~forbidden fruit*

"Yes, but only one," he advised, with a bit of a grin. "Because these days, we are all on our phones with cameras out, recording everything rather than simply enjoying the moment.. So, I encourage that. I bet you had a fine time in comparison to those that came in tow with phone camera ready." He knew this because he, too, had a stellar time without his phone or social media playing any role in it. At least until his heart had acted up. "Deal."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with taking more than one picture to commemorate a moment. Just as long as you're not on it the whole time, it's good to have reminders of the memories." If Eden had more time, she would probably have a dozen or more scrapbooks filled with photos from some of her favourite moments. Instead, the photos stayed on her phone, waiting for her to print them out and add them to the empty albums she'd been collecting over the years.

Luca nodded as he listened to her as he handed over the drink, "They do add up after a while," He agreed, "But once they get done it feels great." He said thinking about his own place, it was just a studio downtown but it was still pretty bare. He wasn't sure if he was going to stick around or not, but he was leaning more on staying for a while. He might as well make it his own. He typed the order into the Ipad, "Hopefully it is just a one-day thing."

"It does! Which is why I'm planning on getting everything done today so that tomorrow I can just relax." Though she was sure that by tomorrow she would have another list of things she needed to get done. That always seemed to be the case. Eden took the drink and held it between both of her hands, letting the heat from inside the cup warm up her hands. "Well, I suppose to better get back to getting things done, but thank you so much for the drink, no doubt you'll see me in here again later today."

who: anyone where: the golden spoon

It wasn't like Eden to run late, but today was one of the rare occasions that she was. She had every intention to make it up to Beau when she arrived, she'd offer to buy his lunch, or she'd drop a basket of baking, whatever she could to apologize.

“Sounds very fulfilling,” he nodded.  A job one enjoys and finds fulfilling had to be hard to find, but he was glad there were people out there that managed it.  Gave a glimmer of hope to those still struggling with their job choices.

"It is, I'm very lucky." Eden knew that there were a lot of people out there who didn't enjoy their jobs as much as she did, and she counted herself extremely lucky that she'd found something that she enjoyed so much and that she was actually good at it.

"It's a great idea, really. I can't remember the last time we did one, probably good to revisit and invite the town to participate." Even the supernaturals around town could use a freshening up on their typical self defense techniques. Or, perhaps, how to reign in their powers and focus on using them for good. This was meant to be a safe place for everyone that lived here, wasn't it? They were supposed to all work together in keeping it that way.

Eden was glad that Kara thought it was a good idea. Sure, maybe she'd suggested it for selfish reasons, but it could be a good opportunity for others to get involved. Eden wasn't the only human in town, so she was sure that she wasn't the only one who was worried about the growing supernatural population. Plus, there was bound to be some supernatural beings who might benefit from it too. "I'd be more than happy to help organise something, even if it's just making fliers and posting them around town."

“Great! Come on.” Nathan grinned and hooked his arm around hers, steering her away from the diner and toward the cinema. “I have no idea, actually. Just whatever is starting in the next half hour,” he explained, letting go of her arm as they made their way. “My oldest brother’s at the house so I’m trying to stay gone for a couple of hours.” Nathan didn’t usually talk about him, but his mouth had moved faster than his brain in this instance. He wanted to distract her from her awful night and had spoken without thinking. “I don’t even know what movies are out right now, but I’m good with anything as long as I’ve got my sour gummy worms and soda.”

Eden couldn't help but let out a laugh as Nathan hooked his arm with hers and turned her away from the diner and towards Pixelplex. "So, we're winging it? I can work with that." She was grateful that Nathan had managed to save her evening, and she would think of a way to thank him for it later. She let her arm drop back down to her side and quickly fell into step with Nathan as they walked. "Then it seems like this has worked out well for both of us." She'd never heard Nathan speak of his oldest brother, so Eden didn't dwell on it and moved on in case it was something Nathan would rather not talk about. "I don't really know what's out at the moment either, so I guess we can just figure it out when we get there. But, I'm sure there'll be plenty of soda and gummy worms. I'm definitely going to have to get some popcorn. Don't judge me if I get a large one."

“Okay, no.” Niamh shook her head at the woman. “That is not how that works!” she protested. “First of all, this is a bakery, not a vegetable aisle. If you’re not excited about it, why eat it? And I’m going to have to tell the boss they need to fix the muffins if they’re just ‘nice’. That’s not good enough.” She took the other’s arm and tugged her, encouraging her to shift to the side. “What I meant by mood – sweet or savory? Sugary or chocolatey?” She tapped a finger to her lips. “Are you celebrating something? Or is this a just because kind of day? Are you happy or sad?” She waved a hand at the displays. “We’ve got all kinds of things, and you should never have to settle for ‘nice’ when you could have ‘perfect’. We just have to find the right thing for you.”

She couldn't argue that the woman had a point. Baked good were supposed to be enjoyed for what they were and with excitement. Eden had always thought that, so she knew she needed to get back in that mindset. "Okay, sweet, definitely sweet. And sugary, for ultimate sweetness. No occasion, it's just because it feels like a good day for a sweet treat. And I'm happy, so something that'll keep that going." Even if she was sad, she would never admit to it. But, she was in fairly high spirits today. "You're really good at this, you know that?"

Caryn lifted a hand to her hair, tucking a lock of it behind her ear as she offered the other woman a slightly larger smile. “Sorry,” she apologized in turn, putting on her best embarrassed but relieved look. Pretty, and quick with a reassurance . . . not quite enough yet for Caryn to decide whether or not to be intrigued by this one. “I’m new in town and still not used to the rhythm of the place,” she admitted as she waved back towards the restaurant. “I’ve only closed once before, and no one was on the street when I headed home. I . . . didn’t expect to hear anything, and so I . . . well, I jumped to conclusions.” She ducked her head, giving a little shrug. “Again, sorry for that.”

"Understandable." Eden said, nodding her head. She couldn't blame the woman for being cautious, especially in a place like Raven's Peak. It wasn't completely outside the realm of possibility with so many different species living in the town. "I probably would've thought the same thing in your situation, so no need to apologize." She offered the woman a friendly smile, hoping that it would make her feel more at ease. "My house isn't far, maybe we could walk together for a while, safety in numbers and all that." It would also make herself feel better about being out so late. Company would at least make things a little less worrisome. "I'm Eden, by the way."

~~*~~

The familiarity of the moment filled Eden with a warmness that she'd been missing. Wherever Juni had been, whatever she had been through, it hadn't changed the feeling between them. Juni was the mother figure Eden needed, she was the sister figure that Eden had never had. Juni truly meant so much to Eden, and she was glad that they could pick things up where they had left off.

"Not if we had help to get through it, but just us? I'll still try a few, for you." He shook his head, trying to keep a good eye on the menu as there were still too many options for his taste. It would have been easier to get something without overthinking it and then move on, whether he liked it or not. "Is this your roundabout way to ask me why my face looks the way it does?" It was a lot nicer than he deserved, considering the black eye was barely healed enough to not look swollen shut anymore as he tensed only slightly. "Not great, but that's not really news. Chocolate then?" He tried to change the subject back to the ice cream, even though he knew it wouldn't do much good when it came to Eden.

"You're right." Eden said with a single nod of her head. Banks had a point, she couldn't argue that, and she wouldn't. The last thing she needed to do was fill up on ice-cream just to end up feeling awful about it later. A stomachache was bound to follow a feast of ice-cream, so it was more sensible to try some this time and save the others for next time. When Banks mentioned his face, Eden shook her head. "I figured if you wanted me to know what happened, you would tell me. But, I'm not going to pry if it's something you'd rather not talk about." Though, it did worry her to see him in such a state, and she was curious about how it had happened. But, she wouldn't push him, she knew that wouldn't do either of them any good. His attempt to change the subject didn't go unnoticed, but she let it happen. "Definitely chocolate, and maybe some strawberry to go with it. What do you think?"

„That makes no sense, does it? I mean, I know this town is completely obsessed with Halloween and they go all out on it, but birthdays still happen.“ Maybe Dom was a little too grumpy, but he was tired, even if the woman did not deserve his grumpiness. Doing long shifts at work and then coming back home to more work wasn‘t helping his stress levels, but he had to manage. He had someone so special to manage it for. The blonde seemed to be capable of miracles as just a couple of moments later she pulled the decorations he was after from, it seemed, thin air, making Dom‘s eyebrows rise in surprise. „How the- these are perfect! You really do have some kind of talent for this, don’t you?”

"That sort of reason doesn't fly around here, not at this time of year." Eden chuckled, shaking her head. It was something she had been caught out by many times, which was why she knew exactly where to look. At the surprised look on the man's face, Eden couldn't help but smile. "I've lived in this town a long time, I know a lot of the secrets that they think they've kept hidden. Like where to find non-holiday themed decorations." She might not have had any supernatural abilities, but this was something that she had always been good at and she was always more than happy to put her skills to good use when needed.

~~*~~

Eden had closed her eyes and waited for something, anything, to happen. Instead, she heard another voice, and felt a small gust of air as the vampire who was ready to attack her was pushed away. Trembling, she kept her eyes closed for a moment, tears rolling down her cheeks. If the vampire was going to try again, she didn't want to see it coming. Somehow, she thought that would be better. But, as she listened to the new voice, she realised that she might actually walk out of there in one piece.

“Sounds like purposeful work, glad you find it fulfilling.”  It sounded like the young woman had a good head on her shoulders and enjoyed her occupation.  Not many people of any age could say the same when it came to their job.  “Probably right, I am guessing everyone remembers the really interesting cases.  I assume most are just kind of basic, although I suppose in this town it can still remain exciting.”

"Even the not so exciting cases can be nice. Just giving family members and friends piece of mind, there's really nothing like it." Especially in a town like Raven's Peak, where it was starting to seem like anything was possible. Recently, more and more interesting cases had come up, and it was a learning curve for Eden and her co-workers. Especially since demons had started appearing.

"Ah, I'm sorry I missed it," Fitzroy remarked, a hint of disappointment there. Genuinely, he would have enjoyed to get a peek at the man she was so enamored with lately and even meet him. Needed to make sure the guy was on the up-and-up, right? Though Fitz had faith that his friend wouldn't choose a terrible person for herself. His friend was a bit choosier with her love life, and that was understandable, given her past experience. "And I didn't get to see you all made up. I bet you looked lovely."

"If only I had remembered to take a photo." Eden chuckled softly, shaking her head. She'd been so wrapped up in the evening that she had forgotten to take any photos to remember it. "I'm sure there will be another event soon, and we'll just have to make sure that we make time to catch up during it." Christmas and New Years was right around the corner, so Eden was sure that something would come up, that someone would plan something.