There was an inviting chime that echoed throughout the room when Ludo swung the door open. "Morning Tal," Ludo sleepily yawned as he shuffled into the bakery. It wasn't even dawn, yet here he was for the ungodly reason of just wanting to hone his baking skills. He wasn't a master of the craft, but one could say he possessed more talent than most. His repertoire didn't vary much though, so the idea of learning at the bakery seemed to be a reliable opportunity. Watching Tal work was hypnotic. Ludo couldn't help but become impressed whenever she swiftly created roses to place upon cakes or spun intricate sugar glass that took on the look of what he thought to be his grandmother's doily collection. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing, and she did it with ease almost every single time.

Making his way to the quaint kitchen he saw her already consumed with the copious amount of cupcake batter sprawled before her. "What're you making today?" As she listed what she'd take care of she let Ludo know that he'd be in charge of cake. "You're leaving me to do whatever I want with one?" he asked as he watched her nod her head, still too focused to break her concentration on her own work. "Well, sounds good to me," he grabbed his neck and cracked it, taking off his coat and tossing it on the stool in the corner. What kind of cake would appeal to customers? Vanilla? Lemon? No, Tal is already making delicately flavored cupcakes. Ludo rambled on, internally brainstorming and nit picking with his idea. There needed to be something decadent in the bakery case for the day.

Soon, he found himself with a brilliant idea. "Opera cake," he muttered to himself, waggling his finger at the air before him. "I better hurry now," he mumbled, knowing very well that it would take a while for the buttercream to chill. "I've decided what I'll do," he exuberantly told Tal. "It'll be a surprise though," he watched as she took a moment from her work to peer up, nodding her head while a faint smile darted across her face. "Okay, time to work," Ludo concentrated as he rubbed his palms together. After turning on the oven to four hundred and twenty-five degrees, he started to beat the egg whites until he examined them forming soft peaks. As he continued with the recipe and was just waiting for it to bake, he glanced at his watch. "Shoot," a bit of panic set in his face. "I don't think I allotted enough time for this, I might have to make another," he rubbed his temples wondering of an easy and quick cake to present first in the bakery case.

He decided on presenting first a simple chocolate depression cake. He remembered his mother making these a handful of times when him and his siblings were younger. What was interesting about this particular recipe was it provided an egg-free and dairy-free option for customers. Admittedly, he was impressed with himself for recalling this cake that was stored so deep within his mind. He was sure it would sell fast, and that would give him time to complete the opera cake. Whipping up the cake real fast, he was thankful that there were multiple ovens strewn about the kitchen. The light had seemed to cut between the clouds yet there was still a frost lingering about the air as both Ludo and Tal watched customers line up outside of the bakery. He couldn't blame them, Tal had extraordinary baked goods, he just hoped he could keep up with her. They delicately placed all the sweets in the front counter, and he looked as Tal flipped over the open sign and let the eager people to waltz in to purchase the baked items.

It wasn't even an hour in to the day and most of their baked goods had already sold instantaneously. The cake should be cool by now Ludo thought as he watched the time and gazed down the diminishing line to a woman who sported a bright red scarf and had interestingly stark white hair. She seemed to have her eye on the cake, the way she kept glancing towards it, desperately hoping that no one would take a slice. Today, seemed to not be her day, as the man in front of her not only purchased one slice of the depression cake, but the whole cake. There was a fire in the woman's eyes now that burned brightly. It was as if she would knock the man out for the cake if it was legal. As the fierce woman makes her way to the bakery case, she withdrew a long, disappointing sigh. Ludo smirks, it was time for his opera cake to shine. "If you wait," he looked at his watch scratching his stubble, "10 minutes, there will be an excellent cake you can try. I'll give you a slice for free for waiting so long," he drew out a toothy grin, wanting to get immediate feedback on the cake as soon as he could. "Well, what do you think?" he leaned over the counter, asking the bold woman who looked to be contemplating the offer before her.