Skirts a bit high above the knee, but I know that twinkle in her eye's for me [open]

[Evelyn Johnson]

Evie walked quickly through the street, her black heels clicking against the concrete. She was so going to be late for work, spotting the Drunken Elf sign, she smiled and quickened her pace. It was annoying, the inn was right over the other side of Woodberg County. It wasn't a very long walk, just in heels but that was her own stupid decision. Evie had a thin jacket, it was summer but today it wasn't as warm as it usually was. Her platinum blonde hair was blowing around behind her, "I'm not late, I'm not late!", Evelyn pushed open the door and quickly looked around for Chad. Her bag on her shoulder, she slipped it into her hand and took off her jacket. The uniform underneath, a simple short black skirt and a plain red v-neck tank top with 'The Drunken Elf' printed on the back. Evie smiled at some of the customers and walked around, behind the bar to stash her things.

Evie stopped, her jacket and bag in her hand, Chad bent down as if he was trying to find something. She smiled as she greeted her boss. "Hello Chad! I'm not late, am I?" Evie asked, biting her lip. She had been working ten months at The Drunken Elf now, almost the whole time she had been living here. Evie didn't really know that many people, she went to work almost every day. That was her life, save, save, save for now at least. Evie dumped her stuff, in Chad's hands when he held them out to her, then began looking around for any empty glasses around the place. "Has it been quiet?" There were a few people around here and there, it would be busier later.

Some people were having a late lunch, Evie had just had hers at the Inn. For now, that was where she was living. She hadn't managed to find a permanent place at the moment, and she didn't even know how long she would stay here for. She could get bored, Evie hadn't yet but it always happened at some point. Luckily, Evie had proposed a deal with Chad. He knew the people at the inn and managed to get her a free room in exchange for a certain amount of hours of unpaid work. Evie didn't mind, she loved working at The Drunken Elf. Although she didn't know how long was temporary, Evie still hadn't found anything yet.

[Caleb Edwards]

Chad hated it when the pub was empty. It was so boring. The regular customers were sitting at the bar, chatting happily away while they nursed their drinks; the bigger drinkers sculled down their drinks and ordered more, sometimes ordering about three in advance. Cassie was cleaning some glasses. Chad was leaning against the bench that ran along the back wall. It was home to the register, and the shelves that held the different types of alcohol they supplied. Chad favoured firewhiskey the most, but he had muggle customers who wouldn’t be able to handle the burning sensation the firewhiskey caused. Why the Ministry of Magic had allowed muggles to move to the island was beyond Chad. It was stupid.

He had been watching Cassie for a bit; the way she moved, the way she spoke to the customers, the way she handled the more rowdy customers with the ease of someone talking to a child. After a moment, he thought he saw her shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Chad let his eyes slide towards the waiter who was tending to the patrons in the smoking area. Chad didn’t discriminate. If people wanted to smoke, who was he to stop them? Originally, smokers had been allowed to sit wherever they wanted. That had been until families had started coming to the pub. At first it had only been for dinner; Chad had only ever offered a lunch and dinner menu. But then, people had starting inquiring about breakfast. So Chad had updated and expanded his menu to include breakfast. It was turning into more of a cafe than a pub, but if Chad was getting money, then he was fine with it.

He watched his waiter for a bit longer than he had watched Cassie. The waiter never noticed when Chad was watching him; they hardly spoke unless he was giving Chad a drink order. And also, Chad didn’t want to sleep with the waiter. He watched as the waiter took down an order, and walked over to the cook to give the order to him. Chad’s gaze slid to the rest of the pub. It was starting to get a bit busier. The waiter wouldn’t be able to handle the place if it got too much busier. Speaking of the waiter, where in the name of Merlin was – “Hello Chad! I’m not late, am I?” Chad watched as Evie made her way around the bar, biting her lip. Merlin be damned, he just couldn’t punish the girl when she did that. Despite the fact that Evie was hot (of course she was, she was a damned full blooded Veela!), she was a good worker. She could handle the customers well, and got along with almost everyone. Chad had had to step in a few times when a customer had gotten a bit too into Evie, but mostly she could handle herself. She looked damn good in the uniform, too.

“Not too late, Evie”, Chad said, holding out a hand for Evie’s jacket and bag. He kept all the staff’s personal belongings in his office that was out the back. “Has it been quiet?” Chad nodded slightly as Evie handed him her bag and jacket. “I don’t like it”, he said, frowning. “It’ll pick up soon, though.” He and Evie had an odd friendship. They argued like an old married couple, but they could also joke around with each other and talk seriously with each other. Of course, Chad wanted to get into her pants. Evie was hot, and she was a blonde. But it was something Chad had been working on for 10 months with no progress.

He watched as Evie got to work, clearing tables, chatting with customers. Being nice. She was good at that. He and Cassie were a bit harder on the customers, but that was just the way they were. As he watched Evie, Chad heard the door open and close again. He glanced up briefly as the guy walked into the bar. He was looking around the place, as if taking it all in. Finally, he took a seat at one of the tables in the middle.

----

Caleb was lost. He was sure of it. Nothing looked the same as it did the last time he’d been here. Although, that had been more than 10 years ago. Things were bound to change in 10 years. He was wandering the cobbled streets of Woodberg County, trying to remember how to get anywhere. He’d been lucky enough to be able to find the Woodberg County Inn without too much help. Luckily he’d had enough money saved up from all of his dead end jobs, so he could afford a room for a few weeks. Caleb honestly had no idea how long he wanted to stay on Amorcya Island. He didn’t even know why he was back, really. Somehow, his adopted parents had owled him, telling him that Alec and his girlfriend (Caleb had been shocked at that word – he still thought of his little brother as the eight year old boy who’d been too curious on the full moon) had had a baby. A baby? Caleb had had to do the math, but figured out that Alec couldn’t be much older than 18. And here he was, already with a girlfriend (who he’d apparently been with for over two years, the letter had said), and now a child. And then Caleb had panicked. A child. Who would be a werewolf. The world didn’t need more of them.

So here he was now, walking the streets of Woodberg County alone, not knowing where he was or where he was going. It wasn’t a particularly hot night, but it wasn’t cold either. And, on average, Caleb ran hotter than most people. It was a Were thing. He had considered wearing a shirt, but had opted for a white tank top and jean shorts instead. As he walked, Caleb took in the sights. There wasn’t much to Woodberg County. There never had been. But in the ten years since he’d been here, they’d demolished some places, and added new ones. The always prominent Amorcya Mansion hadn’t changed a bit – and it was still smack bang right in the middle of the island. That’s the only reason how he’d known that he was in the right place. That oversized white house. He’d walked past it earlier that day. There was a gardener in the yard doing the gardens, and he thought he’d seen one of the Amorcya twins riding a horse around the yard.

As he walked, a familiar sign came into view. The sign was already lit up, although the sky wasn’t quite dark yet. The Drunken Elf. Its sign was bright red, and flickered every now and then. That was a comfort to Caleb. Familiarity. He knew that obviously the original owner of the pub wasn’t alive anymore. The guy had been on his last few breaths when Caleb had left the island, so unless he’d somehow gotten hold of some unicorn blood, there was no way he was still alive. Caleb walked towards the bright red sign. Every step took him closer, and finally, he was at the door. That same, dingy door that had been there ten years ago. Caleb took a breath, and pushed the door open. The pub was fairly busy. There were several people sitting at the bar, a couple of families having dinner in the front of the pub while the smokers sat towards the back. Caleb walked into the pub. Nobody but the male bartender spared him a glance. That was good.

He chose a place somewhere in the middle of the pub. It was a lot bigger inside than it looked on the outside. There was a blonde, curly-haired girl standing behind the bar next to the guy who’d glanced at Caleb when he’d walked in. There was a waiter standing in the smoker’s section, taking down orders. A waitress was working as well. Caleb slid down into a seat, and rested an elbow on the table.

[Evelyn Johnson]

Evie had picked up a couple of glasses off of the side, and had dumped them by the sink, she would be washing a big pile of them later. For now, there wasn't enough for her to wash up for now. She heard the door open, the sink just out of sight of the customers, Evie peered round and saw a man sit down at one of the center tables. Evie smiled, and walked out of the bar passing Chad as she did so. She walked over to him, he looked like he was taking everything in, he certainly wasn't a regular. "Hello! I'm Evie, I'll be your waitress! What can I get for you today?" Evie smiled, "A drink? Or something from our lunch menu?" She asked, her eyes scanning over him. He was hot. Something Evie had admitted to being rare in her book. It was another reason it was a bonus to work for Chad, he was nice to look at every so often. This guy was more than just nice to look at.

It wasn't as if she hadn't been in a relationship before and was freaking out or anything. Evie had been through many relationships, and gotten bored of them in the end. It was difficult for her to get to know someone when they would tell her anything to impress her. Evie realised that they didn't love her for her and this was how he would end up. A pile of mush wanting to do anything for her, it was nice sometimes but all the time? It wasn't as if she could turn it off! Although Evie knew she wouldn't care with him, he was too gorgeous to pass up. She wondered what his name was.

Where had he come from? He didn't look like he was from around here. Even though Evie hadn't lived here long, she knew roughly who lived in Woodberg. She had heard many stories from the drunks late at night. Of course, it was all very interesting but who was the guy in front of her? Evie mentally went through the list of drinks through her head, and the menu. She would prefer it if he had a drink, the plates always took longer to wash up. People always stayed longer when they had a drink too, she hoped he would stay a long time. As long as he wasn't married... that was a no-no.

[Caleb Edwards]

He picked up the menu that had been sitting in the middle of the table. As he looked around, Caleb wondered when the Drunken Elf had become a family place. The last time he’d been in here, it was a seedy little bar that the students of Oasis Hill had to sneak into. It often involved magicking up some fake I.D.s and for the girls, it meant putting on that little bit more makeup in the hopes that it would make them look older. It didn’t. They usually ended up looking like they belonged on a street corner. Caleb had told a few girls this on more than one occasion. It got him nowhere. As his eyes skimmed over the menu, he tried to decide what he wanted. Was he hungry? Was he thirsty? Did he want something alcoholic or non-alcoholic? What were his chances of running into someone he knew at this bar? Caleb took another look around the place, his eyes falling on the male bartender, who seemed to be extremely interested in the waitress that was clearing tables. He definitely looked young, younger than Caleb, even. How in the name of Merlin did he own a pub when Caleb could barely hold a job for more than a few months?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of heels clicking towards his table. “Hello! I’m Evie, I’ll be your waitress! What can I get for you today?” Caleb looked towards the source of the voice. He now knew why the bartender was so interested in this girl. She was a Veela. Thankfully, something about being a werewolf made Caleb less affected by the Veela’s beauty, but he could definitely see that she was still more beautiful than an average girl. And then she smiled. That was all it took for Caleb to succumb to her charm. “A drink? Or something from our lunch menu?” Caleb snapped himself out of whatever trance it was he had been in. How did the people here work with her? He thought for a moment, glancing back at the menu. “I suppose I’ll have the barbecue ribs with a side of potato salad, and a firewhiskey”, he said. As he watched the girl write his order down, he thought he saw something in her change. A light frown crossed his face. He could guess what it was. He’d had a job as a waiter for a couple of weeks before it became boring to him.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you can get someone else to wash up for you”, he said, a light smile on his face.

[Guest]

The Drunken Elf was pretty much the same as it always had been. Sure she now had some help at the bar in the form of Chad Wyler, and that was a welcome addition. Of course that came with a new pair of eyes that paid her a bit more attention than she was comfortable with. He was good enough on the eyes, there was no question about that, but his attention was just a little too much for Cassie. One of the reasons she loved her job so much is that every bit of attention payed to her was a passing thing. Most Woodburg residents weren't itching to be on a first name basis with the pretty bartender, and that was alright by her. It also didn't hurt that she was often accompanied on her shifts by the radiantly beautiful Veela waitress.

A lot of girls were put off by Evie before they even knew the first thing about the woman. Most girls were not used to the strange and unusual and reacted like children to anything unknown. Cassie's childhood had put her in contact with many strange and terrible creatures and had taught her to be fascinated by such things rather than act like an infant about the unusual. As a result, she and Evie had become fast friends in the months that Evie had been working at the Elf. It wasn't a particularly deep friendship, but it was a good one and Cassie welcomed it. Having Evie as a friend and co-worker was a great way of fielding unwanted attention, and the veela's stories of her life were beyond interesting to Cassie. What was even better was the fact that Evie felt no inclination to pry into Cassie's past.

Cassie waved as her strange friend entered the bar, her left forearm wrapped in a wide silk ribbon that was the same shade of black as her dress. Once Evie set about to do her job, Cassie got back to hers. Pour a drink, grab an empty, clean a glass, replenish the garnishes, have a chat. She loved this job. Every conversation was, by necessity, short and frivolous. Her head was full of gossip and strange theories and silly anecdotes. There was no room for much else. Even Chad's roaming eyes were worth it to have a job like this.

She extricated herself from a conversation regarding the proper care of cats and swept her eyes over the room. A smile surfaced as her eyes caught sight of Evie, but the smile faltered when she saw the man Evie was serving. Her hands stopped their endless dance of polishing spare glasses and she sidled over to Chris. "Who's the guy?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth, gesturing with her eyes at the stranger. She was consciously ignoring her closeness to the man who so blatantly wanted to take her to bed (to be fair, this was his reaction to most women, especially blonds). She glanced at the shaggy-looking man across the room again. She wondered how the people around him didn't see. She wasn't trying to be judgmental, but she wasn't sure how she felt about having a guy like him in her bar. Cassie had met enough Were's in her childhood to err on the side of caution.

He was pretty cute though. In a scraggly sort of way. Cassie put her hand over her mouth to hide the little smile that had sprung up there.

[Chad Wyler]

Chad honestly never paid too much attention to his customers, unless they were young, female and extremely hot. He had short conversations with the men, usually about something Chad honestly knew nothing about or just didn’t care about. So, usually the conversations consisted of families, fishing, and sports. Chad didn’t know anything about families, he wasn’t a big fan of fishing, and sport was something he only watched if he had absolutely no one nothing else to do. At the moment, he was caught between two conversations. The man he was currently serving was a bit drunk, and was telling him “how proud he was of his little Jenny, getting top grades in her class”. He was also being addressed by the customer who was talking to Cassie about the proper care of cats. She was asking him his opinion on different worming techniques. Chad wasn’t particularly an animal person. He’d had a dog or two growing up, and now he had a dog that roamed freely around the streets and only came home at night for Chad to throw some leftover pub food at him. They had a good system worked out.

Chad tuned the cat lady out. He would rather listen to the drunken man coo about his little Jenny. Apparently now she also won the spelling bee. Phooey for her. “Mah little Jen-nay, she’s goin’ places, she is.” “I’m sure she is”, Chad said, slowly pulling the glass away from the man. The man hadn’t seemed to notice, until he tried to take a drink from the non-existent glass. “Ay. AYE. Bar lady, gimme anudda one o’ those, wouldja?” Chad rolled his eyes, and walked down towards another customer. He let his eyes sweep around the pub. The waiter was in the smoking section still. He’d willingly volunteered to take over the smoker’s section once Evie had started. Something about “not wanting a beautiful young lady to succumb to chain smoking”. Yeah, that was it. Chad shook his head again, his eyes falling on the ‘young lady’ in question. She had been expertly clearing tables and dropping the plates and glasses by the sink to be washed up. Now, she was serving the guy who’d walked in a few minutes ago. Chad watched the way the guy looked at Evie. At first, it wasn’t even so much of a glance. A light frown crossed his face. It had taken Chad several months to be able to look at Evie and not want to do something amazing to impress her. For this guy to take one look at Evie and not even flex a muscle... well, that was just shithouse.

He wasn’t even aware he’d been staring at Evie and the scruffy guy until he felt Cassie sidle up next to him. He was aware of their closeness almost immediately, and turned his face downwards to give her a smirk. “Who’s the guy?” Chad rolled his eyes for a second time. Figures Cassie would notice a scruffy, muscly guy over a clean shaven guy who had, on countless occasions, made his infatuation with her known. Chad gave a small shrug, filling a glass with butterbeer and handing it over to the waiter who had just brought an order from the smokers. “He looks vaguely familiar. I think I went to school with him”, he said. He glanced back at Evie, who was taking down the scruffy man’s order. “Why? You like him?” Chad asked. The man was, to the muggles, just another over-muscled guy who had a problem with shaving and wearing proper shirts. To the wizards, the guy was a Were. It wasn’t an easy task spotting a Were, especially when they weren’t in their wolf form. But if you looked hard enough, you could tell.

Chad looked down at Cassie again. She was hiding her mouth with her hand. Yep. She definitely thought the guy was “cute”.

[Evelyn Johnson]

“I suppose I’ll have the barbecue ribs with a side of potato salad, and a firewhiskey” Evie wrote that all down on her notepad, tucked in her skirt pocket. Barbeque ribs, that was a lovely plate to clean up, it wasn't a huge deal but she didn't like getting her hands dirty as much as she loved greeting people and talking to them. Evie was definitely a people person. She could feel Chad's eyes on her still, but tried to ignore it, he would stop eventually. It wasn't like she wasn't used to it. Evie had written it down in note form to give to the guy round the back. "It's fine. I don't mind! All part of the job!" She gave a small smile, "I'll just go get you're firewhiskey. You're food will be over in a moment." Evie turned around and began walking back to the bar to get his firewhiskey.

She wondered what he was doing here. If he wasn't from around here, perhaps he was visiting someone. Did that mean he was staying with them or at the inn? Evie saw Cassie eying up the guy behind her and shook her head smiling. Cassie was good company and she enjoyed the conversations they had when it was quiet. When she reached Cassie and Chad, standing rather close together she opened her eyes wide. "See someone you like Cassie?" She grinned, "Firewhiskey please." Evie looked back over her shoulder and looked him up and down. "You have yourself some competition, girl." She poked her tongue out playfully when she turned back around, and walked around the bar to get to the back, where the cook was. Smiling as she caught the eye of some drunk man Chad was talking to.

She walked quickly through the small hall into the kitchen, where she could hear someone singing. Evie pushed open the door to find the cook, a wonderful man singing his heart out to an opera song that she hadn't heard off. He was in the grand finale, holding his note for as long as possible until the music died down. "Wow. One of the best so far!" Evie handed him the slip of note paper she had ripped from the pad and watched as he read it. "It'll be ready in two ticks! Would you care for another song?" The man smiled jovially as he went about the kitchen with ease. "Sorry, lots of customers out there! I'll be back soon." Evie turned around, and pulled the door towards her. He was a nice man, it was a shame she never really got a lot of time to talk to the guy. Good singer too.

She reached Chad and Cassie and sitting on the counter was the firewhiskey she asked for. "Thanks." Evie picked it up and walked back around to give it the man in the chair. "Your food will be ready in a few minutes." She wondered why he wasn't particularly in awe of her or anything. It was certainly refreshing to be able to get on with her job without having someone drool over her but for once she actually wanted him to be a little crazy. Shame. Evie wondered how he could have such a resistance to her charm, it was interesting but also very frustrating.

[Caleb Edwards]

“Who’s the guy?”

Caleb barely twitched as he heard the question, obviously about him. It was something he’d had to put up with for a very long time, being able to hear what everyone was saying, even if they weren’t exactly close to him. He allowed his head to turn, ever so slightly, to the bar. Both bartenders were standing, watching Evie take down his order. Caleb watched the male bartender, who was ignoring a drunken man talking about someone named “Jen-nay.” “He looks vaguely familiar. I think I went to school with him. Why? You like him?” Caleb raised an eyebrow as he glanced back to the blonde bartender, before focusing on Evie once again. She gave him a small smile, and it was all Caleb could do not to grab her right there and then. Sometimes, being a werewolf was great – he wasn’t affected by Evie’s Veela ways. But then, all she had to do was smile, and then, he just felt like a ridiculous puddle of goo. “It’s fine. I don’t mind! All part of the job! I’ll just go get your firewhiskey. Your food will be over in a moment.” He watched as she turned around to walk back to the bar. Both bartenders watched her until she made it back to the bar.

He shouldn’t have listened. It was an invasion of privacy to listen to their conversation, but he couldn’t help it. “See someone you like Cassie?” Ah, that must be the blonde bartender who was currently hiding her mouth. Caleb had to quickly turn his gaze to the table when Evie suddenly looked back at him. “You have yourself some competition, girl.” Caleb frowned. What the heck was that supposed to mean? There was silence after a moment, and Caleb looked back to the bar. The male bartender had gone back to barely listening to the drunken man talking about his “Jen-nay”, and the blonde bartender – Cassie – was cleaning glasses and serving drinks. He watched Evie’s progress from the bar until she disappeared somewhere – somewhere Caleb could only assume was where the cook was. He could hear a loud voice singing along to some opera, but he couldn’t see where the person was. Caleb clasped his hands together on the table in front of him, and looked around the pub again. He wondered if Alec ever came in here. And if he did, did he bring the baby? Did his girlfriend come with him? Caleb wondered how they were doing. Having a baby was no easy task. Not that Caleb knew, but his parents had given him up, so obviously there was something difficult about it.

Caleb frowned at his hands. He still wasn’t exactly sure why he’d come back. He hadn’t seen Alec, he hadn’t spoken to Alec in over ten years. Why would the only person he’d considered family want to see him now? Caleb knew he’d have to tell Alec one day. It was, after all, his fault that Alec had to go through that awful change every month. Caleb unclasped his hands, and wiped the frown off his face as he heard the heels clicking towards his table again. A firewhiskey was placed in front of him. Caleb didn’t look up at the girl. “Your food will be ready in a few minutes.” Caleb nodded. “Thank you.” He didn’t hear Evie leave, so he looked up at her. Were you supposed to tip in this place? Caleb wasn’t sure. “I’m Caleb, by the way”, he said, not entirely sure why he was introducing himself to the girl. He also didn’t think she’d care too much.

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