Hellamorgue

Chapter 15: Arrival

A calming and soothing voice harmoniously resonated inside a van. A man in a decent clothing was humming in tune along with the music playing in the radio. He was a tall horned creature that resembles a goat. His furry and steady hands carefully drove the vehicle's wheel. Ears alerted and senses were awake. Placidly looking through the clear windscreen. Adhering the traffic rules like every other motorists. Beside the humanoid man, was a little girl happily munching on her cupcake while listening to the music. A seatbelt secured the child on her place. The little goat swayed her feet synchronized with the beat of the music. The father glanced on her daughter for a brief moment. A little smile formed on his face. He glided his eyes back to the windshield.

"Are you excited, dear?" the father asked in a mellow tone.

"Uh-hmm!" the jolly girl nodded. She munched on her cupcake and replied with her voice muffled by the cake, "Yes! I can't really wait!"

"Ahaha. Don't talk with your mouth full, Cookie. You might get choked." the baker calmly reminded his daughter.

"Oop!" the little girl squeaked then covered her mouth. "Sorry!" she followed.

"It's okay, honey." the father reassured without breaking an eye contact on the road.

The young girl chewed the bread slowly and swallowed it. She grabbed the water bottle beside her then drank generously. She smacked her lips and burped.

"Oop- excuse me!" said by the young girl with a tiny voice.

The child immediately looked at her father to see his reaction. Her father chuckled a bit, the girl just smiled and followed him. The baker removed his right hand from the wheel and rested it on the little girl's head. His hand touched her soft and fluffy hair along with her bumpy tiny horns. The father gently patted her head. The little girl closed her eyes and savoured the moment. Not long, the man brought his hand back to the wheel, and focused on his driving.

The white van crossed the road in a moderate speed. The backseat were filled by boxes that contains baked goods such as breads, cupcakes, cookies and many other snacks and treats. At the trunk, a generous quantity of coolers were chilling at. The baker, Ping, looked at his watch to see the time. There's still plenty of time before the program starts, but he needed to be there a little earlier to prepare the snacks. The festival's organizers were probably already waiting for their arrival. A few more minutes, his daughter fell asleep on the passenger seat. She was peacefully snoozing and snoring under her slumber. Ping gradually drove his way to the plaza. Taking his time during his trip on the roadway to secure everyone's safety. A few more streets and intersections to cross, he will eventually reach the plaza. After the remaining minutes, the man saw colorful sparkling lights, an indication of they are almost near their destination. Finally, the van arrived on the designated place. Ping carefully parked the van on the parking lot and pulled over. He looked at his daughter who was still sleeping on her seat. The father didn't bother to wake up his child, at least not in the moment. Ping removed his seatbelt and opened the vehicle. He exited the van and stretched his body. He breathed in and out. After letting out a huge sigh, he placed his hands to his waist and scanned the field. It looked like everyone was busy roaming inside the event and enjoying their moments. Ping saw two creatures approaching him. It was a long haired Flauraescan woman and a humanoid fox. They were one of the lead organizers for the event.

"Mr. Ping! Hello there! You're finally here." said by the woman in a navy blue romper dress. She greeted the man with a smile on her face, hands were locked behind.

"Oh, hi! Good day to you two, Heather, Rudy." the baker greeted while waving his right hand, giving the two people glances each.

"You're unusually late today unlike the past years." stated by the cinnamon haired fox. One of his eyebrows was raising and his sharp green eyes were staring at his watch.

"Rudy! He's not completely late! It's still early, you know." the woman interfered with her arms spread out.

"Ahaha." the baker chuckled. "Sorry 'bout that, I had someone tagging along with me. I have to help my daughter prepare with her things." the goat man explained with a placid smile.

"You have your daughter with you?!" Heather squealed with a wide beam on her face. Her head was lurching forward and her eyes glistened.

"Yeah... Ahaha! She was sleeping inside the van." the father replied while pointing his thumb backwards to the van.

"Oh! Great! I wanted to see her! I love kids!" the lady squealed enthusiastically. She was clapping her hands in excitement.

"Calm down, Heather." said the fox guy in serious tone. His arms were crossed and eyes were looking to his side.

"I am calm, Rudy!" the woman wailed and pouted. Her right feet stomped on the ground.

"Ahaha... So, let's prepare the snacks, shall we?" the baker suggested with a confident demeanor.

"Precisely." the fox replied with a smirk.

"Oh! Oh! I will look after your child, is that okay?!" Heather interjected, jumping on her tracks.

"Absolutely." the father responded with a thumbs up.

"Alright!" the woman cheered of success.

Heather goes inside the van to look after the sleeping child. The organizing team began to march their way to the van. Ping opened the trunk behind as well as the door for the backseat. Rudy lead and guided the creatures about their job. They began to carry the boxes and goes inside the plaza. The attendees saw the workers and can't helped but to cheer for them. For moral support as well as excitement upon the treats. The busy people made some noises that made the baker's child woke up. Cookie's eyes slowly opened. She saw a fine lady beside her happily watching her. The kid blinked her eyes twice, then suddenly, she got startled. Her eyes were wide open.

"P-papa?!" the little girl called out anxiously.

Heather noticed the jittery girl looking for her father. She immediately tried to calm down the child by patting her back.

"Oh, hush! Don't worry! I'm your father's friend!" the woman reassured with a soft voice.

"F-friend?" the little girl mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

The child calmed down and stared at the woman in front of her. The kid's eyes blinked slowly. After a moment, her eyes widened and opened her mouth in amazement. She found the lady beside her very beautiful and was stunned by her beauty.

"You're so pretty!" the child praised.

Heather's eyebrows curled and replied, "Aww! Thank you. You're cute too." then pinched the girl's cheek. The little girl giggled.

"I am your big sister, Heather." she introduced. "And you are?"

"My name is Cookie!" the kid happily responded.

"Oh! Cookie! What a sweet name. Do you like cookies?"

"Yes! I do!"

Heather hugged the little girl so tight while giving her kind and sweet words. She playfully tickled the girl and Cookie just giggled. Heather felt like she's going to burst out of the wholesomeness. She cannot contain the adorable moments she had with the child. The lady just talked and played with the kid inside the van while waiting for the others to finish their work.

Meanwhile, the team deliberately arranged the tables and the dishes inside the plaza. Rudy was constantly reminding the organizers to do their job carefully and everything must be perfect.

"Hey, remember to do your job properly. Otherwise, the set up would look unappealing and insipid." the fox spoke.

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded then proceeded to continue their job.

Ping carried a box of containers inside and gently put it down on the ground. He dusted off his clothes and hands. He saw a horned man coming forward carrying one of the coolers. The man's yellow eye drifted to the baker. The goat man recognized the raven haired man, and approached him.

"Hey, River! It's been a while." the baker greeted. One of his hands waved and the other one on his waist.

"Oh. Mister." the man replied. He put down the cooler next to the containers. Then, glided his eye back to the baker. "Of course, you're here. You're one of the greatest bakers in town." River praised.

"Oh, you flatter me." the baker snorted and flicked his hand. "Say, how's your life doing?"

"Well, I have a lot of jobs to do... I barely have time for myself..or even for the other people. It's..okay, I guess." the raven haired man replied while rubbing his lips with his finger.

"I get what you feel, but that's just life. Ahaha, just don't forget to take a rest." said Ping and patted the man's shoulder.

"Yeah, right." The man agreed while looking down.

A stern voice suddenly meddled between the two,

"Are you two done talking?"

The two looked to their side and saw the fox architect. He was crossing his arms and then adjusted his red eyeglasses. River's droopy yellow eye blinked. He glanced to the baker and then drifted back his sight to the red fox.

"Yeah...maybe. After you butted in." River mockingly replied.

Ping's eyes widened and curled his lip. He was looking at the two awkwardly and looked away, avoiding eye contact. He whistled like nothing happened. Rudy's sharp eyes narrowed and glared to the horned man. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat, covering his mouth with his fist.

"I didn't mean to be rude. You can chat with each other after we finished our tasks. Otherwise, this wouldn't get done before the program starts." the humanoid fox explained while raising an eyebrow.

"Of course." River ridiculously shrugged.

"Mr. Ping, I'm going to borrow River for a moment. I need him to do an errand for me." Rudy said while looking at the baker.

"Go on. Haha. I also needed to get back with my tasks." Ping calmly replied.

"Huh, why me?" the raven haired man questioned.

"Just follow me and you'll know." the architect demanded.

"Fine, you're the boss." River shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"I am the boss." Rudy sneered.

River rolled his eyes and followed the red fox away. Ping watched the two vanish from their tracks. Then, the baker cracked his fingers.

"Alright. Let's continue this." the man mumbled.

The baker cut the boxes open and brought out the containers of snacks and treats. Other members helped him to prepare and display the dishes on the table. He greeted them and warmly smiled. They began to arrange the plates and baskets gradually. After a moment, Ping decided to take a break. He watched the crowd enjoying themselves. Suddenly, a thought landed on his mind.

"Hmmm. I wonder if Powla did attend the fest?" he mumbled under his breath.

He scanned the crowd in case to find his shy employee. Although, as expected he didn't find her just by looking from his tracks. He didn't see any humans around and the crowd mostly consists non-human creatures. Ping looked back at the table and continued his work.

"Well, I just hope she's enjoying her day here." he whispered to himself.

On the other hand, Heather decided to leave the van to check the others. She glanced to the baker's daughter and invited her to go outside. The little girl's eyes sparkled of excitement. She vigorously nodded her head. Heather opened the van and goes outside. She grabbed the kids tiny bag and wore it to Cookie. The woman bended her back down, and her head reached the child's face.

"Do you want me to carry you?" the Flauraescan asked.

"Wah, please do, big sis!" the kid happily agreed.

Heather lifted the child and carried her. She always wanted to do this with kids but she barely know one. Knowing that the baker brought his child in the event made her jump of happiness and excitement. The two left the van and walked towards the entrance. Heather entered and find her way to the buffet section. She found the child's father. Cookie called out for her dad.

"Papa!"

Ping saw the two and greeted them. Heather smiled as she put down the kid. Cookie ran towards her father. His arms were spread out and wide open to catch the little girl. He then, lifted her to his shoulders.

"How's my little girl?!" the father asked and smooched his daughter on her forehead.

"I'm having fun! Big sis played with me!" the kid replied with a wide beam on her face.

"Oh, that's good! How nice of you." Ping glanced to the woman in front of her.

Heather slowly ambled towards them,

"Yeah! But the fun was still about start, Cookie." the woman stated and poked the child's nose.

"Woah?! When?" the child wondered.

"Later, sweetie." replied the woman and winked.