Mei had been wandering around in Crocus for quite a while now. She liked the place. Since it was the capital, there was a lot of people and it was festive most of the time. There was a night market in one corner of the city every night and in the day, it was full of tourists, from all over Fiore as well as from the neighboring countries. Mei herself could be called a tourist since she was new to this area. The only place she knew well in Fiore was Orchidia Town, which was her hometown and where her family resided. But now she was going to expand her knowledge to all over Fiore. Recently, however, Mei had to say goodbye to her little friend who fell ill and was sent to the vet. Unfortunately, things didn’t go well and it resulted in the poor lamia crying an entire night for the loss of her first ever companion. It was here in Crocus as well, where there were many shops selling companions and there were professional vets and things like that. Even then, she was unable to save her pet. After about three weeks of being lonely, she decided staying depressed was not going to help. So she went to the pet shops to look for a ‘replacement’. Although saying that she ‘replaced’ her previous pet was pretty cruel, that was exactly what she was doing. And after a while of searching for the right one for her, once again, Mei finally found one.

It was a cute little puffball (basically a speaking cloud), that could fly. It was a female and she was called ‘Mia’. Mei decided to call her ‘Mi Mi’ sometimes. It seemed cute to her and she loved it especially because she could talk. Mi was the most adorable thing Mei had ever seen and she was finally able to feel happy again. Mia was very sweet and helpful and always had nice things to say. So that morning, about three days after she bought Mia, Mei decided to take jobs again, taking Mi with her of course. She was her best friend already, and Mei did not need anyone else. She prayed usually, so that Mi would not end up like her previous companion and Mia also prayed with her, which was very adorable, especially with that tiny voice of hers. Mei headed straight for the nearest request board in Crocus, a cheerful glint in her eyes. Her little pet flew alongside her, reading the jobs on the board with her. “This one is easy since you’re a great cook, Mei,” said the small cloud. The girl nodded and plucked off the sheet from the request board, reading through it thoroughly before turning to walk towards the inn.

“You’re right, Mia. I can definitely do this,” she laughed, folding the piece of paper and tucking it into her pocket. She had not cooked much while in Crocus, but she had done it a few times after she got Mia.

Arriving at the inn, Mei searched for her client who seemed to be quite busy since she found him while he was in a hurry for something. She stopped him with a tap on his arm, causing him to be sort of startled, but he immediately halted in his tracks, asking how he could help her. She told him why she was here and that she was a pretty good cook, so he could trust her. It looked like he would use help from literally anyone who came for the job, even if they were a good cook or not, because he immediately shoved her into the kitchen. She was given an apron, and access to the pub’s kitchen. Ling was more excited than Mei for some reason, she could not stop giggling, and that made the girl giggle as well. It turned out later that Ling was giggly because of how shiny Batra’s bald head was. This made Mei roll her eyes. Her very first order was two breaded chicken wings. Nothing difficult. Mei got to work as soon as she got the order, quickly finishing up the dish and putting out to be served. It was fun for her because she liked cooking and Ling would snack on some things in the kitchen, though in small proportions so that they did not get kicked out for stealing food or something. Then, another order came, this time french fries. She had a feeling the dishes were all going to be super easy, all she needed was patience.

The orders started flooding in and soon, Mei was starting to sweat from the heat and all the work she was doing. Ling however seemed to be having fun tasting what she cooked and going around the kitchen stealing food.  Even though it Mei was sweating like a pig, she did not care. She would take a nice, long shower when she got back to her inn, so it did not matter if she looked a total mess right now. The only thing that could go wrong was a customer seeing her like this and thinking that the food they were eating was unhygienic. Thinking too much again, as usual. Ling sang songs that made Mei want to join her but she did not want to make so much noise. Thus, she chose to just dance along to the tunes while cooking. They were actually having fun, which was good for the pub. A happy chef meant happy meals. The pub was supposed to close at twelve exactly at midnight, so Ling was starting to feel a bit tired and sleepy. It was only fifteen minutes to twelve when Batra came into the kitchen. Mei and Ling both turned towards him as he entered with a huge grin. He seemed to be pleased with her work, she assumed. And yes he was! He brought out the money immediately and handed it to Mei, petting little Ling and allowing them to go home.

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