[ OPEN ]

[lethechained]

Who: lethechained and OPEN to passersby/latte lovers/coffee buffs/just about anyone, really
When: Any day (or multiple days!) between or including IC date 6/11 to 6/16
Where: A coffee shop in the Shopping District
What: Latte foam art and coffee shop AU shenanigans, mostly. Someone’s gotta keep Naminé busy at her new job, right? Feel free to request specific subjects for said art or let her think of something on her own.
Rating/Warning: None!

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[ A. ]

[The shop is cute, cozy and pleasant with the smell of coffee so thick in the air that it’s nearly enough to give one a caffeine high all on its own. The sign says there's a special on lattes with a little side note about them including custom art, whatever that means, and plenty of space to sit and wait should one decide to order said beverages – or any other, for that matter. There’s a young blonde girl who can’t be much more than five feet tall bustling around behind the counter, so surely it won’t be long before--]

[Ah, there we go, she’s turned to read off the name of the owner of the most recently made drink. Her voice might be a little quiet for it, but surely one would recognize their own name, right? (Or whichever one they happened to give.)]


[ B. ]

[It’s gotten a bit slow lately, so instead of wandering around in the other part of the work area, that same blonde girl is at the register, regarding anyone who looks even remotely likely to come and order something with a passive sort of interest, whether they’re inside the shop or outside of it.]


[At least she’s attentive? Even if she might be staring a little. (A lot.)]


[ C. ]

[Everyone’s gotta take a break, right? That’s what this young lady seems to be doing – she’s still dressed for work – while sitting at one of the tables, sketchbook laid out in front of her as she draws away with a set of colored pencils. She might, in fact, happen to be sketching several of the customers. She also appears to have an only lightly sipped at drink in front of her, and it’s… actually water, ironically enough.]


[ D. WILDCARD ]
[Choose your own (coffee-related) adventure?]

Comments

[pure_havoc]

[Her reaction is unmistakable, but Cao Pi merely observes without remarking at first, wondering what could frighten her so. About him, being from a couple thousand years in the past? Hmm.]

In a sense, they are. What is the present for me is the past for others. For still others yet, there is no relationship between their world, this one, or my own.

[He beckons her slightly closer with a curl of his fingers, to keep any open talk of CERES between them alone. It's telling that he's willing to speak of it despite any implants in their own bodies which can pick up everything he does, but not letting the average, everyday patrons of the coffee shop hear him is for their own good.]

I have no trouble admitting that they did not even take my from my own world, I had been spirited away to a demon realm first and they took me from there. Do not think, my lady, that what they've done to us is benevolent in any sense, even if they did take you or I or anyone from an unpleasant time in our lives as if to rescue us. This is no rescue.

[lethechained]

[He isn't the problem, that much is clear, because she does not shift away from him, and she doesn't act particularly troubled by his presence; if anything, she seems momentarily distracted, though the second he speaks her attention is on him again as though it had never wavered.]

Of course. [Yet she'd assumed hers to be the one they all shared - she fears that perhaps it was short-sighted of her, but then again, she'd had so little evidence to the contrary before that it only would make sense now, when the answer has already been laid before her.] I knew there were many other worlds, but... I didn't anticipate that.

[And if there were any further proof needed that she doesn't consider him an immediate threat, it would be in how, at his beckoning, she pauses only briefly before taking a delicate half-step closer, bowing a little nearer. The set of her expression is still troubled, but curiosity lingers under it until she discovers what it is he means to tell her. The first part is of interest to her, truthfully, because she can't say her own situation was entirely different, but it's the last portion that most demands her attention. Frowning, she casts a brief, sidelong glance at the rest of the room, then moves her eyes back to him. There's something almost tired about them, then, something far too old for her face, and perhaps the lack of any great amount of surprise says something about why.]

I didn't believe that it was. [She confesses it in a quiet voice. No, she'd considered that claim - hadn't been at all willing to put faith in it. It hasn't been an unpleasant experience on the whole, being in this place, but she's spent the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop.] None of it adds up. Where I come from, there have been all sorts of terrible threats to the worlds, but-- nothing ever managed to destroy them before. [So it seemed kind of fishy to her right off the bat that some group she'd never even heard of supposedly managed to do what the Heartless could not, and even more unsettling that some benevolent other party decided to rescue them from it. There had to be a catch, one way or another.]

[pure_havoc]

[He doesn't want to get too deep into it at the moment, but her response is enough for a slow nod from him.]

Remember that. Hold it close. Your doubt may be just what you need to stay sharp and learn the truth. [the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth returns] Though, I expect that won't be a problem for you. Somehow, I feel as though you understand better than most.

[He sits back again with his tea, drinking in earnest. The foam is disappearing fast, but it's time for it to do so, to melt away and take the darker thoughts with it. It's then that Cao Pi considers who she reminds him of, with that expression older than her age - the Lady Kaguya, the powerful princess of the moon whom he and his people knew as Chang'e, graceful and pure yet with the weight of heaven and earth on her slender shoulders. He only met her once before being stolen to this world, but the comparison is apt enough.]

I don't wish to sour your mood, surely you must keep up a smile while you work. But I should like to speak with you again, my lady. Perhaps I will have to make these...lattes, my drink of choice over plain tea. [in other words, make this his quiet shop of choice for writing over a cup or three, as he does nearly every day.]

[lethechained]

[There's something lingering in the corners of the equally small smile she gives in return. It looks an awful lot like a secret, invisible but felt all the same.]

I won't forget. [The words are placid, unwavering. It's not confidence in them, exactly, just a firmness, an unquestionability, as though they are said entirely for his benefit and she has no need to reassure herself. It's only after that, as her mind lingers on his vote of confidence, that she hesitates; not in her certainty, but upon her choice of words - or rather whether to express them at all. What he's said ultimately prompts her to add, in roundabout response to his expectations, her voice delicately verging on wry,] It isn't the first time I've met people who said they wanted to help.

[The implication here, given the topic of conversation, is that they were in actuality far more interested in helping themselves.]

[Straightening as he sits back, she appears thoughtful, eyes lingering on the table. Though her considerations range from what she's learned from him to what she's learned of him, this peculiar new acquaintance of hers, she does not actively attempt to compare him to anyone she knows. Funny, that, because under most circumstances it would be natural, subconscious. Maybe it's because she is not yet certain what to think of him, or because he is so different from most people she's met... or maybe it's because if she were to think of someone, it might almost be Zexion. Not the least favorable comparison on the small list of people she has known, but not one that she wants to be quick to jump to, either, and she bears him no ill will. Quite the contrary; he has proven agreeable company, so far.]

[Better to wait and see.]

[And it appears he hasn't managed to sour her mood overmuch. There's still a pensiveness lurking behind her eyes, but it dips further below the surface as a pleasantly surprised smile rises unbidden to her lips. To look at her, one might think no one had ever expressed a desire to speak to her more than once.] I would like that, too...! Very much. [It's obvious enough that she means it, reserved though she might be.] And I'm sure you'll be welcome back any time you'd like another. [Both on her part and her employer's.] I'd be happy to make the design anything you want, next time.

[pure_havoc]

[Help? Help is relative. Cao Pi is under no delusions that he may have to do unkind things in order to battle their captors. He's not here to help with nice words and gentle pats, here's here to succeed through any means necessary. It might be closer to Zexion than it at first appears. He concedes her caution with a slight incline of his head, and focuses more on keeping that lovely smile on her face.]

I should like to see what other art you can create with such unique tools. Anything at all would be lovely to see.

[he sets his cup down, revealing that the foam is all gone by now, a simple musky tea-and-milk drink is all that remains. Cao Pi pulls his half-written poem and brush back to him, feeling rather inspired to keep composing.]

I shall remember to come by and let you draw for me. Who knows what else might be inspired.

[lethechained]

[There's a place where Naminé draws the line when it comes to ruthlessness. What point that happens to be, however, even she isn't quite sure yet. It isn't as though she hasn't done things she found unsavory in favor of the greater good, albeit always with the most gentleness and transparency she could manage at the time. It's not a way in which she wishes to be tested, because no matter how positive her intentions might be, there is a part of her - and it is a large part - that is afraid of what she might do.]

[But that's as far from her mind as can be, if the way that upturned curve to her mouth sticks around is any indication. It doesn't waver, not even when a natural glance at the tea proves that her design is now well and truly gone.]

In that case, I'll have to think of something especially nice.

[To add to the loveliness. Ah, but it's time to let him get back to his work, she thinks, and she to her own - a quick glance over her shoulder tells her that another order is being placed as they speak - and she nods, reaching to take delicate hold of the paper upon which he wrote for her earlier. Her touch is a careful one, so that it won't crumple even slightly.]

Until next time, then. I'll be looking forward to it.

[With that - and a warm smile - she turns to go.]