Dog ears

"Can you please just tell me what I did wrong?"

Madison was at the end of her rope. Not just because of the portly ghost's smug grin; no, because she almost burned the entire building down cooking dinner.

"I followed your recipe's instructions to the letter, Chuck!" The woman's arms flailed about in the air like a glitched emote. "Sesame oil, ginger, garlic, scallions, carrots, a bit of chicken! Left out the mushrooms because they're mushy garbage!"

Charles D'Boorz, chefomancer or whatever to the minor stars, adjusted the ghostly hat that slid down his sweaty brow. "And you brought the broth to a boil, correct?"

"Yes!"

"In a metal pot?"

"Yes," she shouted a bit more emphatically.

"On the stove?"

Madison's mouth hung agape, the response on the tip of her tongue but refusing to come out. The stench of burning metal still clung to her clothes and was somehow starting to waft down into the bookstore, probably through the air vents.

"In the microwave," the necromancer whispered. Chuck tilted his head ever so slightly, the corners of his lips starting to curl into a smug grin. "I was in a rush and the stove was taking forever," Madison protested, her face flush with either rage or embarrassment. Probably the latter.

The chef was about to chide her for her carelessness when a soft ringing announced the arrival of a customer. Thankful for the distraction, Madison quickly rounded the corner and wove her way towards the new arrival, a youngish boy, tall and thin with hair so black it turned blue in the light. At a quick glance, he didn't look like much. Probably a college student, clearly here for her regular wares and not what she kept hidden behind wards and traditional lock-and-key in the basement.

But instead of a collection of nekojin poetry or some ratty old spellbook, the boy asked about a job.

Maddy's heart sank a bit. This young man wanted to take money from her, instead of give! The audacity of this presumptuous little twer--

Oh, right. She did posted something recently in the community center, didn't she. Probably some night she had a few too many brewskis after a day getting pissed that the shelves wouldn't sort themselves. She didn't remember going there, but sometimes Drunk Madison made pretty good decisions.

Either way, maybe tossing this kid a few bucks a couple days a week would free her up to do more important things--like hunt for potential clients and merchandise for Epilogue. Or practicing the necromantic arts, or going shopping for some new shirts and vests, or taking a nap upstairs--

Madison put on her best customer service smile and thrust a hand towards the boy, quietly expecting a limp noodle of a handshake in return. "Well then, I'm happy you walked in. My name's Madison Mortiere. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anyone to actually respond to the wanted ad, so this is going to be a pretty informal interview, I'm afraid. Why don't you start by telling me who you are and what you currently do?"

Madison leaned against a bookcase and shoved both of her hands in her pants pockets--her ultimate power move.

"Double major, eh?" Is this kid certain that he's going to have enough time to sort shelves and cash customers between all the bookwork and tinkering involved with those fields? Madison still had much to learn about any sort of magic that didn't involve raising the dead or pulling incomplete souls out of tomes, but artifice was something that always pulled at the strings of her curiosity.

But either way-- "Double major shows you've got some ambition and dedication." The necromancer nodded. "Those'll come in handy for organizing..." Her sapphire eyes glanced over the young lad's shoulder and scanned the walls of her store. "...all of that."

Marcus also mentioned a sort of power as well, didn't he? Perhaps it might help the both of them out in their work. "And you mentioned magic of your own? What kind do you practice? As long as it's not pyromancy, anyway."

Madison Mortiere, un-deader of dead things, summoner of literary masterminds, collector of rare books that range anywhere from "unique" to "ominous" to "needlessly arcane", found herself struck dumb by the display of simple magic before her.

How had she never thought to try this libriomancy, as Marcus called it? How had it never occurred to her in the first place?

Shouldn't that have been the first thing she learned? Rather than catapulting over all the possibilities a bit of magic and a stack of papers bound between two sheets of even stiffer paper presented?

If she could only learn a bit of chronomancy as well, go back in time, and slap her younger self upside the head. The blue-haired boy just opened up a brand spankin' new world of potential for her. Oh, how this could help improve her studies--! Imagine being able to summon various rare artifacts for further investigation from the sketches of a mad mage... or, or or or pull a legendary blade of yore from the depictions of a great battle whenever an Epilogue client tried to stiff her during negotiations!

Of course, nothing was ever that simple. Hell, the knife dissipated in a puff of mana-charged smoke as soon as he shut the book. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Despite the rather aloof air about her, inside her heart was racing a million miles a minute. No trace of her excitement at the young man's ability was etched on her face. The glories of slouching against the wall, friends!

"That's incredibly neat," she said with a nod. "I'm sure it has some useful applications in your schoolwork."

Madison wanted to hire him right then and there. It'd probably seem awfully suspicious if she did, though. Were there other questions she could ask first, to drag out the interview to an acceptable length? There had to have been. Obvious questions. Like--

"You got a criminal record?"

They spilled out of her mouth one by one, a veritable lightning round of HR's Greatest Hits.

"Where have you worked before? What kind of pay are you looking for? Any hours you're unavailable? Any references I can contact?"

Can't seem to focus under pressure, Madison noted in red Sharpie on the Post-It Notes of her memory.

Or maybe I was going a bit too fast...

The necromancer considered this for a moment. The only sign of disappointment was the casual crossing of one leg in front of the other as she nestled in further against the bookcase.

No, she decided. It is the kid who is wrong.

"Just normal past employment questions," Madison said with after a quiet sigh. "Have you held a job before? Do you have any references, professional or otherwise? And what kind of hours can you work?"

Madison's face remained devoid of any sort of tell as the boy spoke, her mind occupied with the bits and pieces of personal information he was divulging.

No prior experience means he'll probably fsck something up, but will also not come in with any preconceived notions on how jobs are supposed to go. That's fine, I can work with that. Usually keeping to himself and ability to work all hours? Even better. That means I can run off on errands anytime and still have the place open, which is nice. Probably also means he doesn't have a life outside of class. No life means no real friends, either. No friends means no odd questions in case my research backfires, or I need a couple of his vital organs for a ritual.

The corner of the necromancer's thin lips curled into a very professional smile with no ill intent in it whatsoever, no sir, none at all thank you very much.

"Well, we won't worry about the references at all. Even if they're shit, that magic of yours will be of great use to the shop to help sell some books." Madison's mind drifted towards the stash held under lock and key, the shelves that stored Epilogue's wares.

She extended a hand his way. "We'll get to the paperwork and stuff later. But hey, if you want the job, then I don't see why I shouldn't welcome you aboard. So long as you don't steal anything, that is."

Simple, easy, and informal. Just like she promised. Maybe a bit desperate too, but she needed the help in the store.