat..." As he gave his sales pitch, Catherine had to resist the urge to openly scowl at his suggestion.

"Sorry. I have plans. Are you paying with cash or card?" Ass-Tie begrudgingly pulled out his wallet and plopped a fifty dollar bill down onto the counter.

"You must be a fairly busy woman to have plans after work the last three times I've asked." Cathy silently made the change ignoring his comment. She printed his receipt and handed him his change.

"Have a nice day," she dismissed him with a obviously fake smile. Ass-Tie smirked before strolling out the door like he owned the place. After the store bell rang and closed, a faint muttered Ass-Tie could be heard under her breath.

Ugh, I could really go for a drink... she thought wistfully.

"Hey Licia, after work you want to hit up that jazzy little bar down the street? We could convince Elias to go too. After a shit day like today, I could really use a nice shot of tequila." Licia had been sour all day. Surely she wouldn't turn down a drink. Elias would be a little more difficult to convince due to his aversion to alcohol and reluctance to leave the shop, but surely he wouldn't turn down a chance to socialize. She was about to head back to her desk when the doorbell rang again. Cathy looked up and spotted an unfamiliar face.

"Who um could I uh speak to to get a job at this shop." Cathy's eyebrows raised. We hadn't had fresh meat since Justin. She raised her arm and flagged him down.

"I can help you out. My name is Cathy. The manager will be with you shortly. For now, here's an application. You can start filling that out while you wait." Cathy handed him a printed application along with a pen and left him at the corner of the counter to fill in the blanks.

"I'm guessing they want to put it out back. For all her hatred of spiders, Cat probably wouldn't want a random passerby stepping on it. Enchanters are always so superstitious. I wouldn't be surprised if she thought it would bring bad luck on the shop." Jaede hummed in agreement, realising it made quite good sense. She herself would never want a creature to be hurt intentionally, but caring if it was stepped on once released? She thought it a little overkill, but it also warmed her heart to know Catherine cared so much. As another customer entered, she watched quietly as Licia interrupted her and took control of the situation. Jay couldn't help but stare; confronted with an abrupt reminder of the woman's psychic powers. It struck Jay that she viewed them all so normally, but in reality they were anything but. Did that make her normal? She didn't like that thought. A sour expression passed over her face but as she felt an arm lock round her shoulders it was wiped clean.

"Jay can you do me a huge favour? Can you cover the cash register while I run and get a coffee and have a smoke break?" Jay nodded as Elias spoke, wondering if something particularly bad had happened, or if he was just tired; it was a very rare occasion when he asked her to cover for him. She didn't mind though—on the contrary, she actually liked it. It made her feel useful, and she didn't have to feel guilt about not doing her own work because she was doing someone else's. "Oh and when you see Cat, could you please tell her the order's for the really tall guy with the bow tie if he comes in?" "Yeah, for sure. No problem." She wandered over to the cashier, looking it over and reminding herself how to use it.

Jay was about to call over to Cathy and tell her what Elias had said, but she became distracted as the man in question walked in, and Catherine nudged her away, seeming to know what she was doing. "Let me handle this one, sweetheart." Jay hummed her affirmation, very happy to hand over control of the counter to Cathy—she did not like the look of that one. She watched their interactions from the side and almost threw up when he asked the charm-maker out. Jay hated people like him, but never knew how to deal with them. She'd never been strong with standing up to people, but as she watched Cathy deal with him in her own way she felt a bit of respect for the woman.

As the man left, she gave a sigh of relief and stepped back behind the counter. Now that it was over, she realised she didn't have a whole lot to do behind the counter, and gave Elias some credit for being able to cover it all day. Then again, he probably had other stuff to do as well, being the manager… Regardless, it would be nice if we had some customers. She started picking at her nails, absentmindedly trying to remove the dirt under them.

Just as she felt her attention start to wander, she heard the door bell ring. Eyes flicking up eagerly to see who it was, she saw a guy walk in. Must be a customer, right? Right? Jay was secretly happy to be able to serve someone, but as he spoke she felt that drain away. "Who um could I uh speak to to get a job at this shop." Wait! she realised as she listened. He's asking for a job! she thought. That was even more interesting, she decided. But as Cathy handed him an application form, she also remembered what a pain it was. He might not even be accepted. Though, the shop tended to take in almost anyone who had some form of psychictry. Or would it be called psychicness? Psychosis? She almost laughed at that one. Oh well, she thought with a smile. I wonder if he's got abilities like the rest.