The Elementals

Chapter 1 - Raven

3 years ago...

The head chef was on fire.

This didn't alarm Raven Greene as much as it should have. The fact that she wasn't alarmed didn't alarm her. Rather, it just woke instincts that she'd developed a long time ago.

"Birdie, hold still."

"Get it! Get it! Get it! Get it!"

"I can't if you're flailing about. HOLD STILL."

Raven squeezed the fire extinguisher handle and aimed the extinguishing agent at the left sleeve of the middle-aged chef of the Seagull Restaurant & Grill. The orange flames surged out then diminshed, submitting to the superior power that was the fire extinguisher.

Suffocate you nasty.

Raven releashed the handle and immediately examined the results. The white sleeve of Bridie's uniform was burnt through but thankfully Birdie had a long sleeve shirt beneath that stalled the fire's progression. That, along with how quickly Raven had reacted, prevented Birdie from baring third-degree burns. Instead, he had more of a one-point-five.

"How does it feel, Birdie?" Raven asked, setting down the fire extinguisher as she reached for a wet cloth. She gently placed it down on the sensitive skin on Birdie's forearm.

Biridie gave a slight wince. "Not as bad as I thought. I'll need to put some antibiotic cream and keep it wrapped in gauze."

"Set some ice on that as well." Raven stated, resoaking the cloth in cool water, then placing it back on his arm, "I wish I had some of this homemade remedy my mom made for burns. It really helped with pain relief and scarring."

Birdie's eyes softened. "Your mother seems like a very capable woman."

"She was."

Raven rested Birdie's other hand on the cloth and smiled up at him. "You relax now. Resoak the cloth as soon as it gets warm and sit down for a bit. I'll tell Joey what happened."

"Thank you, Raven but there's no sitting for me. Lots of hungry stomachs to fill."

"No. You can have Lloyd take charge. He's your sous-chef after all."

"He can't! He'll get lost and start prancing about with sudden memory loss, not knowing a slotted spoon from a teaspoon."

Raven grinned, "Why don't you just sit nearby and shout out orders to him as you keep your burns cool?"

Birdie pursed his lips, eyes narrowed. Then, with a pensive rub of his bald head, he sighed. "I guess I can compromise."

"Thank you, Birdie. Now I can go in peace."

"Now I can sit in anxiety."

Raven gave Birdie a peck on the cheek, which had him flush a bit. With a quick laugh, she turned and headed for the swinging doors leading out of the kitchen and into mayhem, AKA, the restaurant.

Raven grabbed a serving tray loaded with drinks. She'd been in the process of getting the drink orders for some customers when she'd heard a bellow coming from the kitchen. The kitchen staff has been slow to react but Raven hadn't. This was because most of the kitchen staff was relatively new, so they weren't used to the chaos and accidents that followed Bertram "Birdie" Cole. But Raven had been working at Seagull since she was sixteen. Plus, she had her own cause of chaos at home.

Raven navigated her way throughout the restaurant, dropping of drinks to their appropriate guests. It was loud and busy today because of the lunch rush. The restuarant was packed; all tables either claimed of being claimed. People were constantly moving about, leaving or arrive, allowing little room for waitresses to move through. What Raven had noticed over the past two years was that rushes brought out the rudeness in people.