The St. Marta's Prequel...Cornering a rumor. (INVITE)

SINCE THE CAKERY WAS GAINING MORE TRACTION Teruko’s schedule was beginning to readjust itself into something the kaiju was more familiar with. While the day-to-day conduct of the restaurant was facilitated by front-end staff and bussers alike, the evenings were win the solitary, statuesque woman would prepare delicacies for the next day, painstakingly baking the cakes, slicing the tops and setting them on parchment paper before placing them in the freezer to cool. In the morning, she would frost and decorate them (or rather, the small team of bakers would). Thus was the constant ebb and flow of the bakery.

While the cakes baked in the oven in back, Teruko ventured to the front to survey the leftovers, and decide which would be gracious donated to the fountain-dwelling youth outside, and which would be disposed of in the garbage.

The maternal side of Teruko worried that she’d be pushing the young sea-serpent into a pre-diabetic state, with all the sugar she was feeding her—or, at the very least, childhood obesity.

As if a woman of Teruko’s magnitude had the right to concern themselves over anyone else’s weight.

Smiling privately at the self-deprecating humor, Teruko began to remove a few of the cakes from the display case, setting them upon the counter behind her.

There was a rap upon the door. A customer? At this hour? Didn’t they see the CLOSED sign that hung at the vague middle of the door? How about the neon “CLOSED” sign that hummed tiredly in the window?

The gentleman that stood there was all-around thin and crimson. A pair of red ears protruded from the crown of his head—and based-on how they moved, they had to be his actual ears. These were accompanied by antlers.

Beside him, a small, hooded figure, looking contrite.

Teruko wiped her hands upon the apron around her waist, though some flour still stubbornly clung to the crevices of her palms and the ridges of her scales, and she lumbered tiredly towards the door. She kept her keys bound to a chain on her waist, affixed to her pants.

The well-dressed man regaled a story of how his son had left his wallet at the bakery. And, to the man’s credit, he was accompanied by the son.

“No need, honored guest,” Teruko said sweetly, unlocking the door and holding it open, “I already closed the register, anyways. No trouble at all. Please, come in.”

She would hold the door open for both to step through, before letting the door swing shut behind them. She would follow the pair dutifully, her lengthy tail swishing curiously behind her.

The restaurant was clearly closed for the night—seats upended onto tabletops so as to free the floor for mopping—the tables of the booths were immaculately cleaned and all accessories flush with the window. And the restaurant was quiet.

Teruko liked the silence—she wasn’t particularly given to listening to either music or podcasts. So, unfortunately, she was not familiar with the man that stood before her.

When they reached the peak where the two counters met, the crocodilian instructed the pair to, “Wait here, please.”

The kaiju would then step carefully past them, her tail still flicking and curling ponderously behind her, before circling around the short-end of the counter to the space behind the register. What the pair likely could not see, from their vantage point, was a large, plastic tub that resided beneath the register. It was one of those round tubs with nylon hoops on either side, and it was filled partially by various trinkets and articles of clothing that had been left over the last few months. A few wallets were interspersed with these items.

The woman hunkered down onto her haunches, steadying herself with her tail as she slid the tub out

“What’s the wallet look like, kid?” Teruko inquired, pawing through the collection. She would pull a few wallets to the top of the pile, then lift her massive head to survey the child.

ft. finn halloran + natsu fuyuko

quirk: e-rank durability, strength, range; f-rank wealth, culinary arts

ooc notes: teruko is healthily suspicious but also like "this might as well happen" lol