Xander's Cross, Oregon: a small town ringed with forbidding mountains and misty forest. The sky may be gray, but the townspeople are welcoming to people of all kinds...and things that are not quite human as well. Here the native shifters, aliens, werewolves, and witches live in peace. They have yet to find out the new business owners encroaching on the land are also vampires.
The peace has been broken by murder, however, and things in Xander's Cross are about to become quite a bit darker.
Welcome to your new home.
is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?
August 20, 2020
The mayor, Rowan Starkwood, was found dead less than a mile from his home. Rumors say his body was mutilated, but the state of the body has not yet been released to the public.
Post by Corinne Foster on Aug 24, 2020 20:35:03 GMT -5
People think summer in Oregon isn't so bad. It is if you live above a bakery where the ovens get up to 500 degrees in the mornings, and your air conditioner is broken.
Corinne had woken in the middle of the night to a strange grinding noise. It had gone quiet after a minute, so she hadn't thought anything of it until the next afternoon, when the bakery was closed, and she walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs in to an oven. Her apartment was sweltering. She went to turn the AC unit in the rear window back on, assuming she had tripped breaker and upset it or something, and it didn't even light up. The very cute baker said some not so cute swears. Her bulldog, Corbin, whined.
"I know, I know. I don't like it either, but it had to be said," she told him and ruffled his ears. He just grunted at her, like that didn't change anything.
She got the dog a bowl of ice water, and moved to open every window in the place, hoping she'd catch some kind of breeze. She lingered at the bedroom window for a moment, looking out across the street. The sun was shining brightly even as it set, reflecting off the windows of the mechanic's shop across the street. It was only 5 pm, so the sun wouldn't be gone for a while, and it wouldn't really cool down until late. Her t-shirt was already clinging to her back, and she'd ditched her sweater the moment she'd walked in. She glanced out the door of her room at the stove where she'd been planning to cook dinner and shook her head. Not happening. Adults could eat ice cream for dinner, right?
She stripped off her t-shirt and swapped her jeans for pair of PJ shorts, deciding that a bra and shorts was good enough for around the house, since no one could see her. That done, she took a container of mint-chocolate chip ice cream out of the freezer, grabbed a spoon, and snatched up her cell phone off the counter. She cradled the phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she paced the apartment in slow circuits, trying to figure out who could repair an air conditioner. After being on hold for more than an hour, the company told her that her warranty was up and they wouldn't do it.
She had to go back to her room and plug the phone in, sitting on the edge of the bed by the dresser so she could try someone else, a local guy who had moved in recently. It was Nana's idea, of course, she always knew who was coming and going around town.
"Um, hi! I hope I've got the right number. Nan--I mean, my grandmother suggested I call you, she said you were doing odd jobs? Um, I know it probably can't happen tonight, but my air-conditioner totally gave up on me. Is there any way you could come out tomorrow?"
Post by Conor Grey on Aug 25, 2020 10:06:05 GMT -5
The old woman had been so polite when she asked, but Conor was currently regretting being so nice. It was just a simple chair, how hard could it be, right? Well, whoever created the damn thing must have been the evil twin of IKEA, because there were pieces everywhere and screws he didn't even think belonged in this damn kit. It was far worse than any piece of IKEA furniture. He was wondering why Mrs. Grady didn't have a son or perhaps a grandchild do this for her instead of hiring a handyman to attempt it and pull out all his hair in the process.
Pausing when his cell went off, he was bringing it to his ear as he glared angrily down at the instructions that seemed like they were in another language. You know what? They actually were. "Yeah, yeah, you do," he gently told the woman on the other line about having the right number. She was going on about her air-conditioner dying and he wished for nothing more than to say he'd be over to help tonight. Anything to avoid this current mess he was in. But he had promised, so he refrained from sighing. "Yeah, unfortunately I can't give it a look tonight, but I could be over first thing in the morning, if that works for you?"
Hammering out the details, he eventually hung up and made sure to put the appointment on his calendar with her address so he wouldn't forget. That sucked, though, not having any cool air despite Oregon not being terribly hot. But being on top of a bakery? Yeah, that definitely sucked.
The next morning came and he was driving his way over to the Secret Ingredient Bakery with Kit. She was already bored, but he barely took notice because she'd simply have to get over it. It would be good for her to get out, and he was constantly driving all over the place to many of the businesses that it would be a prime opportunity for her to get to see the town but also meet other people. As well as hopefully find a job.
"Could you at least try smiling?" he asked. Caitriona forced a tiredly fake smile and he rolled his eyes. "Stop being a brat and I'll buy you a cinnamon roll?" Bribery always worked. A smile immediately spread across her face, like this had been her plan all along. "Deal." Conor laughed softly and shook his head, knowing she was very much the cause of his premature grey hairs, and they made their way into the bakery in search of Corinne. Both paused as the door swung closed to inhale the delicious scents of the baked good, already hungry again.
Post by Corinne Foster on Aug 28, 2020 22:58:01 GMT -5
Corinne was more than a little bit relieved to have an answer, and tomorrow morning would be plenty soon enough now that the sun was finally going down. She thanked the man profusely before hanging up, then settled in on the couch with a movie and some leftover pasta now that she wasn't too overheated to think about eating something warm. She didn't even realize she'd fallen asleep in the middle of Sleepless in Seattle until her alarm went off in the other room. Corbin had eaten the rest of the pasta while she slept, so he didn't mind.
She got ready as usual and was doing decent business in the bakery when the handyman (she guessed by his look and the tools) and what appeared to be his daughter arrived.
"Good morning!" she began out of habit, but she emerged from behind the counter to offer a handshake to Conor, and a little wave to the girl. "I'm Corinne, like you probably guessed. The AC's upstairs in my apartment. Do you guys want a snack for while you work? Cinnamon roll? Danish? My treat, as thanks for coming out so fast." She was talking a little more quickly than usual, mainly out of nerves, but she didn't turn red the way she would around a certain mechanic. Maybe it was because these two had a good reason to be here--or maybe she was just weak to that specific grin. She didn't want to think too hard about that.
Post by Conor Grey on Sept 16, 2020 16:12:21 GMT -5
It smelled real good in here and he knew he was going to be bringing some baked goods home after this. He could already hear Kit asking, too. The sound of a woman's voice brought his attention immediately to the one behind the counter, and he sensed that magic right away. It wasn't just those fox-like senses, but he'd been around enough witches to know when he was in the presence of one.
A gentle smile, he took her offered hand for a quick shake as Corinne introduced herself. "Mornin'," he said before she was talking again. Conor didn't have to look over to his daughter to know those bright eyes were widening with the mention of something sweet. He held back a chuckle. "I'm Conor, and this is Kit. Hope you don't mind that she's taggin' along." Looking sidelong to the teen, he purposely reached over to ruffle her hair...just the way she hated it. "Dad, seriously..." she fussed under her breath, attempting to fix her now messed up do. "She won't be any trouble, especially with a free cinnamon roll." Caitriona was rolling her eyes but his attention drifted back to the baker. "That's kind of you, by the way. I'll gladly take one to go, but let's get that AC up and runnin' again for ya first." He was sure it was probably near unbearable up there and would only get worse once the afternoon hit and the ovens had been running for awhile.
Conor gave Kit a pointed look to stay in the store as he would wait for Corinne to lead or simply point the way.
Post by Corinne Foster on Oct 6, 2020 17:47:09 GMT -5
Corinne laughed quietly as he ruffled the girl’s hair and shook her head. Her granddad had always done the same thing to her, and she’d hated it just as much.
“Of course, it’s no problem. I’m just glad to have you guys here so soon! If you can fix the AC up there, I’ll happily take on as many kids as you’ve got.” Corinne retorted. “The unit is upstairs, in the living room window.” Corinne was already headed for the stairs at the far end of the counter, although she froze with her foot on the first one. “Are you ok with dogs, by the way? I can lock Corbin in the bedroom if you need me to, but he's real lazy, so I doubt he’ll be an issue.”
Once she had Conor’s approval, she was headed up the stairs, wiping her hands on her apron as she went. At the top of the stairs, Corbin lifted his massive, droopy head up from the wood floor, setting his collar to jingling as he looked down at her in question. She couldn’t help laughing at the dopey look on his face. The poor dog had been out cold before she woke him up. “Go on, Corbs, get out of the way.”
The bulldog harumphed his displeasure as he drug himself up off the floor and moved aside just enough to let her through. Once he spotted Conor, though, his ears perked up a little and his whole butt wiggled along with his little tail. He was excited to see someone new around here–he didn’t often get to meet strangers. He shuffled up to Conor and snuffed loudly at his feet before sneezing his approval.
last edited Oct 6, 2020 17:47:30 GMT -5 by Corinne Foster
Only two kids, he thought to himself. Conor was perhaps very glad that his genetics didn't, well...up that number. Caitriona and Elijah were handful enough. He almost chuckled at these silent thoughts.
At Corinne's question, he finally did crack another smile. In a matter of speaking, he was really good with dogs. "Nah, it'll be fine. I like dogs." With a last look at Kit, who was already busying herself looking at all the delicious baked goods, he followed the woman up the steps to her apartment.
With Corbin's greeting, letting him check him out, Conor bent and held his hand out for the bulldog to sniff if he so desired before giving him a couple scritches behind his ears. "Hey there, bud." When his gaze rose, he spotted the window unit in the living room. "That the one?" he asked, making his way over.
Switching it on, he heard the grind and the struggle it was going through to even work, but it wasn't blowing out any cold air. It was barely blowing any air out. "Hmm..." Conor shut it down and popped off the front of the air conditioner, immediately finding the filter completely covered in dust. "Well, this might be your problem," he began, carefully removing the filter to hold it up to her. "Air flow is restricted. You got a vacuum?"
last edited Nov 1, 2020 14:46:07 GMT -5 by Conor Grey
Post by Corinne Foster on Nov 1, 2020 18:05:56 GMT -5
Corinne's jaw dropped. There was a filter in there? Was she supposed to have been cleaning that? She'd been living in this apartment for six years and it had never even occurred to her. If that was all it was, she was going to feel awfully silly…
Oh, he'd asked for a vacuum.
"Right! Um, yes!" She stammered, hurrying to the hall closet to drag out her ancient-looking floor vacuum. She'd gotten it as a hand-me-down it from her grandmother, along with most of her furniture. She didn't do a lot of vacuuming. Thankfully, most of the floors up here were hardwood, so a good old fashioned broom was plenty.
The vacuum did have a hose attachment, though, that she hoped would work well enough for him. She wheeled it over to Mr. Grey, showing it to him with an awkward grimace.
He wasn't surprised, to be honest. No one ever checked the filters. Hell, he always forgot to. It was just one of those things that people didn't think about because air conditioners were just meant to cool things down and always work. Silly, but true. And, in all honesty, he was glad it wasn't anything major because she might have had to wait on a part to come in if that were the case, or he'd have to go hunting at the hardware store for whatever obscure piece.
"Aye, that's perfect," he told her. Uncoiling the cord, he found the nearest outlet and began to clear the debris from the filter with the hose. Normally it wasn't necessary to need a new filter- so long as it was kept clean it would last her a bit longer. But it would be super easy to replace. Conor explained all of this briefly over the noise of the vacuum before it was finally shut off, and the filter was popped back in.
The moment of truth. Snapping the front of the AC back on, he turned it to on and waited a few seconds. Being an old unit, it still rattled and buzzed briefly before it finally kicked on fully with that soft, steady hum. And yes, slowly began to blow out cold air. "There ya go. Fortunately, it was nothing major," he said, unplugging the vacuum and coiling the cord back up.
Post by Corinne Foster on Nov 7, 2020 16:44:59 GMT -5
Corinne nodded along with the explanation about the filter, although she knew she was probably going to replace it anyway, just to avoid bothering someone else with her problems again. She wouldn't tell him that--it wasn't that she didn't want to give him her business, but more like she didn't want to be a helpless hassle all the time. It was the same reason that she'd always had Grandpa be the one to talk to Harvey when the 'mystery machine' needed work. She hated to go over there and be useless and have people know how ignorant she was. It was fine when they weren't around, but she shouldn't make it their problem.
She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath when he flicked the AC back on and waited for it to hum--and then she sighed heavily when it started to blow out cold air again. Thank goodness. She didn't think she'd have been able to make it through another night like that.
"Thank you so, so, so, so much. I just feel silly that I called you out here for something so simple. I just didn't want to mess with it and make something worse." She smiled ruefully. "But hey, at least you'll get a cinnamon roll out of it?"
Post by Conor Grey on Jan 31, 2021 18:32:34 GMT -5
These tiny jobs kept him busy, even if some of the time they were so dull or even irritating (sorry, Mrs. Grady) that he could feel more of his hair turning grey. Ms. Foster was pleasant company, however, and this had been no trouble at all. In fact, he much preferred that it was an easy fix and didn't drag on, and that she wasn't hit with some bad luck such as the entire unit being done for.
He grinned at the feeling of the cold air against his face, neatly coiling the vacuum's cord back up so that all she would have to do was put it away. "You're quite welcome, and it was honestly no trouble at all," he told her, and meant it. This job, although not glamorous, kept him busy enough and got him out of the house. Paid the bills so his family could remain safe. That was all that mattered...and was far better than what he used to do.
Gathering his things, he made his way to the staircase. "You give a call whenever you need something, big or small-" Conor paused at the top step to glance over his shoulder. "Especially if there are free cinnamon rolls involved." Chuckling lightly, he descended back into the bakery where he spotted his daughter looking upon all the delicious goodies with hungry eyes. He huffed out another laugh.
When Corinne re-emerged, Kit seemed to perk up some; folding her hands behind her back with a curious look on her face. "You, um, wouldn't by chance be...looking for help during the summer, would you?" the girl asked the baker. Conor's brow rose in slight surprise. All she did was complain about having to find a job, and he hadn't even had to prod her much about it today. Maybe the smell of sugar was getting to her head.
Post by Corinne Foster on May 2, 2021 14:09:33 GMT -5
Corinne stopped in her tracks and blinked when the girl asked about summer help. Actually...that was a really good idea. Business was starting to pick up, and without Nan around to help out, she was running herself ragged to keep up with the catering orders. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have a little more free time to experiment...or maybe visit across the street?
"That's a great idea!" she exclaimed, her surprise brightening into genuine joy. Are you applying for the position?" She raised an eyebrow at the girl and put her hands on her hips. "I'd need you in the mornings, probably at 8am, is that gonna be too early for you? We're busiest around breakfast and then again around lunch."
Maybe she ought to be opening the position and running interviews, but hey, if this girl was interested, then so was Corinne. She'd probably need Nan's help with the paperwork, but they could work that part out.