[Jaykobell]

It was a beautiful day. Regardless, his face looked solemn as he made his way through the small row of shops.

As part of a charity event for the community, the church was organizing a sort of gathering for the townsfolk to enjoy. The majority was done out of the goodness of their hearts, including paying for the food and refreshments that would be served on that day. It was meant to bring the community closer together, and to also remind them that their church and clergy were still there to support them and guide them.

Point in case: while his acolytes took care of the other aspects of the event, he was in charge of organizing the catering of pastries and sweets. The bishop had asked for a specific bakery out of all the ones available in town, and the priest cared too much for the bishop to argue: even though going out of his way like this was a chore, for sure.

He had to admit that the place was welcoming. It looked like a pleasant little place, and the smells were especially fresh and tempting. While not being much of a sweet tooth himself, the priest had to admit he was almost tempted to try a bite or two.

Gluttony wasn't the purpose of his visit, however. "Hello?" he said hesitantly as he approached the counter. His religious outfit certainly made him stand out, but apart from that, he looked like a normal man. "I'm looking for a catering service?"

[Matt]

Sunlight flooded through the window storefront, casting beams of light across the tile floor and illuminating the chilly insides of wall-to-wall pastry cases. Queen Anne's glowed in the mid-morning rays, the space seemingly cut in half by the cases and counter, a small work station behind them and a door into the kitchens beyond. Although the front was almost disconcertingly silent, soft classical music trailed out of the back door, interspersed by the jostle of cooling racks and a pained yelp from yet another stubbed toe.

It was only after the visitor's inquiry that a tall, spidery figure, draped in an utterly destroyed apron and covered from head to toe in baking detritus, stumbled into the front and towards the counter, blinking in apparent surprise. "Oh! Apologies; the ovens get so loud-" Quickly steering a large tray of still-steaming croissants from the cash register towards one of the half-empty cases, he recovered from his startle with a wheezing exhale and a bright grin, attempting to resettle his hair and succeeding only in dusting it with a handful of flour. "Welcome to Anne's! I'm Lavender," he added, "sorry, my name tag is... somewhere. Aha."

A clap of his hands (and one small cloud of flour), and he nodded decisively. "So! Catering, yes? We usually do smaller, individual orders, but I'm always up for a challenge! Was there something specific you're looking for..?" Blue-purple eyes ran over the stranger's outfit, and Lavender straightened up, fussing with his apron. "We can do specialized orders as well, of course," he assured, though his confident tone seemed to take a bit of a hit.

[Jaykobell]

My, what a mess this man was. That came with the territory of a bakery, he supposed. Not that it bothered him, but surely, this couldn't be comfortable or pleasant in any way.

"Ah, yes, hello," he said as Lavender presented himself and introduced his name. "Clovis," the priest said for an answer, right before they moved on to the catering matter.

"Ah, right. Well, I don't know if you've heard, but the church is holding a small community event this coming weekend," he explained. "The bishop referred your bakery rather adamantly. We're planning on offering drinks and food, including sweets, to the townsfolk who want to come and meet other members of the community." It was meant to be a small, relaxing event, that might even hopefully raise a little bit of donations for the church. "The whole town is invited, if you know anybody who'd like to go."

"But anyway, we'd take whatever you can make in bulk, for the food," he went on to say. "Croissants, eclairs..." he listed, but his two-item description wasn't much of an extensive list. In his defense, he knew little about sweets — but he did have to admit those fresh croissants made the earlier temptation even stronger. "The likes," he finished. "Could you do it?"

[Matt]

Listening and nodding his head along with Clovis' words, Lavender visibly perked up at the mention of the bishop, a flush making the freckles across his cheeks stand out. "How lovely! I shall have to say thank you," he fretted to himself, fingers tapping a staccato on the counter-top. "I can certainly provide a bulk order for the church, certainly; and for such a good cause, at reduced price. It wouldn't feel quite right of me to do otherwise, it being so public and... religious," he added with a weak, awkward hand-wave.

"Croissants, eclairs... cheesecake and brownies tend to hold up well, or fudge..." His tendency towards rattling off thoughts out-loud seemed to be a continuous one, but at least it was at the level of a whisper. "Pecan pie bars have been popular recently--oh, but don't mind my prattle; feel free to look in the cases, Clovis! Almost anything I serve can be made in bulk, given enough time and coffee." The tiny, amused grin that lit up his face was thankfully not accompanied by literally laughing at his own (attempted) jokes.

"I'd actually be interested in coming myself, if it would be alright- my sous chef might like to drop by, too." Chewing on his inner lip, he glanced away from Clovis to focus on the croissants, turning on his heel to nudge them into place. "I admit, I haven't gotten around to visiting the church proper, but I've certainly been meaning to. My schedule has been..." His hands spread out a bit, the movement stifled by being halfway inside of a pastry case. "Hectic."

[Jaykobell]

Lavender seemed to be one of those folks who talked a lot, and rambled on a lot. Clovis stared silently as the baker went on to accept the catering job, and while listing a few possible entries for the sweets. Right, when he spoke of them, memory of them came to the priest. Ultimately, the baker could opt for anything he wanted.

"Any of those would work out fine," Clovis assured him, his answer meaning to be reassuring despite his flat, or rather average tone. "As long as we have a large table of variety, what you want to make is up to you." The bishop had said the food could be up to the ones making it. Seemed fair, Clovis supposed. "But the reduced price is appreciated. We do survive on donations." It hadn't been meant as a jab, or a way to guilt-trip the baker, but his tone was difficult to read.

Throughout this short conversation, it also stood out to Clovis that Lavender seemed fixated on the religious aspect, or themes, of this whole thing. "And you're free to come, if you want," he added. "Whether or not you're a practicing person of any religion. The church is hosting it, but we don't plan on having any religious activities or anything like that. It's just meant to bring the community closer together." It would be nice, admittedly. Hopefully, it would be one of those days where they didn't expect Clovis, as a priest, to preach to high heaven on a constant basis.