InsaneJournal

Lavender let out long breath as she popped the last tray in the oven. Wiping her forehead with her forearm, she ran through all the product she had produced already, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. The breakfast push should be taken care of, which meant that she might actually get a spot of breakfast herself, before starting in on her treats for the day. "Hey," she called grabbing the attention of one of the assistants working the counters, "I'm going to take my break now and there's a tray in the ovens that will need to come out in fifteen minutes - do you think you can handle it?"

Once she had confirmation that nothing was going burn or be ruined, Lavender untied her apron and hung it on the hooks near the back door. Rather than sneak out the back, she walked through the kitchen to the front of house intent on stealing some coffee and maybe a scone she didn't really feel like eating. Lavender wasn't normally a coffee person, but she needed something to jolt her out of this feeling that she hadn't been able to shake since she woke up.

There was nothing fun about four a.m. and yet Lavender had found herself far too relieved when her alarm went off this morning. It was another night of nightmares, only worse and somehow far more real. She could still feel them biting into her flesh and that laughter echoing in her head. And it was still over a week away from the full moon so she knew it wasn't from that. No, this was something else, which was why this morning called for coffee and a few of her old Divination books to see if she could make something of it.

Bundled up for the early morning chill, she headed for the outside tables. Between the inevitable flour smudges, bags under her eyes and hair pulled back carelessly, everything about her said that today was not a good day. And worse yet, it was only just beginning.