#the-crows-typist

[ee-furoido]

The two employees sit by a heating lamp, their work uniforms soaked and Jade in his eel form after coming into contact with water. "It will take some time before I can brew a potion for you. Stay in the tub so you don't dry out. I'll have Lemilia look after you while we process the lounge's clean up."

The typist sat near a heating lamp, her own uniform soaked from the incident and doing her best to wring her hair and Jade's uniform of salt water. "To think one of the smaller aquariums would crack at a time like this." She whispered.

She set the clothes on a flat surface to dry, setting the heating lamp closer to it while they waited. "Has something like this happened before, Mister Jade?"

"What a predicament."

Jade sighs, his tail swishing rhythmically over the rim of the tub.

"The magic that holds this underwater dormitory together and water-proof should not have allowed this to happen, but alas. It was fortunate that there were not many non-marine students here at the time. Otherwise it could have been even more disastrous. One certainly would not wish to deal with the frustrations that would result from such a situation."

His eyes narrow in sly amusement as he peers at you from inside his porcelain bed.

"How fascinating that whenever something unusual befalls me, Lemilia-san, that you seem to be nearby. Knowing how resilient our dormitory aquariums are, I do hope this was not a ploy from you to see me in yet another a vulnerable state, fufu."

[ee-furoido]

The thermometer chimes and the result was as expected. "It's still high." Said Azul while Lemiloa readied a bowl of water and alcohol, dipping a clean towel into it. "Continue to look after him, Lemilia." the owner of lounge says before patting the hand of his appointed right hand.

"Rest easy. I'll check on you later."

Gently, the cool compress went on top of his forehead, the typist's eyes concentrated in adjusting it to the proper position. "This should do for now." She says and pulls away not too long after.

The smell of oregano hits their noses when the leaves seeped into hot water. The helper brought the cup to him, letting it sit by his night stand. "Drink all of it, it will help your throat."

"If you're wondering if I've put something in it, its just a tiny amount of sugar to combat the bitterness. You and I may not get along but I'm above kicking someone who is down." The soaked towel leaves his head and is dipped back into the bowl.

"Don't see much into it, I'm only doing the right thing." And back goes the towel with some parts covering his eyes, unable to see her.

How unsightly, a creature of the ocean sprouting a fever. It's almost cruel how Jade was confined to his bed, wrapped up in his sheets and wet towels, much like the seaweed that they would use as bedding back in the Coral Sea; wrapped around their tails so they wouldn't float away in the night.

Trapped in cotton sheets and an atrociously high temperature. Azul had so graciously brought his notes from his missed classes, as well as allowed him time off from the Lounge, and yet Jade only felt stifled.

At least he had his terrariums to keep himself company. He could cheer himself up talking to the small plants in the jars in delirious little conversations, and he would never be alone.

You arrived to assist Azul on his third day in confinement, having asked Azul, "Where has Mister Leech gone?" Azul allows for you to split your time between your part-time job at the Lounge and caring for Jade, as it saves him the time away from the VIP desk.

Jade lays there, model patient as you place the towel once more on his forehead. The familiar smell of your signature tea blend with oregano hits his nose from his desk where it sat and he cannot deny his approval of your constant attention to detail when it comes to tea. Steeped just the right amount of time, not too weak, not too strong.

And yet. His lips curl into a little smirk. It takes most of his strength to crack out a few words with his dry throat.

"Lemilia-san, it is quite cruel of you to place the tea just out of reach and then rob me of my senses as I lay here... I commend you, fufu."

[ee-furoido]

https://youtu.be/cvvLJkRw1NE

At first I was going to respond to this as Jade, unamused, but I’ve had these 36 seconds of MMD Jade chasing after a mushroom to the tune of the Can Can on a loop now and I can’t stop cackling, so you get me instead.

Look at him. Those mushrooms are so speedy he’s trying his best!

Getting some real gao gao vibes here, man.

JADE JUST HUNT THEM NORMALLY-

[ee-furoido]

There's a small tittering noise beneath the Mostro Lounge tables and it grows louder around Jade as he sits on a seat minding his own business.

Out comes a little lady. "Messenger Tapitha Tappy delivers a secret letter to one Mister J. Leech. Coming from a secret admirer!" Her sleeve slinks off the table yet she stays hidden under neath.

The message reads: "To the vice dorm leader Mister Jade, I cordially invite you to tea later. -L "

"My payment is in cookies." The messenger says, hand turned as if palm open.

“Oya, oya.” 

Jade leans over the counter at the small figure flapping her arms with excitement at delivering a letter to its intended recipient. He gives a light chuckle as he examines the letter. 

‘There have been quite a few secret admirers recently, fufu.’

Jade slid open the envelope to open the letter, only to be pleasantly surprised at the invitation. “My, tea would be refreshing, especially after all the hard work Azul puts me through.” He turned the letter over in his hands, as if to determine if anything else was secretly written on it.

“Quite a shame that they don’t sign off with anything more than a single L,” he muses. “Although I suppose this typewriting and style could possibly be Lemilia-san. Her offers of tea in the past have been quite welcoming.”

Jade turns to look back at the little excited lady with a pinched brow, almost pitying at her outstretched hand and floppy sleeve.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any freshly baked cookies for you, Tapitha-san. We are a café, yes, but we specialize mostly in light fare and drinks.” Jade places a knuckle under his chin, thinking. “Ah, unless perhaps I can interest you in something I received a few days ago.” 

He pulls out a bowl from his side of the counter, a wooden one filled with small mushroom-looking cookies. He unwrapped the bowl and slid it towards her. 

“You’re lucky that I still have some, normally I would have inhaled most any kind of food provided me, but these were quite precious that I had decided to take my time.”

[ee-furoido]

"We're back from the supply run." Lemilia and Kon set down the grocery bags into the back room with grunts and sighs. "Spice cabinet has been refilled, the fruits are in their baskets and the fish and meat for the platters should be going into the freezer as we speak." Kon moves to take out two then three packs of different variations of sweet breads and small snacks. "Mister Sam said the snacks are a thank you for shopping at his place for so long."

“Thank you for your hard work, Lemilia-san, Kon-kun.” Jade says, glancing down at the clipboard in his hands. This was the last of the necessary groceries for the upcoming special menu, and now he could rest easy. With this, they should be able to run the café for the whole duration, with sickly sweet fruit parfaits and meat and cheese samplers. 

“I must admit, I did think you were only offering to pick up our order with Kon-kun to shirk your normal Lounge duties, but it seems you came back on time to be able to fulfill those as well.” 

Jade waves his hand, attempting to shoo you along to help the rest of the staff set the tables and ready the floor for the afternoon opening. You give him one of your patented glares and slide one the snacks away from Jade and open it defiantly.

“You’re welcome, Jade.” You say, through mouthfuls of the tasty melon bread. “And thanks for offering me the bread in return for my good job.” The mer-eel raises an eyebrow through your deliberate chewing and gives a light chuckle. Your responses were always quite entertaining.

“Yes, well, we must all get ready for tonight’s shift.” Jade turns back to the Octavinelle A-kun who is shifting uncomfortably in his shoes. It looks like he might have a stomachache building, from watching his two peers. “Kon-kun, please bring these other two snacks to Floyd, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the pick-me-up and it may keep his mood up for the whole night.”

“E-eh!? Me? T-to Floyd-senpai?”

Jade cocks his head and gives him an innocent smile, as if not understanding what exactly the problem would be. A moment passes as Kon continues to fluster in place before he grabs the two extra snacks and runs further into the kitchen where Floyd would have been directing the rest of the chefs.

“Now then.” Jade says, setting the clipboard aside and adjusting his gloves. He motions for you to follow him to the Lounge floor. There was still quite some setup left to do for the wait staff, after all. “Let’s see what fun our customers will have in store for us tonight, fufufu...”

[ee-furoido]

Butt

Jade is rarely at a loss for words, but you seem to have stumped him.

"I- I see...." he muses, placing his hand on his chin. He closes his eyes in consternation. "There are... even mushrooms that look like this...."

After a moment, he gives a hearty chuckle. "It does quite look like a little faerie got stuck in the tree, doesn't it? What a poor, unfortunate soul..."

He plucks a leaf off of the tree the mushroom was growing out of and gently places it on top. He chuckles. "There, now the poor guy won't be teased by anyone for how it looks, fufufu."

[ee-furoido]

Lemilia gives a photo to the Jade, a picture of two red mushrooms was the subject

“See this?” She asked.

“Good.”

“You get me point.”

“How adorable.” Jade completely glosses over the text at the bottom of the image to admire the small red mushrooms. “These are newly grown Fly Agaric, are they not? Look how globose they still are, they still have much to grow, fufu~”

He glances up at you. “Your point?” He looks back down at the photo. He finally notices the finger pointing at the two mushrooms and shoots you a smile. “Ah, you are pointing at the mushrooms for me, so kind, Lemilia-san.” As polite as he may seem, you can absolutely tell that he is avoiding your initial point on purpose only to get a rise out of you. 

After all, what would be more entertaining than to see someone who is “smol and red with anger” erupt? 

[ee-furoido]

"I often wonder how you and Azul are able to walk with all these binds and bandages flying freely." The sheet ghost wearing typist said, holding up a camera to filter through some pictures she took. "But it's to be expected that Octanivelle's leaders always finds a way around it."

"It really is no more difficult to move than usual.” Jade gives you a patient glance. The campus-wide Halloween party had wrapped up only a few hours earlier and they had found themselves relaxing against the counter of the Mostro Lounge with a few of the other Octavinelle students for a well-deserved after party. Many of the non-Octavinelle part-timers had been invited to join them as well for their hard work during the special menu and hours of Halloween Week.

“We simply enchanted the bindings to move when we move, to flow with us. The idea was to be similar to how a jellyfish’s legs may flutter about, propelling them forward. This way, we are able to focus on our own two feet, not adding a worry about the straps hanging heavy and tripping us.” He chuckled. “Would you believe that that solution came from Octavinelle A-kun? I’m afraid Azul was quite pleased with his idea that he ended up letting him off a few hours early from his shift today.”

Jade looks you up and down with a curt chuckle. “I can understand if you’re envious; perhaps next year we can find you a more ingenious costume than a sheet with two holes cut out of it, Lemilia-san. Fufufu.”