(no subject)

[radiantchicken]

Who: Torin, Areonwen, and you!
What: The reunion of two old friends in a coffee shop, only one is a bird-dinosaur-man-thing and the other is a horse. Perfectly normal. Not like anyone might want to react to such weirdness or anything.
When: Shortly after Areonwen's return post.
Where: Espresso Yourself because they haven't dealt with enough weirdness yet there

Espresso Yourself, in Torin's mind, has always been a very lively place. He's got his three parrots there with him at work that day, and they're flitting around the area, perching in their favored spots, or simply watching the customers. The customers range from ordinary, decent people to obstinate hipsters, but Torin tries to be polite to everyone, just the same. Now that he's a manager, he can at least step away from the counter to make sure that everything is as it should be, checking on people and seeing to it that they're having no problems. For some, being approached by a talking birdman is a surreal experience, and they seem more intimidated by his presence than anything. But he tries.

Even as he tries to make this as normal a coffee shop as possible, there are some times in which it's not all that normal. Like now, when he's holding the door open for a white horse. "Areonwen! Glad you could make it!"

Yep, normal. Perfectly normal. Just another quiet day at Locke City's weirdest coffee shop.

Comments

[wingsister]

:I'm glad I was able to find it,: Areonwen replies, pitching the MindSpeech to him alone as she looks around the coffee shop. Depending what the floor is made of, there's a high chance her hooves are doing something dreadful to it. :Very nice. I'm impressed.:

She takes a long sniff of the air. :That's the coffee, isn't it? I recognize the smell.: Some of the humans at her stable had been fond of it in the morning. :And-- is that cake I smell?:

[radiantchicken]

Everyone else who can't hear the MindSpeech just sees Torin happily chatting with a horse. And around this place...you know what? No one really seems too willing to ask questions. Mostly because the parrots seem to be warily watching the whole thing, and rumor has it that Torin has taught the smallest of the three to poop on unruly customers on cue.

"I'm glad you like it! We've worked hard on the place." Torin motions for her to follow him, getting more curious looks from the customers. Somewhere, some hipster's probably trying to take a picture. "That's right, that's coffee, and we do have some cake over here." There's a display case in front of the counter with several varieties of cookies, cake, and other pastries.

[wingsister]

:They smell delicious,: Areonwen says, and there's an undercurrent of longing in her mind's voice. :I don't suppose--:

She seems to be particularly eyeing the slices of pound cake.

[radiantchicken]

Oh, yes, Torin's got you covered, Areonwen. "Would you like a piece?" Torin's already moving to get a piece out of the case and set it on a little plate for her.

[wingsister]

:Yes, please,: Areonwen responds promptly. :Two pieces if you would, considering that I came on hoof.: One of the downsides of being a horse in her mind, aside from the fact that hooves weren't very useful for manipulating things, was that they weren't really meant to take public transportation.

:Your cheek mane is even more impressive now that I see it closer up.:

[radiantchicken]

"Alright, then, two pieces it is." There's a chuckle as Torin adds another piece to the plate. He's got no idea how much horses eat; two pieces seems reasonable, especially since she's come a long way.

Once he's done handling food, he reaches up to stroke the mustache. "Thank you! It really grew out when I got large."

[wingsister]

He hasn't heard the phrase 'to eat like a horse?' Honestly, if Areonwen wasn't intelligent now enough now to know that eating too much and too fast will make her sick, she'd probably be asking for more than just two pieces.

:How did you get large? I'm afraid I missed it happen.:

[radiantchicken]

Torin doesn't put a whole lot of stock in animal-based phrases the humans have, mostly because he has come to learn that "birdbrain" is, in fact, an insult.

"Oh, it was really something--several months ago, the mafia decided to try to run the Numbered out of town. I was flying along, minding my own business, and they tried to attack me." Torin shook his head a little at the memory. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, but then I was suddenly like this standing before them." He chuckled. "I believe they immediately regretted many of their life choices that day."

[wingsister]

That's distinctly unfair. Torin has a sharper brain than many humans Areonwen has met.

:Those are a breed of bad humans, aren't they? Like the keys of blood. The Blood Keys? Were they also helped to be more dangerous?:

[radiantchicken]

Torin nods. "Something like that, yes. Some of them were altered, though I'm not sure it was in the same fashion as those." He chuckles. "Didn't matter how the ones I fought were altered; I still gave them more than they bargained for that day, and my plight didn't go unnoticed by other Numbered. Together, we taught them a lesson."

[wingsister]

If Areonwen were a human, she'd have smiled at that. As it is, Torin might still get the impression from her thoughts that some part of her is smiling. (A fleeting mental image, maybe, of a silver-haired woman with a prominent nose, a sardonic glint in her blue eyes.)

:I'd have liked to see it,: she thinks at him, taking a dainty bite of her cookie. :Or been able to help you:

[radiantchicken]

"It probably would have looked very strange from the outside...and I would have welcomed your help." He chuckles. "They would have underestimated you too, I'd think. We would have taught them quite the lesson together."

[wingsister]

There's another feeling of a smile, another almost-glimpse of the sardonic silver-haired lady. :If nothing else,: she replies, :I might have done a lot of damage with my hooves.:

AFTER TORIN'S SHIFT IS OVER

[wingsister]

Expresso Yourself, it turned out, was a very pleasant place to while away your afternoon and evening. Torin had even been able to find a polished tray for Areonwen to use to monitor the network when he was too busy for conversation. The cookies, it must be said, were delicious.

She stayed at the cafe until closing time, at which point Torin was kind enough to walk back to her stable with her. A fine end to the evening, she thought and something inside of her smiled.

:Can you ride?: she asks, idly curious, as they wait to cross at an intersection. Then-- there was something coming at them, bird-shaped, black, barely discernible despite the streetlights, cawing angrily. Areonwen rears back, whinnying with panic.

:What is that?:

(The answer, quite sadly, is a small swarm of Vermini who've taken over a crow.)

[radiantchicken]

It's a pleasant night for a walk, and they've had a pleasant day, so Torin doesn't mind walking her home in the least. "Ride? I'm not sure, I've never really had cause to try before..." But before he can speculate more, the crow-Vermini appeared.

Torin quickly withdraws a red and blue dinosaur-shaped handgun from within his robes. "They've shown up before, usually to attack the Numbered." There's a pause before he holds out his hand. "Come, Feather Edge!" Because summoning your magic sword is always a good idea when confronted with some sort of horrible crow-thing, right?

[wingsister]

The thing is closer to them, now, and Areonwen feels a pulse within her-- more than one pulse, in quick successions--

A large crow-thing, it had made its way into her suite at the Palace, past her wards, from the fireplace, it was there to kill her, she'd been right about the enemy--

Areonwen whinnies again, even more panicked than before. :TORIN! Get on my back! NOW!:

She's only vaguely conscious of the weight of the silver and blue tack--a elaborate saddle and hackamore--which have just appeared on her.

[radiantchicken]

Well. That sure is a saddle and tack showing up there. Perhaps she's got some sort of plan? Torin holsters the gun and keeps a steady grip on Feather Edge as he gets on her back as ordered. If the crow comes closer, he thinks he can take care of it.

[wingsister]

Oh Torin, you adorable birdman, Areonwen doesn't have a plan beyond run away from this hideous bird creature as fast as she can. And as it so happens that fancy saddle and tack is not the only thing she's been gifted with, because she's running way faster than she ought to be able to.

Hopefully Torin's holding on tight, because with the way she's darting around cars and people promises that this will be a pretty rough ride.

And someone will probably have to pay for that hamburger cart she just kicked over.

[radiantchicken]

"Areonwen! Calm down!" Torin kept a firm grasp on his sword as he folded his wings and tried to keep his balance on the horse. "We can fight it, Areonwen! You do not have to be afraid!"

[wingsister]

:But that thing killed me! The enemy sent it through the fireplace to kill me! I'll show you!:

And she Sends him a flash of vision, of being attacked by a sinister bird thing, except it's not the same thing as the bird they'd been about to fight, it had been bigger, more monstrous.

[radiantchicken]

"But I was not there with you! I am now--with me, you do not need to be afraid." Torin's voice remains smooth, confident. They can beat this; he knows they can. "And this one is much smaller! We can defeat it with bravery, Areonwen!"

[wingsister]

Bravery. Yes. She-- she could be brave. Even though that thing killed her once. Not that thing. Something like it, but bigger, a raven and not a crow, with teeth and claws like knives. And she was stronger now, not as old and fragile as she'd been in that memory, in a wide open space, not a closed room, and she had Torin with her, she had Torin, and perhaps he wasn't the Vanyel who her prior self had called for--

(who was Vanyel? he felt important.)

--but he was a dear friend and a valiant one and if he thought they could defeat it then perhaps he was right. Areonwen wheels around and starts charging back at the crow-thing and the sudden familiarity of charging into danger with someone wielding a magic sword on her back only reinforces how this is the right thing.

Hadn't she wanted to fight with Torin anyway?

[radiantchicken]

Torin shifts his balance to account for that sudden change of direction, and he's holding his sword high, ready to strike the weird crow-thing the moment he's close enough. Sure, just shooting it with his GigaGaburevolver might have been easier, but Torin's never been one to want to take the easy way out.

"Let's go! With bravery!"

[wingsister]

:With bravery,: she agrees, and if her hooves on the pavement don't ring like bells the way they do in her memory, the staccato beat of them gives her courage.

:Now!: she 'shouts' as they pass close to the bird.

[radiantchicken]

Torin is very ready for this. His sword flashes as he lashes out at the crow-thing, hoping to hit it with the blade. He knows what he's doing, even if doing it from horseback is still a little odd.