** 2024 **
"I know they had something like that at school," the one mage said, "you could pick up a little snack or sacrificial tidbit on your way to class. It was pretty cool."
Those classes were not here in Wonder's school - they had been a student down toward the coast, at Carramba High. And the 'something like that' they mentioned in passing, was a kiosk that sold live or recently-killed prey for those obligate carnivores or students who needed a little something for a class that they'd forgotten to pick up before school, for their magic classes. While this pair of vampiric dragons had not actively visited Crescent City for the bulk of their stay here in the hills, there was a day not very long ago that they decided to do so.
"They have night classes too," someone commented, when they expressed their interest in a map leading toward that selfsame school. They both realized that it would be easier and quicker if they just ... asked directions rather than wandering around getting distracted by the towns and freeways between Wonder and Crescent. Or better still, hitched a ride with one of the families that had students down there?
In the years that they'd been roosting in that empty warehouse, Basanar and Sorophan had attracted just enough attention for people to know that it was their place, and not enough to cause any trouble. And they had found work - night shift and security patrols and even some amount of pest control here and there!
It just wasn't ... enough. They wanted to participate! And as they heard more from former students, staff that lived up here, or even just the suggestions that got batted around at any given town meeting, they realized that there was a niche and they intended to fill it.
And tummies. They could fill their own as well as supply things to the town.
Now they needed a business licence and maybe some refrigerators...
**
They needed a little more than that, but in the end, their warehouse home became the distribution point for their new shops. Turned out, rather a number of people in Wonder were more night-centric and bored out of their minds - and didn't want to keep forcing themselves to work day jobs when they really didn't tolerate sunlight very well.
So now, scattered around town were their outlets, with one actual true storefront in the mall! And while it would be true that there were some permit issues at first, turned out that having the mayor's daughter on your side got things done... After all, having both live animals for food and sacrifices and on-site candy and donuts would normally be strictly health-code-restricted... With enough magical and technological preparation, they could coexist in one rather odd shop.
Midnight Snacks, when you need a sugar rush or a sanguine infusion, they've got it covered! In sprinkles!
Name: Basanar
Gender: Female
Height: 6’9” at head
Color: White
Marking: Black Dorsal Stripe
Face Marking: Blaze - Gold
Abilities: Shapeshifting: True Bat
See invisible; Turn Invisible
Blood Vision
Fast Healing
Moon Magic
Personality: clever, sneaky, often a prankster but would rather watch chaotic activities than be part of them
Name: Sorophan
Gender: male
Height: 6'7" at head
Color: White
Marking: Dorsal Stripe - Gold
Face Marking: Mask - Gold
Abilities: Shapeshifting: True Bat
See invisible; Turn Invisible
Blood Vision
Fast Healing
Telepathy (Hypnosis/Control)
Functional Immortality
Limited Teleportation
Shadow Magic
Personality: sly, slick, a ladie's man in draconic vampire form, but upon finding Basanar he is extremely protective of her
It wasn't too much to ask that they have a proper delivery service coming out of that warehouse, was it? In the end, no it wasn't! The semi- and fully-undead types around Wonder kept themselves quite busy thank you very much, and there was no shortage of parties, events, catering, and the like that needed just the right mix of 'sweet and salty' to add to their buffet table or their ritual circles.
Who knew cupcakes with jellied blood interiors would become so popular? Sure they got their share of complaints when unwitting human parents tried to accommodate their kid's friend who 'was a furry they like this kind of thing right'? But with experience came skill, and marketing became more important as their kiosks reached out with their distinctive spooky themes and purposefully turned off those who might just 'happen' to want a snack. What was a mouth-watering slightly-furry donut hole that smelled of ichor to one student might be a quick trip to the restrooms for someone else.
"Humanely sourced, what does that even mean?" Someone at the midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show said that one time.
"If you have to ask..." was the attendant's reply.
Either way, the dragon delivery girl was here, and he had to unpack the coolers and put them in their temperature-controlled displays, and get the deep fryer ready for the actually-sweet stuff!
That delivery dragoness sure did sparkle in the spotlights outside the mall's theater, though!
| Glaazd |
Name: Glaazd (glazed) |