A/N: I have so many fic ideas, it is nuts. This round, I've decided to give a slight look into the characters' previous lives before the main story. Hope you enjoy it. I do not own MLP, the forms my OCs take, or Dragon age, but I do own my OC ideas.
It started like any other day this week. The restaurant had hired a few new faces and every single one of them was blundering through dinner service. Again. It made me wonder if they had ever seen a kitchen. I was busy at my station and could only afford the occasional glances, yet what I did see and hear made me want to unleash my inner Gorden Ramsey.
"What are you doing?!" Connor, a senior chef, cried out.
"I heard 3 sea bass!" James, one of the new hires, explained.
"No, you idiot, only one," Connor snapped.
What a headache. Kill me. Save me from my torment. I understand and sympathize with them, to a point; we have all been new faces, but the restaurant was well known for having high standards. You needed to come prepared because the industry was not for the light-hearted. You should not be here if you cannot keep up. Or, at least, that's how I felt. Then again, this was a school that had a fine dining restaurant attached just like a cosmetology school had a salon attached. However, there was a big difference between them and me: I actually worked there and they were students.
"Let's go! Let's go! Come on, bring it back together!" I heard John, one of the senior chefs, call out.
"Ticket time?" I yelled out.
"Two and a half minutes left! Three New York, two beef wellington," John started and then turned his attention to one of the newbies, "and one sea bass, Mr. James!"
"Walking with fish! Give me Stormy's garnish at the window! Follow me with those strips, ok?" James replied, attempting to redeem himself.
"Got it." another said.
"Slicing meat right now." Tabitha, a senior chef, called out.
"You heard that, Stormy?" John asked.
"Heard, walking with garnish!" I called back.
Plating, to me, should be like a Transformer transforming from vehicle to murder alien: flawless and efficient. However, tonight was not the night as I had to wait for Tabitha. Let me explain: this bitch will find anything and everything about me to complain about while doing anything and everything to ensure I lose my sanity. I wish she would only worry about herself and the meat she's cooking, cause that's the only meat she's ever getting, that crazy bitch.
"Meat's walking!" She yelled as the guys moved out of her way.
'Yeah, away from you.' "Thanks." I bit out.
"Hey, you know we cannot serve that. It's old," She complained, pointing at the garnish. "I've been here for years; let me help you."
I just pulled these. The only way they could be any fresher would be if I had pulled them out of the ground myself. The knee jerk reaction to pull rank ground my gears. Honestly, everything about her irritated me. I could tell in her tone the feeling was mutual, even though she tried to hide it. I've always been good at seeing behind people's masks. Oh well, karma's a bitch. You can't get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don't care who you are. What goes around comes around. John saw my irritation and made his way over.
"Tabby, she just pulled it. Worry about your station." He said as I returned to my station.
It took a while, but we finally found our rhythm… or I should say the newbies did. I had been here for several months but I was learning new things every day; at least, I was when Tabby Dearest wasn't being an ass. It was a long night but we did manage to complete service. I left work feeling exhausted, but little did I know that my night was far from over. I heard my cell ring while I drove down the highway, but I was not a fan of those Bluetooth devices, so I let it ring. My phone was being blown up for a solid fifteen minutes into the drive home. With an irritated groan, I pulled into a gas station and answered.
"What, motherfucker?" I hissed, not caring who was on the other end.
"Girl, I've been trying to get a hold of you all night!" a female voice whined.
It was Willow, an old friend, who loved trying my patience at odd times.
I groaned. "I told you I had work today. What do you want?"
Willow sighed. "My bad, anyways, I'm dating this new guy; he's completely different from my ex David."
I tuned her out at that point. It was the same with every guy; she'd get into a relationship for all the wrong reasons then come to me when shit hit the fan or she wanted to brag about something the new guy bought for her. Rinse and fucking repeat. I loudly let out a yawn, trying to get off the phone by any means. Don't get me wrong: I loved Willow as a close friend, just not when I was the walking dead and not when she was in this mood.
"...got a good job with computers and his car, oh my god…-"
I cut her off. "Have you tried, I don't know, dating for reasons other than status, appearance, and money?"
"Are you saying I'm shallow?" She asked in confusion.
I narrowed my eyes. "As a kiddie pool."
"Don't forget, tonight is the full moon." she hissed before she hung up.
Great, so not only was I dead ass tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I also had forgotten something extremely important because I was exhausted: the ritual which I did every full moon. That, and I had managed to piss off a friend with the truth. I thought about these things as I drove home. I heard my roommate's dog bark in the distance as I pulled into the driveway. I bolted inside and up the stairs to my room, barely missing my My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic plush toys I had set on the computer desk. It didn't take me long to locate my supplies which, thankfully, was by my closet. Like a teen on a shopping spree, I snatched the bag and flew back downstairs and out the backdoor. Amazingly, I didn't twist an ankle on the way down.
I took out the electric candles, turned them on, and sat them down on a nearby table because obviously, no one wants a fire by using real candles. I did the same with the statues of various Deities, then looked out into the woods behind the house and listened to the sounds of the night. The bullfrogs' croaks and the crickets' chirping complimented each other while the occasional hoots of the resident owls made a lovely addition to the slow-growing symphony.
"Mother Nut, Lord Khonsu, and Lord Janus, please guide my footsteps," I whispered as I put on my hat and scarf on which I had left on the porch that morning. "As I walk with Nyx and her children tonight. "
I stepped off the porch and proceeded to walk into the woods behind the house. It was one of the perks of living in the countryside; you were always close to nature and a spiritual being like myself needed that. The woods felt… oddly more energized than usual. Athena's messengers seemed to be close by in nearby trees, to which I left small amounts of twigs as offerings in hopes they would be chosen as nesting material. The strange sensation grew stronger the further I journeyed in, yet the opposite was true for the wildlife; it was getting too quiet.
"We will guide your steps; however, in turn..." A voice whispered in the wind.
I didn't have much time to process after that. I had walked this exact path countless times but I guess the recent heavy rains had eroded the land because the ground was slippery and unstable. The next thing I knew, sudden heavy winds which usually spelled rain, herded me. Yes, you read that right. I was being herded. By wind. Just what in the Goddess's name was going on? I closed my eyes because the wind dried them out; I was a blind sheep, helpless, and at the mercy of whoever had done this.
"When I asked for y'all to guide my steps, this is not what I had in mind!" I yelled out over the wind.
The wind howled an unknown reply, still guiding me through the endless tree maze. 'Wasn't there a pond or lake somewhere nearby?' I normally never went too far into the woods, unless it was deer season. The Gods have never answered any of my prayers in such a way - ever. My exhaustion did not help matters while I fumbled about like a newborn animal learning to walk. I screamed as I tripped over a fallen log and tumbled down a steep hill and into the lake. 'Yep, here's the water.' Sore, tired, and now wet, I wanted to go home.
"It's only when we fall that we learn if we can fly..." a distinctive male voice rang out in my head.
"Cheap words coming from a dragon!" I immediately retorted while trying to stand.
The howling winds appeared to laugh in reply. It took several minutes for me to register the exchange we just had. To my knowledge, none of the Deities I followed could become a dragon which meant the chosen quote was metaphorical and not to be taken literally. I was thinking too much. Again. If anyone up there was listening, can I please go home?
"Ok, I fell; now what?!" I screamed while slowly removing myself from the thick mud.
"A shove is needed." a female voice joined in.
"What's with all the - ahhh!"
The winds turned violent as fallen branches were yeeted in my direction, causing me to duck and dive while instinctively heading further into the lake. I could hold my breath for a few minutes; it should be long enough for the winds to die down, right? Wrong, I was dead wrong. The trees danced to an unknown fast-paced tune while the debris continued to push me back. I caught completely off guard when I felt something grab me from behind and drag me under. Instinct kicked in and I began to panic and thrash about. I felt something surround me as if to comfort me.
"Come little children…. I'll take thee away…. Into a land of enchantment…"
That song was the last fucking song I wanted to hear because of the movie it was associated with. That was my last thought before I succumbed to the darkness.
Glossary:
Khonsu - Egyptian God of the moon. He was thought to watch over those who travel at night. As the god of light in the night, Khonsu was invoked to protect against wild animals, and aid with healing.
Janus - Roman God of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and ending
Nyx - Greek goddess (or personification) of the night
Nyx's children: Hypnos (Sleep), Thanatos (Death), & Erebus (Darkness).
Nut - Ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky, stars, cosmos, mothers, astronomy, and the universe. Associated with rebirth