For a place meant for quiet reflection and sleepy romance – Puddifoot’s was a rather loud establishment. Between the twinkling of the bell on the door and the screaming of the kettles as they boiled water for fresh tea the place was positively boisterous with noise. It was nearing Dora’s time of month and to say that she’d been a bit grouchy would have been quite the understatement. Every loud noise deepened the frown on the weary witch’s face, but whenever a new customer walked into the store the smile returned in all its glory.

This month was especially gruesome for the witch. Most months Dora only had to deal with the change once – and for whatever reason the world decided to throw her two this round. Had she not been the owner, Dora would have requested a vacation for the entire month and just stayed in her pajamas eating cake and ice cream all month long. Instead of that though, She was standing around shuffling the pastries in the display cases toward the front to make them more appealing to the customers.

Pandora’s hair was frazzled and wild – covered with a bandana and her purple apron was positively white with flour. The days leading to the full moon were always the worst for Dora – since there was so much work to be done. Though she closed the shop on the furry day, she always made sure the place was in tip-top shape in case she needed to take a couple days off after for recuperation, and this time it was an almost guarantee.

She dinged the bell upon the front counter and waited for her part time barista to come to the counter. The pretty little blonde bounced up to the counter and Dora left her to man the register. She grabbed a chocolate scone from the display case and poured herself a cup of tea, then took a seat in the dining area by a window looking out toward the village. A temple pounded in her ears and a red flush caught on her face as she heard a crash in the kitchen. When the werewolf lifted the mug of tea to her lips, she scalded her tongue and cursed under her breath.

Perhaps she should have taken the day off.