Resting the plate full of dirty dishes she passed them along to the bus boy and took a breather. Even for her shortness, Nox was quick to take orders and make sure the food and drinks were making their way to the tables. Though on usual days it wasn’t all that busy, things always sped up around lunch. Smiling warmly at another waiter she pointed to one of her tables where she eyed that their cups were almost empty. Cursing silently she dug in her apron and checked the table number and then drink types. Smiling she got a refresher and rushed there, easily avoiding others as she made her way to the table. She was met with smiles as she asked to give them refills. Taking the glasses then, she took them back and grabbed new ones, filling them with the appropriate beverage they had ordered. Hearing the ring up she finished placing them down, giving her best smile as she skipped over to the counter and grabbed the food to issue out to her last table that had ordered, at least for the moment. After setting it down and wishing them a joyful meal, she made her way out to the back and gave a sigh, finally able to get a breather. She took the moment she had to see how much tip she had gathered. Taking out the folded bills from her smallest pocket on her apron she counted at least 40 bucks. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. She hoped she got better ones this round at least. Hearing the bell door she walked back inside to see if she would be getting someone else. But while she waited, she grabbed her rag and went to wipe down tables.


Nox wore a nice black blouse that was trimmed with a darker shade of navy blue. Her jeans were a dark blue with jewels sown on her back pockets. Her short tail curled happily behind her as her foot paws were nicely groomed, the end of her jeans resting right above her ankle. Around her neck was a snake shaped medallion, but of course most didn’t know that the necklace was a hidden dagger, an easy defense weapon. Her hair was done differently today, the normal braids were not there as instead her hair was just tied back into a single ponytail and bunned at the nape of her neck. Her fur was nicely groomed and her bright green eyes even sparkled some moments. On her fingers were two sets of rings and a bracelet wrapped itself on her right wrist. She was short but she could easily move around, doing a few drink refills before moving to stand near the register.

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A lone snake walked into the restaurant, taking a quick look around and smiling to a few friendly faces in the kitchen. No Crimson at the moment, none of her kids either, phew. Maybe he could have a nice quiet meal without constant gossip for a change. And, hello, what's this? Either he hadn't been here in a while or there was a new waitress. Now this could be interesting. He made a point of waiting for her to come over and seat him, all the while trying to assess her. Physically, mentally, emotionally, so far she seemed like she'd do well in this job. Energetic enough that was for certain, and very well kept. Even had a decent sense of fashion. "Hello there. Table for one today."

Nox was fiddling with her claws, a bad and rather nervous habit when she had nothing to do. Nibbling on them she stopped when her eyes looked up into a split pupil of a snake’s. A rather handsome snake. Most could never tell when her cheeks flushed because of her dark fur but her ears told another story as they perked forward, making it seem like they had conjoined at the top of her head. Her hair was tightly pulled back and she ran a nervous paw through it and gave a warm and welcoming smile to the snake. “Oh yes! Please this way.” She had a slight skip to her walk as she lead the male to a table, grabbing a set of wrapped utensils and a menu on the way there. She motioned to the table that was normally for two but with the lunch hour ending she knew not many would be coming alone. “My name is Nox and I’ll be your waitress today. What could I get you to drink?” She asked with a soft bow of her head, her paws holding the notebook and pen in her hand considering she could never really remember orders. It was one of her downfalls.

"Either a vodka or a gin and tonic, whichever you can get first and without much hassle. Didn't see Crimson back there in the kitchen so I'll have the green special and chicken strips... never really figured out why they'd call it a green special if you could add meat in on top but it's still pretty good." Athos smiled, motioning her to come a little closer as he whispered. "That necklace, ever have to use it? Hope not, last one I had like that the blade kind of bent and wouldn't go back in." Yeah, he could spot a weapon a mile away sometimes. Part of his past just didn't want to disappear into obscurity, he always had to know what he was dealing with whenever he walked into a room. "Been a busy day?" he asked, back to a normal speaking voice instead of the whisper.

Nox smiled and began to jot it down, giving a very wide smile and even a hint of a giggle. She was glad he knew what he wanted. If he knew crimson then he must be a regular. That meant he might come every time. That just excited her more. Her ears perked more and moved closer, seeing the notion to move closer. His next words made her paw go straight to her necklace. How did he know it was a weapon? Her cheeks flushed, but doubt he could see it. She moved away and gave him a sly smirk. “Here and there…I’ll be right back with your drink and set up your order.” Another bow of the head before she moved away.

To say the truth her heart was pounding in her ears as she walked over started preparing the drink. The same waiter, a otter and about the same size as herself, came over and nudged her shoulder. “Hey could you make two more? I’ve got a group.” Nox glanced up to see that he indeed have about 6 people in his group sitting in his section. ”Have you checked their IDs?” The otter gave her a snort. “Really? Have you checked yours? Or did you just fall head over heels for that guy already.” Nox gave the otter a rather hard punch on his shoulder, making him yelp and step back. ”I can tell that he isn’t young. Now check their IDs stupid. They don’t look of age to me.” The otter pouted but walked off back to the table he was serving. Nox rolled her eyes and turned, the glass of Tonic in her hands since she figured he could use something harder than Gin or Vodka.

Walking back over she set a small napkin down and placed the glass on it. “There you go. Let me go get your order ready.”

Athan gave a little bow and smile when he got his drink, having observed the little disagreement between the two waiters. "Thanks. And good call, the one kid's only 19 and the other's 21 but doesn't have a license at the moment. Others in that little group are all over the grid from eighteen to twenty five. I should know, I teach all of them, heh. If they want to complain that they should be allowed to drink remind them what their physics teacher explained about how alcohol seems to magically make one heavier just before they hit the ground after toppling over drunk." Ah yes, a lesson he knew quite well. Even two feet from the ground could make a difference, sitting in a chair and suddenly falling out, he knew a few that cracked their skulls that way. Knew them from his past mostly, the kind where he knew they'd be falling over and hitting their head just enough to mask something else going on. Damn... why was he thinking of his past so much today? Oh well, maybe he'd be better off focusing on the pretty feline serving him.

Nox couldn’t help but tilt her head at him. How did he know so much about the group? It wasn’t until she heard that he taught them all and that was when she was extremely intrigued by it. She gave him a very giant smile and moved closer to the table. “Oh? What do you teach? I’ve never seen you around..but then again I’m pretty new. “ She gave a rather nervous and high pitched single giggle, her ears going back some. This snake was defiantly proving to be one of her favored customers. She however was pulled from the attention she was giving him when one of her other customers called for her. She gave a slight apologetic smile as she went over and gathered their cups to get them refills, however, it was when the younger of the four slapped his hand on her rump that she completely froze.
It was sudden when she turned and glared at the komodo dragon that had so freely slapped her ass. She couldn’t hold herself back as she snapped at him. “I’m sorry, do you think this is a strip club lizard boy? Keep your clawed paws to yourself and mind your manners. One more little slip and You’ll regret it.” The male wasn’t too happy and she knew she lost the tip with this table. He gave her a soft growl but she quickly advanced and gave her own hiss, speaking before he even could. “Don’t tempt me on getting my manager. She would squish you like a bug.” He only curled his lips but said nothing to her as the feline went away, placed the cups in the dish cleaner and gathered new drinks, taking them to the group. Feeling rather successful, she left and reminded the cook what her latest customer had ordered. She gave a soft smiled and made her way to other tables and serving them before coming back to the snake’s table. ”You’re food will be out shortly.” She said with a smile.

Athos barely managed to tell her he was the physics teacher and school security before she was called away. And what he saw didn't please him one bit. He could tell she was mad, and wasn't going to be getting a tip from them, but that could be fixed. Waiting for her to have her back turned and heading in the general direction of a kitchen he pulled out a small notepad, pen, and wrote a little note. Folding it up into a paper airplane he sent it on its way over to the komodo, a simple message reading, if he were to open it up... "Apologize to her or you'll miss out on the next three months of your life in a coma. Tips or a verbal apology." Now while it was a relatively closely guarded secret that he had been in a rather notorious occupation before, many of the students still had mad respect or fear of him. Some had seen him walking around with his security "tools" and one or two may have even spotted him cleaning or toting his sniper rifle around. Guns were just so obvious though, and no real challenge. No, the snake gave a sort of half smirk in the direction of the komodo when he saw him opening the note and wondered if he might have a good excuse to practice some of his other talents. Computer hacking for instance, or poisons.

He didn't get much time to gauge the lizard's response before the waitress returned. "Thank you. I'm in no particular hurry today, and as I don't have anyone with me when you have time feel free to have a seat." Really he hoped the komodo over there took his hint so Crimson, if she were around and just not in the kitchen, wouldn't have to deal with him. Sure she could, hell she could toss Drake AND Blake around at the same time if she wanted, but she was usually too reserved for such behavior.

Nox gave a soft giggle and gave a all too excited nod, going back to do some last minute things. As she went back to the table, seeing as they left she was surprised to see a very �fat� tip. She checked the ticket she gave them. �Oh wow thirty percent tip!� She hyped. She pocketed the money in her apron and began clearing off the table but what caught her attention was a small note. Tilting her head in a type of curiousness she picked up the letter but she never had time to read it as she pocketed the note in her pocket and went to drop off the dishes. The otter came out of breath to her. �I need some help. These guys are giving me a hard time. I don�t want to bug Boss.� Nox gave him a questionable look as she placed her hands on her hips. �You have been working here longer than me, why do you need my help?� The otter practically gave her a whine. �Cause you are blunt and I really need you.� Nox gave a sigh, glancing over at the snake before she felt her co-worker touch her shoulder gently. �Please?� She gave another one and slacked her body. �Oh fine. I�ll help.� She walked over to the trouble table, seeing them being rather rowdy. The otter whispered to her. �They won�t calm down, I don�t want Boss to come out..she�s busy at it is.� Nox waved at him like he was a fly. �Yeah yeah I know, watch this.� Nox walked over, putting on her best fake smile. The others glanced up at the lynx.
�Gentleman, I will only say this once. You�ve been told to quiet down and obviously you haven�t. So here�s the deal. If you don�t quite down, I�ll get my manager and you can explain to her why the customers are not getting their food cooked and why you had to be so rowdy.� One gave a laugh and leaned towards her. �How about this. You go out with me sweet cheeks and I�ll quite down for your friend there, and tip well.� Nox folded her arms and gave a rather devilishly smirk to him, her coworker seeing it and actually stepping further away. As quick as lightening Nox grabbed the badger�s wrist and twisted it, getting him to cry out. She moved and made him faceplant the floor, sitting on the badger who was completely flabbergasted. �Care to rethink that?� She chimed a bit too happily. �Alright alright we�ll quiet down. Let me up feline!� Nox, not really all that thrilled, got up and even helped him up, the badger eyeing her as she motioned back to his seat. �Jeez, do you have to be tough? We were just playing around.� Nox not so gently pushed him to sit back down. �It�s jerks like you that don�t get a girl you want. Why don�t you stop and think about who�s around you for once. And maybe, if you start being nice, I�ll take that date.� She gave a tilt of the head and a smile and the badger gave a rather nervous one back.
She walked away from the table with the trailing otter. �Thanks a lot Nox.� She shrugged. �No problem.� She looked through the window into the kitchen to make sure Crimson hadn�t heard as she looked back to her friend. �Let�s keep this to ourselves? Though I think I already made a big scene seeing as others are staring.� She huffed in a defeated fashion. He only laughed. �Well for a shorty you sure know how to make the guys speechless.� She gave him a friendly shove but smiled and walked off. Wiping down some tables before she noticed more of her guest had left, she cleaned it up and finally got some down time before she heard the chime of the bell for her last customer. She went and gathered the dish, walking over and placing it before him. �Here ya go! Sorry you had to see that� Another nervous laugh.

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"Today certainly seems like a troublesome day for you. There's always a few jerks around that want to pick on the new person, or just jerks in general. Usually it's a lovely experience in here though. Still is so far for me." He'd been watching everything, waiting for a moment when he might need to step in again. And then he got to see her in action, pretty impressive the way she handled that customer. "You deserve a minute to rest after that. Pretty impressive though, but I'm guessing the only tip over there'll come from one or two that enjoyed watching their friend get put in his place." She had the note, that damned komodo left the note on the table. Well he might still be able to get it, if he had enough time or got her to sit down. Time to start working on an explanation in case he didn't get that chance though.

Nox gave a nervous laugh and fiddled with her hair some. "It has been...but thanks." Nox needed a minute, that was for sure after her huge dispute with the others. So she took it. She made herself comfortable by taking off her apron and placing it on the table as she sat down across from him. She wasn't going to try and count her money here, so she decided to just fold it up. She smiled kindly at the snake before her. "So I never got your name. May I have it?" She asked kindly.

"Name's Athos, Athos Teer. So Nox, this your only job in town? Just starting here in Foxford?" Athos smiled, ignoring his food for the moment as she could only get a couple minutes at best to sit and talk. "I want to know if I'll be seeing you in here a lot of if this is just a brief stop on the way to something bigger." Then again there were much worse places to be working and things to be doing than waiting tables at Crimson's restaurant. He'd know, seen it all and done at least half of it. Amazing how close certain professions can get you to a person if you really need to be. And sadly the ones he hadn't done himself some of his students showed signs of "working" no matter how hard he tried to steer them away from it. Now... maybe he could get a shot at that note while she was here and had the apron off.

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[BG=81f7f3] Athos. The name rang through her head. She liked it. Her smile widened and she moved to fold her arms before her, resting over the apron. “Yeah it’s my first job. I like it here. A lot quieter than my last town.” She gave a giggle and smiled even wider. “Yeah, I work every day after my classes, unless it’s slow. Then I go and just chill in my dorm room.” She continued to smile as her paw went into her pocket ans she took out the note. “Found a note at the problem table I had though. Oh! and he gave me a huge tip. Probably the best one today actually.” She beamed brightly as she opened the note and read the scratchy writing. "Apologize to her or you'll miss out on the next three months of your life in a coma. Tips or a verbal apology." The note made her brow quirk. Who would have written this? Whoever it was just got extra brownie points in her book. Weird how she was, she liked threats. There were always moments to test them out. She folded it back, a small but very obvious smirk on her muzzle. “Hmm…extra brownie points for that one.” She gave a giggle and shoved it back in her pocket.

Athos was grinning, wanting to laugh but holding it back. Ohhh geeze, so she was one of those? Well now, that made things interesting, just when he thought he had her figured out. "Um... actually... that would be me. Hope I didn't cross any boundaries or anything, just figured the way he acted he needed to make things up to you." The snake smiled, taking a bite of his food. "As good as always, could rely on both service and quality around here every time. Probably the best place around to pick up a first job." He paused, smiling again. "You really think the note wasn't a little... over the top?"

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[BG=81f7f3] Athos. Nox stared at the snake. So it was him that sent it over. She was almost beaming if a black lynx could even do that. She gave a laugh, quiet and single as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. He apologized for it? Hell she didn’t care. The male barely knew her and already was watching her back. She needed to be careful though. He was a teacher, and she a student. But when had Nox really followed the rules? Ok bad question. She continued to smile and shook her head. ”Nah, I don’t think so. It got the point across didn’t it?” She mused softly. Her eyes stared at him, accessing everything about him. His voice, the way he spoke, how he held himself. There was something mysterious about him that she wanted to get to know.