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Chapter 26: Of Parents and Mentors (2)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

~Tiggs' POV~

If before she had felt nervous at the chances of her mother not liking her newest friends, now Traci faced something a tad more complicated. While her mom had sounded fairly delighted hearing that she managed to find a job similar to the one she was most accustomed with and matched her own interest in cooking, there was no reason in her mind to keep calm when it came to handle the situation she had been set up with.

Frankie kept a calm outlook, yet she had known him long enough to perceive tension in his own actions. Small gestures, a degree of nervousness in his choice of stares and… a distracted mindset when it came to address the simple act of putting his uniform on. Tiggs would have giggled at the scene if not she had her own nervousness delaying that for her too. It wasn't like she expected to flunk 'that hard', but she just hoped and maybe wanted to offer a perfect service. The Tiger Prime wanted to make her mom proud now that she had the tools to do so, she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Last time she cooked with Jenny Biggs, things hadn't gone well for either of them. Her clumsiness and uneasiness had cost them a good day of income from their family activity. There wasn't much she could say to forgive herself when she knew how terrible it had been the first year or two. It was through determination and having someone to keep an eye on her that she managed to get through the worst.

Humming quietly, she nodded and muttered a 'good day' to the current occupant of the kitchen together with the human beside her. Professor Cracco smiled as he eyed their approach and nodded back at the two helping chefs before setting them in their posts. Nothing unusual, but it definitely felt more serious than usual due to the situation they were in. The circumstance wasn't the worst at first glance since they had to deal with big lists of clients before, but if even the owner had to come down and join them to this work, then the service was going to be incredibly tough for them all. There was no doubt in that regard, which was why the nervousness was just remaining in her despite the fact she was in her 'natural element' in that moment.

Shark Bites was facing a full house from the looks of it, with even more reservations that were going to keep the entire restaurant full of customers until later that day. It was going to be intense but… hopefully not terribly if they put their minds and best efforts on the matter. Breathing quietly, Traci mustered all the bravery she had with herself and she felt her job's efforts and results doubled when she heard Frankie mutter something about them doing it and doing it 'damn right'. Seeing him this focused gave her the last bit of courage she needed to squash the tension in her mind and focus on the long shift before them. The first orders soon came in and the kitchen started to work at a higher pace than usual, with both Cracco and the owner leading around at the same time. It wasn't anything unseen before, and yet Tiggs felt this was the first time all over again. The nervousness was there once more but… it wasn't hurting her current efforts much to her relief. Glancing around, she saw everyone was not slipping out of the rapid speed the entire kitchen was running at and, after just twenty minutes, ten dishes were already out. The next five saw even more steamy plates leaving through the doors at the waitress didn't pause a single moment to talk with the guests. Except one which would soon reveal that she was just greeting some old friends and a surrogate cousin.

Despite that little 'drop', the entire situation was stable for about an entire hour. Nobody wasn't losing control over their posts despite the fact there were signs of tiredness spreading all over. No mistakes, no hesitation, the entire service was already reaching high quality with how swiftly food was already leaving to satisfy the clients' orders. No complaints just yet, but one prude was going to eventually come out. It wasn't going to get a hit on them, at least not as it had been back when both her and Frankie started.

Traci hummed, her breathing growing a little unfocused as she knew that by the second hour, she would have to get a little break. It wasn't anything unusual from the standard service, but she definitely felt the pressure of keeping track of the time she was going to need to get back on track. Fifteen minutes of quiet and calm as she charged her batteries up. It was going to put a strain on the young man she was working with, yet she believed in his own skills to manage her tasks while the young woman recovered. They had come a long way, and she wasn't planning to stop having faith in his capacity right now. Both Professor Cracco and the owner seemed to be handling this better, but it was clear they were going to call an end to the shift once the special extension to the normal one was called.

Checking her watch, the girl huffed and knew that it was time. "Pause," Traci muttered loudly enough to gain the human's attention. Frankie merely nodded as she backed away from the counters and allowed him to take charge of her own post too. Sitting down by one of the chairs near the working posts, Tiggs reached for one of the water bottles that had been left there for the possibility right now and she started to give a sip or two out of it. Things were being quite intense as they were, and now that she wasn't there in the mix, she could see how unusual the pace was in the kitchen. No signs of giving up from any of them, not even for a moment. A smile adorned her face as the Tiger Prime imagined how many people they were making happy by being this diligent and… Traci then imagined what were the chances of one of the plates she prepared being Vixy's order.

A shiver went down her spine as she imagined her smile and any comment about it. Maybe she was overthinking it, but the mere mental picture was enough to pump her up with new energy and she quickly took back control of her post once the break was over. The human nodded, looking relieved and clearly coming close to calling the beginning of his own break from how tough handling two posts at once had to have been on him. Ten minutes later, Frankie went to enjoy his fifteen minutes while Traci was given a taste of how really difficult that condition was. In that very moment, the girl realized one thing that she hadn't put much thought about until that moment. Frankie had to deal with this frequently, being the one bearing the last harsher minutes of her going through a break before catching one of his own. Right now that had to have been particularly unpleasant, and she knew she had to come up with some good words to thank him for what he was doing for her. Both were stuck in the same boat but he was really being caring and sweet about her too.

The upsetting doubling of the labor was definitely not that nice to handle while being tired, and yet the young woman could only push back the drain as she knew she didn't wasn't allowing it to push her to make mistakes. If not for herself, at least for his close friends and those that believed in her hard work. Traci wasn't going to be beaten by this and soon the two friends were working together once more into their usual positions. This time it was one last rush to complete the remainder of the first long shift. Three more hours were burned through that intense pace before the conclusion of that difficult task. There was a minor break, a glance at Frankie mirrored her own state of tiredness. A little sweaty, incredibly drained, but still well and awake enough to reach out, pat her upper back and then allow her to pull him in a quick hug.

They did it. That was what she repeated in complete calm and quiet before the two decided to approach both the owner and the cooking teacher. Both older Primes looked tired themselves, but they hardly seemed to be near their own levels. They were more accustomed to this pace, and it was clear that they were going to recover fast enough to lead properly for the next shift.

"I think it's about time we put an end to the long shift," Cracco commented, bringing his right wrist up to his forehead and moving away some sweat from it. "You all did a good job, I'm proud of you."

The two young chefs nodded, but before they could say anything about this, the owner chimed in with a giggle. "I suppose you would want to see how things are going with your families and friends. You can go now and check but… remember to be back by the time the second shift begins."

Surprised by the leeway they were getting, they nonetheless didn't complain to this little development. Traci felt her heart racing at what kind of reaction she was going to get the moment they vaulted the door that led to the clients. Did they do good for real? Wasn't she just imagining things in some sort of delusion? The fact that Frankie was holding her arm and giving her a happy smile meant that perhaps she was just worrying over nothing.

In fact, maybe she was just being too harsh about it and soon they were given proof of that as they left the kitchens and noticed the big table where the parents and their friends had been sitting by until that point. They all looked to be satisfied with how empty most of the plates were, and even Vixy's parents looked to be pleased with what they got through the service. A glance at her mother further cemented this idea as Jenny looked positively radiant while seemingly praising what was left of her dish with Tila, the Snow Leopard looking incredibly happy with her own food. But as they drew closer and prepared to handle the end of their shifts, Tiggs' gaze moved to the origin of loudness unfolding at the end of the table. One of the guests was having a quarrel with… one of the waitresses. Well, two considering that Calypso was there too. At first she didn't think much out of it, but then the girl realized the waitress that was part of that quarrel was none other than the sweet and peaceful Dolphin Prime herself.

But… Why was Xea looking with a strange frown at Geecku?

~Geecku's POV~

This was the first time Geecku visited a restaurant. It wasn't much of a surprise for many to learn about this since she really didn't see a reason to ever bother this kind of 'silly establishment'. After all, what was the point of paying to eat food retrieved by others when the key of enjoying food was hunting it down for herself? This was something that really didn't settle well with her mind as she just failed to grasp at this concept.

Sure, the food served her was meant to be 'better' than the raw meat or vegetables she would find while hunting in the wildest jungle, but that didn't mean that it was supposedly capable of replacing the missing excitement of 'deserving' the food and actually giving it meaning as a true life's element of sustenance rather than having it handed out for a few metal bits. That was her personal conviction until she was put in the situation where she could try this experience for free. It wasn't a complete change of mind but… something did change as soon as she saw the waitresses bring forth the food.

Her nose caught on the development before the dishes entered their line of sight. Her mouth watered at the enticing smell, her brain unconsciously trying to pick up which ingredient was being used while the plates were soon placed down on the table. First it was the turn of four within the lengthy table, then the next five minutes saw other dishes appear. The increase of delicious smell all around her just urged the Life Crest to ditch any reluctance. Her patience eroded quickly, but her waiting was soon rewarded when she was bestowed with what Ambar had ordered for her. It was similar to what Grace's younger daughter had picked, a set of delicious-looking ribs that had been bathed in a dark-red sauce. It was something the Bear Prime said was part of the 'Ba-ba-cue' cuisine, something Geecku remembered having heard once or twice in recent times. Nothing really jumped to her mind at this name, but she felt absolutely compelled to give it a try by what her nose was telling her.

And she wasn't disappointed when the smell matched- no, was beaten by the delicious flavor within the meat she was tasting. A shiver went through her entire body, this being the very first time she tasted something this delicious. Part of her felt ashamed to submit to the 'sophisticated' elements of civilization, but there was no denying the food was delicious and she was totally in love with it. In fact, she loved it so much that it barely lasted ten minutes as she was done devouring the entire thing. Once her hunger-driven haze was quenched, she first heard the giggles coming from Ambar and Grace before noticing a couple of stares aimed at her. Bengala was chuckling and shaking his head together with Kayin and Nolan, while the rest of the table was baffled by the sight or merely ignored it either for amusement or by passive upset.

Of course Geecku didn't mind, feeling more interested in studying how it was possible that this kind of food was this delicious. She had already tried home-made dishes back at Ambar's manor. None of those had been of the same quality, which made her question whenever or not there was something extra that she was just missing in this case. She considered the circumstances, the setting and… eventually the wild woman remembered something really important. The chefs behind this service, the one she knew of that is, were Frankie and Tiggs. While she wasn't a strong believer of love being an ingredient, could it be that in this case this was the only possible truth?

…

Nah. Even though Geecku believed in many simpler and silly things out of amusement than else, there was a limit to everything. Frankie might be her friend, but she was not rushing him into being this forward with her. Not because she couldn't, but rather because she could. Or better, she knew of her capacity to seduce people, and she was wary of using it on someone that had been so happy to play with her. Something that wasn't as intense as mating, but nonetheless entertaining and beautiful to experience after so long. Which is why Geecku was trying her best just not to ruin that status quo that had naturally existed and… why right now her gaze had completely moved away from her previous topic of interest. For a brief moment, her stare was just pulled away as she eyed one of the waitresses working around.

She was a little bigger than the others, their 'uniform' giving Geecku a clear sight over the qualities of the lady and giving her something to ponder about. She was interesting enough to gain her interest, but she doubted she had the chance to actually approach someone like her. She had no name, no address where she might be living, and no permission from Ambar to leave the manor whenever she wanted or at least without a big notice. Pity but… it was still nice to look at the people there and see some things she had just not seen earlier than in that moment.

Golden eyes went wide as Geecku was bestowed with a familiar sight as a shorter 'smaller' waitress rushed up to the big one she had been eyeing for a while now. The familiar sight was similar to her in mostly appearance and hairstyle, except the girl was a Dolphin Prime with pink-hair. And that the girl herself was none other than her surrogate cousin. Instead of jumping happily at the sight, the girl paused for a moment as she could remember something important about her relationship with the 'surrogate sibling', the Water Crest herself, that prevented her from going through that simple reaction.

A frown adorned her face as she pondered about it, eventually deciding to just ask for more from Ambar. The Bear Prime had almost finished with her second meal, a simple salad with sliced tomatoes, when she turned to give her some attention.

"Hmm? Do you want to order more?"

Maybe later, she thought quietly before shaking her head as her primary concern was elsewhere. She merely pointed at the interesting individual and the Wisdom Crest sighed at that reaction.

"I actually forgot to mention this to you, I suppose. But yes, Xea had long taken it upon herself to work in restaurants such as this one. Humble and simple," The redhead explained calmly. "I suppose you wouldn't have come here if you had known that."

...Geecku not coming? Why?

The thought just sounded wrong and silly. She really didn't remember what might have caused this kind of reaction, but soon an answer was granted to her as the Water Crest spotted her and started to approach her. Menacingly. There was a little charge, a serious look on her face and… for the first time ever, Geecku felt true panic as her mind finally brought forth some unpleasant memories. She remembered doing something that at first didn't seem that horrible in her mind. Something that then had her 'pacifist' cousin in a frenzy to fight her. She conceded to that request and… the next thing she remembered was seeing lots of fishes before being hurled into the eye of a marine storm happening due to the girl's own powers.

It was awkward to be reminded that way that she wasn't invincible and that water was a scary power to be pitted against. So, as she braced for impact, she was 'pleasantly' surprised when the girl, who she expected to be angry at her, merely went for a tight hug. A simple embrace with some cheek nuzzling at that. Her brain was forcefully restarted at that as this reaction didn't make any sense to Geecku.

"It's been so long, Geecku!" The Dolphin Prime chirped with glee, pulling slightly away to look with a happy smile at her cousin. "I thought you would have visited. I was so sure you would have eventually come here."

"I forgot to tell her about it, Xea," Ambar mentioned calmly, smiling as the young woman turned to look at her. "It's good to see you after a while."

The waitress giggled and smiled widely. "It's fine 'Lady' Ambar and… there are the others!"

"Xea," Grace greeted, with Kate repeating the nickname and nodding at her. Bengala waved her hand while the others merely nodded… with the sole exception being Carmesi. Not really unexpected, and definitely good news for the Water Crest since the two didn't really care that much for each other. In fact, it gave her more reasons to focus on the Gecko Prime.

"I suppose that could be a good reason but… still, how about we hang out sometimes? I know this nice beach with shiny shells and-" The girl paused, a confused look plastered on her face as she realized the nervous look on her surrogate cousin's face. "Are you alright, Geecku?"

A slow and lying nod ensued and the pinkette's frown deepened. "Are you sure?"

"I believe she is just thinking of your last encounter," Ambar commented much to Geecku's chagrin. "I don't think it was really that… pleasant for both of you."

It took Xeanica just a moment to realize what the Bear Prime was suggesting and she sighed, turning back to Geecku with a calm look.

"I know that you did something bad back then, but I've long forgiven you and… I know you have learned from your mistakes. I know you well enough to be sure of it. Right?"

A nod, Geecku really didn't like submitting like this but… she wasn't in the mood to literally swim with the fishes right at that moment. The Water Crest merely nodded back. "Good… then we should totally hang out! As I said, there are good places we could check out after so long and- Oh, I didn't think the shift was already over."

The last bit of the sentence was aimed at two approaching figures that unconsciously spared the Life Crest from quite the awkward conversation. Still, good news for Geecku as Frankie and Traci had ended their shift and were approaching.

Now, let's see how these two handled the praises.

The first thing I heard as Tiggs and I approached the table was a gasp and a proclamation from mom.

"That's my boy!"

Way too sudden, and way too alluring as a call for most of the customers as their eyes were swiftly aimed at me and Traci! The girl reacted better to this since it was I the one that was getting the most of the attention. But still it didn't completely spare us as it was quite the embarrassing way to greet us at the table. Traci was given a seat between her mother and Vixy's dad, while I was 'put' between mom and Vixy herself. The rest of the table was giving us utmost attention, a good part of them interested in giving us compliments for the good meal.

It was Shin's father that started with the praises, aiming one at Traci and gaining a little glare and a pinch on the cheek from his wife, with Kate still giving us both praise for our hard work. With their words, the rest of the table hammered us with good words over the service. Even Vixy's mother, which had kept a reserved approach on the matter, muttered something positive about it. Naerie was happy with the food, same for Shin and Hikari. Miles and Tobias smiled in delight, while Geecku gave a comment that summarized her love for the dish she got out of it.

All in all, a full success and one that put a pleasant end to my worries as I knew that the next shift wasn't going to be as troublesome as the first one. I knew that after this little lunch together, the group was just going to enjoy dinner elsewhere, thus freeing both me and Traci from the dread of disappointing anyone we knew through that. But as we did so, a comment coming from Vixy actually caught me off-guard.

"You know, we really need to take some of our free time to work on this. I really want to learn from you if that's how good you are."

My eyes widened by a fraction more as I regarded my girlfriend with a surprised look. "We could… work on a schedule tomorrow's morning, once I'm done with today's second shift."

A nod, she was satisfied with the answer but… that still opened up quite the conversation with her parents.

"Vixy would gain a lot from this," Her father pointed out. "She is good with cooking but…"

"She could do better," I added for him, and Howl nodded thankfully as I could sense the Fox Prime one step from glaring at him for making it sound like she wasn't good at it with his first sentence. Much to my shock, it was Carmesi's turn to add something about the matter, clearly interested in her daughter, but not for cooking-related reasons.

"Of course, that should also work together with proper training. It would be a… waste if you decided to forget refining your current level."

I blinked at this comment, noticing a sudden tension on the younger Fox Prime's posture. Instead of letting the embers heat up and allow any trouble to arise, I merely decided to intervene through a… 'neutral' approach.

"She has been training for as long as her current role as student can allow her to," I pointed out calmly. "As far as I can tell, Vixy isn't slacking off as you might be suggesting, Ms. Carmesi."

The last bit might have come out a little too aggressive, but the Fire Crest barely cared for it. Rather, she was surprised I had answered at all to her question. I felt a familiar hand reaching for mine and squeezing, and I didn't need to look to it to know it was Vixy's. I didn't spare the girl a look as her mother was aiming her gaze at me. Even looking away for a moment to check on the young woman's current expression would just enable the woman to think less of me. I knew this kind of person and I was prepared to handle it. Or so I thought from an early impression about her.

"And you think it's enough to just train within the confines of the school? It's not a place that has the right requirements to help her keep up most of her more important skills," The woman pressed on, fueling the conversation to a rather intense development. "Of course, there are some… options."

Since she was referring to knight-related training, it was clear she was talking about the other Crests' children. I sighed and gave her a calm look. "I doubt Prism Uni has the proper equipment for this kind of training you're referring to, Ms. Carmesi, and I would say that what you're suggesting might be tied more on the interest of 'the options' to actually entertain the chances of being expelled from the school."

A strong wall before a strong attack. While it was clear I was deflecting most of her attempts, I couldn't help but notice some amusement at my counter. I wasn't sure as to why but… I could also feel this conversation was also dragging the attention from others at the table, some of which were taking a stance close to mine about this matter. The Fire Crest noticed and decided to avoid putting herself in the bad in that matter, clearly understanding that the situation was shifting against her by a fair lot.

"Understandable and… fairly correct, young man," Carmesi conceded. "I guess I should have read the regulations of the school before expecting my daughter to try and accomplish something that, by your word, is… illegal."

I nodded, feeling the tightness Vixy's hand had over mine lessen up quite suddenly. Was that a hint of surprise? The rest of the conversation at the table was then shifted to Ambar as she merely focused on inquiring how her daughter was doing and… prompting the rest of the parents to do the same with their children. Some had already done that a few hours earlier, but some seemed to be happy to learn how well we all had been doing during this early part of the year.

Once again, I felt relief washing over me as I knew I dodged a couple of bullets, and I finally gazed at Vixy, the girl giving me an annoyed look before leaning up and giving me a simple and brief peck on my cheek. Something light-hearted that still hinted she was going to have a serious conversation with me about what happened once I was free. And that could go one way or another.

Still, with the time for Tiggs and I to return back to the kitchen and start the second shift and the group of parents and friends starting to leave the restaurant, I was left with a couple of questions and thoughts as I parted away from Vixy after a quick peck on the lips. No reaction from her parents, nor from my parents, but I definitely noticed that something was off about a single individual.

Something odd flashed on Hope's green eyes as she glanced at us before leading her family back to school. I couldn't decipher if it was a simple surprised look or something more. I didn't lose myself into this matter, knowing that I had other things to handle before I could enjoy some free time. Work called and the second shift was going to drag until dinner.

And hopefully I was going to find some time with Tiggs to find something to eat before going back to school.

AN

So what's next?

Training and... Secret!

Cue training montage?

You know it.