A.N.: Belated Christmas chapter. I had some health issues lately that really slowed my writing down. Please enjoy. :)
Morgana adjusted the cakes on display in her brand new bakery. At times like this she was really content with her decision to settle down in Noxus. The general rebuilding around the Institute was crawling at the pace of a comatose snail, but the Noxian barracks were already standing tall and all the champions had comfortably settled in and that included her new shop as well. It was a shame she had to hand over the Noxian shop to her apprentices, but daily travel was clumsy and tiring and the summoners had barely let the champions out of their sights lately.
They all realized that it was starting to get out of hand when Swain and Darius had to pull diplomatic immunity to get away long enough to execute an important schemer and traitor – one of the less flashy executions with enough politics attached that fittingly, it was the no-nonsense Blood Brother carrying the deed out.
Draven always said that too much politics before breakfast ruined his day and Morgana wholeheartedly agreed. One refreshing quality of her unwilling relocation was that she was free to bake her cakes and delicacies and ignore politics altogether.
It also gave her the chance to knock her stubborn arse of a sister over the head every now and then. That was always a joy to look forward to.
She saw movement outside and turned her focus to the there and then, quickly looking the cakes and pastries. Something always went wrong on the opening day – it was probably one of the rules of the universe, she mused - and she wanted to ensure that whatever decided to go pear shaped, it was nothing major.
She made a small gesture with her hand that unlocked the door and flipped the little sign to "open" and waited.
It didn't take long for the first clients to appear. The bakery was at a good location, there were many people passing by – champions, summoners, the staff and visitors alike – and what was more it was Snowdown. Everybody wanted to eat something nice on Snowdown.
Morgana just about to kick out a group of Shurimans who, she strongly suspected, sought out her shop because of the warmth when a very pink and very loud person found her way inside.
"Hey, howdy Gloomy? First day going great?" Vi grinned at her over the head of the Shurimans and started walking towards the counter with the stubbornness of a steam engine.
The Southerners must have realised that Vi, due to her oversized equipment and bouncy nature, managed to make every enclosed space feel crowded on her own and scrammed.
"What was with them?" she jabbed a finger behind her back, in the direction of the leaving group.
"They are part of the staff. Clerks, I think," Morgana said offhandedly, but the cogs in her head were picking up speed, planning to widen the variety of her wares – something to appeal to every nation – and there was a lot of unused space, she could set up a few tables and maybe serve tea or coffee.
Now that she thought about it, almost every member of the staff she met seemed to be dying for a coffee.
She resurfaced from her thoughts to find Vi leaning over the counter, staring into her face with her brows furrowed.
"Wipe that expression off your face, or you'll get stuck."
"Don't be like that, Gloomy. You spaced out there for a minute." Vi lifted her hands in defence as she backed slightly away, her face twisting into fake hurt before her grin took over again.
"I just realised how vast my business opportunities are. What brings you here? Everything is completely legal, before you ask."
"Relax, I'm not here to butt into your business. I'll leave that to Cupcake." Vi flashed a hundred-watt grin grinned and Morgana couldn't help but crack a small smile herself. Talking to the enforcer was relaxing, in a way.
"Actually she's the reason I'm here. She's been really busy these past few weeks, you know, practicing the new changes and stuff and she kind of delegated the paperwork to me. To me. What was she thinking, right? Pft, me and paperwork. So I kind of... postponed it." Morgana listened with fascination mixed with amusement as the tale unfolded.
"So, now that she's got a little breather she's going to check on the paperwork. And blow a gasket or three. So I thought I'll buy her something to make it easier to take the news. A cupcake for Cupcake. That should improve her mood, right?" Vi's expression turned into one of such wild hope that Morgana took pity on her.
"I think I have something that will get the good Sheriff in the holiday cheer – just enough that she won't have a heart attack over the mountain of paperwork that's awaiting her," she added under her breath.
Vi, never one to do things by moderation, brought a dozen little Snowdown cupcakes and Morgana had to threaten to curse her to get the grateful Piltovian out of the shop. The last thing she needed is for Vi to scare off her other customers.
After she left, business was back to normal, for a while. Most of her patrons were of the staff, clerks and technicians with a summoner now and then. Morgana had to actually go and get some paper and pen to write down her ideas, but that was part of the excitement: new place, new challenges, new customers to conquer.
Between the matches, some of the champions showed up as well. Vladimir dropped in to buy some croissants and to flirt, an old routine between them. Lulu and Annie pressed their nose against the window until she had enough and invited them in. While the Sorceress swooned over some of the purple desserts, Annie was a little disappointed that Morgana didn't have anything flambé that she could try.
Nami washed in, dragging a shy and apparently claustrophobic Nautilus with her and babbled excitedly about never trying any of the Snowdown desserts and bounced between the display cases like the waves bounce among the rocks of the shore. With the rumbling backing from Nautilus, Morgana had to talk her out of spending all of her monthly pay on sweets.
Suddenly distracted by a snowball fight that broke out just outside, Nami hurried to participate, but Nautilus, package of sweets carefully held in his broad hands, stopped and rumbled at her gratefully.
"Thank you. I couldn't have talked her out of it on my own."
Morgana looked at him, giant diving-suite awkwardly standing in a shop too small for him, barely daring to move in case he knocked something over. She patted one of his arms.
"Don't mention it. Can I get you anything?"
The red eyes dimmed as he stared at her silently for a long moment, then:
"I don't eat anymore. Not like this."
It left Morgana baffled, fishing for words and by the time she found them, he was already gone, very carefully closing the door behind him.
The conversation left her in a thoughtful mood for the better part of the day. She didn't even snark at the Crownguard siblings when Luxanna dragged her brother in to cheer him up. Apparently big bulky warriors and cold weather didn't go well together. Must be all the metal he was wearing.
Having a sweet tooth, on the other hand, appeared quite common. One by one, the tough ones appeared; Darius and Draven first, but they were her regulars anyway, Jarvan in the company of Xin Zhao (though the latter was slightly disappointed that she didn't have any Ionian confectioneries), Gangplank who placed an order for, you guessed it, an orange cake, Yasuo, who relied solely on her goodwill because he was, as usual, completely broke and the list could go on. She drew the line at Pantheon, because the Rakkor warrior always tried to use the opportunity to copy her cakes.
Not everyone came to buy. Zyra, though not one for sweets, brought her a spiky plant, that fit the decor and wriggled its leaves happily when she hummed to it and seemed to really like on the counter.
A more unexpected guest bearing gifts was Taric, who chattered amicably about good vibes and helpful energies running through the shop and left several crystals that should, in theory, amplify the good energies. Morgana waved him off with a smile and almost immediately decided to "accidentally" break them as soon as she could. They gave her a headache and made Thorny squirm uncomfortably in its pot – as nice as the gem knight was, he often forgot that the crystals and the magic were slightly different in this realm, leading to some miscalculations in his more experimental crystal compositions.
The rest of the day passed without anything worth noting. She was about to close up shop, already packing away the remaining cakes and pastries when she heard a chime, but not the sound of the little silver bell hanging at the door.
She looked up to see one of the Celestials, the Wanderer wobble in, oddly weightless as he – he or it? – approached the counter and gave a friendly toot. She didn't speak foghorn, but that sounded like a greeting.
"Good evening, Bard. I was just closing. Can I do something for you?" she asked, watching the creature curiously. She could see some of his little companions – what were they called again? teeps? peeps? ah, yes. meeps – peer out from his bushy beard, making soft, whispering sounds.
Bard tooted again, this time adding a bit of chiming to the sound. It was very pleasant to listen to and Morgana could tell that there were thoughts forming at the edge of her mind – blurry pictures, half-thoughts, not enough to make recognizable ideas -, but couldn't tell what he was saying.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
Bard tried again, the half-thoughts more insistent this time, but try as she might, the moment she concentrated on them, they slipped out from her grasp.
After a few more tries, Bard made an exaggerated gesture of thinking, then started pacing dramatically, the sight somewhat comical thanks to the little meeps who, not wanting to feel left out, started pacing on his shoulders.
Then he stopped abruptly, turned to Morgana and started slowly gesturing. He held up two fingers patiently until she picked up on his intent.
"Oh. I was never good at guessing games," she admitted with a resigned sigh. This was going to take a while like this. "Let's see. Two words? First word..."
It took less time than she imagined, which could be chalked up to Bard's excellent gesturing and the suggestions swimming at the edge of her thoughts still, but it was hardly the quickest conversation she ever had.
She stared at her little notepad long after Bard had left, rolling the small, colourful gem under her palm that he left as part of the payment. She got her first commission at the new shop: a banana cake for Soraka, because an anniversary (?) was coming up and she was lonely. She wrote multiple question marks after the word, because Bard couldn't explain to her what sort of anniversary was coming, but it appeared important for the celestials.
No matter what the occasion was, Bard had described the cake quite clearly – Morgana was still absolutely baffled how he managed that – and set a clear deadline, so she couldn't complain. Besides, she liked Soraka. The Star Child was, they all agreed, a very likeable person. It would be the opposite of a chore to make something that will cheer her up.
She glanced at the clock. Well, time to get to work.
Special cakes didn't bake themselves.
A.N.:
Something always goes wrong on the first day - this time, it was Taric's crystals causing some communicational difficulties at the end.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider leaving a review - or a suggestion about what champions should make an appearance and I'll try to include them.