Oh, yes. Becareful what you wish for, Kaye - you just might get it. And might actually like it. Who knows.
Roiben wasn't sure how he arrived here. Last time he checked, there wasn't an unknown city inhabited by some interesting characters attached to Hart Island. Maybe he missed something. Who knows. But he knew he didn't.
He had attempted to retrace his steps back - trying to go back, to the others, to the celebration. Nothing. He wound up going in circles and not at the exit he desired to find.
Figures that attempting to find Kaye after she went off by her own would lead to something random and possibly even dangerous.
This could be most problematic, he thought irritably, a sharp tooth digging into his lower lip in an exasperated bite.
Wandering aimlessly had led him to ask someone if they had seen whom he was looking for - his consort that, for some damn reason, was never clever enough to stay out of trouble. It was a young boy with pointed ears like him, dressed in green that had informed him that, yes, there was a Kaye here. A green Kaye, with ears like theirs and wings like a faeries, and Roiben was downright confused as to why she would be unglamoured in such a place.
...but, then again, walking around had made him see some interesting characters, so maybe being unglamoured wouldn't matter to begin with.
Nodding, and thanking the boy, Roiben entered the building he was pointed to. And it was easy and quick to notice Kaye - not many people were green and with wings.
He could smell her usual coffee right from where he was standing, too.
But why was she here? Where the hell was this place, anyway? She must have a good reason to be here. He couldn't think of anything on his own.
He approached her, quietly and cunningly and bent down to a pointed ear of hers, raising an eyebrow.
"If I'm not mistaken, wandering off without telling a soul about your whereabouts is considered to be fairly rude, is it not, Kaye?"
Kaye was just relaxing. Sip, sip. She was unglamoured, and her senses were left wild and heightened - yet she didn't react when she heard someone approaching behind her. Her thoughts were too clouded - typical, always being distracted in her thoughts. And besides, she was so used to this coffee shop that she didn't care or see any reason right now to be on her guard.
She wasn't thinking. Or, rather, she was thinking too much.
Kaye's eyes didn't even get a chance to widen - her muscles froze up and before she got a chance to whirl around, she dropped her coffee mug. The hot coffee spilled all over herself, the chair, even some on the table, and the loud crack and clatter of a broken coffee mug filled the coffee shop, causing people to stop and stare. She didn't notice any of that. Or she did, but she didn't care.
"W-what.. what the fuck?" She whirled around to face him, as if to see if it was true, her black eyes wide and alien-looking.
All the sudden movements of her whirling and the coffee mug breaking, Roiben jerked back a little and his brows furrowed; glancing at the lovely mess she made.
"I certainly hope that drink isn't scalding enough to burn you," he continued softly and reached over to the stack of napkins on the table, grabbing a few. Help her clean up first, and then he can ask the questions.
She.. okay, so maybe she was wondering if he would show up. She thought about it a lot. But when it actually happened.. She still didn't expect that. Especially with his voice so close to her ear like that. It was too real. Kaye almost thought she forgot how he sounded.
And the coffee was hot. It burned her skin, but she just flinched and ignored it, distracted from it. "You're.. you're in the City.." What she was trying not to say was It worked?
"Well, yes, I've noticed that this is a city," Roiben replied with a few blinks of his eyes. "I am not certain how I arrived here, either. I went searching for you."
He noticed the flinch, and his eyes narrowed to form a light, almost scolding glare, and he knelt down on tiles that were untouched by the spilled coffee and started to wipe and dab her try.
Okay, Kaye. Deep, calm breaths. She probably wasn't making any sense to him.
She just remembered something. Funeral? Searching for her? Of course. That made sense. Even though it had been a month since she last saw him, it must have only been a few minutes for him.
"..Sorry." Kaye's embarrassment was rather belated. She let him clean her up, smiling sheepishly, but then she looked serious again. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't expecting him, so she said something else instead. "I've been here for almost a month. This isn't a normal city, Roiben." Saying his name again made her feel better.
"Indeed?" he responded back questioningly, glancing up at her. Of course, it would make more sense to him than it would for other people - supernatural causes for supernatural things were not new to him. And, heck, Faerieland and Ironside had different time ratios - nothing too drastic, but...
How would a few minutes lead to an entire month here?
No, screw that.
How the hell did they end up here and why?
"Do you possess any information on how we've wandered into here?"
Kaye rubbed at a few coffee-burns on her skin half-consciously - she was excited and flustered and confused all at once, so she didn't know what to do with herself as she tried to explain. There was too much to explain.
She nodded a little. "Sort of. I just know that the City is some kind of other world - like a nexus - where people from different worlds are taken from. And there's curses.. and now you're here too.." Her mind wandered off. If he was just here because of the curse, would that mean he would be gone tomorrow?
Kaye shook her head, as if to show how stubborn she was on that matter. "No. I've wanted to leave, but I can't. No one else can either. Some people have left, but it's rare, and they were never trying to."
She continued to rub at her arm unconsciously, glancing at the broken coffee mug. "Sorry, you startled me.."
"It's quite alright." It's not like the coffee mug was his, anyway, and even if it was, not like it would matter.
She seemed jittery, though, and he noticed this fairly easily. Couldn't blame her - she had been stranded here for a month, and he only processed a few minutes passing by.
His lips twisted into a small smile as he tried to seem reassuring, at least remotely comforting, and reached over to take one of her hands. "It's a shame such excellent coffee had gone to waste. Would you like another?"
At least, if he was stuck here, he was glad it was with her. And if a month here registered for a few minutes or so back where they came from, then he supposed it wouldn't be so problematic to stay here for a bit - at least the courts would be fine.
"Another?" Kaye blinked. "Oh. I think I smell enough coffee on my skin, but.. sure." She smiled a little too, although sheepishly, especially with him taking one of her hands. She needed to get used to that again.
"I can buy you some, too." She grinned a little more now and started to fish through a pocket in her jeans for a few orange coins. Now that she was starting to settle down, she couldn't help but smile now that was here - even if a small feeling of dread was in the back of her mind, wondering how long this would last. She shoved it in the back of her mind quite easily, for now.
"It's a vivid scent, but doubt tells me my sudden arrival never gave you the chance to enjoy it."
He was going to offer to buy her another one too, but he watched her hands and wrinkled his nose - it wasn't the currency he was used to, he could tell by smell alone.
"I suppose." Pause. He cocked his head to the side, his ponytail following like a tail. "Tell me. Where have you been residing?"
"I don't think you were expecting me to freak out that badly." Sheepish grin. Kaye found her money and stepped over to the counter, ordering two regular coffees - the fixings for it were over by the counter.
"I'm staying with Corny." Her smile faded a little. "He's been here for months, actually." He was a lot worse off than her in that aspect.
"Cornelius?" Well, he'll be damned. Color him surprised. "I find that to be relieving."
Eer, he should clarify that.
"I mean--that you've not been alone. Not about his time here, I should say." That sounded a little awkward. "I do hope he's kept an eye on you. You have a penchant for mischief and danger."
The smile he was wearing changed into a light smirk.
Kaye smiled when he clarified. "I know. I mean -- I do not! Only.. sometimes." She couldn't lie, after all.
A few moments later two mugs of coffee were presented and she payed for them. She picked up hers and moved down the counter a little to get some cream and sugar - and cinnamon.
Roiben wasn't sure how he arrived here. Last time he checked, there wasn't an unknown city inhabited by some interesting characters attached to Hart Island. Maybe he missed something. Who knows. But he knew he didn't.
He had attempted to retrace his steps back - trying to go back, to the others, to the celebration. Nothing. He wound up going in circles and not at the exit he desired to find.
Figures that attempting to find Kaye after she went off by her own would lead to something random and possibly even dangerous.
This could be most problematic, he thought irritably, a sharp tooth digging into his lower lip in an exasperated bite.
Wandering aimlessly had led him to ask someone if they had seen whom he was looking for - his consort that, for some damn reason, was never clever enough to stay out of trouble. It was a young boy with pointed ears like him, dressed in green that had informed him that, yes, there was a Kaye here. A green Kaye, with ears like theirs and wings like a faeries, and Roiben was downright confused as to why she would be unglamoured in such a place.
...but, then again, walking around had made him see some interesting characters, so maybe being unglamoured wouldn't matter to begin with.
Nodding, and thanking the boy, Roiben entered the building he was pointed to. And it was easy and quick to notice Kaye - not many people were green and with wings.
He could smell her usual coffee right from where he was standing, too.
But why was she here? Where the hell was this place, anyway? She must have a good reason to be here. He couldn't think of anything on his own.
He approached her, quietly and cunningly and bent down to a pointed ear of hers, raising an eyebrow.
"If I'm not mistaken, wandering off without telling a soul about your whereabouts is considered to be fairly rude, is it not, Kaye?"
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She wasn't thinking. Or, rather, she was thinking too much.
Kaye's eyes didn't even get a chance to widen - her muscles froze up and before she got a chance to whirl around, she dropped her coffee mug. The hot coffee spilled all over herself, the chair, even some on the table, and the loud crack and clatter of a broken coffee mug filled the coffee shop, causing people to stop and stare. She didn't notice any of that. Or she did, but she didn't care.
"W-what.. what the fuck?" She whirled around to face him, as if to see if it was true, her black eyes wide and alien-looking.
Reply
All the sudden movements of her whirling and the coffee mug breaking, Roiben jerked back a little and his brows furrowed; glancing at the lovely mess she made.
"I certainly hope that drink isn't scalding enough to burn you," he continued softly and reached over to the stack of napkins on the table, grabbing a few. Help her clean up first, and then he can ask the questions.
Reply
She.. okay, so maybe she was wondering if he would show up. She thought about it a lot. But when it actually happened.. She still didn't expect that. Especially with his voice so close to her ear like that. It was too real. Kaye almost thought she forgot how he sounded.
And the coffee was hot. It burned her skin, but she just flinched and ignored it, distracted from it. "You're.. you're in the City.." What she was trying not to say was It worked?
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He noticed the flinch, and his eyes narrowed to form a light, almost scolding glare, and he knelt down on tiles that were untouched by the spilled coffee and started to wipe and dab her try.
"You should be more careful."
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She just remembered something. Funeral? Searching for her? Of course. That made sense. Even though it had been a month since she last saw him, it must have only been a few minutes for him.
"..Sorry." Kaye's embarrassment was rather belated. She let him clean her up, smiling sheepishly, but then she looked serious again. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't expecting him, so she said something else instead. "I've been here for almost a month. This isn't a normal city, Roiben." Saying his name again made her feel better.
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"Indeed?" he responded back questioningly, glancing up at her. Of course, it would make more sense to him than it would for other people - supernatural causes for supernatural things were not new to him. And, heck, Faerieland and Ironside had different time ratios - nothing too drastic, but...
How would a few minutes lead to an entire month here?
No, screw that.
How the hell did they end up here and why?
"Do you possess any information on how we've wandered into here?"
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She nodded a little. "Sort of. I just know that the City is some kind of other world - like a nexus - where people from different worlds are taken from. And there's curses.. and now you're here too.." Her mind wandered off. If he was just here because of the curse, would that mean he would be gone tomorrow?
Reply
A Nexus.
Can't say he's ever been in one of those, and Roiben was subjected to some weird things. At least, weird considered to the majority of the mortals.
He picked up the fallen mug and looked into it for a moment, and then glanced back at Kaye, setting it onto the table.
"If you've been here for a month..." he began quietly and sighed, "I think it would be safe to assume that an exit is not so easily granted, hn?"
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She continued to rub at her arm unconsciously, glancing at the broken coffee mug. "Sorry, you startled me.."
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She seemed jittery, though, and he noticed this fairly easily. Couldn't blame her - she had been stranded here for a month, and he only processed a few minutes passing by.
His lips twisted into a small smile as he tried to seem reassuring, at least remotely comforting, and reached over to take one of her hands. "It's a shame such excellent coffee had gone to waste. Would you like another?"
At least, if he was stuck here, he was glad it was with her. And if a month here registered for a few minutes or so back where they came from, then he supposed it wouldn't be so problematic to stay here for a bit - at least the courts would be fine.
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"I can buy you some, too." She grinned a little more now and started to fish through a pocket in her jeans for a few orange coins. Now that she was starting to settle down, she couldn't help but smile now that was here - even if a small feeling of dread was in the back of her mind, wondering how long this would last. She shoved it in the back of her mind quite easily, for now.
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He was going to offer to buy her another one too, but he watched her hands and wrinkled his nose - it wasn't the currency he was used to, he could tell by smell alone.
"I suppose." Pause. He cocked his head to the side, his ponytail following like a tail. "Tell me. Where have you been residing?"
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"I'm staying with Corny." Her smile faded a little. "He's been here for months, actually." He was a lot worse off than her in that aspect.
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Eer, he should clarify that.
"I mean--that you've not been alone. Not about his time here, I should say." That sounded a little awkward. "I do hope he's kept an eye on you. You have a penchant for mischief and danger."
The smile he was wearing changed into a light smirk.
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A few moments later two mugs of coffee were presented and she payed for them. She picked up hers and moved down the counter a little to get some cream and sugar - and cinnamon.
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