Wisp had led a short life, after graduating, she was swept into the vampiric nightlife. Stolen away by one vampire, rescued by another, then traded off. Somewhere in all that mess, Wisp decided she was through with it. Lucky for her, so far, Amber Starview had been gracious enough to allow her freedom. In the midst of that, Wisp had taken up baking.
Baking offered some sweet relief from daily drama for Wisp. Not only was she enjoying it, she was good at it! Many at the Red Dragon Inn had become fans of her treats. Now, she was going to push forward, searching for sponsors to help her get the funds up to buy a shop of her own
Her eyes are set a shop just a few doors down from the RDI, with great apartment space above it. With any luck, it will soon be hers!! She has begun setting up flyers around the area.
Sweet Relief
Sweets by Wisp
Seeking Sponsers!
Contact Wisp at RDI!
Wisp was on to making muffins today, Blueberry muffins and Apple Cinnamon. Each box she filled would have 4 large muffins inside, and a business card on the box window. She was so happy that she ran into Ambrosia yesterday, the money she made was encouraging. She had an idea too, she would try contacting the orphanage later today and set up some arrangements.
But that wasn't the only thing on her mind today. She was also thinking about Mason and the calm, relaxing date they had. It was nice just talking. There'd been no pressure, it was truly nice. He was expected today at some point, he wanted some muffins. She liked him , so far. She hoped that these were his true colors, as it is said.
She wanted to touch base with the real estate people and the loan people again, see if there was something more she could do to secure a loan. If not, she would still be trying to spread the word and find a sponsor . There was quite a bit she wanted to do for her shop too.. She had big dreams it seems.
Thanks to Mr. Tass, Wisp now had the funds to move forward. First thing Monday morning was meeting with the bank and setting up her funds accounts. With each account set up and the deed to the building secured, the new business owner was off to check out her building. There were 4 floors. Street level was the shop, which would be renovated into the bakery. There was a lower floor with the boiler room and such things. The upper floor, her home and then the 4th level which seemed alike a studio.
The building had fire escape stairs on the outside, and elevator inside. She made sure that elevator access as restricted. Next was clearing out all the left behind furniture ad boxes. For now though, she just had some local boys move them to the 4th floor. She would sort through it all later.
Next was cleaning.... She hired someone for that. She was helping though,she was going to put herself into the business in every aspect she could.
The cleaning crew was doing a great job and Wisp was able to work in the kitchen today. Floors were cleaned up and she was able to start the deliveries. A few double decker ovens were put into place, right after all the cabinets and counters were gotten into place. That took half the day of course.
While they were installing all the goodies, Wisp went upstairs to her home. 2 bedrooms, large open living room/dinning room, decent kitchen with breakfast nook. Large bathroom. Laundry room. This would all be cleaned up next. For now, she used the rented vacuum. She would run its suction power over every surface of the empty rooms. Next, she worked on cleaning every surface with industrial strength cleaner.. environmentally friendly kind. She couldn't start ordering stuff to fill the rooms yet, she had to make sure the bakery was set up first.
Back downstairs to the bakery. She cleaned the bar and counters, and started picturing their 'finished' look... back to ordering! She needed containers. She needed to set up a register and her company site (that she would get help for.).
Everything was clean and some things had started arriving. Now it was time to get things arranged. Kitchen! There were several ovens, 2 stoves and many counters. Cabinets too. Some of that was started yesterday and Wisp was so excited. No baking today, but getting the kitchen ready was #1. The lobby and dinning area could wait, at least for a little while. So could her apartment. Well, no. It would save her some money to at least get her bed setup . That was ordered and she would wait for that to come in later today.
Getting the kitchen ready took the entire day, twice the power blew and she had to go down into that creepy basement. She swore she saw something run in the shadows. She heard a whisper. But, fuses were replaced and everything was good now. Lights were good, wires were good, floors good.
Kitchen is ready! Cabinets are done. Ovens are in. Stoves are in. The nuker. Freezer is set up. Coffee pots were set upon a small bar by the kitchen.
Wisp was working on her inventory tracker and getting ingredients delivered. A couple of tables and chairs were set up, but only a few for now, a few benches along the bay windows. Things are moving along nicely! Tables for 2 , 6 sets for now were setup in the lobby for those who wish to sit and enjoy a muffin and some coffee. There are cases to display choices for muffins and cookies and brownies around the register, centered in the shop. Now Wisp was ready to start baking again.
The basics were in place for the bakery. Furniture, supplies , recipes! Next was moving on to Wisp, and her tormented little life.
Life as a ghoul was suppose to mean you lived day and night to serve the vampire who kept you. When Wisp was sent to Rhydin, her new vampire master, so-to-speak, never showed up for her. What Vitae in her system, kept her comfortable while she waited. Waited and hoped? She had hoped, in the beginning, that her new master would be gracious and kind like Xander, her most recent vampire. He was a party boy, a sweet and playful, yet hungry vampire. He was often there to be seen.. there to be heard. And if things did not go his way.. he made sure he was heard and seen in other ways. If you crossed him, he would send trouble your way. And as for his ghouls.. his girls... he made them very happy so long as they were always there to keep him looking good and feeling good. Wisp had never had a problem running his errands or being the pretty thing on his arm. Often, for her, she was only there for looks and the occasional drink. He never took too much, nor did he ever have a reason to hurt her. Though, like all spoiled rich kids... he grew bored and traded her off for a new toy.
Before Xander... was another story. It was a story that Wisp didn't share often , if ever.
So back to Rhydin. When her new vampire never showed.. Shy Wisp had gotten comfortable doing things for herself. Slowly, she was remembering what life could be like without living for someone else. However... there was the fact that she needed Vitae. Vampire blood. She needed it to keep her stronger, to keep her power[Shadow Walk] she thought, and for a while she thought it was keeping her alive. That's when Amber stepped into the game. Amber was the reason behind her new vampire's tardiness. And, in turn became her new vampire. Even though it was temporary, her relationship with Amber was growing. With Amber's help, Amber Vitae, Wisp could keep her [Shadow Walk] she thought, her strength and regeneration. But.. at what cost? Even though Amber let Wisp keep her freedom, it was iffy . Wisp still felt that Amber would force her to come back or to stay. Which.. she could do that at anytime. It was her Vitae in her blood now. And... if Wisp didn't get Vitae from Amber... who would she get it from? Wolfie had friends... but Wisp didn't like strangers, much less needing something from them. And... not knowing the kind of vampire bothered her too. With bad Vitae, came bad powers or ... side effects.
Here we are. Time was ticking. The Shadow Walk power has faded, which she had received from Xander. Which, she thought having Amber's Vitae could help the power stay. It did not. Not to mention, the calling had returned. The voice. THE Voice. Wisp was sure the voice she heard was Jess. Her first vampire. He had changed her forever. He also tortured her. She was sure it was his voice she heard. Taunting her. Belittling her. Trying to make her second guess everything. Trying to make her seek him out.
How much stronger would his voice get if she didn't find a new vampire? And.. could she be happy being fully human again?
Wisp was excited when she woke this morning. A request was made to bring treats to the Golden Perch Inn. How wonderful. Wisp got up early, as planned and got to work baking. Batches of brownies were first and then muffins. last would be cookies as they took the least time to bake and cool.
She was doing math, SIbyl only asked for 10 boxes. Thats 3 batches of brownies, or 6 for equal shares of caramel or fudgey. 2 Batches of muffins, she would call for what kind. Cookies didn't matter how many. She was going to end up with extra anyway and they would sell in the shop or be samples.
She was planning on bringing extra, to leave for sampling there. Music was going, and she kept the kitchen open so she could watch the front after opening time. It was nice to have a legit order. She really needed to get some help so she could work on expanding the menu. Maybe that should have been thought about before opening! Oh well, she was happy regardless.
Prepping the boxes was fun too. She put brownies , 2 each, on the left, the muffin in the middle, and 6 chocolate chip cookies on the right. The box was sealed with a steamy muffin sticker and her business card was tucked in the little window of each box. She was thinking about using black ribbon to tie around the boxes instead, but didn't. That took a bit more time and time was precious when working alone.
The 10 boxes because 13, a baker's dozen! She would package the extras to boxes just like this.. a sampler box. 2 brownies, a muffin and 6 cookies. Mmm. Lunch!
It had been at least a week, Wisp had felt someone following her as she made deliveries. She felt someone watching her almost all the time. She had lingered a few times on one street or the next, just to see if she could catch a glimpse of who was stalking her. To no avail. It was unnerving, especially after Crom had left town and Mason got a real girlfriend. She didn't have someone around to make her feel safe. She had even starting going to RDI more often to keep from feeling so alone.
So after a set of deliveries, Wisp is walking down the sidewalk, heading back to the shop. When all of the sudden, there's a noise. Not just any noise, but a kitten. Yes, who can resist that adorable little mew. Of course, Wisp isn't one for pets. But , after feeling so alone and having the creeps feeling like someone's following her, she thought maybe rescuing a kitty would help calm her nerves.
Boy was she wrong, after trying to coax a kitten out of the alley, she ended up talking to her stalker. Hoping for the best, she tries to befriend the stalker and offer some conversation and cookies. She actually got them to agree to coming back to the bakery, she felt safer. She thought they were friends.. but that was the last anyone saw of Wisp. The bakery was left unlocked and blood smeared on the counter was all that was left to alert anyone she had been taken.
After all of that was over and done with... Wisp was a new person, well she hopes. After some much needed healing therapy.......
Wisp was back to baking, just in time for the holidays. Sweet Relief was reopened and the smell of Pumpkin Spice muffins, and some without the extra spices, filled the area around the bakery.
Wisp was throwing herself into her sweets , spending several days catching up her stock, her ingredients, getting everything cleaned up and decorated for the holidays .. For now, Turkeys, Pheasants and quirky ducks decorated the shop windows, outlined with leaves and a few snowflakes. The tables had fall pumpkins and leaf decor scattered about.
Wisp seemed to be back to her old self, bright blue eyes had a spark of joy in them again. Things were good.
