Morningstar Manor

The weather as cooling off quickly and many of the Manor tenants were stopping in the Mocha in the evenings for coffee not only for the ritual of it but for the warmth as well. Tonight for instance it seemed rather busy.

JJ was flipping through a magazine Deacon had let him borrow.

Jack was looking through some proofs of his latest batch of head shots.

Gabe was preparing the spa's next supply order and had decided that doing it in the Mocha - with coffee - was far better than doing it in the spa itself.

Max - dressed for once in jeans and a form fitting t-shirt instead of a suit - sat in one of the over stuffed chairs with an iPad in his lap as he sipped his coffee. But he wasn't doing work. He was playing Angry Birds.

Loki had another overstuffed chair, his coffee, and another old and battered book. Not Poe this time. No this one was the works of de Sade. And it was autographed.

Kara had worked two long shifts and was - thank GOD - done for a solid twenty four hours. She could get coffee at the Lamb of course but she had been craving a Mocha Latte all day and now she waited in line to get one.

Logan had been having a pretty crappy week so far, and it was only Wednesday. Ditching his backpack after school he rounded up Appa and went out to the garden. He was entirely content with leaving his chem homework in his backpack and tossing a ball for the pup to bring back.

Until Appa didn't bring the ball back. He'd found something else that interested him instead. Nose to the ground he sniffed out a trail and wound up finding a new person. Naturally, he pounced on the man's foot and yipped.

Fall had finally come and the evenings were beginning to get cool. Which meant even more people than usual decided that a coffee in the evening was a nice idea.

Jack had just come from a long shift at the Lamb and was in desperate need of a coffee. So he got in line and sent a text to Declan.

Must have coffee. Want one?

***

JJ was already sitting at a table, sipping his coffee and looking through a car magazine. He'd had a long day at work, then a nice long practice with the band where he'd had that interesting encounter with the new bookstore owner. Now he had no more plans for the night and coffee and a magazine in the Mocha seemed as good as any.

***

Kara was headed to the Lamb but was also trying to fight off the cold that seemed to be going around. She'd taken a nap thanks to some cold meds and now needed a strong coffee to perk herself back up so was standing in the line for the counter.

***

Ruprecht stepped from the men's restroom and put a sign in front of the door that said Out of Order. He looked over the crowd of people and sneered a bit.

The shop was taking shape and new stock was arriving daily. Ben had got into a routine for dealing with it - he could shelve while workmen were there, they didn't like him under foot, so he did it in the evenings, when it was quiet - when he had nothing better to do.

Tuesday evening he got his sack truck and stepped out of the back door of the bookstore to fetch another crate of books from the lock up but what he saw made him scowl and then made him hurry across to the lock up opposite and hammer on the half open door.

Gabe was in the spa cleaning up. It was nearly closing time and he was ready to head back to the apartment for some food and rest. He made a mental note to call Sarah too. He'd had to take a rain check on their night out due to an omgemergency hair issue with a very high end client.

***

JJ hadn't had a chance to hang out in the Mocha since he'd moved in and tonight - since after the band try out he didn't have anything else planned - he decided to give it a shot. He sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, sipping surprisingly good coffee and playing with his iPad.

***

Jason was technically off duty - and out of uniform - but he was still strolling the Manor grounds. Out in the gardens he paused to light up a cigarette and take a sip from the bottle of beer he held in his other hand. He looked up at the night sky, unable to really see any stars due to the city lights. But still - it was a nice night.

***

At the Lamb Kara wiped down the bar and smiled at the regulars. Tuesday nights were slow but that was okay. After a busy Labor Day she could use an easy night. She looked at the clock and then caught Jack's eye, giving him a nod.

Jack grinned at her and cleaned up the last table. His shift was over so once he put this in the kitchen he could go home.

Nick had asked around all the usual places, plus a few unusual ones, and in the end it had been Kelsey from the ex-skate shop who had put him in touch with a possible replacement for Zack. It was a bit of a surprise that the kid lived at the Manor, but there you go.

Nick had called and arranged a meeting. He glanced at his watch and made a face through the glass of the gallery at Charlie who grinned and continued to count the float.