And finally! My first story for FA is here! This one was written for  Zachariah_Corvish as part of a themed story challenge! The goal was to see the differently we would tell a story when given the exact same theme and characters to work with. The theme this time is "ice cream parlor!" Enjoy!


Zakk's side of the challenge is here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11637077/

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Mia slumped against the counter, her long ears drooping as she breathed a heavy sigh. So far, it was looking to be a slow day. After a moment, she glanced at the tanuki next to her and gave a dejected chirping sound.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Zakk replied from the counter, “It‘s only 11:00. Technically, that’s still morning.”

“Yeah, he‘s right,” Alex added as he sat at a table near the counter, “Customers don‘t usually want to purchase ice cream until at least noon.” As she watched, the tan-furred antelope paused to take a sip of coffee, then lifted his newspaper again to read. The snake attached to his backside simply hissed in annoyance, taking futile licks at a single scoop of Vanilla ice cream sitting on the table.

Mia smiled a bit at them and nodded, but that didn‘t make it any less baffling. Why would anyone wait until noon to enjoy something as delicious as ice cream? It seemed like the perfect treat to wake up to! It was still so strange to her, this culture. It wasn’t that long ago that she had come to this world from her own, a realm of doppelgangers, ethereal beings, and monsters of legend, where small pleasures such as ice cream didn’t even exist. But it did here…along with so many other strange things that both excited and bewildered her. And having gained so many close friends as well, she had quickly come to love this world, and its culture.

The Chilly Delights ice parlor--where she was currently working for the week in return for all the free ice cream she could eat--was a small, relatively plain-looking place. The checker floors were always shiny, tables wiped clean and stocked with napkins, and equipment well maintained. At the far back of the shop was the whitewashed counter, which had a long, windowed freezer built into the center of it. It was a rather cozy place. Actually, it reminded her a bit of her home in that other world…especially considering the other, more important detail that made her love working at this simple parlor. It was a place where the strange talents of shape-shifters like herself and her friend Zakk were deemed acceptable, and even encouraged. In fact, such antics were a regular part of the parlor‘s ambiance, quickly becoming a powerful lure for customers looking to be entertained while they enjoyed their frozen treats. Which, of course, wouldn’t mean a thing if there were no customers to service.

With that sour thought, Mia slumped against the counter again, closed her eyes, and sighed.

“By the way, it is 11:00...” the tanuki continued, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work right now, Alex?”

“I’m technically freelance,” Alex replied as he turned the page in the newspaper, “means I can take my break anytime.” He paused from his reading to shove the ice cream cup closer to Snake, for all the good it would do. “My break is just taking a little longer than usual, that’s all.”

Suddenly, the doppelganger’s long ears perked up at the shrill ring of a bell as the shop door opened and closed. The pattering of small pawpads echoed through the parlor, moving towards the counter with quick, energetic steps. Then Mia’s eyes opened and shifted downward, just in time to meet the bright, curious face of the young fox approaching the counter, and a smile crossed her face. Finally, a customer!

“Um, can I get a large chocolate milkshake with whipped cream, please?”

Mia gave a quick nod to the young fox and then peered into the freezer, filled to the brim with assorted ice cream favors and ingredients. The recipe for this order was fairly simple: two scoops of chocolate ice cream, a cup of milk, and a squeeze of chocolate syrup from the bottle. And, of course, just a dollop of whipped cream. Simple.

She concentrated on her right hand, watching intently as her palm began to change shape, flattening and curving inward, fingers merging and shortening to form an ice cream scoop. Shivering a bit, she gathered up two cold scoops of the sugary dessert to drop into a blender sitting on the counter…which actually wouldn’t seem all that strange if the plastic blender jar wasn’t colored a translucent pattern of brown and tan--almost like fur--set atop a blue-tinted blender base. And also had a large red vest draped loosely about the handles on either side of the blending jar. The brown and tan striped cord jutting from the behind it twitched in anticipation as she gently lifted the lid by grabbing its ears. Then the flattened face of the tanuki on the front contorted into a wince when the ice cream made contact with his transformed body.

“Ooh! That’s cold!” Zakk cried out, almost tipping over onto his side from a shudder.

The young fox jumped back at the sound of his voice. “W-whoa! Did that blender just talk!?”

“Of course I did!” the tanuki replied, grinning, “You ordered the large chocolate milkshake?”

The fox nodded dumbly in response.

“Okay, that’ll be $2.99! Plus tax.”

Mia giggled silently as she dropped the rest of the ingredients inside Zakk, causing him to shudder anew. Then she replaced the lid and pressed his nose, making his blending blades buzz to life to mix the frozen ingredients inside into a thick, uniform consistency. “Brrrrr!!”

“Whoa!” the fox cried out again, almost dropping his money, “That’s got to be like, the coolest blender ever!”

“Cool?!” Zakk replied with another visible shudder, “Try fr-e-eeezing!”

That made Mia silently giggle all the more as she rubbed the shivering appliance on the top of his lid between his pointed, fuzzy ears. She knew from her own personal experiences as a shape-shifter just how cold it could be to make ice cream milkshakes…especially when she had been the stirring spoon last time.

“What…are you two?” the young fox replied, face glowing with wonderment, “Are…are you wizards!?”

“A-actually, we’re s-shape-shifters,” the tanuki replied, voice trembling from the cold as he continued to blend, “I’m Zakk, and she’s Mia! It‘s n-n-nice to meet you!”

The doppelganger chirped a happy greeting as she turned and started towards the sink to wash her hands thoroughly. But, as the soap from the dispenser fell into her hands, she paused for a moment with realization. She turned and glanced at the young fox, who was looking back at her questioningly, obviously more than a little confused by her bird-like sounds.

Right. With friends like Alex and Zakk, who could easily decipher her wordless methods of communication, she’d almost forgotten that most other people couldn’t. Slight problem with Doppelgangers…for the most part, they were verbally mute. Imitating sounds were easy, though, which was why she’d often relied on them to express herself in the past. The chirping of birds was, by far, one of her favorite sounds to imitate.

Zakk simply gave a soft giggle, which mingled with the buzzing of blending blades and the sloshing of ice cream inside his plastic body, and then translated for her. “Hehe…she‘s very happy to m-meet you.”

“Yeah, same here. Welcome to the ice cream shop,” Alex added with a nod. He glanced down, just in time to see Snake chomping down on the half-melted scoop of ice cream in his cup, happily swallowing it whole. “Wait! Snake! You‘ll give us another--!” The chimera winced and pressed a hand against his forehead while the snake attached to his backside hissed and twitched in mutual pain. “--b-brain freeze! Ow!”

Mia frowned and shook her head disapprovingly while the furry appliance winced and said, “Ooh, I know the f-feeling, man…”

Snake hissed bitterly as Alex pressed his other hand against the serpent’s head to soothe his headache as well. “Y-yeah…Snake never listens to warnings. He just wants to eat sweets…”

The young fox canted his head curiously. “But…doesn’t that hurt him, too?”

“Honestly, I think he considers it a challenge…”

Mia simply nodded in empathy as she reached over to press Zakk’s nose again, ceasing the buzzing of his blending blades. Finally done, and not a moment too soon! Judging from the tiny shivers that crossed the plastic tanuki’s body, that milkshake had to have been cold! She gave Zakk another comforting rub on his lid before lifting his blending jar from its base, and then pouring the well-mixed milkshake into a tall Styrofoam cup.

Just a few more touches to add…just a little bit of whipped cream, a round plastic top for the cup, and a straw for enjoying the frozen treat….and done! Mia gave another happy chirp as she lifted the completed chocolate milkshake up to show the grinning tanuki the results of his efforts. Then she stretched her arms over the counter to place the cup in the young fox‘s grasp with one hand, and take his payment with the other.

“Oh, wow, this is great!” the fox said happily after taking a sip, “Thanks a lot!”

Alex leaned back in his seat, a grin crossing his muzzle as he continued rubbing Snake’s forehead, who had obviously caught the worst of it. “Also, if you find a bit of fur in your milkshake…no refunds!”

“Hehe, I’m not that unprofessional!” Zakk replied with a chuckle, “Please enjoy your shake, and come back again!”

“Oh, I will!” the young fox called out as he turned to leave, “I’m going to tell all my friends about this place! I promis--” His words were cut off when he bumped into another customer entering the shop. “--agh!?”

Mia gasped as she saw the milkshake slip from his paws, much too far away for her or Zakk to react in time. The hollow sound of Styrofoam and liquid splattering against the floor immediately followed, making Mia, Zakk, Alex and the fox all wince from the resulting sugary mess, a good amount of which also splashed onto the fox‘s jeans. “Agh! I spilled my milkshake!”

“Aw…” Zakk murmured, ears starting to droop, “…and after I worked so hard to mix that!” His cord slumped a bit in disappointment, and Mia gave him a sympathetic chirp as she consoled the transformed tanuki with another gentle pat on his lid.

Alex just chuckled and returned to his newspaper with a sigh. “Wow…that’s very unfortunate.” But then he lowered the paper again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Although…I think you guys are going to need a mop to clean that up that mess…”

The fox straightened up at that. “Really?”

The plastic tanuki’s face brightened as well, and he exchanged a playful grin with Mia.

“Wanna flip a coin for it?”