Fandom Island and Town

Boston had decided to accompany Adrian to work today, and, not to be outdone, Bran had decided to come along, too. They two of them seemed to be in the middle of some kind of tiff and Adrian was wisely staying out of it. He knew from regrettable experience that attempting to intercede resulting only in accusations of bias from both of them - a feat that was truly impressive considering Bran was a broom that couldn't actually talk. Why an argument between them resulted in them coming in with him, but so long as they both behaved themselves in front of customers, Adrian really wasn't going to complain.

Welcome to Pick Your Poison, where a cat is in the window, a broom is sweeping the aisles, and a witch is behind the counter.

Adrian knew better than to send Pam cut flowers for Valentine's Day, but he figured that she might appreciate what he brought her instead: a potted baby white fringed orchid. He wasn't sure if he'd see her around, so he also left a note:

White Fringed Orchids are on the endangered species list for Maryland. Got this one through a reputable conservation nursery. Happy Valentine's Day, boss.

That settled prominently somewhere she would see it, Adrian went back to tidying the store, just in case there was a sudden rush as people realized they needed last minute holiday gifts.

When even the pruning sheers had been candy canes, Adrian knew that it was time to give up on doing anything productive. Instead, he'd taken his knitting out of one of his coat pockets and began finishing up the back panel of the sweater he'd been attempting to knit when Lydia had sworn eternal enmity at his ball of yarn. Not quite two more weeks until Christmas, and it was time to keep going.

Forest help him if he needed to cut anything today, eeesh.

Sadly bookless, Adrian made his way to Pick Your Poison today, ready for a full day's work. He had some excellent ideas he was looking to write down for new products and an organizational shift to run by Pam. As soon as he got behind the counter, he was all set to grab a notebook and start writing things down - which would have been much easier to do if he hadn't turned into a stand of black hollyhocks in a lovely black wood planter.

Well. This sure happened.

[Trying to catch up with everything the week before a major holiday while getting major appliances and having a sick cat and a guest over after a con weekend is very hard! Sorry, Adrian, you're a plant until next Monday]

Look, with all the work he'd put into paperwork last week, Adrian had no problems taking Pam's chiding to heart and spending a bunch of shift working out in the garden. He had the doors open so that as soon as he heard someone in the shop, he could rush in and assist, but until then, he was going to enjoy the autumn sunshine on his face and the feel of good earth beneath his fingertips.

[fleeing for dr's appt but open]

Adrian hadn't gotten the new contract written up yet, as Boston was still (loudly) mourning Kitty's departure. Which meant that rather than going into the garden and getting work done there, he was behind the counter finishing up paperwork. On the plus side, it meant he got to talk to various members of his family, some he hadn't seen in years.

On the negative side, he was learning how many of them he hadn't seen in years...and didn't keep up with the family gossip.

"Hello, Aunt Nita, this is Adrian, Agatha's boy? Yes, I'm really calling. No, no, please don't hang up! No, you've got it all wrong, they voted to let me back--! Aunt Nita? Hello?"

He sighed, adding another name to the list of people he'd have to ask his cousin Olivia to call. Hopefully she could explain.

They might be here to visit, but no force in the world could stop a Blackwood witch from being industrious. So after a stop at the park for a bit, the Blackwoods had headed over to town, carrying the boxes of cosmetics and consumables that the Old Wives had brought with them to start trying to fill the empty shelves that Pam's weeding out had left behind.

There were cleansers, there were bath bombs, bubble baths, body sprays. There were lotions, there were soaps, showers gels, scrubs, and shampoos (with conditioners of course). Massage oils, hair care products, solid perfumes, lotions, even candles. It was like someone had gone through the Lush website and used it as a checklist for production.

"Okay, even I'm impressed," Adrian admitted, looking around at everything they were unpacking and shelving. "How did you all get this done in such little time?"

"Foresight," Muriel deadpanned.

"Wait, really?"

Lydia thumped Adrian in the ear. "Mundane foresight," she told him. "Some of this we've pulled off of shipments to go to the Anchor Markets, so they'd better sell."

"And we reached out to the other covens for help," Agatha said, dreamily. She was in a particularly good mood today. "Your cousin Nora, from the Gulf coven, has been sending us her shower jellies."

"Shower jellies?" Adrian asked. Muriel was already tossing him a box that contained a pair of them. He pulled one out and and laughed as it wobbled in his palm. "Amazing," he said. "Nora is clearly a genius."

Had he met Nora? He couldn't remember, but if you gave him a minute or so, he could probably recite where in the family tree she was.

"We've also started making products without magic, just for your store," Lydia added, holding up a box that was lightly shaded gray instead of their normal white. There were far more gray boxes than white, actually. "Most of the magical cosmetics you sell here are bought as novelties, as opposed to magic being a requirement to sell to the Holy City. Making purely mundane versions means less we'll be diverting from the Holy City to you, but also let us make your items faster and can be sold for cheaper."

"Without having to skimp on the quality in other areas," Muriel added. "Not that we ever would mind."

"But you'll still get some, along with whatever stuff you personally make," Muriel reassured him, amused by whatever expression she saw on his face.

Briefly, Adrian worried what Pam would say if he told her he was now selling some stuff that wasn't magical. And then he figured that so long as he swore that the stuff he was still selling remained free of plastics, parabens, and unethically-sourced mica, he was probably all set.

[Open]