2021-12-01 - Cold Day, Hot Coffee, Warm Conversations

It's blustery and cold out, the perfect evening for something hot to drink. Joe's come ambling in, clad in his usual navy peacoat and old jeans. Limping a little, but the long face is cheerful, anticipating something sweet. Some sort of spicy chai concoction, by the directions he gives the tolerant barista, and a cinnamon muffin. Apparently they're familiar with Joe's whims here. Must be a good tipper.

A diminutive ginger girl with her head half-way in her phone bumps into the door, the thud isn't too heavy, but it's obvious she flat out wasn't watching where she was going at all, it probably didn't help that she has headphone laced around her ears as well. push push oh wait, that's the wrong side, it opens the other way, push that's better.

The door swings as she gives the occasional absent eye to where she's going so she doesn't faceplant, taking a moment to unzip her coat and reveal her watermelon themed outfit that practically screams 'I'm done with winter, it needs to be warm again.'

"I should pay more attention," she murmurs to herself, pulling the vintage headphone from her ears which seem to be blaring Spice Girls at volumes loud enough that everyone here gets to pumpkin spice up their life for a bit before she hits the stop button on her cassette player. She pads on up to the counter, still checking her phone.

"How am I supposed to carry coffee for 10 people?" she hadn't thought about that until now, she grimaces with an elastically comedic twist of her lips. "I need more arms. I wish I was an octopus." you'd still need more arms even if you were...or tentacles...or whatever.

Gabriella walks in the door a few steps behind Fae. There is amusement to her eyes as she witnessed the whole thing. Her lips twitch, but she's doing very well at not responding to it. She deserves a medal or something really. Her green eyes sweep the area before landing back on the woman, whom she follows. It almost appears like they are together, but they aren't speaking. Maybe it's a love fight? Maybe they like to play games between them?

Or as Fae talks about carrying things on her own, maybe they are strangers. "You could use drink carriers. They normally hold four at a time. Then wedge the fifth in the middle of them so that you are only carrying two things of five and you have two arms."

Helpful. Problem solver. Now Gabriella deserves a tiara and a holiday named after her. She gives an adorable sort of smile as she looks over the menu. There is a glance around the room at the others as well.

Joe steps aside, having paid and deposited into the tip jar....in golden dollars, for some unknown reason. The barista confirms that there are carriers, and even bigger trays she might be able to use. The blond man's listening, looking faintly amused, only to blink when his gaze lights on Fae's cassette player. "Man," he says, "It's been a dog's age since I saw someone carryin' one of those in public." He's got a slow southern drawl that's enormously out of place. "I thought they were about extinct. Got a thing for retro tech?" he wonders of her.

Then Gabriella appears, and he gives her a cheerful upnod, before ambling over to get himself utensils.

Time seems to slow for a moment as Fae turns her head, who is this genius behind her, the one with all the answers. "You're making a lot of sense right now." she admits, narrowing her eyes as if deep in thought." her hair flips over her shoulder. "I still think being an octopus would be cool though." that's valid, it might be pretty rad, only an octopus would really know how cool it is.

"I don't even drink coffee," she states, turning now to just gab away like she did in fact come in with the girl behind her. "Work stuff...do they have hot coco? I could do that. All that caffeine gets me all hyper though and..." she leans in just a touch for a stage whisper "...I kinda think coffee tastes like chalk." that's blashepmy to speak such words in the house of the beans, may the coffee gods strike her down.

Her ear perks at Joseph as he begins making some conversation about her prized possession. "Oh yeah, it was my Moms, I'm into all the old stuff though. Cassettes are making a comeback you know." it's true, all the cool kids are rocking cassette players, or at least one of them is. "Do you like the Spice Girls?" she flat out asks Joseph, because it's not at all a long shot in her mind that this man is as big a fan of Scary Spice as she is.

Gabriella glances at Joe. It's the drawl man. A woman can't resist the drawl. It also causes her to smile a bit more to him. One can see the gears turning in her head and then she offers, "I'm Gabriella." That's right she is.

Oh, but then the redhead is talking to her. "I'm not sure. I mean yes, but think of the pants and the cost. You know that they wouldn't fit the same, so you'd have to buy different sizes. Then the ice and sticking to it." She nods most mournfully to that. "I drink everything." This one just means she doesn't have to be carried out while screaming You're Mom. "Cocoa sounds good. You think they have marshmallows?" A pause. "I think it tastes burnt, but I like the upper from it."

And look, here comes another ginger. Aren't they supposed to be a dying breed or something? Either way it's easy to assume Hera is a bit older than Fae, at least people in the town sometimes make fun of her being so 'middle aged.' Maybe now she shows it just a tad. Coming in wanting something warm to drink, she yawns and lets the door close behind her. "Maybe I need to stop working so hard or stop having strange dreams, or, better yet, stop having a cat wake me up at 2 am. There's not many things I want to wake up at 2 am for." But no need to have a conversation all to herself. She ambles on in a few more steps and inhales to let the aroma of lovely, but somewhat tame, drinks fill her senses. "Coffee, yeah, maybe a fancy one." Why not get to the point?

"I don't either, these days," Joe allows. "Had my palate ruined for the decent kind, it's wasted on me, now. I stick to tea or chai or cocoa, myself." The mention of analog tech returning has him grinning, even as he raises his brows. "Well, I did notice that I've seen vinyl records in stores again, but I didn't know audio cassettes were returnin', too. Spice Girls not so much my cuppa, though." He sounds faintly apologetic about it.

Then he catches Gabriella's eye, and nods to her. "I'm Joe," he says, amiably. "Think I saw you the other night at the pizza place." He knows he did. The question is if the sheer presence of Javier de la Vega was enough to wipe him from her mind. Hera also gets a lifted hand. Another familiar face.

It seems someone had a good day off as Devlin walks in. He holds the door for another person with full hands so they can take the dark brew to others without spilling. Those that know him, might be a little surprised, no Combat Medic tee shirt for a change. This one has a lovely landscape with hills, trees, and.. err... various large bones of people, horses, and pieces of their gear. The nerdy DnD crowd would recognize the remains and gear hint at a balanced party. Then off to the side hidden by clever art work is a contented Dragon with a very full belly leaning back against a boulder as it picks its teeth with a broken lance. The thought bubble cleverly made to look like part of the clouds has the words: "Nothing like a combo meal."

"Oh hey Hera.. thought I saw you up ahead of me there. How are things?" He notices Joseph and gives the man an upnod. Seeing Gabriella, he just offers a small grin.

Fae's pale grey eyes brighten up with a flash of her teeth as Gabriella introduces herself. "I'm Fae, nice to meet you." she yaps, going up and starting her extensive drink order for all the guys working construction down at the school. "Okay so I need..." she starts to chatter it all off but stops herself, bright idea time, her phone turns over to the barista behind the counter. "All that stuff." she's so please with herself, r/FaeIsVerySmart.

"Oh! And a hot coco." she almost forgot the most important part. "With marshmallows." they do indeed have marshmallows, because you can't serve hot coco without them without facing legal repercussions from the state...probably.

With the order in she makes some way for the other customers. "You can do them first, the guys can wait." she's either very polite or doesn't care one bit about uncaffinated construction workers either way everyone isn't going to have to wait for 11 drinks to be made before they can get a cup of joe.

"Whats your musical cuppa tea then?" she drawls out to Joseph curiously, letting a touch of her country girl accent slips out ya'lls and alls.

Gabriella smiles at Hera when she comes in and a hand comes to her blonde hair. "I feel as if I wore the wrong color this season." There is a laugh to that as she smiles brighter at Joseph. "Oh yes, the McJudgy Eyes guy because I took the beer from.." Oh would you look at that? She must have been looking for him. "Hi Dev." The words leave her lips and then she stops and thinks it over. He didn't greet her. Should she not have greeted him? Then she shrugs and moves over to his side. Target acquired. "Were you going to buy me a hot cocoa with marshmallows?"

"Cousin!" Her favorite name for Devlin. She brightens up a bit and leans in to offer him a hug. Her eyes are still a little tired but she's always happy to see her beloved family member. "Been too long. Queso may even start to miss you, we can't have that now can we?" She doesn't move in to 'crimp his style though' and the medic is given some room to breathe. "So, is it cocoa that's the drink of choice?" Maybe she's been listening whether she needs to or not, "I might need something stronger, no alcohol though. As rumor has it I might be more of a lightweight than I need to be. I hope you haven't been working as hard as I have been. Hans is shedding horribly and you know me, I can be a bit of a neat freak around my place."

"Like your shirt, man," Joe says to Devlin. His grin only broadens as Gabriella apparently acquires missile lock and breaks off in mid-sentence. With a shrug, he turns to Fae and says, "Well, depends on my mood. Everything from seventies' era rock to industrial. Still got a fondness for ska from livin' in Boston...." The barista hands him drink and scone, and he heads for a table furthest from the door.

Her fingernails rake through her hair as she hangs about, casually converting about the topic of music as the rabbit hole with Joseph goes deeper, "I once heard Ska described as what a pre-teen boy hears in his head when he gets mozzarella sticks. I can never unhead that." she chortles, a lighthearted smirk dimpling her cheek.

"My Uncle Harold listens to a lot of that kinda stuff though. He says The Specials are the best ska band, does that hold up? Or...should I tell him he's wrong?" she hums, more than ready to tell her Uncle some random guy she just met disagrees with his assessment. "And by industrial do you mean Nine Inch Nails or are we talking Ministry? Maybe both?" why not both?

"Thanks Joe. One of Hera's artists saw the meme and I think did it better than the original." Devlin gives Hera a hug, "Good to see you too Cousin. I guess I will need to make another cat nip mouse sacrifice to our Mighty Feline Overlord Queso and bring Hans another rawhide bone." He looks over to Gabriella as he releases the hug. "Gabriella, this is my very artistic cousin, Hera." He then teases, "You never called me and you want coca... WITH marshmellows?" He sighs.. taking on a thoughtful expression, "I may have to think on that.." He hmms towards Fae, "So many bands to choose from.. not an easy thing to consider for one with eclectic tastes in music."

Gabriella blinks a moment at the cousin and then she slowly mouths the word 'queso'. This causes a quizzical look to flit across her features as she tries to figure out how cheese misses anyone. Then there is a soft smile again as she just observes the people for now. She does turn back towards Joe. "Ska? I picture you being more a blues kind of guy." It's the accent. That's waht has her deciding this. "Or something country maybe?" The comment about NIN and Ministry alos causes her brows to lift. Wait. No. She's too /nice/ to know about that. Her lower lip pouts out as Devlin says he has to think about it. She pulls all the pleading into a look. "I would have called, but I just knew you would find me."

"Country music." Hera muses, "Quite a few memories there. Too bad I don't play an instrument myself. Classic rock, now that's a good jam." But Hera decides to introduce herself. There are some new faces after all. "Hera" she extends a hand to Gabriella, assuming she's close enough, "And yes, family to the overworked and underappreciated paramedic here. I don't think I have seen you before?" She asks as if she might be unsure, or maybe not.

That comment has Joe dissolving into helpless laughter, even as he sets down his drink and plate. "That's a new on one me, but I'd say it fits," he agrees, as he pulls out a chair. "And I agree with Uncle Harold." The question of industrial has him tilting his head in something that isn't quite a nod. "Both works, though I tend to favor the more electronic kind."

He gives Devlin a thumb's up. "I played enough DnD in college to appreciate the humor," he notes, wryly. "I do appreciate blues and some country," he allows. "Some of the classics, like Cash, and some of the newer artists, like Sturgill Simpson." He's observing Gabriella's angling with amusement, though it's kindly enough, rather than bitter or cynical.

"That newer Sturgill Simpson album was really good. Sing Along flat out slaps." there is no disputing such, any attempts will be thwarted swiftly, the country girl is serious about that much. "I think everyone loves Johnny Cash too, he kinda spans genres and ropes in people that normally wouldn't listen to country." she wanders on over to grab herself a seat, that drink order might take a bit and she's having a good enough time just shooting her mouth off about music and stuff anyways.

Shifting gears from the topic of bands throughout time, she peeks over at Devlin seeming lost by the discussion of DnD "Is that the funny board game that people pretend to be wizards and elves in?" she earnestly queries, "I heard there's a bunch of math from one of the guys I went to high school with, he said I wouldn't like it." apparently math is grounds for Fae not liking something according to her peers.

Pondering for a moment, "May be.." Devlin says to Gabriella initially and appears to ponder more as he answers others on the way to the counter. "I do like Disturbed.. love both Down with the Sickness and their cover of Sound of Silence." Then Gabriella slips off for a moment followed by Devlin shrugging. He comments to Fae, "to me.. sounds like an excuse to keep a girl away from the table to me. The older editions did have some math but it was easy in truth. Current version makes it all the easier to deal with." At the counter, "Green Tea if you have it. Otherwise, what you have currently that's hot." He then hmmms, "I also like the Doors, ZZ Top, Aerosmith.. and a bunch of other ones. Wish I could afford the vinyl for them all."

"Ain't it, though?" Joe says, eyes widening - it banishes that laid-back, almost sleepy air he tends to have. "I mean, I had his previous albums and they were good, but now that he's more country rock, I'd say he's great. Nothin' on that album is less'n real good." He spreads inked fingers at that. "And true. That last set of albums from American really got him a wider audience." A sip from his drink - no objection to her settling down for a chat while she's waiting.

The question of DnD makes him blink. "Well, it's not so much a board game, though it has inspired board games. It's fun. He's right. Not so much math, and that not so bad. The numbers are really so you can roll dice and introduce an element of chance in the story."

"A convert back to vinyl, eh?" asks Joe. "I've actually got a stereo with a turntable, but I don't own more'n a handful of albums. My ears aren't so great that I can really get stuck on the aural difference between digital and vinyl. It does tickle me to see it around, though."

As Devlin talks Fae's head bobbles up and down. "My Dad always goes on about how great their covers are. I mean when he isn't going on about how Nickelback's All The Right Reasons is the most underrated album of all time." she pokes her finger at her mouth and rounds her eyes backward, not in agreement with her father figure's love for the Canadian rock band that have probably sold 50 million CDs.

"No shaming though, I'm not a huge music snob or anything, people should listen to what they like and I can't judge since I commonly rock pop music as old as I am." she good-humoredly reports, jumping off the bandwagon of disliking the most disliked band in the entire world since that's low hanging fruit and kinda dumb anyway.

Her head shifts between Devlin and Joseph as they enlighten her on the better parts of the d20 system, but eventually falls back on Devlin as she fields her next critical miss. "So are you the Wizard Master or whatever? That's a thing right?" so close, yet so far.

As Devlin gets his tea and turns, "I've been both a game master or player depending. Though my players get worried when I smile.." cue Devlin's patented EVIL SMILE (Run for the hills people!!), "and call myself the Game Ordinance Director." He chuckles a bit as his smile becomes friendly. "Best way to learn the game is to play it with friends that are ok with helping someone new to the game get through a campaign. In the end, the game master is providing the back drop to a story that the players create and you help enhance. That's the easy of it." He then comes over to Joe's table to settle. "I swear that gallery keeps Hera almost as busy as my job keeps me."

Joe purses his lips, as if not willing to shame Fae's dad. There might be that glint of amusement in his eyes, though. "Yeah, I'm no snob about it either," he allows. "Though I might have to fight anyone who claims that the Allman Brothers aren't the best rock group from the seventies," he adds, serenely. Only nibbling at his pastry, like he's not all that hungry. "Hell, I'm not gonna shame those into whatever's popular right now. I'm just sufficiently old I don't have to give a damn about worryin' if I'm hip or not, I know I'm not."

"He's right," he goes on, nodding at Devlin. "Like....it's best played just for the hell of it, rather than with a bunch of folks who are real sticklers for the rules." A glance after Hera. "It sure seems to," he agrees. "I don't see her out and about a lot." A beat and he concedes, "Or it might just be she's too classy a lady to show up in the dives I hang out in."

A little copper eyebrow arches, Game Ordinance Director? What does he mean? It's a mental swing and a miss. "How come it's called a Game Ordinance Director?" she inquires, not putting the joke together in the slightest, someone dumped their INT and WIS. "How do you really play it though? Like, I mean, besides the rolling dice part." she keeps up the quizzical attitude, trying to wrap the concept of roleplaying into her mind but naive to it entirely.

"I bet I could show you some new music you'd like if you like older rock stuff. There are a lot of bands that still have that rock sound you know...I mean, besides just Greta Van Fleet, I do like them though." at around this time her drink order hits the counter, already placed in nice little trays for her to transport them safely...as long as she doesn't run headfirst into the door no the way out.

She glides up from her seat and spryly slips to get the goods, taking her myriad of bean juice to her table and sipping on her coco while the drink order is forsaken in lieu of the conversation at hand. "I'll have to make you a new rock mixtape sometime." the cassette tape Countess announces to Joe, ready to take on the challenge of opening his eyes to the fact that rock isn't dead.

There is a stage whisper with a friendly grin, "Just put the first letter of each word together.." Devlin smiles. He then hmms, "I wouldn't call Disturbed that old at all. Now, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Metalica to name a few.. there's some old metal bands.." He sips on his tea. "Side note, my new position means for the most part I get to pick when I work late or do full 48 hour shifts these days. But means about 10 hours a week sheer paperwork that I can not blow off."

Hera yawns a bit and makes her way into the gathering again. Phones are often ringing for her, and it's her duty to answer them over and over again. Hopefully the cat isn't causing too much chaos at her home. "Ah yes, music music. I really wish Jade would come by and play sometime. I haven't seen her and Thewlis around for a while. I miss them. Thewlis is so handy and Jade well, she will treat anyone like family once you get to know her." But, curiousity gets the better of her and she asks to Devlin, "So who exactly is the blonde? She's pretty. I figured I would know all faces in the city by now, even though I'm not a traditional townie."

Was Distrubed not classified as classic rock at this point? They seemed pretty old to the girl in her early 20's, they were at least older than she was, but pointing that out probably wouldn't be nice and it wasn't going to earn her any extra XP from GOD. "Oh!" her palm meets her forehead, finally putting Devlin's jest together now that it was spelled out for her. "That's funny, I'm dumb." she girlishly giggles, at least she's self-aware.

Which offer clearly surprises him, for there's that widening of the eyes again. He does not reply that it's been decades since a lady made him a mixtape. "Well, that sounds mighty nice of you," he says, mildly. "My old stereo will even play cassettes, and it converts analog to digital files."

He pulls a face in sympathy when it comes to paperwork. "Get high enough in any job, it turns into paperwork," he commiserates. To Hera he notes, "I'm pretty sure she's new to town. Gabriella."

Devlin nods to Hera, "She is new in town.. not sure what she's up to. Reminds me of some of wives that would hang at the EM club trolling for younger troops while hubby is deployed. Yet something about her makes me think there is more to her than that. So" he shrugs over his tea, "trying to figure it out without getting played to hard." He smiles to Fae, "It is all good. Trust me.. understanding women's fashions are a serious mystery where I come from.. nearly had my balls fed to me when I got a nice bikini for a girl friend many years ago because the color was all wrong.." A hint of that old confusion shows in his face, "Go figure... I stick to simple things like wine, chocolate.. figuring out orbital trajectories..."

Hera whistles a little when Devlin mentions the 'wives' comment. It may be hard to tell what she means but his statement catches her attention. "Trolling, normally not a good thing, especially since that's part of what, that internet lingo for assholes or something like that? Don't get played though, on any level. You know what it's like when I get pissed. Speaking of which, I don't mind shopping for some new high heeled boots, believe it or not they can look good when you wear jeans. Simple things like wine can be good, though the cheaper the better in my line of work." Not to leave Joseph out she asks, "Your line of work? What do you do?"

"Well, fashion is important." the girl dressed like a walking watermelon professes, sure she's a bit much herself, but she's very...thematic. "What color was the bikini?" she blinks, earnestly confused as to how Devlin messed that one up. "Like, puke green or something?" she guesses, that's probably a crayon color, so of course they make bikinis in it.

The brash quip of Devlin's spiel doesn't seem to bother Fae, she honestly didn't even seem to notice it and rolls the whole thing off, back home people were pretty quick with humor like that so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are orbital trajectories simple? I mean, I guess you're probably good at math since you play Dragons and Wagons and stuff." she probably means Dungeons and Dragons unless she's just trolling now. It's a bit hard to tell.

"Buddy, as someone who actually used to work on orbital trajectories - gimme the rocket science any day, it is simple by comparison," Joe replies, fervently. "I always just asked what a lady wanted. Other'n that, yeah, I stuck with good chocolate or fancy tea depending on what she was into." He's idly tearing bits off his scone, eating it between sips of tea.

"Me? I was in the Navy, but now I'm retired, I just write," Joe says, simply. Because Itzhak isn't here to kick him until he expands on that too brief history of his employment. "In the middle of editing my next book, which is about as fun as trying to get stumps out of a field, lemme tell you." Another quirked grin for Fae. "No, they are not," he says, amused.

Devlin hmms a bit, "Honestly don't recall the color. To me it was the rage that was important." He smirks a bit, "Dungeons and Dragons... " that is followed by a bit of a chuckle. "Now when it comes to art, I trust Hera to steer me right there. Mind you.. I keep wondering when she'll carry out her threat to put real art on the walls at my apartment over night.. I'm afraid that I'll wake up one morning and not know where the hell I am." He laughs a little.

Sipping his tea, "Rocket science.. right up there with knowing the muscles in the human body.. easy.."

Hera livens up at the idea and teases, "No locks will keep me out if I really want to redecorate. Besides, I know what you like and I can put a nice flare to things. Oh!" she actually starts to look more energized at the idea, "Asian inspired pottery, yes, that idea has true merit. It really does. I might have to carry through on such a threat." But is there a writer in the midst? That's an entertaining idea, "Oh the horrors of editing but there's a real need for writers in the world. My girlfriend is a writer, and a fantastic one at that. Then again, I will admit I'm biased."

A bing comes from Fae's phone, her vision making its way instantly down to check the text that's more than likely a 'Where is the coffee at?' from the guys on the crew. "Oops...uh, I forgot I was supposed to be working." her features flatten entirely, as she's rushing up and gathering the coffee that's probably started to lose some of its heat at this point. "If anyone from the construction team comes in here asking questions tell them the beans were growing slow today." she requests of the barista, slipping her a crispy $2 bill, where the hell did she even get that? Who carries around $2 bills?

"Well, I need to run, I've got coffee to deliver and dragons to slay." both of those could be taken as cold hard fact given the way Gray Harbor was. "It was nice to meet all of you though, I'm sure I'll see you around." she places the drink caddy in her left hand on the table just long enough to waffle out a wave before she's heading for the door, trying to open the thing with her foot because she can make it on her own and doesn't need any help. "Bye!" she chirps, wiggling sidewardly through the small opening she's managed to make and out into the frigid air.

"That'd be a hell of a crime, wouldn't it?" Joe offers. "Someone breakin' in to redecorate." HE gives Devlin an impish look. "Man, you are in for it now," he warns. To Hera, he wonders, "Oh, yeah? What does she write? And I don't know how many writers the world needs, but God knows there are plenty of us."

The departing Fae gets his drink lifted in salute. "You have a good evenin', ma'am," he wishes her. Apparently any woman past the age of grade school qualifies as "ma'am," even if he's a generation older than her.

Devlin gives Fae a wave, "Your secret is safe with us." He chuckles a bit, "Just no destroying my few posters and the medic and concert tees are off limits. It was hard enough getting my Afterburner World Tour shirt back..." He sips his tea. "Long story... and nothing worth sharing in truth. Don't need trouble with any of the other cool tee's I have."

Hera finishes off her coffee, which may be a good thing considering the fact that too much caffeine may not be a good option. "Ok ok, some of your tees may be safe, for now." But she would take just about any opportunity to brag about Jessica that she could, "A journalist. She's always working on an article in the paper, always. I think she works too much but, I can't say anything, at times I do as well. So she specializes in nonfiction."

"Yeah, there's someone out there with my Appetite For Destruction tour shirt," Joe mourns, gently. "So I hear that." He glances between them again, before settling on Hera. "Huh," he says. "Any particular subject? She do longer works, or does she stick to articles?" Genuinely interested, by the gleam in his eyes. "Never done journalism myself. Not since high school."

Devlin looks at the time, "I should get moving on. I volunteered to help with a morning self defence class as the tackling dummy. Filling in for the cop whose kid is sick." He gets up offering a hand shake to Joe and then of course a hug for Hera. "Catch you both later."

Hera offers Devlin a hug in return and waves to others who look her way, "Yeah, time for me to get back to the gallery. Be well everyone."