#joeydarling

White Crest had proven to be different. More different than anything Joey could have ever anticipated. The conversation she had overheard in the diner should’ve been more of a warning call than an invitation, but she followed it blindly, eager to put as much distance between her parents and herself as possible. Living out of a car had proven difficult, especially when interviewing and applying for jobs. She had no solid home address, but it seemed like some places didn’t care-- they just wanted somebody to show up. That, Joey could respect. Al’s Diner wouldn’t have been her first choice, but she had worked in restaurants before. Though her parents wanted her to focus mostly on her training and knife skills, she had opted out for something resembling that of a true teenage life-- a summer job. It had proven easier than that of everything her parents had ever put her through, even with the constant yelling and snide remarks from customers who were upset about the lack of ranch on the side. Who even ate ranch?

Despite knowing it wouldn’t be, Al’s Diner had to be different. It was the only thing she had in the chaotic stream of things leading her to this moment-- the bite, her parents making it clear that they’d rather she die than have a daughter for a wolf-- everything. Joey needed things to work out. Only, the sudden spike in aggression had made things a little more difficult than she had anticipated. The words spat at her by one of the back line cooks made her stare down at her feet, her fingers flexing in an attempt to keep from lashing out. She had gotten gruff with one of the customers who commented on their lack of service-- something she couldn’t help due to being short staffed. Instead of smiling politely, she had told him to go fuck himself. The words spewing from the cook’s lips were lost on Joey. Instead, she began to untie the apron, “you know what? Fuck it, I’m out.” She dropped it to the ground, fingers still trembling, “doesn’t matter, this place smells like grease and sweat anyways-- maybe y’all should shower sometime.” She turned on her heel, stalking out of the kitchen, towards the front door. The noise was apparently loud enough that the heads in the dining room swiveled towards her as she eased her way between tables, beelining for the glass door. She needed to get out, and get out fast. The ache in her bones and anger heating in the tips of her fingers was vicious.

Ever since Amaranth had come across a wolf living alone, she had followed her around as a fox. Not all the time and definitely not the whole day. Just here and there, curious as to why she was without a pack and living on her own. Werewolves lived in White Crest after all - why would a wolf be all by herself. She eventually tracked her down to Al’s Diner. She wondered why the girl frequented there and it wasn’t until Amaranth stepped in that she figured out she was employed there. It didn’t seem like a bad place for someone who was on their own. They’d have a source of income and a source of food. Amaranth wasn’t big on greasy American food and often would only ask for a coffee or a water and just sit and observe. If Joey wasn’t working she’d be out after she finished and if she was she’d hang around and just watch the young girl.

This time, it seemed Amaranth was here at the right time. She had seen Joey’s outburst as it was only a few tables away. Soon after she heard a cook’s voice yelling and the sound of it made Amaranth’s blood boil. Her fathers’ never once raised her voice at her and while many feared the sound of her fathers voice - she had learned they only ever spoke with love in their hearts. So the sound of a man raising his voice to threaten someone - a young girl, it took everything Amaranth had not to enter the kitchen and shove him face down on the grill top. She watched as Joey stormed through the diner, heading out. Pulling out cash for her coffee, Amaranth quickly went after her. She’d watched this wolf for too long now - it would be wrong if Amaranth didn’t offer any help. “Are you okay?” Amaranth called out for her, quickly catching up with her. “The whole diner could hear him yell at you.” She explained.

Joey stalked towards the sidewalk, eager to put as much distance between herself and the diner as possible. The smell of something-- mammal, caught her attention. The wind shifted, and it grew stronger. She scrunched her nose. This wasn’t a squirrel, it was something else. Something a little more human. The sound of somebody’s voice sent Joey’s stance rigid. She afforded a glance over her shoulder. She hadn’t seen this woman before, but she seemed concerned. Maybe that wasn’t the right word. The wind picked up and the smell from the woman curled around her nose. She wasn’t a wolf, that was for certain, but smelling like an animal meant that she wasn’t a hunter. Or maybe she was. Maybe she was like Joey. She tensed as she turned towards the woman, the anger still bubbling. “I’m fine,” she replied, glancing past her and back into the diner. “Huh.” Joey realigned her gaze back onto the stranger, regarding her carefully.

She glanced down at the woman’s hands, then to her shoes. It didn’t look like there had been anything slipped into the cuffs, or up her sleeves. Joey leveled her gaze back to meet the stranger’s. “I’m fine,” she repeated, “it was--” Better, easier, Safer? “For the best.” She didn’t mesh well with the other employees anyways. They didn’t seem to do well with new faces. “It’s cold, you don’t need to worry about it.” Joey offered a tight lipped smile before she inhaled sharply. Definitely not human. She was still getting used to her new nose, but it had been a few months, and it was getting a little easier in distinguishing humans from not-humans, and even though White Crest was full of confusion in that regard, she knew it was something she needed to get better at.

“It sounds like it wasn’t a good work environment for you.” Amaranth observed, stepping closer but remaining a polite distance. Already she could note the way she was breathing, probably trying to see what her nose would tell her. Smart girl. “The food wasn’t that great anyway,” Amaranth judged, slightly wrinkling her nose and giving a faint smile. She needed to show she wasn’t hostile that if the girl wanted to, they could be friendly with one another. She was a werewolf after all and… she didn’t seem to have anywhere to go. While Amaranth wasn’t one to force someone to live with her family - it didn’t mean she would abandon a supernatural who needed help.

“I assume you must be on the job market now, am I correct?” Amaranth started, not wanting to scare the girl off but also wanting to offer her a position in her business. “I’m a business owner myself. I don’t know if you’re new in town, so maybe you’ve not heard of it. It’s a shaved ice parlour here downtown. It’s… actually not too far from here if you’re interested in checking it out.” Amaranth gestured to its general direction. “We have a very flexible work schedule, mornings, afternoons, overnight… so whichever suits you best we’re more than happy to work with.” No one was ever hired this easily in typical job employments but Amaranth’s hiring techniques were far from the norm. “We’re also very flexible in the event that… you’re unable to come in due to certain unforeseen circumstances.” Amaranth could only dance around the subject for so long but she didn’t want to scare her off.

The stranger’s comment about the food not being good had her let out a small, breathy chuckle. She wasn’t wrong. Joey would eat just about anything these days, though, and a part of the job meant she got discounted, if not free food. That was one perk she would miss. She had only had it for a month, though, so it wouldn’t be hard to move past. “You’re right,” she commented, watching the way that the woman took a step closer, but still keeping her distance. She wondered if she could tell what she was-- she didn’t seem nervous. Her movements were careful, calculated.

When the woman spoke, Joey nodded carefully, eyebrows pulled together. It seemed odd that this woman would offer her a job after watching her curse at her prior employer. A bitter cold wind dug underneath her sweatshirt and she braced herself against it. How a shaved ice joint could do well in the winter, she wasn’t sure, but the woman was offering her a job. She couldn’t sense anything off in her expression, or the way she held herself-- openly, her mother would say. She looked down at her hands, looking for a twitch in her fingertips, as if it would signal anything off. She looked back up to meet the woman’s gaze, her own careful as she spoke, “you just watched me yell back at those guys, and now you’re telling me I could come and work for you?” She arched a brow, the anger long forgotten. She flexed her fingers before she dropped her hand to her neck, her digits pressing into the skin there. “I don’t… know what to say.” White Crest, so far, harsh on her. “How much does it pay?” Joey asked, not willing to skirt around something that was increasingly important to somebody currently living out of a car.

“Let’s just say, you won’t have to deal with stupidity from your employer.” Amaranth hoped she would see the positives in that. “You may have a few… socially awkward coworkers.” The fenodyree were manageable however. Rarely did they ever break their cover unless a human got too close to them. She gave a hint of a smile as she thought of them - but of course, she couldn’t forget the most important part of this. The pay. Considering the fenodyree were paid in food, there was plenty of money to go around. “I’d say we offer quite the competitive pay rate.” What was competitive pay in the human world though? Money was confusing. She hated human wealth.

“Far better than Al’s I’m sure. Tell me how much they paid you so I can have a laugh at how pathetic it was.” Amaranth let out a presumptive huff as if already able to imagine a low amount. “We can take a walk to the shop if you’d like. You can get a feel for it. Decide if it’s for you or not.” Amaranth offered. She really only wanted to help the girl out but she couldn’t force her to take the help if she didn’t want it. Besides she didn’t feel safe speaking of supernatural things so bluntly out in public. In the shop, however, it was safe. She made sure it was.

Joey had been raised, or rather, conditioned to notice the change in somebody’s demeanor. If you noticed something off, it could save a lot of trouble, her father had said. However, there was nothing off about this woman, nothing other than she smelled of animal, just like her. If that were the case, then surely she would be able to smell Joey. It meant she wasn’t a hunter. Or-- Joey struggled with the idea of what this woman could offer, past her well intentioned offering of a job that she sorely needed. Joey wasn’t in the position to refuse, however, and so she lowered her gaze to the ground, to the woman’s feet. Polished shoes, or what seemed like it. The woman asked how much she had been paid at Al’s and she thought about her server wages, “barely 5 dollars an hour, but that includes tips.” Maine’s minimum pay was 12 dollars, but because she earned tips, she didn’t see that amount.

She shifted uncomfortably. She hated talking about money-- hated that she came across as needy. She swallowed the feeling. This woman was trying to help her, how could she refuse? She bit the inside of her cheek, hard enough to create a distraction from the unease she had been feeling. “I--” She watched the stranger for a moment, “What is your name?” She asked with a tilt of her head. At the very least, she’d like to know this stranger’s name, just in case something were to happen. What kind of thing would happen, she couldn’t be sure. Just in case, Joey thought to herself. She didn’t know anyone, and due to the town’s disposition for having all sorts of creatures, Joey was not sure how much she could trust the local police department, if at all. At least a name would give her the minimal amount of security-- then again, she could be provided a fake one. “But sure, yeah, you can show me.” She finally said, the cold worming its way beneath the thinly layered sweater she wore.

Barely meant it wasn’t good enough. Even then Amaranth was sure it wouldn’t have been considering her own shaved ice could cost up to 5 dollars depending on the weight. And for a whole hour? That couldn’t have been right. “Alright, come on then.” She already began to lead the way, crossing the street as it was empty. “I’ll triple it.” Amaranth argued. “15 dollars an hour.” She can afford that, right? She’ll have one of the money fae deal with it. They were good at handling the financials while she was still trying to figure out how these electronic cards worked. “My name is Amaranth Zhang. What’s yours?” She was quick to arrive at the shop, she didn’t think it would be right to mention anything supernatural outside.

It was colder in the shop than it was outside and Amaranth glanced over at the girl knowing she must have been cold. The shop had only one patron who was off to the corner. Amaranth recognized the regular. The employees behind the counter straightened up at the sight of Amaranth. A short one, no more than five feet came over. “We weren’t expecting you, Queen!” Amaranth glanced over at Joey and it was only then that the employee noticed her. “Hello, welcome to Baobing Bada Boom what can we get for you!” They greeted, a little too aggressively. Amaranth dismissed them with a wave before looking back to Joey. “They can be a little excitable but I assure you they are one of the most hard working coworkers you’ll come across. You’ll see a variety of different people come in for their shift. Some prefer working nights and even overnight as we are open 24 hours. We are really flexible. If you only want to work for a few hours a week, we can work with that. We’re not short staffed - I just want to help special people who may be down on their luck.” Amaranth glanced around, knowing the other patron in the shop was supernatural as well there was nothing to hide. She extended her hand and from it formed a purple flame. “You don’t have to hide anything here.”

Joey fought hard to hide the interest piqued by the mention of her rate being 15 dollars an hour. Even back in Conway, the few jobs her parents did allow her to have, all of which at friends’ shops, she never made that much. She hunched forward slightly to keep the wind from whipping her hair around her face and followed the strange woman across the street, continuing on their way until they finally came upon a bright shop. It was different compared to the shops that surrounded it. “Oh,” Joey looked over at Amaranth, “I’m Joey.” She omitted her real name, hopeful that the new nickname would catch on. Her mother would absolutely detest it.

The door opened and Joey followed her inside. A sweet scent curled around her nose and she looked towards the one person in the corner, then to the individual who made their way towards herself and Amaranth. She regarded them warily before glancing over to Amaranth as she spoke. The individual went back to their post with an urgency that Joey hadn’t thought she’d seen this late in the night. She wondered what time it actually was. Amaranth’s words caught Joey off guard. Special people? So did that mean-- The hairs on the back of Joey’s neck raised momentarily, but before she could let it sink in that Amaranth knew what she was, a purple flame flickered across her palm. Joey gawked at the sight, her mouth hanging slightly open. Had that just happened? Joey knew that there was magic in the world. Her parents had told her such things, but her knowledge was limited to wolves, and the occasional vampire that was necessary to take out in their small town of Conway. This woman smelled of animal and had magic dancing along her fingertips, so Joey couldn’t help but blurt out whilst backing into a table, “What are you?”

Amaranth smiled at her sudden intrigue and knew that she had made the right choice in offering a job at the shop. She didn’t expect the young wolf to make a career out of it but definitely a chance to pick herself up until she can confidently go about the world however she wanted, whether it was alone, with someone else or even her family. Amaranth never forced anyone to become a part of it and was willing to help someone even if they had no interest. Supernatural people had to stick together. No matter what. Once they were divided, that’s how humans took advantage of them. If they remained united they were unstoppable. This town would soon learn what that meant. The hunters will soon learn. She would make sure of that.