An Infinite Dance of Time

[6] A Short Conversation

Nethal wasn't one to trust a sudden, unexpected voice calling out to him from behind. However, he immediately was able to recognize the voice calling to him by his surname. Stuffing his card back into his bag, he turned around and attempted to forcefully change his facial expression from the sour irritation from before to a softer one. "Good morning, boss." He typically referred to those in charge by their title to show respect. 

Standing behind Nethal was Hunny Bon herself. The short sugar glider's fur was a dandelion tint, with dark gold patterns along her elder face. Her once wide, beady eyes were squinted and glossy as she took out a small cloth from the pocket of her grey coat to cleanse the dusted lenses of her goldenrod-framed glasses. She hummed as she put the glasses over her snout with her naturally shaking paws. Once she was finally able to see, she reached for the wooden cane her long, fuzzy tail was wrapped around for stability, holding it in front of her so she could balance properly. "Ah, there we go. I knew you were moping around here."

"I-I wasn't moping." Nethal quickly defended himself, which resulted in a lighthearted chuckle from Hunny. "Now, now, there's no need to act like that." She slowly waddled over towards Nethal, in a way that made him almost lunge forward. The poor woman looked like she would fall over at any given second. She had run the business for years now, but she had begun to get a little two old to take care of the place herself -- and she didn't have any children she could pass down her business to. This was alarming to Nethal, as he tend to overthink about the fate of the bakery for Hunny's sake. The sugar glider, however, didn't seem nearly as stressed when it came to discussing what will happen to the place when she eventually passed. "I have a plan," is usually what she replies with.  

"Let me guess," Hunny tilted her head so she could look up at her employee, "that Berrie is picking on you again, hm?" As if it was rehearsed, the both of them looked out through the open door frame to look at Blacc, who had a pair of white earbuds stuck through his feathers and was trying to kick his ankle monitor off of him with his other foot while sitting on a table. Nethal grimaced, but Hunny's soft smile was unchanging. "Since when is he not getting on my last nerves?" He leaned back against the break room table, crossing his arms and huffing. "Not sure if you've noticed, but that employee of yours completely bailed on the night shift we were supposed to share last night." 

Hunny shook her head, trying to not scoff at the young man's distaste towards the crow. "You know he can't help it. That boy's far too hyper for a job as tame as this one." He sighed in response, "that 'boy' is a CRIMINAL. Have you not heard of the things he's done? He was a part of a GANG!" Nethal's hands flapped around frantically, as if to stress his point. "Well," Hunny leaned forward against her cane, balancing. "If that was the case, I would've never hired you because of your past. Nobody's perfect, and if a creature straight from a nasty laboratory can work here, then so can Berrie."

Nethal shook his head. He and Blacc were completely different in his eyes. Hunny, on the other hand, knew there was at least a sliver of good in anyone, regardless of their overall persona. "You two will get along someday," she began to walk out of the office, slowly to ensure her words still got to her employee, "even if I have to die to see it."

'Even if I have to die to see it.' Those words echoed in Nethal's head. He wasn't too fond of that thought.  He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Hunny's voice again, as she was stepping out of the office.

"Let's get to work, Nethal. We have quite of orders we have to fill today."

"Right, okay."