The Customer is Always Right... right?

[reflectedstasis]

Who: OPEN.
When: The day of August 31
Where: Sector 5, at the Cat's Eye Bistro
Summary: Mysterious flowering cherry trees have sprung up overnight. They're beautiful, but their petals have some strange effects...
Warnings: Eventual violence thanks to an out of control 07 Ghost. Aside from that, just mark your warnings in the subject!

The up side of

Comments

[deceptive_lulz]

After finishing up her day shift at the Grindz coffee shop, Sarina decided to go on one of her typical strolls around the area -- it was a nice enough day for it, after all. She was so entranced by the surroundings that she barely noticed when she wandered into the bordering sector. However, this had nothing to do with the effects of the tree; she was naturally that way.

After a while, she realized that she hadn't eaten in a while, and although she had yet to drink a tea that didn't need at least three spoons of sugar, the Cat's Eye Bistro was the closest place she could find. Places like those typically had some kind of dessert at least, right? If not, it didn't hurt to check.

Cautiously opening the door, she glanced around the area a bit self-consciously. It was always weird walking into establishments she wasn't used to. With a soft giggle, she glanced around for someone who worked in the area.

[reflectedstasis]

There was a nice lull between the lunch and dinner rushes, which was why Fai was leaning on the counter by the register, his face caught between his hands, when he caught a slightly familiar face walk in front of the glass walls of the store. He smiled when she actually reached for the door and gave a friendly wave when the woman peeked in.

"Hello there - I was wondering if I'd ever see you again. Come in! come in!"

[deceptive_lulz]

Upon seeing Fai, a relative stranger, she mirrored his smile -- albeit a bit awkwardly. At the very least, it was the most natural thing in the world for her to smile for absolutely no reason.

"Long time, no talk, hmm?" With a tilt of her head to accentuate the impact of her question -- as well as a few giggles -- she took a few slow steps toward the counter. "What have you got for desserts around here?"

[reflectedstasis]

"That it has, mi'lady. It's good to see you doing well and yes," reaching to the side, he tapped a glass display case. "We have everything from creme cakes to chocolate fondant or cheesecake and apple pie to blackberry cobblers. There are all manner of pastries and, of course, today's special, which is a cherry blossom and lemon tea served with an assorted dish of petite fours - basically bite-sized cakes."

Laughing he slouched enough to lean his forearms on the case and smiled again. "And yup, we make them all here fresh, daily~"

[deceptive_lulz]

Sarina took a quick glance over the clear display case, before looking back at Fai with a curious look. "Fondant? What's that even made out of?"

Even if she will have been in the Port -- and society -- for a year on the second of September, she had yet to get accustomed to the finer things in life. Because of Rochelle's breakup woes, a week or so back, she had her fill of cheesecake, so that was certainly out of the question.

"What's your sweetest tea? Everything I drink is always so bitter."

[reflectedstasis]

"Mmm, well we have several sweet teas, so it depends on the dessert you go with more than anything else, really. Though I can make several recommendations after you decide on that." He met her gaze with a friendly smile and pointed to one of the desserts. "In this case, the fondant is a smaller, individual cake that gets warmed up so that the chocolate center is nice and melted. The fondant is the type of special frosting that is wrapped around it."

"If you'd like to try that, I'd recommend either the Sakura Blossom tea or possibly a milk tea."

[deceptive_lulz]

"Really? That almost sounds like an overload of sweets." she responded with a chuckle. "I'll give it a try, though. As for the tea - uh - what do Sakura Blossoms even taste like?"

She couldn't imagine something made from what she assumed to be petals could taste very good, but she still had a lot to learn about these kinds of things.

[reflectedstasis]

"It is, but sometimes a little bit of overload with sweets does the spirit good. That or a good drink."

He chuckled lightly at that then waved a hand towards one of the machines behind him. "Would you like to try it, or would you prefer something like a nice calming chamomile?"

[deceptive_lulz]

She placed an elbow on the counter and leaned her head against her hand as she gave a small smile. "It'd depend on the drink, I would think!"

After another accompanied giggle, she continued. "I'll take whatever you recommend."

So! Do you want her to get the SPECIAL tea or no effects for her?

[reflectedstasis]

He laughed at that and dropped a hand to tap the top of the glass case, as if to indicate the treats and specialties inside. "Tell you what - you take your time and take a peek at these, see what grabs your attention, and I'll go get you a sample of a few different teas, alright?"

The hint of a teasing grin teases into place as he added lightly, "A lady should always get the choice of the very best~!"

UH. Let's go with no effects, since if she were effected, she would have made a network post by now

[deceptive_lulz]

She grinned back at his last response, even if she had to exert a bit of effort for it. Even if she looked the part, she didn't consider herself a lady; there would always be the Beast lurking within her. It was okay though -- she needed it in her life.

"I'll go with the fondant, though. It's the one thing I don't think I've tried just yet."

gotcha~

[reflectedstasis]

"In that case, please have a seat and I'll bring it right to you~"

Turning away from the counter, Fai shifted back towards the various sets of tea blends. His hand hovered a moment over the Cherry Blossom blend, before the Dragon's Eye Oolong caught his attention. Something with that hint of sweet mandarin oranges would compliment the rich chocolate of the fondant quite nicely. He set that to steep, then moved to warm up one of the fondants, dusted it lightly with powdered sugar - all the while humming softly to himself.

It smelled rich, decadent, and for a wistful moment, he remembered the taste all to well...

[deceptive_lulz]

She shot Fai a smile full of uncertainty, before turning around to scan her eyes over the area of the Bistro. Someone had already taken her desired spot in the furthest corner of the cafe, so instead she took the seat that offered the best view of the windows; even in a seemingly safe place like this, she could never be too sure.

Constantly shifting her gaze from the window to where Fai was working, she waited patiently for him to finish her order. After a couple of minutes, she calmed down a bit more, again propping an elbow on the table she was sitting at as she took a deep sniff of the various aromas around her. She certainly didn't have a nose like Crying Wolf, one of her former unitmates (and Sarina felt the slightest pang of guilt that she would probably never get to experience a place like this), but nevertheless she had a habit of familiarizing herself with places she hadn't been to before.

[reflectedstasis]

Fai watched her through lowered lashes as she settled in, really watched her, after that smile. There was just something in that smile... something that resonated with him, like an old, faded memory...

There was an uncertainty there, something that hinted at unfamiliarity of the action...

He drew a sharp breath, hit all of a sudden with a memory of his own.

"It's so cold today!"

"It's always cold. Today's no different so why bother complaining?"

"Because complaining makes you feel better!"

Wh--hey you laughed!"

Fai blinked up at the two guards, unsure, as his smile faded. "Um... did I do it wrong?"

Nono! It was fine! His Majesty will be really pleased to see it, young master!"He blinked, blinked again, then shoved the memory aside as he made his way towards the table. The plate and the Dragon Eye Oolong were set before her as he slid into the seat across from her, tried to offer her an easy, friendly smile before letting his eye cut away, because it was all in his head, to make such an association after all these years.

[deceptive_lulz]

Sarina blinked a few times once Fai took a seat across from her. Was this how one was typically supposed to serve a customer? She was by no means bothered by it, but as she was constantly watching others and trying to blend the best way she could into society, her mind was constantly trying to pinpoint exactly what was "normal".

Bending her head down, she took a whiff of the tea set before her. Even if her sense of smell was only average, it was a habit to smell anything she consumed first, out of the worry that they could have been poisoned. Not that she had any reason to believe Fai would do such a thing, but one tended to live longer if they took those kinds of precautions.

"What is this? I can't quite place the smell..."

[reflectedstasis]

Unfortunately for her, Fai was as far from normal as she was, save that he'd learned proper courtly manners.

Even so, he just props his chin on his knuckles and passively watches a few people wander past the store front. As he does so, he hums a light note - trying to give her time and space but curious all the same of what she'll think.

"It's a Dragoneye oolong - green tea with marigold extract along with peach and apricot flavoring. It compliments the dessert cake nicely, as I recall."