Well I know it's just a spring haze, but I don't much like the look of it...

[ohperilousplace]

Even though her parents disapprove of her drinking coffee, Zoe has pretty much decided to disregard that today. She's curled up in an armchair in the Coffee Shop with a mocha and a book, reading and looking sleepy, and very cranky about it. Creepy journal conversations late at night do not make for restful sleep.

In the kitchen of the Kashtta, Sam

Comments

[callyourselfa]

"Now," says a voice from the windowsill nearest Zoe, "I know little about the growth cycles of the average human, but aren't you a bit small to be procuring what I am assured is the drugged drink of the gods? And are you going to finish that?"

One For Sorrow is tilting his head at that mocha. Elizabeth seems to have put the idea in his head that it's even better than baked goods, which is nigh-unfathomable, but which means he must try some. Sooner or later, this will end in disaster.

[ohperilousplace]

"It's not drugs," Zoe says, doing her best to pretend that a bird talking to her is not a totally unusual occurrence. It just seems like it would be impolite to make a big deal of it. "It's coffee. Since when do birds drink coffee anyway?"

[callyourselfa]

One For Sorrow huffs. "I have it on good authority," he says, "that 'caffeine', which is found in 'coffee', is the drug of choice," he says. By good authority he pretty much means Elizabeth, but just... don't question that. If you say things with enough cleveness, One For Sorrow believes, everyone will be convinced sooner or later. "And a bird will do whatever a bird likes, m'girl. No law's been invented which can tie us."

[ohperilousplace]

Zoe pauses, frowning a little as she considers that, and then shakes her head a little. "Well... you can't have it. I'm drinking it. And I just thought... I don't know, caffeine might not be good for birds. Like with dogs and chocolate."

[callyourselfa]

"Might! Mightn't!" One For Sorrow huffs again. If he keeps doing that, people will take him seriously. "I am a member of the proud family Corvidae, inveterate scholars among birds. Smartest of all the flying creatures, and a good number of the walking ones. You can leave questions of 'might' and 'might not' to me, if you'd like."

His attention flicks away for a moment, scoping out the other patrons with their drinks.

[ohperilousplace]

This is not Zoe snickering at you, One For Sorrow. Except... yes, actually, she kind of is, even if she's making a valiant effort at hiding it. "Sorry. I've never met a talking bird before, so I didn't know." She still does not think that giving the bird coffee is the best idea in the world.

[callyourselfa]

"Maybe you have, and you just didn't know," One For Sorrow corrects. "Not exactly a rare skill, talking among birds."

Yeah, not where he's from. He still hasn't worked out the dialect of these flyers here. ...it's a little demoralizing, if we're honest.

[ohperilousplace]

Zoe tilts her head to the side, eyebrows raised. "Here in Chicago? I think it kind of is... Not all of them could be shy." If all birds talked, surely more of them would just march up to people and start chattering. Like this bird.

[callyourselfa]

"You don't know the first thing about birds, madam," One For Sorrow proclaims, because when he doesn't exactly have an answer for something, sometimes he just resorts to attacking a person's expertise. Or intelligence. Or... species.

Someone at the counter has just turned away with a tall coffee and a croissant, and they've put the croissant down on a table while they go to dress the coffee with additives. One For Sorrow isn't quite conscious of he slight gape to his beak, or the way he takes a half-hop toward the momentarily-abandoned pastry.

[ohperilousplace]

Zoe rolls her eyes a little and goes back to her coffee, taking a big gulp as she watches the bird... and then sighs a little as she sees what he's doing.

"You could at least ask before you think about stealing it. Maybe people will be so surprised about a talking bird that they'll give you what you're asking for." She probably would.

...well, she would have before the talking bird implied she was stupid, anyway.

[callyourselfa]

One For Sorrow hops, half startled at being called out and half pretending to be totally innocent of planned theft. "Ma'am!" he practically squawks. "In Chicago, perhaps even more than in the wild yards and fields, it is often and regrettably every bird for himself!"

And then, because now his wisdom is tactics has been called into question and he can't possibly back down from this, he's got no choice but to plunge his beak into the croissant and scurry!! Scurry, because the croissant in its entirety is too large for him to fly with.

...this, of course, would be the point at which the guy getting coffee turns back with a "H-hey!"