LJ Idol 8, Topic 15 - "Preoccupied"
(Note: Although I try to write each section so it can be read as a stand-alone, this is part of a continuing series. If you missed previous episodes, you can read them here:
Week 2; Week 5; Week 8; Week 9; and Week 10; Also related but optional - Week 11 and Week 14 )
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Saturday lunch service at Vizzini's Pizzeria was always busy, but today was just insane. Travis didn't mind helping his family out on the weekends, since it let him earn a little extra pocket money and the experience would look good on his college applications, but today was more hectic than usual. He'd only been at work for just over an hour, and he was already exhausted. During the pre-service staffing this morning, Luigi, the store manager, quickly went over the daily specials and confirmed Travis would be their runner this shift since Antonio called in sick.
Travis headed back to the kitchen to pick up fresh supplies and his Spidey sense tingled in warning - something was wrong, but he had no earthly idea what was setting him off. Instead of dwelling on it, he busied himself clearing a few more four-top tables of dirty plates, flatware, and glasses, then quickly spritzed them with cleaner and wiped them down with a damp towel. Lifting the now full gray plastic tub, he scooted around some customers who nearly knocked him over in their haste to reach the buffet, and pushed through the double doors into the kitchen.
As he loaded the dishwasher, Travis realized that it felt good to get out of the house. The atmosphere at home had suddenly changed a few weeks ago. The house even smelled different. He wasn't sure if the slightly sulfuric undertones he was detecting was because of his experimentation with sulfites or not, but at least he hadn't had any adverse reactions lately, so that was a good sign.
Travis thought his mom was responsible somehow. She seemed more on edge than usual, but not in a bad way. Except for her hair looking blonder, he couldn't put his finger on exactly what was different, and that bothered him.
Even his kid brother had noticed subtle changes in their parents' relationship, but upon discussion the boys agreed that whatever was going on, dad appeared to be both happier and more exhausted lately.
Maybe he'd gotten a promotion at work?
Whatever it was, neither of his parents had mentioned anything to the rest of the family.
Just as Travis finished loading the last dirty dish into the rack, something bright flashed in the corner of his vision. Turning to his left, he glanced over at the bank of brick ovens. Roberto had just opened the middle oven and inserted the long-handled paddle to remove a deep-dish pizza, when Travis saw the flicker again.
A tiny lick of flame, no longer than his hand, darted out of the oven and whizzed over Roberto's head unnoticed.
"What the heck?" Travis murmured, watching the tiny flame fly circles above the prep table. Nobody else seemed to notice it but him.
The little flame sizzled over his head, almost singing his hair, then zipped neatly through the gap in the kitchen doors and out into the dining room. Travis grabbed the now empty tub, a clean, damp towel, and headed back out.
The silver jar candles on each of the larger six-top tables typically weren't lit for the lunch crowd, only for dinner service. One by one, the candles appeared to spontaneously burst into flame. "That can't be a good sign," Travis muttered, following the candle progression towards the front doors.
The tiny will-o-the-wisp or whatever it was had gotten larger - it was now almost as long as his forearm. Travis paused near the beverage service area and tried to think what to do next. There had been a lesson about imps and elementals a few weeks ago - could this be a fire elemental? What were they called... salamanders? That sounded right. He had no idea how one had gotten into the kitchen, but whatever else happened he didn't want it to get out into the community at large. What sort of trouble could it get into? Even though he was just a Watcher in Training, he had a responsibility to protect the mundanes out there. What he needed was a plan.
"It's not break time yet," Luigi admonished in his deep baritone. "Get your head in the game. Tables three, eight, and nine need cleaning, and there's a spill by table twelve that needs to be cleaned up before someone slips. Go get the mop," the manager added, grabbing the tub out of Travis's hands. "I’ll start on table three. Move it!"
"Sorry sir," Travis replied, rushing into the kitchen as he tried to keep an eye on the wily elemental. One minute it was by the front windows, the next it had wended its way under the buffet. He walked briskly to the back of the kitchen and grabbed the long-handled mop, which might serve as a makeshift wand. What else would he need to dispel the salamander?
A container of salt caught his eye, and he poured quite a bit into the pocket of his apron. He knew it would come in handy to help bind the fire elemental and negate its power on this plane.
"What did we learn from Leo? Start at the beginning," he reminded himself. "The alchemical symbol for fire is a triangle. The associated colors are red and orange. The cardinal direction is south..."
Travis smiled as an idea popped into his head. It was a little offbeat, but it might work.
Dragging the mop behind him, he returned to the dining room and glanced around. There it was, swirling its serpentine form around the candle on table nine. The flame rose higher as the elemental coaxed it, twirling around the slender wick and passing his black and red form through the flame. Luigi hadn't cleared the table yet, which was good - since it was still dirty it remained unoccupied. As he passed the buffet on his way to table nine, Travis grabbed the final item he needed.
Reaching into the pocket of his apron, he drew out a handful of salt and used it to form a circle around the base of the candle. "I call upon you, Salamandrae, and bind you with this salt," he intoned. Travis then held up a triangular slice of thick-crust pizza, point upward. "By this symbol, I banish you back to the nether realm from which you came. You will do no harm. Go now, and do not return."
Travis wasn't quite sure what he expected to happen next - he thought the elemental would dissipate into the ether, or maybe disappear in a burst of smoke or simply gutter out.
He hadn't been prepared for the sound of clapping that came from behind him. "Well done, lad."
Turning around, Travis spotted Uncle Leo sitting at table ten, a smug smile on his face. The Salamander was resting upon Leo's shoulder, not burning him at all. "Nice touch with the pizza slice - I wouldn't have thought of that when I was your age."
Leo turned his attention to the salamander. "Honored Aradjinn, do you agree that my nephew caught you fair and square?"
The slender, lizard-like form inclined the top half of its body and hissed.
"Very well then. He has passed the test," Leo stated. "Back to the ovens with you, and thank you for your service, honored Aradjinn."
Travis sat, dumbfounded, and turned the slice of now cold pizza over and over in his hands, trying to make sense of everything. "The salamander works here?"
Leo laughed. "Of course - Aradjinn has been working here since long before you were born. There's a whole family of salamanders inhabiting our pizza ovens. They love it in there! We don't have to pay for fuel, and they enjoy safety and companionship. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"I had no idea," Travis stated. "What else haven't you told me, Uncle Leo?"
Leo smiled sardonically and rose from the table. "Quite a lot, actually," he replied, patting his nephew on the shoulder. "But don't worry, you'll learn everything in time. Now get back to work."
Travis sighed as he stood and straightened his apron. He'd almost forgotten he was still on the clock and had other messes yet to clean up.
If you give a salamander a pizza, he's going to ask for red pepper flakes...
(Last line is used with respect to Laura Numeroff's "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" series of children's books.)
Week 2; Week 5; Week 8; Week 9; and Week 10; Also related but optional - Week 11 and Week 14 )
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Saturday lunch service at Vizzini's Pizzeria was always busy, but today was just insane. Travis didn't mind helping his family out on the weekends, since it let him earn a little extra pocket money and the experience would look good on his college applications, but today was more hectic than usual. He'd only been at work for just over an hour, and he was already exhausted. During the pre-service staffing this morning, Luigi, the store manager, quickly went over the daily specials and confirmed Travis would be their runner this shift since Antonio called in sick.
Travis headed back to the kitchen to pick up fresh supplies and his Spidey sense tingled in warning - something was wrong, but he had no earthly idea what was setting him off. Instead of dwelling on it, he busied himself clearing a few more four-top tables of dirty plates, flatware, and glasses, then quickly spritzed them with cleaner and wiped them down with a damp towel. Lifting the now full gray plastic tub, he scooted around some customers who nearly knocked him over in their haste to reach the buffet, and pushed through the double doors into the kitchen.
As he loaded the dishwasher, Travis realized that it felt good to get out of the house. The atmosphere at home had suddenly changed a few weeks ago. The house even smelled different. He wasn't sure if the slightly sulfuric undertones he was detecting was because of his experimentation with sulfites or not, but at least he hadn't had any adverse reactions lately, so that was a good sign.
Travis thought his mom was responsible somehow. She seemed more on edge than usual, but not in a bad way. Except for her hair looking blonder, he couldn't put his finger on exactly what was different, and that bothered him.
Even his kid brother had noticed subtle changes in their parents' relationship, but upon discussion the boys agreed that whatever was going on, dad appeared to be both happier and more exhausted lately.
Maybe he'd gotten a promotion at work?
Whatever it was, neither of his parents had mentioned anything to the rest of the family.
Just as Travis finished loading the last dirty dish into the rack, something bright flashed in the corner of his vision. Turning to his left, he glanced over at the bank of brick ovens. Roberto had just opened the middle oven and inserted the long-handled paddle to remove a deep-dish pizza, when Travis saw the flicker again.
A tiny lick of flame, no longer than his hand, darted out of the oven and whizzed over Roberto's head unnoticed.
"What the heck?" Travis murmured, watching the tiny flame fly circles above the prep table. Nobody else seemed to notice it but him.
The little flame sizzled over his head, almost singing his hair, then zipped neatly through the gap in the kitchen doors and out into the dining room. Travis grabbed the now empty tub, a clean, damp towel, and headed back out.
The silver jar candles on each of the larger six-top tables typically weren't lit for the lunch crowd, only for dinner service. One by one, the candles appeared to spontaneously burst into flame. "That can't be a good sign," Travis muttered, following the candle progression towards the front doors.
The tiny will-o-the-wisp or whatever it was had gotten larger - it was now almost as long as his forearm. Travis paused near the beverage service area and tried to think what to do next. There had been a lesson about imps and elementals a few weeks ago - could this be a fire elemental? What were they called... salamanders? That sounded right. He had no idea how one had gotten into the kitchen, but whatever else happened he didn't want it to get out into the community at large. What sort of trouble could it get into? Even though he was just a Watcher in Training, he had a responsibility to protect the mundanes out there. What he needed was a plan.
"It's not break time yet," Luigi admonished in his deep baritone. "Get your head in the game. Tables three, eight, and nine need cleaning, and there's a spill by table twelve that needs to be cleaned up before someone slips. Go get the mop," the manager added, grabbing the tub out of Travis's hands. "I’ll start on table three. Move it!"
"Sorry sir," Travis replied, rushing into the kitchen as he tried to keep an eye on the wily elemental. One minute it was by the front windows, the next it had wended its way under the buffet. He walked briskly to the back of the kitchen and grabbed the long-handled mop, which might serve as a makeshift wand. What else would he need to dispel the salamander?
A container of salt caught his eye, and he poured quite a bit into the pocket of his apron. He knew it would come in handy to help bind the fire elemental and negate its power on this plane.
"What did we learn from Leo? Start at the beginning," he reminded himself. "The alchemical symbol for fire is a triangle. The associated colors are red and orange. The cardinal direction is south..."
Travis smiled as an idea popped into his head. It was a little offbeat, but it might work.
Dragging the mop behind him, he returned to the dining room and glanced around. There it was, swirling its serpentine form around the candle on table nine. The flame rose higher as the elemental coaxed it, twirling around the slender wick and passing his black and red form through the flame. Luigi hadn't cleared the table yet, which was good - since it was still dirty it remained unoccupied. As he passed the buffet on his way to table nine, Travis grabbed the final item he needed.
Reaching into the pocket of his apron, he drew out a handful of salt and used it to form a circle around the base of the candle. "I call upon you, Salamandrae, and bind you with this salt," he intoned. Travis then held up a triangular slice of thick-crust pizza, point upward. "By this symbol, I banish you back to the nether realm from which you came. You will do no harm. Go now, and do not return."
Travis wasn't quite sure what he expected to happen next - he thought the elemental would dissipate into the ether, or maybe disappear in a burst of smoke or simply gutter out.
He hadn't been prepared for the sound of clapping that came from behind him. "Well done, lad."
Turning around, Travis spotted Uncle Leo sitting at table ten, a smug smile on his face. The Salamander was resting upon Leo's shoulder, not burning him at all. "Nice touch with the pizza slice - I wouldn't have thought of that when I was your age."
Leo turned his attention to the salamander. "Honored Aradjinn, do you agree that my nephew caught you fair and square?"
The slender, lizard-like form inclined the top half of its body and hissed.
"Very well then. He has passed the test," Leo stated. "Back to the ovens with you, and thank you for your service, honored Aradjinn."
Travis sat, dumbfounded, and turned the slice of now cold pizza over and over in his hands, trying to make sense of everything. "The salamander works here?"
Leo laughed. "Of course - Aradjinn has been working here since long before you were born. There's a whole family of salamanders inhabiting our pizza ovens. They love it in there! We don't have to pay for fuel, and they enjoy safety and companionship. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"I had no idea," Travis stated. "What else haven't you told me, Uncle Leo?"
Leo smiled sardonically and rose from the table. "Quite a lot, actually," he replied, patting his nephew on the shoulder. "But don't worry, you'll learn everything in time. Now get back to work."
Travis sighed as he stood and straightened his apron. He'd almost forgotten he was still on the clock and had other messes yet to clean up.
If you give a salamander a pizza, he's going to ask for red pepper flakes...
(Last line is used with respect to Laura Numeroff's "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" series of children's books.)