THE MOMENT
"We don't serve unicorn," Annabelle, a minotaur wearing a crimson blazer and polished chrome tie walked into the bakery at seemingly the perfect time. The clerk behind the counter had an annoyed expression as he turned away a customer with rainbow hair. It was the middle of the afternoon, and there weren't many patrons inside the small shop. The few that were there seemed unbothered by the statement, but Annabelle was. That was why she was there.
The young man with rainbow hair sighed and walked out as Annabelle approached the counter.
"Excuse me, are you the owner?" Annabelle asked. The man nodded with a neutral expression. He was an elf with a thin, wispy mustache flat as a line, and a full head of brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"One of them," he nodded. "How can I help you?"
"My name's Annabelle and I represent Chroma Corp.," she answered. She let it hang for a moment as he registered her importance. She was the equivalent of a junior staffer and didn't know everything about their clients, but the bakery belonged to Chroma Corp. on paper. The company provided everything they needed to get going, and he was already in the process of repaying them, but at the moment, they were still in charge. He smiled.
"Oh, is this an inspection?" he asked.
"I'm afraid it's a little more serious than that. May we talk in your office?" The elf baker looked around at the fewer than six patrons and shrugged.
"I need to be here at the counter for our clients, and there's no one around really. They're my regulars, they don't care," he said. "We can talk here."
"Chroma Corp. has received several reports about discrimination here. And, I did just see you turn away a unicorn...," she said. The elf laughed and shook his head.
"Sorry, Missy," he said. "I'm afraid you've entirely misunderstood the situation. He was asking for unicorn meat, which we don't serve here," he said. "Did you see his eyes?" he asked. Annabelle hadn't, and she realized she might've missed some information. Unicorns in humanoid form were usually recognized by rainbow hair and pink eyes, but she'd only spotted the hair.
"How.. often does that happen?" She asked. Could it happen often enough for the company to get involved? Entirely on a misunderstanding? That seemed unlikely.
"It's a trade town," the elf shrugged. "New people wander in all the time.. we get people asking for unicorn, I don't know, maybe every couple of days if not every day."
"Oh, I see," Annabelle nodded. She was ill-prepared for the answers she got, and she decided to check the reports herself instead of just taking on the assignment. The company was usually reliable with their information, and for tasks at her level, she'd never needed more than they initially provided. Maybe she'd become too complacent. She moved to a corner to consider her next move and the baker set about wiping down the counter.
Annabelle stood there, inadvertently in shadows, while she pondered. Perhaps it was time to take on more responsibility in general. The company encouraged that, and she was free to take on as much as she thought she could handle. Then, the door jingled. She turned as a man came in. He was an athletic human male with blonde hair; and she'd already been forgotten about.
"HEY!" The baker yelled at him. "Humans aren't welcome in here...," he said as he remembered Annabelle was right there. He turned slowly to see her step forward again, eyes locked on him.
"I think Chroma Corp. might have something to say about that."