Diane sighed heavily, two weeks into working this summer and already bored. Not that she would have said anything to her girlfriend of course.
For Naomi this was heaven. The comic shop the two worked at had an ample backlog of old comics, comics Naomi devoured ravenously. It also meant Diane found herself doing the bulk of the work. As she now finished inventory of the days orders, she huffed as she saw Naomi carefully perusing an old comic. "Little help!"
"Sorry," Naomi blushed. "But just can't put this down. I never realized this place had original printings of Infinity War. The writing! The art! Its just the pinnacle of 80s comics!"
"You said the same thing about the Phoenix Saga," Diane sighed. "And be careful with those! Don't want to have to take out a loan if you ruin them."
Naomi smiled like a Cheshire cat, carefully placing the comic back before bounding towards her girlfriend. "Thank you so much for working with me Diane," she said softly as she squeezed her tightly. "Know I've been a bit spacey since we started. I'll try to be better."
Diane smirked, as much work as she had been doing she could understand. Naomi was a comic geek to the core, working inside a comic shop with access to unlimited comics was her version of Disney world. "Its fine I get it," she smiled placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Your just lucky your cute."
The sound of the door opening now drew the teens attention. It was almost 9 p.m., close to closing. They rarely got customers this late. "Hey Diane," Naomi said. "Why don't you finish up in back I'll take care of this guy."
"You sure?"
"You handled enough customers today," she smiled. "Take a break." Diane thanked her making her way to the back as Naomi now approached the teenager that had entered. "Can I help you?"
The teenage boy turned, giving the smaller Asian girl a warm smile. The boy seemed around their age and despite Naomi's romantic preferences she had to admit he was handsome. "Just browsing," he said. The boy now picked up a manga comic, a broad smile cracking across his face. "You have Demon Slayer?"
"You bet," Naomi exclaimed. "Its our best seller. We even have a catalog of some of the older issues. You a fan?"
"Absolutely," the teen said. "Have every issue. Wish it was a bit more accurate though? You know, hunters useing magic and such."
Naomi nodded, thinking the boys answer odd. Shrugging it off she now made her way back to the counter as the boy followed. "Havent seen you before. You new in town?"
"My family just moved in," he said. "Dad has...business here. I'm Caleb."
"Naomi."
"How long you live here," Caleb asked.
"Most of my life," Naomi stated. "My parents adopted me when I was young."
Caleb nodded, training his grey eyes on the teen. "So anything interesting ever go on here," he asked. "So far I haven't seen much to do. Place seems kinda ordinary."
"Trust me its far from ordinary," Naomi exclaimed, quickly shutting her mouth as she realized she was being too honest. Caleb noticed, leaning in closer. "So what goes on here?"
"Nothing," Naomi replied quickly. "Absolutely nothing. Zip, nada, totally normal town stuff."
Caleb simply nodded, studying the Asian girl carefully. She was definitely holding back. Calebs guess had been right, some of the people in this town knew things. Still giving Naomi a reassuring smile he reached into his pocket, producing a small emeral. "Hey check this out."
Naomi looked, the emerald flashing into her eyes. Caleb watched as the girl relaxed as if in a trance. The Emerald he had used was meant to put people in a hypnotic state, allowing them to be easier to question. "Tell me Naomi. What do you know about magic?"
"Magic," Naomi replied, her voice drowsy. "Lots. I'm a wizard. So are my friends."
Calebs eyes went wide, how many wizards were in this town. "How many witches are there," he asked.
Naomi now quietly began to count off everyone before answering. "Seventeen," Naomi answered. "Thats not including the kids though. Their still toddlers. And were not witches, we're wizards theirs a difference. "
"God damn," Caleb whispered. "Was this some magical community or something?" Caleb now turned to Naomi once more, he needed one more question answered.
"Do you know anything about the merging of realms?"
"Of course," Naomi answered honestly. "Actually we weren't the ones that did that. Some timeline conquering titan did that. We helped reverse it and cover it up. With a little help from Merlin and the other timeline."
"Other timeline?"
"Yeah a whole other timeline," Naomi answered. "Their friends of ours and magic is like, everywhere! We even have friends that are demons, witches, and kitsune."
"Whats a kitsune?"
"Magic fox person," Naomi answered. "From Japan."
Caleb nodded, this went deeper than he thought. Hearing Diane calling Naomi from the back Caleb decided it was best to leave. "Thank you for the information Naomi," he said warmly. "I'll be in touch." Leaving some money on the counter Caleb quickly made his way out of the store, anxious to share what he learned.